Heya guys !
This is another one shot from my side...
This is specially dedicated to my friend YAZH ...
who had given me this task for my MOTW...
So here you go YAZH, I hope you like it !
This is after Naina, Huda, Ali and Pooja save Raj from that blast in the hut and before the appraisals. Naina now realises her mistake and that Raj is not guilty, but she is yet to say sorry.
Naina was again staring at the wall of fame...
Staring at the empty space which previously carried her brother's picture before BC threw it away...and which she is determined of seeing again adorned with it.
She was upto her usual thing...
Sharing her problems with her brother, whom she knew is always with her, as he can never ever leave his darling sister alone.
However such instances were less before..., as she had her Rajveer sir to share her problems and difficulties with...
And then that fateful day...and everything changed ...
Or SHE changed?
" Bhaiya...", a whisper escaped her lips as she tried to contain her emotions...
' How can I be such a fool ?' , she asked him in her mind, the question was intended more to herself though.
' How could I forget all those things Rajveer Sir did for me? He supported me through thick and thin, fought against the system to give me my position back in the academy with dignity...His reputation, honour everything was compromised coz of me ! He was ready to marry Ritu Mishra, just to save my honour ! And I... I...'
She shook her head.
Yesterday was her chance to say him SORRY for everything, while they both were standing at Wall Of Fame...only if Huda had not interrupted them...
She finally turned and walked away...It was the time for his class...
Neither was Raj all calm...
Now that he knew that he had not killed his best friend, but freed him of agony, he didnt know what exactly he was feeling...
Everything was so complex...
He was frustrated with himself for however he tried to, but he was NOT behaving nicely with Naina since then...
He could sense the change in her behaviour, that she was repentant...
He knew his Naina well...
He was terse and rude and was curt with her, however he wished the opposite...
Or did he not?
Somewhere he was hurt, that she didnt believe HIM...and that was leading to his irritation.
He shook his head...It was time for his class...
But before they could start, there was an announcement from BC about a drill...
It was a route march and for that Mentor and Protege were paired together.
They were supposed to reach a particular point and wait for their ally, which was again another Mentor- Protege pair, and then joining their clues, they have to reach their destination.
Next day, Naina was present there dot on time.
And as Raj arrived,
" Lets move." , he said, without sparing her a glance.
She nodded and followed him.
However helpless and hurt she was feeling at his behaviour, but she understood.
She left no stone unturned to hurt him, did smallest and meanest of the things she could do to hurt him...somewhere, even led to whatever little drift between him and his only surviving friend, Abhimanyu.
She sighed...
'...and now HE HATES ME...', she thought and was shocked at the excruciating pain this thought caused...
A tear slipped her eye, but she wiped it quickly...
She needs to concentrate on her drill...she can't let HIM...ahh..her Mentor down...
There was silence between them, except for Naina making an attempt by asking him some difficulty or the other and him answering curtly...
Naina was walking lost in her thoughts...
It was now drizzling and the ground was slippery. Naina let go of the branch and abruptly took a step forward. But she hadn't been paying attention and stepped onto a patch of unstable ground which gave out beneath her feet.
" Rajveer SIrrrrrrr...", a scream escaped her lips.
" Nainaaaaa ! ", Raj was panicked seeing her fall.
And he grabbed her hand to save her from a fall...but both of them slipped sending them tumbling down the hill with a surprised cry.
When they finally stopped, Raj got up quickly and found Naina struggling to get up too.
" Tum theek ho?" , he asked covering the space between them in a few steps and before she could answer,he grabbed both her arms, inspecting the hands for wounds as he looked her quickly up and down as if searching for injuries.
He rubbed the mud off her face with his hand and turned her head to either side so that he could better inspect the scratches.
Though the intensity of his gaze was making her feel terribly unsettled, and nervous, she wished that he wouldnt let go of her hand that he was still holding and was shocked and embarassed at what she was thinking.
" Dekh kar nahi chal sakti thi? How can you be so careless cadet? Agar tumhe kuch hojata toh...", he was scolding her , while Naina was feeling happy seeing his concern .
He does care for me, even now !
She has not lost her Rajveer Sir afterall...
Suddenly Raj realised what he was doing and he again changed his attitude to hostile...
" Do you realise, we have to complete the drill in the stipulated time? And Now...We are gonna be late..."
Naina looked down guiltily and as she looked away to avoid accusation in his eyes, her sight caught something and she gasped...
" Kya hua?" , Raj asked,
" Sir...woh dekhiye..." , she pointed and as Raj followed the direction in which she pointed,
He saw their first destination...
Well...the fall had led them to their first destination through a shortcut...
They reached Point A.
" I guess we have to wait for Shalini and Huda ." , Raj said.
Shalini and Huda were their ally.
He opened his waterbottle to drink water, but realised that water is finished. He sighed and then he saw Naina holding her water bottle in front of him.
" Ah...No thanks...", he said and turned when he heard Naina calling him.
" Sir..."
He turned and smirked,
" Wow Cadet ! chalo shukr hai ! Aapne mujhe SIR kehna toh start kiya !"
Naina bit her lip, " Sssir...Sir...I..I am sorry."
He looked at her stunned...was he dreaming or Naina was actually saying all that...
" I am so sorry sir...sorry for everything. I shouldnt have done that...I..."
" SORRY ! Great ! Ek sorry bol do aur bass ! haina? "
" Sir...please believe me...I..." , she stopped abruptly as she saw a masked man pointing a gun at Raj from behind the tree.
And as he shot,she dived on Raj just in time and both fell on the ground.
" Sir...are you alright? "
" Yes...I am...bu..." , before he could complete, the goons were firing blindly.
" RUN ! ", he grabbed her hand and both started running.
" Sir hum...hum aise kabtak bhagenge?" , she asked while running.
" We have no option Naina. I just have one gun with limited bullets. We cant waste them like this, we need to conserve them to use at the right time."
He pulled Naina behind a tree , to let the goons pass by.
They both were panting heavily, Raj peeping to see whether they have passed or not; while Naina noticed something and she screamed.
" SIR YOU ARE BLEEDING ! " , she said clutching his arm , " Aapko shayad goli lagi hai !"
" Naina, calm down ! Goli bass chukar nikli hai. "
" No sir...its..."
" Aye...lagta hai waha koi hai..."
They heard one of the goons say, who was alerted by Naina's loud voice.
" Shit ! ", Raj cursed under breath, " Tum chup nahi reh sakti thi ? Now run !", he dropped one molatov cocktail to distract them while he again started running holding her hand.
They were running, hiding from those goons while climate was going chaotic and it was raining heavily now.
Raj was feeling weaker as the exertion from running coupled with the blood loss from the bullet wound...yes...he sustained bullets, but didnt want Naina to panic and so he lied.
Naina was sensing his weakness...
" Sir, aap...aap theek toh ho?"
" Yes..ca...cadet. I am fine. COme on ! We dont have time.", but he wobbled and losing his balance , fell down.
" SIR ! ", she rushed to him, " You are not well...I..oh God ! What..."
" Naina calm down ! Kuch nahi hua hai...main..."
" SHUT UP ! JUST SHUT UP ! " , she was panicked like anything and so was screaming at him, when luckily she saw a cave.
She made him stand with great difficulty and supporting his body weight carried him slowly towards the cave.
Making him sit on the heap of hay lying there she looked around with a torch , as it was pretty dark inside.
Fortunately she found some dried wood inside, as there was no chance of getting it from outside as it was raining outside and she can't leave Raj alone just like that.
She made a bonfire, all the while keeping close watch on Raj.
" Sir...Please..please dont close your eyes...aankhein khuli rakhiye." , she said while fidgeting with the walkytalky.
" Shit ! kisise contact nahi hoparaha ...", she muttered nervously.
" Nai...Naina, atmosphere ki wajehse shayad hi koi contact hopayega...aahhh", he winced as he tried to move hand.
" Sir...", she was immediately by his side, " par..aa...aapko goli..", her voice croaked, " and..oh my god ! You are having fever..."
" Aisa kuch nahi hai..."
" YOU ARE RAGING WITH FEVER DAMMIT ! " , she shouted and began frantically searching her backpack for something.
" Nai...Naina..."
She took out the Paracetamol tablet and handed it to him with water.
" Lekin..."
" SIr please ! Kya aap bina koi sawaal kiye yeh lenge please? Pehle hi goli lagi hai...agar jaldi nahi nikali toh infection hojayega..aur...", she ran hand through her hair nervously...
He was stunned to see her reaction...It was as if his old Naina was back...he couldnt hold back any longer...
She may behave rudely with him...whatever..but he cant behave with her like this anymore.
He took the medicine quietly and kept his hand on her head to assure her...
" Naina, ab ek hi raasta hai...goli tumhi ko nikalni hogi."
She looked at him in shock, " Mmm...main? par..."
" Come on Naina ! We dont have any option. Either you remove it or...ahh...I would have removed it, par...it's on the back of my shoulder...and..I...", he looked at her, " Tum kar sakti ho naina...come on !"
" No sir...I..."
He placed his hand gently over her clenched fists..." I trust you, Naina."
That was it, she nodded.
As he removed his shirt, Naina bent over to look at wound and gasped, " Sir...aapko ek se zyaada goli lagi hai...", and as she looked properly, " There are four bullets...", she whispered.
" Cadet Singh...you have to do it ! Ek soldier hokar tum ek goli se darr gayi?"
She took out her first aid box from the backpack.
" Cadet Singh...yeh sab...", Raj looked surprised on seeing such well equipped first-aid box.
" Woh sir..for emergency..."
He smiled in appreciation , eventhough seething in pain.
She took out the scalpel and heated it in the bonfire.
But as she approached him, her hand began to shake.
Somehow she reached his shoulder with the scalpel, but couldnt go further.
" Kya hua Naina?"
" No sir...I cant do this..."
" Naina, you can do this. You..."
" No sir...aapko dard hoga...And If anything goes wrong, then? If anything happens to you..."
" Oh come on cadet singh ! Show me that confidence with which you shot me in the truck that day...",Raj said on purpose to provoke her.
She looked down biting her lips, tears flowing incessantly from her eyes.
She shivered in an unsaid pain. She couldnt face him anymore and got up to leave, but he caught her hand.
He never thought his words will hurt her to this extent.
" Naina...there's no one here to help your mentor out. Main jaanta hoon main tumhara gunehgaar hoon par..."
" No sir...If anyone here has commited any crime, then it's me. You freed my bhaiya of agony...supported me all throughout...and what did I do? I..I shot you sir..I...", She cried bitterly, " I know you hate me now...but...please dont make me do this. If anything happens to you...I wont be able to survive with all the guilt. "
Raj put his hand on her shoulder and turned her towards him.
" I can never hate you Naina...Never ever ! Aur tum yeh kya soch rahi ho? Mujhe kuch nahi hoga...come on ! Aur agar kuch ho bhi gaya aur tumhare haath se maut aa bhi gayi..toh kya baat hai !" , and then realised what he had done, so trying to cover up, " Hurry up Cadet Singh !"
He called her Cadet singh on purpose instead of Naina to maintain some distance now...
But Naina had already heard what he said before and somewhere her heart understood the depth of those words too.
She steeled herself to took out the bullet.
Raj was lying prone on the hay heap.
As soon as she took out the first bullet, he screamed in pain and caught her leg tightly.
Her heart fluttered at his touch, but she had no time to ponder over this as she had to make it fast, coz she couldnt see him in this pain.
" Sir...bass thoda tolerate karlo...I will make it fast..."
He managed to nod.
Soon she took out all the bullets with shaking hands as Raj yelled in pain.
and as soon as after taking out the last one, she threw the scalpel away '..and before she could understand what exactly she was doing, she hugged him tightly, taking him in her arms...as if to take away all his pain...
She didnt want to think about anything. she didnt want to think whether it was right or wrong, hugging her mentor like this...all she knew was, he needed her then...and that she felt like heaven, with Raj in her arms, so close to her...
What is this feeling ? Why is she so concerned...she hated him few days back and now...she was stunned at the intensity of her feelings...is it..is it...? she was not sure if she is ready to accept what she was thinking...
She closed her eyes tightly, as if blocking all her thoughts...
Instead she tried her best to comfort him'.rubbing his back'' moving her fingers through his stresses'
Raj's tears soaked her shoulder...
" Sir...sir please dont cry...Everything will be alright. I am...I am there na..."
'.that was enough'.Raj broke into tears''he required that badly'.and clunged to her.
They kept hugging each other when Naina realised Raj has turned silent...
She panicked and separated to see he has passed out...
She quickly checked his temperature ...fever had not reduced yet.
She made him lie down carefully.
She tried on the communication device, but was not able to.
" Ab kya karu? Sir ka temperature toh..." , suddenly she remembered what she had learnt once in Dr. Shalini's class.
But she first dressed his wound carefully, and then took out whatever Antibiotic she had from her First Aid kit and fed him along with some more anti-pyretic and antacids, by dissolving them in water as he had passed out and so couldnt take the medicine.
Then she sat beside him, caressing his forehead, moving fingers through his hair.
He looked calm while in sleep, as if away from all the troubles and difficulties...
She couldnt comprehend what she felt then...
All she knew was she couldnt lose him...at any cost.
That when she saw him fell down due to blood loss in the jungle was enough to stop her heart.
Yes...it's...it's...
...even she can't deny it now and she dont want to !
She...
Her chain of thoughts was broken when Raj clutched her hand tightly...
His eyes fluttered and slowly he opened them...his gaze unfocussed and hazy...
" Sir...", she tried to take out her hand from his grip, but he gripped it more tightly.
" Please dont hate me Naina...I am sorry ! Sorry for everything...main...Naveen...sorry..."
" Sir...aap...mat sochiye iss baaremein. aap..."
" I didnt want to hide it from you...i..i...", He cried, " I didnt want to lose you...don't hate me Naina...I love you...I can't..but I do...I...", and he passed out again.
Naina was shocked. She sat still...she wasnt sure if she really heard it all or was she hallucinating...
But her heart and mind screamed the same thing to her...
That HE DID LOVE HER...
She was ecstatic...
She knew, he was semiconscious and tomorrow he wont remember anything and would continue to hide this in the same way he did till now...
But she'll wait...she'll wait for him to say it to her.
Now that she knew he loved her, she can wait for him even if she had to wait till eternity...
She smiled. She gazed at his face...
Today she was looking at him not as her Rajveer sir, but as someone else...as her soulmate...
As she checked his temperature, she was relieved to find it lowered and him responding to medicines.
She bent to kiss his forehead,but suddenly stopped and blushed at what she was doing...
" My foolish love...", she grinned and laid near him clutching his hand tightly, staring at her love unblinkingly...
DONE !