OS: Ready, Set, Don't go

A/n: I am back! This story just came to me while I was procrastinating writing my research paper. Too many of those going on right now! I can't seem to catch a break!

This story is kind of related to the current track, but not so much. It's what I sort of want to happen in the show!

Let's march!

"Asad!! At least listen to what she has to say! This is exactly why she was stalling in telling you" Dilshad's emotional voice rang around the house as she tried to get her son to listen to them. Asad Ahmed Khan was in no mood to listen, forget considering what his mother and sister were trying to tell him. No, just plain no. It was not happening.

"Ammi, I do not want to hear about this ever again." He turned his back, crossing his arms across his chest and scowled. He was angry, very angry.

"Bhaijaan, please! You can't say no without even considering the entire thing! I know what I am doing." Najma pleaded with her brother. She had given a lot of thought to the topic and she was not going to back down. This time, her brother was going to have to listen to her.

"Najma, I don't want to hear it. How can you make such a big decision without even telling me? Or even consulting me? I get it that you are not a child anymore but you will always be my Tamatar. How can you even think that I will let you go so far? Especially after everything that has happened?" Asad's voice had gone quieter as he finished.

Dilshad was looking between her children with tears in her eyes. She knew exactly why her daughter wanted to go away and she agreed on that. But, she also knew why Asad was opposing the idea, and as a mother she could see his side very clearly.

Najma blinked back her tears and gently approached her brother, "Bhaijaan, I know what you are saying and I understand your point of view, but I HAVE to do this. I can't go on with my life here pretending as if nothing has happened. Because it has Bhaijaan! A lot has happened! I am 22 and divorced! It was a joke, a sham, sirf ek bahout bada dhoka! I am broken and cheated and just confused! I need this! Please!" Najma was hanging on to the last of her control and trying her best not to curl up on the floor and just let it all go.

Asad closed his eyes. She was his baby sister. How could something so terrible happen to her? How did he let something so terrible happen to her? He looked at her standing next to him, with tears in her eyes but there was a determination shining through. His baby had grown up so much in the past months. How badly he wished that she didn't have to grow up that way!

There was complete silence in the house. The only sounds that could be heard were Dilshad's quiet sniffles and Asad's deep breathing. The silence was broken as the door opened and Zoya entered the house, carrying a number of grocery bags.

"Asalaamu Alaikum" she said in her cheery voice. Upon not getting any response, she carefully looked at the faces and postures of her family. Ammi was sitting on the couch, crying a little. Najma and Asad were standing next to each other. Both of them had their arms crossed with equally firm and challenging looks on their faces. Okay? What the heck happened in the one hour that I was away? Thought a very confused Zoya.

She closed the door and went directly to where Dilshad was sitting. Putting away all her bags, she sat down next to her and said, "Kya hua, Ammi? Why are you so upset, and Tamatar and Asad? Are they having some kind of sibling staring competition?" she wondered.

Dilshad actually chuckled through her tears at her daughter-in-law.

"Nahi. Voh bass, Najma finally told Asad about her acceptance in the business program in that New York school and that she wants to go to the U.S. for pursuing her studies further. You can imagine how the rest of it went down." She quietly summarized the past one hour.

"Ohhh" was all that Zoya could respond before Asad jumped her throat.

"OH? That's what you have to say? So you also knew all about this and you didn't tell me or stop her?" he was furious at his wife.

"Stop her? Why would I? In-fact, I helped her. How do you think she specifically chose New York?" she proudly said.

Asad was less than impressed. "So, you mean to tell me that this has been going on for a couple of months and no one bothered to tell me anything. And you helped her? I don't believe you, Zoya!" he spat and walked off towards their room.

Zoya gaped at his retreating form and crossed her arms and looked back at Dilshad. "Allah Miya! What's wrong with him? Ammi, dekha aapne? What was all that?"

Dilshad looked at Najma who also ran away to her room, and then to Zoya, "Tum toh jaanti he ho Asad ko, Zoya. Asad does not like the idea of Najma going away. He has always been very protective of her and now, he has gone even further into it. I know that he is worried about her, and just wants her to stay close where he can protect her. Both my children are right in their own ways, I don't know what to do!" Dilshad lamented.

"Ammi! Don't worry, I will talk to him." Zoya consoled Dilshad and looked at the closed door of her shared room with Asad.

***

He was standing, facing the window when she entered the room a few minutes later. His back was straight, posture tense, sending off waves of "don't mess with me". Well too bad that hurricane Zoya did not care.

"Do you remember Asad, jab hum pehli baar mile the?" her voice brought him out of his reverie.

He did not turn his head, but nodded at her. Upon his acknowledgement, she continued, "I was still so new to India and I knew nothing about this country."

"Get to the point, Zoya" he called out, his voice annoyed.

She huffed but acquiesced, "Fine. What I am saying is that I was all alone in this country when I first came here. Aapi and Jeeju mujhe yahaan Ammi ke paas chod kar gaye, with the belief that I'll be happy and safe here, with people they knew. Now, why are you so worried about Najma? Itna against kyun hai aap? Aapi and Jeeju are there. She will have no problem!" she tried to make him understand.

"Zoya, I know that. Trust me I am not doubting them. It's not that! I just cannot send her away, Zoya. She is my baby!" He turned to face her, "And she is hurt right now, so much. How can I live without knowing that is near me and that she is fine? I need her in front of me, I can't, just...I. Please..."

Zoya rushed to take him into her embrace. He dived into her hug and buried his face in her neck.

"I know, Asad. Imran ki sachai jaanne ke baad, Najma ko bahut gehri chot lagi hai. But, try to look beyond that. She has made this decision herself, Asad! She wants to move on, to get away from here, away from him. It's a path of a fresh start for her. And I believe that she needs to do this independently." Zoya reasoned with him.

Najma had been devastated when Imran and Tanveer's relation came in front of everyone, merely days after their wedding. Being the greedy person that she was, Tanveer had contacted Imran, and Najma had overheard the conversation and followed them. Later, upon confrontation by a crying Najma and a thundering Asad, Imran, being the spineless and coward man that he was, had confessed everything.

What followed next had not been pretty. Imran had faced the wrath of Asad Ahmed Khan. It had taken all of Asad's strength to not kill Imran with his bare hands. Najma had filed for divorce on the same day. The meaningless pleas by Imran had landed on deaf years. She could not even stand to look at his lying face. It had been a bad time for all of them.

Allah had blessed the entire family and all the misunderstandings and lies came undone.

The complete story of Zoya and Ayaan's marriage was unfolded the same day as Imran's black past. The couple who were actually supposed to get married in the community wedding had come forward and talked to the priests. With a lot of apologies, the entire drama came to an end without any need of a divorce or annulment. Ayaan Ahmed Khan was never married to Zoya Farooqui.

Asad and Dilshad had not wasted any moment and brought Zoya home immediately. It had not been so easy for Zoya to immediately fall back into Asad's arms. She had focused on spending her time with Najma, helping her and both of them healing each other. It had taken some time and efforts of trust and love on Asad's part to melt her heart. Inevitably, they had gotten married but with just Dilshad and Najma present.

Now, it had been five months since their wedding and almost those many months since Najma and Imran's marriage had legally dissolved.

Back in the present, Asad was looking at wife, very apprehensive about Najma's future plans.

"Zoya, par?"

"Par kya, Asad? Kuch bhi toh nahi. Sometimes, we have to let go, remember? Even if we do not want to. You cannot be selfish now, Asad. It's not about you, it's about our Tamatar. Look at the independent and fierce girl that she is transforming into and padhai par concentrate karne se Najma ki he bhalayi hogi. If there had been some other girl, she perhaps wouldn't have managed to bear it all, but Najma wants to move on and do something with her life. She is still so young. Don't let her sit here and ruin her life, Asad.

Brokenly, he whispered, "Voh yahaan bhi to reh sakti hai na? I am not against her studying further. I encourage that even! But why does she want to go so far away?" the heart of a brother/father questioned.

Zoya looked at him, smiled sadly and said, "Asad, no one wants her to go away but even you know that if she stays here, it will be impossible for her to move on. She will have to listen to people talk about what happened. Galati chahe Imran ki kyun na ho, she will still have to bear the brunt of things, and Najma yeh baat achi tarah se samajhti hai!"

Asad knew that what Zoya was saying was right, and he had known all of that before as well. But, how could he just let her go?

***

Dinner, that day had been very interesting. Najma was pouting like a baby at Asad, who was pretending not to see that. Zoya and Dilshad were looking between the two, waiting for one of them to explode. The dinner was almost over when Asad cleared his voice and addressed Zoya.

"Zoya, did you talk to Aapi and Jeeju about the food expenses?"

Not at all expecting that, "Huh?" was Zoya's brilliant response.

Asad looked at Najma and then turned to Zoya and very causally said, "I mean, if our baby elephant, Ms. Tamatar Khan will live with them, they will need to get used to having a larger food supply, right?"

His sentence was met with dead silence for a minute before Zoya and Najma screamed and squealed at the same time and Najma jumped off her seat and rushed to embrace her Bhaijaan.

"Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you!" She whispered, fiercely hugging him and sobbing on his shoulder, "I love you, Bhaijaan."

He kissed her head and said, "I love you too, baccha. Always have and always will."

She's gotta do what she's gotta do
And I've gotta like it or not
She's got dreams too big for this town
And she needs to give 'em a shot
Whatever they are.'
- Ready, Set, Don't go by Billy Ray Cyrus.

A/n: ...aaannd Najma is off, far far away from the lying douchebag. To wish something like that happens in the show!

Anyhow, how did you guys like it?