There was Tia, lying in the stretcher. Her eyes were closed, her face was pale....
She looked lifeless!

This view shocked Arjun. He froze on his spot.

As the wardboys took the stretcher carrying Tia into a cabin, he pushed Praneet aside and ran into that room.

~

He rushed into the room and saw the wardboys shifting her on the bed. He was about to burst into tears when his eyes fell on something beside the bed.

There was a crib. With slow baby steps, he went closer.

It wasn't empty....
It was the best view ever of his life!

There was a little human figure wrapped in a light blue towel, sleeping peacefully. Tears trickled down his cheeks.

"Congratulations, you are now the father of this cute little baby boy," came the voice of the doctor from behind.

It felt like a dream to him. He wanted to take the little human in his arms but didn't know how to. The doctor came forward and put the baby, his baby, in his arms carefully. He couldn't help but stare at the boy sleeping peacefully in his arms.

Carefully, he walked towards the lifeless figure of Tia.

"Rani-sa, how long will you sleep? Wake up. Look, how peacefully our son is sleeping. His nose is just like yours. Wake up quickly, Rani-sa."

He waited for her to reply. But neither she moved nor she said anything. Fear was taking over him again.

"I must say, she's a true queen. Fearless and strong. Don't worry, she's fine. Just a bit weak. We had assumed that we'll be able to save only one. Even you said to save the patient. But she didn't let her baby go. She was unconscious, but she was obstinate. She not only saved herself, but saved her child as well," laughed the doctor.

Arjun laughed along, "Rani-sa is just like that. She is obstinate about everything."

"You don't have to worry, she will gain consciousness very soon. And because the baby is premature, we have to keep the baby in incubator for a few days. After a while, a nurse will come to take the baby. Till then, I will leave you three to enjoy some family moment."

Arjun smiled at her. The doctor waved the baby and left. He put the baby back into the crib and went back to Tia. He caressed her forehead and pressed his lips on her forehead.

"Wake up soon, Rani-sa. Our son is waiting for you...."

He grabbed her left hand with both of his hands and planted a kiss on the back of her hand as well.

Praneet and Priya were standing just outside the door, admiring the whole scene from there with tears of happiness in their eyes and a smile of satisfaction curved on their lips.

~

Narrow ray of light....
Darkness....
Wider ray of light....
Darkness...

Her eyes slowly adjusted in the brightness.

After 36 hours, when she finally gained consciousness. She tried to open her eyes. At first she stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then she realized her right hand over her stomach but she felt empty. She sensed something missing. She looked to her left and saw the machines attached to her body through some tubes. Then she turned to her right and saw a crib but it was empty.

She was trying to recollect the previous happenings and sit up but failed. Then she tilted her head ahead of the bed.

There was Arjun on the sofa. His eyes were closed, maybe he was sleeping and there was a small, tiny human figure who was carefully guarded within his arms.

"Aa... Arj... Arjun!" she was facing difficulty in speaking. Yet she tried to call him out, "Arj....Jun!"

But her voice was too low for him to hear.

"Ar....Jun!" she called out again.

This time he heard her.

"Rani-sa!" he saw her trying to sit up.

He put their baby in the crib and rushed to her side. He put the pillow behind her back and helped her sit comfortably.

"Comfortable?" he asked siting on the tool beside the bed.

She nodded lightly but her eyes were fixed on the crib. Noticing her staring in that direction, he got up and brought the baby to her. She stared at the sleeping little human in his arms.

"Can I..." her speech was breaking.

"Of course. He is our son only," he said with a proud smile.

Tia looked up at him at the mentioning of "our son". He nodded lightly and carefully placed the baby in her arms.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. Both were staring lovingly at their baby.

"His nose is just like yours!" giggled Arjun breaking the pin-drop silence.

"And eyes are like yours," she giggled as well.

She planted a kiss on his forehead and Arjun admired the view.

"How are you feeling now?" asked Arjun.

"No matter how I was, I am absolutely fine now!" she hugged the baby.

"Arjun, can I say something?"

He nodded.

"I have never seen you so happy before...." she admitted. "I am seeing you smiling openly for the first time!"

He smiled and replied, "All because of you, Rani-sa. Thank you.... Thank you very, very much!"

He planted a long, lingering kiss on her forehead. She smiled at sensation she felt and a single drop of tear rolled down her cheeks.

He sat back and clasped the free hand of hers with both of his hands.

"I can't express in words how happy I am. This feeling is altogether very different. And all this was possible only because of you."

"Arjun..." she wanted to say something.

"No, Rani-sa. Let me speak today. I have a lot to say," he started. "Rani-sa, I know our marriage is just a deal. Deal that you would bear me heir. But if I be honest, when I first took him in my arms... I felt I was re-born. Before being the heir of Goenka lineage, he is Arjun and Tia's son! Our son..." he emphasized on 'our'.

Unknowingly, Tia's eyes had become fountain. Arjun wiped off the tears and again kissed on her forehead.

She felt relieved. She felt happy. She felt as if she had won the whole world. Now she didn't need anything else. She had Arjun, she had their baby, she had everything....

~

Priya enters and goes straight to the baby first.

"Hi, baby. Maasi loves you!" she waves at the baby.

Then she takes at seat beside the bed.

"So....newest mommy in town!" Priya teases Tia making her chuckle, "How are you feeling?"

"Very very very happy!!" Tia exclaimed. "I have never seen Arjun this much happy!"

"You know what, when the doctor said that only one among the two of you could be saved, Arjun took your name immediately! He is changing, his attitude towards you is changing!"

"Yes.... With the birth of our child, our relationship also started on a fresh note," she grinned.

"Congratulations on your new beginning!" Priya hugged Tia.

"By the way, how are Gayatri and Rana Jai?"

"Gayatri has a fracture in her hand, nothing serious though. She wanted to come but doctor told her to rest. And Jai has a minor head injury, that's why he is told to rest."

"Thank God no one suffered anything serious," Tia sighed.

"But the truck which caused the accident, the police had caught the driver of it. We got to know that the accident was done deliberatly."

"What! But who could do this and why do anyone do this?"

"Maybe some old enemy of the Goenkas. But before the police could get anymore information, the driver committed suicide by taking poison. That's why, we couldn't get anymore information..."

"No problem. Everyone is fine, whatelse could be better than this."

"Yes, thank God for that."

"Did Baba-sa come?"

"Yes, he did come. He came when you were sleeping like a dead. He even argued with the doctor!"

"Really? Why that?"

"He was saying that he doesn't like hospitals because doctors deliberately keep the patients longer than necessary. This make the patient even more sick. According to him, these are the ploys of the doctors," Priya couldn't stop laughing.

Tia also joined her, "He said all these in front of the doctor?"

"What else then! Everyone was laughing so hard! Baba-sa was so cute, my God! He said he'll wait at home and prepare for your welcome."

"Even I can't wait to go back home..."

Then they passed their time talking about random things.

~

The whole palace, both in and out, was decorated. This was the celebration for the birth of the next generation of the Goenkas. Today, the 7 days old heir of the Goenkas was coming home for the first time.

Amidst all the dhol-nagada, Arjun and Tia entered the palace. Their little Prince was curled up in Arjun's arms and Tia walked side-by-side him. The whole walkway was covered with flower petals and more were being sprinkled on them.

At the end of the walkway, the whole family was waiting impatiently for them. Maharaj hugged Arjun as soon as they reached them and took the little Prince in his arms. ArIa bent down and took Maharaj's blessings, while the others got busy admiring the youngest member of the family.

"How are you, Tia beta?" enquired Maharaj keeping a hand on her head.

"I am good. How are you?"

"I couldn't just wait to play with our little Prince! Prince, won't you play with your Dada-sa?" Maharaj talked with the little prince while everyone chuckled.

"Rani-sa, you must be tired. Baba-sa, can I take Rani-sa inside?" Arjun asked for the permission.

"Surely."

"Come, Rani-sa."

Arjun helped her walk to their room.

Tia twisted the handle of the door and opened it to find the floor covered with rose petals and candles everywhere. Awed by the decoration, she turned to find Arjun already smiling at her lovingly.

"I had never imagined that you could be romantic as well. Roses and all, huh? I am impressed!"

"This is nothing, Rani-sa, a lot more is yet to come," he pointed at the wall over the king-sized giant bed.

Whatever hung there was hidden with a cream-colored cloth covering it.

"Please do the honors," he handed her a string with was attached to that hidden thing.

She pulled the string and the cloth fell down, revealing the giant photo of them from the coronation day framed in a gold frame.

She covered her mouth with her hands to contain her amusement. She got a flashback of one of the initial days of their marriage.

Flashback-

Tia was staring at the empty wall above the bed with a sketch book and a pencil in her hands. Arjun, who was combing his hair, saw her but ignored her.

"Arjun, Arjun!" her voice became high-pitched due to the excitement.

"Hmm?" still not giving her any attention.

"Listen to me! This wall looks empty. I was thinking of hanging a big portrait of us hete! Isn't that a great idea?" She was excited.

"I am going to office," that's all he said before leaving and ignoring her.

She stood there dejected.

Flashback-

"Than..."

"No, no. Thanks to you, Rani-sa. And I am really sorry. I never gave you any honoured you. Forgive me..." Arjun intervened in her speech.

Her eyes had become a fountain as usual by this sweet gesture. Her voice tears overpowered her voice. She simply hugged him tightly.

"I am sorry for everything I have done," he caressed her hair. "Hum aapke birthday par bhi hum aapke saath nehi the. I just want to make it up to you for everything!"

He parted and went into the walk-in. Soon after, he came back with a trolley with a cake, singing "Happy Birthday". She stiffened at first and soon after tears followed as she stared at the cake which had "Happy Birthday" written on it. She wiped her tears and tried to smile.

"What is this? Who cries on one's own birthday? Come, stop crying quickly," he wiped her tears. "And smile because it's time to cut the cake! I can't bake a cake like you, so I ordered one. I hope they make nice cakes," he tried to jokd.

She tried to laugh a bit. Her hands were shaking. With shaky hands, she cut the cake while he sang the birthday song. Then they fed each other cake.

"How is the Rani-sa who generally talks non-stop is so quiet now?" teased Arjun breaking her reverie.

She tried to divert her sight from the cake and wiped her tears which flowed without any resistance.

"I never thought all these will ever be possible.... I should have expected the unexpected," she laughed through her tears. "Thank you, Arjun....for all this. I will always be grateful."

"You deserve it, Rani-sa. By the way... this is just the beginning," he winked at her. "Close your eyes. And no cheating!"

She nodded and shut her eyes.

"Now you can open them."

She opened them but couldn't find him around.

"Arjun?" she panicked.

Her heart sank a little. She thought all these was her mere imagination, just like always. But proving her wrong, came Arjun's voice.

"Rani-sa..."

She turned around and saw him sitting on one knee before her holding a small golden box.

"Arjun...?" she asked confused.

"I know you don't like expensive stuff. But this is something precious, just like you. This is my mother's," he took out the beautiful ruby-diamond combo ring.

"Dadi-sa had gifted this to Maa-sa after her wedding. Maa-sa is...not here, that's I am giving this to you. Rani-sa... I didn't give this to you before because I never thought that you will ever hold so much importance in my life. As you said, I should have expected the unexpected. So... I hope you will take it as the token of our new beginning."

"You have made me cry so much today that I doubt if I would be able to cry for a few years from now," she wiped her continuously flowing tears.

"I promise, you will never need to cry...."

"Will you be able to keep this promise?" she teased.

"If you don't give me an answer within 60 seconds, then I might forget the promise because my knee is hurting a lot."

She laughed and forwarded her hand, "To new beginning!"

He slid the ring into her ring, "To new beginning...."

~

Later at night was the naming ceremony of their little Prince Charming.

Gayatri entered the room with two staff behind her carrying two hangers. Tia was humming a tune to the prince.

"Keep these there. Thank you," Gayatri said as the staff bowed and left.

"What are all these, Gayu?" asked Tia.

"Bhabi-sa, there is a tradition in our family that the new parents wear these traditional clothes for the naming ceremony. These are like..." she tried to find the correct words, "ancestral clothes which are traditionally worn by the parents on their new child's naming ceremony."

"Oh, okay."

"Bhabi-sa, I am so excited for the naming ceremony!" Gayatri couldn't control her excitement, "I had decided years ago that I will keep Bhai-sa and Teju-di's son's name 'Tej' only," she blabbered all that at once without even realizing what she said.

She bit her tongue when she realized what she said, "I am so so sorry! I just..." she slapped her own head, "I just say anything. Bhabi-sa, I am sorry...."

"It's okay, Gayu," she smiled.

"I think I should leave now," Gayatri left embarrassed.

Tia stared at her baby and kissed on his forehead.

~

Later at night, in the naming ceremony, ArIa were standing in the center of the hall, with the family around the ancestral crib which was decorated for the Prince.

"According to the tradition, the sister of the father names the child. Rajkumari Gayatri, have you thought of any name?" asked the royal priest.

Gayatri gulped the saliva which had formed because of nervousness.

"Gayu, tell everyone the amazing name you have thought," encouraged Tia.

Gayatri looked at her in surprise. Seeing Tia nod, she smiled.

"Tej," Gayatri said smiling nervously.

Aware of the story behind the name, the family was surprised. Arjun was about to say something but Tia held his hand and shook her head sideways.

"Rajkumari Gayatri suggested a very nice name. Rajpurohit-jee, can I add another name with it?"

"Yes, surely, Rani-sa."

"I want my son's name to be 'Tej Pratap'...."

"Maharaj?" the royal priest asked for his permission.

"Yuvraj Tej Pratap Goenka"

Everyone clapped as the royal priest took the newly named Prince in his arms and announced his name. With that, a drop of tear escaped Tia's eyes which she immediately wiped away before anyone could notice it.

_______________________________
UPDATED ON 12th Dec'18
EDITED ON 17th Jan'19

I had initially planned to add some moments with the baby in this chapter. But then I thought that should have a separate chapter. So didn't add them here.

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Hope you enjoyed this super long chapter. So what do you think, will ArIa live have their "happily ever after" or is this the "calm before the storm"?
And as I had mentioned earlier, this book is coming to an end very soon. I know you guys love it, even I do. But good things should be ended at the right time rather than stretching it unnecessarily.

But I have an idea! Recently I got a good plot for the sequel of BORN TO RULE! Would you like to see a sequel on this or not, let me know!

And if you enjoy reading this book, then please help me win these awards. The systems of voting are given in the links. Please vote for the book.

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