behind.

“Hey there boy,” it was the doctor, he didn’t look angry. “You come here to check on your son haven’t you?” Balto wagged his tail and let out a soft bark in response. The doctor laughed. “Well Il be damned. I swear, sometimes I think these dogs understand more then we give them credit for.” He let the subject be, and opened a side door for Balto. “Here, Kodi is in there, he should be awake by now.” Balto licked the doctor’s hand and walked in.

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Boring…yes, boring is the word for this. I can’t walk, I can barely sit…

These thoughts and many like it had bothered Kodi the entire morning. He had woke up with a headache from hell, he was hungry, thirsty, and to top it all off; his chest was covered with a leather shirt that was itching. He figured it was to protect his ribs, but he still wanted to tear it to shreds.

His mulling was interrupted by a door opening into the room and the doctor’s voice. Someone walked in on four legs. Kodi forcefully made his aching body turn to see the newcomer.  His feelings mixed when he saw his father walking towards him. Part of him was happy to see his father, since that happened not too often. But another part of him was shameful, shameful at the fact that he in his own eyes had failed his father’s trust.

“How you holding up son?” Balto asked his wounded offspring.

Kodis answer was distant, like he wasn’t paying attention. “Not so well… I can barely move and it hurts like heck.”

Balto nodded, he then looked around the room. It was a simple one, a few lights on the roof, a cast iron stove in a corner, and several dog-beds like the one Kodi was lying in, but they were all vacant.

“Look dad, I'm sorry I let you down.” Balto was surprised at the guilt in Kodis voice. It sounded too much like the one that came from Dusty.

“What on earth are you talking about? You haven’t let anyone down.”Balto's voice was that of one who tries to convince someone they judge themselves to hard.

“Yes I did!” Kodis voice turned close to growling.”It was my fault we hit that tree, I distracted the others. It’s nothing but a miracle that no one else got hurt…”

“Your right, it was a miracle.” Balto's voice turned harsher.”And that miracle is YOU”

Kodis anger was switched with confusion. “What do you…?”

Balto interrupted him. “You pushed Dusty away from the tree. Yes, maybe you distracted the others, but you made sure that no one else got hurt.” Balto sighed and calmed his voice.”And in regards to failure; there is none as far as I see. You got the job done and all are alive, and that is a success in my book.” He turned around and walked towards the door.

He…He's right…

“Thanks dad…” Kodi was whispering but Balto caught it. He turned and smiled.

“You're welcome son. Now, get some rest; Il be sending Dusty over here in the morning. She is worried sick about you.”

Kodi felt a slight blush. “How do you know?”

“Who do you think told me you were here?” 

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The town of Nome was silent. The moon cast a dim light on the streets and houses. In a shed next to a red house, Dusty woke up. It was still a few hours until morning, but that didn’t matter. She had slept through most of the day before, and felt rested, but she was still uneasy at mind. Earlier, Balto had come back from the vet, and after assuring Jenna that Kodi was alright, he told Dusty to go see him when she had rested. She was fully rested now, but didn’t want to wake up Kodi in the middle of the night.

She sat by the window, staring at the moon and the stars, lighting up the black sky. This reminded her of the first weeks after she got adopted. She and the others would sometime sneak out at night to watch the stars. And when Kodi arrived, he also joined them. They would just sit outside the house, gazing upwards and try to see pictures in the stars. She giggled, Kodi still insisted that he could see a dog sitting up there, but to this day; Dusty was unable to see it. And then they would get busted by Mr. Simpson and was chased back to their room.
These memories made Dusty think. She began to see that she worried more about Kodis injury than for example Mike or Ralph. Of course she would make sure they were okay, but then she would make use of any opportunity to make fun of them and teasing them. But for some reason, she didn’t feel like it in Kodis case. She just wanted to be with him, making sure he was getting better, to help him.

Why do I feel like this! She yelled mentally. He's going to be alright, I shouldn’t worry, it would only make it harder for both him and me. But, this feeling...  A sudden voice rang through her head.
“You know why you feel like this. It’s because you…” No! She cut herself off. That can’t be it… can it? Could it be that I…love him? As she thought those seldom words, it was like a puzzle came together. It all made sense, her worrying, her wanting to treat him different from the rest of the team.

The more she tried to deny this discovery, the more it convinced her. She pictured herself with the team, and she felt happy. She pictured herself with Kodi alone, and she felt something more…
Kodi…I think I…Love you… Admitting it to herself made it feel like a stone lifted from her heart.
She resumed gazing at the moon and stars. She would go to Kodi as soon as the sun rose, she still felt like she needed forgiveness, this time, from Kodi.

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The morning sun shone through a window and landed on the face of a sleeping rust-red husky lying in a basket on the floor. The bright light made Kodi wince and wake up.

“Darn whoever placed my basket here.”He muttered to himself.”It’s impossible to sleep past sunrise here”

He carefully raised himself to a sitting position, expecting the burning pain in his chest to flare up, but felt little of it. It was more of an annoying scratch beneath the protective shirt he wore.
Look like I'm gonna be on my feet sooner than I thought. He thought to himself. He tried standing up to stretch, but was forced back down as the pain flared back up.Or maybe not…

As he sat and observed the room, he noticed a couple of bowls on the floor beside him. And on cue, his stomach began growling like beast. He smiled and started eating from the bowl containing food, grateful for it. He then sat and stared into thin air. There was nothing else to do, he was all alone and movement was out of the question, which bothered him even more than the sun. Oh what wouldn’t he give to run around outside, or at least someone to talk to…

Suddenly he heard the doggy door at the vet`s office carefully being opened. Ears perked, he turned his attention to the slightly open door. Expecting one of his parents, he was at first surprised to see none other than Dusty walking in. He then remembered his father saying something about her coming over. He smiled at the opportunity of talking to someone, but the smile faded as he saw the state Dusty was in. Her head hung low, tail tucked between her hind legs and her eyes refused to meet his.

“Hey Dusty, what’s…” He fell silent as he saw tears on her cheeks. She slowly approached him and sat down in front of him, head still hanging.

“Kodi, I…”She started. Words lingering in her mouth like bars of lead. “I…I…I'm so sorry!” She cried out, breaking down into a heap. Kodi sat there, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“What are you talking about?”He asked.

“It’s all my fault.” She stuttered.

“What are you talking about?” He repeated.”What's your fault?”

Dusty finally looked Kodi in the eyes, he was shocked to see them full of sorrow and fear. “I mean you lying there, hurt. It’s all my fault.” Her voice was shameful.”If I had only taken care of myself instead of you having to save me…”

“No.” Kodi interrupted her.”It’s not your fault, it’s no one’s fault.” His voice was stern yet friendly. “What happened happened. And it was not something you did wrong.” He lowered his head to Dustys level. “I don’t blame anyone for this.” He whispered.

Dusty was baffled. She had expected him to point out what could have been done differently to prevent the accident like he usually did when something went wrong. Instead of forgiving her, he had claimed there was nothing to forgive, like nothing had happened.

“You…you sure?” She asked carefully.

“I'm sure.” He whispered with a soft smile.

Dusty couldn’t take it. She once again broke into crying, her head between her paws. Kodi sighed and placed his paw on hers, trying to comfort his shaking friend. The room was filled with soft whimpers as the morning sun traveled past the window, leaving them both in a dim light.

Forgiven

Dusty was trotting the streets of Nome. The sun was reaching noon, but she had yet to notice. Earlier that morning, she had come to Kodi for