The Distance Between Us - An AR FF (Link to TDBU#2 - Page 1) - Page 39

Previously on...

Armaan plays a prank on Tamanna.

Peyton visits them, intent on shouting at Armaan for ignoring her after their argument, but it is surprised to see Jaanhavi. Understanding that he must have been busy taking care of her, she forgives him and then apologizes to him for being so rude the last time they'd met on the day of Jaanhavi's accident.

Track 13 - Love, American Authors

After a lot of discussions and pleading, it was decided that Rohan and Jaanhavi's wedding would be pushed by 2 weeks, giving Jaanhavi time to recover. Though her injuries weren't serious and they were completely manageable, Jaanhavi point blank refused to get married while she was still in a cast because she didn't want to feel uncomfortable during the wedding. And, she sure as shit wasn't gonna wait for weeks after she got married to go on her honeymoon. She knew that if they got married right away, no one would let her travel. Yes, it made her vain, but her wedding was something she was looking forward to and she refused to look anything than her absolute best on that day.

Juhi Ma and Chote Papa had been really skeptical about this choice, mainly because they'd consulted a pandit who'd said that after the initial date they'd chosen, there was no auspicious date for the next 2 months. They'd agreed to postpone the wedding for that date, but Rohan had vehemently made his issues clear regarding that. He refused to wait so long.

In the end, it had been Armaan who'd finally convinced them to let Rohan and Jaanhavi do things their way. It was their wedding and they should get to decide what they wanted, when they wanted it and how they wanted it. He'd lectured everybody on how no auspicious date made a difference, that everyone was responsible for their own destiny and if there was love and trust in the relationship, they could overcome anything. Looking at the expectant faces of their kids, they didn't have the heart to deny them and so, the wedding date was fixed.

Since then, Armaan had been on a phone call with the wedding planner, discussing their next course of action. Because of the delay, they weren't sure if they could get the same services they'd paid for, be it the venue or the food or the flowers. The wedding planner, El, assured Armaan that she'd call all vendors and depending on the availability she would compile a new list of prospective vendors and bring it to him to chose.

After several reassurances on El's side and numerous apologies on Armaan's, Armaan ended the call.

"El said she'll be here in a day or two with the list, Armaan told Jaanhavi, sitting beside her and dropping a kiss to her temple. Jaanhavi nodded, not saying anything.

Armaan had been noticing that she'd been quiet since Peyton had come to see him. He wanted to ask her why she was glum, but he didn't want to broach the subject when everybody else was around. So, he kept his mouth shut, deciding that he'd talk to her later, when they weren't surrounded by so many people.

"Uh, everything else is all well and good, but because of this postponement, we'll have issues back at home, Dr. Keerti said, when Dr. Shashank and Abhi were in the living room. "We're all here and though the staff back home is competent enough, I don't feel right leaving them alone for so long, she said.

Dr. Shashank nodded in agreement. "You're right, Dr. Keerti. Maybe we should leave and then come back again in a couple of weeks, in time for the wedding.

Abhi knew that this was the right thing to do - to go back to Mumbai and then come later. But, he didn't want that. He wanted to stay here. For years, since Armaan had left Sanjeevani, nothing had been right in their group anymore. His friends didn't laugh, they didn't play pranks and they never did anything fun. Armaan had been such a huge part of all their lives and he'd been the glue holding them together. With his absence, everything was broken.

Riddhima and Nikki had not uttered a single word to each other for almost 2 years after Armaan had left. They'd only started speaking again after Nikumbh was born and till date, their relationship wasn't the way it had been before. Their interactions were short and formal.

Though Anjali had understood the importance of Atul in her life after Armaan's absence, it had taken Herculean efforts to get Atul on the same page as her. Yes, he'd still loved Anjali, but he hadn't been in a place where he could concentrate on building a romantic relationship, especially with Anjali, Riddhima's sister. Riddhima, who'd been the source of so much pain in his brother, Armaan's life. Atul never said it out loud, but Armaan was the closest thing he had to a family. Yes, he was close to all of them - Rahul, Muskaan, Nikki and even Riddhima - before Armaan had left, but no one was as dear to him as Armaan was. In Armaan, Atul had found a brother, a confidante, a pillar of support. Armaan's departure had affected him so deeply that he'd succumbed to depression not long after. His depressed state, combined with the dislike he'd felt for Riddhima for everything that had happened had stopped Atul from pursuing any kind of relationship with Anjali. He'd been in therapy for almost a year and a half before he started coming around to the fact that he could have a decent life without Armaan in it. His courtship with Anjali had began not long after that. They'd dated for almost 2 years before Atul was mentally in a place where he could propose marriage. And so, five years after Armaan had left him behind, Atul got married to the love of his life. But, it wasn't the happiest day of his life like he'd always dreamt. Armaan's absence had been a prickling thorn in his side.

Muskaan. Well, after losing both Rahul and Armaan one after the other, Muskaan had retreated into a shell. She didn't laugh anymore, she didn't crack silly jokes and she wasn't the boisterous girl everyone had come to love. It was like she was just existing, putting on a show in front of her friends to hide the pain she'd been carrying around. Since they'd arrived in New York, Abhi had seen her laugh more in a day than she had in the past seven years.

His and Nikki's relationship had also suffered. Nikki was sad all the time. She didn't speak to Riddhima or Anjali after what had happened because Anjali had been vehement in her defense of Riddhima. She didn't want to burden Muskaan or Atul with her woes when they themselves were struggling with everything. And, as much as he hated it, Abhi had never been close to Armaan. He couldn't begin to fathom how important Armaan was to all these people. In the end, it had been Atul who had seen through her facade and helped her. He visited them frequently, doing things to pull Nikki out of her funk - cracking shitty jokes, complaining about the work at Sanjeevani and reminiscing about the great times they'd had together. Slowly, little by little, with Atul's support and Abhi's unwavering understanding, Nikki had stood back up on her feet.

And Riddhima. Gods, Riddhima. Though Nikki hadn't liked it, Abhi had been in constant touch with Riddhima all the time. He'd catch up with Riddhima over coffee and coax out small details from her to ensure that she was okay. She'd been in such a dark place when Armaan had left, Abhi was surprised she was still standing. She'd struggled so much with her decision to be with Sid and quench her desire to run into Armaan's arms. She'd suffered every single day. Nobody knew, but Riddhima had once, in a vulnerable moment, admitted to Abhi that she cried herself to sleep every night and all her nightmares were plagued with the pain she'd caused Armaan, waking her in sweat all night. She didn't eat as much as she should, she spent every waking minute at the hospital and she had stopped interacting with everyone outside of work. Feeling wretched about her plight, Sid had finally cornered her and talked to her. In the end, they'd decided that their relationship had no future and it was best to end it because no one was happy with it. Sid didn't want an absentee wife who could only provide him the material comforts of a marriage, but not companionship. So, they'd decided to annul their marriage. But, this decision wasn't received well by Riddhima's or Sid's parents and it had caused them all so much grief. Over the years, his aunt had come around and even started looking at Riddhima as another daughter, but Riddhima's relationship with her parents was still frosty as ever.

They'd fallen apart with Armaan's departure and Abhi wouldn't let his friends spiral down anymore. Nikki and him had a son, Atul and Anjali were expecting parents, Muskaan was finally getting her life back together and Riddhima had slowly started coming out of her shell. They'd all come a long way and he couldn't let it all go in vain. He wouldn't miss an opportunity to mend fences with Armaan, too. Everybody needed Armaan. Maybe, in all these years, Armaan had learnt to live without them, but without Armaan, his friends were still as empty as they had been seven years ago.

He wouldn't go back to that life. Not after watching Muskaan laugh, Anjali joke, Atul dance, Nikki play and Riddhima smile. He would bring his friends back together again, even if it was the last thing he did.

With this resolve in mind, Abhi spoke to Dr. Keerti. "Uh, Dr. Keerti, I don't think that's a smart idea. He knew that Dr. Keerti & Dr. Shubhankar had been affected by Armaan's departure too. Maybe not to the extent as the gang, but they'd looked at Armaan like a younger brother. And his absence from their lives had caused them pain too.

"Dr. Modi, what are you saying? Dr. Shashank asked.

Abhi took a deep breath. He knew convincing Dr. Shashank would be difficult, if for no other reason than the fact that he would never willingly spend time in the same place as Armaan.

"Look, Dr. Shashank, the earliest flight back to Mumbai will not be until later tonight. Then, it'll take us 22 hours to get there. By the time we reach Mumbai, 3 days would have passed because of the time difference. Of course, we can't expect everyone to resume duties immediately because the travelling would have exhausted them. So, they'll take a day or two to repurcate. Then, when they resume work, they'll take a day or maybe more to get up to date with their patient histories. Then, in 2 days, again they'll be sitting with the other staff members, handing over the work to them. So, going back to Mumbai and then coming her again in 2 weeks so that everyone can work for 2 days isn't feasible. Plus, with all the kids, it's a difficult task. And, Anjali is pregnant, travelling so much isn't good for her or the baby, Abhi explained.

Dr. Shashank seemed to be thinking over Abhi's words, even though Dr. Keerti was completely convinced. She didn't want to leave herself, but she couldn't ignore her duties either.

"Plus, Abhi continued after a few minutes of silence, "because the wedding date has been pushed, everyone here has to practically plan the entire thing again. And we all understand how difficult it is to plan a wedding, let alone planning it in 2 weeks. We can stay back and help them.

"You're right, Abhi, Dr. Shubhankar commented, sitting beside Dr. Keerti. He'd come in with Rohan when they'd been discussing logistics.

"Yes, Rohan seconded. Then, he turned to Dr. Shashank. "And, you're seriously wrong if you think I'll let Riddhima aur Anjali go now. I need Ridzy to help me plan everything and Anjali shouldn't be travelling so much. Needless to say, Atul won't leave without her. And, by the way Jaanhavi has been clinging to Nikki since she got here, there's no way she's letting her leave. Which means Abhi won't either, he added. "And you and Padma Aunty and Nani shouldn't travel this much anyway. It'll take a toll on your health. Dr. Keerti said the staff is competent to look after everything while you're gone, so let them. You can stay here and help out. Plus, it'll be like a vacation. I don't think any of you have taken a vacation in the last few years.

Dr. Shashank pondered over Rohan's words. He knew they were correct. But, he didn't want to live under the same roof as that Armaan Mallik. That man had already caused enough problems in his life. Because of Armaan, his own daughter, his Riddhima, who'd never ever done anything that her dad wouldn't approve of, wasn't even talking to him. She hadn't come home in 7 years and despite having parents in the same city, she lived in small rented apartment. How was he supposed to live with the man who'd caused him so much grief and still be civil?

"Please, Shashank Uncle. Don't overthink. You haven't seen us in so long. And, if you get bored sitting at home, you're always welcome to come to hospital any time. Please! Rohan pleaded.

Unable to deny him, finally Dr. Shashank relented.