Chapter 42 Day 34, continued

An hour later, they have determined that I do indeed have a concussion. I get the dirty look from Linka, her way of letting me know that she's pissed at me for my dangerous act. The doctor tells her that it's ok if I fall asleep, contrary to the common belief that you have to stay awake after a concussion, but that she needs to wake me up every few hours to check on me. He's obviously come to the conclusion that we're a couple. At this point though, I'm seriously doubting what our sleeping arrangements will be tonight. She's so mad, I get the silent treatment all the way back to Hope Island.

I am really tired so I doze off in the Eco Sub, only to be awoken by a harsh slap on the arm.

"Wake up," Linka says coolly.

"Wha-?"

"I am checking on you. You seem fine."

"I am," I say.

"Whatever."

The next time she wakes me with another slap (practically punch) on the arm, we have docked the Eco Sub at the pier on Hope Island.

"Oww," I say as I rub my arm. "Your bedside manner sucks, Babe."

She ignores me and storms out of the Eco Sub, not waiting for any of us and going straight for her cabin.

"What happened?" Kwame asks.

I hold up my hand in dismissal of any further comments. I'm not in the mood.

I go back to my cabin and take two of the pills that the doctor gave me for the killer headache I have. I take off my shirt and look in the mirror to check out the huge bruise on my back from where the humpback whale's pectoral fin slammed into me. Thankfully my back took the brunt of the hit, but I can still feel a tender spot on the back of my head where the fin caught me. I can already feel the stiffness in my neck starting to set in. I get the heating pad out, place it on the back of my neck, and lay facedown on my bed. I'm just starting to fall asleep when I hear my door fly open and then slam shut, causing me to jump.

"Linka?"

"Get up!" She demands.

"I only have to be woken up every few hours, not every few minutes!" I groan.

"GET. UP."

"Geez, ok," I say as I swing my feet around to the floor as I sit up, feeling a dizzy spell come on. "What?"

"'What?' 'WHAT?' That is all you have to say?"

"Babe, any sense that I did have has been knocked out of me…you got something you want to say to me, or you want me to say to you, you gotta tell me."

"Nyet YOU tell ME…Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why you would do something so foolish! Risk your life!"

"I was trying to save a life."

"And ruin one at the same time?"

"I'm fine. I had everything under control."

"I am not talking about you! I am talking about me!"

"You?"

"Da…if I lost…if you…if something happened…I do not know what I would have done. I still need you to get me through this."

"I'm still here," I say as I stand up and move to stand in front of her resting my hands on her hips and touching my forehead to hers.

"You have been so strong for me these past few weeks. You have been there for me. But what you did today…was selfish. What were you thinking? Were you trying to impress us? Impress me? Because I AM impressed Yankee…by who you have shown me that you are capable of being…and then in five minutes, you ruin all that by taking matters into your own hands on this mission and endangering yourself…and us."

She's right. She could have been hurt when she dove in to save me.

"You shouldn't have gone in after me. You could have been hurt."

"I was the only one who could save you. No one else would have been able to use your ring…I knew that. I had to be the one. It had to be me."

That's right. I can use her ring, so it would make sense that she'd be able to use mine…but we never tried it…we never knew for sure. She could have gotten seriously hurt, or worse, and it would've been my fault.

"Linka, we didn't know that. We never tested that theory. What if it didn't work?"

"I knew it would," she says confidently.

Me too.

"Thank you…for saving me," I say as I kiss her forehead.

"You are welcome…but you still did not answer my question…why did you do it?"

"So that we could get the mission over with and get back to Hope Island."

"But there was no hurry to get back…I was there with you…"

"Yeah, you were…but I was in a hurry to get back to the Linka I'd come to know…the one who's different with me when no one else is around. The one who lets me hold her like this," I say as I wrap my arms around her waist and pull our bodies together. "The one who doesn't pull away when I touch her. The one who lets me get away with this…"

I make my point by softly pressing my lips to hers and lingering there as I brush my finger tips across her cheek and down her neck.

"The one who lets me take care of her and treats her the way she should be treated."

"That one is 'Linka, the recovering addict.' NOT 'Linka, the Planeteer.'"

Oh. So once she's recovered, and Linka the Planeteer is back for good…where does that leave me? Where does that leave us? That's a question for another day.

"I need you Yankee…as a recovering addict AND as a Planeteer. I need to know that you will always be here for me."

"I will be."

"Not if you go and do something stupid and end up getting yourself killed, you will not be. I need to know that Linka the Planeteer can trust you to make decisions that are right for Linka the addict. Please…do not endanger yourself on missions just to get back here…to this. That has always been my greatest fear…that we, you and I, would not make decisions based on what is best for the team, but what is best for each other…that we would compromise our positions as Planeteers, not give ourselves fully to the mission because we were too concerned about getting back to Hope Island and…this."

"It wouldn't be like that."

"Yes it would…you just proved it."

Shit.

"I didn't know I was being tested," I say.

"Exactly…you acted naturally…if you had known, you would have acted as you thought I'd wanted you to…but honestly, I did not intend to test you…it just…made me see."

"Can you blame me for wanting to get you back here, all to myself?" I ask as I take her hands in mine.

"Wheeler…" She says as she looks down at our joined hands.

Before she has a chance to shoot me down, I do it myself. I can't bear to hear the rejection coming from her lips…her soft, sweet lips.

"I know. It's selfish…I'm being childish…just trying to get things back to normal…if you're gonna go back to being the serious, no non-sense one, I gotta go back to being the shameless flirt."

I drop her hands and sit back down on my bed.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you…for scaring you…for being my usual idiotic self. I know things still need to stay stress free for you, and I'm sorry for jeopardizing that."

She sits down next to me, so close, our legs are touching.

"I forgive you. Just do not let it happen again," she says as she bumps her shoulder against mine.

"I won't. I promise."

"And I am sorry for hitting you to wake you up."

I chuckle.

"S'okay."

"And I am sorry for enjoying it when I hit you," she says as she glances at me out of the corner of her eye.

"Well now, that's just unforgivable."

"I think you will find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Yeah, you're probably right…you know I'm a sucker right?"

"WHAT?"

Oops, obviously that's a word that she doesn't know the meaning to…well, she knows one meaning of it anyway…just not the one I meant.

"Um, someone who's a sucker is…a chump, a sap, a sitting duck," why aren't there any words that would make sense to someone who doesn't speak English as a first language? "An easy target…a push over…like, when it comes to you, you can pretty much say or do anything and I'll give in."

"Oh…that is good information to know."

There's an awkward pause, but then she continues,

"So, if I tell you I want a massage…" she trails off.

"Then I have no choice but to grant you your wish."

"Well then…I want a massage."

"You got it Princess," I say as I stand up to give her room to lie down on the bed.

"AFTER I give you one."

"Me?"

This is a pleasant surprise.

"Da…your back…the bruise is horrible!"

"Yeah…it hurts like hell, and that's without anything touching it, so as nice as it sounds, I don't think I can handle having any pressure put on it…even delicate, soft hands like yours," I say as I take her hand in mine and rub my thumb against her palm.

"I was thinking more like your neck. With a concussion, your neck muscles are going to be sore from the trauma to the head. Are you in pain?"

"I was…but I took some of the pills that the doctor gave me."

"Oh."

"I wish I hadn't though," I confess.

"Why? Because of me? Do not worry about me."

"No, it's not that…not completely. It's just…if I had known that a better offer would come along…for a more…natural pain relief, I would have waited for that. After all, I've been preaching it to you for weeks…I should practice what I preach."

She smiles at me. Did I just score brownie points for being understanding? I hope so!

"Lay down," she instructs.

I happily do as she says and wait for that wonderful moment when her hands begin caressing my neck and shoulders. All the tension immediately melts away and I'm relaxed. My muscles are no longer tense and prepared to protect myself from further injury, they are loosened up and savoring every second of her touch.

Now it's my turn to verbalize my pleasure…maybe that's the wrong word, "verbalize." I'm not really using any words that make sense…just noises. I'm vocalizing, however incoherent it may be, I'm sure she gets the hint that I like it. I don't want her to stop…ever. I can feel her playing with the wild sprigs of hair at the nape of my neck, running her fingers through my hair as she moves her hand up to the base of my skull, stopping just short of where the wound starts again.

"Stabbed by a jealous lover, beaten by a frightened whale…what is next Yankee?"

"Sweet torture by a beautiful Ruskie?" I suggest.

She leans down and puts her lips next to my ear so that I can feel her warm breath on my skin as she whispers,

"Soviet."

"Da…Vhatever," I say, mocking her accent as best I can.

"Get some rest Yankee," she says in a soothing voice. "I will be here to watch you and wake you periodically to check on you…more gently this time, I promise."

Sounds like a great idea.

To Be Continued…

And don't forget, to get the full affect of the story, you HAVE TO read Linka's side of the story in Chapter 42 of LouiseX's Codependence!