Chapter ' Lost and Found
PRESENT
It was only a week later that Chotu was able to manage and find Arjun but his condition pierced his heart. All the time in ETF he had seen Arjun to be a tough officer but now surrounded by various equipments and tubes and fighting every moment for his life . He was hurt and he knew so his team would be too.
Without wasting any more time the best team of the doctors was called and the preparations to move him back to Mumbai began.
XYZ Hospital
The hands of the clock were slower than usual. It had been three hours and still the doctors were in the OT with no update what so ever in his condition. Everyone present had tears in their eyes by the mere thought of Arjun being in danger , no matter how much he used to shout at them at the end of the day it was him who had always pushed them to do there best
Aloof from everyone there was only one person who had her eyes glued to the horizon outside, it was a day like this when she had understood the gravity of her relationship with him and instead of fighting with her heart she gave in to its pleading and had finally accepted being in love with the otherwise ruthless Cop.
From that day he was her Arjun'..
That time also he was fighting for his life and today also nothing had changed .Today also her heart had won
PAST
The ETF SUVs zoomed past the traffic not caring for any signals to turn green, there only aim was to reach to the hospital soon before anything happened to him. They were chasing a criminal and had under estimated the number of people which helped him. Even though the ETF was outnumbered but they had still managed to gun down everyone and catch the culprit.
But as they say there is always someone who will attack you from behind and same thing had happened with them only Arjun realized that before anyone else could and came in between the bullet and her. Riya had no idea how had she managed to get into the SUV and how had they steered Arjun in the hospital. She was still in a state of shock and was numbed till core as to how things changed in mere seconds
"Riya , Tu Theek hai"
She could only manage to nod in response to Shree queries. Those 3 hours were the longest hours in her life when she finally accepted the fact that she had indeed fallen for Arjun .It didn't really matter as if people saw it correct or not but in her heart she was happy and a sense of calmness spread through her . A simple acceptance had brought happiness all around and she was sure that everything will be fine
"Shree , Riya ko kuch zyada hi shock lag gaya hai "
"Sahi keh raha hai tu Chotu , dekh kaise smile kar rahi hai "
It was after 3 hours that Doctors had come out to inform that Arjun was fine and the bullets had been removed. A collective Sigh was heard in th room and each eye had tears of happiness.
"Shree , Chotu tum log ghar jao and rest karo "
"Riya , tum bhi ghar jao , aaj ka din kafi hectic gaya hai "
All the protest died in their mouths when they saw the no nonsense expression on the face of their chief which usually meant that there was no way that they could defy his orders even though they wanted too.
Night had passed in a jiffy and next morning everyone was back in hospital at dawn. Arjun was healing but was on medication thus was sleeping by the time the team had arrived. Everyone had gathered around his bed only to marvel at the fighting spirit of the man.
It wasn't until the third day that Arjun had opened his eyes much to relief of the team and they weren't surprised as the first question he asked was about the case. Once he was back in his senses a fresh lease of life was built amongst everyone. They all used to come to meet him, Many times and he tried to look at Riya but she just gave him her usual smile and was always present with everyone but not alone. It had hurt him a lot to see such indifference
She used to come at the time when he would never be able to catch her or ask her the questions it was only in the night when he was fast asleep she used to be next to him taking in everything she could of the man who had made her heart beat again. She would never have thought that she was capable of loving again but then Arjun was always special from the very beginning
It was the 5th night when she had heard him moaning in pain, the effect of the medication was slowly wearing off and he was a pain that he had to bear. She had caressed his hair and slowly the frowns had started to disappear. She didn't realize how much time she spent like this until her back started to ache but still she couldn't move from her place. Her presence was removing his pain and just for that she was willing to tolerate anything. Once she was sure that he was in deep sleep she got up to move to the couch not before placing a lingering kiss on his forehead.
Next day Arjun woke feeling calm, he always used to wonder that he had seen the love in Riya eyes but why she wasn't around him anytime. It's not that she didn't come to meet him but always Shree or Chotu used to accompany her. As far he had understood women if she used loved him then she would be next to him the whole time but maybe he wasn't meant to be loved like this.
"Good Morning Mr Rawte "
"Morning Doctor Malhotra"
"I came to know that you were in pain yesterday night, do you want me to continue with a high dose of sedatives"
"I am really not sure of the pain , Infact I guess I had the best sleep since ages"
" Hmm , in that case I need to check with Ms Dutta as she had informed me that you were in pain last night "
"Ms Dutta, as in Riya Dutta "
"Yes Officer, She is the one who stays for the night incase you need anything"
"Thanks Doc, but I won't need any sedatives for tonight and I need a discharge by tomorrow "
"No Officer, you need to- But he was stopped on receiving the glare from Arjun
So Miss Dutta was the night guardian, no wonder he always used to wake up engulfed in her essence. He had ignored it as a figment of his imagination but he now knew that he was correct. He just needed to wait tonight to see her again.
Night Time
He was in pain but it was a very small price that he would have to pay to see what Ms Dutta does in the night. He was eagerly waiting for the day where she might care for him the same way he did and maybe today would he get a glimpse of it.
Unaware of anything Riya had came at her time in his cabin and taken the couch and as usual was looking at him seeing for any signs of discomfort but found none. They say when any of your senses are closed the others work at a faster speed so even his eyes were closed he could make out every moment. He knew every time she turned or sighed and it was past mid night he could feel her approaching towards him, she kissed his forehead and he could feel the pain go away.
Next Day
As decided by Arjun he was discharged the next day much to annoyance of Sameer who knew that Arjun would have threatened the doctor. The whole team was present at the hospital while there Akdu cop was discharged.
"Shree, Chotu, You guys leave for the office. I will join you after sometime "
"Riya, I'll take Arjun if you want you can also leave "
"No sir, I'll leave with you. Let's get Arjun Sir settled first "
"Rathore, let Riya come at least lunch issues toh solve ho jayenge"
"Lunch Issues Arjun Sir "
"Riya, can't you cook for me?
"Hmm'.I ..I mean okies Sir "
The whole drive was silent with Riya stealing occasional glances at Arjun who hadn't even bothered to acknowledge her presence apart from her cooking issues.
"Damn this Man, why had to she fall in love with him..HUH"
"Riya, did you say anything "
They had reached the apartment, earlier than they would have thought so and once inside the apartment came the difficult job.
"Rathore , you can leave Riya hai yahan , theek hain a Riya "
"Ji Sir ,aap Office jaye, Main Sir ke saath thodi der hun"
"Let me help you then, Arjun Chalo tumhe bedroom tak chod deta hun "
"Sir , ill manage "
"Achha his room is '"
"The left one , I'll take him"
"Riya, Tumhe kaisa pata mera bedroom kaunsa hai "Arjun asked with surprise etched on his face
Riya had turned a deep shade of red first by embrassment and then the memories of the night that came along with it .
"Guess kiya "
"Rathore, finally Riya ke instincts bhi sharp ho gaye hain "
Sameer eyes oscillated between a smirking Arjun and a visibly embarrassed Riya who was looking everywhere not at them, something was definitely missing, but he was happy for his friend . Things were definitely looking good
"Riya , let me still help you , who kya hain a Arjun dikhta lean hai hai bas ..weight shayad tume le na pao"
"Arre Rathore, Weight training karva denge future main zaroorat ho sakti hai "
"kyun Arjun , Riya ko dumbeels ke jagah tumhe utha hai kya "
Amidst the talks much to her discomformt which both of her seniors were enjoying ,they had finally got Arjun settled in his bedroom and Rathore had left leaving the other two alone .
"Riya , Kitchen ka rasta toh tumhe pata hai na "
"Ji , Par "
"Par Kya Riya , Main hospital ka khana khakar kar thak gaya hun "
"Haan , hospital ka kahan accha kahan hota hai "
She sat next to him looking out the window but was irked by the feeling of being watched .She wasn't surprised when she saw Arjun looking at her intently.
"Aapko kuch chaiya "
"Haan "
"Kya "
"Khana "
"Ji"
"Tumhe shayad KITCHEN main jakar LUNCH banana hai and then OFFICE jana hai , yaad aaya "
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This man would really be the end of her, A 28 year old child 'yes that what he was. She just wanted to spend some time with him but no; he wanted to eat first 'him and his stupid appetite. So here she was in his kitchen trying to make a khichdi that too with the help of Google.
"Riya ...Riya " she ran towards him
"You can cook na "
"Of course I can " she answered visibly irritated
"Anything else , No just wanted to confirm "
She had just turned to leave when she heard "Riya pass me the magazine "
In the past an hour that she was there this man had made his life hell, he was literally calling her after every 10 mins , just to ask her stupid questions like what the time, pass another magazine or just asking updates on her cooking.
"Arrogant Stupid Rawte "
"Riya "she heard him calling again and rushed toward him
"Arjun , kya hai "
"Main bore ho raha hun "
"toh main kya aapki entertainment ke liye dance karun"
"Chikni Chameli par karna actually mujhe who Sheila ki jawani se zyada pasand hai"
"Arjun , aapke ser par chot aayi nahi , toh aap aise baatein kyun kar rahe hain "
"Toh main kaise baatein karo Riya "his voice dangerous hoarse to make her uncomfortable
"I will get you khichdi , aap ko bhook lagi hogi"
"Yes Riya, I am actually Hungry " he said eyeing her lips without blinking . She wanted to be mad at him but unknowingly blushed and ran away to the kitchen.
Arjun stood there smirking as he watched her scoot away from her , only he knew how difficult it was for him to grab her and kiss her senseless know that he knew that she felt for him . This time he would make sure that Ms Dutta will tell her feelings to him.
Maybe this hospital visit was doing something good
PRESENT
After several hours of endless wait Arjun was finally safe but was kept in induced coma. The past few hours had been torturous for the whole team.
"Sameer , Aap log ghar jaiye , Main Arjun ke saath hun "
Sameer Rathore looked at the women standing in front of her, it was the only words she had spoken since they had bought Arjun in and he didn't have the heart to deny her. He looked around to find an exhausted Chotu and Shree and maybe it was good to send both of them back.
"Riya, I can stay "
"Sameer zaroorat nahi hai , ICU main waise bhi they wont allow anyone . Aap kal aa jana "
Finally after much persuasion had the trio left her only with a promise to return tomorrow morning and she knew they would be back with the first light.
Fromm the window she saw Arjun surrounded by all the tubes and various machines supporting him . He had promised to release her from the shackles but this wasn't the way it was meant to be .Arjun had taken lots of decisions and now it was her time. She won't let Arjun succeed now
Edited by sips_crazy - 12 years ago