Ever since Sameer discovered Naina's insecurity after overhearing some random people in the hospital, and after realising how Preeti and Swati were being treated in their homes, he had started to be more mindful of his responsibility towards her. Besides trying to care for her even more, he often brought gifts while coming back from office. Though small ones, they never failed to bring a smile on Naina's face. A single bloom of rose, gajra of fragrant jasmine flowers, silver hoops from Law garden, bhutta... she was overjoyed with the smallest of his gifts. He could see it in her eyes.

"Yeh kya hai?" She asked enthusiastically when he pulled out a rectangular box from his bag one evening.

Sameer made her sit on the bed, pulling a chair to sit in front of her. He untied the ribbon and opened the box. Her eyes lit up as he picked up deep red glass bangles, their clinking sound filling up the room.

He held her hand, "Tumhare haathon mein chooriyon ki awaaz mujhe bohot pasand hai."

She smiled fondly as he slipped the bangles over her fingers.

A frown appeared on his face when they got stuck near her knuckles. He tried to rotate them, pushing gently. But they seemed to be fixed in one place, refusing to budge even a millimeter.

She kept a straight face as he tried, twisting himself more than her hand, not applying force but constantly trying to make the bangles pass the hurdle.

"Yeh aage kyon nahi jaa rahi? Main toh tumhare size ki hi laaya hun." Frustrated, he looked up at her.

She pulled back her hand from his grip, taking off the stuck bangles. Then she held out both her hands to him, palms down.

For the first time he noticed the swelling. Her fingers were thicker than they used to be, the hand was more rounded.

He quickly took her hands in his, eyes widening in concern, "Naina, yeh kaise hua? Tumhari tabiyat theek nahi hai kya? Tumne bataya kyon nahi? Yeh haath itne sooj gaye hain... tumhe takleef ho rahi hogi na. Abhi doctor ke paas chalte hain."

She let out an amused exhale, "Offo, mujhe bolne doge toh bataungi na."

He pursed his lips.

A loving smile spread on her face at the way he immediately complied.

"Pehli baat, mujhe koi takleef ya dard nahi hai. Doosri baat, iss haalat mein haath thode bohot sooj jaate hain... normal hai. Pair bhi toh aise ho gaye hain." She explained.

He immediately turned to look at her feet. They indeed were swollen as well.

He looked back, a guilty look on his face, "Mujhe pata nahi chala. Sorry."

"Tumhari yeh aankhen mere chehre se hat ti hi nahi... yeh hi kehte ho na tum? Toh kaise pata chalega?" She pinched his nose.

He did not react to it as all his attention was on her swollen hands and feet, "Naina, tumhe kitna kuch sehna pad  raha hai na... aur main itna bhi nahi jaan paaya ki tumhe yeh problem bhi ho rahi hai."

"Sameer, isse problem mat kaho. Baby ke liye hum sab kuch kar sakte hain na... yeh toh kuch bhi nahi hai. Aur yeh soojan hamesha nahi rehti. Kabhi kabhi aati hai aur kabhi khud hi chali jaati hai." She soothed his worries.

He sadly looked at the bangles kept beside her... and brightened up next moment.

"Main abhi market se aur chooriyan leke aata hun... jab tumhare haathon mein inki awaaz gunjegi toh hum teeno ko achha lagega." He exclaimed.

"Teeno ko?" Naina queried.

"Main, tum... aur hamari pari." He placed a hand on her belly.

"Rehne do, Sameer. Kal le aana. Abhi wapas aaye ho, abhi fir se chale jaoge. Tum bhi toh thak gaye hoge na." She held his wrist.

He shook his head, "Nahi. Yeh aaj ka tohfa hai... yeh toh aaj hi tumhare haathon mein sajega. Main jaldi aa jaunga."

"Toh main bhi saath chalungi." She said with finality.

He pressed her shoulder, "Naina, tum aaram karo. Main bas yun gaya aur yun aaya."

"Nahi Sameer. Main bhi itne dinon se bahar nahi gayi hun. Mera dil kar raha hai. Aur agar fir se galat size aa gaya toh? Iss baar try karke le lenge chooriyan." She was adamant.

"Naina, pehle hi yeh sab," he looked at her hands again, "aise ghoomogi toh aur ho jayega na."

"Kuch nahi hoga. Main itne din se ghar mein reh ke bore ho gayi hun. Tumhare saath bahar jaake hum dono ko achha lagega." She stroked her tummy.

Seeing her keenness, he agreed, helping her to get up. Now that she had stopped going to office regularly, her outings were limited to the visits to doctor. The last one had been ten days back. He decided to take her for a long drive.

When they started from home, dusk had not yet settled in though the sun had lost its brightness. The crispness in air held the promise of approaching winters. Thought of winters made Sameer shiver in excitement... the time to meet his daughter would come soon. He smiled to himself, thinking about the day when he would be taking both his wife and his daughter on an outing like this... how she would come up with demands of ice cream and balloons... how her mouth would be smeared with the melted chocolate when she relished one... how she would squeal in joy when he bought a teddy bear for her...

"Hum market hi jaa rahe hain na... ya Ahmedabad se bahar jaana hai?" Naina's voice brought him out of his dreamland.

"Haan... haan market hi toh jaa rahe hain. Aur kahan jayenge?" He gave her a perplexed look.

She pointed at an approaching sign...

Mumbai  525 kms

He brought the car to a halt, giving a startled look around. Lost in thoughts, he had taken a turn on the highway instead of going towards the city. Sheepishly, he smiled at Naina, holding one ear.

She laughed, pulling his hand down, "Kis soch mein doobe the?"

He started the car, taking a U turn, "Main soch raha tha jab hum apni beti ko market layenge toh woh kya kya karegi."

"Aur mujhe laga tum mere baare mein koi sapna dekh rahe the." She pouted, crossing her arms while looking ahead.

The car screeched to a halt again. By the time she turned to him, he had already unclasped his seatbelt.

Leaning towards her, he took her face in his hands, looking deeply into her eyes, "Tumhare sapne toh main har pal dekhta hun. Jab tumse door hota hun toh bhi tumhara yeh chehra meri aankhon ke aage rehta hai. Dil karta hai bas tumhe apne saamne bitha ke rakhun. Aur dil karta hai..."

She placed a hand on his eyes, that were racing between her eyes and lips as he leaned more and more towards her.

"Yeh kya, Naina? Ab dekh bhi nahi sakta kya tumhe?" He whined.

"Sirf dekhne tak theek hai. Lekin tumhare iraade saaf nazar aa rahe hain mujhe... sirf dekhne wale toh nahi lag rahe. Yeh sadak hai, Mr Maheshwari. Zara control rakho." She pulled down her hand, resting it on his chest.

He raised his hand to her face, gliding his fingertips lightly over her soft cheek, "Iraade pehchan hi gayi ho toh... waise bhi bahar andhera hone laga hai, aur yahan highway pe koi zyada traffic bhi nahi hai."

She drew in a breath. His feather touch was even more tormenting than his firm grip. Her lashes dropped, and colour started to spread on her face. When a few moments passed and he did not move, she looked up. Sameer sat staring at her, mesmerised.

Seeing the question in her eyes, he again rubbed the back of his fingers on her cheek, "Ab tumhare gaal pehle se bhi zyada laal hote hain."

"Hato." She turned her face to the window, pushing at his chest.

"Naina, tum aise sharmana kab chodogi?" He rested his forehead on her shoulder.

"Jab tum aise besharam banna chodoge." She glanced at his bent head before checking around for any passerby.

"Matlab kabhi nahi." He sighed.

She turned sharply at him. Lifting his head, he winked... and swiftly pecked her lips before going back to his seat.

"Bohot besharam ho." She blushed, lowering her head.

It was dark by the time they reached the market. After parking the car, he took her to the shop where he had bought bangles earlier in the evening.

"Inke liye dikha do... gehre laal rang mein... kaanch ki chooriyan." Sameer apprised the shopkeeper of their requirement.

He peered at Naina's hand, holding out his own to clasp hers... in order to judge the size.

"Jo shaam ko leke gaya tha usse ek size bada dikha do." Sameer gripped her hand, linking their fingers.

The shopkeeper brought out a box from under the counter and again extended his hand, holding the bigger size. Sameer took the bangles from him, giving a stern look, and turned towards Naina. The size did slip a little further than the previous one but did not go down to her wrist easily.

"Isse agla wala dikhao." Sameer pushed the packet away, speaking curtly.

"Bhaiya, isse bada lenge toh bhabhiji ki kalai ke liye dheela rahega. Iss haalat mein inka haath thoda sooj gaya hai na isliye choori atak rahi hai. Laiye, main pehna deta hun. Mera toh kaam hi yehi hai." Shopkeeper said politely.

Sameer gave him a sharp look. Before he could retort, Naina pressed his hand gently.

Looking at the shopkeeper, she kept her voice placid, "Yahan aap pehna bhi de lekin ghar pe toh hum khud hi utarenge na... isliye aisa size chahiye jo aaram se haath mein chadh jaye. Aap bada wala leke aaiye."

He nodded, going back inside to get the size asked for. Sameer gave a satisfied look to her, getting back a frown.

"Kya? Usko pehnane deta kya tumhare hathon mein?" He blurted in an exasperated voice.

"Uska kaam hai, Sameer. Sabko pehnata hai." She hissed.

He wrapped his arm around her waist possesively, "Tum sab nahi ho... tum meri Naina ho. Yeh haq kisi ko nahi hai ki tumhe choo sake."

Before she could answer, the person was back with a new box. Knowing his customers by now, he gave the box to Sameer. The bangles glided smoothly over her knuckles, slipping down to her wrist. They did look a bit large but did not fall off when she put her hand down. After paying for it, they came out of the shop. She lifted up her wrists, jerking them to produce the sound. He wished they were not in the crowded market.

"Chalo, ghar chalte hain." He was suddenly in a hurry, holding her hand and walking towards the car.

"Sameer, mujhe ice cream khani hai." Her thrilled voice stopped him.

"Naina, mausam thoda thanda hai. Kahin tumhe sardi ho gayi toh?" He hesitated.

"Please na, Sameer. Bohot mann kar raha hai. Dekho, baby ko bhi chahiye, haina baby?" She placed a hand on her belly, fluttering her eyes.

When the baby didn't respond, Sameer raised one brow, smirking.

Her eyes rounded, "Haww, matlab ab sirf baby ke kehne pe hi khilaoge? Meri koi parwah nahi tumhe? Haan, ab toh tumhare liye main second ho gayi na... pehle number pe toh tumhari beti hai... bas ussi ke baare mein socho aur jo woh maange wohi khane do mujhe."

He looped an arm around her shoulder, dragging her to the ice cream parlour, "Ek ice cream ke liye itna drama karogi toh agli baar serial likhne ke saath saath tumhe usmein acting ka bhi role mil jayega."

"Mujhe jo naya role milne wala hai na, iski mumma ka, woh kaafi hai mere liye." She lovingly placed a hand over her stomach.

Next update tomorrow evening