Author's Note: Surprise!! Hope you like it!❤ Also, I apologize about not replying to your comments in the last chapter, but please know that I read every single comment and every one of them made me so happy. I really appreciate each one of you so much!! 😊

This Chapter is not edited

Dhara felt her sister slapping her back and calling out her name, but she was too sleepy to respond. She kept her eyes shut and hoped she could fall back into the deep dreamless sleep she was having a few moments ago.

"Dhara," Soumya whined as she pushed Dhara's leg off of her.

"What?" she whined back in protest and threw her arm and leg around her sister.

"Your phone's ringing. Turn it off," she mumbled in her sleep.

Dhara raised her head and tried to listen. It wasn't very difficult to notice the ring tune of her phone echoing the quiet room or to even find it. She reached over to check who was calling at such an odd hour.

WHAT? It's 2:30 in the morning she messaged Akash instead after ending his call.

I know the time, Mrs.Kohli. Meet me by the stairs in 10 minutes. And come alone. Akash's response came instantaneously. She noticed that he had just repeated her texts from two nights ago.

She frowned and sat up. Why? She asked.

Don't worry I won't murder you. He responded with a winking emoji.

Dhara rolled her eyes at the message and then responded with a simple K. Looking over at her sister, she made sure she was sleeping before she padded over to the bathroom. Clearly, he was trying to even with her for taking him out on an adventure. Well too bad for him. She knew every nook and corner of this area and nothing will surprise her.

As she stood in the bathroom brushing her teeth, the sudden realization of her actions surprised her. What the hell? Why was she trying to make herself look presentable in the middle of the night for Akash? Immediately she pulled out the toothbrush from her mouth and rinsed off the lather before untying her hair that she had pulled into a bun.

She tiptoed out of the bathroom trying to not wake up Soumya or Sweetie.

"Where are you going?" Soumya asked just as she began walking to the door.

She panicked. She never tried to or had the need to hide things from her sister. But, telling Soumya about her rendezvous with Akash seemed wrong and unnecessary. Picking up Sweetie who was in the middle of her stretching, she lied, "I think Sweetie was to go to the bathroom."

Soumya frowned in her sleep and lifted her upper body on her elbows. "Again? I just took her at 11."

"Maybe she ate something that didn't go well with her stomach. I'll take her." she blurted out and quickly left the room with Sweetie in her arms. Luckily, her sister seemed tired because she fell back asleep. Otherwise, she would have surely questioned her as to why she was volunteering to do a task in the middle of the night while she could be getting some precious hours of sleep.

When she reached the end of the dark hallway, she saw Akash's silhouette lit by the moonlight filtering in through the window.

He extended his arms and Sweetie jumped right into them. "I thought I told you to come alone," he said attempting to creep her out with his tone of voice.

She scoffed and took a seat beside him on top of the staircase. "What do you want? Why would you call me thrice in the middle of the night? I have to go to college tomorrow."

Akash shrugged in response. "I couldn't fall asleep. After sharing a room with Rudra for long... it kind of feels weird to be sleeping alone," he whispered to her.

She scowled and debated how badly he would hurt himself if she pushed him down the stairs. "Too bad I don't know any lullabies to sing neither am I a sleep therapist to know how to help you." she snapped and stood up.

"I wanted to give you something." he enticed her just as she was about to walk away.

"What?" she asked, trying to keep her tone nonchalant. Not wanting to let him know that he had piqued her curiosity.

"Sit down and I'll give it to you," he said, trying to hide his smile.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she took a seat once again. Akash gently placed a sleeping Sweetie beside him before reaching into his pocket and retrieving something.

Her eyes lit up at the sight of three chocolate bars. She reached over and grabbed them before he could even give them to her. He chuckled at her excitement, but she just unwrapped one of the chocolate bars and opened her mouth to eat it.

"What's wrong? You don't like this chocolate?" he asked, looking concerned. "I thought you liked them since they are the same brand I found in your room."

"You eat it first," she said thrusting the chocolate bar in his direction. It wasn't that she didn't trust him. She did. She knew that he wouldn't do anything that would cause her harm. However, she was sure he was capable of pulling a prank on her.

He was confused at first, but then realization dawned upon him and he chuckled and took the chocolate from her hand. "Happy?" he asked as he chewed on the chocolate.

Sheepishly she smiled and took a small bite only to realize that it tasted like the chocolate she loved. "Thanks!" she mumbled through her mouthful of chocolate.

It was quiet as neither of them spoke. She munched on the treat while he just sat there looking into the dark verandah below the stairs. She should feel embarrassed about the way her chewing could be heard in the dead silence that surrounded them or the fact that she probably had chocolate all around her mouth. But, she didn't feel the need to act proper around him. She felt a strange connection to the man sitting beside her. She didn't understand why. Because they were so different from each other, yet there was something. Was it the fact that they were both younger imperfect siblings of perfect older ones or the fact that they were both trying to gain respect for their choice of profession from their loved ones, or was it their search for adventure? Never had she gotten this comfortable with anyone so quickly which is why taking him to her most favourite spot in the world didn't feel wrong or like an invasion of privacy. Although, she had questioned her decision more than few times during the past two days. The only thing she could come up with was that she just wanted to. He raised his eyebrow when he caught her staring at him.

"So, what are the chocolates for?" she asked, trying to maintain her facade of nonchalance.

Akash grinned and then hurriedly moved to sit on a step below her. Looking up at her, he answered, "It's a small thank you gift from me."

She frowned and looked down at the last half-eaten chocolate bar in her hand. "Gift? And thank you? For what?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "For helping me mend my relationship with my Dad."

"What do you mean? What did I do?"

"You shared your story with me. It made me realize that I needed to tell my Dad that I love him. We talked and he is okay with me pursuing photography as my full-time career."

"Seriously?" she asked, elated by his revelation. Slapping his back, she grinned. "That's awesome! Congratulations!"

"It was all thanks to you," he said with one of the most genuine smiles he had ever given her.

She smiled back as she finished the last piece of chocolate. In a sudden movement, he leaned closer to face and she leaned back.
"You're blushing!" he mused as he sat back down and chuckled.

"You wish!" she lied and rolled her eyes, but she too felt the warmth on her cheeks and ears. She wasn't used to hearing compliments about anything except her dance or occasionally sports skills. No one had ever told her that she was able to help them sort out a relationship.

"You know you look very beautiful when you blush." he teased.

"Stop trying to flirt with me." she huffed. When she stood up, the wrappers in her lap fell onto the floor.

"Don't worry I won't." he laughed as he picked up her garbage before standing up as well.

Dhara knew he was joking, but the comment still pricked her. Trying not to think too much of it, she bent down and picked Sweetie up. "I should get back before Di notices."

He nodded. "Thanks again, Dhara. I don't I would have been able to initiate anything if it weren't for your story."

"Anytime," Dhara shrugged smugly. "If you need more advice you know where to find me."

"And I have your number," he said making them both laugh.

"Shhh..." he put a finger on his lips when he realized they were being loud enough for someone to hear. "Good night."

She felt a knot in her stomach when he patted her arm. It was an innocent touch yet felt personal and intimate. "Good night."

"You're back." Soumya mumbled when she got back under the covers.

Her only response was a tight kiss on Soumya's cheek and tigh hug with her right arm and leg before she fell asleep with a huge smile on her face.

"Come in!" Rudra said to the person knocking on his cabin door.

"Is Dr. Rawat busy?" the person asked as they entered his office.

Rudra finally looked away from his computer when he noticed it was his father who had just entered the cabin. "Dad?" he greeted as he stood up from his chair and walked over to Apurva. "Is everything okay?" His dad hardly came to his office. Usually, he was summoned and their conversations either happened in his father's office or his bedroom.

Apurva cleared his throat as he looked around the cabin appearing awkward and out of place. "Yes, I was just wondering if you have eaten lunch."

He frowned. His father never asked about his meals. Usually, it was his mother who sent him messages and if he didn't respond she would send reminders through his secretary.  "Uhh... not yet."

"Great." Apurva nodded with a small smile. "Let's have lunch together then in the cafeteria."

Still confused by the sudden invitation, he stared at his father for a few moments before he nodded. "Umm... sure? I'll just get my ID."  he said and quickly walked around the desk and grabbed his ID card. He knew he didn't need to have it on him like the other employees, yet he felt like as a staff member of the hospital he too should follow the rules he demanded others did.

Rudra and Apurva settled in the corner of the staff cafeteria with their trays. They did get a few glances as neither of them frequented down there. Usually just eating home-cooked meals or ordering food occasionally and always eating in their respective cabins. He had worked at We Care for almost six years and he hadn't shared a single meal at the hospital with his father.

"Great job today, Rudra," Apurva spoke after a few minutes of silent dining. "A very innovative solution to make everyone happy."

Rudra looked up from his meal and smiled. "Thanks, Dad." He would take any compliment from his father. Making his father proud was one of his sole missions as a child which is why he worked as hard as he could and achieve excellence in everything he participated in.

His father had a very uncharacteristic smile as he continued eating his food. "I am thinking about calling in a board meeting on the 28th. What do you think?"

Rudra's head snapped up. "The 28th?"

"Are you busy that day? We can move it to next month after the medical conference if you prefer."

"Yes, let's do that." he immediately jumped at the offer. "I won't be in Delhi on that day."

It was his father's turn to frown. "Where are you going?"

"I planning to go back to Palampur tomorrow evening," Rudra informed quietly as he kept his eyes trained on his food.

He didn't need to look up at his father to know that his frown had gotten deeper. "You're going back tomorrow? Even though we just arrived this morning? Then you'll come back in four days with Akash, Dhara and Soumya?"

The idea when said out loud did sound excessive and unwarranted, but it was important. If this issue at the hospital could have been solved without him, he wouldn't even have joined his parents last night. "It's Soumya's birthday on the 28th." he blurted out.

There was a long pause before there was a strain of coughs from his father and he finally looked up from his almost empty plate.

"I see," his father said as he sipped on the water from the paper cup. "Have you bought her a present? Your mom bought her pearl earrings I think. Your Dadi will give it to her on her birthday. So, if you haven't then I'll tell Maa to write your name on the card as well."

"Present?" he chuckled nervously. He had just made arrangements for her gift last night after reaching home, but he just hoped it arrived on time. "No, Why would I? But, you really don't need to write my name. I'll figure something out."

"I see." Apurva nodded with another smile. "Have you relived your mother and grandparents from their duties of finding a bride for you then?"

"Dad!" Rudra complained, pushing with the frame of his glasses. "And anyway  Soumya has very recently begun chatting with another guy in an arranged marriage setup, so this hardly.... well... anything."

"Do you want me and your mom to talk to her grandparents?" his father offered after a pregnant pause.

Rudra looked up and immediately shook his head. "No, please don't. It's too early for that. I haven't even talked to Soumya about all this yet."

"Then when are you planning to do that? On the day of her marriage with the boy she is speaking with?" his father almost rolled his eyes. Which was totally out of character for him.

"No, I am planning to talk to her maybe when I get there," Rudra confessed.

"Let me know if you need any tips. I can help." Apurva said to him when they stood up to put away their trays. Rudra chuckled in response which seemingly upset his father. "I was a stud in my college. Ask your mom. I would receive a dozen love letters every day from girls."

"Sure, Dad." Rudra laughed and nodded as if he was really entertaining his father's exaggerated claims.

"Dad, please don't tell Mom about this right now. I'll tell her myself." he requested looking over at Apurva while standing in the elevator.

"Of course! I won't tell anyone. My lips are sealed."

"Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it."

"I really enjoyed my meal today. We should do this more often." Apurva said with a small smile as he stood on the threshold of the elevator on his floor.

"I would love to, Dad." Rudra smiled back. His Dad was a man of few words and a man of even fewer affectionate actions, so for him to say this and initiate a lunch together did mean a lot to him.

With the amazing lunch out of the way, Rudra settled back into his work chair to finish as much work as possible.

When his phone pinged with a notification, he immediately reached for it and unlocked it. It was Soumya's present. It had come! On time despite his last-minute scrambling. He sent the sender a huge thank you and told him that he really owed him one.

Leaning back in his chair, he stared at the ceiling. Now, he couldn't wait to get back to Soumya. And he couldn't wait to see her beautiful face when he gave her the present and told her about his feelings for her.