Chapter 1He looked so fragile!
Agam had never imagined that fragile was an adjective he would ever associate with his father. Dr Nachiket Khanna was formidable, indomitable, magnetic, powerful, domineering- the list was endless but he would have never thought fragile would ever find a place in it. Not until today. Not until he saw his father's inert figure lying on the hospital bed, the beeps from the various monitors that he was hooked to the only indication that there was even life in him. His head was swathed in bandages and what could be seen of his face was severely bruised. The hospital sheet that covered his body hid from view the white cast on his left leg that had multiple fractures. But the externally visible injuries were the least of the worries!
"We will be shifting him into the OT as soon as we get confirmation that Dr Sharma's flight has landed. He should reach here in about 45 minutes and will get started with the surgery right after...!"
"Doctor...what are his chances..?"
Dr Shinde wore a grave expression as he looked at Ranbir.
"You are a doctor yourself, Ranbir...you've seen his reports...!"
Ranbir nodded somberly. Dr Shinde could not help the twinge of pity for the young man who seemed to have aged ten years in the space of these few hours. Was he the same debonair chap that he had made his acquaintance with just a few days ago, at the birthday party that Dr Neil had hosted just a few days ago.
"The epidural hematoma is pressing onto the brain and compressing it against the bones of the skull. We need to surgically relieve the pressure at the earliest. His chances are nil without the surgery and slim even with it. But we have no choice. We need to take this risk and we are hoping Dr Sharma will be able to pull it off. He is the best neurosurgeon this country has and not known as a 'miracle man' in medical circles for nothing. And Dr Neil needs a miracle right now!"
Agam saw Pam's face crumple as she swayed on her feet. He rushed to her side and held her by the shoulders. She looked at him sideways and nodded her head weakly, as if to indicate that she was alright. It was patently obvious that she was not. Neither was Suhani. Karthik had had to actually sedate her because she had gotten hysterical at the first sight of a badly injured and profusely bleeding Dr Neil being lifted out of the ambulance and wheeled into the hospital. Pam had been trying hard to hold up for their sakes but Agam could see that she was on the verge of a breakdown herself. A formidable woman she had been all through, one who had virtually run her brother's household and reared his children single handed! She always present a veneer of hardness to the world at large but the first cracks had started appearing with the RK fiasco. And now with Dr Neil's life under threat, she was suddenly looking old, defenseless and incredibly vulnerable.
"I think we should all step out now. Nothing much to be achieved by standing around. All we can do now is wait for Dr Sharma and of course pray in the meantime!"
As Dr Shinde shepherded them out of the special ICU where Dr Neil was housed, Agam turned back to take one more glimpse of his father.
"Dad, will I get one more chance with you? To tell you how sorry I am for all that I said to you? To tell you what you mean to me and how much I love you? Please Dad, don't go away! Give me one more chance!"
Agam sent out the silent plea in the hope that it would somehow penetrate Dr Neil's subconsicous. He needed to come back, too many things had been said and much more needed to be said. He had to come back!
As they all entered the waiting area, Agam noticed RK slumped down on a chair there. His face was buried in his hands. Dr Devika was seated beside him and had a hand on his back. It was she who saw them first.
"RK...!"
It was her voice that alerted Pam to their presence. She did not step further into the room and instead preferred to lean against the wall near the entrance.
RK got up and rushed towards them with Dr Devika on his heels.
"Agam...Ranbir...how...how is Neil..?"
Ranbir just shrugged helplessly.
RK's eyes darted to Pam before he exchanged a look with Karan, who stood to the other side of Ranbir. Karan looked from him to Devika and back at him. RK drew a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders before he walked in Pam's direction.
Agam noticed him saying something to Pam to which she did not respond. Instead she tried to turn her tear stained face away from him and step away. RK caught her by the shoulder and drew her close to him. After resisting momentarily, she slumped against him and started sobbing heavily.
Agam wished he could let go too. He wished he could tell someone how guilty he felt, how terrified he was that his father would leave him forever! How he hated himself for all that he had said to him, no matter the circumstances. He wished he had a lap to bury his face in, so he could let go of all the grief bottled up within him and cry his heart out!
Unable to control the tears that were on the verge of spilling from his eyes, Agam quickly left the room. He so wanted to unburden himself, but not add to the grief that was already weighing Ranbir and Pam down.
"Agam...Agam...Nach...Nachiket ...how is Nachiket...?"
Agam looked up to see a Ragini he had never seen before. His normally unflappable mother looked like she had been hit by a storm. Her hair was in disarray and her clothes crumpled and stained. She had clearly dropped everything she had been doing and rushed to the hospital. But her eyes, her eyes were pools of grief, pain and dread. She ran towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders, shaking him for an answer to the barrage of questions that escaped her lips.
"Agam...Agam...where is Nachiket...I want to see him...where is he...is he...?"
Agam could not hold back any longer.
He hugged her tight to himself, buried his face in the crook of her neck and shed all the tears that he had been trying hard to conceal from the world around him!
Edited by BertieWooster - 10 years ago
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