The hospital lobby was unusually empty so Anjali and Javed both got chairs and could wait for Arnav's discharge in comfort. Or "in relevant comfort" – considering a shirt problem and bandages.

Shirt problem was caused by Javed himself as he didn't bother to think about taking any change of clothes when they left for a hospital. Luckily Khushi packed some extra shirts for Arnav and had borrowed Javed one of them. Not so luckily for Javed, Arnav was not as tall and broad in shoulders as Javed so his shirt was a real "slim fit". Also Javed's numerous cuts (some of them had to be stitched) wouldn't let him to lean over the backrest of the chair – and it was really exhausting to sit straight.

Anjali broke the comfortable silence they shared for some time:

- Javed-ji, I think we need to tell your parents… about what's happening. Shya… that man could've seen them today if he'd watched Shantivan. They may be in danger… because of me.

Her shoulders sank burdened with guilt and Javed immediately took off his sit to kneel before her and take Anjali's hand in his. She tried to look away but Javed wouldn't let her:

- No, Anjali, look at me… please…

After his plea Anjali turned to face him – her eyes were filled with sorrow and fear. Javed knew she feared not for herself – but for those who may get hurt because of Shyam's vengeance march. For some reason Anjali felt… responsible for his actions?

- Anjali, none of it is your fault. It's him, it's only him.

She waved her head and whispered:

- If it weren't for my stupidity and naiveté, he would've never came into our lives…

- No, Anjali, no! Just… no!

Javed stood up and started to pace in front of her in wide strides unable to control his emotions. But she was so wrong, so wrong! How couldn't she see it? Anjali was blaming herself for the very same thing Javed loved about her!

Javed turned around and rushed to her side. It was painful for him to move so quickly but the pain of seeing Anjali's suffering was greater – he just had to do something!

When Javed spoke, he sounded breathless as if he couldn't catch enough air to say everything he wanted at once:

- Anjali, when I came to your house for the first time you'd offered me to call you Di the very next day…

Anjali cringed shying away from this embarrassing memory – now she knew how painful it was for Javed when she'd offered him this, ultimately defining his place in the family despite his feeling for her…

But Javed smiled a little on this reaction and comforted her:

- No, I don't mean to talk about that, as of the last Raksha Bandhan we've got this "sister-brother" issue out of our way, I hope.

Anjali nodded and her face lit up a bit. Javed cleared his throat and continued with his previous theme:

- The thing is you didn't even know me then – and yet wanted to invite me to the family just because I was your brother's friend… even though he didn't acknowledge it then. You are open, kind-hearted and trusting of people – and hopefully, you will stay this way forever because these qualities are the most precious in today's cynical world.

Anjali looked at him wide-eyed – Javed rarely was so dramatic but when he was… it was a force of nature – marvelous and powerful!

And Javed kept talking not noticing her awe with his speech:

- Anjali, I'm a lawyer, I'm trained to see flaws and mistakes, to suspect every business of bad faith practice, to treat every proposed contract as a hidden foul play… And, unfortunately, I'm good at that – for some reason life has taught me that people are bad unless proven otherwise. And you! You!...

He bowed to kiss her palms… and again… and again…

- You trust people! You believe that people are good, kind, decent, worthy of respect… basically you treat every person as if they are you. And that never stops to amaze me! You are amazing, Anjali, trust me! I've known it since forever and I would never let you to doubt yourself!

Anjali nodded and cupped Javed's face – that effectively sent him into blissful stupor and made him go silent. Anjali was swiping his cheek mesmerized by the way his jaw muscles reacted to her touch with tiny tremor. And then question that kept bugging her for some time finally slipped up and she said absent-mindedly:

- How come you are so perfect? Smart and strong, and faithful, and gentle… Why would you want anything to do with me? I'm… broken…

Anjali suddenly halted in her movements when she'd realized that she spoke out loud. Her expression was horrified, his was too – didn't he just spent ten minutes explaining how perfect she was for him? Was she NOT listening?

Javed tried the opposite approach to conceal her embarrassment:

- Well, I assure you, I'm far from being perfect. For example, I can be very rude, especially to the loved ones – because I really want to tell you that this was the most mindless assessment of yourself I have ever heard… but I'm also a gentleman so I will only say that you don't see yourself clearly. Also, I'm grumpy, I require a lot of silence around me to function, I'm not a vegetarian… What else?

Anjali giggled seeing how Javed was trying so hard to come up with some flaws to seem less perfect.

- What so funny, Di? I hope it's on Jev's expense – I'd be glad to join it!

Both Anjali and Javed turned to see Arnav and Khushi joining them… Khushi was a little behind as she was bringing the wheelchair to the lobby – the one Arnav obviously refused to use, as he preferred to walk on his own two.

Anjali looked worried examining her Chote and thinking of ways to make him use the wheelchair. Arnav prompted her to answer his earlier question:

- So, what was the joke of the evening?

Javed interjected:

- I'd let you in on the joke – trust me, it's a good one – with one condition: you will sit on the damn wheelchair! I can't let Khushi-ji's effort go in vain because of your macho issues!

Arnav shrugged and pain shadowed his face for a split second:

- Ok, man, as long as I have something to counter this idiotic vehicle – and it better be great!

Javed nodded regally and explained:

- Anjali-ji was under misconception that I'm a knight in shining armor and I give you my full permission to prove her otherwise!

Arnav dropped himself to the chair and beamed with excitement:

- Oh, man, where do I start? One time Jev had this bet…

And the rest of their way home was spent remembering all the times Javed was coming short in his life – mostly university stories but some were about his professional life too – and both Anjali and Khushi kept laughing their heads off. The resulting conclusion made by Arnav was that Javed was "boring, arrogant, hot-tempered, narrow-minded, not to be trusted with strong alcohol and never to be given more than three items to carry". Javed's response was simple "Yes, Arnav, that makes two of us". Accompanying laugh from Khushi and Anjali confirmed that they both agreed on this account. Arnav claimed later on that his ego was mortally wounded and hurt more than gunshot to his ribs.