They reached the hotel and when the car stopped with the jerk, both of them woke up and found themselves entwined in each other's arms.
Kalpi blushed furiously and looked down totally embarrassed. Vihaan did not want to move at all. She fitted into his arms perfectly and he was really enjoying the feeling of having her ensconced next to his body.
She slowly lifted up her eyes towards Vihaan and found herself looking into the green depths of Vihaan's eyes as she found him looking at her. Both stared and each other for a long moment where they found themselves lost, unable to pull away.
Suddenly they were both brought back to the land of the living with the sharp buzz of Vihaan's mobile.
Vihaan and Kalpi moved away from each other's arms and Vihaan picked up the phone. Kalpi who was looking at Vihaan suddenly found his face grow ashen.
Vihaan said, "I will be there as soon as possible. I will leave right now".
His voice was trembling and Kalpi got worried and held his hand and looked at him with questioning eyes.
"Naani had a heart attack and has been admitted to a hospital in Jaipur. I have to leave right now." Vihaan said in broken voice.
"Don't worry, everything will be alright. My father recovered from a heart attack and he is hale and hearty. I am sure Naani is going to perfectly alright." Kalpi and gripped his hand in support and Vihaan held her tight.
"Vihaan, I am coming with you to Jaipur and I will make all the arrangements for travel. I will call the director and inform him also." Kalpana said going in her take charge mode.
Before exiting the car, she leaned over to Vihaan impulsively and hugged him and said, "Vihaan, I am going to be there for you and nothing bad is going to happen to Naani."
Vihaan was shattered by the event as he could not even bear the thought of losing his Naani who was his whole world, but Kalpana's support really boosted him up. He felt glad that she was going to be there with him.
Kalpi made all the arrangements to fly them out immediately and informed the director accordingly. The director was very co-operative.
She suddenly realized that she had just packed for a day and the documents that had to be delivered to Mumbai office were still in her custody.
She made arrangements with the chopper guy to get the document delivered to office in Mumbai, as she had already arranged for a chartered flight to Jaipur. She also decided that she would shop in Jaipur for clothes if necessary, but she would stay with Vihaan and Naani till she recovered. There was no doubt in her mind that she needed to be there with Vihaan and she did not lose a moment wondering why she needed to be with him.
Both boarded the chartered flight. She too had fallen in love with Naani in this short time and was really worried about her, but she felt more worried about Vihaan who seemed to have fallen apart. He seemed to be functioning on auto-pilot and had fallen completely silent. He was in real emotional pain and Kalpi was hurting for him.
She sat beside him in the plane and as soon as they were air-borne, Kalpi took his hand in hers and unconsciously softly stroked his palm with her fingers and Vihaan looked up at her. He could feel her unspoken sympathy and support. Her sympathy proved to be his undoing and he said brokenly, "Kalpana, I can't lose her. She is the only person I have left in my life."
"I can understand what you are going through, Vihaan. Just 2 months back I was in the same situation, but I know that with the latest strides in medical science, heart problems are very treatable and I am sure that she is going to recover completely." Kalpi said.
"You know, Kalpana, Naani has been the most important person in my life since my childhood. My mom used to always travel with my dad during his shootings and I spent most of the growing days with only my Naani for company. My Naani stayed with us only because she believed that I should not be left alone with my servants. Then after my parent' death, it was just me and Naani together fighting through the darkest days. You know, Naani is so young at heart, I can share just about everything with her. At the same time she can be tough when needed. In my childhood she has whipped my hide multiple times when I needed it" Vihaan said.
Kalpi said, "Your Naani is really special, I fell in love with her the instant I met her. She is one of the most generous and loving persons I have met. You are very lucky to have her in your life and I am glad to have known her, thanks to you."
Vihaan started conversing about Naani and Kalpi realized that he needed this outlet to keep his mind off his Naani's illness. She found him slowly relaxing.
Vihaan started telling Kalpi anecdotes of his naughty childhood and how his Naani handled him and soon both of them were smiling. Kalpi could just imagine how adorable Vihaan would have been in his childhood.
Kalpi had asked the hotel people to pack food for them and Kalpi asked Vihaan to eat something. Initially Vihaan refused, but Kalpi insisted adorably and Vihaan agreed.
They began eating and Vihaan teased her, "The food is not half as tasty as your food".
The last piece of cheese was lying on the plate and Kalpana was insisting on Vihaan eating it and suddenly Vihaan picked it up and popped it into Kalpi's mouth.
Kalpi said smilingly, "That was cheating".
"Anything to stop you from blabbering" Vihaan teased.
"I don't blabber", Kalpi said with mock anger making a move to hit him.
He held her hand close to his chest and said, "This is true, you don't blabber. I love talking to you and would not miss hearing you talk for the world."
Kalpi's blush made its regular appearance again and Vihaan left her hand.
Vihaan suddenly realized that Kalpi had kept him distracted during the entire flight keeping his thoughts away from his Naani's condition. He could not believe how much she had come to mean to him in the short time.
The flight landed and his uncle had arranged for a car to pick them up. They rushed to the hospital where his uncle was waiting.
His uncle informed Vihaan that his Naani had undergone an Angioplasty, which was successful, but due to her age the doctor had said that they needed to watch her closely for the next 12 hours.
Vihaan talked to the doctor who reiterated what his uncle and told him.
"Kalpana please go back to the house with my uncle, so that you can both rest. I will wait here" Vihaan said.
Kalpana refused to go, but Vihaan forced her to go. Kalpana did not want to create a scene and hence left with his uncle.
Vihaan's uncle was very polite, but Kalpana felt very awkward because she did not know him at all. As soon they reached Vihaan's uncle's Haveli she was in for another shock and it was not a house at all but a beautiful palace, huge and palatial. Her nervousness went up another notch.
She was introduced to Vihaan's aunt and few other relatives and all of them were very friendly and polite.
She was taken into her own room, which was an example of plush elegance. She felt totally out of place, dressed in her jeans and T-shirt. She felt that this room should belong to a beautiful princess.
Kalpi freshened up and went down for dinner. The dinner was sumptuous, but she could not do justice to the food as she felt very worried about Vihaan. She wanted to be there with him. All through the dinner she tried to gather courage to request Vihaan's uncle for a car to drive back to the hospital.
Once the dinner ended, she could no longer control herself and told Vihaan's uncle that she wanted to go back to the hospital. Seeing her earnestness and sincerity, his uncle did not refuse and he gave her chauffer driven car.
She reached the corridor of the hospital and took the forlorn figure of Vihaan sitting in one of the hospital chairs with his head bowed down. She had to use all her will-power not to run towards Vihaan and take him in her arms. She felt shocked by the strong emotion she was experiencing. She controlled herself and walked slowly towards Vihaan.
Vihaan felt a tingle down his spine and suddenly looked up and saw Kalpi walking towards him and his heart suddenly lifted unexpectedly and he got up from the chair and moved towards her and hugged her tight.
She hugged him back and both basked in the intense emotional feeling they both experienced.
Suddenly Vihaan removed himself from her arms and asked, "Why did you come back? I told you to rest at home"
"I wanted to be with you. I did not want to leave you alone. Please do not send me away", Kalpi said pleadingly.
Vihaan could not resist the sincerity that he saw in her eyes and said, "Ok, Kalpana. To tell the truth I am glad to have you here."
Soon a pretty young nurse came to him and said flirtatiously, "I am a huge fan of yours. I am sure your Naani will be perfectly alright."
Vihaan said, "Thanks"
Kalpi who was standing next to him suddenly felt a huge surge of anger towards this nurse.
"You do not have to wait here you know. There is a special private lounge for patient's relatives, where they can rest and wait. You should be able to see your grandmother in the morning" the nurse said.
Vihaan and Kalpi moved to the longue and Kalpi thought that it looked like a plush hotel room.
Kalpi forced Vihaan to lie down on one of the couches and she promised that she would lie down in a short time too.
Vihaan was soon fast asleep and Kalpi looked at him and thought how adorable and innocent he looked in his sleep.
Soon Kalpi also fell asleep in the sitting position itself.
Vihaan woke up in the middle of the night and saw her sleeping peacefully and he was lost in admiration of her innocent beauty. Her long thick eyelashes cast enchanting shadows on her cheeks and her beautiful mouth which was slightly open entranced him.
He fell back to sleep just staring at her.
In the morning, the doctor came into the Longue, since Vihaan got special treatment whenever he went.
"Your grandmom is out of danger and she is in recovery. She is one strong woman and I am sure she is going to be perfectly alright soon. You can see her in another hour" the doctor said.
Vihaan suddenly felt happy beyond words. The doctor left the room and Vihaan looked at Kalpi and said, "She is going to be alright, Kalpana. I am so happy."
"I know and I am so glad", Kalpi said.
Unconsciously they moved towards each other and were in each other's arms. The hug started as a hug of support, but soon changed colour as Vihaan started caressing her back. He soon moved his head and gently placed his lips on hers. He traced the shape of her lips with his. Initially Kalpana was too shocked to do anything, but suddenly as Vihaan's lips tenderly caressed her lips, she started responding instinctively. Kalpi who had never been kissed before returned the kisses with untutored passion and soon the kiss went to another level altogether. Suddenly Kalpi had a realization about what was happening and she pushed Vihaan away and both stared at each other speechless for a long awkward moment.
.