Never would he leave Jenna alone with him! "You're right," he said, as they moved closer. Balto was met with that familiar feeling of Jenna nuzzling him. As she did, the question that had been on his mind for so long, began to resurface. For quite some time, Balto was feeling very close to Jenna. But, he often wondered if she returned his feelings. Did she feel the same way for Balto as he did for her? Or was she just being friendly, because she felt sorry for him?

“So,” Jenna said, turning her attention to the light from the lantern, “Where did you learn how to make that illusion?”

“My mother showed me that trick when I was a pup,” Balto said.

“It’s so wonderful,” Jenna replied in awe.

“Yeah,” Balto said with a sigh. But, his attention was not focused on the lantern. He couldn’t take his eyes off Jenna. She was just so beautiful. Her curves, her outline, the way the colors of her fur came together. They were just perfect. The soft look on her face seemed to reflect her kindness, her love and her sweetness. While the bandana around her neck reminded him of the toughness she had within, that she could call upon whenever she needed to be strong. It seemed like a perfect fit to resemble her.

Eventually, Jenna realized that Balto was staring at her. She looked back at him for a second, and looked away thinking he would break his gaze. But, she turned to him again a second later to find that nothing had changed.

Balto quickly turned his head away in embarrassment

But, before Jenna could say anything, she found herself caught in her own gaze. She had always found Balto to be striking in appearance. He was well built, and had a handsome figure. He wasn’t the cleanest dog she had ever seen, but she couldn’t expect much less from one that had lived as a stray for so long. His plain gray fur seemed all too appropriate for him, as no particular outward appearance could reflect everything he had inside. Jenna admired his nice smile, and his facial expressions which seemed to show his many personalities.

“That was quite a show, Jenna,” Balto said to her. “Attacking that bear...I didn’t know you had it in you!” he joked.

Jenna laughed lightly. “Ha! You don’t think a girl can put up a fight, too?” she said.

Balto chuckled. “Well, seriously,” he said, “You saved me...and Boris, and Muk and Luk...I don’t know how we could ever repay you!”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank me,” Jenna replied. “You saved more people tonight than I ever could."

Balto decided it was time. He just had to know. “Jenna, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he began

“Yes, Balto?”

“Well, I’ve been wondering for a long time now, just...well, how you see us together. Are we just close friends? Or...I mean, I was unsure for a while, but...after the boiler room, and you coming out looking for me, and the grizzly bear, and the lantern, and Steele and...Well, now...and...Ugh...” he found that he was tripping over himself.

Jenna just smiled in amusement, as she knew what he was trying to say.

“I uh...Jenna, are we...well, why did you do all those things for me? I mean, were you just trying to help me? Or...is there something more between us?

She turned to him. “Balto, I think you know the answer to all that,” she said.

“I...do?” Balto asked hopefully.

“Yes,” she replied, “I think you know why I went so far to do all of that for you,”

“Well, I’m a little unsure, to be honest,” Balto said back, hoping for a clearer answer. “Do you think you could explain it to me?”

“I don’t know if I could explain it,” said Jenna, “But, maybe I can show you...” She moved her muzzle towards Balto’s, and as their noses moved closer together, Balto was stunned to find their lips meeting in a touching canine kiss. By the time it all stopped, Balto found himself still face to face with Jenna, stunned, unsure what to say.

“We better get back,” Jenna said finally, as she got up quickly. She walked over, and picked up the lantern in her teeth. “Let’s get this thing out of here.” As the lantern was lifted out of its resting spot in the snow, the colors of the light against the mountain quickly diminished, and faded into nothing.

Balto was surprised how quickly this romantic scene was ending. As Jenna walked on ahead of him towards town, Balto slowly got up to follow. He just couldn’t act is if nothing had happened. “I love you, Jenna,” he said finally.

Jenna stopped, and turned around to look at him.

“I was afraid to admit it,” Balto continued, “I guess I just hoped that you felt the same way about me.”

Jenna put the lantern down to speak. “You don’t have to hope any longer,” Jenna replied. “I love you too, Balto.”

Balto stopped dead in his tracks. Was he dreaming? It was true! Jenna did have feelings for him. All of his hopes were real all along. He came running up to her. “Oh, Jenna!” he said.

“I always have,” Jenna continued, “I want to spend my life with you, Balto.”

Balto sighed. “I do too, Jenna,” he replied. “I hope nothing ever comes between us.”

“I guarantee it won’t,” Jenna replied, as she went to pick the lantern back up. As the two of them started back towards town, they walked very closely, pushing up against each other, the whole way.

...

“So,” said Steele’s musher, as he sat up in his hospital bed, “Balto brought the team back.”

“Yes,” said the doctor eagerly, “and you were found on the sled, tied down, and no one else was with you.”

“I don’t understand it,” the musher replied, “there’s no way anyone else could have been out there where I was. We were in the middle of nowhere.”

“Do you remember anything?” the doctor asked

“I recall we were caught in a bad storm,” the musher began, “and it was hard to see in front of us, so we moved cautiously. Then, I don’t know what came over Steele, but he suddenly dashed forward, and he ignored me when I tried to slow him down. It was just too dangerous to be moving that fast.”

One of the nurses began to pour him a cup of tea. The doctor handed it to him. “So, then what happened?” he asked.

“Well,” the musher began again, as he started to sip his tea, “sure enough, Steele ended up leading us right over a steep downhill drop covered with ice, and the sled swerved out of control. The whole way down, I remember I was bumping into rocks, and trees, and pretty much anything that was in the way. Then as we reached the bottom, the sled tipped over, I flew off...and that’s the last thing I remember.”

“I suppose you must have hit your head,” the doctor replied. “And you don’t know how Balto got to the team, or how he knew where they were?”

“No,” the musher replied. “I don’t remember anything after...actually, now that you mention it, I think I do remember something from later on.”

“What?”

“I remember I was lying down, I was feeling quite delirious, and I felt the sensation of being pushed up onto something. Probably the sled. Then I felt something nudging up against my left hand. I looked down, and I saw a dog’s face nuzzling me...I think it was Balto. I remember telling him, ‘good boy.’”

“Strange,” said the doctor, “I guess we’ll never know the answer to this mystery.”

“By the way,” the musher implied, “where’s Steele? Did he come back with the team, too?”

“No, he actually came back on his own just last night,” the doctor replied. “Everyone thought that you and the rest of the team had been lost. Last I heard, someone said he was seen near the old warehouse at the edge of town.”

“Oh...well it’s good to know he’s all right,” said the musher, “I’ve still got my star lead dog.”

“I’m afraid not,” someone from the other side of the room spoke up. “I just saw Steele running towards the outskirts of town a little while ago. It looked like he was running away.”

“What!” the musher yelled, “Ugh...now what am I going to do? If don’t have a lead dog, I don’t have a...OOF!” he suddenly writhed in pain, and clenched the ice pack on top of his head.

“Easy, easy,” the doctor said, almost scolding, trying to calm him down, “I think that right now, you should be more worried about your health, and how lucky you are to have not frozen to death out there. Thanks to Balto, that is.”

“Hmm, yes,” the musher said thoughtfully, “Balto...”

Chapter 3: The Next Day

“To Seattle Post. Stop,” said the telegrapher, as he worked the telegraph happily. “Nome has new hero in town. Stop. Town saved from diphtheria outbreak by heroic efforts of stray dog named Balto. Stop. Balto rescues lost sled team carrying life saving antitoxin, and leads them back to Nome. Stop...”

As usual, Morse was less than pleased about having to be tortured yet again by the telegraph. This time, he had managed to make a