The Replacement

Chapter 31: From Here to Eternity

After entering Shantivan and being inundated by the Raizadas with hugs and good wishes, Arnav had shooed them away from her and taken her to her room. He'd asked her to get freshened up, and gone to change himself. She'd spent nearly an hour in the bathroom under the water, having a crying jag and washing off the day. She felt much better after that, and had exited the bathroom feeling more like herself. He was there – why had she just known that? – with juice and a snack for her. He'd made her eat and drink in the room itself, before he'd deemed her well enough to take her outside to the rest of the family.

Weirdly enough, she'd not questioned why he had to be the one to take care of her, and neither had any of the other Raizadas.

As soon as she walked out of her room, Akash walked up to her, "Khushi, the Inspector wants to come over and ask you some questions. Should I tell him to come over tomorrow instead?"

"No, I'd rather get this over with today. I'm feeling much better now. He can come over now", Khushi told him firmly.

Akash smiled at her and walked away to make that phone call. Khushi was seated at the dining table with Arnav hovering over her protectively, jumping to check on her with her merest twitch.

"Arnav, I'm fine now. Will you please sit down? You're making me nervous hovering like this"

Arnav hesitated, then nodded sheepishly, and took the seat next to her.

There was a middle-aged lady with the gentlest face Khushi had ever seen, sitting there with Ratna and Manorama, chatting pleasantly. As soon as she saw Khushi, she smiled at her and walked over, "Khushi, I'm Dr Awasthi. I'm the family doctor for the Raizadas. How are you feeling, beta?"

"Much better, doctor. I really don't have any injuries, just a couple of scratches and a bruise. I took inventory already", Khushi smiled at her.

"Oh", she made a disappointed face, "And here I was, waiting to give you a huge injection".

Khushi laughed. She liked Dr Awasthi already.

"Are you comfortable showing me your bruises then? I can check quickly, is that ok?", she asked gently. Then leaned down and loudly whispered, "It'll make Ratna and Mano feel better"

Khushi chuckled again, "Sure. Thank you. I might need some basic first-aid on some scratches"

"Yaaay. I get to use my doctor bag", Dr Awasthi exclaimed gleefully, making Khushi smile again.

She cleaned and bandaged the scratch on Khushi's elbow, palm and knee. Then took a quick look at the bruise on her arm. Finally, asked her if she had fallen or been hurt internally due to any injuries. After being assured that those were all the injuries Khushi had sustained, Dr Awasthi smiled and asked her to take care of herself, call if there was a need, and then left, being escorted out by Payal.

Ratna, standing right beside her, "Khushi, you're really ok, na? I'm so sorry beta, that you had to go through this."

"I'm really fine now. It was more of a shock than anything else", Khushi reassured her. Then she walked over to Dadi sitting on the sofa, and sat next to her, hugging the lady who had been quiet the entire time, putting her head on Dadi's shoulder.

"Dadi, I'm really ok. See, just a couple of scratches. I could've gotten them slipping in the garden outside. I'm feeling much better now, and there's nothing to worry about"

Dadi finally looked at her, and noted that the color and spirit was back in her, and heaved a sigh of relief, "I wish you had not had to go through that, Khushi. I'm so sorry about it. I'm glad you are ok"

"I'm perfectly fine now Dadi, please don't worry", Khushi pleaded.

Dadi caressed her hair and kissed her on the forehead, "Come, lets have dinner. We're going to forget this incident in a few more days, like a bad dream. And on top of that, HP decided to make jalebies for you. You really don't want to miss them"