"That's my baby!"

Shikha's eyes glistened with ecstasy when she stared at the monitor connected to the ultrasound probe. She chuckled and looked at the radiologist and Vikram, who stood with a weak smile on his lips, in disbelief.

"The baby is healthy and quite active. Not a shy baby," said the doctor with a wide grin, running the probe on Shikha's lower abdomen.

Shikha giggled with a tiny drop of lacrimation rolling down her temple. The tiny blob on the screen was her baby! And the baby was safe and sound! The relief that flooded her racing heart knew no bounds.

The realization of carrying a new life in her body had always felt surreal for her, but to see her unborn for the first time had evoked love beyond every measure she had known. Warmth had engulfed her form, along with a blanket of goosebumps.

The doctor removed the probe from the slight swell of her belly and offered her a few tissues to wipe away the jelly. "I'll wait outside till you clean yourself and prepare the report."

She gave a curt nod to Vikram and walked out of the tiny cubicle separating her office from the ultrasound area. Shikha could not wipe away the lopsided grin of her lips, despite the ache in her cheeks because of her incessant smiling.

"I, uh, I'll go as well!" said Vikram, pushing his palms into the side pockets of his pants.

"Wait!" said Shikha, much to his shock, and wiped the jelly in a swift and messy move. She dumped the tissues into the bin next to the bed and sat upright, supporting her belly with her free hand.

"I need help to get down. I'm a bit dizzy after seeing that!" she said, looking at him with an expectant glance. He gave her a tight smile and forwarded his hand to her. She placed her hand in his and nothing could prepare him for the tingles that erupted where her soft palm met his rough one.

She placed her free hand over his biceps and stepped over the stool beside the table. She flashed him a sheepish grin before she stepped into her footwear and steadied herself.

Vikram, despite the almost irresistible urge to continue holding her hand, pulled his hand out when her grip stopped him. "Thank you so much! If I can see my baby today and hold him or her a few months later, it is because of you. Thank you so much, Vikram!" she said.

The gratitude gleaming in her eyes, with specks of admiration, made his heart gallop at a rate that made him wonder if it would erupt right out of his chest cavity. He had almost resigned to his fate of nonchalance from her, but Destiny had bestowed upon mercy in ways he had not expected.

"Of course! And I hope you know I would want your happiness above all and I would do whatever it takes to ensure the same! I know it was not that way before- "

"But I know it changed now, and that matters," she said, interjecting with a slight chuckle. "Thank you!"

Vikram acknowledged her gratitude with a nod and stepped aside from her. His cynic brain reminded his rather bullish heart, which had risen from years of slumber, to not prance around and shatter itself once again.

He had lost his sleep and peace, laying over the shards of shattered expectations once in the past, and he wondered if he could preserve his sanity, lest the history repeated. ____________________________________________________________

Shikha caressed the laminated surface of the ultrasound image when Sunaina walked into her room with refreshments. "It's been two weeks since you see nothing other than the image, Shikha. Don't cast an evil eye on your own child!" she said, shaking her head with a knowing smile.

Shikha flashed a sheepish grin at her elder sister and placed the picture in the book beside her. "I almost cannot believe it, Jiji! It is so..." Shikha struggled to find the right word to describe the burst of emotions in her heart every time she laid her eyes on the image.

"I know! Anyway, did you wish Vikram?" she asked, setting the refreshments on the table beside Shikha. Shikha's eyebrows furrowed and the edges of her eyes tightened. "Wish? For what?"

"You don't know?" Shikha shook her head in negative. "It is his birthday today. Go wish him!" said Sunaina.

Shikha's eyes widened after listening to her sister's words. The hullabaloo at the mansion for a few days had made sense in the light of the new information. "His birthday? Wow! I didn't know that. I'll have these after wishing him," she said. Sunaina nodded in understanding at her younger sister and stepped aside to let her sister descend from the bed.

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Vikram Singhal had not expected to see Shikha Singh Rathore when he turned towards the door after listening to the curt knocks. "Come in! Do you need something?" he asked, jumping to his feet from his plush revolving chair.

"And next time, you can call me. Doctor asked you to avoid straining," he said, unable to restrain himself from voicing his concern. His words made a smile dawn upon her glowing visage, and she gave him a curt nod.

Vikram pulled a chair for her to sit, to avoid any further strain. His action widened her upward curve of her pink lips and she settled into the chair. "Thank you! I, uh, I just wanted to wish you, um, for your birthday. Happy birthday, Vikram! I hope all your wishes come true!" she said, fidgeting with her thumbs.

He averted his eyes from her and the skin between her eyebrows crinkled. "Thanks!"

"If I had known before, I would plan for a gift. I'm afraid, wishes are all that I have right now," she said.

Vikram waved his hand, making Shikha's eyebrows arch in surprise. "Don't worry about that. I don't give a lot of importance to birthdays. I just use it as an occasion to make important announcements or organize charity feasts or something like that. No personal celebration for me," he said.

Shikha regarded the man's tense form for a few seconds before she nodded in understanding. "I see. To each their own, I guess. Jiji is like that, so I understand."

"I wasn't always like this." Vikram huffed with a morose smile on his lips as he settled on the chair across her. "I didn't see any point of celebrating when there was no one to celebrate with me. It's just one of those days when the loneliness gets new strength out of nowhere."

A wry chuckle escaped his lips, and she did not miss the flicker of anguish in his eyes. "Anyway, I'm sorry to bother you with this information. I appreciate your goodwill for wishing me!"

"No, not at all!" Shikha bobbed her head sideways. "You didn't bother me. Um, if you want to celebrate with someone, uh, I'm here."

Vikram's eyes widened. She fanned the hope she had extinguished years ago. The compassion in her eyes and her concerned smile evoked the feelings he had besieged in what had appeared to be an impenetrable fortress, but he could not be more wrong. There it was - his heart racing like it was never broken.

"You don't have to do this. I'm fine!"

"I know! I know I don't have to do this, but we are friends now, aren't we? You did so much for me, and now it is my turn to be a good friend to you. I relate to your emotions, having lost my parents."

She placed her tentative hand over his clenched fist, and she could feel his muscles relaxing under her fingers. "It's a terrible feeling to miss someone on your birthday, and I know it. So, if you want someone to talk to, I'm here."

And there was the kindness that tied him to her. He had little doubt - he had fallen for her again.

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