for forgiveness, but he had refused her guilt as nonsense, rather than blaming her for the incident that hurt him, he had put the blame on himself. When she broke down into tears, he had been there and comforted her; he had kept telling her there was nothing to forgive on her part. Before she left him, he had actually gone and apologized to HER for worrying her. She had trouble comprehending the concept, but as the sun continued its journey across the sky, she began to accept how he felt. And rather than protesting, she decided to let him have his way. It actually made her want to laugh; the whole thing seemed funny when it was put like that.

She kept smiling as she arrived outside the boiler room; she walked in and found a sleeping Ralph and a yawning Kirby. She sighed as she entered.

“Seriously boys, it’s almost noon and you’re still snoozing?”

Kirby choked another yawn. “C`Mon Dusty, we have the day off, enjoy it. Ralphy here got it.”

Dusty remained silent for a moment. “And even though you have the day off, you didn’t even consider visiting Kodi” Her voice was accusing.

Kirby blushed a bit at her remark.”Well, we figured we get the details from you after you got done visiting him, we also thought you’d like to do it alone.”

“Oh that’s just…”  Dusty froze. “Wait, how did you know I've already been there?

Kirby chuckled a bit. “You didn’t come back after you ran out last night; we figured you went straight to him. So, you two had a nice night?”

If looks could kill, Kirby would have been dead and buried. “If you must now, I just went to him this morning, so don’t get any ideas.” Her voice a defensive growl.

Kirby tried his best to ignore her anger. “Then where were you last night?” He asked somewhat shaky.

Dusty was about to explain as she realized something. If they think I have a thing for him…all though I may have… sleeping over at his parents’ house isn’t going to convince them otherwise…                   
“Well, someone had to tell Kodis parents about what happened to him, and afterwards…they were kind enough to offer me shelter for the night.”

Kirby simply nodded.”And then you visited Kodi in the morning?”

Dusty was relived that he refrained from any more comments about her and Kodi. “Yes.”

Kirby scratched the back of his head.”Soo…will he be alright?”

“He will have to be careful for a while, but yeah, he's going to be fine.” She replied.

Kirby shook his head.”I didn’t expect anything else, but I meant, how is he doing mentally? I know accidents like this can break a dog’s will.”

Dusty took her time answering. “Well…basically, he blames himself for the whole thing.”

“Hehe” Kirby chuckled.”Can’t say I'm surprised. And I guess you tried to convince him it’s your fault?”

“Well of course, it was…” She started.

Kirby raised his paw to silence her. “I don’t know what Kodi said, but I would listen to him for now, he has a good sense of justice, you know that. Even though it’s no one’s fault. He will come to see that”

Dusty was baffled.”Who are you and what did you do with the simple-minded Kirby I know”

Kirby shrugged his shoulders. “You just go get some food, you look starving.”

“Food? Where?” Ralph suddenly jumped up and looked around with droopy eyes. Dusty rolled her eyes and went out the door, heading towards the butcher. “Just make sure you visit Kodi.” She said over her shoulder.”He should be bored to death by now.”
As she walked out, she was annoyed at Kirby for hitting the nail on the head on everything, but he had some good points.

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“BAH!” Kodi exclaimed. He was bored beyond comprehension. He had already counted the twig holes in the ceiling twice now. If it hadn’t been for that stupid fracture, he could be outside, with the others, racing, working, playing, visiting his parents, ANYTHING. When Dusty had come over, even though she cried most of the time, he at least had someone to talk to. He turned around in his bed so he faced the window. The sun had moved on and a comfortable light came in through the glass.

“Nice outfit” a chuckling voice said.

Kodi turned towards the door and smiled. “Yeah, the leather really brings out my color, doesn’t it Kirby?”

Kirby walked in the door. “Not really.” He snickered. “So, how you holding up?”

Kodi sighed.”Good enough I suppose… It hurts like heck to move but ill survive.”

Kirby nodded.”Glad to hear.” He sat down next to him. “So, how are things going with you and Dusty?” He asked nonchalantly.

Kodi cocked his head to the right.”Huh? She's fine I guess… a bit shaken but…”

Kirby stopped him.”You do understand what I mean don't you?”

Kodi put on an annoyed face.”Can’t say I do”

Kirby sighed.”Then let me put it this way, how do you feel about her?”

Kodi instantly blushed and refused to answer.

“That bad huh?”

“N-n-no! It’s not like that.” Kodi replied.

“Oh stop lying to yourself!” Kirby almost yelled. “Look, I've known you almost my entire life; I can see when you like someone. Think about it, you never make fun of her, you always agree with her, you’re always nice to her, and you…I can go on like this forever. And don’t try to say you’re like this towards any girl, because you're not.”

Kodi was shocked. He had never thought of Kirby as a being of such…intellect. What he said had hit him right in his heart. There was something about Dusty, he could admit that much, but his feelings becoming something more than that of a close friendship…maybe. When he last thought about it up on the mountain, he was more confused, but having Kirby say it got rid of that. Now he was unsure. But there was something…Dusty…more than a friend? He thought. Hm, I guess it’s possible…huh, who’d know. Well, Kirby obviously saw it…

He sighed. “I guess…you have a point.” Kodi muttered.

Kirby smiled proudly.”I usually do”

“Just one question though.” Kodi smirked. “Who the heck are you and what have you done to Kirby?”

Kirby shook his head in annoyance. “What's with people today? I can be deep if want.”

Kodi started laughing but stopped quickly from the pain.

“Anyways, I got to go now. Get better soon” He started walking towards the door.

“Wait!” Kodi said.”What about Dusty? Even if I may have some feelings for her, she probably won’t have any towards me.”

Kirby just kept walking.”That’s for you to find out, my advice: ask her.” He walked out the door.

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Over the next few days, Kodi felt better and better. Soon, he was able to take a few steps around the room without too much agony. Dusty always dropped by at least once a day. But even though she was there, he never had the guts to ask her his most burning question. But still, he noticed he was paying more attention to her as a whole. He would sniff in her scent when she walked in, admiring her voice when she talked, and he concluded that she definitely was easy on the eyes. All this slowly made him accept that; yes, he did have certain feelings for her. But it just made it harder for him to confess it to her. If she rejected him, all this new gained affection would crush him.

On the other side of things, Dusty was slowly, day by day, inching closer to him when they sat talking, he didn’t seem to mind, and she hoped it was because at least some of her feelings were returned.

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A week had passed since the accident. Kodis leather shirt had been removed, and he was free to go outside. He would now sleep in the boiler room at night, glad to be around friends again.
Even though they had an accident on their test-run, the postal office had decided to give them a job when one of the other mushers in Nome retired, but that wasn’t until next season, so they basically had a one year long vacation. This annoyed them, but they accepted it as an opportunity to polish their skills for next season.

On sunny days, most of the team would run around on the outskirts of then town. As much as he hated it, Kodi had to stay in town. “No running.” His mother had said.
Some times, Dusty would skip practice to keep him company. These days went by in merriness. They talked, joked, laughed and otherwise had good times. But they both hid their true feelings. When Kirby saw this, he got filled with a mix of anger and pity. How can they be so blind? Kodi, why don't you just tell her? These and other thoughts ran through his mind at times like these. He wanted to help them, but it really was none of his business. No, they would have to figure it out themselves.

On another