*|One Year From DMG|* UPDATED P67/68|7th Aug,'011 - Page 31

"Yesss.. ! We should do this more often.. !" Riddhima said hugging her back..

"Ab aap hain toh shaayad hum log ab milte rahenge.. Warna Armaan bhaiya is useless.. Whenever we used to ask him for clubbing.. He would say nai.. Mera aaj mood nai hain.. Sorry.. Mujhe bohot kaam hain.. Maybe next time.. Mere semester exams chal rahein hai..!"

"Oh please.. Yeh sab naa.. Yeh sab kaafi saalo pehle ki baatein hain.. And I genuinely couldn't make it..!"

"Haan.. And then we obviously lost touch.."

"Nai.. Now we'll make it a point to meet atleast once in a few months.. ! We should!"

"Yes.. !"

"Good night bhabhi.." Raj said giving her a side hug..

"Bye guys.. Drive safe!"

They shut the door after bidding a bye to everyone.. !
Armaan began to undo his shirt buttons.. All he wanted to do was collapse on the bed and pass out.. It had been a long week.. And he was glad it was Sunday..
"Armaan.. Kal ke kya plans hai?"
"Umm.. Sochne do..!Spend quality time in bed?"
"Armaan!"
"Kya yaar Riddhima.. Every weekend kuchh naa kuch rehta hai.. Kal koi plans nahi.. We'll just spend time at home.."
"Lekin ek hi din toh off milta hain Armaan.. ! I have so many things to buy!"
"Toh tum chali jaana.." He said in exasperation.. Almost as if he was yelling..
"Armaan.. You're being rude now!"
"You know what? I'm just going to sleep.. "
"Armaan.. "
"Riddhima.. Please.. Abhi mera jhagda karne ka bilkul bhi mood nahi hai!"
"Arrey lekin ?"
"Good night!" And he went inside their bedroom and shut the door..
--
She crawled up on the bed and hugged him from the back..
"Mujhe pata hai ki tum abhi tak soye nahi ho.."
There was no reaction from his side.. But she knew that he was not sleeping.. She could tell from the way he was breathing.. And also whenever he was in deep sleep.. His mouth was always slightly open..
She ran a hand through his chest.. And pulled herself closer to him..
"Armaan.. Mujhe pata hain ki tumhe kuchh pareshan kar raha hai.. Mujhe nai bataogey?"
He turned around and hugged her tight.. Burying his face in her hair..
She smiled at that.. And let him be.. They stayed like that for a while after which Armaan spoke..
"Ek baat poochhoo?"
"Haan poochho?"
"Mujhe laga tha ki tum woh sab stories.. You know.. Ladkiyaan.. And woh po*n.. Woh sab kuchh sun ke gussa ho jaogi.. Lekin.. Tumne kuchh nahi kaha.. Tum gussa toh nahi ho naa ?"
"No Armaan.. Haan matlab woh tumhari stupid canteen wali story se mujhe thoda thoda gussa aaya.."
"Gussa nai toh Basket nai.. Bassss.. Mein yehi soch raha tha.. Ki meri beautiful wife abhi tak mujhpar chillayi kyun nahi hain !" He said.. Looking up at her.. Removing his face from her hair..
"Armaan.." She said smacking him lightly on his stomach..
"Achha.. Mein ek baat puchhoo?" She said after thinking for a few seconds..
"Hmm?"
"Woh soft toy.. That tiger with little specs.. " She asked him.. Probing him to talk about it.. Ever since they had brought up that.. Armaan had seemed a little out of himself.. He spoke lesser after that.. And she suspected his random outburst was something to do with that..
"Jab mein 6 saal ka tha.. Mom, dad aur mein.. We had gone to Disneyland.. Aur wahee se woh soft toy liya tha.. " He said.. She waited for him to continue..
"As a kid.. I kept it with me.. I used to sleep with it.. " He said with a small chuckle..
"Aur phir I had this attachment with it.. And I could never throw it away.." He said through a small smile.. And buried his face in her neck.. She ran her hand through his hair and pulled the blanket over them.. Waiting for him to continue..
She could her him draw a deep breath.. "Its the only happy memory of childhood that I remember.. Tab hum kitne khush the.."
Her eyes were moist and she hugged him tight..
"Toh ab tumhara woh tiger kahaa hai?"
"Pata nai.. I think store room mein hoga.."
"So when did you stop sleeping with that stuff toy?"
"I think ki mein agar hostel nahi jaata.. Toh I would have slept with it all my life.. In the hostel.. I didn't want anyone to tease me about sleeping with a stuff toy.. You know how it is naa? Aur phir meri aadat chhoot gayi.."
"Haan ofcourse.. Armaan Mallik-the stud sleeps with a stuff toy! Tumhari reputation to mitti mein mil jaati!"
"Exactly!"
And both of them smiled at that..
"Armaan.."
"Hmm??" He said in a sing-song way.. A little irritated.. He was sleepy..
"Tum mere leeeetle tiger ho.."
"Kya?" He said sitting up straight.. That was the most bizzarre comment he had heard from her!
"Arrey.. Isme itna shock hone waali kya baat hai?" She said pulling him down..
"Tum mera mazaak uda rahi ho?"
"Naiii.. You are so huggable.. Toh tum mere soft toy ho.." She said in a babyish tone.. Pulling his cheeks..
"What rubbish.. Mein tumhara soft toy nai hoon samjhi.." He said in exasperation and rolled facing his back to her.. And she thought that he was always cheesy! That comment of hers equalled hundred cheezy lines he must have maroed on her.. ! Soft toy?? For christ's sakeeee !
"Armaan..."
So she wouldn't shut up obviously till he faced towards her.. He turned and faced her to see the most beautiful sight ever.. There was this twinkle in her eyes.. That always made his heart flutter.. She stuck his tongue out at him.. As he took her in his arms .. Her head resting on his arm.. And they drifted off to sleep..
--

*Tringgggggggg*****

"Hello?" A sleepy voice spoke into the phone..

"Jee Dr Armaan hain..? Mein Sanjeevani se bol rahi hoon"

"Haan ek minute.."

"Armaan.." She nudged him to take the phone.. But he was sleeping like a log..

"Armaaaaaaannnn.. I think emergency hain.. Sanjeevani se.." She said in a sleepy husky voice..

"Kya?"

"Phoneeee lo.."

"Hello.."

"Dr Armaan.. Aapko abhi Panchgani ke liye nikalna padega.. Waha par ek emergency hain.."

"Theek hain.. Hospital car bheje gi?"

"Jee Dr Armaan.. Car no is MH 2910"

"Okay.. Thank You.." His voice still sounding sleepy.. He let out a breath..

"Riddhima.. Mujhe Panchgani ke liye abhi nikalna padega.. Emergency hain.." He said.. Trying to wake her up..

She sat up a little on the bed.. And switched on the side-lamp..

"Achha theek hain.. You go shower.. Mein tumhare bagpack ready kar deti hoon.." She said as Armaan was getting out of bed..

"Hmm.." He said putting on his slippers and stretching his hands.. He walked up to her and planted a small kiss on her lips.. "Good Morning!" He smiled..

"Morning.." She said tying her hair in a messy bun..

He took his towel and headed to shower..

She checked the clock on side-table.. It was only 6 30.. They had hardly slept.. No wonder her head was pounding a little.. She hated not getting enough sleep.. And that was case almost always nowadays.. For both of them, work had taken a front seat over these months.. Now that they were well settled in their personal lives, they realized how much they had missed out on the professional front.. And how they had unknowingly ignored the fact that they were doctors.. Now that she looked back in time.. She felt bad about it.. But she had taught herself one thing after all that she had been through- Its never too late! And so, she and Armaan had made it a point to make work their first love.. Well, not literally.. She would always love Armaan more than anything else.. Whether she ever accepted it to him or not was a different story!

She moved the sheets aside.. And walked up to the cupboard to remove a bag..

She placed it on the bed and removed a pair of his jeans and a shirt.. And other necessities that he would need.. She walked up to the kitchen and filled up a bottle of water, and quickly made some coffee for herself and Armaan and some sandwiches for his journey..

-

"Riddhima.. Sab pack ho gayaa?"

"Haan.. I've put your stethoscope in that side compartment in the front.. The hospital called to say they will be sending whatever else you might need.." She said, handing him his mug of coffee..

"Thanks!" He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek..

"The car is here.. You should get going.." She said.. Walking him to the door..

"Haan.. Ek Sunday milta hain.. Who bhi gayaa paani mein!"

She laughed at that.. It was so true.. ONE Sunday.. ONE DAY.. !! and that was also snatched away!

"Achha mein chalta hoon.. Take care..!"

"Bye!"

She wrapped her hands around his neck and tip-toed to give him a quick kiss.. But he was frustrated with the distance.. They hardly got time.. He pulled her closer and bit her lip.. Asking her to let him in..

"You have t---"

He just pulled her back and kissed her hard..

His phone started ringing..

"Your pho----" She pulled back..

He angrily took out the phone from his pocket and cut the call.. It was the hospital driver..

"Bye!" He said as he angrily put the bag around his shoulders and began walking out of the door..

"Armaan.. Rukko..!"

'Kyaa hain?"

She tip-toed up to him.. And kissed him back with twice the fervor that he had kissed her earlier..

After a few minutes, Armaan walked into the lift with a dazed smile on his face while she waved him bye..

"Have a safe journey!"

-

He was on his way to Panchgani and for some reason he wasn't sleepy at all.. The air outside was exhilarating.. The sun had just risen.. He sighed as he remembered the last time he had had to go to Panchgani.. There was a vast difference in last time and this.. Given all the dramas in his life, that trip had been quite dramatic too.. This was the time when Armaan and Riddhima were going to be engaged.. He smiled at that thought and his thoughts drifted back to the past.. !