nothing of it, cause his dad wasn't that kind of guy, or so he thought. They were building a pretty good case against him.
"And I've got no proof of my own." Balto thought.
Finally Jenna and Dingo announced that they were done and it was Balto's turn.
He stood up.
"Drake," he said, "I have no defense. The event as I have told everyone here, was a private one, and no one else saw it."
He stopped.
"I'd like speak to the court," he said.
"You may," Drake replied.
Balto turned and faced the crowd of his friends behind him.
"I know, what you must think of me now," he began. "But just for the record, I didn't do it. Trinea is lying, why, I don't know. I don't expect you to believe me, as I have absolutely no proof whatsoever."
He stopped and turned, facing Jenna.
"Jen," he said, "and I don't care if you like being called that anymore or not, by the way."
He stopped and started over.
"Jenna, you have been a wonderful mate, more than any dog has any right to ask for, to dream of. It hurts me to see you hurting, I can't stand it.
He paused again and took a deep breath, before continuing.
"Throughout all that has happened to us, you've remained faithful to me, even when it wasn't the popular thing to do, even when maybe it wasn't even the right thing to do, you’ve stood by me in everything that I've done, or tried to do. Together we've had ten pups, raised five of them, and watched the rest of them grow up."
Balto started to tear up then, but he tried his best to hold them back, so he could finish what he wanted to say.
"I.. I love you Jen, I always will, even if you don't return it. I just want you to know that I'm extremely grateful for you, for that friendship that we shared. I'd never, ever do anything to jeopardize that, I… I didn't," he said. "I just wanted you to know."
Balto hung his head and faced back towards Drake.
"That's all," he said.
In the back of the room, hidden by all the other dogs, Trinea smiled.
"It'll be okay Balto, you'll see, I'm setting you free. You'll be so much happier with me, you'll see. It may take you a while to come around but you will, and I'll wait for you."
Chapter VI
Drake stood in front of the assembled dogs. it was now an hour since he'd retired from the old mill to make his decision. it hadn’t been an easy one. The evidence was clear.
"But I wanted so badly to find him a way out of this," Drake thought.
"Balto," he said, "would you please rise?"
Balto stood up.
"Balto in the past you have proven to be a caring friend to so many of us, been there whenever we needed you, even after we… even after I made fun you all the time. You were quick to forget all of the past wrongs, in favor of the future.
He paused.
"That is why it is so hard for me to give my decision."
"Balto, this court hereby finds you, for the crime of adultery against your mate Jenna….. guilty as charged. Therefore Jenna's wishes on this matter are being granted."
"Balto as of this moment in time, you will not go within five hundred feet of Jenna or her kids, at this moment, you cease to be Blaize and Jadze's father. All rights belonging to a parent have been hereby revoked. Due to the possibility of violent repercussions, disregardence of this sentence will be punishable by banishment and or death."
Balto hung his head and closed his eyes.
"This can't be happening," he thought. "This isn't real, it can't be. Never see Jenna or Jadze or Blaize again. I can't live like this."
"Balto," Drake continued, "this not a banishment, you are free to remain here, if you like, but you must obey the ruling, don't make me have to do something neither of us want…."
Drake looked back at the crowd of dogs around him.
"With that this trial is adjourned. Please be careful returning to your homes."
Drake then walked over to Gemeni who was standing below, next to the platform.
Drake hopped down and stood beside her.
"Some friend I am, right?" He said
"You just did what you had to do," Gemeni said. "I still can't believe he did it."
"Neither can I," Drake said, "it's so out of character for him. Look at him," Drake said.
Both of them turned to see a very despondent Balto walking slowly out the door.
"I've destroyed his entire life." Drake said.
"No," Gemeni said, "he made the decision, not you. You just set things right."
"Did I?" Drake asked.
Gemeni saw Jenna standing alone at the front of the room, where Balto had stood just minutes before.
"Drake," Gemeni said, "I think I need to go talk to Jenna."
Drake nodded, "but don't stay out too late, I want to talk to you some more later tonight," Drake said, "I'm going home."
Gemeni nodded and nuzzled him. then she walked over to Jenna.
"Hey," Gemeni said.
Jenna turned around, she was crying again.
"Oh Gemeni," she said, "what have I done?"
She walked over and put her head on her friends shoulder.
"I… I didn't want to, but…. but I've got to look out for the kids…"
"You did the right thing," Gemeni said.
"Did I?" Jenna asked.
"I don't know," Gemeni thought, "you're the second person to ask me that in five minutes."
"Sure you did," Gemeni said.
"I… I still… I still love him," Jenna said
"but…. could I really have just ignored that?"
"No one has any right to make you think that," Gemeni said, "faithfulness is something that you can't just ignore."
"But… but did I.. did I really have to do it like that?"
"Making it official's the only way to make sure it stays that way."
"Yeah," Jenna said, her head still on Gemeni's shoulder, "I suppose that you're right. Still… wish it didn't have to be this way."
"I know," Gemini said, "I know."
"Hey why don't you come and spend some time with me and Drake?"
"I'll have to bring the kids," Jenna said.
"Well I don't care," Gemeni said, "I'm going to have to get used to it anyway."
"What?" Jenna asked.
"Gemeni nodded, and smiled.
“I’m happy for you,” Jenna said.
She thought for a moment.
“Okay ,” she said, “I’ll be there.”
Gemeni smiled at her again.
“… I’m going to miss him so much,” Jenna said
She turned around and slowly walked away, leaving Gemeni standing in front of the platform, alone.
Balto made his way to the old trawler. He hadn’t been back to his old home in quite some time now… almost three years ago.
“I hope it’s still vacant,” Balto thought.
He still couldn’t believe what had happened.
“How can I live without Jenna?” Balto thought.
He saw the old boat, sitting on the ice. He had a weird feeling of home sickness as he stared at it.
It had been home for so long. He had many fond memories there. He smiled, remembering the first time Jenna had come to it.
Then his smile faded and he looked at the ground.
“Jenna,” he said, quietly.
Then he kept walking to the boat, and up the ramp, to the main deck.
He walked into the captains well.
His blue blanket, that Boris had found him when he was just a pup, still layed where he left it.
The old boat looked pretty bad.
“Boris would have a heart attack,” Balto thought.
The goose was always dusting and cleaning.
He snuggled up under the blanket and settled in for the night, then he heard barking, familiar barking.
“Jenna?” He said.
He ran to the side of the boat.
Jenna was running around the field the boat was in, playing with Rosie.
Balto watched her and sighed, a tear came to his eye.
He walked slowly back into his room and collapsed on his blanket.
“Jenna,” he said, as he slipped into a deep sleep.
Chapter VII
The next morning, Balto opened his eyes to see a very fiery set of orange eyes, staring at him.
He was a little alarmed, until he saw the small body that accompanied them.
“Who are you?” The young dog asked.
“My name’s Balto,” Balto said.
“What are you doing here?” The dog asked.
“I live here,” Balto said.
“No,” the young dog responded, “I do. I’ve lived here for a month and I’ve never seen you here.”
“Well I used to live here,” Balto said, “but I moved to Nome.”
“Why’d you come back?” The young dog asked.
“I.. lost all that was important to me there,” Balto said, hanging his head.
“What happened?” The young dog said.
“I’d rather not talk about it,” Balto said, quietly.
“Oh,” the young dog said, a little disappointed.
“Hey, you’re Balto, right?” The young dog said.
“Yeah,” Balto said.
“I’ve heard so much about you,” the young dog said, excitedly. ”I want to be a sled dog, just like
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