Fasaana

THIRTY EIGHT

I made you my world,
have you heard?

******

Because Shahveer had taken off for two days since he was sick, he had to spend a couple of extra hours at work to finish off the pending work. After he left the office, instead of going home, he went to Zoya’s to meet Malti since she came back just that afternoon. He also wanted to see Zoya and Sehrish.

"How was Mumbai?" He asked while hugging her.

"Hot and happening." Malti laughed.

"Would you have coffee?" She asked him.

"Yeah, but I'll make it myself. You sit and tell me what all you did there." He nudged her to the dining table, and walked inside the kitchen.

He washed his hands before starting.

"The coffee and sugar are.." Malti started but her words died when she saw him taking out the ingredients from the right cabinet, without looking around. That made her eyebrow raise in suspicion. Also the way he was working around made it pretty obvious that it wasn’t his first time in this kitchen.

He made coffee for himself and Malti while she shared how she spent her Diwali.

When he sat beside her with two steaming cups of coffee was when Zoya came out of her room. She had just logged off the system after finishing a tiring day of work-from-home.

Seeing Shahveer made her smile, which he reciprocated. And Malti didn’t miss it.

"What are you guys talking about?" Zoya asked as she joined them.

"Just stuff," Shahveer said. He hadn't made coffee for her, so he passed her his cup.

She took a sip and then handed the cup back to him to drink as well. The cups were empty soon, but Malti served dinner after that. Sehrish had already eaten and slept because she was tired, so just the three of them ate.

"I will see you in the lift tomorrow?" He excitedly asked Zoya while leaving.

"Umm, no. Actually it is Sehru's vaccination day. So I will take her to hospital at 7, get her vaccinated, drop her back and then leave for the office." She told him.

He nodded. "Can I come with you?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You want to come with me?"

"I want to be there in case she cries."

"Oh, she will cry." She deepened. "The girl screams loud enough for the entire hospital to hear." The past experiences with Sehrish's vaccinations had been a nightmare for Zoya. At the mere sight of needles, her bawls are deafening.

"I am coming." He flatly said. If his princess was going to cry, he would be there to calm her down.

______________

Zoya woke up at six, took a quick shower and got ready. Then she woke up her daughter. Sehrish was dreading getting pricked by a needle and made all kinds of excuses to convince her mother.

By the time Sehrish finished eating her breakfast, her eyes were shining with tears.

"Sehru, don't cry." Zoya helplessly said and hugged her daughter close. As soon as Sehrish felt her mother's warmth envelope her, she broke down.

"It is just going to pinch a little bit." Zoya tried to make her feel better, but Sehrish just kept on crying.

The doorbell rang. Malti went to open the door and came back with Shahveer. When he heard the sobs of Sehrish, he immediately went on his knees.

"What happened?" He worriedly asked.

Zoya just helplessly sighed.

"What happened, princess?" He moved forward his hands to hold Sehrish's face in his palms.

"Ma-mama," She cried, "inject..."

Sehrish was a very bubbly child. Always giggling and smiling. So this was the first time he was seeing her cry. Her tear stricken face felt like someone was putting daggers into his heart. And he swore at that moment that he'd never let any harm come her way.

Sehrish always had a special place in his heart, but at that moment, he felt himself become her father.

And just like that, all her responsibilities, to keep her protected and happy, he took on his shoulders for the rest of his life.

He took Sehrish from Zoya and cuddled her in his chest.

"Do you know how to drive?" He asked Zoya.

She nodded. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, she had gotten her driving license.

He gave the car key to Zoya. Throughout the drive, Shahveer comforted Sehrish with the promise that he'd stay right by her side and that nothing in the world could hurt her while he was there.

By the time they reached the hospital, Sehrish had stopped crying. But the way she was glued to him told that she was scared.

Since Zoya had already taken an appointment, they were directed to the pediatrician's cabin. There was a female doctor in her forties who had been Sehrish's doctor since she was born. She did some routine check up on Sehrish before the nurse came with the syringe.

The sight was enough for Sehrish to jump on Shahveer. A few tears leaked from her eyes.

He laid Sehrish in his arms. The nurse pulled up the frock a little since the injection was supposed to be injected on the thigh.

"Princess," He wiped Sehrish's tears and leaned down to kiss her nose. "I am here. I am right here." He whispered into her ears while kissing her all over her face. He even nuzzled his nose into her chubby cheeks that made her giggle slightly. He smiled and nuzzled some more. That got her distracted and he gestured to the nurse to inject her now. The syringe pierced into her skin, but because Shahveer was playing with Sehrish, she didn’t feel it. And within a minute, the nurse was done and left the room.

He pressed one last kiss on Sehrish's forehead before looking at Zoya. But he frowned when he saw that this time Zoya had tears in her eyes.

"What happened to you now?" He asked.

She smiled and blinked a couple of times before turning towards the doctor and discussing the next vaccination date.

"You know, if you wanted me to kiss you that bad, you should have just asked instead of crying." Shahveer teasingly said as they walked out of the hospital.

Sehrish was still in his arms, but she was half-asleep now. Waking up earlier than usual and then crying had made her wear out.

Zoya hit him on his chest and they sat inside the car. She was driving, and he was staring at her.

"What?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Just waiting for you to tell me." He shrugged.

She sighed. "Those were tears of happiness. I have had people around me who helped me raise Sehrish. But seeing you with her just did something to me today. It made me feel like maybe I am not a single parent anymore."

She said the last line scaredly because she didn’t want him to feel that she was putting too much pressure on him too soon.

But he held her hand that was resting on the gear handle and squeezed it. "You're not a single parent anymore."

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I can't get over how slow and wholesome their relationship is. *sigh*

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