5. Chapter 5 (1/2)

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chapter 5

linka had ended her call a while ago, but then gi had taken advantage of her unoccupied state to ask her help with laundry. the two girls chatted lightly until linka remembered she'd left anna alone with wheeler longer than the american boy probably could stand, and she cursed herself. she realized that anna was mainly her responsibility since she'd been so hard-headed about keeping her there with them, but the others had stepped up to help, nonetheless, and she was glad for it. still, she felt the child needed a reference point and she climbed the stairs to their bedroom to relieve wheeler of his babysitting duties. she did not want to take advantage of his goodness, after all.

upon reaching the doorway, she was surprised to find anna on the bed laughing merrily, a pillow between her and the yankee, and linka could not help but smile at the scene.

"hey," wheeler called out, his eyes laughing in his handsome face, looking comfortable in his new role.

"i am sorry, i completely lost track of time!"

"no sweat, babe, we've been playing peek-a-boo for, like, an hour and she's still not sick of it!"

linka smiled with visible relief and picked up anna, twirling her about in the air to get the child giggling. wheeler watched her through half-closed eyes, laying his head down on the pillow. it was beautiful to see linka acting so caring towards this baby; it was the rare exception she let her feelings play on her pretty face like a movie, and wheeler easily got lost in it. she and anna shared an unspoken bond; wheeler could tell that anna was most receptive to linka's caretaking. they adored each other. this thought and his earlier, more gloomy ones collided, and he tried pushing it all at the back of his mind.

instead, wheeler took linka's hand, getting her to sit down beside him, and she did so, cradling anna in her arms.

"it is a week today we found her," linka softly spoke up, meeting his eyes.

"fridays are always special," wheeler half grinned and linka blushed a little. that was usually the day they had set apart for dates and romantic outings. she could not deny it had become her favorite day of the week, even though she would barely admit it to him. although, she was sure he could read it on her face and feel it in the kisses they shared…

with the excitement of taking care of anna, they had not had the time to plan anything last week, and it looked like today was going to meet a similar fate. the sun was close to setting over the streets of washington.

"yankee, do you still want to go out if gi takes anna for a bit? or if she is too busy doing chores, maybe we can ask one of the boys?"

wheeler took anna from linka's arms and piloted her like a plane over his head, the child amused as she freely moved her arms about. she resembled a little bird wanting to take flight and linka laughed a little.

"wanna take her with us?" asked the american,

inging anna down for a kiss before moving her through the air once more.

"really?" linka turned to him with wide eyes, her heart soaring at his proposal. she enjoyed the little girl so much, and she kept telling herself to take advantage of their time together as much as she could, for she was not sure what lay ahead on their paths. it could be anything from separation, injustice, suffering. so she was warmed by wheeler's offer, by his keen intuition and selfless ways when it came to her. the yankee got her, knew how to get inside her head and, recently, more so inside her heart. it frightened linka a little, it should a great deal more, but wheeler could be so damn sweet that she forgot her inhibitions at times.

"yeah! we could go to the park, and i think she'll be good through dinner… won't you, little babe?"

linka's heart filled watching them together and she nodded to herself. it sounded like a wonderful date to her!

"i will go pack a bag with juice and biscuits, a diaper change, obviously… and what else?" the blonde girl was already up and planning, and soon the three of them were heading outdoors.

linka had strapped anna securely to the front of her body, changed her in a hat and little turquoise dress ensemble that was adorable beyond words (she and gi had been in heaven selecting little outfits for her!) and once they reached the park, anybody could mistaken them for a happy, young family.

there were still other children playing about the spacious park, and wheeler immediately wanted to try the baby swing with anna. linka showed some trepidation at first, but then wheeler sweet-talked her into letting anna ride it, so linka positioned the baby carefully on the tiny swing. anna's little legs dangled freely and already she was moving her body as if she wanted to thrash around to higher levels.

"da, but push her very slowly… okay?"

"relax, babe," wheeler was grinning at her, confidently.

anna proved to love the ride and linka placed herself in front of the swing once she saw that anna was comfortable with it, pretending to capture her anytime she slowly moved forward. anna screamed with delight at their little game.

"see, she likes it! you don't wanna be one of those apprehensive moms, babe. they're the worst!"

"how do you know i want to be a mother at all?" linka smartly remarked, since challenging him was vital oxygen to her. she thoroughly enjoyed studying his reactions, his thoughts. the blonde girl realized that hers was lovesick behavior, so she focused all her attention on anna. it was strange admitting it to herself, and she needed a ready distraction!

"it's pretty obvious," wheeler remarked to her question, meeting her eyes and seeing the faint blush on her cheeks. she was so damn lovely he could easily forgive her stubbornness! he could forgive linka anything, really; he was such a fool when it came to her!

dinner was over too quickly in linka's opinion, perhaps because she was having such a lovely time with anna and wheeler. it was easy and comfortable, with anna happily munching on her snacks in her high chair. she could tell the smiles the child elicited from everyone around her were sincere, for it was human nature to be attracted to all things cute. a couple of waitresses even pinched anna's cheeks!

on their way home, linka gave anna her bottle of milk as they walked easily on the