"Where's the doctor, why can't I feel my right leg! Get me the doctor now!!! Dutta roared. The nurses ran scambling to find the dr.
Dutta threw his head on his pillow in frustration. The last thing he remembered was the confrontation with Anna's men. They had surrounded him and that snake Anna ran away like a little coward yet again. Anna's men knew there was no army strong enough to stop Dutta Patil. He would finish each one of them one by one with his bare hands. Without waiting a second all 5 men charged towards Dutta. And as expected each guy went down like a fly. Just when Dutta was about to make his exit and find his way to Anna, he heard a shot and the sudden pang of pain. The next time he opened his eyes, he was here in the hospital bed unable to move his leg. He shielded his eyes from the neon white light. The smell of sterile cleaning solution lingered in the room. The nurse who just ran out like a scared little mouse had tried to explain to him that he had just had surgery to remove a bullet from his leg and that he should lay still and let her give him an injections to relieve his pain. Before she could puncture his skin, he yanked the needle from her hand and threw it clear across the room. He was going out of his mind. Why the hell couldn't he move his leg! It was just one bullet. He had weathered much worse and had the scars to prove it. He looked at his hands which were also bandaged up. He wondered if his family had been notified. They must be going insane not knowing his whereabouts. And Baaji was probably searching high and low. Out of frustration he swung his hand and hit the glass which was sitting on the side table. The glass landed clear across the room and shattered near Dr Nakusha Rao's feet right as she walked in the room. Dutta looked up in anger and his face froze, his heart skipped a beat and all the sudden his annoyance had melted away. There she stood, dressed in a simple yellow churidaar complimenting her petite figure, he hair pulled back in a tight pony tail, minimal makeup highlighting her stunning features and glasses rimmed around her striking green eyes. She stood there waiting for him to say something but Dutta was lost for words. Nakusha stood there for a few seconds before she realized her patient was staring at her so much so that she couldn't help but blush. She smiled ever so sweetly and looked down at the shattered glass. Deciding to finally break the silence, Nakusha walked up to Dutta and introduced herself as his current physician in-charge, Dr Nakusha Rao. Finally coming back to reality, Dutta snapped out of his trance and introduced himself as Dutta Shriram Patil. Most people would have some sort of reaction when hearing his name-which he secretly enjoyed but not this girl. Neither his name nor his presence seemed to faze her. This alone intrigued him.
She came and sat on a stool next to his bed. Nakusha told him that he was brought in by local some fishermen who found him almost lifeless at the beach. The shot that hit his thigh punctured a major vein which caused a lot of blood loss. In addition to the gun shot, he was badly beaten; his hands were cut and few rib cages broken. " you are lucky to be alive Mr Patil. Do you have any family I could contact for you?"
Dutta said he would speak to his family himself. "When will I be released?" he questioned. With a smile, Nakusha told him it would be in his best interest if he allowed himself a few more days to recover. Before he could argue, she stood up and ended the conversation by saying, "don't worry Mr Patil, I promise to take extra good care of you" and left his room, leaving him wondering when he would see her again.
He reached for the phone next to his bed and dialed home.
Nakusha made her way to her next patient but the image of Dutta refused to leave her. A smile started to play on her lips and she wondered why she was still thinking about "Mr.Patil"-afterall, this was the 1st time they met. Perhaps it was the way he looked at her when she walked in or how he looked right in to her eyes the whole time she was there. She had to admit one thing… he was quit the handsome devil, even in his beaten up state. "Tsk tsk Naskusha Rao- what in the world has gotten into you" she whispered to herself.
A few hours later Baaji arrived at the hospital with aayi sahib and all 3 sisters trailing behind him. They all rushed into Dutta's room one by one.. tears lined aayi sahibs eyes as she looked Dutta over who was sleeping soundly. The sisters all took a look at Dutta and sobbed sliently. Their one and only brother was laying in this state and they could do nothing to ease his pain. As the family took refuge to the sofa/couch in the room, Baaji went out to find the dr in charge of Dutta's care. A few minutes later, Nakusha made her way into Dutta's room after being paged by the nurse. She wondered why everyone was so scared of this patient and she recalled the hospital staff calling him "Bhao". She had only been in India for about a year so the slang was still something she was getting used to. Brushing off her train of thought, she moved forward.
Upon entering his room, Nakusha noticed everyone. An older woman, with a kind face sitting on the stool next to the patient. The look of concern on her face clearly indicated she was his mother. The other 3 women, all beautiful in their own right, dressed exquisitely and the finest sari's Nakusha had ever seen. Sisters…maybe?—or she hoped. All the sudden she is shaken out of her thought process by a man's voice " oye doctor". She turned to her left to see a rather handsome young guy. Dressed in a burgundy kurta and jeans. He walked and introduced himself as "Baaji" and asked about Dutta's condition. Nakusha went on to explain how he was brought in and the numerous procedures they performed on him to save his life. All the while Dutta was watching his dr and sheer admiration. The way she spoke, smiled and consoled his mother as she cried after hearing all the details. Something about this girl tugged at Dutta's heart. After all the formal introductions were over, Aayi sahib wanted to know if Dutta could be transferred to a hospital closer to the home which was about 2 hours away. Upon hearing this Dutta 's mind started racing to come up with an excuse… any excuse to stay close to his new found interest. He wanted to know more about her and wasn't ready to say bye to her just yet. Just then, Baaji jumped in and suggested it was a bad idea. Dutta just had surgery done a few hours ago and it would be safer for him to stay out of the city and lay low until Baaji had the chance to found the culprits who did this. " Waaah Baaji! If I could I jump up and and hug you I would"- thought Dutta.
Nakusha also chimed in and agreed that it would be safer to keep Dutta in one place at least until his wounds healed. The family turned to look at Dutta. They knew he never liked to stay away from home for long periods of time. But to their shock, he agreed without any hesitation. "Hmm.. maybe its for the best that I stay back, Baaji, I trust you will handle everything at home and I will return when the time is right." Upon hearing this, Baaji smiled and agreed whole heartedly. Something told Baaji that there was more to this story than Dutta was leading on… and he had a hunch that it may have to do with his outrageously gorgeous dr. But Baaji knew better than to say anything. "But what are you going to eat-you only like food cooked at home, who will take care of you, maybe I should stay with you" said Aayi Sahib with an anxious tone. Nakusha took a step towards aayi sahib and looked at her warmly and reassured her not to worry about her son. "Auntyji, don't worry, Mr Patil is now my responsibility (Dutta smirked at the sound of that-which of course did not go un-noticed by Baaji) I promise you will have your son back fully recovered in no time. I will see to it that he is comfortable and well taken care of. As for food, I'm the same way, I only like my food cooked at home, I will make sure he eats well and properly." Aayi sahib smiled and agreed. The family said their good byes and finally headed home, leaving only Nakusha and Dutta in his room. She looked at him and smiled. "You have a very lovely family Mr Patil" she said. "Thank you, but please call me Dutta, there is no need for all this formality" "Very well—Duttaji- tonight I'm keeping you a liquid diet and tomorrow morning I promise you some home cooked food" She reached over and inspected the incision on his leg and the bandages on his hands. He shivered at her touch every time. Nakusha bid him good night and said she's see him bright and early in the morning. "Good night Naku" he murmured under his breath…This was going to be one really long night thought Dutta.
Sorry guys- this took so long to post. I will have the next chapter up hopefully sooner than later. Again—sorry for any mistakes. xoxo