FF:I love U, I trust U! Pt 42 (Pg 134) 02/10 - Page 84

The sound of anklets.

Baby feet running across a garden, tiny fingers brushing against plants and flowers.

A swing under a tree.

A little girl on the swing.

She turned around and screamed, "Amma" and giggled.

Loving arms lifted her off the swing and twirled her.

There was the sound of laughter.

The girl ran. Her anklets, her bangles, her hair flying in the wind...

She ran and ran and slowly started fading'.

Arnav switched on the bedside light. He turned around to see Khushi lying against his chest, drenched in sweat, shaking her head, muttering "No, no, don't go. Stop. Don't go." Tears filled in Arnav's eyes, as he wrapped his arms around her and caressed her hair. He placed a kiss on her forehead and her eyes fluttered open. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she whimpered, "Arnavv.. our .. our baby.."

Arnav shook his head and smiled. "It's ok, sweetheart. Go to sleep. I am right here. And I won't go anywhere. I will never leave you alone, you know that, don't you?"

Khushi pressed her lips together and nodded. She rested her head against his bare chest and closed her eyes. He pressed her body close to him; she was shivering. He raised his eyebrows. "Are you cold? Maybe you should wear some clothes, sweetheart." Her eyes still closed, Khushi shook her head. She put her arm around Arnav's chest and pulled her body closer to his, putting her leg across his thighs. Arnav pulled the blanket to her neck, covering her bare shoulders and caressed her hair as he watched Khushi sleep.

"Arnav, will we.. will we ever have a baby again?" Khushi's voice was almost inaudible.

Arnav closed his eyes to control his tears. He pressed his nose against her hair and gently kissed her hair, while caressing it. "Yes, sweetheart we will."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now you go to sleep, ok?"

Arnav heard a faint snore in reply. A tear rolled down his cheek. He watched Khushi sleep for a while and gently moved her aside. She made an annoyed face; he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and she settled peacefully against the pillow. Arnav took his pyjamas from the ground, pulled them up to his waist and got up from the bed. He walked to the window and looked out at the full moon shining brightly in the sky.

Arnav turned around to look at Khushi again, her face glowing in the moonlight. It had been a week since they moved to their new home. The first day, he had dropped her off at Buaji's place before going to office, but he had missed her so much that day, he insisted that she come with him to office the next day onwards. The days passed by quickly; they spent all their time with each other, except when he was busy with meetings, during that time she would sit in his office or help out in the cafeteria. But nights had been difficult. Every night Khushi would wake up scared, sweating profusely. The first few nights she hardly slept, but now the nightmares were less frequent and less disturbing, because she slipped right into sleep after waking up. Arnav used to stay awake, caressing her, making sure she was comfortable in her sleep.

Arnav exhaled deeply. Tomorrow is NK's engagement. Di. I will have to meet her tomorrow.

Flashback. "Nannav, my mom wanted to thank you all for treating me like family, which is why she insisted on having the engagement at Shantivan. But I told her you also had a farmhouse, which will be a much better location. We thought we should ask you first before we decided on the venue."

Thank you, NK, for convincing your mom to move the engagement to the farmhouse. I had sworn I would never go back to Shantivan again, but I didn't want Khushi to miss your engagement either. The way her face lit up when she saw all of you. How long can I keep her away from all of you, my family? My family, Arnav scoffed. Di.. I still can't believe.. how could you kill my baby.. the Di who brought me up like a mother..

Arnav closed his eyes. A tear rolled down.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Khushi, wrapped in a blanket, her eyes drowsy.

"Are you alright?" Khushi asked, worried. Arnav smiled and nodded. Half-asleep, she managed to bring a faint smile on her face.

"Come back to bed." She said, yawning. He put an arm around her shoulders; Khushi leaned against his shoulder as they walked to the bed. He helped her lie down and he lay down next to her. He switched off the light. She nuzzled against his chest and closed her eyes. He kissed her forehead and drifted into sleep.

Precap: Anjali meets Arnav and Khushi at the engagement.

FF: I love you, I trust you (Thread 4)