"Nidhi" he murmured softly as he put his hand on her shoulder. She woke up in a start wondering where she was then all came back to her mind as she turned to look at baba. Her heart sank as she felt so helpless, for once all the medical knowledge he had so wanted her to have did not help. Like her patients she too had to wait for the medicines to do their jobs. Looking at her he could almost see the way her mind was working as he too had been in her place when Baba had been sick. Brushing his own morose thoughts aside he signaled to her to come out as he wanted to talk to her.
Very much against her will, she started to move towards the door and with a final glance at baba she went out. As she turned to him, he was stunned, his forever bubbly Nidhi was now a mere shadow of herself. " Nidhi come I have to talk to you, ever since they have brought Baba in you have not moved from his side and this cannot go on". She was stunned to hear him say these words, imprisoned in worries for her father she could not sense the worry in his voice. His words had brought back infront of her Dr hardstone and not the gentle Dr Ashutosh she had discovered after they had both acknowledged their feelings." Dr Ashutosh, You don't have to worry my staying here will not affect the way I perform my job, I am fully aware that I am supposed to assume duty in the morning, so you don't have to worry" She responded defensively. Upon hearing her words he realized that once more his incompatibility with words was leading him in the wrong way, he had hoped to show his care for her by implying she should take a break and she understood it wrong. Before he even had time to utter anything else she had gone back to the room and there was nothing much he could do at that time. As he moved back towards his office he had to accept the fact that he would have to find other means to make sure that she would be fine.
The next morning, he was as usual about to start his rounds with all the interns. He tried to remain his normal stern self yet every now and then he could not stop himself from searching for her at least to make sure that she was around. As the round progressed they reached the children's ward and now they could no longer put off the face a face. " Dr Varma , can you give us an update on the condition of your patients?" he asked in a voice he hoped seemed normal. He listened to her as she updated the team in a monotone voice which was not hers. In a bid to shorten her stress he decided to shorten the round in the ward. As he moved towards the exit he was upset on seeing her sigh of relief as if indeed his presence was a source of stress for her.
Before going back to his office he went back to the ICU to check on Col Varma, relieved to find a positive report. On his way to his office, too lost in his thoughts he did notice where he was going and bumped against someone. " Oye are you blind cannot you see where you are going" " What sort of place is this no one is telling me where is yuvraaj and nidhi has not been home for days now, what is going to happen to me if she falls sick as well" came the string of complains. It took him a few second to realise that was Nidhi's Dadi Bua. " Maaji mein hoon Dr Ashutosh, we met at Col Varma's birthday" these words seemed to calm her and she allowed him to lead her to the colonel's room. Finally he regained the his office , his worry for Nidhi having increased tenth fold as he reflected on Dadi Bua's words. His fear from the start was on the verge of becoming true, she was burning herself out from trying to be on both fronts.
In Col. Varma room,
Nidhi was as everyday at Baba's side praying, hoping wishing for some kind of clear improvement. Her life these past days had been divided between this room and the ward. It was only then that she allowed her mind to drift to the other matter that was hurting her as much as baba's condition, DrAshutosh. She could not believe how he behaved that night. She knew she had an impulsive nature but she had leant her lesson and had shown how a dedicated doctor she was proving to be. But his behaviour in the ward earlier on reminded her of the caring man she had fallen in love but she was at a point that she could not let that come in her mind. Baba was the more important on her mind.
