Naksh ran inside the hospital like his life depended on it and in some ways it actually did. Yesterday night Lisa had called him and told him to come immediately to Goa. Something very bad happened with Kartik and was now in the hospital. Naksh had immediately booked the next flight available for Goa.

And now he ran inside the hospital. He reached the 2nd floor where losa had told him to come and saw Lisa sitting outside the room. He immediately went near her.

Naksh :- Lisa.

Lisa immediately stood up and hugged him.

Lisa :- thank God Naksh, thank God ki tum aa gaye.

Lisa pulled back from the hug.

Lisa :- you have no idea how scared I was.

Naksh :- but what happened ? And where is he and how is he ?

Naksh's voice was filled with worry and anger at the same time for Kartik. Lisa was about to answer when suddenly her phone rang, which was in her hand. Lisa looked at it. It was Naira. Lisa put it on silent. It was not the time. Right now she needed to tell naksh the entire situation.

As she was putting her phone on silent, she accidentally pressed on answer key which went unnoticed by her and brought her hand down.

Lisa :- main kal raat jab kartik ka dinner lekar gayi, toh maine Kartik ko tin-, i mean naira ke ghar se bahar aate dekha, and he looked extremely angry. Vo car mein aakar baitha, and he told me to take him to the ware house.

Naksh nodded.

Lisa :- uske baad, in the fight, he got injured. Fight ke baad car mein baithne se phele hi usse chakar aaye aur he fainted. I brought him here, jahan pata chala, ki uske purane wounds ke stitches nikal gaye hai.

Naksh :- what !!??

Lisa nodded.

Lisa :- yes. But that's not the worst part, the worst part is ki iss baar ussey internal bleeding shuru ho gayi, because of which they had to take him for immediate surgery.

Naksh :- kya !!!

Lisa nodded:- i am sorry Naksh, i am really sorry, i know i should have asked you, but tumhara phone switch off aa raha tha, and he really needed to-

Naksh :- hey, hey, hey, hey... It's ok Lisa, it's ok. Thanks to your quick thinking, ki vo phele se better hai, right??

Lisa :- haa, he's in recovery now.

Naksh smiled and sat down as if some weight had been lifted of his shoulders. Lisa sat down beside him.

Lisa :- Naksh.

Naksh :- haa Lisa.

Lisa :- naksh, doctor ne kaha hai, ki we should be thankful ki koi organ damage nahi hua, but next time shayad aisa na ho, next time agar kuch bhi aisa hua, toh it can be fatal.

Naksh nodded angrily.

Naksh :- don't worry Lisa, bas ab bahut hua. Aaj ke baad he won't fight in that ring, I'll make sure of it.

Lisa nodded.

Naksh :- where is he ? Mughe milna hai.

Lisa :- nahi, abhi nahi. He is in the ICU. Observation ke liye.

Just then the doctor came towards them and both of them stood up.

Naksh :- doctor, how is he ?

It was the same doctor who had seen Kartik a week ago, when Naksh had brought Kartik to the hospital.

Doctor :- Don't worry, he is fine now, unke scans se pata chala, ki unhe internal bleeding ho rahi thi, so yesterday night we had to take him for emergency Exploratory laparotomy.

Naksh :- is he okay now ?

Doctor :- yeah yeah, he is ok now, hum aaj unhein ICU mein rakhenge and kal unhe unke room mein shift kar denge, but don't worry he'll be completely alright. In fact in 4-5 days you'll be able to take him home.

Naksh :- thank you doctor, thank you so much.

Doctor nodded.

Doctor :- sir, dekhiye iss baar toh by god's grace, he is all right, unhe internal bleeding hui thi, and by the time he reached to us, there wasn't much blood loss, but next time kuch bhi ho sakta hai.

Naksh :- don't worry doctor, main aage se poora dhyaan rakhoonga, ki next time aisa kuch na ho.

Doctor :- vaise meri baat maane toh i think you should consult a psychiatrist. And hamare yahan ke psychiatrist bahut ache hai. If you want, we can consult him.

Naksh :- sir actually uski dawaiya chal rahi hai-

Doctor:- lekin unse koi zyada farak nahi padh Raha.

Naksh :- sir, as soon as Kartik conscious, I'll talk to him. Can I meet him ?

Doctor:- no, not today, aaj vo ICU mein hai, aur wahan kisi ko bhi jaane ki permission nahi hai. Once we shift him to his room, than you can meet him.

Saying that, doctor went away.

Naksh just say down on the bench. In the last five years, Kartik had been in many fights, but none of his fights had resulted in getting such extensive surgery.

Naksh thoughts :- bas, bahut ho gaya, ab aur nahi. Jitni ladaiyaan ladni thi, vo lad Li, aaj se ye koi fight mein nahi jaega, I'll make sure of it, chahe uske liye mughe Issey ghar ke andar baandh ke hi kyun na rakhna padhe.

His thoughts were cut off as Lisa sat beside him.

Lisa :- naksh, are you okay ?

Naksh :- to be honest, no. Nothing is okay about this.

Lisa nodded.

Naksh :- pichle ek hafte mein jo kuch bhi hua. Usne poori tarah se Kartik aur meri zindagi palat di hai.

Lisa :- Naksh, bura na maano toh ek baat bolu.

Naksh nodded.

Lisa :- i think, tumhe Naira se ek baari baat karni chahiye. Ye sab uske liye bhi aasan nahi hai.

For a moment Naksh didn't say anything. Lisa thought that Naksh might have gotten angry, but when he spoke, his voice was full of grief.

Naksh :- pata hai Lisa, inn paanch saalon mein ek aisa din nahi gaya, jab maine apni behen ko yaad na kiya ho, aur main sirf apni baat nahi kar raha, apne poore parivar ki baat kar raha hoon. Aur Kartik, uski toh jaan basti thi Naira mein, agar naira kabhi apne mayke bhi aati thi, toh kartik uske peeche peeche chala aata tha. Main apni behen se bahut pyar karta hoon Lisa, meri ladli hai vo, usse zara si bhi takleef hoti thi toh meri jaan nikal jaati thi. Uske liye main apne poore parivar se ladne tak ko taiyar rehta tha, koi usse support kare na kare main humesha karta tha.

Before he knew, tears were coming out of his eyes.

Naksh :- Log kehte hai, ki samay ke saath ghav bhar jaate hai, lekin Naira ki maut ka ghav kabhi nahi bhara. Maine toh phir bhi kahin na kahin apne aap ko sambhal liya, meri patni aur mere baache ne mughe bahut sahara diya, unhe dekh kar meri himmat kahin na kahin badh jaati thi par phir bhi mughe naira ki kami mehsoos hoti thi. Par Kartik, uski toh poori duniya hi khatam ho gayi thi, vo poori tarah toot gaya tha, par jab ussey ye pata chala, ki naira pregnant thi, tab toh jaise uski jeene ki iccha khatam ho gayi thi, tumhe pata nahi hai Lisa, ki Kartik ne suicide karne ki koshish ki thi.

Lisa whispered :- what !!

Naksh nodded :- agar uss din maine usse na roka hota toh shayad aaj vo bhi hamare beech nahi hota. Inn paanch saalon mein hamare dono parivaaro ne jeena chod diya. Kehne ko toh sab aage bhad gaye, lekin jaise pehle the vaise nahi rahe. Jiss tarah naira aur kartik ne hamare parivaaro ko jod ke rakha tha, vaise koi nahi jod Paya, main bhi nahi. Inn paanch saalo mein Jahan main apni behen ki maut ke dukh ke saath jiya hoon, toh vahan ek darr ke saath bhi jiyan hoon ki kahin Kartik apne aap ko kuch kar na le, har din iss baat ka dar rehta tha mughe, ki kahin kuch galat khabar na aa jaaye kartik se related. Apni behen ko bahut miss kiya hai maine, bahut jyada. Aur jab achanak se ek din pata chala, ki vo sab ek jhoot tha, tab sirf main hi jaanta hoon ki mugh par kya beeti thi.

Lisa didn't know what to say. She knew things were bad but she had underestimated the situation. It wasn't some happy family reunion, it was much more complicated then that. After some time naksh stopped crying and wiped his tears.

Lisa :- naksh, kya ek baat poocho ?

Naksh nodded.

Lisa :- do you hate naira ?

Naksh :- what !!!

Lisa :- i mean, i know it's not easy for you guys, and naira is my best friend and i won't leave her alone, so I am asking you , do you hate her ??

Naksh :- no Lisa, not at all, main maanta hoon ki usne jo kiya hai, bahut galat hai, paanch saal poore parivar ko bahut takleef di hai but i can never hate her Lisa. She is my sister aur sach kahoon toh andar hi andar main ussey maaf kar chuka hoon.

Lisa nodded and smiled.

She was happy, even though Kartik and Naksh were her friends, Naira was her best friend whom she had known for five years. Naira mattered very much to her and she wasn't going to abandon naira at the time when naira needed her the most. She may have been taking care of Kartik for the past week but that didn't mean she had forgotten naira.

Naksh :- Lisa, you should go home and take rest.

Lisa :- it's ok Naksh -

Naksh :- nahi Lisa. I really appreciate your offer, but tum raat se yahin par ho and tumhe ab rest karna chahiye. Don't worry I'll stay here today. Aur kal toh Kartik vaise bhi apne room mein shift ho jaega toh it will be easy for us.

Lisa wanted to say no, but a yawn escaped from her mouth. She knew, she had to rest now, so saying her goodbye, she left from there.

Naksh stayed in the hospital for the entire day. At night Lisa brought dinner for him which he ate and thanked her. Lisa had offered to stay in the hospital for the night, but naksh had refused. She had already done so much for kartik, naksh didn't want to give her any more trouble.

Next day after morning consultation Kartik was finally shifted from ICU to his room.

Kartik was awake and quiet while Naksh was glaring at him.

Naksh :- kuch kehna hai ya nahi ??

Kartik didn't say anything, just stayed quiet.

Naksh :- as expected, maine toh bhool hi gaya tha ki main kis se baat kar raha hoon, jo aaj tak nahi bola vo ab kya bolega.

Kartik didn't say anything just started at the roof with a blank expression.

Naksh sighed and sat beside him.

Naksh :- kartik, main jaanta hoon ki pichle hafte mein jo kuch bhi hua, uss se tumhe bahut takleef Hui hai. But honestly batao ki kya tumhari fights uska koi solution hai ?? Nahi na, toh phir kyun ? Dekho, main samaghta hoon ki tumhe iss baare mein baat karna pasand nahi hai, par agar baat nahi karenge toh iss problem ka solution kaise niklega.

Kartik was quiet for some time before he spoke, his voice hollow

Kartik :- kya baat karein naksh, ab kuch bacha bhi hai baat karne ko ?

Naksh :- baat karne ko toh bahut kuch hai par sabse pehle tum meri ek baat gaanth bandh lo, aaj ke baad tum street fights nahi ladoge.

Kartik looked at Naksh.

Naksh :- i know ki jab maine pehle rokna chaha tha, tab tumne meri baat nahi suni thi, but ab nahi, from now on, you won't fight. Aur uske liye mughe kuch bhi karna pade, main karoonga. Kartik, meri baat suno, pichle paanch saal se lekar ab tak tumhare pass wajah thi ye sab fights ladne ki, par ab tumhe ek aur wajah mil gayi hai, ye fights na ladne ki. Aur vo wajah hai, Kairav.

Kartik looked at Naksh, slightly shocked.

Naksh :- kartik, doctor ne kaha hai ki agli koi bhi fight tumhare liye bahut dangerous ho sakti hai, aur tum abhi abhi toh apne bete se mile ho, aur bhagwan na kare par agar tumhe kuch ho gaya toh, kya apni inn fights ke chakkar mein tum apne bete se dur hona chahte ho, Kartik jiss bacche ke liye tum paanch saal tadpe ho, vo baccha aaj tumhare saath hai, tumhare pass hai toh ab ye sab karne ki kya zaroorat hai tumhe. Pita hone ka sukh main jaanta hoon aur tum, jiski zindagi mein abhi abhi thodi se khushi vaapas aayi hai, tum usse kyun khona chahte ho ? kisi aur ke liye na sahi toh Kam se kam uske liye hi sahi, apne bacche ke liye hi sahi, ye sab chod do, aur inn sabki jagah waqt bitao apne bete ke saath, inn paanch saalo ki kami ko poora karo Kartik. Tumhare pass ab jeene ki ek vajah hai, uss vajah ko mat gawao.

Kartik looked at Naksh with tears in his eyes. Naksh was right, for the first time in five years, Kartik wanted to live, for his son. Kartik had already lost five years with his son, he wasn't going to lose any more, he wasn't going to lose his son, and if that meant giving up his fights, then he would gladly do it.

Kartik looked at Naksh nodded.

Naksh smiled. He knew Kartik would not break this promise. A father would do anything for his child.

Before he could say anything else, a person knocked the door and opened it and came inside.

It was Lisa. She smiled when she saw Kartik awake.

Lisa :- hey Kartik, how are you ?

Kartik just smiled at her.

Lisa :- sorry, itni subah subah distrub kiya, but koi tumse milne aaya hai.

A/N :- So guys, how was it ? Please vote and tell me in the comments.

Any suggestion you guys have is most welcome and appreciated.