Now let us speculate a bit on the possible scenarios post leap...
1. A short time leap- just enough to show Mallika giving birth to her child and Nidhi completing her internship etc now I know all of us want to see Mallika live and kicking on the show..but the problem is I don't see her value as a character beyond this track...so either she must make an exit permanently or temporarily. Since the J factor ( I don't mean jealousy) looms large, I have a feeling that it might boil down to a tussle between Jags and Mallu...Jags will defintiely try to harm Ashu and Nidhi...that is a given...so Jags may either kill Mallu or be killed by him...if Jags kills Mallu, the kid will be orphaned cos Jags will go to prison...so the baby will come to Ashu and Nidhi...if Mallu kills Jags, she will go to prison ( I can see a lot of smiling faces here at the thought of Mallu in prison)...and the baby will still come to Ashu and Nidhi by default...I know Aditya and Sure exist,..but they are in far off Australia...and if Mallu, before dying or going to prison, asks for the couple to take care of her kid, Ashu and Nidhi can hardly refuse...
Now this sets up a lot of drama for the future...Nidhi's pregnancy and childbirth...the adopted kid vs the biological kid debate, the kuch toh lo kahenge part with DB leading the brigade etc,...and in the middle of all this, there is Ashutosh and Nidhi still trying to be romantic with each other etc..
..and there is the possible emotional conflict if and when Jags or Mallu come back...So the show could go this way.
2. A longer leap...of two to three years...and Nidhi with a kid/ still trying to have a kid ( this would be dependent on Krithika Kamra)...Ashutosh sharing a close bond with Mallika's kid...Mallika continuing as a doctor at KGH...and Nidhi resenting the kid instead of Mallika this time...and Mallika trying to keep Ashu away from her kid to keep Nidhi happy ( good track this one, right 😆)
3. Twenty year leap - Nidhi is a super successful doc...Ashutosh is retired...he is trying to help his kids sort out their love lives..maybe there can be a romance between Mallu's son and Ashutosh and Nidhi's daughter 😉..
Okay, so get ready to throw the knives...just warn me beforehand so I can duck!