Chapter Seven

When Joe came home he needed a lot of looking after at first, which seemed to bring him and Wheeler closer together. Having Wheeler there also gave Katy the chance to go out, without worrying about her husband, and when she went shopping she took Linka with her.

Wheelers mother treated Linka like her own daughter, and despite her relationship with her grandmother, the wind planeteer found Katy's kindness almost overwhelming. Finding Linka crying in his room one afternoon, when she had just returned from a shopping trip, Wheeler immediately became alarmed. Kneeling in front of her and putting his hands on her arms, "Lin, what's wrong honey? Did something happen? Mom didn't mention anything..." Then becoming uncomfortable as another thought occurred to him, he asked nervously, "Has she been teasing you about our relationship?"

Linka smiled and shook her head, instinctively reaching out to stroke a lock of ginger hair out of his eyes. "She does not tease me Matthew." Tugging on his sleeve to pull him up beside her so that she could lay her head on his shoulder, she sighed as her friend wrapped his arms around her. "She treats me as her daughter, it makes me miss my own mother that is all, but it is nice to be cared for that way." He kissed her head and they stayed that way for a few moments.

"Do you play that?" The young blond asked, pointing to an acoustic guitar that was propped up beside his desk.

Wheeler shrugged, "I used to."

As he didn't volunteer any more information Linka pulled away a little to look up at him, "Will you play it for me?"

"What now?" the fire planeteer asked, looking slightly worried, "I'm really out of practice Babe!" She told him that she understood, but she must have looked disappointed because he sighed, got up and retrieved his instrument. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Sitting back against the pillows and drawing her feet up beside her, Linka watched as her friend expertly retuned the strings on his guitar, making himself comfortable at the other end of the bed. "What do you want to hear Babe?"

"What do you have the sheet music for?" she countered, not really minding what he played.

The fire planeteer chuckled, "I can't read sheet music Lin, just pick something."

Feeling dubious now, Linka said diplomatically, "We probably do not know the same music Yankee, it is better that you pick something you like."

Wheeler laughed, guessing that she now thought he couldn't play at all, but he'd been taught by his grandfather and had learned to play by ear. In fact, the American had a natural talent and could pick up and remember most songs very quickly, but it was too 'soft' a talent to broadcast in such a rough neighbourhood, or even around his father when he'd been drinking.

Making some final adjustments to the tuning, he started to play an instrumental piece that Linka didn't recognise. It started slowly and gradually increased in speed. Bozhe moy, how does he keep his fingers from tripping over each other! She thought as she watched them flying over the strings with amazing speed and accuracy.

When the piece ended, the Russian sat there stunned, saying after a moment, "That was amazing!"

The fire planeteer chuckled and shook his head, "It wasn't perfect, I'm out of practice. I guess I'd forgotten how much I liked to play… remind me to take this home with us will ya?" She nodded as he started to play again, this time it was slower and again she didn't recognise it, but when he began to softly sing the words, he met her eyes for a moment and she realised he meant it for her.

Linka's breath caught in her throat and her heart began to pound. Wheelers voice seemed to make every cell in her body vibrate to his tune and she felt as if he'd laid bare his soul. It was pure sunshine and she basked in it's radiance. When he stopped there was silence for a few moments, before he turned to her and his earlier alarm returned, "I didn't mean to upset you!" setting aside his guitar and moving to sit beside her.

The Wind planeteer hadn't realised that she was crying until then, but she didn't try to stop. Casting her arms around her friends neck and feeling him return the embrace, she said, "Women don't just cry because they are upset Yankee, sometimes it is because we feel more than we can express. Oh Matthew, you have the voice of an angel! You should make a record." She exclaimed enthusiastically.

That made him laugh and he sat back, though not completely letting go of her, and shook his head, "I don't let anyone hear me sing Babe, it's private."

"You let me hear you." She said softly, squeezing his arm.

"That's different. You're…" Looking away, "Besides the whole music thing wasn't manly enough for Dad and when he objected to something," his eyes unfocused and his gaze turned inwards, as he remembered some of the beatings he'd received. Shaking his head to clear the memory. "That's all the in past," he laughed but she saw the hurt in his eyes. "let's just say he knew how to make his point."

"He was wrong." She stated confidently, leaving no room for arguments and earning a smile that made her heart skip a beat. "You know," she continued cautiously, "He might even be ready to admit his mistake, if you give him the chance..."

This time Wheelers eyes lit up with amusement, and despite speaking sternly and seriously, he didn't actually sound annoyed. "Don't push it Babe. This stays between us, end of story!"

Linka chuckled, "Okay Babe…" she teased. For Now.

Encouraged by her warmth and forgetting everything but her presence, the red-head leaned forward closing the distance between them.

In accordance with the universal law of mischance, just before their lips met the two planeteers heard Ma-ti's voice in their heads. "There is an eco-emergency my friends."

Wheeler swore and Linka succumbed helplessly to a fit of the giggles, as she watched her frustrated companion respond to their friend. Despite the interruption the young girl couldn't have been happier, He does still care, maybe he can forgive me after all…

"Is something wrong?" Ma-ti's voice came again in Wheelers mind, "We are on our way to pick you up, but if things with your father…"

The American felt Ma-ti's discomfort through the bond created by their rings and immediately answered his concerned friend, "No everything's fine Ma-ti, how long will you be?"

They arranged to meet their friends on the roof of the building in a half hour. Agreeing that there was no reason for them to stay there now, the two friends gathered all of their things together, including Wheelers guitar, and then went to make their apologies to his parents.

A/N: Feel free to imagine your own favourite song for Wheeler to sing, but if you want to know what I had in my head when I wrote this, look up "Easy to Love You" by Shayne Ward