shoulder against his.  “Break a leg,” she said.

“I’d rather break all four than give another speech,” said Toby.  A thought that had been tugging at the back of his mind came to him.  “Hey, would you meet me after this is over?  Say, out by the hills on the north side of town?”

Luna nodded.  “Sure.  But is this going to be with or without a chaperone?”

“I’ll tell you later,” said Toby simply.

They entered, and were greeted with loud cheers.  “Jeeze,” said Toby, “I didn’t know the guy had this many enemies.”

“After shooting a police dog?” Luna countered.  “I’m surprised there are so few.  Besides, what else is there to do in a town like this?”  She pushed Toby forward.  “Now get up there.”

As he made his way up to the stage, Toby felt like he was going to burst into flame.  ‘This is so embarrassing,’ he thought.

“Toby!  Toby!  Toby!  Toby!” chanted the crowd.

Wishing he could melt into the floor, Toby took his place next to the other police dogs.  “Friends,” said a St. Bernard named Doc.  “We are here to welcome back our police force.  As you know, they just spent a full three weeks in the brutal wilderness, searching for the vicious criminal Bryan Lawrence.”  The crowd cheered, and Doc turned to Toby.  “Since you led the team, perhaps you would be so kind as to tell us about your adventures.”

Everyone in the crowd started yelling at once.  “Tell us how you caught him!” someone yelled.

“No, tell us about the wolves!”

“Do you plan to take up tracking like your father?”

“HEY!” Toby yelled over the noise of the crowd.  Everyone was silent.  “I’ll tell you what happened, but only if you all stop asking so many questions.  First though, I’d just like to say that I wasn’t the true leader for most of the trip.  I don’t deserve the credit.”  He gestured to the rest of the dogs.  “If anyone deserves credit, it’s these guys.  But, since Doc has picked me out, I’ll tell you the story.”  And for the next hour he told them the story of the journey, skipping the part about the Northern Lights pack.  When he got to the part about the sled tipping over, he hung his head.  “I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t the least bit worried about my team.  And when I saw that the chief was down, I gave up hope altogether.”  He lifted his eyes to the crowd again.  “But then, help arrived from an unexpected source.  Someone had been following us all along.  And that someone,” he said, “is in this room at this very moment!”

Luna tried to hide herself in the crowd.  “Luna, would you please come up here?” asked Toby, holding out his paw in her direction as if beckoning her.  Actually, he was just pointing her out before she could get away.

With every eye in the room upon her and every voice calling her name, Luna came up to the stage.  She looked as if she were going to collapse.  “I told you not to call me up here!” she hissed.

Toby grinned back.  “And I told you not to come with us.”

Luna glared.  “I’ll get you for this,” she warned.

“Save it,” he whispered as the cheers died down.  Turning to the crowd, he said, “Luna followed us all the way from Nome, past grizzly bears and deadly traps.  She was the one who rallied us and managed to negotiate a treaty with the local wolf pack.  I won’t tell you how she did it, but she did.  And if it weren’t for her skills as a diplomat, or had the wolves not been as kind as they were, none of us would be here today.”

The crowd cheered for Luna, who was starting to look a little less unsure of herself.  “May I say something?” she asked once the noise had died down.

Toby extended a paw, gesturing towards the crowd.  “Be my guest,” he said.

Luna stepped forward.  “In case any of you haven’t heard by now, we have Exile here as chief witness that the rumors which sprang up in our absence are untrue.  From the moment I made myself known, there was not one second in which Toby and I were by ourselves.  So if anyone still says we ran off together, forget it.”  She turned and gave Toby a smile that he knew meant trouble.  “However,” she said, “since Toby was so kind to call me up here, I think I owe it to him to return the favor.”

Toby knew he was trapped.  There was nothing he could do as Luna stepped up to him and planted a kiss on his cheek.  As the crowd uttered their various reactions, she leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Now we’re even.”

After the meeting broke up, Toby and Luna slipped out the back.  “Well, that was fun,” said Luna.

“Yeah, kind of,” Toby agreed.  “But kissing me right on stage?  That was just plain evil.”

Luna laughed.  “Well, let’s call it even, shall we?  After all, I was tempted to go for the lips.”

Toby laughed nervously.  “Uh, yeah.  Let’s call it a draw.”

They headed out to the hills on the north side of town, near the ice cave they had visited on their first date.  It was a clear night, with the black sky full of stars and constellations.

Luna gazed up at the sky.  “The stars are beautiful tonight, aren’t they?”

Toby nodded, but he wasn’t looking at the stars.  He was looking at his feet.  Luna noticed.  “Hey, what’s up?” she asked.

Toby blushed.  “Uh, well, I was just thinking… there’s no telling when that guy might break out of prison again…or if some other maniac like him might show up and have to be stopped.”  None of this was what he’d been planning to say, but now that it was said, he’d have to go on or look like an idiot.  “What I mean is, we may need your skills again sometime.”

“Does that mean you’ll let me come?”

Toby’s face dropped.  “Well see, that’s just it.  There’s still the rumor mill to consider.”

Luna sighed.  “Tch.  Not that again.”  She considered.  “On second thought, you’re right.  We can’t go making a habit of it.”  She looked at him.  “So, any ideas as to how we could pull it off again?”

Toby swallowed.  It was now or never.  Judgement Day.  Or Doomsday.  “As a matter of fact, yes.”  He nervously cleared his throat.  “I think I do know a way it would be acceptable…” he began.

Luna lifted her ears, making no effort to hide her interest.  “I’m listening.”

“If…oh, man,” Toby groaned.  This was not coming out right.  “Luna, never mind what I said about making it look right.  My point is that the next time I go somewhere, I want you to come.  But…” he trailed off.

Luna smiled.  “But not just as a diplomat?” she suggested, finishing his sentence.

“Yeah,” Toby agreed.  “Way more than a diplomat.”

“Okay, just so I’m clear, are you asking me what I think you’re asking me?”

“Well, I’m not asking you to join the police team.”

Luna nodded.  “I thought so,” she said.  “Well, I guess the answer is…”

Aleu, Balto, Doc © Universal Studios

Toby, Luna, Exile, Rex, the chief, Mr. Winters, Charlie Winters, Wildfire, Black Feather, Denahi, Lunau, Pete, Bryan Lawrence, Phoebe, Haley © Dragon Tamer

Flint, Ruska, Shade © redwolf03