Marie tripped next to the tree and landed into him. He stopped her from falling. When she looked up, their eyes locked. They were entraced by the deepness and beauty of the other's eyes.

"I'm sorry for being a jerk," Boomer said finally. "Please give me another chance. I really like you."

Marie was surprised at the nice sound of his voice and she loved it right away. She smiled at him, kindly, in a way that said, "Ok. I really like you too."

~~~

It wasn't long before Boomer and Marie fell in love. Ever since Boomer spoke to Marie the first time, they were together ever since and wouldn't leave each other alone. Their relationship was intimate and loving, even if Boomer still hardly ever spoke and only did so when necessary. Every day they went for their weekly stroll with Mr. Fridolf, they pranced together as puppies would. Then it wasn't long until Marie was pregnant with puppies. Mr. Fridolf was ecstatic when he found out and had to phone a few people to tell them the good news. Boomer was ecstatic too. Never in his life did he ever dream of becoming a father, and now the thought of it was more exciting than anything. Even more exciting than racing.

Months later, Marie was starting to get very heavy with the "extra load" she had to carry, and Boomer still stayed by her side always. Then days passed and the time came for the puppies to be born. Boomer wasn't allowed to see her during the birth, but he waited patiently and quietly outside. He wished that he could've seen her in case something were to happen, but he tried his best to only think of good outcome. About an hour or so later, Mr. Fridolf opened the door to let Boomer inside of the room Marie was kept in. She layed sleeping and calm on fresh blankets while five beautiful red and white furred newborn puppies nursed from her. They were all content and quiet.

Boomer beamed a smile at Marie when her eyes peeked open to see him. She smiled back and fell asleep again. Boomer layed down beside his mate and licked her forehead before resting his head on hers, although he was too happy to sleep.

~~~

One sunny afternoon, the newest family on Mr. Fridolf's husky farm, was playing in the melting snow. Boomer proudly watched his family from afar.

Marie was laying in the snow while their offspring playfully crawled and
tugged on her. Mr. Fridolf gave them names already, so that it would be easier for their new owners to address them. The four boy pups were Markus (normally called Marky), Brian, August, and Benjamin (often called just Ben). The only girl was named Jenna after Mr. Fridolf's sister Jennifer. Boomer loved his daughter and was more protective over her than her brothers. Marie didn't really know why Boomer worried, because whenever the pups would play rough, Jenna would always win.

Something caught Boomer's attention a few yards away from the farm. It was a loose tan dog, trotting around the area and sniffing the ground frantically.

Boomer's attention broke from the dog, to his offspring, which pounced on him. Boomer heard his name called by Mr. Fridolf, who told him to bring the puppies into the barn to try and get them to eat whole food. Weaning them wasn't very easy. Marie had to run from them to keep them from nursing because she was the only source of food they were familiar with.

Marie sat on the ground for a rest and watched her family enter the barn. She planned on joining them to eat after she caught her breath. She heard something approching her. She looked behind herself, expecting to see one of her fellow huskies, but instead seen a leashless tan dog, a Chinook. He was wearing a brown collar and a smug grin on his face.

"Hello there, miss," chirped the Chinook, wagging his tail and encircling the area around Marie. "What's your name?"

Marie felt uncomfortable when she noticed him eyeing her body. She noticed that his nosterils were flaring and she finally remembered that she was in heat yet again. She stood up, careful not to let any part of their bodies touch, and began scooting towards the barn. But she decided to not be rude and answered him. "Marie."

"The name's Bundey," he said proudly. He noticed her trying to leave.

"Where ya going?"

"It's about time for me to eat," she said inching away from Bundey. "I'm awful hungry."

"Me too," Bundey stood on his hind legs and tried stradling himself over Marie. She turned herself around quickly and snapped at him. Then she sprinted towards the barn, exclaiming Boomer's name. He came running out of the barn to her aid, the two passed each other, and Boomer stood face to face with Bundey, the fur on his neck bristling. Boomer growled viciously at the Chinook. He knew exactly what the stray tried to do to his mate and was going to make him pay.

Bundey gasped and tried running away before the bigger dog attacked him, but his collar was grasped by Mr. Fridolf.

"Whoa, there!" Mr Fridolf exclaimed. "Where'd you come from, boy? We need to find yer owner." And he dragged the dog inside of the house, where Mr. Fridolf was going to contact Bundey's owner. The entire time, Bundey was glaring at Boomer with a sour expression. Boomer didn't notice and was checking over Marie's body to make sure she was ok. He didn't say anything to her, but she knew what he was doing.

"Boomer, I'm fine," Marie sighed, relieved. "Fridolf is taking care of the stray." Boomer sighed when he finished looking Marie over and he nuzzled her, him just as relieved that she was ok. Just then the puppies all scurried towards their parents in excitement.

Later that evening, Bundey was sent home with his master.

"Sorry about Bundey getting loose on your property, Mr. Fridolf, no hard feelings I hope?" said Bundey's owner.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it." said Mr. Fridolf. "No harm done!"

"Keep an eye out for him though, will ya?" Bundey's owner asked. "He tends to bite through his leash to get loose. He does that especially if he sees a pretty dog wander around." The two men shared a laugh.

"Ok, I'll watch out for him." Mr. Fridolf reassured.

~~~

It was approximately eight weeks since the pups were born and it was time for them to find new homes. Mr. Fridolf called the families that already wanted to adopt to let them know that they could buy the pups. Marie wasn't as saddened by the occasion as Boomer was. Marie had a few other litters before Boomer, but her previous mates were sold, and she was more used to the adoption days. Boomer never had pups before and he didn't want to see his first offspring leave, especially his only daughter. But thankfully Mr. Fridolf decided to keep Brian on the farm for future breeding. Marie assured
Boomer that Jenna's family lived in Nenana and they would be able to visit her often. That made Boomer brighten up.

The first child to adopt a puppy was a small red-haired girl who went by the name of Rosie. She and her parents were talking to Mr. Fridolf, but Rosie went over to the basket that held the yipping pups. She picked up Jenna and smiled big.

"I found Jenna, mama!" Rosie exclaimed happily. Jenna yipped in excitement as well and licked Rosie's face. "She's so cute!" Boomer watched Jenna with Rosie. She seemed so happy to be with the girl and he was happy for her. He was definately going to miss her.

After Mr. Fridolf and Rosie's parents finished conversing, the family left the house and headed back into town, Rosie squealing, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" the entire way. Boomer watched them from the house until they were out of sight. Then he left the window sill and joined his mate and remaining children. August, Ben, and Marky were all adopted within the next few days and Brian, as Mr. Fridolf promised, stayed behind.

~~~

Almost an entire year passed and it was the day of Boomer's first litter's birth. Boomer never forgot because Brian never let him. Marie was pregnant again and was about to give birth any day now. Boomer reminisced that day while being outside on his leash. He missed Jenna terribly and wished Mr. Fridolf would take them on a trip to Nenana so he could see her. He heard from Jenna's new family, however. They had called Mr. Fridolf not too long ago and said that Jenna was doing quite well. He heard that she was very social and friendly. And that her brother, Marky, was adopted by a family that happened to live next door to them, so Jenna was never lonely either. He heard Jenna was also turning into a spitting image of Marie, only without the ruffled neck fur and blue eyes and was maturing very fast and would be ready to breed in no time. Rosie loved Jenna very much and never tired of her or failed to give her attention. Boomer was happy to hear that his daughter was doing well and that her brother was there to protect her, but he would've been happier to see her.

Boomer's train of thought was intterupted when he seen a familiar Chinook trotting towards the farm. Boomer stood on his feet and growled at him.

"Well, well, never thought I'd see you again!" mocked Bundey. He noticed that Boomer was tied up with a rope when he lunged at him. "Heh, can't reach me can you?"

Boomer snorted.

"Well, in that case..." Bundey grinned. "I've seen your daughter in town. I finda figured she was yours because she's beginning to look almost exact to your mate. They...SMELL, alike as well..." he sighed and grinned lustfully.

"And since you ruined my fun last time, I'm about to ruin your daughter. See ya!" And the Chinook bounded off towards Nenana.

Boomer's eyes widened in shock and he tried chasing after him, but the rope wasn't letting him go anywhere. He had to try and reach Jenna before it was too late.

~~~

Jenna was resting on the front porch of her home waiting for the family to get back from wherever they went. She didn't mind being outside because it wasn't very cold out. Nobody seemed to be around on a Sunday, even her brother wasn't home with his family.

Bundey made it into town and trotted around looking for the red husky. He didn't know of many red huskies, so he knew that finding Boomer's daughter wasn't going to be difficult. It didn't take