to cry softly and leaned her head against Balto.

Balto tried to comfort her, and nuzzled her face. "I know, Jenna... I'm going to miss her too," he said gently.

Jenna gave Balto's face one last nuzzle, then she turned around and began to walk away, her head lowered and her tail almost dragging on the ground as she continued to cry. Balto wished he could do more to comfort her, and turned to follow her.

The two of them walked out of Nome and towards the mountains that cradled their secret place high above the forest floor. Jenna had stopped crying but she walked in silence. Balto didn't want to interrupt her thoughts and he followed close behind her, the two of them slowly making their way up the mountain under the canopy of the night sky.

Eventually they reached their special spot, the place they knew they could stay until it was safe to go back to town. Jenna was exhausted and depressed, and she still hadn't said a word to Balto. She didn't even want to look over the edge of the cliff like she normally did, to take in the view of the forest under the moonlight. Instead, she went to the back of the plateau, against the cliff wall which partially sheltered the rear of the clearing.

Balto had taken the time to bring two blankets and some food there during the day, so they could stay there for a few days without having to leave. Jenna lay down, dragged one of the blankets over herself and closed her eyes.

Balto sat at a distance and watched her try to sleep. Her eyes were closed but she couldn't get comfortable. She tossed and turned, and she suddenly grabbed the blanket with her teeth and threw it away in frustration. She lay her head down between her paws and began to cry quietly. Balto got up and picked the blanket up, then lay down next to Jenna and pulled it over both of them. She nuzzled his face, and curled up inside his paws.

He held her as she cried, and he knew this would be a difficult night. He was willing to do whatever it took to help her get through it, and he held her as tightly as he could. Finally, mercifully, she fell asleep in his embrace. Balto could sense dawn approaching, and he wearily closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

Balto woke as he started getting too warm from the midday sun and the blanket. Jenna was still inside his embrace, breathing steadily, so he stayed where he was. He slowly pulled the blanket off of them with his teeth, then held Jenna tighter and lay his head down behind her neck. He loved her scent, and he rested his muzzle against her neck and breathed deep.

Her scent triggered happy memories for him, and he lay there with his eyes closed remembering all the time he had spent with Jenna and his pups. He could smell Rosy's scent on her neck too, and he suddenly recalled why they were there in their special spot in the mountains. He began to feel bad again as he knew Rosy would be looking for Jenna by now. But Rosy was supposed to leave for Anchorage today, and the plane that was taking them there wasn't going to wait for them to look for their dog.

Balto sighed and tried to go back to sleep, holding Jenna's softly breathing body close to his.

###

"Jenna!" Rosy called. "Come on girl, we have to go!" Rosy stood outside the shed and looked around to try to spot her. Jenna was always either at home or with Balto, and they had already gone out to Balto's boat to look for her. She was nowhere to be found, and neither was Balto. At this point Rosy was pretty sure she knew what happened, but she wasn't going to stop trying to find her.

"Please Jenna, come back. I don't want to leave without you, I need you." She sat down on the ground outside the shed and began to cry. "Come back, Jenna," she sniffed.

Rosy's father walked up behind her, then sat down next to her and pulled her close to him. Rosy threw his arm off of her and backed away from him. "This is all your fault!"

Rosy's father stared at her, shocked. "What.... what's my fault, honey?"

"Jenna ran away because you wouldn't let Balto come with us! I told you, she loves him. They both ran away together!"

"I'm sure Jenna is around here somewhere, she wouldn't run away from her family like that."

Rosy stared at her father, and he could feel her anger from where he sat. "Don't you get it dad? Balto IS her family! They had puppies together and Balto is always here because they want to be together! I tried to tell you that so many times, but you just wouldn't listen!"

Rosy was crying, and tears were falling down her cheeks. "I hate you for doing this to them and making Jenna run away!" She turned and ran back to her house, leaving her father speechless on the ground outside the shed. He sat there for a few moments then got up and took one last look around to see if he could spot Jenna anywhere. She was nowhere to be found, and he turned around and went back to the house. The plane was going to leave soon and they all had to be on it, whether Jenna was with them or not.

Rosy ran to her mother and tearfully explained what had happened, and why they weren't going to find Jenna or Balto anywhere. "It's all his fault," she said, referring to her father. "He wouldn't let Balto live with us, so Jenna ran away with him. Now I won't have any friends in Anchorage at all." She wept into her mother's arms, and her mother did her best to comfort her.

She was just as upset that Jenna was gone, she wanted that puppy just as much as Rosy did when they adopted her at eight weeks old. It was too much of a coincidence that Jenna would run away on the same day they were going to leave for a new city, and that Balto was missing too; especially since Jenna had never run away before. It just wasn't like her to do that. She believed Rosy, and she knew that the two dogs had probably run off together so they wouldn't be separated.

She decided that was the final straw. She was going to allow Balto to live with them, if they ever came back to Nome... and if they ever found him and Jenna. She never understood why her husband was so opposed to Balto living with them anyway. Despite being half wolf, he was still the nicest dog in Nome, and she loved him almost as much as Rosy did. She understood that Balto had saved Rosy's life, and she would always be grateful to him for that. And he and Jenna had puppies together, and he was at their house every day... they should have allowed him to live with them a long time ago.

Rosy's father entered the house, and saw Rosy and her mother sitting on the floor in the living room. Rosy turned away from him, and her mother looked at him with a frown on her face. He sighed and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, Rosy," he said. "I didn't know she would run away. I wanted to take her with us as much as you did."

He looked at his wife. "We're out of time. The plane will be leaving soon, and we have to be on it. We have to go now."

Rosy's mother nodded, and pulled Rosy back to look at her. "I'm sorry, honey. We have to leave now. I'm sure Jenna will be fine as long as she's with Balto."

Rosy said nothing, but she nodded. They got up and walked out of the house, closing the door behind them. They walked into town without saying a word, and headed towards the plane that was waiting for them on the outskirts of Nome. They boarded the plane, and Rosy looked out of the tiny window as the plane began its run towards the sky.

"Goodbye Jenna, goodbye Balto," she said as a tear fell from her face and landed on her sleeve. "I love you, please stay safe."

###

Jenna woke with a start as the sound of an airplane got louder and louder, and she gasped as she sat up and watched the plane fly directly over them and continue on its way to Anchorage.

"Balto... that was Rosy," she said. "They're... they're gone. My owners are gone."

Balto nuzzled the side of her face from behind her and spoke softly into her ear. "But I'm still here. I won't ever leave you."

"I know... I just still can't believe they're gone." She turned her head to look at Balto. "Thank you for being there for me last night. I needed to feel you near me. I still do."

Balto looked into her eyes, and he saw how vulnerable she was right then. "Jenna, you know I would do anything for you. I'll always be here for you."

She closed her eyes and kissed him, then lay down and curled up inside his paws again.

"Are you hungry?" Balto asked. "I brought some meat up here for us, the butcher gave it to me yesterday. He..." His voice trailed off as he saw that Jenna wasn't interested. He had to try though, she was going to have to eat some time. She just lay curled up inside his embrace. Normally nothing would make him happier than to simply lay there with her, with his paws around her. Now, though, he was worried that she might slip into depression if he didn't try to take her mind off of Rosy and her humans... and her home.

"Do you want to lie over near the edge, where we can look out over the forest?" he asked hopefully. "It's really pretty today–"

"Balto, please," Jenna said quietly but with enough pain in her voice to stop him from speaking completely. "Please just hold me."

Balto didn't say another word as he lay his head down behind hers, and pulled her body close to his with his paws. She leaned her head back to nuzzle his chin, and then curled up again.

They lay there in the shade of the cliff wall for