okay, the fight's over."

"Where are...we going?"

"To the boiler room.  Those wounds of yours need to be cleaned, and you have to get warmer." I answered.

"Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

There was a short silence before he continued, "Thanks.  I owe you."

I smiled, then said, "Well, technically we're even.  You saved me, remember?"

I felt him shaking with laughter. "Yeah, I guess we are even."

In the boiler room, I set a thick blanket that I had found on the floor, gently laying Oso on it.  I laid down next to him, beginning to lick the dust and grit out of his wounds.  Occaisionally he would shiver, or wince when I started on a new wound. 

When I was finished, I sighed, and got up, preparing to leave.  I heard Oso lift his head, and I turned to tell him to sleep when he said,

"Where are you going?" 

I blinked, confused at what he meant.

"Uh...Home?"

"What, you're not going to stay here?"

"...You...want me to stay?"

"Yes, of course!  Where has your mind been?  And...," he gave me a small grin, "You still haven't thanked me for saving you."

I smiled back at him, then walked back over, laying down next to his warm body. 

"Thank you, I guess." I said, burrowing my muzzle in his thick fur.

"You're welcome."

"Was that husky really the son of..."

"Yeah.  I didn't manage to kill him though, did I?"

"M-hm.  He only dropped you because I asked him to."

"More like yelled."

My eyes flew open. "You heard-?"

"Yep.  It wasn't that hard to hear.  You're scary when you yell."

"Sorry."  I heard him laugh.

"Seriously, you could scare off pack of grizzly bears if you wanted to."

There was an awkward silence following Oso's comment.  I wasn't sure what to say, and Oso seemed to be deep in thought, so I remained silent.  Several minutes passed in this way, until Oso sighed.

"What's the matter?" I said, looking up.

"It's nothing.  I...I guess I'm kinda happy, you know?"

I nodded.  "Happy about what?"

"Happy...that...," he blushed, the words struggling to come out, "Happy that you're here."

It was my turn to blush.  He was happy bieng with me?  I looked away, taking a few deep breaths before turning back.  Oso was smiling, at me in particular.  He sighed again, then closed his eyes.  A few minutes passed until I heard his soft snoring.  I felt tired, as well, and laid my head back down, asleep within the hour.

I woke to Oso's voice.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!  Sheesh, I thought you had died!" he teased.  I countered with a blind paw swipe, which he, of course, dodged.  I opened my eyes at last, allowing time for them to adjust.  Oso was standing, his wounds from yesterday notably healing well.  I stood as well, stretching.  Oso's smirk vanished after I was done, and he said quietly,

"Your owners must be worried."

I laughed. "I stayed outside all the time at my old home.  They're not going to be worried after one night."

"Still, I think it's about time you got back."  He said with mock sterness.

"Yes, sir.  Right away!" I said, nodding seriously.  Oso led the way outside, the bright sunlight blinding me for a second.  Blinking, I smiled at him, then trotted off, towards my house.

When I got back, as I suspected, my night away didn't come as a shock.  In fact, the only person in the house was Allen, and he was cattering into the telephone, growing excited.  I, eating the dry bits of kibble that had been left for me only heard small bits of what he was saying.

"Yes, sir, she's a purebred German shepherd.  What?  Oh, no, never.  Uh-huh.  Yep.  Well, I'm not sure.  I saw her out there with him, but he and Mr. Byrd's dog, Oso, or something like that, but they had a bit of a tussle.  No, she wasn't hurt.  Neither was yours.  He won, naturally.  Australian shepherd.  M-hm."  There was a long silence before he continued, "Well, I'm sure she'll take quite nicley to him.  She's around three or four.  Nope, never.  No.," Another pause, "Well, okay, then.  Bring him over, and we'll see what happens.  Sure.  Alright, then.  Bye."  He hung up the phone, and jotted something down on a slip of paper.  He patted my head before going out the door.  I watched him go, curiously.

He had mentioned Oso's name, and by the sound of it, had been talking about the fight he had had with the black husky's son.  Perhaps Oso had gotten into trouble.  I hoped not.  After all, he had saved me.  Surely Oso wasn't going to be punished for that?

After an hour or so, a truck pulled up next to our house, and a man with a large hat came out.  Allen rushed out, shouting a greeting.  The man shouted back, and they hugged.  Allen showed the man inside the house,  and soon they were talking away, with the occasional laugh.  After about half an hour, the man with the hat went outside again, and this time I followed him, stopping at the open doorway.  The man opened the door of his truck, the one I couldn't see.  The truck shook slightly, as if something had jumped out.  The vehicle blocked my view, however, and I couldn't see what had jumped out until the man rounded the corner...

I let out a small scream.  It was him.  The husky that had battled Oso just yesterday.

"No." I said quietly.  He couldn't be here.  Not him.  "NO!" I screamed, going into hysteria.  The husky stared at me, a slight smirk on his face.  Allen was now outside, talking with the man.  He laughed once, then looked down at me.

"Meet your new mate, Lucy!" he said, excitedly. 

My world exploded right then and there.  Everything was wrong.  He wasn't my mate, he was a dirty peice of fox dung.  Worthless.  I had no feelings for him.  Why did Allen presume I would like him?  Why?

I backed up, shaking.  This wasn't right.  I couldn't go crazy here.  Not here.  Allen might think that there was something wrong with me.  After all, in he had never witnessed what that dog's father had done to me.  No.  This wasn't right at all. 

Allen gave me a tiny push forward, mistaking my fear for shyness.

"Don't be afraid, girl.  He won't bite."

'Oh, he won't bite.  He'll do worse.' I thought, planting my feet.  The man called out, a loud, bark-like yell,

"Go on, Zephyr.  Show her you're safe to be around."

With that, both men laughed.  I hardly thought it was funny.  Zephyr smirked even more, then stepped forward.

"Get away from me, you husky scum." I said, in a whisper that would only be auditible to him.  His smirk only got bigger, and he took another step.  We were now face-to-face, and Zephyr reached out his head and nuzzled my cheek.  I let out a tiny growl, but the men didn't seem to hear.

"Aw, he likes her already." the man said.  Zephyr pulled back, his smirk bigger than I ever thought possible.  "I hope you enjoyed that." I snarled, again, quietly.

"Well, I better get goin'.  See you tomorrow, Allen." the man said after a few minutes.  He went back into the truck, taking Zephyr with him.

The man had said 'see you tomorrow'.  They were coming back.  He was coming back.  I looked up at Allen, and whined, hoping he would get the message.

"Aw, don't worry, Lucy.  He'll be back."

Okay, so Allen wasn't the best at deciphering my troubles.  But Oso was.  He would never let Zephyr near me. 

But where was he?  He hadn't been outside like he usually was every morning.  Allen turned, going back into the house.  As soon as the door was closed, I trotted down the street, snow crunching under my paws.  Something was wrong.  Oso was never late.  For anything.  I looked everywhere, starting with the boiler room, where I had seen him last.  There was nothing but his and my faint scents.  I even searched in the outskirts of town, but still not a trace of him.  The day passed swiftly, and soon I found myself walking in the dark.  I flopped down on my bed once I got in the house, sick with worry.  Sleep didn't come easily that night, and I often got up to look out the window, hoping he would be there.

The next morning,  I jumped up, gulped down my breakfast at breakneck speed, and hurried through the doggie door, nearly too afraid to look.  But there he was, glowing in the morning sun.

"Well, good morning.  You're early."

I rushed out, nearly slipping in the snow.  And, without even thinking, without even knowing what I was doing, I buried my muzzle in his fur.

A few seconds passed.  Finally, he spoke.

"I'm guessing something's wrong, and it's not that I wasn't here yesterday."

I nodded, backing up to look at him.  Oso frowned, then snuffed at my cheek, where Zephyr had nuzzled me.  I heard a growl rise in his throat.

"What happened?  What did he do?" he fired the questions at me.  I took a breath, trying not to cry.  Tears, however began to fall down as I recalled the horrible experience.

"He-he came in his owner's truck, and...and his owner said that...that...I-I was g-gonna be his...his..." the words fell apart.  I couldn't finish the sentence, bursting full throttle into tears.  I could tell Oso was shocked, without even looking at him.  I heard him take a few steps toward me, and he placed his head over mine, allowing me to cry into his fur.

I wasn't even sure how long I cried, but after I was finished, I pulled away, feeling embarassed.

"I-I'm sorry..." I began.

"No, it's alright.  It's okay to cry sometimes.  I understand how you feel about him.  I understand what he