64
"Mamaaa," I heard my little boy calling from the hallway. His soft voice could melt steel.
I was sitting on the divan, nine months pregnant, holding a plate of water apples soaked in dangerously spicy hot sauce (yes, don't ask), when I called out, "Come here, baby!"
Nirmay came running in with a wide grin, his hair all messed up and sticky fingers from sneaking a sweet. I kissed his entire face repeatedly as he squealed and giggled.
"Mamaaaa! Too many kissies!"
"I'll kiss you forever! You're my baby!" I laughed, nibbling his chubby cheeks.
"But there's another baby now, no? When will they come, Mama? I want her today!" he said with all the authority of a mafia prince.
I blinked at him.
"Well, baby... the way your sister's been kicking me like a football all morning, maybe she'll-"
Suddenly I felt it.
Pop.
A warm gush.
I looked down.
"OH NO."
Nirmay blinked. "Mama, did you pee on the floor?"
"NO BABY, IT'S NOT PEE, IT'S-DATTTTTAAAAAAA!!!" I screamed so loudly I swear five birds fainted mid-air.
Within three seconds, Dattatriya burst in, shirtless and holding a gun in one hand and Nirmay's teddy bear in the other.
"WHO TOUCHED YOU? WHO MADE YOU CRY?" he barked, eyes blazing.
"MY WATER brOKE, YOU IDIOT!! I'M HAVING THE BABY!!"
He froze like someone hit pause.
"Wha-"
"DO NOT JUST STAND THERE YOU SMOKY STATUE-CALL THE DOCTOR! GET THE CAR! CALL BHAIRAVA BHAIYA! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU MAKE ME GIVE BIRTH ON THIS RUG I'LL DIVORCE YOU!!"
Arya bhabhi sprinted in with gloves already on. "Delivery mode: activated!"
Swarna bhabhi ran behind her yelling, "Where are the sanitized towels?!"
Dyan bhaiya ran in carrying a kitchen stool, yelling, "Here! Sit on this!"
"WHY THE HELL WOULD I GIVE BIRTH ON A STOOL DYAN BHAIYA?!" I screamed.
Utsav tripped on his shoelaces trying to carry my hospital bag, and Bhairava bhaiya was yelling at the driver for not flying the car.
"MOVE, YOU FOOLS! MY SISTER IS IN LABOR!" Bhairava bellowed like it was a gang war.
"Stop screaming or I'LL GIVE BIRTH RIGHT HERE ON YOUR DAMN SHOES!" I yelled back, now being carried bridal-style by Dattatriya, who was lowkey panicking.
"Baby, breathe," he whispered.
"I WILL brEATHE WHEN YOU SHUT UP AND GET ME TO A HOSPITAL!"
Nirmay ran after us with Sheraa right behind him, the snow leopard carrying a teddy bear in his mouth and looking very concerned.
"Mama wait!! I'm coming toooo!!"
"I'm not leaving without my baby!!" I yelled. "AND SOMEONE brING THE SPICY MANGO PICKLE I WAS EATING EARLIER!!"
"ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT FOOD WHILE GIVING BIRTH?!" Dattatriya screamed.
"YES, I'M PREGNANT, HORMONAL, AND IN LABOR, I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!!"
Arya bhabhi yelled, "She's dilated!"
Bhairava bhaiya yelled, "THE DOCTOR IS ON THE WAY!"
Gyan bhaiya calmly held a pack of ice chips. "I'm ready for moral support."
Dyan Bhaiya was still holding that damned stool.
"PUT THAT STOOL AWAY, DYAN BHAIYA!"
We finally reached the car, half the house screaming, half of them crying, one pregnant woman threatening murder, and a snow leopard growling because someone stepped on his tail.
It was chaos.
But it was our chaos.
And somewhere in between my contractions and yelling at Dattatriya to shut up for the fifth time, I smiled through the pain.
Our baby girl was on her way.
Hospital.
The place where logic dies and chaos is born - especially if you're a Choudhury-Agnivanshi woman in labor with a mafia clan as her birthing squad.
They wheeled me in like I was a ticking time bomb. Dattatriya was holding my hand while walking beside the stretcher like some overprotective soldier, whispering sweet nothings like:
"Breathe, baby. Just breathe."
To which I snapped, "I AM brEATHING YOU CIGAR-FACED DRAMA QUEEN."
Arya bhabhi was already in scrubs, barking at the nurses like a general in surgery, "I want the best OB-GYN, anesthesiologist, and pediatrician here in 30 seconds or I'll perform the delivery myself."
The nurses were practically tripping over each other.
Utsav was trying to record everything for family archives but dropped his phone into a water bucket. "OH MY GOD, MY LIFE!"
Meanwhile, Gyan bhaiya stood in the corner of the hallway holding a box of ladoos and muttered, "For after the baby comes... I swear on these sweets, if anything goes wrong-"
Dyan bhaiya was doing breathing exercises with me.
He was doing better than me.
"HEE-HEE-HOO! HEE-HEE-HOO-"
"SHUT UP, DYAN BHAIYA, YOU'RE NOT THE ONE PUSHING A HUMAN OUT OF YOUR BODY!" I growled.
"I know, but this is calming," he whispered, holding my foot.
"WHY ARE YOU HOLDING MY FOOT???"
"Don't know," he whispered, blinking.
Sheraa was not allowed inside but kept pawing the glass doors, visibly offended. Nirmay sat in the waiting room with a nurse, holding his teddy bear and telling it: "My sister coming. She's my baby."
Inside the labor room...
The contractions hit harder. I almost bit Dattatriya.
No, literally. I almost bit his arm.
"I HATE YOU!" I screamed.
He wiped my sweat. "I love you."
"I HATE YOU, YOU TOLD ME TO EAT ICE CREAM LAST NIGHT! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"
"You asked for it-"
"DO NOT BACKSASS ME IN MY FINAL MOMENTS, DATTA!"
The doctor laughed. "Final moments? It's labor, not war."
"IT IS WAR!!"
Finally... finally... after what felt like a millennium of screaming, pushing, scolding everyone and threatening the anesthesiologist...
The room went silent.
And then-
WAAAAAAAHHH!!!
A beautiful, loud, healthy cry echoed through the room.
And just like that...
All my pain, all my mood swings, the chaos - disappeared.
The doctor held her up, red and squishy and perfect.
"Congratulations," she smiled.
"It's a girl."
Tears spilled from my eyes instantly.
Dattatriya's lips trembled as he touched her little fist for the first time.
"Oh god," he whispered, voice thick with emotion. "She's real. She's ours."
I weakly reached out, and they placed her on my chest. She blinked up at me with the tiniest frown and let out a soft huff.
"She has your scowl," I whispered.
"And your nose," Dattatriya choked, wiping his tears.
"She's perfect."
He kissed my forehead, then her head. "Welcome to the world, Princess. Your Papa's got an army waiting outside."
And as I held our daughter close, Nirmay's little voice from the hallway shouted-
"MAMA! IS SHE HERE?! MY BABY SISTER??"
I laughed through my tears.
She was here. Our daughter. Our second miracle.
And she had no idea how fiercely, madly, and dangerously loved she already was.
I was shifted to the VIP ward soon after, and now... here I was. Sitting up in the plush hospital bed, holding my baby girl close to my chest.
She was tiny, pink, warm - wrapped in a soft white blanket with her little fists near her mouth. I couldn't stop staring at her. Every second felt like a dream I didn't want to wake up from.
Dattatriya sat beside me, eyes red and glassy. He didn't even try to hide his tears anymore.
"She's... she's so small," he whispered, gently brushing her cheek with his finger.
"She's perfect," I smiled, leaning into him.
At that moment, Nirmay climbed onto the bed, crawling carefully to my side with his usual chubby curiosity.
"Mama... this is my baby sister?" he whispered in awe, staring at the tiny bundle in my arms.
I nodded. "Yes, baby. Meet your little sister."
He poked her cheek carefully with one finger. "She's so soft like a marshmallow."
Dattatriya chuckled through his sniffles. "Careful, sunshine. She's delicate."
Then came Sheraa, walking slowly into the room with full mafia tiger grace, even with his pink bow still on. He peered over the edge of the bed and huffed.
"Sheeraa," I said gently, "this is your new job now. You have to protect this little one too."
Sheraa blinked his pale icy eyes, then gently licked our daughter's toes.
"She's accepted," Dattatriya smirked. "God help anyone who comes close to her now."
Suddenly, the door flew open - and chaos poured in.
"WHERE IS SHE?!" Bhairava bhaiya stormed in, followed by Arya bhabhi.
"She's here," I laughed. "She's okay."
"Move!" Gyan bhaiya practically tackled Dyan bhaiya out of the way to get to the bed. "I wanna see her first!"
"No, I will!" Dyan bhaiya argued, holding Swarna bhabhi's hand.
"She's pink!" Swarna bhabhi gasped. "And so tiny!"
"LOOK AT HER TOES!" Adya bhabhi cried, squishing Gyan bhaiya arm.
Jayash, Vardha, and Karna were with nurses nearby, peeking in from the door with sleepy eyes. "Buiii... is baby sister coming home?" Jayash asked.
"Soon, baby," I smiled. "Very soon."
Then came Papa, bursting in like a war general. He took one look at the baby and stopped dead in his tracks.
He didn't say anything for a moment. Just... stood there. Then walked slowly, sat beside me, and gently touched the baby's tiny hand.
"She's here," he murmured, voice cracking. "My little granddaughter..."
And just as we were all overwhelmed, the last guests arrived - Datta's dad and stepmom.
"Beta..." his father breathed, walking toward us with pride practically radiating off him. "You've given us another blessing."
"She's beautiful," his stepmom said gently, leaning over to see the baby. "You... both have done so well."
"She's my sunshine's little sunshine," Dattatriya smiled proudly. "Our little sunshine."
I looked up at him and blinked. "What?"
"You're my sunshine," he said, wiping another tear. "And she's our little sunshine."
I kissed her forehead gently. "That's perfect."
Finally, the room settled down. Everyone was quiet. Watching. Soft smiles, glowing eyes.
I adjusted my hospital gown slightly and gently began to feed my baby girl. She latched quickly, and I could feel the tears prickle in my eyes again.
Nirmay sat beside me, wide-eyed and amazed. "Mama's feeding my baby sister?"
"Yes, baby," I whispered.
Dattatriya sat next to us, one hand on my back, the other brushing Nirmay's hair.
He didn't say a word, just stared at us - his little family - with eyes full of love, awe, and something rare in his world:
Peace.
Our daughter suckled quietly, her little fingers wrapping around my finger.
And just like that...
We weren't just lovers. Or fighters. Or mafia and lawyer.
We were a family - complete.