me," he thought, and nuzzled her softly.

His nuzzle brought her out of her doze, and she slowly opened her eyes to see the brown wolfdog that she loved so much. To a stranger, he may have appeared wild, but she simply thought of him as 'rough around the edges'. Even as a pup, she had carried a bit of a crush on him. She saw past what others said about him, finding a kind dog who only wanted someone to care about him. He had many of the features of a wolf, such as the long, narrow muzzle and amber eyes, but those features only served to make him more handsome in her eyes. Plus, despite all the hardship he had gone through, he had still managed to hold onto his kindness, instead of becoming withdrawn and bitter. It was this that prompted him to go and find the medicine in order to save her human girl Rosy.

"Good morning love," she said.

"Morning Jenna," he replied, and continued to gaze at her.

"What? What are you looking at?" she asked.

"Just you," he replied, "I never thought that I would actually get to be with you, and yet here I am."

"So, what now for you?" she asked, "What will the hero of Nome do with his morning?"

He laid back down and groaned, "I don't know. Maybe I'll spend it with you, or maybe I can go into town," he said.

"Well, Rosy is coming home from the hospital later today. I'm sure it would mean a lot to her if you came as well, considering what you did for her… and for me… " she trailed off.

"Jenna?" he asked, noticing her change in tone.

"I almost lost her Balto," she said, "I almost lost my girl." Balto held her closer to him and gave her a nuzzle to comfort her. Even though a disaster had been averted, Jenna would still remember how close they had all come. While Balto was racing home, she stayed by her girl's side and watched as she desperately clung to life. She hadn't believed Steele's story that Balto and the team had died at first, but as time went on, even her hope had started to fade. She watched every breath that Rosy took, praying that it wouldn't be her last.

"I thought I had lost her too," Balto replied, "After I went over that cliff, I was sure that I had failed Rosy and all the others. I was sure that I had failed you... until that wolf appeared," This was a part of the story that Jenna was very familiar with by now. After being led down the wrong path by Steele's false marks, Balto had gone over a cliff, but was given the courage to go on by a snow-white wolf that appeared out of nowhere. So far, she had been the only one that Balto had told about the wolf, mostly because that event was so bizarre. It was almost as though the wolf knew what was going on and was urging Balto to keep moving.

As Balto thought back to that moment, he remembered the sense of strength that wolf gave him as he howled with it. Never before in his life had he felt such a sense of purpose. It was as though something in his soul that had been confined was suddenly unleashed as he howled with the wolf, "That wolf made me feel a way I have never felt before Jenna," he continued, "It made me feel strong; it made me feel like a part of me had been found. It sounds strange, but it was as though it was calling for me to join it; wanting me to run in the wild with it. After all these years of being pushed away, there was finally something that was pulling me towards it, and when I answered that howl, it felt like I belonged with it; with the wolves," For the longest time, he had rejected his wolf side due to the teasing from the dogs in town, but when he let out that howl, he had made peace with the other half of himself. After embracing that, it gave him the strength and the inspiration to sniff his way home, but the memory of that event remained. A Pandora's box of sorts had been opened, and Balto was starting to wonder if he should try to explore his wolf side further… "Maybe you should go for it, you might like what you find," he thought, "Besides, it would be a good alternative if things don't work out in town." While it had seemed like the town had changed it's mind about Balto, there were still those that distrusted him because of his wolf side. "I sure hope it doesn't come to that... but knowing my luck, I shouldn't hold my breath. Anything that went well in the past would only be short lived- all because of my wolf side... still, I should give them a chance..."

"I'm glad that you've made peace with yourself," Jenna said, breaking Balto from his thoughts, "Though, I don't quite know what you mean when you say that you had failed me as well," Jenna said.

"Rosy was your girl, and if she died, I knew you would be devastated too. You were one of the few who believed in me then, and I couldn't let you down," he replied, "If I let you down, you might've never forgiven me, and I never would've have seen you smile again."

"My smile? I didn't know you liked my smile," she said.

"I don't just like it; I love it," he replied, "I love it because it always made me feel better, even when I was a pup. I figured that as long as you were smiling, everything was okay."

Hearing that, Jenna started to break out into a grin, and just like when they were pups, it instantly improved both of their moods. "So…" she started, "Is there anything else about me that you love? My smile can't be the only thing."

"Ah… well…" he stammered.

"Balto, you can say what you want about me. I love you and I want to know what you think," she replied, and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Besides, there's no one else here except us. You can go into as much detail as you want," she said coyly. She was right; they were alone that morning. Balto's normal bunkmates, a Russian goose named Boris and two polar bear cubs named Muk and Luk had decided camp out on the beach that night so that Balto and Jenna could have some time to themselves.

"Oh Jenna, there are so many things that I love about you. I love your spirit, and your kind heart. I love how your bandanna makes you stand out in a crowd. I love… your beauty. I don't know how to describe it, but when I first saw you when you had grown up, I thought that you were the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. It was all of those things and more that caused me to fall in love with you," he said.

"Aha, I had a feeling that you had been admiring me from a distance," she said.

"Okay, I admit it. The big hero thinks about females just like regular dogs do," he said, causing Jenna to chuckle.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have the odd thought about you too Balto," she continued, "For some reason, I always felt better about you than some of the other males in town."

"That's probably because I'd didn't follow you to the creepy level that Steele did," Balto suggested, referring to Nome's former champion.

"That's true, and I thank you for that," she replied, "Though, I wonder what Steele is up to now. I half expected him to come back after only a day, begging for another chance."

"Steele isn't the type to beg; he's too proud. Remember, he wasn't willing to admit he had gotten the team lost on the serum run," he replied, "Despite what he did, I'm still not going to wish any harm to him. Wherever he is, I hope he's okay." She nodded before putting her head back down, and he rested his head on top of hers, letting the morning sun wash over them. A peaceful time like this would have been unheard of for Balto only a week ago, and he wanted to savor every moment of it. Having the sun warm his back while listening to Jenna's soft breathing was very soothing, and he wanted it to last as long as possible. He may have been the hero of Nome, but he still deserved a little personal time with the one he loved. Besides, the day had already been saved, so there was no rush to get up this morning.

"Hey Jenna, you were asking what I was going to do with my morning," he said softly, "I think I have an answer for you."

"What is it?"

He started to grin, "I'm going to sleep in."

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Chapter 2: Leader, or Follower?

The morning continued to rise, and soon the town of Nome was bustling with activity. People walked and talked with each other as they passed to and from the different businesses in town. In addition to the sounds of the people, there was the sounds of the many dogs that inhabited the town. Nome was a northern town and the best way to get around during the winter was by dogsled. For this reason, many people had their own team of dogs, or they knew someone who did. From the racers with professional teams of at least half a dozen dogs, to a small child only needing one to pull them along on their small sled, owning one or more dogs was a way of life in the north. Out of all the sled teams that lived in the town, there was one that was respected and admired more than others. That team was Alaska's championship racing team, whom had won the Trans-Alaskan Derby, the biggest race of the winter season four years in a row. However, recent circumstances had required a change in leadership of that team, and that morning, the dogs had gathered in the old, unused mill to congratulate the new lead dog.

"Congrats on the promotion Kal!"

"You'll do great Kaltag!"

"Aw, thanks you guys," the tan Chinook replied, "Though, the final decision was with my owner, so you should thank him too."

"Don't be so