Later that evening, Wheeler and Linka loaded their things into the Eco-Copter and flew back to Hope Island. Kwame met them when they landed and offered to help carry their things to their cabins.
"That'd be great Kwame. Thanks man."
"I have a better idea. Unload them from the Eco-Copter and create two piles; one for my things, and one for Wheeler's."
The boys did as instructed and once they were finished, looked at Linka for further instructions.
"WIND!" and just like that, the pile of Wheeler's boxes were airborne and put down right outside of Wheeler's cabin. Then she did the same thing for her pile of boxes. "I have been looking for an excuse to use my ring since I put it back on! That felt great! And now we do not have so far to carry them."
"Brilliant Babe."
"Well, you two seem much better than the last time we saw you," Kwame remarked. "You were both gone before the rest of us even woke up, we assumed that you had reconciled since we doubted you would have flown together if things were not amicable between you."
"Da. I think I have been forgiven."
"Yeah, but I think I can now win every argument. That's the ultimate trump card!"
"WHEELER, LINKA! WELCOME BACK!" Gi shouted as she ran towards them. Once she reached them, she gave them each a big hug. "Everything ok between you two?"
"Way better than OK," Wheeler said. "Where's Ma-Ti?"
"He went back to his tribe to get something. He was unable to keep Suchi with him at school, so his grandfather took care of him for Ma-Ti. Now that we are back here, Ma-Ti will be reunited with Suchi!" Kwame explained.
"THAT IS IT!!!" Linka exclaimed.
"What's that Babe?"
"Out of all of us, Ma-Ti looked the most different, but I could not figure out what it was. Now I know…he did not have a monkey on his shoulder!"
"Now that you mention it, you're right!" Gi agreed.
"You girls are mean!" Wheeler jokingly admonished. "So Gi, did you see your dolphin? Is she ok?"
"Yes, SHE'S HERE!"
"You got her to follow you?!" Linka asked. "That is great!"
"Yes, Kwame and I were just getting ready to join her for a swim by the dock when you guys landed. Would you like to come meet her? She brought some friends with her!"
"Cool, we've got pet dolphins just like on that old TV show, 'Flipper'…Oh! Did you name them all yet Gi cuz I wanna call one of 'em Flipper!" Wheeler said.
"No Wheeler, I didn't name them all yet. And if you want to call one of them 'Flipper' we will."
"Awesome! We'll go change into our suits and meet you at the dock!"
Gi and Kwame headed for the dock while Wheeler and Linka headed for their cabins.
"Hey Linka," Wheeler called to her.
"What?"
"Wear that blue bikini!"
In a few minutes, Wheeler was knocking on Linka's cabin door.
"It's me, can I come in?"
"Da."
"Hey, why aren't you changed yet?"
"I was just thinking, I do not want to lose this ring or damage it, but I also never want to take it off. How am I supposed to swim without constantly worrying about losing it?"
"Is it loose?"
"Nyet."
"So then what's there to worry about?"
"What if it gets loose in the water, if it's cold?" Linka wondered.
"I have an idea." Wheeler reached around his neck and unclasped the necklace Linka had got him. "Lemme see your ring."
Linka gave him the ring and he slid it onto the chain. He then turned her around and put the necklace on her.
"You can wear it like this until we can get you a nice sturdy chain of your own. This way, when we're on a mission or playing volleyball, or swimming, you can still have the ring on you."
"Good idea, smarty pants."
"Now get your suit on! We've got dolphins to meet!"
"Ok, ok." Linka retrieved her favorite suit and began dressing. "Wheeler, have you given any thought as to how we should tell the others?"
"I figured once Ma-Ti got here, we'd just be like 'Hey guys, guess what' and then go from there. You're not nervous are you? You know they'll be happy for us, right?"
"Da, I know. I just feel like I did before. When it is just us, everything is perfect, when others are watching, there is the pressure to BE perfect. They have expectations."
"You were completely comfortable around my parents. They had expectations too, and you met and exceeded them all. These are our friends Linka, they're not judging us. They'll be happy for us. Hell, I think they've been waiting for this just as long as I have!"
"I know. I am just being silly I guess. I want them to share in this happiness with us."
"Then let's go!" Wheeler said as he offered Linka his hand.
Meeting Gi's dolphin and her companions was fun. They are extremely playful and intelligent animals. Wheeler immediately bonded with one dolphin in particular and that is the one that he dubbed "Flipper."
"Really Wheeler, could you not have come up with something more original?"
"Nope. I see a dolphin, I think of Flipper. Just like when I see a killer whale, I think of Shamu from SeaWorld."
"Really? I think of Free Willy" Kwame admitted.
"You guys have no imagination!" Gi accused.
"Hey here comes the Geo Cruiser!" Wheeler pointed out.
They all got out of the water to go meet him.
"Hello my friends," Ma-Ti said as he climbed out. Suddenly, Suchi flew out of the Geo Cruiser and onto Gi's shoulder.
"Hey Suchi! Welcome back!" She said.
Kwame patted Suchi on the back and said, "It is good to see you again Suchi."
Wheeler scratched Suchi's head and joked "Good to have you back fur ball. We can't have a true Planeteer reunion without you!"
"I missed you little one!" Linka commented. "I am going to go pick you some fresh mangos and bananas later and make you your favorite fruit smoothie!" He jumped from Gi to Linka and wrapped his arms around her neck. Up until then, Wheeler's charm had been covering her ring, but now it was visible.
"Oh Linka, that ring is beautiful. Where did you get it?" Gi asked.
"Well, it is a very long, very interesting story." Linka took off the necklace, removed the ring, and gave the necklace back to Wheeler.
"That ring used to belong to my Grandmother. It was her engagement ring."
"And now it is MY engagement ring," Linka said as she put it on her finger.
"That's wonderful!"
"OUTSTANDING!"
"Congratulations my friends!" Gi, Kwame, and Ma-Ti all shouted at the same time as they rushed to embrace their friends.
"Thanks," Wheeler said.
"Da, thank you. We can not wait to share our wedding day with all of you by our sides!"
"Planeteers…" Gaia said as her translucent from appeared before them.
"Gaia! Glad you could join us. Did you hear the good news!?" Kwame asked.
"Yes Kwame. That is part of the reason I came to you. Congratulations Wheeler and Linka. Although, I'm not surprised, I'm certainly happy that you've finally made it here."
"Thanks Gaia," Wheeler said as he put his arm around Linka.
"Da, we would not have gotten to this point if it were not for you. You brought us together all those years ago, you reunited us a few days ago, and you helped us find our way home…to each other. We are here now because of you."
"Give yourselves some credit. I just asked you to be Planeteers. You're the ones that found love despite all the horrible things you see. Many people would lose hope after seeing all the terrible things that go on in the world and yet you two found a bright spot in the darkness."
"We all have found that bright spot…in each other, not just the two of us. I am here for all my fellow Planeteers," Linka stated.
"Me too," Wheeler added, putting his other arm around Kwame.
"As am I," said Kwame.
"And me," said Gi, linking her arm with Linka's.
"Count us in as well," Ma-Ti said as he and Suchi stepped forward and put his hand on Kwame's shoulder.
"It makes me so happy to have you all back as Planeteers. Unfortunately, there's another reason I came to see you. We have an Eco-Emergency. Looten Plunder and Bleak are in Japan offering their services to Japanese fishermen. The fishermen believe that dolphins and other porpoises are cutting into the fishermen's daily catch by eating the fish. The fishermen are killing these sea creatures and have hired Plunder and Bleak to help."
"That is awful!" Gi exclaimed.
"We must stop them!" Linka cried in horror.
"And put Plunder and Bleak outta business! Then we gotta teach the fishermen how to share!" Wheeler said.
"And the consequences of over fishing," Kwame added.
"Or messing with the natural balance of the eco-system by eliminating the porpoises," Ma-Ti concluded.
The Planeteers ran back to their cabins to change their new Planeteer shirts. This is the first time in a long time that they've had to put on the shirts with the familiar Planeteer logo. Gaia watched as they boarded the Geo Cruiser and took off for Japan. Were these adults really the same people as the children she'd chosen all those years ago? No, they weren't. They were better. They've lived, they've learned, they've loved. They've grown so much, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. They were smarter, more caring, and more compassionate about the things they believed in. Now they are back, helping to save the world. If the Eco-Villians thought they had a hard time with this group of Planeteers the first time, just wait until they see them now!
The wedding planning will have to wait for now. Wheeler and Linka had agreed that when they were on a mission, they would focus 100 percent on the task at hand. They had the rest of their lives ahead of them, but at this particular moment, they needed to focus on saving the dolphins being threatened by Plunder. As he looked across the aisle at Linka, Wheeler thought about the girl she used to be. The object of his teenage affections was now the woman he was going to marry, the future mother of his children. Sensing she was being watched, Linka looked up from her laptop and caught Wheeler staring at her.
She smiled at him then asked, "What is on your mind?"
"Just thinking about how it's good to be back and how far we've come."
"Do you think we are ready for this?"
Wheeler didn't know if she was talking about the mission or themselves.
"We have to be. We're not just fighting to make the world a better place for everyone else and their future. We're doing it for OUR future; our family's future." Wheeler said.
"Is that not what we always did it for?"
"It was different back then. A wife and kids was the furthest thing from my mind. I was just focused on making the world a better place in general, not about making the world a better place for anyone in particular. But now, there's so much at stake. It just hit me. I hope I can take the pressure."
"I know you can. I will be right there with you fighting for our future. I understand what you mean about the stakes being higher, but it is no different than before so just relax. It will be easier because we will have each other for comfort when things are not going well or the victories will be much sweeter because we will be celebrating them together." She reached across the aisle and took his hand. "So what do you say Yankee? Are you with me?"
"Forever Babe."
The End.