Part 44
January 3rd 8:45 am
Ridhima yawned as she stretched out her body, her eyes closing tight as the muscles stretched out, and the tiredness seem to leave her for a few minutes. Opening her eyes and blinking away the tears in her eyes that had formed while yawning, Ridhima looked at the charts in front of her.
Taking out a pencil, with a book next to her, she went over the xrays and tried finding the right abnormalities. She had got up early in the morning when she had been paged about Rajeev's progress. She had rushed out of the bed, as she responded to the pager, and gotten to the hospital as soon as she could.
Looking at Rajeev sleeping peacefully, she had taken his pulse and heart rate, seen his responses to different stimuli and then prescribed him another dose of painkillers when the nurse had told her that he had been complaining of pain. Ridhima had stared at him for a while, seeing a broken father, a person who craved for a family, a father who craved for his daughter's presence.
She had been reminded of the time when she had found her adoption story. She remembered the helplessness that had taken over as she had stared at Shashank and Anjali, trying to find her blood relations, but unable to. She had remembered crying at night, wondering about her real family, wondering why she had been adopted. She had remembered craving for her real parents' presence. But then through Anjali's support, she had found that the family she had been craving for, had been with her all along, they had seen her grow up, they had given her everything she could ask for, and they had showered her with all the love.
Her real family had been Shashank and Anjali, and now she could not imagine a single day without seeing any of their faces. Even the thought of being separated from them spread ice cold fear through her insides.
Which is why when she had stared at Rajeev Malhotra peacefully sleeping in his bed, she had glanced at the picture beside his bed of his daughter. And her heart had pinched at the way he had been separated from her. She did not know the circumstances, but having experienced a sort of helplessness at not finding her family, she knew that she wanted Rajeev to meet his.
She wanted to reunite Rajeev with his daughter. And she would.
January 3rd 2:15 pm
Armaan rubbed his eyes tiredly as he rested his head on the table in front of him. His eyes scanned the crowd of the cafeteria before he let out a disgruntled grumble at not finding Ridhima. He checked his pager to see no page from her, and let his head drop back to the table in a defeated sigh.
He had no seen her the entire day today, and he could feel a restlessness settle in his stomach. He wasn't sure what it was, but he needed to see Ridhima to calm his nerves, to know everything was alright. Pushing the chair back, he got up abruptly and went outside the cafeteria, forgetting about the lunch he had ordered.
He turned into a hallway and saw as a flash of red turned the corner to move to another hallway. He smirked, and jogged towards it, hoping not to lose sight of it. As he turned the corner he saw Ridhima briskly walking down the corridor, holding a stack of files, her hair tied back loosely. He jogged up to her, and saw the fire-escape that was close to where she was walking. Grabbing her by the waist, he heard her give out a gasp, and pulled her inside the fire-escape before she could scream out anything. The stack of files lay forgotten on the floor outside the fire-escape.
He held her firmly by the waist to support her so she wouldn't fall, and let a smile spread across his face at her shocked expression.
"Armaan!" She exclaimed, pushing him lightly at the shoulder, "You scared me half to death!" She shook her head in exasperation, and tried moving past him, but Armaan pushed her against the wall, pushing his body into hers, trapping her against it. She let out another small gasp, and her eyes flew to his as colour flushed her cheeks, tempting him to brush his lips against the cheeks.
He gave her a dimpled smile, and let his lips hover next to her ear, his breath making her hair lightly flutter, making her tremble in his arms, "I couldn't resist" He whispered, inhaling her flowery scent, letting his eyes close as the scent invaded his senses. His hands travelled from her waist, to the small of her back, pushing her further into his body, and Ridhima's hand rested on his chest, a smile playing at the corner of her lips.
"Armaan Malik, if you don't let me go this instant, you will regret it" Ridhima said, narrowing her eyes challenging him, while Armaan raised an eyebrow. He brushed his nose against hers, finding any excuse to come closer to her and whispered, "Make me, Basket. Because I sure as hell am not going to let you go voluntarily" He whispered, angling his head to the side so his lips came closer to hers. Ridhima's lips parted as her breath hitched, and Armaan's eyes focussed on her lips hat trembled at the closeness.
Ridhima held her breath as she clutched handfuls of Armaan's shirt and whispered, "Someone could walk in"
"Nobody will" He told her, his eyes darting from her eyes to her lips, silently seeking permission, but Ridhima spoke before he could kiss her,
"How can you be so sure?"
"Basket" He groaned, "did anyone tell you, that you talk a lot?" He asked, his hand trailing along her back, his fingers marking the dips and curves of her body, his mind screaming at him to kiss her, but he looked into her eyes to see them dancing with mirth,
"Fine, I'll keep quiet, only if you promise to let me go" She said, biting her lip making Armaan groan. He dropped his head to her shoulder and closed his eyes, relishing in the comfort and softness of her body. She let her hands travel along his shoulders, wrapping them around his neck, and resting her head on his chest, letting out a small sigh. He held her tight, hugging her to his body and whispered, "If I let you go, you'll go away"
She let out a small laugh and said, "I have work to do, Armaan"
"Forget about the work" He pouted, his eyes still closed and his head still resting on her shoulder, his arms wrapped around her tiny waist, pulling her flush against his body.
"I have to tend to the patients, Armaan" She said, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice, but failing.
"Forget the patients" He pouted, and then turned his head to let his lips brush against her neck, making Ridhima gasp, and her hands to clutch onto his shoulders tightly.
"I have paperwork to catch up on" She whispered, her voice losing the humour as his lips trailed the length of her neck,
"Forget the paperwork" He whispered, his hands settling on the curve of her waist, as he let his lips trace her jaw.
"I have to report to Dr. Keerti" She whispered huskily,
"Forget Dr. Keerti" He told her, his voice an octave lower as his lips trailed from her jaw to her cheek, his breath washing over her face, making Ridhima's lips tremble and eyelids flutter.
"I have to scrub in on a surgery"
"Forget the surgery" He told her, his hold on her slackening, as his lips got closer to her lips. Ridhima had her eyes shut tight, as her breath shortened when Armaan's lips hovered over hers. He looked over her face, a small smile resting on his face as he saw the vulnerability yet the sheer beauty that she possessed. He leaned forward and let his breath wash over her lips, seeing her tongue dart out to moisten her lips. His eyes were flickering between her closed eyes and her parted lips, wanting to rush the moment, but at the same time wanting to savor every second of it.
He leant closer, his lips got closer to hers, and he closed his eyes, his heart hammering against his chest as he felt the softness of her lips against his firm ones. She let out a small sigh as Armaan covered her lips with his. He caught her bottom lip in his, as he expertly moved his lips over hers, tenderly and lovingly kissing her, expressing everything he felt for her.
Ridhima tentatively moved her lips with his at the start, before the feelings took over and she let herself get lost within the kiss. Armaan's insides filled with warmth of happiness as he felt Ridhima reciprocate with equal eagerness, and he pushed her firmly against the wall, a hand coming to rest against her head, while the other held her body firmly against hers.
A strange beeping in the background seem to break through the haze that had filled his mind, and he slowly broke away, panting as the beeping got louder. Ridhima looked at him dazed for a few minutes, before she snapped back to reality and realised that it was her pager that was beeping. She immediately took it out, and bit her lip in nervousness.
"I have to go" She told him, her cheeks still flushed with colour, and her lips slightly swollen from the kiss they had shared. Armaan grinned at her, as he nodded and moved back to let her go. Ridhima met his eyes, the colour not leaving her cheeks, as she tentatively moved past him. Armaan's eyes followed her every move, his heart still erratically beating against his chest and an odd sense of contentment filling him.
January 4th 1:00 am
"My daughter is missing"
The police officer glanced at the man sitting in front of him and felt a twinge of pity. The man, who looked from a good home with a good career, had his hair in a complete disarray, his eyes held panic and fear, while his skin was pasty white. The officer nodded and took a sip of his tea, taking out the large file to type in the F.I.R
"How long ago?" He asked, getting to the point, and sitting upright on his chair.
"I..." The man hesitated, running a trembling hand through his greying hair, "I am..not sure" He admitted, his eyes filling with tears as his leg twitched in nervousness. The officer let out a disappointed sigh and looked at the girl sitting next to him, looking in her early 20s.
"Can you tell me any useful information?" He asked, her and saw as she jumped slightly at being addressed. She looked at the old man sitting next to her, and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I saw her at 5 pm, today" She told the officer, her face frowning as she tried remembering. The officer shook his head as he looked at the clock.
"So lets say she went missing after 5. That means it's been less than 8 hours since she has been missing" The officer explained to both of them, and he saw as the girl's eyes widened in realization to what the officer was trying to say, "I cannot file in the report for another 16 or so hours" He told them and saw as the father looked at him wildly, his eyes getting wider in anger.
"What do you mean?" He screamed, getting up from his chair, and the girl next to him stood up with him, trying to calm him down,
"Papa" She said, "Please calm down"
The father shook his daughter's hand from his shoulder and put his hands intimidatingly on the table, "I have connections. Lots of them. You find me my daughter NOW" He screamed, his face taking on an ugly snarl as the officer looked at him unfazed.
"Call whomever you want" He told him, his eyes narrowing, feeling sick at the corruption that plagued the country, "but I am not going to file the report till at least 24 hours are up"
The father sat down on the chair defeated as his whole body shook with the intensity of his sobs. The girl next to him tried calming him down, looking at the officer helplessly.
The officer sighed as he looked at the sight. He had children, he could only imagine what the man was experiencing right now. He leaned back forward on the table and looked at the two people in front of him sympathetically.
"I cannot file an official report right now" He told them, and the girl looked at him confused while the father continued to cry, "But I can start the process of sending out a picture and details to other police stations" He told them, and took out the file to take in the details.
"What's her name and what's her relation to you" He asked them, a pen in his hand as he got ready to take down the details.
The girl straightened up in her chair, and he noticed that she tried composing herself before she opened her mouth,
"Ridhima Gupta and she is my sister" She whispered, her voice wavering in trying to hold in her fear and tears.
The black was obviously in the Police Officer's POV :)
Hope you enjoyed it!
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