A NEW BEGINNING

A/N : Ok, friends. I know you all are very angry with me for updating so late. So main abhi story ke peeche chhup jati hoon. Iss chapter khatam hone ke baad milte hai.

The red light above the Operation Theatre was switched off. Daya got up from the chair and went and stood in front of the door to the Operation Theatre. He watched as the Doctor came out. The look on his face warned Daya that there was some bad news on its way. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear it. He couldn't take it anymore. Suddenly, the world seemed to have turned black around him and he felt as if he was being engulfed by a large, dark void.

Three Years Back*

"Don't worry. Three years will pass even before you know it." Said a voice behind Shreya, almost making her jump in fear.

"Sorry sir?" she asked, confused.

"I said Daya sir will be back here with you after three years." He repeated.

"Oh! I know Daya sir will be back with us after three years." Shreya said, stressing on the word 'us'.

"Come on, Shreya! Whom are you trying to fool? Me? I know what you feel about Daya sir… "

Shreya was left never knew that her feelings would become so transparent to Sachin.

"Come on, control yourself. Wipe your tears and come out of here fast." He said, over his back as he left the room.

Once outside, she realised that ACP Pradyuman was making some announcement to the rest of the team. As she neared the gathering Purvi told her that a senior inspector was to join them the next day as a replacement for Daya.

"But it's not even an hour that sir has left. How can you announce a replacement for him so quickly?" She sa id to herself.

"Shreya, you know our work pressure, don't you?" Asked Abhijeet. "We need to get the cases solved quickly. And for that we need to maintain our manpower." He explained.

"Then get nine other senior inspectors too, sir. Because Daya sir is equal to not one but ten senior inspectors." She said and turned to leave the room, leaving others in a state of shock.

Sometime later,

Abhijeet saw Shreya occupying a corner tablein the cafeteria as he walked in with Tarika, stirring her coffee absent-mindedly. Tarika lightly patted his arm and nodded towards Shreya. Abhijeet too gave a light nod indicating that he understood what she meant. They went towards Shreya and occupied the seats opposite to her. This brought the latter out of her trance.

"Look Shreya, I know that you're hurt but it would be unprofessional not to bring in another officer to take up the position that Daya has vacated." Tarika started.

"I know but I just cannot bring myself to accept the fact. It feels as if I'm bidding a final farewell to Daya sir." She said dejectedly.

"Look Shreya, the new officer will be here with us for only three years. It's my earnest request to you that till then please co-operate with him." Abhijeet pleaded.

The next morning,

The team reached the bureau at 8:30 in the morning as per ACP sir's order. But this time, they knew why they were there at such early in the morning. And none of them were looking forward to it. It's not the first time that a new officer would be joining them. But, this particular officer would be coming as a replacement for their dearest Daya sir.

Sachin glanced over to Shreya, sulking in a corner. Then he looked at Nikhil. He too had a frown on his lips. Sachin decided to go over to him and strike up a conversation.

"What's wrong, Nikhil? You seem to be in a bad mood early in the morning." He said with a smile.

"I'm absolutely against the idea of having an officer to replace Daya sir." Nikhil complained, almost like kid. "Noone can do that!" Nikhil's voice rose while he said these last words.

Cautious, Sachin looked around to see if anyone had heard what Nikhil said.

"Arre! Kya keh rahe ho Nikhil? Who rank mein hamare senior hai." He said.

"Aisa sirf main hi nahin manta sir. Koi aur bhi manti hai." Nikhil said, pointing towards Shreya.

Sachin too looked at Shreya, who was now busying herself with something on her computer.

"Kya baat hai, Shreya? Itni subah subah kaam pe lag gayi?" Sachin asked as he and Nikhil approached her.

"Aur kya karoon sir? Humare senior ka to lagta nahin ke waqt ka kuch bhi hosh hai. Pata nahin ke senior inspector kaise ban gaye?" She sulked.

But before Nikhil or Sachin could say anything, they were stopped by the entry of a stranger. He was about Rajat's age and dressed like Abhijeet.

"Senior Inspector Jay Prakash reporting, Sir!" He said as he saluted ACP Pradyuman.

"Welcome to CID Mumbai Jay. Hope you'll enjoy your time with us." He said with what was his best attempt to keep his voice calm.

He didn't like this man with his loud ways and he doubted if he'll like his work too. But Jay was sent by DCP Chitrole, leaving ACP Pradyuman with no other option but to tolerate him for three long years.

One by one, Jay excanged pleasantries with the rest of the team and Shreya was the last one.

"Inspector Shreya! I had heard a lot about you. I know I'll enjoy these three years working with you." He grinned as he shook her hand.

"To hell with you!" She thought, but somehow she managed to fake a smile.

"So do we hope." Said Abhijeet from behind him, not letting Shreya open her mouth.

That afternoon,

Jay walked into the cafeyeria to have his lunch. He spotted Tarika, Purvi and Shreyadiscussing something and headed towards them.

"Hey, girls! Can I join you?" He asked in a flirtatious tone.

The girls looked at each other, astounded. It was for the first time that someone had dared to flirt with them so openly. But, before they could say anything, someone tapped Jay on his shoulder from behind. He turned around and saw Rajat standing there flanked by Sachin and Nikhil.

"Arre Jay, tum naye naye humare team mein aaye ho Kyun na aaj hum teeno milke tumhe ek treat de?" He asked, stressing on 'hum teeno'.

"Haan sir. Ek welcome treat to banta hi hai humare taraf se." Said Sachin.

"Kaun kise treat de rahe hai sir? Mujhe bhi treat chahiye." Said Pankaj, who had just walked in.

"Main de raha hoon. Jay ko." Rajat said to Pankaj, but his eyes never leaving Jay's.

Jay gave a helpless look towards the girls, who were having tough time, trying to control their laughter. Seeing that he wasn't about to get any support from them, he allowed himself to be led away by Rajat and the others.

As the girls turned to Shreya, they saw her gritting her teeth in anger and disgust.

"Shreya!" Purvi called out. "What's wrong?"

"That s** of a **t**, he just deserves a kick on his **s" said Shreya through gritted teeth, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Shreya! What are you saying?" Tarika and Purvi asked in unison, shocked.

"Jaane do. Tum log nahin samjhoge." Said Shreya and turned her concentration back to her food.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

As the car was passing through a village, Daya saw a burnt down temple. He felt curious and decided to ask the driver, Manjeet about it.

"Manjeet ji" He called out.

"Saab?" Manjeet answered from the front seat.

"Ek baat bataiye. Yeh mandir aise kyun hai?" He asked.

"Saab who toh gaon walon ke saath hue hadse ko yaad rakhne ke liye." He said.

"Hadse ko yaad rakhne ke liye? Main kuch samjha nahin." Daya said, confused.

"Main samjhata hoon." Manjeet said, enthusiastically and started, "Saab who aisa hai ke aaj se ds (10) saal pehle police ko laga tha ke kuch separatists is mandir mein chupe hue hai. Un logon ne mandir ka darwaza bahar se bandh karke aag laga diya. Lekin woh log koi aatankwadi nahin, bechare masoom gaonwale the. Panditji ke saath saath who log bhi ussi aag mein jalke raakh ho gaya ta. Is liye baaki gaon walon ne milke yeh the kiya ke yeh mandir un logon ke yaadon mein aise hi rakhe jayenge." Manjeet finished.

"Oh! Toh yahan ke log unhe shahid maant hai?" Daya asked, unable to take his eyes off the temple.

"Ji Saab." Said Manjeet.

No sooner had he said it, that the car started jerking and came to a sudden halt. Daya, who was busy looking at the temple, didn't get enough time to hold his position in his seat. His head clashed with the side of the car and blood started to ooze out.

Manjeet got down to check what had happened and his expression changed into an annoyed one as he realised what had made the car jerk like that.

"Saab." He called out. "Zara ek baar bahar aake toh dekhiye ke kya haal banake rakha hai in logon ne."

Daya pulled out a handkerchief from his jeans pocket and held it against his wound. He climbed out and went to see what Manjeet had to show him.

He saw that a small stretch of the road was covered in nails and shards of broken glass.

"Oh! So these g**s are already aware of my arrival?" He thought.

Suddenly he felt that some object like a pebble hit himm from behind. He turned around and felt as if he saw someone ride away ona horse. He looked down and saw a piece of paper lying on the road near his feet. He picked it up and untied the rope that was bound around it and remoed the pebble that was present inside. He spread out the paper in order to remove the creases. In it the following few words were present.

Welcome to hell officer. You have 24 hour to make your choice-

You will leave immediately

You will work for us.

You will die

Your Well wisher.

The letter was made out of words that were cut out from newspapers. There was no way that it could be traced back to anyone.

"Kya baat hai saab? Kya likha hai us khat mein?" Manjeet asked comimg forward. He noticed the red stain on the handkerchief that Daya held against his temple.

"Kuch nahin. Kuch tumhare paas extra tyre hai?" Daya asked, trying to change the topic.

"Ek tyre hai. Lekin puncture to chaar hi hai Saab. Aap thodi der rukiye. Main aapke liye hospital pohonchne ka intezaam karta hoon." Said Manjeet.

"Nahin Manjeet. Uski ko zaroorat nahin hai." Said Daya, firmly. "Behtar hai ke tum tyres ka intezam karo."

"Thik hai. Jaise aap kahe." Said Manjeet, with a sigh.

Daya removed the handkerchief to check if the bleeding had stopped and a smile spread across his lips.

"Thank you Shreya. Pata nahin kaise tum har baar aa jate ho mere khoon ponch ne." He thought as he looked at the handkerchief which Shreya had given him in Matheran.

That Evening

Daya walked inside the police headquarters to report his arrival. He was shown to the supervisor's room.

"Good evening officer Daya. I'm SSP Rajesh Singh." Said the supervisor with a smile, stretching his hand forward.

"Officer on Special Deputation, Daya reporting sir." Daya said, shaking SSP Singh's hand.

Daya was shown to a seat by him, which he accepted.

"I guess ACP Chauhan gave you an idea about why you're here?" SSP Singh initiated the conversation.

Daya let him know of his consent just by a mild nod.

"Well then, I'll give you some detailed information." He said. "Keep this file. It's got all the reports submitted by your predecessor." He said, handing a file to Daya.

"Thankk you, sir." Said Daya.

He was about to get up when SSP Singh spoke up once again.

"I see that you've already been welcomed by them." He said.

"By whom, sir?" Asked Daya, confused.

"The terrorists." Said SSP Singh.

"Huh? Oh yeah! They've given me a proper welcome." Said a grinning Daya.

"Are you sure that you wanna stay here?" Asked SSP Singh.

"Of course, sir!" said a confident Daya.

"Ok then, all the best." Said SSP Singh.

"Thank you, sir." Said Daya and turned to leave the room.

PRESENT DAY

"Congratulations officer, you're a father to a daughter now." Said the doctor. "The nurse will get the Birth Certificate. We need your signature on it." He added.

Daya relaxed a bit. "Can I see them?" He asked hopefully.

"No. It's a prematured delivery. Your daughter has been kept on ventilation." Said the doctor, Dr Kapoor.

"And my wife?" Daya asked.

"She's been kept on life support. It's impossible to conclude on anything before 72 hours." Said Dr. Kapoor and left Daya's room.

Daya looked around and saw ACP Chauhan, Abhijeet and Tarika standing there. He was happy and sad at the same time. A new relationship had come in his life. But, two of the three relationships he valued the most in his life were in danger, fighting for their lives.

A/N: I know you all are very angry on me for updating so late. But the festive season and my exams had stopped me from updating. I'm extremely sorry for that.

But I'm so very happy that you liked this story so much.

Natasha, as per your suggestion, I included the handkerchief. Hope you like it.

Please review this chapter too. I'd like to know what you like/dislike about this chapter. Suggestions are also welcome.

Thanks to Dayashree, Qmione, SS, Anushka, Dareya, Devika, Namestr, Anjali, Anipoo, Sangiti, Natasha, Sarika, Priya, Mishti, Sachin1495, Sonu, Lakshmi, .1, Wasiqa, BlueMoon, Sheenam, Faika, KiaMehra for your reviews. And sorry if I missed someone's name.