Gi has them blindfolded and their hands tied, before they are shoved into the back of a moving vehicle.

'Where do you think we're goin'?' Wheeler asks Kwame quietly, hearing the even, slightly shallow breaths of the man next to him.

'I do not know,' Kwame replies softly.

'She's takin' us to Blight,' Wheeler mutters darkly. 'That can only be a bad thing for us, Kwame.'

'Yes,' Kwame agrees. 'But she is also taking us to Linka, which is a good thing, yes?'

Wheeler pauses, and Kwame sighs.

'I am sorry the baby is not yours, old friend. But now is not the time to think of that.'

Wheeler exhales bitterly. 'It's the only thing I can think of, right now.'

Kwame does not reply, and Wheeler pulls at his restraints unhappily. He kicks his legs and tries to flex his arms, twisting his body from side to side until he is breathless with exertion.

'Fuck!' He finally shouts, kicking the side of the van they are in. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why the fuck do I run, why the fuck do I exercise, if I can't even break out of a few fuckin' pieces of rope?!'

'Then do not try,' Kwame lectures, a hint of impatience in his voice. 'Save your energy for what is to come. Blight wants us for something. Wait until we know what that is before we fight, friend.'

'Patience was never my strong point,' Wheeler snaps, 'we should be fightin' this, Kwame. We shouldn't just be sittin' here like lame ducks, makin' plans for circumstances we don't know or understand, when we could be gettin' out of these restraints and -'

'And what?' Kwame asks sharply. 'And what, Wheeler? Get out and run back home? Get out and fight, with only our fists, against guns and syringes filled with sedatives? Think it through, you fool. There is nothing we can do right now, except sit, and see what happens.'

'They'll kill us all -'

'Maybe, maybe not,' Kwame replies coolly. 'But we are not - and I will say it again, for your benefit - we are not running into this situation all flame and bluster like we did on that final -'

Abruptly, Kwame stops, and Wheeler gives a bitter laugh.

'Say it,' he jeers. 'Go on, say it, you know you want to. Say it. Just get it out there.'

'Like we did on that final mission,' Kwame spits out, and Wheeler's fists clench.

'Yeah, that final mission was all my fault, wasn't it? I'm the reason Ma-Ti ended up dead,' he gives an ugly laugh. 'I always knew you thought that. Good to know I was right about somethin' for once.'

When he speaks, Kwame's voice is quiet. 'Fuck you, Wheeler,' he says, with a venom unfamiliar to Wheeler's ears. 'That final mission was a trap; no matter what we did, we would've ended up in those glass coffins. But yes, we rushed in, at your behest. You know it, and I know it. Being bitter about it will not change anything.'

'Fuck you too,' Wheeler snaps back. 'You don't know what I was goin' through then, what I've gone through ever since -'

'No,' Kwame interjects. 'No, I don't. You never gave anyone the chance to find out though, did you? You ran off, remember? One morning I woke up and Linka was in my cabin. 'He's gone,' she kept saying to me. It took me hours to calm her down. You left, sneaking away, just like Gi, without even saying goodbye. And do you know why you did that, Wheeler? Because you felt guilty. Because you knew, just like I did, that you rushed into that final mission because you were keen to get it over with. Eager to move on to your new life with Linka, away from the Planeteers. Well, in your hurry Ma-Ti ended up dead, and in your guilt you abandoned the one thing that ever mattered to you.'

Abruptly, Kwame fell silent, and Wheeler could hear the deep breaths he was taking, could picture the reliable expanse of his chest rising and falling as he gathered his thoughts and emotions.

'Kwame -' Wheeler begins, awkwardly, but his friend stops him.

'If you abandon her again, if you walk away from her once more, without explanation or reason, I will never speak to you again, do you hear me?'

Wheeler feels the wind knocked out of his lungs. 'Kwame -' he splutters.

But Kwame's voice is stern. 'You broke her heart once before. If you do it again, without facing her like a man, then you and I are finished, and I will want or have nothing to do with you. I understand, it is difficult for you. She is pregnant with another man's child... I can understand why that might be hard. But she has done nothing wrong. So, if you decide you cannot love her after this, well... you must tell her. Truthfully and honestly. But if you walk away, without saying a word... well, then you will be the worst kind of man, and I will never speak to you again.'

Wheeler sighs. His hands are tied, and he cannot rub his neck, or run a hand through his hair, or indulge in any of the usual nervous expressions he falls upon when he feels exposed or vulnerable.

'I'm always gonna love her,' he replies suddenly, his words soft. 'I'm never not gonna love that girl.'

For a moment, Kwame is quiet.

'Then you must learn to move forward with this situation, as it is.'

'She's havin' someone else's baby, Kwame.'

'Mmm. Yes. A boy.'

Wheeler pauses, feels that knife of pain run through him once more. 'Linka's son,' he says, trying the words out in his mouth, like he would a fine wine.

Only this drink tastes sour, a deep bitterness on his tongue.

'I always wanted a boy,' Kwame says suddenly, and Wheeler almost smiles.

'Yeah. Me too.'

'You could have one,' Kwame says gently. 'You already love the mother. You could love the boy too.'

'He'll always be someone else's,' Wheeler replies, his voice tinged with sadness.

'Yes. Like my Haya.'

Wheeler wishes he weren't blindfolded. Wishes he could turn to his friend.

'What do you mean?'

'Haya is my daughter; mine and Sam's. But she will always be someone else's too... the parents who birthed her. I am her father, Sam is her father, but we accept that somewhere out there, probably still in Syria, is the man who gave her life. The man who perhaps gave her those cheeks we love to kiss. The man who might have given her that smile we cherish, the thick hair we braid, or the crooked teeth that will cost us a fortune in orthodontics.'

When he speaks of his adopted daughter, Kwame's voice is warm, full of love.

Momentarily, it takes Wheeler's breath away.

'You resent him?' he asks.

But Kwame only laughs. 'No, my friend, we are thankful to him. He made Haya part of who she is, just as her mother did, and just as Sam and I do now,' he pauses. 'Linka's son could be like that... shaped by his mother, and perhaps by both of his fathers. Because if you love Linka enough to take her with another man's child at her hip... well, you would be a father to that boy, just as much as any biological parent would. Parenting isn't just blood, my friend.'

Wheeler swallows hard. The darkness surrounding him suddenly feels kind, allowing him to open up in a way he knows he couldn't - or perhaps wouldn't - under normal circumstances. 'It's ironic, you know?' He says, his tone dull. 'Trish and I tried to get pregnant for years... and every month... nothin'. Just Trish's tears, and my growin' resentment. Now, here I am, about to claim a life with the girl of my dreams... and wouldn't you know it? She's pregnant to someone else.'

'That is irony,' Kwame agrees.

'With my luck, and my life, it figures,' Wheeler exhales unhappily. 'I'm worried I'm always gonna look at that kid and feel jealous. Like, he'll be a living and breathing reminder that Linka was with someone else.'

Kwame sighs. 'And your ex-wife will be a living and breathing reminder that you were once with someone else too. And that you tried for the full extent of your marriage to conceive children upon her.'

Wheeler flexes his arms once more. 'You got me there, Kwame.'

'I like having the last word.'

At that, Wheeler does laugh, truly and honestly. 'You and Linka both. Maybe that's why you get along so well.'

'Perhaps, old friend.'

For a few minutes, Wheeler lets the hum of the vehicle around them lull him into a quiet, strange sort of peace. His mind is no longer running at speed, his heart has calmed, and though there is still that knife of pain running through him, the blade has been dulled somewhat by Kwame's words.

Does he love Linka enough to love her child too? The thought strikes him hard, and Wheeler ponders it, his mouth dry and his soul heavy.

It feels like a stupid question to ask himself, in a way. Because he loves Linka, unconditionally, he realises. She's as necessary to him as food and water, and he can't imagine going another day without her. Her baby though... her son... Wheeler's head rolls back, hitting the side of the van painfully.

Linka's son is a condition his love will have to face, he is beginning to understand. It isn't ideal, of course... when he thinks of Linka growing big and round with another man's child, a black feeling of despair threatens to engulf him. When he thinks of a little boy, with Linka's hair and eyes but another man's smile or face, tears sting his eyes.

'Hey, Kwame?' Wheeler asks, a thought suddenly occurring to him.

'Yes?'

'Who is the father? Do you know?'

Kwame pauses. 'Richard, probably.'

The knife in his gut feels sharp once more, and Wheeler swallows heavily.

'Dr Cox,' he mutters, and he hears Kwame make a noise of surprise.

'You know him?'

'I saw him once, from a distance, in New York,' Wheeler replies, thinking back to that day at NYU. 'Linka was with him.'

'She does not love him,' Kwame says instantly. 'We have had words about him before... I do not like how she leads him on.'

Wheeler kicks his feet against the side of the van again. 'He seems like... like a good man,' he says, bile in every word.

Next to him, he feels Kwame nod. 'He is. But she does not love him.'

'Why not?'

Kwame laughs good-naturedly. 'Because she loves you, you fool.'

The blade of pain is dulled once more, and Wheeler takes a deep breath.

'I'm gonna stick with her, Kwame. I love her too.'

'And the boy?'

Wheeler bites the inside of his cheek briefly, taking another deep breath. 'I guess I'll learn to love him... for his sake, not just Linka's.'

'You are a good man, James Wheeler,' Kwame says softly. 'You deserve happiness.'

'I'm gonna take em' to Colorado, you know,' Wheeler announces, not even realising what he was saying until the words had left his mouth.

Kwame falls silent beside him.

'Colorado,' Wheeler explains, 'well, I guess it was a place I learned to associate with happiness... happiness, and family. I only ever told Ma-Ti about it.' He swallows heavily. 'That's what he meant... the day he died. When he said 'Colorado'... he was talkin' to me. Tellin' me to go get it, to seize it by the fuckin' hands and live it. He died, so I could have that dream.'

He pauses, hating himself momentarily.

'I let him down, runnin' away from everything like I did. I let him down, Kwame. I'm never gonna forgive myself for that. Or for abandoning you, and Linka, like I did.'

'You can make it up to Linka, everyday for the rest of your life, if you choose to.'

'You bet your ass I will,' Wheeler swears, almost violently. 'I'm gonna love her and that kid so much... I'm gonna be the best husband... and the best dad.'

'Ma-Ti...' now Kwame sighs. 'Ma-Ti would be proud of you.'

Wheeler nods. 'I wish I could see him, even if only one more time, and tell him that I did it. Tell him that I got my Colorado.'

But Kwame shakes his head next to him. 'You will never get that chance... Ma-Ti is in a better place now. But you can tell him in your heart.'

'My heart,' Wheeler says softly, inexplicably thinking of Ma-Ti's ring, of the rose-gold centre that glowed so beautifully when wielded in Ma-Ti's palm. 'Yeah, I'll do that. Tell him in my heart.'

Wheeler falls asleep sitting up, and when he next wakes, the blindfold is gone, his hands are free, and he's strapped into a chair. Kwame is next to him, his head lolling to one side, and Gi stands before them, all bubblegum pink make-up and cheery smiles.

'Morning, sleepyheads,' she says, in a sing-song voice that makes Wheeler wince.

'Where are we?' he mutters, and she grins.

'North Korea.'

Immediately, Wheeler tries to sit up, to stand, but the restraints cut into his waist, and he forces himself to remain still.

'What the fuck?' he asks darkly. 'North Korea? Have you lost your fuckin' mind, Gi? Let's leave aside the fascist dictator running this secret nation for a minute, and look at the fact that North Korea borders Russia... you must know Russia are after Lin... if they know she's in North Korea, they might...'

But Gi only frowns, looking bored.

'Don't panic, Red,' she says easily. 'It won't be a problem. Dr Blight and I have an arrangement with the government here. We have a lab, power, and access in and out of the country as we see fit, all in exchange for some...' she pauses, 'well, some scientific knowledge.' She pats him on the head tenderly. 'No one's going to repatriate Linka, if that's what you're worried about.'

'Where is Linka?' he asks, trying to keep down, once again, that old rising panic.

'She's fine, don't worry,' Gi says. Her words are easy, but still, a shadow drifts across her face which makes Wheeler's insides clench with fear. Gi frowns. 'She reacted badly to... well... I took her to see an old friend, and she passed out... but honestly, she's fine now,' she adds quickly, seeing the thunderous expression in Wheeler's eyes.

'If anything happens to her, or that baby, I will kill you myself, Gi. Fuck old friendships.'

Gi sighs. 'No, you won't. Honestly, still so dramatic. Linka's fine. I wouldn't let anything happen to her. And the baby... well, the baby isn't even yours. What do you care?'

Wheeler shakes his head, looking at her in disgust. 'That's Linka's baby you're talkin' about,' he says sharply. 'I love Linka. I'll love her kid. And if anything happens to either of them...'

Gi waves her hand. 'Nothing will happen to them. I promise, Red. I've been looking forward to this day for years... all of us together, again. It's going to be wonderful.'

Wheeler draws in a deep breath. 'Dr Blight might not see all four of us together again in the same way, you know. What the fuck are you playing at, gettin' involved with her?'

But Gi's face suddenly brightens. 'No, Wheeler, you don't understand... Dr Blight is helping us,' Gi replies earnestly. 'It's like her deal with North Korea... we have an exchange planned. She gives me something, and we give her something.'

'What?' Wheeler snaps. 'What are you plannin' on givin' her, Gi?'

But next to him, Kwame stirs. When he opens his eyes, they look glossy, almost hazed, and Wheeler looks at him worriedly.

'You okay, Kwame?'

'We'll be landing soon,' Gi interrupts. 'And then you can both rest, before we go to see Dr Blight.'

'I don't need a rest,' Wheeler says hurriedly.

'No,' Kwame says, though his voice is weak. 'We just had... what was it? An eight hour sleep, thanks to your little syringes.'

'It was easier this way,' Gi defends herself. 'If you had just sat still, not fought my men... well, I don't like sedating anyone. But Wheeler, you never know when to stop, do you? Couldn't help yourself from lashing out, even at my people, who only want to help us.'

'They were manhandlin' me onto a plane to North Korea,' he spits back at her. 'If that's helpin' us, God knows what they'll do when they want to hurt us.'

'They won't hurt us,' Gi reassures him, but the blank expression in her eyes gives no comfort.

'They work for Blight,' Kwame tells her, shaking his head. 'They aren't helping us, Gi.'

'You don't know the situation... you don't understand what I'm trying to do here...'

But Kwame's face fills with a sudden sadness. 'Oh, little Gi,' he says mournfully, 'what's happened to you, old friend?'

Gi's face stills, and she looks at Kwame with an abrupt, dark expression.

'I found your ring,' she says coldly. 'While you were out cold, I had you searched. It was in your pocket all along. You lied to me.'

'No, I did not,' Kwame returrned calmly. 'I told you it was somewhere safe. It is the Earth ring, and I am, until Gaia returns, the holder of that element. The safest place for that ring is with me.'

Gi stares at them both. Suddenly, she reaches into her pocket, pulling out from it a handful of gold.

Wheeler stares, his mouth falling open.

The five Planeteer rings. He hasn't seen them together in years, and he feels, just like it was yesterday, the sheer potential within them flow through his blood. His skin warms, his hands clench, and the fire ring glows hot in Gi's hand.

'Woah, watch it there, Red,' Gi says with a yelp, putting the rings back in her pocket. 'We haven't landed yet. You want this whole aircraft to come down?'

'Maybe,' he replies darkly.

But conversely, Gi looks pleased. 'Your ring is working again, isn't it? Just like I thought...'

'That's the first time that ring has glowed like that in years,' Wheeler returns, but Gi still smiles.

'It's working again. I knew it. The Earth ring would too, if Kwame chose to use it.'

'And your water ring?' Kwame asks. 'Has it been working too?'

It's like a crack in the smooth visage of Gi's face; momentarily, her lip trembles, her eyes darken, and her jaw sets. But just as quickly, she recovers.

'It will,' she says confidently. 'Once I wake him up, it will.'

'Who?' Wheeler asks in confusion.

But Gi shakes her head. Voices sound from ahead, and she nods towards them.

'We're about to land. Buckle up, boys. This piece of junk airplane is hardly the geo-cruiser.'

They're in a sterile looking hallway, cold and harsh with strip lighting. Pale-faced and wan looking employees scuttle past them, hardly looking up, and Gi, in her bubblegum pink clothing is like a splash of colour against them all. She's smiling at Kwame and Wheeler as she leads them through what is clearly Blight's base, chatting about the past and, once more, making worrying comments about 'him'.

'Linka got so upset when she saw him. But then, she's been so ill with morning sickness, it isn't really surprising...'

'Linka's sick?' Wheeler demands.

'I've been taking care of her,' Gi replies. 'I keep telling you, nothing is going to happen to her or the baby. I'm excited about being an Auntie too, you know. I can't wait to see the little guy.'

'You're talkin' like we're all gonna get outta this place, Gi.'

'We are,' Gi says easily. 'And then we'll go back to Hope Island, summon Gaia, and it will be like the last ten years never happened.'

Her face is dreamy when she speaks, almost peaceful, and Wheeler looks to Kwame helplessly. But Kwame still stares at Gi, mournful and sad, and Wheeler feels his grief for their friend.

Whoever this girl is in front of them, it's not the Gi they knew or loved.

'Right,' Gi says happily. 'I've put some rooms aside for you both for the night. Of course, Wheeler, if you'd prefer to stay with Linka...'

'I'm stayin' with Linka,' he says firmly, before Gi has even finished her sentence.

She stares at him.

'There are security cameras across the room,' she says. 'Don't fuck her if you can help it.'

He shrugs lazily, and he sees a shudder of irritation go through her.

'I mean it, Red,' she intones. 'MAL is linked in to every camera in the facility. Dr Blight won't be happy if she has to see you... well, you know...'

'Why should she care?' Wheeler says, leaning against a wall casually. 'Unless she's still put out that I fucked her sister years ago.'

Gi's face goes deathly white.

'You slept with Bambi Blight?' she asks coldly.

'Yep,' he replies, his eye drifting to a camera in the ceiling above them. 'Fucked her on the set of that film... what was it called...?' He shrugs. 'Fuck it, it doesn't matter. Such a long time ago. It was hot, though. Bambi was dressed as Linka the whole time,' he whistles, low and leering. 'What a night.'

Gi all but shoves him into a door that opens automatically behind him.

'I know what you're trying to do,' she says, a warning tone to her voice. 'Dr Blight won't fall for any of your shit though.'

'I fucked Betsi too,' he carries on heedlessly. 'She was cute as fuck. Fun too... such an earnest young woman. Then again, all the Blight women are sweet and attractive... with one notable exception.'

He hears another camera, zooming in behind him. He gives a contented sigh.

He's missed this feeling, in a strange way. It's a high, adrenaline raising and unique, one that only comes with antagonising an enemy.

'Don't mess this up for me,' Gi warns. 'Don't push your luck. You know she's dangerous,' she adds.

Wheeler leans towards her, his lips brushing her cheek as he whispers into her ear.

'Yeah. I know she's dangerous, Gi. But do you?'

Gi shoves him away, watching him fall onto the floor behind him. 'See you in the morning. If Linka needs anything, I'll be there.'

'She won't need you,' Wheeler replies easily, from his place on the floor. 'I'm here now. I can take care of her.'

The door slides shut, locking Wheeler in, and Gi's face of stone out. He takes a deep breath, running his hands through his hair, before looking up, trying to take stock of his surroundings.

A carpeted floor, warm beneath his legs. A pretty wallpaper of flocked linen, calming and neutral. A bed, stacked high with linens, a pair of green eyes looking at him coolly from within-

He's on his feet in a flash, reaching the bed in two steps, hauling Linka into his arms and kissing her arms, her neck, her mouth... whichever part of her skin he can access.

But she's rigid beneath him, and he stops, running a finger under her chin and forcing her to look into his eyes.

'Hey, Babe,' he whispers, with a grin. 'Nice digs you've got here.'

She looks at him wryly. 'You are right,' she says, her voice blunt. 'Perhaps you should bring Bambi here. Or Betsi... if she is out of diapers yet, that is.'

He grins at her. 'You heard all that?'

'It was hard not to hear your big voice.'

He embraces her again. 'I was just tryin' to rouse Blight up,' he explains. 'Throw her off her game. You know, like the old days.'

She nods, looking at him seriously.

'You did not sleep with Betsi?'

He shakes his head. 'Hell, no. For one thing, she was from an alternate universe. And for another thing, I was kind of, you know, head over heels for you.'

A ghost of a smile crosses Linka's face.

'And Bambi?' she asks.

He pauses.

'Wheeler!'

'Hey,' he protests. 'Look, we just shared a few kisses... maybe a little more...' Linka struggles in his arms, trying to throw him off, but he holds on tight. 'It was early on, Babe,' he says, running his thumbs over her cheeks. 'Before you and I were ever a thing. Bambi was cute, she was friendly, she was dressed like you...'

Linka stares at him, hurt in her eyes. 'Am I so replaceable? A woman merely has to be blonde and friendly and in a pair of khaki shorts and you will take her to your bed?'

Wheeler sighs. Of all the arguments he thought he would be having tonight, one about Bambi Blight hadn't crossed his mind.

'No. Look, I never thought that you would ever consider a guy like me... and Bambi was there, and she was dressed like you, and I thought, hey, why not fulfill a fantasy, get it out of my system.'

Linka swallows. 'Was the fantasy you created with her better than the reality of me?'

He shrugs, pulling her closer. 'I wouldn't know. Didn't get that far, in the end.'

'Why not?'

He sighs. 'Bambi was a nice girl. But as soon as I had her naked, as soon as the image of you was stripped away from her...' he shrugs again. 'I just couldn't do it. Knew then and there that there was no way of getting you out of my system, so to speak.'

With a sigh, he took one of her hands, pressing it to his chest.

'Feel that?' he asks softly, at the thump of his heartbeat. Linka nods mutely.

'That's my system, Babe. And it's yours, now and forever, if you want it.'

A tear slips down her cheek, and he catches it with his lips. It's salt and sweet on his tongue.

'Yankee,' Linka stares at him sadly. 'How are we going to get out of this?'

He sighs back. 'I don't know, Babe. Life's...' he pauses. 'Well, it's complicated, right now. But we'll figure it out. Kwame's here too, and -'

'Kwame is here?' she asks. When he nods, her face falls.

'Sam and Haya need him,' Linka says fervently. 'If anything happens to him -'

'Nothin's gonna happen to him, Babe,' Wheeler whispers. 'Gi mentioned somethin'... about a trade...'

Linka shivers in his arms.

'What is it?' he asks her immediately.

'No,' she says, and he hates how pale she looks, how wan and terrified in his arms. 'No. I cannot tell you. Not yet.'

'If it makes you feel better, you should tell me, Babe.'

'No, I cannot, I cannot talk of... of... of him... of what she has done...'

Wheeler swallows. It's time to lay all his cards on the table, and pray he draws the winning hand.

'You know stress ain't good for the baby,' he says calmly, and Linka looks up at him, her face falling.

'You know?' she asks, her voice unbearably small.

'Yeah. Gi told me about the blood tests they ran on you. You're pregnant.'

Linka sighs. 'I was hoping to tell you myself.'

'That would've been some conversation,' Wheeler replies. 'Maybe it's better this way.'

Linka nods, fingering the blanket in her hands. For a moment, she stares at the bed, and away from him.

'How do you... feel... about it?'

He takes a deep breath, prepared to be honest. 'It isn't ideal, not really,' he admits, and he hears her breath catch in her throat. He knows she's doing everything not to cry, and he pulls her against him, kissing the top of her head fiercely.

'We're gonna make it work though, okay?' he says, kissing her again. 'We're gonna make it work. You, me, Richard... we'll share custody, do whatever we can to make it easy for the little guy... it won't be easy, not at first, and -'

But Linka pulls away, staring at him with wide, wet eyes.

'Yankee...' she begins slowly. 'What are you talking about?'

'Oh,' Wheeler flushes. 'Gi told me it's a boy. You didn't know, did you? They found male DNA in your blood, which means the baby is a boy.'

Linka stares at him still. 'A boy?' she says, nodding. 'Yes... a boy. Of course. A boy.'

'I'll teach him soccer,' Wheeler offers with a smile. 'Of course, I'll have to learn the game first, but once I have the basics down -'

But Linka stops him, putting a finger to his lips.

'Yankee, I did not mean... I meant... why did you mention Richard, just now?'

Wheeler swallows hard, forcing himself to face the truth once more.

'Because it's his baby,' he says simply, trying to dull the pain that shoots through him once more, focusing on Linka's eyes, her hair, her mouth.

Her mouth, which has fallen open.

'What are you talking about, Yankee? What do you mean, Richard's baby?'

He stares at her, hardly daring to hope.

'What?' he asks quickly. 'You're ten weeks pregnant... you and I were only together... look, I know the maths... it can't be mine.'

'I'm six weeks pregnant,' Linka replies immediately. 'The baby is yours.'

Shit, Wheeler thinks. She doesn't know.

'No,' he says slowly, sadly. 'No... you're ten weeks. The blood test Gi did -'

'I do not care about any blood test Gi did,' Linka interrupts him. 'I know my body. I have not slept with Richard in... well... too long for the baby to be -' she pauses, taking his hand once more. 'It is your baby, Wheeler.' She stares at him, her heart in her eyes. 'It could never be anyone else's baby.'

For a moment, Wheeler cannot speak. But when he does, when he finds his voice, it's broken with tears.

'Really?' He asks. He's crying now, openly, and Linka laughs. This time, it's her turn to wipe the tears from his eyes.

'Yes, of course. It is your baby - our baby - of course it is.'

'He,' Wheeler corrects her. 'It's a boy.'

His son, he thinks, a frisson of happiness running through him.

'Maybe not,' Linka whispers, clearly thinking things through. 'Gi lied about how many weeks pregnant I was - I don't know why she did, but she did... maybe she lied about the baby being a boy too.'

'I don't know,' Wheeler frowns. 'She looked like she was tellin' the truth. Whatever Gi's issues are, I don't think dishonesty is one of em'.'

He pauses, looking at Linka imploringly.

'It is my baby, right? Please, just tell me -'

'It is your baby,' she replies fiercely. Just as fiercely, she suddenly whispers. 'And I think it is a boy... when you said that, it felt right.'

'You think Gi was tellin' the truth? About the blood tests... and your HC... HCE, or HCD or...'

'HCG,' Linka fills in.

He smiles at her. 'HCG, yeah, that's it. You think she was being honest when she said they were those of a ten week pregnant woman?'

Linka pauses, clearly considering his words. Her brow furrows slightly, and Wheeler resists the urge to kiss the line it leaves.

'HCG is normally a reliable measure of early pregnancy,' she tells him. 'I am not certain... I would need to look it up... but the only way it might be higher than actual gestation is if...'

She stops now, abruptly pale again.

Wheeler looks at her. 'What is it, Babe?'

But Linka takes his hand, laying it against his chest, so that he feels the beat of his own heart.

'Your system,' she tells him, before moving his hand to her chest. 'My system,' she adds, before moving his hand to the soft curve of her belly. 'Their systems,' she finishes, and Wheeler's eyes grow wide.

'Two?' He asks.

Linka nods.

For a moment, Wheeler stares at her wordlessly.

'Lin..' he eventually says, and she looks at him.

'Yankee?'

'I've got to get you outta here.'

Linka nods, leaning into his chest. 'All of us,'she says softly. 'All of us, Yankee.'

He nods, holding her close.

But in his mind, he's already made a decision: she's the priority, and he's going to get her out of this place, and safely back home.

If it's the last thing he ever does.