Esha questioned Nikhil one last time, "Are you sure about this?"

He smiled at her, seated on the passenger seat of the car, "Yes, Esha. Your family is not going to scare me away."

She chuckled, starting the car, "Don't be too sure."

It had been a month since she confessed her growing feelings to him. Esha was going home to see her sister. She had been meaning to visit since Sanam had called to inform of her pregnancy, but with the project, it had been hard to get a few days off, and just going for the weekend wasn't enough. She wanted to stay a few days more. Ofcourse, Sanam had also asked her to bring Nikhil so they could meet him, if he was up for it.

Nikhil was surely not going to pass off the chance of meeting her family. She had met his, and he believed it was high time he met hers. "Why are you so negative about introducing me to your family?"

She took a right turn out of the neighborhood, "They haven't had the best track record in approving my decisions. If they had it their way, I'd be miserable in med school right now."

"Okay, and? We both know you still do what your heart tells you."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that deep down, I don't feel bad for disappointing them. If Sanam hadn't encouraged me to follow my heart despite their wishes, I wouldn't be here right now."

He nodded, and then passed a comment to cheer her up, "Well, no need to worry. They will definitely approve of your decision this time. I'm a catch."

She quickly glanced at him and he winked at her. She chuckled, "That, you are."

"Now, let's get the party started." He turned on the music, and raised the volume. She folded one leg over the seat, getting comfortable. Given it was an automatic car, not a manual, she didn't have worry about using both feet to drive. A few minutes later, they pulled on the interstate.

He sometimes asked her to slow down when she would break the 80s mph, but she simply would tell him to chill out. He sighed and hit his head back on the seat. The next three hours, his heart was unsettled and his mind was alert. He did trust her driving, but he was also careful. He did not want to get into an accident.

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Esha pulled up in an elegant neighborhood and in the driveway of a two-story house with six-door garage. Nikhil was taken aback at how spacious it looked from the outside itself. The design was Mediterranean style. Nikhil did not get much time to get his thoughts together since Esha spoke, "Come on."

She started climbing the steps of the house to reach the front door and rang the doorbell. It had an arched entryway. Nikhil looked around at the perfectly shaped bushes, the luscious courtyard, its pillars, the long windows, the stone walls.

The door opened to reveal a girl in light brown hair with red streaks, medium height and built. She grinned seeing Esha and hugged her. "Eshu!"

"Hey Anaya." Esha answered the hug, shifting back and forth on her foot before parting. "How are you?"

"Good. Great." Anaya answered and then turned to Nikhil with a kind smile, "Hi, I'm Anaya."

Nikhil shook her hand and offered a smile back, "Nikhil."

"I know. Nice to finally meet you. Come in!" She stepped inside and to the side to let them in.

Nikhil awkwardly asked, stopping Esha, "Uh, and our bags?"

"One of the guys will get them." Esha answered and started to walk in. This was normal for her. With the amounts of workers at the house, she had learnt to allow them to bring in her bags every time she visited. At first, she was uncomfortable, just like Nikhil. But Arjun had eventually succeeded in spoiling her.

Anaya further introduced, "By the way, I'm sure Esha hasn't told you much. So, I'm the only daughter, the youngest. Both Arjun and Rahul are older than me. Esha and I also went to the same university."

Nikhil nodded. The last piece was news, but he did know who Anaya was. He wanted to say that, but was interrupted as Esha let out a tiny squeal and rushed ahead to hug a little guy in a deathly grasp.

The three-year-old struggled against her hold and muttered, "Esha Maasi!"

She frowned, pulling away. "Amey, how many times do I need to tell you? Don't call me Maasi!"

Neha came out of the kitchen, "You are his Aunt though, Eshu. What else will he call you?"

Esha scolded, "Then you shouldn't have given me a nephew so young!"

Neha laughed and hugged her while Amey grabbed on to her leg. After parting, Esha lifted him up and turned towards Nikhil, "Nikhil, Neha. Neha, Nikhil." She did the worst introduction, but Neha was used to this. Both Sanam and Esha weren't the best at introductions or greetings. They usually always got straight to the point.

Nikhil looked at Esha awkwardly when instead of shaking hands or a simple 'hi', Neha hugged him. Esha explained, "She's big on giving hugs."

"Hey, I'm just being welcoming to our guest, unlike you." Neha passed a snarky comment in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, sure. Where's my favorite couple?"

Anaya answered, "You should know your sister. She's at the hospital. And bro is upstairs in his study."

Neha muttered, "Freaking workaholics, I tell you. I feel like I am going to have to raise the baby, not the two of them."

"I'll go call him down." Anaya offered.

Esha stopped her, "No, wait. I'll go. Give him a surprise." She then turned to Nikhil, "Want to come?"

"Sure." He answered, for she was the only one he really knew. It wasn't that he'd feel out of place. He could manage to talk to Neha and Anaya, but even he wanted to meet Arjun. Many a times, he knew he was being compared to the standards set by Arjun. It was no secret to Nikhil that for Esha, Arjun and Sanam were the ideal couple.

Esha passed Amey over to Neha and then led the way up the stairs towards Arjun and Sanam's room. She smiled at the change in the room, "Wow, it's changed so much." She said aloud. There were frames of Arjun and Sanam all around the walls. The walls were also colored instead of a plain color. It felt homelier than it ever had with all the decorations.

Arjun and Sanam hadn't lived in the manor with the family for a long time. They had their own house. But, now that Sanam was expecting, his family had insisted they live with them so they could help out.

She opened the door to the study and peeked inside. Arjun was on the call with his back facing them. She quietly walked over to him and covered his eyes, standing on her toes to reach them. His hand touched hers and he instantly smiled. "Call you back." He spoke in the phone and then to Esha, "Eshu."

Esha pouted and pulled her hands back so he could turn to face her, "How do you always know?"

"There's no one else I know who likes to give me such surprises." He commented, poking her nose and then giving her a long, warm hug. She rested her chin on his shoulder as she hugged him back. After they pulled back, he touched her cheek, asking, "How are you?"

"I'm awesome, you?"

"Happiest guy alive." He answered, and Esha smiled. He had to be. He was going to be a father.

"I bet. By the way..." She turned to look at Nikhil, "This is..."

"Nikhil." He completed, looking past her and at Nikhil.

Nikhil forwarded his hand, "And you must be the infamous Arjun. She talks about you a lot."

Arjun nodded, shaking hands. "I'm sure. You better be treating her right."

Nikhil glanced at their hands when the grip tightened. Esha followed his gaze, and then swatted Arjun's arm, "Jeej, come on. He's been here barely 5 seconds. Ease up."

"Hey, I'm allowed to look out for my saali." Arjun defended, but nevertheless loosened his grip.

Esha smiled at his protectiveness, "He's more like you than you know. You'll see."

Nikhil smiled at the words she used and even Arjun relaxed hearing that. "Good. Come, let's go down."

Esha suggested, "It's okay. You finish up your work."

Arjun put his arm around her and commented, "Most definitely not. You're here after so long. Work can wait." For him, his family meant more than work. Sure, he was a workaholic sometimes, but he knew when to focus on work, and when to focus on family.

Esha asked the question she was somewhat dreading, "So, um, where are the parents?"

"I think they went shopping. It feels as if finally your dad is starting to warm up to me."

Esha laughed, "Hey, when did that ever matter as long as Sanam loved you?"

Arjun bobbed his head, "True, but still. He's my father-in-law. Ofcourse I don't want him to hate me. Oh, speaking of," He directed towards Nikhil, "You might want to be on your best in front of him if you ever hope to marry Esha in the future."

Esha and Nikhil both glanced at each other at the word 'marry'. Future? Esha worried what they would think if they found out they were already married.

Arjun paused and asked, "Opps, did I make things awkward?"

Nikhil pressed his lips together and shook his head, "No. No. I definitely do hope to marry her, so any tips you can spare, I'm all ears, bro."

Arjun chuckled, but somewhere was more at peace hearing Nikhil wasn't simply treating it as a casual relationship and did see a future with Esha. If anything, the only thing he wanted was the best for Esha.

"Firstly, you will not, under any circumstances, say you are dating Esha." Arjun started to hand out instructions, "Say you are my friend. Let him warm up to you first. Sanam and I made the mistake of saying we're getting married the first time itself over the phone and he's had it out for me since. Four years married, and he still hates me. It'll go a lot smoother for you if he thinks he's the one who's picked you for Esha, not the other way around."

Nikhil started to get the idea that Esha's father actually was as intense as Esha made him out to be. He was growing nervous upon learning that Arjun still had a rocky relationship with him even after 4 years. "Do I even stand a chance?"

Arjun laughed, "Sorry, man. Didn't mean to scare you off. But, secondly, by no means will you be seen around Esha when he's around. If he so much as suspects anything, you can say hasta la vista."

Nikhil groaned, "Just great."

Esha hid a smile as she walked over to his side and hooked her hands around his arm, "Aw, relax, Nikhil. It's just four days. You'll manage."

Nikhil glared at her, catching her undertone. How was he going to manage without touching her and being around her for four days? She was the only person he truly knew in this mansion of a house, after all.

Arjun offered, "If it makes you feel better, the two of you can come stay with us at our place."

Esha asked, "Wait, I thought you two moved back here?"

"We have, but while we have all our close relatives coming in for the weekend, we decided that we youngsters will flee. Both Anaya nor Neha wants to deal with their orthodox ideologies, and if Sanam stayed here, she'd be harassed and not be able to go to the hospital."

"Ah, I'm definitely in then." Esha announced. She wasn't going to fall prey to the elder relatives either.

They reached the living room where Anaya had brought out snacks and drinks for them to munch on while they spent the afternoon getting to know each other. It went by with ease, having Amey to distract them once in a while.

Nikhil watched in awe every time Esha played with Amey. He hadn't quite envisioned her with kids before, but she was a sight. Even when she playfully scolded Amey, he found her adorable. It was obvious how much Esha loved Amey, and he could also see why she felt this to be her home and family rather than the one she grew up in.

Arjun commented in a lowered voice, "You love her, don't you?" Nikhil turned to him with a certain fear in his eyes that caused Arjun to offer a humble smile, "It's not hard to tell. You can barely look away from her."

Nikhil exhaled, "Yeah, it may seem unreal since we've only known each other a few months, but everything about her just makes me love her even more."

"I know the feeling." Arjun answered, lost in thoughts himself. "It's nothing bad, Nikhil. Trust me. Both sisters seem to have that going. I remember how strong my feelings were for Sanam since the beginning." To reassure Nikhil, he shared, "Tell you what... I had only known her for a week, but at the end of that week, she asked me to marry him."

He let out a soft chuckle before continuing, "For a second, I really thought she might have been on something. At first, it was just a mutual agreement. She didn't want to be tied down in a family and she knew her parents were close to getting her married to a guy she didn't know. The way she was bold enough to propose that to me and how she was dedicated to her dreams, I didn't think twice before agreeing to help her out. I was going through some stuff of my own, but it was the best damn decision I ever made."

Nikhil observed, "So being daring is just in their blood, huh?"

Arjun laughed, "A little, but Esha is definitely more daring. It took a long time for Sanam to stop seeing me as just a guy helping her out, a friend, and as more. She was only daring in asking me to marry her because she felt her dream slipping away. And these sisters... once they feel threatened that they'll lose something they could really care about, then watch out, world. They see something they want, and they go after it."

Nikhil could definitely connect to that. "Yeah, I know just what you mean."

Arjun made a last comment, "You've already managed to get her to bring you home. None of us had ever thought it'd be that easy to get her to open up to a guy. I say, you've already won half the battle."

"It wasn't easy. She fights back at each turn, you know?" Nikhil recalled every single time she had, ever since finding out he was the guy she had married in Vegas.

"What are you two talking about?" Esha asked, pushing her way to sit between the two.

Nikhil lightly teased her, "Oh, you know, just you."

"Really? What secrets have been shared?" She expressed her curiosity as Nikhil wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to his side. Given it was just them and no adults, Esha comfortably sat with her hand resting over his knee.

"Mostly mine and Sanam's." Arjun answered, smiling at how comfortable the two of them were around each other. For him, it had taken half a year, even more, to get to that stage with Sanam.

Esha nodded and they shared a few more stories with Nikhil. It had only been few hours, but the whole family had made him feel as if he was already a part of their family. He knew of the Mehta's as they frequently made the news, but actually sitting in their living and having a casual conversation with them filled with laughter was a bit surreal.

Before they knew it, the parents arrived. As soon as they heard the front door open, Esha sprung up and away from Nikhil.

He was confused for a second, until he heard voices and remembered Arjun's warnings. "Let the torture begin." He muttered to himself, but Esha heard him and sent him a glare.

Arjun bit back a smile as the parents came into view and Esha went up to greet her parents.

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