“Beta aur kitne din lagenge?? Kab aayengi aap ghar…??” Ammi asked… “Bas Ammi… hum kal aapke pas honge… Dopaher tak pohch jayenge…” “Yeh toh bohot achi khabar sunai aapne beta… Hum aa jaye aapko receive karne??” “Agar aapka mann hai toh aa jaiye… Humari flight 11.30 baje tak land hogi…” “Thik hai beta… Hum pohch jayenge…” “Thik hai… abhi aap aaram kariye…” HM said and ended the call… She was finally going home… Though she had enjoyed all the adrenaline rush in the past few days, she missed her mother’s warmth and the comfort of her home… SO had informed them of Danny’s arrest… Which meant the Nuclear War Head was safe, the country was secured and the Mission Accomplished…
“Haseena ji… is mission ke bare mei hum kisise bhi zikr nahi kar sakte… Toh aap sabse yahi kahengi ke aap chutti pe thi aur hum conference ke liye Mumbai gaye the… Thik hai…?” AS said… They were on the flight back to Lucknow… “Ji sir…” she replied… “Sir… woh Ammi hume receive karne aa rahi hai… toh aap…” “Hum samajh gaye Haseena ji… Chinta mat kijiye… Hum aapke saath baher nahi aayenge…” he assured her…
“Yeh Shreeman yaha kya kar rahe hai??” he said irritated looking at Z approaching his HM with a smile and a bouquet… Z engulfed HM in a bear hug… AS wanted to strangle him for touching her… He moved closer so as to listen to their conversation but maintained enough distance… He didn’t want either Z or HM to notice him… “Zubair aap yaha kaise?? Ammi aanewali thi na… Woh thik toh hai… unki tabiyat…??” “Relax Haseena… kitne sawal puch liye aapne ek saans mei… Ammi bilkul thik hai… Kal jab unhone bataya aap wapas aa rahi hai toh humne unse kaha ke hum aapko receive karne jayenge…” “Ohh…” “Kitne din laga diye aapne lautne mei… Humne aapko kitna miss kiya pata hai…” “Jhooth… Ek message tak toh kiya nahi aapne aur keh rahe hai miss kiya…” “Aap break pe thi… hum aapko disturb nahi karna chahte the… Waise abhi jaldi chaliye… hume aapko kisise milwana hai…” “Topic divert mat kijiye aap…” “Nahi kar rahe… pehle aap chaliye humare saath… waha pohch ke ladh lijiyega humse…” “Hmm… pehle Ammi ko toh call kar lene dijiye…” “Ammi bhi wahi aa rahi hai… abhi chaliye…” “Lekin kisse milwa rahe hai aap hume…” “Chaliye toh batate hai…” with that he dragged HM outside leaving behind a fuming AS… “Hume jaldi kuch karna hoga…” he thought to himself…
AS had directly arrived at the headquarters… He had been away for past few days and there had been no back up appointed for him… He had loads of pending work, out of which some might need immediate attention… He tried to work but the scene at the airport was making it hard for him to concentrate… By 7 PM he had given up and decided to leave for home… He needed rest and some home cooked food to clear his head… He was so tired that the journey from HQ to his home felt unending… Moreover, the traffic was playing a villainous role… His car halted at another signal… He tiredly looked out the window… A smile crept on his face when he saw a cute scene at the Chaat centre… SS and CC were enjoying themselves without any care in the world… “Aisa pratit ho raha hai jaise Cheeta ki naiyya par lag gayi hai…” he thought… He didn’t know why he felt so happy… Maybe he had started considering them as a part of his family… The green light shone and the traffic moved ahead…
HM was twisting and turning in her bed trying to sleep… She had tried all positions but sleep kept evading her… She was in the most comfortable bed; her bed… But the warmth was missing… She was missing him… His condition was no better… He hugged his pillow but it didn’t calm his senses… He was missing her too… “Yeh kya ho gaya hai hume??” she thought to herself… “Aisi kya aadat ho gayi 3-4 dino mei jo abhi so bhi nahi pa rahe hai…?? Haseena… Kabu karo khud pe aur so jao chup chap…” she chided herself and tried to sleep… “Kya haal bana diya hai Haseena ji aapne humara… Na din ko chain hai na raat ko neend…” he thought… “Agar yahi haal raha toh log hume pagal aashiq kehne lagenge… pichle kuch din aap humare saath thi toh sukoon se so pa rahe the… pata nahi ab neend kaise aayegi aapke bina…” he remembered their time together… She too was lost in the memories… Their closeness in the party in Delhi… His possessiveness in Mumbai… Her care when he was unwell… The flirting in Ambala… The conversation in the washroom… The misunderstanding of her being pregnant… The end of their challenge… They didn’t know when sleep took over them reminiscing those blissful moments…
Next day she was excited to be back at the MPT… She found SS clicking self portraits while CC kept flirting with her… But today SS was not irritated by CC’s remarks, instead she was sightly blushing… HM was surprised but happy at the progress they had made… PS and KS were bickering about PS not taking care of her health… KS was unhappy as PS was being negligent and warned her to visit the doctor for routine check-up… HM was for once happy with their squabble as it had immense care in it… “Jai Hind…” she said to catch their attention… Every body was alerted, “Jai Hind MS…” they greeted her. “Wow… MS aap wapas aa gayi… Mai bohot khush hu…” SS squealed in excitement… “Haan MS… humne aapko bahut jyadawala miss kiya… Thana ekdum khali khali lag raha tha…” CC said… “Waise MS aap itne din kaha chali gayi thi…?” KS asked… “Mmhmm… KM… aap toh chutti leti nahi… MS ne li toh bhi aapko problem hai… Kabse keh rahe hai ke chutti lekar humare lalla ke saath kahi ghum aaiye… lekin aap humari sunti kaha hai…” PS said… “Pushpa ji…” KS was about to retort… “Shant ho jaiye aap sab… KS hume ek chota break chahiye tha… isiliye chutti pe chale gaye the…” HM said… KS was about to say something when AS entered behind HM… “Jai Hind Sir” everyone saluted him except HM as her back was facing him… She turned and faced him… A smile crept on both their faces… It had only been hours they had been away, but they had been restless… setting their eyes on each other now was soothing their hearts… Both were lost in their blissful world when HM recovered, “Jai Hind Sir…” she said… “Jai Hind…” he said and smiled at others as well…
“DSP sir… aapko kaise pata chala aaj MS chutti se wapas aanewali hai…??” SS asked innocently causing CC and PS to smirk and HM and AS’s eyes to bulge out… “Woh… woh hum toh routine visit pe aaye the…” AS tried to cover up… “Toh aap itne dino se kyu nahi aaye jab MS nahi thi??” SS asked again… AS looked at HM, she was looking down and trying to control her smile… “Hum ek conference ke liye gaye the… Kal hi wapas laute hai… toh aaj routine visit pe aa gaye…” “Ohh… toh aap aise aa rahe the…” PS said doing her usual action… “Chaliye sab cabin mei…” HM said and took a step when pain surged through her injured ankle… “Aahhh…” she held the chair to avoid falling… “MS…” “Haseena ji…” AS helped her sit as he was closet… “Aap ke pair ki chot abhi thik nahi hui??” He asked in a flow… “Sir aapko kaise pata ke MS ke pair mei chot aayi hai??” SS asked again (Imagine Lag gayi)… “Woh… woh…” AS tried to find an excuse but when he was unable to cover up HM said “Humne hi sir ko bataya tha… Actually, humari leave parso tak hi thi… Parso hum bathroom mei phisal gaye toh ankle twist ho gaya… isiliye hume kal bhi leave leni padi… toh humne sir ko inform kar diya tha…” AS breathed a sigh of relief…
AS was about to leave MPT when he remembered something… “CC jara yaha aaiye…” “Ji Sir…” AS put an arm around his shoulder and started walking towards the door… “Yeh bataiye Chaat ka swad kaisa tha??” AS said… “Chaat sir??” CC asked confused… AS gave him a look… “Acha woh chodiye… yeh bataiye masumiyat se bataya ya koi aur tarika istemal kiya…” AS said eyeing SS… CC flushed, he understood the Chaat comment… “Sir… aap jaise samajh rahe hai waise kuch nahi hai… Hum bas ache dost hai…” “Acha… Koi baat nahi… Headquarters se aage jakar jo gali hai waha bohot swadisht chaat milti hai… agli baat waha jaiyega…” “Waha sir…” CC said with question written all over his face… “Baat dosti se aage badhne mei sahayta hogi…” AS teased… Tapped his back and left… CC smiled and scratched the back of his head… He was overwhelmed by AS’s gesture… Though his senior, AS had treated him as a friend which he craved for… Someone who didn’t ridicule his feelings and believed in him…
