A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, keep letting us know what you think :o)

Chapter Twenty Six – Day Eleven Continued

Undressing quickly, I step into the shower and turn it on, but I cannot stop thinking about what just happened. The truth is, I am not really angry, I am hurt, and the shower is not the only source of the water running down my face.

I have calmed down by the time I exit the shower and promise myself that I will not go there again. If he says something flirty I will ignore it, if he touches me I will hide my reaction. Whatever he feels, or used to feel, he wants us to be just friends now, and that is probably the best thing for us and for the Planeteers and I will not keep confusing him.

When I am ready, I take a deep breath and open the bathroom door.

Wheeler is laying on my bed with a pillow over his face, but when I enter he sits up and pulls the pillow down, regarding me warily.

I force myself to walk out into the bedroom and say as cheerfully as I can. "It is a little late for breakfast but at least the others will not be around."

He does not say anything but sits up, still regarding me intently as if he is trying to work out what I am thinking… or maybe he is just waiting to see if I am going to explode at him again. I shrug and sit down in my desk chair, not sure what to do or say. Everything was going so well and I feel like I have just put us back to square one.

Wheeler gets up slowly and comes to kneel in front of me. He rubs my arms and lets his hands trail down to hold mine.

I stare down at our joined hands, not knowing what to say or do. I guess he does not know what to say either but after a while, he gently lifts his hand to tilt my chin upwards until my gaze meets his. He smiles and I can feel the knots in my stomach start to loosen.

But there is a sadness in his eyes that I cannot bear and so without even thinking about it, I pull one hand free and gently stroke his hair back from his face. "I am sorry Yankee, I seem to be over-reacting a lot lately."

"No, I'm sorry. I seem to keep giving you reasons to over-react…and you're not over reacting…you're reacting at a perfectly normal level. I just…I keep forgetting…" He tries to reassure me but he obviously feels as uncomfortable as I do.

I have to ask. "Keep forgetting what?"

"I keep forgetting why we've been spending so much time together. It's not because you want…err, umm…if it weren't for the uh…whole Bliss thing…things would just be business as usual around here…right?"

I want to argue with him, I wish he was wrong but he is not. "Da…probably…"

He raises an eyebrow sceptically and I am forced to confess. "Definitely, but that still does not excuse my behaviour. You are just being nice. I am reading too much into things."

"And that upsets you? When I… care too much?" He asks.

Wheeler does not understand that the little physical gestures he makes, while trivial to him, are not something I would allow with just anyone. "Da…"

"I don't know how to stop." He says apologetically. "I can't turn it off." Of course he cannot, it is just a part of who he is, he does not mean anything by it.

"I am not asking you to." I tell him. "I just need to learn how to accept it…" without betraying my own feelings all the time, no matter how much I like being the person that I am when we are alone together. "But I do not want you to stop. I need to know someone cares… even if it is just as a friend. I need you as a friend."

"Then I'll keep caring. I'll never stop. Promise." He stands and holds out his hand. "Join me for brunch… Friend?"

I accept his hand, gripping it tightly and nodding to acknowledge our agreement.

I do not know whether to be happy that our friendship is strong enough to survive this, or cry because that is all it will ever be.

By the time we get to the kitchen it is getting on for midday. I route around in the fridge trying to find something that looks appetising. There is not much but I settle for a blueberry yogurt and an orange. At least it is healthy.

"You want some toast?" Wheeler asks

"Do you want me to want some toast?" I counter playfully, trying to recapture the more relaxed mood we achieved this morning.

Immediately defensive he tries to explain. "Noooooooo, I was just offering to make you some because I was going to make some for myself. I can't have eggs without toast and I figured if I was going to make some for me, I'd offer to make some for you…"

"Wheeler, I would love some toast. Thank you for offering," I smile at him, letting him know I was teasing.

"Very funny Babe." He replies.

I nod. "It is fun watching you squirm."

"Well, as long as you're happy! That's all that matters." He leans across the table and places a kiss on my nose. It is a very sweet gesture and I raise my eyes to his, staying like that for a long moment until the toaster, finishing its task makes Wheeler jump and he moves away. "Uhh, I guess my toast is done."

I sit down as he collects his toast, feeling vaguely disappointed, though I am not sure what I expected to happen.

"Here, you can have these." He holds out the toast. "My eggs aren't done so I'm not ready for my toast yet."

I take the toast and place it on the table in front of me. "Thank you."

"Want some orange juice? I'm not asking because I think you need it, I'm asking because I'm getting myself a glass!" he asks carefully.

I want to shake him, I was joking before, not trying to make him paranoid. "No thank you, but I will take a glass of water as long as you are pouring drinks."

We keep the conversation light hearted as we eat, Wheeler has the knack of talking about nothing and making it entertaining. I am just starting to feel really relaxed when he brings me back to reality with a bump.

"So are we going to go and have that talk with Gaia?" he asks softly, as if his tone can stop the sting.

I consider it for a moment and then say. "Would you mind if we did not? I… I need time to find my balance again. I am not sure I can cope with finding out yet, even with you there." I look up at him, willing him to understand.

"No problem." He replies and lifts his hand to gently stroke my cheek. Then he pulls away and asks in his regular, cheerful voice. "So what would you like to do today?"

I shrug. "Something normal. I am not sure I can face the others though, I dread to think what Gi must think of me after my behaviour yesterday."

"Well they're off somewhere so we probably won't have to deal with them." He thinks for a moment. "We could watch some movies, we were gonna do that the other night remember?"

I nod. "I would like that, but the others…"

"Won't be back until at least dinner time. When they turn up we can take our dinner to our rooms or down to the beach or something." He sounds like he has everything under control.

"Okay." I smile at him and say playfully. "I get to pick the video though."

He drops his head in his hands theatrically. "Oh no, what have I gotten myself into?" Then he winks and starts clearing away our breakfast things.

I help him tidy and then we make our way to the lounge and I flop down in front of the video cabinet while Wheeler makes himself comfortable on the sofa.

Should I be kind and pick something he likes? Nyet, he makes me watch enough of his horror movies, but maybe I can find a compromise. Then I remember something, I get up again and head towards the door. "I have a couple of tapes in my room that I brought back from home with me," I pause at the door. "Do not worry they are in English."

I return quickly and set up the video. While I was gone Wheeler has gone back to the kitchen and brought back a bowl of popcorn. "Yankee, we just had breakfast!"

"We can't watch a movie without popcorn Babe." He replies with a cheeky grin, holding his arm out for me.

I roll my eyes but snuggle up against him anyway. "I think you will like this, it is a romance but it is funny."

"Whatever." He replies, sounding dubious.

I chuckle. "Trust me Yankee."

He gives me a squeeze and we settle down to watch the film. As it happens, he laughs all the way through it and I eat most of the popcorn, I guess we know each other pretty well.

As soon as I hear the others returning I retreat to my bedroom, leaving Wheeler to deal with them and get our dinner. I know that is not fair to him but he assures me that he does not mind and I must admit, I like having someone to take care of everything for me.

While I am waiting I find my draughts set so that we can play a game. When he comes to join me though, he takes one look at the counters and pulls a face. "Checkers? Babe I suck at checkers! Don't you have a chess set?"

I am surprised. I know I should not be, he is not stupid, it is just that chess is an intellectual game and he usually prefers something more… straightforward. "Da, I do." I say quickly, looking for the chess pieces and trying to cover my slip... but he catches me.

"You didn't think a guy like me could play chess did you?" He is teasing… I think. He does have a tendency to put himself down.

I give him a saucy smile. "I just thought you preferred more 'physical' games."

He laughs. "I'm good at chess."

"So am I." I reply.

His eyes light up. "That sounds like a challenge."

Wheeler and I have always been competitive with each other, it is a playful rivalry though.

Then my gaze falls on what he is carrying… a large pizza and a couple of cans of coke. "Wheeler I cannot eat that!" I exclaim. "Putting aside for just a moment how unhealthy it is, my stomach will never keep that down!"

He shrugs. "Babe your stomach is not keeping much of anything down, the way I see it you might as well enjoy it." He puts the plate between us on the bed and hands me a coke. "And, it's your favourite kind."

I eye the pizza warily and watch Wheeler enviously as he takes the first slice and makes a show of enjoying it. He is correct about it being my favourite, though I do not eat it often because I try to keep fit. Maybe he is right about my trying it too, after all putting on weight is not going to be a problem.

A couple of hours later I am bent over my sink, regretting my reckless impulse. At least Wheeler has not abandoned me, he is here now rubbing my back and keeping my hair out of my face… it seems to have become his job!

When my body finally has pity on me and settles down, I rinse my mouth and at Wheelers prompting, go and lie on my bed while he cleans up.

"You okay?" He asks as he comes to join me a short time later.

I nod and snuggle into his arms as he wraps himself around me. I feel drained. The events of the last few days are catching up with me and now that I do not have to fear what is to come, I can no longer fight the fatigue.

"Sorry." He kisses my forehead. "I shouldn't have pushed you to eat that."

"You did not." I say, closing my eyes. "You were right, it does not make a difference what I eat, what matters is that I am not alone."

I doze for a while until I feel Wheeler nuzzling my face. "Mmmm?"

He chuckles and I get the feeling that it is not the first time he has said this. "Babe, it's getting late. We should get ready for bed."

I open my eyes sleepily. "Can we not just stay like this?"

He kisses my temple and then raises me into a sitting position. "Come on Babe."

I groan and lean into him, my energy gone. "Too tired."

"You okay to sleep in what you have on?" He asks and when I nod, picks me up in his arms as if I weigh nothing at all.

It takes him a few moments to pull back the covers on my bed while holding me in his arms, but then he puts me inside and pulls the blanket up around me.

"Stay." I murmur and he leans down to kiss my head.

"I'm not going anywhere Babe, I just need to use the bathroom, I won't be long." He waits until I acknowledge his words and then moves away.

I cannot keep my eyes open but I also cannot sleep, I am waiting for him to return. He does not take long however and when he slips in beside me I cuddle into his embrace without opening my eyes. He has stripped down to his boxers, he is lucky that he does not feel the cold.

"Good night Babe, sweet dreams." He places a last kiss on my cheek and rests his head against the top of mine.

I press a kiss to his shoulder in response. "You too."

To be continued…

A/N: And don't forget, to get the full affect of the story, you HAVE TO read Wheeler's side of the story in Becks7's Co-dependents Chapter 26! Let us know what you think!