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*

Anabia

"Anabia Aunty?!"

The paramedics were cleaning up the cuts and scratches on my face, from where I'd fallen. The pounding pain from the bruise, where the robber had given me a backhanded slap, made me wince. My eyes widened as I saw Ahmed approach us.

"You were the victim of this?" He looked shocked. 

"The elderly lady was the victim. I was just the collateral damage." I replied.

"Oh, man." He began to reach for his phone. "I'll call Rohaan." 

"Ahmed, he is going to kill the man." I shook my head. "Or he's going to get in trouble." 

"In the police or not, I'd want to know if this happened to my mother, Aunty." He said.

"Detective Ahmed, you know her?" A familiar policewoman walked over to us. She squinted at me slightly, before her eyes widened. "Mrs. Rehan? I'm Lucinda. You're Rohaan's mother, right?" 

"Yes." I nodded.

She looked shocked as she examined my face. "Rohaan is going to lose it."

"Ana!" 

By some miracle, although my purse had been stole, my phone had been in my car. Someone else had called the police already, and I had called Saim, my Terror Twin.

"Ana, what the hell? Who did this to you?" My brother was furious as he got closer and saw my face.

"Some robber." I replied.

"Does Rohaan know?" Of course, my brother asked that. 

"Saim..."

"He needs to hunt that pr*ck down and beat him up." My twin's voice was filled with overprotectiveness. "How dare he hurt you?" He paused. "Does Rehan Bhai know?" 

"He's not even in the city." 

"Oh, Ana... People these days are animals." He looked at the bruise on my face.

"The world has become a terrible place. I worry about our children and grandchildren." 

"Me too, Ana. Me too." 

*

Rohaan

When Ahmed called me to come to a crime scene, I didn't think much of it, apart from the fact that he sounded too serious. Yes, it was a crime, but his tone was too grim. 

I got out of the car, glancing around at the police cars and an ambulance.

Seeing Ahmed and Lucinda, I walked over to them. "Hey." They both turned to me and their expressions actually startled me. "Whoa! What happened?"

They nodded towards the ambulance, and I frowned when I saw Saim Mamu pacing around outside it. "Mamu!" I immediately rushed over. "What happened? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Rohaan..." He began.

A paramedic stepped out of the ambulance, and then turned to help someone out. Someone very familiar. "Mama?" 

My mother looked at me, her eyes widening. "Rohaan!"

My gaze focused on the bruise on her face, on the cuts and scratches. "What happened?! Who did this to you?" Suddenly rage filled me, consuming on a level that I'd only ever felt when Hashir Kamran had endangered my father's life, as well as my family's.

"Apparently, the robber backhanded her." Ahmed told me.

"Has he been caught yet?" I asked.

"No, he ditched the bike and ran through some narrow alleys, as seen on the CCTV footage. He still hasn't been traced yet." 

"Don't worry. He will be caught." I spoke from between gritted teeth. My tone and expressions softened as I placed my hands on my mother's shoulders. "You okay?" 

"Rohaan, don't do anything that can get you hurt." She whispered, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"Oh, I won't be the one getting hurt, Boss Woman." I kissed her forehead. "Mamu, please take her home." 

"Rohaan, you have a young wife, a baby on the way." Mama whispered. "Please don't do anything stupid." She was in tears. "And... and you love your job! Why risk it?" 

"Nobody, and I mean nobody messes with my family and gets away with it. But only suicidal people mess with my parents." I felt enraged again.

"Saim..." Mama glanced helplessly at her twin brother.

"Rohaan is a sensible guy. Let him handle this, Ana." Mamu simply said, patting my back.

In other words, whoever messed with Anabia Rehan, needed to be dealt with in a Rohaan-way.

"My bag...and the other lady's bag...the man stole them." Mama whispered.

My mind was running a thousand-miles-per-hour. "Mama, remember the airpods I gave you? Are they in this purse of yours by any chance?" I had given her those, but she refused to use them. She did always keep them in her bag though, as far as I knew.

"Yes." She looked confused.

I'd told her when I'd gifted them to her that I was going to link them to my account, to trace them in case they got lost. She was okay with that. 

I took a deep breath. "Mamu, please take her. I'll be back soon." I headed towards my car.

"Whoa!" Ahmed came after me. "Don't even think about it! This isn't your case."

"And I'm not going there as a policeman." I replied, simply.

"You're going to track down the robber using the airpods?" He guessed.

"This is your case, and I will not include you in my plans otherwise you'll get in trouble." 

"Do this the right way, Ro."

"And what?" I snapped. "He's gonna be in custody one night, and free the next day. He'll barely get a slap on the wrist. We, in the police, have our hands tied because of the f**king human rights protecting criminals more than the victims!" 

"So, you want to go all desi cop on him?" 

"I'm not answering. Go and help solve the case legally, while I do it my way." I got into my car.

To my surprise, as I tracked the location of the airpods, Ahmed got in next to me. "If you get your a*s kicked, I'll be there by your side. But... I'm letting Lucinda in on this. We need the police backing, Ro." 

I found the location, and added it to my GPS before I started driving. 

*

We ended up in a place where the crime rate was almost sky-high.

The street was lined up with run-down homes.

"The greed and the need for money makes people desperate." Ahmed muttered.

I hadn't spoken the entire trip, and I could feel him keep glancing at me.

"Ro, think of your parents, of Bhabi, of your siblings, of your elderly grandparents, your uncles and aunts. Think of Ali, Arham, Maham and Annie. They all need you. Don't do this, yaar."

Of Chipmunk. I added the name internally. 

But whoever this piece of s**t was, he had raised a hand on my mother, and that was unforgivable. 

"We don't know who we're dealing with, how many people there are, how many weapons they have..." Ahmed continued. "We found the place. Now let's wait for back up."

"I'm a police officer here to retrieve stolen items, Ahmed." I said tonelessly, as I got out of the car.

I admit that I probably thinking more emotionally here than practically. The right thing, no matter how hard it was, was to wait for back-up and let the police handle the robber.

But the police wasn't going to punish him the way I wanted to punish him.

*

Arsalan

"Mama!" I was shocked when Mamu brought Mama home.

There was a blatantly obvious bruise on her face.

"What happened?" My heart pounded harder with anxiety. 

"It's not..." She began to say.

"She's a victim of robbery." Saim Mamu told me. "They're not babies, Ana. Your kids are mature adults."

"H-How did you get hurt?" I whispered out.

"The robber hit her." Mamu is the one who replied again.

"WHAT?!" I shouted out.

"Forget me! I'm worried about Rohaan! He has gone after the robber." Mama was suddenly in tears, looking anxious.

"Good." I said. "The best person to deal with that s**t is Rohaan."

"Arsal! He could get hurt!" Mama glared at me.

"He'll be fine, In Sha Allah. I just hope that the man who did this to you won't be fine after today." 

Mama closed her eyes, pressing her fingers against her temples.

"Mama... I'll take you upstairs to your room. Get some rest." I walked over to her.

"Arsal, please just make sure that Rohaan is okay. I'm terrified." A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Mama, I'll check up on him, don't worry." I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing the side of her head. "You need some rest though. Come."

"Rohaan... I'm so scared, Arsal."

And seeing her fear, made me worry.

Were these her maternal instincts warning her of imminent danger directed towards my brother?

*

Rohaan

When a crime in committed, intention becomes a huge part in determining the consequences of the crime on the defendant. This could potentially lead to the question of mitigating circumstances. Could a mitigating factor have caused the person to behave in such a way, therefore lessening the severity of the act of the accused?

I kept all this in mind as I approached the front door and knocked on it.

"You're gonna knock on the door?" Ahmed looked at me, confused.

The door opened and a man peered out at us. "What?" He growled.

"Give me back my airpods." I spoke in a neutral tone.

Ahmed looked at me confused. He had removed his badge and jacket, and now it was hard to tell that he was a policeman on duty.

"What the f**k?" The man stared at me.

"I've tracked my airpods down to this location. Give them back to me." I repeated.

"Mate, you're high." He began to close the door, but I put my foot between it and the doorframe. He glared at me. "What the f**k?"

"We can do this easily, or I'll call the police because I have the location right here." I tapped my finger against my phone.

He looked down at my phone, and his eyes glinted. "Give me a hundred and fifty quid for them, and you'll get them back."

"I'll give you two hundred. Just give them back to me." I nodded.

Ahmed looked surprised, but being my best friend and knowing me like a brother, he composed his expressions quickly.

"Two hundred? You're offering more?" The robber scoffed. "Sentimental value or something?" He laughed.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet, taking out a few notes, and holding it in front of him. 

Greed filled his expressions, and he grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "You got a deal, buddy."

"You do all the shady deals in the public eye?" I asked, gesturing around us. 

Begrudgingly, the robber stepped aside and let us in. 

The dash cam in my car is capturing that it wasn't a forced entry, but an invitation.

Ahmed looked uncertain as he followed me inside. 

The robber closed the door and led us down the narrow hallway to the living room. 

Almost immediately, I spotted my mother's hand bag. The small lion keychain was a dead give away. Arsal had given a different variety of such keychains to everyone in the family. Her small purse was open, her cards scattered about. 

My gaze turned back to the robber. This was the man who had raised a hand on my mother. "Where are my airpods?" 

"Give me the money first." The robber told me, challengingly. "In fact, I'll take a grand for it, since you want it so badly." 

"We have evidence of your robbery, and you're acting bold?" Ahmed questioned him.

"If you'd wanted to go to the police, you would have already." The robber smirked. "You can't just be here for airpods, for f**k' sake. Who risks their lives for airpods?" He lifted up his shirt and a I saw the gun on the holster. "You stupid, stupid men. You shouldn't have entered this house."

"Look, we're giving you the money. Let us go." Ahmed joined in on the act.

"I think I'll take the money, the car, everything valuable, and I will kill you because you have evidence against me." The man pulled out the gun and aimed it at us. "Put your wallets, smartphones, watches, everything valuable on the table." He nodded to the table where Mama's items were kept. "And no smart moves."

I took out my wallet, and placed it onto the table along with my phone, along with my car keys. The pink hamster keychain caught my attention, the gift that Yamna had ordered for me when she had gone for her university trip. Ahmed did the same.

"Hands up, both of you." The robber told us.

Ahmed and I both obliged.

The robber walked towards us, and I could see that his hand was shaking. It was obvious that he had never shot someone. He looked terrified. "I...I'm going to pat you two down. Any smart move from either of you, the other one gets shot." He nodded towards me. "Come forward and stand with your face towards the wall." He nodded towards the wall at the side. "Keep your hands up." 

I did as he asked and he kept the gun aimed at Ahmed as the robber himself patted down my pockets.

"You're clean." The robber said, gruffly. "Go back and stand there, and keep your hands up." 

I met Ahmed's gaze. I glanced around the room and saw it: as we had entered, Ahmed had placed his work phone (on silent mode) just behind a shoe of the robber's on the floor by the door. The camera was facing us, and I knew that everything that happened here was being live streamed to Lucinda and our bosses. We couldn't act illegally.

Ahmed suddenly bent down.

"Hey!" The robber shouted, rushing towards him furiously.

"I'm just scratching my leg!" Ahmed protested.

I stepped forward.

"STOP!" Now, the robber whirled around and aimed the gun at me. He looked like he was ready to p**s in his trousers. Such a person should not be holding a loaded weapon. 

I moved...ever so slightly.

As expected, he pulled the trigger. I closed my eyes, expecting to feel the gunshot, but I never did.

"This was j-just a warning sh-shot. Stop." The robber's voice trembled.

I turned and looked over my shoulder, where the bullet had made a hole in the wall. "I was hoping you'd do that." I spoke quietly. "Shooting at someone. You're a danger to society, and you need to be restrained." I launched myself at him, making it look obvious that I was trying to wrestle the gun out of his hands.

"STAY THE F**K AWAY FROM ME!" He shouted.

I stepped close enough to whisper, keeping my back towards Ahmed's camera. "You messed with the wrong woman earlier today." 

He looked confused, but then he smirked. "The old grandma or the stupid woman who thought she could save her?" 

I reached back and punched him straight in the jaw, knocking him down onto the ground. He began to reach for his gun, which had fallen a few feet away. 

"Rohaan!" Ahmed's tone was filled with warning.

I only briefly turned my head to look at him, when a gunshot ripped through the otherwise silence of the air, and suddenly, pain shot through my body.

WARNING: Violence

"Ro!" Ahmed shouted.

I glanced towards my right arm, just as the robber raised the gun towards me again. Blood was seeping through my shirt. 

The next thing I knew, I felt something around my throat... like a rope. S**t. We've been ambushed.

Ahmed was fighting off some people who had seemingly appeared from other rooms in the house.  I was struggling to breath with the rope around my throat, and the gunshot wound in my arm wasn't help. 

I caught sight of the hamster keychain on the table. I'm so sorry, Hamster and Chipmunk.

"ROHAAN!" 

I started to black out, as my body was starting to become deprived of oxygen.

In real life, heroism doesn't always work, unfortunately. 

The door burst open and the police stormed in. 

I was released as the gang attempted to escape. I fell down to my knees, coughing. Even then, I moved my gaze up and saw the remorseless face of the man who had hit my mother. He had dropped the gun upon the police's arrival. He had taken a knife out of his pocket and was about to attack Lucinda. I crawled over, struggling with pain and regaining oxygen, and grabbed the gun. Picking it up, I raised it and aimed it at his hand...and shot.

He dropped the knife, shouting and screaming repeatedly in pain. 

He raised his hand on my mother, I shot at his hand.

"Rohaan!" Lucinda rushed to me. "Hey, stay with us." 

But my vision was blurring and darkening as I fell onto my back.

"Rohaan!" Ahmed raced over, bruises on his face where he had clearly been punched.

I lost consciousness then.

*

Yamna

I finished my work and wished desperately for a coffee or tea. 

A light knock on the door of my study made me turn my head.

"Yum-Yum?" Arsal Bhai opened the door and came inside.

"Yes, Arsal Bhai?" I frowned as I saw his expressions. "What wrong? Is everyone okay?" My thoughts immediately rushed to my grandparents.

"Yamna, Ahmed called me. Rohaan has been taken to the hospital..." 

Time seemed to freeze around me, and my heart seemed to stop. "H-Hospital? W-Why?" 

"He was dealing with a criminal and he got hurt." 

"Hurt?! H-How badly hurt?" It must be bad if he had been taken to the hospital!

"Come with me. We'll go and find out." He spoke gently.

"Rohaan avoids the hospital for himself...he...I...Oh my God! It must be bad!" I was in tears.

"Yamna, just come, okay? My the police took him in as a precaution." He said.

"What happened?!" Anabia Mama's voice came from behind him.

"Oh, s**t." Arsal Bhai muttered only loud enough for me to hear.

"Hospital?!" My mother-in-law appeared at his side. "Rohaan?!" Her face was pale...and bruised?

"What happened, Mama?" I was further shocked.

"Rohaan is in hospital, Mama." Arsal told her, gently.

She burst into tears. "This is exactly what I was afraid of!" 

Arsal Bhai sighed. "I'm calling Papa. We need him here right now." 

"This is all my fault!" Anabia Mama was sobbing. "He went because of me!" 

I walked over to take her in my arms, before turning to Arsal Bhai. "Take us to the hospital please, Arsal Bhai." 

I was scared, terrified, but I also felt the need to be strong...for Anabia Mama, for Chipmunk, for the whole family. I had to be a substitute for Rohaan in a situation like this... until he recovered, In Sha Allah.

*

I would have laughed if the situation wasn't so grim. Our entire extended family had taken over  the hospital car park, as well as Rohaan's friends and colleagues. 

Laila Mumani was at home with Dado and Dada Jaan, with the grandparents not knowing anything. Saim Mamu, Mama and Papa were here, along with Shayaan Bhai. Haya Appi and Hoor Appi were here, while their kids were at Hoor Appi's in-laws (with the exception of newborn Annie, who was with her Mama). Arsal Bhai and Tahira were here. These many visitors were not allowed inside, so everyone had gathered outside. 

At the moments, no visitors were allowed to see Rohaan, as he was being treated.

"He has suffered from asphyxiation." The doctor had grimly informed us. "He was being strangled, and was being deprived of oxygen, all the while losing blood due to the gunshot wound."

"Here, drink this." Tahira offered me orange juice. "It's without bits, like you like it."

"I'm okay." I whispered.

"Yamna, you need this. Come on." She brought the bottle up towards my lips, and I begrudgingly took a sip from it.

"If anything happens to him..." Suddenly, a strong wave of nausea hit me, and I rushed to a nearby bin and threw up in it.

"In Sha Allah, he'll be okay." Tahira held back my hair. "Rohaan Bhai is a fighter, and he'll fight through this, In Sha Allah." 

Please come back to us, Rohaan. Chipmunk and I need you. We all do.

*

Rehan

I pulled up outside the hospital and was almost stunned to see practically the whole extended family waiting inside or outside their cars. Rohaan's friends were also there. Everyone was awaiting something.

Arsal hadn't given me the details of what had happened to Rohaan, just that he had been slightly injured and brought here as a precaution. However, judging by how everyone was here, and how stressed they seemed, I had a terrible feeling.

"Papa!" Haya saw me and rushed over to me, bursting into tears as she wrapped her arms around my waist. "Papa, Ro..."

"What happened?" I didn't want to hear the answer. The idea of anything happening to my son was already tearing me apart from the inside.

Hoor also came over, also in tears, and I wrapped my other arm around her. Arsal slowly approached, looking close to tears himself.

"What happened to Rohaan? Where's Anabia?" I looked around for my wife, just knowing that she'd be in a terrible state right now.

"She's inside the waiting room. Only one person was allowed inside." Arsal replied. "Papa, he suffered from asphyxiation that was elevated by blood loss...due to a gunshot wound."

I tensed. "Asphyxiation? Gunshot?!" I instantly raced towards the hospital...towards Anya.

The security guard tried to stop me, saying that there was one person from our group inside already.

"Yeah, that's my wife! Our son is in there."

"Let him go." Aariz came from inside the hospital, glaring at the guard as he showed him his ID. Then, turning to me, he nodded. "Assalam Alaikum, Papa. Follow me."

"Walaikum Assalam." I nodded at my doctor son-in-law, who led me quickly down the hall. "How is Rohaan?" 

"He's in the ICU. Uncle, a delay could have been fatal for him." He informed me grimly. "Fortunately, he was released in time...otherwise..." He pressed the button for a lift.

"He's going to be okay, right?" I felt my strength shattering. I wanted to surrender to the grief of a parent when just hearing that their child had been almost deprived of oxygen to the point where they'd... 

"I'm having them updating me about everything. I'll let you know, I promise." 

When we arrived at the waiting room, my heart almost stopped. "Anya!" I frowned when I saw her face. "What the hell happened when I was away?!" 

She stood up. "Rehan!" 

Aariz politely excused himself and left.

"Rehan, our son!" Anya rushed over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she sobbed against me. "My Ro...my son..." She looked up at me. "He was deprived of oxygen! He...my son... he almost..." 

"What happened to him?" I softly grazed my thumb over the bruise on her face. "What happened to you?"

"What happened to him happened because of this." She pointed towards her face. "If anything happens to him, I'll never forgive myself. Ever."

"In Sha Allah, nothing will happen to him. Make duas, Anya. We need to constantly pray for his good health and long life." I held her tightly and protectively in my arms. I was trying to remain calm, but I felt angry at whoever was responsible for Anya's bruises, but even more, I was terrified for my son's life. 

"Tayan?" 

I looked to my left and saw a tearful Yamna in the doorway. Anya stepped away and wiped away her tears, which I knew was her attempt to look braver in front of our Yamna. I held out my arm towards my sweet girl, and she rushed over.

"I'm scared, Tayan!" She whispered against my chest. 

"I know you are, meri jaan. We all are." I kissed the top of her head. 

Anya caressed the back of her head. "Yamna, sweetheart, just make duas. Reciting supplications will calm you down, honey." 

"Rohaan..." Yamna whispered, as fresh tears escaped her eyes.

Anya took a deep breath and spoke firmly. "Yamna, you need to go home." 

Wide-eyed, my niece looked at my wife. "W-What? How can I? Rohaan is here, and I..."

"Rohaan would want you to take care of yourself." Anya placed her hands on Yamna's shoulders. "You need to look after yourself, Yamna, and consider it my order, go home." 

"Your Anabia Mama is right, Yamna." I said. "Go home, meri jaan. We'll update you, but you need to get your rest, okay?" 

"We love you, Yamna. We care about your health too." 

With a dejected sigh, Yamna nodded. "But promise me that if there's any update, you'll tell me?" 

"We absolutely will." I ran a hand over here head. 

Looking dejected, Yamna turned and headed out.

"I can understand her, the feeling of not wanting to leave your husband." Anya whispered. "But I will not let her risk her own health, as well as her baby's. She's ours as well, and I would never want anything happening to her."

*

Yamna

Hoor Appi and Tahira came along with me. Hoor Appi had to leave because of Annie. 

"Dado's house?" Tahira asked as she drove us.

"No, I want to go home." I whispered.

"I have to drop Hoor off at her in-laws'. We'll drive there first..." Tahira told me. 

"Please drop me off at home soon." I felt like locking myself in my room and not seeing or talking to anyone right now. I noticed the two exchange a look. "I'm fine. I need to sleep because that's the only distraction that would..." I pursed my lips together.

"Okay, Yamna. We understand." Tahira said, quietly.

Once I was home, it took me a hell of a lot of strength to even think about going to my room. I couldn't face the room without him. How could I comfortably sleep there when he was in the ICU?

I headed upstairs and paused by our room. As tempted as I was to go and sleep in Haya Appi's room, a part of me refused to do that as well. I needed to be here, in our room. I wanted to feel his presence, even in his absence.

I must have stood there for five whole minutes, before I placed my hand on the door knob and opened our bedroom door. His scent greeted me and I wanted to cry at the top of my lungs. 

But mourning was not the answer... being optimistic and praying was. 

I performed wudhu and prayed, crying my heart out as I made dua. Allah, please give Rohaan a good recovery, good health and a very long life. Ameen.

*

As I lay down to sleep and turned the lamp off, I felt almost suffocated. The darkness was making me miss him even more, strangely enough. Even the darkness had a sense of comfort when I was with him, snuggled up against him. I missed breathing in his scent, the warmth and strength of his body, the sound of his heartbeat as I rested my head against his chest.

Then I started picturing him in an ICU, an oxygen mask on his face, fighting for his life...

With a cry, I fumbled for the lamp until I'd successfully turned it on. "Rohaan!" I burst into tears, shaking my head. "I can't do this. I need you, Rohaan. You give me the courage and strength. Please come back to me." 

I was terrified. I was sad. I was angry at whoever did this to my husband. I was in shock. I was grieving. I was hopeful. I was optimistic. I was pessimistic. I was filled with conflicting emotions.

My phone vibrated and I glanced towards it, wide-eyed.

Arsal Bhai was calling me.

I didn't want to pick it up. I wanted to pick it up.

I wanted to run away from everyone. I wanted to be surrounded by loved ones.

I reached for the phone. "H-Hello?" 

*

Rohaan has always been a pillar of strength for his family, so what happens now that he is hospitalised?

I know that the chapter was serious, but I did mention at the beginning of the book that it's a darker story.

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