Tags: Surrogacy/Established Relationship/Marriage/Angst/Hurt-comfort/Character Development

Warning: Sensitive content

Word Count: 6k words

Prompt idea: sereneserica

Malvika eyes her tummy in the mirror, the slightly protruding belly giving her a sense of joy she can't even express. Her eyes instantly fill with happy tears as she pictures the three of them laying on the same bed, the two adults cuddling with each other and the baby snuggled in between them.

Soon enough the man from her reverie walks towards her, encircling her waist from behind, his hands slightly bigger than hers, covering hers on the top of her belly, looking at her through the mirror and pressing a small kiss on her clothed shoulder.

"We're going to be parents!"

"Malvika!"

"We're going to be parents."

"Malvika!!"

And just like that her eyes flutter open to take in the worried face of her husband, a series of "Malvika, are you ok?" dribbling out of his mouth, his brows frowned into concern and voice soft but urgent.

She shakes her head, her face crumpling in grief. "No, Harsh," she croaks out, letting the tears pool her eyes completely, blurring her vision. "I'm not ok. I - I had that dream again. We were going to be parents. My belly was all round and we were so happy -"

Her choked up voice doesn't let her say more, while her husband coos at her, shushing her and taking her into his arms.

"We're happy even now, sweetheart, aren't we? Do you think I need a third person to be happy with you? No, baby, I only need you."

He always does this, always say such sweet things that have Malvika shushing up for a moment, thinking about how true her husband's words sound, how they really can be happy even if - even if they don't have a baby but then, only a second later, the reality comes rushing back to her, her incompetence as a woman and as a wife. Her inability of giving her husband happiness, of giving herself happiness. How can she when she cannot be a mother? Ever.

*

"You guys can go for surrogacy." The doctor suggests, as soon as the couple takes a seat, not wanting to know their whole story.

"Formerly, in traditional surrogacy, the surrogate mother would have to be artificially inseminated by the father's sperm but with the advancement of science, the traditional surrogacy has been converted into gestational surrogacy. It uses a technique called in vitro fertilization(IVF), which I'm sure you've heard of. In this process, the eggs of the biological mother and the sperm of the father are fertilized outside the uterus and the embryo is then implanted into the uterus of the surrogate mother."

The doctor explains by making a few diagrams on a sheet of paper, but they don't need to know that. Partly, because they've all heard it before, the process, the suggestions, and partly because Malvika personally knows all of this, teaches this to her students with the same colourful diagrams, presentations and whatnot.

However, even in her dreams, she hadn't imagined that they'll have to resort to this option, that her uterus wouldn't be strong enough to carry her baby in it and that they'll have to hire another woman's uterus for the task.

She knows it's not very rare and that the surrogate mothers are wonderful women who help couples in conceiving their child and providing them with the greatest happiness of their life - but, she hadn't imagined it happening to them.

She still cannot even when her husband is squeezing her hand beneath the table, looking at her with his light brown irises that are streaked with care and concern. In them reflects her own scared eyes, a tress of hair hovering over them.

"The hospital can efficiently take care of the surrogate mother, albeit with extra charges or you can take her home and see your baby grow in front of yourselves. The latter is more preferable as then your fetus can hear your voice and get adapted to your lifestyle quickly."

Malvika gulps listening to the doctor, a sudden urge to have her baby swaddled in her arms filling up her throat, making her unable to say anything. She nods making brief eye contact with her husband, who understands the situation and answers for them."Ok, we'll do that; gestational surrogacy, and we'd like to take the mother home, please."

*

After a long wait of four months, when they've located the surrogate mother and have completed all the complications, the couple brings the young woman home who stands there with a bag in her twenty-five years old young, yet calloused hands, eyes bright, and cheeks plump.

"Hello, my name is Parineeti but you can call me Pari, I don't mind. My name translates to a fairy." Her voice sounds sweeter than anything Malvika has ever heard; it instantly brings a smile to her face.

"Hello, love. Come on, let's go inside." The gentleness in her voice is genuine. Even if they're paying her to do this, she still can't be more grateful to the woman, who's now carrying their baby; an angelic woman, carrying their little angel.

Harsh comes at her side not too later, smiling at the girl who sits in the living room, patiently sipping on the soft drink in her hands.

"Your room is straight down the hall. All necessities are there and you can ask us if you want anything else. We'll give you the house tour tomorrow in the morning, you must be tired right now." He exclaims, his voice patient and slightly tired from the day's work, and as if on cue, Pari yawns, quickly covering it with her hand and nods, giving them a bright smile.

They walk her to her room and retire for the day in their own.

*

Pari, they had found her two months ago, after talking to the doctor. A nurse from the background and belonging to an economically weak family based in a small village, with no one but a brother to take of her, Pari had resorted to be a surrogate mother. She'd had two successful deliveries before, one of her own and one for another couple, though, the history of her baby or the partner was not written in her file.

But for Malvika and Harsh, she had been perfect. Her cheerfulness had been contagious, words; youthful and energetic. They had thought that their sombre household needed someone like her, a ray of sunshine to light up their lives - well, Malvika had. Harsh had been persistent that they didn't need a baby, not after Malvika's first miscarriage, not wanting to risk her life. But Malvika was persistent too, determined to carry the baby a second time as well but unfortunately, she wasn't able to conceive the child, her uterus too weak to implant the embryo in it. She had cried a river that day, they both had, Harsh for Malvika, and Malvika for her unborn baby.

That had been two years ago.

Now though, Malvika believes it's their time, their time to be happy. They don't need to adopt a baby when they can have a baby of their own, albeit it not being from her womb.

"This is the bathroom, this is the kitchen, and here is the dining room. We usually eat dinner in our room, from now on we three can have meals together." Malvika says, showing Pari their house whilst the girl in question awes throughout the small tour, eyes wide and inquisitive.

However, only a second later Pari's face scrunches up in distaste, her hand quickly coming up to cover her mouth and her steps taking her inside the bathroom in question.

Malvika rushes begin her, knowing that this is nothing but the morning sickness, but she's still worried, not wanting to Pari go through this alone.

"There, there, it's all done." She coos rubbing her back all the while and gives her some water to drink when she's done. Seeing the poor girl's face still scrunched up, Malvika makes her sit in the living room on the couch and brings her a variety of snacks that Harsh and her had stacked upon for this time specifically.

"Here, have some of these, you'll feel better."

Pari looks at her with a guarded look in her eyes, nervousness and hesitance both evident in her stance and it's only when Malvika gives her another nudge that she picks up a sour candy and puts it in his mouth. Her face scrunches up yet again but this time from the tanginess of the candy and the sour taste bubbling on her tongue.

It makes Malvika smile.

*

The first few months of Pari's advent in their house are incredible, filling them with a happiness that they didn't know they needed.

Harsh and Malvika both take care of her alertly, making sure to get the things she needs, helping her in walking or exercising as her baby bump grows over months. The said growth has both of them filling with awe, a hope that very soon the baby inside that tummy would be in their arms.

Pari doesn't whine when she's feeling too low but does let out a cry when she is unable to hold the pee, a side effect of pregnancy, Malvika guesses, not that she'd know. Pari also doesn't demand anything extra for them, not even a food of her choice, however, lately she begins to tell them about her cravings, how she wants that mango pickle on salted chips belonging to this company

Even if the cravings prove to be a task for the couple, they like this version of Pari more than her previous, timid and closed off self - a smile on her face, though, common in both.

It all goes well, well for Harsh. It's evident in the way he gasps when the doctor tells them that they'll be able to hear the baby's heartbeat, the way his hands scramble towards her to pull her in and rest both their hands on Pari's belly while having a stethoscope attached to their ears -  beats of that tiny heart making all three of them crying.

It goes well for Harsh when he goes to the office, leaving Pari with Malvika who's taken a month-long leave from her job as a Professor.

It goes well for Harsh when he tells all his friends that he's gonna have a baby and when they congratulate Malvika, he just laughs it off and tells them that they've gone for surrogacy, in return of which his friends let out those 'oohs' and 'aahs'.

But Malvika, she doesn't do well with that retracted congratulations neither does she do well when the neighbour asks her why are they buying so much baby stuff when she's not even pregnant.  Somewhere in between all these experiences, Malvika stops enjoying the little joyous moments bubbling in the vicinity of her house, in the vicinity of Pari's womb. She starts smiling less and less when Pari craves for chocolate ice-cream at the crack of the dawn; stops giggling when Pari talks to her baby bump animatedly, indulging both, Harsh and her; stops reading those articles on 'how to keep a pregnant woman's morning sickness on bay' when all it does is to remind her of her incompetence.

Her days pass thinking about the what-ifs and all the impossibilities that her mind can think of.

What if it was her belly that way round? Would Harsh have kissed it numerous times a day, something that he cannot do with Pari? Would her parents have called her in their home and fed her with her favourite food, something that they don't bother doing with Pari? Would she have felt happier, happy to feel her baby growing inside her, something that she can't do with Pari?

But Pari's not the wrong one here. She shouldn't be treated any less than the angel she is. She is someone who's aiding Malvika in a process that is impossible for her to be a part of. Her self-deprecation shouldn't hinder that girl's happiness. It wouldn't, she'll make sure of it, be it on the cost of her declining happiness.

*

"Have you guys eaten, already?" It's already four months into Pari's pregnancy and she's now well versed with Harsh's everyday question and Malvika's fond roll of her eyes who always gives him the same answer, "Yes, Pari has, this poor girl was feeling hungry and she didn't even tell me until half an hour ago. But let's not do that again, alright, Pari? Harsh, come in, I'll set us both a plate."

Today though is not one of those days. Malvika isn't at home, gone to the market to buy some groceries, leaving Pari alone at home with a movie rolling in the background.

Pari shakes her head in a no, answering to Harsh, a pout growing on her face. "No, I am not feeling like eating r-rice."
She says calculatingly, not wanting to displeasure the person whose house she's living in. But she should have known better than Harsh isn't the one to get angry on remarks like these if his gaping mouth is anything to go by.

"Why didn't you tell that to me in the morning? Or Malvika? Where is she by the way?" Harsh asks, already making his way to the kitchen and washing his hands.

"She's gone to the market. And I didn't tell her because she wasn't feeling too well herself, so I didn't want to trouble her."

Harsh shoots an exasperated look towards her, his hands on his hips. "You don't have to worry about her, I'm here for that. You need to worry about yourself and the baby. Were you planning to starve yourself all day long, huh?" he reprimands, simultaneously asking her if she wants to eat anything specific to which she replies with a, "no, just a roti."

Harsh hums, immediately getting to work and kneading the dough.

"Uh -" he starts, gaining her attention. "You said Malvika wasn't feeling well, wh-what happened to her?" Harsh is unable to hide the overflowing worry in his voice, his attention half on the half baked roti and half on the girl telling him about his wife.

"Well, in the afternoon I had felt this stretch in my tummy which had pained a lot for a moment and so Malvika had rubbed my belly for some time just to soothe out the pain, but as soon as I  started feeling better, she rushed to the washroom and threw up. I wanted to go and help her but because of these cramps, I couldn't. And then when she came out, she said that you'll be coming in an hour so she's going to the market for some time."

Harsh's face slightly pales at the description of the day, him having to forcibly shake himself out of various thoughts running in his mind and concentrating on baking the roti and giving it to Pari.

"It's ok like I said, you don't have to worry about her. Just take care of yourself and eat for both you and the baby. Here." He says plating her some food with a few rotis that he baked but even though he says that neither of them can relax.

It's late at night when Malvika comes back, exhaustion evident in both her eyes and steps. She is greeted with the sight of her husband walking to and fro in the living room, glancing down at his watch, his brows furrowed in concern.

Malvika heaves out a sigh of contentment, her steps quickening and not stopping until she's reached her husband, leaning her head against his shoulder, locking her arms around his neck. Harsh is quick to coerce her into his arms, peppering her head with kisses of relief, letting her exhale against his neck.

"Where were you, darling? I was so worried." Harsh asks her quietly, not wanting to force her into answering a question that she didn't want to talk about.

"Just here and there. . ." Malvika drawls her voice heavy with sleep and tiredness. "The battery died." She continues referring to her phone.

"Don't go anywhere without telling us, ok? We both were so worried." Harsh says and tightens his grip on her when she tries to break free from it.

"No, you don't need to worry about me. And neither does Pari. You take care of her and she'll take care of the baby. I don't need anyone's care." Harsh can't help but notice a hint of loneliness in that statement, something that he was sure that Malvika wouldn't feel until he's there with her. Her voice though gives away everything and he has to force a chuckle out of his mouth, before mumbling against her cheek, "But you're my baby, I'll always worry about you."

*

"Harsh, don't let her bend, and Pari, tell him if you need anything, no need to hesitate, ok?"

Pari nods, smiling, before looking down at her protruding belly, hand tracing down at the skin.  Malvika unconsciously traces the movement, swallowing back the lump in her throat and blinking back the tears.

"I - I'm going." She informs and practically runs out of her house, driving away with the car, before her husband can call for her or Pari can give her that worried look.

God knows what both of them had thought if they would have seen her sniffling like that. Maybe they would've thought her tears to be those of happiness, which would've been somewhat true, because seeing her baby growing in Pari's belly, eager to come out and hold its parents' hands, is what gives Malvika a grounding, something to look forward to. Maybe they would've thought the tears to be representative of her pain, which would've definitely been true. She does see her belly with a lense of melancholy. She is wistful because it is not her belly that is carrying their baby and giving her and her husband the biggest happiness of their life.

She can't help the way her heart aches when she ponders on how she had thought that she would have been the happiest regarding the surrogacy, the quickest one to entertain the woman who'd be bringing her baby to life, the sweetest one to give her company and yet, somewhere in the past few months all she's been doing is tearing up while gazing at that wonderful woman, pitying herself repeatedly, and frustrating Harsh with her immature tactics.

She's doing nothing that she had thought she would do.

Malvika stops the car in front of the university gates, flipping down the rearview, checking her face and making sure that her eyes are rid of tears and the said tears haven't smudged her mascara that she had put while hearing her husband trying to talk to their baby, sitting in Pari's room while she laid on the bed.

It's only when she turns around to the back seat to get hold of her lunch, does she realise that she hasn't brought it, that's to say that Harsh would be going berserk right now, fretting over her carelessness.

She decides to call him just to reassure him that she'll eat from the cafeteria and that he doesn't need to worry, but to her surprise, her husband doesn't pick up his phone, not in one call, neither in two. Malvika, though, shrugs it off because even if this hasn't happened before, and her husband always makes sure to pick up her calls, she knows that he's busy taking care of Pari and their baby and that it was for exactly this reason that he had taken a leave from his job with Pari being in her third trimester.

At first, Malvika had argued that she'll continue to take the leave from her university and take care of Pari but Harsh hadn't wanted her to stay around the pregnant girl for a very long period saying that going to work would suit her better these days all with her chubby cheeks, which Malvika knows, was just an excuse to keep her away from the sight that would only make her heartache. Malvika didn't have it in her to disagree because even if she was happy about Pari carrying their baby, she was still angry on her body for giving up like this, still yearned to give birth to her child herself.

*

Malvika reaches back home at six in the evening, the classes going longer than usual and her having to sit on a proctorial duty in the lunch break resulting her in not having any food inside her body since morning. As if on cue, her stomach grumbles, making her rush towards her house, dying to put some food in her stomach.

It is with a soft, "I'm home," that she enters the door, removing off her shoes on the threshold, giving her feet some space to breathe. However, the said steps soon halt in their way when she takes in the sight in front of her; her mind unable to comprehend and give the situation a logical reasoning; her breath hitched in her throat and not in a good way.

There on the couch, she sees, sit both Pari and Harsh, adjacent to each other, eyes closed, probably dozing off. Harsh's hand rest on her belly, his thumb stroking the clothed skin even in his sleep while Pari's head rests on his shoulder, exhaling out her breaths on the same spot as Malvika used to do.

Even if her mind somehow gives her an explanation, her empty stomach and aching heart, both are unable to digest in the sight, resulting in her rushing to the washroom, a sudden urge to throw up building inside her stomach, emptying her heart of all the pain and eyes of the sight that she couldn't behold.

But of course, she doesn't throw up.

She doesn't because she cannot, it is not her who is pregnant after all. She's not the one who's carrying the weight of a baby in her stomach, not the one who's housing a little soul in her body. The only thing she is capable of doing is to cry and so that's exactly what she does.

She cries with her eyes, her heart, a piece of her soul and whatever's left in her. She suddenly hates herself for feeling whatever she is right now.

Why is Harsh wrong if he wants to feel the belly that is carrying his baby?

Why is Pari wrong if her dainty self is using her husband as a support, both mentally and physically.

Why can't Malvika understand that it's all because of her, all her fault and no one else's? Had she had the potential of becoming a mother nothing of this sort would've ever happened.

"It's all my fault!!" She cries, splashing her face with cold water, not waiting for her skin to adjust to the temperature. Her stomach grumbles again, gaining her attention and this time she can't help when she thwacks her stomach, looking at it with red-rimmed eyes, her thumb harshly stroking the skin there. "It's all your fault." She mumbles to the flat body part, her lips quivering while holding back a sob and legs giving out, her body falling on the floor.

Malvika weeps for a long time thereafter. She weeps until she hears footsteps coming her way and continues weeping when the door to the bathroom is pushed open, a horrified gasp reaching her ears, a pair of warm and familiar hands enveloping her body.

"Baby! Baby, why are you crying? What happened? Malvika!"Her husband asks, looking all over her body, taking her wrists in his hand and checking the insides of it.

"Baby, what's wrong? Tell me!" He asks again but this time instead of waiting for an answer, he just picks her from the bathroom floor, taking her to their bedroom, removing her wet clothes and replacing them with a night suit, all the while murmuring words of encouragement and sweet nothings in her ears.

Once he's done and her cries have died in her mouth, he sits on his knees in front of her, cupping her face in his palms and softly wiping the tear streaks off her cheeks, thumb tracing her now chapped lips, red from all the crying.

"Why were you crying, love? Tell me, talk to me," he tries, his own eyes slightly misty and hands trembling around her face.

Malvika's face crumples at the concern in his voice, her eyes once again pooling with tears, and body shaking as she curls into him, clinging like a baby, her thumb unconsciously rubbing at the spot on his neck where Pari had probably exhaled her sleepy breaths, and her lips kissing it thereafter.

She doesn't say anything that night. Doesn't voice the concerns rising in her mind, doesn't share the insecurities growing in her heart, doesn't say how hard it is for her, how she isn't able to do it anymore. Instead, she just sits there, letting her husband pamper her, giving her a love that she doesn't think she's deserving of.

*

Harsh heaves a wet sigh as he sends his wife to the university, a kiss on her cheek, an "I love you," in her ears and the lunch box in her car, that he had forgotten to give her yesterday, only realising the fact when his lover's stomach had grumbled in her sleep.

How can he be so careless?

He tugs his hair in frustration while sitting on the couch and doesn't realise when Pari walks to him with a glass of water in her hand. "Here," she nudges his wrist and as soon as he looks up she places the glass in her hand.

"Have some water, it's not easy taking care of two women at the same time." Even though the words are supposed to be humorous, they send a wave of displeasure in his body.

"I can very well take care of myself, you don't need to worry about that." His words come out harsher than expected and for a moment Pari just freezes in her position, not expecting such a reply. She immediately breaks the eye contact. "I'm - I'm sorry, I should-"

"No, I'm sorry. Shit!" Harsh remarks, interrupting her, his face crumbling into sudden guilt. "I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I'm sorry, you were just trying to comfort me and I - sorry."
He says and Pari nods, deciding against going to her room and taking a seat across him just like she'd intended to.

A thin sheen of frustration covers Harsh eyes as he focuses on regulating his breathing. He shakes his head to himself when he's not able to calm himself down.

"Just stay with her more, try to understand where she's coming from." Pari says, interrupting his train of thought, making him look at her with a confused "hmm?" falling out of his mouth.

Pari gives him a sad smile, unconsciously caressing her stomach, round from her twenty-eight weeks of pregnancy. "It's very difficult, you know. It's difficult to see someone doing what you weren't able to do. It's even harder to see someone winning a competition that you couldn't even participate in." Her gaze averts to the man's face as she heaves a sigh.

"Malvika - she's disappointed in herself. She's not sad because of you or me, she's sad because of herself. She thinks it's all her fault."

Harsh opens up his mouth to argue, a statement evident of his love for his wife ready on his tongue but Pari doesn't give him a chance to speak.

"I know that you don't think that it's her fault and that you'll always love her the same, but it's not that easy." She suddenly gulps, a flash of an unknown emotion passing through her eyes, looking awfully similar to whatever people call pain. Her gaze falls on her belly.

"It happened to me too. My first pregnancy - it was a miscarriage as well. My husband left me because of that, and because of living in a small village, there was no divorce or any formalities, whatsoever. He simply left, though not before reminding me who I belonged to. A month later, I got pregnant again and eight months later gave birth to a boy. I don't know from where but my husband got hold of that news, came to my dwelling one night and took the baby away from me, not even letting me name my child. I couldn't even file a police report or a complaint because village authorities do not entertain a woman like that. That man ruined my life but to this day I believe that it was partly my fault. Had it not been a miscarriage the first time, maybe I would've been living with my family right now."

A wistful look clouds her face as she stops speaking, her lost looking eyes glistening with unshed tears. Harsh gulps hearing the anecdote, trying to say something, to console the brave yet broken girl but is too swallowed by shock and grief to utter something, surprised to find how a smiling face can hide such a huge loss, pained on is going through something just like this and he's unable to help her.

"Did you - did you not try to find him once you were in this city? The police here might have helped you. I - I can help you in locating that man." Harsh suggests, wanting to help her somehow but Pari only lets out a humourless chuckle in return, shaking her head.

"He's gone, I know that he's gone. He's taken my son away and given him a new mother. I don't wish to ruin his family like he ruined mine. I don't want any family to be ruined because of something that a woman doesn't have control on, hence me sitting here, in your house, carrying your baby."

Harsh's eyes pool with helpless, unshed tears as he hears those words. An intense feeling of gratitude blooming in his heart, and urge to protect the girl from any possible pain growing inside him.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know how can I help you, how can I give you what you lost but I don't want you to have any more problems in your life. I'm sure if Malvika will hear this, she'd like you to stay with us, to care for you like a sister. I will do the same. Though I don't know how can I help you right now." His words are heavy with melancholy and his head held down in shame.

Pari though, just smiles, wiping a tear that has rolled down her eye. "I don't need help, I'm happy in what I'm doing now and wish to help others in the same way as well. I don't need your house, what I need though, is you helping your wife. I need you to understand her pain, acknowledge it and then console her. Sometimes it isn't those sweet words that heal a heart, it is the understanding of the pain that has broken a heart in the first place. I know you love her but now you need to understand her."

*

Harsh does exactly that.

When his wife comes home that day and they're lying next to each other on their bed, he reveals.

"You know, darling, yesterday night Pari had felt our baby's first kick." Harsh smiles when his wife gasps in return, sitting upright on the bed.

"Wait? Why was I not informed? Even I wanted to feel my baby's first kick." She says, her words filled with joy and wonder. However, soon enough the excited words die in her mouth as she registers her own words, her gazing falling on her stomach.

"I meant - I meant Pari's baby, o-our baby -" she struggles with the words, her voice thickening with sorrow and eyes becoming glassy.

Harsh's heart breaks for her but he doesn't let it deter him. He shifts in his place so that his head is resting on his wife's lap, face turned towards her tummy and eyes looking up at her.

"Shh, love. You're right, it's our baby. Mine and yours. Pari and I were waiting for you yesterday, waiting for you to come back and feel our angel moving around." He pauses and nuzzles his face on her belly, placing a kiss on it. "But my this baby," he says stroking her tummy, looking her in the eyes, "-needed me more and so I came to her. But tomorrow we'll go and feel our little angel, ok? We'll introduce our baby to its mother. We'll tell it how hard you're working for us, how you're longing for it to come into this world and play in your lap, yeah? I'm sure our baby would love to hear about you."

Malvika chokes on a sob as she listens to her husband's words and places her head on his, stroking his hair. "I - I don't know what's happened to me, Harsh. I haven't treated Pari like she deserves to be treated, I have not treated our baby right, I've not treated you right. You who's always been there for me and who's not wanted anything but my happiness. I'm sorry - I'm so sorry for turning into such a selfish woman. I'm s-"

Harsh doesn't let her complete her sentence, scrambling into a sitting position, cupping her face in warm palms, tucking the stray tresses behind her ears, and wiping away the tear streaks.

"No, darling." He shakes his head and gently bring her into his arms moving them to and fro.

"It's not your fault. You've not treated anyone wrong. The only person you're doing wrong to is yourself, baby. You're not taking care of yourself. You're - you're criticising yourself even when it's not your fault. Please don't hurt yourself, don't put yourself down or call yourself insufficient. Anyone - anyone could've given me a baby but no one could have given me this wonderful woman who makes me the happiest person in this world. I don't want anything from you, I just want you. I want my loving, caring and happy wife to come back to me, can I have her back? Please?"

Harsh pleads and is answered by Malvika's instead nods, a series of broken "yeah(s)" showering in his ears, followed by a few teardrops.

But that's okay. Harsh's motive wasn't to wipe her tears but the pain that was causing them. And he thinks, he might've been able to do just that.

*

The morning after brings a new light to their lives in every sense of the word.

Malvika wakes up snuggled in her husband's arms and flutters her eyes open just to see him already looking at her, his head resting on his left hand, his right hand busy playing with the hem of her top that has bunched up to her waist. She's quick to adjust it though, avoiding eye contact with her husband partly from the shyness showing on her cheeks and partly because of yesternight's events.

Her husband though is quick to get hold of her chin, making her look towards him and dropping a kiss on her nose. "Uh-uh, no negative thoughts allowed. We're gonna start this day on a good note," he says and tilts his head closer to her face until his nose is lined up with hers, breaths mingling with each other.

"Your idea of starting a good day is to inhale each other's morning breath? Ew."
Malvika makes a face, pushing her husband away from her and cackling when she sees his surprised face.

"Now c'mon, let's go see Pari, I wanna feel the baby kicking."

With that she's off, making her husband follow her with a spring in his step and a smile on his face.

As soon as the couple reaches Pari's room, it's to see her face scrunching up in pain, her irregular breathing coming out as little gasps. Malvika rushes to her side, sitting on the bed and rubbing her back?

"What happened, are these the false labour contractions?" she asks the obvious, and Pari nods, confirming.

The information totally passes above Harsh's head. His face frowns in urgency.

"L-Labour pain?  Is the baby coming out already? Should I prepare the car?" His frantic questions suddenly bring a smile to Pari's crumpled face, as it does to Malvika. Both the women giggle simultaneously, Pari, albeit with some cries in between.

Malvika hands her a glass of water and sits beside her on the bed, takes her husband's hand and pulls him beside her as well.

It doesn't take her more than a second to switch to her professor mode, explaining to Harsh how the false labour contractions begin in the third trimester of pregnancy, getting the mother ready for the actual labour pain. And that the birth of their baby was still three months away.

Harsh nods in understanding, asking if they should go to a doctor but Pari shakes her head claiming that it's no big deal and is only normal while Malvika suggests the same but with an addition.

"Let's take her to the park and then to a masseur. The walk and a massage would help her with the pain. Should we go there, love?"

Even Pari's a little surprised hearing Malvika talk to her with that soft voice that she would use in the beginning months. She looks towards Harsh and finds him biting back a smile, looking at his wife with fond eyes. It brings a smile to Pari's face. She nods.

"Yeah? Let's do that. But you'll have to come with me."

"Even for the massage?"

"Even for the massage."

*

It's two and a half months later and Malvika's phone is ringing continuously as she lectures.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going on and so she ends her lecture as soon as possible and drives to the hospital Harsh had texted her the address of. She knows that this time the labour pain is real and Pari's water has actually broken.

Rushing to the reception and straight to the room, she finds Pari wailing on the bed, letting out little gasps of pain, clutching Harsh's hand so hard that the spot turns white. But she's not worried about her husband right now, it's the woman who's carrying her baby that she's worried about, and the little angel who's struggling to come out in the world.

Malvika watches as Harsh sighs in relief as soon as he watches her, Pari does too but her cries don't die down. Malvika makes her way beside her bed, wipes at her sweat clad temple, cooing at her and mumbling words of encouragement.

"You're doing so well, darling. Just a little bit more. Just some time more and the baby will be in your hands. Just a little more and you would have given us the biggest happiness of our lives, blessed us with our little angel that could only come out of an angelic woman. Thank you, Pari. Thank you for doing this."

Malvika doesn't realise when she starts crying as well, holding the poor girl's hand, letting her sob on the pillow.

Minutes and hours pass but the crying doesn't stop. It only gets replaced with another shrill and sweet cry, and a polite voice interrupting the wail.

"Congratulations, it's a girl."

That night when Pari asks them about the name of the girl, both Harsh and Malvika reply simultaneously, a fond smile on both their faces.

"Pari!"

Pari's eyes widen as she hears that, a gasp dribbling out of her mouth - it makes Malvika smile, a sheen of happy tears covering her eyes.

"Paridhi - we've named her Paridhi, but for us, she's our Pari. Her name translates to a fairy."