Always
A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! :D :D This time, it's based on Kajal. And unlike the previous chapter's, there are some points to be taken in consideration before you proceed.
1. This chapter takes place some three month after Aakhri Chunauti Part 8, so the characters used will be of the Team back then.
2. NO SHIPPINGS, I repeat, NO SHIPPINGS are used absolutely in this chapter. Everyone here are colleagues, and great friends, and as you'll get what I'm saying as you'll read further.
1. During the time Kajal was kidnapped, she was lured to her house first where she finds Anuj unconscious in a cupboard, before she is knocked down. Hence, she has developed a certain fear regarding that.
4. Anuj and Kajal share a very close bond, hence they are always over protective regarding each other, and get panicky about each other a bit post the incident.
5. There are several references to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the book as well as the movie) and those references solely belong to J.K. Rowling herself.
6. Last, and MOST important, Kajal is not a character on which stories are written at all, so I want to know whether I have given her character justice or not. There may be parts where she may be a bit OC, but I hope I've done justice to her in basic.
Well, I think that's all for now! I've been going on too long, don't let me delay you any more... :D
Happy reading! :D :D
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
*BOOM!*
And a background score playing at a ear splitting volume. The girl sitting in the room flopped aside the book she was busy reading, and yelled with an equally gut wrenching voice "Anuj! TV slow karo! Mujhe meri book padhne do!" It was to no avail, for her voice was barely a whisper as compared to the din being created by the TV.
Huffing at her brother's idiocy, she got out from her bed, and headed towards the hall. The sight that greeted her got her even more agitated.
"Anuj! Yeh kya haal bana rakha hai tumne hall ka!"
The hall was in a mess - eatables spread all around, pillow throw astray, the blanket entagled around Anuj like a serpent and half trailing on the floor... but Anuj had eyes for only the TV. Seeing that her brother was ever so oblivious to her presence, she went and stood right in front of the TV, before Anuj looked up at her with anger and shouted harshly "Hat jao di! Mera Harry Potter jaa raha hai!"
Staring at Anuj with disbelieving eyes, she stepped aside, before she visually started scanning the room for the remote. Finding the remote thrown on the floor with its cover and batteries all apart, she assembled the remote while grumbling under her breath about her crazy brother. Fixing the remote, she shut the TV off at once, which received an outrageous roar from her brother.
"Di! Kya kar rahi ho! Paagal ho gayi ho kya! Mera Harry Potter..."
"Pagal main nahi tum ho gaye ho! Itna volume pe koi Harry Potter dekhta hai kya! Apni umar toh dekho!"
Scowling at his sister, and having been left speechless by his sister's humongously infuriating statement, he did what was the most easiest to do. Catching Kajal unawares, he flung one of the strewn pillows at her, which made her lose her balance and between trying to maintain her balance and to avoid slipping over the blanket that now seemed to have gotten entangled with her feet, she swore at him loudly, while Anuj only gave her a notorious smile of having taken his sweet revenge on her.
Finally losing her balance, she fell face forward, her fall luckily broken by another pillow that was fallen around. Getting up, while brushing aside the flicks that fell on her face, she got up and half aimed the other pillow back at him, which missed him by several inches.
Laughing at his sister's attempt, he sent her a sneering glance, before Kajal sprang up the next moment and chased her brother around to shower him with some good pastings that he so had begged her for.
Just as she caught hold of him, and a war of childish fighting broke out between the two of them, Kajal's phone rang. Giving her brother a death glare, who understood that the call was from her work place, she answered the call trying to make her voice sound normal.
"Haan sir... Bureau? Aaj? Par sir... Oh! Theek hai, main abhi pohonchti hoon!"
Disconnecting the call, she looked at her brother, who now looked irritated. Giving her brother an apologetic look, Kajal was about to explain but Anuj stemmed her flow of speech.
"Di... aapne promise kiya tha ki do hafte aap sirf mere saath spend karogi! Abhi toh do hafte bhi nahi hue ki..."
"Anuj... mujhe pata hai, lekin ACP sir ne sab ko urgently Bureau bulaya hai... aur waise bhi, ACP sir ne waise hi zyada chutti de di thi.. unpar bhi stress load badh gaya hoga..."
Giving his sister a disinterested look, he candidly continued "Main apne friends ke saath din spend kar lunga phir.. waise bhi aaj Upmanshu ka birthday hai... toh pura din ussi ke saath spend kar lunga... tum Bureau jaao, no problem..." Giving her brother an unsatisfied look, she headed for her bedroom to change into her formals.
10 minutes later, standing in front of the mirror while tying her customary high ponytail, she looked at herself with tension clouding her eyes. It would be almost after a month that she would be going to the CID Bureau. And 1 month after that incident. The thought of that incident still gave her chills several times whenever she thought about that. But she was a strong girl. She HAD proved that much. She came out of the incident without suffering from any psychological disorders, except some nightmares, which was obviously going to accompany any such traumatic incident, but apart from that, nothing. And THAT in itself was saying something.
Breaking her line of thoughts, she could hear her brother shouting at her to get ready quickly, that afterall she was going to her workplace, not some beauty paegant. Smiling at her brother's foolish comment, she carried her batch and gun and headed out into the hall, where her brother had already started pacing restlessly while mumbling to himself about how fussy girls could get. Seeing Kajal, he was about to began a whole rant but Kajal cut him short.
"Jo bolna hai baad mein bol dena... abhi Bureau ke liye late ho raha hai..."
Looking slightly abashed, Arun stared at his sister's serious face for a moment before he realized that her playful mood was now replaced with that of anxiety and nervousness. Shedding his childish behaviour, he silently followed his sister to the bike, where she had already seated herself. Giving her a reassuring smile, he slid on ahead while started the bike and headed to the Bureau to drop his sister.
Kajal stared at the Bureau with apprehension in her eyes. She knew that it was all over, but somehow, the Bureau triggered quite a bit of memories from that incident. Jerking out of her thoughts, she felt a soothing pressure on her arm which assured her that everything was to be alright. Smiling at her brother, she waved out various instructions to him, keeping in touch and driving safely being the prime ones. Shrugging carelessly at his sister's silly instructions, even though he knew that she was just being protective, he let out his frustatation by aiming a kick at the bike, that he so longed to exchange for a new one.
Before Kajal could scold him for his loss of sanity, he quickly sat back on the bike and strode away, his sister's indignant voice fading away, like herself in the background. While Kajal shook her head, fed up with her brother's antics, she turned her gaze once again towards the Bureau. "Andar toh jaana hi padega mujhe." Taking a deep breath, while assuring herself that she could do it, she entered the building and ascended the stairs to the Bureau.
As soon as she opened the door, she barely must have had a moment to take in her surroundings before she felt something, or rather someone, pounce at her in what was "supposed" to be a hug.
"Tasha! Usse andar toh aane do!" Kajal could hear Vivek's exasperated voice as she felt herself being crushed under the force of Tasha's hug. She couldn't blame Vivek though, the girl did get carried away at times. Taking deep gulps of breath once Tasha had separated from the hug, she and Tasha shared a million-watt smile with each other before they broke into laughter. While Tasha looked a bit embarassed for the way she had ambushed Kajal, Kajal could not be more happier to see her best friend after so long.
Sobering down a bit, she realized that she WAS afterall in the Bureau, and drank in the scene before her. As of then, Tasha, Vivek and Sachin were the only ones present in the Bureau. The meeting was to be held afterall at 1, and it was just 12. Laughing at the thought of twisting some "facts" to her brother, she saw Vivek trying miserably to hide the nauseatic look that he just had on his face hearing the two girls laugh, and Sachin just avoided hearing anything at all.
Moving over to Vivek, Kajal's look of elation tuned into a one of concern as Vivek didn't look good for wear. Tipping close to him, she put her hand on his head, only to find his head soaring with heat from the temperature he was having. "Vivek! Yeh kya! Tumhe itna temperature hai! Dawaai toh khayi na tumne time pe? Zaroor kuch ulta seedha kha liya hoga! Tum bhi na! Arre kuch toh bolo! Aise kya mooh pherke baithe ho!"
As soon as Vivek heard the flow of questions thrown towards him, he gave Kajal a scowl and turned his face away, praying to dear Lord to spare him this torture. Turning back towards her and trying to keep his temper in control, he replied, "Hey bhagwan! Pehle ek kam thi, ki dusri bhi aa gayi! Pehli aur akkhri baar bol raha hoon ki main theek hoon... bas zara sa temperature hai.. dawaai le li hai, abhi thodi der mein kam so jayega!"
Two pairs of eyes rolled simultaneously. While Kajal opted to scrutinize Vivek with sarcasm filled eyes, Tasha asked the question that Kajal had running in mind that precise moment. "Aur yeh thoda sa temperature kitna hai Vivek?" Each and every word punctuated was dipped in intentionally used sarcasm. Turning a helpless look at Sachin, who had now dropped the pretense of being disinterested, and also knew that being on the opposite side of an angry Tasha was the last thing on his priority list right now, he gave a non-commital shrug. Vivek looked back at Tasha and muttered inaudibly, "101".
Even though Tasha had fully heard what Vivek had said, she took on an irritating daft demeanor now. "Kya? Kuch samajh nahi aaya... Tumhe kuch sunai diya Kajal? Nahi? Sachin sir? Oh, aapko bhi nahi sunai pada? Phir se kaho na Vivek, par iss baar na zara zor se kehna... ki ab bukhaar ne tumse woh bhi taakat le li?"
Vivek was about to protest when Tasha turned dangerously narrowed eyes at him, which was his cue to remain silent. And the next moment, she exploded. "Bas! Aise hi kiya karo tum! Mana kaha tha ki coke-float mat piyo itna! Par nahi! Janaab ko 6 glasses peene the ek din mein! Aur jaake float piyo na!"
"Arre sorry kaha na tumse! Ab tum bhi na!" Vivek looked angry, that was a match for Tasha's now, and his voice had now raised to a yell, but it ended disasterously as he broke into a fit of coughs. Tasha threw at him a cold look while taking her seat and sat with her limbs knotted so tightly, that Kajal thought she might not be able to unravel them for years. Giving a sigh, she looked at the couple. While Tasha's anger looked no less than before, Vivek looked afraid to make any further conversation. Seeing that her two best friends were both going to be stuck like that for sometime more, she turned and took a seat with Sachin.
"Toh sir... uh... aapki chhutti kaisi rahi?" Kajal slapped her head in her mind. What a stupid question was that! She wanted to break the awkward silence in the Bureau, not create a bigger one. Sachin looked puzzled for a moment, while Tasha and Vivek exchanged a look of amusement before they realized they were not on talking terms, and quickly averted gazes.
"Meri chhutti toh theek gayi.. bas aaram kiya... tum batao, tumhaari chhuti kaisi rahi? Aur uh.. Anuj kaisa hai?" Kajal could not have felt more worse. While her senior answered quite awkwardly, she could now feel the icy cold atmosphere change into that of mild amusement. She felt irked by the two pair of glances that were now continuously falling behind her head. It was a good thing she backed both of them and sat. Those two gits! Fight two minutes, and patch up in the next two! And leave a bloody ridiculous atmosphere for her to deal with.
Thinking about the ways she could have her revenge, she absent-mindedly answered, "Woh dusra namuna!" She realized she had spoken something wrong, for the next moment, three curious glances headed straight towards her, the one of her senior being the most baffled. Ofcourse he would be, she had only exchanged respectful words with him, speaking to him in such an informal tone was new to him. Stammering, she rectified her statement to a "Mera matlab hai, ab woh bhi theek hai sir... aaj hi apne friend ke ghar gaya hai... raat tak aa jayega..."
"That's good..." And silence. Kajal hoped that someone else, particularly Freddy to come soon, for Tasha and Vivek now seemed to be having some communication of their own going on, that was quite without, and about her. And the worst thing was that she KNEW what the whole thing was about. Her wish for a distraction came true, but it came at a heavy cost. For at that moment, someone did enter the Bureau, but it was not Freddy.
"Good morning sir!" Everyone chorused togther, their odds and evens all forgotten at the entrance of their boss. While ACP Pradyuman looked extremely tired, he still had enough energy to return his officers greetings. Asking them about their health and how the vacations were going, another 15 minutes passed. ACP Pradyuman had headed to his cabin to see to some unattended work, leaving the four officers in dignified silence this time, before Freddy turned up, looking harassed while talking on the phone.
"Arre maine kaha na, mujhe nahi chahiye! Tumhein ek baar mein samajh nahi aata! *while putting up a scowl on his face now* Arre! Yeh kya zabardasti hai! Tum jaante nahi ki main kaun hoon!" Disconnecting the phone moments later, Freddy looked disheveled, before he realized that 4 pairs of eyes were staring at him, expecting him to explain what was all that about. As soon as Freddy gave a smile to everyone, Vivek rushed from his seat to give Freddy a hug. Kajal and Tasha shared a silent "Aww", while Sachin looked happy. Breaking from the hug, Freddy happened to notice Vivek's ill-health and enquired with him about the same, but this time Vivek shared a very deatiled and patient description on his heath.
Looking furiously at Vivek, Tasha murmured into Kajal's ears, "Waah! Freddy sir aaye toh apne dil ka tudka sunaane baith gaya, aur jab hum dono ne pucha toh chillane laga! Iski toh aaj khair nahi..!" Kajal just shook her head in amusement. Freddy and Vivek had now joined in with Sachin, which eventually led to Tasha and Kajal joining the conversation as well. It was after ages that the Bureau buzzed with happy conversation. Kajal turned her glance once towards ACP Pradyuman's cabin, where she saw him staring at they contently.
The happy conversation was however distrupted by a pair of bickering voices that was now proceeding the Bureau with speed.
"Kya yaar! Aaj bhi hum late ho jayenge! Bola tha maine ki tayyar rehna... par nahi..."
"Arre yaar, hyper kyun ho rahe ho! Pohonch toh gaye na! Aur waise bhi abhi sirl 12:40 hi hua hai! Mujhe nahi lagta Ra.. mera matlab hai ACP sir itne jaldi aaye honge!"
"Toh aisa kaam hi kyun karna hai ki baad mein darr lage! Tumhe toh daant pitne hi waali hai, saath mein mujhe bhi free mein mil jayegi!"
Entering the Bureau, oblivious to the snickering and snorting that was taking place, Abhijeet and Daya tried to locate first whether their boss was there or no. Seeing that he was busy arranging something in his cabin, Abhijeet and Daya turned towards the others.
"Sha! Aaj toh hum dono ki baaraat nikalne wali hai!"
"Boss chill! Main hoon na... dekhna, main sir ko kaise manage karta hoon..."
Rolling his eyes at his friend, Abhieet took a seat next to Vivek and Tasha, while Daya took a seat between Sachin and Freddy. Describing to each other about their vacations so far, all the officers got into an animated conversation, before ACP Pradyuman left his cabin and proceeded outside the Bureau without a single word.
"Tum logon ko kya lagta, yeh ACP sir ne humein iss tarah achaanak kyun bulaaya hoga?" Daya put in the question with curiosity filled eyes.
"Shayad koi Team photo lena ho?"
"Shayad headquarters ko personal reports chahaiye hoga?"
"Shayad humein medal milne wala ho bahaduri ka?"
"Shayad DCP Chitrole ko Bureau mein hum sabse kuch baat karni ho aur iss mein aur mirchi maarne aa rahe ho?"
"Shayad koi urgent case aaya ho jismein sir ko puri team ki zaroorat ho?"
"Shayad humein treat mil raha ho case ko acche se khatam karne ke liye? Do hafte pehle toh koi haalat mein nahi tha, par ab..."
Various suggestion made their way around the Bureau, while there were several comments that ensued after. While the suggestion of getting a treat was taken in a light manner, the suggestion of DCP Chitrole visited the Bureau received quite some outrageous roars from the others, It was the last thing everyone needed after seeing each after such a long time, not to mention the dread that would fill the atmosphere with HIS presence. The suggestion of an urgent case was taken up with some sighs and some gusto filled remarks, that involved everyone in an animated conversation before they felt the presence of three more people apart from them.
Breaking the conversation, everyone looked up at Dr. Salunkhe, Dr. Tarika and Dr. Sonali with a huge smile. While the girls exhanged hugs with each other, Dr. Salunkhe took a seat amongst his colleagues and began a long conversation about general topics. The Bureau had indeed never buzzed with such happy activity for such a long time, and needless to say, the aura created at the moment was quite electric. The next topic that was picked up was about being called to the Bureau in formal dresses.
However, the conversation barely took off, before it had stemmed once again, with the re-entry of ACP Pradyuman, but this time, along with the DIG, Shamsher Singh, and well as DCP Chitrole. While DIG Shamsher looked geniunely happy, DCP Chitrole had quite a put off look on his face that made more than one officer want to punch him. All the officers shed their informal attitude and got into erect standing positions and saluted the DIG, and also, rather unfortunately in almost every mind, to DCP Chitrole as well.
ACP Pradyuman now stood near one of the desks, and spoke in a tone that indicated happiness, "Sab log ek horizontal file mein khade ho jayo... abhi pata chalega tum logon ko ki maine tum sab ko aaj iss tarah kyun bulaya hai." Everyone obediently stood in a file eying DIG Shamsher with interest, while ACP Pradyuman and DCP Chitrole headed for the cabin. DIG Shamsher seemed to be adamant not to give out anything, through his words or his expressions. At that point of time, the suggestion of a medal seemed more than appropriate to everyone, and Kajal was no exception. Waiting eagerly for ACP Pradyuman to come back and spill the cat out of the bag, she eyed her shoes with fake interest.
After 5 minutes, or what seemed like an eternity to Kajal, ACP Pradyuman, who was behind DCP Chitrole, silently stood at the apex of the line beside Abhijeet. DCP Chitrole had brought with him 11 rosewood coloured boxes in a tray. DIG Shamsher came forward and cleared his throat and spoke in a booming, resonating voice. "Jaise ki hum jaante hai, ki aap log pichle dedh mahine se HP naam ke international criminal se deal kar rahe the, aur yeh CID ne, bina koi back up ke, iss mujrim ko apne intelligence, daring aur bravery se maat di hai. Uss dauran, aap sabhi ko bohot buri haalat main kaidh karke rakha gaya..." Several pictured floated in Kajal's mind about the time when she was kidnapped and drugged every 6 hours. Shaking her had vigourously to rid herself of such thoughts, she almost missed what DIG Shamsher was saying "... Aaj ke din, aap logon ki issi daring aur saahas ko salaam karte hue, aap logon ke bahaduri ka yeh chhota sa tohfa dena chahta hoon. Abhi main jis jis ke naam lunga, woh yaha mere saamne aaye, taake yeh bahaduri ka medal unhein izzat swarup pehna saku."
Everyone looked quite happy and the sub-inspectors especially had a look of amazement on their face. While Vivek looked like he had already recovered from his bout of illness, Tasha looked like she could explode with happiness, and Kajal felt no different. It would be her FIRST medal... it made her feel so spellbound, she couldn't identify the emotions running through her - happiness, elation, gratitude, pride... she felt her eyes get pricky but she controlled herself quickly. NO. This was NOT the time for it. This is HER time, to enjoy the fruits of her dedication and hard-work.
"ACP Pradyuman." ACP Pradyuman went ahead to receive his medal, while saluting first and then shaking hand with the DIG, who made him wear the medal around his neck. He briefly shook hands with DCP Chitrole, and saluted DIG Shamsher once again before he took his place back in the file. He looked tired, yes, but never the less, the look on his face said a thousand words. And that sent the band rolling. The next to be called was Abhijeet, then Daya, followed by Freddy, then Sachin, later Vivek, then Tasha and finally Kajal.
Hands and feet trembling, she walked towards DIG Shamsher, and saluted timidly. He gave her a smile before shaking hand with her, and opening the rosewood box to reveal her medal. Kajal could feel her breath get caught for several moments seeing the medal. It was simple, yet so mind-boggling. A band ribbon string in the tri-colours of the Indian flag, while the medal in between was plated silver, with the National Emblem on India in the between, with two stars on either side, with "CID" written on top, and "Medal of Honour" written below. She had never seen anything more beautiful before. While Kajal was being made to wear the medal, she shut her eyes and let the sole emotion of pride engulf her. She didn't care about anything now - the hell she had to go through, the after effects of the event, even though it was minimal, or the now sour-faced DCP Chitrole, who she didn't give a damn about. Vowing to serve her country till her last breath, she quickly shook hands with DCP Chitrole and saluted DIG Shamsher once again before she headed to her spot beside an over-excited Tasha.
The forensic doctors were also awarded with a medal for their outstanding support, which brought an end to the ceremony. While DIG Shamsher and DCP Chitrole quickly left due to their immense work load, the rest of the officers got into a happy discussion, this time ACP Pradyuman included, about how best to celebrate this achievement.
"Chalo boss, aaj toh tumhein sirf aur sirf mere saath hi din celebrate karna padega!" Salunkhe muttered enthusiastically to ACP Pradyuman.
"Itni kya jaldi hai Salunkhe, pehle cake toh cut kar lene do hum sabko saath mein." ACP Pradyuman responded with equal enthusiasm, while all conversations seized and pairs of eyes started scanning the room for the aforementioned cake.
ACP Pradyuman brought the cake out from his cabin, a square chocolate truffle, with "Well Done CID Team" written on it. Some eyed it with greed, while some mouths watered at the tempting sight of the delicious cake.
Rounding towards the center table in the Bureau, all the officers cut the cake together while clapping and cheering, and while some had the fortune of eating the cake, almost everyone had a part of the poor cake spread across their faces. While Abhijeet and Freddy looked the most irked to have cake smudged on their faces, Daya and Vivek seemed more than welcome to all the cake on their faces. No one dared to put cake on ACP Pradyuman's face, for fear of losing their medal, plus their job!
After the celebration came to an end at 4PM, all the officers started making various plans for the remaining day. While Dr. Salunkhe and ACP Pradyuman decided to spend the remaining day at the former's place, Abhijeet and Daya decided to splurge a bit with dinner. While eveyone were warmly invited to join them, everyone refused as they didn't want to feel intrusive in the private celebration of the two. Freddy headed home to celebrate the rest of the day and his achievement with his wife, Manisha, while Vivek was forcefully sent home by a reprimanding Kajal, a fuming Tasha and an irked Tarika, the result being, the three of them being banned to celebrate with him at his place as a punsihment for being insufferable nurses. Dr. Tarika and Dr. Sonali were both called in that day for a women's medical conference, which made them unable to stay back with the remaining - them being Tasha, Kajal and Sachin.
"Chal na Kajal, Baskin & Robins mein chalte hai ice-cream khaane, treat ka treat, aur gossip ki gossip!" Tasha exclaimed to her in glee. Kajal assumed for a moment that Tasha had forgotten about Sachin's presence, when Tasha added, "Kyun Sachin sir? Theek kaha na maine?" Sachin gave her a smile and replied in a mildly amused tone "Haan haan bilkul, aur waise bhi tum ladkiyon ko toh gossip karne ka bahana chahiye bas!"
Laughing at her senior's comment, she continued, "Par sacchi sir, aaj bohot mazaa aaya! Chaliye na, celebrate karte hai hum milkar! Waise bhi, uss rotu ne mana kar diya hai uske ghar jaane se!"
"Par tum kabse usse seriously lene lagi!" Kajal added with shock.
"Main usse seriously nahi leti, par abhi uske saath celebrate karne jayenge toh waapas se woh over-exert ho jayega aur phir uski tabiyat aur kharaab ho jayegi. Isisliye nahi jaa rahi.." Tasha sounded low for a moment, before her face lifted once more.
"Chalo na Kajal, Sachin sir..."
"Main toh always ready, par sirf ek shart pe."
"Kya?"
"Ice-cream meri pasand ki hogi!"
"Not fair!"
"Haan ki na? Warna mai toh..."
"Arre chal theek hai na..."
"Chal.."
Kajal and Tasha both took their handbags. Kajal felt like there was something she was forgetting, but she couldn't seem to put her finger on it. Leaving the topic aside, thinking that she would eventually recollect what it was, she turned to open the dorr of the Burea before she saw that Sachin was exactly in the same position as before. Giving a meaningful look towards Sachin, Tasha sounded impatient now, "Nahi sir, iss baar koi bahaana nahi chalega! Aapko aana hai, matlab aana hai, that's it!"
"Par.."
"Par war, I don't care sir! Aapko aana hi hoga! Kajal samjhao sir ko!"
"Sir aa jayiye na hamare saath... aapko bhi mazaa aayega aur hum promise karte hai ki hum aapko zyaada bore nahi karenge..." Kajal added with a genuine tone that seemed to strike a chord with Sachin. Giving a helpless look, and a defeated smile, he nodded hi head. "Theek hai... chalte hai! Par meri bhi ek shart hai!"
"Kya?" Tasha asked with curiosity, for she was never used to seeing Sachin ever put any demand or condition before.
"Pure raaste mein tumhein baat nahi karni hai..." While Tasha put up a childish put on her face, Kajal and Sachin burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter, before the three of them finally left the Bureau in order to celebrate their success.
Reaching Baskin & Robins, Tasha headed straight for the counter, while Kajal and Sachin took seats at a table for three. The three of them had already discussed in advance as to what they would be having, so placing the order would be easy. While Tasha and Kajal would be sharing a "Banana Split", Sachin would be having and "Chocolate and Vanilla Crush with Whipped Cream".
Returning back to the table, a funny conversation had taken place, with Tasha mentioning an incident of her childhood where while sitting in the classroom, her friend had pushed the chair from within her during their Maths lecture, which led to her falling down, while she and her freind laughed hysterics, until both were punished, when Kajal spoke about a similar once as well. It was during their Hindi lecture. She and her group of friends were rehearsing for a class play, where she had to wear a sari made of two dupatta's, but somehow, her friend had knotted up one dupatta to her belt link of her uniform (which was a pinafore with a belt), so tightly that she couldn't open the knot, and it was at that precise moment when their Hindi teacher had entered the class and had seen her and her struggling friend trying to get the sari of her. It had been most ridiculous and still the time she completed her 10th, her teacher always taunted her about the same.
Just then, the waiter served the split and the shake and conversation paused for sometime, before Sachin began relating to them and embarassing moemnt in school, when he and his best friend (who was a girl) happened to sing a romantic song together without understanding the true meaning of its lyrics, and was hence forth always teased for this by his friends. This led to quite a bit of immoderate snickering from Tasha, while Kajal tried not to laugh out hard, which she managed decently.
More such stories were being shared when Sachin received a call on his cell. Talking to the unknown caller for sometime, while Tasha and Kajal continued conversation for some more time, Sachin's mood changed back to his original serious self. Hanging up the phone, he apologized to the girls profusely for having to leave them abruptly. While it seemed that an imformer had warned Sachin to some illegal activity happening somewhere around Goregaun, Tasha and Kajal offered to help him out, but Sachin refused point blank, the reason being the girls just recovering from one shock, and besides, it was their celebration day. Paying his part of the bill, despite Tasha's and Kajal's protests, he gave the girls a quick side hug and a huge thank you for making his day's special, before he headed to the unknown danger, while Tasha and Kajal asked him to keep them informed.
Returning to their seats, Kajal and Tasha continued eating their ice-cream in silence. Kajal felt worried. What was this illegal activity that had come out in the open? Why was it necessary for Sachin only to go for it? Would he be okay? What if it was a fake trail? And why the hell hadn't her brother called her! "Bloody Hell" was all Kajal muttered as it hit her. Realizing that the thing she was forgetting to see whether her brother had safely reached his destination or no, she cursed herself for her laid back attitude, before grabbing her phone to call her brother.
But before she could proceed to call her brother, her brother's caller id showed on her phone. Freaky. Answering the call, she looked tensed for a moment before she relaxed as she heard her brother give her a quick detail of everything that had happened so far. Telling his sister that his battery was dying down, he informed her about being home by 9:00 in the night, before disconnecting the phone hurriedly.
Meh! "That boy really need to sort out his priorities!" was all Kajal could think of muttering inaudibly, just for the heck of it. Keeping her phone back, she looked up to see Tasha giving her a "What-the-hell-was-all-that-about-look" but explainations were cut short, as Tasha did understand what Kajal panicked about. Changing the topic, Tasha added playfully, "Waise, maine Sachin sir ko itna kaha, toh bhi nahi maane, aur tumne ek baar kya keh diya, sir toh daude daude chale aaye! Kya chakkar hai yeh? Vivek ko pata laga na..."
Giving an irritable "Urgh" in return, Kajal turned a death glare towards her, but she seemed supremely unaffected by it. On the contrary, she looked more than pleased with herself.
"Maine toh bas sir ko request hi toh kiya... aur tujhe toh pata hai ki sab mere baaton se kaise impress ho jaate hai..." Kajal came back with a bang for Tasha seemed speechless for a moment.
"Haan haan, isiliye toh Vivek ne bade khushi se apne health ke baare mein bataya na tujhe..."
"Ab Vivek ko tere alaava koi dikhe toh kahun na..."
"Yaar kitni baar kahan hai, ki mujhe Vivek ke saath mat chida..."
"Shuru kisne kiya tha?"
"Woh mera bestest friend hai..."
"Mujhse bhi zyaada!"
"Shayad..."
"Hmph!"
"Chal chal, ab muh mat phula, banana split khatam kar..."
"Apne best freind ko bol na..."
"Chal baba bas, tu meri bestest friend hai, buss khush!"
"Nahi..."
"Kya chahiye tujhe?"
"Wahi, jo tu hamesha deti hai..."
Getting up from her chair, Tasha went and gave Kajal a huge hug, which brought both the bickering girls to a peaceful silence. Anyone looking at the two of them that moment could not tell that they were CID officers... they may have just been two 15-year old girls again. Shedding all unnecessary topics, they continued on much interesting and trivial gossips that only common girls could share, before Kajal and Tasha paid the bill and left, immensely involved in conversation, towards some fruitful shopping, while leaving a intentional 100 rupee tip for the waiter, who had to run half a mile to return it to them, before they educated him on the fact that it was tip, and not left there by mistake.
Returning home tired, Kajal threw herself on the couch, after she kept her precious medal in the showcase. It seemed that Anuj had returned home after he had left Kajal at noon, for the house seemed spick and span and the "infamous" hall now looked so clean, she doubted whether she was in the right place for a moment.
It was 9:10PM now. Her brother had told her he would be home half an hour ago, and seeing as he was always punctual, she was expecting him to be ringing the bell anytime like a maniac (another irritating habit of his!). However, no such bell rang even after 1 hour had elapsed. Kajal was now getting a bit frantic, but she controlled herself. She had changed into her pajamas, had some juice, while opening several cabinets unnecessarily, so she was pretty sure he was not home. She took the only option that he had in mind. Calling his friend, she enquired about her brother's location, but he didn't seem to have even the remotest idea about where Anuj could be. According to him Anuj had left his place at 8:10 PM itself, in order to reach at a dot-point 9.
A dejected Kajal hung up on the line. Her fabulous day, all gone to the dogs! Feeling an unknown fear creep up into her, and went around the whole and checked all the cabinets and cupboards once again to ensure that he wasn't about.
Another half-an-hour passed by. She was about to phone Tasha to inform her about her situation when the door bell rung once. And silence. Afraid, Kajal opened the door, to find an exhausted Anuj on the door with blood on his clothes. Kajal quickly pulled him in and shut and door, and before she could say anything, Anuj pulled her in for a hug. A proper hug. Something her rarely ever did. Which meant that something had happened that had shaken him up pretty bad. As the siblings separated from the hug, Anuj could see two types of fears clouding his sister's eyes.
Making her sit down, he decided to get rid of her first fear, but didn't know from where to start, which lead him to speak a mechanical "Sorry main late ho gaya." Kajal nodded mechanically, the same fear etched on her face. Anuj continued, "Main ghar aa hi raha tha, ki mere saamne ek gaadi ne ek aadmi ko udaa diya. Woh ghayal pada hua tha, aur woh car driver bhaag gaya par luckily uss area mein ploice patrol tha, toh police ne uss car ke driver ko pakad liya. Tab tak maine bike rok kar ambulance bulwaya, aur phir main aur police wale dono milkar uss aadmi ko hospital le gaye."
Heaving a sigh of relief that her brother was not physically injured, as she had thought, she asked him with concern, "Ab woh aadmi kaisa hai?"
"He's no more..." And silence. Anuj continued in a blank voice "Uske biwi bacche bhi aaye the... bohot ro rahe the..." And the dam bursted. Hugging his sister for feeling the comfort of family, both the brother and sister took solace in the other's company as the thought of the incident 1 month ago hit their minds. Separating after a few minutes, and clearly knowning that the other needed some space of their own, they both headed to their own rooms.
In was 1 in the night. A restlessly moving Kajal could no longer keep herself to bed! Gah! The same thoughts about HD and her kidnapping kept surrounding her mind, and it was annoying her steadily now. She hated to think anything related to that. She also hated the fact she always kept a strict "no sleeping pill" policy, for she felt the use of sleeping pills equivalent to the use of drugs, though she didn't know why.
The only way she knew she was to get some sleep was to have some ice-cream. It usually helped calm her mind immensely, and right now, nothing looked better to her than a nice bowl of ice-cream. If only anyone were in her shoes now! Getting up and heading to the kitchen, she noticed the TV in the hall on, but she quietly headed to the fridge and got herself a bowl of ice-cream. Heading to the couch, she saw that the TV was on silent, the reason why she couldn't hear it go off like Dungbombs. Accompanying her brother, who sat tehre with an identical bowl in his hand, she looked at the content showing on the TV, before she gave him a snicker. "Seriously? Tom & Jerry?" Anuj gave her a sheepish look before she put her head on his shoulder, while eating on her ice-cream.
"Tumhaara din kaisa tha?"
"Accha tha... pehle uske ghar gift leke gaya, phir cake cutting tha, phir movie, phir dinner, aur phir ek drive... tum batao?"
"AAj mujhe bahaduri ka medal mila..." Kajal said it casually, but a sharp intake of breath beside her was not a good sign. Oops! Getting up from the couch, she headed to the showcase, where she brought the rosewood book and handed it over to him. He opened the box and looked amazed at the sight of it, a look that Kajal herself had sported some hours ago.
"Congrats yaar! Party toh banti hai!"
"Abhi bhi ek hafta hai chhutti ke liye... kal toh celbrate karenge hi karenge, par ab har din ek dusre ke saath hi spend karenge, jaise abhi tak vacations mein kiya hai..."
"Deal! Waise, promise me something?" Anuj put the question quite hesitantly.
"Yup, say..."
"You'll stay with me?" Laughing at the way her brother phrased it, but getting what her brother truly meant to say.
"Until the very end"
"Always?"
"Always..."
Looking at her brother's astounded face, she gave him a wicked smile. "Aise kya dekh raho ho mujhe, ab itne zor se Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 dekhoge, toh dialgoes to mujhe yahan tak sunai denge na!"
Another look of shock passed Anuj's face. He needed to find out how much of Harrp Pooter knowledge his sister had been concealing from him. Sticking out her tongue to him, he pulled her in for a cuddle while they watched Tom & Jerry now at a respectable volume. Kajal dozed off to sleep after some time, while Anuj looked at her and gave her a proud smile. His sister had afterall gone through lots in her life, and she deserved all the respect, peace and success that she was now getting.
Watching Tom & Jerry, a new relevation about life and relationships hit him, before he gently carried his sister to his room and tucked her in saying Goodnight, and kissed her forehead, while she gave him a sleepy smile. He then disposed off the bwols in the sink, switched off the TV, and headed for his room once again, hoping to leave it this time straight in the morning, where he had several plans already forming how best to celebrate his sister's achievement.
"Some relationships are like Tom & Jerry, you tease each other, knock down each other, and every irritate each other, but can't live without each other as well!"
There! :D :D There was one more point that I wanted to mention, that the medal is TOTALLY fictional! (its understood, but still) I didn't want to give out a spoiler, that's why I kept this point for the last.
Also, sincere apologies for typos! :D
And lastly, constructive criticism will be more than welcome! :D :D