A/N: I'm posting a little early because I won't be around tomorrow. Don't worry, LouiseX's part will be posted tomorrow.

Chapter 13: Day 9, Morning

The next time I open my eyes, I see her baby blues looking back at me. She's beautiful…like she always has been, but even more so. Gone are the dark circles under her eyes and the sunken in features. She smiles at me and I smile back.

"Good morning," she says.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"I feel great."

"You look…great."

There really has been a huge improvement. It's amazing how it happened overnight.

"Thanks to you. You got me through this. I owe you my life," she says, her hand stroking my cheek. They are much warmer now than they were last night.

"You don't owe me anything."

"Sssh, let me show you my appreciation."

She's buried her fingers into my hair and I can feel her pulling me towards her…what the…? She presses her lips to mine and I'm frozen…but I don't want her to think that it means I want her to stop, so I move closer, making the contact between us more firm, brushing my lips over hers. She maintains her grip on the back of my head and rolls onto her back, pulling me with her.

"Wheeler," I hear her whisper, but continue kissing her, struggling with whether or not to open my eyes and watch her, or keep them closed to keep things from being awkward.

She continues to brush her fingers through my hair and once again, she speaks,

"Oh Yankee."

I open my eyes and…I'm back to my original position of sitting on the floor, resting my head on the bed. A dream. I sigh in disappointment.

"You have done it again. Fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position for my sake. I did not mean for you to have to stay here all night. Just until I fell asleep, and I ended up falling asleep before you returned anyway," she says as she continues stroking my hair.

"I know…but I was gonna stay with you a little longer. Then I noticed your hands were cold…so I tried to warm them up. I guess I fell asleep."

"How is your neck?" She asks as she slides her hand from my head, down to rest on the back of my neck.

"Uh…it's fine."

Part of me wishes that she'll insist on giving me a massage like she did last time, but it's really not necessary. I feel fine.

"I am sorry I had to wake you, but it is getting late and we need to get ready for the funeral."

"Yeah. How long have you been up?"

"Not long. I was just giving you as much time as possible to sleep. I know this has been a long, tough trip for you," she says.

My heart leaps at the thought of her laying there, watching me sleep.

"Tough for me? What about you? I'm fine. Don't worry about me," I say as I stand up, hating the fact that I have to break the contact between us.

She stands up as well, staying in front of me.

"I do worry about you though…burdening you with my troubles and problems."

"Hey hey hey…I don't wanna hear that. You're not burdening me. You're my friend and your problems are my problems," I say as I put my hands on her shoulders.

She looks down, but I tilt her chin up so that she'll look at me.

"Got it?"

"Da."

"Good," I say.

I lean down, touching my forehead to hers. I contemplate kissing her. Maybe the dream was trying to tell me something…that it'd be ok. I search her eyes and I see…her pleading…but for what? To do it, or to not? Would it be just what she needed…or too much for her to take in?

I've made up my mind. I take her face in my hands and place a chaste kiss on her forehead. It's better than nothing right? It's sort of become our 'thing.'

"I better go get ready. Come get me when you're finished."

"Okay," she says sadly.

She must be thinking of Boris and the funeral. I wish there was something I could do or say that would cheer her up. I'll think about it while I get ready, but I doubt I'll ever find the right words to say.

I spent the majority of my time in the shower thinking about what more I could say to Linka to make her feel better. I knew I couldn't really come up with anything that would work, but at least I could try and cheer her up, even if it is just for a moment.

I just stepped out of the shower when I hear voices. I pay closer attention and I hear Grandma giving it to someone…in Russian, so I don't know what she's saying, but her voice is raised and has that distinct "I'm not happy with you" tone. I hope it's the neighbor that gave Linka a hard time yesterday! I imagine the nosey neighbor's face as Grandma puts her in her place. I wrap the towel around my waist and listen. It's pointless since I can't understand, but I'm still curious. Then my heart stops as I hear Linka yell "Nyet!"

I run out of the bathroom and straight to her, thinking about nothing but her as I pull her into my arms and ask "What's wrong? What's happened Babe?"

She grabs my arm, but continues to address her grandmother, still speaking in Russian. Whatever they're talking about, it's not meant for me to hear. All I can do is hold her tightly, running my hand up and down her arm.

I listen to their conversation, trying to pick up something anything that I might recognize. I'm getting nothing though. Other than the change in tone of their voices, I can pick nothing up. She's on an emotional rollercoaster from what I can gather. At first, she seemed angry…defensive. And she continued to be on the defense, as if she were explaining herself…what did she do? At one point, she looked at me as if she were referring to me and then went back to talking to her grandma. Was this about me? Did I do something wrong? I'm so confused. I thought Grandma and I had an understanding. I thought she was okay with me.

Linka is still clinging to me, not at all deterred by my current state of undress. She says something, softly, sadly, as if she's ashamed. Like she could just crawl underneath something and hide from the world…there's always my towel! NO NO NO, focus Wheeler! Your friend needs you to be there for her, get your mind out of the gutter.

Linka's next words bring me back. Gone was her soft, sad voice. Whatever she just said, it was said with certainty and confidence…and from the way Grandma is looking at me, I'd guess it was about me.

I look between the two of them and continue to wonder what's going on. If it were anyone else upsetting Linka, I'd step in and put a stop to it, but I don't want to get in the middle of something I don't understand when it's a family matter. I'm still protectively gripping Linka when Grandma says something, her expression changing, softening, and now she's holding her arms out to Linka. She looks up at me and smiles,

"It is okay Yankee. It was just a misunderstanding. I am fine."

I search her eyes for the truth. I find it. She's fine and wants to go to her grandmother. I release her and watch the two as they hug.

"Go and finish your wash Wheeler," she says with a smile. "It is just girls stuff."

Girls stuff? I raise my eyebrow at her in question. Now's not the time. I'll ask her what this was all about later.

"I won't be long," I say as I head back towards the bathroom, stopping one last time to make absolutely sure that she's okay.

I get back to the bathroom and examine myself in the mirror. I can't believe I ran out into the hallway like this! Held Linka against me with nothing more than terrycloth separating us. What did that look like to her grandmother? Could that have been part of their conversation? Doesn't matter now. Like I said, I'll ask Linka about it later. For now, I've got more important things to focus on…how should I do my hair?

I slick it back…too formal looking. I mess it up…not dressy enough. I squeeze some hair gel into my hand and try one more thing…smoothing out the sides and back, but letting the top fall naturally after running my hands through my hair casually. Perfect!

I let Linka know that I'm done in the bathroom and that it's available for her to use now as I head into my room to finish getting ready.

I get dressed, the only thing left is putting on my tie. I try and I try, but I can't seem to get it. I'm getting frustrated…do I really even need to wear this dumb thing? Then there is a knock on my door.

"Come in," I say as I turn around to see Linka. "Hey Babe…you look nice."

She's done her make up and hair. Even her clothing looks like it fits her better.

"Thank you. So do you."

"Thanks. And your timing is perfect. I hope you know how to tie a neck tie cuz my Ma usually did that for me and I haven't had to wear a suit since…" I pause to think. Oh yeah, that's right…"James' funeral."

"Oh," she says sadly. "I am sorry."

I didn't mean to make her sad, or feel bad for me.

"It's okay…Wanna hear somethin' funny?"

She raises her eyebrows indicating I should continue.

"I wore the same suit to James' wedding as I did his funeral! THAT'S how often I actually wear a suit!"

She gives me a sad smile.

"So…can you help me out with my tie or not?" I say, trying to lighten the mood.

"Da. I can do your tie for you."

"Thanks."

"It is the least I can do."

She takes the tie from my hands, our fingers brushing briefly during the exchange. She proceeds to lift up my collar, reach behind me to pull the tie around my neck, and then begins the process of making the knot. I should be paying attention to how she's doing the knot, but all I can do is look at her. The concentration on her face. The way her brow creases as she tries to remember the next step, and then how the corners of her mouth turn up in a slightly satisfied smile when she remembers. Once she finishes, she steps closer to me to fold my collar back down, looking up at me as she does so. Our faces are just inches apart. She looks down and smoothes the tie out, running her hand down my chest, and says,

"All done."

I turn to look in the mirror to check out her work. I can see her looking at me through the reflection, watching my reaction, making sure I approve.

"Thanks Babe," I say as I raise my arm up and loop it around her shoulders, pulling her against my side. She puts her arm around my waist and we stay like that for a while.

We look at each other in the mirror. We look good, all dressed up. For a brief second, I imagine that we're NOT going to a funeral…that we're going somewhere different. A friend or family member's wedding, a fancy dinner party, a date…my thoughts are interrupted when Linka asks,

"Why is it that women know how to tie neckties, but they do not wear them, and yet men do not know how to tie them, although they are the ones that wear them?"

I consider her words for a moment while trying to decide how to respond.

"Easy," I say as I hold my hand up, and then take her hand, placing our palms against each other. "Your hands are smaller therefore your fingers are more nimble and can maneuver the material of the tie around better."

"Oooooh, is that it?"

"Yep," I confirm as I lace our fingers together. "Well, that and the fact that women are smarter than men."

She lets out a surprised laugh. Betcha she never thought she'd ever hear those words coming out of my mouth!

"So you FINALLY admit it?"

"Only to you Babe," I say as I squeeze her hand. As much as I hate to have to do it, we should probably get moving so we are not late. "Ready to go?"

"Ready as I will ever be," she sighs. I continue to hold her hand as I lead her to the door.

To Be Continued…

Don't forget, in order to get the full affect of the story, you HAVE TO read Linka's side of the story in Chapter 13 of LouiseX's Codependence.