AvNeil One Shot

"Ab mai tabhi khaungi jab Neil apne haathon se mujhe khilayega." Her determined voice rang in Neela's ear as she watched her daughter talk to her sleeping husband through the glass plane located on the door.

Avni had kept her word. Not only had she refused to eat but also did not have a drop of water since long. It had been two days now that they had been running around for a matching liver and finally had found it. The liver transplant operation had been successful and Neela sent a silent prayer to whatever God in the heaven for their mercy. Had something happened to Neil... She did not dare to think beyond that.

Avni came out of the room after a few minutes as if still in a trance and quietly walked away, not responding to anyone around her. As a concerned Neela exchanged a glance with Bebe and went after Avni, Prakash finally peeped through the small glass pane looking at his son whom he had almost lost. Had Avni not been so determined, they would have lost him forever.

~*~

"Avni..." Neela went and stood near her daughter in front of the small statue of Ganesha. "Ab to kuch kha le bachha."

"Nahi Maa. Neil ko hosh nahi aaya abhi tak."

"Neil ab theek hai beta... All thanks to you. Wo theek ho jayega. Kuch kha le."

"Abhi nahi Maa. Thodi der me kha lungi."

And she walked away from there leaving her mother worried but also very proud of her.

~*~

Avni walked away from her mother with determined steps. To the outside world, she was a strong girl but from inside she was breaking every minute. Seeing her husband in such a situation had scared her like hell. Her super cop husband, the invincible Neil Khanna had come so close to death. She did not want to remember the last 48 hours. Till now, she had been operating under the effects of adrenaline, but now that the job was done tiredness was seeping into every pore of her being. Added to it her decision to not eat till Neil was perfectly safe and sound was taking its toll. She felt her head reeling and blindly grabbed around to find some support. She found purchase against the solid hospital wall and leaned against it in exhaustion. No... She could not afford to be weak. Neil needed her now and she had to be strong for his sake. Taking a deep breath she dug deep inside her for the vestiges of patience which led her surmount the difficult times of her life. Drawing strength from that reservoir, she pulled herself together and walked towards her husband's cabin.

~*~

DD watched her surreptitiously and with growing concern. He knew she had not eaten anything, none of them had but atleast they took turns in keeping watch and forcing some nourishment into their body. But this girl, Neil Sir's wife had yet to drink even a drop of water. Unknowingly he had become a witness to the conversation between Bhabhiji and her mother and knew that Avni would not care about her health, not until Neil was hale and hearty.

They all owed it to this determined and bull headed girl. It was due to her untiring efforts, unflinching faith and dogged determination that they had been able to save Neil Sir. And knowing the Khanna family and the situation they were going through, he doubted if the family knew the extent of Avni's devotion. Well, someone needed to inform Neil Sir about his head strong wife. If there was one person who could convince Avni to take it slow, it had to be Neil Sir.

~*~

The sun was going down the horizon when Neil finally gained consciousness. True, he has been awake for some time in the afternoon but he did not want to meet his family and had feigned sleep. Trust his father to catch him in the task. But he was grateful that his father supported him.

Now he found DD sitting next to him waiting for him to come around.

"DD...! Tum ghar nahi gaye?"

"Nahi Sir." His man friday smiled at him and Neil could see the relief in the man's eyes. It touched him to see the concern in the eyes of his friend. Though he tries to conceal it, DD was scouring his face, looking for any signs of discomfort.

Neil smiled softly and shook his head. "Mai theek hun, DD. Don't worry."

It was a first to see DD to take a pause and then say, "Wo to nahi hoga, Sir."

Neil smiled and DD changed the topic. But Neil knew there was something which DD wanted to tell him but did not know how to start. He took pity on the man and asked him directly. "kya baat hai DD. Batao."

Relief coursed through the man and he began his narrative starting from the time of bomb blast. At the end of his speech, Neil sat shell shocked.

"Avni..." He was too stunned to react, to say anything but he pondered, pondered over everything DD had told him. God, he needed to see if his wife was okay and...

"Usne kuch khaya bhi hai, DD?" that was all he could think to ask.

A slow shake of head and Neil knew that the answer to the question was negative.

"Can you do me a favour?"

DD listened as Neil made his request and then left promising him to do just as he asked.

Neil lay there on the hospital bed, trying to unravel this mystery but his mind kept coming back to Avni.

"Tum sab se badi paheli ho, Avni." he sighed and settled down to wait.

~*~

DD knew that the best way to get Avni to Neel would be through Neela and so he approached her. Neela listened to him with rapt attention ans then smiled.

"Don't worry, DD. Avni ko mai bhejti hun."

The plan was set. All that was needed was to let these two love birds sort it out.

~*~

Neel awoke to the sound of metallic dragging and clinking of crockery. He woke up to find Avni dressed in a pale yellow saree making her way towards him pushing the trolley of food.

She smiled at him and a warm feeling spread through his chest rendering him incapable of saying anything other than staring at her.

"Aise kya ghoor rahe ho?" she asked him after a few minutes of silence in which she cut the fruits she had brought for him.

Neil smiled to himself. He knew Avni was not used to people staring at her, but if that person was him then she became even more uncomfortable. Well, she was his wife and he had every right to stare at her.

She placed the plate of apples on the side table and turned towards him with a bowl of soup.

"Dekho mai tumhare liye kya lagi hun... Soup. Wo bhi ghar ka bana hua. Warna hospital ka khana kha ke to achha bhala aadmi beemar pad jaye."

She took a spoonful of the light soup and brought it to his lips. "Lo."

He caught her wrist in a firm grip. "Aakhir tumne meri jaan bacha hi li na?"

God knew there was a lot he wanted to say. He wanted to ask her why she went into so much trouble but it also heartened him that she cared for him this much. He could see that she was still shaken. Her beautiful eyes did not have the usual gleam and there were dark circles under them which she had concealed with make up. He knew that was make up. His wife was a very simple person.

"Tumne bhi to mujhe bachaya tha na." she tried to downplay her involvement and it irritated him to no end that she still was not ready to accept anything. True, even he had no name for the feeling coursing through his veins but he was sure about one thing - she mattered to him, much more than anything in this world. She was the breath of fresh air in the otherwise bleak existence of his life. She invoked feelings which he thought had died a long time back. He knew she felt the same. But she was not ready to accept them. And that irritated the living hell out of him.

"Fir se ye ehesaan ke match me la gayi tum? he couldn't stop himself from uttering these words.

"Jo pichle do dino me hua hai mai uske bare me baat nahi karna chahti. Kabhi nahi. He could see the tears which his wife was trying to hold at bay. He just looked on as she visibly gathered herself and again tried to feed him a spoonful of the soup.

"Ye lo.

He again caged her wrist in his firm hold. "Pooch sakta hun kyun?

"Wo darr... wo pal... jab mujhe laga ki mai tumhe humesha humesha ke liye kho sakti hun. Nahi... mai wo yaad nahi karna chahti... please.

He let her go, unable to see the tears forming in her beautiful eyes. It broke his heart to see her like this.

"Yaad hai dahi handi wale din jab maine tumhe awaaz lagai thi to pata hai mai kya kehna chah rahi thi? she asked in a choked voice.

"Kya? He was very glad that his voice did not waver. He did not want to think about what his girl had gone through n these last 2 days.

And she told him... all about the bomb blast, how Neela Maa had found the thermocole model by pure luck, how she had pieced together the facts. He had to thank that woman for her help. It was no wonder Avni had inherited the woman's brains... not inherited but well... the sentiment remained.

He waited this time silently as she fed him the soup without interruption and then turned his attention back towards the food trolley.

"Wo kya hai? he pointed towards the small steel tiffin box sitting inconspicuously on the trolley.

"Pata nahi... Neela Maa ne bheja hai. Chalo dekhte hain. Neel smiled to himself knowing fully well what was there in the box.

Avni opened the box to find it full of her favourite poha. "Poha? Neela Maa ne poha kyun bheja?

For all her sharpness, Avni was really dunce at times. With a smile, he took her by the arm and made her sit next to him. "Lao... idhar dikhao.

"Arey ruko, mai khilati hun. Par... kya tumhe abhi solid food khana chahiye? I don't think so. She pursed her lips and thought about it for a moment.

Neil smiled at the cute face she was making and gently took the tiffin from her hand.

"Arey Neil...

"Sssh... He took a spoonful of poha and held it in front of her lips. "Khao... he smiled softly.

"Arey Neil... par mai...??? she fumbled, not knowing what to say.

"Jab mai tumhe apne haathon se khilaunga tabhi khaogi... yahi kaha than a tum ne?

"Kya... Tumhe kaise pata chala? she was too stunned to react. "Neela Ma... she trailed off.

"Nahi... Neela Maa ne kuch nahi kaha. Khao. Mai khila raha hun na.

Avni looked at him for a long time. Their eyes locked and neither of them had the courage to turn off the switch. Finally, after a long time she opened her mouth and he fed her the spoonful of poha.

A silent tear trickled down her eyes and his heart twisted at the sight.

"Bas Avni... bas. He whispered.

And there she was, sobbing into his chest as the exertion, pain and worry of the past two days flowed out in the form of her tears. And he just held her close, his love cocooning her as he let her cry her heart out, content to have her in his arms.

She was not his past, but she was his present and his heart accepted that she was his future and he was determined not to let her go.

~~~*~~~

PS: This has been posted in a hurry and has not been proof read. DO forgive the errors.

~Ciao

Isis