Balto: Mate
Dec. 24, 2008
All characters belong to Universal Pictures.

Prologue

Soft, warm rays of light began to filter into the shed as dawn broke over the town of Nome, Alaska. Balto felt the warmth on the back of his neck and he began to wake up. He was perfectly happy to stay where he was though, and his eyes remained closed as he became aware of Jenna's softly breathing body next to his, and his paws draped around her.

It was on days like these that he wondered if he had died in his sleep, because this is what he imagined the spirit world would be like. He was always happiest in these moments, when everything was quiet and still, and all that was important to him lay right there within his paws. He smiled and held Jenna just a tiny bit closer.

He loved his life now. All he did was eat, sleep and sometimes go on walks with Jenna and Rosy, when she wasn't off at college. His bones ached a bit and his vision wasn't quite as sharp as it used to be, but he still felt fine. After all, it had been so many years since he became the hero of Nome after the famous 1925 serum run, and he was just happy that he was still healthy at the ripe old age of fifteen.

He heard a flock of geese flying overhead, and he thought about Boris. Ever since Balto had come to live with Jenna on a full time basis, Boris saw no need to stay in Nome all year round, and he began to fly south for the winter along with all the other geese. He still flew up to Nome in spring, but recently he hadn't been coming up every year. He didn't come up at all the year before, and Balto was hoping he would be up this year.

Balto remembered with fondness the day he was asked to come live with Jenna permanently. Their pups had all grown up and Balto still came to visit Jenna every day. Rosy had always wanted Balto to live there, but her parents just never felt comfortable taking in an adult dog, especially one that was half wolf. Even if it was Balto, the half wolf that had saved their daughter's life.

But as time went on and it was clear that Balto and Jenna would be together for the rest of their lives, Rosy's father finally gave in and agreed to let Balto live there as one of the family. It was one of the happiest days of his life, though Boris had been uncharacteristically emotional about it. He sadly declared that there was no longer any reason to stay in Nome, and he left that year with the other geese when it was time to go south. That was almost ten years ago.

He felt Jenna stirring slightly, and she took a deep breath. "Mmm... morning Balto."

Balto smiled as she stretched, then snuggled close to him again. "Good morning, beautiful," he said so quietly it was almost a whisper.

Jenna yawned. "Can we just stay like this all day today?"

"I was hoping you'd say that," Balto grinned, as he leaned over her shoulder to kiss her. She returned his kiss and smiled.

Later that morning, Balto had an idea. "You know what I'd like to do today?"

"No, what?" Jenna asked as she cleaned her face with her paw.

"I'd like to visit our spot again."

Jenna looked at him with slight surprise. "Really? It's been at least a year since we went up there last."

"I know, that's why I want to go back. I don't know how many more times we'll be able to go back there, and I want to see it at least once more."

"I'd like to go back there too, as long as you think we can make it," she said with a grin.

Balto chuckled. "We're not too old yet. We'll just go slow."

It was early afternoon by the time Balto and Jenna arrived at their favorite place. They were both winded from climbing and the journey up the side of the mountain had taken longer than they expected, but that just reinforced the idea that this might be the last time they would be able to make it up there. They walked to the edge of the cliff and lay down next to each other as they took in the view. It was a beautiful vista overlooking the forest on one side, and they could see all the way to the ocean on the other. They could even see a waterfall in the forest, and they could trace the river through the forest to the sea.

"Just like I remember it," Balto sighed happily. Jenna smiled and looked out over the forest, taking in the view.

"I don't think we'll be able to come back here again," she said after a few minutes. "I was really struggling to make it up here this time, and my legs are sore."

"I know," said Balto. "Mine too. But I'm glad we made it one last time. Look at that view."

"It's beautiful," said Jenna as she looked out over the forest.

Balto looked at her and smiled. "Yeah... beautiful."

Jenna laughed softly. "You've never stopped telling me that after all these years. But look at me now, I'm old. My coat is dull, I've got grey fur... I can't be as attractive to you as I used to be."

Balto's smile faded as he looked into her eyes. "Don't ever think that, Jenna. I loved you the first time I saw you and I've loved you ever since. You have always been beautiful to me, and you always will be."

Jenna closed her eyes and nuzzled him. "Really? Ever since the first time you saw me?"

Balto nodded. "Mmm-hmm. I may be old, but I will never forget a single moment of the day I first saw you. Every detail is burned into my memory, every sight, every smell..."

Jenna snuggled closer to Balto and rested her head on his side. "Tell me everything," she said. "I want our last visit here to be special. I want to remember our lives together."

Balto leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I wasn't much more than a year old the first time I saw you, but it was a day I'll never forget."

###

Chapter One: First Dance

"Love can mend your life
But love can break your heart"

Balto walked down the main street of Nome for what seemed like the hundredth time that week. The days ran together and they were all the same, nothing ever changed for him. He looked in trash cans for scraps, he begged for handouts, it was the same routine every day. He sighed and walked through an alleyway to an adjacent street, lost in thought.

He had often wondered in the year and a half since Boris found him outside Nome what his purpose was in life. No mother or father, not a wolf, not a dog, and nobody really seemed to like him except Boris. He spent his days wandering the streets, and the people of Nome had come to know him as a bit of a nuisance with his constant begging and foraging.

He was never unfriendly to any of the humans or any of the other dogs, but they all seemed to dislike him anyway. His half wolf pedigree had earned him distrust by everyone in the town, it seemed like. The dogs just didn't like half breeds, and the humans were afraid of his wolf side. He picked through the trash behind the butcher shop and found part of a sausage that had been discarded. He lay down in the snow and chewed on the sausage knowing that it would probably be the only food he would get today.

After he finished off the sausage, he sniffed around for anything else that might be edible, but he didn't find anything. He turned and continued his daily circuit of Nome, hoping to find something else to tide him over until tomorrow. Day after day he did this, and he was getting tired of the routine. He went down an alleyway to scale the broken down wooden fence at the end of it, and as he approached the fence, he saw her on the other side.

Balto's heart stopped. His mouth hung open and his eyes stared unblinking at the sight before him. She was a red and white husky, and she was beautiful. She wore a red bandanna around her neck, and she had a smile that made him breathe harder just by looking at her. His heart was pounding and his legs became weak as he watched her walk down the street with her friends.

He stared after her until she was out of sight, and he sat down in the snow, speechless. He gazed in front of him at nothing as the husky's face and her smile danced before his eyes, and he was enthralled. He played the scene back in his mind over and over, and each time he saw her walk by, he felt his stomach tighten and his heart beat faster.

He had no idea how long he had been sitting there when he finally came back to his senses, and he got up and began to run out of town to the old boat he called his home, his hunger completely forgotten.

"Boris! Boris!" he yelled as he ran up to the boat, out of breath from running all the way from town. He went to jump up onto the deck, but in his excitement he misjudged the height of the boat and crashed into the side instead. "Ow," he grunted, and picked himself up. He shook the snow off his head and jumped up onto the deck.

Boris the goose waddled out onto the deck where Balto was standing and breathing heavily. "Why do you attack boat, Balto? What did boat ever do to you?"

"Boris, I saw the most amazing thing today - I mean dog! I saw a dog!" Balto stammered.

Boris raised an eyebrow at him. "You see dogs every day. What is so special about this one?"

"You don't understand. She–"

"She? I think I do understand, Balto," Boris interrupted with a smile. He waddled over to put a wing around Balto's shoulder. "From what I have seen, not many things can cause a dog to act crazy like you are doing, with the yelling and running into things." He lowered his head to speak softly into Balto's ear. "But a pretty girl is one of them."

"I... Boris!" Balto whined, embarrassed. His face began to turn red and he could feel his cheeks heating up. "It's not - it's not like that. I... she..." he began to lose focus as the memory of her face came rushing back to him, and he stopped talking and just sat there in front of Boris, staring into space.

"Balto. Balto!" Boris waved his wing in front of Balto's face. "Snap out of it, you crazy mutt!"

"What? Oh... sorry Boris. I was thinking about, er..."

Boris folded his wings and tapped his foot on the deck, looking at Balto with a raised eyebrow.

"All right, all right," Balto said in defeat. "She's beautiful, Boris. I saw her today while I was out looking for food. I was behind a fence and I saw her, and she... she was just walking down the street." Balto felt his heart begin to stir again, and he took a deep breath.

"She has a beautiful red coat, and she's a husky. That's all I know about her. Oh, and she wears a red bandanna around her neck."

"You are sure that's all you remember about her? No other little details, perhaps?" Boris prodded him.

"Her smile," Balto said dreamily. "She had the most wonderful smile, Boris. When she smiled, it felt like she was lighting up the street."

Boris shook his head. "Puppy love," he said with mock disgust. He looked at Balto, who was still just sitting there with a stupid grin on his face. "Oy, this is all I need."

"Boris..." Balto said quietly as his smile faded. "She's more beautiful than the Northern Lights. And I'll never even get a chance to say hello to her."

"What? Why do you say that?" Boris asked, surprised.

"Because... because look at me, Boris. I'm a mutt, I'm a half breed. I live on a boat outside town and I have to beg for food every day. None of the dogs like me, you know that." He looked at Boris sadly and lay down on the deck with his head between his paws.

Boris lowered his head and sighed. "That is not your fault, Balto. You are better dog than any of those stuck up dogs in town, those mangy, fleabag–"

"She is one of the dogs in town, Boris," Balto interrupted.

"I, er... well you are too good for her," Boris responded, slightly deflated. "I know what will make you feel better. You just need some food, yes? Let me find something for you, and you will feel better in no time."

Balto got up dejectedly and padded over to his blanket. He lifted the blanket up with his nose and slid under it, curling up with his tail around him. "I'm not hungry," he said as he closed his eyes.

Boris stood on the deck and shook his head. "Poor Balto," he thought. "Is not fair to him. He deserves better life than what I have been able to give him."

He sighed and went to join Balto in the wheel house, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.

###

"Did you really think that, Balto?" Jenna asked, gently smiling at him.

"Yeah, I did," Balto said. "I know it's been a long time, but remember before the serum run how the dogs made fun of me all the time?"

Jenna nodded. "I never did though. I was always embarrassed by how they treated you."

Balto softly nuzzled her face. "I know. Just another one of the thousand reasons I loved you then just as much as I love you now." He looked at her dulled red fur, the white that had turned to grey, and her body that had become more frail and thinner than it once had been. She was smiling at him, and her eyes still held that brilliant spark, and her smile was no less radiant than he remembered.

"Back then, I didn't know any differently," Balto continued. "I thought every human and dog in that town hated me. I didn't have any friends besides Boris. I just assumed you were like all the rest, even though we had never spoken. I didn't even know if you had ever seen me before. I know I had never seen you before, because I would have remembered. I fell in love with you that first time I saw you."

"I'm glad you did," Jenna lay her head down on Balto's neck.. "It made it that much easier for me to fall in love with you when I saw what a kind hearted and brave dog you were."

Balto closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of his mate's body against his own, her scent filled his nostrils and he was thankful once again that the girl of his dreams was his mate and lifetime companion. "I was so young and I had never been in love before. I didn't know what to do with myself."

"Well now I'm curious," Jenna said as she snuggled closer to Balto. "Did you ever see me again before that first time you spoke to me?"

"Oh yes," Balto smiled. "I would go into town just to try to find you, but I was always too nervous to approach you. You were with Sylvie and Dixie most of the time too, that didn't help. Oh, and that first time we spoke, what a disaster. I thought I had ruined my chances with you forever," Balto laughed. "But I just couldn't help myself. I had to say something..."

###

Balto woke as the sun broke over the mountains and draped its rays across his boat. He looked up through half opened eyes and groaned. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night because he had alternated between fitful dreams about the red husky he had been so smitten with, and waking up right after them. He felt like a bear was sitting on his head, and he crawled out from under his blanket to get a drink of water.

He drank until he wasn't thirsty any more, then he lay down on the cool deck outside the wheel house and closed his eyes. Just like every time he tried to sleep, there was that red husky, walking down the street in front of him. He could not get her out of his mind, no matter how he tried. He eventually drifted off, but it was an unrestful sleep, filled with imagery of the red husky.

She walked past him down the street again, but then turned towards him and smiled. She walked back in his direction, somehow seeing him behind the fence. Balto froze as she continued to walk towards him, smiling and calling his name.

Balto... Balto...

"Balto! Wake up, you lazy mutt!"

"Wha– Boris? Agh!" Balto began to speak but choked instead as Boris poured a bucket of water over him.

"Boris," Balto coughed, "I heard you, you didn't have to do that." He coughed again and stood up, then shook the excess water off his coat.

"Maybe not, but sun has been up for hours and you did not eat last night. Are you trying to starve?" Boris yelled at him, waving his wings around.

Balto smiled. "I'll be fine, but I'm glad you care about me so much. What would I do without you?"

"Hmph!" Boris grunted and began to waddle away, mumbling to himself. "Crazy dog will give me heart attack some day, and for what? I raise him, I feed him, and this is what I get. Why do I bother? Sometimes I think..."

Balto shook his head as Boris' plaintive mumbling faded into the distance. "Boris, wait." He jumped off the side of the boat and followed Boris down the beach.

"I'm sorry, I know you're just worried about me. I was just tired because I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I kept dreaming about... her."

Boris stopped waddling and turned to face Balto. He held out a wing to Balto's face and looked at him with concern. "It's that bad, is it?"

Balto hung his head and nodded.

"And you saw her for first time only yesterday? That is something." He turned around and started to walk down the beach again.

"Balto, I am not dog. I cannot tell you how you should feel. But I do know that if you do not eat, you will die. So go back to town and find food. Eat before I have to force food down your throat, you understand?"

Balto grinned. "Yes, Boris."

Boris gave Balto a sideways glance. "And maybe while you are there, you might see your red husky again, no?"

Balto felt his heart quicken at the mention of the red husky and he nodded, becoming embarrassed again. "Yeah, um, maybe. I should go try to find food now." He turned away and began to run towards Nome.

Boris watched him leave, and shook his head. "Love can be wonderful, but it can also be so cruel," he thought. "I just hope he gets over it before he starves to death."

Balto ran into town and decided that he should try to act like nothing had happened yesterday, and just go through his normal routine. He began walking the streets, begging for food and looking through trash cans. His mind was only halfway on what he was doing though, and he couldn't stop thinking of that red husky.

He hadn't exactly been truthful with Boris last night. He was hungry, but it wasn't for food. It was for her. He didn't care if he wasted away to nothing, if only he could get another look at her. He mindlessly pawed through the trash behind the butcher shop, missing a couple pieces of meat that were buried in the middle. He wasn't even looking at what he was doing, and he didn't really care.

He stopped going through the trash and wandered aimlessly back to the alleyway with the broken down wooden fence in the back, trying to convince himself that he was still looking for food and not going back there to look for the red husky again. He walked up to the fence and looked through, hoping against hope that she would be on the other side again, but she wasn't. He sighed and sat down, not in the mood to do anything else.

He sat dejected for a few minutes, but he couldn't resist the urge to look again. He got up and peered through the fence and looked all the way up and down the street, but he still couldn't see her anywhere. He was about to leave when he heard voices from the street behind him, getting closer. He jumped behind a pile of trash and watched the entryway to the alley, listening to the conversation.

"...and then Steele looked at me and I almost fainted! Ooh, just saying his name gives me the chills. He's so handsome, and brave, and strong, and–"

"All right Dixie, we get it," said another voice, this one was sort of a nasally-sounding slower speaking voice. "You like Steele, every girl in this town likes Steele."

"He's not really my type," said a third voice. Balto's eyes widened as he saw who was speaking as they crossed in front of the alley. It was the red husky and her two friends. He sat transfixed as he watched her every move and listened to her every sound.

"How can Steele not be your type, Jenna?" Dixie asked. "He's positively magnetic! Tell her, Sylvie."

Balto sat stunned. "Jenna... her name is Jenna," he thought as he watched her walk past.

Sylvie rolled her eyes at Dixie as the three of them continued past the alley and out of Balto's line of sight.

Balto got up from behind the trash pile and walked carefully to the entrance to the alleyway. He looked around the corner and saw the three dogs walking down the street. He sighed as he stared longingly at Jenna as she walked away. He didn't dare follow her, he knew how the dogs in that town saw him. To them, he was just a homeless beggar, a half breed waste of space. He turned and walked the opposite direction, then left town and headed back to his boat.

"Ah good, you're back," Boris said with a wave of his wing. "You found something to eat, I hope?"

"Uh... yeah, the butcher gave me some meat," he lied. He still wasn't hungry for anything but Jenna.

Boris eyed him carefully. "I see," he said. "And did you find your red husky?"

Balto smiled sheepishly. "Her name is Jenna," he said, looking down at the deck of the boat.

"So you talked to her then? Good boy!"

Balto looked up at Boris. "No! I mean... no. She was with two of her friends, and I overheard one of them say her name. I can't just go and talk to her, especially with her two friends around."

"And why not? You are as good a dog as any in that town."

"They don't like me, Boris. They never have."

Boris put a wing around Balto's shoulder. "They don't know you, boychik! Give them chance to know you like I know you, and they will all love you."

"Boris, I told you. They don't like me, they don't want to talk to me. I can't do anything to change that."

"Balto, you have to–"

"What? I have to what, Boris?" Balto said, exasperated. "You know as well as I do that she'll never talk to me. None of them will! I'm a half breed, I'm lower than dirt in their eyes. I'll just get laughed out of town if I try to talk to her."

The lack of food and sleep was beginning to affect Balto. He was emotionally worn out and on the verge of tears. "That's why... that's why I can only look at her from a distance. I can't talk to her and ruin any chance I might have. I have to just... look at her and imagine what it might be like to be with her. That's all I can do."

He sniffed and a tear rolled down his cheek. "I'm... tired," he said quietly. He slunk under his blanket and lay his head down between his paws.

"Poor little pup," Boris thought as he watched Balto curl up into a ball under his blanket. "I did not know it was so bad. I wish there was something I could do for him."

In the days that followed, Balto remained in his waking dream, unable to tear his mind nor his heart from the beautiful red husky. The days turned into weeks, and Balto still hadn't gotten the courage to talk to her. He stayed at a distance, silently cursing his half breed heritage every time he saw her. He was becoming even thinner than he was before, and Boris worried about his health.

"He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep, he is becoming skin and bones," Boris thought to himself. "But what can I do? He is as stubborn as I am!" He watched Balto sleeping fitfully under his blanket and shook his head.

The next day, Balto was back in town looking for Jenna once again. He couldn't stay away, he was driven to find her just so he could drink in the sight of her. He was hungry, but looking for food was secondary to finding Jenna. He went to all the places he usually went in search of her, and he found her on the other side of the broken down fence in the alley near the butcher shop.

He sat down and watched her like he did every other day he found her. He watched her smile and walk down the street and his hunger was forgotten. He was so enthralled with Jenna that he didn't even hear the human walking up behind him.

"She's pretty, isn't she boy?" Rosy giggled and patted Balto on the head.

Balto yelped and shrank away from Rosy, looking for a way out of the alley. The humans in this town didn't like him, and sometimes they threw things at him just to get him to go away. He had never hurt any of the humans but he didn't trust any of them. He had never seen this girl before and he was frightened that she was going to call one of the bigger humans over to chase him out of town, or worse.

"It's okay boy, I'm not going to hurt you," she said, moving slowly closer to Balto who was now crouched in the corner of the alley, ears flat against his head. She looked at him and noticed how thin he was. "Oh you poor thing, you must be hungry. Look how skinny you are."

Rosy dug into her jacket pocket and produced some beef jerky. "Here, eat this. I promise it's good, and I'll stay right here where you can see me." She tossed the jerky to Balto, who backed away from it before smelling it. It smelled good though, and Balto couldn't help himself. He devoured the strips of meat, then sat back down in the corner with his ears still flat against his head.

Rosy slowly moved forward with more jerky in her outstretched palm. "I'm not going to hurt you," she repeated. "Here, take these." She gradually moved close enough for Balto to eat the meat right out of her hand, and he did so very carefully, not taking his eyes off her.

"Good boy," she said warmly. She brought her other hand around to rub Balto's head, and he allowed her to do it. The attention felt good, and Balto began to relax. Rosy sat down next to him and began to pet him.

"Your name is Balto, isn't it?" she asked. "That's what I heard them call you. I wonder why they don't like you? You seem nice to me," she said and leaned up against him. She gave him the rest of the jerky she had in her pocket and scritched his ears. "My name's Rosy."

Balto ate the remaining strips of meat and began to enjoy the feel of being petted and held by a human. No human had ever been kind to him like this before, and he didn't know it could feel so good. For the first time in weeks, he felt relaxed enough to sleep, and Rosy's hands felt so good on his rough coat. He lay down and placed his head in Rosy's lap and closed his eyes.

"Awww..." Rosy said, and continued to pet Balto affectionately. "I knew you were friendly, I could tell. I'm sorry for how the grownups treat you, Balto. They don't know how nice you are." Balto leaned up to lick Rosy's face, and she giggled.

"Rosy! Let's go!" A man's voice rang out from the street.

"Oh, that's my dad, Balto. I have to go." She squeezed him and got up to leave. She turned and rubbed his head one last time. "If you're here tomorrow I'll try to bring you some more food. Bye!"

Balto watched her leave, suddenly lonely again. "Jenna! Come on girl!" she yelled, and Balto's ears snapped forward as he watched Jenna come running to Rosy. He looked on in shock as he realized that Rosy was Jenna's owner. They danced around for a few seconds, then Rosy looked back down the alley and waved to Balto.

He froze as he saw Jenna turn to see what Rosy was waving at, and she looked right at him. Time seemed to slow down and he could hear his heartbeat thundering in his ears as he looked into Jenna's eyes. She looked at him inquisitively for a moment, but then turned back to Rosy. Rosy whispered something in her ear and giggled, and Jenna stopped and turned back to look at Balto, a small smile appearing on her face.

Balto saw her smiling at him and he lowered his head and forced a smile onto his muzzle, looking up at her submissively. Her smile grew a bit wider, then she turned to follow Rosy down the street.

Balto's heart was pounding, and he watched Jenna walk away with Rosy. He felt lighter than air, and all his worries were forgotten. He watched them until they disappeared out of sight, then he ran out of town and back to his boat. He scrambled onto the deck and found Boris taking a nap in the wheel house.

"Boris! Boris!"

Boris woke suddenly and honked in surprise. "Balto, are you trying to scare me to death? What is wrong, are you on fire?"

Balto looked at him quizzically.

"Never mind. Did you at least eat something today? Look at you, you are skin and bones!"

"Boris, she smiled at me! She looked right at me and she smiled!" Balto said excitedly.

"Oh, she smiled at you, wonderful. Meanwhile, you are starving to death!" Boris yelled sarcastically.

"All right, calm down. I did eat something in town today. I met Jenna's owner in the alley, and she gave me some meat. She was nice to me, Boris... no human has ever been nice to me before. She was petting me and she hugged me. It felt so good, I almost fell asleep. She said she would bring me more food if I show up tomorrow. And if she's going to be there, so will Jenna..."

"Now that is good news. Maybe you will finally talk to her, yes?"

"I... what if I say the wrong thing?" Balto lowered his head and flattened his ears. "Boris, this is important. I know she doesn't even know who I am, but... I don't think I can live without her. I can't even go one day without at least looking at her."

Balto turned to Boris with a worried look on his face. "Is there something wrong with me? Why do I feel this way when I see her, and why does it hurt so much when she's not around? We don't even know each other!"

Boris smiled and put his wing around Balto's shoulder. "Wrong? No. What you are feeling is perfectly normal for someone who is in love."

"In-in love...?" Balto said quietly. "That's what this is?"

Boris nodded. "That is why I keep telling you to talk to her. It will help you feel better. And who knows, maybe she will fall in love with you too, hmm?"

"Well... she did smile at me today," Balto grinned as he remembered Jenna's little smile when she looked at him. "But I'm just a half breed, remember? I don't think she'll even want to talk to me."

"A smile is good sign, boychik," Boris said as he rubbed Balto's head. "You worry too much. Just be yourself and it will all work out."

Balto looked off towards the town of Nome in the distance. "I hope so..."

The next day at around the same time, Balto made his way to the alley near the butcher shop. He was nervous and his heart was pounding in his ears. He dreamt of Jenna all the previous night, and he couldn't believe he was going to be able to talk to her finally, without her friends around and maybe without her ignoring him because he was half wolf. He sat in the alley and waited, looking through the fence every now and then to see if he could spot her.

He waited for what seemed like a long time, but he didn't see either Jenna or Rosy. He was disappointed, but he knew there was a chance they wouldn't show up. He got up to leave when he heard Rosy's voice coming down the street towards the alley. It sounded like she was talking to her father. His ears picked up and he sat back down, eagerly waiting for them to come around the corner. A few moments later, Rosy walked across the alley and saw Balto sitting in the back near the fence, waiting for her.

"Balto, you're here!" she said as she ran down the alley to him. "Here, I brought you some real meat this time," she said as she pulled a large chunk of meat wrapped in paper out of her pocket. She unwrapped it and put it down in front of Balto, and she smiled as he devoured it. She wrapped her small arms around his neck and hugged him as he finished eating.

"You're a good dog, Balto," she said. "I wish... I wish you could come live with me and Jenna."

Balto's head shot up when he heard that. He nuzzled Rosy's face and licked her cheek.

"Ha ha!" Rosy giggled and rubbed his head. "Wait, there's somebody who wants to meet you. Jenna!" she called.

Balto froze as all his nervousness came back, and his heart was pounding harder than ever. He sat breathing heavily as he watched the entrance to the alley, not daring to move. Rosy noticed Balto's change in demeanor and petted his neck.

"It's okay boy, you'll like her. She's nice."

"I know," Balto thought. "I already like her too much."

Just then, Jenna came around the corner and entered the alleyway. She smiled as she walked down the alley and she met Rosy with a nuzzle. Balto hadn't moved an inch, and he couldn't stop staring at Jenna. He had to consciously close his mouth.

"Jenna, this is Balto. None of the grownups seem to like him and I haven't seen him with any other dogs, but he's really nice."

Jenna turned to smile at Balto and he was sure he was beginning to melt. He had never been this close to her before and it was almost more than he could handle.

"I have to go back to the store with my dad, but you guys can stay here if you want. I'll be back out in a little bit." She hugged Balto again and walked out of the alley. Balto never moved, and he still couldn't take his eyes off Jenna. He was becoming lost in those big brown eyes of hers, and she shyly looked to the side, embarrassed by Balto staring at her.

"Oh... no, I'm sorry," he scrambled to apologize. "I didn't mean to stare, I... I'm sorry," he finished, and stared hard at the ground, his face furiously heating up. He knew he had to be blushing bright red, but he just kept staring at the ground.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," he thought. "She hasn't said one word and you already messed it up."

Jenna saw how embarrassed he was, and smiled to herself. "It's okay," she said. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Do you live in town?"

Balto still could not believe she was talking to him, and her voice was so beautiful. It sounded like a song to him, and he wanted to listen to her talk for hours. He suddenly realized she was waiting for a response.

"Oh, uh... no, I live outside town on an old boat," he said quickly, still looking at the ground. "I don't have an owner."

"Really? What's it like living by yourself out there?"

Balto finally looked up at her and smiled. "It's not so bad. I live there with my... well I guess you'd call him my dad. He's a goose named Boris. He raised me from when I was just a pup."

"A goose?" Jenna asked, surprised.

Balto grinned. "Yeah. He found me when I was just a pup, sitting outside Nome. He took me in and he's been caring for me ever since."

"You mean... you don't know who your parents are?" she asked gently.

He shook his head. "Boris told me I was alone when he found me, and nobody has ever come back for me. All I know for sure is that I'm... well, I'm..." Balto found himself unable to tell Jenna the one thing that might make her despise him. He lowered his head again.

Jenna looked at him with compassion in her eyes. "What is it?"

Balto looked at her and saw how concerned she was. "I... I'm just afraid that telling you will... will make you hate me," he said. "All the other dogs already hate me because of it."

She lowered her head to look at him. "I won't hate you, Balto. I promise."

Balto sighed, knowing he was about to give her the same reason to hate him all the other dogs already had. He shut his eyes and spoke slowly.

"Jenna, I'm... I'm half wolf."

She opened her mouth in surprise, but before she could say anything, Rosy appeared at the entrance to the alley. "Jenna! Come on girl! Time to go home!"

Jenna looked at Rosy, then back at Balto. His eyes were still shut, waiting for the inevitable hatred or dismissal he received every time someone found out he was half wolf. The difference was that this time, it was going to break his heart.

"I–" she began, and looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry Balto, I have to go."

She stood up and ran to meet Rosy at the entrance of the alley, and Balto listened to the two of them fade away into the distance. He sat where she left him, trembling as a single tear slid down his muzzle and fell noiselessly into the snow.

###

"I don't know what I was thinking. I knew she wouldn't be any different than any of the other dogs, I was stupid for telling her I'm half wolf. I was worried that she wouldn't like me, and then I went ahead and made sure of it. That was my only chance with her. I don't even know why she was talking to me in the first place, she's way out of my league and I'm just a stupid half breed."

Balto paced back and forth on the deck of his boat, and his self loathing grew the more he told Boris about what had happened in town earlier that day. Boris tried to comfort him, but he was inconsolable.

"Stupid. I never should have gone back there, I never should have talked to her. Now she hates me like everybody else does." He stopped pacing and dropped down to the deck, covering his head with his paws. "I thought maybe she would be different. I hoped..."

Boris sat next to Balto and put his wing around his shoulder.

"Boris, what am I going to do?" Balto whined. "It was bad before when I was just in love with her, it's a lot worse now that I know she doesn't like me."

"I am sorry, Balto," said Boris, without a trace of his usual sarcasm. "I hoped she would see you for who you really are. "

"I was really talking with her. It was going so well too, but... she kept asking questions about me, like where I came from and where I live... I couldn't lie to her, Boris. I could never lie to her."

"And you should not have to. You should be proud of who you are, just as I am proud of you."

Balto sighed and lay his head back down on his paws. "It's hard to be proud of something that makes everybody hate me. It's just not fair. I wish I were just a regular dog."

"Balto...?" said a voice from the ground outside the boat.

Balto's ears whipped forward and he scrambled to his feet in surprise. "J...Jenna?"

"Yes, it's me, Balto. I'm sorry, am I bothering you?"

Balto stared at Boris in disbelief. "I... bothering? No, I... no," he stumbled. "Um, wait, I'll come down there." He looked over the side of the boat and saw Jenna standing just below. His heart began to beat faster and his stomach began tingling again as he jumped down to stand next to her.

"Uh... hi," Balto said sheepishly. "Oh, uh, Jenna, this is Boris, my dad." He indicated Boris standing at the edge of the boat, and Boris waved a wing at Jenna.

"Hello Boris," Jenna said in response. "Balto was telling me about you earlier today. Did you really raise him from a pup?"

"It is nice to meet you, Jenna. I found Balto outside of town when he was a small pup, and I have been taking care of him since then. He is not bad for being raised by goose, no?" Boris chuckled.

Jenna smiled and looked at Balto. "He's very nice."

Boris watched with great satisfaction as he saw Balto's mouth drop open in surprise. "Well, I will leave you two alone," he said as he waddled back to the wheel house and out of sight.

Balto had regained some of his composure and was just happy that he was able to talk to Jenna again. "Jenna... what are you doing out here? I mean I'm happy to see you but why did you come all the way out here?"

"I felt bad about having to leave you like that today, but I had to go. You know us domestic dogs, we have to do what our owners tell us," she grinned. "But I had some free time this afternoon, and I remembered what you told me about living in a boat out here, so I came to look for you. I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? No... no, I'm really glad you came to find me. I... I thought you hated me."

Jenna frowned. "Hated you? Why?"

"W-well because... I told you I was half wolf, and then you left. I thought..." He sighed and lowered his head.

"Balto, I promised you I wouldn't hate you. I don't mind that you're half wolf, in fact I think it makes you a lot more interesting than the dogs in town. I was about to tell you that when Rosy called for me."

"I... I'm sorry," Balto said. "I guess I'm just used to all the dogs not liking me because of it. I'm sorry I just assumed you were the same."

Jenna smiled gently at him. "It's all right, Balto. I can understand why, some of those dogs are just mean spirited. Especially Steele and his lapdogs," she said, and she made a face like something tasted bad. She smiled again and looked into his eyes. "But you're not anything like them."

Suddenly Balto felt his face heating up again as he tried to think of what to say. "I, uh... thanks," he said, blushing. "Hey, um... do you think you might like to go for a walk down the beach? It's a nice day, and..."

"Sure," Jenna said with a smile. The two of them began to walk down the beach away from the boat, and Balto was happy to answer all her questions about him, now that he wasn't afraid she would turn him away for being a half breed.

Boris watched them leave from where he was hiding just under the railing on the deck of the boat, and he smiled.

"That's my boy."

###

"I remember that day," Jenna said as she snuggled closer to Balto. "That was the first day I really got to know you. Did you love me even back then?"

Balto smiled and looked into her eyes. "I loved you from the first time I saw you, Jenna. So yes, even just walking down the beach with you that day I was head over tail in love with you. I just couldn't tell you because I didn't want to scare you off."

Jenna kissed his greying muzzle and nuzzled his neck softly. After so many years together, she knew his scent like it was her own, and she couldn't imagine a life without him. Reminiscing about the old days only served to remind her how lucky she was to have him. When she thought back to the other dogs in Nome before she met Balto, she shuddered to think how much worse her life could have been.

Even back then, she knew many of the male dogs in town wanted her as a mate. She didn't really find any of them attractive because of how arrogant they were and how much they thought of themselves. Steele in particular was sure he was going to be Jenna's mate, because he thought he was just that great. "Yuck," Jenna thought as she remembered how Steele used to act around her.

Dixie had always liked Steele, but then Dixie wasn't the best judge of character. She couldn't understand why Jenna didn't like Steele like all the other girls did, even after Jenna had tried to explain it to her. Of course, neither Steele nor Dixie were big on personality, so maybe they were suited for each other after all.

Balto, by contrast, was intelligent, modest and polite. She thought he was attractive as well, even though he always downplayed his rugged half wolf frame. She had always liked how he looked, with his unassuming scruffy coat and his sleek wolfish build. After he brought the anti-toxin back to Nome, she also knew that he was brave, selfless and noble. By then she had fallen deeply in love with him, and she knew she was going to spend the rest of her life with him.

When she was younger, she had always assumed her mate would be one of the local dogs, probably one of the dogs she had grown up with. But she had never been attracted to any of them, so the prospect of becoming a mate had never appealed to her. She had often thought she would be better off by herself, if it weren't for her desire to one day have a litter of puppies of her own. She knew she would need a mate for that, so she had resigned herself to the reality that one day she would have to choose one and hopefully she would be able to tolerate him.

Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that she would find a mate like Balto. She gazed up at him and admired his aging face, ignoring the grey that had begun to appear over the last few years. When she looked at him, she saw him as he was when they fell in love; young and strong, and so handsome. He would always appear that way in her eyes, no matter how grey he was.

"Remember when our pups were born?" Jenna asked.

"Another one of the happiest and scariest moments of my life," Balto laughed.

"I remember how happy you were to see them for the first time," Jenna said with a smile. "You were a wonderful father."

"Yeah, but you remember how scared I was before that? I thought it could go so wrong because of my wolf side, or that I would be a terrible father. It really scared me, Jenna."

"I remember. It did take some convincing, didn't it?"

Balto chuckled. "All I wanted was for us to be happy. I wish I had known then what I know now, it would have been a lot easier for both of us."

###

Chapter Two: New Life

"Put your trust in me
Because I love you"

It was spring of 1925, and it was getting warmer every day. The snow had begun to melt, and grass was starting to appear in small patches across the tundra. Balto had finally become accepted in Nome, following his miraculous recovery of the diphtheria anti-toxin only three months earlier, after Steele's team got lost trying to return home.

Balto and Jenna were inseparable. Every morning he went to her house and stayed with her all day. They would go for walks or run on the beach, or play with Rosy. Balto was there so often, Rosy's father often joked that he didn't remember adopting two dogs.

Rosy would always get annoyed at her father when he said that. "Dad! Can't you see they're in love?" She would fold her arms and stare at him.

"Okay Rosy, whatever you say," he would laugh. She would sulk and go outside to play with Balto and Jenna when he got like that, because he didn't understand. She did though. She could see it in the way Balto and Jenna acted towards each other, always nuzzling and licking each other's faces. She was so happy she had introduced Jenna to Balto, because these were her two favorite dogs in the whole world.

She still wanted Balto to live with them, but her father wouldn't allow it. She wanted it so badly that one time she threw a screaming tantrum, and got sent to her room. But at least Balto still came over every day, so she was still able to see him all the time. She was happy for that, and she knew Jenna was too.

For his part, Balto was just as happy to see Jenna every day. He was living his dream, and he was able to be with the one he loved every day. Life really couldn't get any better for him as far as he was concerned, and today he planned to show Jenna the one thing he hadn't shown her yet. He was waiting until the time was right, and it seemed to him like today was the day.

So just like every other day he ran off to Jenna's house after the sun came up, and he scratched at the door to the shed when he arrived. "Come in, Balto," he heard Jenna say from inside.

"You know you can just come in, don't you?" she said with a giggle as Balto entered the shed. "You don't have to let me know you're outside first."

Balto smiled. "I would never intrude on you like that, Jenna," he said as he lay down next to her.

"It's not an intrusion. I love you Balto, I want to see you every day more than anything." Jenna nuzzled his face, then kissed him for a long time. They finally parted, and Balto opened his eyes. "I love you too, Jenna," he said quietly.

They lay together for a while just enjoying each other's company, and after a while Balto finally spoke. "Jenna, I'd like to show you something today, if you have time."

Jenna nodded. "What is it?"

"It's a special place," Balto said with a smile. "I found it when I was younger, when I was still exploring the forest and the mountain areas around Nome. I've never shown it to anybody, not even Boris. But I want to take you there."

Jenna smiled warmly at him. "I'd love to see it."

Balto grinned. "Good. It was my special place, but I want it to be our special place. When do you want to leave?"

"How about right now? Rosy won't mind if I'm gone for a while, she knows I'll be with you anyway."

Balto nodded and got up. He went to the door and nudged it open. "After you."

They left the town and Balto lead Jenna into the foothills and up the side of a small mountain. After an hour or so they made it to a clearing on the top. It was wide and flat, with a panoramic view of the forest below them, the mountains in the distance and the ocean to the west. Jenna walked to the edge of the cliff and gasped as she took in the beauty of the scene before her.

Balto stood behind her and smiled as he watched her take in the view. "Balto, it's beautiful!" she said.

"And now that you're here... it's perfect," he replied. She turned back to look at him and he was smitten by her beauty, framed by the gorgeous view of the forest and mountains behind her. "So what do you say, want to make this our spot?"

"Of course I do, it's beautiful here!" Jenna exclaimed as she came back to nuzzle him. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

The two of them lay down next to each other at the edge of the plateau and just enjoyed each other's company as they felt the breeze blow through their fur. It was so peaceful there, and the treetops swayed gently back and forth as the sun warmed them. They stayed there all afternoon before deciding to go back home, even though Jenna felt like she could stay there all night. It was so calm and serene there, and it was nice to get out of town every now and then.

The two of them went back to Nome side by side, as the sun began to slowly set over the ocean to the west. As they walked, Jenna got an idea. She began to formulate a plan, but she wanted to keep it to herself until the time was right. When they arrived at Jenna's shed, Balto walked her back inside. "Would you like to stay for a while?" Jenna asked.

"I'd love to, as long as you're sure you're not tired of me hanging around all the time," Balto said with a grin.

Jenna smiled. "I wouldn't ask you to stay if I was tired of seeing you."

The two of them lay down together and rested. They talked about their new special place and how pretty it was there, and Jenna decided it was time to put her plan into motion. "So Balto... what do you think about going back there, say tomorrow? Maybe in the afternoon?" she said innocently.

"That's fine with me, but we won't have much time there if we go in the afternoon, we'll have to come back before it gets too late."

'If we stay there a little later that will be all right. I've been out late before, and as long as Rosy knows I'm with you it'll be fine," Jenna said, and nuzzled him. "So what do you think...?"

"Yeah, I'd love to go back there with you. I'll come by tomorrow afternoon to get you, okay?" he said as he stood up to leave.

"That sounds great. I can't wait to see you again." She stood up and kissed him deeply before he could leave. "See you tomorrow..."

Balto stood there surprised by Jenna's sudden passionate kiss. After a few moments he regained his senses and noticed she was grinning at him. This wasn't her normal smile, this was something new... and he suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling that he was her prey. "Uh... yeah, I'll... see you tomorrow," he said as he walked backwards out of the shed.

After he closed the door and left for his boat, Jenna giggled to herself. "Oh, he is so cute when he's embarrassed," she thought.

The next day, Balto arrived at Jenna's house in the mid afternoon. It was another warm day, and he was looking forward to going up to his favorite spot with Jenna again. He scratched on the door to let Jenna know he was there.

"Come in, Balto," came her voice from inside the shed. Balto opened the door and walked into the shed, and he was suddenly pounced by a blur of red and white. Jenna knocked him over onto his back and stood over him, grinning like she had been last night. "I missed you," she said, and kissed him. "Are you ready to go?"

Balto stared at her in confusion, not knowing quite what to say. "I... yeah, I'm ready to go. And I missed you too," he said carefully.

She allowed him to get up, and she nuzzled him. "Good. I love you, Balto," she said with a smile, looking more like her normal self this time.

"I love you too, Jenna," he said as he returned her nuzzle. The two of them left Nome again, headed back up to their special place, the one place Jenna knew they would be alone and wouldn't be interrupted. When they arrived, they both lay down near the edge of the cliff to rest and take in the view.

The sun had started its descent down towards the sea, and Balto and Jenna were happy to simply sit and watch it slowly set. The sky began to darken and turn different shades of orange and red, and Jenna snuggled close to Balto and lay her head on his neck.

She looked up at him, and he smiled and leaned down to kiss her. She closed her eyes and kissed him, thinking about how perfect everything was right at that moment. The sun dropped below the horizon and the moon rose above the mountains to the east, casting its silvery light across Balto and Jenna, and she knew it was time.

"Balto...?" she asked pensively.

He turned to look at her. "Hmm?" She was momentarily taken aback by how handsome he looked in the moonlight, with the moon illuminating his coat and casting pale shadows across his face.

"Thank you for bringing me here again tonight. It's beautiful at night, too."

"You know, I've never been here at night before, I had always gone back home before nightfall. It really is beautiful here at night," he said, looking out across the forest.

"There... was another reason I wanted you to bring me here tonight, besides just wanting to be here again," she continued.

"Another reason? What was it?" Balto asked, curious.

"Balto..." she began slowly, and managed to work up a smile. "You know I love you more than anything. I want to be with you for the rest of our lives, and I hope you feel the same way about me."

"Jenna... of course I do." He leaned down to kiss her again. "If I could be with you for the rest of my life, that would make me the happiest dog on earth."

Jenna nodded. She was nervous, and she was beginning to breathe a bit harder. "So then... how would you feel about..." she took a deep breath, exhaled, and looked Balto in the eyes. "About starting a family? With me?"

"A - a family?" The question had caught Balto off guard, and he didn't have a response. "You mean... pups? Our pups?"

Jenna nodded and leaned forward to nuzzle him. "Yes, Balto... our very own pups. Yours and mine."

Balto began to feel like a heavy weight was beginning to crush him. "I... Jenna–" he began to panic as he realized why she wanted to come up to this place, at night, alone with him. She wanted to start a family tonight.

"Jenna, I... I don't think I can," Balto stammered. He got up and backed away from Jenna, breathing hard. "I wouldn't be a good father, I don't know how to be a father. And the pups would be part wolf! I can't - I can't do that to them. Not after what happened to me. They would be rejected by everybody, they would have to live outside town, and I wouldn't know how to take care of them! I couldn't live with myself if... if..."

Balto was fully panicking now. "I just... I just can't, I can't do it. Too much would go wrong, and I don't know what I'm doing, and... and..."

He stopped as he looked up at Jenna. She was crying. Tears were streaming down her face as she closed her eyes, unable to look at Balto.

"Oh no.... Jenna, no, please... don't cry, please don't cry. I love you, I love you so much. Please..." Balto began to walk towards her when she put up a paw to stop him.

"Don't," she sobbed. "Please, just... don't."

Balto stopped where he was, desperately wanting to nuzzle her, to feel her body against his again. "Jenna, please," he whined. "I just don't want a bad life for our pups, I'm afraid of what will happen to them, and I don't know how to be a father. Please–"

"Balto," Jenna interrupted. "Don't you think I've thought about this? Do you think I would be asking you for a family if I didn't think you would be a perfect father? Our pups would be beautiful, Balto." She began to cry again. "All I wanted was for you to trust me, but I guess... I guess that's asking too much." Jenna turned to leave, sobbing.

"Jenna, wait!" Balto yelled, desperation in his voice. "Please wait! I'm sorry!"

Jenna began to run, and just like that, she was gone.

Balto sat on the moon-drenched plateau overlooking the forest as the stars shone high in the sky, filling the dark expanse with thousands of points of light. The treetops wavered in the slight breeze, and the entire valley was bathed in white light. Balto didn't notice any of it, as he stared at the opening to the forest Jenna had just disappeared through.

"Jenna..." he whispered.

###

Balto was miserable. He didn't sleep at all that night, and he couldn't bring himself to get out from under his blanket. It was already noon and he felt so guilty about what happened with Jenna the night before that he couldn't even move. He just stayed curled up in a ball under his blanket, unable to sleep.

He was so in love with Jenna that he thought there was no way he could ever hurt her. He was mortified to find out just how wrong he was. The look on her face as she began to cry haunted him, it tortured him. To know that he did that to her was almost more than he could stand. When he shut his eyes, all he could see was Jenna crying.

He curled up into a tighter ball, wishing for merciful unconsciousness. The ghosts of what he had done would not leave him alone, and he was exhausted and horrified at how he had caused Jenna so much pain. He didn't think he would ever be able to make up for it, assuming Jenna ever wanted to see him again.

He wanted so desperately to run to her and to make everything better, but he knew going to her right now would only make things worse. He had to wait it out until enough time had passed that she might be willing to listen to his apology. He would do anything to get her back, anything at all. Not having her any more was bad enough, but knowing he was the one that caused her to feel that way was killing him.

He shuddered and gritted his teeth. "How could you have been so stupid?" he chastised himself. "She wanted to start a family with you, you bonehead. The love of your life wanted to start a family with you. What possessed you to say no? Why couldn't you just trust her?"

He covered his head with his paws. "The worst part is, you've always wanted a family of your own, because you never had parents. And now you've destroyed the only chance you'll ever have to make that happen because you couldn't just trust her. Hero of Nome? More like the village idiot."

His self recriminations only intensified his depression, because he knew it was all true. "The best thing to ever happen to me, and somehow I managed to destroy that too. You're a real piece of work, Balto." He whimpered and turned over under his blanket.

Boris had been sitting outside the wheel house listening to Balto berate himself, and he decided it was time to intervene. He waddled inside and sat next to Balto, who was still curled up in a little ball under his blanket. "You would like to tell me about what happened now?" he asked.

"I messed up," Balto growled. "I lost Jenna. I drove her away from me."

"I don't understand. How did this happen?" Boris reached a wing over to gently scratch Balto's head. Balto moved out of the way, not in the mood to be comforted.

"Last night she told me she wanted to start a family with me."

"But Balto, this is good news!" Boris said with a wave of his wings. "You will have your own little pups, and I will be real uncle!"

Balto shut his eyes and turned away from Boris. "I... I got scared. I panicked. I told her I didn't think I could do it. I said I was worried about the pups being part wolf, and that I couldn't be a good father, and... she ran away from me."

"Balto... I love you, but sometimes I want to smack your fuzzy head," Boris said with a sigh.

"I already feel stupid enough Boris, you don't have to make it worse." Balto grumbled.

"Let me ask you something. You want to have a family, yes? And you love Jenna?"

Tears formed in Balto's eyes as he remembered Jenna's face last night right before she ran away. "Yes," he said hoarsely.

"And Jenna wants to have a family with you. She knows your pups will be part wolf, and she knows you will be good father." Boris rubbed Balto's head between his ears. "And I know you will be good father too. I raised you, who else would know better?"

"But what if something goes wrong? What if I don't know what to do?" Balto whined.

"Trust me, boychik," Boris said with a smile as he gently took Balto's muzzle and turned it towards him. "When it is your own pup, you will know what to do."

Balto stared at Boris, suddenly realizing how much Boris had done for him by raising him from a pup and teaching him everything he needed to know.

"Boris..." he said quietly, "thank you for everything you've done for me. I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I... I think I understand now."

Boris breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally you get it! Now stop moping around here and go talk to her!" He pulled Balto's blanket off of him and pushed him out of the wheel house and onto the deck of the boat. "Go, before she starts to think you don't love her any more."

Balto didn't need to hear any more than that, and he leapt off the boat and ran towards Nome.

He had been sitting outside the door to Jenna's shed for five minutes, too scared to scratch on the door to let her know he was there. He put his ear up to the door, and he thought he could hear sniffling coming from inside. He lowered his head and became determined to make it right no matter what it took.

He scratched on the door. "Jenna...?" he asked timidly.

There was no response from inside the shed.

"Jenna?" he repeated. "Can... can I talk to you?"

After a few long moments the door opened, and Balto walked inside. He saw Jenna go back to her bed to lie down, and she lay her head down between her paws.

Balto sat down across from her, and his heart began to break all over again as he saw how devastated she was. It looked like she had been crying for hours. All he wanted to do right then was to lie down next to her and nuzzle her, but he had to put it out of his mind.

"Jenna... I'm so sorry. When you said you wanted a family, I... all I could think of was my wolf heritage and how bad my own childhood was because of it. I was scared, I didn't want to inflict that on my pups."

Jenna sniffed and turned her head the other way.

"Boris was finally able to talk some sense into me. I was wrong, Jenna. He showed me what it's like to be a father, and he made me realize that you know just as well as I do that our pups will have some wolf in them, and you still wanted to start a family with me."

He got up and moved closer to Jenna, close enough so that he was almost touching the back of her neck when he spoke. "Jenna, I love you more than I could ever describe with words. I want to be with you for the rest of my life." He moved close enough speak directly into her ear, and he whispered.

"I want to start a family with you, Jenna. I want it with all my heart. I want to be a father, I want to love my pups and raise them with you."

Jenna began to cry, and Balto wanted to comfort her but she hadn't forgiven him yet. He had to just sit there and watch as she quietly sobbed. Suddenly she turned over, grabbed Balto's muzzle and pulled it to her own. She kissed him so hard and for so long that he began to see stars.

They finally parted, but Jenna didn't let go of Balto's muzzle. She pulled his head close and whispered into his ear.

"Please don't ever do that to me again," she said, and kissed him.

"Never again," he replied, and lay down next to her. He nuzzled her face and neck, finally feeling the sense of relief he had been craving ever since last night. All his anxiety and heartache dissolved away in his mate's embrace, and he wanted to stay there forever.

There was nothing left to be said, and the two of them just lay together for hours. The sun began to set to the west, and Balto slowly stood up. "I should probably go, I'm sure Boris is wondering what happened."

"All right, "Jenna said, and gave Balto a small smile. "Will I see you again tomorrow?"

"Of course, you know I can't stay away from you," he laughed. It felt so good to laugh after what he had put them both through over the last day. His smile faded, and he looked Jenna in the eyes. "So... can I come and get you in the afternoon...?"

Jenna shyly looked away and blushed a little bit, trying to hide her smile. "...yes."

Balto leaned down and kissed her. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He turned and left, closing the shed door behind him. He ran back to his boat finally free of the crushing guilt that had plagued him since last night. He still felt horrible about hurting Jenna like that, but he knew he would never do it again.

When he got back to his boat, Boris demanded he tell him everything that happened. Balto told him, and then asked him more questions about being a father, and what it was like for Boris to raise a young half wolf. Boris was only too happy to oblige, as telling stories was his specialty. They talked until Balto couldn't keep his eyes open any more, and he fell asleep, exhausted.

Boris still saw Balto as his little pup, his furry, four-legged son. He was happy that Balto had become famous and well liked in town, and that he had met and fallen in love with a beautiful girl, but in the end Balto was still just his little boy. He picked up the blanket from the other side of the wheel house and draped it over Balto, who was sound asleep.

"Goodnight, my boy," Boris whispered. "Sweet dreams."

###

Afternoon lazily rolled around, and Balto arrived at Jenna's shed. He scratched at the door, and he heard the familiar "Come in, Balto." He nudged the door open to find Jenna standing just behind it, smiling at him.

"It looks like you're ready to go," he remarked casually.

"Mmm-hmm," Jenna said and nuzzled him.

"All right, let's go." He turned and held the door open for Jenna, and shut it behind them. They began their trek out to their favorite spot, moving at a medium pace and enjoying the warmth of the day. The forest was beautiful as the light filtered down through the trees and illuminated the forest floor in bright patches. The crisp Alaskan air and the scent of pine filled their lungs as they headed up the mountain to their favorite place high above the forest floor.

They arrived at their clearing as the sun was just beginning to dip down towards the ocean. They lay down together at the edge of the cliff to watch the sun finish its daily journey through the sky and down under the sea. They rested as the sky turned dark, the moon came out and the sky lit up with stars. Just like it was the last time they were here like this, the forest was beautiful at night, lit up by the moonlight.

"Balto...?" Jenna asked.

He turned to look at her face, and he couldn't help but stare. The moonlight played about her face and reflected in her eyes; it was the most beautiful he had ever seen her. "Yes, Jenna?" he whispered.

She turned away shyly for a moment. "Would... would you like to start a family? With me?"

Balto said nothing, but instead leaned forward to kiss her. She leaned in to meet his muzzle, and his heart began to beat faster as she returned his kiss. He lovingly nuzzled her face and took in her scent mixed with the cool night air and the smells of the forest.

He pulled his head back to look at her again, and he had never loved her more than at this moment. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him with adoration, and he leaned in to nuzzle the side of her face. She closed her eyes as he whispered in her ear.

"Yes..."

###

Jenna smiled and nuzzled Balto gently. "And two months later, our pups were born. I knew you would be a wonderful father, and you were."

Balto looked at her with deep affection. He noticed how much grey had crept onto her muzzle, and he leaned down to kiss her. When he was younger his only lifelong desire was to live and grow old with her, and now he got his wish. Seeing her like this only meant his dream had come true, and he loved her even more for it.

"You were right about everything. I loved being a father, and I still do. When our pups decide to visit us, that is," he chuckled.

"They're not exactly pups any more, Balto," Jenna said with a giggle. "They're only a few years younger than we are."

"Hmph," Balto huffed in mock annoyance. "They'll always be my pups, I don't care how old they are."

"Oh Balto," Jenna grinned and nuzzled him. "You were the best father they could have asked for. And they were all good mothers and fathers to our grandchildren because of your example."

"And yours," Balto nudged her. "We did pretty well, didn't we?"

Jenna nodded. "Yeah, we did. We did very well," she said as she drew him into a kiss.

The sun had begun to take its familiar arc down towards the ocean, and Balto and Jenna's shadows began to stretch behind them towards the forest. They sat in silence, watching the trees sway in the breeze and enjoying the feel of the wind blowing through their fur. They watched the water cascading over the waterfall far below them and felt the waning rays of the sun warming their skin.

"We don't have much time left," Balto said with a hint of sadness, as the sun continued relentlessly towards the sea. "We probably shouldn't stay here after it gets dark. We're not as young as we used to be."

"It's our last visit here, Balto," Jenna said as she looked out over the lush, green valley before them. "I'd hate to leave without seeing the moonlight over the forest again. You know how much I like it here at night."

"Yeah, I do. And I admit, I like watching the sun set from here. We've been coming here for so many years, and I'm still amazed at how beautiful everything is from up here." He nuzzled Jenna and looked into her eyes. "And I do mean everything."

Jenna smiled and nuzzled him back. "If you're trying to get me to fall in love with you again, it won't work. I'm still in love with you from the first time that happened, thirteen years ago."

Balto grinned at her response, and kissed her. Jenna snuggled closer to her mate as they sat and watched the sun begin to sink below the horizon for the last time from this place. This one little clearing up in the mountains held so many memories for them, an entire lifetime's worth. When their pups were old enough they began to bring them up to this clearing too, and it went from being Balto's favorite place to Balto and Jenna's favorite place, to his family's favorite place. They had even been able to bring Aleu up there along with the rest of the pups a few times before she left to lead her wolf pack.

He looked around and he could see his beloved children wrestling and playing in the leaves, and he could remember the many nights that all of them slept together on the plateau, under the broad summer night sky. He loved his family so much, and he loved being near his mate and his pups. When they would all spend the night there, he liked nothing better than to wake up surrounded by his family.

He missed those days, but he was thankful that he still had Jenna. Once he had brought her up to this place for the first time, he never came back by himself again. He knew he could never come back here alone, there were too many memories embedded in the forest floor and on the plateau.

"I never came back here alone after the first time I brought you here," Balto said as he looked out over the forest below them. "It would have felt like something was missing."

Jenna smiled at him. "I know the feeling. I've never been here without you, and I don't think I'd ever want to."

"Almost all the memories I have of this place with you are good," he said. "Some aren't so good though... like the time you had a hard choice to make, remember that?"

"Yeah," Jenna nodded. "I'm glad I only had to make that choice once. I know I made the right choice, but it wasn't easy."

###

Chapter Three: The Choice

"All I want is to feel this way
To be this close, to feel the same"

Balto scratched on the door to Jenna's shed, just like he did every morning, but he didn't hear the response he was accustomed to hearing. This time he couldn't hear anything, and he began to wonder if she wasn't in the shed. He scratched again and listened at the door to see if he could hear anything from inside. "Jenna? Are you there?" he asked.

Jenna heard him outside, but she didn't say anything. She heard him nose the door open and slowly walk inside, but she couldn't look at him. She knew that if she did, she would break down into tears. She put her head down between her paws as Balto walked up to her.

"Jenna? Are you all right?" She heard the concern in his voice, and all she wanted to do was lie down inside his embrace and nuzzle him. She forced herself to keep it together for just a little while longer so she could explain what was going to happen.

"No, Balto... I'm not," she replied, with her head between her paws.

Balto lay down next to her and gently nuzzled her face. "What's wrong, Jenna?" he asked softly.

Balto's muzzle against her face, his warm, soft voice and the feel of his body against hers was simply too much for her. She began to cry, and she pushed her head against his, seeking comfort. She cried into his neck fur as he held her close to him, and she couldn't stop. All she could think about was how much she was going to miss him.

When she had calmed down somewhat, she was able to tell him why she was so upset.

"Balto... I..." she began, choking on the words she was trying to say. "I'm leaving. We're leaving Nome," she said as she buried her face in his neck.

Balto felt his heart turn cold as he heard Jenna speak the words he hoped he would never hear. "Leaving...?" he said in shock. "But... why? When?"

She gently sobbed and rubbed her face against his. "T-tomorrow, Balto. We're leaving tomorrow. I don't want to leave you," she cried, and pushed her face into his chest.

Balto held her head against his chest and he began to feel the crushing weight of despair. He couldn't even imagine living without her now, they had been together for years. Their pups were grown up, and Jenna was all he had, and all he wanted.

"Isn't there some way I can go with you?" he asked as he cradled her head against his body. "I - I would leave everything behind for you, Jenna."

Jenna closed her eyes. "Rosy asked her parents about you, but... they said you weren't part of the family. They don't want to take you with us. They said... they couldn't take a half wolf to a new town."

"I don't think I can live without you, Jenna," Balto said quietly as a tear rolled down his muzzle. "What will I do without you...?"

Jenna nuzzled her mate's chest and breathed deeply, taking in his scent. She promised herself she would never forget what he smelled like, or what it felt like when he held her. "Rosy said there's a chance we could come back to Nome, because her father's job may just be temporary... but even if it is, it will still be months before we find out. And I don't think I can live without you either..."

Balto sniffed and held Jenna tighter. "Where are you going? Maybe if it's not too far away..."

Jenna trembled as she began to cry again. "We're going to Anchorage. It's a thousand miles away, Balto..." She pushed herself against Balto and wept. Even though they were pressed against each other, she could not get close enough to him and he couldn't hold her tightly enough.

No more words were spoken as Balto held her as tight as he could, and she cried into his fur. His own tears began to fall as he tried to imagine living in Nome without her, and he knew he couldn't do it. Jenna was a part of him, not just his mate, and he could not and would not be separated from her.

"Jenna..." Balto began to speak quietly. "There may be another answer."

She looked up at him with her tear-filled eyes. "What do you mean...?"

Balto was silent for a moment before responding. "You could stay here. With me."

Jenna's eyes widened as the concept of leaving Rosy and her family entered her mind for the first time. To her own surprise she didn't immediately dismiss the idea, and her mind tried to grasp the concept of living with Balto without a home of her own, without her humans, and without the girl who had been her owner and friend since she was only eight weeks old.

"But Balto," she said as she tried to comprehend the implications of what Balto was suggesting, "I can't just run away from Rosy... can I?"

Balto lowered his head and nuzzled her face. "I don't know. I love Rosy too, but this... I think you're going to have to choose between her and me. I would go with you if I could, but since they don't want me to..."

"...the only way for us to be together is if I run away," she finished. "But... I've never lived alone before, without a home, without my owners... I wouldn't know what to do." She pressed her face against his and closed her eyes.

"You wouldn't be alone, Jenna. You would never be alone," he said quietly into her ear.

"Oh Balto," she said sadly. "I don't know what to do. Running away just seems wrong to me, Rosy's home is the only home I've ever known. How can I abandon them, when they've been so good to me? And I love Rosy. But... how can I leave you?"

She looked up at Balto, then nuzzled his face again. "I don't think I can leave you. You have become the most important thing in my life, you have been for years now. It.... it would tear me apart to leave you."

Balto pulled her to his chest again and held her. He didn't want to let go, now or ever. "It would tear me apart too, Jenna. Just like it would if you tore the spirit from my body. I love you, and I couldn't bear to be separated from you."

"So then... what do I do...?" She asked as she leaned into his chest.

"We can leave tonight. We'll go to our special spot in the mountains and stay there for a couple of days. If Rosy and her parents are leaving tomorrow because her father has a job in Anchorage, they won't be able to stay here and look for you. I know it will be hard for you, but... I think it's the only way we can be together."

"I don't know, Balto," she said as she lay down on the floor. "I don't know if I can do that to Rosy, she loves me. This is too much, I need some time to think about what I'm going to do. Just... just remember that I love you no matter what happens, okay?"

"I'll remember," Balto said softly, "as long as you remember that you're the only thing in my life that matters besides our children. They're grown up and have homes so I don't need to worry about them too much any more. But you..."

Balto lowered his head. "I won't be separated from you, Jenna. I don't care what it takes. If I have to run all the way to Anchorage to be with you, then that's what I'll do." He leaned down to nuzzle her.

"I want to stay with you," she said as she nuzzled him back, "but the thought of leaving my humans, especially Rosy, is terrifying to me. I've never known anything other than this house, and this shed. And she would be lonely without me... without us. How can I do that to her when she's been so good to me?"

"I know. I don't like it either. But if they really don't want to take me along with you..." Balto sighed. "I wish Rosy's father would just accept me. Haven't I proven that I'm not going to be some huge burden on him by now? And that I won't bite him or Rosy?"

Jenna looked down at the floor. "I don't know why he still doesn't want to adopt you, Balto. Rosy and I have been wishing you could live with us for so long now, and he still just - you would think after saving his daughter that he would change his mind. And if not that, then us having a family together should have done it. It's not that he doesn't like you, he just... doesn't want you to live with us."

Balto looked down at the floor. "Jenna, listen. I know it will hurt Rosy, and I don't want to hurt her. You know I love her, but I can't live without you. Please come and stay with me. I'll take care of you and love you, and give you everything you need. I promise."

Jenna said nothing as she listened to Balto and tried to sort out all the feelings she was experiencing right then. As much as she didn't want to hurt Rosy by abandoning her , she knew Rosy would understand that the reason she ran away was so that she could stay with Balto. And when she thought about what it would be like to move away to a new place without Balto... she felt a hint of the loneliness it would cause her, and she made up her mind.

"I'm... I'm going to stay here with you, Balto," Jenna said quietly. "And I hope Rosy will understand why I have to run away."

Balto closed his eyes and sighed in relief. "Thank you, Jenna. Everything will work out, I promise. I'm going to go back to the boat now, and I'll be back to get you later tonight, okay? Probably about midnight."

"Balto, please... please tell me again that everything will be all right."

"I'll be by your side the entire time," Balto said as he leaned down to kiss her. "Everything will be fine. Besides, you said the move might be temporary, so there's a chance they'll come back and we - I mean you can move back in with Rosy."

"And if they don't come back?" she asked softly.

Balto lay down in front of her and nuzzled her face. "Then we'll be able to live together for the rest of our lives. Rosy will understand, she knows how much we love each other." He got up to leave, and walked towards the door. "I'll be back for you tonight. I love you."

"I love you too," she said as Balto disappeared around the corner.

###

Balto came back late that night, and Jenna was waiting for him when he scratched at the shed door. She opened the door, and he walked in and nudged the door closed behind him. Without saying a word, he walked up to Jenna and nuzzled her. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

Jenna nodded, still not quite believing that she was going to run away from Rosy. "I guess so. It still feels wrong, and I'm still scared. But I know it's the only way we can be together."

"I'm sorry, Jenna. If there were any other way..."

"I know. It's not your fault. I just hope Rosy will be okay without me, and I hope I'll be okay without her."

Balto nuzzled her. "I'm sure Rosy will be fine, and you'll have me to take care of you. I am going to miss her though."

"Me too," Jenna said, as tears began to form in her eyes. "Let's go... "

The two of them left the shed and closed the door. Jenna stopped as they walked away, and turned to look back at the house that had been her home since she was a tiny puppy. Tears began to roll down her face as she thought about Rosy and how much she loved her, and Balto licked the tears from her muzzle. Jenna began to cry softly and leaned her head against Balto.

Balto tried to comfort her, and nuzzled her face. "I know, Jenna... I'm going to miss her too," he said gently.

Jenna gave Balto's face one last nuzzle, then she turned around and began to walk away, her head lowered and her tail almost dragging on the ground as she continued to cry. Balto wished he could do more to comfort her, and turned to follow her.

The two of them walked out of Nome and towards the mountains that cradled their secret place high above the forest floor. Jenna had stopped crying but she walked in silence. Balto didn't want to interrupt her thoughts and he followed close behind her, the two of them slowly making their way up the mountain under the canopy of the night sky.

Eventually they reached their special spot, the place they knew they could stay until it was safe to go back to town. Jenna was exhausted and depressed, and she still hadn't said a word to Balto. She didn't even want to look over the edge of the cliff like she normally did, to take in the view of the forest under the moonlight. Instead, she went to the back of the plateau, against the cliff wall which partially sheltered the rear of the clearing.

Balto had taken the time to bring two blankets and some food there during the day, so they could stay there for a few days without having to leave. Jenna lay down, dragged one of the blankets over herself and closed her eyes.

Balto sat at a distance and watched her try to sleep. Her eyes were closed but she couldn't get comfortable. She tossed and turned, and she suddenly grabbed the blanket with her teeth and threw it away in frustration. She lay her head down between her paws and began to cry quietly. Balto got up and picked the blanket up, then lay down next to Jenna and pulled it over both of them. She nuzzled his face, and curled up inside his paws.

He held her as she cried, and he knew this would be a difficult night. He was willing to do whatever it took to help her get through it, and he held her as tightly as he could. Finally, mercifully, she fell asleep in his embrace. Balto could sense dawn approaching, and he wearily closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

Balto woke as he started getting too warm from the midday sun and the blanket. Jenna was still inside his embrace, breathing steadily, so he stayed where he was. He slowly pulled the blanket off of them with his teeth, then held Jenna tighter and lay his head down behind her neck. He loved her scent, and he rested his muzzle against her neck and breathed deep.

Her scent triggered happy memories for him, and he lay there with his eyes closed remembering all the time he had spent with Jenna and his pups. He could smell Rosy's scent on her neck too, and he suddenly recalled why they were there in their special spot in the mountains. He began to feel bad again as he knew Rosy would be looking for Jenna by now. But Rosy was supposed to leave for Anchorage today, and the plane that was taking them there wasn't going to wait for them to look for their dog.

Balto sighed and tried to go back to sleep, holding Jenna's softly breathing body close to his.

###

"Jenna!" Rosy called. "Come on girl, we have to go!" Rosy stood outside the shed and looked around to try to spot her. Jenna was always either at home or with Balto, and they had already gone out to Balto's boat to look for her. She was nowhere to be found, and neither was Balto. At this point Rosy was pretty sure she knew what happened, but she wasn't going to stop trying to find her.

"Please Jenna, come back. I don't want to leave without you, I need you." She sat down on the ground outside the shed and began to cry. "Come back, Jenna," she sniffed.

Rosy's father walked up behind her, then sat down next to her and pulled her close to him. Rosy threw his arm off of her and backed away from him. "This is all your fault!"

Rosy's father stared at her, shocked. "What.... what's my fault, honey?"

"Jenna ran away because you wouldn't let Balto come with us! I told you, she loves him. They both ran away together!"

"I'm sure Jenna is around here somewhere, she wouldn't run away from her family like that."

Rosy stared at her father, and he could feel her anger from where he sat. "Don't you get it dad? Balto IS her family! They had puppies together and Balto is always here because they want to be together! I tried to tell you that so many times, but you just wouldn't listen!"

Rosy was crying, and tears were falling down her cheeks. "I hate you for doing this to them and making Jenna run away!" She turned and ran back to her house, leaving her father speechless on the ground outside the shed. He sat there for a few moments then got up and took one last look around to see if he could spot Jenna anywhere. She was nowhere to be found, and he turned around and went back to the house. The plane was going to leave soon and they all had to be on it, whether Jenna was with them or not.

Rosy ran to her mother and tearfully explained what had happened, and why they weren't going to find Jenna or Balto anywhere. "It's all his fault," she said, referring to her father. "He wouldn't let Balto live with us, so Jenna ran away with him. Now I won't have any friends in Anchorage at all." She wept into her mother's arms, and her mother did her best to comfort her.

She was just as upset that Jenna was gone, she wanted that puppy just as much as Rosy did when they adopted her at eight weeks old. It was too much of a coincidence that Jenna would run away on the same day they were going to leave for a new city, and that Balto was missing too; especially since Jenna had never run away before. It just wasn't like her to do that. She believed Rosy, and she knew that the two dogs had probably run off together so they wouldn't be separated.

She decided that was the final straw. She was going to allow Balto to live with them, if they ever came back to Nome... and if they ever found him and Jenna. She never understood why her husband was so opposed to Balto living with them anyway. Despite being half wolf, he was still the nicest dog in Nome, and she loved him almost as much as Rosy did. She understood that Balto had saved Rosy's life, and she would always be grateful to him for that. And he and Jenna had puppies together, and he was at their house every day... they should have allowed him to live with them a long time ago.

Rosy's father entered the house, and saw Rosy and her mother sitting on the floor in the living room. Rosy turned away from him, and her mother looked at him with a frown on her face. He sighed and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, Rosy," he said. "I didn't know she would run away. I wanted to take her with us as much as you did."

He looked at his wife. "We're out of time. The plane will be leaving soon, and we have to be on it. We have to go now."

Rosy's mother nodded, and pulled Rosy back to look at her. "I'm sorry, honey. We have to leave now. I'm sure Jenna will be fine as long as she's with Balto."

Rosy said nothing, but she nodded. They got up and walked out of the house, closing the door behind them. They walked into town without saying a word, and headed towards the plane that was waiting for them on the outskirts of Nome. They boarded the plane, and Rosy looked out of the tiny window as the plane began its run towards the sky.

"Goodbye Jenna, goodbye Balto," she said as a tear fell from her face and landed on her sleeve. "I love you, please stay safe."

###

Jenna woke with a start as the sound of an airplane got louder and louder, and she gasped as she sat up and watched the plane fly directly over them and continue on its way to Anchorage.

"Balto... that was Rosy," she said. "They're... they're gone. My owners are gone."

Balto nuzzled the side of her face from behind her and spoke softly into her ear. "But I'm still here. I won't ever leave you."

"I know... I just still can't believe they're gone." She turned her head to look at Balto. "Thank you for being there for me last night. I needed to feel you near me. I still do."

Balto looked into her eyes, and he saw how vulnerable she was right then. "Jenna, you know I would do anything for you. I'll always be here for you."

She closed her eyes and kissed him, then lay down and curled up inside his paws again.

"Are you hungry?" Balto asked. "I brought some meat up here for us, the butcher gave it to me yesterday. He..." His voice trailed off as he saw that Jenna wasn't interested. He had to try though, she was going to have to eat some time. She just lay curled up inside his embrace. Normally nothing would make him happier than to simply lay there with her, with his paws around her. Now, though, he was worried that she might slip into depression if he didn't try to take her mind off of Rosy and her humans... and her home.

"Do you want to lie over near the edge, where we can look out over the forest?" he asked hopefully. "It's really pretty today–"

"Balto, please," Jenna said quietly but with enough pain in her voice to stop him from speaking completely. "Please just hold me."

Balto didn't say another word as he lay his head down behind hers, and pulled her body close to his with his paws. She leaned her head back to nuzzle his chin, and then curled up again.

They lay there in the shade of the cliff wall for hours, and Balto drifted in and out of sleep. The sun hung low in the sky when Jenna got up and walked over to the edge of the plateau to look over the forest and the ocean to the west. Balto sat up to watch her as she sat down near the edge and gazed out at the vista before her, the breeze blowing gently through her fur and ruffling her bandanna.

He watched her for a few minutes, then got up and went to sit next to her. He sat down and she lay her head down on his shoulder. They sat together watching the trees sway gently in the breeze, and Jenna lifted her head to kiss him. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I couldn't do this without you."

Balto nuzzled her lovingly. "I couldn't do this without you either." They sat together for a while longer as the sun began to set, and the sky turned different shades of orange and red.

"Um, Balto?" Jenna asked with a small smile on her face. "I think I'm ready to eat something now. Actually I'm starving."

Balto smiled with relief, and he kissed her. He got up and went to fetch one of the packets of meat the butcher had given him. He brought it over to Jenna, set it down in front of her and unwrapped it.

She looked over at him. "Aren't you going to eat something?"

"I will. I just wanted to make sure you got enough to eat first," he said. "Go ahead, I'm just happy that you're eating something."

He watched as Jenna ate the meat in front of her, then he went back and got another piece of meat for himself. He lay down next to Jenna, unwrapped it and ate it. Jenna lay down and the two of them watched the sun sink behind the ocean together.

"Jenna, I had a thought," Balto said as he nuzzled the back of her neck. "I know you're probably not looking forward to living on my boat, but what if we lived in your shed at Rosy's house? That way at least you would be in a familiar place, and we could finally live together there."

Jenna's eyes grew wide as she realized that was the perfect solution. "Balto, I love that idea!" she said and leaned forward to kiss him deeply. "And I love you."

Balto smiled at her. "I love you too, Jenna. We can leave whenever you're ready."

Jenna nodded. "I want to go home with you. Can we go now?"

"Let me just grab the rest of the meat and we'll leave." Balto placed the remaining packages of meat into one of the blankets, and wrapped them up together. He picked up the bundle with his teeth and nodded to Jenna. The two of them left the clearing and made their way down the mountain as darkness descended over them. The moon rose over the mountains to the east, and illuminated the forest with its thin, silvery light as they headed back to Jenna's shed.

When they arrived, Jenna was so happy to be back home. Even though her owners were gone, she could still live in her shed and Balto could live with her, at last. She finally thought she would be able to live without Rosy, as long as she had Balto with her.

They entered the shed, and Jenna closed the door behind them. She watched as Balto set his blanket down and turned to look at her. She was so happy to see him like this, knowing that this was his home now, and that he would always be there with her. No more leaving to go back to his boat, and no more nights alone.

She grinned and walked over to him. She nudged him with her nose, pushing him towards her bed. Then she pushed him hard enough to make him fall over onto his back, and she moved to stand over him. She looked down at him adoringly and lowered her muzzle to kiss him, and he returned her kiss.

She lay down and snuggled close to him as he gently used his paws to pull her close. "This is how it should have been since I first fell in love with you," she said. "I always wanted you to live here with me... and now you do."

"I hated leaving you all those nights," Balto replied. "After being with you every day, it was lonely out at the boat. I wanted to live here with you too, but... Rosy's father didn't want me to."

"And now he's gone, along with Rosy," Jenna said quietly, and nuzzled Balto's face, breathing deeply to smell his scent. "But as long as I have you, I'll be okay. I just hope Rosy will be okay too."

"I'm sure Rosy understands why you had to run away," Balto assured her. "She knows you're safe with me. She'll be fine."

"She probably knows I'm safe with you, but what about her? She's going to miss us."

"I know," Balto said as he nuzzled her neck. "I wish there was something we could do, but Anchorage is just too far. She'll miss us, but she'll be all right. And hopefully they'll come back after a while."

Jenna nodded. "I hope so."

###

The days began to go by as Balto and Jenna started their new life together. Finding food wasn't too hard as most of the townspeople still regarded Balto as the hero of Nome, and the man who ran the general store usually had something for him, as did the butcher. Without Rosy to play with life was duller, and both Balto and Jenna missed the way she petted and hugged them. But they were able to adapt, and they loved living together so much that they knew there was nothing that could separate them again.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. The house was still empty, probably because there was still a chance that Rosy's father's job would turn out to be temporary and they would move back to Nome, so they didn't sell their house. That gave Jenna and Balto hope that they would see Rosy again some day. Until then, they were happy just to be together like they had always wanted to be.

They would go out and visit Boris at the boat, and he would complain about how lonely he was, and how the bears were no substitute for his real family. "I'm sorry Boris," Balto would say as he looked at Jenna, "but I have my own family to take care of now."

"Oy, they grow up so fast," Boris would say.

Jenna and Balto had missed Rosy a lot for the first few weeks, but now the loss was dulled a bit as they adjusted to their new life. Today they had gone up to their favorite spot up on the mountain to enjoy the view and breathe the mountain air, and they had just returned to their home, the shed behind Rosy's house.

"Thank you for taking me up there again," Jenna said as they entered the shed and she closed the door behind them. "I like it so much up there."

"I do too," he said as he lay down on their bed. "It always makes me feel better when we go there."

Jenna lay down inside his paws, like she did every night. He nuzzled her neck, and she turned to give him a long, passionate kiss. "I love you, Balto," she said.

"I love you too, Jenna," he whispered into her ear as he nuzzled her. He held her close to him, and the two of them fell asleep together.

They were woken the next day by the sound of an airplane flying very close overhead. Airplanes were still fairly uncommon, and it was rare to hear them flying into Nome. Balto and Jenna looked at each other, and they got up to see who was flying in to Nome. They walked together to the edge of town in time to see the plane landing in the snow outside of town.

Jenna watched the plane intently to see who would emerge from it, and soon three people got out of the plane; it was Rosy and her parents.

"Rosy!" Jenna yelled, and she broke into a run towards her. Balto ran after her, and they both reached Rosy at the same time. They barked in excitement and leapt on top of Rosy, knocking her down. Balto and Jenna were licking Rosy, and she was laughing so hard she couldn't get up.

"Come on guys, let me up!" she laughed. Balto and Jenna let her get up, and she hugged them to her. "I missed you guys so much! I'm so happy to see you together."

"Jenna," she said as she looked at Jenna and hugged her. "I missed you, but I know why you didn't come with us. It's okay, I would have stayed with Balto too, if it was me." Jenna licked her face and nuzzled her.

"I missed you too, Balto," she said as she hugged him. "And I have some great news for you! My dad finally said you can live with us. My mom told him that's why Jenna ran away, so he finally gave in. You're part of our family now, Balto!"

Jenna smiled and looked at Balto with tears in her eyes. "Balto..."

Balto was so happy he couldn't stop licking and nuzzling Rosy. "Ha ha! Okay boy, okay! I love you too!" Rosy laughed. She hugged him again and rubbed his head.

Balto turned to Jenna, and she kissed him and nuzzled his face. "Jenna... it's everything I've ever wanted," he said. "All of us living together, finally."

Rosy's father approached them as Rosy and the two dogs were hugging and licking. He crouched down next to Balto and rubbed his head. "Balto, I'm sorry," he said. "Even after you saved my daughter's life, even after you guys had a litter of puppies, I was still uneasy about allowing a half wolf to live with us. My wife and Rosy and even Jenna showed me that I was wrong, and I'm sorry."

He scratched Balto's ears, and Balto nuzzled his hand. "You're a good dog, Balto. I would love it if you came to live with us."

Balto licked his face and nuzzled his hand. "I'll take that as a yes," Rosy's father said with a laugh. "Come on everybody, let's go home."

###

Balto and Jenna sat silently for a while as the sun sank below the ocean for the last time they would see it from this place. They watched as the sky darkened from red and orange into black, and soon the moon rose above the mountains to the east.

"For all the years we've been coming here, it's never gotten any less beautiful," Jenna said.

"Just like you," Balto said with a smile.

"You would think I'd be tired of hearing that by now, but I'm not," Jenna laughed quietly.

"I know what you mean though. I'll always love this place, and I hope our pups keep coming here after we're gone," Balto said as he looked out over the forest. "Jenna, since this is our last visit here I wanted to say a few things. I wanted to make sure you knew these things before either one of us is gone."

"What is it, Balto?" Jenna knew that look in his eye, she had seen it so many times before. He was still just as much in love with her as he had ever been, and he didn't need to say anything. She already knew.

"I'm not sure how to say this, but... I wanted to thank you for my life with you. I've been in love with you almost my entire life, and I know how lucky that makes me. You gave me love, you gave me a family, and you gave me more than that... you gave me a lifelong companion, a perfect soulmate. I don't think I could ever truly describe how much I love you, and how thankful I am to have you in my life."

Jenna nuzzled him, and kissed him. "I'm just as thankful to have had you for almost all of my life too. I didn't think I would ever find a mate or would even want one until I met you. And then I knew that you were the only mate I would ever want."

She looked deep into his eyes. "You have given me a wonderful, beautiful life, my love. It's all I could ever have asked for."

They slowly leaned towards each other and kissed deeply and passionately as the full moon rose higher in the nearly cloudless sky, casting its silvery beams across the forest and playing around Balto and Jenna's aging faces as they shared each other's company as they had shared their entire lives... together.

###

Epilogue

Jenna didn't want to leave, but she knew they had to before it got too late. They were too old now, and it was going to take long enough to get back home as it was. She nudged Balto with her nose and sighed.

"I know, I don't want to leave either," he said. "But I guess we have to. I'm really going to miss this place."

"I am too," she said. "I'm just glad we had this place for so long." She looked sadly out across the forest, trying to remember what every tree looked like, every rock, the waterfall, the river, so she would never forget.

"Yeah, I–" Balto stopped in mid sentence and sniffed the air. His eyes flew open and he turned his head in the direction of the entrance to the plateau.

"Balto, what is it? You know my nose isn't as good as yours."

Balto turned slowly around to look at Jenna. "... Dingo?!"

As he said it, a red and white dog appeared at the entrance to the plateau, and slowly walked towards them.

"Dingo!" Jenna yelled. She and Balto walked towards him and nuzzled him affectionately.

"Hi mom, hi dad" he said with a smile. "I thought we'd find you here when we couldn't find you anywhere else."

'Well you were right, son," Balto said. "We were just– wait a minute. Did you say 'we'?"

Dingo laughed. "You're still as sharp as ever, dad. Yeah, I brought a few stragglers with me." A red and white female entered the clearing as he finished speaking, and Jenna gasped. "Saba!"

Saba smiled and nuzzled her parents who were licking and nuzzling her. "Hi mom, hi papa," she said happily. "And that's not all..." She indicated the entrance again, and another three red and white dogs emerged and... one brown one.

Balto's smile faded as he stared at her. "... Aleu..."

Jenna began to cry as Aleu came over to them, and the three of them nuzzled and hugged each other. "Aleu, it's been so long... oh, my baby," she cried as she nuzzled Aleu's neck.

"I love you too mom, papa," she said with tears in her eyes. "It's so good to see you and my brothers and sisters again. I was worried when we couldn't find you, but Dingo was right."

"I always am," Dingo said with a laugh. "Ow" he said as Kodi cuffed his ear, causing their other siblings to laugh.

There was a flurry of conversation and everybody was trying to talk at once, telling their parents what they had been up to recently, and asking Aleu about her wolf pack. All of them were overjoyed to see their parents alive and well, and they were all happy to be together again, especially on that plateau. This had been their family's favorite place for years, and it seemed fitting that they were all there together again.

Balto and Jenna looked adoringly at their children, and they couldn't be any happier. They all lay down together near the edge of the cliff, a big red white and brown dog pile, sharing stories and talking and laughing well into the night. Eventually they all dropped off to sleep one by one, and soon nothing was heard but the slow, measured breathing of eight dogs.

Balto woke in the early morning sun, but he didn't move. He slowly became aware of his surroundings, and he realized he was the only one that had woken up. He was going to go back to sleep when he relaxed and breathed deeply through his nose. His entire family was all around him, and he could smell each one of their scents individually. His mate, his sons and his daughters were all pressed up against him, and he silently wept a tear of happiness for this moment, a moment he thought he would never experience again.

He was a hero, a son, a father and a mate. All of these things together defined who he was, and it was all of these things that made him so beloved to so many. The people of Nome, his mother Aniu, his mate Jenna and his children all loved him more than he ever thought possible for someone who started life as a tiny brown half wolf pup, an outcast reviled by humans and dogs alike, with no home to call his own and no parents to raise him.

He lay his head back down and snuggled softly into Jenna's neck fur, feeling the warmth of his children's bodies all along the length of his own. He had everything he ever wanted right there all around him, and he fell back to sleep with a smile across his greying muzzle.

###

-Xaqtly