FF|Arhi|Th#2 How IPK should've been[Ch14/Sc3 pg122 - Page 68

*None of my work can be copied without explicit written permission from me. It's not polite to steal ideas.*

Writer's note: First of all! Thank you to all you fine people who have commented with your heart and soul and for loving this FF as much as I do in writing it. We have crossed 100 pages on the second thread too *sniff sniff*

I hope you all continue showering your lovely comments in the future. This is the point in the story, where everything pivots. The crucial juncture where Arnav starts trying with all his might to appease a wronged Khushi. Stay around folks, we're going to have lots of fun!

cheers! 🤗

Khushi stands absolutely still, her arms rigidly straight by the side of her body as Arnav holds on to her as if for dear life. A cold shiver of shock had run through her body the moment she had recognised him. She had watched him get up from the chair and gape at her with a look of utter disbelief, as if she was a ghost. Well, she had felt quite the same; her feet had gone numb and she had forgotten to exhale. Humne aaj hi... humne kuch ghanto pehle hi to mandir mein... Par ye yahan... kaise... kahin hum sapna... And then before she realised what was happening, he had collided with her like a storm and all her thoughts had been knocked out of her mind. She could feel his breath tingling her neck and his hands gently caressing her head.

"Khushi tum theek ho?" his worried voice so close to her ears brings some feeling back in her numbed limbs.

She realises she had held her breath all this time, so she relaxes and slowly exhales. She peers over his shoulder and her widened eyes meet Garima's equally surprised ones. She too was rooted at her spot trying to comprehend this sudden public display of affections by Arnav. Khushi's heartbeats which had slowed down due to the surprise of seeing him slowly resume to a normal pace. Ye sapna nahin hai, ye... ye sach much Arnavji hi hain.

If Arnav would have been asked to express what he was feeling right now, he'd be struck speechless; a whirlpool of confusing emotions were reigning over his mind; Shock - of seeing Khushi standing in front of him in a single piece; Relief - after realising she indeed was fine and there was nothing wrong with her; Joy - of finally finding her even after a mindboggling chase from one city to another and back. She's here! She's standing right in front of me. I'm not hallucinating! Khushi theek hai! Thank God, she's alright!

After what seems like a really long moment, Arnav lets go of her. Khushi stands awkwardly in front of him, still staring at him with confusion. His eyes gaze at her from head to toe; doing a mental check again to see that she was indeed alright. He sighs in relief.

"Tum theek ho." He repeats however this time in a satisfied statement rather than a question. Khushi's eyebrow shoots up.

"Hum theek kyun nahin honge?" she asks, surprise written all over her voice.

Arnav stares at her. Khushi is alright. She's not in the ICU. Her words clear the fog of shock that had paralysed his brain into numbness. His eyes widen as he understands the meaning of her query. Use kuch hua hi nahin. His mouth drops opens as he considers this angle. She wasn't sick at all. But how did that explain- He suddenly sees Payal walking up to them behind Khushi.

"You!" Arnav's voice rises as he points a finger at Payal. Garima, Khushi and Payal all look taken by his action. He quickly rushes to his sister-in-law. "Payal, tumne hi to bataya tha mujhe ki Khushi ICU mein hai!" he exclaims desperately. It is Payal's turn to look completely baffled.

"Humne?" she asks in wonder. "Humne kab kaha tha aapse ki Khushi ICU mein hai?" she stares at him in confusion.

Arnav looks at her in shock. He glances once at Khushi and then looks back at Payal. She had told him and now she was denying it! What the! Irritation starts tugging at him. "Kya matlab hai tumhara? Main jhooth bol raha hun?" he shouts frustratedly. Khushi's eyes narrow at seeing the change of demeanour of the man in front of him- from shocked to angry in mere moments. Ah well, this is the Arnav she knew. However, Payal's eyes widen as she hears Arnav shout at her.

"Maaf kijiyega par humne aapse ye kabhi kaha hi nahin tha ki Khushi ICU mein hain," Payal fires back. "Ya to apne kaan ka ilaaj karwaiye, ya fir dimag ka. Is hospital mein dono suvidhayen uplabdh hain!" she vents out and pushes past a thoroughly shocked looking Arnav. Payal walks up to Garima and hands her the bottle of water. The mother and daughter duo sit on the chairs, Garima no doubt asking Payal what is going on. Khushi eyes remain fixed on Arnav as she studies his body language.

Arnav closes his eyes, his brain completely at a loss. I don't understand this! She had told me. That is why I came! He thinks to himself frustratedly. He had just flown all the way from Delhi only after the conversation with Payal. She had told him Khushi was in the Hospital. "Khushi hospital mein hai." Yes, and then he had asked her why she was in the hospital to which Payal had replied after a lot of coaxing. "Doctors ne kaha hai ki Operation ke baad ICU mein kuch din rehna padega Bau-" And then... Arnav snaps his eyes open, and stares straight ahead of him as recollection flooding back into his senses. And then I had dropped the phone! Payal was still talking, but I never... He looks back towards the end of the corridor, to find Garima and Payal talking. His gaze then stops at Khushi who is standing there silently scrutinising him, her mouth a straight thin line, her eyes holding a deadpan expression. Oh shit!

He starts to walk towards her when he hears the urgent voice of a woman behind him to clear the corridor. He jumps aside allowing a burly looking nurse wheel a man towards the ICU. Arnav notices Garima and Payal stand up immediately and walk inside the ICU following the nurse. Something clicks in his brain instantly. It was Bauji! He had the operation. Not Khushi! Arnav almost laughs out in relief. What an idiot I've been! His gaze goes back to Khushi, a warm feeling now slowly spreading through out his body. And all for this woman! His eyes look adoringly at her, his arms dying to hug her again. He again starts to walk towards her.

Khushi had been mutely observing Arnav from the moment he had let go of her. She had seen him point accusatorially at her sister and then yell at her in frustration. Achha hua jeeji ne unhe wapis daant laga di, she thinks proudly to herself. Then she had seen him standing still as he looked around in utter confusion. And the moment Bauji was wheeled back into the ICU she had seen him almost laugh out. Irritation was surging through her body as she now saw him walk towards her with a casual gait, his eyes alight with some emotion she couldn't quite put her finger on.

As soon as he reaches within an arm's distance of Khushi, she raises her hand to stop him. Arnav stops immediately as he sees her hand. He looks from the hand to her expressionless face in surprise. The happy bubble that was inflating inside him suddenly gets pricked.

"Bahut hansi aa rahi hai aapko? Ye sab bahut dilchasp lag raha hoga aapko haina?" Khushi's acerbic words shock Arnav. His eyes widen. She was misreading his reactions!

"Nahin Khushi! Aisi baat nahin hai. Main to bas-" Arnav hastens to clarify.

"Humare paas aapse baat karne ka waqt nahin hain," Khushi cuts him off mid sentence. "Humein Bauji ko dekhna hai." She starts walking towards the ICU. Arnav too walks behind her. As soon as she notices this, she stops in her tracks and turns around.

"Aap kahan ja rahe hain?" she asks her in surprise. Arnav points towards the ICU indicating he was coming after her.

"Maaf kijiyega par shayad aap jaante nahin hain. ICU mein keval parivar ke sadasya hi ja sakte hain." Khushi declares bluntly, her dry voice crystal clear about her disapproval at his presence. Arnav stares at Khushi for a long moment. She doesn't want me here; his heart sinks as the thought floats in his mind. So, he nods at her. Khushi opens the door and disappears inside the ICU ward leaving Arnav standing alone in the corridor.

[Outside the ICU]

Arnav stares at the double doors leading to the ICU that had just swung shut as an angry Khushi had pushed through them. He feels a strange sense of hollowness enveloping his heart. He had been worried sick about her. He was bordering on being hysterical at the thought of her being the hospital. He had been running around in a wild goose chase in hopes of finding her. And yet the moment he got the chance to talk to her, she rebuffed him and walked away. He starts walking away from the ICU.

She'd reminded him so precisely that he wasn't part of their family. That he was a nobody for her. But the truth was that now knowing that it was Bauji who had the operation, Arnav wanted to know how he was doing. Even if she doesn't consider me to be a part of her family anymore, Arnav thought gruffly to himself. He didn't even know why Bauji had the operation in the first place. I need to find out. Suddenly, he directs his steps purposefully towards the lobby of the floor looking for the Neurology department.

[Inside the ICU]

Khushi quickly walks inside the doors leading to the ICU ward. She pauses for a moment in the antechamber to calm her speeding heartbeats. She rests her head on the wall next to the door, allowing the irritation to slowly calm down. Her hand reaches up on the forehead and she wipes away beads of sweat. She had just bluntly cut off Arnav from having any conversation with her. Even though it was anger that had suddenly possessed her brain and whatever came out of it, she was regretting talking that way to him. She recollects the hurt expression in his eyes when she had told him she didn't have any time for him.

Hey Devi Maiyya, aaj subah hi to humne inko bhula dene ki thani thi. Fir ab ye achanak yahan? Aap kyun hamare saath aise khel khel rahi hain? Khushi closes her eyes and wonders about Her strange decisions.

"Khushi? Apne aap se kya badbada rahi ho?" Payal's voice from behind her snaps Khushi out of her thoughts. "Andar aao, Bauji ko hosh aa gaya hai," she adds excitedly. Khushi quickly pushes her worries to the back of her mind and rushes inside the ICU.

[Inside the Doctor's office]

The orderly leads Arnav inside the doctor's cabin. Arnav looks at the affable grey haired man pouring over some papers. He looks up to see Arnav walk in and stands up to greet him.

"Hello Dr. Suri. I'm Arnav Singh Raizada," Arnav offers his hand smartly to the doctor who looks impressed with the mannerisms of this well dressed young man.

"Mr. Raizada," Dr. Suri repeats as they shake hands. He points to the chair indicating him to sit down. "How can I help you?"

"Dr. Suri I wanted to ask you about Mr. Shashi Gupta's condition. I understand that he underwent brain surgery recently," Arnav directly comes to the point without wasting any time.

Dr. Suri's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. First of all, the formal handshake, the congenial introduction and now he said brain surgery not brain operation. Definitely a well read man, Dr. Suri concludes. However, he looks sceptically at Arnav. "I'm sorry Mr. Raizada, but I can't reveal the information about a patient to you. Doctor-Patient confidentiality I'm afraid."

Arnav smiles at the doctor; he knew all about the confidentiality pact and he was prepared for this. "I understand Dr. Suri. You can reveal the details only to the family members. Mr. Gupta happens to be my future father-in-law," Arnav lies smoothly. Dr. Suri looks even more surprised to hear this news.

"Oh! I had no idea! Payal and Khushi never mentioned about it," the doctor replies. Arnav continues smiling charmingly.

"That is because I've just arrived from Delhi today morning. Khushi and I..." he pauses for a moment for effect, "well, Khushi is my fiance. We are engaged to be married a month from now." Arnav says a little shyly. Dr. Suri immediately grasps his hand and shakes it happily in congratulations.

Arnav smiles at him. He liked this doctor. "However," Arnav continues once he gets his hand back, "this operation happened in a rush and I wasn't informed completely about its ramifications. Khushi, however glib she might be normally, is quite tight lipped about this," Arnav ends his monologue with a candid tone as if letting the doctor in on a secret. Dr. Suri roars out in laughter.

"Khushi is definitely glib Mr. Raizada!" he says good humoredly. Then his smile fades a little as he assumes his professional stance. "Mr. Gupta is suffering from stroke induced paralysis as I'm sure you must know." Arnav nods. "Last week we had a medical camp in Lucknow where we first came across Mr. Gupta's case. Although it's almost been a year since his stroke, we believed that we could operate on the spine and probably infuse some stems cells to try and rejuvenate the part of the brain that was affected by the stroke." Arnav's eyes widen as he understands the implications of the operation.

"That means he'll be able to walk and talk again!" Arnav exclaims. Dr. Suri smiles at the young man's excitement.

"Yes, Mr. Raizada. Mr. Gupta will indeed be able to stand on his two feet, if you'd pardon the pun. However, there is still time for that. As of now, the operation seems to have been successful. We had sent him for a few tests this morning which have come out positive. So now, we need to focus physiotherapy for him to start his basic locomotor functions. Once that is done, then we can start off the speech therapy part of his recovery." Dr. Suri realises that Arnav looks troubled.

"Something bothering you Mr. Raizada?" he enquires politely.

"I'm just wondering about the cost Dr. Suri. If my understanding is correct, then this is one of the rarest procedures been performed. How much is the cost? And if I may, I'd like to pay for it please," Arnav speaks up about the thing that had been nagging him.

"It costed just over 5 lakhs," Dr. Suri replies. "And you don't have to worry about the payment Mr.Raizada. According to the Mr. Gupta's file, Khushi has already paid for everything the day he was admitted here," he finishes. Arnav stares at him slightly open mouthed. Khushi had already paid for the operation but how?

"Is there anything else I can help you with Mr. Raizada? Because I have a patient I need to attend to," Dr. Suri's apologetic voice pauses his thoughts. Arnav immediately shakes his head, thanks the doctor and leaves his office.

He's not mindful of where his feet are taking him as he ponders how Khushi could afford the money for the surgery. Itne paise? 5 lakhs is not a joke! Suddenly, a line spoken by Aakash comes floating back into his mind, sirf dabba service se, ek hafte mein 5 lakh kamana! It's a joke! Arnav's feet stop and he stands still in the corridor as realisation floods into his mind. She was working to gather money for the operation! All this time, she didn't ask me for a single penny. Pride surged through his body. He knew that Khushi never took favours. She always believed in working hard for her troubles. And she had done exactly that.

He looks around and realises he is back in the corridor which leads to the ICU. She may be mad at me but I still need to try to talk to her. Arnav decides resolutely and walks to the end of the corridor, waiting for Khushi to come out.