Manik POV:

It was hell. Plain, and simple hell. The doctors said the bullet had grazed part of her liver, and that even if the surgery was successful, they'd have to keep her in the Intensive Care Unit for quite some time after.

My imagination was particularly active today, and I could see everything as it could (or would) happen. Nandini's cold, still, lifeless body being lowered into the earth. A varnished oak coffin with platinum handles (only the best for my Nandu). Me standing there, surrounded by my family yet never having felt so alone in my existence.

I could see it all playing out. After the funeral was done, I would first hunt down and kill Arya, and while carrying my gun, I would go over to the FBI department. I wouldn't clearly confess of course, I would just make it so they found exactly what they were looking for; Arya corpse in an almost-easy-to-find place. From there it would be the simple case of courts, trials, and eventually, prison.

With my connections, I could probably be out of there the next day, but why would I want to? Why would I want to continue a life without Nandu? I knew my family would object, but they didn't have to know anything until it was done.

I was brought out of my morbid thoughts by the appearance of a scrub-clad surgeon. I walked swiftly to him, but before I could say anything, his expression caused the words to get caught in my throat. I'd seen that expression before, it was the same one that people wore when they came to express their condolences when my parents died, and it scared the shit out of me.

"Mr Malhotra," the doctor said, talking in a sombre, firm tone. "We've removed the bullet surgically, but there was a lot of bleeding. She went under for a good few minutes, so I can't say with any certainty whether the blood loss will affect her mental functioning or not."

"What are you saying?" I asked, flatly. "Are you saying that she might have amnesia or that she might have personality changes?"

"It could most likely be amnesia," he said, surprised by the fact that I actually knew about the various possibilities in such cases. "If you would like, you can go see her. She's in room 408."

I didn't even thank him and ran past to see my Nandu. As I walked through the corridors, I thought about what the doctor had said. What if she didn't know me...what if she forgot that I even existed? It would be ironic, wouldn't it, if the reason for my existence forgot that I even existed? I smiled bitterly, and the phrase 'You reap what you sow' came to mind. Considering all the bad things I'd done, it would seem fitting that the person I loved the most would lose all the wonderful memories we shared.

I opened the door to her room and went in. There she was, white as a sheet, with tubes and needles all around her. The beeping of the heart monitor and the slight movement of her chest were the only proof that she was alive. Barely.

I sat down on an uncomfortable plastic chair next to her bed and stared at her, praying for the first time in my life.

Nandini POV:

I felt like I was swimming through treacle, or maple syrup. Funny that I was making analogies while I knew I was dying. It felt like years ago that I was standing with Manik in his room. The good thing was, I couldn't feel any pain; but that also meant that I was more on the 'dead' than 'alive' side.

Suddenly, I heard Manik's voice.

"Nandu...please wake up. I need you. I can't live in a world where you don't exist. And please, please, don't have amnesia!"

His words at my heart. I knew I had to wake up. I had to embrace the pain instead of fighting it. I tried to move, an arm, a finger, anything.

After what felt like hours, I managed to move my right index finger, and then I clenched and unclenched my entire hand.

I heard a squeaky rustling beside me, like someone moving around in a faux leather chair.

"Nandu!", I heard Manik's voice call out. "Doctor! Nurse! She just moved! Get in here quick!"

His desperate pleas were answered by what sounded like several pairs of feet shuffling into the room.

I struggled to wake up, forcing my eyes open and letting the bright light enter my pupils. I could hear the frantic beeping of the heart monitor, and I was choking on the tube in my throat. The doctor quickly removed it while the nurses held me still.

I saw Manik's frantic gaze and the doctor's clinical one. Even in such a position, I couldn't help but tease Manik a little. I had overheard some of the nurses talking about how amnesia was a possibility in my case, and I decided to pull Manik's leg a little.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice scratchy and my throat dry. The nurse handed me a glass of water that I chugged down gratefully.

"You're in a hospital, Nandu," Manik answered while the doctor continued to check my vitals. "Do you remember what happened?"

I pasted a confused look on my face. "Who are you? Are you the guy from Sesame Street with a cape?"

The look of horror on Manik's face was priceless. The fact that I compared him to Count von Count made him think I'd lost my marbles.

Before he could get any more worked up, I burst into hysterical laughter. Maybe it was the painkillers, but before long I had tears running down my face and couldn't stop the giggles.

"My God, Manik! The expression on your face was priceless there!" I choked out.

He gave me an exasperated but relieved look. He ran a hand through his hair and whispered in my ear, "Do you enjoy teasing my affections like that Miss. Murthy?"

His velvety voice sent shivers up my spine, and by the look in his eyes, he knew how it effected me. I got over his attempt at dazzling me and whispered back, "Only because you're so gullible, Mr. Malhotra."

Hah, I thought, now whose the dazzled one!

The doctor clearing his throat reminded us that we were still in a room full of people, and we tore our eyes away from each other and looked at the doctor apologetically.

"I can tell that you both want some time alone, but before that, I need to ask you to answer some questions for me Miss. Murthy."

I swallowed hard. I thought Manik would have brought me to a hospital where no one would ask us questions about the shooting.

"Can you tell me what day it is?" he asked, looking up briefly from his chart.

"Uhm, Tuesday, I think."

"And your full name?"

"Nandini Murthy."

"And the circumstances under which you were shot?"

I swallowed convulsively. Maybe Manik thought that since it was Arya who shot me, there was no need for discretion. But despite what Arya did, I couldn't condemn my best friend.

"Manik and I were having a picnic near our house in the woods. Unfortunately some huntsmen had decided that tonight was a good day for hunting, and probably mistook me for a deer. Or maybe they just had bad aim, I don't know," I said, putting on the same innocent-as-an-angel look I gave Dad when he caught me eating cookies in the kitchen past my bedtime. Usually, I got away with the explanation that I had a nightmare and was looking for him and mom but I was so sleepy I came to the kitchen instead of their bedroom.

Fortunately for me, the doctor seemed just as gullible as dad. "Well, Miss. Murthy, I think you're good for now. We'll change the dressing on that tomorrow and you'll be good to go. We'll just keep you in here for observation until tomorrow afternoon."

I nodded and thanked him. He left the room along with the nurses. I glanced over at Manik who was slouched in the chair beside me.

"You think you can spring me out of here before tomorrow and make a run for it?" I asked.

"No way Nandu," he replied. "And why do you wanna make a run for it? It's not like the doctor is gonna chase after us."

I smiled at him. "I think sleep depravation has addled your senses my dear Mr Malhotra. It was obviously my dad who sent Arya after us, which means it's a good time to break out your contingency plan. The bureau isn't going to let us continue with the old plan."

Manik took out a cell phone from his pocket and dialled up a number. "Alia, get here with Dhruv pronto. And there's a bag in my room, bring that as well."

He snapped the phone shut and gave me a piercing look. "Nandu, for this plan to work, you have to do something for me."

He continued without waiting for any response from me, "We're going to have to stage our own death. We're going to take two corpses from the morgue downstairs and incinerate them in my car. We'll leave our Id's there so they can identify us. But I need you to call your dad and pretend as if we're in the car and we're about to crash. As soon as Alia gets here, we'll do it."

I nodded, trying to transform my facial expression into an accepting one. I knew what this would mean to Dad; his daughter dead, just like his wife. He'd be heartbroken. Now that I had a better understanding of my dad, I could say that. This would destroy him.

"Nandu? What's wrong?" Manik asked, worried by my stony silence.

"Nothing," I whispered, and tried to get out of bed. He helped me stand up and took me in his arms.

"I'm sorry for making you go through this, love," he said, his voice strained. "You can still back out."

I looked at him in astonishment. "How can you even say that? After everything we've been through Manik?"

"Sorry, hon," he smiled at me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I just wanted to make sure you really wanted to give up everything for me."

"I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for us. And anyway, you can't make me do anything. I'm an independent-minded woman!" I raised my chin at him in defiance, while he snickered silently at my rebuttal.

I quickly went into the bathroom to change into a decent pair of Gucci jeans and a dark blue silk blouse that Alia had designed specifically for me. I didn't even look in the mirror and ran out to Manik. Alia and Dhruv were already there with a black backpack.

"Let's get out of here," Manik said, grabbing my arm gently and escorting us out of the hospital. On the way, he explained the plan to me. Luckily, the doctors and nurses was busy today with lots of emergencies and were short staffed. No one noticed us slip out and we hurried to the car. There were already two black bags with bodies in Manik's Mercedes, courtesy of Dhruv. Manik and Dhruv pushed the car out of the parking lot and onto the street. Alia gave me my cell and got into the driver's side of what I assumed was Dhruv car. I got into the passenger side and dialled my dad. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hey dad," I said, not waiting for him to say anything. "I just wanted to tell you what a shitty thing you did by sending Arya over. Manik and I don't trust you anymore so we're leaving."

"Nandu! Honey please, don't do this! I'm sorry, I didn't send Arya. He came by himself."

"Don't lie dad. I'm your daughter, and I know you didn't mean to hurt me." I softened my tone a bit, knowing that this was going to be my last conversation with my dad. "And I love you dad. Despite everything that happened, I love you. And for what its worth, you were a great father to me, and a great husband to mom."

"Nandu, please sweetheart, just come here and we'll talk. You can have whatever you want. I'll even clear all the charges against that fiancé of yours."

"Sorry dad, no can do. I'm...Shit! Manik look out!" I screamed into the phone and signalled to Alia. She swerved, making a high-pitched screeching sound, and I threw the phone out the window, making sure it hit the road hard enough to break. We braked near Manik and Dhruv. They put the foot of one of the corpses on the gas pedal and let the beautiful car crash into a tree. Then they tossed a lighter into the car's open fuel tank and jumped in the car. Alia drove off quickly, and I looked behind us to see the car explode into a million bits and pieces.

I glanced back over at Manik and smiled. Alia stopped a little way over so I could sit in the back with Manik and Dhruv could start driving. Once again we drove to a private airstrip, and quickly boarded a small jet. Once we were safely in the air and there was no danger of any feds tailing us, I relaxed in Manik's arms and asked him what the plan was now.

"Do you like Brazil, Nandu?" he asked, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"As good as any country that I've never been to, I suppose," I replied, smiling at him. I couldn't believe that we were finally going to be able to live together in peace, without the threat of the FBI on our heads.

"We're going to a small island that my father bought for my mother they died. It's been legally purchased, but I eliminated all records of its existence. No one knows it exists except for a few tribal people who work there as servants, and of course, the lawyer that arranged all the paperwork for my dad in the first place. He won't be a problem because he was killed by Harshad when he was trying to get information about my parents whereabouts."

I nodded slowly. "So we're going to live on an island in Brazil that's all yours? No hiding or concealing our identities?" I asked, completely overwhelmed by the sudden and abrupt change in our lives.

"Not my island, our island. And of course, Alia's as well."

I laughed at him and my eyes fell on my engagement ring. "What about our wedding?"

"I think we can leave the planning to Alia. A summer wedding on the beach seems ideal," he said with a wink.

Alia looked up from the magazine she was reading and said, "I think we should have a joint wedding. Navya and Cabir can come. It'll just be the six of us and the priest."

I liked the idea of a small wedding, especially considering Manik and I were supposed to be dead.

I rested my head on Manik's shoulder and hugged him around the waist. I was ready for our new life to begin, and I couldn't wait for the day when I could call myself "Mrs.Nandini Manik Malhotra."