Sonakshi grabbed the towel from the rack and wiped her face. As she opened the door of the washroom she gave a small yelp of surprise.

"Rohit!" she chided, "Tum yaha aise..."

Rohit was looking at her, standing right outside the washroom. Sonakshi shook her head. " Washroom jana hai?" She stepped aside, making space for him.

Rohit shook his head. "No...wo...Haan...tum...tum thik ho?" He stroked her arms softly, looking concerned. Sonakshi looked blankly at him for a moment but then it clicked for her what this was about. Her panic attacks.

She smiled at him softly and nodded.

He looked at her for a moment and then leaned down and pressed his lips on her forehead. He pulled back a few moments later.

"Hmm...ab jao jaldi se fresh ho jao. Meri ek journalist friend ane wali hai, hume photo bhi khichwani hai aur...mujhe shoot ke liye jaldi nikalna hai, Netra ji ke sath aaj meeting bhi hai aur tumhari bhi surgery hai na? You know main Tapasya ko bolke photoshoot pehle karwa sakti hoon taki tumhe jyada der na ho ...ya phir hum cancel hi kar sakte hai aaj... I can tell her..." Sonakshi kept blabbering on as Rohit held her hand to stop her.

"Sona Sona Sona shhh! Kisi Ko kuch kehne ki zaroorat nahi hai. Surgery shaam ko hai. Aur aaj shoot pe jana zaroori hai? Can't you take the day off?"

"Bilkul bhi nahi! Itna sara kaam baki hai, upar se kal main jaldi aa gayi...aaj to bahut late tak shoot chalegi meri...aur..."

"But Sona pair pe chot lagi hai tumhe, aise bhaag daur karogi to to yeh aur bigad jayega...you have to take proper rest for it to heal warna..."

"Kaise possible hoga Rohit!? Kal ka episode shoot karna hai...I'm the main lead! Mere bina episode thodi hoga? I can't take a day off" Sonakshi moved to the closet.

"Yeh sab to kal raat ko wo stunt karne se pehle sochna chahiye tha na!" Rohit retorted angrily.

Sonakshi rolled her eyes, putting her essentials in her bag while Rohit kept standing there, grumping.

"Rohit, I will be fine...", Sonakshi faced him and held his hands "I promise."

Rohit didn't look convinced as he kept grumbling. "Can you at least try not to put too much pressure on your foot?"

"Yes I will! I promise,"Sonakshi assured him.

"Aur agar possible ho to shoot bhi baithe baithe karna, wo.." he thought for a moment "...haan close ups!...close ups le lena."

Sonakshi chuckled, "Okay I will tell them."

"Aur Sunita ko apne sath rakhna hamesha."

Sonakshi nodded.

"Aur jab bhi zaroorat pade mujhe call karna...immediately, okay?'

"Okay, Doctor Surgeon. Aur kuch?"

"Nahi. Abhi ke liye itna hi, baaki kuch yaad aye to call karke bol dunga." Rohit said seriously and Sonakshi knew he meant it.

She chuckled and stood on her toes, held his face and softly kissed his cheek, lingering her lips on his stubble. As she pulled back she met his eyes, their faces so close. He wrapped his one arm around her waist and pulled her closer, holding her head in the other hand and taking her lips into his. Sonakshi cupped his face with one hand, running her thumb over his stubble , the other diving into his hair as his lips moved against hers, desperately. He lifted her and made her sit on the cupboard shelf, moving the hanging clothes out of the way without breaking the kiss, plunging his tongue into her, imploring hers, exploring her mouth. Sonakshi returned the kiss with equal ferocity. She missed him. They got barely anytime together and she wanted compensation for every single moment. She quivered as he ran his hand up her bare thigh under her shorts. The ring of the intercom didn't separate them. But soon the insisting ringing finally forced them to pull apart. Rohit touched his forehead against hers and sighed as the intercom kept ringing. He bent down again and kissed the corner of her lips as she kept holding him. He reluctantly pulled back before bending down again and kissed her again, failing to resist. This time Sonakshi nudged him to take the call. Sighing, Rohit left her, taking the call. They moved downstairs as Vimmi informed Rohit about the urgent family meeting.

____________________________________________________________

Something about Pooja's birth matter always tipped Rohit off. Sonakshi knew it wasn't just the fact that she was adopted. She could feel it in her guts. The suppressed anxiety, the restlessness, the sheer protectiveness and fear...the buried fear in his eyes hit her in the bone. Like it did before he opened up about Raima. She could feel his heart heavy, eyes exhausted with the burden of carrying it alone. She wanted to know it, wanted to lighten him. Only if he had opened up. That's why she asked him again, insisted again after attending a family discussion about Pooja's adoption this morning. She wouldn't have insisted so much if it didn't affect him this much, hurt him this much. She would have let him keep his secrets but not at the cost of his happiness. She couldn't. That's what Sonakshi did all her life. Made everyone's feelings her responsibility. Took care of everyone's happiness. Her mother, her siblings, her fans. How could she not take care of the happiness of the most important person in her life? She didn't know how not to. But he dismissed her again and ushered her for the photoshoot for the interview, saying her brain is working overtime. Which Sonakshi thought was very much true. And she was tired. After this morning when she had another panic attack while Shankar left her alone in the car to bring her her bag, she indeed wanted her brain to turn off for a while. And give her a rest. She hadn't told Rohit about it yet. She didn't want to worry him. But she was sure he somehow figured it out from her voice. Like always. Another reason for not telling him was denial. She didn't want to acknowledge it...give it the power it demanded over her. Time and again.

The next few days went in a whirlwind as Pooja overheard another family discussion over her adoption. But Sonakshi couldn't say she hadn't seen it coming. Given the ongoing argument and disagreements amongst family members it was only a matter of time Pooja found out about it. And she certainly didn't take it well. Her suicide attempt was an absolute nightmare for Sippy family. And the constant attention of the media on her family only made it worse as the family was already in cross with her and her work ever since her father in law revealed some intruding photograph of her and Pooja in their own garden by some journalists. But Rohit stood with her all along. Held her. Supported her. which only resulted in worsening his relationship with his father. Of which Sonakshi couldn't help but feel guilty. She didn't even know why they had such aversion in between in the first place.
Nishi bua had flown back immediately and was extremely displeased with Sonakshi again. Sonakshi couldn't blame her. Any mother would be devastated if her daughter had tried to harm herself and now stopped talking to her. Or to anyone. Pooja stopped talking to any member of the family, except Sonakshi. And Sonakshi had used every opportunity to warm her up to the family. And she finally succeeded. And that certainly warmed Nishi bua up to her. And amongst all this she had to do an intimate dance scene in her show, which she wasn't sure how her father in law would take. Normally Sonakshi wasn't the one to care about people's opinion. But she was sure it would create a rift at home. And she wasn't looking forward to it. She was exhausted. Exhausted to deal with it. Fight with it. Fight for it. She just wanted to escape for a while from all of it. And tonight... Tonight could finally be the much awaited escape from all of these. Tonight they could finally get some time for themselves. Only Rohit and Sona.

Sonakshi scooted closer to Rohit as the car was taking them to their destination to spend their night. Ravi turned on her favourite classic song. She looked at him, giving him a grateful nod and Rohit smiled at him.

____________________________________________________________

Handcuffs! Sonakshi gulped as she shut off the box. Rohit is into that!? She never knew! Sonakshi opened the box to peek again before shutting it off again. Okay...she definitely underestimated her Dr. Surgeon, Sonakshi thought as she practically fled to the washroom to compose herself .

Rohit was surprised as he picked up the handcuffs. Yeh Sona ke dimag mein aya hai?! Well he definitely underestimated his Drama Queen. Rohit was amused. He hadn't got a chance to think much or do much planning about their night amongst all the family tension. But his Sona was definitely two steps ahead of him. He chuckled but then got a bit nervous as he wasn't very sure about it anymore. What if he failed to make her feel comfortable...or... safe...anyhow. What if he misstep and hurt her unintentionally. Okay, what was going on in her mind!? And what the hell was taking her so long in the washroom! God knows what more surprise his Drama Queen reserved for him. Rohit rubbed his neck nervously.

Sonakshi rubbed her hand in nervousness. First time she is feeling like the shy little brides of her TV serials. She couldn't even flee by the washroom window from this high. Seriously Sonakshi! Overreact nahi kar rahi tum? Her mind chided. Sonakshi thought she was overreacting. It was just...well handcuffs. And it wasn't like she was an immature teenager completely unaware of the concept with zero sex education. No, it was just unexpected. Definitely unexpected for their first time. And she was mentally in a completely different zone. And the sight of handcuffs suddenly pulled her from a quite stressful mind zone and threw her off guard in a completely different one. Sonakshi chuckled at her silliness. It was just Rohit after all. All she needed to do was go outside instead of hiding here and she knew he would immediately make her feel at ease. After all, he was her comfort zone, her safe space. And well...she can show her Dr. Surgeon how wild his drama queen is!

—

Sonakshi fell on the bed laughing with Rohit's arms around her, him falling with her, laughing along as they realised the handcuffs were their receptionists idea while they were arguing for the role of dom. Sonakshi smiled at him, feeling blissful in his arms. That's why she was here, for the comfort, the peace, the relief of his arm. Of their space. He touched her chin, lifting it and inching closer towards her lips. But Sonakshi turned her face away, smiling, teasing him as she got up.

"Change karke aati hai hoon."

"Pehle mera gift kholo. I promise Payel nahi layi hai...main laya hoon. Tumhare liye" Sonakshi chuckled as he moved a hair strand off her face.

—

Sonakshi came out in the maroon wrap-over as Rohit lit the scented candles. She looked ethereal even though she was covered all over. He approached her and curled his finger around hers, taking her hands into his, looking into her eyes as he kissed them. Moving behind he touched her hair, shifting them over her shoulder to the other side and wrapped his arms around her from back, placing his face on her shoulder. He kissed her cheek as she smiled, looking at him, his eyes questioning. She gave a slight nod and he slid the wrap-over down her shoulders, revealing her in a dark maroon lingerie bodysuit. The upper bustier hugged her curves perfectly as the lace fabric accentuated her now-flushed skin tone which took his breath away. He ran his hand along with her arms as his lips touched the skin of her shoulder. Her breath hitched. He picked her up in his arms and moved to the bed. Putting her down, he lay beside her, just admiring her and touching her hair. She was beautiful. Sonakshi traced her finger on the side of his face and pulled his face down, tilting her chin up and urging him silently. Rohit placed his lips softly on hers, caressing her lips ever so softly with his. His lips moved to her chin next, peppering with kisses, caressing her skin with his lips as his lips moved to her neck. Sonakshi threaded her fingers through his hair, her favourite thing to do. That's when the ringtone chimed into her senses. It didn't seem to in Rohit's since he didn't stop. But his groaning when Sonakshi nudged him said it did but he chose to ignore it. "Rehne do. Pata nahi kon hai."

"Arre hospital se ho sakta hai! Emergency ho sakti hai! You're a doctor! "

He groaned again as he got up to take up the call and Sonakshi chuckled at him. But soon her amusement vanished seeing his grim expression.

"Kya hua? Koi emergency hai? Go. Your patient needs you. I will wait for you." Sonakshi tried to assure him .

"Main jaldi aa jaunga Sona. Sorry." Sonakshi smiled at him as his guilty expression broke her heart.

After Rohit left Sonakshi put the wrap-over on and moved to the balcony as the cold wind blew on her face. She sighed. She couldn't deny she was disappointed. But maybe that was the price of being a surgeon's wife, being an actress. They had to steal time for each other like this for the rest of their life. And Rohit was worth it. He was worth all of it. But today he was disturbed. She could tell it wasn't the usual concern for the wellbeing of his patient. There was something else. And she suspected YK and Nishi bua was involved in it as YK took him for a discussion before they were leaving today. But she was preoccupied with her show's upcoming sequence and he wasn't keen on telling her. So she hadn't asked. But now the expression on his face before leaving told her it was graver than she suspected. And she couldn't understand why he couldn't confide in her. When he shared about Raima even when they were barely friends, shared about pooja when they were fake dating, then why not now? What could be more confidential than that? She moved to the bed, lying down as she felt exhausted. She knew it was still about Pooja. She caught the silent agreement between her father in law and her husband which was a rare thing to happen, she noticed the cold subtle grip her father in law had over Rohit. She noticed it all. But she could make sense of none of it. She couldn't understand her father in law, his back and forth changing attitude towards her, his and Rohit's equation. She couldn't understand any of it. All she understood right now was that she wanted some time with him alone. She wanted the blissful honeymoon phase that everyone always kept talking about. She wanted to be in the magical la la land of a newlywed couple, dreaming of an eternal future together. None of which they got an opportunity to amidst all the chaos ever since they got married .Slowly sleep deluded her amongst these thousands of running thoughts.