It's that time of year again...a holiday fic! I've heard the song "Baby It's Cold Outside" 800 times in the last month and the only thing that kept me from going insane was picturing Wheeler and Linka in the parts. This is the result. Some holiday fluff and cheesiness.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. The song is not mine. Not making any money from either.

"I've come up with something for us to do for Christmas this year," Gi says enthusiastically.

"What's wrong with what we've been doing every year? Don't mess with tradition," Wheeler says.

"Hanging mistletoe every five feet in the hope that you'll catch Linka under it every year isn't 'tradition,' it's 'desperate,'" Gi snaps.

"What is your plan," Ma-Ti asks, trying to defuse the situation.

"I signed us up for a charity talent show. The winning act gets to pick the charity of their choice to receive the grand prize. This could be a huge benefit in the efforts to clean up the oceans."

"Or saving the rainforest," Ma-Ti offers.

"What about feeding the hungry?" Kwame suggests.

"Saving endangered species," Linka proposes.

"Well it was my idea, so I figured I'd chose the charity."

"But we didn't have any say in whether or not we wanted to do this, so we should at least have a say in the charity," Wheeler argues. "And I say endangered species."

"You're only saying that because Linka said it!" Gi pouts.

"There is only one way to settle this," Kwame says.

"We cant' take a vote. Wheeler will just pick whatever Linka picks…and she STILL won't give a crap about you."

"Gi!" Linka objects to being used against Wheeler to try and hurt him for the sake of making a point in their argument.

Kwame clears his throat, clearly perturbed at being interrupted and unable to make his suggestion.

"I was going to say that we all entered separately. We all have different talents anyway so coming up with an act that we can all participate in would have been just as difficult as agreeing on a single charity."

"That is a good idea," Ma-Ti agrees.

"Sounds like a logical solution," Linka says.

"We should've just kept it simple and had our usual low key Christmas and avoided the argument all together," Wheeler offers.

Gi rolls her eyes as she puts the pamphlet down on the table.

"Great, that settles it then. You can go to that website to register. May the best act win!"

The next day…

"Come in," Linka responds to the knock on her door.

"Hey Babe."

"Hi Yankee."

"You've been in here since after breakfast. Everything ok?"

"Da, just practicing my act for the talent show," she says, gesturing towards her keyboard.

"Oh? What are we doin'?"

"We? I am doing a medley of songs from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra."

"You can't bail on me. I sided with you on the charity choice."

"And that was very nice of you, but now that we are doing individual acts, you can choose a charity of your own to support," she says.

"I'm not even gonna do it then. I didn't want to do it in the first place."

"You should. It will be fun."

"I had an idea for us, but it if you've already got something planned out..."

"I am not dressing up as a slutty elf and singing 'Santa Baby' to you while you're dressed in a Santa suit, if that is what you had in mind," she jokes.

"That was not it, but I like your idea better…let's do that!"

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"What was your idea?"

He pulls some folded up papers from his back pocket and sets it up on her keyboard.

"Sheet music?"

"How well do you know the lyrics to 'Baby It's Cold Outside?'" He asks.

"I would need to learn them, but I know a little."

"You and me…duet and kinda acting out a little skit. Like a mix of comedy and actual singing talent."

She folds her arms and looks at him skeptically.

"You sing?"

"Like Sinatra."

She laughs in disbelief and then sits at her keyboard, begins playing a few keys, and sings the first line.

"I really can't stay."

"Baby it's cold outside," Wheeler croons, surprising her with his vocal ability. He was not exaggerating.

"I've got to go away."

"Baby it's cold outside," he sings, picking up the throw from the edge of her bed and wrapping it around her shoulders."

"The evening has been"

"Been hoping that you'd drop in."

"So very nice."

"I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice." He takes her hands away from the keyboard and holds them between his.

"Grandmother will start to worry," Linka changes the words a bit.

Wheeler smiles, thinking he's won her over and convinced her to give his idea a chance.

"Beautiful, what's your hurry?"

"My brother will be pacing the floor."

"Listen to the fireplace roar…"

She turns in her chair to look at him.

"Ok."

"Yeah?!"

"Da…I think this will be fun. Like you said, we have the element of singing mixed with comedy…we can win this."

She raises her hand to give him a high five. He claps his hand against hers and holds on.

"Gi will be so pissed!" He says with a devilish laugh. "I wonder what she's doing?"

"The 'Jingle Bell Rock' dance from Mean Girls," Linka informs him.

"By herself? Shouldn't that be a group thing?"

"Apparently that is what she had planned for ALL of us to do. She already had the dance memorized, so she decided to stick with it."

"Wait, so she thought Kwame, Ma-Ti, and I would be dressed like Santa's Little Helpers and shakin' our thang on stage?! No way!"

"You think I would have been agreeable to that? Nyet. That would have been more of an argument than what charity to support."

"Yeah, but you'd have at least looked good in the outfit…I don't really have the legs for it."

She laughs and closes her eyes, shaking her head trying to rid herself of the image.

"Nyet…I can not un-see it!"

"I have that same problem when I think of you in that sexy Santa outfit…except I don't consider it a problem," he says with a wink.

She once again rolls her eyes, something she does often with him, but her smile betrays her. She's not really upset with him. She enjoys his attention.

"Do you know what Kwame and Ma-Ti are doing?" She asks.

"Ma-Ti is using Suchi to do tricks…so mostly it's Suchi's talent. Kwame is performing 'Little Drummer Boy' on an African drum…I think he called it a Djembe?"

"Ah. So what do you think of our competition?"

"Pssht…what competition? We got this thing in the bag!"

The competitive side of her is pleased to hear this. She does not like losing and she knows Wheeler does not either. That is what will make them a hard team to beat, but first, she needs to perfect her part.

"Give me about an hour to learn the rest of this song. We can meet up for lunch and go over some ideas for the skit and the stage set up. Maybe we can see if there is a piano available to use instead of a keyboard…keep it more classical? True to the original version and the time period it was created it…when it was more scandalous for a woman to stay over at a man's, so it would make more sense that you'd have to convince me."

"Sure…but I don't see what the time period has to do with it…you play hard to get NOW when it's not quite as scandalous for a guy and girl to spend time together alone."

"And if I had not, this song would not be as perfect for us…see, I knew what I was doing."

"Riiiiiiiight…well, I'll let you get to it and see you in an hour."

She smiles warmly as he leaves and takes the sheet music over to her bed to read over the lyrics and make notes, although she thinks their "act" will not need much rehearsing. They can just be themselves and just do what comes naturally. She just needs to focus on the lyrics and music. She will not be at the piano the whole time; just start the song there until Wheeler takes her hands to "warm" them like he did when he was pitching her the idea. She smiles again. This is going to be fun.

Their rehearsals went as well as can be expected. There was laughing, and of course, fighting.

"I cannot say the line about a cigarette," Linka insists.

"Come on Babe, don't be so sensitive. I'm not sayin' you need to light one up."

"It is not appropriate. It is not the image I wish to portray as a Planeteer. What if someone is filming the performance and it ends up online?"

"What about Gi? She'll be out there ho ho hoin' it up doing her Mean Girls dance and you're not objecting to that."

"Because it is Gi, not ME. Besides, I am sure she will keep it tasteful and not EXACTLY like the dance in the movie."

"Keep in mind though, this is a song from the 40s…a reference to smoking was no big deal," he points out.

"I will think of something else to say."

"You're gonna find another word that fits in place of 'cigarette' and still makes sense? Ok, sure," he says, rolling his eyes.

She sits at her keyboard and begins playing the line over and over again until inspiration strikes.

"I got it. I will say, 'Well maybe just a minuet more,' and then resume playing the piano."

He sighs in resignation. She got him.

"Ok, let's try it from when you say, 'I simply must go.'"

They go through the verse and it works out well with Linka's adjustment, as much as Wheeler hates to admit it.

"I cannot believe you have not caught on to the line about the lips," she says.

"What do you mean?"

"Well the first part, the man goes, 'Gosh your lips look delicious,' and then the second time, he says, 'Gosh your lips are delicious,' which implies that he kissed her at some point between those two lines. I figured you would use that to your advantage considering you've been trying to kiss me since the day we met."

"I totally missed the implication…but it's not like I'd actually do it. I want our first kiss to be meaningful, not part of an act."

She thinks his reasoning is admirable, but she's a little disappointed he won't be incorporating her suggestion.

"Technically, it would not be our first kiss," she reminds him. "Russia."

"Yeah, but I was so shocked, I didn't have a chance to respond…and besides, it's not exactly a moment I like to remember."

"Ah!" Her jaw drops in shock as she tries not to take offense.

"What? It was one of the worst days of my life. I thought I'd never see you again. It was a goodbye kiss. The first and last."

She nods in acceptance of his reasoning.

"Da…leaving you, errr, the Planeteers…was the hardest decision I have ever had to make. I am glad things worked out."

"Me too."

"Let us take a break from practicing for now. If we over do it, it will seem too scripted and not natural. We should just go with it."

"Yeah, right. Natural. I can do that. I need to work on building the set and figuring out how to make it portable to get it to the charity event anyway. I think we've got a pretty good handle on the singing and acting part."

Wheeler created their prop set himself. He made two walls, one with a window painted with a wintery scene and the other had a door installed, which led to the "outside." He hung pictures on the walls and a coat hook next to the door to make it look like a home. He even built on a bar along one of the walls to add to the drink pouring part of the skit.

They're the last performance of the night. All of the acts have been really good, including their teammates. Gi's skit got a lot of laughs, Suchi and Ma-Ti worked very well together and scored major cuteness points. Kwame's performance surprised them the most. It was an unique interpretation of the original song and their normally quiet and reserved friend put on quite a show.

"You ready, Babe?" Wheeler whispers in her ear from behind as they wait to go on.

"Da…I think so." She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly as she leans back against his chest without thinking.

He takes advantage of her momentary lapse of the wall she always has up and wraps his arms around her.

"You're not nervous are you?"

She stiffens when she realizes what she's doing.

"Nyet, not at all."

"Good, because even though we're going to be the best act, even if we don't win, we had fun…but don't admit that to Gi!"

"Never!" She relaxes once again and when their names are called, she lets him take her hand and lead her out to the baby grand piano that completes the "living room" scene and begin their act flawlessly.

Weeks spent rehearsing for hours have paid off…not because they needed the practice, but because they were enjoying it. It was a rare opportunity to spend time goofing off, something Linka seldom lets anyone see her doing. Wheeler has enjoyed seeing this side of her and is encouraged by her lowered defenses around him.

"So really I'd better scurry," Linka sings.

"Beautiful, please don't hurry," Wheeler moves from the "bar" to set a glass he just filled in front of her on the piano.

"Maybe just a half a drink more…"

"Put some records on while I pour," he fills her glass from a bottle of amber liquid. She picks it up and takes a drink.

"The neighbors might think…"

"Baby, it's bad out there," he says, standing by the window and looking out.

"Say, what's in this drink?" She asks, standing from the piano and holding her glass up to him.

He hides the bottle behind his back and sets it out of sight behind the bar.

"No cabs to be had out there," he sings as he moves to stand next to her.

"I wish I knew how,"

"Your eyes are like starlight now." He lifts her chin to look at him and stares into her eyes.

"to break this spell."

"I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell." He removes the knit hat she was wearing and brushes his fingers through her hair.

"I ought to say no, no, no, sir…"

"Mind if I move in closer?" He takes a step forward, invading her space so that they are standing chest to chest.

"At least I'm gonna say that I tried."

"What's the sense in hurting my pride?"

"I really can't stay…"

"Baby don't hold out."

"Ah, but it's cold outside." They both sing.

"C'mon Babe," he takes her hand and tries leading her to the couch that was set up on the stage.

"I simply must go."

"Baby, it's cold outside."

"The answer is no." She pulls her hand from his and crosses her arms in front of her.

"Ooh baby, it's cold outside."

"This welcome has been…"

"I'm lucky that you dropped in."

"So nice and warm."

He gestures towards the window.

"Look out the window at that storm."

"My best friend will be suspicious." She looks to the front row where Gi and the others are sitting and grinning.

"Damn, your lips look delicious." He rests his hand on her cheek and traces his thumb over her bottom lip.

"My brother will be there at the door…"

"Waves upon a tropical shore."

He softly brushes his lips against hers, remembering what she said during their practice and taking a chance.

"My maiden aunt's mind is vicious," she smiles as she puts her fingers to his lips and steps away.

"God your lips ARE delicious."

They exchange a look, acknowledging what just happened between them.

"Well maybe just a minuet more." She sits down at the piano and resumes playing.

"Never such a blizzard before."

He sits next to her on the piano bench and puts his arm around her waist.

"I've got to get home."

She spins around, out of his grasp and stands, trying her best to resist.

"Oh, baby, you'll freeze out there."

He moves behind her and wraps his arms around her.

"Say, lend me your coat."

"It's up to your knees out there," he points out.

She turns in his arms.

"You've really been grand," she brushes his hair off his forehead.

"Thrill when you touch my hair."

"But don't you see?" She puts distance between them once again.

"How can you do this thing to me?" Wheeler drops to his knees and pleads.

"There's bound to be talk tomorrow," she tries reasoning.

"Think of my life long sorrow…" he shuffles towards her, still on his knees.

"At least there will be plenty implied."

"If you caught pneumonia and died."

"I really can't stay."

He stands in front of her now.

"Get over that hold out." He opens his arms and she steps into them.

"Oh, baby, it's cold outside," they both belt out together.

He pulls a sprig of mistletoe out of his pocket and holds it over them, something that he'd conveniently left out of their rehearsals, and whispers,

"Keeping with tradition…"

She lifts her eyes to see what he's referring to, smiles, closes her eyes, and turns her lips up towards him. Surprised at how easily she gave in, nothing like the fight she put up in the song, he quickly drops his lips to hers before she changes her mind. In his shock and excitement, he ends the kiss just as quickly as he started it, not even giving Linka a chance to respond.

The audience thinks it's all part of the act and is applauding. Their fellow Planeteers are standing and clapping enthusiastically, even whistling.

Linka wraps her arms around his neck and whispers in his ear,

"Perhaps we should have practiced that part. You were not very good at it."

"Huh?"

"After all these years of trying to get me under the mistletoe, you barely kiss me."

Is she challenging him? He knows he can do better.

He pulls back to look at her and she's looking up at him with an impish grin. She is challenging him. He accepts the challenge and lowers his lips to hers once again, only this time, he holds her face in his hands and fully envelops her lips with his, latching on and not letting go. She does respond this time, putting her hand behind his head to hold him in place.

The curtain closes, but their kiss still continues as the stage crew removes the set and the rest of the contestants makes their way to the stage for the announcement of the winner.

"Show's over, you two," the host says as he taps them on the shoulder.

They pull apart slowly and a smile spreads across Wheeler's face.

"Actually, I think it's just starting," he says hopefully.

Linka returns his smile but is unable to respond as Gi has rushed up to them and squeals.

"That was so good! I had no idea Wheeler could sing! I'm blown away. You're definitely going to win."

"And it will be well deserved," Kwame says as he clasps Wheeler's hand.

"Yes, it was very well done," Ma-Ti adds.

"Thanks guys. You all did great too," Wheeler says.

"Da, it will be a tough decision for the judges. There were so many good acts," Linka offers. "And Wheeler was not the only one who was holding out on his singing talents. Kwame, you have quite a nice voice as well."

"Thank you."

"Everyone line up on stage. The judges have made their decision," the host announces.

The acts all take their places and the curtains open. The host takes center stage and addresses the audience.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming out to support our talented acts and their selected charities. We raised enough money through your generous donations to give each act's charity $100 regardless of whether they win or lose. The grand prize will be a $2000 donation to the winner's charity of choice. And the winner is…they made it hot in here when it was cold outside…Linka Kovaleva and Jason Wheeler!"

"Alright!" Wheeler cheers as Linka hugs him and he spins her around.

The other contestants offer their congratulations and leave the stage so the winners can be presented with a giant check and pose for pictures.

The flight back to Hope Island is filled with jovial chatter. Everyone is happy that their charity won something, but no one is happier than Wheeler and Linka…but it has nothing to do with their win.

"So Wheeler, still think my idea is dumb?" Gi asks.

"Nope! Smartest thing you've ever suggested," he says, causing the rest of the team to laugh.

"Worked out pretty well for you," Kwame points out.

"Consider that my present to you," Gi jokes.

"Do you have a gift receipt in case I need to return it?" Wheeler asks with a chuckle.

"As if you would!" Linka says, reaching across the aisle to smack him.

Wheeler catches her hand and laces her fingers with his.

"Never," he says bringing her hand to his lips. He gets up from his seat and crouches down next to her. "As a matter of fact, I'd be interested in purchasing a lifetime warranty."

"I come with a lifetime guarantee," she promises.

"Me too," he responds as he stands and kisses her.

"Merry Christmas, everyone."

"Merry Christmas," they all reply in unison.

THE END

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!