rose and fell with each inhale and exhale. One of his fingers hung loosely on the telegraph machine and his spectacles hung lopsidedly on his face. A ball of white suddenly smashed into the window and the middle aged man spluttered to consciousness. Maurice fixed his glasses hurriedly, slipped on an overcoat and a worn-out pair of boots, and opened the door quickly. He peered out through the morning’s darkness and spotted two young boys throwing snowballs.

“Hey you crazy kids! Cut that out right now! I don’t want ta be responsible for anyone one of you getting hurt!” He scolded.

The two kids ran down a few houses away, laughing at the telegraph operator. He followed after them to make sure they didn’t hurt themselves, which the two didn’t take kindly too. One heavily bundled lad stuck his tongue out at the older man and threw an iceball high into the sky. Maurice watched the iceball ark higher than the telegraph poles, before falling straight down and snapping a partially frozen telegraph wire in two. The two thick cables plunged down and were left dangling a few inches above the ground in front of Maurice. Fist trembling in irritation, Maurice whipped around to yell at these to troublesome youngsters, but a wind mocked him as the two boys had already fled. The telegraph operator sighed heavily. He proceeded back through his house and out into the fenced in back yard. He opened to doors to a small wooden shed with some difficulty, and finally managed to wriggle out a ladder.

“Darn whippersnappers. Now I gotta be the one to clean up their mess.”

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Balto rolled over sleepily and yawned. He took in a breath and sighed happily. He didn’t even have to see to tell him that Jenna was right there beside him. The warmth her body gave off comforted Balto and made him feel at home. He cracked an amber eye open and was greeted by an ocean of red fur and two ears.

“Morning Sleepyhead,” Jenna said, her voice sounding like that of the angels.

Jenna lifted her head and licked his nose. Balto smiled a silly grin and nuzzled his love tenderly.

“Heh, the same to you Jen. Gosh… I just can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to wake up to you again.”

Balto looked deeply into her sparkling brown eyes and she returned the gaze. Her ears lifted slowly as she heard the sound of her girl waking. Within a few minutes, the nine-year old Rosie rushed down the creaking steps, her red hair bobbing back and forth along with her pink nightgown. She saw Balto lying alongside Jenna and her face immediately lit up. She ran to the basket and knelt down, petting Balto’s head and receiving a lick of appreciation.

Rosie giggled delightedly. “Hey Boy. How’ve ya been?”

Balto gave her another lick on the cheek and Rosie beamed happily.

“Rosie… It’s time to get dressed Dear,” called a voice from upstairs.

“Aww, but Mom!-” she started to protest.

“C’mon Missy. You know it’s Mommy’s shopping day. And if you come along… I may get you a lollipop.”

Bribery. Pure, unadulterated, sugarcoated bribery. That simple mention of tasty, multi-colored sweets made the little girl‘s eyes widen and her mouth water. Rosie sprinted up the stairs with an unbridled amount of energy and slammed her door suddenly. While Rosie was hurriedly throwing on clothes, Nancy walked down the steps calmly, a smart, white hat covering her black curls, a fitting maroon shirt across her torso and black skirt swishing about her legs. Her tongue was semi-visible through her cheek as she fully concentrated on getting an earring to fit. She stepped over to the coat rack and donned a loose overcoat when she finished with that pesky jewelry.

Jenna and Balto ignored the goings-on of the rest of the family. They were too busy relishing the precious moments that seemed to drag on when they were with each other. Balto gave a tender lick to Jenna’s cheek, making her giggle quietly before running a paw through his scraggily brown fur. She let out a contented sigh. Everything seemed right. Practically perfect. The husky nuzzled her love that brought up a certain sensitivity in the wolf-dog. Balto felt a shiver run down his spine not out of his own freewill. A small silver teardrop shimmered from the corner of Balto’s eye. A concerned frown tugged at the edges of Jenna’s mouth.

“What’s wrong Balto?”

The hyrbrid sniffled and smiled warmly. “Nothing… Absolutely nothing. And that’s the reason… I… I didn’t know what I had, until I almost lost it all… Until I almost… lost you…”

Jenna couldn’t stop herself from smiling wider. It didn’t matter if what he said was cheesy or not. The mere meaning of his words brought a strange sense of joy to her. She ran a paw along his cheek.

“Balto… You’ll never lose me. No matter what anyone tries to do to separate us, we’ll still have each other. Forever. Whether we be nose to nose, or thousands of miles apart, we’ll live on in each other’s hearts and souls.”

Another tear snuck its way from Balto’s eye and Jenna wiped it away. Balto nodded and nuzzled his head into her fur, inhaling her wondrous scent and enjoying this type of embrace immensely. The fire crackling before them seemed to brighten and intensify, casting a soft glow on the two.

There was a sudden rumble as Rosie thundered down from the second floor, her boots plodding along, musher’s hat bouncing, and mittens tossing back and forth. She latched onto her mother’s arm and tried dragging her towards the door as fast as she could. She was bound and determined to get that lollipop.

“C’mon Mom!” she called enthusiastically.

Jenna turned her head and watched the mother and daughter, Balto doing the same. Nancy began to chuckle as her munchkin led her out. The door slammed behind them and the two dogs could clearly hear their steps on the porch.

“Hey Boy. Did you come to see Jenna?” the two heard Rosy ask, “Well, she’s kind of busy right now.”

“That’s strange…” Jenna thought aloud, “the only one’s that Rosie calls like that are…”

She didn’t even need to finish her sentence before it dawned on both of them. Their eyes widened in unison and they both began to scan the room.

“Jenna, where am I gonna hide!?” Balto whispered urgently.

She bit her lip and suddenly saw their answer. She pushed Balto in the direction of a broom closet and shut the door behind him, just leaving a crack open. Jenna turned around and bolted to her basket, lying down just as soon as a figure stepped through the pet flap. A frigid breath of cold air and snow sailed into the room, sending a small shiver down her spine. She shut her eyes tightly as the paws came closer and closer from behind her. She knew a dog was coming, but of which one she had no clue. Her ears plastered themselves to her skull as she heard that voice.

“Well, well, well… Good morning to you Jenna. I see your still fast asleep.” The dog leaned his muzzle right down beside her head. “Or… are you?” he whispered.

Her heart thumped faster in her chest and she knew he could see her body tremble. She opened a nervous eye and jumped when she saw a brown eye inches away from her. Jenna stood up shakily and Henry eyed her.

“That’s what I thought… Now… Why would you try and feign slumber? Are you… hiding something from ol’ Henry?”

Try as she might, Jenna couldn’t stop her eyes from darting towards the broom closet before shaking her head. A wry grin appeared on his muzzle and he padded closer to the closet.

The black and white husky gestured to the mostly-shut door. “So… something of interest in here? Well, I think I can help myself.”

Henry stepped over in that direction at an agonizingly slow pace. Jenna bit her lip as she tried to hold out, hoping he would stop moving. He lifted his head and she heard him take in a deep breath.

“Hmm… Now why do I smell something… strangely… familiar?”

He was now within a few feet of the door. Just as he was about to make a rush into the small room, the crimson and white husky cut him off. He lifted an eyebrow and she gave a sheepish grin.

“A-Actually, um, instead of looking for nothing in there… you, ugh, wanna go for a walk together?” she asked nervously.

“Well… I suppose I could be persuaded to take this walk, as long as you promise not to do anything… deceptive.”

“Of course. I give you my word,” she smiled as she led him away from the closet.

Henry brought himself closer to Jenna and took in her sweet scent, releasing a smile. As they headed towards the pet-flap, Jenna could swear that she heard Balto sigh in relief. He was safe, for now at least.

“Now Jenna,” Henry said as he held the flap open for her, “after this walk, there’ll be a meeting in the boiler room, around Six O’clock sharp. It is of a most grave matter, and I expect you to be there.”

“Oh, you can make sure of that!” she replied, realizing that she sounded a little too perky for her liking.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“Doc… Is she gonna be okay?” asked a burly, middle-aged man.

Kurtis closed the bedroom door quietly behind him as he left. He took the stethoscope from around his neck and began to fidget with it.

The doctor sighed. “I bandaged up