Enjoy reading (:

***

Flashback:

Fifty Two Days after Kabir's Accident:

"Hey Dr. Kabir... How are you doing?" Zara asked like she did every day. She read in a journal that as per new research person in come could sometimes listen what was being said and it has a positive effect on them.

For him she would try everything. It was also for her sake then his. She was talking to him about what all she wanted to say from last nine years. She didn't have the courage to speak to him when he is conscious but right now it felt pretty safe.

She checked the monitor and was surprised to see a real big improvement. He was recovering, he was fighting and it was a good sign. She knew that she has to motivate him, so she started talking to him.

"You know Dr. Kabir your sweetie pie is back. She called me in the morning saying that she will visit you soon! Don't you want to surprise her by greeting her, yourself?

Imagine her surprise when she will hear your voice! Just imagine how happy she will be! Think about your other friends who have been there for you always!

Dr. Rahul your friend as well as bro! Your intense work out sessions with him in the gym, Dr. Pakhi, your four eyed nerd, whom you teased too much! How can I forget Ms. Vaishali? She was always the trouble maker in your group right?"

She paused for a moment to see the monitor was actually showing progress.

I have to speak more words about his loved ones. Come on Zara, think about it! What else makes him happy? She thought.

"You know about the kids in the hospital must be missing you! They must be eagerly waiting for their Bir Bro! And your guitar, it must be becoming a house for dirt as its owner is too busy sleeping that he can't play it!" His beats were becoming steadier. Now she needed to give him a big shock and that would be it!

She bit her lips thinking hard about everything in her knowledge which can make him shocked but she can't remember anything, as all these things which she said were her last observations of him, nearly four years ago. As after that day she only saw him unconscious.

She met Sanaa several times in past few days but she didn't ask her one question that was lingering back in her mind, what happened four years ago and how did Kabir ended up in this place?

Knowing that it would be probably intrusion in their privacy, she kept her silence but now she needed to know what happened? Otherwise how will she give Kabir the final boost that he needed as she clearly had no idea about his life in past four years.

I can't tell him anything about his life or his loved ones as I don't know anything other than what I already said! But I have to do something and soon as I don't have much time. But what should I say that will shake him from his unconscious state? She tried thinking hard.

She glanced at his now pale face and finally something came in her mind but she was afraid to voice it out. She looked at the monitor; to see its dropping count all of sudden and then swiftly decided what she was going to do next.

"Dr. Kabir, you have to wake up soon. You must wake up soon, if not for you and your friends then for the girl who is waiting for this moment from long time.

A girl whose heart always skipped a beat when you just smiled even if your smile was not in her direction! A girl who used to peek glances at you in the library or anywhere else... A girl who always admired you from far, never daring to come in front of you... a girl who was always afraid to make her feelings known to you."

Her voice was breaking now as she could feel her tears glistening in the corner of her eyes. Here came her emotional self.

"A girl who is waiting from last fifty two days to open your blue eyes and smile, if not for her then for someone else...a girl who wants to hear your mysterious voice and your wonderful words which always encourages her even though they are never spoken to her."

She came forward and held his hand gently, for the first time as she always tried to avoid any physical contact with him. Her heart warmed at the touch.

"A girl who has finally gathered all her courage to accept that the feeling inside her is not a simple crush but something beyond that... something close to..." She can't continue further as a lone tear escaped from her eye and landed directly on his hand.

The loud beeping of monitor finally caught her attention and she immediately composed herself before calling the nurse.

"Sister, ask Dr. Sinha to come. Check patient's vitals and also make sure his BP remains stable." She said in a firm voice, hiding all the previous emotions.

"Yes doctor." The sister replied and started walking away to call Dr. Sinha.

"One more thing sister; please book OT one for surgery." Zara said and the nurse was left stunned to hear those words as finally the man who was lying unconscious from nearly two months was showing some signs of life. She hurriedly left the room to prepare.

"It's time to wake up Dr. Kabir!" She said and smiled at him for one last time as she promised herself that she won't come near him once he wakes up and she was sure that after tomorrow's sunrise he will be waking up.

She moved out of the room as she knew that standing there will only break her more and that was the last thing needed now. She has to straighten her mind and get rid of all unnecessary thoughts and feelings. She decided to call Sanaa but her phone was switched off.

She thought to wait for her but she knew that she can't take any risk. Dr. Kabir has responded after a long time and she can't waste this opportunity in waiting for Sanaa. She has to perform surgery on her own. She just prayed to God to make everything go well and not shatter her or anyone else's hope.

She was assigned to do the solo surgery as Dr. Sinha was busy with some other emergency. She along with her team discussed the case and an hour after that she was ready to perform the surgery.

I hope everything goes well! God please be with me and help Dr. Kabir as he suffered enough. She prayed for the last time and entered the OT.

***

The doctors left the OT and everyone congratulated Zara and she politely declined it saying she just performed her duty and will take any greeting after the patient will finally open his eyes.

Next morning, she entered ICU early to check Kabir whose vitals were normal. He will be waking up in few hours. She tried calling Sanaa but her phone was still switched off. She than decided to wait patiently as Sanaa has promised to come today, to see Kabir.

She looked at Kabir and gently said, "Good Morning Dr. Kabir! Your sweetie pie would be coming here today. I hope you will surprise her by replying to her. Have a nice day and all the best for your recovery. You won't be seeing me now as a new doctor has been assigned to you. So good luck and get well soon." She said and quickly left the room as once again tears were forming in her eyes, for seeing him for the last time.

He is never mine nor will he ever be. We aren't Fated To Be Together. She thought and rushed to her cabin, leaving behind a significant part of her heart with him, which no one else can ever claim.

What she failed to notice was a small moment of his finger and fluttering of his eyelids. It was finally the time for Him to wake up!

***

He heard a sweet voice. A voice which has haunted him from a long time and he wanted to see her face badly, when he heard her saying good bye and wishing him good luck for his recovery.

But why did he need recovery?

Something came into his mind and he started remembering what happened with him.

The accident.

"Sweetie pie"

Kabir's eyes opened with a difficulty and the name automatically left from his mouth.

He noticed the surrounding only to see he was in a hospital.

The room didn't have sunshine.

He remembered everything, more than four years have passed since he left his sweetie pie and around three years since he left that town and Sunshine.

He remembered how he met the accident but that was the last thing in his mind. He was getting worried about what happened in his absence.

He was a doctor himself, to know that a good time has passed, between the accident and him waking up but he want to know how much time, exactly?

He has to know what all happened in his absence, for his heart was beating fast with the possibility of something bad happening to the people he cared about.

What happened to Sofia?

Did Samar succeeded in stopping Sofia or did 'that man' succeeded in making her marry that heartless CEO?

And, most important one,

How was his sweetie pie?

All the while wondering about a sweet voice, was it just a hallucination or reality?!

***

Sanaa was going to check on Kabir today and see if he is improving or not. Few more days and then she will be telling Rehan everything because enough is enough. Everything else can go to hell.

She and Rehan had a big day yesterday where they confessed their love for each other and so she didn't have time to see her phone. She saw many emails and missed calls, few from hospital, then from Vaish.

Sanaa felt relieved after talking with Vaish who wanted to come and visit Kabir. She also needed Vaish's help regarding some business matter.

Soon after that they reached their destination. Sanaa got out from her car and thanked the driver.

She entered the hospital to visit Kabir and also discuss his case with Dr. Zara. The girl had been very cooperative toward her and helped her too much in handling Kabir's case.

As she was heading towards Dr. Zara's cabin, she finally noticed her missed calls and her eyes widened. Praying that everything is alright, she entered her cabin.

"Hello Dr. Sanaa! good Morning." Zara said with a smile.

"Good Morning Zara and I have told you so many times to call me Shenu." Sanaa said and took a sit in her cabin but Zara just politely shook her head.

She didn't want to get connected to her because connecting to her meant forming an indirect connection with him.

"Zara, I just saw your missed calls. Is everything alright? I hope Kabir is fine."

"Ahh... Dr. Sanaa, the thing is... yesterday something happened to Dr. Kabir and I needed your assistance, so I called you."

Sanaa immediately stood up from her chair. "Tell me he is fine! Please, tell me. God, I am such a horrible person. I was not there when he needed me the most."

Zara came towards her and said, "Nothing bad happened, Dr. Sanaa. Please be calm!"

"What are you saying?" Sanaa asked feeling puzzled.

"I am not saying anything; I will show it to you." Zara said and took her towards her Bir. They stood a little away from the door.

"He is in ICU but why?" Sanaa asked, still feeling afraid.

"I told you everything is controlled now. No danger. So be calm. Go inside and meet him." Zara tried to assure Sanaa.

She could have said it directly but she didn't want to ruin the surprise and really wanted to give Sanaa the gift of hearing Kabir's voice, unexpectedly.

"Alright, thank you Zara, for everything. I don't know what happened yesterday but I know one thing that without you it won't be possible for me to take care of him, in such a nice way. Thank you so much. I will do anything to repay your favour." Sanaa genuinely thanked Zara.

"Then do me a favour, Dr. Sanaa. Never tell anyone that I treated him. I don't want anyone to know that I was his doctor, not even him. Can you do this?" Zara pleaded and Sanaa was taken aback by her sudden request.

She wanted to ask her about it and know her reasons for hiding but now was not the right time nor can she intrude in someone's privacy though she had some idea of what was happening.

"I can't lie to him but I will try my best to hide this truth from him when he finally wakes up, but is not happening anytime soon." Sanaa said, feeling dejected but Zara just smiled at her and left.

I handed Bir to his Sweetie Pie! My work ends here! She thought and quickly wiped a lone tear from her eyes.

She contacted Dr. Sinha and gave him all the details about Kabir's case, officially dropping his case. She also instructed the hospital staff to not give away her name to him, ever. They were surprised but followed her instructions.

Her fellowship has ended ten days back and she was staying there only for Kabir's sake but now her work was done here.

She had accepted the offer from other hospital and soon she would leave this hospital as she can't hurt herself anymore.

No more watching his handsome face.

No more talking to him, even if it was one sided.

And,

No more denying the fact that he is not just her crush but more than that.

As soon as she reached her cabin, her tears started falling, for losing him once again.

No she should stop crying like a little girl every now and then. She can't lose him because he was never hers to begin with!

And just like that their story ended before it even began.

But what she didn't know was that this time fate was not going to let her escape that easily.

***

Sanaa entered the ICU, only to see him sleeping, as always. It was not a new site. She followed a fixed routine whenever she visited Kabir.

She would talk to Dr. Zara about his progress, then visit him, talk to him about good old days and in the end check him to see any changes in his conditions but today she wanted to check him first.

She was about to do that but felt that the room was a little darker, so she walked away and pulled the blinds. As soon as she pulled away the blinds, she met with a beautiful site. There was a nice garden and she can't help but appreciate the greenery.

Standing near the windows, she started their conversation, which had always been one sided, with her speaking and him never reacting.

"Good Morning, Kabir. I hope you are doing well. You almost gave me a heart attack when I heard that something happened to you previous night. Thank god you are alright. But listen properly mister, you are not allowed to scare me like this ever." She said, still looking outside.

"Bir can never scare his sweetie pie." A voice replied, which sounded familiar, too familiar to forget and Sanaa stilled at her place. She can't move an inch. So many feelings surged inside her, the most prominent being,

Fear.

Fear that it was all an illusion which will fade away when she will turn and she didn't want it too. So she stayed rooted at her pace.

"Won't turn around and see your Bir, sweetie pie?" The voice said and this time she can't help but turn around, only to look back into a pair of ocean blue eyes, staring her with so many emotions.

"Won't you give me a hug sweetie pie?" He asked in a gentle tone, as if afraid of her rejection and that was something that can never happened.

She ran to him and hugged him, tightly but carefully, felling afraid that this moment will disappear. He will disappear. She clutched him hard, to control her emotions. She never likes to cry, in front of anyone.

"Don't try to hide your tears sweetie pie. You can loosen up around me. I won't tell anyone." He said, still hugging her and Sanaa just shut her eyes tightly to control herself.

Finally, the moment has arrived, the one she has been waiting from past two months. Actually, she was waiting from four years and six months. That was when she saw him for the last time and heard his voice.

***

Time to wake up Kabir...and face harsh stuff

As for Zara,  your story is nowhere  near the end Zara!

Ask Zoya *sighs tiredly*