Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and places mentioned. All the places are fictional and any resemblance is a mere coincidence.
Abhijeet cursed under his breath. No wonder Daya was so delusional, he was burning up. Abhijeet set the thermometer back on the table, hefted Daya into his arms again, and set him back down on the couch. Daya was so out of it he didn't even protest.
Abhijeet sat him up and raised Daya's shirt, revealing the tan bandages and gauze wound around his torso. Abhijeet carefully unwound them; he hadn't checked either wound since bandaging them earlier, and he only hoped he'd done a thorough job of cauterizing them.
He couldn't help but flinch at the sight of them. The entrance and exit wounds had both been cauterized well, Abhijeet realized now, but they still looked painful, and they oozed putrid fluids. Daya squirmed when the cold air hit his wounds, and Abhijeet was quick to bandage them back up.
He'd seen wounds before. He'd seen tons of wounds, tons of bullet wounds, like Daya's, and had watched his companions die by more than a few.
He didn't know why he was so pained and sickened by Daya's.
Maybe it was because the wounds were Daya's. Daya was not just a junior to him now, in heart he knows that Daya is like a family now and getting hurt like this, for no good reason…it made Abhijeet sick.
He heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head to break his train of thought.
Well, at least now he knew Daya wasn't still bleeding.
Daya hissed through his teeth, and Abhijeet's attention was drawn back to him in an instant: ahhhh… dard… ho raha hai… Daya whined squeezing his eyes shut.
Abhijeet, grabbing the blanket from the floor and covering it over his subordinate: maloom hai Daya… lekin zakham check krna zaroori hai…
Daya groaned quietly in response, and Abhijeet pulled the blanket further over his shoulder.
Daya out of the blue: Thanks (and Abhijeet's attention was, once again, pulled back to Daya.)
Abhijeet furrowed his brow: kis liye…
Daya cracked open his eyes, glanced at Abhijeet, and then shut them again with a small sigh: sb cheezon … liye… sorry… abhi aik lamhy k liye kamzor par gaya tha…
Abhijeet being as firm as possible without coming across as condescending: tum kamzor bilkul nhi ho Daya… tum bht strong ho… shayad hm sb mai sb sy ziada strong…
Daya exhaled sharply through his nose in a half hearted attempt at a chuckle and smirked softly: agar aap… kehty hain to maan leta hun… (He said breathily. His smile faded after a moment, and there was a few beats of silence) mera dukh bantny k liye shukriya…
Abhijeet nodded with a smile. Even though Daya wasn't anywhere near out of the woods, Abhijeet felt a little better knowing that he still had some fire in him; Daya hadn't given up the battle yet. He was still stubborn; he was still fighting; still holding on to life.
And frankly, that was the most important thing to Abhijeet right now. If only Daya could hang on just a little bit longer… Abhijeet knew help would come. He knew the others at Bureau would come looking for them eventually, and he knew they would find him and his subordinate.
He just had to wait, a little longer.
Just a little bit longer.
And Daya had to hold on just a little bit longer, too, long enough to get him some real help.
Abhijeet: Hey, Daya…
Daya: mmmmm… G…
Abhijeet: kesa feel kr rhy ho?
Daya thought about this for a moment, like he was wondering whether or not to be honest, before answering: agar sach kahun to…bilkul acha feel nhi kr rha… (He sucked in a deep breath and sighed) bht thaka thaka feel ho raha hai…
Abhijeet, putting his hands together and resting his chin on his knuckles: hmmm... mjhe pata the… acha tum so jao… mai landline dobara check krta hun…
Daya: hmmm…
He'd begun to care for Daya. Firstly he hated him being around all the time, caring for him. But, just like all his other subordinates, he found himself caring for Daya, almost like…almost like a friend.
Abhijeet didn't know what they would do if Daya didn't pull through this…
He shook his head. Stay away from that train of thought, stay AWAY from that train of thought. Negativity would only serve to make the situation that much worse.
He checked the phone.
The landline was still down.
Abhijeet muttered sarcastically: hunh… as he slammed the phone back onto its port, probably with more force than was necessary, but right now, Abhijeet was furious. He felt like the whole world had turned on him.
He braced his hands against the cracked countertop of the abandoned kitchen and lowered his head. The rain had let up hours ago, but it was replaced by howling wind; Abhijeet could hear it race down the street and whistle through shudders.
He glanced over at the couch. Daya was lying on his side, with his back to Abhijeet, and even from here Abhijeet could hear his hoarse breathing. If things progressed like this…if his fever kept going up…
Abhijeet shut his eyes tightly and took a deep breath.
Abhijeet whispered in desperation: please… (and he didn't know who he was talking to) Please Daya ko kuch na ho… please…
105.
Abhijeet bit his lip so hard he was sure he would draw blood, staring down at the thermometer's reading. Daya's fever wasn't going down at all no matter what he did. He re-wet the rag in a bowl of (freezing) water and pressed it against Daya's forehead once more.
This wasn't good. Not good at all. This was as bad as Daya had been so far, and his fever wasn't taming. It wasn't staying steady. It was rising, even now, and Abhijeet knew it.
Abhijeet asked: Daya mjhe sunn skty ho? (Taking Daya by his shoulder and shaking him, just enough to rouse him. Daya moaned pitifully and didn't reply otherwise. But that was alright; honestly, Abhijeet hadn't been expecting him to.)
If Abhijeet had thought Daya looked bad before, he looked downright horrible now. His cheeks were flushed, the rest of his face washed out by a sickly, chalky pale. His hair were plastered to his forehead with sweat.
Abhijeet was becoming frantic; desperate. He didn't know what to do anymore, and the weather had grown worse, like it was trying to make Abhijeet's situation more difficult than it already was.
Daya muttered under his breath, as though he were talking to himself: Sardi… th…thand lag rhi… hai… khir…ki… ban…band…
Abhijeet had opened the windows of the house earlier to try and bring down Daya's fever, but even without the open windows, the house didn't have a door, and wind was able to sweep right through. And yes, it was rather chilly, but Abhijeet didn't dare close the windows now. If Daya's fever got even slightly higher…
There was no positive way to finish that thought.
But still, even so, Abhijeet threw a second blanket over Daya. He was too terrified to close the windows, but at least he could comfort Daya a little bit, not that the one extra blanket would supply him with much more warmth.
Abhijeet: sorry Daya… lekin yeh khirki band nhi ho skti.. tumhara bukhaar utarny liye yeh zaroori hai…
Daya groaned: jjjammm… jaun… ga mai…
Abhijeet: maloom hai… lekin tum yakeen karo iss waqt tum tap rhy ho bukhaar main…
Daya: koi… baat… nhi… Sardi…
Abhijeet: Sorry.
Abhijeet wasn't even sure of how aware Daya really was anymore. Abhijeet pressed the rag firmly against Daya's forehead: agar tumhara bukhaar km hota hai to mai khirki band kr dunga… lekin abhi nhi…
Daya didn't answer, not that Abhijeet had been expecting him to, and Abhijeet sighed heavily, dragged himself off the edge of the couch to his feet, and made for the kitchen, ready to do one last futile sweep of the house to be absolutely certain there weren't any bottles of medications lying around.
But cold fingers curled around his wrist, suddenly halting his movements, and Abhijeet turned back to Daya.
Daya slurred tiredly: Aap… kaha… ja rhy hain… (His grip on Abhijeet's wrist was surprisingly tight despite his condition, and there was a waver to Daya's voice.)
Abhijeet: dekhny k agar koi medicine mily to… zyada sy zyada das…
Daya said: nhi jayein… (His voice was shaking, but at the same time, oddly firm. Abhijeet could even hear a hint of desperation; like it was a plea) mai… a..ake..la…
Abhijeet took back his seat, sitting beside where Daya was lying on the edge of the couch: Daya tum theek ho?
Stupid question, probably, but either way, Abhijeet had to know.
Daya swallowed thickly and shook his head: nhi… nhi mjhe bht… bht ddarr… (He suddenly seemed to realize just what he was saying, and he released Abhijeet's wrist and pulled the blanket up over his head.)
Daya: mera hal iss waqt reham k qabil hai…
Abhijeet reached up and yanked the blanket away from Daya's face. Whether it was sweat or tears running down Daya's cheeks, Abhijeet couldn't tell: koi tum pr taras nhi kha raha… tum iss waqt zakhmi ho… beemar ho… or is ka mtlb yeh nhi hai k tum pr taras khaya jaye ya koi tumhy neecha dikha raha ahi…
Daya shrieked: mai abhi mar nhi skta…(and he took in a deep, shuddering breath, calming dramatically. He shut his eyes again) nhi mai abhi… mar nhi… skta…
Abhijeet promised: kuch nhi hoga tumhe… kuch bhi nhi… (but even he himself didn't know for how long that promise would last) tum bilkul theek ho jao gy… sunna tumne… bilkul teek… (He raised his hand, hesitated a moment or two, then set his palm against Daya's head) tum bilkul theek ho jao gy… I promise…
Daya shuddered and shook his head weakly. He was back to incoherent, half-conscious mumbling. He snatched the thermometer up from the table and managed to get it into Daya's mouth.
Abhijeet bounced his knee impatiently, and after sometime, Abhijeet took it.
And swore loudly.
105.6
Abhijeet muttered darkly, too quietly for Daya to hear, and he slammed the thermometer back in its place on the table: bukhaar barhta ja raha hai… (loudly) Daya aik kambal utarna hoga tumhy…
Daya said tiredly, cracking open his eyes ever so slightly: kiya? Kyon?
He froze suddenly, and his eyes flew open: mjhe pata tha… (he said, and he sounded more horrified than Abhijeet had ever heard him before.) mjhe pata tha…
Abhijeet holding back the sudden urge to leap backwards in shock: kiya pata tha tumhy… haan… kiya pata tha tumhe…
Daya shot into a sitting position before Abhijeet could stop him. Instantly, Daya winced and wrapped an arm tightly around his stomach, hissing through his teeth in pain, but he didn't move to lay down again: mai mar raha hun na… mai sach mai mar raha hun na…mar raha hun…
Abhijeet: nhi… Daya kuch nhi hua… tumhe kuch nhi hoga… shant ho jao… (Daya was panicking)
He grabbed Daya by the shoulders, resisting the urge to shake him back and forth: maine kaha tumhe kuch nhi hoga… I promise…
Daya choked: aap…jhoot bol…rhy hain… (And Abhijeet could hear the fear and terror behind his voice) YOU'RE LYING! (He sucked in a deep breath, coughed it out, and kept coughing, ducking his head and bringing one hand to cover his mouth).
Abhijeet said: Daya! (squeezing Daya's shoulders ) Calm down. Calm down!
Daya coughed: mjhe… mjhe…(and Abhijeet had to strain to actually hear his words) saans… saans…
Abhijeet didn't waste any more time. He yanked Daya into a firm embrace, practically crushing Daya against him, running one hand up and down his back between his shoulder blades.
Abhijeet said firmly: kuch nhi hua… or na he kuch hoga… (he could feel Daya shuddering and shaking in his hold, and he even felt a few hot tears drip onto his neck) tum bilkul theek ho… saans lo gehri… gehri saans lo… (He exaggerated his breathing on purpose, trying to give Daya something to follow.)
Daya nodded feverishly, too scared to protest, and tried to do as Abhijeet have instructed. It took longer than he hoped. His throat tightened multiple times, and he gasped desperately, trying to force air back into his lungs, and his chest felt like someone was setting a heavyweight on it.
But finally, he calmed down. Abhijeet was still rubbing his back, still reminding him to breathe, and Daya couldn't remember another time he'd felt this safe.
Not since his mother, anyways.
Abhijeet asked quietly: tum theek ho? So gaye kiya?
Daya whispered: uhunh… (But now that Abhijeet mentioned it, sleeping sounded like heaven. His fear had left him exhausted.) abhi…nhi…
Abhijeet told him, and he began to break the embrace and pull back: lekin tumhe thori dair so jana chahiye…
Daya panicked involuntarily; he couldn't help it. He was alone, he was terrified, his wounds were downright killing him with pain, and the only person Daya had right now was Abhijeet. So, he didn't let Abhijeet go. Instead, he snaked his arms around him and held fast. At first, Abhijeet tensed, shocked, but then, he sighed and put his arms around his subordinate once again.
Daya asked quietly, shutting his eyes: jana nhi… chor kr… mjhe… mai akela…
He shut his mouth before he could finish; he'd already let a lot slip as it was. He didn't want to finish that sentence.
But Abhijeet knew exactly what he meant it: koi baaat nhi… tum bs so jao araam sy… he said, and Daya relaxed in relief.
Daya whispered, and he let himself fall limp, feeling more protected than he'd felt in years: hmmm…Thanks…Abhijeet… Sir…
Abhijeet: You're welcome.
And as Daya drifted off to sleep, his mind grazed over a small train of thought.
I'm not going to die.
I'll live. I'll live, I'll make sure of it.
If only for the people I love.
For ACP Sir.
For Freddie.
For Asha.
For Abhijeet Sir.
A/N:
Thank you to all those who read and reviewed. Glad to receive your precious reviews.
Please read this chapter too. Only 2 chapters are left so please give reviews to get them soon.
Hope to see you soon with a new chapter.