Two hours later, Wheeler and Linka emerged from the shower feeling refreshed and revived. Linka was getting dressed when Wheeler walked into the room while drying his hair with a towel. He looked incredibly sexy with his messy hair and towel wrapped low around his waist. He was admiring the view with a feral grin on his face when Linka broke his concentration.

"Stop it!"

"What?" He asked innocently.

"Stop looking so good and looking at me like that! We have to be back on Hope Island tonight, I have not even started packing anything I want to take with me. And I want to call your parents to invite them over, tell them our good news, and extend our offer to have them live in our guest house."

Wheeler said nothing in response, but had a huge smile on his face.

"What?!"

"You think I look good?" Wheeler jokingly asked as he started posing, model style.

Linka just rolled her eyes and ignored him then went into the bathroom to put on some makeup. Wheeler followed her, wrapped his arms around her, rested his chin on her shoulder and said,

"Wanna know why I was really smiling?"

Linka stopped what she was doing and looked up to meet his gaze in the mirror. When she raised her eyebrow waiting for his response, he continued, "Because you called it OUR guesthouse."

"We are engaged to be married. There is no more 'mine and yours.' Everything is 'ours.'"

"Well then, while I'm getting ready, why don't you call Ma and Pop and invite them over. Just tell them you'd like to have them over for lunch to see them before we head back. Then we'll tell them our two surprises…although I'm pretty sure they're not going to be too surprised about the engagement."

"Ok. I will need to go to the store and pick some things up to make lunch," Linka said.

"And while you do that, I'll take the Eco-Copter to pick up Ma and Pop. When we're ready to go back to Hope Island, we can load your stuff up, take them back to Brooklyn, stop at my place to get my stuff, and then head back to the Island. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds like a good plan!" Linka turned to leave, but Wheeler grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked.

"To call your parents."

"You can't just leave the room without giving me a kiss first!" Wheeler complained, feigning hurt feelings.

"Stop wasting time!" she admonished him but still walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. As she walked away, she grabbed the towel from around his waist and tossed it to the floor.

"HEY!" he protested.

"Now hurry up!" She said as she pulled a pair of his boxers out of his luggage and threw them at him.

When Linka got downstairs, she called Wheeler's parents and they happily accepted their invitation. She gave them the details as to when and how Wheeler would be picking them up. They seemed excited to get to ride in the Eco-Copter. By the time she had gotten off the phone, Wheeler was just making his way downstairs.

"Are they coming?"

"Da. I'm going to the store to pick up some things to make Club Sandwiches and salads."

"Aww, you had my attention until you said 'salads.' How about some fries instead?" Wheeler suggested.

"Fine," Linka conceded. "I don't know how you look so good with all the junk you eat!"

Two hours later, Wheeler arrived with his parents just as Linka was pulling the fries out of the oven. She'd cook them, but there was no way she was deep frying them! If she couldn't get Wheeler to eat healthy, she was at least going to try to prepare them healthy.

Wheeler led his parents into the kitchen. Upon seeing their guests had arrived, Linka went to greet them.

"Kathy, Joe! Hello and welcome!" She said as she hugged them.

"It's so good to see you again dear. It was such a pleasant surprise when you called. You have a beautiful place!" Kathy said.

"Thank you. I will give you a tour when we finish lunch."

"That would be nice." Kathy and Joe were fairly certain the kids had invited them over in order to share the news of their engagement and Kathy could hardly contain her excitement. She had planned on waiting for the kids to tell them, but seeing the ring on Linka's finger was too much for her to handle. She couldn't contain herself. "Is that what I think it is on your hand?!"

"Da!" Linka exclaimed excitedly as she held out her hand for Kathy and Joe to see.

"So much for the 'big reveal,'" Wheeler sighed, a bit disappointed.

Joe clasped Wheeler's shoulder. "It's ok son. We had a pretty good idea that you'd invited us over here for this. HOWEVER, the plan was to PRETEND to be surprised when you told us." Joe smiled as he said this and shook his head at Kathy.

"I know, I'm sorry. But when I saw it, I couldn't help myself. Joe, our baby is getting married!"

"I know Kathy, I gave him the ring!!!" Joe said sarcastically.

"Thank you by the way," Linka said to Joe as she stepped closer to him. "It means so much to me that you would want me to have something that belonged to your mother. I promise I will take good care of it."

"I know you will sweetheart. That's why I wanted you to have it," Joe said as he hugged her.

"Sweetheart?! Pop, you hittin' on my girl?"

"Hey, I call you 'son' and I always thought that if we ever had a daughter, I'd call her 'sweetheart.' And now I've got one!"

"Aww, that is sweet of you to say! Now I know where you get your smooth talking skills from!" Linka teased Wheeler. "Shall we eat now?"

Everyone followed Linka into the dining area and sat down. Kathy was still excited and could not think of anything else to talk about except wedding planning.

"I know it's probably too early, but have you set a date?" Kathy asked.

"No, other than the actual 'will you marry me' 'hell yeah, of course I'll marry you, you big handsome stud,' we haven't really talked about the details." Wheeler said.

"That is NOT how I answered you!"

"Really? Well, that's what I heard."

"Anyways, to answer your question Kathy, no, we have not picked a date. We have not made any decisions about where or when."

"Well, if you need any help, please ask. We'd love to help anyway we can. Whether it be helping to book a place or just getting a list of addresses for invitations…"

"Whoa, slow down Ma. 'A list of addresses?' I mean, I was just thinkin' it was going to be the other Planeteers, Gaia, Cap, you guys, Linka's family, and a few close friends. Something simple on Hope Island…or did you want something big Babe? I'm cool with whatever you want."

"Nyet, I only have Mishka and his family, but he will probably be the only one that comes. His children are too young to make such a long trip. The only other people I have are a few people I kept in touch with from college. Do you think it would be more convenient for the guests if we had it in New York? Although, I think a beach wedding on Hope Island would be nice."

"Screw convenience for the guests! It's all about us!"

"WHEELER! That is rude!"

"What? It's true. Actually, it's all about YOU. All eyes are gonna be on you Babe and you're going to look beautiful no matter where we have the wedding." Wheeler expertly charmed his way out of trouble.

"Either way, you better get crackin'. You promised me grandkids remember?!" Joe said.

"JOE! That's none of our business! Besides, I'm sure the kids would like to enjoy their time together before throwing a child into the mix. And they're Planeteers. Linka can't be pregnant and out on missions, so it'll be a while before there'll be any grandkids."

"Oh I'm sure there's ways to get around being a Planeteer and a mommy. She can just stay home on the Island and Jason will just have to pick up the slack!" Joe teased.

Wheeler watched in amusement. It was nice seeing a friendly argument between his parents, instead of the drunken ones he had witnessed as a kid. He couldn't believe his parents were arguing over his kids. After all, he and Linka were certainly not ready for kids. Suddenly, it hit him, "OH NO!" He thought, "We haven't been doing anything to prevent it! It's gonna be just like that dream I had. We're gonna have eight kids and Linka's not gonna be hot anymore! And all those kids will age me pre-maturely like it did her and….!" He quickly stood up and said, "Linka, we need…ketchup!"

"What?"

"For the fries. Will you show me where it is?"

"It's in the door of the fridge. Big red bottle, says 'Heinz' on it, you can't miss it."

Wheeler walked into the kitchen, then shouted "I don't see it Babe!"

Linka excused herself and went to the kitchen. When she got there, Wheeler was just standing there, not even looking in the fridge.

"I told you it was in the…"

"Forget the ketchup. We need to talk."

His urgency had Linka worried. Was he having second thoughts about marriage? Were things moving too fast? She was in no hurry. She was just making conversation with his parents. After all, they invited them over to tell them about the engagement, it was only natural that Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler would want to talk about it.

"What is it? What is wrong?"

"We've been so stupid. We rushed into everything and didn't think and now…"

"Wheeler, it is ok. We do not have to get married right away. We can even wait until after we are no longer Planeteers if that is what you want," Linka offered.

"No, it's not that. I'd marry you tomorrow if you wanted. I'm talkin' about babies. We haven't been doing anything to prevent them. Don't get me wrong, I want kids…eventually. But, I mean, we JUST came back to the Planeteers. We have an obligation to the team. We gotta fulfill our duties until Gaia finds some new recruits. We'll have to be more careful from now on," Wheeler rambled on.

"Are you done Yankee?"

"Yeah. Aren't you worried?"

"Nyet. I have been on the pill for years."

"What? Why? You said you'd never…"

"Durak! Let me explain. When we first became Planeteers, Gi and I decided it would be a good idea. We did not know what types of enemies we would be facing and what their intentions were, or what they would do if we were ever caught. Plus it made going on missions more tolerable if the cycle did not last as long or was lighter..."

"Ewww. Ok. That's enough. All you had to say was 'girl reasons' and that's all I needed to know!"

"Grow up Wheeler! Now come. We should not keep your parents waiting."

They returned to the dining room and finished their lunch.

"Thank you dear. The sandwiches were delicious. Joe loves club sandwiches."

"I am glad you liked it. Your son was the one who introduced me to them; taught me how to get the bacon perfectly crispy, toast the bread just right, and the right amount of lunchmeat. It is a quick, easy meal," Linka said.

"You can thank me for the fries. She wanted to have salad as the side dish!" Wheeler proclaimed.

"A salad? What do ya need a salad for? There's lettuce on the sandwich!" Joe teased.

"Da, what was I thinking?! Were the fries good?" Linka asked.

"Excellent Babe!"

"So you do not mind that they were baked and not fried?"

"WHAT?!" Joe and Wheeler both exclaimed.

"You can't do that Linka. They're called french FRIES, not French BAKES. Baking fries is…un-American!"

"I am not American! So I guess it is ok then. Besides, you said they were 'excellent.'"

"Yeah, yeah. But the next time you make these, we can't call 'em french fries. Their new name is 'Ruskie Bakes!'" Wheeler quipped as he and Joe erupted in laughter.

"Don't mind them dear. But you should have never told them they were baked. I've been baking the fries since Jason was a kid and they never caught on," Kathy said to Linka.

"I guess I will learn! There are some things that he does not need to know!"

"We have a saying 'what he doesn't know won't hurt him.' And it will save you alot of grief!"

When Wheeler stopped laughing, he walked up behind Linka and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry Babe, I'm just kidding. You know that right? They still tasted great. Besides, I know you were just cooking healthy so you can keep me around for years and years!"

"Actually I did it because I want my husband to look good and not turn into a flabby slob!" Now it was the women's turn to laugh and the men eventually joined in.

Once the laughter died down, Wheeler took the empty plates into the kitchen and put them in the sink. When he returned, Linka turned to her guests and asked, "Are you ready for the tour?"

Next time, Wheeler's parents get the surprise of their lives.