thank you so much for not being angry with me. The things I said…” “Don’t mind what you said, Jenna; I don’t blame you.” “I know, but I really deserved for you to hate me. It was sweet of you not to.” “I love you, babe.” Jenna smiled. “I love you, too.” She sighed as Balto’s paws relaxed her muscles. “Mmmm…” “You like that?” “Mm-hmm.” Eventually, she told Balto the pain was gone, and he kissed her ears and lay down beside her. “Say, Balto,” she said, “did you want to go get that juice?” Balto smiled. “I think you might want to save that for tomorrow; you look exhausted.” “But Balto, you’ve been wanting…” “It’s not as important to me as how you feel. Here now,” he said, gently pulling her head to his chest. She was about to protest again, but as she lay there with his paws around her, the feeling of just how tired she was washed over her body, and her eyes began drooping almost immediately. “Thank you,” she sighed, and Balto nuzzled her. “Just go ahead and sleep, Jenna.” After a few moments, Jenna curled up and snuggled against Balto. “There we go,” Balto said softly, leaning his head down to whisper in Jenna’s ear. “If you need anything at all tonight, you wake me up, okay?” “Okay,” Jenna whispered, falling quickly into slumber. “Sweet dreams,” Balto whispered, watching her finally drift off before resting his head on hers and going to sleep himself.

Balto woke up first in the morning to see Jenna sleeping peacefully. He drew a paw over her cheek. “My beautiful angel,” he whispered. “As long as you sleep I won’t leave.” He laid his head back down, and a few minutes later, Jenna woke up. “Morning,” Balto said. “Hi, my love,” Jenna replied. “How are you feeling?” asked Balto. Jenna smiled. “Better. Much better.” “Thank goodness,” said Balto; he was just as relieved as Jenna that the ordeal was over. “That massage was something else, Balto,” Jenna said. “I feel great.” They kissed and held each other. “So…” Balto said, “what do you want to do this morning?” Jenna nuzzled him. “I want to just lie here with you holding me, knowing that we’ll love each other forever.” Balto smiled. “Good plan, Jenna.”