You're Still the One Manan Short story COMPLETE - Page 5

Chapter 12(Last Chapter)

Days later, Nandini closed the apartment door and leaned back against it with a contented sigh. It had been a good day. A very good day. Idly, she smoothed the front of her dress down around her belly.

"You look so happy and satisfied."

Nandini raised her head and saw Dhruv... She smiled warmly and he returned the gesture readily. "I might say the same about you," she said.

His grin intensified. "I'm just happy, Nandu... Nothing more, nothing less."

Nandini nodded and took a seat on the sofa next to him. "Where's Aliya?" she asked.

"Changing," he said. "We're going to a fashion show tonight, some new designer or something."

Nandini smiled.."That's great"

"You and Manik have been spending a lot of time together lately," Dhruv goaded her. "Aliya tells me you've been out for either lunch or dinner six times in the last week and that he's going to your doctor visit with you tomorrow."

Nandini looked at him. "It is his child, Dhruv," she said. "He has every right to be at the doctor visit."

"And what about dinner, does he have every right to monitor what you're eating?"

With a smile, she replied, "Okay, so maybe we have been hanging out a lot."

Dhruv's jovial expression faded to something more serious. "You look happy," he said, "and that makes me happy."

"Thanks," she said..feeling content..

"Everything looks perfect," Dr.Sinha said as she flipped the chart shut.

"You're sure?" Manik said abruptly.

He was being rude, but Dr.Sinha was used to that by now. Manik had every right to be worried. Nandini had experienced serious complications in the past. This pregnancy, however, seemed to be right on schedule whether Nandini 's "friend" wanted to accept it or not.

"Yes Mr.Malhotra," Dr. Sinha said firmly. "But, I would like to start seeing Nandini once a week from here on out. We usually don't start that until the eighth month, but I think it would be wise to do that.

Nandini and Manik nodded.

Dr. Sinha leveled her gaze on the young woman. She seriously liked Nandini and hated to think what it would do to her to be abandoned by the child's father. "Are you two married?" she asked, knowing full well that Nandini had left her marital status as "single" on her charts.

"Not yet," Manik said defensively, before Nandini could reply.

Cocking an eyebrow at Manik, Dr. Sinha said, "Yet?"

"Manik and I were married before," Nandini said. "For a significant amount of time."

Dr. Sinha nodded and sat back in her chair. "I'll expect to see you both in here next week," she said.

Nandini and Manik nodded.

Nandini laughed and popped another piece of popcorn into her mouth. She loved this movie...Hangover... It had to be the twentieth time she had seen it, but it never failed to make her laugh. Without taking her eyes off the screen, she wiped her hands on a napkin and then threaded her fingers through Manik 's hair. He was laying with his head in her lap, turned towards her rounded stomach rather than the television set, so she didn't have far to stretch. He sighed and snuggled closer to her.

Nandini knew that she was doing a horrible job of keeping her distance, but she couldn't help it. Despite all the horror and pain that they had experienced in the past, she just didn't feel whole when Manik wasn't around. And the fact that he wasn't even making an attempt to keep his distance wasn't doing anything to further her resolve.

They were spending a quiet evening together. Manik ordered food while she looked through his DVD collection. She discovered that he hadn't thrown away any of hers and when she wanted to watch her favorite movie again, he hadn't complained. Of course, he hadn't watched it either. He spent the entire evening with his face buried against her stomach, sleeping. Not that she minded.

As the credits began to roll, Nandini stopped the playback. The TV flipped to a blank blue screen, the only light in the room. Nandini sighed and sank back as far as she could into the soft leather couch. Manik shifted his head in her lap and Nandini knew he wasn't asleep. She ran her nails lightly along his scalp.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

He sighed contentedly and rolled onto his back far enough to be able to meet her gaze. "Names ..both for a girl or a boy," he said.

She smiled. "Names," she parroted, her voice soft

"Do you have any picked out?" he asked.

She shook her head and smiled again, only this time it was tinged with sadness. "I didn't want to get ahead of myself," she said.

Manik 's lips pursed into a grim line and he said gently, "We can't think like that,jaan... This pregnancy isn't like the other and you're far enough along now that even if there were some major complication, odds are the baby would survive."

She sighed. "I know," she said, "it's just ... I'm being shy I guess."

He reached out for her hand and pulled it to his face, pressing a kiss inside her palm. "Everything is going to be all right this time, Nandini," he said.

"Are you crazy you idiot!" Manik yelled, slamming his palm into the car's horn. "Move!"

Reaching over, Nandini grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand off of the horn. He turned and looked at her, almost as if he was surprised she was there. He was more than a little frazzled. Rush hour traffic wasn't helping - or the fact that Nandini was in labor. Though her jaw was clenched tightly shut, she smiled at him with as much patience as she could muster. " Manik," she said softly. "I would like to live long enough to get to the hospital."

He dropped his gaze sheepishly. "I just want to get there," he said quietly.

"I know you're nervous," she said, "but it is probably going to be a while before our baby gets here so please don't get into a car accident."

He nodded and turned back to the road, somewhat calm... Nandini knew it wouldn't last long. He'd been on pins and needles the last two weeks and when she finally started having contractions, shortly after noon, he lost it...

Nandini blinked slowly, yawning. She rolled her head to the side and looked at Manik who was seated in the chair next to her bed, completely transfixed on the infant in his arms. She smiled broadly. "Hey," she said softly.

Manik looked up and smiled from ear to ear. "Hey jaan," he replied. With great care, he scooted the chair closer to the bed and handed the sleeping baby to Nandini "He's so tiny," Manik whispered, gently running the tip of his finger over the back of his son's hand.

Nandini smiled and looked at her son. She sighed and cuddled the baby close. Manik rested his chin on his hand and watched them.

"What?" Nandini asked with a smile.

"Just thinking," he said.

"'about what?"

Slowly, he reached inside his shirt and pulled out the silver chain that he always wore. Unhooking the clasp, he unthreaded Nandini's ring from the chain. He grasped the ring between his thumb and forefinger and held it up to her. "Marry me jaan," he said.

Nandini pursed her lips together, tears welling in her eyes. "Because of the baby?" she asked.

"Because I love you and I want to be a family," he said seriously.

A tear streamed down Nandini's cheek. "I love you," she said.

"Is that a yes jaan?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes," she whispered and smiled

Manik was filled with euphoria...he bent down and kissed his Nandini hard...they would be a family again...

The waiting room was full when Manik finally made his way there with his son. " Manik!" Aliya said, jumping to her feet and bounding across the room. While Nyonika managed to not appear quite so rushed, she followed Aliya to see her grandson.

"He's perfect!" Aliya cooed, wrapping herself around Manik to get a closer look at the baby. He smiled.

With great care, Manik handed his son to Mr.Murthy who beamed at the sleepy baby. "Amazing," he said. "What's his name?"

"Namik Malhotra.," Manik replied.

Mr.Murthy smiled...

Manik watched as Nandini's parents huddled around the baby as Navya, Dhruv, Aliya,Cabir and Aryaman all wanted a closer look at the baby.

Cautiously, Nyonika approached her son who stood several feet back from the action. "I hope Nandini is fine..?" she asked.

Manik nodded. "She's sleeping," he said, "but everything went fine."

"Very good,"Nyonika said.

"Congratulations," she said seriously.

"Thank you," Manik replied, tears glistening in his eyes.

Manik studied his wife's tensed face as she stared at the ceiling, chewing on her bottom lip. She unconsciously toyed with the ring, spinning it around on her finger.

"Penny for your thoughts," Manik said, scooting closer to her under the covers.

Turning her head towards him, Nandini frowned. "Penny?" she said in mock insult. "You're loaded and all I get is a penny?"

Narrowing his eyes at her, Manik crawled over her, pinning her to the bed with his warm, naked body. "Alright, madam," he said wryly. "You already know that everything I have is yours so don't act all put out.

She grinned wickedly at him and lifted her head to kiss along his collarbone. Manik shut his eyes and groaned at the sensual torture. Steeling his nerve before he lost it completely, he pulled back and looked down at her. "I'm serious," he said. "What's bothering you?"

She sighed and pursed her lips. "You're killing the mood, you know that," she lamented.

He took a deep breath and raked his gaze over her body,... "I'll make it up to you later jaan," he promised with a wicked grin...and pecked her lips.

She grinned... "I have every intention of holding you to that promise, Mr. Malhotra," she said.

"And I have every intention of keeping it, Mrs. Malhotra," he replied. "It is, after all, our honeymoon again.. It would be bad form not to do my husbandly duty by you."

She giggled and it was a sound of pure joy. Quickly, she caught herself and clamped a hand over her mouth. Quietly, she pushed herself up on her elbows as did Manik the same. They both stared expectantly at the crib in the corner, waiting.

Apparently, Nandini's laughter wasn't enough to wake their four month old son, and they eventually relaxed again. Manik crawled off Nandini, sprawling on his back before pulling his wife against his chest, kissing her soundly. Manik eventually broke the kiss and pulled back far enough to look Nandini in the eye expectantly.

She sighed and folded her hands together on Manik 's chest, using them to support her chin as she looked at him. "I'm just wondering what he's going to think," she said.

"He?" Manik asked suspiciously.

Nandini gave her husband an annoying glare. "Your son," she said dryly.

"Oh," Manik said, sheepishly. "About what?"

"Us."

Manik frowned. "What about us?" he asked. "I'm assuming he'll think we're his parents."

Nandini sighed. "That's not what I mean," she said, searching for the words. "I wonder what he's going to think about our relationship, our past. We weren't exactly low key, Manik Our life made it into the gossip columns and what didn't is openly speculated on by half of the city of Mumbai."

"You're exaggerating," Manik said wryly, "

Nandini smiled at him, but it was tinged with sadness. "I may be exaggerating," she said, "but not by much. It will be an issue. The Malhotra name comes with money and power and privilege, but it also comes with scrutiny and gossip. With a sigh, Manik rolled onto his side and pulled Nandini into his arms. They stared at each other, their heads inches apart on the pillow. "We are who we are, jaan," he said seriously. "The fact that we're now happily married with a child doesn't mean that we didn't have a horror filled past. I would rather that Namik know the truth - though not until he's *much* older - than have him think that everything is sunshine and roses... We both made mistakes, we both did some really stupid stuff, but we got through it."

Smiling, Nandini pressed her palm to the side of his face, running her thumb along his cheekbone. "Yeah," she said, "we got through it."

"And now we're together," he said. "We've learned from our mistakes. We've figured out what's important. We're together because we love each other and because it feels right, not because it was expected or convenient or because we have a baby."

They stared into each other's eyes for a long time. "I do love you," Nandini said.

"I love you too," he replied, pulling her closer. He kissed her deeply. "It seems that I have a promise," to keep, he whispered against her lips, pulling her body under his.

"You most certainly do," she replied with a wicked grin.

Epilogue

Nandini watched the tension in Manik 's broad shoulders as he stared out the window that overlooked their garden. Cautiously, she approached him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself against his back as fully as her round belly would allow.

Manik hugged her arms. "You feeling okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she answered. "I was wondering about you."

Manik unwrapped her arms and pulled her around so she could look out the window with him..Nyonika was playing in the garden with their three year old son. The pair were obviously enjoying themselves as they did every Sunday afternoon.

"Namik is fine with her, Manik," Nandini said gently. Several years ago, she might not have been such a blind supporter of Manik's mother, but the woman had shown she was committed to being a positive part of her grandson's life. She spent time with Namik- and Manik - any chance she got, though Namik was much more receptive to the attention than his father.

Taking a deep breath, Manik let it out slowly. "I know," he said ruefully. "I still just have a hard time trusting her."

"She's doing her best to make amends," Nandini said. "She loves you and she loves our boy."

Manik nodded and hugged his wife more tightly. Nandini rested her head against his chest. She knew that things were a thousand times better between Nyonika and Manik than they had ever been, but they still had a long way to go. Odds were the damage Nyonika. had done would never be fully mended, but they were both still trying and that was the important part.

Manik sighed heavily and seemed to shake off his sad mood. "When do Aliya and Dhruv get here?" he asked.

Nandini looked at her watch. "About twenty minutes," she said. "Mukti had her dance class this morning."

"Dance class?" Manik asked warily. "She's two."

"Oh just wait, daddy," Nandini said mischievously. "You think Mukti's spoiled rotten, just wait to see what you will do if our baby is going to be a girl."

Manik smiled at his wife and placed his hand over her belly. Their baby kicked. "Well if it's a girl then she will be a wildcat like her mother," he said with a blinding grin.