FF: You & I...Collide Part13 pg145 July 27 - Page 100

Geet had been walking towards the lobby when her cell phone rang. Seeing an unknown number, she debated on if she should answer. It could easily be a telemarketer or one of her patients. As she flipped her phone open to answer the call, she stepped back out of the hospital lobby.

The call was from one of her patients, Mrs. Ellis. She was in the last trimester of her pregnancy and was paranoid because it was a rather difficult pregnancy. She was surprised when she'd found out she was pregnant at the age of forty-eight. Mr. & Mrs. Ellis had wanted children since the day they'd gotten married but unfortunately, their pregnancies resulted in miscarriages very early on. They'd moved on with life by adopting three children. So when Mrs. Ellis had missed a few periods, on a whim, she'd taken a pregnancy test and was shocked to see it pregnant. Geet had been with the Ellis' from the beginning closely monitoring every stage of the development.

On this day, Mrs. Ellis called because she hadn't felt her baby move since the night before.

"Ok, Mrs. Ellis this is what I want you to do," Geet began. "Lay on your right side, relax and just feel for your baby. I'm sure you'll feel movements. I want you to count the movements that happen in the next two hours. You should feel about ten of them. If you don't, I want you to call me and come in right away."

"Does that mean that something is wrong with the baby?" Mrs. Ellis asked, panicked.

"No, not necessarily, but we just want to be sure," Geet said.

Just then her pager went off on her hip. Looking at it she saw that the page came from the ER. Taking another few seconds to reassure Mrs. Ellis, she hung up and made her way to the emergency department.

"Who paged me?" Geet asked as she approached the nurses desk.

"You're needed on a consult for a patient that was just brought in," Nurse Leslie said.

"Ok," Geet said as she took the chart that Nurse Leslie held.

"She's a woman in her late twenties just barely into her second trimester complaining of cramping," Nurse Leslie informed. "She's in room 6 and I've already asked for an ultrasound to be brought down."

Geet smiled at Nurse Leslie's efficiency. She knew exactly how Geet worked and how Geet treated her patients and so she was always one step ahead of Geet.

"Thank you," Geet said as she began walking towards room 6.

She quickly scanned the initial nurses report and notes. She had reached the room before she had the change to look at the name on the chart.

"Good afternoon I'm Dr. Handa," she announced.

It was then that her eyes fell on the part of the form where the patients name was listed. She felt the blood drain from her face as she looked up to her new patient.

Sameera Khurana.

Geet suddenly had the urge to just roll on the floor laughing. This had to be some joke – a very mean joke that the universe was playing on her. What other explanation could there be?

Sucking up her emotions and putting them in check, she continued as if it was any other patient.

"I'm Dr. Handa," she said again, "What seems to be the problem Mrs….Mrs. Khurana?"

Geet was surprised to see the patient looking at her with a questioning expression on her face. The patients eyes traveled to Geet's left shoulder as they went big with shock and realization.

"Oh my God," the patient said.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sameera had been lying on the hospital bed for only a few minutes. When she woke up Maan told her that she'd passed out after screaming when they'd been in the lobby. It was then that she remembered the sharp pain in her abdomen before she had fainted. Her throat was dry so she'd sent Maan to get her some ice chips and only seconds later a doctor walked in.

When the doctor had first walked in, Sameera felt like the doctor looked oddly familiar but she couldn't place the face to anyone. But when her eyes fell on the stitching of the white lab coat, she had been shocked.

Geet Handa, M.D.

Obstetrics & Gynecology

"Oh my God," Sameera said as she realized who stood in front of her. "You're her."

"I'm sorry, I'm who?" the doctor asked.

"You're Geet…Geet Handa," Sameera said.

"I'm sorry do I know you?" the doctor asked with an oddly shaky voice.

A sad smile played on her lips as she spoke, "You may not know me but it is impossible to know the Khurana's and not know Naintara's GG. More so, it's impossible to know Maan and not know about his Geet."

She saw the shock register in her doctors face and a flash of pain in her eyes. From the little window on the door, Sameera could see Maan coming back holding a cup of ice.

"You can leave if you like," Sameera offered, "I can wait for another doctor if you don't want to do this."

Sameera winced as her heart rate sped up and she felt another cramp in her abdomen.

"I'm a doctor first and foremost, nothing comes in the way of that," Geet said.

It was that very moment that Maan walked in.

"Here's your…" he began but he became quiet when his eyes fell on the other person in the room.

Sameera watched the two of them silently as they looked at each other shocked, confused and just a little bit hurt.

"So it says here," Geet began as she flipped through the chart, "That you fell unconscious after feeling a pain in your stomach? Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well…" Sameera began, "We were in the lobby and suddenly I felt a sharp pain and the next thing I remember was waking up here."

Geet made notes as she asked, "Do you still have cramping now?"

"Yes, but very slight cramping," Sameera informed.

"Ok, good," Geet said.

"Good…cramping in pregnancy is good?" Maan suddenly asked. "How is that possible?"

"Maan please…" Sameera said as she placed a hand on his hand to calm him.

The last thing they needed a fight.

"It is actually quite common Mr. Khurana," Geet said. "As the pregnancy progresses the uterus contracts and expands. You feel the cramping because the uterus is expanding to make room for the baby."

"So cramping is normal?" Sameera asked.

"Yes, but the sharp cramp is what concerns me," Geet said. "When you were in the lobby what was going on before you had the cramp?"

"Umm…" Sameera hesitated not sure what she should say, or what Maan would want Geet to know.

"It was me," Maan offered, "I lost my temper at something and it went somewhere it shouldn't have gone. I got into an altercation with someone."

"And I was trying to stop him," Sameera said.

"Ok," Geet said as she made notes. "Stress can often cause that kind of a reaction. But just to be safe and sure I'm going to do an ultrasound."

Geet got up and walked over to a cabinet in the room. Pulling a gown out she walked back to Sameera.

"Why don't you get changed into this gown and I'll go see what's keeping the ultrasound machine," Geet said.

With that she walked out but not before pulling the privacy curtain around the bed so that Sameera was shielded from everything else.

Sameera began to sit up when Maan grabbed her arm and helped her up.

"Here let me help," he said as he helped her off the bed and onto her feet.

Sameera was dressed in a pale yellow sundress that reached to her knees. She pulled her hair aside as Maan undid the buttons on the back of her dress and slid the straps off her shoulder. The top half of the dress fell to her waist as he then helped her get into the gown securely tying it behind her back. Once that was done, Sameera shimmied out of the dress and got back up on the table.

"How are you feeling?" Maan asked as he covered her with a sheet.

"Fine, just the slight cramping now and then," Sameera said.

Sameera felt him stroke her hair as he sat in a stool next to her.

"I'm scared," she said as she heard her voice crack and her eyes sting with tears. "What if…"

"Shh…" Maan said as he tried to soothe her, "It's going to be fine…I'm sure this time it's going to be fine."

Sameera felt his lips on her forehead as he held her hands. A soft smile played on her lips as she felt slightly more positive.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Geet was having Nurse Leslie check on the ultrasound machine while she reviewed Sameera's chart again this time really focusing on what she was reading. The last time she'd reviewed the chart had been while she was in the room with Sameera and Maan – her concentration completely shot. This time as she looked at the detailed notes, she felt her heart go out to Sameera.

G2 – P0 – A2

That notation was the thing that all obstetrician looked at first when seeing a patient because that simple sequence could tell them a lot about a patient's reproductive history.

"G" was for Gravida – the number of times a woman had been pregnant.

"P" was for Para – the number of viable, live births the woman had.

"A" was for Abortus – the number of abortions (natural and voluntary) the woman had.

According to Sameera's charts, she had been pregnant twice in the past but none of them had resulted in a live birth, meaning she'd lost both of her babies.

Geet's heart went out to Sameera. As a doctor, it never stopped to amaze her that more pregnancies were unsuccessful than those that were successful.

"Where's that ultrasound machine?" Geet asked rather irritated.

If Sameera was like any other woman who'd suffered miscarriages, she was now lying in that bed with her heart barely beating at the worry that something was wrong again. If Sameera like any other woman who'd suffered miscarriages, she was now holding her breath as she waited to hear what her doctor had to say.

"It's right here," an orderly called.

"Room six," Geet said as she led the way.

She knocked on the door announcing her arrival before she entered the room to find a scared looking Sameera and a frightened Maan.

It was only then that Geet thought about what had to be going through Maan's mind, the loss he too had suffered when his wife had lost their babies. She knew the pain he must have felt seeing his wife crying over their lost children. She knew all too well that Maan Singh Khurana couldn't see his loved ones in pain. Every second that they were in pain, he too was in pain. And from the way he now looked and held Sameera, she knew that Sameera was indeed one of his loved ones.

Her heart went out to husband and father in the man that sat in front of her.

Geet, though not wanting to interrupt the couple, cleared her throat.

"Shall we get started?" Geet asked.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Sameera heard Geet's voice, she immediately let go of Maan's hand and pushed him slightly away from her. She didn't know why but she felt guilty at having Maan. Sameera knew all about Maan and his relationship with Geet. He'd been enough of a gentleman to let her know about his past. She knew the relationship they'd shared, she knew the intense love they'd shared and she also knew why they'd broken up. A part of her knew that she had nothing to feel guilty about because she hadn't been part of their lives and she hadn't caused anything. Yet still, a part of her soul and her heart felt for the loss that Geet had suffered. Sameera felt that her happiness and her wonderful life came at the cost of Geet's happiness. To love someone so much and to be forced to walk away from that person was unimaginable.

Sameera straightened up on the bed as Maan took a small step back giving Geet more room to work.

"When you changed did you notice any spotting?" Geet asked as she got gloves on.

"Spotting?" Sameera and Maan asked at the same time.

Maan's phone rang to life but he ignored it.

"Bleeding…like you'd get sometimes if you were on your period," Geet clarified.

Sameera tried very hard not to laugh at the expression on Maan's face. He was such a typical male. When it came to these female "problems" – as he liked to call them – he couldn't stay far away enough. Since she'd gotten pregnant of course he'd gone to all her appointments but he squirmed whenever the doctor examined her. Sameera knew that she could easily excuse him but she didn't. If she was going to have his baby, the least he could do was suck it up and deal with all the female "problems".

"No, no spotting," Sameera said.

"Good," Geet said.

She pulled the sheet down so that I was riding low on Sameera's pelvis, before rolling the gown up exposing her stomach. To an untrained eye she still looked flat, but to Geet's trained eyes her baby bump was just barely coming in.

"This is going to be cold," Geet said as she squeezed some of the gel on Sameera's stomach.

Sameera gasped as the gold liquid like gel hit her bare skin.

"Let's see how your baby is doing?" Geet said as she took the wand.

She placed the wand on Sameera's stomach and searched for the baby who came into view quickly. Instantly the room was filled with the gushing sound which was the baby's heartbeat.

"Every time I hear it, it amazes me," Maan said as he held onto Sameera's hand.

"I know," Sameera agreed as she watched her child on the small screen.

Maan's phone rang again, but he ignored it again.

"How far along are you again Mrs. Khurana?" Geet asked.

"Sam, please call me Sam," Sameera aside, "And I'm 16 weeks."

"Right, just into your second trimester," Geet said.

"Is the baby ok?" Sameera asked worried, "I've never gotten this far into a pregnancy."

Geet looked back at Sameera and gave her a reassuring smile. It was then that Sameera knew that Geet too knew about the miscarriages she'd suffered in the past. But then of course she did, she was the doctor after all.

"The baby is perfectly fine," Geet said.

Instantly, Maan and Sameera breathed as if they'd been holding their breaths.

"The heart rate is 148 which is normal at this stage," Geet said. "Your baby is about 5.5 or 6 inches long…again…normal."

"So he's ok," Sameera asked.

"Yes," Geet said.

"I told you she'd be fine," Maan said as Sameera frowned.

Geet picked up on the 'he' and 'she' comment.

"Do you know the sex of the baby?" Geet asked.

"No, at my last ultrasound it was too early to tell," Sameera said.

"Would you like to know?" Geet asked.

"No," Sameera said. "We just want a healthy baby. Boy or girl. We'll wait."

Maan's phone rang again.

"Oh for God's sake take the call!" Sameera said as she rolled her eyes.

"It's the detectives," Maan said as he pulled out his phone.

"Go," Sameera said. "I know you want to be there so go…I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Maan asked.

"Yes. We're fine," Sameera said as she placed a hand on her stomach.

"The baby is really ok?" Maan asked as he turned to Geet.

"Yes," Geet said.

"Ok, then I'll be back as soon as I can," Maan said.

Sameera smiled as she felt his lips on her forehead again. When he pulled back, she was horrified at the fact that for a second they'd forgotten that they had someone else in the room. Sameera blushed and felt horrible. Guilt over took her as Maan and Geet exchanged an awkward glance.

Sameera heard Maan whisper something softly as he walked out. She could sear he had just said, "Thank you."

"I know you said you didn't have any spotting but I'd like to examine you if you don't mind," Geet said.

"Of course," Sameera said.

Within a minute, Geet had added stirrups to the bed and Sameera had placed her feet on them giving Geet access to examine her. A few minutes passed in silence as Geet worked on her.

"Ok, everything looks good," Geet said as she took off her gloves and went to wash her hands. "You have some dehydration so I'm going to place you on a normal saline drip for the next few hours."

"Ok," Sameera said.

Sameera was thankful that Geet had held onto that piece of information until Maan had left or else he would have killed her.

"Do you have any other questions?" Geet asked.

Seconds passes in silence. Sameera had questions but did she have the right to ask.

"I was right wasn't I," Sameera said. "You are Maan's Geet."

Geet smiled a sad smile as she shook her head, "No I'm not Maan's Geet."

"But you were," Sameera said, correcting her language usage.

Geet remained silent and Sameera took that as her agreement.

"It's funny how the universe works," Sameera said. "You didn't marry him because of your education and I married for mine."

--------Flash Back--------

Sameera sat behind her desk at Khurana Constructions just having turned in her last final for the associates degree. It was late, but it was not unusual to find her at her desk working away at school work after her shift had ended. Sameera was eighteen and already completing her associates degree thanks to online classes that the University of Phoenix offered. Next up was going to a good college to get her bachelors and eventually go to law school.

Law school had been her dream since she had turned fourteen because of what had happened to her parents. Her father had been a mechanic and they managed to live a comfortable life, but one day that all changed when her father had a stroke leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. Unable to work with his hands, he'd lost his business and any source of income that they had. That is when they had decided to rent out their land to farmers. Sameera's grandfather had left her father a large piece of land which they inhabited. The large stretch of land had just the small house they lived in and the rest was open for development. They had began leasing the land to farmers and were getting a very good income that took care of expenses and her fathers medical bills.

But then, it was all taken away from them. Her uncle, her fathers older brother, falsified documents saying that the property was left to him and not Sameera's father. They had been kicked out of their home and off their property. With what little they had saved Sameera's family managed to rent a small one bedroom apartment, in which Sameera slept on the couch in the living room.

Her mother had gone back to work but for someone without a high school diploma, jobs were few and far between. They had managed to get by somehow until Sameera was sixteen at which point, her fathers growing medical concerns didn't allow for her to continue school because she needed to get a job that not only paid well but also offered health insurance. She'd taken her GED exam, which was equivalent to a high school diploma.

The day she'd passed her test had been the day that she came across a posting online for the position of an administrative assistant for Khurana Constructions. They pay was great and it offered health insurance. She'd been lucky enough to get an interview, which she used to impress the board and get herself hired.

A few months into the job, she worked out a deal with the CEO, her direct boss, which allowed her to stay on after working hours to use the internet which allowed her to go to school online. It had been a struggle but the job had been a God send, not only taking care of her family but also allowing her to pursue her career.

She was going to be a lawyer to get her fathers property back and to make sure that scum's like her uncle couldn't dupe innocent people.

However, on this night as she looked at the letter in her hands she saw her dreams go up in flames. She had been accepted to NYU for her bachelors in criminal justice. The tuition for NYU was not something she could afford so she applied for financial aid, but there had been a problem in the applications. According to the school, due to a clerical error, it looked like there were two people trying to get financial aid on the same social security number. The scholarships that Sameera managed to get had been rescinded. She already had loans for her online degree and she couldn't get any more.

That was it, she was done.

"You ok Sameera?" she heard her boss asked.

Quickly wiping her tears she looked away from him, "Fine…just fine…"

"Are you crying?" he asked.

"No…no just something in my eye," she lied.

Her boss let it go and changed the subject.

"Wasn't today your last final for your AA degree?" he asked.

"Yes…I turned it in already," Sameera said.

"Good…ready for NYU and law school?" he asked.

"That's not happening," Sameera said under her breath.

She quickly gathered her things as she mumbled an excuse and then said good night before she rushed out of the office, not noticing the piece of paper she'd left behind. She'd cried herself to sleep that night.

The next day she was sitting at her desk when her boss called her.

"Come to my office please Sam," he said.

"Right away Maan Sir, will I be taking down a dictation?" she asked.

"No," Maan said as he hung up.

Sameera walked into his office to find him sitting behind the desk working on his laptop. When he saw her, he closed what he was doing and focused on her.

"You left your letter behind," Maan said as he placed the piece of paper on the desk. "I'm sorry but I read it."

Sameera's face went pale when she saw what paper it was.

"Why didn't you tell me Sam?" Maan asked.

"It isn't your problem," she said frankly.

"But what if I have the solution," he said.

Sameera looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You see…my parents recently died…" Maan began.

Sameera took a seat as she listened to what had been going on in her bosses life the past few weeks.

"So you see…I need to give my sister what she needs…and for that I need a wife," Maan said.

"But…aren't you involved with someone?" Sameera asked.

Though no one at the office knew who the girl was, they knew that there was someone in Maan's life.

"That is not a problem anymore…" Maan said. "So will you marry me?"

Sameera was shocked not only at the proposal but the coldness of his voice. It was something she'd never heard before.

"But…I…." Sameera stuttered.

"I'll pay for all of you schooling, no matter how far you want to go in your education. I'll take care of all of your fathers medical bills and of course I'll take care of your family. You just have to agree to be Mrs. Khurana," he said. "Keep in mind this isn't going to be a true marriage…just a marriage of convenience…we can draw up a contract if you like so long as you understand that you shouldn't have any expectations from me in the marriage."

Sameera sat there speechless not sure of what to do.

"So will you marry me Sam?" Maan repeated.

"Umm…can I have some time to think about it?" Sameera asked.

"Yes of course," Maan said.

Sameera walked back to her desk but got no work done the rest of the day. When she got home she found her mom at the table going through the mail.

"I might have to get a second job," her mother said.

"Why Mamma?" Sameera asked.

"These co-payment bills for your fathers treatment are stacking up. I just don't know what to do," her mother said as her voice cracked.

Sameera took her mother into her arms as tears filled her own eyes. At that point, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

---------------------

"Yes, I'll marry you," Sameera said as she walked into Maan's office in the morning the next day.

"Ok," Maan said.

Two weeks later, all of her fathers medical bills had been settled. Two weeks later, she stood with 15 other NUY students ready for freshman orientation. Two weeks later, she was Mrs. Maan Singh Khurana.

--------Present--------

Geet stood there with tears in her eyes. She felt Sameera's pain, desperation and helplessness for her parents. She didn't know what to say. What did you tell someone who just poured their heart out to you? Was there anything for you to say?

"If you had come into our lives five months ago…I would have walked away from him," Geet heard Sameera say, bringing her back from her thoughts.

"What?" Geet asked not sure she had heard right.

"I would have walked away from him…I would have walked away to give your future a chance…but…now…now I can't," Sameera said as she placed a hand on her stomach where her baby lay. "I'm so sorry."

Geet heard Sameera's voice crack as tears welled in her eyes.

"Don't be sorry because I'm not," Geet said.

"But you loved him so much," Sameera reminded.

"I did, I loved him…past tense…" Geet pointed out.

The two women looked at each other silently.

"Maan and Geet may have had a past…but…they have no future," Geet said as she turned to leave.

Another silent moment passed between them before Geet turned to leave.

"Thank you," Sameera said.

"No problem. I'll be back in a while to check up on you," Geet said.

"No not just for the check up…but thank you for everything," Sameera said. "I have the life that I have because of you…because of your sacrifice."

Geet smiled at Sameera and thought that Naina had been right; she truly was a sweet and kind hearted person.

"Don't thank me, I didn't do anything," Geet said. "You have the life you have because that is how destiny wrote it. Your life is your life because that's how it was meant to be."

Saying that, Geet left the room, her own words resonating in her mind.

What's meant to be…is what's meant to be.