choke back the tears, once again being able to hear their baby girl’s cheerful voice.

“Where is he?” Rosie said excitedly. “I want to see him!”

“I figured you would,” Rosie’s father said with a smile. “I already brought him inside so you could...where’d he go?” He looked around the room. “Ah,” he chuckled, realizing Balto was standing right behind him, “Here he is now!”

“Balto!” Rosie exclaimed, as Balto came up to her bedside. She noticed he was carrying something in his mouth. It was her musher’s hat! She had forgotten about it. She took the hat, and threw her arms around him. “I’d be lost without you,” she whispered.

Balto smiled, stretching from ear to ear. Rosie was herself again, and for the first time in a long time, Balto felt truly loved.

“See Daddy?” Rosie spoke up, loosening her hold on her hero, “I told you Balto would never hurt anybody. We just had to trust in him,” she continued as she was now scratching the top of Balto’s head, “All he needed was a little love.”

“I guess you were right sweetheart,” Rosie’s mother said.

It was then, that Rosie’s father walked to the side of the bed where Balto was standing, and knelt before him. “Balto,” he began, with a sad tone in his voice, “I owe you a big apology...”

“I think we all do,” Rosie’s mother added, speaking for everyone in the room, and those who were listening outside.

“Yes...” Rosie’s father continued. “Rosie was right all along, you’re not what I thought you were...I’ve been treating you like you were some kind of wild animal. You’re a hero now!” Balto gazed into the eyes of the man, sensing the sincerity in his voice. “Can you ever forgive me?” He looked around the room, noticing all of the adults and children watching this scene intently. “Can you ever forgive us?”

Balto stood still for a moment, startled by the silence in the room. Then, he started to smile again. He knew how he should answer that! He moved his head closer the man’s face, and gave him a few licks.

Rosie’s father chuckled, as he moved back a bit trying to avoid Balto’s wet tongue.

Everyone else in the room laughed, amused with this now comical scene. “Guess that’s a yes!” Rosie burst out in joy, as everyone else seemed to feel the same compassion.

As Balto backed down, he was taken by surprise, as an unexpected swarming came upon him. The children had all woken up, and had suddenly rushed over, all wanting to hug and praise their new hero.

Balto was happy with it all. Yet somehow, he felt a bit uncomfortable with all of this attention. He soon shook off the feeling, dismissing it as if it had never come to him.

“Okay kids, come on. Let him breath!” Several of the parents quickly came to his rescue, and pulled their youngsters away from him, giving him some space.

He stood there calmly as the last of the children left him and were pulled back to their beds, and the room quieted down. Just then, a familiar feminine voice sounded, clearing her throat. “Jenna!” Balto burst out as he rushed over.

...

Balto could barely manage a smile as he stood proudly on the hospital steps before the joyous crowd. He could hardly believe the sight before him. So much happiness, so much applause, and all of it for him! He glanced back at Jenna, to find that she was looking at him with a prideful grin. “Well hero,” she chuckled, “why don’t you step out and take a bow for your audience!”

Balto smiled. As this scene continued, he slowly made his way down the steps, moved into the crowd, and was met by a sea of hands, petting him, scratching him, and giving praises from all directions.

“Good boy Balto!”

“You saved the town!”

“You’re a hero to us all!” It was all he could hear in this commotion. It was indeed a shock at first, as he could not remember being treated like this, and his first instinct was move back and get away. But, it soon occurred to him that this was making him feel prouder than he had ever felt before.

After a few minutes, the crowd began to disperse, as many were making their way back to the hospital to check on their loved ones. Others were still in the streets, celebrating the miracle they had been blessed with that evening. The quietness was broken when Balto began to hear a sound coming from above him...the cackling of a goose! “Oh, no...” he laughed to himself, looking up just in time to see a familiar figure coming down upon him. Before he knew what hit him, he found himself being smothered by feathers, hugs, and noogies!

“Not dog, not wolf, YOU’RE A HERO!!!!” Boris yelled as he planted a kiss on Balto’s forehead. Before Balto could react, another pair of voices shouted out from nearby.

“BALTO!!!!” Muk and Luk came charging out of the crowd, and were now all over him as well.

Balto could hardly breathe, taken off guard by this sudden pouncing. But it didn’t take long to realize that this threesome was his friends! The very companions he thought he would never see again. “Aw, man!” Balto said happily, “Did I ever miss you guys!”

“Oh, not as much as we missed you,” Boris joked, rubbing his head, “You crazy pooch!”

The crowd was beginning to notice this comical scene, and a few giggles came out in the midst of it. “Look, mommy!” A little girl blurted out, “His friends are happy he’s back, too!” A bit of laughter came with that comment, and eventually turned to “awing”, as it seemed she was right.

Once Muk and Luk finally let go, Boris turned Balto’s head with his wings so that they were face to face. “I’m very proud of you, keedo,” Boris said, with a bit of sadness in his voice.

Balto’s smile diminished, “Thanks Boris...is something wrong?”

“I guess I’m a little ashamed,” he said.

“For what?”

“I just feel bad, for all de times I tried to tell you dat you were crazy, and you could not succeed,” he continued. Balto was in awe of what he was hearing. “I should never have done szhat, Balto. Instead I should have encouraged you. I guess I was just afraid of somesing happening to you...I’m sorry.”

“Boris,” Balto said back, with laughter in his voice, “You don’t have to be sorry. Come on. I’ve heard enough about people having regrets for one night. Besides, I should be thanking you. When I was a pup, you took me in when I needed someone. I probably wouldn’t be here today, if you hadn’t have done that!”

Boris smiled in reassurance.

“And I owe you guys some thanks too,” Balto said, turning his attention to Muk and Luk. “That was quite a show you two put on back at the lake. You guys saved my life...I can’t thank you enough!”

Muk and Luk blushed. “Oh, you’d do the same for us, wouldn’t you, now mate?” Muk replied.

“You already know the answer to that,” Balto answered.

“Looks like I’m not the only one happy to see you,” a female voice spoke up.

Balto laughed, as he walked over to meet Jenna, and they nuzzled each other once again.

“I missed you so much,” Jenna said. “I was beginning to worry about you.”

“Um, I dink we give dem time alone,” Boris said, motioning the bears back to the ship. Muk and Luk acted a bit disappointed, as they were suddenly being told to leave. “Come on, bears!” Boris spoke up, “Let’s go!”

The three of them faded off into the distance, giving the happy couple some solitude. "I couldn’t stop thinking about you, Jenna,” Balto said. “You were on my mind the whole way back. I couldn’t wait to see you.” He looked up the “Northern Lighted” sky that Jenna had created. “I knew you’d be waiting for me.”

Jenna smiled, as she said to her hero, “Welcome back, Balto!”

Central Park, New York

Present Day

“This is it, Grandma!” Rosie’s granddaughter, Lola shouted. “Blaze found it!”

Grandma Rosie rushed over as quickly as she could, eager to get a look at the memorial she hadn’t seen in years.

Chapter 2: Epilogue

“Where are they?” Lola’s mother exclaimed, sitting impatiently on the hotel room bed. “They were supposed to be back half an hour ago so we could go eat!”

Lola’s father just laughed at his wife’s frustration, as he shuffled through his various work papers from earlier in the day. “Well, you know how Mom is,” he said. “She just adores Lola, and Lola just loves being with her. You shouldn’t worry about them. I’m sure they’re having so much fun together, they’ve just lost track of time.”

Lola’s mother chuckled, half annoyed, half amused. “I’ll never understand your side of the family,” she said jokingly. “I hope they come back soon.”

“Don’t worry honey. We’ve got all the time in the world to go and get food.” Her husband said to her.

She knew that they could easily get a bite to eat pretty much anytime. But, it was a bit discomforting to know that her