Changed - RiKara FF

Home is where the Heart is

Gauri

Aadya was finally back to sleep after drinking her milk and a lot of rocking and tears. Gauri heaved a sigh of relief as she placed her down. She was not usually a fussy baby, but today something seemed to make her restless, as if she was crying out for something in particular and no amount of soothing from her worried mother could comfort her. It was finally through her favourite lodi that the infant's eyes began to droop. Gauri had held her close to her chest, swaying backwards and forwards, singing the now familiar song.

It had been more than a chore getting her down to sleep, but now that Aadya was outside of her arms, Gauri could not help the inexplicable feeling of bereavement that crept up on her. Despite her baby still being within reach and knowing that lifting her again would disturb her slumber, Gauri felt a strange yearning to hold her close again. In her life Gauri had been the owner of very few valuable things, but that never bothered her because she had come to the realisation that the most expensive trinkets could never overshadow the presence of a loved one and Aadya was the only person she could truly call her own. Seeing her so comfortable in HIS arms today had awoken a possessiveness in her that all logic had been unable to tame until she had her little girl back in the safety of her own grasp. No, it was not that Gauri felt he had meant any harm to her daughter. She had initially been enveloped in fear of OmkaraJi releasing his hate for her on her daughter, but knowing his love for children and the secure way in which he held onto her, Gauri was grudgingly aware that he posed no threat to Aadya. Instead it was a rather immature insecurity that made her hesitant to leave her daughter's side. Today, the person who had ripped her vishwaas to threads...the man who had stolen so much from her already... today, he had laid claim upon Aadya as if she was as much his as she was hers - and that terrified Gauri. Who did he think he was storming into their lives and declaring his rights on them? Well if he thought she would just roll over and hand him control, then he had another thing coming. She was no longer his devoted wife, who would pander to all his nonsensical demands.

Gauri moved to go to sleep herself, knowing that Aadya would awaken hungry in a few hours and that little rest would be in store for her after that. Omkara Singh Oberoi would not have any impact on their routine - she would not allow it. And so the mother-daughter duo slept unaware that an integral part of both of their lives lay sleepless in wait of the morning when he could rejoin his girls.

Omkara

Rudra was unbelievable... It had taken Omkara more than half an hour to convince his younger brother not to come racing down here instead of finishing his exams. Rudy had been overjoyed to hear that his O had found his Chulbul Bhabhi and even more excited to find that he was now a Chachu. In fact he had only stopped jumping on the other end of the phone, when he decided he needed to place online orders for all the toys his niece would no doubt require. Omkara realised it had been too long since Rudy had behaved so childishly around him and that he had really missed his little brother. When he had distanced himself from all the things which gave him joy, he had unintentionally hurt his Ru and his refusal to let him help in the search for Gauri had misled Rudra into believing that Omkara did not want her to return and the crack in their relationship had become a chasm. OSO had been no brother to Rudra and it was only now that he had regained his title of O, but their talks were not emotional for long as Rudra quickly moved to advising his older brother on the most effective ways of placating his wife. Shaking his head, Omkara could still not believe that Rudy thought evoking her jealousy was a wise idea at this juncture - he wanted to bring her home, not convince her that he was not trustworthy. But still, his harebrained schemes were still more digestible than Shivaay and Anika Bhabhi's (they were blissfully together at this point, but only time would tell how long it would take for a new raita to spread), who had advised him to use some 'taddi' in his bid to win Gauri back - as if she needed another reason to slap him into a wall, Omkara chuckled.