Her small effort and gesture swells his heart. Extending his right hand, with a smile on his face and too much of care and love in his eyes, Rajveer brushes her cheek. Naina doesn't hesitate to lean on his touch, the touch of Rajveer, the touch of her husband.

*****

Dr. Mishra calls Natasha after reaching her room.

"Come on Natasha just pick up the damn phone",

she curses under her breath.

As soon as Natasha receives the call, Ritu starts yelling at her,

"itna time lagta hai phone uthane mein? Kahan thi itni der se?"

"Relax Ritu Di, kya hua aap itni hyper kyun ho rahi hain?"

"Hyper kyun ho rahi hun? Ye tum mujhse puch rahi ho? Kitna time ho gaya hai Natasha mujhey KMA mein aye hue? Almost four months aur main simple sa kaam nahi kar pa rahi. Wo triggers mere hathon mein hone chahiye the iss waqt, aur ye dekho mere haath, ek dum khali hain!",

she yells at her over the phone.

"Main bhi yahan khali nahi baithi samjhin aap? Maine koshish ki thi, apke uss Rajveer Singh Shekhawat ko fasane ki but nahi hua kuch. And at the first place, apko kya lag raha tha Di ki wo ek pal mein mera deewana ho jayega? Mere agey peechey mandrane lagega? I don't understand, jab aap itne time se uske saath hain, aap ussey apni taraf attract nahi kar payin to main ek pal mein kaise kar sakti hun?"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Don't you dare talk to me like that. You know what, main agar chahun to abhi uss Captain Rajveer ko apni ungli pe nacha sakti hun, par mujhey koi shok hi nahi hai",

says Dr. Ritu, rolling her eyes.

"If not Captain, to koi aur sahi!",

suggests Natasha.

"Koi aur?",

thinks Dr. Mishra, that suddenly she receives a message on her mobile.

"Rukko kisi ka message aya hai",

she informs Natasha and asks her to hold the call.

Bringing her mobile in front of her to check, she reads,

'mujhey aaj tumse milna hai. Mujhse KMA ke peechey waley road pe akey milo theek nau (9) baje'.

Putting the mobile back on her ear, she informs Natasha,

"aaj raat ko bulaya hai milne ko boss ne!"

"Oh really? Kis liye?"

"Well I guess shayad ab orders mil jaye, 'red box' ko shift karne ka",

sighs Ritu.

"Lekin 'red box' hai kahan?",

asks Natasha, curious to know about it.

"Captain Rajveer ke room mein!",

answers Ritu, in anger.

"What? Ye baat aap kaise janti hain?",

asks Natasha, shocked.

"Kyunki main apna kaam karna janti hun",

replies Ritu, getting angry.

"Anyways ek kaam karo, tum bhi mujhse raat ko milna KMA ke peechey wale road pe. May be around dus (10) baje. Unse milne ke baad main tumse milti hun, then I guess we can discuss ki hum kya kar sakte hain. You know yahan aise phone pe baat karna is too risky"

"Alright, no problem",

saying this she ends the call.

*****

Next Morning

Neelu comes to KMA to meet everyone.

"Neelu tu yahan kya kar rahi hai?",

asks Yudi, as she enters the mess.

"Kyun bro main yahan nahi aa sakti?",

she asks, staring at Alekh, who doesn't look at her even for once.

Placing her hands on the table, and bending forward, towards Alekh, she asks,

"a hero, chalta hai kya?"

Yudi looks at her in shock,

"Neelu, tu kaise baat kar rahi hai ye?"

"Chill bro, Alekh aur meri setting hai, aap beech mein mat bolo. Kyun beedu?",

winks Neelu, towards Alekh.

Alekh gets up and was about to leave the place, when Neelu walks in front of him, and in a hushed tone, she says,

"Maaf kar de na. Kab tak gussa rahega?"

Yudi stays focused on them and interrupts them by asking,

"kya baat kar rahe ho tum dono?"

"Bro aap jante ho aap par big B wala role suit nahi hota so please, stay away",

says Neelu, politely.

"Neelu tum meri behn ho",

Yudi reminds her.

"Aur Alekh ki dost bhi hun main",

replies Neelu confidently.

"Alekh agar tu ne kuch bhi galat kia Neelu ke saath to...",

warns Yudi.

"To?",

asks Alekh, creasing his brows, staring Yudi directly.

Getting up Yudi folds his arms and says,

"Main uska bhai hun".

At this, Naina gets up, folding her arms just like Yudi, looking straight into his eyes, she declares,

"aur main uski behn".

Not realizing what he is saying, Yudi blurts out,

"abey ye kab paida hui?"

All of them look at him in disbelief! Suddenly Yudi realizes what he just said. Showing his index finger, he tries to word his emotions, he tries to phrase the word 'SORRY' but fails miserably, when he finds Naina and Alekh glaring at him, like they are going to kill him any moment. Realizing that Yudi is feeling sorry for what he said, Alekh smiles.

"Chal ab zada bholi mat bann apun ke samne, ja maaf kia",

declares Alekh, in a hushed voice, and smiles at her, Neelu smiles back, feeling relaxed. Naina smiles too, shaking her head.

Sighing, Naina notices that Rajveer is no where to be seen. His absence makes her anxious.

"Pooja tu ne Rajveer Sir ko dekha?",

she asks her.

"Naina apna Shahrukh kab kya karta hai, kisi ko pata hota hai kya?",

asks Pooja, with a smile. Her words send chill down Naina's spine.

'Sahi kaha tu ne Pooja, wo kab kya karenge, wo kisi ko nahi pata hota', she thinks.

"Ahmm... okay. Chal class ka time ho gaya hai".

****

As they enter Major Nayyer's class. Huda says,

"Oye Phoolan yahan aa na hum sub mil kar ye soch rahe the ki Lolita Ma'am ki class kis bahane se skip karein"

"Skip? Tum log Lolita Ma'am ki class kyun skip karna chahte ho?"

"Arey Phoolan kabhi-kabar to azadi milni hi chahiye na humein apne kitabon se?"

"Tum log azad hi to ho, apne decisions khud le sakte ho bina ye sochey ki dusron par iska kya affect parhega. Yahan tum log as such kisi ke saath kisi rishtey mein to nahi bandhe hue".

Her words grabs Alekh's attention.

"Rishta dil se bandhta hai. Jab kisi ko dil se apna dost maan lo to uski soch, uski pasand-napasand ka dhyan dil khud rakhne lagta hai. Bandhan khud bandh jata hai. Waise tu yahan kiske saath itne gehre bandhan mein bandhi hui hai, jo aisi baatein kar rahi hai?",

asks Alekh, concerned for Naina. Meanwhile Huda gets busy in talking to a girl cadet, so misses to reply Naina.

"Haye rabba tum dono ke SMSs to mere range se bahar hi hotey hain humesha",

says Pooja, addressing to Alekh and Naina and takes her seat.

Huda stares back at Naina for sometime, then indulges back into his conversation with a girl cadet.

Alekh gets up, reaching Naina pulls her by her hand, to reach an empty seat, away from others.

"Kya baat hai? Koi locha hai kya?",

asks Alekh, sitting next to Naina.

"Nahi to",

replies Naina, not meeting Alekh's eyes.

"Dekh Naina, tu bahar se jitna marzi ye kyun na dikha le ki tu kitni kathor hai, mazboot hai, par ander se tu kaisi hai, ye apun achi tarah janta hai",

Naina stares at Alekh and smiles.

"Tu janta hai Alekh, Naveen Bhaiya bhi mujhse aise hi baat karte the. Unse bhi main kuch nahi chupa pati thi".

"To apun bhi to tera bhai jaisa hi hai",

smiles Alekh.

"Nahi Alekh tu mere bhai jaisa nahi hai, tu mera bhai hi hai!",

declares Naina, placing her hand on his hand, on the table.

"Wada kar Alekh ki aj ke baad kabhi khud ko anath nahi samjhega. Agar samjha to yaad rakhiyo teri ek behn bhi hai, agar tu anath hai to wo bhi anath hai",

her words make him angry.

Creasing his brows he says,

"ek kaan ke neechey lagaunga agar jasti bolegi to",

and Alekh hugs her.

Releasing her from his hold, he asks her,

"chal bata ab kya baat hai?"

"Alekh...",

as she starts, her voice cracks out of too much emotions.

By the time she recollects herself, Major Nayyer enters the class. Alekh gets frustrated on his entry at the wrong time and glares at Major Nayyer. Naina's heart skips a beat and she forces herself to think again, whether she really wants to tell about Rajveer's and her relation? She knows she can trust Alekh for life but somehow she feels, she is still not ready to disclose the sudden change in the relationship status of her and Rajveer. Sighing, she decides she'll leave it for later. She won't tell anything to him yet, after all she herself needs time to get accustomed to her new relation.

****

During the class, an orderly comes to Major Nayyer with a file. After checking the file, he orders him,

"jao jakar Captain Rajveer ko dikha do ek baar ye".

His name grabs Naina's attention, and sets her heart to beat in a different rhythm. She clutches the part of her uniform underneath which her locket is placed safely, touching her heart, away from eyes of others.

"Sir wo to academy mein nahi hain",

informs the orderly to Major Nayyer, which again grabs Naina's attention.

"Nahi hain? Kahan hain wo?",

asks Major Nayyer, all serious.

"Sir mujhey to nahi pata",

replies the orderly.

"Theek hai tum jao",

ordering the orderly, Major Nayyer turns to glare at Naina, with a knowing look.

Naina maintains the eye contact, determination clearly visible in her eyes.

After the end of two classes Naina gets more restless.

"Pooja mujhey aur koi class attend karne ka mann nahi kar raha. Tu ja, main room mein ja rahi hun"

"Kya hua Naina tabse dekh rahi hun, teri battery low hai. Kuch hua kya?",

asks Pooja, concerned.

"Nahi Pooja main theek hun. Bus sir mein thoda dard hai, rest karungi to theek ho jaungi".

"Main chalun kya tere saath?",

asks Pooja, concerned.

"Nahi it's okay. Tu ja jakar class attend kar",

assures Naina, with a smile and leaves for her room.

As she reaches her room and closes the door, she touches her uniform, at the locket area, so that she can feel the locket and says, worriedly, "kahan hain aap? Subah se apko nahi dekha!"
Suddenly someone knocks the door of her room. Opening it, she finds an orderly standing there. "Han ji" "Cadet Singh, ye Captain Rajveer ne apko dene ko kaha tha", he informs her as he hands over a letter to her, bowing he leaves.

Closing the door she quickly rips open the envelope to check the content.

Dear Mrs. Shekhawat

Him addressing her that way makes her heart to skip a beat, which is followed by her cheeks turning red. The name grabs her attention so much that she finds it difficult to wander her eyes on other parts of the letter. But getting her emotions into a grip, she anyhow decides to read further, without wasting her time anymore.

I hope kal apko theek se neend ayi ho. I don't want you to feel drowsy during your classes Naina. Humari personal life mein jo marzi ho par main tumhara mentor aur teacher humesha rahunga. Aur ye baat main tumhe kabhi bhulne bhi nahi dunga.

She could feel his authoritativeness in his letter too, which brings a smile on her face. She shakes her head and mentally scolds herself for enjoying his tease. Then she reads further -

Although main tumse mil kar jana chahta tha aj par kuch zaruri kaam ki wajah se mujhey jaldi nikalna parha. Main shaam tak aa jaunga. Such bataun to mujhey bohot ajeeb lag raha hai, maine pehle kabhi kisi ko iss tarah se bataya nahi ki main kab aunga, ya jane se pehle inform karne ki bhi zada zarurat nahi parhi mujhey kabhi, apart from Brigadier Chandok ;)

The wink sign makes her to blush. She has never seen him winking. Suddenly Naina starts imagining, how will he look when he'll wink. "Lekin wo aisa karnege kiske liye?" she asks herself. As soon as she realizes how stupid she is acting, who else can he actually wink...? The thought makes her to blush. She quickly shakes her head, in a quick succession, wanting desperately to dismiss the thought. But in the process, blushing even harder.

Then again she resumes her reading, after controlling her emotions -

Anyways mujhey tumse kuch kehna tha.

After reading this line, she starts anticipating, what he might like to tell her? How will she feel after listening to it or rather after reading it? Why did he choose to tell her through a letter? Why didn't he tell her yesterday itself? Dismissing the thought again, she reads further -

Mujhey aate hue raat ho jayegi shayad. Although main koshish karunga ki lights out hone se pehle hi main academy wapas aa jaun, but I can't promise you that. Anyways, what I want you to do is - main chahta hun ki tum mere academy aney se pehle ready rehna. Ahmm... main tumhe honeymoon pe to abhi le nahi ja sakta but I can surely take you out to somewhere you'll love to visit.

Reading this makes her heartbeats to accelerate. 'Is he actually asking me for a date?' the thought makes her to blush, just like any newly wed or a girl who has experienced this feeling for the first time - someone asking her for a date! And 'honeymoon'? Oh God! She hasn't thought about this 'honeymoon' thing ever. That too

'honeymoon' + 'Rajveer' = ?

She doesn't even want to think about it! Is this combination even possible? But then she remembers something, he never asks her anything, rather orders her. And she accepts secretly, that she loves the dominant side of Rajveer! With a blushed face and smile, she reads further.

Well I am sure tumhara pura focus iss letter pe hi raha hoga so you wouldn't have noticed anything else. So, I would request you ki tum iss letter ko agey read karne se pehle, uss envelope ko firse dekho.

'Request and you?' thinks Naina, smiling, she shakes her head. Focusing back on the letter, she creases her brows, with a smile on her face, and thinks what did she miss? Checking the envelope quickly, with almost shaky hands, she brings out a pair of white hanging earring.

The second she sets her eyes on them, she falls in love with the beautiful pair. She admits to herself that her husband has a beautiful pair. She admits to herself that her husband has a beautiful taste. After staring at them and admiring them for sometime, she reads the letter further.

I hope tumhe ye chota sa gift pasand aya ho. Freshers' Party ke din jab hum wahan ja rahe the, tumne mujhse kaha tha ki tumhe earrings ka shok hai. Frankly main uss din se kitni baar soch chuka tha ki main tumhe ye gift karun. Maine ye uss din ke kuch din baad hi khareed liya tha, par kabhi mauka nahi mila tumhe dene ka, ya yun kaho ki himmat nahi hui, tumhe dene ki. Deta bhi to kis haq se?

His last line 'deta bhi to kis haq se' succeeds in making a lump in her throat, her eyes turn teary, out of excessive emotion, love for her husband. Smiling, with teary eyes she reads further.

Anyways, I won't take more of your time now. I am very much looking forward to the evening. And I really hope, it's a mutual feeling!

With lots of . . . .

Rajveer

'With lots of... what?' thinks Naina, shutting her eyes tightly, she blushes all the more, if something like that is even possible, because she was already blushing soo hard! In her excitement she again clutches her locket, but this time there was no trace of worry on her face, rather satisfaction and excitement was visible all over. Satisfaction of having heard from him at last. Excitement, thinking what the evening is holding for her. Is she ready to start a new journey with Rajveer? Does she need to worry about the evening?

Relaxing herself down, she sits on the edge of her bed.

(Rajveer-Naina slow guitar tune starts)

"Kya main unse milna chahti hun?",

she asks herself, blushing.

Then scolds herself,

"Stupid! Tabse bechain ho rahi thi unhe dekhne ke liye aur ab, ab ye soch rahi hai ki milna chahti hai ki nahi unse?"

"Par main unse kahungi kya?",

asking this to herself, she hides her face with her hands and says,

"Oh god! Ye kya ho raha hai mujhey?"

Then lowering her hands, she places her palms on either side of her, on the bed and says,

"mujhey to unse gussa hona chahiye na? Fir main aise kyun?..."

Then suddenly her eyes fall on the mirror, place in front of her,

"apni shakal dekh Naina, agar kisi ne tujhey aise dekh liya to kya hoga?"

Blushing at her own comment, she falls back on her bed and starts concentrating on the ceiling of the room, thinking about Rajveer and blushing.

Naveen's voice over -

Meri choti behn Naina, bhaley hi itni choti umar mein usne bohot kuch jhela ho par ye feeling jo wo aaj mehsus kar rahi hai, wo har ek ladki ka sapna hota hai. Aaj Naina pehli baar ek normal ladki ki zindagi jee rahi hai. Kisi aur ke liye jeena kya hota hai, shayad wo dheere-dheere ye feel kar pa rahi hai.

Kal tak jiski zindagi mere usse durr ho jane ki wajah se aur mujhey deshdrohi karar kar dene ki wajah se ruk gayi thi. Yahan KMA join kar ne ke baad mano uski zindagi ki raftar ko naye pahiye mil gaye hon.

Ab to mano Naina ko jaise adat ho gayi ho har din ek naye obstacle ko face karne ki. Par Naina ko iss baat ka pura bharosa hai ki uske Captain..., (smiling), uske husband uske saath hain.

*****

Dr. Mishra tries to unlock her room for the umpteenth time but fails miserably.

"Damn it!",

she curses her luck.

"Jab jaldi hoti hai tabhi ye nahi khulta. Kitni baar keh chuki hun ki ya to mujhey keys room se ek chaabi allot karo ya new chaabi bana do. Oh god! Kya karun ab main?"

An orderly hears her cursing her luck and reaches her.

"Kya hua ma'am koi problem hai?",

he asks politely.

"Yes orderly, ye mere room ka key hai, zank lagi hui hai, kitni baar request kar chuki hun authority se, new keys allot karne ke liye but...",

she sighs.

"Anyways firse koshish karti hun"

"Ma'am keys' room mein shayad iski ek duplicate key parhi ho!",

suggests the orderly.

His suggestion brings a satisfactory smile on Dr.Mishra's face,

"Really? Oh great! Kya aap la sakte hain?"

"Ji ma'am"

"Well tab tak main khadi rehti hun yahan pe, aur kya",

sighs Dr. Mishra.

"Ahmm...apko agar ana ho to aap bhi aa sakti hain. Aap dekh li jiye ye match karke ki key sahi hai ya nahi",

says orderly.

"Oh thank you so much orderly. I think it's a good idea",

smiles Dr. Mishra.

"Shall we?",

she asks politely, asking him to lead her to the room.

He obliges her. As he starts moving ahead, Dr. Mishra brings out her original key from underneath her saree's loose end, giving it a look, she smirks.

As they reach the keys' room the orderly starts searching the locker containing the number of Dr. Mishra's room. Meanwhile Dr.Mishra tries to elongate her time by indulging into a little chit-chat with the orderly.

"kabse ho aap yahan orderly?",

she asks, walking on the opposite direction.

"Ji chaar-panch saal ho gaye hain ma'am",

replies the orderly, feeling proud about it.

"Hmm... hmm... kafi trustworthy hogey aap fir. I mean kafi bharosa karte hongey Brigadier Chandok aap par!",

she says as she tries to search the of Captain Rajveer's room.

"Ji ma'am bharosa to hai unhe mujh par bohot",

blushes the orderly on receiving the compliment.

But Dr. Mishra doesn't pay any heed and is all busy in searching the key. And suddenly she discovers the exact key that she was searching for and a satisfactory smile comes on her face.

"Mil gayi!",

blurts out the orderly, which succeeds in skipping Dr.Mishra's heartbeats.

"Kya? Kya mil gaya?'',

she asks, turning to look at him, in haste, as if she has been caught red handed!

"Apko apne room ki chaabi chahiye thi na to mil gayi chabi",

says the orderly, feeling relaxed on having completed his job.

"Oh! Acha!",

sighs Dr. Mishra and smiles.

"Well give it to me, do mujhey, chalun main apne room mein",

she says, after controlling the rate of her heartbeat and starts walking towards the orderly and during the process hides both her keys, underneath the loose end of her saree. Putting forward her left palm, she asks the orderly to handover the keys to her and the orderly does as he is asked. As she leaves the place, Dr. Mishra gives a satisfactory smile on having won the battle.

*****

At night

Rajveer parks his jeep and gets out of it. He bends into his jeep through the front door, to bring out few papers,completely oblivious to the fact that Naina is reaching him, from his behind. Hearing the chime of her bangles, Rajveer turns to look who it is!

"Naina tum?",

he asks, surprised.

"Ji! Kya hua?",

asks Naina, surprised too.

"Tum iss waqt yahan kya kar rahi ho? Tumhe to iss waqt academy mein hona chahiye!",

declares Rajveer, puzzled!

"Academy mein?",

asks Naina, shocked.

"Acha, matlab aap bhul gaye?",

asks Naina, acting to be angry at him.

"Bhul...",

as he starts to speak, he realizes! Blushing, on having forgotten about their plan. He looks heavenwards, smiling.

"I...",

he starts to apologize, but his foolishness on having forgotten about the plan of his first 'date' with his wife, makes him to stop and he shakes his head out of embarrassment.

Naina too starts shaking her head in a slow rhythm, as a gesture of saying 'I can't believe this!' Her gesture makes him to feel even more guilty and he blushes further. Seeing him blushing and not meeting her eyes out of shyness makes Naina to burst out into a laugh. Rajveer enjoys looking at her, laughing.

"Tum mera mazak uda rahi ho?",

he asks, narrowing his eyes on her, on purpose.

"Nahi... nahi main...",

Naina tries to word her feelings but her another fit of laughter makes it impossible for her to say anything. Rajveer's laugh follows hers.

After relaxing, Rajveer sets his eyes on her attire. Wearing a simple pair of white kurti-churidar, accompanied by a white duppatta, she looks beautiful. The fact that she didn't try to put extra make up, apart from her kaajal makes Rajveer to fall for her even more! And also she made an effort to put the kaajal which is highlighting her already beautiful eyes, the part of her which he loves the most, makes him to fall for her all over again, a little more this time!

She is just the way he wants her to be. She understands his tastes perfectly. And he knows, it's not only because he would like her to be in such an attire that she chose to wear the outfit, it's rather a mutual choice of the couple. All this make him feel proud of her. After checking out her attire, he looks into her eyes and smiles. His eyes describes his feelings to Naina perfectly, as always. And as always, Naina smiles back, first time not to Captain Rajveer but to her husband Rajveer! Today it is indeed a row of firsts for her - first love letter! first date! first smile to her husband! She wonders how many more firsts are waiting for her. How many more firsts can she deal with in just a single day!

"Anyways apne mujhey 1900 hours pe report karne ko bola tha to main yahan aa gayi".

It's then he checks the time and to his surprise, it was exactly 1900 hours.

"Aur aap chahte the ki main ek different outfit mein aun to... ye dekhiye",

Naina reminds him, with a smile and blush on her face.

Rajveer again checks her out and says,

"'tumhe conditions yaad the? Maine to firse mention bhi nahi kia tha!",

as soon as says this, he realizes what he just said and tries to rectify his line,

"I mean..." and blushes,

"ek minute... tumhe pata hai hum kahan ja rahe hain?",

he asks, trying to hide his blush.

Naina raises her eyebrows, looking straight into his eyes and starts blushing.

Lowering his eyes, Rajveer smiles and blushes more.

"Ab to main Point 1857 chal sakti hun na?",

asks Naina, innocently, smiling. Out of shyness Rajveer smiles and shuts his eyes and covers his face with the file he had been holding all this time. Then bringing the file down from in front of his face, he looks at Naina with the same smile and blushed face. Naina smiles back at him.

"Bilkul ja sakti ho",

saying this he turns to place the file back into his jeep, when Naina asks,

"Sir, hum jeep mein jayenge ya...",

raising her shoulders as a gesture of 'kaise?' she asks,

"Kaise?"

"Naina do (2) baatein, pehli...",

saying this he moves forth, away from her, and places his right forearm on the frame of his jeep,

"Point 1857 ki ye last condition hai",

then remembering he alters his words and says,

"Nahi actually second last condition hai... wahan par...",

he points towards a far away point, too far, not visible through naked eye, then continues,

"sirf paidal jaya ja sakta hai, sirf paidal",

then he lowers his eyes, trying to check Naina's reaction to this, through his peripheral vision.