***Saira's POV.***

"You do remember what today is, right?" Parth asks.

"What is it today?" I lied.

"You don't remember?" He asks in shock.

"Oh! Now I remember. I have a meeting tonight with the director and other doctors." I say.

"What? But you said it was your day off today. You can't go." He says and chases me around the room as I try to gather the toys he spread out last night. He is such a kid.

"Did I say that?" I ask him and blink, "I don't remember."

"Saira! Please don't tell me you forgot about our date?" He asks.

"Oh, no!" I gasp and he looks shocked, "I didn't, but then I thought to lie and irritate you just like you have been doing for the past one week."

"Saira!" Parth exclaimed then sighs in relief.

"I know my name." I say.

"Sorry. It's just very important. This date." He says.

"And you think it isn't for me?" I ask.

"I am sorry if I was too irritating but I am so excited." He says, taking my hands in his.

"Same here." I say.

"You are going to Aru's house. Should I accompany you?" He asks.

"Only if you want to." I say.

"Of course, I want to." He says as he looks at me with a weird look.

"On second thought, no. I don't want you to come with me." I say.

"Why?" He asks.

"Answer this first. Are you coming with me so you can make sure I am coming to the date, aren't you?" I ask and he looks bashful.

"Maybe. I just don't want you to miss it." He says.

"I won't, Parth. It is such a clear day. You should relax and also I need some time for myself too. Don't you think so?" I ask.

"I know. Fine. I will wait for you." He says.

"That's like my husband." I say and go to kiss him on the cheek only to lend my lips to his.

"So I should leave now?" He asks, still holding my hands in his.

"Why? You don't want to?" I ask.

"Maybe." He says.

"I don't want you to go either." I say.

"Then what should we do?" He asks as he comes closer.

"Anything that doesn't include leaving each other." I say and close my eyes in anticipation.

"Like what?" He asks and I feel his breath on my cheek.

"I don't know." I say.

"Let's play chase." He says and my eyes open wide.

"What?!" I exclaim.

"Let's play chase the lips." He says.

"Now what type of game is that?" I ask.

"The one which will make you late to meet Aarav which I don't want. So go. We will play it tonight." He says and gives me a slight nudge towards the door.

"Are you sure you want me to go?" I ask.

"Yep." He says.

"I can stay and we can have fun." I say and tilt my head to my one side and smile because I know it makes him go crazy. I don't know why.

"We will have time for it tonight." He says.

"But it would be more fun now." I say and run my hand through my hair which is the second thing he likes the most. Still don't know why.

"Stop seducing me, woman, and just go. I am on edge right now." He says.

"Good to know." I say with an evil laugh and leave and hear his groan.

After putting every toy in the car, I leave for Mehra's house with Veer, Siya and Shravan. They had half a day at school and wanted to see Aarav too, so I picked them from school. As soon as we enter the house, kids run to their grandparents for blessings and some bribes.

"Saira, it is so nice to see you." Dadi says.

"Same here, Dadi." I say and hug her.

"Come and take a seat." She says.

"Where are Arya and Aarav?" I ask.

"Well, they had gone for a checkup. Would be back any minute now." She says.

"Mami." Amara says and hugs me.

"How are you Amu?" I ask.

"As always, pretty. I brought this for you." She says and gives me an envelope.

"What is this?" I ask.

"A request." She says.

"A request? What request is this?" I ask as I open the envelope and there is a letter.

"To give me a baby." She says.

"What?" I ask.

"Amu!" Dadi exclaimed.

"What? I want another one and this time a girl. I asked Mom, but she said no more and asked me to ask Mami to do so. So I am asking." Amu says.

"And Aru asks me who she has taken after." Dadi says with a sigh.

"But Amu, you already have a little sister." I say.

"But she is smart." Amu says.

"But she is pretty, too." I say.

"But she doesn't care about it. I want a sister who cares about fashion. Even Siya doesn't care about it. She is always fighting with Karan." Amu says.

"No, I don't." Siya says.

"Yes, you do." Amu says.

"No. I am competing with that stupid, not fighting." Siya says, "And I also like fashion a little."

"A little is not enough. And I want a little sister." Amu demands.

"Amu!" Dadi warns her and her shoulder slumps.

"Amu, I will think about your request." I say, and her eyes light up.

"You will?" She asks.

"Yep. But it would take some time and also we should give Aarav some time too, right?" I ask.

"For what?" She asks.

"To spend some time with her sister. He would get so sad that her sister doesn't want to play with him and wants another sister." I say.

"Yes, he would. I am the fun one. Vedi is just busy with telling him about weird stuff." Amu says.

"Till then I can play fashion with you." Siya says.

"Okay. But don't stain it." Amu says and Siya looks angry, but then sighs.

"I will try my best." She says and then they go to their room.

Dadi and I talk for a while until Bhai and Bhabhi enter the house with Vedi holding her Mom's hand and Aarav in the stroller. I talk with them and play with Aarav a little. They tell me about the pooja they are going to have soon for the Aarav. They do this pooja for every kid they have so far and so do Malhotras.

"It is the pooja we do for kids, especially. To thank the almighty for keeping our baby healthy and to pray that he or she would always prosper through their hard work." Aru says as she feeds Aarav.

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes. We also did pooja when I gave news that I am pregnant. It was for my healthy pregnancy. This pooja normally is an excuse to calm our nerves and for the family to sit together and have some good spiritual time. Mayra and Ramya had gone through the same. When you will get the news, we will have a pooja for you too." Aru says and I smile through it.

"I hope Parth can sit still that long." I say.

"No chance." Aru says and we laugh together.

Later, when I was going back home with the kids to get ready for the big date, we almost got into an accident because of a sudden downpour. It started raining so heavily and so suddenly that I almost didn't see the car in front of me. But somehow the kids and I managed to get back home safely.

"Thank goodness. You all are back home safely." Mayra says as soon as we enter the house and takes the kids in her arms and kisses every one of them.

"Yes. It started out of nowhere. I thought today's weather would be good." I say.

"It is because of a sudden storm that turned from one direction and came towards our city." Ramya says as soon as she enters the house along with Reyansh Jiju and they each take their twin in their arms.

"That's why we have to leave early, as a red alert has been issued all over the city. I called Shaurya Bhai and he is on his way home." Reyansh Jiju says.

"That's a relief." Mayra says with a sigh.

"I will call Parth to tell him to come back home, too." I say and they nod as I go to make a call.

"Hi. Are you ready? Are you leaving soon?" Parth asks as soon as he picks.

"Where are you? Can't you see it is raining?" I ask.

"Not where I am, and that is a little out of the city. I am in a hotel." He says.

"It is not raining there?" I ask.

"No. But I am feeling a chill in the air." He says.

"It means it would start raining there too." I say.

"That means you are not coming?" Parth asks.

"I can't, dear." I say.

"Then I am coming home." He says after a few seconds.

"No." I say.

"Why?" He asks.

"Because it is raining very much over here and I don't want you driving." I say.

"Then what do I do? Enjoy my date with you alone. I can't stay around all this without you." He says.

"I am sorry. But please understand, Parth. Stay there until it stops raining." I say.

"But it is just a twenty minutes drive. I bet I would be there before you can even count to a thousand." He says.

"I don't want to bet anything. Just don't drive." I say.

"But I will be there soon." He says.

"No. Parth, you won't... Hello... Parth." I say when his voice starts to cut.

"I'm... Don't worry... Not..." He says, and the line goes dead.

"What the-" I say and call him again, but the network seems to be busy.

I would have called him again, but then Mom tells me I have a call on the landline. It was from the hospital asking me to join them as there have been emergencies and because of this rain many women have gone to labor. Mom was reluctant to let me go alone, but I told her I would be fine as I will drive slowly and call her as soon as I reach there.

I didn't want to leave home but if I would stay there, I would start having weird thoughts. I hope what Parth was trying to say was that he wasn't coming so I shouldn't worry. I hope that is the case. Hope I had confirmed it somehow because I have been restless since that call. I don't know why but I am not feeling good about this sudden change of weather.

Something is going to happen.

And that thought got confirmed when a patient was brought in just after I finished operating one. It shook to my core to see that person lying in a pool of blood.