The Distance Between Us - An AR FF (Link to TDBU#2 - Page 1) - Page 23

Previously on...

Everyone is worried about Jaanhavi whose in the hospital.

Track 7 - Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler

Rohan spent every waking minute with Jaanhavi over the next couple of hours. He talked to her continuously, recounting various incidents of her life that she'd told him about and all those milestones they'd reached together. He talked about the day they first met, when Rohan was her senior in Med School, how their friendship progressed all through college after they were paired on an assignment together, how their lives changed after Armaan came back and how he helped them realized that they were in love with each other, how he supported them through everything in their relationship - from telling his parents, to giving them advice in various situations and always being a sounding board when it came to their problems. He talked about the day they announced their engagement and how happy everyone was, especially Armaan. How they had their whole life in front of them and how he wouldn't be able to live without her.

Nothing seemed to wake her up and Rohan sighed, knowing that she would only when she was ready. She'd always been too stubborn for her own good. He sighed and left the room, sitting beside Armaan.

"Hey," he muttered, resting his head on Armaan's shoulders.

"Hi," Armaan replied woodenly.

"She's being stubborn," Rohan complained. "Like always." Armaan gave a weak chuckle.

"Do you think if I tell her that Rhys has come to see how she's doing, she'll wake up?" He asked with a pout. That did it. Armaan guffawed.

"Do. Not. Joke. About. Rhysand." Tamanna thundered from behind.

Armaan rolled his eyes. "Do you ladies have a Rhysand detector? I mean, someone mentions his name and you're there."

Tamanna humphed. "I'm serious, Armaan. Don't diss Rhys. You know Jenny hates it."

"What does Jenny hate?" Nikki asked, taking the chair beside Armaan and laying her head on his other shoulder.

"Someone trash talking Rhysand," Tamanna replied.

"Rhysand?" Nikki asked, her eyes alight. "As in High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand? Death Incarnate? Night Triumphant?"

Tamanna nodded approvingly. "The one and only."

"Of course! You don't talk shit about my Rhys, Armaan Mallik or there will be hell to pay!" Nikki burst.

"Nikki! Not you too!" Armaan cried scandalously.

"I like you," Tamanna replied, laughing. "I never knew you liked such things, Dr. Malhotra."

"It's Dr. Modi, now," Nikki replied. "And it's okay. Not many people know that."

"Modi?" Tamanna asked, surprised. "As in, Sid? But, he's so much younger than you." Tamanna was already dreading the answer. She knew that Sid wouldn't wait around forever. She'd gotten married despite him telling her that he loved her. She had chosen someone else. And, at the time believed that she'd made the right choice. Oh! How wrong she'd been. It hadn't taken long for her to realize that she returned Sid's feelings. She'd just been too stubborn to acknowledge it. But, by then, it was too late and she was married and she didn't know what to do.

Aniket had been very understanding of the situation and had given her all the time in the world to get her bearings about her and to move on from Sid. He'd been a very good friend to her when she desperately needed one. He'd supported her and been there when she cried, when she lost it, when she was homesick and when she lost. Maybe that's why it had taken her so long to believe that the Aniket she had painted in her mind was much different than the one that Armaan and Jaanhavi and Rahul knew.

"Earth to Tammy!" Armaan snapped his fingers, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry!" Tamanna apologized. "I was just thinking of how much fun I had when I was in Mumbai. Sid is a really nice boy, I'm glad you have him," she told Nikki.

Nikki laughed. "Yes, Sid is a nice boy. And he's the best brother - in - law," she said. "I'm married to Abhi."

"Oh!" Tamanna gasped, equally relieved and mortified that she'd jumped to conclusions. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," Nikki replied. "You didn't know."

Tamanna nodded halfheartedly.

The night passed slowly. Armaan refused to leave till he knew Jaanhavi was okay. Rohan agreed and the two of them spent the night at the hospital, forcing Rahul to go home and take care of their guests. Tamanna went home with Juhi Ma & Chote Papa in case they needed any help.

First thing in the morning, Rohan went to Jaanhavi's room to make sure she was okay. He spent the entire morning there, talking to her, holding her hand and kissing her anywhere he could reach.

"You have to wake up soon, okay? Everyone is getting really agitated now. I don't know how much longer I can go on either. I need you to come back, baby. I need you to look at me and tell me that you love me. You promised me forever, and I'm ready to collect. You can't leave me hanging like this. I love you and I want you back," he said.

"I love you, too," Jaanhavi croaked back.

Rohan looked up surprised. "Oh, thank God!" he breathed. "You scared me so bad!" He kissed her forehead.

"Are you okay?" He asked. He hit his forehead. "I'm sorry! Stupid question. Of course you're not. Let me page Matt, okay?"

Jaanhavi nodded.

He made sure she was comfortable and hugged her again, still not believing she was fine. He made her drink some water before Matt rushed in.

"Ro, out, please," Matt requested. Rohan nodded and left the room, leaving Matt in peace to check on Jaanhavi.

He was accosted by Armaan as soon as he was outside. "What happened? Why is Matt here? Is she okay?" He fired questions at him, one after the other.

"She's fine. She's better than fine. She's awake," he told Armaan.

Armaan's shoulders sagged in relief and his body lost all its tension as he hugged Rohan tight and cried. He was so damn happy that his baby sister was fine and he couldn't believe that the wait was over and that she was fine.

Rohan hugged Armaan back and let his emotions get the better of himself as he started crying too. The two boys stood outside the room, hugging and crying and so relieved that their best girl was fine that they didn't realize when Matt came outside. He cleared his throat to get their attention.

"She's good," he told them. "Her injuries are recovering slowly and that's something because she was in a coma a few minutes ago. It'll take some time before she's healed completely, but I'm happy that she's awake."

Armaan nodded.

"I'm taking her home," he declared. "I'll have Holly come in to look after her and you can come home for checkups."

"Armaan, I'll be comfortable if you let her stay at the hospital," Matt said.

"Nope. No way. We both know she hates this. So, she'll go home. I'll move her today itself. We'll get an ambulance and I'll have her room ready," Armaan said, leaving no room for argument.

"Fine," Matt sighed, knowing there was no way he could persuade Armaan otherwise.

"Thank you, Matt. You don't know how much I appreciate all that you've done for me," Armaan told him.

"I do. You don't have to thank me. That's what friends are for. Plus, I'm a doctor, so it's kind of my duty," Matt laughed before leaving.

Armaan rushed inside to see Jaanhavi the second Matt left.

"Oh, Jaan!" he murmured into her hair, hugging her close to him. "I thought... I thought..." he fumbled, unable to complete his thoughts as tears spilled once again.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I worried you so much. Are you okay?" She asked him.

Armaan laughed through his tears. She was the one in the hospital and she was asking him if he was okay. "I'm fine now that you're awake," he replied.

Jaanhavi nodded. "You're such a cheeseball, Armaan Mallik. But, I love you, big bro."

"I love you, too, baby sis," Armaan replied, dropping a kiss to her head.

"I love you, three!" Rohan announced as he came inside.

"Hey, babe," Jaanhavi smiled.

"I come bringing sustenance!" Rohan crowed, lifting his arms to show the plate of food he'd carried in. "Matt said you could eat and Armaan and I haven't eaten since yesterday, so we can eat while the others get here," he explained.

They were still eating when Rahul barged inside, making a beeline for Jaanhavi and hugging her tight. "You scared me, girl! Do not do that again!" He commanded into her shoulder.

Jaanhavi nodded, laughing. "I've made that promise twice already, but okay. I won't."

"It's not funny," Rahul muttered. "It's really not funny."

"I'm sorry. I know it's not. But, I'm okay, I promise," Jaanhavi replied.

Rahul nodded and pressed a kiss to her temple before pulling back.

"Now that you're done, do I get to give her a hug, too?" Tamanna asked from behind Rahul.

"Tammy!" Jaanhavi shrieked, opening her good arm wide. "I thought you wouldn't be here till later," she said.

"As if I would stay away when you were in here," Tamanna replied, hugging her. "I'm glad you're okay. I don't think I can look after these baboon heads without you," she said, gesturing to the men in the room.

Jaanhavi laughed and patted the bed, making Tamanna sit beside her.

"Armaan," Rahul whispered low so that only Armaan heard, "Nikki is waiting outside."

"What are you whispering about?" Jaanhavi asked.

"Just a surprise that Rahul managed to find for you," Armaan told her, grinning. He knew that Jaanhavi had missed Nikki. A whole lot. The three of them had been thick as thieves back in the day. Jaanhavi had always been really close to Nikki because Nikki had been her only girlfriend for a very long time.

"Ohh! Surprise? I wanna see!" Jaanhavi exclaimed.

"Wait here," Armaan said, kissing her head before he moved out.

Nikki was sitting right outside the room with Abhi, Sid and Riddhima. "Hey," Armaan greeted them. "Good morning."

"Is she okay?" Nikki asked Armaan.

"Come see for yourself," Armaan replied, offering her his hand. Nikki grabbed it immediately.

"I'm scared, Maani," Nikki whispered, calling him by his old nickname for the first time in years. Bua Ma had always called Armaan, Maani. And so, Nikki and Jaanhavi had too. But, the three of them had been the only ones to do so. And then, after Bua Ma and Jaanhavi, Armaan had changed and it didn't feel right, calling him Maani. And so, Nikki hadn't. Until now.

"What did you just say?" Armaan asked, surprised.

"I'm scared, Maani," she replied.

"You haven't called me that in years," Armaan whispered, awe evident in his voice.

"Well, you weren't Maani before, were you? Now you are," she retorted. Armaan nodded sheepishly.

"I'm sorry," Armaan told her. Nikki shook her head. "We'll talk about this, in detail. Later," she replied. Armaan nodded in understanding.

"Don't be afraid," he assured her. "Jaan is going to be ecstatic to see you. She's missed you, you know?"

"I've missed her, too," Nikki admitted.

Armaan pulled her with him. "Maani," she whispered again, her voice breaking, just before Armaan opened the door.

"Hey!" Armaan admonished, hugging her tight. "It's okay. She's okay. She's missed you. It's fine."

Nikki nodded against his chest. "Don't be afraid," Armaan reassured her again, kissing her head and pulling her into the room.

"Hi," Nikki whispered, her voice low.

"Kee..." Jaanhavi breathed, not believing her eyes.

"Vee," Nikki murmured before moving forward and hugging her.

They hugged and hugged and hugged and hugged for a long time.

"I missed you," they both said together and then laughed. Armaan looked on, a huge grin on his eyes as he tried to keep his tears at bay.

"Come here, you!" Nikki called, extending her arm. Armaan hurried in and joined the hug, pulling them both into him as if he could keep them there forever.

Jaanhavi smiled wider than she had in a long time. Her family was finally complete.

xxx

Yes! I am finally back! Surprised me too! :p

I'm not really happy with how this turned out, it's kinda crappy and also, short. But, I'm sick and suffering from HUGE RHYS WITHDRAWALS and this was all I could come up with!

Anywho, you have it! I don't know when the next update is gonna be. My results come out on Tuesday and if, God forbid I flunk, I'll be on hiatus till mid May. If I do clear, well, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update. I haven't been to office for 1.5 weeks now and I don't know when I'll be able to go, but when I do I'll have a mountain of work to finish, so the chances for a quick update are slim, but I'll definitely try! :)

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

It must have been cold there in my shadow,
to never have sunlight on your face.
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.
You always walked a step behind.

So I was the one with all the glory,
while you were the one with all the strength.
A beautiful face without a name for so long.
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.

Did you ever know that you're my hero,
and everything I would like to be?
I can fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

It might have appeared to go unnoticed,
but I've got it all here in my heart.
I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it.
I would be nothing without you.

Did you ever know that you're my hero?
You're everything I wish I could be.
I could fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Did I ever tell you you're my hero?
You're everything, everything I wish I could be.
Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Oh, the wind beneath my wings.
You, you, you, you are the wind beneath my wings.
Fly, fly, fly away. You let me fly so high.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.

Fly, fly, fly high against the sky,
so high I almost touch the sky.
Thank you, thank you,
thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.

- The Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler