He turned his head to see Jiya slept with her head on his arm and one of her arms flung around Vrishti’s body on his chest, indirectly hugging him too. 

His breath hitched and he kept looking at her sleeping face. She looked so peacefully and so beautiful. He caressed her hair with the same hand that she was sleeping on and smiled.

He felt Vrishti stir and patted her back trying to lull her back into sleep but the girl was wide awake now. She pulled her head up and lifted her body on her forearms to see his face.

A wide smile formed on her face and she giggled looking at him, making his heart burst with happiness and love for this little being. If only Varsha could see how beautiful her daughter was.

“Pa… paapaa…paapaapaaapaa…”

His eyes widened when she started chanting the word while looking at him with her cute doe eyes. Carefully retrieving his hand from under Jiya’s head, he sat up with Vrishti still clinging to his chest and singing the word.

“Jiya! Jiya utho! Listen to this! Jiya!”

(Jiya wake up!)

He woke Jiya up, making her look at him groggily. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking at him with confusion.

“Vishu! Say it again!”

Srish prompted and Vrishti didn’t disappoint. She started the papa song again and Jiya too looked at him wide eyed. 

“You hear that? She’s calling me. Haan meri jaan, this is papa.”

(Yes my love, this is papa.)

He whispered and kissed Vrishti, securing her against his chest. Jiya smiled up at him and that was when she realised their positions and how close they were sitting.

She had been close to him and even hugged him a lot of times but sitting so close in bed, tangled in the sheets with him holding the baby they were raising together felt intimate. Too intimate. 

Srish might have sensed the change in the energy because his gaze dropped to her lips and he gulped. Jiya too looked at his lips and God! When was the last time she had felt the need to kiss someone this bad? 

Srish looked back into her eyes but found them focused on his mouth. He gulped again and that made her eyes snap up to his. She saw him lean in just a fraction of cm and closed her eyes. Srish paused and looked at her closed eyes.

Did she want him to kiss her? Or did he make her uncomfortable? Was she still thinking about Arnesh?

The last thought left a sour taste in his mouth. He cleared his throat and she opened her eyes. Her cheeks gained colour and she lowered her head feeling embarrassed to her roots.

Vrishti started babbling again seeing that none of her parents were giving her attention. That distracted them for some time.

Jiya thought about the moment the entire day. Why did he stop? Did he really not want to be with her anymore? Or did she give him some wrong signal?

They kept tiptoeing around each other for the next two days. Until Vrishti fell sick. 

“She’s burning Jiya. I think we should take her to the doctor. Get her admitted. Mai bag pack krta hu-”

(I will pack the bag-)

“Srish! Breathe!”

Jiya held his hand and made him sit. His leg was bouncing due to his panicky state and she kept her palm on his thigh to stop the movement.

“She’ll be fine. It’s just a common fever. Weather change ho raha hai. Ho jaata hai fever. Do din mai thik ho jaayegi. Doctor se baat ho gyi meri and she said ki agar kal tak bhukhar nhi tutega toh dikha lenge.”

(The weather is changing. Fever happens. She’ll be fine in two days. I have talked to the doctor and she said that if the fever doesn’t get down till tomorrow we will get her checked.)

She explained and Srish nodded trying to take a deep breath. She cupped his face and smiled.

“You worry a lot. Kuch nhi hoga usse. You’re doing a very good job as her father, Srish. She blooms with happiness when you’re around. You make her feel safe.”

(Nothing will happen to her.)

He looked into her eyes and smiled weakly.

“After snatching her mother from her, that’s the least I can do, Jiya.”

She kept her palm on his mouth and gave him a stern look.

“Shhh! You’re not at fault. It was an accident. Stop blaming yourself. Varsha was really lucky to have you as her best friend and husband. And Vrishti is the luckiest to have you as her papa. You’re an amazing person, Srish.”

She whispered softly and his eyes softened too. She slowly removed her palm from his mouth and her gaze again travelled to his mouth. His Adam's apple bobbed and her lips parted at the movement.

His hand came up to cup her cheek. He caressed it softly and her eyes fluttered close. He rested his forehead against hers and breathed her scent in. She felt his breath against his lips and whispered his name.

“Srish!”

“Jiya!”

She inched forward, letting her lips brush against his and muttered his name again.

“Srish!”

That was all it took for him to close the distance between them. He pulled her closer and snaked his other arm around her waist and kissed her deeper. Every other thought left her mind and all she could think about was his hands on her body and his lips moving against hers.

Srish wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or that she was really in his arms, and kissing him so passionately. 

She applied a little pressure against his chest trying to pull back. He left her lips with a soft tug and looked into her eyes in daze. She mirrored his expression and took long, deep breaths. His breathing matched hers and they kept looking into each other’s eyes.

He leaned in again and she closed the distance between their lips once more. This time, she got up on her knees and straddled his lap. He held her waist with both hands and gave it a squeeze, making her moan into his mouth.

One of his hands travelled up to her back and stopped at her head. He held the back of her head and threaded his fingers in her hair giving it a soft tug. She sighed against his lips and pulled back just for a moment to look at him.

Both of them smiled before going back to kissing. They broke apart when Vrishti started crying. 

Jiya immediately got off his lap and rushed towards the bed with Srish behind her. She felt Vrishti’s forehead and went to get the thermometer while Srish rocked her in his arms.