Some Things Never Change

A/N: Het there everyone! :D :D I know it's been ages since I've last been here, but I've been busy. :D :D

Then what brings me here today?

How could I miss this day, given that this is my best friend, dreamfanatic's birthday! :D :D Happiest birthday to you, girl! May you have an amazing day and an even more amazing year ahead! You have always been amongst one of my most special friends and will always remain to do so. :D :D Always keeping laughing, smiling and being the way you are and I hope you keep writing the same way as well. Love you loads! 3 3 This goes without saying that this OS is dedicated to you.

Now coming back to the OS, this is again something entirely different. I don't know whether in my eight-month absence whether anybody had attempted this, but I wanted to give this a shot nonetheless. This FF is unusual, because it does not talk about the present CID Team or Abhijeet, it talks about Abhijeet prior to his memory loss and the kind of person he was back then and the type of life and people he had in it.

It also contains a small part with a small mention of the current Abhijeet, but the essence is of the past. You may find this weird, or even OC maybe, but either way, give this a shot. It won't be as bad, trust me. :P :P

I think I've spoken quite a lot. Without keeping you all any longer,

Happy Reading! :D :D

1994:

The station muttered with furious activity as all the sub-inspectors poured over their work seriously, scrutinizing at the details from the case file and making their reloads meticulously. They knew that their work had to be up-to-mark today as a very reputed officer was going to come and visit their branch office for recruitment. A young man in his early 20's entered the station, amd looked at its sombre atmosphere.

"Arre Santosh, aaj itni shaanti kyun hai yahan pe?"

"Aaj sab files complete karne mein lage hue hai. ACP Pradyuman sir aa rahe hai." The boy did a double take and looked at him keenly.

"Kya?"

"Tujhe nahi pata tha kya?" Santsh gave his friend a curious look, while the latter shook his head vigorously.

"Nahi toh."

"Toh chal aacha hua ki tu aa gaya. Waise bhi, sir tere hamesha se role-model rahe hai na?" The boy nodded his head and smiled happily. After a few moments of digesting the news, he asked in a bewildered tone.

"Par sir aaj yahan pe kaise?"

"Aaj sir apne yearly recruitment ke liye aa rahe hai." The boy now stared at him intently, his eyes blazing with excitement.

"Wahi, jo sir har saal alag-alag stations mein se recruit karte hai CID Team ke liye?" Santosh nodded his head and smiled. The boy looked at the dedicated atmosphere in the air and spoke jokingly. "Oho! Toh isiliye sab aise baithe hai, impression jamaane ke liye."

"Haan haan, jaise tujhe toh padi hi nahi hai."

"Mujhe CID Team ka hissa banna hai, par apne talent aur skill ke dam pe." Santosh stared at his friend, amused, before speaking with sincerity.

"Haan mere sher, tujhe hi sir select karenge." The boy shook his head and Santosh put an arm around his shoulder and the two of them walked in.

All the remaining boys came and greeted the boy, the latter extremely happy at the reception he was getting. He had been on leave for fifteen days because of sustaining heavy injuries in one of the operations that he was a part of and was reporting for duty on the precise day. All of them settling down quickly, the boy went into his senior's cubicle and spoke in a booming voice.

"Sub-Inspector Abhijeet, reporting for duty sir!" His senior looked up at him and gave him a hearty look.

"Welcome back, Abhijeet! Yahan sab ne tumhein bohot miss kiya hai."

"Maine bhi sabko bohot miss kiya." Abhijeet's senior smiled, now speaking with genuine concern.

"Ab tumhaari tabiyat kaisi hai?"

"I'm perfectly alright sir."

"Good. Tumhein pata toh chal hi gaya hoga ki aaj humaare station pe kaun aa raha hai?" Abhijeet gave him a delighted look in response.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Abhi tum jaao aur baitho. Sir kabhi bhi aate honge." Abhijeet nodded his head and smiled, as he left the cabin, awaiting the moment where he would finally meet his role-model.

ACP Pradyuman walked towards the station, his mind focused on the task of what brought him for the same. He entered the station and instantly, all the officers working sprung up from their chair as though electrocuted. The head of the station came out from his cubicle and greeted the former warmly. Out from the corner of his eyes, he noticed all the officers looking at him with an expectant look, putting on their best air to impress him so that they could be selected.

All but one.

He noticed a tall, lanky boy standing in one of the corners of the room, staring at him with reverence in his eyes, a strange fire dancing within them. He walked towards the boy, who suddenly looked alert, his features turning sharp suddenly. ACP Pradyuman stood right before him, giving the boy before him a scrutinizing look before shaking his hand. The boy shook the former's hand firmly, and ACP Pradyuman gave him an acknowledging smile.

"Naam kya hai tumhaara?"

"Sub-Inspector Abhijeet, sir!" ACP Pradyuman gave him a smile, the latter reciprocating it.

"It's good to meet you."

"It's good to meet you too, sir."

ACP Pradyuman nodded and moved over to the next cadet in line, asking for a similar introduction. The round of formal greetings and acknowledgements went on for about three quarters of an hour, during which the head of the branch had shown them their case files, that had a 95% case closing record. The receiver of the information looked impressed, as he gave all the boys a genial look.

The head led ACP Pradyuman towards one corner of the room where a table was specifically prepared for him, with an excellent view of what everyone was doing in the room. He sat over there comfortably as the head went over into his cubicle again, all the cadets now happily resuming their seats, chatting happily at their experience of meeting the man in person.

Their files complete, a very calm atmosphere had spread around the room, all the boys barely 20-22, the energy of youth infused within their veins. All the cadets spoke enthusiastically, enquiring and making plans for the weekends, laughing and speaking in a jolly manner, making sure the voice did not disturb the silent guest who was secretly observing them.

But that guest had eyes for only one boy in that group, the one who had had strong flame of fire burning in his eyes. He had come to the branch with the sole objective of meeting him and he was not disappointed. The boy was everything that his peer said he was, and the fact that his eyes showed his burning love for the country was proof enough.

Sitting silently, while smiling at the group of boys who were so immersed in conversation, ACP Pradyuman now chose to scrutinize the boy more closely, noticing and making mental assumptions about his personality. He observed the sharp features of the boy sitting before him, tall and thin, yet there was an agility about the way his posture held himself.

He could easily make out that the boy was strong-headed, poised and discipline. Yet he found the irony strange enough that even though the boy had skills and talents so honed, he did not have the usual silent and brooding air about him, neither did he come across as an introvert in any way. Instead, he seemed jolly and happy, chattering away constantly, laughing whole-heartedly at all the jokes and comments that were amusing.

The man could also easily surmise that the boy was big-hearted and selfless, that he wouldn't stop at anything to protect his loved ones or anyone in danger, something that the head of branch had confirmed, when ACP Pradyuman had asked him about the reason of the boy's absence since a fortnight. He had been enlightened that fifteen days ago, there had been a raid during which one the cadet's life was in danger, and that Abhijeet had risked in life to save the one of his friend, sustaining a gunshot wound to his arm in the process.

All the cadets sitting along in the room were in the hope that after today, they would be taken in for consideration by the experienced man to be taken into the elite CID Team, but what they did not know was that the boy to be selected was already selected, that this was plainly a field visit to observe the boy personally and to see whether he fit the general category, apart from everything else that he had heard.

So far, he was more than pleased.

"Arre yaar, Arvind, bas bhi kar ab, kitna hasaayega!" Abhijeet choked out the words as he continued to laugh, everybody else doing the same. Arvind looked particularly pleased that his joke had received such a glowing response. Santosh thumped Arvind on the back jovially, while the rest of the boys caught their breath.

"Arre Abhijeet, tum jab hote ho na toh yahan ka mood hi badal jaata hai... warna yeh log to bohot pakaate hai." All the boys glared at Arvind, giving Abhijeet a smile nonetheless.

"Hum log kuch pakaate nahi hai, tu bas devdas banke baith jaata hai." Abhijeet shook his head and laughed.

"Abhijeet-"

"Accha theek hai baba, kuch nahi bolta hu, bas?" Arvind nodded his head and another cadet by the name of Praveen, put his arm around Abhijeet's shoulder.

"Par yaar sachmein, tumhaare bina toh mazaa hi nahi aata hai. Naa koi hasi mazaak, na koi muskuraahat. Sab log udaas ho gaye the."

"Tum log bhi na..." Praveen gave him a broad smile, before another cadet by the name of Deepak spoke.

"Nahi sachmein. Mujhe toh abhi tak samajh mein nahi aata. Pura din haste hue, khilte hue rehte ho, par field me toh tumhaara ek aur hi roop saamne aa jaata hai. Aise kaise?"

"Bas... aisa hi hoon." All the boys cast him admiring looks, but he looked taken aback as he saw someone standing by the entrance of the station, and the person cried out happily.

"Abhijeet!" All the cadets looked behind to see a woman in her mid-50's standing by the door, a reprimanding look on her face. All the cadets quickly slipped away from the scene after giving her a friendly look, while the woman walked towards Abhijeet, a big tiffin in her hand. Abhijeet gulped nervously, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

"Maa, tum yahan?" His mother gave him a reproving look, while Abhijeet cowered under it.

"Kya karu, tum ab aise aise kaam karoge, toh mujhe toh yahan pe aana hi padega na."

"Maine? Maine kya kiya?"

"Aona dabba bhul gaye the tum. Wahi dene aayi hoon. Tumitne bade ho gaye ho, phir bhi apni zara bhi khayaal nahi rakhte." Abhijeet couldn't distinctly hear all the cadets sniggering and glared at them acidly. Turning back to look at her annoyed mother, he spoke in an irritated voice.

"Kya Maa tum bhi aise sab ke saamne..."

"Haan, haan, bas yahi sunna baaki reh gaya tha. Arre apne desh ki seva karo, par kam se kam usmein apna khayaal toh rakhna mat bhulo."

"Arre sorry na, Maa... bhul gaya main jaldi jaldi mein..."

"Aaj dabba bhul gaye... kal kahin mujhe na bhul jaana." The snickering got louder and Abhijeet flushed furiously, turning behind and giving all his friends a death glare that made them sober down immediately.

"Maa! Kaisi baatein kar rahi ho tum?! Sab has rahe hai..."

"Toh hasne do... phir kal se dabba laana toh nahi bhuloge iss bahaane." Abhijeet gave her deadpan look, before taking the tiffin from her hand and giving her a hug.

"Sorry, Maa, kal se nahi bhulunga." Abhijeet's mother gave him a smile before speaking in a sweet tone.

"Chalo accha hai, kuch toh asar hua. Laao tum baitho, main khila deti hoon."

"Maa!"

"Accha theek hai, baba, mazaak kar rahi thi. Main abhi ghar jaa rahi hoon, tum apna khayaal rakhna." Abhijeet heaved a sigh of relief and gave her a smile. His mother, in turn, smiled at his colleagues. "Maine tum logon ke liye ek dabba paneer zyada banayi hai. Khaa ke bataana kaisi bani hai."

"Arre aunty ji, aapki paneer toh world famous hai!" Abhijeet's mother smiled lovingly, before her eyes fell on ACP Pradyuman, who was smiling at the scene playing before his eyes. She smiled at him and joined her hands politely, he giving a similar smile and nodded his head courteously. Abhijeet looked in his direction and smiled, before leaving his mother till the entrance.

Coming back from the entrance, he stared at his friends angrily, before catching the tiffin protectively in his arm.

"Aaj kisi ko koi paneer nahi milegi." Arvind gave him a devastated look.

"Arre sorry na yaar... tu toh bura maan gaya."

"Arre haan na... ho gayi galti... aisi sazaa toh mat de!" Abhijeet stared at them in mock irritation before they all caught their ears. Abhijeet smirked happily as he puted his lips in mock dilemma.

"Hmmm... paneer doon ke nahi doon... yeh toh badi sochne waali baat hai." Deepak scowled at him as he spoke irritably.

"Chal na Abhi, bhaav mat khaa ab. Sorry bola na hum sab ne."

"Jaao nahi deta!"

"Arre! Accha chal sorry sorry, please ab toh de de!" Abhijeet smiled at he handed over the tiffin to his friends, who immediately opened it and started feasting on the paneer. Abhijeet smiled as he made eye-contact once again with the silent senior at the corner of the room, gesturing him to join them for lunch. The latter refused politely.

Abhijeet smiled and joined his friends for lunch, as ACP Pradyuman stared at him enjoying with his friends, his mind more assured than ever about his recruitment of the boy.

Noon was soon followed by evening and ACP Pradyuman stood in the center of the room, all the cadets standing around him in a semi-circle, staring at him attentively. ACP Pradyuman, smiled, as he spoke in a merry voice.

"It's been a real pleasure being with you boys. Bas apne hauslon ko buland rakhna aur yun hi desh ki seva karte rehna. Humaare desh you tum jaise yuvak ki bohot zaroorat hai. Humaare desh ka sir humesha ooncha rakhna."

"Yes sir!"

"Jaise ki sab ko pata hai, har saal, mein alag alag postings visit karke, apne CID Team ke liye ek honhaar and jaanbaaz officer select karta hoon. Iss saal bhi maine kiya hai. Aur jo officer aap logon ke batch mein se select hua hai, who hai - Sub-Inspector Abhijeet!" All the cadets burst into a big round of applause, while Abhijeet looked thoroughly taken aback. He smiled nervously as he walked up to the man and shook his hand firmly, his eyes still slightly disbelieving at what he had just heard.

Even though the cadets were disappointed that they hadn't been selected, they were more than happy that Abhijeet had gotten the golden chance, who was undoubtedly the most deserving candidate in the room. ACP Pradyuman gestured Abhijeet into the cabin, while the latter simply followed. Away from the voice and din, both the man and boy stood face to face, each wearing a mask of their own.

"Congratulations, son!"

"Thank you so much, sir." ACP Pradyuman noticed the worried look on Abhijeet's face and addressed the same.

"Kya baat hai, tum kuch pareshaan se lag rahe ho." Abhijeet looked at him deeply, knowing how stupid his question was going to sound, but he asked nevertheless.

"Sir, aapne mujhe kyun select kiya?" ACP Pradyuman frowned at him.

"Kya matlab?"

"Meri matlab, kis basis pe select kiya hai?" ACP Pradyuman nodded his head in understanding as the curiosity of youth touched his heart. He spoke in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Hum log har wakt har station chief se contact rakhte hai, ki unke andar kaun kaunse cadets kaam karte hai aur unke kya hunar hai. Tumhaare station chief ko jab maine contact kiya, toh unhone tumhaara naam recommend kiya tha. Uske baad, mere Team me do members ne teen mahine tak tumpe nigraani rakhi, aur mujhe tumhaare har case ke bare mein information diya, aur yeh bhi ke tum ek exceptional officer ho, jisse agar aur training di jaayegi, toh humaare desh ke sabse honhaar aur kaabil officers mein se ek hoge. Aur raid ke dauran jo hua, uske baad, maine apna mann bana liya. Aur tumhaari shooting skills ki toh kaafi charcha hui hai."

"Par sir, aapne toh abhi meri koi test nahi li hai."

"Abhi tak nahi liya hai, par ab lunga. Agle hafte, tumhein humaare head quarters aane padenge, jahaan pe tumahare physical, mental and psychological aptitude tests liye jaayenge. Uske baad, agar tum pass hue, jo ki mujhe pata hai ki tum hoge, toh tumhaari 3 month formal training start ho jaayegi. Kya yeh tumhein mazur hai?"

"Jee sir."

"Unn teen mahino ke baad, tumhaari zindagi aisi nahi rahegi. Tumhein kadam kadam pe apni jaan khatre mein daalna hoga, tum ghar lautoge ke nahi, uski koi guarantee nahi hai. Tumhein undercover missions pe jaane padenge, apne ghar aur parivaar se dur rehna padega, yahan tak ki tumaahre transfers bhi ho sakte hai. Kya tumhein yeh manzur hai? Kya apne desh se itna pyaar karte ho, ki apni jaan kurbaan kardoge? Kya tum apne desh se itna pyaar karte ho ki itni saari kurbaaniyan doge?"

"Haan sir."

"Good. Par main tumhein bata dun, ki yeh formal training aur tests itne aasaan nahi hote. Har koi isse complete nahi kar sakta. Dimaag ka sakht and iraade ka mazboot hone chahiye. Hum haar saal ek cadet select karte hai, par har dus saal mein koi ek cadet CID Team ka hissa banta hai. Kya tum mein who baat hai?" Abhijeet looked at him confidently, his voice echoing the same.

"Sir, agar hausle aur iraade buland ho, toh insaan apna khud ka raasta banana seekh jaata hai." ACP Pradyuman gave him a satisfied look, his mind now a 100% assured that he had made the right choice. Shaking Abhijeet's hand once more, he spoke happily.

"Good. Welcome to the CID Team."

2014:

Abhijeet sat at his desk, working on an important file when Freddy and Pankaj burst into peels of laughter at a joke. Abhijeet looked up irritably, the two of them sobering down at once, giving him an apologetic look.

"Tum dono ko kitni baar kaha hai ke kaam be beech mein hasi mazaak nahi karna chahiye?"

"Arre sorry sir, who Freddy sir ne bada accha joke maara tha na toh isiliye..." Freddy glared at Pankaj, while Abhijeet rolled his eyes at Freddy. Daya looked at the scene from the opposite desk and shook his head in exasperation. Abhijeet sighed and went back to his work, the silent atmosphere of the Bureau enabling him to focus properly.

He finished the case report and shut the file with finality, smiling to himself an relaxation. Before he could so much as fathom what he was going to do for the rest of the day, ACP Pradyuman left his cabin, and walked up to Abhijeet's desk.

"Abhijeet, tum abhi free ho?" All the plans of relaxing fleeing his mind instantly, he gave his boss a somber look.

"Haan sir, kahiye?"

"Abhi abhi mujhe DCP Chitrole ka call aaya hai. Unka kehna hai ki kal ek bohot important drug consignment ki deal hone waali hai, jo agar ho gaya, toh kaafi dangerous ho sakta hai, kyunki drug ke regular supply pure shehr mein phail jaayega. Aur toh aur, iss gang ke nishaane par humaare yuwa peedi hi hai." Abhijeet could sense the worry and distress in his voice, and he spoke confidently.

"Sir, kal kitne baje ki deal hai?"

"Kal raat ko gyaarah baje. Tumhein undercover jaana padega." Abhijeet nodded his head gravely, while Daya, Freddy and Pankaj now stood beside him silently. ACP Pradyuman gave him a worried look.

"Theek hai sir, main apne informers ko kaam pe laga deta hoon." Abhijeet made to leave but ACP Pradyuman caught his hand in a firm grip. Abhijeet looked confused.

"Abhijeet, yeh gang bohot dangerous hai. Kal tum wahan pe bina kisi backup ke honge aur who bhi akele. Yeh mission bohot hi dangerous hai. Uss gang ke andar ghusne ke liye dimaag ka sakht and iraade ka mazboot hone chahiye."

"Sir, agar hausle aur iraade buland ho, toh insaan apna khud ka raasta banana seekh jaata hai."

In that moment, Abhijeet and ACP Pradyuman shared a momentary eye-contact that spoke ounces. Both of them were struck by the deja vu of the statement, the feeling of speaking the same line before growing bigger and bigger in Abhijeet's eyes before it faded away. ACP Pradyuman gave him a curious look, before speaking softly.

"Good. All the best for your mission. Aur mujhe tum waapas zinda chahiye." Abhijeet chuckled, but fell quiet under his boss' infurious look. He quickly joined Daya, Freddy and Pankaj, who gave him solemn looks, and ensued with an animated conversation of the case.

ACP Pradyuman stared at him as he spoke with the same fire in his eyes that he held twenty years ago, his heart still ebbing with the energy of youth, even though he was now blessed with the maturity of age. ACP Pradyuman saw before him a man who has as much of a contrast to his same-self from twenty years ago as he could be, yet he remained strong.

There were several times when he was in a tight spot, several time when he had held doubts about whether Abhijeet had the spark in him that defined what it truly was, as he had those years before his accident. But Abhijeet had proved them all wrong every single time, walking about from the battle field with his head held high, seeing through the case till it's end, with the same passion and dedication that he always had.

His amnesia had left a scarred person in its wake, his personality transforming itself into another one altogether. Time and fate had played a cruel game with him, a situation that not everyone managed to make the best out of, but he did. Every time he saw the same vigour and thirst in Abhijeet to learn more and give his best to his country selflessly, using his talent, dedication and experience for the same, he could only smile to himself with pride.

Some things never change after all.

Phew! :D :D This was pretty interesting to work out for me. :D Riya, I just hope that you liked this chapter, because your views matter the most to me. :D :D I hope this made for a good birthday dedication and that you did not find it lame.

Constructive criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for any typos. :D :D