Chapter Seventeen
"I still can't quite work out how we got here."
Aalekh turns to face Riddhi from where he'd been surveilling the land below through his field binoculars.
"I'm here because Naina's a coward, and I couldn't let her go alone. I don't know why you volunteered though."
"I thought it was brave of her to be the first to volunteer," Riddhi comments, ignoring the second part of his question as she looks down with her own binoculars before making a note of the movements below in her notepad. "Why are you calling her a coward?"
"Because she would prefer to deal with terrorists than her own feelings. If I die out here I'm blaming her and Rajveer Sir and their stupid engagement."
"How's he to blame? I still have no idea how any of this happened, all I know is that Naina put up her hand, then you put up yours, and now here we are."
Here, being the middle of nowhere, keeping tabs on a possible terrorist training camp and trying to figure out their plans and strength.
"Rajveer Sir is the best officer I've ever met, I would do anything for him, just like I would for Naina. At graduation he comes to me and he says 'Aalekh, I've called in some favours so that you can be posted with Naina, I know I can count on you to be there for her'. He was right, he knew I'd look out for her, and now it's brought me here."
"You're a good friend, Aalekh, and I know Naina truly appreciates that." Riddhi tells him sincerely. "We'll get through this and then you can go and knock their heads together."
"Haan," Aalekh responds shortly, before putting down his binoculars and turning to face Riddhi properly. "But you still haven't told me why you volunteered. What are you doing here?"
Riddhi laughs, a little self deprecatingly, and then shakes her head. "The truth then? Just like you'd follow Naina anywhere, I'd do the same for you. So I guess for now she'll have two of us following her around."
Aalekh stares at her for a moment and then abruptly he grins, reaching out to take her hand. "At least you're not afraid of the truth. Bole to... Do you..." he's more nervous than he's felt in years. "Can I kiss you?"
Riddhi's answering grin is all the reply Aalekh needs, and he crosses the distance between them quickly, his lips briefly pressed to hers. That's all it can be, here and now while they're out on a patrol.
"Well that's us sorted out then," Riddhi remarks, "Now we just need to figure out what to do about your best friend."
/
She had written him a letter.
Rajveer keeps it in his pocket still, along with a photo of her that he took from the file he had on her at the academy. He knows it's all he has to get him through the next few months, until her mission ends and he'll finally have the chance to ask her what she means.
He had returned from a solo mission to find the letter, and a message passed on via Huda, who for once had been extremely reluctant to do so.
"Aalekh left a message for you with me, Sir, and I want to stress that these are Aalekh's words not mine. He said 'You tell Rajveer Sir he's as big an idiot as Naina is, and that it's time for him to tell her the truth.'"
Aalekh's message may have been cryptic, but Rajveer has a sinking feeling he knows exactly what Aalekh was referring to as he thinks of Naina's letter once again.
Dear Rajveer,
My father called me and told me about the conversation you had, that you convinced him to allow us to end the engagement. I know that you have done this for my benefit, just as you have done everything until now. I will always be grateful to you, for what you have done for me, for all of your support. I do not want to be an obligation to you, and I am afraid that that is what this engagement has been, for far too long. I have volunteered for a mission that may take me away for a number of months, and I do not know when I will return. When I do, I hope that we can meet and take a final decision on our future. No matter what you decide, you will always remain one of the most important people in my life, that will never change. You have my trust, as you always have.
Naina
She had written to him, only used his name, no Sir or rank attached. She had written of being an obligation to him, and of her fears that he thought of the engagement that way. Aalekh is right, even if the way he had phrased it was insubordinate; it is past time that he told her the truth. If she can find it in her heart to love him even a little then he will settle for that, he will do his best to win more of that love for himself, each and every day.
Naina will be away for a number of months and when she returns, Rajveer needs to ensure that he is ready to tell her he loves her.
/
Huda would find all this far more amusing if he wasn't so worried about his friends.
Aalekh had called him the day before they were leave, when he still couldn't get a hold of Rajveer Sir.
"Dekh, Huda. I'm trusting you to get this message to Sir. We'll come back safely but he'd better be ready to do something about all this when we do because I can't take much more of it."
Huda feels like reminding Aalekh that it's not that long ago that he was madly in love with Naina himself, and perhaps he's not the best person to be getting involved in this; but he knows those days are truly done.
Instead he watches as Major Rajveer pines and worries, all the while oblivious to the admirer he has on base.
Lieutenant Nikita is in one of the other units they sometimes work with, and Huda would have pursued her himself after she was transferred on base if he hadn't realised early on where her affections lay. He's not going to do that to himself twice.
So instead he watches as she does her best to bring herself to Rajveer Sir's notice, to find opportunities to speak to him, or to impress him, all while his commander notices nothing. It would be hilarious if it didn't remind him a little too strongly of his own previous behaviour.
Today Huda watches as Major Rajveer once again pulls out the note that he carries from his pocket, his thumb tracing over the words as he smoothes over the lines. He has that look on his face, the same one he's had ever since he first found out Naina had signed up for a long term covert mission.
Nikita pulls up the chair in front of Huda, interrupting his musings, and he gives her a flirtatious smile, because no matter what his intentions are he's still the same as he's ever been.
"Tell me something, Huda," she begins before he can even open his mouth. "Major Rajveer was your teacher at the academy, so you would know him better than anyone. I've tried everything to get his attention, and I just can't tell if he's interested or not."
"He's not." Huda breaks in, but Nikita just continues.
"Then how do I make him interested? He just has to see me properly, as more than a fellow soldier. Once that happens, I know we'd be perfect together."
"You want my advice?" She nods. "Pick someone else. The Major is never going to look at you that way."
"But there has to be something! I'm not ready to admit defeat, there has to be a way."
Huda laughs, he laughs so hard that he almost falls off his chair, because it's rather ironic that he should be the one to give this advice. "Take it from someone who used to think that way and learned their lesson, you don't want to go down that road. So listen to me and listen properly. Major Rajveer is engaged, and he loves his fiancée more than life itself. See that look on his face? He's pining for her right now. So before you embarrass yourself or do something to ruin your career, pick someone else to pin your affections on."
The next week Lieutenant Nikita starts flirting with a Captain in their regiment.
Huda congratulates himself on a job well done.
/
Three months into their mission and Naina is beginning to wonder what she's done.
"I wish you hadn't signed up for this with me, Aalekh." She tells him quietly, the afternoon that three of their comrades' bodies have been taken away to send back to their families. "You and Riddhi shouldn't be here."
"And you should?" He asks rhetorically. "No matter what reason you signed up, we're doing important work here. We'll complete the mission and go back safely and then after you've cheated death multiple times maybe you'll finally have the courage to tell Sir how you feel about him."
"Maybe I will," Naina muses, "One way or another I'll get to know. I sent him that note, so we have to talk once I'm back."
Aalekh gives her a searching look. "Why do I get the feeling you'll still find some way to avoid it anyway?"
"Enough about me, what's going on with you and Riddhi? I've seen the looks you two keep giving each other."
"She likes me. I like her. Some of us actually communicate these things."
Naina hits him on the arm, but she laughs as she does so, and for a moment, everything is a bit lighter.
"We will get through this, Naina." Aalekh promises her, "We signed up for this because we're soldiers and we believe in what we're doing. We'll protect the country and we'll go home again and maybe..." he pauses as if for dramatic effect. "We'll all finally get promoted."
She laughs properly then, and Aalekh really does believe it will be alright.
/
It takes six months to complete their mission.
Six months, in which a third of their team is killed, including one of their commanding officers. Their second commanding officer is so badly wounded during their final stand that there is no choice but to bind her wounds as well as possible before Naina ventures back into the fray, rallying the remainder of their unit, and praying that Colonel Sakshi will still be alive when everything is over.
They do win in the end, and Colonel Sakshi does survive.
Naina knows that things could have worked out very differently though.
There are fifteen of them returning in the end, miles away from where they first started. She sits in the back of an army field ambulance alongside Aalekh and Riddhi, a pressure bandage applied to her neck and jaw where the terrorist's knife had almost cut right through her, if she hadn't managed to stop him in time.
They've butterfly taped it together for now but Naina knows it will need stitches.
Aalekh is covered in blood, most of it not his own, and Riddhi has a glazed look to her eyes, as if she's not entirely with them.
They have seen so many people die today.
The field ambulance arrives to the base at last and they find themselves escorted towards the hospital wing, Colonel Sakshi and two of their comrades carried on stretchers while the rest of them limp along. Naina doesn't even know which base they've come to, but she submits to the doctor's administrations, waiting while the anaesthesia takes effect until they begin to stitch her up.
"It will scar," the doctor tells her when he's done, "But after a few years it won't be too noticeable, just a faint line."
Naina just nods, she knows she's lucky to be alive when so many of her fellow soldiers aren't.
The stitches done, she climbs down from the bed, vacating it for the next waiting soldier and refusing the offer of a drip to replace her lost fluids. She stands for a moment wondering what to do.
They are without a commanding officer and Naina knows that someone will need to take charge of them.
"Aalekh," She tells him quietly, "You stay here with the others, I'm going to see about getting our accommodation organised. Everyone will need somewhere to sleep once they've been checked over."
For the next hour she works with the administrative staff, finding bunks for all of their team mates who will be cleared for release from the hospital, and confirming the names of the fallen soldiers. By the time it is done, Naina is exhausted, but she knows that there's still work to do. Someone will have to give a final report to the base's commandant and all she hopes for is that they're able to wait for the next day when everything will be easier to speak about.
For now though, she heads to the communication centre, needing to know if anything has happened in her absence, needing to know...
"My name is Lieutenant Naina Singh Ahluwalia," she tells the officer on duty, "I need to check if there are any messages for me in the system."
The officer duly checks, printing out two messages for her. The first is from her parents, roughly three months ago, asking her to get in touch as soon as she's able. The second is from Rajveer, a month ago, telling her of his transfer to another base and giving his new contact details so that she can find him when she returns.
Naina nods and pockets both. She will call her parents as soon as possible and Rajveer after that, but she can feel her hands shaking, and she's beginning to feel faint, and Naina knows she needs some food. She heads back to the hospital first, to ensure the other soldiers know of the arrangements that have been made for them, and then collecting those that have been discharged, they make their way to the mess.
Aalekh has already picked up their food, bringing it back to the table where Riddhi sits, still dazed. Naina has just finished discussing the arrangements with one of their fellow lieutenants and has sent them to get their own plate, when she feels a hand on her arm, and turns to find the last face she'd expected to see there.
Rajveer stands in front of her, his face plainly worried, and Naina can only stare at him in amazement.
It's then that she remembers the note about his transfer and realises she still doesn't know the name of the base they're on.
"Naina, are you alright? The instant I heard you'd arrived I went to the hospital to find you but they told me you'd already come to the mess." He grasps her shoulders, his hands warm and comforting, and Naina wants to cry at the sweet familiarity of it. "Please Naina, let me get you to your table."
She's nodding, ready to let him lead her there, when the world abruptly turns black.
/
Naina wakes up to find Aalekh and Riddhi looking down at her. She notes that Riddhi at least looks a bit less shell shocked now.
"Aalekh, did I just dream that or is Rajveer really here?"
"He's here, in fact he carried you back to the hospital." Aalekh grins then. "Bole to... bilkul Bollywood Hero ka jaisa."
Naina wonders why she's had to be unconscious every time that has happened. "Where is he now?"
"You've been unconscious for six hours, they put you on a drip. You should've been on one when you first arrived but you were too stubborn and got away before they could make you. Sir got called to a meeting about an hour ago."
"What's going to happen to us now?"
"You'll be kept at the hospital overnight for observation, after you collapsed they're not willing to take chances. Everyone else has settled into their assigned accommodation, Riddhi and I are just waiting for Sir to come back and then we'll go and rest."
"You don't need to wait for him, Aalekh. You two go and sleep, I'll be fine here by myself."
"She won't be by herself at all!" Huda is beaming as he enters the room, though he turns serious as he sees the bandages on Naina's neck and jaw. "You had to go and prove you're more of a hero than I am, didn't you, Phoolan?"
She smiles and holds out a hand to Huda to welcome him. "It's good to see you again, Huda."
Aalekh and Riddhi say their farewells, his arm around her waist to support her as they head towards the accommodation, and Huda settles himself into the seat next to Naina's bedside.
"We were worried about you," he informs her, "Both you and Qaidi of course. Rajveer Sir managed to get some news now and again on how you were doing, but he still worried."
"Of course he did," Naina murmurs. "Have you been staying out of trouble?"
Huda scoffs, "Only the wrong kind. Don't worry, I've been keeping your Major out of it too. You wouldn't believe how many of his admirers I've had to drive off."
Naina's stomach clenches. "I'm sure that Major Rajveer can decide for himself if he wants someone driven off or not."
Huda's grin is mischievous. "Still, maybe you'd better finalise your marriage date before someone decides to challenge you for him."
Naina is about to retort when she spots the man in question outside through the glass, heading towards the door. "Shut up, Huda."
He laughs, then seeing where her gaze is directed, turns around to spot Rajveer. Standing quickly to attention, Huda relaxes at Rajveer's nod then leans forward to squeeze Naina's hand one last time as he turns to go. "Look after yourself, Phoolan, get some rest."
Rajveer takes the seat that Huda has just vacated, his gaze fixed first on her face and then on the hand that rests above the blanket. His fingers flex as if he would like to take it, but he hesitates.
"When I woke up, I wondered if I'd dreamed you being here." Naina comments, "I had no idea we'd arrived on your base."
"I left you a message when we were transferred but I know you wouldn't have gotten it."
"I checked my messages after the hospital discharged me. I wanted to make sure that nothing had happened to you while I was away. I just didn't know what base we were on, ridiculous, right?"
With a strange look in his eyes, Rajveer finally leans across to take her hand. "Do you know how worried I was about you? I know you had an important duty and I tried not to, but Naina..."
"I thought that I was going to die today." Naina admits, "I almost did."
Rajveer shakes his head. "Aalekh told me what you did today, after Colonel Sakshi was wounded. Taking charge like that saved everyone's lives, you inspired them to keep fighting. You have such a talent for leading people, Naina. You should be proud of what you accomplished."
"My parents..." Naina breaks in, suddenly remembering. "I didn't get a chance to call them, can you let them know?"
"I already did, they were relieved to have you back and will speak to you tomorrow. I've been checking in with them the last few months, just in case they need anything."
"They really like you, you know." Naina tells him honestly, "I know it must mean a lot to them, to have you looking out for them."
"Naina..." Rajveer wants to tell her then, he really does. He wants to gather her to him and shower kisses on her face, and sob in her arms when he thinks about how close he came to losing her today. He wants to, but she is small and pale against the hospital bed sheets, and now is not the time to confess his feelings, not when she needs to be concentrating on her recovery. "You know that I would anyway, even without our engagement. I owe them that much for Naveen's sake."
Naina feels her heart drop, because really, she had thought that that might have been the moment when they could finally be honest with each other. If not now, then will there ever be a right time?
"Do you know what they plan on doing with us now?"
"You'll be absorbed into our base's forces and found a new commanding officer, at least until Colonel Sakshi recovers. They discussed whether to send you back to your original base again, but with so many of your original number gone, it's easier to absorb you here. Proper living arrangements will be made for you all here."
Naina takes a deep breath. "And will you need to declare our relationship to your commanding officers, now that I'm here? In case there's a conflict of interest."
"They already know." Rajveer's thumb smoothes over the back of her hand almost unconsciously. "You're listed as my next of kin on my official file, our relationship has been a part of the army's public records for a long time now. I've spoken to them and they've reassured me that there's no issue to us being posted on the same base as long as we're not in the same chain of command."
Naina's thoughts reel at the revelation that he had declared their relationship so long ago. He has never felt the need to hide it, even if it was going to eventually be broken off. Does it mean something? Should she take it as a sign to finally speak?
"Rest now, Naina." Rajveer tells her, his hand still holding hers. "Everything else can wait."
Exhausted and weak, Naina listens to him and closes her eyes.
He waits until her breathing has evened out to kiss her forehead.
A/N: I'm sorry for the delays as I've been travelling for work again. Things should be back to normal from Wednesday, and there's not too many more parts to go before the end now!