Kismet...

Ch08| Butterflies in a cocoon

"Thank You for doing this...I...I don't know how to thank you....I...I...I know how hard this must be for you..." Annika held Shiv's hand. She was not meeting eyes with him for some reason.

"Thank You for checking up on me...I...I am fine..." He smiled and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

He was prepped for the bone marrow retrieval, and Ann must have noticed the lines on his forehead, when the doctor mentioned the needle to his hip bones. Though imagining a big ass needle poking him was rather nerve wrecking; he only had to close his eyes, and picture Ansh's bright smile to stay calm.

Yes. It hasn't been long, but the kid has become a part of him. After all Ansh was his own. Though he wasn't there to see him grow up, doesn't mean he cannot be there for the rest of it. His son had a life time ahead of him, and he was determined to do whatever that it took to see him complete the rest of the growing up he had to do. He was going to be beside him through it all. This was nothing...This was the least he could do...

"Ann...where...Where is Ansh?"

"He...He wasn't feeling very well today...It's the first day of his conditioning treatment...It's a pretty bad day for him today...So the doctor gave something for him to sleep...But he asked me to give you this..." She pulled out a miniature figure of Flash, making him chuckle. She placed the tiny figure on his palm.

"Ah...I see...he sent Flash for me...So no fuss...I'll be in and out, before you know it...You should go to him...I am fine..." He closed his fist, holding on to the little superhero his son sent across to act as his guardian.

"Are you...Are you sure you are? Did you ask Tia to come? Is she coming?" Annika hesitated. She wanted to hold his hand a bit longer.

"She's in London...Work...She's been taking up a lot for me at work...I don't want to put more on her plate..." Shivaay wasn't sure why he wasn't letting go of her hand, though he asked her to leave already.

" You are lucky Shivaay... to have a partner as good as Tia is...She's been amazing about all of this...Ansh...and you spending all this time with him...I...I am eternally grateful to her and you..." Her voice broke a little, but she was still smiling. Her eyes lit up with genuine gratitude, and Shiv felt uneasy seeing her eyes moisten.

"I...I guess I am lucky..." He mumbled, letting her hand go. It was time for the procedure, and the nurses started to fuzz around him once again. As they wheeled him out to the theatre, he kept his eyes fixed at the woman who was standing by her self...alone...nervously biting her nails.

I am lucky to have you too...couldn't have asked for a better mother for my son...so Thank you! He took a deep breath as the theatre doors closed.
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Ansh's conditioning treatments were finally coming to an end after a week. It had been a nightmare for Annika to witness how severe the side effects of the intense chemo and radiotherapy had on her sons body....Her baby's body. On top of that, a gallon of medication was being pumped through a tube that was directly inserted into the large vein of his small beating heart.  Ansh looked fragile and weak day by day. If he was not throwing up, he was sleeping. He was getting tired...Her baby was tired...

Every time Shiv came to visit his mood brightened up though. They were like two peas in a pod; the way they navigated stress. They didn't wallow on it, unlike Annika, who choked up in her tears every second, when she got a minute for herself. The boys would laugh about something stupid in a comic book, argue on some complicated theory about the multiverse, end up googling on which set of wheels would look better on the Merc.

Despite, all she wanted was to hug her baby boy and cry her heart out, she couldn't. She just had to keep it all in, take a deep breath, put a smile on her face, and be Ansh's darling Momma. How would he feel if she breaks down? She had to keep it together...For him...For her baby boy...She had to be strong...