please," he whined. "I just don't want a bad life for our pups, I'm afraid of what will happen to them, and I don't know how to be a father. Please–"

"Balto," Jenna interrupted. "Don't you think I've thought about this? Do you think I would be asking you for a family if I didn't think you would be a perfect father? Our pups would be beautiful, Balto." She began to cry again. "All I wanted was for you to trust me, but I guess... I guess that's asking too much." Jenna turned to leave, sobbing.

"Jenna, wait!" Balto yelled, desperation in his voice. "Please wait! I'm sorry!"

Jenna began to run, and just like that, she was gone.

Balto sat on the moon-drenched plateau overlooking the forest as the stars shone high in the sky, filling the dark expanse with thousands of points of light. The treetops wavered in the slight breeze, and the entire valley was bathed in white light. Balto didn't notice any of it, as he stared at the opening to the forest Jenna had just disappeared through.

"Jenna..." he whispered.

###

Balto was miserable. He didn't sleep at all that night, and he couldn't bring himself to get out from under his blanket. It was already noon and he felt so guilty about what happened with Jenna the night before that he couldn't even move. He just stayed curled up in a ball under his blanket, unable to sleep.

He was so in love with Jenna that he thought there was no way he could ever hurt her. He was mortified to find out just how wrong he was. The look on her face as she began to cry haunted him, it tortured him. To know that he did that to her was almost more than he could stand. When he shut his eyes, all he could see was Jenna crying.

He curled up into a tighter ball, wishing for merciful unconsciousness. The ghosts of what he had done would not leave him alone, and he was exhausted and horrified at how he had caused Jenna so much pain. He didn't think he would ever be able to make up for it, assuming Jenna ever wanted to see him again.

He wanted so desperately to run to her and to make everything better, but he knew going to her right now would only make things worse. He had to wait it out until enough time had passed that she might be willing to listen to his apology. He would do anything to get her back, anything at all. Not having her any more was bad enough, but knowing he was the one that caused her to feel that way was killing him.

He shuddered and gritted his teeth. "How could you have been so stupid?" he chastised himself. "She wanted to start a family with you, you bonehead. The love of your life wanted to start a family with you. What possessed you to say no? Why couldn't you just trust her?"

He covered his head with his paws. "The worst part is, you've always wanted a family of your own, because you never had parents. And now you've destroyed the only chance you'll ever have to make that happen because you couldn't just trust her. Hero of Nome? More like the village idiot."

His self recriminations only intensified his depression, because he knew it was all true. "The best thing to ever happen to me, and somehow I managed to destroy that too. You're a real piece of work, Balto." He whimpered and turned over under his blanket.

Boris had been sitting outside the wheel house listening to Balto berate himself, and he decided it was time to intervene. He waddled inside and sat next to Balto, who was still curled up in a little ball under his blanket. "You would like to tell me about what happened now?" he asked.

"I messed up," Balto growled. "I lost Jenna. I drove her away from me."

"I don't understand. How did this happen?" Boris reached a wing over to gently scratch Balto's head. Balto moved out of the way, not in the mood to be comforted.

"Last night she told me she wanted to start a family with me."

"But Balto, this is good news!" Boris said with a wave of his wings. "You will have your own little pups, and I will be real uncle!"

Balto shut his eyes and turned away from Boris. "I... I got scared. I panicked. I told her I didn't think I could do it. I said I was worried about the pups being part wolf, and that I couldn't be a good father, and... she ran away from me."

"Balto... I love you, but sometimes I want to smack your fuzzy head," Boris said with a sigh.

"I already feel stupid enough Boris, you don't have to make it worse." Balto grumbled.

"Let me ask you something. You want to have a family, yes? And you love Jenna?"

Tears formed in Balto's eyes as he remembered Jenna's face last night right before she ran away. "Yes," he said hoarsely.

"And Jenna wants to have a family with you. She knows your pups will be part wolf, and she knows you will be good father." Boris rubbed Balto's head between his ears. "And I know you will be good father too. I raised you, who else would know better?"

"But what if something goes wrong? What if I don't know what to do?" Balto whined.

"Trust me, boychik," Boris said with a smile as he gently took Balto's muzzle and turned it towards him. "When it is your own pup, you will know what to do."

Balto stared at Boris, suddenly realizing how much Boris had done for him by raising him from a pup and teaching him everything he needed to know.

"Boris..." he said quietly, "thank you for everything you've done for me. I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I... I think I understand now."

Boris breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally you get it! Now stop moping around here and go talk to her!" He pulled Balto's blanket off of him and pushed him out of the wheel house and onto the deck of the boat. "Go, before she starts to think you don't love her any more."

Balto didn't need to hear any more than that, and he leapt off the boat and ran towards Nome.

He had been sitting outside the door to Jenna's shed for five minutes, too scared to scratch on the door to let her know he was there. He put his ear up to the door, and he thought he could hear sniffling coming from inside. He lowered his head and became determined to make it right no matter what it took.

He scratched on the door. "Jenna...?" he asked timidly.

There was no response from inside the shed.

"Jenna?" he repeated. "Can... can I talk to you?"

After a few long moments the door opened, and Balto walked inside. He saw Jenna go back to her bed to lie down, and she lay her head down between her paws.

Balto sat down across from her, and his heart began to break all over again as he saw how devastated she was. It looked like she had been crying for hours. All he wanted to do right then was to lie down next to her and nuzzle her, but he had to put it out of his mind.

"Jenna... I'm so sorry. When you said you wanted a family, I... all I could think of was my wolf heritage and how bad my own childhood was because of it. I was scared, I didn't want to inflict that on my pups."

Jenna sniffed and turned her head the other way.

"Boris was finally able to talk some sense into me. I was wrong, Jenna. He showed me what it's like to be a father, and he made me realize that you know just as well as I do that our pups will have some wolf in them, and you still wanted to start a family with me."

He got up and moved closer to Jenna, close enough so that he was almost touching the back of her neck when he spoke. "Jenna, I love you more than I could ever describe with words. I want to be with you for the rest of my life." He moved close enough speak directly into her ear, and he whispered.

"I want to start a family with you, Jenna. I want it with all my heart. I want to be a father, I want to love my pups and raise them with you."

Jenna began to cry, and Balto wanted to comfort her but she hadn't forgiven him yet. He had to just sit there and watch as she quietly sobbed. Suddenly she turned over, grabbed Balto's muzzle and pulled it to her own. She kissed him so hard and for so long that he began to see stars.

They finally parted, but Jenna didn't let go of Balto's muzzle. She pulled his head close and whispered into his ear.

"Please don't ever do that to me again," she said, and kissed him.

"Never again," he replied, and lay down next to her. He nuzzled her face and neck, finally feeling the sense of relief he had been craving ever since last night. All his anxiety and heartache dissolved away in his mate's embrace, and he wanted to stay there forever.

There was nothing left to be said, and the two of them just lay together for hours. The sun began to set to the west, and Balto slowly stood up. "I should probably go, I'm sure Boris is wondering what happened."

"All right, "Jenna said, and gave Balto a small smile. "Will I see you again tomorrow?"

"Of course, you know I can't stay away from you," he laughed. It felt so good to laugh after what he had put them both through over the last day. His smile faded, and he looked Jenna in the eyes. "So... can I come and get you in the afternoon...?"

Jenna shyly looked away and blushed a little bit, trying to hide her smile. "...yes."

Balto leaned down and kissed her. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He turned and left, closing the shed door behind him. He ran back to his boat finally free of the crushing guilt that had