It was nearing midnight. Frigid winds beat around the worn-out boat that held a miserable wolf-dog. Balto was lying down in a lonely corner all by himself. His only source of warmth on that blistery night was a thin rug. Shivering, Balto nipped at the rug and pulled it around him even tighter, trying to seal in as much heat as possible.
    Off in the distance, he could still hear the wild cheering of all the people of the little town of Nome. Balto huffed and tried to get warmer still; the town is getting loud. Yet, Balto couldn’t blame them for celebrating. It was only the simple fact that he, himself, had just brought the medicine that had saved all the sick children of the town.
    Grinning to himself, Balto thought of his friends: Borris, Muk, and Luk. Grinning even more, he thought of Borris jumping around and being happy about what Balto did. Then he would get big, sloppy kisses from a very large polar bear.
    Balto chuckled. He swam in joyful thoughts about all the townsfolk and town dogs. He had done them all a favor; he saved the lives of little children. He had made the day for Borris and the bears. He had made the other dogs see Steele for what he really was: a liar jerk. He had made the love of his life love him back…
    Wait. No he hadn’t. Balto looked up and out the boat’s window. Through the thick blizzard, he could faintly see an orange glow that represented the town’s lights. He sighed. No, he thought to himself, I didn’t make Jenna love me. I only made her happy because I saved her girl’s life.
    The wolf-dog slowly resumed his sleeping position. Yeah, he thought once more, she’d never love me anyway… I’m a wolf hybrid, remember?
    He suddenly jerked up again. “Wait a sec!” he said quite loudly, not thinking to himself anymore. He recalled that moment outside the hospital, the moment where Balto and Jenna gleefully had jumped and leaped around. Balto remembered the look in Jenna’s eyes. It was a look of… what? Love? Affection?
    Balto found himself smiling again. Now he truly believed that there was a look of something nice in her eyes. He paced around the small boat for a bit. He thought of nothing else but the rust and cream-colored husky. Even though his rug was lying crumpled on the floor, Balto felt as warm as ever.



    Just before he fell asleep, Balto heard the creaky door open. Padded footsteps came towards where he was trying to sleep. Each footstep was followed by the sound of boards creaking. Balto sleepily hollered out, “So, Borris… Finally come back from the party?”
    The footsteps ceased, and a small voice echoed back, “Balto?”
    Balto had never risen so quickly before in his life. As he sprang up, nearly every joint in his body squealed and popped. “Jenna?” he answered back, unable to believe the voice.
    He waited in anticipation, but no reply came to him. The only sound he heard was the ripping winds around the boat and the faint murmur of the town. The party must be wearing down.
    Balto propped an ear up, straining to hear the slightest sound of that voice again. After listening for a moment, Balto frowned and lowered his ear. He could have sworn that he had heard the sweet, gentle voice of his love, Jenna. Clearly disappointed, he quietly returned to his bed.
    “Balto?”
    This time it was undeniable. Balto returned to his listening spot and replied, “I’m in here.”
    The wind had died down a little; he could hear the padded footsteps clearly outside the doorway. A black nose, followed by a beautiful face, peered around the doorway.
    “Jenna!” Balto panted. He knew it was her, but was still astounded to actually see her in person. Jenna’s body soon came the rest of the way around the doorway.
    “Jenna,” Balto said again, his mind raced for something to say. “Is Rosy okay?”
    Jenna tilted her soft head and smiled. Her fire amber eyes bore into Balto’s brown eyes. The connection lasted for several long seconds. Jenna suddenly charged at Balto. Caught completely off-guard, Balto had no time to brace himself for the impact. Jenna crashed into him and knocked him clean on his back.
    Balto thought he was being attacked, Jenna was on top of him, making sure he couldn’t get away. Balto’s mind exploded and he didn’t know what to think when Jenna’s tongue started sliding across his face. Jenna repeatedly licked Balto’s face again and again. Confused and in amazement, Balto tried to shield his face. His attempt to hide was useless. Laughing, Jenna shoved his paws aside and began to lick again; no inch of Balto’s face was safe from the aggressive tongue.
    Jenna finally quit licking and smiled lovingly at Balto. Bewildered, Balto said nothing and panted heavily, he hadn’t had a chance to catch his breath. Jenna scooted up closer to Balto’s head and wrapped her paws around his neck.
    Balto thought of the only words he knew, “I love you, Jenna.”
    Jenna laughed; her laugh caused Balto’s whole body to shake. Bringing her lips close to his, she softly whispered, “I love you too, Balto”
    Then they were kissing. Jenna’s mouth strongly intertwined with Balto’s. This time, though, Balto was doing most of the work. His tongue met hers every once in a while; he loved it. Both dogs’ tails were dancing across the beaten wood, as if they were playing tag with each other.
   
    When they eventually broke apart, Jenna rested her head on Balto’s neck, and soon fell asleep. Balto remained awake, however, he enjoyed the fact that he didn’t need the rag anymore to keep warm. And before he fell asleep, he opened one eye, just to make sure that this wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t. Balto laid his head back and listened to Jenna’s deep breath. Every once in a while, she would let out a sigh and whisper, “I love you…”
    Balto would answer back, and then licked her nose until she fell back asleep. The winds had blown off to another place. The party had burned out. The night was completely quiet.
    Balto still lay on his back where Jenna ha knocked him. Jenna was curled on his stomach, sleeping soundly. That night, Balto had no dreams; his entire realm of dreaming was blank. That was because his dream was napping on his chest instead.




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