When love entwines....

Part 41

Her eyes snapped open before dawn from a long restlessness.. She had fought for few hours to stay dreaming , and knew there was nothing left to do but get up.. She raised her head to see his calm face .. The time showed 5 am on her wrist watch..
She gently hovered over him and placed her face in the crook of his neck hugging him gently.. He felt cold against her warm skin... Taking in a deep breath, his aftershave still lingering she whispered " I know you heard every word I spoke last night, Dr Shashank.. You will come back for us.. I love you... "
Tears clouding her eyes she kissed him on his forehead  ruffling his hair... and slowly walked out of the ICU...

At the nurse station she informed them to prepare him for the surgery and walked to her cabin to freshen up .. Closing the door behind her, she walked to the window in her cabin.. Dawn lined the horizon in faint yellow..
As much as she wanted to cry her heart out, she chose to remain strong.. she could not take any chance this time... her mental sanity was very important she thought... she missed him... she missed him so so much ...
A few minutes later she walked out of her cabin after freshening up with an even more stronger determination ...

As she walked into the OT, despite putting on a brave front, her heart sank seeing him lying lifeless on the Operating table while the anaesthetist was administering the anaesthesia... Saying one last prayer for the fourth time since she woke up, she proceeded towards the operating table.....
The calmness and confidence under tremendous pressure while operating was one of the many things she had learnt as Shashank's mentee..
The surgery went on for a good three hours... Closing him up she felt satisfied for that moment that she did her utmost best to remove the tumour with minimal harm to the surroundings brain tissues... But his condition still remained critical... The next 24 hours were crucial... him regaining consciousness was the top most concern ... Removing her surgical gown she decided to monitor him personally...

Just then the ward boy knocked on the glass door asking her to come out for a moment... taking off her surgical cap she walked out of the OT...
" Madam, there is somebody waiting for you in your cabin since half an hour..," he said
"Is he a patient .." Juhi asked
" I don't know madam but he said he wants to meet you immediately after you are done with the surgery ..." he replied
"Okay. I will check ..." she thanked him and walked to her cabin

Walking inside her cabin she was shocked to see Rahul sitting on the sofa in her cabin...
He was the last person on earth she wanted to see right now... Still upset with his behaviour last night, she walked to her chair without acknowledging him and asked " What brings you here now, Rahul..."
" You are coming back with me to Mumbai right now..." he ordered
Shocked by his audacity she said " Excuse me ... I have work to do ... I am not sitting here jobless... and did you just order me.." she questioned
" Yes I did..." he stood up tucking his hands into his pocket.. " I want you to resign this job... there isn't any need for you to come all the way here.. You can continue practising in Mumbai itself ..."
Letting out a sarcastic laugh Juhi replied " Are you alright.... Or are you drunk...
Who do you think you are to decide what I should and should not do... Rahul..
I never gave you that right..." she fumed
" I am you legally wedded husband and I have all the right to say so ... " he gritted his teeth
Shaking her head in disbelief she replied "Over my dead body ... now please leave ..
As it is I'm both physically and mentally exhausted beyond my capacity... please don't make things even more difficult for me.." she said

"Okay I am going to speak to Dr Shashank right away and get this sorted..." he took two steps towards the door...
"Wait .." she yelled " You are not going to do anything of that sort okay..." she stammered "You can't meet him right now.."
"Ohhhh..."he let out a chuckle ..
"So only you are allowed to meet him.....and..." he smiled wickedly at her
" Just shut up Rahul... Do not involve Dr Shashank in our matter.. It is ours to sort this out....." she fumed again
" Let me remind you madam , that man is the reason you don't want to give us a second chance ... so it's not just us as you say... I need to sort this out with your lover..." he yelled

Disgusted by his words and act, she held his hand and pulled him out of the room and strode towards the ICU...
Rahul was taken by surprise when she crossed Shashank's cabin and walked into the ICU...
Dragging him towards the ICU, she stopped in front of the glass door and let go of Rahul's hand...
" You wanted to meet Dr Shashank, right... There he is ... Battling life and death... you wanted to sort this out, isn't it ... Please go ahead.." she yelled with tears streaming down her face
Rahul's face looked like he had seen a ghost.. all the colour drained from his face...
"Is that Dr Shashank... " he stammered pointing to the man lying lifeless on the other side of the glass door...
Juhi nodded her head with tears still streaming down her face...
Rahul felt suffocated ... That very scene in front of him reminded him of Pooja... His legs began to tremble... Holding the wall for support he plopped down on the chair nearby..
While Juhi stood near the glass door looking inside with a blank expression on her face...

Few minutes later, Juhi looked back and saw Rahul in a completely shaken state.. He was sweating profusely.. She asked the attender who was passing by to get him a glass of water.. Rahul gulped it at one go...
She sat beside him in absolute silence ..
A while later he gathered courage and spoke
" But he was fine last evening when we met him... how did he.... I mean what happened..." he stammered

Letting out a deep sigh, Juhi spoke " He slipped into coma last night.. There was a recurrence of the tumour and he needed to be operated as soon as possible.. That is why I stayed back after the conference to operate on him... but he slipped into coma even before we could..." her voice choked...
"I'm sorry ..." he whispered
" I operated on him this morning... but he hasn't regained consciousness yet... he is still critical ... I don't even know if he will ever come out of coma.... he is in the same state as Pooja is right now..." she said covering her face with both her hands...

Rahul was shaken to the core... Seeing his darling sister suffer, he knew the kind of mental agony and trauma it caused... Ever since Pooja's incident , he never wished the same even for his worst enemy.... That one incident had shaken his core and brought out the humane side of him ...
Composing himself he apologised " I'm sorry Juhi... I overreacted... I understand this is not the right time to talk anything... We will sort this out once everything is fine and you get back home.... Just take care of yourself and know that I love you ... okay..." he placed his hand over her hand and gave a gentle squeeze...
Juhi shut her eyes tight... Nothing made sense to her...
" I'm leaving .." he said and walked away towards the lift...
Juhi was confused with his behaviour... Just few minutes back he was behaving like a overbearing husband and now he walked out in a submissive manner... Was he really a changed man after Pooja's incident???? Are his feelings true????

Walking into the ICU, she checked his parameters which were fluctuating ... he was still critical.. there was no sign of improvement... there was no sign of him regaining consciousness.. Only prayers would help .... she thought
Her head hurt even more now... She needed a pain killer...  so she walked back to her cabin...

Sitting on her chair she opened the drawer and started looking for the pain killers.. She began to feel dizzy.. She shut her eyes tight and opened .. Again she felt the same... She felt nauseated... She picked the glass of water on her table and had few sips... She felt her stomach churn and she sprinted to the washroom and threw up completely... Splashing cold water on her face, she walked back to her chair... This was the second time she was feeling dizzy ... Maybe it was the stress... Maybe since she wasn't eating enough and on time off late... Maybe... her heart skipped a beat...
She had missed her period this month...
She covered her mouth with her hand in disbelief... Was she pregnant... or was it just related to stress...
" This can't happen..." she whispered to herself .. "I have to get this confirmed and sorted out..." she told herself her hands still trembling she picked up her wallet and walked out of her cabin to the pharmacy at the ground floor of the hospital...

Picking up a pregnancy test kit she walked back into her cabin and locked the door behind her... She was sure it was because of stress but she wanted to rule this out for her own sanity ... Opening the test kit , she walked into the washroom...
Following the instructions she placed the test kit on the washbasin slab hoping and waiting for the kit to show it's negative... Just then her phone rang, she walked towards her table and attended the call ... It was a call from a medical representative seeking an appointment with her .. Fixing a slot after three days, she hung up the call and impatiently walked to the washroom..
Her hands trembled as she picked the unit as her fear came true .. Two purple bands appeared on the unit... Indicating positive for pregnancy...
" I am pregnant..." she whispered
Tears clouded her eyes... Should she be happy or sad... there was utter chaos inside her...
She leaned against the door and slid down on her knees... Hugging her stomach she cried her heart out....