...... Same afternoon.....lunch break...
Dr ananya was waiting in the cafeteria with dr karan...

Ward boy:mam ye aap ke liye.
She looked at the letter..... Sighed at its obviousness.....

"prem patra he...dean ne bhejha he" she sighed looking at questioning karan...

"bro.... Ye to bada kaand ho gaya..... Tujhe bola tha... Mat panga le... Mehra se..."

She threw the envolope on him....
"chup reh..."

"this is to inform.. Dr ananya kashyap... oncology dept..... That u have been suspended from the dept. For a month....and in case of wrongful conduct and disciplinary issues....." she laughed...

"pagal ho. Gayi he... Lagta he... Shock ke mare" dr. Huda... Saying to dr karan...

"oye.... Me pagal nai hui..... Saala khadoos....... Ego hurt ho gaya na....... Patient ka punch jo pada he..... Ye gussa to nikalna hi tha... Patient ke khilaaf to action le nai sakta.... " she dipped a fork in her cake..

A peon came along...
"mam... Dr mehra ne aapko bulaya he"

" Sasurji ne bulaya he..... Aashirwad leti. Jana..."karan.... Dramatically

" ghunghat to le le chori.... Disciplinary issues...... "giving her apron.... And stethoscope ....huda winked....

"thanks yaar...." she ran off... Quickly... Buttoning her apron on the way...

......

He was cutting fruits quietly..... Sitting on the couch..while naina...eying him continually..... Thinking maybe... What she did earlier was too much. But he seemed normal..... Not reacting......

"me soch rahi thi.... Ke as it is..... Drs have given their verdict... Why waste time. Here..... Ghar kyu nai jaa sakte ham wapas"

He thoughtfully nodded...

"Haan... Tabtak.... Me baki arrangements karta hun... Hamare.. Canada jane ke.."

"tum phir shuru ho gaye" she sighs...

"listen... If i would have had got a slightest green signal... I would have. Listened to u... Par the truth is..... That.... In teen mahino we haven't got any positive responses.... From any treatment.... M. Tired" she tries to explain...

"jiya ko pata chal gaya he" he cut her in a serious tone...

"tum... Ne bataya...." she asked accusingly...

"nahi... It was when u were yelling earlier... She heard everything" he said...

She sighs

"kya kaha usse tumne..."

"yahi.... Ke ham... Mumma ko naveen mamu ke paas nai jane denge.. At any cost...." he said plainly....

"its about time we should tell her..... Don't u think..." she said in a slow scared voice...

"like u said.... Itni jaldi kya he.... Give her a few hours of hope..." he said deeply.... Shoving down his grief... And holding back tears.....

Hope.... Is a tricky concept.... Difficult to let go off... And harder to keep.....
"i haven't given up yet" he holds her hand... Firmly... As if giving her a bit of strength.... While tears slide down her eyes...... Quietly .... Not boasting their presence..... No sobs... No howling..... Just..... Tears..... As if solid words .. Which had been shoved down for too long.... Have melted.... And finding an alternate way to be let out.... Gushing...... Slowly down her skin through those hazel reservoirs.... Plenty of them.... ... Happy to be let out of confines as it was suffocating inside.....

"i always wanted to see one of those frozen lakes... Like they show in movies...... Snow clad.... Solid..... Yet.... Highly risky.... To walk on....." she said... And he wonders the reason... For a sudden switch in topic..

"hazaron... Khwahishen... Thi.... Meri..... Bohot sari cheeze dekhna..mehsoos karna chahti thi.... Ek hi to zindagi he........" she tells him... With great interest.... While he listens past numbness.... That he feels....... Currents... Of spine chilling pain..... On a realisation that perhaps..... Their story is reaching its end......

He nods...

" wo Khwahishen. Adhuri reh gayi... Because of me..... He na" he asks.... His voice choking...

"unhe puri karne ke liye.... Thoda waqt ab bhi he....." she looks at him...... His eyes as if a mirror. Reflecting her image..... Contently sighs..... "kuch to bin bataye puri ho gayi he.... Kuch bata kar puri karwa lungi" she says..... And he nods...smiling a little....

........

"dr mehra:dr ananya kashyap.... Aap janti he... A suspension order.. This early in your career.... What harm it can do

" dr ananya:yes sir.... It means... My chances of ending up in a decent hospital after the fellowship. Are narrowed... And my career is officially screwed up...

Dr mehra... :we are drs ananya.... We take risks.... Its our job... But those are measured and calculated...... Ham bhagwaan nahi he...... To ensure our patients... To cure them of incurable diseases.... That is giving them false hope... Which is a crueler and stupider thing to do. That is what this one month of sitting idle.... Would teach you.....

Dr ananya:with all due respect sir..... Aap ne bilkul sahi kaha... Hum bhagwaan nahi he.... Par log... Humare pas ek bharose ke saath aate he... That we will save their lives.... Or their loved ones......in my opinion... Its crueler to dismiss their hopes.... Without trying our best...

Dr mehra thoughtfully looked at this young over confident dr....
"what makes so eager to look up to her case again"
He asks curiously...

.....

She remembers the bleak hospital room.. She used to. Sit beside her mother.. While they treat her of stage 3 osteosarcoma.... A bone cancer... Metastasized to her internal organs.....
"there are no chances of her survival" drs pronounced their medical review.... Days went by.... Anticipation of her death....hopelessness and grief..... As she finally died after 3 months....due to kidney failure"
Autopsy reports came..... And it was clear.... That she was misdiagnosed..... And she could have been saved....had they not given up..
.........

Dr anany:six consecutive hospitals... Six changes in treatment regimes..... Either she should have deteriorated or gotten better..... Except... We are missing something....
She says with glitter.... Getting a hint of what dr mehra is suggesting....

Dr mehra:you have exactly 12 hours... To redo the blood tests.... And a trephine biopsy....and also to get your suspension cancelled..... He winks...

Dr ananya.. :sir... Diclofenac...handing him the patch..... Of medicine

Dr mehra :u better rush.... Irritatedly looking at the patch.... Of painkillers whilst rubbing his face.... Which was red and blue.

She runs off...to re do the blood work...

......

"i swear naina... I have no idea... Why that bastard wants to meet..." rajveer defending himself as naina is throwing daggers... Since they came to know... That she can't be discharged.... As drs are going to run a few tests.....

"what is bastard???" jiya asks... And rajveer bites his tongue...

"i have told u not to use swear words in front of her" naina mouthing sternly...

"beta... Bastard means impolite... Uhh.. Badtameez" he covers it up..... Hoping that the curious kitten won't bring it up again...

"just wait until... She uses this alternate word.... For badtameez" naina sighs....

"relax... Use yaad bhi nai aayega .. She is a kid" he assures her.... She sighs... Knowing what an impeccable memory this monster has...

....

Dr mehra... Emerges....

"hello ms naina singh ahluwalia" he greets...

"hello doc" he seems to be unusually jolly..... As if has some good news.

"and we have met officially...mr.pseudo husband" he indicating at rajveer.. And their different surnames..... Indicating clearly why the term pseudo... Is emphasized by him...

It looks like.... Rajveer was going to punch him again.... But...

"hello bastard uncle" jiya diffuses the planted landmines.... To blast her own vocabulary bomb...... And rajveer smiles as a reflex....

"i told you..." naina angrily looking at rajveer... And he quits smiling....

"you  guys seem like an interesting bunch..." dr mehra jokes.... And dr ananya laughs too from behind...

"well.... I don't think the kid is entirely at fault..... I have been called a bastard quite often..... But.... You are about to thank this bastard with all your heart......"

"Seriously.... Just leave... Before i punch u again"rajveer charged fully.....

"
Dr ananya... :mr sheekhawat..... We have redone your wife's tests... To find that... She is suffering from leukemia....

Naina:that's a news......

Dr mehra:but they have misdiagnosed ur case... The previous drs.... She is suffering from a milder variant.... Of chronic myeloid leukemia..... Which is treatable by chemo....
But since ur liver is not exactly fit for sustaining the other round.... We have a last resort..... Allogeneic bone marrow transplant... From a donor..... With HLA 50% match.... Maybe a sibling... Or a blood relative..a parent.. Or a son or daughter... Can save her.... She can be saved... Being the key sentence "

Rajveer's happiness knew no bounds.... But naina was calm...
As if already analysed an inkling of info... He has overlooked.... After being highly overwhelmed by the possiblity... Of her being saved..