Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback on chapter one. Because of the glowing reaction, I decided to expand this beyond just Valentine's Day - because, after all, there's more to love than romance and more holidays about it than Valentine's Day.  For those who haven't read "Love Protects," I'll just give a brief explanation; this takes place in an anthro universe (kind of like Zootopia) with humanoid versions of the Balto cast.  Although there are some differences in their personal histories, the characters' personalities are much the same, as are their looks (save for obvious anatomical changes).

To begin with, I'm posting this chapter for Mother's Day. Yes, I realize it's over a week early, but I wanted to get it out sooner rather than later for an important reason: I wanted people who read it to have time to think about their own mothers, and how to properly thank them this May 8.

I'll save the rest of the side info for the end, so happy reading!

The bustle of a Saturday morning filled a Haul-Mart as four canids strode down a main aisle. One was a wolf-husky with brown fur, yellow eyes, and a build slightly on the short side – not that he minded. To his left strode a slim, immaculately groomed red-and-cream husky – his wife. Just behind them walked their son, a teenage husky with colors like his mother's with a touch of his father's shade and a figure well on his way to being a little taller than either of his parents. Meanwhile, on the father's right – carefully kept within arm's reach – was a girl pup with colors like her father's but warmer, and enough enthusiasm for all four of them.

"Can we pick out my swimsuit first?" she asked eagerly.

"Hey, calm down Aleu," chuckled her father, Balto. "The pool party's not until Wednesday, remember?"

Kodi snorted humorously. "You know she's not going to stop until she gets it," he pointed out. Then, changing the subject, he added, "Mind if I head over to the sports section? I need to replace some of my track gear."

"Go ahead," answered the husky, Jenna. "I'm sure the two of us can handle Aleu."

She might not have said that if she had known what the next thirty minutes held in store.

The remaining three, much to Aleu's delight, did go to the clothes section first - not because of Aleu's pestering, but because it happened to be right at the front. As long as they were there, Jenna elected to get a few things as well, leaving Balto to keep an eye on Aleu. It didn't take long for trouble to show its face.

"What about this one?" asked Aleu, holding up a hanger.

Balto turned and just stopped, facing a true father's nightmare. Aleu was holding up a two-piece that would have been questionable on a girl twice her age. At some point later he would wonder what kind of sick person would even design a swimsuit like that in pup sizes, but at the moment he was too busy just being horrified.

Aleu, puzzled at his pause, waved a hand. "Hello, Earth to Papa? What do you think?"

He found his voice as his brain and mouth, strangers a moment ago, formed an alliance. "Absolutely not," he answered with great emphasis, folding his ears flat against his head.

She frowned. "Why not?" she asked.

This time, Balto's brain and mouth weren't so harmonious. His mouth wanted to say, "Because I won't have boys seeing my daughter is something that skimpy." His brain pointed out that, as valid as that was, it would be bound to spark an argument about his "babying" her, which he hated almost as much as arguing with Jenna. To make matters worse, disputes on that particular subject always made him worry that maybe he was a tad overprotective, having never had the chance to see his parents model how to raise a daughter.

In the interest of not just standing there in silence, Mouth and Mind reached a compromise: call in the expert. Balto raised himself up on his toes, looked out over the racks, and spotted that familiar patch of red fur. "Jenna," he called, keeping his tone calm so that it sounded as if he were dealing with a simple phone call, "It's for you."

Jenna broke off from what she was doing and made her way through the displays of clothing. "What is it?" she asked.

Balto stepped aside for her. "A job for Wonder Woman," he replied, trying unsuccessfully to lighten the mood. "I thought you'd be better to handle it."

She hooked him by the elbow as he started to leave. "Where are you going?"

He turned back, looking just a little guilty. "We do have a schedule to keep," he reasoned. "One of us should take care of the groceries in case this takes a while – and it usually does with Aleu," he added under his breath.

Jenna was frowning as she let him go. "You owe me," she told him, only half-meaning it.

He patted her on the arm. "I'll make it up to you," he promised before disappearing among the racks.

She sighed and turned her attention back to her daughter, who was now holding her selection behind her back. "Okay, what's this about?"

Aleu wore a sour expression as she brought it out. "Papa doesn't like this swimsuit," she explained.

Jenna was only half as stunned as her husband had been, but she was still taken aback. "Where's the swimsuit?" she asked.

"Mom," Aleu protested, now folding her ears down as Balto had done, "everyone's wearing these. Besides, I've seen the laundry; I know you have things like this."

"Underwear," Jenna pointed out, "not beach wear."

"It's a pool party," Aleu countered, trying to play a technicality. "I wouldn't be wearing it to a beach."

"No." Jenna took the suit and hung it back up. "Why would you even want that one?"

"Because," Aleu argued, "everyone wears these kinds of bathing suits these days."

Jenna shook her head. "Well apparently everyone doesn't have parents who care."

The pup folded her arms defiantly. "What's the worst that could happen?" she argued.

For a moment, Jenna froze. If Balto had been terrified into paralysis by the swimsuit, she was impacted no less by that question. It took her a long moment to regain her sense of calm.

"Aleu, there's a lot of things you don't know about, and some of them I hope you never do." She rubbed her upper arm uneasily. "Just take my word for it that you need to be careful."

"Why?" asked Aleu.

"Because..." Jenna stopped and sighed. This wasn't the time or place for horror stories; she silently prayed there would never be one. "Because in a few years, you're going to start drawing boys' attention. You might be drawing it now and not know it."

Aleu didn't understand her mother's demeanor, but she knew enough to know the basic idea of what her mother meant. "What's wrong with that?" she asked. "You draw Papa's attention all the time, and neither one of you worries when Dusty dresses to impress Kodi."

"She's not my daughter," Jenna pointed out, "but I'd worry if I saw her resorting to something like this." At least now she had recovered from the brunt of Aleu's question. "As for me and your father, that's different. We're married, for one thing, and we got there by understanding each other. I know what kind of man he is."

Something about the way Jenna voiced this last part made Aleu wonder. "How many kinds are there?"

Jenna took a deep breath. "Two kinds," she answered. "Come on; let's find you a swimsuit while I explain.

"Some of the boys you'll meet in life," she explained as she and Aleu began sorting through the racks, "are the kind you'll want paying attention to you: good, decent; the kind of boys who will respect you as a person, the way your father does with me or Kodi does with Dusty – and I know you've seen them," she added, mindful of Aleu's habit of snooping. "Not all boys are like that, though; some will only be interested in your looks and what they can get out of you. If you wear things that draw attention just to your body, you're making it a lot easier for them and a lot harder for the good ones."

"How is wearing a bikini going to make it easier for the jerks?" asked Aleu. "It's not like I'd go out with just any guy. If someone tries to touch me, I'll just bite them."

Jenna knew Aleu would do it, but she shook her head. "Males are a lot more visual than we are," she explained. "What they see can have a lot more impact on them than it would on us, especially if they're the kind you should avoid."

"If it's different for them than it is for us, how do you know what it's like for them?" Aleu was nothing if not quick to catch a hole in an argument.

Jenna, however, was one step ahead. "Because I'm a mother," she countered calmly, "and I got to be one by knowing a few things about the male mind."

Aleu hated it when her mother caught her like that. "Okay, so that explains the first part," she admitted, picking out a less showy two-piece. "What about making it harder for the good guys?"

Jenna studied the pick and shook her head. "When your father and I started dating," she explained, "I got a lot of attention from the wrong kind of boys – and I wasn't inviting it either," she added as Aleu looked up at her dubiously. "In the end your father was the only one who got past them, and even then we had to meet secretly for a while."

"Kinda like Romeo and Juliet, huh?" asked Aleu.

"Hmm," Jenna mused. "More like Midsummer Night's Dream, but you don't know that one. The point is, your father had to work hard just to get near me without my trying to attract the wrong kind of boys. If I'd worn immodest clothes like some of my friends did, I don't think even he would have stood a chance. He probably would have just decided I was too shallow to see past his outside, and we never would have ended up together."

Aleu thought about that as she found a bathing suit of which Jenna finally approved. She had to admit that her mother was making a lot of sense, but her stubborn side still wanted to be right. "I still think it's unfair," she argued. "Why do I always have to be the one whose mom has the strictest rules?"

Jenna sighed. "Because I love you," she answered. "I'm willing to do what's best for you in the long run, even if that means you don't like me very much for a while. It's what my parents did for me, and even when they were wrong I'm glad they did. And just like they did, I'll relax the rules – your father and I both will – once we're satisfied that you can be responsible."

"Meaning once I start picking clothes you like without you saying it, you'll stop making me pick the ones you like."

The husky shook her head, exasperated with her daughter and yet unable to help smiling a little, at least inwardly, as she thought of some of the headaches she'd given her parents when she was young. "Each generation's battle," her father had called it.

"Even grown-ups need some help staying on the right road sometimes," she admitted. An idea occurred to her. "I'll tell you what," she said. "There's a story about Papa that might help this make more sense. Once we catch up with him I'll see if he minds me telling it."

Aleu was puzzled. Balto usually didn't mind Jenna telling family stories without getting his okay first. "What kind of story?" she asked.

Jenna smiled. "You'll see."

The two of them soon tagged up with Balto. Kodi was busy elsewhere in the mall, having bumped into Dusty and been asked to give his opinion on a few things in another store.

"Now see," Aleu complained, "that's what I'm talking about. Kodi gets to go hang out – with a girl," she added pointedly, "and no one questions it. If a guy wanted my opinion on something in another store, you'd be watching me like a hawk."

"You would tell him to get lost," Jenna chuckled, hoping that Aleu would stay that way as long as possible. "Balto," she asked, "would you mind if I told Aleu about the Bog Incident?"

Balto looked puzzled. "Why would I?" he asked with a shrug. "She was there, right?"

Aleu made a face. "What's to tell anyway?" she added. "I fell in a swamp and got a lecture about staying on the walkway."

Jenna laughed. "Actually, I was thinking of the other Bog Incident."

A look of pain and nausea, mixed with a little bit of dread, passed over Balto's face. He slumped with embarrassment. "Oh, that Bog Incident. Jen, you promised never to tell the kids about that."

Aleu was immediately all ears; a fact not lost on Jenna. "I know," she admitted, "but it's for Aleu's own good, and this way you won't have to worry about my dad spilling it."

"That's true," Balto admitted. Even though he got along well enough with his in-laws, he often dreaded what Buck might say at family get-togethers. His frown didn't decrease by much, though. "Are you sure you're not just getting even for me sticking you with the swimsuit dispute?"

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Jenna admitted, propping up her chin on a knuckle, "but I'd be willing to let you off giving me a foot rub tonight."

Balto sighed. "Okay, but let's get the shopping done and grab a bite first. If I have to swallow my pride, I might as well have some salami to go with it."

Aleu had never been so helpful on a shopping trip as she was for the rest of that one, and as soon as they had gotten their orders at a sandwich outlet in the store, she demanded to know about "the other Bog Incident."

"Well," Jenna explained, hiding a smile, "you remember that your Bog Incident happened when we took you and Kodi on that wetlands trail at the nature center."

Aleu nodded. "Yeah, so?"

"Well, there was a reason we told both of you to stay on the marked path – and not just because of all the signs saying so. Back before you were born – before we were even married, in fact – your father wanted to show me some of the sights on that same trail. The difference was, he didn't bring someone along who knew the territory, and..." she trailed off. "Balto, why don't you tell the rest?"

Balto grimaced. "I was trying to find a spot with a good view of the beaver lodge," he explained. "I'd heard there was a heron around that liked to perch on it at sunset, and that when the sun caught the bird's feathers just right it looked like the phoenix lighting up. Naturally, I wanted to share a sight like that with your mother. The problem was, I got overconfident, went too close to the edge... and I fell in, just like you did."

Aleu laughed so hard she got hiccups. She remembered her tumble – a world class face-first flop – and the thought of her papa taking a similar fall was too much. "You-hic... did?" she asked.

"Yes, and I took twice as long to get out because I didn't have someone to reach down and pull me up." Reaching out and pinching Aleu's mouth shut until she stopped hiccuping, he explained, "That's why I didn't want you or Kodi leaving the trail when it was your turn," he explained. "I wanted you both to be able to enjoy the fun – all the sights and sounds – but I also didn't want you to have to deal with the not-so-fun parts, like getting covered in pond weeds and having your shoes squish for the rest of the day."

Aleu scowled. "Not to mention the smell," she added. "My classmates were calling me 'Swamp Thing' for a month."

"Well you see," Balto went on, "That's why your mother and I sometimes tell you, 'Don't do that,' or 'don't go there.' It's not that we don't want you to enjoy the good things; it's that we know some things that look good aren't, and we don't want those to ruin the ones that are. Understand?"

Much to her chagrin, Aleu did understand. "Yes, Papa," she answered. She put her elbow on the table – something her parents often chided her not to do – and propped her chin in her hand. Despite her annoyance, she did understand – and even found herself feeling a little better about the bathing suti she had gotten. I guess the one I got isn't so bad anyway, she decided. Then something dawned on her. "Hey, you said no one else was around to pull you out, so how'd Mom find out about it?"

Jenna, who had just recovered from the first part of the story, snorted a little and covered her mouth. "Oh, that's a story," she laughed. "I found out because Balto was going to take me out to that same trail that evening. Instead he came to my house after dark to explain that he couldn't take me anywhere until he got the seat of his car cleaned because it smelled of mud and rotted duckweed. You should have seen my dad's face; I never saw an expression like that."

"Yeah, that would be because he knew I was planning to propose on that date," Balto countered, hoping to recover some of his dignity. In response to Jenna's surprised silence, he added, "It took me another month to work up the nerve after that."

His wife stared at him. "Why did you never tell me that?" she asked.

He blushed. "Would you?" he countered simply. "Besides, you said yes when I did ask; the time I didn't didn't seem so important."

There was nothing Jenna could say to that logic. "Well, I'm glad you did tell me."

Just as they were getting lost in the moment, Aleu made a gagging sound. "Do you mind not looking at each other like that while I'm eating?" she complained.

Balto laughed as Jenna's face soured. "Just be glad you have parents who still do," he told the pup. "Anyway, that's the last time I took that trail alone – especially since it was more fun with two. All we want is for you to handle life like that. Make mature choices, think before you do something, and know when to listen to an expert."

Just then his phone rang, the tone identifying a call from his son. "Hi Kodi, what's...?" he trailed off into puzzled silence as he listened, his brows knitting and his mouth curling into a confused frown. At last he moved to hang up, then thought better and put the phone aside. "Speaking of asking for help," he remarked, "it sounds like Kodi's gotten himself stuck too."

"What's wrong?" asked Jenna.

He shook his head. "Ah, nothing you need to worry about," he assured her. "I'll go find him and Dusty and be back before you know it. Think you can handle things from here?"

Jenna nodded, and Balto took off at a brisk walk.

"I can't wait to tell Kodi about 'the other Bog Incident,'" Aleu gloated, rubbing her hands together.

Uh-oh, thought Jenna, trying to think of a way to sway Aleu in the direction of silence. An idea occurred to her – one which, she hoped, might kill two birds with one stone. "I have a better idea," she suggested. "Promise to keep that story between us three, and I'll tell you another one."

Aleu knew a bargain when she heard one. "What is it?" she asked.

Jenna refused to tell until the promise had been made, then leaned in close. "I'm only telling you this because there's no guys around," she whispered, her ears up making a show of excitement. "Actually, around the time your father and I got married, I bought a swimsuit like the one you were looking at; his eyes only," she added pointedly. "One time when I was wearing it, though..."

The pup's face twisted into one of disgust as Jenna finished the sentence. "You win," she said curtly. "I'll never wear a two-piece; ever."

On the inside, Jenna smiled. "Better finish that sandwich before the guys get here," she suggested.

Aleu pushed away her half-eaten sub. "Somehow," she scowled, "I've lost my appetite."

Thanks for reading. :) I know a lot of people wish Jenna had been more involved in the sequels, so I tried to focus on her relationship with Aleu in this story. In fact, I would have given her a higher percentage of the attention in the story if my own mother had not so enjoyed the parts involving Balto when I tried the rough draft on her.

There's more I could say, but I'll skip that and just say that if you have any feedback or maybe some experiences with your own moms you'd like to share, I'm all ears! I also take suggestions for future material - speaking of which, who's wondering what Kodi's gotten into?