"Raghav?" Pallavi heard his signature angry tone and woke up, "Ragahv, kya hua. Itna chilla kyun rahe ho?"
Raghav heard Pallavi's voice and immediately turned to her, "Pallavi, you're awake? Tum theek ho? Does your head still hurt? Don't get up. Why the hell didn't you listen to me when I told you not to do this silly vat savitri nonsense? I just—" Raghav was babbling and didn't stop until Pallavi shushed him.
"Raghav, main hospital mein hun, aur tum itne sare sawaal puch rahe ho. Shush, calm down. I'm fine." Pallavi, getting up a little saw Amma and Keerthi, who were clearly relieved. "Amma, Keerthi, why's Raghav yelling so—" Pallavi stopped when she saw Aai, Nikhil, and Baba.
"Pallu," Sharda came closer to her daughter, "Are you o—"
"Aai, Nikhil, main theek hun. Aap dono—aur Mr. Deshmukh jaa sakthe hain." Pallavi said, throwing a pleading glance at Aai, hoping she would understand that she wasn't strong enough to stop Raghav from yelling at Baba again. But more importantly, she wasn't in the mood to listen to Baba's tirades against her character anymore.
"Pallavi Di, we're just here to see if you're okay. Raghav took you to the hospital so quickly, and he didn't even tell us where—" Nikhil started.
"Nikhil, I'm tired, mujhe aaj ke baare mein baat nahin karni hai, please, I'm fine. Amma, Keerthi, aur Raghav hai mere paas." Pallavi replied quickly, she could sense Raghav's temper rising again, and she saw him clench the sheet of the bed, his knuckles white.
"Acchaa, tho hum tumhare padosee hain?" Baba strode inside, putting on a light tone, hoping Pallavi would see the gesture and let Sharda and Nikhil stay with her at least.
Raghav made to stand up, but Pallavi held him down, "Mr. Deshmukh, what I wanted to say to you, I've already said. Now, I would like you to leave with your family. Aai, Nikhil, I'm sorry, but—"
"You heard what my wife said, get out." Raghav said, coldly, but with a quiet anger and still holding Pallavi's hand, assuring her with his grip that he wouldn't escalate further.
Just then the doctor walked in, "Ms. Pallavi! You're awake that's great! Looks like the saline and glucose was good for your dehydration and blood sugar, but I think it's best if you eat—"
"Mrs. Rao, not Ms." Raghav and Pallavi said together. Raghav looked at his wife, but she was still looking at the doctor.
"Doctor, does my fainting mean I can't fast anymore?" Pallavi asked, concerned, "Was that why I fainted?"
"Tum abhi bhi yeh fast nonsense ke baare mein baat kar rahi ho?" Raghav was angry again, not caring who was in the room, "No more fasts. If I have to force feed you I will, ardhamaindha? Amma, call Farhad and tell him to bring every dish from the nearest Maharashtrian restaurant, now."
"There's no need for that, we have food here in the hospital—" The doctor laughed, but then fell silent when he saw Raghav's face.
"Uh, Mrs. Rao, sorry. But I don't think you'll be able to fast for a while, especially not in this condition—"
Raghav stood up, "Condition? What condition? What happened? Did you mess something up, if you did anything—" He started to walk towards the doctor, who cowered in fear.
"Raghav, sit down and relax, bewakoof." Pallavi sat up, "Doctor, don't worry about my husband, he's just a little stupid"
"As I was saying Mrs. Rao...er" the doctor edged farther away from Raghav, who was still glaring at him, "you're pregnant, so fasting in this condition isn't a good idea. Congratulations!" He was too afraid to look at Raghav's face again, so he quickly added, "I'm going to page another doctor, an actual OB-GYN, she'll tell you about next steps...and uh, you should definitely eat something soon, even if it's from a restaurant."
