He had no idea how long they stood like that but he slightly jerked when he felt something wet on his neck and realized she was silently crying. Not knowing if she was crying because of what had happened or because he had just yelled at her, he felt like a jerk for losing his control. He needed to keep his anger in check and work on his language he realized. He was living with a woman now and it was disrespectful for him to be swearing like that, let alone swear about something she was involved in.

The fear of something happening to her gripped him so tight that he wanted to either pull his hair out or punch something. For now he realized he just needed to hold her and the way she was holding onto his shirt, he knew she wanted the same. He slowly moved his hand downwards but stopped before he could reach the bandaged area.

As she felt his hands rubbing her back and slightly move downwards, she grabbed fistfulls of his shirt and shut her eyes waiting for his hands to reach the bandaged area which was starting to throb now as she realized the painkillers that she was given at the hospital was starting to wear off.

Her slight trembling pulled him out of his reverie and he realized that she was wearing a thin tshirt that he grabbed for her from the hospital store and the same skirt. He slightly moved his face away from hers and looked at her. Her eyes were tightly shut and her lips were trembling. She looked a lot paler than she usually was. He slowly lifted his right hand and brushed his thumb across her cheekbone waiting for her to open her eyes.

Feeling the butterfly touch on her cheek she opened her eyes and looked into his apologetic ones and before she could say something, he placed his finger on her lips to stop her from saying anything.

"I am sorry.. God, you have no idea how sorry i am. There was no way i was going to stand around if i had any idea that he had knife to your back"

As she tried to interrupt him form saying anything more, the look in his eyes stopped her.

"You are my responsibility and I feel like I let you down today. This shouldnt have happened. I just didn't want to do anything stupid just incase..." And before he could complete his sentence she completed it for him

"Incase they would have shot you and taken me away" as one of the guys had a gun she remembered. Noticing the shocked look on his face, she tiredly smiled.

"This wasn't a hindi movie where you could have taken five armed guys down. Until you were standing infront of me, I knew nothing would happen to me and now those darn painkillers are wearing off and I can't stand anymore" she completed trying to slightly grin at him and lighten the atmosphere around them.

The next minute she was in his arms and telling her he would be right back, he ran to the kitchen and grabbed some water for her. Giving her the painkillers the doctor had given to them, he walked towards the closet to get her night clothes. Looking through them, he decided to grab one of the cotton buttonup shirts as he knew that would be easier for her to put on and take off if she needed to.

As he handed her the clothes, it dawned on him that she probably wouldnt be able to change as her knees couldnt bend and the bandage which was wrapped around her back and stomach wouldnt let her move her upper body much. She looked at him a little apprehensively waiting for him to leave the room so she could change as she was too tired to go to the bathroom but instead of walking out the door, he locked the door and walked back towards her.

"Here I'll help you" he told her as he moved his hands towards the hem of her shirt.

"No I can do it.. Dont worry" she told him and thinking he would move away she tried to pull her first arm out of her shirt but in the process pulled her back and scrunched her face in pain.

"Don't be stubborn Khushi...atleast let me help you" and hearing his apologetic tone, she moved her hands back down and closed her eyes, waiting for him to come forward.

Keeping his eyes on her face, he pulled her one arm out and then the other. Reaching for the hem of the shirt, he slowly pulled it over her head. Grabbing her night shirt, he put her arms through it and slowly buttoned up the cotton shirt while not looking at her, remembering how only a few hours ago he had been so tempted to unbutton her shirt at the office. Maybe if he did, it would have delayed them and this wouldnt have happened, he thought bitterly.

As he grabbed her pajamas and moved his hands towards her skirt, he noticed his palms starting to sweat. This was definitely harder than he thought, he realized but pushing aside all thoughts except for getting her in bed, he reached for the top of her skirt and looked for a zipper or hook somewhere.

"The zip is on the back" she softly whispered with her eyes still closed and her hands now holding onto the side of her night shirt. As he unzipped the skirt he realized he wouldnt be able to take it off unless she was standing or lying down. Without a word, he put his arm under her butt and lifted her up. As he moved his arm away, her skirt fell to the ground. As her shocked eyes looked into his, he gave her a small smile.

"We just need to get to get your pajamas on hmm". Saying that he bent infront of her and he put each foot through. As he slowly straightened up, she could feel his warm hands rubbing along her leg, up her thighs and stopping at her waist. As his hands lingered on her waist, her breathing quickened and for an instant she wished he would just wrap his arms around her. But he didnt. Instead he helped her back down and made her lie down.

Putting everything away, he made his way towards his side of the bed and kept the nightside lamp on.

"If you need anything, let me know k?"

She just nodded in response and tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in. As she turned from one side to another, she finally gave up. Looking towards him, she noticed his eyes closed and assuming that he had fallen asleep, she sat up in bed and rested her head against the headboard.

"Cant sleep?". Hearing his voice she jerked and as she looked at him, he motioned her to come towards him. Scooting closer to where he was sitting, she sat beside him. She felt him now nudge her to move forward and as she did, his body slipped behind hers and he spread his legs around her. Grabbing her waist, he pulled her body back towards him and she stifly sat infront of him. He pulled her a little closer.

"Relax" he whispered against her hair and kept his nose buried there, breathing slowly against her ear. It took her a few minutes and a couple of yawns but the painkillers kicked in and she slowly found herself leaning back and giving in. The heat radiating from his body, his soft breathing against her ear and his arms around her waist were her undoing. Arnav moved his head up once he felt her body relax. Not being able to stop himself, he dropped a light kiss on top of her head, leaned against the back of the bed and dozed off.

He woke up a few hours later when he found her trying to adjust her position and all her squirming wasn't helping as he found himself not being able to control certain parts of his body that were under her assault at this point.

Dont think about, dont think about it.. he whispered to himself hoping she wouldnt wake up and realize his position and he thanked all his gods when she drifted back to sleep.

Thank God... he whispered... oh yes God... think of holy thoughts, holy thoughts he told himself over and over hoping that would prevent his blood from travelling southward in his body.

Next morning Khushi slowly got up and lookied back at Arnav. His mouth was slightly open as his head leaned back against the bed. Typical guy, she thought wondering why many guys had the tendency to keep their mouths open when being in a sitting position. Her dad did it, her brother did too and so did Karan, she thought warily. Mentally kicking herself for thinking about him again when Arnav, her husband, was right infront of her, she felt an unknown guilt take over her. Is that how girls who had loved someone previously felt? Did girls compare the person they were currently with to memories of someone they loved before? She didn't know about others but she certainly knew she had to get a control on her thoughts.

She looked back up at Arnav and using her index finger, she pushed his chin up to close his mouth. When it closed, she smiled to herself and looked over his face. His nose that kept flaring with his breaths, his eyes that were slightly wrinkled at the corners, his forehead that had a small scar on the right side. Her fingers moved up and she lightly traced the mark. Wonder what happened, she thought to herself and noticed another scar right under his left eyebrow. It was barely noticeable as it was almost hidden by his eyebrow. Her hand slowly moved towards that scar. As she lightly caressed it, she felt him slightly move and she almost jumped realizing what she was doing. He took a few gulps as if his throat was dry before he settled down and his mouth slightly opened up again.

She lifted her finger again and closed his mouth and just as she was about to move away to go to the bathroom, his mouth opened again. This time she laughed out loud and as she was about to close it again, his eyes opened. As his sleep filled eyes locked her twinkling ones, her laughter disappeared when he raised his hand and softly caressed her cheek.

"You seemed to be having fun there" his sleep filled voice asked and she decided to just keep her mouth shut, not trusting herself. She wondered if he realized what she was doing before and as if he could read her thoughts, he smirked.

"Kya hua Khushi..." and before he could push her buttons anymore, she turned around and was about to move away when she flinched and felt the throbbing in her back. She took a few deep breaths and got up to go to the bathroom when he stopped her and asked her if she needed help.

She nodded her head in a no, walked to the closet to grab her stuff and then into the bathroom. Slowly she moved around, brushed her teeth and as she unbuttoned her shirt to go shower, she realized she needed something to cover the bandage from getting wet. She looked around the bathroom and not finding anything, she buttoned up her shirt again and walked out to find the bed already made and Arnav making noises in the kitchen.

She walked into the kitchen to find him heating up toast and beating eggs. His hair was all messed and his eyes looked tired but the picture he portrayed standing the kitchen that way was utterly sexy.

Sexy! What the... and before her thoughts would go all haywire on her again, she walked up to him and asked for a plastic bag so that she could cover her bandage.

"Here, I'll do it" he told her as he turned her around and lifted her shirt up. He tied a few bags around the bandage carefully and asked if she needed help showering. As her eyes widened at his question, he smirked.

"I asked if you needed help showering Khushi, not to take a shower with me. There is a HUGE difference sweetheart" he laughed and she couldn't stop herself from turning red. Giving him a glare, she walked back to the bathroom but could hear his laugh ringing in the kitchen behind her.

It took her over an hour just to shower and she came out and cut the plastic bags with a pair or tiny scissors that she found in his bathroom, which she assumed he probably used to trim his beard or something. Finally relieved that she could do it all without his help, she tried to put her clothes on and mentally kicked herself for thinking too fast. Just the shower had tired her out and she couldn't seem to either pull her underwear up as she couldn't bend and nor could she hook her bra.

Oh shit.. now what do I do... and she decided that she will take a break and try again but before she could find a place to sit, she heard a knock on the door.

"Everything ok?" and mumbling a yes, she stood for a few more minutes and knowing there was no point in standing around and freezing, she wrapped the towel tightly around herself and pulled a robe on overtop. Angry that she would need his help again, she opened the door and found herself being hit in the forehead.

"Oh shit! Sorry! I was just going to ask if you needed any help"

"Infact I do! Since I can't seem to be able to even put my own clothes on!" she huffed and decided to let anger overtake her instead of the warm tingly feelings when he was around her. He grabbed her clothes and walked back into the bedroom and realized she was actually angry and frustrated and who wouldn't be in her condition, he realized. Especially knowing how independent she was, he realized that this must be extremely hard for her to keep asking him to do things.

Deciding not to pull her leg and just getting the task done, he made her sit on the bed and put her panties through her feet and moved them up to her thighs and looked away to let her finish. Awkwardly, she pulled them up.

"Done" she told him and waited for him to turn around and finish the rest. Next came the sweatpants and they both repeated the task. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at her to remove her robe so that he could put her bra on. One the robe fell back on the bed, his hands mechanically reached for the towel when she felt her hands over top of his and the kind of scared look in her eyes. He pulled his hands from under hers and looked away again not too sure how she wanted to do this. Picking up her bra, she put her arms through it and covering her front, she lowered the towel and waited for him to just hook the back.

"Done" she whispered this time and he turned around and without looking at her, took hold of her straps and leaned against her front so that he could look back and do the hooks. As his breath fanned her shoulder while he tried to finish it all up, his hands trembled and it took him longer than needed. Once done, his hands moved away and he fixed the straps on her shoulder and the area under her arms. As she looked towards the bathroom, and he looked towards the other side of the room avoiding each other's eyes, he pulled the t-shirt over her head that she had picked out. He knew she probably would need help in removing it again and as his brain told him to tell her to put on a buttoned up shirt, his heart decided against it. Even though this sweet torture was killing him, he knew he wouldn't give up any reason to help or touch her. Once all done, he looked back at her and grabbed a comb from the bathroom to help her with that. Putting her hair in a ponytail, he asked her if she needed anything else and when she just nodded in a no, he walked into the bathroom to go take a shower himself leaving her behind with a pounding heart and flushed face.

Looking at her husband's retreating back, the butterflies in her stomach, the pounding in her heart and the sweat that was threatening to break out on her forehead, she realized her husband of three days was definitely going to drive her crazy.

Pinki