'Arihaan! Give me the phone, beta!'
Sonakshi ran after him, as he laughed and ran ahead of her.

'Ihaan baat karni Baba saath!'
Arihaan told her.

'Mujhe bhi to wahi karni hai..'
Sonakshi said to herself.
'Han, to Mama baat karayegi na aap ki..aap Mama ko phone to do..'

'Mama baat, Ihaan nahin?'
Arihaan stopped to ask, and that's when she caught hold of him.
Grabbing him, Sonakshi went on her knees, and gave him a tight squeeze.

'Ofcourse! Aap ki baat bhi karayegi na Mama..aap ka bhi wait karenge Baba..'

Arihaan looked at her, as if contemplating the situation.
'Okay..'
And handed over her phone.

Sonakshi ruffled his hair.
'Thankyou! That's my good boy!'
Getting up, Sonakshi let him go and play with his toys, and she quickly checked the phone, but there had been no calls or messages so far.

It had been four hours since his flight had taken off, and she knew it took less than that to reach Dubai.

Why hasn't he messaged or called yet?
Ab tak to pohonch gaya hoga..kahin kuch..no..no..
Sona..kamaal ho tum..cut him some slack..he's probably still at the airport ya on his way to the hotel..you are just being paranoid..

'Ring! Ring!'

Sonakshi received the call without even checking the caller ID.
'Kya, Rohit! Bola tha na pohonchte hi message kar dena..tum bhi..'

'Well, mein bata deti agar mein Rohit hoti to..'
Sonakshi closed her eyes, as her mother's voice came from the other end.

'Ma! Woh mein samjhi..'

'Han, woh to mein samajh gayi..lekin maine bhi yehi poochne ke liye call ki thi..ke Rohit pohonch gaya?'

'Ma..abhi..'

'Or tumhari baaton se pata lag gaya ke nahin pohncha..'

'Woh, Ma..sorry..mein aap se baat karti, magar..'

'Han, han jao..'

'Okay..b..'

'Sona!'
Suman halted her.
'Tum theek ho? You sound as if you have been crying!'
Suman heard the silence, and knew that she had guessed right.
'Beta, himmat karo..jald hi wapas ayega..or kitne important kaam ke liye gaya hai..'

'I miss him already..'
Sonakshi sniffled.
'So much..'

'Sona! Tum to meri brave beti ho..aise mat karo..'
Suman tried to reassure her, but Sonakshi's tears hadn't stopped since she had left him at the airport.

She had cried all the way home, and had come straight upstairs, and taken the children from Pari and Ajit's room.
They had both tried to console her, but understood what she was going through, and had let her take the kids back to her room.

'Ji, Ma! Mein theek hun..I'll be fine..aap tension mat len..aap ko message kardungi..pakka..bye..'
And before Suman could put in another word, she disconnected the call.
'Sorry, Ma..iss waqt baat nahin ho paaye gi mujh se..'

Sonakshi looked around the room, at the photos of Rohit and her, and their family pictures, and her tears started afresh.
Even the room smelled like the perfume he had used before going to the airport.
Sonakshi noticed his towel on the sofa, where he usually threw it after coming out of the shower, and went to pick it up.
It was still slightly damp, and smelled of his shampoo. She inhaled the fragrance, and hugged it to herself.

Pehli baar mein yahan hun tumhare bina..har cheez se bas tum hi mehsoos ho rahe  ho..

Sonakshi hung the towel on the back of the sofa, and moved to check on Mishaye, who was hungry.
She quickly moved to the bed with her, and was in the process of feeding her, when her phone rang.
She checked the ID this time, and her heart leapt on seeing Rohit's name on the display.

'Rohit!'

'Sona! Hi!'

'Kahan thay tum? Kab ki flight land hogayi hogi..bola tha na pohonchte hi call..'

'Aray! Ruko, ruko! Sona!'
Sonakshi finally stopped to listen.
'Sorry, Sona! Woh unit ke log aaye thay na lene, to bas kaam ki baat shuru hogayi, and before I knew it, itni der hogayi..I'm sorry!'

'Der hogayi! Or mein jo yahan wait kar rahi hun kab se..'

'Han, baba..I'm sorry! Bas abhi abhi yahan se log gaye hain..matlab mere hotel room se..jaise hi akela hua, to I called..kaisi ho..or yeh hum audio call kyun kar rahe hain..mein video..'

'No!'
Sonakshi said loudly, so that even Mishaye got startled.
'Woh, mera matlab..Mishaye ko feed kara rahi hun..to video call nahin..'

'Aise to mere saamne kara leti ho..'

'Han, but video pe..I'd feel uncomfortable..'
Sonakshi lied, because she didn't want him to see her tear stricken face.

'Okay, theek hai..'
Rohit didn't force her.
'Kaisi ho? Or bachay?'

'Baba?'
Arihaan had come running, as soon as he heard the name  Rohit.
'Ihaan Baba paas..'

'Arihaan abhi tak soya nahin?'
Rohit glanced at his watch.

'Nahin! Tum se baat karne ka wait kar raha tha kab se..'

'Lao, baat karao..uss se to video call karta hun..'
He switched the call, and Sonakshi quickly swung the camera towards Arihaan.

'Baba! Ihaan miss Baba!'
Arihaan took hold of the phone.
'Baba, kab aao?'

'Baba also misses Arihaan! Pata hai, Baba ne airport pe kya dekha..'
Rohit went on about something he had seen and Arihaan listened, as if fascinated.

Sonakshi hurried over to put Mishaye in her cot, who had slept by now.
Hearing father and son talking, had her cry a bit more, and she came to sit next to Arihaan.

'Wow! Ihaan bhi Baba paas aana..'
Arihaan was saying, jumping up and down, so that the phone also moved with him.

Rohit was trying to console Arihaan, when he saw Sonakshi on the screen. Her vision kept moving because of Arihaan's jumping, but he saw her wiping her eyes.
'Arihaan! Ab aap jaa ke sojayen..meri Mama se baat karayen..'

Sonakshi quickly shifted her head, so that he didn't see her, but it was too late. Arihaan turned the phone towards her face.

'Okay, bye bye, Baba!'
Arihaan said enthusiastically, and giving the phone to Sonakshi, went to lie on the bed.

'Sona!'

'Rohit, ab tum bhi rest kar lo..mein..'

'Sona! Idhar dekho, meri taraf..'

'Mein Arihaan ko sula..'

'I said look here, dammit!'
His tone was commanding, and Sonakshi couldn't do anything but look.
'Tum ro rahi thi..'
He said that as a statement.

'Nahin to..woh to meri..'

'Aankh mein kuch chala gaya hoga, hai na?'
Sonakshi pursed her lips.
'Mujhe tumhari awaaz se hi lag gaya tha, I knew you were lying about feeding Mishaye..'

'I was..feeding her..'

'Han, theek hai. But you were avoiding me seeing you..'

'Fine! Okay! You are right! Khush?'
Sonakshi said.

'Magar aise kyun ro rahi ho? Aankhen bhi suja li hain..'

'If you want to know, fine! I'm missing you! It's really difficult being in this room without you..happy? Now you can gloat..'

'Why would I gloat? This is a normal reaction, not that which you kept pretending in front of me..'

Sonakshi burst into tears.
'I'm sorry! I tried to control myself, but as soon as you left, and the reality hit me, the tears wouldn't stop!'

'Aray! Bas! Sona! Aise karogi to mera haal socho..mein to yahan akela hun..'
Sonakshi sniffed, wiping her tears from her cheeks.
'Aisa karogi to mein agli flight se wapas ajaunga..'

That stopped her.
'What? Are you crazy? Aise kaise wapas ajaunga..itna bara kaam..'
She stopped, as she saw a grin on his face.
'What? Iss mein hasne ki kya baat hai?'

'That's like my Sona! All spirited and lively..the Sona I fell for..'
Rohit said, and Sonakshi finally gave a small smile.
'Aise muskurati hui zyada achi lagti ho..yun udaas nahin..now come on..'

'Yeh acha hai..jaane se pehle mein tumhe samjha rahi thi..or wahan se tum mujhe..what a couple of crazies!'
Sonakshi shook her head at him.

Rohit distracted her, by showing her his hotel room, and they laughed about one thing or the other, putting their sadness to the back of their minds.

***************************

Sonakshi walked down the corridors of her hospital and her heart raced.
It had been almost four months, but it still felt like she was coming back home.

'Good morning, ma'am!'

Several nurses walked past her, greeting her, and she replied to them all.
As she reached the reception area near her cabin, Tulsi came forward with more staff, holding a huge bouquet of flowers.

'Welcome back, ma'am! And many congratulations!'

'Thankyou so much, all of you! It really feels good to be back!'
Sonakshi smiled at them all, and reached to take the bouquet.
Entering her room, she was surprised to see it decorated with more flowers, and a banner, saying 'Welcome Back!'
'Wow! This looks great! Thankyou all for the efforts!'

'Dr. Sonakshi!'
Tulsi followed her inside, while the others dispersed.
'Yeh sab hum ne nahin kiya..'

Sonakshi stopped on the way to her desk, and turned around, frowning.
'Aap logon ne nahin kiya to phir kis ne kiya?'

'Woh, Rohit sir..'

'Rohit!'
Sonakshi whispered.

'Unki call aayi thi mere paas raat ko, ke koi aayega sab arrange karne..hum ne to bas oversee kiya..'

Sonakshi walked to her desk, and saw the basket of roses there, and a smile lit up her face.

'Ma'am, aap ko kuch chahiye before the morning meeting?'

'Hmm??'
Sonakshi had seen a card with the flowers, and had picked it up to see it, but she looked up at Tulsi.
'No! Nothing! Aaj patients hain..'

'Yes ma'am..Dr. Pulkit ne circular bhijwa diya tha ke aap wapas arahi hain..so there are several patients already in the list..'

'Oh, okay! Just give me ten minutes before the meeting..'

'Yes, ma'am!'
And she left the room.

Sonakshi quickly lifted up the card with the flowers, as she sat down on her armchair.

'Bohot door tum ko abhi jaana hai
Mushkil ho raahen to kyun ghabrana hai
Dua hai asaan ho rastay sab hi
Yeh safar to jaana pehchaana hai..

All the very best!
Love you, Rohit ❤'

Sonakshi felt his wish like a caress, and her heart thumped against her ribcage.
She quickly picked up her phone to call him, and quickly dialled his number.

The phone rang several times, before it was picked.
'Hello..'
Came his sleepy voice, and Sonakshi immediately felt guilty.

'Oh, God! I'm so sorry..maine tumhe utha diya..socha bhi nahin ke early hai..bas phone ghuma diya..I'm..'

'Bas, bas! Sona! It's alright!'
She heard some papers shuffling.
'Mein bas uthne hi wala tha..or phir, tumhe sorry kehne ki zaroorat nahin hai..tumhare liye to I'm available twenty four seven.'

'Phir bhi..'
Sonakshi bit the inside of her lip.

'Bola na..tum batao..hospital pohonch gayin?'
She heard him yawn.

'Han..issi liye to call ki..woh flowers..'

'Oh! You liked?'
He sounded more alert now.

'Liked? I loved the gesture! And the personal rose bouquet and the shayari..'
She paused, as her fingers stroked the soft, red petals, lovingly.
'You know your shayari just melts my heart..'

'Hi, hi..kya keh diya tum ne o janam..'
He teased, and Sonakshi couldn't help but chuckle.

'Seriously! Beautiful gesture! Made me feel right at home..'

'Hmm..that's great! Oh, gosh!'
He said suddenly.

'Kya hua?'

'Yar, mein late ho raha hun..raat ko script parhte parhte hi so gaya..or abhi tum call na karti to mein sach mein late hojaata..so thank you!'

'Aray! But bina breakfast ke kaise..'

'I'll have it over on the set, Sona..abhi mein jaata hun..bye bye..'

'Bye...I love you..'
Sonakshi spoke into a silent phone, as Rohit had already disconnected the call.

Smiling, she touched the flowers again, and glancing at the picture of Rohit and her on the desk, she began her day.

***************************

'That will be all! I'll be seeing you all around regularly from now!'

Sonakshi smiled at the doctors and staff present at the morning meeting. As everyone started to get up, and Sonakshi leaned back in her chair, the door to her cabin suddenly crashed open, and a good looking man entered, almost running in.

'I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm late!'
The man halted, holding onto his stomach, as he tried catching his breath.

There was a murmur amongst everyone present, with the females giggling quietly.
Sonakshi frowned.

'Who are you? And what is the meaning of this behaviour?'

'Dr. Sonakshi Rastogi! Finally!'

To be continued..