My note to you: The italicized text is from Kato/part1: Brokenhearted? , so you will understand what the heck is going on, here. Also, if you read this before you read part 1, then you will find yourself hopelessly confused, and I will not help you to understand, aside from telling you to read part 1. Anyway, here goes:

“Kato?” Amber’s voice asked hesitantly.

“What?” he acknowledged her, his voice tight with suppressed tears.

 “Are you okay?”

He looked down at her, struggling to hold back his howls of misery. “I’m sorry for what I said this morning. I didn’t mean it, either. I’m glad for you and Tomek. I talked to Jada…”

Eyes glinting with hostility, Amber looked up at him. “How do I know that you mean it?” she snapped. “How do I know that you aren’t just trying to win favor with me?”

Anger filled him up so completely that there was no room left for sadness. “My question now is,” he growled, not able to keep all of his anger out of the words. “How you could think that I would do that? After you and Tomek are already mates? What do you think that I am?”

 Amber flinched. “I’m sorry,” she told him. I misjudged you. I accept your apology. So we can be friends?”

 Kato nodded, but he just couldn’t bring himself to smile. “Friends,” he said firmly.

He walked out of the room behind her, glancing at the weak rays of sun falling upon the bed, realizing that they lit the way for a new life for him. He had no future with Amber except to be very good friends with her, and now he realized that he didn’t want anything more than that.

Now for part two…

Two weeks later, after chats with Amber and Tomek, whom he had come to like, visits with Merla, whose company he enjoyed, and outings with Jada, for whom he felt what he thought was love, it was time for Daddy to leave. Once again the bags were packed and the room cleaned up, but this time things were different.

“Goodbye, Zack,” Daddy said. “Thanks. This is a huge help.”

 He turned to leave. Kato followed him, but was pushed away. “No, Kato,” Daddy scolded him gently. “You’re not coming.”

 Kato was tempted to try to follow him, but he had heard it: the word “no”. “No” meant that he wasn’t supposed to do whatever he had done. And he would obey Daddy, whatever happened. So he stayed and watched as Daddy walked down the street.

Only when Daddy was little more than a black speck did Kato move away from the window. Despair welled up inside Kato. What would he do without Daddy, Rob, and Momma? Daddy was his person, the one who Kato would put before anyone else if the family was in danger.

 Rob was a good companion when he wanted to play, even if Daddy’s son could be a little annoying, pulling Kato’s tail and things.

 Momma fed him every day, taking good care of him. Sometimes, when she was lying on her bed reading, Kato would jump up beside her and read along. It was hard for him to figure out some words, but the stories were wonderful, when he could follow them. Sometimes Momma turned the pages too quickly. She would laugh to herself and say, “I swear, that dog can read!”

Amber padded up to him, jerking him out of his reverie. “You’re sad, aren’t you?”

Kato just looked at her. She still was beautiful to him, but now he really didn’t care. Jada was not extremely pretty, but in his mind, she was the most amazing thing to ever breathe air.

Suddenly he realized that he hadn’t answered Amber yet. “Of course. They’re the closest thing that I have to family!”

 Amber gave him an odd look, as if she knew more than she was telling. “I’m really sorry. You know, things we lose sometimes come back to us.”

 Kato frowned. What in the world did she mean? He nodded. “I suppose,” he said heavily. “I’m going to see Jada.”

 Amber gave him a twisted smile. “Okay, great.” She disappeared into the living room.

 Kato began the familiar walk to Jada’s house. He changed direction when he heard a howl from the house, then Zack’s voice yelling, “Oh my gosh, they’re coming!”

 Kato wasn’t sure he knew what Zack meant, but he could make a pretty good guess. Setting his teeth grimly, he tore around to corner toward the boiler room.

Tomek was sitting by the boiler, eating… Kato was sure he had seen something like that before. Two brown things, with something else stuck between them… a sandwich! The thing that he had on the train on her first journey here! The thought of the sandwich was oddly comforting.

 Tomek looked up. “Hey, Kato! How’s-“

 Kato cut across him. “Tomek,” he gasped, exhausted from running so fast. “Amber’s pups are coming. Now.”

 Tomek’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding. Oh my gosh.” He got up. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

 Tomek raced beside Kato. As they neared the house, they heard a shriek of agony. Tomek sped up. When he got to the doggie door, he pushed through it. Or at least he meant to.

 “Ouch!” Tomek howled as his head banged into the door. “They’ve locked that blamed dog door!”

 “Shut up,” Kato growled. “The last thing that Amber needs is you making a bunch of noise.”

 Tomek seemed to see sense in this. He nodded, padding up the steps to the door. He sat down on the doormat and stared at the door for two full hours, listening to Amber’s squeals of pain. Kato walked around the front yard, thinking about Jada, Daddy, and Amber for two full hours.

 At the end of the two hours, the door opened. Zack nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Tomek.

 “Oh geez! Don’t scare me like that, dog!” More thoughtfully he added, “You’re that stray named Tomek, aren’t you. Some of the pups look an awful lot like you, Tomek. Maybe you could be their father.”

 Tomek decided not to listen to this anymore. As he tried to push past Zack, the human said, “Okay, okay, you can come in.”

 As Zack moved aside, Kato caught a brief glimpse of Amber, asleep, with eight little bundles at her side. There was gentleness in Tomek’s eyes that Kato had never seen there before.

 Suddenly, Kato was scared. He couldn’t go in that room, he couldn’t. He turned and raced down the street, longing for Jada’s logical sense and her kind understanding. She met him when he was halfway to her house.

 “Amber’s having her pups isn’t she?” Jada panted by way of greeting.

 Surprised, Kato skidded to an unsteady halt. “How did you know?” he asked her.

 Jada just shrugged. “You’d be surprised how fast news gets around. Did you get Tomek?”

 Kato nodded. “Yeah. He just about went berserk.”

 Jada laughed. “I can well imagine that,” she admitted. She looked at him sympathetically. “Why did you leave?” she asked him.

 Kato looked at the ground, half-ashamed that he had been so quick to exit the scene. “I don’t know,” he answered. “I guess I didn’t want to intrude. It was a little…”

 “Embarrassing?” Jada guessed.

 “Yeah.”

Jada looked at him eagerly. “Well, no need to be embarrassed. Come with me.”

 Fear washed through Kato when he thought of going back to Amber, asleep on a pile of coats, and Tomek, the unnatural gentleness burning in his eyes.

But Jada was going the wrong way to Amber’s house. Kato followed her, annoyed with himself for being relieved at the fact that they were not going back to Amber’s. Jada walked beside him. He brushed against her, grateful for her optimism and good reasoning.

Soon she spoke. “I’ve decided to show you a place that I keep to myself. Don’t tell anyone about it. Please.”

Kato nodded. What in the world could this place be? “Okay,” he agreed, wondering if he had much choice. He wasn’t in the mood for secrets.

 Soon they came to the edge of town. Beyond the last houses was a fast-moving creek. Beyond that was a small copse. Kato had seen it often, but he had never bothered to wonder what could be in it. Curiosity pricked at him. Was that where they were going?

 Jada led him beside the creek until they were on the opposite side of the copse that they had started on. “This way,” she directed, motioning to a place a little below a place where the river bent sharply toward the copse.

 Kato gasped with fear as she carefully stepped onto a slippery stone, and then another and then another. Then she reached a rock that was covered in moss. By this time she was out in the middle of the river. Shaking with fear, Kato watched as she dug her paws into the moss and launched herself across the creek.

 She beckoned for him to follow. Kato glanced uncertainly at the rocks. How sturdy would they be now that Jada had already crossed them?

 “Come on,” she encouraged. “I’ve done this a million times!”

 Kato decided that he would have to trust her. Placing an uncertain paw on the first rock, he looked into her eyes.

She nodded expectantly. “That’s right. You can do it.”

Her words drifted toward him. Concentrating on her voice instead of the black water below him, he began to step from rock to rock. He looked down. There was moss under his feet. He had reached the rock that Jada had jumped from. Surprised at his own daring, he leaped from the rock. He was afraid that he would fall short of the bank, but fear had made him strong. He landed, skittering dangerously close to the bank.

Jada caught him, her teeth fastened firmly in his scruff. Her touch made his fur tingle with excitement. “Thanks,” he said breathlessly.

She smiled at him. “No problem. Come on.”

 She led him along the bank until they came to place where the creek widened out into a lazy flow. Willow trees bordered the water. White sand sloped gently down the creek. The water was so shallow that Kato could see the bottom. Little fish swarmed around in the creek bed, and water birds took flight at the dogs’ appearance. Kato thought that he had never seen a place so beautiful.

 “Wow,” he breathed. “It… It’s amazing!”

 Jada looked around impressively. “I know,” she agreed. “I discovered it when I was just a pup, and I’ve been coming here ever since.”

 Kato looked at her, flattered that she had taken him to a place that was so close to her heart. He looked around. “Have you ever tried catching a fish?” he asked her.

 She grinned. “Oh, yes. I tried when I was a pup. I ended up falling in the river. My owner was so mad when I came home dripping wet!”

 Kato laughed. “I can imagine. It must have been hysterical! After all,” he added mischievously. “I bet you’ve never gone swimming since!”

 Jada growled playfully and chased him up and down the bank. The two dogs howled and laughed joyfully. Then suddenly, Jada disappeared.

Looking around frantically, Kato called, “Jada! Jada, where are you?” What had happened to her? Where was she? He raced up the creek, the sand stinging his paws and the sun blinding him. He stumbled as a large boulder blocked his path.

As he stood up again, a large weight crashed down on him. Jada’s scent reached his nose. Turning over faster than a snake, he flung her off.

She was laughing. “You should have seen your face!” she giggled. “You were so scared!”

Anger shot through Kato like fire. Not only because she humiliated him, but also because she had treated his fear for her so offhandedly. He snarled at her angrily. She stopped laughing immediately. A questioning look came into her eyes.

Kato decided to tell her just what he thought of what she had just did. “Yes, I was scared,” he spat. “But not for myself. I was scared for you, and what might have happened to you. And now you laugh in my face?”

 Jada’s expression had changed from amusement to hurt and confusion. Fuming, he stalked off to sit beneath a willow tree, not looking to see whether Jada followed him or not.

 One hour later, the sun began to sink. Kato wasn’t so angry anymore, but he still didn’t want to let Jada treat him like that. He wanted her to fully understand how angry and scared he had been.

 So he stayed under the tree, watching the sun sink lower and lower. He snuck a glance behind him. Jada was sitting by the water, her head down and her shoulders hunched. Kato couldn’t see her face from this distance, but the sounds he heard told him that she was crying.

 He supposed that he should go and comfort her, but anger had him rooted to the spot. She deserved to be sad, after what she had put him through!

 About thirty minutes later, he heard footsteps behind him. Jada was approaching him warily, as if she wasn’t sure how he would react to her appearance. He didn’t want to make her angry, so he just turned his head away.

 “Kato?” she asked.

“What?” he growled. “What are you doing here?”

“I… I came t-to a-a-apologize.” Her voice sounded thin, like she was barely keeping back her tears. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you were going to react like that.”

 She gained confidence with every word she spoke. “I thought that you would just think it was a joke. I didn’t mean any harm, honest.”

 She barely managed to keep back a sob. “I’m flattered that you care about me that much-“

 Then her tears came, flowing like the creek that they sat beside. She leaned against him. Carefully, he tucked his head over hers so that his muzzled touched her back. He just sat there as she sobbed into his neck fur. He wasn’t angry now.

 “Thank you,” he said quietly. “And I do care about you. I care about you more than you could know. If you and the entire world were both in danger, I think I’d put you first.”

 He wasn’t surprised when his words drew renewed sobs from her. When she finally stopped, she looked up at him. “I th-think that I can say the same. I love you, Kato, if that’s what you were trying to say…”

 He looked down at her gently. “I think it was, Jada. I think it was.”

 Joy sparked in her eyes. “Kato, you’ve given me what I’ve wanted ever since you first came to visit me, all those months ago. Thank you.”

 Swallowing nervously, Kato rasped his tongue over her head. She relaxed at his touch. They sat there together for a few more minutes. Jada’s tail was waving absently as Kato’s tongue stroked down her head and ears. Kato didn’t know what he was feeling, but he thought it was something like love.

“We’d better go,” Jada murmured. “It’s getting dark.”

 Only reluctantly did Kato heave himself up from the sand. Jada followed him, and the two dogs made their way down to the stepping-stones. Kato’s fear of falling had only increased since the last time he had leaped from the mossy rock to the opposite bank.

 “Let me go first,” he insisted. If there was anything dangerous out there, he wanted to be the first one to encounter it.

 He jumped. He landed squarely on the mossy rock. Picking his way carefully across the others, he watched as Jada prepared to make the jump. He tried to stop his legs from shaking as she flew across the water.

She had jumped too far. Missing the mossy rock, she landed on another, more slippery stone. Kato watched, frozen with horror, as she tried to regain her balance. It looked like she had managed it, but then her legs began to slip. She seemed to fall slow motion into the fast-moving creek. She shrieked with terror as her head went under the water.

Without bothering to think about whether this was the smart thing to do or not, Kato dived into the frigid water. He pushed himself down under the water at the place where she had vanished. His teeth closed on nothing but the creek water. He came up, gasping for air, only to find that he was several feet from where he had started.

Then, he saw a flash of red fur. Swimming toward it, he caught hold of Jada. She coughed feebly. Kato realized that he didn’t have to fight the water as hard now. Then he glanced at the bank and realized that he recognized it.

He felt his hind paw touch something hard. Ignoring the fiery pain that flashed through his foot, Kato pushed against it, only to find that when he glided through the water, more little sharp, hard things grazed his legs, making shallow cuts.

Thinking quickly, he hoisted Jada onto his back and stepped down. Pain coursed through his foot as he stepped. Ignoring it, he carried Jada all the way to shore. Dragging himself and Jada onto the bank, he looked down at his paws. They were covered in blood.

 He grimaced as he dragged Jada, who had slipped off his back, over to a large willow with roots that spread out over the sand, making a kind of crude bed.

 Jada squeaked with protest every time she was dragged over a bump. When Kato finally came to the tree, he laid Jada down among the roots.

 Her eyes closed, she asked him, “Are you okay? I can smell blood.”

 Kato glanced down at his paws again. “Just a little banged up. I stepped in some sharp rocks. You?”

 Jada sighed. “Yeah, that part of the stream’s full of them. That’s why I never cross there.”

 Kato gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain that seeped slowly through him, leaving behind only numb exhaustion.

 “But are you okay?”

 Jada nodded. "I’m a little banged up, too, and I think I swallowed some water, but nothing serious. Just tired. I’d be dead now if it weren’t for you.”

 Kato just shrugged. “It was nothing. I would have done the same for any other dog.”

 At the skeptically amused look on Jada’s face, he added truthfully, “I admit, though, I wouldn’t have worked half has hard if Tomek, or Amber, or Merla had been drowning instead.”

 Jada smirked. “I know. Now, let’s sleep. I feel like I’ve run across Alaska and back.” She settled deeper into the roots.

“Shouldn’t we try to get back to the city?” Kato asked. He didn’t want her to freeze or them to be attacked by some wild terror.

 Jada scoffed. “Not unless you want to make that jump again from the bank to the rock when it’s even darker than before, and then slip and slide on the smaller rocks, and then try to find your way around dark woods at midnight, and then-“

 Kato interrupted. “Okay, okay. I get it. We’ll sleep here.”

 He began to collect some moss and dead leaves. Plopping them down in the sand, he motioned toward the pile. “Get some sleep, Jada. Lord knows you need it.”

 Jada looked up at him, concerned. “But what about you?” “I’ll go get some more,” he said gruffly.

 As he trudged back into the woods, he heard Jada call, “Be careful, Kato! I’ll need you to help in case I fall into anymore rivers!”

 Snorting in amusement, he padded away. When he got back, Jada was fast asleep. Looking down at her, he saw that she was shivering violently. She would freeze if she stayed like she was. Hesitantly, making sure that she was still asleep, he crawled over to her. Spreading his body over hers like a furry blanket.

 Her body relaxed. Kato had a sneaking suspicion that she was only pretending to sleep. He was about to get up when he realized that he didn’t care. He would make the best of this night!

 He lay on top of her, pushing down his panic that she would freeze to death. Soon she stopped shivering. Relieved, he curled his body around her.

 He looked around at the night. The moon shone down, reflecting beautifully on the creek. Moonlit water snaked its way toward the horizon that Kato could not see, because he had closed his eyes and fallen fast asleep.

A soft warm thing pushed against Kato’s fur. He opened his eyes lazily.

 Jada was just awaking beside him. “Morning,” he yawned. “Had a good night?”

 Jada looked vaguely surprised to see him beside her, then excited and amazed.

 She shook herself. “Not the best. We weren’t exactly sleeping on silk blankets.”

 Kato nodded assent, then stood up. “We’d better get going,” he remarked. “You owner will be worrying.”

 Jada nodded, looking faintly disappointed to leave the beautiful creek. “Yeah, we’d better,” she agreed resignedly. “Let’s go.”

 When they came to the crossing spot, Kato saw fear glittering in her eyes. She lifted her chin. “I’ll go first,” she said, and her voice shook with suppressed terror.

 Kato watched, shaking, as she jumped and landed directly in the middle of the moss-covered rock. Gasping with relief, he followed her.

 “That was ten times scarier than it had ever been before,” Jada commented. “Now that I know what can happen… if I miss.”

 “You can say that again,” Kato muttered.

 Jada laughed, and the two of them again followed the creek to where the town lay, like a vast patchwork quilt, waiting to receive the two wanderers with open arms.

 Now used to sleeping outside, Kato slept outside Jada’s house for the next month and a half. He rarely visited Amber, but when he met Tomek on the street, he asked about Amber and the pups.

 One morning of the rapidly approaching fall, while Kato was walking with Jada, Tomek hurried up to them.

 “The pups have opened their eyes!” he howled excitedly. “They’ve opened their eyes!”

 “Great!” Kato exclaimed as Jada echoed him. “When may we go see them?”

 Tomek’s eyes gleamed. “Now, if you want! And Kato,” he added quietly. “Thanks for giving Amber and me a little privacy, you know, with the pups and each other.”

 Kato looked at his paws, smiling ironically. “It was no trouble,” he muttered. “Always glad to…”

 “How many are there?” Jada questioned, changing the subject.

 Tomek puffed out his chest proudly. “Eight,” he answered. “Five girls, three boys.”

 “Wow,” Jada murmured. “You must be proud.”

 There was no question about that, Kato thought. Judging by the way Tomek strutted down the street, standing up tall with his head raised.

 Soon they came to Amber’s house. Amber was lying on the grass. Eight little puppies tumbled around her, climbing all over her.

 “Hi, there,” Amber called happily. “Come on up. This is the pups’ first time out of the house.”

 The three dogs padded up to Amber.

 “Hi,” Kato mumbled shyly.

 “Hey, Amber!” was Jada’s enthusiastic salutation.

 Tomek sat down behind Amber and licked the top of her head by way of greeting. Kato expected the familiar pang of jealousy, but there was none.

 A pretty gray pup, smaller than the rest of the litter, bounced up to Kato. “Who are you?” she squeaked curiously. “You smell familiar, but I’ve never seen you before.”

 Amber grinned. “That’s Kato,” she told the little pup. “He sometimes sleeps at our house.”

 “My name’s Rachel,” the pup informed him. “Let me tell you a secret.”

 “Okay,” Kato said, utterly bewildered.

 He bent his head down to listen. Rachel stretched up to his ear. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m awesomer than my brothers and sisters!”

 A puppy that had been listening nearby jumped on top of Rachel. “You are not!” he howled indignantly. “I am!”

 All of the other puppies joined the fray until Rachel detached herself from the mass of pups, wailing, “My tail hurts! Flip bit it off!”

 At the sound of his name, a tan and black puppy went to stand in front of Rachel. “She made me!” he yelped.

 Rachel growled. Her high voice made it sound funny. “I did NOT!”

 “You did, too!”

 “DID NOT!”

 Amber rolled her eyes at her bristling pups. “It doesn’t matter,” she explained. “Just try not to be so rough with each other.”

 “He did bite my tail off,” Rachel muttered.

 “Try wagging it,” Kato suggested.

 The tan pup waved her tail slowly back and forth. “Hey,” she exclaimed, sounding surprised. “It’s still on!”

 “Amazing,” Flip said sarcastically. “I bet I can beat you to that tree!” The pups rushed off.

 “They’re pretty cute,” Jada commented.

 “Yeah,” Amber agreed. “I’m lucky to have them.”

 They talked for a while about the pups before Amber called, “Pups! Why don’t you come introduce yourselves to Kato and Jada?”

 They scurried over in twos and threes, and then formed a crooked line. The first pup stepped forward. She was a tan and black pup like Flip, though with slightly different markings.

“I’m Jasmine,” she said shyly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Don’t you know your manners!” Jada told her. “I’m Jada, and this is Kato.”

Kato inclined his head. “Hello, young lady. I am delighted to make your acquaintance,” he told her with a grin at Amber.

 Shining at his praise, Jasmine stepped back in line. The pup beside her looked remarkably like Tomek, except his ears stood straight up. He was Noah. The gray and black one beside him was Sasha. Then came Flip and Rachel. Beside them was a tan and gray puppy named Libya. Asia, who looked a lot like Libya, except her ears were floppy like Tomek’s, stood beside her. There was another tan and black one beside her. He was Ryan. The last of all came Kate. She was a pretty gray puppy that resembled Rachel.

 After playing and laughing with the pups, Kato and Jada decided that they had better go.

 “I think I should get home,” Jada announced when they were alone again, sensing that Kato wanted time alone.

 She pushed her head into his in a gesture of farewell. As she walked up the street, Kato thought wryly that only one thing could make this day perfect: the return of his family.

 He walked a while longer. He looked up at a shout. The words were hard to decipher. It sounded faintly like, “Potato!”

 Then, he saw a small figure rushing toward him. Could it be? No, he was kidding himself. They were far away. Suddenly, he smelled something.

 A little like peanut butter and jelly, a little like milk, a little like hand sanitizer. The achingly familiar scent caused him to tremble. There was no doubt now.

 Without consciously deciding to, he began to run. It did not feel like he was running. Wings bore him toward the ones he loved most: his family.

 Kato saw Rob clearly now: a small five-year old, running like his life depended on it, toward “Tato”, his wonderful doggie.

 Only ten yards remained between them now. Five. Two. Then they collided, a whirlwind of happy giggling and joyous howling. Kato’s family was back! There was Daddy, his person, and Momma, his reading companion! Love for them gushed up inside Kato. Whatever happened later, he knew that they would be there, waiting for him.