it.”

 Luna nodded.  “I will, Mom.  Thanks.”

 Taya ran her nose along the top of Luna’s snout.  “Don’t forget Toby, either.  You’ll need him, count on it.”

 Luna nodded.  “Sure, Mom.” 

 A yawn interrupted them from across the room.  Copper raised his head, blinked, and smacked his lips.  “Luna, what are you here for?” he asked.  “I haven’t seen you much since you and Toby…”

 Luna’s eyes got a playful twinkle.  “That’s right,” she interrupted.  “Toby’s probably wondering where I am.”  And she headed for the door.

 “Wait,” Copper protested.  “Why are you disappearing the moment I wake up?”

 Luna turned to Taya.  “Why don’t you take this one?” she asked.  “I’d better go see what Toby’s up to.”  And she disappeared through the pet flap.

 Taya rolled her eyes.  ‘Someday I hope her kids put her through something like this,’ she thought.  ‘As long as it’s not too soon.’  Then a wave of worry swept her mind as she realized that, in her advice, she had completely forgotten about one individual: Arrow. 

 When Arrow returned, she found Toby and Luna in the living room talking.  “Toby,” Luna was saying, “You don’t have to go that far.”

 “No, but I want to,” he replied.  “I just need to find some way of convincing Charlie to let me stay here for awhile.  I want to be there when…” he stopped as he became aware of the third party in the room.  “Oh, hi Arrow.”

 “Hey,” Arrow said by way of greeting.  “What are you talking about?”

 Toby and Luna looked at each other for a moment before looking once more at their adopted daughter.  “Well,” Luna replied, “You’re going to be a big sister.”

 The news caught Arrow off-guard.  She wasn’t sure how to respond to it.  All she could think of to say was, “Oh.”

 Luna didn’t know what to make of her daughter’s response.  “Is that a good oh or a bad oh?”

 Arrow shrugged evasively.  “Good, I guess.  I mean, you’re smiling.  So it’s a good thing.”

 Luna’s eyebrows lowered into a knowing expression.  “Alright, what’s the problem?”

 “There’s no problem,” Arrow replied quickly.  “I just… wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”

 Luna laughed.  “Well, neither was I.  The vet said it was impossible.”

 Arrow tilted her head to one side.  “Why?”

 “Well,” Luna began, unsure how to answer without saying something Arrow might not be ready to hear, “He said it had to do with an accident I had when I was a puppy.  I hurt my back and he said there was nothing he could do about it.”

 Arrow furrowed her brow in uncertainty.  “That doesn’t make sense,” she said.  “What does hurting your back have to do with puppies?”

 “I’m not sure.  It was something about my spine being out of alignment, I think.  It didn’t make much sense to me either.”  Then she resumed her radiant smile.  “But I guess it doesn’t matter, because he was wrong.”

 “Yeah,” agreed Arrow, although her mind wasn’t on the vet.  She was thinking about the attention she had enjoyed from Toby and Luna of late.  Of them being there for her whenever she needed them, not busy with pups from other litters.  True, there was the fact that they actually cared about her instead of seeing her most of the time as an added burden like her birth parents had.  But there had been a special sort of joy, in some sense, in not having any brothers and sisters to distract them from her.  Of course anyone who has ever been an only child long enough could see the folly of this with enough thought, but Arrow hadn’t been one nearly long enough to know what she lacked.

 ‘The vet was wrong,’ she thought sullenly.  ‘And maybe I was too.’ 

 “Yep,” confirmed Doctor Greenbriar a few days later.  Connie, who had felt the movements when giving Luna a belly rub, had insisted that they take her in for a checkup.  “She’s expecting puppies alright.”

 Connie squealed with delight and wrapped her arms around Luna’s neck.  “Did you hear that, girl?” she asked.

 Luna smiled and thumped her tail.  Even if she already knew, it was pretty satisfying to have confirmation, especially coming from the same vet who had said it would never happen.  ‘Gotcha,’ she thought with such a smug look even the vet saw it for a moment.

Greenbriar just scratched his head.  “I just can’t see how, though,” he admitted.  “She is the same dog who got her back hurt when she was a puppy, right?”

 “That’s right,” Connie’s father confirmed.

 “Then this makes absolutely no sense.  The damage to her back and pelvis should have made it impossible.”

 “Are you sure?”

 “Positive,” the vet assured him.  “With her injuries, it was incredible that she survived in the first place.  For her to be expecting puppies now on top of that… well, it flies smack in the face of everything they taught us about the spine in veterinary school.  I don’t want to sound superstitious, but it’s nothing short of a miracle.”  He glanced at his chart.  “Still, her checkup shows everything’s going just fine.  She should deliver in about five or six weeks.”

 Connie tried counting it on her fingers, then looked at a calendar that was hanging on the wall.  “That’s Christmas!” she cheered.

 Her father and the vet chuckled at this.  “Just the sort of present she wanted, I’m sure,” joked the vet, with very little idea just how true his words were.  He turned to Connie’s father.  “Mr. Calvin, can I talk to you alone for a minute?” he asked quietly.

 Connie’s father nodded.  “Of course.”  He told Connie to wait in the examining room, then followed the vet into his office.

 “Close the door, please,” the vet instructed.

 Mr. Calvin shut the door and asked, “What’s this about?”

 “Well,” said the vet, “I can’t deny that your dog is pregnant.  But even though she’s managed to beat the odds there, I… well, I can’t guarantee that the birth will be successful.  With the condition of her spine, there are bound to be complications.  She could miscarry.”  He paused and added, “There’s even a strong chance that she may die.”

 Connie’s father drew a slow, slightly stunned breath.  “Are you sure?” he asked.

 “I can’t say for sure,” the vet replied.  “But I would say it’s very likely.”  He paused, then offered, “I think it might be better if you tell Connie than if I do.”

 The man shook his head.  “I’d better not tell her,” he muttered.  “At least not right away.  Bad enough her Christmas might be spoiled.  I don’t want to make it worse by making her worry.”

 Neither of them was aware of a silent figure listening through the ducts, shaking his head at the strangeness of these people.  But the figure was not focused on them at the moment. Rather, he was dwelling on the object of their discussion… 

The following day, Luna was basking by the fire while Connie patted her head.  Arrow was perched by Luna’s shoulder’s her front paws positioned on her “mother’s” back, slipping her head into the patting whenever she had the chance to do so.  Suddenly they heard a voice outside calling, “Toby, what are you doing?”

All three looked in the direction of the sound, then followed it as footsteps ascended the front steps and onto the porch.  Toby walked in through the pet flap, leash in his food dish and food dish in his teeth.  He hurried over to the corner and put both down near Luna’s food bowls.

“Toby!” exclaimed Connie.  “What are you doing here?”

“She took the words right out of my mouth,” agreed Arrow.  “What’s going on, Dad?”

Toby was prevented from answering by a knock at the door.  “Hello?” Charlie asked hesitantly.

Confused, Connie went over to the door and opened it.  “Charlie?” she asked upon seeing Toby’s owner.  His coat seemed to have been thrown on in a hurry, and his puffed cheeks made it clear he’d been moving faster than he would have liked.  “What’s Toby doing here?” asked Connie.

“I don’t know,” Charlie replied.  “He came up to me with his leash and food dish, then took off out the door.  So I followed him here.”

Both children stared in confusion at Toby.  Arrow’s face