S̳h̳a̳k̳h̳i̳-̳l̳a̳c̳i̳o̳u̳s̳

EPISODE 13 : "The Gift of the Magi"

After splitting up to each investigate their part, the gang reconvenes at the precinct to make sure that witness accounts line up against Mom in her misreported story about the bus driver who committed suicide. Things are looking good for Shaurya, and Ahir asks if he isn't worried about how Anokhi will feel; he replies tersely that he isn't, and Ahir is further shocked to learn that they're broken up. Everyone comes back except for Anokhi, who texts the group to say that the hospital's death certificate confirms their suspicions, but noticeably avoids answering Shaurya's call. Shaurya gets a weird feeling about her text, remembering that it's her only way to ever lie to people, and heads out to look for her. We see her walk up to the precinct with the hospital report in hand and a worried look on her face. A flashback to her visit to the hospital reveals that she spoke with a doctor, who showed her that the certificate was a forgery.

Aw man, I knew this seemed too easy.

Shaurya comes out just seconds before she's about to rip up the documents, and Anokhi instinctively runs away. Naturally he chases her down the street, and eventually discovers that she's hiccupping. She knows there's no way around it, so she has to tell him the truth : The bus company president was lying, and Mom was right after all. He bemoans the fact that it had to be Anokhi who found out, and tells her that it'll be okay as long as she keeps quiet. Oh nooo, Shaurya, that's not how we do things around here! But he's so blinded by his anger and his need for revenge that he says he's still going to take her mother down, for Yash's sake. Even as she's hiccupping, Anokhi agrees to keep her mouth shut if that's what it takes. He swears he'll see this through to the end, no matter what.

Guuuys, it's all useless if you sell your souls in the process!

Shaurya is shocked when he comes home that night to find Dad and Grandpa waiting on his front stoop.
Awwww.
(And yay, is Shaurya raising Yash's dog?) Grandpa heads inside and starts checking the apartment to make sure that it's livable, muttering all the while that he was originally going to cut ties to spite him, but he decided he didn't want to be rude like someone. Heh. Shaurya can barely lift his head or look Grandpa in the eye, and can only answer his questions about the heat and the water pressure and his rice supply with tiny little chirps. Meanwhile, Dad gives the landlady an envelope along with his phone number, in case Shaurya ever gets sick. She asks what their relation is, and Dad says, "We're brothers. He's my Yash." Lol, she looks at him like he's nuts, but he declares it with a smile. They leave as suddenly as they came, and Shaurya just follows them out like a puppy, trailing after them no matter how much Grandpa tells him not to. Grandpa turns around to declare that he will not be un-adopting him ever : "No matter what anyone says, you are my son for life!" Best family ever. Dad finally gets Shaurya to stop following them with threats of stopping their visits, and he hangs back and watches them go. Inside, Shaurya finds a gift left behind by Grandpa-money and a scarf, with a note for him to not be stingy with the heat or skip meals. He hugs the scarf and starts to cry, as he thinks back to Anokhi's words that she knows how much he misses Grandpa and cries himself to sleep every night while pretending to be okay. At work, Shaurya and Shagun hand in what they've investigated so far, and Shaan asks one last time if they're not finding facts to support a predetermined result. It niggles at Shaurya's conscience, especially when Shagun answers defiantly that they're not like Devi. They get sent out to catch Mom on her way to work, just like every other news outlet including Jagruk Nation. Shaurya glances over at Anokhi, who hangs back from the crowd of reporters and protesters, all waiting for Mom to show her face. When she arrives, her car gets swarmed, and she decides to step out. Her chauffer warns her not to, but she says if just takes a few hits, she'll become the victim in no time. So she steps out of the car prepared to take her public beating for the sake of the cameras, and the bus company president gets in her face to demand that she apologize. The experience of being in that crowd only reminds Shaurya of being swarmed by reporters as a kid, and when the bus company president eggs Mom right in front of him, he can't contain it any longer and asks if he forged the death certificate. That confuses everyone, and Anokhi looks up in surprise. Shaurya confronts the man about forging the document, and he caves right away, wailing that he was angry about losing his company. The crowd runs after the conman, leaving Mom to ask Shaurya through gritted teeth what he thinks he's doing. He says he's doing his job as a reporter, which is what she should have done thirteen years ago. He asks why no one believes her even when she tells the truth, or why she doesn't even believe herself. Is she a reporter? He says he's going to keep asking her that question, and turns to look at Anokhi as he adds, "And until I hear the answer, I will not fall apart." Woot. Anokhi smiles proudly. The high road looks nice on you, Shaurya. Mom keeps her composure and just cleans herself up in the bathroom like nothing happened, though she mutters under her breath at Shaurya's impudence. Back at Shubh Savera, Shagun is busy telling the others about Shaurya's big moment today and how impressive he was, sighing that if it weren't for her oppa, she'd accept his feelings. They're shocked when Mom announces on the news that night that she'll be stepping down as anchor, though she plans to be out in the field like she was before. Shaurya visits Yash in jail and tells him about it, and Yash is proud that Shaurya knocked her down a peg and that he didn't stoop to her level to do it. Shaurya admits that it was because of Anokhi, and that instead of thanking her, he got mad and blamed her for getting in the way. Yash tells him to say it to her directly. Anokhi and Ahir watch as workers take down the giant banner of her and Mom on the Jagruk Nation building, and she says that seeing Shaurya yesterday convinced her that he'd be able to forget her and move on and do everything he wants to do, and says honestly that it makes her happy because she'd felt guilty until now. Ahir asks her to have dinner because it's his birthday, and later that night while she's away from the table, Shaurya calls to apologize, and Ahir picks up her phone instead. He tells Shaurya where they are and asks if he and Anokhi are really over, and says that he has something to say that Shaurya should hear. He leaves Shaurya on the line so that he can hear their conversation, and when Anokhi returns, he finally confesses the truth about the stolen text messages. He says that at first he did it for fun, which turned into curiosity, which turned to longing. It's what made him search for her in the end. Ahir knows how she feels about Shaurya, and also how much she wants to erase him : "I'll help you. Let's date." Shaurya hears all this and races toward the restaurant, and Anokhi stammers in shock at Ahir's confession. Shaurya arrives outside and spots them, and makes a move to run inside when suddenly, Anokhi replies: "Okay, let's date."
WHAT.
But then she hiccups, and points that out to Ahir, proving that it doesn't work like that for her-she can't fool herself.
Oh phew.
She apologizes and starts to get up, but he keeps her from reaching for her phone and declares that they can start there then-he'll just be so good to her that she'll feel so bad that she can't reject him. Uh, you're not really thinking this is an effective and desirable way to win her heart, are you? He adds, "I'm different from Shaurya. To me, you're not someone who holds me back, or has wronged me." At that, Shaurya hangs up and turns around.
Augh.
What sucks most is that he doesn't get to hear Anokhi's awesome response. She tells Ahir that she's grateful for his thoughtfulness, but she won't ever feel sorry enough not to reject him (THANK YOU), and asks that they stay friends and coworkers. She grabs the check to pay for dinner and immediately regrets it when she looks at the amount, and is relieved to hear that Ahir already paid. Ahir looks out the window and sees Shaurya watching from across the street, and has a moment of second lead weakness as he leadsAnokhi out to his car with an arm around her, forShaurya's benefit. Shaurya returns to the office feeling extra grumpy and takes it out on the copy machine. Shagun thinks it weird that he's starting to look sexy in her eyes, and snaps a few photos while he isn't looking. Ha, once a sasaeng, always a sasaeng? Mom packs up her desk for now, and when she drops her things on her way out, Anokhi uses the chance to palm her old flip-phone while she helps pick up the mess. Anokhi asks about Mom's relationship to Ahir's mother, and curiously, she seems pretty evasive about it. On her way out, Mom gets a text from her boss saying, "Don't worry, I don't abandon people so easily." Huh, I wonder if Ahir's Mommy is the mysterious boss she answers to? Shagun asks Shaurya if he has Christmas plans (meaning a date), and he misses her innuendo as he says rookies don't get Christmas. She flips her hair and says she'll give him a present that'll make him happy then, and he totally misses all her flirty glances. They run into Anokhi and Ahir outside the precinct, and Ahir holds Shaurya back to apologize for using an underhanded move the other night. But he calls Shaurya out on being pathetic for making Anokhi feel guilty while not being able to hold on OR let go. Okay, he has a point. Shaurya says he's trying to clean up his feelings, and counters for Ahir not to use him or that I'm-being-helpful excuse to dress up his own feelings for Anokhi. And then out of the blue, a Santa comes running out of the precinct in handcuffs, screaming like a madman. He's headed straight for Anokhi, and all she can think to try and stop him from getting away is to throw her shoe at him. That just makes the crazy Santa even crazier, and he picks up a giant sign to swing at her. She braces for impact, when Shaurya comes flying in between them with a kick. He knocks Santa down and guards Anokhi while Ahir and the cops catch him. For that brief moment, Shaurya can only think of Anokhi's safety, and he holds her face in his hands as he asks if she's okay. Ahir joins in with worry, and Shagun looks back and forth between the two boys fawning over Anokhi, and asks Shaurya if he just didn't see her because she's so small. Shaurya just wonders what she's talking about, and gets distracted by the sight of a young boy crying after Santa. Ahir asks the group if they could just sweep this incident under the rug, but of course they reply in unison that they won't. So he sits them down to tell them Santa's story, as long as they agree to leave out the part where he escaped on Ahir's watch. Santa is a poor single father who was upset about his son being bullied and left out at school for not having some expensive designer backpack, and took up a short-term job working as a mall Santa. While there, he stole said backpack and gave it to his son. Ahir wonders why he'd steal instead of buying it if it's just a backpack, but Shaurya argues that to some people, "just a backpack" might not be affordable. It turns out to be ridiculously overpriced, and Ahir says it's become a bit of a problem in schools, because kids are being bullied over this backpack... which happens to only be sold at Chattwal's Mall. All eyes turn to Ahir. It's still awkward as the four reporters sit down to eat, and Ahir argues that this isn't a story. But the others think there's something there, especially in the marketing and jacked-up price set by his family's mall. Shagun even says that she got a bit of a scary vibe from his mom, and he's offended that anyone could think badly of his angel of a mother. But what really upsets him is that Anokhi agrees that it's a story worth reporting to their station, and he storms out in a huff. She chases after him and he knows she'll call it in to their boss anyway, and says it's at least another thing she'll feel sorry for. Shaurya watches them go with a sigh, and chides himself for not being able to let go. Anmol is there berating himself too, for his Santa mishap that might lead to getting reassigned to the countryside. He asks Shaurya to go out for drinks, and Shaurya scowls at the thought of spending Christmas Eve with Anmol, but doesn't really have better plans. So they drink beer and sigh at all the happy couples around them, and Shaurya wonders what Ahir is doing with him when he has a wife at home. Anmol points out that if he goes home on Christmas to tell his wife he got demoted, he'll be a dead man, and Shaurya just makes cute pouty faces at him. He admits to feeling sorry about everything right now because of Yash - he's sorry that he can drink, walk the streets, laugh, or swoon at the sight of someone. As Shaurya gets drunker and drunker and recounts all the things he's sorry about, he stuffs his pockets full of the free beer snacks sitting on their table. By the end of the night, Ahir is piggy backing Shaurya home, which is a pretty hilarious visual. In his drunken stupor, Shaurya gives Ahir the address to Grandpa's house, and Ahir goes through this long introduction to remind Dad and Grandpa of who he is, and ends up collapsing withShaurya on his back. Ahir tells Dad and Grandpa about all the things Shaurya feels sorry for because of his brother, and Shaurya suddenly wakes up with a big goofy smile. He reaches into his pockets and scoops out the snacks he stowed away - nuts for Grandpa, squid for Dad, and Anokhi's favorite chips. He empties them into their hands with the cutest little ta-da: "I gotchoo Christmas presents!"

I love drunk Shaurya.

Ahir realizes that's why he was stuffing his pockets with random snack foods, and Grandpa hugs him close. Shaurya wakes up in his old bed and sees Anokhi in his room, and she tenderly feels his forehead and tells him he's got a fever. He sees her wearing the dream button that she gave back to him, and realizes this must be a dream. She tucks him in and gets up to go, but he grabs her arm: "I can't hold on to right now. But... don't go to someone else, okay?" She tells him she won't, and he reaches up to touch her face : "I don't want to wake up..." He does eventually wake with a smile on his face, only to be horrified to discover that he's been snuggling Anmol all night. Hee. Dad comes in to tell them he's made hangover soup and Shaurya fidgets, not knowing what to do. He ends up sitting down at the table, and Grandpa feels his forehead to make sure that his fever has gone down. Dad tells Anokhi to do something about Shaurya's hair, and the air gets really awkward when she fixes it like she always used to. So they eat Christmas breakfast together like a family, and as they head out for work, Ahir says it's a relief to see that Grandpa didn't collapse in shock over Yash's case. He gets a call from "Grim Reaper," and gets on his knees to beg forgiveness from his wife. In the elevator, Shaurya says he's sorry, not about the drunken sleepover, but about asking Anokhi to cover up the bus driver's death certificate. He admits he crossed a line, and she says she was initially disappointed, but was impressed by the things he said to Mom. She says that seeing him do what he wanted without holding back for her sake made her happy, and now she's comfortable around him. He starts to ask her something, but decides against it. Shagun has been sitting in the precinct all night with a giant bow on her head, and pouts that Shaurya never showed. When Shaurya and Anmol arrive, Santa's son is there again, and Anmol sighs that it's too bad Anmol's mother is being such a hardass about Santa's case. Everyone else is saying that Santa deserves some pity, but Chaebol Mommy insisted on pressing charges. Anmol sweetly puts his earmuffs on the boy and tells him to go home. Shaan tells Shaurya to stick with the story and get useful footage a different way, so he heads to the mall with a camera crew. Ahir is waiting outside and asks Shaurya to take it easy and not transfer bad feelings to his mom, but he grows increasingly agitated as he watches Shaurya storm into the luxury bag department and sneak footage, complete with Shagun's rich high-schooler cosplay to get the salesperson talking. Ahir finally erupts and tells Shaurya to quit it, and they get in each other's faces, tempers flaring high. Ahir says his mother isn't the kind of ruthless person Shaurya is making her out to be, and Shaurya says it sure looks like that way to him. Anokhi arrives with the Jagruk Nation crew and she manages to break up the fight, but Shaurya is incensed when she sides with Ahir and says it's too early to jump to any conclusions about his mom. Meanwhile, Chaebol Mommy receives a text from Devi that she'll be waiting, and it turns out that she's been the powerful backer all along. Shaurya walks away feeling like utter crap, and opens up his wallet with a long sigh. Inside is his dream button where he always keeps it, confirming that his dream of Anokhi really was nothing but a dream. He takes it out and goes to throw it in the trash, but can't quite bring himself to do it. At home, Grandpa notices that Dad's shirt looks too big for him, and he says it's Elder Brother's... and we see that it's actually missing TWO gold buttons. Eeeee. Ahir thanks Anokhi for taking his side, and she tells him not to misunderstand-she isn't taking his side. And we see that she's wearing the second gold button around her neck.