A/N: Thanks again for the reviews and follows, I'm really sorry to keep you waiting but ffnet wouldn't let me upload anything last night! Hope you enjoy the next installment.
Chapter 1
'You volunteered me to do what?!' The Fire Planeteer's words were still ringing in Linka's ears a week later.
Things had been tense between them since their outing to the coastal reserve - even though they both felt bad about it – and though it hadn't seemed like it to Wheeler, the Russian's readiness to agree to their current trip was actually an attempt at reconciliation. Of course it hadn't helped that her response to his complaint was to remind him that Gi didn't like cold climates.
Now sitting with one of the other chaperones at the back of the bus that was taking them and the thirty orphans they'd agreed to look after, to their local accommodations, she was beginning to realise that the chances for time alone together were going to be practically non-existent.
They were in fact on their way to a small holiday camp in Kiruna, the northernmost city in Sweden, from where they could take a trip to Santa's workshop, among other things.
Despite his expressed reluctance, Wheeler seemed to have caught the children's enthusiasm and was asking almost as many questions of their tour guide as the 6-8 year olds around him. Of course the children had taken to him immediately, and he seemed to already know all of their names, whereas Linka had only made the acquaintance of the small group she'd been sitting with on the plane.
"I hope Wheeler can keep up that level of energy for the whole trip," Melanie commented in a low voice, and Linka was forced to smile.
"He is always like that."
Her fellow chaperone raised her eyebrows in a familiar display of interest that made Linka want to sigh.
The children were fidgeting in their borrowed thermals by the time they reached the heated cabins in the shadow of the mountains. The small retreat had been set up by the same charity organisation sponsoring the trip, and consisted of two dormitories, several cabins and couple of communal areas for eating and relaxing.
Linka had at first been grateful that only the full time orphanage staff were required to share the dormitories since it meant that she had a cabin to herself, however, seeing the reaction of Melanie and Sue - not to mention the female camp staff that had welcomed them - to her American colleague, she was suddenly wishing that he did not have the privacy of a cabin of his own.
"Not bad, huh?" His voice from her doorway made her jump and he gave her a sheepish grin, "Sorry. It wasn't locked though."
Given that he no longer seemed annoyed, she clamped down on the urge to tell him that he should have knocked. "They are basic but comfortable. You are letting the cold in though."
He hesitated, trying to read her mood, and then stepped into the room closing the door behind him but still looking as if he was waiting for her to complain. When she didn't he relaxed a little and leant against the wall, "So is there anything to do around here once the kids are in bed?"
Linka blinked, "Da… but that will not be for hours yet. We are to meet in the food hall for lunch and then there will be activities, did not Steven tell you that?"
"He said to meet in the food hall," He frowned, "What do you mean lunch, it's dark out, it must be six at least?"
"It is still morning Yankee," she laughed.
"Seriously?" he didn't look entirely happy, "What time does the sun rise around here?"
Not sure how he'd take the news, Linka lowered her gaze, peeping at him from below her lashes, "January?"
"What the hell?!" he straightened up but there was nothing aggressive in his posture, "Why are we here again?"
She sighed and sat on the bed, keeping her gaze on the hands she folded in her lap. "I am sorry. I should not have dragged you into this."
Wheeler groaned and walked forward to drop down beside her. He nudged her with his shoulder, "S'okay."
"This is not how you wanted to spend the run up to Christmas." Her voice was still apologetic.
He pulled a face, "Well no, technically, going to see Santa wasn't on my to-do list… Spending time with you is though. And hey, with my childhood it certainly won't hurt me to get some practice on making a kid's Christmas special, right?"
Linka grimaced, "That is not why I did this, I have never doubted your ability to be a good parent."
"Why did you do it?" He asked softly, now curious rather than irritated. "Pick me, I mean."
"I caused a problem between us, I wanted to fix it."
Wheeler knew that was the closest she'd get to apologising for behaviour he still didn't understand, but he still had to ask, "So this is for the good of the team then?"
"Nyet!" She looked up at him suddenly, first with annoyance and then embarrassment. "No. It was for our friendship, but I have made it worse by leaving you no choice but to come here with me."
"You do have a need to be in control of things." His voice was warm, affectionate even but she wasn't sure how to take it and it left her sounding sulky.
"When you add that to my 'superiority complex', it is a wonder I have any friends at all."
Wheeler laughed and put his arm around her, giving her a hug though she stiffened at the contact, "It's not that bad, and the good outweighs the bad… most of the time."
The lovely Russian folded her arms, refusing to respond to his gesture, though she didn't move away either. "And we are back to the way I look."
"I never said that, you did." He bent his head round, trying to catch her eyes, "Is that really all you think I like about you?"
"It is all you ever mention," She sighed, "It is all anyone ever mentions. No woman wants to feel unattractive but I do not want to spend time with someone who is only thinking about my body either."
Wheeler hadn't released her and he didn't now, "If that's what you think, why am I here?"
For a moment he thought she wasn't going to answer, and when she did, she sounded unusually self-conscious, "Because I know you can be better than that… I want you to be… I want you to be." She got up before he could answer, moving away from him and shaking her head, "We need to go, we have to meet the others."
Wheeler got slowly to his feet, not bothering to rush even though she didn't wait for him. He looked thoughtful as he began to mentally re-evaluate their last argument.
"Wheeler!" A group of excited children rushed over to him as he entered the main room.
The ceiling had been draped with garlands of greenery and there was a large but undecorated tree near a fireplace, surrounded by some comfortable looking sofas and chairs. The other half of the room was taken up by a long table with a door to the kitchen on the other side. It was brightly lit by many candles, set high up to keep them away from young hands.
Linka was already seated at the table with children on either side of her but she glanced up when she heard his name and as he always sought her out, their eyes met. It was only brief because she looked away almost immediately but her cheeks warmed and it made the Fire Planeteer grin wider as he greeted his new friends and let them drag him to the other end of the table.
It wasn't that the possibility of her liking him had never occurred to him, far from it, but the longer they knew each other the harder it was for him to believe he wasn't just fooling himself. Even now, when she had practically asked him to show her he cared, there was a little voice at the back of his mind telling him that he was reading too much into it. It was the voice of his father, the one that always found fault, the one that told him he wasn't good enough and the one that was now telling him she just wanted to make him into a better person and had no more personal interest in him.
"What's that?" Mason's question called him out of his musings, and he focused on the array of food being laid down the centre of the table by the camp staff, and the dish the young boy was pointing at.
"No idea," Wheeler shrugged and then called over one of the servers, "Ma'am? Would you mind explaining some of these dishes to us please?"
The older woman looked pleased to be asked and at once began explaining some of their options, gesturing to each one in turn. "That is Christmas ham, it is boiled then glazed with a mixture of egg, breadcrumbs and mustard. Then there is; pork sausage, herring salad, pickled herring, home-made liver pâté, vörtbröd er wort-flavoured rye bread and potatoes." The children pulled some strange faces at some of the selections and in complete agreement, Wheeler had to restrain himself from doing the same. Fortunately the woman didn't notice. "The Lutfisk is dried ling soaked in water and lye to swell before it is cooked."
"Er… great. Thanks!" The American told her, nearly choking with laughter when he saw that Linka had been following the conversation, her eyes alight with amusement. Ruefully, he added, "Dig in Kids!"
When their server had returned to the kitchen, Abigail leant closer to Wheeler and whispered, "We don't really have to eat wart-bread do we?"
"Nah, just eat the stuff that sounded ok," He whispered back, taking helpings for himself and passing things to the children when they asked for them, and helping them serve themselves.
When he finally got a chance to look back at Linka, he saw that she was cutting up some food for a girl he recognised as Olivia. She spoke softly to the young girl, too low to be heard over the general chatter in the room, but it created a picture that made Wheeler's heart beat faster. He couldn't decide whether it was a good feeling or not. On the one hand it created a warm and fuzzy type of feeling, on the other hand, he wasn't ready to think of Linka as a mother.
Feeling his eyes on her as she returned Olivia's knife and fork, she smiled and pointed at one of the less identifiable dishes, and mouthed 'You will like this.'
He gave her his dubious look, making her chuckle, 'Trust me Yankee'.
Finding the identical dish at his end of the table, Wheeler took a small portion and tried it. He had to admit it was good and, as Linka was obviously waiting for the verdict before continuing her meal, he gave her a thumbs-up.
She beamed at him and it occurred to him then that he'd pleased her, without really trying, just by valuing her opinion. It wasn't really that unusual for him to listen to her, but it was seldom that he let her see when he took her advice… oh, he'd admit he was wrong when things went too far, but most of the time he argued for the sake of it because she was always so correct.
Abigail distracted him from his musings by pulling on his sleeve, "What is it honey?"
"I need to go!" She whispered dramatically.
"Go? Oh! Right… er," He looked around frantically for some help, not even sure where the bathroom was, let alone what he was supposed to do if she wanted more help. Fortunately, Melanie was close enough to overhear and she slid out of her seat, coming to stand behind them and placing a calming hand on his shoulder, before offering the other to Abigail, "I've got this."
Wheeler smiled up at her gratefully and she rubbed his shoulder, keeping eye contact until her small charge tugged on her hand, reminding her of her duties.
As Melanie left Wheeler's gaze swept the table just in time to see Linka look away. She wasn't smiling any more.
To be continued…