We meet once again, my loyal readers.

So sorry I haven't updated in more than two months. But with college starting again, it is hard to find time.

To all my reviewers, thank you all so much for your enthusiastic appreciation. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. You rock.

And now, onto the eagerly anticipated (I hope) story.

Hold on, baby, you're losing it
The water's high, you're jumping into it
And letting go... and no one knows
That you cry, but you don't tell anyone
That you might not be the golden one
And you're tied together with a smile
But you're coming undone

Tied Together With a Smile.

Taylor Swift

"Ok. So who wants to take us up?" Wheeler asked in a mock casual voice as he leaned against the side of the Geo-cruiser. The glint in his eyes betrayed the fake nonchalance in his voice as he innocently surveyed the rest of the group.

Amanda suppressed her laughter as she watched Gi, Kwame and Ma-Ti fidget awkwardly. Clearly they were all itching to get their hands on the Geo-Cruiser's controls but they were trying hard, and failing, not to look too eager. After watching them stew for several seconds, Wheeler decided to put them out of their misery.

"Linka flew on the way here. So how about Gi fly us to the first stop, Ma-Ti can take over for the second stop, and Kwame can have the return trip," Wheeler offered. He was met with relieved nods from all three, Gi looking ecstatic to have drawn the first slot. Satisfied, Wheeler turned away and pressed his palm against the side of the doorframe. Amanda noted that Wheeler didn't ask her if she wanted a turn. She supposed that Kwame had told him about her last disastrous flight and her subsequent aversion towards the pilot's seat.

"Open all doors," he said clearly. The cruiser must have been set to obey voice commands, as the doors smoothly bulged out and swung upwards. The interior lights clicked on as Wheeler stepped inside. Amanda stepped in next, looking around curiously. The interior was entirely different from what she remembered. She assumed that Wheeler had remodeled it when he got it.

"Your chariot awaits m'lady ," Wheeler said, bowing dramatically to Gi and sweeping his hands towards the pilot's seat. "That is, my chariot awaits you," he corrected himself.

"You are still an ass." Gi remarked as she brushed past him, smiling at his hammy acting. The smile faded as she reached the pilot's seat. The seat cover was obviously new, but everything else was exactly as she remembered.

She ran her hand and her eyes over the panels, drinking in the familiar sight of the cockpit. Old, half buried memories flashed through her mind, crowding on each other and leaving no room to think. All the memories that she had put out of her mind for the past several years rushed in like a dam that had been overwhelmed and she was amazed at how much she had forgotten.

She remembered poring over plans and blueprints as she assembled the plans for the Cruiser. She remembered staying up nights to weld the framework. She remembered the satisfaction and relief of fitting the final hull plate into place. She remembered the exhilaration and joy of the first test flight. She remembered countless hours spent servicing, repairing and upgrading the aircraft, occasionally helped (and sometimes hampered) by Suchi and Wheeler. She remembered Wheeler teasing her and calling her grease monkey. She remembered retaliating by calling him man-monkey. She remembered Suchi jumping on Wheeler's shoulder at that moment, and herself grabbing a conveniently handy camera and managing to click a photo before collapsing with laughter.

She still had that photograph, framed on her mantelpiece.

Her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes prickled as the ache in her heart manifested into an almost physical sensation.

Again? This is the third time in less than an hour. The annoying voice in her head was back. What's with the waterworks all of a sudden?

Oh god, that was so ironic. Waterworks indeed.

Truth was, she missed her old life. She missed her friends. And she missed what they used to do together. Saving the world, outwitting bad guys, arguing with policymakers, campaigning for awareness. She missed it all, the good and the bad. The Geo-Cruiser had been her brainchild. So many of her best memories were tied to this aircraft, and being here brought it all rushing back.

The light nudge at her side brought her sharply back to reality. She turned around hastily and nearly stumbled when the hem of her dress caught the side of the seat and was only saved from an embarrassingly ungainly fall by a pair of deliciously warm hands that darted out to grasp her and pull her back on her feet. Which, in the narrow confines of the cockpit, brought her pressed against the broad chest of the owner of said hands.

Brown eyes met blue, and time slowed to a crawl. Gi didn't know how long they stood frozen like that. It could have been a few seconds… or a minute… hours… days… a lifetime.

Eventually Wheeler pulled away…

(was it her imagination, or did he seem to be reluctant?),

…and the expression in his eyes changed from indescribable…

(was it really indescribable or did she think so because she was afraid to hope? Or was she just indulging in wishful thinking?)

… to something Gi could identify. Sadness. Understanding.

And nostalgia.

She could see it on his face. In his eyes. He missed it as much as she did…

(She didn't dare to hope that he missed her)

… and it was written all over his features. He gave her shoulders a slight squeeze and turned to buckle down in the co-pilot's seat. He hadn't spoken a single word. But then again, he didn't need to. The look he gave her and the feel of his hands on her bare shoulders spoke more than words ever could.

Even after all this time, they could still read each other so well.

And he could still play her heartstrings like one of his damned guitars. Without even trying.

She looked around to find the others still settling in their seats. No one was giving them funny looks. No one seemed to have noticed their little 'moment'. So it couldn't have been longer than a couple of seconds at the most.

A communication of a lifetime within the space of a couple of seconds.

And as Gi strapped down in the pilot's seat she wished desperately, not for the first time, that she would be able to reclaim something out of the train wreck that her relationship with Wheeler had ended up as. She supposed that it was too much to hope that they could go back to the way they were. But she was willing to settle for just friendship, if nothing else. Hell, right now she was willing to settle for just being on comfortable talking terms for starters.

Please God, Gi implored to whichever deity that might be hanging around on a night shift, please let me salvage something from this mess.

Kwame settled into the surprisingly comfortable seat and closed his eyes, allowing himself a brief moment of respite. The intense travelling of the past few days was taking its toll on him, and he was glad for the opportunity to just kick back and let someone else take the responsibility of organizing things for a change.

Some corner of his mind was vaguely following the banter between the rest of the group. He didn't participate. He was content to just lie back and let the words wash over him as his thoughts drifted over the past few weeks, subconsciously planning ahead before he caught himself and forced his mind to stop. There was a time for concentrating on work and there was a time for relaxing with friends. This was the latter.

Wheeler and Gi were bantering in the cockpit.

"So where to, sir?" Gi asked, exaggerating on the last word.

"Destination's marked on the GPS, Jeeves," Wheeler said, stretching lazily in his seat. "Just fly us straight there."

"Can I ask what is at the destination point?" Gi prodded. Wheeler had been strangely secretive about their plans for the evening

"Oh, you can ask."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well, what is there at the destination point?" Gi huffed. It was strange how he could bring out the best and the worst in her.

"It's a surprise."

"I worked that out for myself, funnily enough." Gi said drily. "I meant what is the surprise?"

"If I told you that, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, would it?"

"Then why did you say that I could ask?"

"I said that you could ask. I never said that I would give you an answer."

Gi groaned and gave up. Her hand was itching to smack him, but he was just out of her arm's reach.

"I hope you still remember how to fly this thing," Wheeler continued lightly. "Linka's got rusty."

Kwame's thought processes froze as his tranquil moment shattered. His eyes flew open and he immediately leaned forward to defuse the argument that he just knew was coming.

Too late.

"I've gotten rusty, Yankee?"

"Hell yeah. You were like, hell bent on finding every patch of turbulent air current on our way here. Just about rattled the goddam wings off."

"As if… I was tired. I came straight from work. Some of us have actual jobs you know."

"I told you to take a nap, but you were the one who insisted on flying."

"And what of the tailspin you put us through during your turn, Yankee?"

"Hey that was just for thrills."

"Thrills, my foot. I nearly lost my lunch."

"You had the power of wind. How can you get airsick?"

"It doesn't turn me into a bird, you Yeban'ko maloletnee. You had the power of fire. How about you jump into a furnace, and we can find out if it's changed you into a human salamander?"

Kwame groaned and closed his eyes, slumping back into his seat. That was it. There was nothing to do now but wait out the storm. He pinched the bridge of his nose in a fruitless attempt to stem the very familiar headache that he could already feel coming. In the seat next to him, across the aisle, Amanda was watching the rapidly escalating argument in apprehension as if expecting the two of them to go for each other's throats.

"Um… are they always like this?" she asked Kwame.

"Wait till they get warmed up," Ma-Ti said darkly from the seat in front of her. Kwame grunted in assertion and leaned back into his seat again with his eyes closed. This was one part of his Planeteer days that he did not miss.

From calm to storm in ten seconds flat. Kwame thought ruefully. The more things change, the more they remain the same. His thoughts drifted back into the past. Back to the beginning of the situation that had led them to where they were now…

Back to the beginning of their end…

Flashback

Kwame massaged his forehead, feeling a very familiar headache building up behind his eyes as he watched them argue. Again. Nothing new about that. They always argued. Usually over a trivial point that should have been easily resolved.

Kwame couldn't help wondering about their weird penchant for arguing all the time, whether they actually enjoyed it. At one time, he might have thought so. They seemed to be hell bent on finding every single point to squabble upon. Whose turn it was to cook, who was responsible for the mess, who was supposed to do this or that, whose fault it was if an assignment was screwed up, how to best approach a situation, how to best deal with a person…

The list went on and on. And on. It had worsened to the point the Kwame made it a rule never to pair them together whenever the five of them split up on assignments. He gave Linka a greater authority during planning and made Wheeler the point man in the field. It suited them both just fine. Linka was a planner by nature. She liked to take her time to think, to organize. That made her better suited to make the advance plans. Wheeler on the other hand, preferred to play it by the ear. His plans weren't very good as a rule, but he could come up with them very quickly. That made him best suited to think up alternatives when the Planeteers came up against something that they had not been prepared for. Of course that did nothing to stop the squabbling. The pair simply found other issues to argue on.

For a long time the other Planeteers had been in a habit of tuning them out when the verbal sparring started, content to let them get it out of their system. Usually it would be resolved in a matter of a couple of hours, and over time they had simply gotten used to the status quo.

But lately the arguments had started turning a bit nastier. They had a little more bite to the words. And they took a bit longer to get over. Far too much to be considered banter anymore, not that that had been the case in the past.

They were currently in a small town in western Mississippi, investigating into the contamination of the town's water supply by what seemed to be illegal dumping by a nearby factory. Four of the townspeople had succumbed to cancer, presumably caused by carcinogens that had leached into the water supply. That was when the Planeteers had arrived. One of the local girls had taken an immediate interest in Wheeler. Which brought them to this point. Kwame suspected that Linka was just jealous. But she would never admit it. Not even to herself.

"FINE. Go ahead. Leave us to do all the work. Just like you always do," Linka snarled. Next to her, Gi was poring resolutely over an encyclopedia, trying to act as if she didn't notice the drama unfolding before her.

"IT'S THE FUCKIN' WEEKEND," Wheeler roared back. "The people I'm supposed to be questioning aren't here. I can't do squat until tomorrow. So sue me if I wanna have a look around the place instead of sittin' around twiddling my thumbs. Jackie knows the area, and she offered to show me around. So what the hell's your problem?"

"Showing you around. Da. More like she will be showing you off to everybody else," Linka said contemptuously. "And of course, you have absolutely no problem being her show dog. Especially if this Jackie promises to let you have more than just a look."

"Quit talkin' in riddles. You wanna say somethin', spit it out," Wheeler said through clenched teeth. It only succeeded in making Linka even more enraged. If that was even possible.

"Fine, I will simplify it for you." Linka poked him in the chest with her finger. "This Jackie will only be too happy to be seen hanging off your arm all over the town. Then you will comment on how the weather is getting hot and she will bring you back to her place for a drink. And next thing her clothes are off."

Wheeler's eyes narrowed. "Contrary to what you may believe, I don't fool around with just any girl I happen to meet." His voice had gone from heated to ice cold.

"Nyet. Just the ones who deign to have you." Linka retorted.

"Linka," Gi gasped, having finally abandoned all pretense of being engrossed in her book. She stared at her friend, appalled that Linka could go this far for payback.

Kwame winced inwardly. Wheeler looked as if Linka had slapped him. He stared at her for several seconds, his mouth working wordlessly. Linka crossed her arms and returned his look with one of mixed fury and vindictive triumph.

"D'you really think that about me?" Wheeler asked in a low voice as his shoulders slumped. All the fight seemed to have gone out of him and it was painful to watch. Next to him, Kwame saw Gi's breath catch in her throat.

Kwame silently begged Linka to stop, to back down before she said something that couldn't be taken back. She was treading on thin ice here. So far it hadn't caused any damage that couldn't be fixed. It all rested on her response though. He could see the indecision on her face. She was starting to have second thoughts about her harsh tone, but her anger was far from gone. Kwame could see fury battling with common sense on Linka's face. And fury won.

"Da."

It was just one word. Just one syllable. Yet it was far more painful than any physical injury Wheeler had ever suffered.

Wheeler stood there staring in shock and hurt at Linka for several seconds. Finally he turned and spoke over his shoulder, "Fine. Think what you want. It's not like there's anything I can do to change your impression of me. And just for the record, I don't answer to you. Fucking Ice Queen." But there was no heat in his voice. He sounded tired.

Kwame's earlier annoyance gave way to pity as he watched Wheeler walk away, shoulders slumped and hands in his pockets. It wasn't as if Wheeler was entirely blameless himself, but that last barb that Linka had thrown at him had been needlessly cruel. Wheeler had made no secret of his crush on Linka from day one, and he had tried every trick in the book to let Linka know that he wanted them to be a couple. Unfortunately, his incessant attention had only managed to annoy Linka. The more he tried to get close to her, the more she pushed him away. Finally he turned his attention to other girls trying to make Linka jealous. It was a serious tactical mistake. It made Linka jealous alright, but Wheeler's plan backfired when she responded by pushing Wheeler even further away. Her retorts became sharper, more cutting. Wheeler, not one to take things lying down, responded with a few of his own. That was where their bickering started to take a nasty edge.

And now Linka had all but labeled Wheeler's efforts to get her attention as 'pathetic', by implying that any girl who showed an interest in Wheeler was either doing it out of pity, or just settling for him for the lack of a better choice.

Kwame didn't think that she had meant to be that hurtful. She probably didn't stop to think about what she had said. But the fact remained that she had said it, and now it was out in the open. Whether by accident or by design, she had managed to hit Wheeler where his ego was the most vulnerable, and Kwame had a feeling that she had crossed a line this time.

Kwame shook himself out of his musings and turned to speak to Linka, only to find an empty spot where she had been. Apparently she had stormed off as well.

"I can't believe she actually said that," Gi spoke up quietly.

Kwame sighed. "I am sure she did not really mean it," he offered. Gi shook her head.

"That was no slip of tongue. You know it as well as I do. She took a moment to think about it before she said it. That was no accident, it was deliberate. I don't suppose she meant to be that hurtful. But that doesn't make it right." She heaved a deep sigh, and Kwame realized that this cold war between their friends was as stressful for Gi as it was for him, and probably more so for Ma-Ti.

"I can't really blame Linka for wanting to yell at Wheeler," Gi muttered. "He can be immature and annoying at times. And it grates on her nerves. I get it. But that is no excuse for being spiteful. Wheeler isn't some jerk off the street. He is our friend, and he's a good guy. Even if Linka doesn't return his feelings, he doesn't deserve to have it thrown in his face like that. This time, she has finally gone too far."

Kwame was silent for several moments. "Go talk to her," he said at last. Gi shook her head and closed her book with a snap.

"If I go and talk to her, she is going to expect me to agree to everything she said and take her side in the argument, just like I have in the past. I don't think I could do that now. And once she realizes that I am not on her side for once, she is going to light into me as well. If that happens, I don't think I could keep from turning it into another shouting match, and we've had enough of that for one day." She stood up and stretched. "Get Ma-Ti to talk to her. I doubt that she would yell at him. I think I'll go and check on Wheeler. You coming?"

Kwame shook his head. "He is angry. And hurt. I don't think he will appreciate company right now. You go ahead. I don't think he'll shout at you. It will be easier on you if I am not there."

Gi nodded and gave his shoulder a light squeeze. As he watched her walk away, Kwame could feel the cracks starting to develop in their team.

Present time.

The change in the pitch of the Geo-Cruiser's engines brought Kwame out of his reverie. A glance out of the window told him that they were hovering over a small airfield and descending down onto the helipad. A stretch limousine was waiting next to the helipad, presumably for them. Kwame was mildly surprised to realize that his musings had lasted for the entire trip. A glance at his watch showed that only fifteen minutes had passed.

The Cruiser touched down on the pad with a majestic hiss. Kwame pushed the remnants of his thoughts out of his head for the moment and forced himself to concentrate on the present as he and all the other occupants unbuckled and exited the aircraft.

"Well, climb aboard." Wheeler said enthusiastically, waving them to the limousine. "To the auditorium, Jeeves," he added to the elderly chauffer. Kwame thought that Wheeler looked excited, even though he was trying hard to appear casual.

"Very good, Mr. Wheeler," the chauffer replied in a clipped British accent, apparently used to Wheeler's antics.

"The auditorium?" Ma-Ti enquired as they pulled off. "What's at the auditorium?"

"Our entertainment for the evening," Wheeler said, in a voice that suggested that it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Is that why you asked if Amanda likes pop music?" Kwame asked. Wheeler nodded sheepishly in reply.

Amanda stared for a moment at Kwame and then at Wheeler. "A concert? Who's playing?"

"Oh look, here we are," Wheeler said airily as the brilliantly lit auditorium came into view. "Right on time. Anybody brought the tickets?"

Gi and Linka both turned and gave him The Look. Wheeler cringed and raised his hands in a gesture of mock surrender, unable to stifle the grin that was now threatening to split his face in half.

A knock on the window made him look up. Rolling down his window, he came face to face with a six foot plus behemoth who looked like he spent all his spare time in the weight room.

"May I see your tickets, sir?"

Wheeler dug around in his blazer and extracted a slip of folded paper. "Jason Wheeler. Party of six. Front row, VIP section."

The gorilla in the tuxedo examined the pass for a moment and checked it against a list on his clipboard. "Thank you, sir. Please proceed down the lane to your reserved parking lot. One of our attendants will escort you into the auditorium."

"We're going to a band concert?" Ma-Ti asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Violin concert," Wheeler corrected. "Pop- acoustic fusion. At least that is how she describes it. I don't know the first thing about music styles."

"That is how who describes it?"

In response Wheeler simply pointed to a banner outside the window. The other occupants of the car craned their heads to read it.

Christine Wheeler. Live in Concert.

Amanda turned to look at Wheeler. "Christine Wheeler?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow, "Your daughter?"

-xXx-

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