Linka is now very noticeably pregnant and finding it more and more difficult to get around. With twins, she has gotten twice as big, twice as fast. At the end of her third month, she looks like she's six months. She and Wheeler were spending Thanksgiving dinner at his Aunt and Uncle's house. They were seeing many people for the first time since the wedding. After telling Wheeler how proud they were of him for what he did for his father, and how happy they were that both of them were going to be ok, then of course their attention turned to Linka, who was pelted with endless pregnancy questions,
"Do you know what you're having?"
"Do you have names picked out?"
"How are you feeling?"
"Can I touch your belly?"
To which she would always answer the same way,
"Nyet, we want to be surprised,"
"We have a book of names, but have not looked at it,"
"I have good days and bad days. My back and feet are killing me," and
"They are not being very active, so you will not feel anything."
That last one was a lie…they usually were pretty active, but Linka was still not completely comfortable with her body, no matter how much Wheeler tried to reassure her that she was the most beautiful pregnant woman he'd ever seen. And she was especially not comfortable with anyone but him placing their hands on her. Most times her answer worked to dispel well meaning, but curious relatives, but there was nothing she could do about the ones that just took it upon themselves to reach out and grab her. Wheeler could see that it was bothering her. She was doing a good job of hiding it from his family, but she couldn't hide it from him.
After dinner, he announced that he wasn't feeling well and that he and his wife were going to call it a night and go home. After assuring his Aunt that it wasn't from the food, that he felt like he had been coming down with a cold earlier and was feeling run down, they said their goodbyes…but Wheeler's family didn't let him leave without first teasing him about what a big baby he was being for letting something as minor as a cold get him down while is poor wife was carrying twins and seemed to be going strong.
Once they get home, Linka asks,
"Should we have stopped at the drug store?"
"For what?" He replies.
"To get some cold medicine. Some vitamin C, tissues, cough drops…the usual cold remedies."
"Babe…"
"I did not know you were not feeling well."
"Babe…" he says as he takes a step towards her and holds her face in his hands.
She backs away.
"Do not dare get me sick!"
"BABE!!! I'M NOT SICK!" He shouts and grasps her arms to get her attention.
"You are not?"
"No!"
"Then why did you tell your family that you were?"
"Because," he says as he lets his hands slide down her arms to rest on her protruding belly. "I could tell everyone being so 'touchy feely' was bothering you."
"I know they meant well and were not trying to make me uncomfortable…it is just…I do not know…I am being silly."
"No, you're not. It's perfectly normal…I don't know why people think that just because a woman is pregnant, they have a right to…put their hands all over her!"
"It was not that bad…but thank you."
"You're welcome…and besides, now I can be the one with my hands all over you," he says as he begins kissing her neck while his hands roam over her body.
Before his lips reach hers, she asks,
"Are you sure you are not getting sick? I could not possibly handle feeling the misery of having a cold on top of the misery of carrying twins!"
"SSSSH!!! THEY'LL HEAR YOU!!!" He says as he covers her belly with his hands. Then, as he frequently does, Wheeler kneels to talk to his children. "Mamma doesn't mean that you make her miserable…it's just that being pregnant isn't fun for mommies, even though it's worth it in the end. But don't take it personally; your Mamma has a tendency to be miserable, even when she's not pregnant!"
Linka grabs a handful of his hair and tilts his head backwards to look up at her.
"I can hear you, you know?"
"Oh, sorry…didn't see you there," he jokes as he places two kisses on her stomach, stands up, and kisses her.
"So wait…," she says as she places her hand on his chest and pulls away. "We left the gathering early because you said you were sick…and you are not really sick…so I missed out on home made pumpkin pie?!"
"Umm, yeah. I guess."
"With Cool Whip."
"Yeah…sorry."
"How do you plan on making this up to me?"
"Umm, I can call my Aunt and see if she can send a piece home with Ma and Pop," he suggests.
"Nyet. Try again."
He was beginning to see where this was going.
"I can do this…" he says as he leans forward to kiss her.
"Hmm," she hums.
"Good?"
"It is ok…but it does not make up for the lack of Cool Whip…I really like Cool Whip."
"Me too…wait here."
"Where are you g--…?"
"You'll see."
When he returns, he holds up a tub of Cool Whip, a spoon, and waggles his eyebrows at her. He takes a scoop of the whipped cream and holds it up to her lips. However, right before she takes a bite, he pulls it away and into his own mouth!
"HEY!"
"Oh, did you want that?"
"Da!" She says as she reaches for the tub.
"Uh uh uh!" He says as he turns his back to her, shielding the tub with his body.
When she grabs at his arms, he holds the tub above her head.
"Come on Babe…you want it? Jump…oh wait, you can't!"
"Ha!" She huffs as she puts her hands on her hips in disbelief at his audacity.
He continues to wave the tub above her head and taunt her. She gets an evil look in her eye and gives him half a smile.
"What?" He asks.
"This…" she says as she knees him in the groin, not hard, but hard enough to get him to double over to protect himself from further attacks.
She takes advantage of his lowered position to grab the tub out of his hands.
"Now what Yankee?!"
"I still have the spoon. I guess we're going to have to come up with a compromise."
"Who needs a spoon?" She asks as she dips her finger into the Cool Whip and scoops up a generous dollop. She holds it up to his lips, just as he did with her, and just like he did with her, she pulls it away and into her own mouth, slowly and suggestively pulling her finger out of her mouth, sucking off all the cream.
"Ok, we're even…except I can't knee you in the junk…but I guess I'll let you slide on that one."
"Then you are a fool!" She says as she takes a handful of Cool Whip and smears it across his face.
He licks the whipped cream from around his mouth and wipes the rest of it off his face with his finger and licks it off.
He looks at her calmly and nods his head.
"Ok, ok…I guess I had that coming…but just because you're pregnant doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on you. Come here!" He reaches for her. She turns and runs away from his first attempt, but in her condition, she can't escape his second attempt.
He wraps his arms around her and grabs for the Cool Whip. She tries to keep it away from him, but he gets a hold of it and they both fight over it, getting it everywhere.
"WHEELER!!! NYET!!! You are making a mess!" She squeals.
"What? This? This is nothing!" He says as he wipes his hand across her cheek and over her lips, leaving a trail of Cool Whip.
"WHEELEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!"
Once she stops struggling to get away, he leans in and kisses her cheek and moving to her lips, making sure to get all of the Cool Whip in the process.
"Mmmm," he hums against her lips.
She pulls away and looks at him.
"Truce?"
"Yeah."
"Good," she says as she begins unbuttoning his shirt, revealing a glob of Cool Whip on his neck. She moves in closer to him and covers the cream with her mouth, moving her lips over his skin until it has all been removed. "Ready for bed?"
"Yeah," he says as she takes his hand and leads him towards the stairs. "Wait," he stops her, releases her hand, picks up the discarded tub, and winks at her. "We're not done with this."
The next morning, as they lay in bed wrapped in the sheets and each others arms, Linka admires his body with her hands.
"Have you been working out?"
"Yeah, I have…thanks for noticing."
"It is not fair. You get to keep your physique while mine will never be the same."
"You don't know that. You can use all that exercise equipment that I bought if you want. You eat healthy, you're active, there's no reason why you won't be able to get your body back to the way you want it."
"Is that why you bought all that equipment? So that I will use it after the babies arrive so that I can get back to 'normal?'"
"No, of course not. I don't care about how you look, you're still my wife. My Linka. My Babe!"
"But what if I am no longer a 'babe'?"
"You'll always be a 'babe.' Besides, I bought that equipment for me. With you eating for three and more frequently, I was finding myself eating when you ate…only problem is, I'm still eating for one! Clothes were starting to get a little tighter so I figured I'd better get a hold of the problem now before it got too late…I didn't want you losing interest in me if I let myself go."
"I could never lose interest in you. Your looks do not matter to me."
"Why should I believe that?" He asks.
"Because I said so…and I would not lie to you."
"Then you should know that I mean it too. What makes you think that I would feel any different than you? Do you think I'm that shallow?"
"Nyet."
"Good."
They are silent for a while longer; she's still running her hand over his washboard stomach.
"I did not think it was possible, but you may actually be fitter now than when we first got together."
"Oh yeah?"
"Da."
"Good, cuz I wanna be in top form."
"Top form? For what? I think your form is fine!"
Wheeler hesitates, unsure how to answer. He had been wanting to bring the topic up to her, but wasn't sure how she'd take it.
"Well, now that we've started a family, we're gonna have extra expenses, and with you being so busy, I don't think you'll have time to work on your programming, so in order to keep up with all this…I uh, was gonna go back to the NYPD."
"Oh..." she pauses, shocked at the revelation. "You do not have to, you know. We can manage just fine. I can find time to write more programs."
"Maybe so, but I want to."
"To get out of the house?"
"NO! Of course not! I'd stay with you and the kids 24/7 if I could. But I want to feel like I'm doing my part…to contribute to this family."
"I think you have contributed more than enough!" She says as she rubs her protruding stomach.
"I just…I loved what I did. I would've never left it if Gaia hadn't called me back to the Planeteers…and the only reason I went back to them was to see you. I left my job for you and it was worth it…I wouldn't change that for anything…but now that I have you, and we have a family, I…I feel like I need to do my part to set a good example for the kids. I helped the world as a Planeteer, and I helped my city as a police officer. Now I have a chance to help my country. Captain Thomas still has an in with the FBI. I just need to be able to pass the physical fitness test."
"The FBI? You could be placed at any office in the country."
"No, this position is for the New York field office. I'd be here. We wouldn't have to move."
"Maybe not now. But you can very easily be transferred."
"And if that ever happens, then I'll quit. This is our home. This is where I'm staying. This is where we're raising our family."
"Will it be dangerous?" Linka asks.
"It's law enforcement."
"Da, but IS IT DANGEROUS?! As a detective, you were going to the crime scene after the fact. You were solving a crime that had already been committed…what will it be like with the FBI? Will you be called into handle hostage situations? Will you have to go into buildings to get dangerous criminals? Will you be sent on late night stake outs where you can be ambushed?"
"I…I don't know…maybe. Or maybe I'll just be an investigator, analyzing stuff at a desk all day and passing it off on someone else to go get the bad guys…"
"You would not like that…that is not you."
"I know…but if that's what you want me to be…"
"Nyet. I want you to be home all day, with me…safe. But if you do not want that…if you want to do this job, I will not stop you."
"Don't make it sound like I don't wanna spend as much time as possible with you…I just…I can't be a 'kept man.' I worked hard to get through college, then worked my way up through the ranks of the NYPD…I just…don't know how to NOT be working."
"If you want to work, help your father take care of those horses he got. Help your mother in her garden. That will keep you busy…and while you are doing that, I will take care of feeding, changing, and taking care of the babies if that is what you are worried about. That is why you want out of the house right?"
"NO! You're putting words in my mouth. I wanna be there…I'm GONNA be there to help out with the kids."
"You did not even want kids anyway…and now you are looking for a way out. The FBI is not a 9-5 job. You are going to be working long hours, having to go out of town…"
"Whoa, wait! I want kids…I don't want a lot, but I want kids. I want these kids. I'm more excited than I ever thought I could be. I can't wait for them to get here and when they do get here, I'm gonna be the best dad ever and love them more than anything," he says as he gets out of bed and begins getting dressed.
"Where are you going?"
"I don't know…out…away…I don't wanna fight with you, but you need some time to get your hormones in check."
"HEY!"
But if she says anything more, he doesn't hear it. He's shut the door and is heading down the stairs.
To Be Continued...