<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Steele spat the bone into&nbsp;the air, then, moments later, caught it and continued&nbsp;his story.&nbsp; &nbsp;&quot;And so I said, <em>&#39;Steele, you&#39;ll just have to gnaw your way to the surface!&#39;</em> I-&quot; Steele stopped, a long, low howl completely cut him off.&nbsp; Doc opened the door.&nbsp; &quot;Its Balto! With the medicine!&quot; Doc cheered.&nbsp; All the dogs in the room gasped, and glared at Steele. Steele looked at Dixie, one of his many admires, the bone hanging out of his mouth.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Oh Steele.&quot; She started. &quot;Your positively DISPOSABLE!&quot; <span style="font-size: 12px">Dixie shouted, slapping the bone out of his mouth.&nbsp; He looked at the rest of the dogs, they were all still growling at him.&nbsp; They began to leave.&nbsp; &quot;Guys, I can explain.&quot; He said, forcing a smile on his face, but they were still leaving. &quot;Guys! Wait.&nbsp; Just.&nbsp; A sec! Please? I-&quot; That was all he could say, before they slammed the door in his face.</span>&nbsp; Meanwhile, Balto and the others were pulling into town. Almost everyone had come just to see Balto bring the medicine home, including almost all the dogs in town.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dixie looked through the crowed, standing next to a thin grey male, who she had seen run behind Steele in the races.&nbsp; She also could see Jenna, standing on the hospital porch with Balto.&nbsp; &quot;Way to go, Balto!&quot; The grey male cheered. Dixie backed up behind him. She saw him get nudged by a larger yellow male. She thought of Steele, an wished it was her up on the porch, with him. She felt tears in her eye&#39;s, and left.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dixie walked home, alone, she didn&#39;t want Sylvie, Jenna,&nbsp;or any of her other friends to see her cry. She couldn&#39;t believe what Steele had done. He was her life, her hero, her everything.&nbsp; She cound&#39;t possibly think of anyone as great as him.&nbsp; Then, she began to think, what about the dogs on his team?&nbsp; They must be somewhat better than him, if they had the heart to let Balto lead them back.&nbsp; She decided to try for one of them, and do her best to get over Steele.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When the next morning came, she was very excited.&nbsp; She started out the door, and into town.&nbsp; Although she tried to look happy, she couldn&#39;t help but to think of Steele.&nbsp; She frowned, then she saw three dogs, male dogs, she new they were on te team the brought the medicine home.&nbsp; She could see that they had many dogs around them.&nbsp; She walked over.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;What happened next?&quot; One female asked.&nbsp; &quot;Steele couldn&#39;t find out which way to go.&quot; &nbsp;A large brown male said.&nbsp; &quot;So he just began running around, then we fell down this icy hill!&quot; A yellow one added.&nbsp; &quot;I-I-It was the slipperiest-Th-th-the fastest, the most uh-eh.&quot; The yellow one studderd. &quot;The slickest thing we&#39;ve ever stepped on!&quot; A slim, grey male shouted. The yellow one knocked him in the face with his paw. All the other dogs laughed at him and they left.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; All but Dixie, she was the only one that stayed.&nbsp; She helped him up. &quot;Thanks.&quot; he said.&nbsp; &quot;My name is Star, I-I&#39;ve seen you watching us- or <em>Steele </em>race.&nbsp; Isn&#39;t your name, Pixie?&quot; He asked. &quot;Dixie.&quot; She corrected.&nbsp; &quot;Oh, well, thats still a pretty name!&quot; He said, cheering up a bit.&nbsp; Dixie&#39;s face turned red.&nbsp; <em>That was better than anything Steele had- </em>She stopped,&nbsp;and frowned. &quot;Whats wrong?&quot; Star asked.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dixie explained everything.&nbsp; &quot;Maybe I can help!&quot; He said very loud and happily.&nbsp; &quot;Maybe i can help you find a mate!&quot; He cheered again.&nbsp; Dixie smiled. &quot;That would be just, so, wonderful!&quot; She cheered.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	--</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They found the two other males that had been with Star.&nbsp; &quot;Why not start with them?&quot; She smiled.&nbsp; &quot;Kaltag has pups, and Nikki has someone already.&quot; Star said.&nbsp; Dixie frowned.&nbsp; Star noticed that she was frowning, and jumped playfully confront of her. It seemed to lift her mood and she chuckled, and jumped on him.&nbsp; They laughed and smiled at eachother, then, realized what had just happened.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Star cleared his throught.&nbsp; &quot;I-Its getting late.&quot; he said.&nbsp; Dixie nodded and he walked her home.&nbsp; She walked onto her porch.&nbsp; &quot;Dixie..&quot; Star said.&nbsp; &quot;I-I had fun, with you,&nbsp;today.&quot; He said slowly. Dixie&#39;s face turned red and she walked inside.&nbsp; Although she still had no guy with her, she had had a lot of fun with Star, and she had begun to like spending time with him. Even if she only met that morning.</p>
<p>
	Two weeks later</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dixie woke to scratching on the door.&nbsp; She hurried to the door and poked her head through the doggie-door.&nbsp; She was right, it was Star.&nbsp; &quot;Hi Dixie!&#39; He smiled. She walked out.&nbsp; &quot;There&#39;s still&nbsp;a few&nbsp;teams left, maybe we can-&quot; Star began but Dixie interrupted. &quot;Why don&#39;t you and I go do something!&quot; She said quickly.&nbsp; Star blinked. &quot;Oh-That, is.. fine with me.&quot; He said slowly.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They walked into town.&nbsp; Then, Dixie wished she had stayed home.&nbsp; She saw Steele, but with another girl.&nbsp; She was very beautiful.&nbsp; &quot;Its OK Dixie.&quot; Star said.&nbsp; Dixie buried her face in his fur, Star&#39;s heart pounded, never had a girl done that to him before.&nbsp; He buried his nose into her fur.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dixie calmed down, they walked over to a small hill, and watched the sun set.&nbsp; As the light was slowly leaving, they left.&nbsp; It was almost dark when they got to Dixie&#39;s house.&nbsp; She got on the porch, then, looked back at Star.&nbsp; &quot;Ya&#39;know..&quot; She started.&nbsp; &quot;My girls still out of town.&quot;, Star&#39;s eye&#39;s widened. Dixie walked down off the porch, and nuzzled Star. Star smiled warmly at her.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;No... way.&quot; Kaltag mumbled to himself, not wanting them to hear him.&nbsp; He saw them both go into Dixie&#39;s house.&nbsp; Kaltag walked back into his own house.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The next morning, Dixie felt a <em>lot&nbsp; </em>warmer than she normally did.&nbsp; She then remembered what had happened that night, and smiled.&nbsp; &quot;Sttaaaarrr.&quot; She yawned.&nbsp; &quot;Mm? Wa, OH!&quot;&nbsp;He shouted and jumped up.&nbsp; &quot;Dixie! I-I-I&#39;m sooo sorry! I-I didn&#39;t mean to-&quot; Star stopped as Dixie kissed him.</p>
<p>
	---</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shortly after they had woken up, they walked into town.&nbsp; They saw Kaltag with a lot of other dogs.&nbsp; &quot;Star was actually makin&#39; out with DIXIE?&quot; Sylvie said.&nbsp; Kaltag nodded,&nbsp; &quot;I-I-It was the weirdest!&nbsp;Th-Th-The craziest! The most uh-&quot; Kaltag said, stumbling over his words.&nbsp; &quot;The closets he&#39;s ever gonna get to a girl in his life.&quot; Nikki laughed, and the others joined in.&nbsp; Star looked at Dixie, who&#39;s face was bright red.&nbsp; &quot;I think we should go.&quot; She mumbled.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The following weeks were very difficult for them.&nbsp; Everyone was always watching them when they walked by.&nbsp; But some other things had changed too.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dixie was by herself, she wanted to go and see Jenna.&nbsp; She hadn&#39;t talked to her in a very long time. &nbsp;When she arrived at her house, she scratched on the door.&nbsp; Jenna peeked through the door.&nbsp; &quot;HI Dixie!&quot; She barked.&nbsp; &quot;Hey Jenna! Wanna go for a walk?&quot;&nbsp;Dixie asked.&nbsp; &quot;I wish I could, but I&#39;m very busy with...&quot; Jenna stopped, she was interrupted by a tiny red puppy.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Mommy?&quot; The puppy asked.&nbsp; &quot;Who dis lady?&quot;.&nbsp; &quot;This is Dixie, sweety, she&#39;s mommy&#39;s friend.&quot; Jenna answered the little pup.&nbsp; &quot;HI, um, Dixie!&nbsp;I&#39;m Gwen!!!&quot; She said.&nbsp; Dixie was shocked.&nbsp; Jenna had a daughter? &quot;Why don&#39;t you go play with your brothers and sisters, Gwen?&quot;&nbsp; Jenna said.&nbsp; Dixie was even more shocked, she had more pups?</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Gwen walked back inside.&nbsp; &quot;how many are there?!&quot; Dixie asked.&nbsp; &quot;Six, but they&#39;ll only be living here for a few more weeks.&quot; Jenna frowned.&nbsp; &quot;So, um, who&#39;s the father?&quot; Dixie slowly asked, she was aware of the many dogs who had feelings for Jenna, and one of them was Steele.&nbsp; &quot;The father? How on earth could you not know? Its Balto of course!&quot; Jenna said.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dixie&#39;s eye&#39;s widened. &quot;Balto?&quot; She asked. Dixie thought about it for a moment, then remembered Star.&nbsp; &quot;Well,&nbsp;I hear you&#39;ve been poking your nose around with Star.&quot;&nbsp;Jenna winked.&nbsp; She looked to Dixie&#39;s side.&nbsp; &quot;Are there any little one on the way?&quot; She asked.&nbsp; Dixie gave her a puzzled look, then looked down at her stomach. &quot;Whoa..&quot; She said in a whisper.&nbsp;It wasn&#39;t obvious unless you were standing right&nbsp; next to her, but, you could tell you had gained some weight.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;So does Star know?&quot; Jenna asked. Dixie looked back up at her. &quot;Huh? Oh- N-No, I don&#39;t think so.&quot; She mumbled.&nbsp; &quot;Well, you need to go tell him, an I have to go anyway, bye.&quot; Jenna said, and Dixie&nbsp;began to walk home.&nbsp; When she finally got home, she found Star on the porch.&nbsp; &quot;Star! I have great news!&quot; She cheered. &quot;Your gonna be a dad!!&quot;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Star&#39;s face went blank.&nbsp; He thought he felt his heart stop, he was thrilled.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<em><strong>Two months later...</strong></em></p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Star ran through town as fast as he could.&nbsp; His owner had just gotten the call that the pups were coming.&nbsp; He turned the corner, an crashed into something, Kaltag.&nbsp; &quot;Hey! What gives!&quot; Kaltag growled. Star shook the snow off him and began running again. &quot;What in the...&quot; Kaltag mumbled.&nbsp;&quot;What&#39;s with him?&quot; Nikki asked, Kaltag shrugged.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Star felt his heart race, he was so happy.&nbsp; He couldn&#39;t see too well, because of how fast he was running.&nbsp; He crashed into something red, but this time it was Jenna.&nbsp; &quot;Star? Whats going on? IS something wrong?!!&quot; She asked.&nbsp; Star shook his head.&nbsp; &quot;Well calm down, whats going on?&quot; She asked again. &quot;Dixie.&quot; He panted, and bean to run.&nbsp; Jenna new just what was going on.&nbsp; She slowly began to walk behind him.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Star finally made to Dixie&#39;s house.&nbsp; He just looked at the door, not knowing if he should go in.&nbsp;He walked onto the porch, and looked in the doggie-door.&nbsp; Nothing.&nbsp; He walked in, he looked in a bigger room, and there was Dixie.&nbsp; She was whining in pain.&nbsp; Star then saw her owner.&nbsp; &quot;Star!&quot; The girl smiled.&nbsp; She picked him up and put him in a different room. Star was scared.&nbsp; He&#39;d&nbsp; never been in this room before. He just lied down and waited a little, and she then opened the door for him to come in.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He looked at Dixie, who was in a little basket.&nbsp; He peeked over her, and saw&nbsp;five tiny little bodies, all squeaking and nudging up against Dixie.&nbsp; He almost fainted.&nbsp;Star&#39;s owner walked in.&nbsp; &quot;Come take a look.&quot; Dixie&#39;s owner smiled.&nbsp; He walked over, and smiled.&nbsp; &quot;Their so, tiny&quot; He chuckled.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong><em>Two weeks later...</em></strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </em></strong>The pups had just begun walking, and their personality&#39;s were showing, too.&nbsp;&nbsp; Dixie&#39;s owner(Tracey) invited Star&#39;s owner(Tom) over to help her name the pups.&nbsp; She picked up the oldest pup.&nbsp; He was a purple color like his mother, with darker purple stripes on his back, a tiny tail, grey-ish spots on the eye&#39;s, which were a grey-blue color, and fluffy scruff of hair that went down to his shoulders.&nbsp; He was built&nbsp; like Star, but a little muscular than Star was at that age.&nbsp; &quot;He makes me think of Star&#39;s father.&nbsp; He was a&nbsp; muscular pup.&quot;&nbsp;Tom said.&nbsp; &quot;His name was Mic.&quot; He added. &quot;Hmm, why don&#39;t we call him, Mickey?&quot; Tracey asked, he nodded.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Then the next pup, who had been born just after Mickey, she was&nbsp;blue-purple, the tips of her ears were a dark blue, she had a&nbsp;&nbsp;grey line on her nose.&nbsp; Her&nbsp;paws, under-belly, and tail tip&nbsp;were a peach color, and she had light purple eye&#39;s. And she, too, was&nbsp;built similar to star, maybe a bit more&nbsp;of a &#39;girl&#39; figure.&nbsp;&quot;She yips and yelps a lot.&quot; Tracey said.&nbsp; &quot;Star and his sis did that, but she got real sick one say, and died a few days later.&nbsp; What was that girls name? Gosh, my memory is terrible.&quot;&nbsp;Tom chuckled. &quot;Couty, Courty, or somthin&#39; like that.&quot; He added.&nbsp; &quot;Why not just call her, Courtney?&quot;&nbsp;Tom finally said. Tracey smiled and agreed.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Then, there was a pinkish looking pup.&nbsp; Her fur was a mix of her parents, her eye&#39;s were a bright blue, she had tufts of fur on her head and chest like Dixie, one spot on her back from Star, and was built like Dixie.&nbsp; &quot;Lets name her after Star.&nbsp; Something that means &#39;star&#39;, like Astra, or Estelle, or Elanor, or..&quot;&nbsp;Tom tried thinking of&nbsp;more names, but Tracey&nbsp;jumped in,&nbsp;&quot;Lets name her Elanor! I love that name!&quot; She smiled.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Two more pups were left.&nbsp; They named the runt first.&nbsp; She was very pretty, she had a tuft of fur on her head, spots on her eyes, back, and tail tip, the rest of her markings were a mix of her parents.&nbsp; &quot;Lets name her Bella, it means beautiful in Italian.&quot;&nbsp;Tom said,&nbsp;Tracey nodded.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Aww, well that fits you, doesn&#39;t it?&quot; Tracey giggled, patting Bella on the head.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One pup left, he looked a lot like Mickey, but was taller.&nbsp; &quot;Lets name him....Mike?&quot;&nbsp; Both agreed that Mike was a nice name for the pup, and Tom&nbsp;got up to leave.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Let Star out whenever you want, Trace.&quot; He said and walked out the front door.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dixie and Star smiled at their puppies as they bumped around on the blanket.&nbsp; Star got down on his stomach and rested his head in front of Mickey, Mickey poked his nose against Star&#39;s, and Star smiled wide.&nbsp; the couple couldn&#39;t be happier.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Another three weeks past, making the pups five week old. They were all growing up healthy, strong, and fast.&nbsp;&nbsp;Almost too fast for Star,&nbsp; who was dreading the day his puppies would be sold.&nbsp;&nbsp;He hoped that they would still live in Nome,&nbsp;so that he&nbsp;could visit, and so did Dixie.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sadly, the time for them to leave came very quickly.&nbsp; It was early in the morning, Dixie gathered up the puppies and placed them in the box.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Elanore looked up at Dixie.&nbsp; &quot;Mommy, whats gonna happen to us?&quot; She asked.&nbsp; &quot;Nothing bad, sweetie.&nbsp; It&#39;s fun being adopted!&nbsp; I was your age when I was adopted.&quot;&nbsp; Dixie patted her daughter on the head.&nbsp; &quot;Trust me, everything is going to be just fine.&quot;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Elanor smiled and looked out of the box.&nbsp; One by one, the puppies were adopted, leaving the two parents by themselves.&nbsp; Dixie&#39;s face was soaked with tears, Star did his best to comfort her.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;Don&#39;t worry, Dixie, I know all those humans! They all live around here.&nbsp; We can visit them every day..&quot; Star smiled</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;I know...I&#39;m just going to miss them.&quot;&nbsp; Dixie cried, leaning on her mate.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Star nudged her with his nose.&nbsp; She sniffled and shook off the tears. Star walked Dixie home before it got to dark.&nbsp; He walked home, sat on the blanket by the fireplace, and cried softly.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Authers Note:&nbsp; This took way longer than I hoped.&nbsp; it&#39;s not that good, but I;m pleased with it.&nbsp; I hope you all enjoyed it!</p>