Author's Note: This story takes place shortly after Balto returns after WQ.

WARNING: This is rated PG-13 for mild swearing and violence. If you don't like that, don't read it.

The characters Ren, Summer, and Niya are © by me and are not to be used without my permission. The rest are © by Universal.  The names Rok and Sem are © by me, the characters themselves are © by Universal.

Chapter 1

Kodi looked out at the ocean with a longing in his heart. He could hear the happy barking of sled dogs coming in with the mail from White Mountin. He could hear the eagerness in their barks as the came to a stop outside the post office.

That's where I belong, Kodi thought.  That's what I should be doing, just like my dad.  He shook his head, smiling, thinking of how his father had helped save many of the children in Nome from certian death. Of course Kodi didn't want to do that, but he did want to run on a sled team.

The young husky stood up and walked to his father's boat a little ways off on the shore.  "Dad, you in there?" he called as he got closer.

"Hey son," Balto said, poping his head out from behind a large stack of crates.  "It looks like something's on your mind," he noted.  "Wanna tell me what it is?"

"I... I want to be on the sled team," Kodi said slowly.  "Just like you were."

Balto smiled. "You know that it's a lot of hard work, right?"

Kodi nodded.  "I know.  But it's something I really want to do."

"Alright," Balto said.  "I'll help you to train and get ready for it."

They red and white husky grinned.  "Thanks Dad!" he cried, his grin getting bigger and bigger.

Balto nodded.  Trying to take after me, the wolf/dog thought.  And if he's anything like me, he'll be good at it.

The father and son raced down the sand shore, the waves washing up at their paws.  To the near by dogs, their paws looked like blurs.  They were moving fast and swift.  "Getting in touch with their inner wolf." as Balto said.

After running for a while, the two stoped and gazed out across the ocean again.  Laughing slightly, Kodi stood up again and leapt at Balto.  Balto jumped up and ran a few feet away and then stoped, his butt in the air.

"So ya wanna play, huh?" he chuckled.  "You'll have to catch me first."

Kodi wagged his tail and took off after his father.  He ran as fast as his paws would carry him and soon, he caught up.

"You're getting very good at this Kodi," Balto complemented as they came to a stop.

Panting, Kodi laughed.  "Hey, you're my dad, aren't ya?  You saved Nome!  I have to have gotten some trait from you."

The wolf/dog laughed, too.  "That you did my boy.  That you did."

Kodi proudly ran off again, the wind coursing through his fur.  He felt like he was flying. Then...

"Hey!" a female voice barked.

The young husky looked up to a beautiful husky.  "Uh..."

"Well aren't you gonna say your sorry?" she asked, smirking.

Kodi blinked again.  This husky looked almost just like Alue at first.  He shook his head and looked at his dad, who was walking over.

The female snorted.  "You're not gonna say sorry?"

"Oh! Uh. Sorry I ran into you," Kodi stammered.

Balto chuckled as he stopped.  "I see you've met Dusty."

Kodi looked back at the female husky.  He smiled a bit and as he went to back up, he tripped over his paws.

"You're a clumsy one, aren't you?" Dusty asked playfully.

Kodi growled.  "I'm not clumsy.  I'm just..."

"Tired," Balto filled in for him.  "You're tired."

Kodi nodded.  "Well, it was nice meeting you Dusty."

She laughed.  "So I take it you don't want me to help train ya."

"Train me?"

Dusty nodded.  "I'm on the mail team.  I have been for a whole week now."  She stood a bit taller as she said it.

The young red husky looked at her enviously.  "Well... I guess we can for a while."

Balto smiled as Dusty and Kodi ran off down the shore together.  Then he shook his head and walked back to his boat for a short rest.

Chapter 2

It had been one month since Kodi and Dusty had been practicing together.  Kodi was getting quite good, too.  He could outrun Dusty.  Kodi was almost always on the beach running up and down it.  Balto could tell he was improving and would soon be ready to be on the team.

"Hey son," Balto greeted Kodi, walking up to him.

Kodi stopped running, his breath coming in small puffs as he tried to catch it.  "Hi Dad.  I'm getting better.  Can't ya tell?"

Balto laughed.  "Yep.  I can definatly tell."

Kodi proudly stuck up his tail.  "Do you think I'm ready to be on the team?"

The wolf/dog thought for a second then nodded.  "But I think you should spend more time with your mother first.  She said you haven't been over to see her for a while."

Kodi lowered his head and tail.  "I've been really busy with all this traning.  Whenever I do go over, she's never home."

Balto sighed and turned to walk away.  "You should take some time out of all the traning then, son.  Your mother misses you."

Kodi watched Balto as he walked back to his boat.  He shook his head and started running along the shore again at a fast pace.  He continued like that for a while until he finally came to a stop.  His eyes fixed ahead of him, he say Jenna walking in the direction of the boiler room where the dogs all went to gossip and hang out.

"Hey Mom!" he howled as he ran up to her.

Jenna spun around in suprise.  "Kodi!" she barked happily.  "How are you?"  She nuzzled him and started to lick his ear.

The young male felt his face turn red.  "I'm fine Mother," he said, pulling away from Jenna.  "I got tired of training and decided to go to the boiler room to see if any of the dogs from the mail team are there."

"Oh," Jenna nodded and turned to walk to the boiler room.  Kodi noticed that she was walking a lot faster than usual, too.  Because she's mad at me, he told himslef.  She thought I was here to visit her and when I told her I wanted to see the dogs from the mail team, she got mad.  He walked a few feet behind her the rest of the way to the boiler room.  As they entered,  Kodi gave his mother one last look before he spotted Dusty along with two of the plumper dogs:  one a grayish male and the other a brown male.

"Hey guys," Kodi said, walking up to them.

Dusty smiled.  "Hey-ya Kodi.  What's up?"

The plumper of the two dogs, the grayish one, sat up.  "So you're Kodi."

"Heh.  You're the one Dust's been telling us about, aren't 'cha?" said the brownish one.

Kodi nodded.  "Yep.  I'm Kodi."

Dusty laughed.  Then she looked at the grayish husky.  "Don't mind Ralph.  He's just loves to do that."

The other dog laughed.  "And I'm Kirby."

The red husky smiled.  He hadn't even gotten onto the team yet and he already had friends.  He sat down next to Dusty and smiled bigger.

"So when are 'ya thinkin' about joining the team?" Kirby asked a few seconds latter.

Kodi thought for a moment.  "I don't know.  Soon I hope."

"Well you're in luck kid," Ralph comented.  "We just had a dog retire and old man Simpson is lookin' for another dog.  You may be just the one, too."

Kodi's ears perked up a bit more.  "How's he gonna pick the dog?"

Dusty smiled.  "The same way they picked which dogs were going to run the antitoxin back to Nome."

"Do you really think I'm ready, though?" he asked nerviously.

The female husky rolled her eyes.  "Duh.  You're gonna be a great member of the team, too."

The young male smiled.  "Ya really think so?"

"You are Balto's son, right?" Kriby asked.

Kodi nodded.  "But that doesn't mean anything."

Dusty laughed.  "His blood runs in you.  You're bound to be a good sled dog."

Laughing, Kodi stood up.  He looked around the room and spotted his mother.  Her ears were down and she looked slightly depressed.  Sighing, Kodi looked away.  He felt bad about how he had been treating Jenna recently, but he had to train for the big race.  He really wanted to be on the mail team.  She had stood by his father's side when he went to save the lost sled team.  But that's because Rosy was dying! he reminded himself.

"Hey, you ok Kodi?" Dusty asked quietly, gazing into his face.

The husky shook his head.

"Well what's wrong?" Ralph asked.

"Nothing."

The trio sighed and looked at their friend.

"You'd better go home and get some sleep," Kriby said.  "You're gonna have a big day tomorrow."

Kodi cocked his head.  "Tomorrow?  What's tomorrow?"

"The big race, that's what," Dusty laughed.  "Now go get some sleep."

Kodi nodded and walked slowly out of the boiler room.  As he walked past Jenna, he tried to catch her eye, but she refused to look at him.  Ashamed of himself, Kodi dropped his tail lower and picked up the pace.  He didn't like the idea of his mother being mad at him, but he didn't want to do anything at the moment either.  When this is all done, I'll talk to her, he told himself.

Sighing, Kodi walked the rest of the way to his owner's house.  He looked up at the stars as he walked into the shed where he often slept at night.  He never was one to like being inside.  When he