Lifeline Hospital

Delhi

Khushi flutters her eyelashes adjusting to the light, feeling heavy in her head. Her vision is hazed as she tries to look around, without moving her head but eyeballs, only to feel more pain.

"Khushi?" Khushi heard a voice, since her senses were dazed, she wasn't able to remember whose voice it was.

"Khushi, are you fine? How are you feeling now? Look at me," Payal caresses her cheeks, hovering over her, all frantically with tears in her eyes, looking at her sister looking all frail.

"W...ater..r." Khushi slurred, her throat was dry, and Payal who heard had immediately given her a glass of water kept beside the bed, making her drink a bit.

"Ar..nav-jii..p..ain," she whispers, her hands shivering in cold, the saline drip on her pale hand giving her shivers.

"I'll call the doctor," Payal, as instructed by the doctor, pushes the red button on the side. Soon she saw a Nurse rushing in along with Devyani.

The doctor has strictly told not more than one should stay in the ICU.

So, Payal is looking after her sister while Devyani sat out, old age wasn't giving her enough strength to endure the pain of seeing their children in the ICU.

The nurse paged the doctor who must be on his way.

"Please, Mam. We need you out of this room. The patient will get disturbed. Let us do our work," The nurse shows them the way out.

With no option left, they were about to go when the doctor entered.

"He isn't the one who's treating Khushi, where's he?" Payal questions looking at a doctor who was not working on Khushi's case.

"Mam, Dr. Ankit is busy with the other patient. Until then Dr. Keshav would check the patient. Please cooperate," Nurse explains, making them understand as Dr. Keshav walks in, smiling at the two ladies and checks her vitals, and starts asking some questions Payal wasn't able to hear as Nurse closes the door.

Akash, Anjali, and Manorama were out sitting on the chairs when Devyani and Payal were shown the door by Nurse.

"What happened? Did Khushi-ji gain consciousness?" Akash asked, looking at his wife outside the ICU.

She was inside the ICU keeping an eye on her sister from the time the doctor allowed her to.

"Yes, Bitwa, and they are checking her now," Devyani replies instead of Payal who had worry lines on her forehead, and her face was drenched with tears.

Before he could comfort his wife, Devyani asks, "How is Chotte? His oxygen levels didn't drop again, right? Did he gain consciousness?"

"Yes, and he was just asking for Khushi Bhabhi and we don't know what to say any more about Bhabhi to him. He already guessed we were lying. Di called the doctor before Bhai could ask more and is now checking him," he answered, taking a long sigh.

And just then Dr. Ankit walks out.

The other patient was Arnav!

"How is he, doctor?" Anjali asks him without a second's delay.

"He's all fine. He needs to have food and medicine on time, that's it. Still, we'd suggest keeping him till night to observe his sugar levels." He was about to walk out on Anjali's nod when he stops on the way.

"He's also uttering Khushi after every word. I know she is his wife, but his wife needs to be put in the ICU without disturbance until she gains consciousness. Hope you understand. He was insisting we put him in the same room as his wife," he paused a bit and was about to tell her to make her brother understand when Anjali starts, "You told her about Khushi Bhabhi's condition?"

"Yes, he isn't that frail now to not take such news. He's fine!" He shrugs, misunderstanding her question.

Anjali and others know what would happen now and that was exactly what happened as they saw Arnav rushing out of the room without noticing any of them, he walked into the ICU next to his.

His Khushi was lying there!

And nobody cared to tell him the truth.

His heart was feeling frail and his guess was right when the doctor told him his wife hadn't gained any consciousness yet.

"Take me to her," he whispered furiously, eating the doctor with his gaze.

Dr. Ankit thought he was asking to arrange His bed beside his wife's as well.

"It's not possible, Mr. Arnav. Your wife needs to be put away without any others since hers is a head injury."

Arnav was shocked. Head injury? His wife had a head injury? His heartbeats stopped for a moment thinking of all the possible possibilities.

Before he could ask more, the doctor was out and some nurses started with an IV injection into his veins for his Diabetes.

He wanted to remove her hand and rum out to his wife but he knows the shot was necessary.

Better take the shot and run out than run out and faint, thus losing the chance to run to his wife.

Dr. Keshav and the nurse were startled and had just completed checking Khushi.

All was fine with her brain and no internal bleeding as well except for the concussion. It was 3 grade concussion and swelling was visible for which they bandaged her head. Except that, nothing severe like they expected. No Amnesia. She's able to remember her family members and incidents that happened recently.

The only thing is that the patient seemed to feel dazed, and had a blurry vision with stars all over her head. It was quite normal for anyone with a concussion. 3rd stage concussion.

Which would be fine soon, in a month!

No risks of brain damage too! A good sign.

The doctor sighs looking at the report and her recent behavior. They were just about to walk out and inform her family members the same when they saw a man rushing in.

"Khushi," he whispers, and Khushi who was now little better looks at her Arnav-ji with the slightest smile she could manage amidst her pain.

"Hey, Mist-" The nurse's voice went unheard as Arnav reached his Khushi.

"Kh.. Khushi?" he gulps down the pain looking at her all lying in her weakest form, with a band-aid over her head.

His hands shivered to even touch her as he lifted his hands to caress her face.

"Ar..nav-ji!" Khushi mumbles, trying to look at him clearly but her vision isn't clear yet. His blurry face looking into hers brought slight tears to her eyes. She could sense his presence and her Arnav-ji's broken voice was clear.

"Hello, look. It's not good for her to be emotional. Please get out if that is what you want to do here," Dr. Keshav warns him.

Well, his patients are his priority.

Arnav wipes away the little tears in his eyes and nods at the doctor, smiling at his wife, although all he wanted to do was cry, sat down beside her, kissing her forehead, and Khushi smiles too, not a big blown smile of hers, but still a smile, the slightest one that could warm anyone's heart.

She clutches his hand in hers, trying to take as much as warmth she could, "I'm fine, Arnav-ji!"

She comforts him trying her best, "I'm really fine!"

The weakness in her voice is so palpable and she soon falls asleep.

"Khushi?" Arnav was frantic thinking something happened to her again.

"She was given painkillers. It was the side effects of it," Dr. Keshav looks at the crazily worried husband who himself is looking nothing less than patient.

Arnav calms down with an Oh and sits down beside her staring at her face, her hand still in his, and with another hand, he caresses her pale cheek.

The doctor and nurse went out sighing at the couple.

**

Outside ICU,

"Payal Bitiya, did you tell about Khushi and Arnav to your family?" Devyani, who finally gained some strength, asks her.

Her Chotte and Khushi Bitiya are conscious now. That's enough information for her old bones to gain strength.

"No, Dadi-ji. I.. I forgot," Payal wasn't in this world to think about even her mother and father.

Looking at her sister lying lifeless had taken her senses away.

Akash interferes, who is listening to his Dadi and his wife, "I called them but they didn't lift. I sent Aman to check on them. They went to special morning prayers in the temple. Happy Singh informed."

"Oh. Yes. I forgot, Dadi-ji. They said they will go today. They'll return by afternoon, in one more hour or so. I'll tell them then."

Nobody could blame Payal if she forgot. Devyani nodded, taking a deep breath.

"I'll go and call NK Bhai." Akash gets up looking at a lost in thoughts Anjali sitting on the chair as he calls NK Bhai.

Raizada Mansion

Delhi

NK had started his car to go to the hospital as he just got a call from Akash that his Nannav and Khushi-ji are conscious now. Only to apply the speed break, looking at a car that rushed into him from opposite at the same time.

They could have an accident if he or the opposite person didn't apply the break, in time.

"Hey. I'm so sorry. I was in a hurry," the woman comes out of her car as NK walks out too.

"Fine. But be careful the next time, lady. You won't find a gentleman who'd just take it as fine the next time," he sighs looking at the woman who rolled her eyes at him.

"Thanks. I'll make sure to call you if I need to rush into someone the next time," Sneha snorts, locking her car and walking into the way of the Raizada Mansion which is just a meter away.

"Hey, are you, by any means, getting into Shantivan?" NK asks, looking at her walking in that way.

"Yeah, do you have any problem?" she questions narrowing her gaze at him.

"We, that's where I stay. Who do you want to meet?" he asks, looking at her curiously.

"Oh. I need to meet ASR."

"Well, good! But ASR doesn't meet anyone professional in his home," he said as a matter of fact.

"Good. But I am not here for professional talks." Fact! She's here to talk about Shyam and Sheetal.

"Whatever, lady! ASR is not here and you'd find nobody in the home. All are out," he didn't want to reveal the truth. What if this beautiful lady in a white shirt and black tracks is a reporter and had a secret camera, his Nannav would eat him alive after that.

"Not even if I say it's about Shyam Manohar Jha, Mr. Nandha Kishore Sharma?" she asks, smirking knowing he couldn't deny her now.

While NK looks shocked at her.

She knew his name!

His Nannav's signature What the was about to come out of his mouth.

"What about him?" he asks finally, the bracelet he found belonged to Shyam and if the gorgeously looking woman could say something useful to him, he doesn't want to miss the chance.

"I'll only say it to Arnav Singh Raizada," she makes it clear.

"I said nothing but the truth. Nobody is home. You can tell me. I'll pass the information," he pours out the option. He's becoming his Nannav's official informer.

Arnav should pay him for the job that hasn't been invented till now.

Sneha fumbles, this is the same guy who is crushing upon Sheetal Kapoor - the official cunningly manipulative witch. Krish showed her the report of Sheetal, in which it was mentioned.

Krish, as his profession says, discreetly took the photos of NK admiring Sheetal.

What if he's on Sheetal's side? And automatically on Shyam's side?

"Look, whatever it is, come out with it," NK says again.

What should she do?

If she comes out with it - there's a chance he'd tell Sheetal and Sheetal could run away, if he is on Sheetal's side.

But what if he's not? - her work would become quick!

There came the answer came from her mind.

If she doesn't come out with it - she has to wait.

There's a risk with the first option and the second option too had its risks.

Well, she chooses the first option. If he's on Sheetal's side, and she runs away, Krish's men are there for her to capture Sheetal.

She walks close to him, and whispers, "Well, Shyam Manohar Jha is with me! ...and he's been into your home as well, the last night!"

Can NK take any more shocks for today?

Jesus save him, please!

All the while, there's someone except them - A third person, not able to hear their conversation yet had the same expression as NK's.

Lifeline Hospital,

Delhi.

Arnav, who had his bed moved beside Khushi with a partition in the middle, which he had moved to the side, sat on his bed, staring at a sleeping Khushi.

Nobody else was allowed in the room except one person to take care of two patients - the pair of wife and husband, so everyone had to sit out, including Payal who was assured by Arnav that he'd call her if needed.

That he's there to take care of her.

Payal also needed to stop crying sitting beside Khushi which is not good for Khushi!

Arnav had eaten his food and had medicines. So that he could have the energy to sit and just stare at Khushi, taking care of her every minute detail.

When he had that ASR aura in him, the doctors had to get down and allow him beside his wife.

The patient peacefully sleeping on the bed is stable and needs that care from one person sitting beside her all the time.

Her husband is doing exactly that!

The rest of the world is damned! He doesn't care!

For, his care and love have been reserved for the woman on the bed, looking blemished yet beautiful, looking pained yet content..her Arnav-ji is with her!

To be continued..,

Let me know what you think.

Who's the third Person?

Who hit Khushi?

Awaiting your views!

Regards,

polymath_land

02/12/2022