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With the Unconditionally series ending, a special creation for you guys:

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Rohaan

My soul trembled to the core when I heard the pained cry of Rabiya as I was on the phone. I dropped my phone to the floor and raced out towards Arsal's room. 

When I saw her on the floor, my heart almost stopped. I ran forward and shoved Arsalan roughly aside as he reached own to pick her up, his face pale. "What the f**k happened?" I shouted at him. Everything was a blur as my whole world briefly stopped. 

With the force of the shove, Arsal fell back on the bed. "Ro..."

I picked Biya up as she cried her newborn lungs out. "It's okay, baby, you're okay." I glared at my brother, before dashing out of the room and down the stairs. "Yamna!"

Yamna, Mama and Chachi came out in the hall, all looking panicked at my raised voice.

"What happened?!" My wife asked, her face turning pale as she looked at the crying Rabiya. 

"Grab her baby bag and meet me in the car. We need to take her to the hospital." I rushed towards the door.

"But, what happened?!" 

"Yamna, ask questions later. Just hurry!" I snapped.

"Ro!" Arsal came running down the stairs. "Ro, I'm so, so sorry. Is she okay?!" 

"You better hope that she's okay." I glared at him over my shoulders. "Otherwise, you're finished."

Mama glanced between me and Arsal. "What happened exactly?" 

"I trusted him with my daughter's safety, that's what happened." I muttered before pulling the front door open.

*

Biya threw up on the way, and Yamna and I were concerned about a concussion.

If it weren't through the connections of Aariz Bhai, I had no idea how long we would have had to wait for a doctor to see Biya.

We were asked questions. The doctor wanted some reassurance probably that there was no gross negligence involved. I was yet to determine that answer myself, but I reassured him that I was a policeman myself, and this incident had nothing to do with negligence. 

Biya had a minor bump on her head, but otherwise she was okay, Alhumdulillah. 

"How did this happen?" Yamna frowned as we headed out of the hospital, with me holding Biya protectively.

I didn't want to be bitter towards my own brother, but he had left me no choice but to not trust him with my daughter for the time being. His carelessness could have seriously harmed my newborn baby... or worse. "She fell off the bed."

"How?!" She looked at me in disbelief. "Rohaan, you're so careful with her. How did this happen?!" Then she noticed my expressions. "Arsal Bhai?"

I didn't reply.

"How could he have been so careless?" Yamna, who normally remained positive about everyone, seemed almost angry. It was natural, of course. She was Biya's mother, after all. If I felt p**sed at my brother, of course she'd be angry too.

An instinctive part of me immediately wanted to defend the Grasshopper, but the father in me was stronger. Biya was a newborn; a fall like that could even have potentially been fatal, God forbid. Arsal hadn't been negligent with my car, or a materialistic object; he had been negligent towards my newborn baby daughter. I didn't defend him. Instead, I chose to remain silent.

I had no words to defend Arsalan right now.

*

Arsalan

I felt like the worst kind of criminal in the world. 

Rabiya's cries still rang in my ears, making me shudder. What have I done?

I sat in my dark room, curtains drawn, my head in my hands.

There was a light knock on the door of my bedroom. I didn't acknowledge it, but the door opened, spilling light inside. 

"Arsal?" My mother's soft voice shattered something within me. 

She closed the door and made her way through the darkness of the room, eventually taking a seat beside me. 

"I... I didn't... I was so careless, Mama. What if something had happened to her? I would never have forgiven myself."

She placed a hand on my upper arm. "Arsu, you didn't do anything intentionally."

"I was negligent! I was careless!" My voice rose. "I don't know what's wrong with me these days. My mind feels disconnected from my body. Today... and today because of that, Rabiya got hurt! A baby, my brother's baby, got hurt!"

"Arsal, I'm not going to give you false reassurances, because it's natural that Rohaan will be mad. However, I know the feeling of this guilty, and I don't want you to be alone in this."

"What did I do, Mama?! What did I do?" 

She wrapped her arm around me, and I leaned my head on her shoulder, closing my eyes. 

My guilt, my self-loathing, was increasing.

I need professional help. Today, my messed-up state of mind cause my baby niece to get hurt. Tomorrow, it could be anyone else that I loved. 

*

Yamna

By the time we got home, Rabiya was sleeping peacefully, as if nothing had even happened. 

Rohaan took her out of the car seat and took her inside the house, unwilling to let her go for even a second. I had never seen him so shaken up as he had been when he had brought our crying baby daughter downstairs. I suppose that parental love weakened the strongest people, as well as strengthening up the weakest.

I followed them inside. Now that the whole incident was behind us, I felt myself shaking internally. I didn't want to feel resentment towards Arsal Bhai, nor did I want to blame him. I knew that he wouldn't even think about intentionally harming Rabiya. However, it was very unexpected from him to be so negligent towards her. 

Maybe I should be understanding. After all, it's uncharacteristic for Arsal Bhai to do something like this. Maybe he's going through something serious.

My inner battle continued. The good, understanding part of me was fighting against the terrified mother who thought of nothing above her child's safety. 

I could tell, though, the Rohaan was seriously upset with his brother. I didn't say anything to further fuel his fire of resentment against his own brother, nor did I act to extinguish that already ignited spark. It was, frankly speaking, a difficult situation to be in.

"Arsalan didn't do anything on purpose." A while later, my mother tried to stop the internal battle within my mind.

Rohaan had gone for a shower, and I had come to my mother after first bathing Rabiya with the help of my husband, and then showering myself.

"Nobody said that he did anything intentionally, Mama. But sometimes even negligence cannot be forgiven or overlooked." I whispered as I watched my her hold Rabiya against her shoulder.

"Arsalan is family, Yamna. You know that he adores Rabiya. Alhumdulillah, our little Starlight is okay. Bearing that in mind, maybe you can try and forgive him." 

"As a mother yourself, you can understand my hesitation, Mama." 

"I can, of course." She said. "However, I do think that Arsalan is going through something. We've all been worried about him. Just keep that in mind, Sunshine. Sometimes our hardest struggles originate from our mind itself. He needs support, honey; not guilt." 

I didn't argue with her, even though a part of me said that he should feel guilty. On the other hand, I'd always been raised to believe that it's not decency to heap further guilt onto a person who's already feeling bad. "I'll try to let it go, Mama. I can't promise the same for Rohaan."

*

Rohaan

I remained in the shower for longer than necessary, trying to calm myself down.

The fear of anything happening to Rabiya was mixing with my rage at Arsalan.

After pulling on black casual trousers and a grey shirt, I headed out of my room, halting in my steps when I saw Arsal pacing outside. Not trusting myself to control my temper at that moment, I began to walk past him.

"Ro."

I didn't stop.

"Ro, I'm sorry."

I don't know why, but his use of the words 'I'm sorry' further p**sed me off. I turned to face him. "You're sorry?" 

He looked genuinely ashamed.

"If anything had happened to her, do you really think a 'sorry' would be sufficient?!" 

"Alhumdulillah, she's okay." He spoke softly.

"So, I should overlook the fact that you were so bloody negligent towards her?" I felt my temper rising, causing alarm bells to ring in my head. Back out of this argument, Rohaan, otherwise it's going to blow up to become something completely out of hand. It's still Arsal. You don't want to say or do anything that you regret.

"No, of course not. I'm apologising for it, Ro. I feel bad." His expressions showed the sincerity of his words.

His words were not helping. They were not calming me down; in fact, they were further leading me down the path of rage. He was sorry. He felt bad. Meanwhile, anything could have happened to Biya. A head injury at that age... I shuddered as I even thought about it. Shaking my head, I headed towards the stairs.

"Don't tell me that you won't trust me with her again." His quiet voice stopped me in my tracks.

"No parent intentionally puts their child at risk, and I'm no different, Arsalan." I spoke coldly without turning around. "I'm not leaving my daughter with someone who can't take care of her." A part of me knew that my words were going to rip him apart, and maybe I should have been lenient towards him, considering his recent state. Yet, at that moment, I was acting solely as Biya's Papa, and not as Arsal's brother. 

"I adore Rabiya, and you know that." He wasn't letting it go. "Whatever happened, I... I..." He stopped talking as if he was lost for words.

Maybe I'm overreacting. It's Grasshopper, after all. I trust him completely. 

Ignoring my inner voice, I continued making my way downstairs without another word to him. 

*

I'd gone for a late evening jog, and it had calmed me down significantly. 

When I returned home and entered my bedroom, I raised my eyes. "What are you doing?" 

Rabiya was placed in the centre of the bed, surrounded by soft toys of all kinds and variety, as Yamna took her photos. 

"She looks so adorable, Ma Sha Allah!" Yamna smiled.

I sat down the bed, moving aside a kitten soft toy. "Is Mama disturbing you, Biya? You can tell me." I glanced at my wife. "You've made her a part of your soft toy social circle?" 

"Of course!" She grinned. "The only problem is that the soft toys are now insecure because Biya is cuter than them all. Ma Sha Allah."

"They were my competition, and now they have a competition. My kid has avenged me."

She rolled her eyes. "And yet, the soft toys remain your competition." 

I placed my finger against Biya's palm, and she curled her fingers around it. She seemed okay now, Alhumdulillah.

"It was just an accident." Yamna broke the silence that had descended in the room as I'd observed our daughter.

"I keep seeing her pained face. I keep hearing her cries. Each time I try to tell myself that it was merely an accident, her cries ring in my head, reminding me that this wasn't just a small mistake. This was a major error on his part." 

"Allah has saved Rabiya, Rohaan. Alhumdulillah. And since she's okay, and he's genuinely repentant..."

"Do you think that I'm overreacting?" 

She sat back against the headboard. "Honestly, I don't even know myself. All I know is that I've know Arsal Bhai my whole life, and I know that this negligence was uncharacteristic."

*

Arsalan

The darkness of guilt shrouded over me like a thick cloak. I felt like I was suffocating, and I wanted the sweet relief of oxygen, which in this sense meant forgiveness.

"Aslan?" 

I was lying with my back to Hira, but it seemed that she knew as well as I did that I was wide awake.

"Aslan, you need to stop thinking about it and blaming yourself. You didn't hurt her on purpose, did you?" She whispered, placing a hand on my upper arm.

"No, but sometimes negligence is just as bad as an intentional act." I muttered. "Ro trusted me with his daughter, and I..." I squeezed my eyes closed, feeling a headache forming once again.

"Rohaan Bhai knows you, and his anger will disappear, you know that."

"Not when it comes to his daughter, Hira. Kids take priority over everything."

"If someone outside the family had been a part of this, maybe he wouldn't be forgiving. But he will eventually forgive you, Aslan, because he adores you and trusts you. Just give him time and space to cool down, okay?" 

I turned to lie on my back, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness. 

"He'll come around, Aslan. But he wouldn't want this guilt to internally eat you, you know that." She took my hand and squeezed it. 

"Do you blame me?" I whispered.

"Maybe I'm a little biased, but no, I don't. I think sometimes unfortunately accidents happen with our loved ones, where we just happen to unintentionally become the means of it. But, unless it was severe gross negligence, we can't always be blamed for it. Obviously, as parents, it might take time for Rohaan Bhai and Yamna to understand that, but they will understand because that's how family is."

"I don't know what I'd do without your support, Hira." 

With a part of my burden decreased, I drifted off to sleep.

*

Rohaan

I opened the door of my bedroom the next morning, after I'd heard a knock.

Initially I didn't see anyone, but then I heard a small giggle. Looking down, I saw Annie sitting there, smiling up at me with her tiny growing teeth. "Assalam Alaikum, gorgeous." I leaned down and picked her up. "What a beautiful surprise!" 

"Me too!" A small voice came from the other side. I turned and saw Maham standing a few feet away, wearing a purple lace dress, white knee-length socks and adorable white pumps. 

I reached down and she ran into my arms, and I lifted her up too. "Assalam Alaikum to you too, Detective."

"Walaikum Ass'am." Maham kissed my cheek. 

"Did you bring Annie up here?" I pretended to be confused and shocked.

"No!" Maham giggled. "Khalla dropped her off here. I asked her to. We wanted to see Rabiya."

Annie reached out towards Maham, giggling again.

I took my beautiful little nieces to the cot, where Rabiya was asleep. "She's visiting Dreamland right now, but you can give Mamu company until then, can't you?" 

"Can I have chocolate then?" Maham's eyes sparkled.

I set the girls down on the bed then. "You are very cheeky, detective."

Annie lifted her arms up towards me.

"You want me to hold you, huh?" Chuckling, I picked her up again, kissing her cheek. 

Maham, meanwhile, started playing with the soft toys. 

A knock on the door made me glance over my shoulder. "Assalam Alaikum."

"Walaikum Assalam." Hoor smiled. "Can I come in?" 

"Don't be all formal." I shook my head at her. "Come." 

She headed straight for Rabiya's cot. "Is she okay? I heard she fell."

I walked over to stand beside her, lowering my voice. "She's fine, Alhumdulillah. I'm sure you know the details by now."

She nodded. "I do." She reached down and gently pulled Rabiya's blanket over her chest. 

"Hoor, I really don't need a lecture on forgiveness right now." I knew what my sister's intentions were, and I kept my voice low as I didn't want Maham to hear.

She straightened up and shrugged. "I'm not giving you a lecture. I'm a mother too. I know the terror of even the thought of my children getting hurt." She pursed her lips. "Arsalan always messes up, and he should be feeling guilty about it."

I looked at her, surprised. This was not something that I'd expected from her. She was the perfect mixture of Mama and Papa, and a firm believer in forgiveness, especially when it came to loved ones. "Yeah, he should." 

"I'm sure he must have stayed up all night, at least most of the night, feeling bad. As he should be. What he did wasn't something small." She continued, looking annoyed.

"Okay, maybe that's too much. You know that his guilts eats him up completely, no matter how small it is. That's too much burden for Grasshopper."

"He was careless with Rabiya. How could you feel bad for him?" Hoor narrowed her eyes at me.

"Because he didn't do it intentionally, yaar. He would never hurt anyone intentionally, let alone his niece. Accidents happen, and Alhumdulillah, Biya's okay. There's no need for Arsal to continue burying himself in guilt." My shoulders sagged when I realised what she'd done. "Well done, Anabia Junior."

"What are you talking about? I'm on your side." She pretended to be clueless.

"We don't have sides. Arsal isn't against me or Biya. He's my brother, and Biya owns his heart, I can see it." I sighed. "Maybe I should go talk to him. Grasshopper has been having a hard time, as it is."

"Up to you."

I smirked at her. "Well played, Hoor. You tricked the detective." I kissed Annie's cheeks, before handing her over to her mother. "Please wait here while I go and talk to Grasshopper." 

*

"I got fired." Arsal's words floated out of the partially opened door as I approached his room. "I was told by Mr. Edwards that he'd ensure that I'd never get a job in publishing again, considering how represents such a major publishing house." 

S**t. Poor Grasshopper. I knocked lightly on the door of his room.

"Come in."

I entered and saw him standing in front of the mirror. "Who are you talking to?" There was nobody else in the room.

He sighed. "You heard?" 

I nodded. "I heard enough."

He ran both hands through his hair. "I was practicing telling Mama and Papa how their youngest son's life is over."

"Don't be ridiculous, Grasshopper. The company didn't value they, it's their loss. Losing a job doesn't mean that your life is over." I walked right over to him and placed a hand on his shouler.

He looked at me, his eyes full of pain. "I considered... just briefly... I considered ending it last night."

I froze in disbelief. "Arsalan!" 

"But then I thought that suicide is gunaah, and what relief am I supposed to find by committing such a huge sin?" He paced the room. "I'm lost, I'm confused. I feel relief when I pray, I feel hope. But the moment I move away from the prayer mat, I feel hopeless again. I sense the reassurance of Allah when I prostrate in front of Him, and I feel Shaiytan luring me back into misery the moment I stop my prayer." He looked at me. "And yesterday, because of my stupid mind, Rabiya got hurt! Sweet little fairy, the angel Rabiya!" 

Now, I felt guilt. I felt like I'd somehow let him down by not being there for him. I pulled him into a hug, patting his back. "What happened with Rabiya is not your fault. I don't blame you for it, Arsal."

He actually sagged with relief. "Ro, thank you!"

"You'll find another opportunity, Arsal; a better one, In Sha Allah."

"Mr. Edwards said that he'd ensure..."

"Mr. Edwards can f**k off. If Allah wants something better for you, not twat can stop it." I told my brother. "But your life has more value than any career, any wealth, anything materialistic in this world, Grasshopper. If nothing else, think of Mama if you ever consider self-harm." I placed my hands on his shoulders. "I'm speaking to Harris. You need to see a professional, Arsal." 

He nodded. "I really do."

*

Hooriya

"You're really something." 

I turned and saw Haya walking up to me as I stood in the garden of the Tariq family home, watching Ali and Arham play football. "What do you mean?" 

"You tricked Badrooh. Now I know that you, Hooriya Rehan Tariq, are my twin sister." My twin smirked at me.

"There's nothing wrong in tricking someone for the right purpose." I replied. "I saw Arsal suffer, and I knew that if he continued suffering, Ro won't feel good about it either." 

"I'm worried about Arsal." Haya admitted after a brief silence.

"I am as well." I nodded. "But I also know that if he falls, we're all here to take care of him. And, most importantly, he has a brilliant and supportive partner like Tahira, Ma Sha Allah."

"Ma Sha Allah." She slid her arm through mine. "Come on."

"Where?"

"Let's have tea and samosay with Dado. It's been a while since we sat and gossiped with her." She started dragging me towards the house. "Any trouble that happens to anyone in the family, God forbid, we'll all deal with it together, as always."

But like my mother, I was a worrier. It was hard for me to let go. "Haya..." I spotted my brothers coming down the stairs together. "Ro, Arsu, keep an eye on the boys. They're playing football outside!" I immediately noticed how broken my youngest sibling looked, but I also noticed the comforting hand that Ro had placed around his shoulders. Haya's right. We'll all look out for Arsal. I met Ro's gaze briefly, and he gave me a discreet, reassuring nod.

*

"I always find you at your maika." Farhaan joked as he came into the kitchen.

"Assalam Alaikum." I smiled at him as I poured the boiling water from the kettle into a teapot. "You came just in time for tea."

"Walaikum Assalam." He came over to me, giving me a quick peck on the lips as we were alone in the room. "Lagta hai saasu maa se shikayat karni padhaygi ke beti ko baar baar na bulaya karain." He teased.

*"It seems that I have to complain to my mother-in-law, not to call over her daughter again and again."

I smirked. "Sasur se karlain." 

*"You can complain to your father-in-law."

Farhaan straightened up, looking over his shoulder as if worried that Papa would walk in.

"I'm glad you decided to come." I told him. 

"How's Rabiya?" He looked concerned.

"Alhumdulillah, she's okay. God, my heart almost stopped when I heard that she fell off the bed. My sweet, little jaan." I placed a hand over my heart as I recalled the moment I'd found out.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, and I pressed my forehead against his chest.

"I was worried that this would impact my brothers' relationship." I admitted to him. "I can't bear the idea of a rift between my siblings, Farhaan."

"Ma Sha Allah, the bond between you and your siblings is too strong to be broken just like that, Hoor."

I looked up at him, placing my hands at the sides of his neck. "I won't let it break. I'll intervene whenever I need to, to maintain the peace." 

"You're a sweetheart, Hoor." He kissed my forehead. 

No, I just love my family unconditionally, and I'd do anything to keep the peace between them. I'd do everything to keep the family together, like my parents always had- and still do.

*

Haya

"Thank God you decided to come!" I narrowed my eyes at Aariz.

"Decided is a strong word, don't you think?" He grinned. "You left me no choice."

Rolling my eyes, I walked up to him as he locked his car, and wrapped my arms around his neck before leaning up to briefly kiss him on the lips. "Everyone is here. You should be here too. Come on, dinner's all set up." I slid my arm through his and led him inside.

"PAPA!" Maham screamed happily as we entered the dining room.

Aariz greeted everyone as our daughter launched herself at him.

"We're so happy that you've made it as well, Aariz." Dado smiled warmly at my husband.

"Biwi bulaye to mana kaise kar sakta hai insaan?" Aariz smiled teasingly at me.

*"When the wife calls, how can a man refuse?" 

"Why not?" Badrooh, of course, had to speak up. "Just say that you're too busy."

"Is that right, Rohaan?" My sweet, newly-bold Yum-Yum raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't seem to practice what you preach."

Everyone laughed.

"That's my Yum-Yum." I said, proudly.

After Aariz had returned from washing his hands, he sat down beside me at the table.

I looked over at Arsal. He looked better as he sat amongst family. He was even smiling. But I knew that it was going to take some sessions with a professional before he could be his former self again. We'll support you, no matter what, Arsu. I felt fiercely protective of my youngest brother all of a sudden.

*

Anabia

I'd just finished praying Fajr, and sat down on the bed as I waited for Rehan to finish as well. 

There was a knock on the door, and I frowned worriedly. "Come in."

The door opened, and to my surprise, Arsal walked in. 

"Arsal, are you okay?" I asked. 

Rehan stood up and folded the praying mat, looking at our youngest child in concern. "Arsal?" 

Arsal came and sat on the bed beside me, before leaning down to rest his head in my lap, curling up. 

I ran my fingers through his hair. "Arsu, what's wrong?" 

"My mind hurts, Mama." 

I exchanged a worried look with Rehan, before glancing back down at my son. "Arsu..."

"I need help." He sounded like a young, vulnerable child. "I don't want to give up on life, Mama. Please help me." 

*

Mental health is a very important issue that isn't discussed enough. Some people feel embarrassed, while others don't want to talk about it. It is very important for us to look after our minds as well as our physical health.

Arsal is suffering a lot, but will things get worse for him before they get better?

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