nodded, and Paige's tail wagged a little. "Now, why don't you get some rest?" Shelby suggested, carefully climbing into the basket with the pup. Paige snuggled up to her mother,  avoiding moving her bad leg. Shelby licked her daughter's forehead soothingly, until Paige closed her eyes and fell asleep.

~^~^~^~^~^~

The vet said he could see the pup in the afternoon the next day, and it was for this reason Paige found herself being carried very carefully by Miss down the streets of Platinum. Mister walked beside her, and Shelby trotted alongside them both. A few people waved, said hello, and asked to pet "the cute puppy", but Miss said they were going to the vet. Paige was glad, she didn't feel like getting petted right now.

Once they were at the vet's, they had to wait a little bit. Paige looked around curiously. She'd been to the vet's only once before, for a checkup, but that had been short and they weren't there long. After a few minutes, the vet's assistant came out and told them they could go in. Shelby sat by the door as Miss and Mister were greeted by the vet. The vet was a older man, with a shiny head and hardly any fur on it. He wore things Shelby said were called glasses, and he had kind eyes. Very gentle, he felt Paige's leg, talking slowly to her the entire time. Paige liked him and gave his hand a lick when he was done. Then the vet asked Miss to hold Paige still. Paige craned her neck to see what the vet was doing, but Miss held her head foreword, and Shelby said not to worry.

She felt a slight pinch in her leg, but when she looked there was nothing there. Perplexed, Paige looked harder, but she couldn't see anything. The vet was talking to Miss and Mister, and Shelby had stepped away from the door,  now standing by the table. Before Paige could ask what the vet had done, Miss picked her up and they left.

The moment they got home and Miss set Paige in the basket, the pup turned to her mother. "What'd he do?" she asked.

"He gave you a shot," Shelby told her. "He wanted to run a test."

Paige cocked her head. "Test? Why?"

"Because he's not sure what's wrong with your leg, so he needs to find out. You'll go back in a few days, then he'll fix your leg and you'll be all better."

If only Shelby knew how much she'd be wishing that were true.

Sure enough, a few days later, Miss, along with Mister and Shelby, carried Paige back to the vet's, and Paige was once again sitting on that table as the vet spoke to Miss and Mister. He was using a lot of words Paige didn't understand, so she just gnawed at the little toy the vet had given her.

Poor Paige didn't notice the look on Shelby's face that was rapidly turning from shock to devastation. Similar looks were on Miss and Mister's faces as the vet explained that Paige had bone cancer in her leg, and it would have to be amputated. He went on to explain the procedure, and how Paige would have to go through  chemotherapy after the operation.

This all was missed by Paige, who was focused on her toy, so when Miss picked her up, it was with great confusion that Paige gave Miss a few licks on the cheek as the woman cuddled her, something she didn't do often. As they left the vet's, Paige looked to her mother to ask what was wrong with Miss, but Shelby didn't seem to hear her. Terribly puzzled, Paige's ears drooped at the air of dismay that seemed to have developed.

Once they were home, Miss put Paige back in the basket, again, for that seemed to be where Paige was stuck until her leg was better. Shelby disappeared into the next room, and Paige could faintly hear her talking to Dallas. Put off that no one was telling her anything, Paige laid her head between her paws and starred at the wall.

"That's the stillest I've ever seen you sit."

Paige looked up and a smile light up her face when she saw Ty stepping through the door. Ty walked over and ruffled her head with his paw. "Still have that bummed leg?"

Paige nodded glumly. "The vet still hasn't fixed it," she mumbled.

Ty smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure he'll fix it and then you'll be as good as kn--"

"Ty."

The two siblings looked over at Shelby, who was standing in the door with a odd expression Paige didn't recognize. Ty apparently didn't either. "Yeah Mom?" he asked slowly, concern showing on his face.

Shelby seemed to hesitate, then beckoned him to follow her. Confused, Ty looked at Paige, but she just shrugged. "No one's told me anything," she said simply.

Ty disappeared into the next room, and Paige went back to starring at the wall.

"WHAT?!"

Paige jerked at the sound of Ty's voice coming from the next room. She cocked her head, straining to hear what they were saying, but they had lowered their voices. Paige laid back down with a huff. Her stomach was churning, her leg hurt, and no one was telling her what was going on. She felt like a old dog about to die, but no one had the heart to tell her they were planning her funeral.

About ten minutes later, Ty came back. Paige perked, her tail thumping on the blankets. Ty gave her a smile and ruffled her head. Paige giggled and attempted to swat at his collar tags with her good paw, but Ty instead lowered his head and she tugged on his ear.

Ty stayed later then usual that night, and while Paige didn't mind a bit, she did notice it was after dark before Shelby came in and gently told them Paige had to get some rest for tomorrow.

"What's tomorrow?" Paige asked, releasing her hold on Ty's ear (both his ears looked like he'd been attacked by hungry caterpillars).

Shelby and Ty exchanged a look Paige missed, but Ty gave Paige a nuzzle, said he'd see her later tomorrow, and left.

"What's tomorrow?" Paige asked again as Shelby climbed into the basket. Shelby gave her a gentle lick on the head. "The vet's going to, fix your leg," she told her, a small catch in her voice that Paige didn't notice.

Paige's eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked, her tail starting to wag.

Shelby smiled a small smile and nodded. "Now, go to sleep," she said softly, and soon Paige's eyelids drooped shut.

~^~^~^~^~^~

The next morning was very short for Paige. Miss came in early, took her to the vet's, who gave her another shot, and the next thing she knew, Paige was asleep again.

Then Paige found herself waking up in the vet's room on the table.

"Hey, sleeping beauty."

Paige raised her head and saw Shelby and Ty standing at the table's edge. "How do you feel?" Shelby asked gently.

Paige yawned. "Sleepy," she mumbled, lifting a paw to rub her eye. When she lifted her leg, however, Paige didn't see a paw. Blinking, she squinted at the air where her paw should have been. Her paw was gone, and her leg now ended in a stub. Turning to Shelby, she cocked her head in drowsy confusion. "Where's my paw?"

Her mother exchanged a look  with Ty that Paige couldn't interpret, before swallowing and giving a watery smile. "The, uh, the vet took it off, sweetheart."

It took a moment for the words to get through her drowsiness. Paige looked at her leg, then back at her mother. "Is he gonna give it back?" she asked sleepily.

That was too much for Shelby, who could only shake her head in reply, so Ty took over answering his sisters question. "No, he's not, sis," he told her, his voice wavering slightly, "Your, well, your leg was, sick, and, he had to take it away to, to make sure it wouldn't infect you."

Paige's eyelids dropped, but she smiled a sleepy smile. "Oh, okay," she said, stifling another yawn. Ty gave a small smile in return. "Why don't you just, get some rest, okay? We'll come back later."

Paige nodded drowsily, and Shelby and Ty nuzzled her goodbye before she laid back on the table, drifting into a heavy sleep.

The next twelve weeks for Paige were one big blur. It seemed to her she was either at the vet's, who did more tests, or at home, where she slept because she was so tired from being at the vet's. She could barely keep herself awake when Ty or Aili came by, which Ty seemed to be coming over a lot more often then before. Paige was terribly exhausted, but since the vet took her leg, she wasn't in pain, and food was appealing again.

On top of all this, Paige had to learn to walk with only three legs.

This proved to be hardest on the pup, as doing something as simple as walking across the vet's room turned out to be a struggle. Frustrated though she was, Paige determinedly kept trying. When she was home, Shelby fussed and watched her like a hawk, rarely leaving her alone. Ty taught her a little trick to help her, though. Pretend she was walking across a fence, like Dallas had showed them once, and this seemed to help greatly. Soon Paige was only wobbling slightly when she walked. She couldn't manege anything more then a quick walk, but Ty promised she just had to practice and she'd be running as fast as she had before.

Still, Paige was glad when she heard the vet say she didn't need anymore tests and could stop coming except for regular check ups now.

Now that the vet's tests were done, Paige had her old energy back, and she wanted to go outside. Shelby, however, refused to let her out of her sight, and wouldn't let Paige leave the house. Confused by her mother's behavior, Paige asked Ty why she