A/N: I'm gonna add a tissue disclaimer. I'm not getting any money from the Kleenex corporation, but I'm probably making them some...I just used about half a box by the time I finished this chapter! You've been warned! And grab a drink and a snack while you're at it because this one's a little long!

An hour and a half later, Wheeler and Linka are sitting next to each other in the conference room, waiting for Sandi. They each sat with their hands wrapped around a cup of coffee. Linka sighs nervously. Wheeler looks over at her and gives her a half smile, but he is concerned.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"I feel like a hypocrite. Yesterday, we were disbelieving and laughing at this woman…now we are asking for her help in something completely unrelated to the eco emergency."

"I know. I feel weird too. And you know how I hate admitting I'm wrong...of course you know…You're the same way!" he says as he playfully puts his arm around her shoulder and pulls her against his side and leans his head against hers.

Just then, Sandi enters the room and cocks her eyebrow at the uncharacteristic playfulness she sees between the two Planeteers who had been the most serious yesterday.

"Oh, hello," Linka says.

Wheeler removes his arm from around Linka's shoulder, but leaves it over the back of her chair.

"Hello. I must say, I'm a bit surprised that you two wanted to meet with me. Is there something about the case you would like to discuss?" Sandi asks.

"Uh no, actually. This is something completely unrelated. You said something yesterday about Linka and I being connected and having a relationship. We told you that that wasn't true…"

"But it is?" Sandi asks.

"No…not quite. I mean, she's one of my best friends and I'm crazy about her," he pauses to look at Linka and see her reaction. She looks down and spins the coffee mug on the table. "but we're not together. Last night, we had a weird dream."

"We? You both had it?"

"Yeah….we both had the same dream. It was like it was about us, but the characters in the dream…they were us…but they weren't. They had different names and it took place during…"

"Wait! Don't tell me anymore about your dream. I'm assuming you asked me here to discuss what I mentioned yesterday about how if you are not together in this life, perhaps you share a past life."

"Yeah."

"Then don't tell me about the dream. If I know any details, it will make my reading of you less believable if you think I'm making guesses based on what I already know."

"Reading?" Linka asks.

"Yes. I can see things about people if I concentrate hard enough. You two might be more difficult than most though since you're skeptical."

"We are trying not to be. We came to you hoping for answers. If the people in our dream were real people and not figments of our imagination, we want to know what happened to them," Linka explains.

"And we'll pay you for your…services. If that's how things usually work," Wheeler offers.

"Usually, that's how it works…but technically, I'm working for law enforcement…and you're working with law enforcement, so we'll just say this is work related," Sandi says.

"So what do we do now?" Wheeler asks.

"We sit here, I take it all in, and whatever I pick up, I'll relay back to you and you can confirm whether or not any of it coincides with your dream. If you truly are connected to someone on the other side, I may be able to get information from them, depending on their willingness to communicate…why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sorry. Habit I guess. It all just seems so…bizarre. I'm just trying to process it all," Wheeler says.

Sandi shuts her eyes and begins taking in slow, deep breaths, and letting them out slowly.

Wheeler looks over at Linka and rolls his eyes. She puts her finger to her lips, indicating for him to be quiet.

After a few minutes of meditation, Sandi opens her eyes.

"I think it would be best if I started with the least skeptical of the two of you," she says.

Linka thought for sure that meant Wheeler. Surely he is more open minded about this sort of thing than she is…after all, he was the one that was trying to convince her.

"You," Sandi says as she points to Linka.

"Me?"

"I see an 'L' around you."

"Umm, my name? Linka?"

"No. This isn't about you. It's about a presence about you…I see an 'L' name…she's sad. Something is missing. She's looking for closure."

"My dream? The girl in our dream…her name started with an 'L.'"

"Lydia…Lily…? Something like that?" Sandi asks.

"It was Liliya."

"And you," she points towards Wheeler, "There is a 'J' around you."

"My name and the name of the guy in our dream," Wheeler confirms.

"It's an odd name, his name. He doesn't like it, so he doesn't use it. Jules…Julius…Julian?"

"That's it!"

"There is fighting. I see uniforms…green…an army? War…an old war. And grey uniforms…with…a swastika? Nazis? Is any of this making sense to you?"

"Da."

"There is much love…she was in love, with a solider…there were two soldiers…a ring…her husband? Then the other soldier…not her husband, but she loved him…there is another ring…a diamond…but also much sadness…she died alone…no, not completely alone. She had a son. I am getting three names…a first, middle, and last perhaps…, but one of those names is false…she's telling me the names…Fyodor Yulianovich Larionov."

"Bozhe moy," Linka gasps.

"What is it Babe? What's wrong?"

"Can I explain?" Linka asks Sandi.

"Please do."

"In the dream, Liliya's husband's name was Mikhail Larionov. Her lover's name was Julian Theodore Walker…her child's first name, 'Fyodor' is the Russian version of Theodore. It means "gift of God." The last name would imply that the child was Mikhail's since it has his last name…but I believe that is the false name you spoke of. She probably only did it so the townspeople would think that her baby belonged to her dead husband…the middle name…that reveals the father's true identity," Linka says.

"Yulianovich? What the hell kinda name is that?" Wheeler asks.

"In Russia, it is his patronymic, a middle name derived from his father's first name. For boys you add 'ovich' to the father's first name. 'Yulian' is the Russian version of 'Julian.' 'Yulianovich means…"

"Son of Julian?!"

"Da. Even the first name hints that her child was Walker's. It was his middle name, and it means 'gift of God.' It has to be Walker's. Poor Liliya. Raising a child alone."

"And poor Walker…he probably never even knew he had a kid," Wheeler says.

After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, Wheeler speaks up.

"Wait…this whole story…our connection to Walker and Liliya…it doesn't mean that…Walker was a relative of mine and Liliya was a relative of Linka's and…we're not gonna find out that somewhere down the line, Linka and I are…related?"

"No," Sandi says. "Your relationship with Walker and Liliya is not blood. It is purely spiritual."

"Phew," Wheeler sighs. "Good. Cuz finding out that I've been in love with a long lost cousin for years…and now we could never be together…well, I think that would require years of therapy!"

Linka was shocked at his admission. Does he even realize what he just said? "In love?" She knew he had a crush on her, she knew he cared, she knew they both had feelings for each other…but he was in love? For years? Not just a crush. And the feelings she has felt for him…the feelings she has been holding back for fear of them getting too strong and then having her heart broken…she did not have to worry about that anymore. He would never hurt her. He was in love! And so was she. No matter how hard she tried to hide it or stop it…she could not. She tried being mad at him. She tried hating him sometimes. But it was impossible. She loved him, and now she could finally let herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by Wheeler.

"Now what about Walker? Do you see anything about him?" Wheeler asks Sandi.

"Yes. Much more clearly now...a little less skeptical, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess I'm the kinda person that needs to see things to believe 'em. Please, go on!"

"I see bars…a cell. He spent alot of time locked up. I get a sense of abandonment…of Liliya? I don't get the jail cell reference for leaving Liliya. No wait…it wasn't leaving her….uniforms…Army. He left the army?"

"Yeah."

"They arrested him at Liliya's place. He was protecting her. That was the last time he saw her," Sandi says.

"I wonder if he ever tried to go back to the Soviet Union to find her?" Linka asks.

"He did…but he couldn't. Something was stopping him. I don't know what though," Sandi says.

"Probably the fact that he was a convicted felon. No passport. Plus, by the time he got out of jail, we were probably at the height of the cold war with the Soviet Union. It was probably impossible for a court marshaled, felon American soldier to get out of the States, let alone INTO the Soviet Union…our 'enemy.'"

"That is a good point. And perhaps she was having the same problems getting out," Linka says.

"Can you tell us more? Why didn't they get back to each other?" Wheeler asks Sandi.

"Honey, I'm good, but I ain't that good!" Sandi says.

"So what now?" Linka asks.

"Gaia!" Wheeler exclaims as he rushes out of the room.

"What?" Sandi asks, confused.

"Um, nothing. It is a Russian swear word that I taught him," Linka covers. "We should be going now before the other Planeteers get here and start asking why Wheeler and I are here so early. Thank you so much for your time and help. You have really made things much more clear."

"Glad I could help."

"And please…do not mention this to the others. We have not talked to them about it yet."

"Sure. My lips are sealed."

Linka goes outside to find Wheeler yelling,

"Gaia?! Gaiaaaaaaa!!! We have a question!"

"Wheeler! Stop it. You look like a madman! Has no one ever told you how to contact Gaia?"

"Umm, no, apparently not. I just always thought she sort of showed up," he replies.

Linka puts her ring hand to her head and concentrates.

Gaia appears a few seconds later.

"Yes? What is it Linka? I was having fun watching Wheeler try to get my attention."

"Wait, you saw that and still didn't come?!" Wheeler says angrily.

"Well I would have been here sooner, but I was laughing too hard!"

"Gaia, we have a question about someone…well, two people actually," Linka says.

"Private Julian Walker and Liliya Malkina-Larionova?" Gaia asks.

"Da."

"Hey, how did you know?"

"I've been keeping an eye on you two tonight once I sensed you were distressed about something. What do you want to know?"

"How did the American Army find him?" Linka asks.

"He wrote a letter home asking his family to send a few personal belongings and money," Gaia explains.

"The Army was monitoring their mail?" Wheeler asks.

"No. His family was not happy with his decision to never come home again. They thought he was being irrational and impulsive...blinded by a pretty face. They turned the letter in to the authorities and told them to go get their son and bring him home."

"Bozhe moy!"

"Why would they do that?! Didn't they want him to be happy?!" Wheeler asks.

"They wanted their son home. I guess they didn't think of the consequences."

"What consequences? After Walker was arrested in Russia, what happened to him?" Linka asks.

"Over 21,000 US military personnel were convicted and sentenced for desertion during the 3.5 years of American involvement in World War II. Of these, 49 were sentenced to death, but only one was executed," Gaia explains.

"Oh no…Walker?" Linka gasps.

"No. I was just giving you statistics. Walker was sentenced to 25 years. He would have been 44 when he was released. However, he was released five years early for good behavior…and because the prisons were becoming over populated and they needed to make room. So he would have been 39."

"Did he try to get in touch with Liliya when he was released?" Linka asks.

"No."

"Idiot!" Wheeler exclaims.

"He wrote her letters almost everyday, then he cut back to once a week, then once a month, then he just stopped."

"Why?" Linka asks.

"Because he never heard back from her."

"Now sheis the idiot!" Linka says.

"You're both so quick to judge!" Gaia admonishes. "She never got those letters."

"Why not?" Wheeler asks.

"He was sending the letters to the only address he knew, but she no longer lived at the farmhouse that she shared with Mikhail, then Walker. She couldn't afford it. She sold her cows, then the chickens, then the whole farm. She could not bear to part with the horse though. He reminded her of the day she met Walker. So she took her horse and moved back to her father's place with her grandmother. She told her grandmother everything because she thought she would understand. She was upset with Liliya for behaving in such a way that could make the family look bad, but she was sympathetic towards the sadness that Liliya was feeling at losing the love of her life. However, being more concerned for the family, Liliya's grandmother told Liliya's father what had happened. Her father then told her brother, who had moved his way up the army ranks rather quickly. Her brother used his connections to get information on his sister's US soldier. She knew of her brother's efforts and every day, she would ask him if he had heard anything. She even lied to him and told him that when she found him, he had been wounded from fighting against the Nazis with the Russian Army, even though he had run away from his army, he still made the effort to fight against the Nazis. He considered that for a while and wondered if perhaps he could us his rank to help his sister's American...if he could some how say that his army would like to honor Private Walker for his "heroic deeds." He knew his sister was deeply in love and cared very much for this man. He also knew that she would never move on and be happy as long as she knew that he was out there somewhere. He was going to do all he could to reunite his sister with her love."

"So what happened? He obviously didn't. Or couldn't," Wheeler says.

"Then Liliya found out she was pregnant. She was always tired and hadn't been feeling well, but everyone assumed it was all the stress she was under. When she missed her…cycle…she told her family the news…

Gaia waved her hands and suddenly, an image appeared in front of Wheeler and Linka. They could see back in time, they could witness for themselves what happened.

"Please tell me it is Mikhail's!" her father pleaded.

"I am sorry Papa, it cannot possibly be. I have not seen him in six months." She then pleaded with her brother, "Please, you must find a way to bring Walker back. It is not just about me needing him anymore…his child needs him!"

Her brother considered this and was now more determined than ever to get the American released, not just for his sister, but for his new niece or nephew. He told his father and grandmother was he planned on doing.

"Absolutely not!" her father had said. "As far as anyone else is concerned, Liliya's child belongs to Mikhail. That is what we will tell everyone."

Her brother still tried to fight for her,

"But Papa, she loves the American. It is his child. She wants to be a family. She deserves to have a family."

But still, her father insisted,

"Mikhail was a well liked man. People will feel badly for her if they think she is a widow with a child whose father died in the war...what will they think of her if they know the truth? That while her husband was off fighting a war, she was falling in love with another man, and before Mikhail's body was even cold, she had created a baby with someone else!"

Liliya's brother tried one last time,

"Mikhail was an idiot! He is the reason we lost our jobs because of his stupidity and lack of business sense. And now my sister has nothing because he could not have died honorably fighting, he took his own life and now Liliya is entitled to nothing! She has nothing and now that she has a child, no man will ever have her...but the American...he is the father...if he is half the man that Liliya makes him out to be, he will take care of her and their child. I know you are concerned about what people will think, but think about your daughter's happiness and not your own ideals of how things should be and what people will think. Do you think Liliya would want people to pity her for being a single mother and widow? No. Do you think she would care what people thought of her if they knew the truth about her child's paternity? No. And I know it will be hard on us, hearing what people are saying about her, but if she does not care, we should not care. And if keeping up appearances is really that important to you, then Liliya should move to America to be with her soldier so they can raise their child together."

Back in the present, Wheeler turns to Linka and says,

"Wow, I'm really likin' her brother!"

"And not so much her father," Linka adds.

"It gets worse," Gaia says as she directs their attention back to the image in front of them.

Her father goes on,

"How will they raise a child together while he is in jail? How will she survive over there with no one to support her? She is better off being alone here where she has family than being alone over there, where she has no one. This is not up for discussion. You will do nothing to get the American freed and sent over here. And you will do nothing to send your sister to America."

Her brother knows he is defeated.

"What am I supposed to tell her? She knows I have been trying to get information on him."

Her father cannot look his son in the eye when he says,

"Tell her he is dead. It is the only way she will give up and forget about him. Do you understand?"

Her brother knew that their father was right. As long as Liliya thought there was a chance, she would never give up hope. He didn't want her spending the rest of her life waiting for Walker, so he sadly replied,

"Yes Papa, I understand."

"NO!" Linka yells at the images in front of her.

"That bastard!" Wheeler adds.

"What did Liliya do when she found out?" Linka asks.

"This isn't going to be easy to watch, but see for youselves," Gaia says.

Her brother came home one day, and as she did every time she saw him, Liliya asked,

"Any news today?"

Remembering what their father had instructed, he took his sister's hands and, unable to look her in the eye, said,

"I am sorry Liliya. His crimes against his country were severe."

So she asked,

"If they will not release him early...when will they release him? I will wait for as long as it takes!"

Her words confirmed what he had feared.

"I know you will...but you cannot...he...he is dead."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Her scream was the most agonizing scream he had ever heard...and he had been on the battlefield where people were shot, missing limbs from explosives, and dying...and still, he had never heard anyone cry out in as much pain as she was at that moment. His heart broke for her. He wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to send her to America and tell her what jail her love was being held in so she could visit him and tell him their good news. And he had no doubt that his sister would have found a way to survive on her own in America while she waited for her soldier to be released. After all, it was the land of opportunity...at least that is what he had heard. Instead, he just held her and let her cry.

"I am sorry Liliya. I am so, so very sorry."

She pulled out of his arms and placing one hand on her unborn child and grasping the necklace where the ring he gave her now resided, she looked to the sky and whispered,

"I am pregnant Yankee. You are going to be a papa and I will do my best to raise our child to be as loving, gentle, and kind as you were. Rest in peace my love."

And both the image and Gaia disappeared, leaving Wheeler and Linka alone in the dim, early morning sunlight.

Linka was sobbing, her heart breaking for Liliya. She felt like she was no longer able to stand, so she crouched down on one knee as her sobs wracked her body and her tears fell into the dirt.

Wheeler was at a lose for words. He couldn't believe what he just saw, couldn't get her scream out of his head. He looked down at Linka and pulled her up, holding her tightly against him and letting her cry into his chest as he buried his face in her hair.

"It is horrible. How could her father do that?" she cried.

"I don't know Babe. I guess he thought he knew what was best for..."

"BUT IT WAS NOT! HE RUINED THEIR LIVES!"

"Sssh, I know Linka...I know. I don't think I'll ever get the sound of her scream out of my head. I don't ever want to hear anything like that ever again."

He presses his head against the side of hers and lets her hair absorb his tears and lets his own body become overcome with heavy sobs. He hates crying in front of her. He hates not being able to be the strong one, but he can't do it. He is just as upset as her and needs her support just as much as she needs his. This isn't about a dream anymore...it wasn't just a dream. It was real. It's about real people and their lives.

To Be Continued...I'm going to bed now! I made myself cry at 5:30 in the morning! My boyfriend's gonna think I'm nuts if he wakes up and I'm crying for no reason! "Sorry Babe, it's a girl thing, go back to sleep!" haha. That'll work! Or maybe I'll just go fall asleep on the couch and pretend I fell asleep watching Sportscenter on ESPN!