Sorry for the long wait dearies! Have been so caught up with work & a ton of other commitments! Enjoy!

Part 26

Naina was very disappointed at her father's behavior and though she wasn't happy even with her brother leaving her, he had conveyed to her that he entrusted her care to Sameer and that she would be fine with him. He had handed him the report files before leaving.

She gave a lost look to Sameer and settled back in the chair to wait for her turn. She looked down lost in her own thoughts but Sameer's gaze never wavered from her. He knew she was hurt but tried to mask it as best as she could and was failing miserably. He couldn't fathom that any other parent could be like his mother who could abandon their child so easily in their hour of need. He now understood her precarious situation at home even better and thought that while he lived alone most of his life and she was surrounded with a crowd, she didn't have her own parent with her. But at least some of her family genuinely cared for her like Chachaji, Chachiji and Preeti. He too had his Nanu and MP. So, somewhere they both were sailing in the same boat, and hence, she might have understood his loneliness much better than he could sometimes understand himself.

A few minutes later, the nurse came out to call her name and she went inside with the report files clutched in one hand. Sameer wanted to follow her but didn't think appropriate to go in uninvited, which she didn't. So, he stood vigilant by the door.

"Naina Agrawal", doctor asked and she nodded.

He scanned her reports and then looked up to her. "Tumhari dressing kholke ghaav check karna padega. Dekhte hai kya stithi hai".

The doctor signaled the sister to prepare the examining chamber, which was attached on one side of his vast cabin.

Naina was made to seat comfortably, hand resting one side, without touching the armrest, while the nurse prepared the instruments and doctor donned a mask, hair cap, and gloves. He then started removing the bandage slowly careful of the touch and trying to avoid any hurt and pain. He examined the burnt area and saw that the healing was better than expected. The abrasions were healing, while the severe burns had already started forming abscess filled with pus and water that need to cleaned to accelerate the healing of the wounds and push the skin regeneration.

"Naina, lagta hai tumne apne haath ka bahut achcha khayal rakha hai. Meri umeed se kayi zyaada jaldi recovery ho rahi hai...aise hi khayal rakha toh samay se pehle ghaav bharne lag jaayenge. Par iske liye yeh abscess clean karne padenge, jismein thoda dard hoga. Agar tumhare ghaav gehre hote toh main anesthesia dekar surgery kar deta cleaning ke liye, par agar tum thoda dard bardasht kar lo toh uski zaroorat nahi padegi".

The doctor waited for her to affirm but she was so nervous and scared and couldn't reply. She wished someone from her family was here, at least Chachaji or Chachiji and then she wouldn't have felt so alone and scared. While she had paid attention to what doctor commented on her healing, the necessity to carry out a procedure similar to surgery scared her to the roots.

She reminded herself of her brother's words, "tu fikr mat kar Naina, Sameer hai na tere saath".

"Kya mere saath jo aaye hai, wo yahan aa sakte hai, jab aap mere ghaav ki treatment kare? Unhone hi mere haaath ka bahut khayal rakha hai." Naina asked timidly if Sameer would be allowed to be by her side.

She gave his name to the nurse and doctor nodded giving permission.

Nurse came out & Sameer straightened from his leaning position by the wall near the door.

"Sameer Maheshwari aap hi hai?" the nurse asked.

"Ji", he responded with some panic if Naina was ok or not.

"Aap andarr aayiye mere saath, patient aapko bula rahi hai".

Without a second thought, he followed her inside. He followed her instructions of sanitation, washed his hands with antiseptic soap, patted them dry, donned gloves, mask, & hair cap and then followed her to the examining cabin where Naina was lying in a half supine position and her eyes glued to the door. He noticed the relief that swept on her face and her tightly coiled body relaxing as soon as she spotted him.

He went to the other side of her and spoke through the mask, "Naina tum theek ho na?"

She only nodded, while the doctor spoke, "bilkul theek hai. Naina ne bataya, tumne uske ghaav ki pattiyan ki hai" and pointed to the gross look of her hand.

Sameer was confused and apprehensive if inadvertently he had made a mistake in bandaging her wounds that had caused aggravation instead of healing. He mentally started recollecting all the instructions that were given & if he had missed to follow any part of it.

The doctor continued "bahut achcha kaam kiya hai tumne. Yeh ghaav bahut achche se bhar rahe hai. Naina ka haath jaldi hi theek jo jayega. Nayi chamdi aane mein thoda waqt lag sakta hai, iss liye yeh abscess fodke clean karne padenge. Par surgery ki zaroorat nahi hai. Wo bina anesthesia ke darr rahi thi, issliye chahti thi ki tum uske paas hoge toh darr, dard, aur jalan ka ehsaas kum hoga".

Sameer was overwhelmed at her immense faith in him that she trusted him to be by her side. He smiled through the mask but it reached his eyes & she smiled slightly in response. He sat down next to her on the wobble stool that the nurse gave & she reclaimed her position next to the doctor who began the long tenuous task of cutting open the several abscesses, draining them of pus & water, cleaning away the debris of dead skin, and peeled it from the wound and dressing up the wound with strong antibiotics and ointments to prevent any infection.

The process led her to yelp or hiss in pain several times and ultimately after a couple such instances, she had clutched Sameer's hand tight that was lying on the armrest near hers folded in her lap. Her nails dug deeply in his wrist and palm but he was unmindful of the pain she was inflicting on him, rather his eyes misted every time she yelled out or her eyes clenched shut tightly threatening her eyeballs to pop out. While he was elated a few minutes ago for being praised of his diligent caretaking ability, he was remorseful that the situation had arisen due to his negligence in the lab.
She was allowed to rest for a few minutes to let the pain killer injection take its effect. She closed her eyes and drifted off for a few minutes, but not for a second did she let go off Sameer's hand that she clutched tightly in her small palm. He too neither flinched with the pressure nor moved a muscle although his hand and feet went numb from maintaining the posture for a long duration. But he didn't want to disturb her peaceful state after enduring such affliction.

A few minutes later the pain subsided, she opened her eyes and the doctor beckoned them to his consulting cabin and explained the after care. While Naina was paying attention, Sameer was fully focused and though the doctor gave him medicine prescriptions and explained the dosage, he requested a sheet of paper and noted everything diligently in his writing to remember easily. Finally, they thanked the doctor who asked them to visit in a week unless there was any unbearable pain or unexpected reactions to any of the topical applications or painkillers.

When they came out of the clinic, "Naina tum yahi ruko, main dawaii khareed kar gadi lekar aata hoon". She nodded and waited for him lost in thoughts. He was indeed being a very gentle man and showed utmost care and concern for her. He had waited patiently while she was being treated and had borne the brunt of her pain and shouldered her inflictions without flinching. In the last few days, he had never wavered from his care and concern expressing his love wholeheartedly for her. She couldn't stop herself from recalling his heartfelt apology in a poem where he placed his heart at her feet, waiting for her to decide his fate.

She didn't want to walk down that path again but her heart was overruling her sensible brain. Love was overpowering her thinking abilities and logical reasoning. Just then, Sameer halted his car near her and quickly got out, came around, and opened the back-passenger door for her. She thought for a split second and then gave in to her heart's desire. She pushed the door closed, leaving a confused Sameer, stepped ahead of him, pulled open the front-passenger door and seated herself. He was totally left bewildered at her actions that he couldn't register what just happened, he was left staring at her and confusion clouded his face as if he was dreaming that Naina willingly took her place next to him.

When he didn't react for 2 seconds, she raised her brows "Kya hua? Ab chalo? Ghar jaana hai na? Chachiji intezaar kar rahi hongi. Der ho rahi hai".

Her questions and comments broke his trance and he realized that indeed it was surreal. He smiled wide in his goofy grin, ear-to-ear, shut the door and came around to take his driver's seat. He wouldn't mind being her driver throughout life if she seated with him in front. While she smiled slightly at his goofy antics, he couldn't stop looking at her adoringly and couldn't take his eyes off her.

After a few more seconds, Naina's words jolted him, "Ab agar ghoor liya ho toh chale?"

He couldn't stop smiling, it was the best day of his life. Never a girl had sat with him in front and today it was his Naina who had willingly taken her right place in the front seat. It called for a celebration as he felt he had finally managed to strike a chord in her heart and that her feelings were inclining in his favor.
He wished the day arrived soon when she would smile at him with so much love in her eyes and say those three magical words to him that she had left incomplete in Mt. Abu and he could wait a lifetime to hear them if only she continued to smile at him without anger and that smile reached her eyes finally, exactly as he loved it.

P.S will not be very regular for 2 more weeks but will try to give short updates as much as I can. Thank you for loving this story & the motivation.