Nothing Can Keep Us Apart
Part 76 - Congratulations, Papa
"Mr. Khurana?" asked a nurse, as she came out of the room.
"Yes," responded Maan, nervously, unable to say anything else past the lump in his throat.
"Congratulations, Papa, ladki hai."
"Did, you hear that, Veerji? It's a girl. You have a little girl."
"Sister, how is Geet? Are she and the baby alright? Can I see them?"
"The baby is being looked over at the moment. Because she was born early, we just need to check that everything is okay. Your wife is being moved to a private room. You can see both of them in a few minutes."
Maan wanted to ask why he couldn't see her now, but Savitri and Nandini came out and began speaking. They confirmed that Geet was doing well, and that the baby was beautiful. Savitri hugged Maan and told him he should be proud of his wife. She also said how glad she was to have lived long enough to not only see Maan married to such a wonderful girl, but also see the birth of his first child.
After a few minutes, a neo-natal doctor came out to talk to Maan about the baby. He said that even though she was born early, everything seemed to be alright. She was small, only 2.3 kg and 45.5 cm, but the biggest fear of her lungs not being developed enough for her to breath without assistance, was not a problem at all. The nurses were just finishing up and then Maan would be able to see her. In no time, a small bundle was brought out and placed into Maan's waiting arms.
"She's so tiny!" exclaimed Maan in wonder, as he gazed down at the precious little face that had immediately stolen his heart.
He couldn't stop himself from tracing her features gently with his finger. Her eyes were closed, so he couldn't make any judgement there, but the rest of her, hair, ears, nose, cheeks, lips, were all exact copies of Geet. Maan was barely aware of the nurse leading him down the hallway, he was so intent on memorizing every detail of his little angel.
When they neared Geet's room, Maan's thoughts suddenly shifted from his daughter to his wife. He had been told that she was fine, but until he saw Geet for himself, Maan couldn't be at peace. When he looked through the door and saw another nurse helping Geet to sit in a more upright position, his last bit of fear left. She was looking very tired, and a little pale, but talking and sounding so much like his Geet, if it wasn't for the special little girl in his arms, Maan would never have known she went through labor.
When Geet saw Maan enter the room holding their child, her reaction was instantaneous. Her eyes brightened and her smile filled her whole face. She held out her arms expectantly, and Maan walked over to her with a smile on his own face. Gently, he reached out and placed the baby in her waiting arms. Geet held her daughter close, and placed gentle kisses on her head.
Maan sat carefully on the bed next to Geet, and placed his arm around her shoulder, saying softly, "She's perfect, Geet. Absolutely perfect."
"Of course she is. Our daughter would be nothing less."
"And what about you, Geet? Are you feeling alright? The labor was really long, and..."
"Don't worry, Maan! Mein bilkul theek hoon, aur humara bachcha bhi bilkul theek hai, hai na?"
At the mention of the baby, Maan was distracted from his questioning and responded with "Haan."
Geet and Maan then went through the process of becoming acquainted with the baby. They said hello, and talked about how long they had waited to meet her. They checked her fingers and toes, finding ten of each. Maan loved how his daughter's fingers wrapped around his, as if she never wanted to let go. He told the baby that she should thank him for not having two heads, because if it wasn't for him, her mama would never have gone to the doctor. Geet told the baby not to listen to her papa, because he was dusht danaav, and was always trying to trouble mama.
After having spent a good amount of time with just the three by themselves, a few more family members came to see the new baby. Savitri came in with Vicky, and the baby was introduced to her pardadi and chachu. The question that was asked by both of them to the baby's parents was, what were they going to name the baby? Maan and Geet looked at each other, and Geet indicated to Maan that he should go ahead, and tell them the baby's name.
"Dadima, Geet and I have talked about this a lot, and we've decided to name her Priya."
Savitri gasped, and put her hand to her mouth, while Vicky smiled a bit and asked "You want to name her after my mom?"
"Yes," answered Geet. "Bua was a special part of all of your lives, and we felt that the best way to honor her memory, was to name our new Special One after her."
Savitri had tears running down her face as she said emotionally, "Thank you both. You don't know what this means to me."
Savitri moved to give first Maan and then Geet a hug. The four adults talked for awhile, while little Priya slept, unaware of the goings on around her. After a while, Geet felt very tired, and it was decided that she needed to get some rest. Maan placed Priya in her little hospital cot, and Savitri and Vicky left to go home.
A nurse came in to help Geet get settled and check on her and the baby. When she was ready to go to sleep, Maan moved away towards a nearby chair, but Geet wouldn't have it. She caught his hand in hers and pulled it towards herself.
"Geet, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here."
Geet's only acknowledgement was to grasp his hand more tightly and pull it up towards her face. She turned so that her cheek rested on comfortably on their clasped hands, and fell right to sleep. Maan had no choice but to sit next to her on the bed. In time, he too fell asleep, and Maan and Geet stayed that way through the night, and into the next morning.
Precap:
"Who did all the hard work?"
And Thanks Goes To:
Nothing this time
Who Got There First:
Maan and Geet have a baby girl - Me. Assuming that the baby is actually born in the serial, I think that it will be a girl.
PM Disclaimer: I have not stopped sending pms to anyone. If you are no longer getting pms, you might have reached the maximum allowed. Try cleaning out your inbox.
Yes, the baby is a girl. As I've said before, I have a very specific reason for doing that. If there are any of you who were hoping for a boy, fear not. In my new stories that I will begin once this story is finished, all, or at least most of the children involved will be boys.
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