I am Radhika, wife of Rohan. It was Sunday morning. We arrived at the hospital at about 7 am in our car. I was not in my senses. My husband Rohan was badly hurt. His breathing was erratic. I feared for his life. The previous evening, he fell down from a height onto a chair, in our house and hurt himself. Since then he had an acute problem. Our family doctor visited that evening and gave some medication but his condition deteriorated through the night. We had to rush him to the hospital next morning.

A team of doctors examined my husband and opined that my husband needed immediate operation. They said his life was in danger. I was desperate. Hospital staff rushed my husband to the operation theatre. I heard from junior doctors that the surgery was quite complicated and took almost five hours. They assured me that the surgeon performing the operation was Dr. Malhotra, who was an experienced and an expert surgeon. I absent mindedly heard them and closed my eyes most of the time praying to God during the operation. I saw the surgeon coming out several times, to organize various things, giving various commands to the nurses and attending staff. I was impressed with his energy and attention to detail in ensuring success of this surgery.

After the surgery, the surgeon came out of the theatre, removing his gloves and said to me smilingly, "Mrs. Rohan, you are very lucky. You brought your husband just in time. Had you been late even by half an hour, perhaps, he could have lapsed in coma and the case would have been beyond reasonable possibility of survival."

For the first time that day, an expression of relief appeared on my face. I folded my hands in greeting and blurted out with a mixture of excitement, happiness and surprise, "Oh! Sir! So! You are the famous Dr. Malhotra! I am so glad to see you. How is my husband?"

"Yes, he is OK and will be fine," said Dr. Malhotra.

I could not control my tears. I saw how well Dr. Malhotra had organized the pre and post surgery procedures and I had learnt from the nurses, how well he operated my husband. I was very grateful to Dr. Malhotra, who tried hard to save my husband.

During the first three or four days so many junior doctors, nurses, patients' relatives visited our room in the hospital asking for how my husband survived such a serious accident. The news of my husband's miraculous survival circulated in the hospital like wild fire. Everyone came and told us how Dr. Malhotra, through his hard work and expertise, took my husband out of jaws of death.

When I met Dr. Malhotra after the operation, I told him that, but for his untiring efforts, my husband could have collapsed. It was only due to his untiring and genuine efforts that my husband survived. He smiled back and told me that he did nothing extra. What he did was his duty as a doctor. However, I knew that Dr. Malhotra had put in marathon effort. Dr. Malhotra did not act, as any normal doctor would have done. He went far beyond that.

About five hours later, Dr. Malhotra came to visit my husband Rohan in the special room; we got from the hospital, to check how he felt. My husband Rohan was asleep. I woke him up. Rohan opened his eyes and saw Dr. Malhotra smiling. It was a wonderful smile. Dr. Malhotra's teeth were nice and uniform. He was indeed a very attractive man. He took my husband's hand in his and said, "I am Dr. Malhotra Srivastava, You are a very lucky man to have survived this accident. Your wife was very worried and was praying all through. Her prayers have worked."

My eyes were moist. The doctor tapped on my shoulder in genuine sympathy and said, "Your husband is ok now and will be normal in about four weeks. However, he must take complete rest for at least three weeks. During this period, you must take good care of him. If you have any problem of any kind, do not hesitate to come to me. I am always available" The doctor then called me outside the room and gave me instructions on post surgery care and what food to eat, what medicines to be given etc.

I found the events overwhelming. Sincerity and skilful surgery by Dr. Malhotra was like a windfall of blessings amongst the catastrophe that faced us. Dr. Malhotra's gesture touched my heart. I caught his hands in genuine affection and told him, "Dr. Malhotra, I am indeed extremely grateful to you for what you have done for us. Dr. Malhotra felt embarrassed by my emotional expression.

My husband quickly learned from the hospital staff and me; what Dr. Malhotra did to give a new life to him. I told my husband that but for Dr. Malhotra, I would have been a widow. Rohan nodded his head, took my hand in his, and smiled.

For the first four days, Dr. Malhotra regularly visited our room twice a day. This was a great boost for me. I developed complete confidence in him as doctor. I would not trust anyone else and insisted on Dr. Malhotra's advice for all treatment related issues; small or big. I also realized that he went out of his way and devoted a great deal of his time and attention to the treatment of my husband in preference to his other duties. He worked tirelessly to treat my husband's rehabilitation and recovery related issues.

My husband Rohan felt greatly obliged by Dr. Malhotra's prompt, tireless and sincere attention to him. Rohan is emotional and very affectionate. He held my hands and said, "Radhika, if ever there will be an opportunity, I would love to repay this debt to him."

There was one thing about Dr. Malhotra though, which I found strange. I was puzzled to see Dr. Malhotra in the hospital through the day and night. He never appeared to be absent. I checked on this with the hospital staff and learned that he and his wife had some serious problems. For the last few months, Dr. Malhotra did not sleep in his house. He would sleep somewhere on a patient's empty bed or on the stretcher in the hospital. He would do extra duty hours just to forget this pain. The management was quite pleased with that. He went to his house only to change clothes. Usually, he ate in the hospital canteen.

I was disturbed hearing this. I felt a tinge of pain realizing that such a wonderful, decent and loving person was undergoing such tension. I felt a surge of sympathy. I felt like helping him get over this situation. However, I did not how I could help. My respect and feelings for Dr. Malhotra increased considerably.

When my husband Rohan, learned of this, he told me, "Radhika, when you go home today, please bring that inflatable bed with you on your way back from our house. I would ask Dr. Malhotra to come and sleep in our room on that bed. Our room is air-conditioned and he can sleep here in comfort. I do not want him to sleep in patients' beds or on the stretcher in the night."

I went home every day in the morning from the hospital, for about three hours to freshen up, cook and set up the house. When I returned from home that day, I brought the inflatable bed with me in the car. The bed was compact and comfortable. When deflated, it would become small and easily portable. We could deflate and tuck it away when not required. When we needed to spread it, we would inflate it with a small compressor, which was a part of package.

In the hospital, I slept on the sofa cum bed provided in the special wardroom. There was just about four feet space between my husband's bed and my sofa. We decided to spread the bed between Rohan's hospital bed and my sofa. That night, when Dr. Malhotra was going to sleep somewhere, Rohan insisted that Dr. Malhotra should sleep in our wardroom on our inflated bed.

Dr. Malhotra politely declined the offer saying, it would not be proper. Rohan rejected this and said that Dr. Malhotra was not violating any rules, as he was not on duty in the night. After a lot of haggling, when Rohan stubbornly refused to accept no as an answer, Dr. Malhotra had to agree. That night he slept on the inflated bed. The bed when inflated was at the same level as my sofa. One could easily roll over form one bed to the other. It was almost as if Dr. Malhotra and I were sleeping on the same bed. My husband's bed was slightly higher.

My husband usually expresses his grief and happiness by touch. He is a touch person. In the night occasionally, my husband hung his hand, touched Dr. Malhotra's hand and affectionately moved palm over Dr. Malhotra's face. Dr. Malhotra reciprocated my husband's affection and squeezed my husband's arm. I liked my husband's gesture. Following him, I also extended my arm in the night and moved it over Dr. Malhotra's face and hair. He reciprocated it with the same affection and squeezed my arm.

This became a routine and for the next three weeks, Dr. Malhotra slept with us in our wardroom. By that time, we were quite free with each other. In the night, as we slept, occasionally I would take his arm and put it under my head to show my affection. Rohan would usually have his one arm hanging in the night to touch Dr. Malhotra. Dr. Malhotra also would extend his arm to touch my head or arms affectionately or accidentally. However, I never felt that he ever attempted to touch me with any sexual intention.

I liked Dr. Malhotra as a male. He was attractive in a sexy way, yet very decent. He was tall, strongly built, lanky and smart, had an attractive hairstyle and an excellent reputation as a good surgeon. He was always smiling, in spite of his problems. During our stay in the hospital, when I returned home, I cooked things of Dr. Malhotra's liking and brought them from home every day to the hospital for him to eat.

I felt a particular feeling for him in my heart that I could not understand or analyze. His height, casual attire, polite manners, charming smile, careless hairstyle and eagerness to help; bowled my heart over. I felt that perhaps he also developed some kind of mildly sexual attraction for me. I noticed him occasionally stealing glances surreptitiously at my breasts and sometimes at my shapely hips.