StT{Thread2} Prequel OS - PG- 36 - Page 12

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Present Day,

Lennox-Hill, New York.

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"Waldorf-Bass." Bit out Damien as he whirled into the pristine Hospital walls, his Aunt swift on his heels as the uniformed nurse, quickly registered the name and led them down the corridor leading to the private cabin's in Lennox-Hill's extravagant layout.

The hurried phone call less than half an hour ago, had been brief and to the point. There was nothing 'brief' however about the damn traffic on 6^th Avenue that added to the fact that despite what his mother said it was decidedly odd to be becoming a brother at an age when he should be fathering his own kids. Almost immediately he shunned the quaint suburban image that had floated to the forefront of his mind. White-picked fences and a Labrador pup.

* * *

Arnav Singh Raizada was worried.

And while there were a number of persona's he donned well, starting from cut-throat business man to doting father, worried husband was not one of his best looks.

He felt his usually grim mouth stretch into a reluctant smile as his wife half walked half ran towards him, or rather towards the door he was leaning so carelessly against, but even from here he could see the memories Lennox Hill was bringing back, it was curious really, how the bad memories always seemed to weigh on the brighter ones.

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Present Day,

Lennox-Hill, New-York.

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"Oh god'she's so tiny!" gasped Aasha in wonder as she stroked a finger down the side of the miniscule bundle in her mother's arms. Overcome with a mixture of overt emotion and hesitance she backed away, turning instead and choking her God-Father with a crushing hug and a peck on the cheek before she moved on to her Aunt.

So engrossed in her own bubble of amazement was Aasha, that she missed the carefully wiped away tear at the corner f her mother's eye, as she handed the baby girl back to its mother.

Arnav Singh Raizada however didn't. His arm wrapping itself swiftly around his wife's waist, he pulled her flush against him, his chin resting on the top of her head as she relaxed imperceptibly in his arms. It was odd the way she was bracing herself, almost as if she was preparing herself for something, Arnav, pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head, as he tightened his arms around her in question, his eyes following hers where their daughter was playing with the newest Bass, with the same besotted wonder she had displayed for her first Barbie doll when she was three years old.

But even as the force of the memory threatened to seep him away, Arnav asked the woman who was trying so achingly to be strong ' "Is it upsetting you?"

He felt her freeze, even as the memories lapped at the shore of his consciousness, then suddenly firmly, in a tone that only failed to register in his mind ' "No- it's different this time. I'm hopeful. After all with Aasha and Damien engaged, maybe'maybe'" her voice faltered, but Khushi had no need to finish that sentence for her husband to know what she meant.

Years ago, the loss of one little ray of hope had plunged Khushi Singh Raizada into the pits of a abyss, Arnav had once feared she would never overcome. It had only been years later that hope had been restored to them.

The irony of standing back here in the same hospital that still haunted his dreams; he would be waiting for their same ray of hope, to keep her mother from falling in once more.

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Nineteen Years ago,

Raizada Mansion, Delhi.

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A man of impeccable taste and timing, it was not often that one saw Arnav Singh Raizada break into a run. But this particular Monday after a particularly frantic phone call from one of the many Prakash brothers housed in his mansion, run, was precisely what Arnav had done.

Later on he would claim, his taking the steps three at a time had merely been him ' hastening.

But until then, the mere mortals that were referred to it as running.

Down his office stairs, across the parking lot, across his foyer and up to his bedroom, Arnav Singh Raizada had run, only to look on horrified as his beautiful little princess, sat cross-legged on his bed her large doe-eyes rimmed with tears and splotches of red as her mother a mere foot away from her attempted in vain to ply her with jalebi's and tried very very hard not to laugh, while Blair Waldorf who had evidently been helping his wife console his distressed daughter, nudged her and pointed straight at him.

And within minutes his angel had scrambled up to wind his arms around his neck in a fierce death grip, crying as if she had just foreseen he end of the world.

"Why are you crying, sweetheart? Who made you cry?" asked Arnav in a deadly whisper gathered his baby girl up in his arms.

Immediately the sniffles that had seemed to overtake his little princess subsided "Laxshmiji ate Barbie!"

For a second Arnav paused. His eyes drifted briefly to his wife's, and then to Blair'Laxshmiji?

Crouching down so that he could put her down and look at her, Arnav Singh Raizada asked his infant daughter with a decidedly quirky knowledge of Barbie dolls, if it had been Mermaid Barbie (her personal favorite) and then declared that Uncle Aman would have Mermaid Barbie back here within the hour if she stopped crying.

However oddly enough Aasha Singh Raizada had already stopped crying, for in the very middle of her father's reassurance of having Mermaid Barbie returned to her the murderous Laxshmiji had been lead into the room by the one person who had always been excluded from her battlefield of hapless victims.

"That's alright Uncle A, Aasha doesn't need a Mermaid Barbie, she'd much rather go swimming instead, wouldn't you Aasha?" asked the strapping seven-year old Bass, whose presently absent front teeth seemed to fail to detract from his appearance in his daughter's eyes at least.

And that was how Arnav Singh Raizada, who had run across the city to reach his sobbing three year old, watched in bemused wonder, as her yet to reach puberty knight proffered her a hand and lead her off to the poolside.

And that wasn't the worst of it. That evening when Arnav had returned home with every model of Barbie available, his princess had bestowed upon him a impossibly beautiful smile, but had shook her head refusing them, instead informing him that mermaids didn't need Barbie's.

From that day forward, Aasha Singh Raizada had never played with a Barbie again, and Arnav Singh Raizada had developed a marked distaste for particular gap toothed young man.

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Present Day,

Lennox-Hill, New-York.

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Meet me outside in ten.

Normally the cryptic message would be enough for Damien to be planning a full-frontal seduction, however, given its sender, Damien had serious reservations as to their'erm'well, he was pretty sure that wasn't on their mind.

His eyes shooting to the still much coddled baby sister he had just acquired and the impossibly beautiful women surrounding her, Damien discreetly pocketed his phone as he made a smooth undetected retreat.

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Present Day,

Corner of 42^nd and Main,

Upper East Side, New York.

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Mr. Mohit Shergill originally of a little town in Indore, was a man of many capabilities.

One of them was to appear to be a groveling, cloyingly sweet boyfriend.

Or in this case fiance.

With his boyishly good looks, and pleasantly affable nature, Mohit had never had much difficulty in convincing women they wanted him. Adding a presumably rich father to the mix usually helped as well.

Shifting through his pockets for his alternate phone, Mohit joined the mob of everyday New-Yorker's as he walked away from The Hacienda. Today had been rather advantageous after all; the Bass had posed less of a threat than his sources had indicated he would.

At this rate ' he would have a ring on her finger and have her leg-shackled to him before Valentine's Day'and then would come the pictures. Gossip Girl wasn't the only one who had managed to be at the scene of the crime when his newly minted fiance had decided to go parading around in red-lace. And not all those photo-tags had been bought off'well not by Arnav Singh Raizada at least.

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Present Day,

Outer grounds,

Lennox-Hill, New-York.

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Waiting outside in the dark was not exactly a foreign occurrence for Damien. Waiting outside in the dark for a man on the other hand was.

Not that he had to wait long, he had barely crushed his half burned cigarette under his very long shoes, that Arnav Singh Raizada strolled into sight.

"Uncle."

"Damien."

"Dad?"

"Aasha."

"What is he doing here?"

"What are you doing here princess? Where's lover-boy?"

Arnav could practically feel the vein in his forehead begin to throb as he bit out firmly, "I need to talk to you. Both of you." He clarified.

Oh gee'wasn't this going to be fun.

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Hey Upper East Sider's, Gossip Girl here.

Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's Elite.

Even in the UES of today we may not have white horses riding down the streets but we all battle demons '

Some of us fight with truth.

Some with the omission of the truth.

And some'.with a nice pretty lie.

You know you love me.

XOXO

Gossip Girl

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::Authors Note::

Hello loves,

Life is a bit rough right now, so sorry for the delay. Do read and review. And yes EVERY review does count. <3