(There's a weird glitch that repeated the first line, when I put my little author blurb in, sorry.) This story was done and dusted, but I decided to continue it a bit just to see what Linka's reaction would be the next morning. Sorry for the long delay as always, my Masters has completely taken over my life. In a good way. I have really been enjoying reading all the new fics on the site, though – you guys are great!
New chapter of Father and Son coming this weekend too.
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Linka opened her eyes a little, then screwed them shut again.
"Bozhe moy."
The morning sun slanting through the blinds seemed unbearably bright. The distant hum of traffic sounded like a roar. And as for her stomach … Linka groaned and sat up cautiously, prompting another flash of pain. The room blurred and swam for a moment, then came back into focus. Linka swung her bare legs over the edge of the bed and onto the thick carpet. She took a quick inventory. Shirt – present. Jeans – hanging over a chair on the other side of the room. Head – pounding. Stomach – churning. And as for her memory … she cast her mind back to the previous night, but stopped when her nausea became even more insistent.
Bathroom. Now.
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Linka splashed water on her face and neck, feeling a thousand times better. She checked her watch – eight o'clock. Not too bad. She might even make it down for breakfast. Not that she would eat breakfast, of course, but a good, strong cup of coffee would be very welcome.
She examined her reflection in the mirror. Her eye make-up had left smudges on her face, which she wiped off with a tissue. Otherwise, the damage wasn't too bad. She was a little pale, yes, but …
She heard an indistinct noise coming from the bedroom, and froze.
"Who's there?" she said in a high-pitched voice, then cleared her throat and repeated it in a more controlled tone.
Silence. She must have been imagining it. She turned off the tap and walked back through to the bedroom, wincing a little with every step. Right, here were her jeans … she could just pull them on, and –
The noise again. She looked up quickly, just in time to see Wheeler sigh and turn over.
XXXXXXX
Next door, Gi was awoken by a piercing scream.
"What on earth was that?"
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"Yankee! What are you doing here?"
"Whoa, whoa." Wheeler sat up, rubbing his head. "A little loud."
"What are you doing here?" Linka yelled again. Her head suddenly seemed very clear. "You are in my room!"
"I know!" Wheeler held a hand out. "Please don't shout … god, my head."
"Wheeler!"
"Just …" he waved his hands at her. "Give me a second, okay?"
"Nyet! Tell me now!"
Wheeler swung his legs out of bed. Linka spun round, covering her eyes.
"I'm wearing clothes," the American pointed out.
"You are not wearing a shirt!"
"But you've seen me without a shirt hundreds of times."
"Not in my bed, I haven't!"
"Fine." Wheeler pulled on his shirt from the night before. "Look, babe, I …"
"Just go back to your own room!"
Wheeler bit his lip. This was a little extreme. "Linka, there's really no need to worry. We didn't …"
"I don't want to know!"
"But babe .."
"Just go!"
Wheeler took a step towards her. "You really don't remember?"
"Yankee!"
"Okay, okay. I'm gone."
XXXXXXX
Twenty minutes later Linka came down to breakfast to find the others already gathered there.
"Morning," said Kwame cheerfully, pouring her a cup of black coffee.
"Spasiba." She sipped it without looking up.
"How did you sleep?" That was Gi. Linka raised her eyes and saw that the Water planeteer looked about as good as she felt.
"Okay," said Linka cautiously. "I had a bit of a headache."
"Me too." Gi yawned. "How about you, Wheeler?"
Linka didn't dare look at the American, but she heard his voice say, "Not too bad. A little worse for wear this morning." He sounded subdued.
A silence fell. Ma-Ti shifted in his seat, sensing some kind of atmosphere. Linka ventured a look across the table and met Wheeler's blue gaze head-on. She flushed and looked away. She heard Wheeler's chair scrape back and his voice say, "Well, I'm going to head upstairs and get my stuff together."
"But we don't have to check out till noon," said Gi. "It's not like you to be so organized."
"What can I say? You guys must be rubbing off on me." Wheeler sounded distracted. "Um … Linka?"
"Da?" She looked up, her expression guarded.
"Could I … I mean, could we have a word?"
"All right."
"In private?"
Linka hesitated. "I want to finish my coffee."
"Right. Okay." Wheeler hovered for a moment, then left. Gi tried to catch Linka's eye, but the Russian planeteer stubbornly avoided looking at her.
"So," said Gi, "we were thinking of paying a visit to the Space Needle before we left."
"Mmm-hmm." Linka swallowed a mouthful of coffee. "Sounds good."
"Yes, it will be a good end to our holiday," said Kwame. "We will leave for Hope Island this afternoon."
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The Planeteers walked down towards the Seattle Centre. Wheeler was unusually subdued, his hands sunk deep in his pockets and his head down. Linka was also quieter than usual – though she laughed and talked with Gi, she seemed edgy, and there was a nervous tinge to her laugh. Their mood infected the others, and it was a quiet group that arrived at the Space Needle.
"Gee," said Wheeler as they stood at the base, looking up. "You think it's compensating for something?"
"There will be great views from the top," Gi assured them. She was hanging back, looking around the square as if waiting for someone.
"So, Pontus is coming?" said Linka, breaking into a smile for the first time that morning.
"Um …well, I sent him a message letting him know we would be here." Gi caught sight of a familiar tall figure and started waving frantically. "Pontus! Over here!"
Wheeler joined in with the waving. "Hey, you think we should jump up and down? Or get one of those big foam fingers?"
"Shut up!" Gi punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Pontus! Hi!"
Pontus greeted the Planeteers. "Hey guys," he said to Wheeler and Linka, "You have a good time last night?"
"Da, thank you," said Linka evasively.
"Did you go anyplace? Or stay in the bar?"
"Well …" Linka hesitated.
"Uh, we pretty much stayed in the one spot," said Wheeler quickly. "Then went back to the hotel."
"Da, we went straight to bed," said Linka. "I mean, beds," she added quickly.
"Yes, beds plural," said Wheeler.
"Separate ones. In different rooms."
"O-kay …" Pontus gave Gi a hug. "Shall we go on up?"
"Sounds good." Gi smiled up at him.
Gi and Pontus went to buy tickets, while Kwame and Ma-Ti wandered over to the souvenir shop. Linka started after them, but Wheeler held her back.
"Wait a minute, babe …"
Linka shook him off. "Leave me alone!"
"Linka, we need to talk."
"Why?" Her green eyes were defiant.
"Well …" Wheeler floundered. "About … what happened."
"You told me nothing happened!"
"Nothing did!"
"Well then."
"But …"
"Nyet, Wheeler!" Linka placed her hands on her hips. "If you tell me nothing has happened …"
"Which it didn't …"
"Then there is nothing to discuss. We will just draw it up …"
"Uh … chalk it up?"
"…Chalk it up to a bad night. I do not want to talk about this again."
"A bad night?" Wheeler stood very still.
"Da." Linka turned round. "The others are going into the lift. We should follow them."
"But, Linka …"
"I have said, we are not discussing this! Nothing happened. It meant nothing. Please do not talk about it anymore."
Wheeler shook his head. "I don't believe this."
"Guys!" Gi called from the lift. "Come on!"