Part I

"Daddy?"

Abhijeet lifted his arm from the red creases it made on his face and, with a grunt, sat up in bed. As much as he had puffed up his chest during the past few weeks since Tarika left him. They ended their ten year long marriage after there differences increased as the time passed, to avoid further problems, they decided to file for divorce and end their marriage, both of their children, Aditya and Aditi's custody was bestowed to Tarika. Though occasionally they were granted permission to meet their father. But Aditi, who was quiet attached to her father chose to stay with him, so it was decided to left Aditi at her father's place for some time period.

On the other hand Abhijeet swore to himself that he liked his new apartment and enjoyed the new found space in his bed most of all, he had to admit his left side was cold. Across the room, he spied his six-year-old daughter shiver in her lavender pajamas and hover behind a crack in the doorway.

"Yeah, Aditi. What is it?"

Aditi tugged at the fluffy paw of her teddy bear, the one Tarika bought her last year. It showed signs of minor wear and tear from being well-snuggled, but its button eyes shined with Aditi's tender care. A loud bark of thunder broke Abhijeet's thoughts as Aditi jumped and clutched her bear around the neck. "I—um, I—"

"C'mon, tell me." He yawned to hide the bit of panic that jumped in his chest when he suspected why she was here. This was getting into an uncomfortable parenting area. Straightening up, he scratched his head and asked, "You scared?"

"Uh huh." Aditi nodded and looked at the floor, still choking her teddy bear.

Usually, at a time like this, Abhijeet would be out in the storm, sniffling in the damp night beside Daya and hunched over his line of work . No matter how annoying the storm became, in the back of his mind he at least felt assured that Tarika had things under control and she and kids were safe and warm at home.

He could handle bullet fragments on bloody concrete. He was not sure he could handle this.

"I see." Feeling much older than thirty something all of a sudden, he swung his legs across the bed and stuck his feet in his slippers. Coughing, because the last thing he wanted to do was stammer back at his little girl, because of course he knew what he was doing, he swallowed his pride and asked, "What your mom used to do?"

Aditi breathed a visible sigh of relief and smiled. "Sometimes Mommy lets me sleep with her, and sometimes she stays with me until I get sleepy."

"Hmm." Stroking his stubbly chin, he chose the latter. "You need a glass of water or something?"

"Nuh uh, just—aah!" A bolt of lightning burst its harsh glow through the apartment, followed a split second later by an ear-splitting roar. Aditi threw herself at Abhijeet's legs, shaking like a frightened animal.

"H-Hey, it's okay, so…." Abhijeet told himself to shut up and do something. Though the voice in his head sounded like his wife's, he listened to it anyway. He bent forward as much as he could while his legs were clamped in place by Aditi's fierce grip and patted her head. She still shivered and shook, so in desperation, he tried rubbing her shoulders a bit. Slowly, but surely, Aditi's breathing evened out until she slackened her hold on him. "Let's get you to bed."

Nodding, Aditi mumbled, "Okay."

Abhijeet let Aditi take his hand and led her forward gently, though he cursed his luck and craved a beer from the fridge. He had enough stress when it came down to it to smoke a full pack, maybe more, when he thought of the abysmal job he was set to do as a father.

Luck finally improved for Abhijeet when no further thunderclaps and bolts from the heavens came to disturb Aditi beyond the usual. When they reached her room, Aditi let go of his hand and then hopped into bed, burrowed under the covers face down, and clasped both bear and pillow in her quivering arms.

Abhijeet shifted his weight from foot to foot until Aditi glanced up at him and waited.

"What?"

"Mommy sits on my bed, too," Aditi said.

Nodding, Abhijeet sat awkwardly and scratched his head again, resisting the urge to ask Aditi, 'And how does this help?'

Squeezing her pillow, however, she whispered, "And she rubs my back."

Abhijeet furrowed his brow, understanding. That was why Aditi had calmed down when he rubbed her shoulders. Tarika already knew this, of course. With a sigh, he began to stroke Aditi's back and said, "Idiot."

"Eh?" Aditi twisted toward him with a squeak.

"Not you," Abhijeet grunted softly. He tried to smile, but it was flimsy, so he waited for Aditi to ease once more onto the bed before he resumed rubbing her back. It did not take a Senior Inspector or a brain surgeon to know all this was affecting Aditi. She did not speak up nearly as much as she used to. He was not much for words, either, unless he felt like impressing someone, but for her, it was just not right.

"Hey, it's going to be nice outside tomorrow, so why don't you go and play with ahmm ..your friends in the morning?" He paused in between since he didn't knew names of her friends

"Yeah, that would be fun," Aditi said, nodding her agreement with a little grin. "Thanks, Daddy."

Abhijeet said nothing. Aditi's back rose and fell slower and slower until it settled into the steady rhythm of sleep.

Lifting his hand tentatively, Abhijeet sat up and looked down at his feet. Maybe he was more like Aditi than he cared to admit. Even if everything fell apart, he wanted Aditi to think he could hold it together for her sake. Maybe it was for his sake. Maybe he and Tarika were both just acting like children. He stood and shrugged, stretching his aching back before smiling at his sleeping daughter. If kids could learn to weather storms, so could they.

AN

Just a small attempt to write something different.

Hope you like it. If not you can always mention in the review section.

Thank You :)