FF: You & I...Collide Part13 pg145 July 27 - Page 11

The New York loft stood quiet at this time of night. The sole inhabitant – Maan Singh Khurana - sleeping soundly in his custom made bed in of the master bedroom. It was the sound of a sudden ringing that broke the peaceful silence. It was the light from a phone that broke the darkness as well.

A groan could be heard, and then a small click, followed by a beep – then it was silence and darkness again. However it was short lived. The ringing began again, only to be turned off again. This time, the phone was stuffed under a pillow to stop the racket. Though it did no good because only seconds after it was shut down, the ringing started again.

"What the hell," he grumbled.

Maan, who was lying on his stomach, pulled his head out from under the covers and opened his eyes. It took them a few seconds to adjust to the darkness in the room, when they finally rested on the clock that was his bed side table. The time read 1:00am.

He groaned out loud. It had been one hell of a day at work, quite possibly one of the longest he's had since he started the company. This new project was going to be the death of him, he was sure. He had only gotten home an hour ago. He hadn't bothered to change or eat or do anything, he simply came to his bed and flopped down, falling asleep instantly.

His phone began to ring again.

Who is calling me at this time?

He rolled onto his back and ran a frustrated hand through his hair, and reached for his phone just as it stopped ringing.

"Son of a…" he began to complain.

After getting up and everything the damned thing stopped ringing. Just as he was about to turn around and go back to sleep, it rang again. Looking at the screen, he frowned at the number that flashed because he didn't recognize it.

What area code is 323? Was it out of state?

He clicked the answer button and placed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he said groggily.

There was silence.

"Hello?" he called again.

Still silence.

He took the phone from his ear and looked to see if he was still connected. Sure enough he was.

"Hello?" he tried again.

Still nothing.

"Look, why did you call if…" he began to yell.

"Hello…" came a soft voice at the other end.

The sound of the voice threw Maan off for just a second because somewhere in the back of his mind, it sounded familiar.

"Who's this?" he asked.

Silence – again.

Maan was on the edge of reaching through the phone and strangling the person at the other end of this phone call.

"Maan…" the voice called in nearly a whisper.

Instantly, his heart stopped beating. He knew that voice because he knew exactly how his name sounded when that voice called it.

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

They had met secretly in the outhouse using candles to illuminate the room. She had been busy all day with school projects and exam prep, therefore, she had promised him a surprise. After all, it was his birthday. He sat patiently in the upstairs room while she got her surprise ready. Maan Singh Khurana was not a patient man, but for Geet Handa he'd be everything and anything.

"Ok, you can come now," he heard her sweet voice call.

He shot to his feet immediately and nearly ran to her. But his steps stilled as he was half way down the stairs. The warm glow of the candles was so magical that it took him off guard. As he made the rest of the way down, he saw the entire living room decorated with candles, balloons and flowers. In the middle was a small round table, covered with a black table cloth and on it sat a small cake with candles burning on top. Next to that stood Geet – his Geet – dressed in a pink and white summer dress, a smile on her face and sparkle in her eyes. It took his breath away.

She must have noticed he was not paying attention, because she came up to him, slipped her hand into his and pulled him towards the table. Once they reached it, she handed him the knife.

"I hate celebrating my birthday," he wined.

She paid no attention to him.

"Make a wish before you blow out the candle," she reminded.

He looked at her and smiled, then leaned in and blew out the tiny flames that danced on the candles.

"What did you wish for?" she asked excited.

"Nothing," he said.

"Nothing?" she asked, confused.

He quickly wrapped his right hand around her waist and pulled her in close causing her to gasp and put her hands on his chest to brace herself.

"I already have what I want…you," he said as he leaned in to kiss her.

He was surprised when she turned her face causing his lips to meet her cheek instead.

"Cut the cake birthday boy," she insisted as she pushed him away.

"You know I hate celebrating my birthday," Maan complained again.

"Yes," she acknowledged, "But I love cake…now cut."

Maan followed the order set out by his girlfriend of just over a year.

He couldn't fight the smile that spread across his face as he heard her clap her hands together and sing the birthday song for him. She took the knife from him and used it to cut a slice. Taking the slice into her hand, she held it up for him.

He leaned in to take a bite when suddenly he felt something cold and mushy on his face. He didn't know what had happened except that he was now wearing that slice of cake on his face instead of it being in his mouth. Anger raced through his body but when he heard her laugh, it was drenched by ice cold water. He watched her silently, cake sliding down his face, as she threw her head back and laughed. He didn't know how long he watched her, but by the time he came out of his reserve, she was holding her stomach and trying to catch her breath.

"I've been dying to do that," she said between gasps of air.

Now, Maan was back to reality.

"You little…" he began, "Just you wait."

He turned for a second and grabbed a handful of cake.

"No Maan…" she yelped as she ran.

He turned to see her running around the house trying to save herself. He chased after her, just a few feet away. He had nearly caught her when she threw a pillow from the couch at him causing him to drop the cake. Before he knew it, she had opened the door and ran outside into the yard. When he got to the open door, he saw her standing about thirty feet away, her tongue sticking out at him.

"You wait Geet Handa…I'll get you back for this," he said as he stepped out.

Almost instantly, the heavens opened up and it began to pour. He heard her laugh through the rain as he cursed.

Just what I need!

Though it wasn't hard to see, he followed the sound of her anklet and could tell she was headed back to the house. He retraced his own steps back to the house.

He saw her standing in the middle of the hall panting, trying to catch her breath. She began to take steps back as he walked forward towards her.

"Stop, don't…" she said with each step.

He wasn't going to back down. He saw her shocked expression as she back into the wall by the fire place. She nearly tripped over something when she reached up to grab the mantle to balance herself.

"Ouch," she yelled as her index finger came into contact with the flames of a candle.

"Geet," he yelled as he ran to her.

She cradled her scorched finger in her hand as he grabbed it. Without a second thought, he stuck the finger in his mouth.

"I'm fine," he heard her say.

With her finger still in his mouth, he looked up at her and saw a slight blush on her cheeks. He pulled the finger out but held onto her hand. She looked amazingly sultry under the candle light. Her wet hair was turning into its natural curls, as her dress clung to her like second skin.

He began placing feather light kisses across her arm. When he felt her shiver under his touch, it drove him wild.

He put one had on each side of her, casing her in.

"Now I've got you," he said in her ear.

He placed a kiss on her shoulder.

She gasped and grabbed him.

"Stop," she pleaded half-heartedly.

He placed a kiss on her collar bone.

"Please," she said.

He brought his lips to her neck.

"Please…Maan…" she begged.

He stopped and let her go. God, how he loved when she said his name.

God save me.

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers as he stifled a groan.

"Why do you do this to me?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

He heard her giggle. It did not help his libido, which was already in overdrive.

She put her hands on his shoulders and let them linger for a second before she pushed him away.

"Happy Birthday," she said in possibly the most velvety voice he'd ever heard.

She the pushed herself onto her toes and pressed her soft lips against his. She taster like strawberries.

He lost himself in the kiss as his arms wrapped around her and he drew her in. But suddenly she broke apart, knowing he was getting too excited, he let her do so.

She leaned in, her arms still braced on his shoulder. He could feel her breath on his ear and it was driving him mad.

"I love you…" she said.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight.

"…Maan."

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

He scrambled as he sat up, nearly falling off the bed because he hadn't realized how close he'd been to the edge of the bed.

Could it be? After all there years could it really be?

"Hello…" he began, "Who is this?"

Again there was silence.

"Anyone there?" he asked.

A moment later, there was a response.

"Hello…" the voice called.

The difference in this tone was evident.

I knew it couldn't be. My mind must be playing tricks on me.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"This is Dr. Mehta from UCLA hospital in Los Angeles," the person said.

Maan was utterly confused. What was a UCLA doctor calling him at this time of night?

"Are you Mr. Khurana?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Maan said. "How can I help you?"

After a moments pause the man spoke again, "This is about your sister."

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

Geet had been sitting in the conference room for twenty minutes just staring at the phone, unable to gather up the courage to dial his number. Finally, she talked herself into calling because Naina needed her brother. With shaking fingers, she dialed the number and held her breath as it rang…and rang…and rang.

He wasn't answering the phone.

She called again, and again got no answer. After the fourth call she was getting annoyed and was ready to give him a piece of her mind. No one calls this many times just to have friendly chat, obviously there is some sort of emergency.

She was going to give it one last try, but she was sure he wasn't going to answer.

"Hello?" she heard over the phone.

The sound of his voice made her gasp. His voice always sent butterflies through her stomach and chills down her spine. Despite the fact that so much time had passed, it still had an effect on her and she didn't like it one bit.

Now Geet faced a dilemma – what was she supposed to do now? She was so set to simply tell him what happened and she'd have done her duty. But now that he was on the other end of the phone, she couldn't find her voice. She somehow managed to say hello, but then she began to choke.

"Hey I…" someone called as the entered the conference room.

It was Adi.

Thank you Babaji.

She immediately handed him the phone when he was within reach. Adi looked at her confused as he put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" Adi said.

He proceeded to introduce himself. However, after that was done he didn't know what to say because this was Geet's call.

She grabbed a pen from her pocket and a piece of paper, where she scribbled down what Adi needed to say.

Once he confirmed that he was Maan, Geet instructed Adi what else to say. It took a few minutes but Adi managed to tell Maan what he needed to know at that moment. After hanging up, Adi turned and looked at Geet.

"Thanks," she said as she got up and began to gather her things.

"Oh no you don't," Adi said as he too got to his feet. "You can't just walk away after that."

Geet picked up the charts she was working on.

"What was that?" he asked, still confused.

"That was the brother for one of my patients," Geet said.

"The 19yr old sexual assault patient?" Adi asked.

Geet simply nodded her head.

Her back was to him but she still felt him come up close behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"What's going on Geet?" he asked. "You've been acting weird since that case came in."

"It's just…" Geet began.

She felt her shoulders sag as she sighed.

"Geet if this case is too much for you, give it to the attending on duty," Adi said. "It's not even your field."

"I have to take care of this case…" Geet said.

"Why?" Adi asked, "Clearly it's affecting you more than it should."

Geet smiled – he knew her too well.

"They are people from my past," Geet said.

"Oh, is the brother like the ex or something?" Adi asked as he nudged her.

Geet gave a fake giggle.

"Yeah…something like that," Geet said.

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

Geet had spent the next few hours helping out in the ER because they were short staffed. She had to keep running between the new patients that were coming and Naina, because she refused anyone to treat her except Geet. She was just signing off on a chart when she looked up at the clock.

She saw Adi come up to the counter and begin to work on a chart.

"Do me a favor," Geet began.

"Anything for you," Adi said with a wink.

Geet smiled.

"Naina's brother will be here soon, can you keep an eye out for him?" Geet asked.

"Naina?" Adi asked, not sure who she was talking about.

"I mean Naintara Khurana," Geet said. "Patient in triage room 4."

"Oh, the brother we…I mean I…called," Adi said.

"Yeah, that's the one," Geet said.

"Sure," Adi said as he closed the chart. "What's his name?"

She watched as Adi put the pen away in his pocket, but Geet's eyes glazed over as she remembered the first time she'd heard his name.

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

Geet's was fifteen and friend Pinky had dragged her to a garba function out in Fullerton. Geet had tried and tried to get out of it but no excuse she came up with did her any good. She was dressed in a blue and green outfit that was nearly a perfect match for Pinky's. They had entered the hall and already the fun was in full swing. People of all ages were dancing to the music with the dandiyas and having a great time.

Geet, being totally unfamiliar with the setting, stood against the wall while Pinky made her mandatory rounds of greeting the uncles and aunties of their community. Pinky finally found time for Geet and dragged her over to the table where refreshments were being served. Pinky was blabbering on and on about how Arjun, a childhood friend, was back in town and she couldn't wait to see him. Apparently she'd had a huge crush on him.

Pinky had been telling Geet about who Arjun had chased her with a stick when they were five and six respectively, when her eye caught something.

He was walking towards them, dressed in a simple white kurta set, looking more amazing than anyone else there. She was completely lost in him. There was an aura about him that just didn't let her look away. It was only when he turned his head and looked down that Geet saw he was walking with a little girl.

The two of them stopped just a few feet short of her and Pinky. While he proceeded to pour some punch into a glass, Geet took Pinky by the hand off to the side. Before Geet could ask Pinky anything, someone came up and started conversation. While Geet waited for Pinky to become available, she silently watched the man in white.

He had filled the glass with punch and was now kneeling on the floor in front of the little girl. He held the glass up to her lips so she could drink. As she took a sip, Geet watched as he held one hand under her chin so that nothing would spill.

"Who is that?" Geet asked Pinky.

"Who?" Pinky asked.

"That…" Geet said as she pointed to the man by the table.

The man was now wiping the little girls mouth.

"Oh that….that's Maan Singh Khurana," Pinky said.

"Who's the kid?" Geet asked.

"His sister," Pinky said.

"What?" Geet asked shocked. "How old is he and how old is she?"

Pinky laughed.

"He is eighteen, already a sophomore in college," Pinky said. "He's a total nerd just like you…skipped a whole bunch of grades and all."

Hmm…Impressive.

"And the cutie with him is his seven year old sister…Naintara," Pinky finished.

Geet's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"She's seven?!" Geet asked.

"Yeah…late in life surprise of sorts," Pinky said as she pointed out an older looking couple in the crowd. "They are adorable though aren't they?"

Geet eyed the man and his sister, who by now were walking to join their parents.

"What was his name again?" Geet asked.

"Maan Singh Khurana," Pinky said again.

Maan Singh Khurana, I like the sound of that.

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

Geet was brought back to reality only when she felt someone shaking her.

"Geet," Adi called. "What's his name?"

"Uh…" Geet said as she blinked a few times. "Maan…Maan Singh Khurana."

With that, she picked up Naina's chart and walked towards the room where was. She stopped short outside the door and looked in. She thought about the difference between the seven year old she'd first seen and the nineteen year old that now lay battered on the stretcher.

How did she get like this?

"Naina," Geet called.

"Yeah," she replied from behind the curtain.

"How are you feeling?" Geet asked as she came around the corner.

Naina said nothing.

"How's the pain?" Geet asked.

"Better after I took the medication the nurse brought," she said.

"Good…" Geet said. "Can I examine you?"

Naina didn't say anything or move.

Geet began to check her wounds and bruises.

"Oh my God," Geet said, "Why isn't this cut stitched up?"

Geet removed gauze from a wound on her forehead and was shocked to see how deep it was. It should have been stitched up long ago. Geet didn't wait for an answer because she already knew why she hadn't had it taken care of. Geet left the room and returned soon with a suture kit. She put on gloves before picking up a syringe with some local anesthetic.

"This is going to sting," Geet said.

She used one hand to hold Naina's head and the other poked the wound with the syringe. She heard Naina yelp in pain.

"Just a second and then you won't feel anything," Geet reassured.

Geet stepped away from Naina and went to the tray that had the suture needle and thread.

"I called him," Geet said as she got the needle ready.

"Bhai?" Naina questioned.

Geet simply nodded his head.

They both fell silent for a while. Geet was just about done preparing the needle when Naina spoke again.

"You know he got married right?"