confusion. Kodi then realized that Emily was lying by his side. “Emily,” said Kodi “why are you here….ow!” Kodi then noticed the bandages covering his entire shoulder. “Right, I forgot about that” Kodi said casually. He looked over and noticed that Emily was perfectly okay. “Emily, you’re okay…” Kodi said. Emily went to nuzzle Kodi, and began to tear up. “You had me so worried,” Emily said to him “I’m so sorry, please forgive me.” Kodi smiled and gently rubbed his nose against Emily’s cheek. “You didn’t do anything wrong” Kodi said reassuringly. “I…okay” said Emily.

     “Why did you block him?” Emily asked. “Huh?” Kodi said calmly. “You jumped in front of Carlson to stop him from killing me, why?” Emily asked. Kodi slowly got up and smiled at Emily. “I care about you,” Kodi began “I care about you a lot. You’re such a gentle dog; you don’t deserve to be treated like that.” Emily then got up, and looked Kodi in the eye. “I just feel bad that you got hurt…” said Emily. “I couldn’t watch Carlson shoot you,” Kodi replied “I had to stop him.” Emily thought about what Kodi was saying, and then thought about what his parents and his siblings had said as well. “You and your family are so forgiving…” Emily replied quietly. Kodi appreciated the compliment, but Emily was clearly still implying that she was blaming herself for the whole thing. “C’mon, don’t be like that,” said Kodi “don’t beat yourself up over all this. It was my decision to stop Carlson, not yours.” Emily was silent for several moments. She then looked Kodi in the eye. “I love you so much…” Emily said as she placed her head on Kodi’s shoulder. Kodi smiled and looked at Emily as he turned to nuzzle her. “I love you too…” said Kodi. As Kodi and Emily sat on the bed and nuzzled each other, Kodi’s parents watched quietly from the hallway. Jenna and Balto watched their son and smiled. “My little boy’s growing up” Jenna said happily. Balto smiled at Jenna, and she smiled back. Balto then thought about how Kodi had risked his own life to save another. “I’m proud of you, son,” Balto thought to himself.

Chapter 17: A Hero’s Son

     Several weeks later, Kodi and Emily were sitting on the dock and watching as Laura, Dingo, and Red observed the now frozen water along the beach. “Look, the only way to find out what’s under there is to swim under the surface” said Laura. Dingo shook his head at Laura’s proposal. “And you don’t remember what happened to Dad when he swam in a frozen lake?” Dingo asked rhetorically. “C’mon, brother, this is totally different; Dad got trapped under there; but we have an escape plan right here” said Laura as she pointed at the hole in the ice. She then looked over at Red. “Red, back me up here” said Laura. “I can understand swimming in the ocean during the summer,” said Red “but I’m not taking my chances if the water’s frozen over.” Laura, Dingo, and Red continued to debate what course of action to take regarding the water.

     Emily laughed as she watched the trio continued to argue. “Are they always like this?” Emily asked Kodi. “You have no idea…” said Kodi is he began to laugh as well. “What do you think?” Emily asked out of curiosity. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere near that,” Kodi said humorously “though for the record, I personally side with Dingo and Red on this.” Emily laughed at Kodi’s remark. “Don’t tell Laura that” Emily laughed. “Wasn’t planning on telling her” Kodi responded happily. “Well, I’m going to tell her, then” Emily said jokingly. “Oh no you’re not!” Kodi shouted in enthusiastic response. Kodi then began to tickle Emily. “Stop that, Kodi!” Emily laughed. “Only if you promise not to tell Laura!” said Kodi. “Okay, okay, I won’t say anything” said Emily as she continued to laugh.

     Just then, Scotty ran in and interrupted the group’s antics. “Hey Scotty!” Kodi shouted as he got up from ticking Emily. Emily got up as well. “Got some news for us?” she asked. “Boy do I!” Scotty barked enthusiastically. “What is it?” Kodi asked. “Your mother has given birth to the new arrivals” said Scotty. Kodi froze for a moment. Then he suddenly turned around to his siblings and Red. “Mom’s given birth!” Kodi shouted. The three dogs then ceased their antics. “What?!” Laura asked excitedly. “We have younger siblings now!” Kodi shouted enthusiastically. Laura started to cheer and dance in excitement. “I’m an older sister now, ya!” she shouted happily as she began to dance. “Quit dancing, sis,” said Kodi “let’s go see Mom!” The five dogs then followed Scotty to Jenna’s house.

     Scotty eventually led the group to Jenna’s house, where Saba and Joseph were already waiting. “You guys heard, too?” Laura asked. “Sure did!” Joseph replied happily. The five siblings, along with Red and Emily, walked into Jenna’s house. Balto was resting right next to Jenna, along with five newborn puppies. The five older siblings dropped their jaws. “They’re beautiful, mom…” Dingo said in enthusiastic disbelief. Kodi walked over to where Jenna was resting. “You okay, Mom?” he asked. “I’m fine, Kodiak” Jenna said happily. As Kodi began to observe the puppies, one of them slowly crawled towards Kodi, and nuzzled his leg. The pup looked surprisingly like Balto, but with a black and sand coloration. “Hey there, kiddo,” Kodi said to the puppy “I’m your big brother.” Kodi’s family smiled as they watched the puppy rest next to Kodi’s leg. “I think he likes you, brother” Saba said happily. “Have you thought of names yet, Mom?” “I have,” Jenna replied “the one sitting next to you is Tom.” Kodi smiled as he looked down at Tom. “Hi Tom” said Kodi as he slowly patted Tom on the head. Emily walked over and sat next to Kodi. “He’s adorable” Emily said gently. Kodi smiled at Emily. “I hope I can make a good influence for him” said Kodi. Emily smiled and nuzzled Kodi as she thought back to the day Kodi saved her from Carlson. “I think you’ll be a great big brother” Emily said in encouragement. As the rest of the dogs slowly went over to see the puppies, Kodi nuzzled Emily and smiled. “He deserves to learn from a Hero’s son” Emily said quietly.