New SanDhir FF: Thorns of the Rose. Author's Note - pg 66. pls see. - Page 35

PART 8 A:

He walked up and down the corridor. The doctors have been inside for ages. He was way too restless for her."What if something had happened to her? What if she doesn't open her eyes? What if she-"the chain of his thoughts broke when he felt a hand over his shoulder. He turned around only to look at an agitated Parth. He sighed. "She's gonna be okay don't worry!" he heard him whisper. But Randhir could only think about those beautiful moments spent with her and how it turned into a disaster.

The doctor came out and he was bombarded with questions by Randhir.

"Mr. Shekhawat there's nothing to worry. The patient's absolutely fine. You can go inside in a moment." He smiled and went away. Parth smiled. "I told you, Sanyukta will make it." He noticed Randhir's eyes watering up. He sighed and motioned him to go inside while he visited their other patient's room.

Randhir went inside. He saw all the wires sticking to her body. Her face was pale and she looked lifeless. Randhir let out a cry and sat near her. He took her hands in his and kissed it softly. "I am sorry Sanyukta. This is entirely my fault. I wish I never took you out. I shouldn't have been this casual about your safety." He let the tears flow down his eyes. He squeezed her hand gently and sniffed. He looked at her face, hoping that she had opened her eyes but to his luck, she was still in deep slumber. He caressed her soft hand and brushed his thumb on her cheek. The nurse had entered the room but he didn't care. Sanyukta at this time mattered to him the most. He wiped away his tears and brushed away a strand of hair from her forehead. She looked pale yet so beautiful. He didn't even have half the heart to look away from her face. The nurse told him to go but he shot her a deadly glare making her run away instead. He remembered how he panicked during the blast in her room, that incident seemed so silly now.

The doctor came back.

"Mr. Shekhawat, these are the bullets from her chest and shoulder." He whispered and kept the glass plate on the table. Randhir looked at the two bullets and shut his eyes tightly as the incidents kept running on his mind again.

"I must say, she is one lucky girl. Victims rarely survive such bullets." The doctor said and went away. He looked at her again. "I am sorry." He whispered and cried a little.

Parth walked in to Avantika's room. He saw her sitting up and a nurse was bandaging her wounds. Seeing her awake made him feel elated. "Hey." He smiled at her. She looked up. "Hi." She whispered. "How are you?" he asked and sat near her. "I am fine." She whispered but then closed her eyes in pain. He looked at the nurse.

"Sir, the bullet just passed by her shoulder blade. Just a little movement and she might have had it fractured." She whispered and kept the bullet on a glass plate before walking out. Avantika looked up. "How's Sanyukta?" she asked. He smiled weakly. "Well, the doctor said that she is out of danger but Randhir is still tensed." He whispered. Avantika nodded her head. Parth smiled at her. "You know, she would have been dead if you hadn't taken the third bullet to yourself." He gulped. "I did what I felt was right at that time." She smiled back. She looked at the bullet. "Can you bring me that?" she asked. He nodded and got up to get them. He sat back and handed the plate to her.

"You know, something is really fishy about this bullet." She whispered.

Parth was confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"It means that these bullets aren't fired from an ordinary gun. These bullets are usually fired from vintage guns." She exclaimed and looked at it. Parth too looked at them. "Vintage guns?" he asked. She nodded. "Let's just hand them over to Dr. Hawkes, he'll be able to tell the real story here." She whispered. Parth nodded.

"So, how's Randhir holding up?" she asked. Parth looked at her and sighed deeply. "Not so good. He hasn't talked to anyone since we arrived in the hospital." He looked into her eyes. "I don't blame him." She whispered as remembered how bad the situation was before she herself passed out.

Randhir was kept looking at her face. "You know, I wouldn't look away until you open your eyes." He whispered and held her hand in his. "She will open her eyes Randhir." He heard a female voice. He turned around and looked Avantika and Parth. He could see blood on her shirt and some bruises on her forehead. He remembered how she came in between and took a bullet for Sanyukta. His eyes welled up and he engulfed her into a hug. "Ouch." She winced. He pulled back checked her wound over her shoulder. "I am sorry and thank you." He cried. "Hey, it's totally cool and don't worry, she'll be fine." She smiled. He looked at her. "How are you?" he asked. "The bullet just passed my shoulder blade so, it's really paining." She whispered. He stood there and closed his eyes. It was his fault, all of it.

Just then Randhir's phone rang. It was Taylor.

"We are going to question the shooter you caught hold of. Want some answers?" Randhir heard him. His jawline tightened as he cut the call and walked away. He had assigned a special force outside Sanyukta's room. This time, he wasn't going to compromise with her safety. Parth and Randhir walked out as Avantika followed them slowly. Randhir turned around and saw her limping. He approached her. "Hey, you need rest." He whispered and helped her walk. "No. I wanna come." She argued. Randhir glared at her and so did Parth. She looked at them. "Hey, I am fine and I wanna know which bas***d fired his gun at me." She snapped. They knew arguing with her would be useless so they just let her accompany them.

They reached their headquarters.

As soon as they entered question-room' they were greeted by Banerjee and Randhir's grandpa. "You three okay?" they asked. The three of them looked at each other and nodded.

They were soon joined by Taylor. From the secret window, they could see a man limping and sitting on the chair. He groaned in pain and his forehead was bleeding.

Taylor was about to go when Randhir held him back. "I am accompanying you." He muttered as he clenched his fists. Taylor could sense his anger but still let him in. The other's stayed back looked at their accused.

"Avantika, you're an expert in observing body language so I want you to concentrate at the guy's body language and Parth I want you to hear and note down the tone he is using okay?" Banerjee instructed them and they nodded.

Taylor and Randhir walked in. The guy looked up and looked straight at Randhir. He noticed that his white shirt was smeared with blood and the intensity of Randhir's gaze was freaking him out. He looked away. Avantika raised her brow. "This guy is scared of Randhir." She said. Banerjee and Anil too agreed with her. Randhir and Taylor sat down opposite to the guy. "So, tell me what just happened today?" Taylor asked. The guy looked up and then back at his hands again. Randhir was losing his patience with each passing second. "I won't answer any of your questions detectives." He smirked nervously. Parth furrowed his brows. "He seems to be very nervous, his voice is shaking." He informed his seniors.

"Who are you and whom do you work for?" Randhir gritted his teeth. The guy looked up. "Why should I tell you?" he smirked. Randhir was breathing heavily. He was about to get up and beat the guy when Taylor placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. He looked back at the shooter. "Look, just do yourself a favor and tell us everything, you're punishment might be decreased." Taylor said. The shooter rolled his eyes but still kept quiet. "This guy is gonna be a tough nut to crack." Avantika whispered.

"Look either you tell us or else get ready for a death sentence." Randhir hissed. His words dripped with disgust and hatred. "Look, just stop wasting my time detectives and take me to jail. I don't care what type of a punishment the court gives me anyways." He rolled his eyes. Randhir banged his fist on the desk. He couldn't take it anymore. He went up and caught hold of the shooter's collar. He pushed him against the wall. "Do you even know that an innocent life is at stake just because of your tom-foolery and I swear if anything, anything at all happens to her, I will make sure that you die in my hands and trust me, I will feed your flesh to the scavengers!" he yelled and pushed him hard against the wall again. By now Parth had entered the room and tried to separate Randhir from the shooter.

Taylor was horrified by the audacity of the shooter. "She is a masterpiece and my master's eye candy. If he can't have her then no one will get her so prepare to lose her anyways." He laughed as he was dragged away by the police from the room. Randhir sat on the chair and covered his face with his palm.

"Calm down Shekhawat." Taylor whispered.

Anil, Avantika and Banerjee entered the room too. Anil kept his hand on his grandson's shoulder. "You need to keep a check on your emotions son." He whispered. Randhir got up and hugged him.

"You know one thing I noticed about that guy." Avantika whispered. Taylor ushered her to continue. "His pupils- they were dilating when he was acting over smart with you two." She said. "Which implies?" Parth asked. She rolled her eyes. "This implies that the last thing he said about his mysterious master' was true, because he was scared." Taylor completed.

Just then the police entered.

"Sir, the shooter is acting hysterical." He breathed and all of them rushed to see what was going on.

They entered a room where they saw him laughing like a psycho and throwing things he found handy towards the wall. Everyone was confused. Avantika sighed and walked towards him. "Avantika what the hell do you think you're doing? Come back here." Randhir gritted his teeth. Avantika turned around and assured him that she was okay and then continued to walk towards the shooter. She came near him but as soon he looked at her face, he collapsed in her arms. They rushed towards her.

She made him lie down on the couch nearby and opened his eyes forcefully. "I think he had a panic attack." Avantika concluded. But she also noticed something else.

"What?" everyone exclaimed.

She noticed her hands and started to open the buttons of his shirt. Everyone was horrified. "What do you think you're doing?" Randhir squealed. She looked up as she removed the guy's shirt completely. Their breath hitched as they saw what she wanted to show them.

"His chest is tattooed, so?" Parth asked.

Avantika rolled his eyes. "It doesn't look like a tattoo, it looks like a map." She exclaimed. "A map?" Randhir asked. She shrugged. "We need to see this in proper light." Parth exclaimed. They picked up the guy and took him to the infirmary. They laid him down face up as they concentrated on his tattoo. "Wow, this sucks." Parth exclaimed. "This tattoo is probably done using a bamboo stick." Taylor exclaimed. Avantika looked at him. "It's just like that the burglar case we solved years ago." She exclaimed. Her eyes widened as realization dawned upon her. "This guy won't survive for, Sir look at the amount of area of his body which is covered with this tattoo." She exclaimed and showed it to Taylor. "His sweat pores and the respiratory pores on his skin are covered with tattoo and on top of it, it is done with a bamboo stick, we need to do something before he dies." Taylor exclaimed.

Randhir was startled. "Wait, what? What do you mean? How do you know so much Avantika?" he asked her.

Taylor smiled at him. "She was my secret informer when she used to live in US after which she shifted to India for her college studies." He exclaimed.

Randhir was incensed. He was tired of all this. For the first time ever, he wanted to quit all this and rush to Sanyukta's aid. He just wanted to be with her right now. He was tensed for her but he also knew that he couldn't just leave everything here and walk away. He needed to be here but his heart wanted to be somewhere else. For a split of a second, he understood that he had to choose something else other than responsibility but he wanted to know what this was. Why was he feeling so agitated and anxious? He needed answers and he swore that he would get them.

He called Parth and Avantika to his cabin.

"Okay, let's start from the beginning!" Randhir exclaimed and took a black marker pen. He went near the board and wrote, "Important Notes" and started writing under it.

"The first point would be - The fire in Sanyukta's room!" he exclaimed and wrote it down. The other two agreed. "Then comes those mysterious fingerprints on Sanyukta's medicine bottles!" Parth added. Randhir nodded and wrote it down. "Then the accident in Sanyukta's house!" Avantika exclaimed. Randhir agreed and wrote that down too. "What accident?" Parth asked. They avoided the topic which irked Parth. "Then our team has a hangover of their lives!" Randhir exclaimed as he rolled his eyes and added this point to the list. "Oh and the dead guy we found in Sanyukta's house!" Avantika exclaimed. "You mean you're supposedly Piyush Sharma?" Parth asked.

They turned around. "What do you mean supposedly'? He is Piyush right?" Avantika asked. Parth nodded. "No, he isn't Piyush. He is someone else." He huffed. "And on what grounds are you saying that?" Randhir asked. Parth went over to Randhir's computer and showed him that Piyush's picture in the criminal database was someone else and the guy they found dead was someone else. Randhir was furious. "So this was a plan to distract us?" he gritted his teeth. "If that guy isn't Piyush, then who is he? And why was he using a gun which is licensed under Piyush's name?" Avantika asked. The three of them huffed. "What are we getting into guys?" Randhir asked.

Just then Randhir got a call from the hospital. His hands were shaking as he received the call. "H-Hello?" he stammered. The other two noticed how Randhir gasped but regained his composure. "I am coming over." He whispered as a tear escaped his eyes and he went out. They followed him and saw that he was already seated in the car and was waiting for them. They got inside and they soon left for the hospital. Randhir's hands were still shaking while driving which didn't go unnoticed by them. Avantika nudged Parth to ask him. He nodded. "What happened Randhir? Is Sanyukta okay?" he gulped, fearing his reaction. As soon as these words escaped Parth's mouth, the car screeched and stopped. He breathed sharply.

"She is in a critical condition." He whispered as they saw that they had already reached the hospital. They got out and Randhir ran inside.

Randhir ran towards Sanyukta's room. He saw that she was lying there, still, just like he had left her before. There was no change, instead her condition was deteriorating with each passing minute. The doctor walked up to him. "Mr. Shekhawat, her heart had collapsed, we had a hard time to revive her. We had almost lost her." He whispered and looked at his patient. "I think you should stay back here now. It would be better that way." He whispered again and walked away followed by the nurses and interns, leaving Randhir all alone with her. He staggered up to her and sat near her.

Ek tujko hi bas dekh kar,

Bole mujhko hi meri nazar

Tujhko shayad nahi hai khabar

Tujhko jeete hai hum kis kadar

He took her cold hand in his warm ones. He let out a cry. "I am so sorry Sanyukta, I am sorry." He whispered and kissed her hand. "I won't leave now, I will stay here till you open your eyes, I promise." He sobbed. He noticed how pale she was looking. Her face was devoid of that beautiful warm smile and her beautiful eyes were closed. He felt weak too. Seeing her like this was not at all easy for him and he didn't even know why. He broke down. He wasn't so strong that he could see her slip away from his hands like this. He wasn't ready for this. The doctor's words rang in his ears. We almost lost her' he remembered the doctor saying. He sobbed. "Even when I am such a dignified officer, I can't help you when need it the most." He sobbed and brushed his thumb on her cheek. "Please wake up." He whispered.

Jure jo tere khwab se,

Toh tute hum neend se

Yeh kaisa tera ishq hai

Saajna...

He kept on looking at her. He promised himself that he wouldn't take his eyes off her until she opens her eyes. He removed a strand of hair from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear, hoping that she would at least make a slight movement, but she was still the same. He looked at his white shirt which was smeared with her blood. He closed his eyes, disgusted by himself that he couldn't even protect her. He felt responsible for her condition and mentally chided himself. Her palm was so soft, like a baby. He kissed her palm gently and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Sanyukta, I know that you are strong and I promise that I will never let anyone hurt you." He whispered in her ear and let his tears flow down his cheeks. He didn't even feel it necessary to wipe them out as he pulled back while they fell tentatively on Sanyukta's hand. "Please open your eyes Sanyukta, I promise I won't misbehave and ignore you again." He sobbed and hovered his lips over her knuckles. "Please." He whispered, but to no avail.

Avantika was taken to the ward again as her stitches came out and needed to be re-dressed immediately as she had already lost a lot of blood before. Parth brought her some food as he sat on her bed and looked at her. She noticed his gaze and sighed. "I am fine, if that's what you want to know." She snapped. "Why don't let me speak for once?" Parth whispered, clearly irritated by her indifference towards her own health. She smirked. "Whatever." She snapped before finishing her dinner. She lied down on the bed, clearly exhausted with all the events of the day. She didn't even know when she fell asleep but he was still there, beside her, looking at her face as his heart cried out for her love and presence in his life, just like before. An unknown fear gripped his heart. "What if she never forgives me?" he thought as a lone tear escaped from the corner of his eye.

Tu haato mei toh hai mere

Par kyun nahi lakiro mei

Yeh kaisa tera ishq hai

Saajna...

PRECAP:

Vardhaan called the three of them to his cabin.

"I know you guys aren't college students!" he huffed as he faced the window.

Randhir, Parth and Avantika were horrified. They looked at each other, terrified by his words and before Vardhan knew, as he turned around to face them, he saw them pointing their guns at him.

He smirked.

"Interesting, very interesting."

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So I am back, after a long long long...okay long time!😆

I hope you liked the first part of Chapter 8, the next one that is 8B will a chapter of some revelations. And in the 9th chapter you all will know what exactly happened on SanDhir's Date night!😉

I personally cried while writing SanDhir scenes here😭 don't know about you guys!😆

I hope that was okay and do leave your views, would love to read them!😊

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