Together Ever After ~ An Asfiya Fanfic (Complete)

Stepping Into Parenthood

The last few hours were the most confusing ones in her life. They were a mixture of chaos, tears, unbearable pain followed by overwhelming happiness. She would probably look back at this day and wonder how she got through maintaining her sanity. But what's more important was the fact that this day was the most memorable one by far, for both her and Asfandyar, and what made it so was the presence of their little angel, who right now was sleeping peacefully wrapped in her father's arms. Even after being in excruciating pain for almost eight hours, one look at her newborn daughter and all the fatigue had disappeared for Zubiya. The same could be said for Asfand, who was not in physical pain himself, but was equally tormented at the sight of the love of his life in such agonizing pain.

The rest of the family had been with them all throughout, especially Gaiti who had been an immense support. They had gone back home to get some rest and give the new parents some private time with their little one. It was already close to dawn and it had been a tiring night for all. Even little Saim was up awake in the hospital with them, excited to meet his baby cousin.

Zubiya was drowsy and took a little nap, only to wake up to see Asfand sitting beside her on the bed, still holding their daughter, cherishing her sight the way kids cherish new toys.

"Aap abhi tak soye nahin? Laaye isey mujhe de dey abhi. Aap thori der so lein, warna baad mein bauhat thakaan mehsoos hogi."

Asfand narrowed his eyes at her. "Seedhe seedhe bolo na, ke ab tumhe bhi iske saath waqt guzarni hain. Aise bahane mat banao yaar. Waise bhi, baba aur Amaal bauhat khush hain ek saath."

Zubiya snorted out a laugh. "Achha? Bhai main toh madat karna chah rahi thi. Theek hain phir, main nahi aati aap baap beti ke beech. Dekha meri jaan, aap ke aate hi baba ne aapko apni taraf kar liya aur main side-line hogayi."

"Tum side-lined kaise ho sakti ho? You're the main person remember?" Asfand turned his mischievous tone to a soft one. "Zubiya main tumhe aur Allah ta'ala ko jitna bhi thank you keh doon, is khushi key saamne sab kam par jayega."

"Allah! Aap toh aise keh rehe hain ke jaise Amaal ko is duniya mein laane mein aapka koi haath nahi." She exclaimed smiling coyly at her husband. "Aur waqaiy, zindagi ki saari niyamton ke liye Allah ko jitna shukriya kahoon utna kam hain."

She placed her hand on his knee. "Asfi, thank you, mera saath nibahane ke liye. Mujhe yeh ehsaas dila ne ke liye ke main akeli nahi hoon."

Zubiya has immensely missed her mother today. When she was writhing in pain, she had so wished that her mother were here to console her. But the presence of her mother-in-law, Gaiti and especially Asfand had reduced her sorrow to a great extent.

Asfand could see her eyes starting to well up and gently placed Amaal on her lap, who was wrapped in a baby pink blanket. As he expected, it brought back the smile on her face. Zubiya looked at her little angel. She was so perfect. Tiny fuzzy hair, soft pinkish skin and the prettiest eyes. She didn't think she could ever love anything more. Although it was too early to tell, she had an inclining feeling that their daughter will resemble Asfand a lot, and she couldn't be happier about it. She rested her head on her husband's shoulder. Asfand wrapped one of his arms around her and the other around his daughter. All else was forgotten in the peaceful silence surrounding their complete little family.