FF-Tum Kaun Ho (Chapters45-70) - Page 41

Tum Kaun Ho?

A Maaneet Fan Fic

Chapter 54
May 14, 2011 10:30 am

"GT, this is really fun. How come we never took Stella to the park before?"

"Well, at home, all of the parks have rules that people who bring dogs to the park have to have them on a leash. Chicago can give people a special pass to bring their dogs without leashes."

"Wow, GT, let's come here every day!"

JD was so excited because he and Geet had come to Grant Park with Stella. JD loved it because there was so much more room to run around than the backyard at home. Geet had brought a bunch of toys with them, but the one JD liked the most was the frisbee. He would throw it as far as he could, which was sometimes not very far. Then Stella would run to fetch it and bring it back.

JD and Geet would take turns, with JD often running with Stella when it was Geet's turn to throw what ever item they were using. Stella loved this and often didn't want to give up whatever item she had in her jaws. Playing tug of war with JD was almost as fun as fetching things.

After they had been there for about an hour, and the two humans were tired enough that Geet was starting to think of lunch, Stella seemed to get her second wind. JD was trying to get the dog to let go of the frisbee, but she wouldn't. JD kept pulling and shaking, but Stella would not let go. JD was becoming even more tired as he tried to take the toy away.

Smiling, Geet said, "JD, why don't I give you some help."

Everything that happened after Geet said those words was so quick, that she had no time to process. As she reached down to grab the frisbee, Stella picked that moment to pull very hard, toppling both JD and Geet. As Geet felt herself falling she also felt a sharp pain in her arm. A loud noise and explosion of small pieces of bark from the nearby tree accompanied the pain, eliciting a scream of shock from Geet.

Somehow her brain immediately recognized that they had been shot at. Not consciously aware of what she was doing, Geet grabbed JD by the arm and Stella's collar, pulling them behind the tree just as she heard another gun shot. Stella was barking for all she was worth, while Geet repeatedly told JD to stay down, placing herself in front of him, crouching as low as she could.

"Stay, Stella, stay!" cried Geet, while she fumbled to get her phone out of her pocket.

Stella had tried to run towards the source of the shooting, but Geet had held tightly into her collar, afraid she would get hit. Once Geet ordered her to stay, Stella calmed down some, curling up protectively against JD. She kept barking, but now that Geet didn't have to hang onto her collar, she was able to dial 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Um...my...my nephew and I are in Grant Park with my dog and I think someone just shot at us."

"Okay, Ma'am I need you to calmly tell me exactly what happened."

"We were just playing with the dog when I felt a sharp pain and heard a loud noise."

"Ma'am have you been shot?"

"Uh...well..." Geet looked over at her shoulder but she couldn't quite see so she reached over with her free hand and hissed in pain when her finger touched the wound. When she pulled her hand back, the tips of her fingers were red with blood.

"I...uh...I'm bleeding but I don't think there is actually a bullet...I mean I think it just grazed my shoulder."

"GT, I'm scared!"

Geet momentarily held the phone away from her ear and looked over at JD, who was crouched down behind Stella, hugging the dog fiercely. "Don't worry, JD," she said comfortingly, "everything will be alright. You just stay down there."

"Ma'am? Ma'am, are you still with me?"

Geet turned her attention back to the phone and said, "Yes, I'm still here."

"Ma'am, there are police and ambulance on the way. I need you to stay with me until they get there, okay?"

"Okay."

"Can you tell me anything about the shooter? Is anyone else injured?"

"I didn't see who did the shooting. Uh...It looks like some other people in the park are taking cover, but I don't know if anyone else was shot. I only remember hearing two shots, but I can't be sure."

May 14, 2011 12:00 pm Somewhere

"It was NOT supposed to happen like this!"

"Stay calm. The important thing is that you didn't get caught."

"I waited so long for this to be the outcome?"

"We knew there was a possibility of things not going as planned. That is why we made other arrangements."

"True. But something is going to have to be done. I can't keep facing failure."

"Well, you know what you have to do then. Things won't work out until she's eliminated."

"I know."

May 14, 2011 12:08 pm

"Dadi, I told you to stay home."

"Maan, I know you consider me a frail old lady, but if you think that I'm going to stay home when JD and Geet need me, then you need to think again. Now, I repeat, SLOW DOWN! It would be the stupidest thing to get a speeding ticket while on the way to the police station."

Maan complied, but it was incredibly hard. From the minute he had gotten the phone call from the Chicago State Street police department, he had been dying inside. It didn't matter what they told him, until he saw Geet and could evaluate her condition for himself, he would not be at peace. The moment the car was parked in the lot, Maan was out and rushing inside the police station without even waiting for Dadi. Maan's racing heartbeat only began to calm down when he saw the young woman with a small boy on her lap and the dog at her feet, speaking softly with one of the police officers whose desk she was sitting at.

"Geet," came the anguished utterance, which was all Maan could get passed the lump in his throat.

Geet and JD turned towards Maan, JD sliding off Geet's lap and running up to Maan with his arms stretched out. "Uncle, someone tried to hurted me and GT, but the police came and saved us!"

Maan lifted JD up into his arms for a strong hug, his eyes never leaving Geet. When he saw the bandage placed on her shoulder by the paramedics, his jaw hardened in barely suppressed rage. As Maan put JD down so that he could run to Dadi, Geet stood up, unsure of what to say to him. Maan stalked towards Geet, and the look on his face had her grasping at anything to try and diffuse his obvious anger.

"I guess my shoulders must really like getting banged up," she said, forcing a laugh.

"Never make a joke of your safety!" he yelled, unable to decide whether to scold her more or pull her into his arms.

His anguish won out over his anger, causing Maan to grab Geet for a tight embrace. Throughout the entire events of that morning, Geet had done her best to stay strong for JD and to cooperate with the police as much as possible. Now that she was in the arms of her beloved, all that strength seemed to fade away. Wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, she buried her head in his chest, tears pouring from her eyes to soak his shirt.

Soon Maan pulled back and wiped her tears with his thumbs, even as he said, "I promise the one responsible will face justice. I will make sure that she is destroyed!"

"Maan, you don't know it was Sameera. This is Chicago. It could have been random for all we know."

"Geet, I don't care what you say. I'm not going to let that b..." Maan stopped before completing the derogatory word when Geet motioned toward JD. He took a deep breath and then continued more calmly. "Geet, there have been two many coincidences for me to ignore. I won't let that woman harm you!"

"What woman are you talking about?" asked the nearby officer who had been observing the exchange.

May 14, 2011 1:30 pm

Maan and Geet met with the officers for over an hour, answering and asking questions. Maan wanted to know every detail about the shooting incident, and he was only too eager to tell everything about Sameera. He felt that her continued appearance, even after the restraining order, as well as her threats to Geet, made her the most likely culprit. Geet was less convinced, but when questioned she supported Maan's version of the events.

"At this point it would be careless for us to eliminate any possibilities. As Ms. Handa has pointed out, this could be a random incident. However, we will definitely look into the possibility that Ms. Kapoor may be involved. In the mean time, be as careful as possible. We have no way to know if another attempt will be made. I will get in touch with the Evanston department and see about arranging some extra patrols in your area. If either of you think of anything else you feel is important, please don't hesitate to call us."

Maan thanked all the officers for their efforts, before he escorted Geet, Dadi and JD out to the car. Geet couldn't help but glance at his silent face all the way back home. She knew from his clenched hands, rigid posture, and very angry eyes, that there was going to be a storm when they got home. She just hoped that she would be able to calm that storm down.

May 14, 2011 10:00 pm

"Maan? What are you doing here?" Geet got out from under the covers and made her way to the door that Maan had just opened.

"What am I doing here? After what happened today you're asking me that?"

"Maan, shhh!" Geet looked back towards her bed where JD was cuddle up on her bed. "You'll wake JD. Now, stop being stupid and go back to your room."

"Stupid!" hissed Maan. "I almost lost you, and I'm 'being stupid'?"

That was the end of Maan's control. He grabbed Geet's arms, heedless of whether his grip hurt or not, and pulled her roughly forward, capturing her lips savagely with his own. It was so fierce and unexpected that Geet's natural instinct was to resist. Soon she melted into his embrace, and the two lovers reaffirmed their existence to each other in the oldest way known to man. Eventually Maan broke away from Geet's lips, turning his attention instead to her cheeks, chin, neck and shoulders. There was an element of fear along with the heightened passion, driving Maan to brand Geet as his. To prove that nothing could separate them.

Geet only came to her senses when she felt something poking her hard in the middle of her back. Maan had backed her up into the door frame during his passionate onslaught, where a door hinge was just waiting to give her a bruise. The pain was sharp enough to just barely bring her out from the spell created by Maan's rough kisses. She pushed him back slightly and quickly pulled up the sleeve of her nightie that was hanging off her uninjured shoulder. Whether it fell off, or was moved off, Geet wasn't sure, nor did she want to contemplate that at the moment.

"Maan, please! I just barely got JD settled down, he was so upset by what happened. Now you come here to be all naughty? What if JD woke up and saw us in this state, or worse, what if Dadi saw us? Please, go back to your room and go to sleep."

"Geet, you think this was about steeling a few kisses?" The consternation on Geet's face was all Maan needed for an answer. Reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, he said quietly, "Geet, I came here because I intend to spend the night in your room. I almost lost you today and that thought is unbearable to me. I can't live without you, and I intend to do everything in my power to protect you."

"Spend the night? But Maan, Dadi...JD..."

"Geet, I do have a vague idea about how to behave like a gentleman. I intend to sleep on the couch. As for Dadi and JD, well, I don't really care what Dadi thinks, and JD will have to get use to us sharing a room anyway, so..."

"Maan, you can't stay here. I mean, we're not married. It wouldn't be appropriate."

"Geet, I agreed to not moving the wedding date up, which considering the current circumstances, was no easy thing for me to do. I really don't want to get into another argument, but I think that the least you can do is let me stay and watch over you."

Before Geet could protest again, Maan nudged her back into the room and closed the door. He then moved to the closet, where he got out an extra blanket and pillow, which he set on the couch. Geet continued to stand by the door, mouth open, hand outstretched, like she wanted to say something, but couldn't. Maan came back to her side, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her bed. He quickly and gently made her get under the covers, all the while Geet stared at his face, barely visible in the faint moonlight.

When he pressed her back against the pillows, he moved his head to place his mouth next to her ear. "Goodnight," came the verbal caress, before he kissed each of her eyes tenderly and then made his way to the couch.

As Maan worked on making up his bed, Geet tried to sort through the confusion of thoughts that swirled in her mind. She didn't understand why she let him stay. It was entirely against her principles and her stance on how far the relationship should go before marriage. Was there actually a small part of her that wanted him there? But, if he was there, how would she ever be able to relax enough to go to sleep. As JD turned and snuggle close to her, she put her arms protectively around him, still entirely conscious of the fact that her fiance was laying only a few feet away from them.

Hopefully, even if you're not from North America, it would have been obvious what 911 is. If not, here is an article from Wikipedia that I think is kind of interesting. I've never actually had to call 911, so the conversation was inspired by what I've heard in movies and sometimes on the news.

So I am feeling a little bit better, but since I haven't updated Aankhon Mein Teri for a while, I'm going to take a few days to write an update for it. As it is, Someone Somewhere, has to take some time to get their plans going, so not much is happening plot wise at the moment. There might just be one or two catch up updates, before things start happening.

I don't really have time to update the pm list, so I will make sure to do that before the next update.