**Can be read as General fiction**
The young, leading psychiatrist in the country, is charged for allegedly provoking suicide, but is bailed and later declared innocent. He thinks the complications are over, but when a young free spirited recently p...
"Things get bad for all of us, almost continually and what we do under the constant stress, reveals who/what we are. - Charles Bukowski"
Psychiatric departments, usually, don't have Minor OTs, or private wards, but the one at AIIMS did, which also was Manik's recommendation, because he insisted they should have at least one dressing room, a minor OT and two private wards, in case, for they could not take guarantee when and where could a patient go voilent, or a resident or doctor might need immediate attention. What he didn't know was, he would be one of the patients treated there too.
Dr. Malik hovered over an unconscious Manik while the on call surgeon stitched the laceration on his right shoulder, caused by the scissor the patient had used. There were also certain bruising on his face and below his left ribs, that were caused during all the mayhem of physically tackling the patient. There was this cut on his lower lip that was bleeding too, but somehow Dr. Malik observed, there was so much peace on Manik's face, even when not conscious, something which he hadn't seen a lot lately whenever he had interacted with Manik.
The door opened with a jerk and Dr. Malik turned to find a bewildered Nandini standing, her right hand clutching the door knot tight while she had fisted her kurti with the other hand. Nandini's eyes roamed through the room, stopping on the surgeon finishing the stitches for a second, because She glared at Nandini, trying and digging holes through that very gaze making her uncomfortable, but the very next second Nandini's eyes found what she was seeking.
Looking at Manik's sleeping figure, Nandini sighed, guilt and regret filling her and all her anger dissipated as she managed to walk in. Whatever comfort Dr. Malik's smile had offered her, seeped right out of her at the look of the wound on his shoulder and his busted ribs. She didn't realise her eyes had filled until that one lone tear escaped, making her conscious enough to wipe it immediately.
"Do we need to take care of anything specifically, Dr. Palak?",Dr. Malik questioned the surgeon, and Palak Jain, assistant professor, Department of Surgery, AIIMS, shook her head as she put down her instruments.
"My first guess is it's only a concussion, but safer side I would like to do a head CT once he has recovered enough for the same. The wound would need to be dressed every alternate day until it's healed enough to remove the stitches. Ice pack for the bruising, and he would be all hale and hearty soon", Dr. Palak offered a friendly smile that Nandini concluded wasn't for her.
The name kept ringing in her ears but she could not place where had she heard it before. She could not remember who had mentioned 'Palak' to her and she let it go in that moment anyway because she had far more important worries in hand.
"This is going to serve as a boon for Manik though", Palak continued to address Dr. Malik, a soft smile playing on her lips as she turned her head to look at Manik, "He could really use some proper rest, otherwise he is all time busy over exhausting himself", she shook her head candidly, and Nandini didn't miss the fondness in her tone.
Dr. Malik laughed, completely agreeing to what Nandini noticed, a gorgeous Woman otherwise. She looked like the same age as Manik, but the fuschia kurti and Plazo she was clad in, and her long apron with her stethoscope in her left pocket, she looked every bit classy and someone who demands attention just with her presence.
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