The next day at work Sanyukta kept herself occupied to make sure she had no time to brood over her predicament. As a result of this she hardly noticed that Aryan was deliberately keeping his distance from her. He was feeling resentful, unable to come to terms with the fact that for the first time in his life he had been forced to retreat because of a girl who had appeared to be completely guileless. He was also stressed over the scandalous video clip that was shown to him, he had done something idiotic in a drunken stupor a few months ago. He had never dreamt of being caught on tape in the non-descript motel where he had taken his adventurous cousin who was in the throes of experimenting, spurred on by her teenage hormones. Aryan did not dare confront Sanyukta personally, the humiliation and threat he had faced the previous night was still lingering on his mind. If he made an error of judgement now those people could trap him like they had warned him. He decided to wait for an opportune moment or another means to get back at Sanyukta. 

Randhir and Sanyukta visited the gynecologist in the evening. After verifying facts and after a proper physical and ultrasound examination the doctor concluded that it would be safe to administer pills to Sanyukta as the pregnancy was detected fairly early. There were two set of pills. The first pill was meant to block the action of certain hormones that are important for pregnancy. After 48 hours the second set of tablets were to be taken. These would result in cramping and bleeding with some side-effects like nausea, vomiting or an upset stomach. Sanyukta was warned that she could have heavy bleeding with clots for about a week or more. Later she would need to do a sonography to ensure that the termination was complete. The doctor also warned the young couple about other things that needed attention, along with advice on proper birth control. Randhir was genuinely concerned about the after-effects on Sanyukta and he privately sought the doctor's opinion on how he could offer optimal support to Sanyukta for her physical and emotional well-being.

Over the next few days Sanyukta endured the rigors of losing her pregnancy. Fortunately for her the bleeding was not excessive and she was granted medical leave for a couple of days by the hotel; after her doctor gave her a certificate advising rest. She did this on Randhir's insistence as he adamantly refused to let her move around, staying home with her during the time, cooking simple meals and cuddling with her. She put up a brave front, showing no signs of the guilt or the sadness she felt. He knew she cried while he slept, he tried playing cheerful movies on his laptop to improve her mood. The doctor had warned him that Sanyukta would feel blue because she was guilty and also due to pregnancy hormones that affected the mood. She began to cope better after resuming work. A follow-up visit to the doctor indicated that she was fine, although they would need to wait a while until they could enjoy intimate relations. That evening Randhir took Sanyukta and Aman out for pizza and they also ordered a huge family-sized pitcher of ice lemon tea, finishing off the meal with muskmelon, guava and strawberry gelatos. 

Aman perceptively knew that there was something wrong with Sanyukta, that she seemed quiet and reserved unlike on other days. As they got home he rushed back to the barsaati to hand over his favourite soft toy to Sanyukta. "You know, teddy has fever, please take care of him and make him feel better so I can take him to bed again!" He gave her a light peck on her cheek and she held him close, rewarding him with a smile. "And you also need to sing him a lullaby or else he won't sleep!" He added. He saw this definitely improved her mood, she tucked herself into bed early, sang a sweet song to teddy in her arms and dozed off quickly. Once he made sure she was fast asleep Aman stole to Randhir and held his hand, leading him to the garden on the roof. "I know why Sanyu is feeling sad, it is because her plant is sick!" The boy whispered his big secret to Randhir. Incredibly enough Randhir noticed that the night jasmine leaves looked droopy, as if they were losing their will to go on. 

"Did she forget to water it?" Randhir asked aloud, wondering why the plant looked so. "No, she waters them, but she has not been talking to her plants for some days, because she is so quiet. I think this plant is feeling sad for her." Aman declared, wise beyond his tender age. "In that case, we should talk to the jasmine instead of her. Hi Jasmine, please do take care, you look a little under the weather. I am sorry Sanyu has not been herself off late, but you need to improve your health so she will start feeling better too. And I promise I'll look after all of you along with Sanyukta. All right Aman, it is your turn now." Randhir touched the boy's shoulder tenderly. "Jasmine, you know, I gave Sanyu my magic teddy. Dadi says my Mom left it for me, and she stored her love inside him for my sake. I know Sanyu will feel better now, soon she will sing and talk to you. So please turn fresh again, and we will love you very much." Randhir was touched by the young boy's sincere appeal and gave him a warm hug. "Do you want to know another secret? I want Sanyu to be my Mommy, I thinks she also wants to be my mother." Even in the semi-darkness of the night Randhir could see the sparkle in the boy's eyes.

"I think I know your secret. And today I promise you this, no matter what the odds, as soon as I secure our future, both Sanyukta and you will be a part of my life permanently. Even if we have kids later you will always be our first baby. I am also hoping to be your Dad as much as Sanyukta wants to be your mother. We will take permission from your Dadi, and I am sure she will agree, so we can live together as a happy family." Randhir sounded determined. "But Sanyu said you will be going to the US soon, what if you get there and forget about us?" Aman had a genuine query, after his own father refused to acknowledge Aman as his son the boy simply assumed that if, like him, Randhir went overseas he would abandon Sanyukta and him, especially if he met another woman, like his father had. "I guess you just have to trust me on this one, I cannot say anything for your father but honestly, it will not be easy for me to let both of you go. So don't worry, just be happy. And let this be our anthem. Come, let me get you downstairs, it is quite late and you need to sleep too." Randhir led the boy downstairs with those words. Something had changed in the night jasmine plant the same moment, if anyone looked inside it's heart they could see the sap returning to the shoots. It was as if the plant was willing to live another day after hearing a heartfelt promise made to a boy hungry for parental love!