THE (BRIDE) SEARCH

WEEK 5

They're carted off to Rajasthan, next, and the airport is just as much of a nightmare as it had been the last time she had air travelled and she thanks the gods for her tiny bottle of prescription Xanax so she can sleep through the flight itself. The travel is shorter than it had been to Mahabaleshwar, so she's still a bit groggy when they land in Jaipur and she honestly doesn't see much of the city – she just falls back asleep in the transport van on the way to the hotel.

Just like in Mahabaleshwar, there's already a date card waiting for them and she plops down on one of the couches as Asha gets up to read it, fighting her drooping eyelids. She probably shouldn't have taken a Xanax for such a short flight, but she figures it's still better than the anxiety of flying.

"Annika." She hears her name and looks up, blinking, but Asha isn't talking to her, she's reading off the card. "Love can be rocky."

Next to her, Bhavya squeezes her arm and it takes her a moment to realize it's a one on one card and it's for her. There's a rush of something that feels like both giddy excitement and terrifying anxiety that wars with her Xanax-dulled brain. The combination makes her feel light headed and she's sure she's sitting there with an idiotic, open-mouthed expression and she tries to school her face into some semblance of a smile.

Once they're released from filming, Sam comes to grab her for an interview and she really, really wishes she hadn't taken the Xanax.

"I told you," Sam is whispering to her as he leads her down the hall and into another hotel room.

She's eternally grateful that Svetlana doesn't seem to be here, it's just Sam and Lalit and she doesn't know much about Lalit (except that she doesn't really trust him or Mehak), but Sam is the one asking the questions and so she lets herself relax a bit.

"Ok, just talk about how you feel about getting the solo this week," Sam prompts as Someone adjusts the lighting and makes a tsk-ing noise and pulls Annika's hair out of it's messy bun and rearranges it around her face until she's satisfied.

"I'm surprised," she tells the camera. "I didn't... I thought after last week..." Her brain is a mess and she can't really think straight and she looks helplessly at Sam.

"You can do this, just say how you feel." He encourages.

"Honestly?" she laughs a little, trying not to look directly at the light shining in her eyes. "I'm surprised he even kept me after last week."

"Are you happy he did?" he asks.

She takes a moment and she can feel that stupid, giddy, I-have-a-crush-on-Shivaay-Singh Oberoi smile taking over her face and she nods.

"You've got to say it for us," Lalit drawls, sounding incredibly bored.

"I'm happy he kept me around," she tells Sam (not the camera, its easier to talk to Sam). "I know it's only been a few weeks and I don't know how he feels about me, but I want to be here. I want this date."

Sam is grinning at her like he's really in her corner, like he's really rooting for her, and she can feel a wave of relief wash over her. She can get through this.

XXX

They tell her to dress in something athletic, which is worrisome, but she isn't totally surprised when they drive her into the mountains that surround Jaipur. The rocky bit of the date card seems fairly obvious and she guesses they're going for some sort of hike, which is... ok, not ideal, but also not the worst. She might not be the most athletic person, but she does pilates and yoga and she can handle a hike (the heat maybe not so much, but Sam has promised that he has tons of water and sunscreen on standby).