Wheeler is at her door at seven o'clock on the dot. He made sure he had on his nicest pair of pants with no holes or no stains and his shirt had a collar and was tucked in all the way, not just half. He even brushed his hair. He didn't know why he was so nervous...it was only Linka...only Linka...no biggie. She's just the love of his life...that's all. Oh yeah, let's not forget the life before this one. The love of his life, and the love of his past life...no pressure. He took a deep breath, and then knocked on her door.

"Come in," she calls.

He does as she says, but doesn't see her anywhere in the room.

"I am almost ready, I will be out in a second," she calls from the bathroom.

"Um, take your time...I'm early," he lies as he nervously looks around the room.

"Could not wait?" she asks as she leans against the doorway of her room and the bathroom.

"No, I just...." he looks over at her and smiles . "Wow....you look...different...I mean, nice!" he clarifies. "Your hair...I never realized it was that long...or wavy...you should leave it down more often."

"You like it?"

"Yeah. I mean. I like it in a ponytail too. That's nice also. You always look nice." He knew he was rambling, but for some reason, he couldn't stop. But at this moment, she looked particularly nice in her strappy sandals, black skirt, and aqua top. He had never seen her wear anything like this before. Two straps tied behind her neck held the top up, leaving an open back.

"This is for you," he says as he hands her the stuffed animal he'd been hiding behind his back.

"Aww Wheeler! It is adorable!" She coos as she examines the little stuffed dog that was holding a little red heart in its mouth. "Where did you get it? You could not have possibly left the Island once we got home...I barely had time to get ready."

"No, I've had it for a while. I saw it at the store once and I immediately thought of you. It's a Siberian Husky and its eyes...they reminded me of yours. I was just waiting for a reason to give it to you. Now seemed like a good time. I would have gotten you flowers, but I didn't want to pick them because I'd feel guilty for ruining an eco system or something...plus flowers die. At least that you can keep...or whatever you want to do with it. You can give it to a little kid or something if you don't..."

"Do not be silly! I love it. He is so cute, I am keeping him all to myself." She gives the stuffed animal a squeeze before setting it down on her bed. "I am ready when you are."

"Let's go then," he says as he offers her his arm.

They walk along the beach and just as Linka is about to ask where they are going, she sees that a table for two has been set up along the shoreline.

"I figured we'd have a nice view of the sunset from here," he says as he pulls out her chair and pushes it back in as she sits.

He lights the two candles that he has sitting on the table and then turns on the CD player to the sounds of quiet instrumentals.

"Wheeler, you did not need to go through all this trouble. You do not need to impress me."

"I just want it to be special. To let you know how much you mean to me and that all I want is for you to be happy."

"I am happy," she says as she takes his hand from across the table.

"Well, I want to keep it that way."

"This means so much to me...you have put much thought and effort into this. No one has ever done so much to make me feel so...special."

"Well, I'm glad that I'm the first...and hopefully the last. I want to be the one...The only one," he says as he squeezes her hand and smiles.

She returns his smile and nods, silently letting him know that that's what she wants too.

He reaches into the cooler and pulls out...the pitcher from the blender...?!

"Smoothie?" he asks.

"Of course!"

"I know by the time we got back, it didn't leave you any time to go get your fresh mango and banana smoothie made, so I added it to the menu!" he says as he pours their drinks. "And we didn't have much in the way of food so all I could make for dinner was pasta. Plus, I'm not a very good cook to begin with and didn't have much time to search through a recipe book...but I can boil rigatoni noodles and add a jar of sauce. Sorry, it's not much but..."

"It smells delicious Yankee."

And then they stopped what they were doing and looked up at each other. Deja vu. It is what Liliya had said to Walker as he made them eggs for breakfast in their shared dream. The mood suddenly changed as they ate in silence. Once they had finished, there was still an awkward silence.

"That was very good," she said. "Did you add something to the sauce?"

"A little basil and a splash of cooking wine."

"It tasted good."

"Thanks. Uh look, if you don't wanna do this anymore, it's cool. We can try again another time...if you want...or if not..."

"I want to do this again another time...but I do not want this to end tonight...unless you are not..."

"No, no...I want this to continue...I just...I know that every time we think of Walker and Liliya, we're gonna be sad for them. But maybe when we think of them...we should also think of us and how if it weren't for them, we wouldn't be doing this right now."

"Da. Ok."

Things remain quiet between them and they both stare out into the ocean as the sun goes down into the horizon. After a few moments, Wheeler speaks up,

"Do you wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure."

He stands up and pulls her chair out with one hand while offering her his other hand to pull her up out of the chair. He keeps her hand in his as they start walking and keep walking until the waning sunlight has turned into moonlight.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks her.

"Nothing..."

"I can tell something's on your mind Babe...so spill."

"I...I am thinking about...how scared I am."

"What?! Why?! Linka, I'm not gonna do anything. I don't have any plans or expectations of where this is going to go. It was only dinner, and hopefully some talking, but I can't even do that right."

"Nyet Wheeler, you misunderstand me...I am not scared of you...well, I am...but not for the reasons you think. I know you would never intentionally hurt me. But you have, just as I know that I have hurt you in the past. But now, I am scared of what I feel for you. What I have tried to fight, but cannot...no, will not fight any more. I care about you...very much. I am scared because I have never felt this way before about anyone. I am scared of letting myself feel that way because what if...what if you did not feel the same?"

"But I do...I always have...I don't know what more I need to do to convince you of that..." he says.

"Sssh, I know. I know that now. I believe you now. But now...my problem is...do I love you too much?"

"You...you love me?"

She stops walking and moves to stand in front of him, taking both of his hands in hers, looking up at him, and staring him in the eye as she finally admits to him,

"Da. I love you."

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear those words!" he says.

"Probably about as long as I have been waiting to hear them."

"You mean you didn't know? All this time? You didn't know?"

"Nyet...because you never said it...until today. To the psychic. You said you did not want to find out that you were in love with a relative."

"But you didn't get it after all this time...? I've been flirting with you since the day we met!" he explains.

"Da, and every other girl you see, you flirt with."

"But it was different with you. And most of the time, I only flirted with them to make you jealous. None of them meant as much to me as you do."

"How was I supposed to know that?" She asks. "When one day you are flirting with me and I start to think maybe your feelings are genuine, but then the next day, we go off on a mission and you find someone else to flirt with and I feel like I do not exist."

"Ok. I see your point...and I'm sorry you felt that way. But we're past that now. I love you...and you love me. That makes us happy. There's no need to be scared," he says as he leans down to kiss her.

"Ah, but there is," she says as she pulls away. "Now that I know that I cannot live without you, I am scared of what I will do if I ever lost you."

"You won't. I'll do everything I can to make you happy, and keep you happy. If we break up, it's gonna be because you got sick of me and dumped me, because I ain't leavin' you. Not after it took me this long to get you."

"That is not what I mean. We can be separated...just like Walker and Liliya were. Something else could keep us apart...what if something happens to you on a mission...I am scared of having to spend the rest of my life without you."

"You can't think like that Babe. Anything could happen to either one of us on a mission. Don't you think that I would be equally crushed if something happened to you? Of course I would be...but that's not gonna keep me from loving you now. We need to cherish every moment that we do have together, because you never know when that can end...and then what? We have regrets. We're not gonna be like Walker and Liliya if that's what you're scared of. We're their second chance. We're gonna make it right for them. We're their happily ever after...don't you see that?"

"I do not want to be scared anymore," she says softly.

"Then don't be. I'm here. With you. And I'm not going anywhere," he holds her face between his hands as he brings his head down to hers as they kiss, more deeply and more passionately than they ever have before. He needed to let her know that he meant what he said.

"That was…" Linka is breathless and at a loss for words.

"That was my promise to you. I'm not going anywhere."

"Do not make promises you cannot keep Wheeler."

"I'm not. No matter what, I'll always be with you…here," he says as he points to her head, "and here," he adds as he places his hand over her heart.

She puts her hand overtop of his and holds it there as they kiss.

He pulls away when a gust of wind blows over them and she shivers.

"Cold?" he asks.

"Da."

"Let's get you home."

"Nyet. I am not ready for the night to end...let us watch TV, play a game, or just sit and talk some more."

"Sounds good to me," he says as he puts his arm around her shoulder.

To Be Continued...