Linka sat on the opposite side of the cave with her back to Wheeler. That way, he couldn't see the tears in her eyes, not just because every time she moved her wrist, she felt excruciating pain, but because she hated it when she fought with Wheeler, and she wondered if he really meant it when he said they were probably going to die.

They had been fighting more than usual lately. Before, their arguments were based mostly on the fact that he enjoyed getting her fired up, and she enjoyed one-upping him and winning those arguments most of the time. She knew exactly why there was this new tension between them. She was jealous. She had thought that she and Wheeler had reached a point in their relationship where she was ready to trust. He had matured since they first met, and while he was still a goof off, he knew when to behave. When he flirted with her, instead of ignoring him, or turning him down, she would accept it and make comments back to him. She'd find herself making excuses to make physical contact with him; a hug when he did something good on a mission, a calming touch on the arm when he got angry and was ready to go off on a polluter. When the group was hanging out watching a movie or playing a game, she'd make an effort to sit next to him, and even when they were alone, she had become more bold and sat closer than necessary so that some part of her body was touching his, whether it be an arm, shoulder, or a leg. Sometimes she would even lay on one end of the sofa and drape her legs across his. One time, she stretched her legs and got a bad cramp in her calf. Wheeler was the one that massaged the muscle until it loosened up. Even after the pain had subsided, he continued to unconsciously run his hand up and down her leg. She recalls the way her stomach did somersaults, the way her cheeks burned when she thought about what it would be like to have those hands travel across the rest of her body. He caught her smiling at the thought, but just as he opened his mouth to say something, Kwame walked into the room to retrieve a book he had left on the table. When she saw their friend enter the room, she slid her legs off Wheeler's lap and out of his hands, curling them up underneath her. Kwame was oblivious to what was going on, or if he did notice, he was good enough to ignore it, but the moment was still ruined. Another missed opportunity.

There was another time when she fell asleep on the couch and when Wheeler woke her up, she had a sore neck. When Wheeler saw her trying to roll her neck to work out the kink, he stood behind her, brushed her ponytail out of the way, and began kneading the knot. It practically melted away. She closed her eyes and almost fell back asleep. If she had, she would have no doubt dreamt about his hands...again. He leaned over her shoulder and she could feel his breath on her ear as he asked,

"Feel better?"

She tilted her head back, now that she was capable of moving it, leaned her head against his and said, "Da. Thank you."

He turned his head and kissed her cheek, "You're welcome."

She turned to face him, but neither one of them moved to leave. She looked up at him, directly into his eyes, and thought to herself "Could this be it?"

He tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and asked, "Ready for bed?"

"Da," she whispered, then thought, "but whose bed?" A slight smile crept across her lips as years of repressed emotions kept getting stronger and harder for her to deny. She looked away from him, afraid that he could read her mind, but also wishing that he could.

He lifted her chin up, forcing her to look at him and moving ever so slightly closer before pausing, giving her the chance to back away, but hoping that she'd move closer. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice came from behind them.

"Rise and Shine...oh, you're already awake," Gi said. "I know how you two have a tendency to fall asleep watching TV...and waste energy I might add! I was just coming to shut it off and wake you up...like I always do!"

Linka sighed heavily then turned to Gi and said, "We were just going to bed now. Goodnight." She didn't know it, but her hasty retreat confused Wheeler, and was that sigh beause of disappointment or relief? Little did he know how truly disappointed she was. It was only a matter of time. One of these days, there would be no interruptions.

It had all been so good. What went wrong? One minute everything was great, and then...New York.

When he asked her to join him in New York for his friend's birthday party, she wanted so badly to accept that invitation, but she had other things that she needed to do, things that could not wait. She remembers the look on his face when she declined. She regrets having been the one to put that look there. She decided that when he came back, she would make it up to him. She planned on making his favorite meal for him on the night he came home and then letting him pick a movie for them to watch together. She was going to sit next to him on the couch, lean against his side, and rest her head on his shoulder. She was going to let him know that she missed him and was sorry that she didn't go with him. She never got the chance.

When he came back from New York, he no longer seemed angry with her. He actually seemed happy. Then she found out why. He'd met someone. At first, she thought he was just making it up, or over-exaggerating a one-time hook up to make her jealous. But then, he kept talking about her, and calling her, and she'd call him. While Linka was still upset about it, she figured it wouldn't last. Soon the stresses of trying to maintain a long distance relationship would take it's toll on the new relationship, and Wheeler and she could get back to their…whatever it was they had. But the relationship didn't suffer from the distance. He'd go visit Lily when they had time off, or she'd take a long weekend and come to Hope Island. It was more serious than Linka cared to admit. She was worried she had lost him for good. All because she didn't go with him to some stupid party.

Wheeler couldn't just sit there and do nothing. He needed to get up and move around because he was freezing. He'd given Linka his jacket and all he had was his Planeteer t-shirt and vest, and the shirt was missing a sleeve from when he ripped it off to use as a bandage on Linka's head. Maybe the blow to the head was what was making her so moody. He didn't know what her problem was. Why was she making a big deal about Lily? It's not like she was jealous. She's made it clear that she wasn't interested in him. He thought there was something there, but when he asked her to come to New York with him and she came up with her lame "Sorry, I have things to do" excuse, he knew it was just wishful thinking on his part. Any perceived feelings between the two of them must've been all in his head, a completely one sided relationship.

He stands up and begins to unpack the parachute canopy from the backpack and thinks back to the events that led to him meeting Lily. When he went to New York, he was mad, hurt, and upset, but he didn't want that to ruin his fun at the party. He was there to celebrate his friend Jesse's 21st birthday, and he was determined not to be a downer, especially since he hadn't seen most of them in a long time. He was talking to Jesse when two new arrivals to the party joined the conversation. One of the girls was Jesse's girlfriend, Karen, the other girl was Karen's best friend, Lily.

Wheeler wasn't looking for a relationship. He was still hurting over Linka. The whole time he was at the party, he kept wishing Linka was there, wishing he could show her off to his friends, wishing she would smile and laugh at his jokes the way Lily was. By the end of the night, he'd stopped thinking of Linka because he was pretty sure that Linka wasn't spending her night thinking of him. Instead, he was reveling in the attention that Lily was giving him. She was asking questions about the Planeteers and what he did and wasn't throwing herself at him or pretending to be interested just for the sake of hooking up with a stranger at a party, but she was genuinely interested in his story. At the end of the night, she didn't invite him to her place or suggest that they go somewhere. Instead, she gave him her number and said that if he was planning on staying in town for a few more days, to give her a call and maybe they could get together. Wheeler wasn't planning on staying. He was going to spend Friday night there and leave the next morning, but then he reconsidered. He ended up staying until Sunday evening, spending the majority of his time going places with Lily, Karen, and Jesse, and sometimes it would just be him and Lily. When it was time for him to leave, he was surprised at how much he was going to miss her company. He didn't think that anyone could ever make him forget about Linka, and while he still cared deeply for Linka, there was also something there developing with Lily. When it was time for him to leave and Lily asked him to call her when he got back to Hope Island so she knew he arrived safely, he was touched. He wasn't used to someone caring like that.

When he got back to Hope Island, as soon as he landed, he called Lily to let her know he made it. They ended up talking on the phone for hours. There was a knock on his door and he looked up and saw Linka there. She was about to leave once she noticed he was still on the phone, but he held up a finger to tell her to wait.

"Alright, Lily, I better let you go." He was surprised when she told him she missed him, and even more surprised when he replied back, "I miss you too. Bye."

What he didn't miss was the shocked look on Linka's face.

"Sorry. I didn't think I'd be on the phone that long. I didn't even get a chance to say hello to everyone. Did you have something to tell me?"

"Uh, I just came to tell you that I made up a plate for you from dinner since you missed it."

"That's ok. I went out to dinner before I left New York and am still stuffed. I'm kinda tired too, long flight, you know. I'm thinkin' I might turn in early."

"Oh. Okay."

"Something else you wanted?" he asked when she lingered at his door.

"Umm. The others have all gone to bed. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to watch a movie, but since you are tired, and everyone else is sleeping, I guess I will just go to bed too. Maybe read a book."

"Okay. See ya tomorrow then," he said.

"Da. Goodnight."

Looking back on that night, Wheeler wonders if that was disappointment he heard in her voice, or if it was once again, just wishful thinking on his part. He reaches into one of his vest pockets, pulls out a utility knife, and begins cutting the canopy in half.

Linka turns around to see what all the commotion is about.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"Trying to keep the cold out by covering the opening with this canopy, and hopefully when they send someone to look for us, they'll notice the bright orange fabric…that okay with you?"

"Da. That is a good idea." She knows he's still angry with her from their earlier exchange and she wants to put that behind them. They need each other to get through this. Fighting will get them nowhere. "Where is your jacket?" she asks, noticing for the first time that all he's wearing is a ripped t-shirt and vest.

"You're wearing it. When I found you, you didn't have yours on, and you were buried under a pile of snow. I figured you needed it more than me."

"Oh. That is right; I took mine off in the Geo Cruiser because I was hot. Now I wish I was that hot."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Here," she says, unzipping the jacket, taking it off, and holding it out to him.

"No, you keep it."

"Nyet Wheeler. My Planeteer shirt is long sleeved, plus my vest. You need this more than I do."

"That's why I cut the canopy in half. I was going to use the other half as a blanket."

"Do you need help hanging it?" she offers.

"I was just gonna tie it around the support beams at the opening and then put these rocks on the bottom to keep it from blowing in."

"Here, I will help with the rocks…aaah," she winces as she tries to pick up a rock.

"I got it," Wheeler says as she rolls the rock into place. "Lemme have a look at that arm."

The parachute canopy did a good job of helping to keep the blowing wind and snow out, but it also made their cavern darker.

"It is my wrist that hurts actually. I think I landed on it."

"I think you're right. When we hit the ground, I heard you cry out in pain. You probably tried to brace yourself with that hand when we landed."

"Da, probably."

"I can cut another piece of the canopy off and wrap your wrist, but I don't know how well that'll help…maybe I can find something in here to use as a brace."

"How are you going to find something? We can hardly see."

"Easy."

Linka can barely make out the outline of Wheeler's hand as he raises it, ready to use his ring.

"NYET WHEELER!" she yells as she grabs his hand.

"What?"

"We do not know what kind of mine this is or whether it is still being used. It could be a coal mine and the dust could ignite, or there could be gas."

"I don't smell any gas."

"You do not have to be able to smell it. Remember when I told you how my father would use birds to take into the mines because they could detect gas fumes before humans? The birds are more sensitive to the gas, so if a bird died, my father knew to get his men out of the mine."

"Oh. Yeah. I remember you mentioning that. Okay. No fire? No problem." He reaches into another one of his vest pockets, pulls out a small flashlight, and turns it on.

"What else do you have in there?!"

"My cell phone, but it has no reception. I've already tried."

He flashes the beam of light around the floor of the cave, looking for a stick, or something to keep Linka's wrist stabilized.

"Do you think we should try going further into the mine? It might have an exit closer to the bottom of the mountain right?"

"Maybe. Or we could follow it all the way to the end and find out that the exit is closed off, or we could go down a tunnel and get lost, or we could cause a cave in. Like I said, we do not know if this mine is active or abandoned. Besides, if there is a search and rescue team looking for us, it is best that we stay where we are. The parachute backpacks have a tracking device that is set off when chute opened, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then it is only a matter of time before they come looking for us."

"Yeah. But they're not going to start looking until this storm lets up. It's too windy for a helicopter to search, and I doubt they'd send climbers up the mountain in weather like this. We need to be prepared. We might be here a while…if we make it through the night."

"Do not talk like that. It is not like you to be so negative."

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to be realistic. It doesn't look good."

"Well, I am not ready to die. So I am not giving up, and I do not want you to give up either. I need you to be strong, because in a few hours, I am going to start panicing, and you need to be the one that is reassuring me!" she says.

"Okay. Deal. Ah-ha!" he says as he finds a piece of scrap plywood, breaks it in half, and sets the two pieces aside. "Gimme your hand." He looks at her wrist and notices the bruising and swelling. "I'll be right back."

He cuts off another piece of the parachute canopy, goes outside, and returns with a piece of ice. He wraps the ice in the piece of canopy, gently takes Linka's hand, rolls up her sleeve, and sets the ice pack on top of her wrist.

"Spaspiba."

"You're welcome. I know it's cold, but I think it's best that we get the swelling down before I wrap it."

"Da, I know."

After a few minutes, he removes the ice pack and wraps her wrist in the nylon from the parachute to protect her skin from the abrasive surface of the plywood that he plans on using as braces. He then places one of the pieces of plywood on his knee, takes Linka's hand, and places it on top of the piece of wood.

"Can you move your fingers?"

"Da."

He centers her hand over the plank of wood so that it starts halfway on her palm and so that she can bend her fingers. Next, he takes the other piece of wood and puts it on top of her arm so that it is parallel with the bottom plank.

"Can you hold that piece in place while I wrap it?"

"Okay."

"This might hurt, but I gotta get it tight so that these braces stay in place and so that your wrist doesn't move."

"Do what you must. I will tough it out," she says as she squeezes her eyes shut against the pain.

"Sorry. Almost done….there," he says as he pulls her sleeve back down over the brace.

She looks at her makeshift wrist brace and smiles,

"Not bad Yankee. Now, I do not suppose that you have any aspirin in that vest of yours do you?" she says as she shivers.

"Sorry. Fresh out Babe," he says.

Linka chuckles, but it is a humorless laugh, "'Babe?' It has been a while since you have called me that."

"Yeah, it has. I guess it didn't seem appropriate considering...I have a girlfriend now."

"Is that what you call her?" Linka asks, not knowing why or what compelled her ask.

"No...of course not. That's reserved for you. I don't really have a nickname for her. I don't know...I guess I used them all up on you. 'Babe,' 'Beautiful,' 'Princess,' they all just came naturally," he explained.

"I never did understand the 'Princess' one. I am the furthest thing from royalty."

"But you have the beauty, elegance, grace, and presence of a typical fairytale princess...I only used it once or twice though. You didn't seem to respond to it."

"I did not mind it, but it was a little embarrassing...like you had this expectation of me to be something that I was not. I am a humble person from a humble background...I am more peasant than princess. Maybe you should call Lily 'Princess.' Seems more appropriate for her."

"Nah, even though I hardly used it, I still associate that word with you...besides, I'm pretty sure her Dad calls her that."

Now Linka's laugh was more mirthful, "Why am I not surprised?"

He puts his arm around her and gives her a friendly squeeze.

"Oh my God Babe, your clothes are soaked!"

"I know. Must have been from lying in the snow."

"You gotta get out of those," he says as he starts to pull her vest off her shoulders.

"Wheeler! What do you suppose I wear then?"

"You can have this jacket back."

"Then you will be cold," she argues.

"I'll use the rest of the parachute as a blanket. That was my original plan anyways. It's big enough that we can both use it as a blanket. I can cut it in half again so we can each have our own…"

"Nyet. I think we should share. Body heat. We can use each other's body heat to help keep warm."

"Ok. But your body heat is dropping the longer you keep those wet clothes on."

"I know," she says as she lets him finish pulling the vest off her shoulders.

He removes his Planeteer jacket and holds it up so that she can remove her shirt with some privacy, and then slip into the jacket.

"Umm, Wheeler?"

"Yeah?"

"I cannot get my shirt off…my arm…it hurts too much when I try to move it."

"Oh. Uhhh…is there anything…can I…"

"Will you help me?"

"Yeah."

He sets down the jacket, and the flashlight, which is casting just enough light to illuminate the cave despite the fact that it was now dark outside. Wheeler stands up, and helps lift Linka to her feet. He stands in front of her and takes hold of the sleeve on her good arm and she pulls it out. Now it gets complicated. What should he do next? Wheeler takes a deep breath and swallows hard before taking the bottom of her shirt in his hands and lifting it over her head. Doing so also pulled off the bandage covering her head wound, exposing the dried blood that had matted her fair hair. Wheeler pulled her to him so he could get a closer look at the injury. He ran his hand over her head and pulled back her hair.

"That's pretty nasty. We should clean that up."

He lets his hand drop away from her head and inadvertently brushes it down her arm, causing her to shiver once more.

"But first we'll finish getting this off," he says, indicating the shirtsleeve that still remained over her injured arm. "I'm gonna try to be as gentle as possible."

He tugs at the sleeve but doing so jostles her injured arm, and the sudden surge of pain causes her to lose her balance. She reaches out to grab his arm as he reaches out to support her. She ends up falling against him and he ends up with his arms around her waist.

"Sorry," he says shyly, as he tries to maintain eye contact with her and not look elsewhere.

"It is ok. Just pull it off quickly, like a band-aid. The pain will go away…eventually."

"Ok," he says, as his hands slide up her side.

She shuts her eyes, savoring the feeling of his hands on her body, but preparing herself for the excruciating pain that is about to come. As he pulls the sleeve of her shirt off her injured arm, she gasps in pain, leans her forehead against his shoulder, and cries.

He turns his head and presses his lips against her temple, and then her ear as he places one hand on the small of her back and the other at the base of her neck and whispers,

"Shhh. I'm sorry."

He reluctantly releases her, bends down to pick up the jacket, and wraps it around her shoulders.

"Here, put your good arm through the sleeve. We'll leave your other one out," he says.

"Wait…my…bra," she says quietly, unable to look at him.

"Huh?"

"It is also soaking wet and freezing."

"Oh…and you can't take it off with one hand?"

"I will try."

After several attempts to reach behind her and undo the clasp, she shakes her head.

"Turn around," he whispers. With shaky hands, he reaches out and unclasps the garment.

He then slides the straps down her shoulders so that she can finish removing it. Once she has it off, he once again takes the jacket and places it around her. He spins her around to face him and he reaches out to zip up the jacket.

"Feel any warmer?"

"Da. Thank you," she says as the blood rushes to her cheeks.

"You're welcome." He takes her clothes and hangs them up to dry, but with the cold temperatures, doubts that they will. "Let's get a better look at that cut on your head okay?" he suggests.

"Okay."

He takes the flashlight and holds it up to her head. Then he heads outside and gets a handful of fresh snow.

"Wheeler! You are going to get frost bite on your hands!" she chastises.

"I wanna get that blood cleaned off," he says as he takes a little bit of the snow and rubs it into her hair to loosen the dried blood.

Once he gets the majority of that cleaned up, he parts her hair and looks at the gash.

"It's not too bad. About an inch long and not that deep. You'll probably need stitches when we get outta here."

"Is it still bleeding?" she asks.

"A little," he replies as he grabs his other sleeve and rips it off.

"WHEELER?! What are you doing?!"

"I'm making you another bandage. My shirt is cleaner than the parachute."

"Then you should have used MY shirt. You have gone from short sleeves to NO sleeves. We need all the coverage we can get and you are ripping your clothes to shreds."

"It's for a good reason. We gotta keep that wound clean and stop the bleeding. Losing blood isn't going to help keep your temperature up."

"Thank you Dr. Wheeler!" she teases.

"Hey, I'm not as dumb as you think," he replies.

"I have never thought you were dumb."

"Yeah, but you sure like to point out how much smarter than me that you are."

"I am only teasing. You know that right? Like how you tease me when I make a mistake or how you do things on purpose to make me angry."

"I do not!" Wheeler gasps, feigning innocence.

Linka laughs, happy to get back to the comfortable playfulness that they often shared instead of the embarrassment from a few moments ago.

"Come on. Might as well get comfortable," he says as he takes a seat and wraps the parachute around himself. He motions for Linka to sit in front of him. She does as he instructs and leans back against his chest. She feels warmer already and it's not just because he has his arms around her. Her warmth came from deep within her heart, that place that was reserved for Wheeler and swelled with love everytime he flirted with her or did something thoughtful, like he is doing now. She wasn't giving up hope yet, but if this was how she was going to die, she couldn't think of anyone else she would rather be spending her last moments with. She just wished things had worked out differently between them, that they could have somehow managed to work out their feelings and been together. It may have made it a little easier to accpet that this could be the end.

To be continued...