Of New Beginnings and Old Potatoes
A/N: I began writing this before the PriVeer track on show took a turn this week, so, this OS does not follow the show. It is based a little more than 5 years after my previous TS, Special Guest. You do not have to have read that to understand this OS, it's a stand-alone, just with repeated characters.
With all the angst going on in the show, just a feel-good idea that began bugging me and is now a tiny OS. I do hope you guys like it š
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"Those marks look bad."
"They are. Painful, as well."
"Do you seriously want to compare the levels of pain now?"
"Prinku, you started it."
"So what if I did; you will just play along?"
Ranveer let out a deep sigh, and Prinku shook in silent laughter at her husband's exasperation.
"Just kidding. I'm sorry I tore into your flesh like that. I had to hold on to something," she eventually apologized, and reached out to gently kiss the marks she had left on his hand.
Ranveer smiled at that, and leaned down to kiss the top of Priyanka's head.
"This is all nothing. How are you feeling?" he asked her quietly, settling on the edge of the bed next to her, wrapping his arm around her and Navdeep, his (technically, their) nephew and adopted son. The six-year-old boy was snuggled into Prinku's side, fast asleep.
"After the nap I just had: infinitely better. Of course, it'd be even better if I was home; the antiseptic smell of this hospital is terrible..." Priyanka replied, leaning against him tiredly. He rested cheek against the top of her head and breathed in deeply. He did not share her sentiments - his sense of smell was so attuned to Priyanka's rosy scent, that it trumped the stench of medicine that seemed to affect his wife so.
"You did a wonderful job," Ranveer eventually whispered for the nth time in the past eight hours, and Priyanka chuckled.
"Seeing as how our daughter is currently out of me and snoozing away in the crib over there, I'm going to agree with you. Now, stop repeating that," she gently chided him.
Ranveer opened his mouth to retort, to assure her that no matter how many times he repeated it, he wouldn't ever stop marveling at her. But before he could say anything, a distinct whimper resounded through the room, and the next thing he knew, their daughter was screaming her tiny little lungs out.
Ranveer was by the crib in a second, cradling the newborn baby in his arms. He rocked her gently, but it wasn't working.
"Is she hungry?" Ranveer asked his wife as he walked over to her and took his place next to her once again.
"She can't be...I just fed her a while ago," Priyanka said, reaching out to run her hand over the girl's head in an attempt to sooth her. It helped a little, but the little girl's face was still scrunched up and she was whimpering. Priyanka felt the usually dormant anxiety begin to rear its ugly head just a little - was there something wrong with her baby? Has she done something wrong?
Suddenly, another hand reached out and placed a soft toy, an elephant, on the girl's body.
Both Ranveer and Priyanka looked to their left to see that Navdeep was awake, and had just passed his beloved Jojo to his new sister.
It seemed to do the trick - their daughter stopped crying completely.
"She likes Jojo, too," Nav whispered sleepily, smiling.
Laughing softly in wonderment, Priyanka gently kissed Nav's forehead. "Looks like she does. Are you willing to share it with her?" she asked him, and Nav shrugged.
"I only take Jojo with me when I am going to sleep...she can have them the rest of the time," he offered, and then paused. "What's her name?" he asked.
"Sahana," Priyanka softly whispered.
A beat of silence.
Ranveer looked over at his wife, his vision slightly blurred with the tears pooled in his eyes. She had told him she had a name in mind, but he hadn't been expecting this.
"Sa...Sahana. Yes," he choked out what used to be his sister's name, looking back down at the baby girl in his arms. "Sahana," he repeated - and he swore the corner of the baby's lips tugged upwards for a split second.
Navdeep, blissfully unaware of the sudden emotion that had overcome his parents, leaned against Prinku a little more to get a glimpse of the sister he had waited to meet for months now.
"Sahana...Hi Sahana!" Nav greeted her cheerfully. The girl replied him with one giant yawn, which was actually more than what the entire Oberoi and Randhawa clan had managed to get from her during their visit an hour ago.
The small family soaked in the moment for a while, not saying anything but simply enjoying the kind of presence and joy that only a newborn can bring. Nav gently reached out, peering at his sister over Jojo, and touched her cheek. Then, he suddenly broke the silence, a curious expression on his young face.
"Mumma..."
"Yes, baby?"
"...why does Sahana look like an old, wrinkly potato?"
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A/N: Don't judge me - I've always thought newborns who are brand new and less than a day old look like potatoes.
And, both Prinku and ACP might seem a little off...mostly because the show has not given us enough happy ACP to base his character off. So, I made do with what I think, and hope, the PriVeer moments will look like when they are in love and completely comfortable with each other. I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave likes and comments if you did :)
As always, may the PriVeer love continue growingš
