||Just One Breath Away-AN FF~VM pg 122|| - Page 17

Abhimanyu stood at the foot of the bed, checking out a few reports.

It had been three days since the accident, and Vishal was still in coma. Once the nurse exited the cabin, he sat on the edge of the bed, taking in his appearance. It was so hard to see him like this, unmoving…his talkative best friend hadn't said a word in the past few days.

Since Vishal had been admitted under Dr. Shashank, Abhimanyu had no worries regarding his recovery. He was sure that his friend would receive the fullest attention and care from the renowned doctor.

A knock on the window from outside diverted his attention, and he turned around to see Nikita asking him through gestures if she could come in.

Her sweetness moved him…she was thoughtful enough to give him his personal space. Only she could do that. He waved his hand, telling her to come in.

She walked in slowly and stood beside him. "Hey."

It felt so good to see her again. She had been so burdened with duty that they hadn't met the last day, but she had still called him up at night to ask him how he was, and how Vishal was doing. She had even sent a "Get Well Soon" card to Vishal, which now stood on his bedside table. He looked fondly at the brightly coloured card sitting on the table top. It was as cheerful as it's sender herself.

He smiled and stood up. "Hey…" he said, and gave her a hug.

Surprised, she smiled and gestured at him to come out.

"Let's go to the cafeteria…you've been in here for the past hour." She told him, and he followed her.

The caf was quite empty as they had both come after lunch time, and they settled themselves at a table with two cups of coffee.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come yesterday…" she apologised.

"It's okay Nikki", he cut in. "I know you were busy."

"Yes…I wanted to come, though…"

"Thanks for the card", he said, "It adds colour to the room", he smiled.

She smiled back, but it soon turned into a grimace. "Yeah…I wanted to give it myself, but had to deliver it instead. You won't believe how much work I had yesterday…" she started off, and Abhimanyu smilingly listened to her, feeling happier to have his mind off the tension.

"…And as if all that wasn't enough, Dr. Keerti gave me emergency duty, that too at night!" she exclaimed incredulously, and he nodded sympathetically, amazed at how much she could talk. They had finished their cups of coffee, had two sandwiches, and were now sipping orange juice, but she was still talking.

"You have no idea how many emergency deliveries I had to help with", she made a face. "All of the women had to go into labour when I was on duty, eh! Couldn't they wait till the next day?" she huffed.

Unable to stop himself, he burst out laughing.

"What?" she stopped mid rant, and looked at him puzzled. "What happened?"

"You…" he bubbled with laughter.

"I'm funny?" she looked even more confused.

"No…what you said…it's just that…oh Nikki, do you have any idea how much you talk?" he chortled.

"I know I talk too much, but…" she looked down embarrassedly.

"No, no…I like it…you lifted my mood…really Nikki, 'couldn't they wait till the next day?'…tum bhi na…" he took a sip of juice, still grinning.

"You're laughing at me?" she faked a hurt look, which immediately turned into a smile. "Oh well, at least you're smiling…I missed that."

"I missed it too…" he said, leaning towards her on the table. "And you know something?" he asked her in a stage whisper.

"No! Do tell…" she leaned forward too, and looked at him in mock over-enthusiasm.

"I missed you too", he grinned at her lovingly.

"Really?" she gasped shockingly. "I never thought that day would come…you sure you're alright?" she laughed.

"I think so…might need some medication though", he furrowed his brows in deep thinking.

"Forget it…you're nicer this way!"

"Which way?"

"Like this…smiling as you are, and being happy instead of worrying all the time", she said.

His look of concentration changed to one of softness.

"You think so?"

"I know so", she confirmed with a smile, and his heart went out to her.

***

The gang entered the caf to have a snack, and they froze when they saw Nikita and Abhimanyu occupying a table near the corner, leaning towards each other and smiling fondly.

"What the-?" Armaan stopped himself just in time before cursing once again, and Riddhima raised a sceptical eyebrow at him.

"What are they doing?" he modified his statement, and Muskaan nodded in agreement.

"Nothing…drinking juice, can't you see?" Riddhima replied and pulled him to a table, making him sit down.

"But what are they doing leaning so close?" he said suspiciously. "And why is Nikki smiling like that?"

"Do you want her to cry?" Riddhima asked him, and he turned towards her.

"No, of course not!"

"Then just leave her alone Armaan…maybe they're just friends", she explained reasonably.

Armaan gaped at her while Atul said sweetly, "Yes! That can be…good point Riddhima!"

"Atul!" Anjali swatted him on his arm.

"What happened Anjali?" he asked her. "Did I say something wrong?"

Anjali simply rolled her eyes.

"Okay Anjali, I will never say that again if you don't like it. They can't be friends. Okay?" Atul tried to gain her attention back, but it focused primarily on the two people occupying the table across them, completely oblivious to their surroundings.

"Come on Atul, at least you should understand!" Riddhima tried to gain back her one supporter, but he would have none of it.

"No Ridzi, Anjali doesn't like them being friends, so they can't be friends, right Anjali?" he asked her.

"Shut up Atul!" she glared at him and he immediately quietened.

"Leave it guys, please", Riddhima pleaded.

"Okay…but if he dares do something na…" Armaan muttered darkly.

"You won't do anything because it's entirely Nikki's business", Riddhima completed the sentence for him, and he groaned.

***

A nurse walked up to Abhimanyu and grabbed his attention, making his look up from Nikita's loving gaze.

"Sir, the patient…your friend, he has woken up…" she spoke, and Abhimanyu immediately stood up.

"What!" he exclaimed, and Nikita also stood up suddenly.

"Yes sir, he's woken up and…"

"Take me to him, now", he ordered even before the burse could finish speaking, and walked out of the cafeteria, Nikita and the nurse following suit behind him.

***

"Where are those two marching off to?" Muskaan asked no one in particular, watching Abhimanyu distastefully.

"The nurse came to call them, so I guess it must be some patient…duty maybe", Anjali supplied logic, and Armaan glared at her for it. Riddhima poked him in the ribs and he scowled.

***

Abhimanyu literally flew into the cabin to see Vishal with his eyes open, saying something to Dr. Shashank who was asking him a few questions and doing some checks on him.

Dr. Shashank saw him and nodded, conveying to him that he was free to talk.

Heaving a relieved sigh, he walked up to his friend, who turned his head in his direction and gave him a feeble smile. Nikita watched it from the door, not wanting to interrupt.

"Hey mate…how're you feeling?" Abhimanyu asked him, giving him a smile.

"Never been better", Vishal winked at him.

"You gave me a scare, yaar!"

"Don't worry; I was scared as well…you're not alone. With a broken leg and ribs and what not…" he trailed away, looking slightly confused.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" he asked him.

"Huh?" Vishal blinked.

Abhimanyu patted Vishal's arm and walked over to Dr. Shashank worriedly. "Is it due to the TBI or is something else wrong?" he whispered.

"No, it's the TBI. I checked. He'll be fine…you'll need patience, Dr. Modi. Even though it's mild, he will have difficulty in focusing and paying attention…even in balancing himself", he said grimly.

"But it can all be treated, right?" Abhimanyu asked, looking for confirmation, which he got.

"Yes, I think so. I can't tell how much time it will take, though…it differs from patient to patient. Let's see…though he doesn't seem too confused to me…at least he responded to you at first." Dr. Shashank gave him a tight-lipped smile. "But he will need a lot of rest along with therapy. Make sure he sleeps a lot."

"Oh…okay."

"I think he's strong enough, Dr. Modi. You just need to be there for him." He gave the younger doctor a reassuring smile before walking away.

Abhimanyu walked back to Vishal's bedside and sat on the bed, smiling at him.

"What were you whispering?" Vishal asked him suspiciously.

"Nothing…doctor stuff", he answered.

"Doctor stuff…" he repeated. "About my brain injury thing?"

"It's Traumatic Brain Injury…and he said you'll be fine", he smiled.

"Yeah whatever…I don't like doctors", he winked at Abhimanyu.

"I'm a doctor", Abhimanyu said incredulously, but being careful to be slow so that Vishal could catch on.

"So? Who said I liked you?" he stuck out his tongue at him.

Abhimanyu grinned. "You haven't changed at all!"

"Neither have you Abhi", he said, his words slurring slightly.

Noticing the change, Abhi immediately sobered up and said, "You should take rest."

"What?" he asked. After a moment, he spoke again. "Oh…oh, no I've had enough…enough of rest", he nodded, wincing.

"You need it…you're getting confused. Go to sleep."

"But…"

Before he could gather his thoughts, Abhimanyu rang for the nurse who gave him an injection to make him fall asleep.

"I hate you", he murmured after a while, his eyes half-closed.

"I'll come again later…you get well soon", Abhimanyu said softly and walked out of the room to Nikita, turning off the lights.

*****

It was 1:15 in the night. Abhimanyu walked out of the shower in a pair of black slacks, looking for a vest to wear for the night.

Just as he was about to go to his cupboard to find one, his phone rang, indicating that he had received a new message.

Climbing on to the bed, he reached for the phone which was lying somewhere in the folds of the comforter. Finally finding it, he wasn't at all surprised to see that it was a message from Nikita.

Are you awake?

A smirk forming on his lips, he typed a reply.

Yes…what made you think I wouldn't be awake at 1:30 am?

I'm sorry if I woke you up. Who do you have to be so sarcastic all the time?

No I was awake. Can I ask you something?

What?

Who made you a doctor?

What? What do you mean by that?

He could picture the look on her face. Mischievously, he typed a reply. You should have been a night guard.

A few seconds later, Nikki called him. Uh Oh…my Nikki Pehelwan is mad…he chortled and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

She launched on him without warning…or at least, greeting. "Why should I be a night guard?"

Clearly, she was fuming. And he was enjoying it immensely.

"Well…you stay awake all night and worry about how other people are doing…so I thought that…"

"Shut up!"

"Nikki, seriously…this should be your alternative career option", he laughed.

"Abhi…would you stop being so insufferable?" she said exasperatedly.

"Okay, okay so I was joking…why are you awake this late?"

"We've had a power cut", she complained.

"So? Is it too hot? You can't sleep?" he asked her, sympathising yet not understanding the reason for her not being able to sleep.

"No, it's not the heat…" she deliberated.

"Then?" he asked confused.

"It's…it's so dark…" she said so quietly that he almost couldn't hear.

"That's okay Nikki, you can just go to sleep and…" he started, but then stopped talking when it hit him. "You…you're afraid of the dark?" he asked, putting two and two together and stifling a laugh.

"I…err…" she hesitated from her end.

"My goodness…my Nikki Pehelwan is scared of the dark!" he exclaimed.

When she didn't reply, he composed himself and sympathetically advised her, "Light a candle Nikki…and go to sleep. You won't be afraid if you're asleep."

"I can't light a candle…I can't see anything, it's too dark…" she wailed.

"Oh Nikki…stop being a scaredy cat!" he told her off fondly. "Gather some courage…and go light a candle. Use the light from your cell phone."

"I can't."

"Who not?" he sighed.

I'm talking to you."

He smiled at her logic. "Then cut the call, and light a candle. It will be fine, Nikki. Don't be afraid."

"I don't want to cut the call!"

"Nikki…stop making excuses!" he tried to sound stern.

"Okay okay, I'll do it", she gave in.

"Good. Now be courageous", he grinned into the speaker. "And goodnight."

"Yeah, goodnight", she cut the call.

He smiled at the phone and walked over to the cupboard to take out a vest. He was just about to put it on when the lights went off.

Cursing lightly under his breath, he carefully walked to the direction of the bedside table when his eyes adjusted to the dark. Taking out a torch, he went to the kitchen and came back with a lighted candle.

Setting the candle on the table, he deliberated whether to wear the vest. Discarding the idea as it was too hot to do so; he lay down after throwing the comforter down to the foot of the bed.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, his phone rang again.

Without bothering to see who had called, he put the phone to his ear and drawled, "Yes, Nikki."

Her happy and relieved voice sounded from the receiver. "The lights came back on!"

"I know", he replied.

"Huh? What do you mean?" she asked bewildered.

"I took your sorrow."

"What?" she was thoroughly confused.

"Your lights came back on and mine went off…" he grumbled.

"Oh…that's sad. But you're not afraid", she reasoned.

"That's a plus point", he agreed. "So now we can both sleep."

"Yes…but what was stopping you from sleeping?" she questioned.

"Well, you were so scared…how could I be in peace when you're so worried?" he said tongue-in-cheek.

"Oh shut up…go to sleep. It's late."

"Yes, so should you."

"That's what I'm telling you!"

"Isn't this conversation familiar…" he said amusedly, talking with his eyes closed as he was no longer able to keep them open.

"Ha…you're right", she giggled. "Well, goodnight then."

"Yes, goodnight…again", he said.

"See you tomorrow…bye."

"Bye", he smiled.