Chapter Forty Three
It feels like an age since Naina has been at home.
So many things have happened since then, could she really have predicted that within a few months of joining her duty, she would achieve all she had wished for? Naina was always prepared to wait years if need be, she would have fought any number of battles. Fate has been kinder than she expected though, or perhaps Naina and Alekh have simply been more efficient.
Her parents had fussed over them all when they arrived, especially thrilled to see Reena again after so many years. They had been even more excited to find out that she was dating Alekh, Mrs Ahluwalia dropping subtle hints at every chance about weddings and future plans.
"You couldn't have made a better choice," she tells Reena, as Alekh's face reddens. "It's difficult to find someone like him."
Naina smiles, thinking that Reena had managed to find him in two lifetimes. In this one she'll get to keep him.
On that first night, they've already agreed that Naina will tell her parents the details of how Naveen had been trapped and his death. It is difficult, speaking through all the details as Naina sees her parents' grief anew. She has to do this though, they need their own closure as badly as she had needed hers.
"And they had poisoned him? They intended him to die even before he was transported?" Mr Ahluwalia asks in shock.
Naina nods sorrowfully. "He knew he was going to die and that was why… that was why he asked his best friend to release him from his pain."
"His best friend? Then…"
"Captain Rajveer." Naina swallows past the lump in her throat. "He told me the truth some time back but I wanted to wait to tell you until we knew everything. He never would have agreed if there was any way to save Naveen, you know that he… that he loved him like a brother."
Mrs Ahluwalia wipes away the tears from her eyes. "I can only imagine how hard it must have been for him to live with it afterwards."
"Then you understand why he had to do it?"
Mr Ahluwalia sighs. "Knowing everything about what was done to Naveen, we can't blame Captain Rajveer for his death. It was the people who trapped him who really killed him and they'll finally see justice now."
Naina feels a burden lifted from her, even as she had expected her family to understand, a part of her had feared that they would not. After everything else they had overcome, she had prayed that fate would not be so unfair, that it would not give them another obstacle at the last moment when they are so close to reaching where they needed to be.
"He wanted to visit you if it would be alright," Naina continues hesitantly. "He's also on leave this week."
"Please tell him that he's welcome to come any time. It would be good to see him again, especially after all he's done to clear your brother's name."
There is a twist of excitement in Naina's stomach in those words, as she wonders just how soon he can arrive. Just how soon can they finally settle things between them for a lifetime together.
/
"Are you and Reena serious about each other, Alekh?" Mrs Ahluwalia asks him as they prepare dinner together.
"As serious as it's possible to be." Alekh confirms. "I don't start things that I can't finish."
"Then are you thinking about marriage soon?"
"Not yet, Aunty. It's not the right time, we both need a bit more time to settle things."
With the extra years that he's lived, it's not as if Alekh doesn't have the maturity for marriage. It's not that he doesn't believe they would be happy if they took that step either. It's less than a year since he's become an officer in this life though, and with a career just beginning and not much more to his name than he started with, Alekh knows he doesn't have much to offer.
It wouldn't matter to Reena but it does to him. There's no need to rush things, not now when the future stretches ahead of him, bright and beckoning.
"That's understandable, I look forward to seeing you married one day though, you know Naina's father and I will be there for you when you do."
It's an offer that comes from the heart and it certainly touches Alekh, that here too he's found the love of a family. He doesn't doubt that when the day comes, the Ahluwalias really would go with him to ask for Reena's hand, to do what they can to smooth things over.
"We'll worry about Naina first," he says gruffly. "We can get her married this year."
"This year?" Mrs Ahluwalia laughs. "With how fussy Naina is, it might take longer than that to agree on someone."
Alekh clears his throat conspicuously. "There's someone coming tomorrow. You can ask him if he doesn't do it himself."
"Tomorrow? But… You mean Captain Rajveer?"
Alekh watches as the information ticks over in Mrs Ahluwalia's mind, the dawning realisation that Naina may not have told her everything about what has happened with the Captain. That there may have been another reason why she felt the need for them to understand exactly what had happened between him and Naveen.
"You won't find anyone better." Alekh says sincerely, "And Naina won't object either."
Mrs Ahluwalia's eyes sparkle. "Then let's see exactly what the Captain does want to speak about when he comes here tomorrow."
/
Raj starts his journey when it's barely dawn.
It's still too early by the time he arrives, certainly not the time to knock on someone's door when they're likely to be sitting down to breakfast. He hesitates, wondering if he should leave and come back later, in an hour or so when the family will be more settled for the day.
The conversations they need to have are not ones that should be started over eggs or parathas.
He's just about to leave when the door opens, Naina rushing out of it. Her entire face lights up with the joy of seeing him and for a moment, Raj finds it difficult to breathe.
"I spotted you from the window, why aren't you coming in?"
He looks down, at her feet bare on the path. She had spotted him and run to him without another thought, and Raj knows that he can't wait a moment longer.
He had thought about being diplomatic, about discussing only Naveen today and waiting to ask for her hand, but how can he possibly wait any longer? How can he make Naina wait either?
"I'm going to ask them today. I'm going to ask them to marry you." It all comes out in a rush and Raj rakes his hand through his hair. "It's too early in the morning to visit and I… I don't even have anyone with me or gifts or…"
Naina reaches up and frames his face with her hands, stopping him abruptly. "One thing at a time, alright? Let's go inside first and we'll take the rest as it comes."
Taking a deep breath in to calm himself, Raj nods shakily. He grabs Naina's hands, squeezing them tightly, and allows her to lead him in.
"Ma, Captain Rajveer has arrived, I'll set an extra place at the table." Naina announces, as her mother comes forward to greet him, a welcoming smile on her face.
"Please take a seat, Captain. My husband will be out shortly and Reena and Alekh are just getting things ready in the kitchen."
"I didn't mean to be so early, Aunty, I'm sorry to arrive at this time."
"There's nothing to apologise for, we're happy to have you with us so soon." Mrs Ahluwalia tells him kindly, "You can have breakfast with us this way."
"Can I help in any way?" Raj asks her, desperately casting around for any way to make a good impression.
"No, Captain. Be comfortable and we'll all be with you soon."
Sure enough, Mr Ahluwalia joins him in the living room and they carry out a stilted conversation between themselves until the others arrive. It's Raj's own awkwardness that makes things difficult as he wonders what he should and shouldn't say at this point of time.
He needs to speak to them about Naveen's death before anything else can be mentioned. It is only fair to his best friend's memory and to all the guilt that Raj still feels he holds in what happened. He knows that Naina has already told her parents what happened, that they haven't blamed him, but he still needs to seek forgiveness himself before he can move on.
He can't do that over breakfast though.
So Raj eats and makes polite conversation, trying not to look at Naina too often in case his feelings are too obvious. He can't assume that today will be the right day to speak to her parents about their relationship, they will need to take things as they come.
It is when the plates and cups have all been cleared away and Alekh and Reena have announced that they are going for a walk, that Raj can finally say what he needs to, what he has needed to for far too many years now.
"I know that Naina has told you what happened, but I still wanted to come here and speak to you myself about Naveen's death." Raj takes in a deep breath, looking across to Naina for strength before he continues. "When it happened… I didn't know that Naveen was already dying, but I believed that there was no other option and no way to bring him out alive and free. I loved him like a brother and when he asked me… I couldn't tell him no."
There is silence and for a moment Raj fears their reaction until he realises that each of them is only gathering their own thoughts and collecting their own emotions.
"We could never blame you for what you did," Mr Ahluwalia finally says, slowly and carefully. "We remember how it was for Naveen in prison and how he suffered. I'm just glad that at the end he had a friend with him, his best friend."
Mrs Ahluwalia nods her agreement, too emotional to speak and for a moment it is too much for Raj. He remembers those years of darkness when he could not speak this terrible truth to anybody, never able to release himself from his own guilt. Naina has changed all of that here, has given him the type of absolution he thinks he must have never gained in that other time.
She has saved him in more ways than one.
Seeing him struggling, Naina reaches out to grasp his hand and Raj squeezes it gratefully, forgetting for a moment just where they are in the warm rush of affection he feels for her.
Taking in a deep breath, Raj turns back to face Mr and Mrs Ahluwalia and suddenly realises that he's taken their daughter's hand in front of them. Perhaps the old him would have dropped it and made fumbling excuses, but there is another reason why Raj has come here today after all.
Raj grasps Naina's hand all the tighter.
"Aunty, Uncle, I know that I have no right to ask anything of you, not after what I've done. I would like though… I would like to ask if despite everything you could ever consider granting me a place in this family."
"Are you asking what I think you're asking, Captain Rajveer?" There is a slight frown on Mr Ahluwalia's face but it appears to be one of confusion rather than anger. Naina's mother's expression is rather harder to read.
Raj nods. "If it's not the right time or if you need time to think then I'll wait, however long it's necessary to. Whether I should or not, I love Naina, more than I can express to you."
"And you, Naina?" Her father turns to her, seeking a confirmation.
Naina lays her free hand on top of Raj's. "I do love him, Baba. It hasn't been an easy journey for us but it wouldn't be possible for me to accept anyone else now."
Raj holds his breath, waiting for the reaction, and then Mr Ahluwalia smiles. "It's certainly not unwelcome, Meera and I had even discussed whether you could be a good match for Naina. How did you work things out by yourselves though?"
Raj looks towards Naina and he thinks of how hard she worked across all of those months just to keep him safe. That she crossed time for that purpose alone, to give them all a second chance to live this life as they truly should. It's more than just his life she's changed in doing so. They've spoken a few times now about that other life and he knows just how deeply all of her friends have been affected by her decisions too. All of them now exactly where they should be, all of them happy.
That answer can't be given to Naina's parents though.
"We never gave up on each other." Raj tells them instead. "And things slowly fell into place along the way."
/
"They really are happy, aren't they?"
Naina squeezes Raj's hand in confirmation as they walk. "I think Alekh has been dropping hints to my mother for awhile now. My father was serious when he said they were thinking of approaching you for my marriage."
Raj laughs, "To think that they could have worked everything out for us if we hadn't managed to."
Naina laughs too at that, thinking of how it might have happened. "We've done rather well for ourselves though. I think… no, I'm certain that Alekh and I have changed everything that went wrong the first time now. We saved your life, punished those responsible, and my friends… my friends have gotten the happiness they deserved too."
"Do you think you'll ever tell them?"
"I'm not certain." Naina looks down at their joined hands as they walk, knowing that feeling of warmth is one she will never tire of. "They don't need to know with everything fixed now and I don't know if they would even believe us if we were to say it."
"Do you think Alekh will ever tell Reena?"
"He might, one day. You know how practical Alekh is though, he'll tell her only if he thinks she needs to know. What about you, would you ever tell Abhimanyu?"
Raj shakes his head. "It's a truth that I think is best kept to us. Abhimanyu and I have repaired our friendship now, where in that other life we were on bad terms when I died. I don't want to cause him to doubt himself once more."
"You'll have to tell him that we're getting married though." Naina reminds him and Raj grins.
"I'm looking forward to doing so, I'm sure he'll have a lot to say on the matter. I needed to call him anyway to tell him that my godsister, Gehlot's daughter Sherry, is planning to join the academy on her return. She says after everything he's done it's the least she can do to fix things. That, and she knows it's the best way to get her own revenge on him - by protecting the country honestly."
Naina nods thoughtfully, "It won't be an easy road, especially if they know who she is from the beginning. I've got some experience with that though, maybe I could give her some advice when she arrives back from overseas."
Raj glances down at his watch. "We had better get back to the house, your parents are being kind enough to allow me to stay over, I don't want to annoy them by staying out with you too late."
"We couldn't have that after everything we've overcome." Naina teases him back. "The very proper Captain Rajveer in trouble with his future in-laws."
His smile back at her has all the warmth she could wish for, a smile that Naina knows will only ever be for her. She will never have to miss that warmth again, she will have it through the rest of her life.
They can hold hands as they walk back, he can stop to kiss her just a short distance from the house before they come into view, a brief brush of lips but one that will send a thrill of excitement through her. They can do all of this and more, anything they could wish to, and in a few weeks or months they'll be married with an entire life ahead of them. A lifetime of going to sleep together and waking up together, of evenings spent quietly and days where they can do nothing together if they wish. A lifetime of discussions and laughter, of making plans and supporting one another.
Naina thinks back to the girl she was before she came back here and knows that girl never knew this type of happiness, that she never got to truly live at all.
She and Alekh may never know the truth of how they ended up back in this life, of whether it was death or a miracle or time travel. It doesn't matter, Naina doesn't need to question it or understand it.
She will take all of this happiness and be thankful for it, she will her life to the fullest in gratitude for the fate that brought her here.
Naina will do all that and more, and she will do it with the man she set out to save by her side.
A/N: And for those of you who loved Sherry and Abhi as a pairing, a little bit of hope there for a future for them alongside!