feeling Balto’s body rest on hers, unsure of what to think about him, what to feel, or what to do, and descended into a dark world of confusion and disturbed thoughts.

Later that night, Balto awakened, feeling uncomfortable and wanting to roll over. He did so, and was about to go back to sleep when he heard a low noise coming from beside him. His ears pricked up, and he turned over again to see what he was hearing. Jenna was crying, quietly and softly, but it sounded now as if she were both in terrible pain and exhausted. He immediately thought to ask if she was alright and to comfort her, but the memory of her angry response when he had last asked that question stung him. She was facing away from him, so she didn’t see that he was awake. He decided to think of something else to say, and it didn’t take long. He leaned over her, as if protecting her from anything that could hurt her. “I love you, Jenna,” he said. She turned over to face him, and the heart-wrenching look on her face faded a little. “I love you too, Balto,” she whispered. Her tears returned. “Hold me?” she asked. Balto lay down beside her and embraced her, pulling her to him gently. She cried and cried, emotionally broken.

Balto held Jenna close, listening to her sobs, feeling her tears wet his fur. He stroked her with his paws, using short, calming movements. Eventually, her sobs stopped, and he saw that she was finally asleep. He laid her head on a cushion and, still cuddling her protectively, went to sleep himself.

The next morning, Balto woke up to find Jenna already awake, but still in bed, embracing him. “Hi,” she said weakly. Balto stretched and raised his head. “Hi. How are you doing?” “A little better,” Jenna said, sighing. “Did you sleep well?” asked Balto. “No, not at all.” Balto nuzzled her. “I’m sorry, Jenna. Anything I can do for you?” “I think I’ll be okay.” They stood up, and Jenna closed her eyes and stretched feebly, trying to alleviate the soreness that had built up from a long night with little relaxation. She gave up shortly and turned toward Balto. “By the way, I didn’t say thank you for what you did for me last night, so I’d like to thank you now.” “No worries. I love you.” “I love you, too. I’m glad you were there for me.” Emotion flooded her voice. “I really needed you. Thank you so much.” They embraced, and Jenna kissed him lovingly. “Remember,” said Balto, “if something’s upsetting you, feel free to talk to me about it, okay?” Jenna looked down. “Um…alright.” “So what do you want to do today?” Jenna shook her head. “Nothing. I don’t…really feel up to going out today.” Balto nodded. “Seeing as how you got so little sleep, I don’t blame you. I have an idea; I’ll just run to the restaurant right quick and…” Jenna’s mind was suddenly flooded with ideas of who Balto might end up with if he went out. “I’m going with you!” she cut in. Balto looked at her quizzically. “But, I thought you just said…never mind. Let’s go.” “What,” said Jenna, “you want me to stay? You don’t want to be with me?” Balto shook his head. “No, no. That isn’t how I meant it.” Jenna turned her back to him, and he stood there, dumbfounded. “Jenna, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.” “It’s okay,” Jenna said coldly. “Go on. Go; I’ll just sit here at home.” Balto couldn’t figure out why she was behaving this way. “Please, honey, don’t give me the cold shoulder like this.” He leaned forward to kiss her ears, but she moved away from him. She heard him sigh dejectedly. “Alright, I’ll stay home. Are you happy? I mean, that’s what I want.” Jenna’s ears drooped as a pang of guilt hit her like a slap in the face. She was appalled that she could be so cruel while he continued to be so decent. Balto kept speaking. “It’s just, I thought you wanted me to pick up some juice.” Jenna turned around slowly. “Look, um, Balto…I’m sorry. I…I’m in a bad mood and I’m taking it out on you. I know it’s not fair, and I’m sorry.” Her lower lip began quivering. “Hold on, now,” said Balto, “don’t cry again. It won’t help you.” Jenna nodded. “You’re right,” she said, swallowing her emotions. “There.” Balto smiled. “Do you want juice?” he asked, sharing a kiss with her. She nodded. “I’ll hurry home,” he said, walking out the door. Jenna called goodbye after him and walked back into the house, laying down in the bed and hanging her head, wondering how she would ever get out of this nightmare.

Every minute Balto was gone made Jenna more irate and more suspicious. He actually came home very quickly, but she criticized him angrily for being out so long. When she did so, he set the juice down and went into another part of the house, trying to hide his emotions from her. She had ignored thoughts of how much she was hurting his feelings until she had gone back to the family room, where her sad side crept up again from knowing what she was doing to him. Sitting there, feeling absolutely terrible, she felt Balto’s paws touch her back as he prepared to give her a massage. He tried to kiss her. “Not now, Balto,” she said. She really didn’t feel like it, and didn’t say it in a bad way, but she fully expected Balto to become angry with her, considering that she had been so rude earlier. However, he simply nodded and sat down on a chair. They were silent for a long time, until Balto attempted to break the ice. “Um, Jenna?” he said. She looked over at him, and he went on. “Please, please don’t get angry at me about this. I’m not trying to bother you, and I’m not just trying to get into your head and find out everything that goes on there. I’m concerned about you. I want you to be happy. I don’t want you to hurt.” Jenna determined not to become angry and walked over to him. “What did you want to ask?” “I just…think something’s wrong. Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t, I don’t know. All I know is, you’ve been very upset yesterday and today and I don’t know what’s causing it. I want to help you.” She looked down, trying hard to make herself tell him, knowing that it was probably the only way out, but fear rose up and stopped her; fear that he would become angry, fear that he would be insulted…fear that the answer would be a confession. “I promise I’ll do everything in my power to help you,” Balto said, “but you have to let me in. Please?” The emotions and thoughts crashing around inside her became too strong for Jenna. “Love, I…I can’t, I…” She leaned forward into Balto’s waiting embrace, listening to his sad voice comforting her.

The rest of the day passed slowly and painfully. Jenna was not only still haunted by what she had seen, but being unable to think about anything else was becoming dreadfully tedious. She tried to keep unpleasant thoughts about Balto out of her head, with varying degrees of success that decreased severely as the day went on. She was now at least able to keep her tone civil when she spoke to her husband, but her anger continued to build behind the shutters of her face and voice. She was mentally, physically, and emotionally drained, enduring constant pain from thinking of what she had seen and what she had done to Balto, and trapped in a maze of dead-end thought trying to figure a way through it all. That evening, she was trying to read, irritated by the incessant distraction of her thoughts, wishing her mind would slow down for just a moment. Balto entered the room, a loving look on his face. Jenna clearly saw it, but held back by her anger, she turned again to the book instead of acknowledging him. He noticed, but it failed to staunch his warmth; he walked up to Jenna and caressed her, kissing her head. “Hey, baby, want to break open the juice and have some fun?” he asked. Jenna shook her head. “No, not tonight.” “Really?” Balto said, surprised. There was nothing ill in his intent here; he was merely thinking of the fact that this was the reason he had been out to get juice earlier that day. Besides, that aside, Jenna was typically rather open to intimacy. Now, however, his unwitting reply caused a spark. “Yes, really!” Jenna snarled, and Balto backed away. “Whoa, hey, calm down. I’m sorry. You don’t want to, that’s perfectly okay with me, alright? It’s just…” Jenna cut in, her voice raised to a shout. “Did it ever occur to you that I might not want to do that all the time, or are you too inconsiderate?!?” Balto was caught off guard by her unwarranted anger. “Jenna, are you sure you’re alright? You don’t really seem like it.” “Shut up! I’m fine! Stop patronizing me!” Balto was obviously being hurt, but Jenna was beyond caring at the moment; she kept shouting, her voice volume increasing. “And you know what, even if there was something wrong with me, it would probably be because you keep pestering me about it all the time!” She finally stopped, the rage that twisted her face dissolving as she realized what she was doing, and she saw Balto, standing in front of her, cut to the heart. “I…I understand,” he said, his voice sounding about as hurt as it possibly could. “I guess you want to be alone for a bit.” He walked to the door, and Jenna stood there frozen, her mouth open slightly, hardly believing what she had just done, her words ringing slowly in her head. Balto paused at the door and turned around, on the verge of tears. “I’ll be back soon, I promise. Goodbye, Jenna.” He was barely able to keep himself together, but he managed to get a few words out. “I love you.” He blew her a quick kiss, a lone tear managing to escape his eye, then went out the dog door. Jenna stood for a moment, and then, just like the previous day, it hit her like an avalanche: the pain, the horrible agony from hurting him, now a hundred times worse. She collapsed, all of her anger now directed at herself, covering her face with her paws, hot tears pouring from her eyes as she sobbed.

Balto walked slowly down the street, bewildered, tears running down his cheeks. No effort he put forth enabled him to figure out anything about the situation. What was going on? Why was Jenna upset? Why was he the object of her