Chapter Four

Grandmuska rushed to meet them when they arrived home the following lunchtime, making a fuss of her great granddaughter, who silently put up with the attention but didn't smile. They settled her on the couch with the television on and a blanket over her.

"Would you like something to eat, sweetheart?" Linka asked, wanting to do something to make her more comfortable but not really knowing what.

Natalya hesitated but then nodded, not quite meeting her eyes but when Wheeler would have followed his friend to the kitchen she held a hand out to him, a silent plea for him to remain with her.

Responding to the little girl like it was the most natural thing in the world, the American gently shifted her down the settee so that he could sit behind her, letting her lean back against him while he used the remote to flick the channels on the tv. He talked to her as well, apparently not bothered that the conversation was one sided.

Linka paused in the doorway, her eyes softening as she watched them, tears prickling at the corners.

At last she turned and made her way to the kitchen where her grandmother, brother and Tanya were waiting to talk to her. Instead of sitting with them at the table she went immediately to start preparing lunch.

"I can do that…" Her grandmother offered but Linka shook her head. "I'll do it."

Mishka looked grave, "What did the doctor say?"

Linka shrugged, "She is traumatised. There is no serious physical injury and we should give her time to talk to us. We need to be understanding and patient but if it goes on for more than three months we should arrange counselling for her… they think it is better to let her come through it on her own with the people she loves around her."

"You do not agree?" her brother asked.

Looking around at him in surprise the Planeteer nodded, "I do…"

"But?"

Sighing, the lovely girl shook her head, "I feel like I should be doing something, but there is nothing I can do… I want so much to make things better for her but I do not know how to be a mother to her, even if she will let me." She gave a sad laugh and looked back towards the lounge saying wistfully, "It seems to come so easily to Wheeler."

"She adores you Little Bird, she always has." Her grandmother told her kindly, "Do not try to act differently around her, let her come to you."

Linka smiled and nodded. Finally looking at her old school friend she said, "Are you very angry with me for not telling you?"

Tanya had been, but Mishka had talked her out of her first reaction and seeing Linka and Natalya when they arrived had done away with any lingering resentment. The brunette shook her head, fighting back tears and suddenly got up to hug her friend. "Nyet. Oh Linka, I am so sorry, I just wish you had let me help."

"There was nothing you could do." The Planeteer replied uncomfortably, not liking the sympathy but not wanting to further offend the other woman.

"Have you told her?" Her brother once more broke in on the conversation and Tanya returned to her seat.

Linka shook her head focusing on the sandwiches she was making again, "It is the last thing she will want to hear right now… we are family, that is enough. When she is better… perhaps. I know Nina was going to wait until she was older but I cannot imagine a good age to find out."

Being relatively new to the discussion, Tanya asked, "What about the father?"

"He has nothing to do with it." Linka stiffened and her tone became a command, "He does not know about her and I want it to stay that way. As far as the world is concerned she is my cousin's child. I mean it Tanya, you cannot tell anyone about this, not anyone, no matter how much you trust them."

Her friend's eyes widened and she held her hands up in surrender, "I wasn't going to! I just thought maybe he'd want to help."

Linka looked away unable to meet her eyes, and just a little worried that she might be able to guess his identity. "She has all the help she needs."

"Like Wheeler." Grandmuska put in, smiling knowingly.

Linka shrugged, staring hard at the bread she was buttering, "That is up to him."

"I think he has made his intentions very clear," Mishka said with amusement, but her grandmother wasn't satisfied. Frowning, she said, "Linka, whatever she calls you, you will stand in the place of a mother to her now. If you do not want Wheeler to stand with you, you should not let them get attached to each other."

The Wind Planeteer bowed her head, "What I want does not matter. Wheeler will not hurt her, he has chosen to be there for her and he would never turn his back on a friend, but whether he is her friend or an uncle or… or a father figure, makes no difference." She put her chin back up defiantly and when she spoke again it was clear that she would brook no argument, but she still would not look at them, "I will ask no one to 'stand with me' as you put it."

Silence reigned, no one knowing what to say as a gloom seemed to have fallen over all of them. Grandmuska grieved for her granddaughter but knew her too well to try to change her mind, she could only hope that Wheeler would find a way to do that.

When Linka would have returned to the other room with the tray she had prepared, Tanya stopped her, "What about your other friends? Do they know? Do they know you're leaving yet?"

"I contacted Gaia this morning." She at last turned to face them again, "I was not sure what she had told them but she assures me that she only referred to Natalya as my cousin. She… she has offered us a home there, with whatever we need to make it work. I have not decided yet but Jason suggested that we take Natalya home for a visit to see if she likes it and I am inclined to agree with him."

"Jason?" Tanya asked, confused.

Linka blushed, "Wheeler."

Grandmuska smiled, suddenly feeling more hopeful, "I think that's a wonderful idea. It will do her good to have a change of scenery and if she does not like it you can always come back here."

Mishka nodded in agreement.

"Spasiba," Linka smiled, genuinely grateful.

Sensing a change in mood Tanya grinned, "So would now be a good time to tell you that you put peanut butter, jam and pickles together in some of those sandwiches? I mean I'm no expert but I figure making your kid sick isn't a good way to start a relationship."

Rather than being embarrassed by the implied mistake, the lovely blond laughed with a small shrug, "That is for Wheeler. He likes it."

Tanya looked vaguely sick, much to the other's amusement, but made no more objections to her friend's departure. As they watched her go, each member of Linka's family privately resolved to offer every encouragement to Wheeler to not give up on her.

"Here you go." Linka put the tray down on the coffee table and knelt beside the sofa, wanting to be close without disturbing them. She was careful to give the right plate to the right person before settling down with her own.

"You wanna sit here?" Wheeler offered but she shook her head and smiled.

Her daughter wasn't bothered by the interchange, content as long as they were both close by.

Having obtained her family's approval, Linka decided to broach the subject of Hope Island, "Natalya, I was wondering if you would like to spend a few days on Hope Island? It is very different to here but I think you would like it?"

The child's eyes widened and sat up, looking from Linka to Wheeler in sudden alarm.

"You do not have to…" Linka said quickly, "We can stay here."

Natalya looked like she wanted to say something but instead bit her lip and looked away.

The Russian Planeteer gave her companion an apologetic look and said sadly, "Will you explain to Gaia and the others for me?"

He nodded, trying not to let the devastation he was feeling show. "I'm not going back straightaway though."

This had an even worse effect on the young girl, who immediately put her lunch back on the table and turned to put her arms around the American, shaking her head vigorously.

"No?" Wheeler asked hugging her back, "Nat, I won't leave you yet but I can't stay here forever."

Again she shook her head, tears coming to her eyes and Linka, putting her own and Wheeler's plates aside, moved to sit beside her, letting Wheeler pull her into the embrace so that her daughter was between them.

"I am sorry Yankee." Linka said mournfully, "I did not realise she could get so dependent on you so quickly."

"It's ok." He hugged them both, sounding a little choked, "I'm feeling a bit dependent myself… I was kinda counting on the two of you coming home with me."

The little girl looked up at him and then nodded.

Wheeler smiled sadly, "I won't make you leave your home Angel. I'll stay as long as I can, I promise."

She shrugged and Linka stroked her hair, "You will try it then? Just for a little while?"

Nat shook her head again and frowned in concentration. She seemed younger than her years when she was like that but Linka didn't see any need for her to hurry in growing up. At last the girl took Wheeler's hand and put it over Linka's, then added her own.

"I don't think she cares where we live as long as we stay together," Wheeler guessed and received a happy nod in return.

Linka blushed, "Sweetheart…" She tried again, sounding every bit as unhappy as her words made her daughter look. "You and I will be together from now on but we cannot make Wheeler… I mean."

"It's ok Babe," Wheeler told her softly, "Really."

Natalya looked up at Linka, waiting for her response.

The Wind Planeteer looked into her companion's eyes, and even he saw how badly she wanted to accept but she said, "It is not your responsibility..."

"So? Caring about someone isn't a responsibility, Linka."

"I did not say it was, I just do not expect you to…" she bit her lip. "It is asking too much, considering the circumstances."

Wheeler sighed, not wanting to argue about it in front of her child, "Look, Nat's ok with coming for a visit and I'll be around… what's the problem?"

"There is not one, I just do not want you to feel obligated to get involved." She knew he was getting annoyed with her and having to keep it to himself wasn't likely to improve his temper.

"I won't interfere." There was a lot more behind that and Linka couldn't help but fear that she'd damaged their relationship even further.

It wasn't that she didn't want him to be a part of their lives, far from it, in fact she wanted it too much for her own peace of mind. Natalya had put him on the spot though and he was far too nice to reject her. Linka was determined that he wouldn't be trapped by either of them.

"We will go back with you and see how Nat feels about Hope Island," she agreed, wishing she could say more.

Wheeler nodded but her response had done nothing to lesson his anger. He hid it well however as he began to talk to Natalya of the treats in store for her.

Linka waited until it would not be too obvious, at least to her daughter, and then extricated herself from Wheeler's embrace, using lunch as her excuse.

To be continued…