SS in Progress : Mrs and Mr Khanna ... Update on pg 275 - Page 151

And then there was the blue shirt. She had noticed alright. He was trying to cheer her up. She knew she was hurt badly, she couldn't move her limbs much, and she was still under the effects of anaesthesia.

She longed for her children. What if this was the end? she thought, as her eyes closed on her own volition and she slipped into an uncomfortable sleep.

...

Nachiket stood in front of Dr Trivedi, looking at the files intently. He was slightly happy - the report indicated that there were no internal complications; the haemorrhage was due to the compound fracture on her right leg. There were multiple bruises on her ribs and all over, the best thing was that luckily her head had escaped any fatal injuries.

He knew that this would take time, but he realised that with proper rests, medication she would pull through.

As if on cue, the Doctor continued

'She has a frail constitution. She will need proper care for weeks now.

We will run a few tests today evening and then decide if we could shift her out of the ICU.'

Nachiket nodded as the implications of the Dr's words sank in. He went back to her cabin, and coaxed his mother in law to return home, and take rest.

Ragini was sleeping once again. He sat down on the chair in front of her and studied his face. This was going to be difficult for all of them, he knew. After all, it has been Ragini who had nurtured them throughout. And even when they were apart, he had never for a moment thought of her lying helpless, and ill, on a hospital bed. He hid his face in his hands and sobbed

'Nachiket ... Nachiket' she called him again and again. Her frail voice reached his ears eventually and he wiped away his tears. He got up from the chair and leant in front of her, her words now mere whispers.

'Please ... don't cry ... i am sorry ... it hurts all over' she said as she gasped slightly

'Sweetheart' he said as he gently touched her cheek, her eyes flying open

'The kids?' she asked.

'Safe at home, I sent them back ... they will be back soon' his hand now held onto her cold fingers.

'Nachiket' she called again, her voice a bit more stronger this time.

'Promise me you will take care of the kids if something happens to ... me'

His lips touched hers reverentially as tears threatened to spill over

'I promise Ragini, nothing will happen to you. To us. You are gonna be fine. Nothing will ever come in between us, not even this.'

When the children came to visit their Mother, they found them sleeping peacefully - she, on her hospital bed, and he, on the sterile chair by her bed, their fingers laced together.

He looked at his kids "nothing will happen to your mum she is going to get better i will make sure" the kids nodded "no tears infront of your mum please" he hugged his kids. The doctor came and told them that ragini would have to stay in the icu for a few more days to control her pain and nausea they went back in. After a while ragini opened her eyes and whispered "nachiket" he leaned over her "i am here darling" "have the kids" "they are here" nachiket signalled for the kids to come nearer. One by one the kids came closer so ragini could see them she smiled at them even though she it was hurting her.

It was night nachiket told the kids to go home he would stay with ragini he was sat with her when the nurse came to tell him he had to leave visiting was over. He leaned over and kissed her forehead "i am outside if you need anything ragini" "go home" "i will when i can take you home" he kissed her forehead and went outside. He must have nodded off for a couple of hours when he woke up he thought he heard ragini call him he sat up and he saw the doctors rushing into ragini's room he ran to her room "dr khanna you need to wait here" they closed the door after a hour or so the doctor came out nachiket jumped up "dr khanna we had to intubate her to help her breathe the brusies on her ribs is making it diffcult for her to breathe especially with the strong painkillers she is taking" "how long for" "a few days we hope till the swelling of the brusies go down" nachiket went in to see ragini

No no, I guess its fine.

Maa was with Ragini, and so was Pam. The family had distributed the time slots amongst themselves to stay with Ragini. Since the intubation, Nachiket had not let the twins and Suhaani have much access to Ragini. Being in the same hospital, he visited her oft and on, and stayed behind as well. Only to leave for home in the morning, when Maa came in.

Nachiket was also worried about another thing - about Aarav. Since Ragini's admission into the hospital, he has withdrawn into a shell, and only communicated in monosyllables. Nachiket tried spending more time with him, but he was completely inundated.

He walked to the Doctor's cabin absent mindedly, while checking his phone for messages.

He shook hands with Dr Dwivedi and exchanged pleasantries. He looked longingly at the file in Dr Dwivedi's hand, and waited.

'Ah Dr Khanna, please take a seat' the senior Doctor said. He sat down on his chair and handed over the file to Nachiket. As Nachiket flipped through the files, Dr Dwivedi continued

'Yes, those are the files regarding your wife's treatment. We were hesitant to intubate her two days back, but luckily, she is fighting back and doing well on her own. Good news, she doesn't need support in that department anymore.'

'If you notice, her bruises are healing nicely. The sore part will be the fracture on her right leg, but again the casing has already been done. Her left hand is showing signs of improvement. Lucky for her, the head injury is not significant. I must say she is very lucky. Such hit-and-run cases are often not without fatalities, unfortunately.'

He continued

'We will remove the tube shortly. If she is fine for the next 24 hrs or so, with no major complications, we will shift her to a personal cabin.'

Nachiket could not believe his ears. He left Dr Dwivedi's cabin a bit happier and hoped that there was no relapse. He wanted Ragini back, all hale and hearty.

He called home to share the good news with others, and then went inside her room. Ranbir was there. Hugging Ranbir, he shared Dr Dwivedi's words with him.

He sat down beside Ragini for a while, massaging her right palm and then sighed

'Ranbir, it's time for a visit to the police station'

He was determined.

Good writing... Keep it moving. Thanks

The next 24 hours were the most crucial for the Khanna Family. The kids refused to go home. They didn't want to wait a second to meet Ragini when she wakes up. Ranbir met Nachiket in the hospital, to go to the Police station. Aarav asked to accompany them. But Nachiket asked him to take care of Suhani and Aagham instead. Aarav didn't insist and Nachiket was glad for it.

At the Police station, Nachiket registered the FIR against the driver who hit Ragini. As it turned out, the driver had fled the scene of accident as soon as he hit Ragini. The police assured him that they were looking into the case and would let him know as soon as they have an update. Nachiket wasn't happy with happened at the Police Station. He wanted to find the person who was responsible for the condition that his wife was in and punch him to death. He was angry. Ranbir sensed his father's emotions and offered to drive them back to the hospital.

Ragini was still unconscious when they reached the hospital. Pam and Karan had brought food for the kids and they were eating it in Ragini's cabin.

'Kya hua wahan?' asked Pam.

'Wahi hua jo hamesha hota h is desh mein. Driver fled the scene,' replied an irritated Nachiket. Aarav told him about Ragini's condition. She was stable and recovering.

'Dad, I had told Tanya about mom. I guess she'll come to visit mom with her Dad today,' said Ranbir.

'Shit! I should have told Sameer about Ragini' said Nachiket, with his head in his hands.

'I think he'll understand, Dad,' said Ranbir. And Sameer did understand. But at the same time, he made it clear to Nachiket that he would have liked to know. Nachiket assured him that God forbid if anything happened in future, he would inform him.

Sameer's visit had actually brought much relief to the whole family. Being a neurosurgeon, when he looked at Ragini's reports, he assured them that there had been no damage to the nerves. Ever since the mention of partial paralysis by Ragini's doctor, Nachiket had been scared. Sameer told him that in cases such as Ragini's, doctors made sure that they prepare the family for the worst. But there was no need to stress out over that now. As a doctor, Nachiket had seen the same in the report and could tell that Ragini's doctor was saying that as part of his job, but the husband in him had taken those words to heart. Sameer's assurance had relieved him and now he was waiting for Ragini to open her eyes and talk to him.