A/N: Inspired by what the doctor in KKHH said - that Tina knew all along that there would be complications in her pregnancy, but she hid this from Rahul. Hope you enjoy!
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Complications
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She stood near the back of the bus, for once not watching the streets as they flashed past. For once she didn't mind the crowd and the stifling heat inside the bus - she barely even noticed it. All she could think about was how Rahul was going to react. They had both wanted this, wanted it so much. Rahul didn't even know that she had been to the doctor's. Tina hadn't told him, in case it got his hopes up without reason.
What were their options? Adoption, maybe, or perhaps even IVF. They would have to talk it through and decide. But as for this... she did not want to call it a life. Calling it a life inside her cast a terrible weight on her conscience, especially as she knew what she was going to do. She knew that keeping it wasn't an option - she was too young to die.
She looked pale and felt ill and despite all her self-control, she could not stop herself from choking out a dry sob as she gripped the railing tightly. A woman who was about her mother-in-law's age who had been looking at her in concern for a while offered her a seat. She smiled gratefully, but declined, saying that her stop was the next one. It was a lie, but she didn't want to accept pity from others, and she didn't want to make the woman stand. She got off at the next stop, and started to slowly walk.
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Rahul was home early from work, something she hadn't expected. She felt flustered - she had counted on at least an hour to sort out her feelings and decide how to break the news to him. He looked up from the stove and smiled when she entered. 'How was work?' he asked, returning his attention to his cooking.
She looked at the tiled floor of the kitchen. 'I didn't go today,' she admitted. 'I went to the doctor's.'
He looked up again, his smile replaced by a look of concern. 'Are you alright?'
She closed her eyes tightly and then finally looked him in the eye. 'I'm pregnant.' She didn't say Main maa bannewali hoon, or Aap baap bannewale ho as they'd once jokingly agreed on. To say either of those things implied that the pregnancy had a future.
Rahul did not notice this. His face was frozen for a long minute before it slowly filled with joy. He was radiant and there was a wild excitement in his eyes.
'Rahul, listen,' she implored, kicking herself for not telling him at once. 'There's a problem...'
He wasn't listening. His eyes were wide and he breathed slowly, 'Oh... my... God...' In an instant he was at her side and had her in a rib-crushing embrace. 'I'm going to be a father - we're going to be parents!' he yelled. Leaving her just as abruptly, he ran for the phone.
She walked into the lounge and sank down onto the nearest chair, feeling drained. She could hear his excited voice as he told their parents and their friends the good news. What now? She had never seen Rahul so happy - it would break his heart if she told him.
He came into the living room, his face flushed with excitement. Suddenly, he recalled something she had said and for an instant his smile flagged a little. 'You said that there was a problem?'
She blinked rapidly, knowing what she had to do. Forcing a smile, she wrinkled her nose at the smell that was coming from the kitchen. 'There's the problem,' she said, pointing. 'I think we're going to have to make dinner again.'
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After her decision was made, Tina was surprisingly calm. She knew that she had only eight months to live and the only grief she had was that she would never get to know her baby. Over time, she became thankful that she had eight months notice - thankful that she had time to get her affairs in order before she left.
She slowly began to teach Rahul to live without her: she taught him how to cook things other than frozen food, and how to do household chores. As for Rahul, it seemed he had never loved her more. He abstained from drinking alcohol and coffee while she couldn't and was constantly bringing home newspaper articles, print-outs and books on pregnancy. He waited on her hand and foot and constantly left notes around the house for her to find, telling her that he loved her.
It was after her first ultrasound, taken at five months, that it first struck her that this was a real person that she was going to bring into the world. A little girl, who would have to live without a mother. Tina's own mother had died before she had completed university and life had never really been the same again. The thought of passing through childhood and adolescence without her mother scared her. What was her own daughter going to do without her?
The only way her daughter would have a mother would be if Rahul married again. But the idiot wouldn't do that, she knew. Nothing but the deepest love would induce him into matrimony a second time. Somewhere, somewhere behind that deep friendship is hidden a deep love. Unbidden in her mind came memories of her final year of college, memories of Rahul's dearest friend. It was then that the germ of an idea found its way into her brain. She dug out some writing materials and started to write. Meri pyaari Anjali...
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A/N: How was it? Please review!