It was early November in
Suddenly the peace was shattered by a howl that filled the morning air. Several people stopped to listen, wondering what was going on. A moment later, a speeding blur shot down the street. It dashed past dogs and people, bowling several of them over. Shouts of confusion and a few angry words followed it, but the dog responsible was hardly aware of the chaos. All he cared about was that howl.
“Higuys!” he called to the mail team as he ran past them. It was more a habit than a greeting.
“Hi…” Kodi started to say, but by the time “Toby,” came out, the mixed-breed was long gone.
“Was that Toby?” asked Dusty. “I could barely tell it was a dog.”
Norik shook his head in amazement. “Where was that speed when he was on the team?” he wondered.
Toby ran faster and faster, with his feet flying and his heart pounding like a jackhammer inside his chest. The run was hardly more than a block, but to Toby it felt like a mile. Screeching to a halt, he found Luna sitting on her front porch and apparently in no trouble whatsoever.
“Luna?” asked Toby, panting. “Are you alright?”
Luna just smiled. “I’m fine, Toby. Just fine.”
Toby looked around. “Where’s Arrow?” he asked, wondering if the pup had disappeared.
“
Toby was confused. “Well, then why did you howl? You sounded like you were in trouble.”
“I was happy,” she replied, turning to lead him inside. “And I wanted you to get here so you’d be happy, too.”
“Luna, what are you talking about?”
In answer, she turned around in a circle. “Do you notice anything different about me?”
Toby looked her over, but didn’t see anything different. “You’ve had a bath?” he ventured, saying the first thing that came to mind.
Luna gave him one of her trademark “What am I, as lame as my sisters?” looks. “Since when do I howl like that over a bath? Besides, I said I was happy about it.”
Toby shrugged. “OK, bad guess.” He thought a moment longer. “New collar?”
She shook her head, a definite smirk growing on her face. “Wrong again.”
“Okay, I give up.”
Luna turned so her side was facing him. “Toby, I want your honest opinion. Do I look like I’m putting on weight?”
Toby blanched. His father had warned him a long time ago that there was no right answer when a female asked any question about her appearance. Well, maybe “right” wasn’t the right word. “Safe” would be more accurate.
Luna read the expression on his face. “Come on, this isn’t a trick question. Just tell me, and don’t worry about how I’ll react.”
Toby studied her. “Well,” he finally admitted, “you do look a bit on the large side. Now why do you want to know?”
Luna’s secretive smirk grew. “Remember when you were taking care of Loki and I told you that you’d make a wonderful father someday?”
Toby nodded. “Yes, I remember that, but what…?” Then his mind ground to a halt as what she was saying hit home. “Luna, are you telling me that you’re…?”
She rubbed her nose against his. “No, I think you figured it out just fine.”
Toby’s brain was frozen like an icicle. “But… but I thought you said that your back problem…”
“Hey, I know what the vet said,” she interrupted. “The vet also said you should have died in the dogsled incident, and that the same accident that messed up my back should have killed me or at least left me crippled for life. Remember?”
“Luna, are you sure this is for real?” asked Toby. He knew how badly Luna wanted to be a mother, and in the back of his mind he was worried that all that wanting had convinced her it was happening, even after adopting Arrow. He’d heard of cases like that before.
She nodded. “It’s not my imagination. Arrow told me this morning that my stomach was ‘kicking’ her all night.”
Toby laughed and nuzzled her. “That’s great! I can’t tell you how wonderful this is!”
Luna was beaming as she rubbed her head under his chin. “You don’t have to, because I feel the same way.”
“Did you tell her what it meant?” asked Toby, pushing his neck against hers in a canine embrace.
She shook her head. “No, not yet. I wanted to surprise you first.”
He laughed again. “Well, you sure did!”
She shrugged as they pulled away. “It’s a hobby.”
“Hobby?” echoed Toby. “Seems to me like you make a full-time job out of it.” Then he winced as his own words reminded him of something. “I just hope Dad doesn’t need any backup anytime soon, because I’m not going anywhere this time.”
Luna giggled– not a little girl kind of giggle or even a teenage giggle, but the soft giggle of a full-grown lady. “Kind of ironic that we tied the knot so you wouldn’t need an excuse to take me on trips like that, isn’t it?”
“Oh, come on, Luna. You know that wasn’t the real reason. I just said it that way because I couldn’t think straight at the moment.”
Luna tilted her head to one side. “Refresh my memory. When did you learn to think, period?”
“Hey,” he protested, “I’m putting a career with my dad on hold, setting aside a life of adventure, and all you’ve got are insults?”
She furrowed her brow and studied him with a serious look on her face. “Okay, who are you and what did you do with my mate?”
“Huh?”
She burst out laughing. “Come on, Toby. You? No more adventures? After everything we’ve gone through, I was beginning to think you’d never have enough chaos.”
Toby chuckled. “Well, if our kids are anything like you, we’ll have more than enough trouble right here in town.”
“Eh-hem,” Luna countered dangerously. “I believe you are the number one troublemaker around here, Tobias, not me.”
Toby raised an eyebrow. “’Tobias?’” he echoed. “Luna, you sound like my mother.”
“Under the circumstances, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Both of them laughed. “We’ve had some hairy escapades, haven’t we?” asked Toby.
Luna made a face. “Hairy escapades? That was bad even for you.”
“Hey, I’m gonna be a dad. I need to practice my bad jokes.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was that a joke?”
Toby pretended to wince. “Touché.” He laughed softly and then let out a quiet sigh. “We’ve done just about everything, haven’t we? Tracking down criminals, babysitting a wolf cub, raising Arrow, getting rid of Steele…” he stopped when he saw the hurt expression on Luna’s face. “Sorry,” he amended. “Sensitive subject, I know.” Luna looked at the floor. “Hey,” Toby went on, “what your grandpa did has nothing to do with you, remember?” He brushed his tongue against her cheek. “And it’s definitely got nothing to do with us.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Toby smiled reassuringly. “You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. It won’t matter to them any more than it does to me. You are who you are, and what more could they want? Besides, they’re stuck with you anyway.”
Luna smiled, then turned and padded over to her basket. “I guess now I’ll have to use this dumb thing,” she muttered with contempt in her voice. “No way Connie’s going to let me on the bed once I start ballooning.”
Toby sat down next to her with a chuckle, and Luna rubbed her nose under his chin. “So, any ideas for names?” she asked.
“Hmm…” Toby considered. “Well, whichever girl looks the most like you, we’ll call her Eris.”
“Eris?”
“From Greek mythology.” Charlie had been reading Greek myths for his homework, and Toby had picked up a story or two. “She was the goddess of chaos and discord.”
Luna gave him a playful whack. “If you weren’t my mate, I’d bite you,” she warned him.
Toby chuckled. “Well, I guess that makes me even luckier than I thought.”
Luna laughed and rubbed her head under his again. ‘This is the best day of my life,’ she thought.
Toby returned the nuzzle. ‘I’m in way over my head.’
Toby’s mind was in a whirl as he walked up to his father’s house. He didn’t know what to say or how to say it. The emotional spin of being a father-to-be had robbed him of all but the barest threads of his senses. Sure, he had babysat Loki for a lot longer than he honestly would have liked, and he and Luna had been doing alright with raising Arrow, but somehow this seemed completely different. All he knew was that he needed advice, and there was only one place to get it.
He scratched at the door, hoping his father would be home. “Dad?” he called.
Rex stuck his head out with a knowing look on his face. “What is it, Toby?” he asked.
‘So much the same and yet so, so different,’ Toby thought as he reflected on the time when Rex had asked the same question back when he and Luna first hit puberty. He gulped. “Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”
“Okay,” Rex agreed.
Toby came inside and told his father everything. Rex listened with a growing smile. “So it worked out after all?” he asked. “Well, congratulations.”
Toby nodded. “Thanks.”
Rex’s smirk grew. “And unless I miss my guess, you came here because you need some advice.”
Toby nodded again. “Yeah.”
The bloodhound’s eyebrow lowered. “Are you having second thoughts?”
Toby’s ears shot up. “What? No!” he blurted. “I love Luna, Dad, and I’m thrilled about the pups. It’s just that... well, I don’t know anything about being a dad.”
Rex nodded. “The same problem I had,” he agreed. “Of course I had the benefit of your mother’s experience to draw on. But I suppose your experience raising Arrow will fill that gap.”
“I don’t know.” Toby scratched, more from unease than an actual itch. “Something tells me this is going to be different somehow.”
“Well, you know I’ll help in any way I can. The first thing you need to remember is that you’ll never make it alone.”
“I won’t?”
“Not on your life. The first secret to raising kids is that you and Luna have to do it together.”
Toby nodded. “I don’t think you have to worry about that.”
Rex shook his head. “No, you’re not following. You need to divide the job between you. For example, when it came to raising you kids, your mother and I each did what we were best at. I did the careful jobs that called for thinking ahead, like giving a certain young scamp advice when he needed someone to bail him out. Your mother, on the other hand, is good at thinking on her feet, so she handled the things that called for flexibility.” He coughed a trifle and added, “Not that I can’t think on my feet, mind you, but I have more capability at it when dealing with humans.”
“I see. But what if neither of us is that good at thinking ahead?”
Rex chuckled. “Then I suggest both of you stay on your toes. Kids are always coming up with ways to surprise their parents, as I’m sure you know well enough. But my advice still stands. You and Luna have to work together. Build on each other’s strengths, and make up for each other’s weaknesses. It’s just like the way I work with the chief to track criminals. I use my nose, he uses his gun.”
Toby nodded, although the analogy between raising pups and tracking bad guys struck him as extremely odd. “Okay, teamwork. Is that all?”
Rex laughed. “Not by a long shot, it isn’t,” he chuckled. “You have to be ready to handle unexpected twists. Pups running off, getting tangled up with criminals, getting lost in the woods, it’s hard to keep up with them.”
Toby’s ears drooped. It didn’t take a genius to see that Rex was referring to his specific exploits, and he had to admit that until now he had never considered their real effect on the bloodhound. “Sounds like a lot of work.”
“It is a lot of work, but believe me when I tell you that if you do it right it will be worth every minute. And that brings me to one thing I wish I had done a better job of with you and your brothers and sisters. Whatever you do, don’t miss a chance to show them how much you love them. I keep thinking maybe if I’d been more attentive, you wouldn’t get into so much trouble.”
Toby laughed. “Ah, Dad, you did fine.”
Rex smiled. “Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “Now, that’s about all the advice I’ve got to offer. Don’t forget it.”
Toby nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll give it everything I’ve got.” As they walked together toward the dog-door, he added, “Thanks, Dad. For everything.”
Rex beamed. “You’re welcome, son. Oh, and one more thing. When your kids give you more trouble than you can handle…”
“Yes?”
“You can come running to me.”
Toby laughed. “I’m sure I will, Dad. I’m sure I will.”
As he watched his son leave, Rex couldn’t shake the feeling there was something both of them had overlooked, some extra factor which could ruin everything. But what it was, he couldn’t say…
Toby was not the only one seeking advice. Luna had gone to Copper and Taya’s house, hoping to find out a little more about what she was heading for. “Mom, Dad?” she called as she slipped into the house. She looked around. Her parents were curled up next to each other, smiling in their sleep. She crept up and tapped Taya with one paw.
“Huh?” asked Taya as she stirred. She opened one eye, yawned, and stared at Luna sleepily. “Luna?” she asked. “What are you doing here?”
Luna smiled. “I thought I’d stop in and say hi,” she replied. “I have some news.”
Taya got up slowly, careful to avoid waking Copper. “What kind of news?” she asked.
Luna smiled. “How would you and Dad feel about being grandparents?”
Taya, still half-asleep, took a moment to process the question before she gasped. “You’re not.”
Luna nodded. “Oh, yes I am. It’s too early to show much, but I definitely am.”
“But I thought you couldn’t.”
Luna shrugged. “So I proved the vet wrong. It’s not the first time.”
Taya laughed and nuzzled her daughter. “I’m so glad,” she whispered. “I know how much you wanted it.”
Luna nodded. “Yeah.” Then she pulled back. “Listen, I need some advice. There are a few things I need to know.”
Taya raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”
“Everything. Aside from raising Arrow, I don’t know much about being a mom. How am I supposed to do it when I’m… you know, really doing it? From the start, I mean.”
“Hm.” Taya bit her lip. “I sure wish my mom had been around to answer that question when I was in your spot.”
“But you managed to pull it off, right? Please, I need to know.”
“Well when it comes to having the kids, I don’t have much advice except be ready for anything and have something to bite down on, because it hurts.”
Luna grimaced slightly. “As bad as the avalanche?”
Taya shook her head. “Worse,” she replied. “Not as long, but a lot worse. Now as for raising them, you have to be willing to listen. That’s one lesson that gave me a lot of trouble.”
Luna eyed her mother’s tattered ears. “No kidding?” she asked. She only meant it as a joke, but Taya’s face darkened.
“It’s not as easy as it sounds. At least…” The tension passed from her expression and was replaced by a strange emptiness. “It was hard for me, anyway. When you and the rest of your litter were born, I was pretty new at caring about anyone. Even myself.”
Luna nodded slowly. “I guess it’s hard to love anyone when you’ve spent your life fighting for your neck, huh?”
Taya nodded. “I don’t know what I would have done without Copper,” she replied. “He and you kids are the best thing that ever happened to me. So that’s my advice. Don’t let your kids get too much under your skin. They have things to say too, so give them a chance to say it.”
Luna nodded. “I will, Mom. Thanks.”
Taya ran her nose along the top of Luna’s snout. “Don’t forget Toby, either. You’ll need him, count on it.”
Luna nodded. “Sure, Mom.”
A yawn interrupted them from across the room. Copper raised his head, blinked, and smacked his lips. “Luna, what are you here for?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you much since you and Toby…”
Luna’s eyes got a playful twinkle. “That’s right,” she interrupted. “Toby’s probably wondering where I am.” And she headed for the door.
“Wait,” Copper protested. “Why are you disappearing the moment I wake up?”
Luna turned to Taya. “Why don’t you take this one?” she asked. “I’d better go see what Toby’s up to.” And she disappeared through the pet flap.
Taya rolled her eyes. ‘Someday I hope her kids put her through something like this,’ she thought. ‘As long as it’s not too soon.’ Then a wave of worry swept her mind as she realized that, in her advice, she had completely forgotten about one individual: Arrow.
When Arrow returned, she found Toby and Luna in the living room talking. “Toby,” Luna was saying, “You don’t have to go that far.”
“No, but I want to,” he replied. “I just need to find some way of convincing Charlie to let me stay here for awhile. I want to be there when…” he stopped as he became aware of the third party in the room. “Oh, hi Arrow.”
“Hey,” Arrow said by way of greeting. “What are you talking about?”
Toby and Luna looked at each other for a moment before looking once more at their adopted daughter. “Well,” Luna replied, “You’re going to be a big sister.”
The news caught Arrow off-guard. She wasn’t sure how to respond to it. All she could think of to say was, “Oh.”
Luna didn’t know what to make of her daughter’s response. “Is that a good oh or a bad oh?”
Arrow shrugged evasively. “Good, I guess. I mean, you’re smiling. So it’s a good thing.”
Luna’s eyebrows lowered into a knowing expression. “Alright, what’s the problem?”
“There’s no problem,” Arrow replied quickly. “I just… wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”
Luna laughed. “Well, neither was I. The vet said it was impossible.”
Arrow tilted her head to one side. “Why?”
“Well,” Luna began, unsure how to answer without saying something Arrow might not be ready to hear, “He said it had to do with an accident I had when I was a puppy. I hurt my back and he said there was nothing he could do about it.”
Arrow furrowed her brow in uncertainty. “That doesn’t make sense,” she said. “What does hurting your back have to do with puppies?”
“I’m not sure. It was something about my spine being out of alignment, I think. It didn’t make much sense to me either.” Then she resumed her radiant smile. “But I guess it doesn’t matter, because he was wrong.”
“Yeah,” agreed Arrow, although her mind wasn’t on the vet. She was thinking about the attention she had enjoyed from Toby and Luna of late. Of them being there for her whenever she needed them, not busy with pups from other litters. True, there was the fact that they actually cared about her instead of seeing her most of the time as an added burden like her birth parents had. But there had been a special sort of joy, in some sense, in not having any brothers and sisters to distract them from her. Of course anyone who has ever been an only child long enough could see the folly of this with enough thought, but Arrow hadn’t been one nearly long enough to know what she lacked.
‘The vet was wrong,’ she thought sullenly. ‘And maybe I was too.’
“Yep,” confirmed Doctor Greenbriar a few days later. Connie, who had felt the movements when giving Luna a belly rub, had insisted that they take her in for a checkup. “She’s expecting puppies alright.”
Connie squealed with delight and wrapped her arms around Luna’s neck. “Did you hear that, girl?” she asked.
Luna smiled and thumped her tail. Even if she already knew, it was pretty satisfying to have confirmation, especially coming from the same vet who had said it would never happen. ‘Gotcha,’ she thought with such a smug look even the vet saw it for a moment.
Greenbriar just scratched his head. “I just can’t see how, though,” he admitted. “She is the same dog who got her back hurt when she was a puppy, right?”
“That’s right,” Connie’s father confirmed.
“Then this makes absolutely no sense. The damage to her back and pelvis should have made it impossible.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” the vet assured him. “With her injuries, it was incredible that she survived in the first place. For her to be expecting puppies now on top of that… well, it flies smack in the face of everything they taught us about the spine in veterinary school. I don’t want to sound superstitious, but it’s nothing short of a miracle.” He glanced at his chart. “Still, her checkup shows everything’s going just fine. She should deliver in about five or six weeks.”
Connie tried counting it on her fingers, then looked at a calendar that was hanging on the wall. “That’s Christmas!” she cheered.
Her father and the vet chuckled at this. “Just the sort of present she wanted, I’m sure,” joked the vet, with very little idea just how true his words were. He turned to Connie’s father. “Mr. Calvin, can I talk to you alone for a minute?” he asked quietly.
Connie’s father nodded. “Of course.” He told Connie to wait in the examining room, then followed the vet into his office.
“Close the door, please,” the vet instructed.
Mr. Calvin shut the door and asked, “What’s this about?”
“Well,” said the vet, “I can’t deny that your dog is pregnant. But even though she’s managed to beat the odds there, I… well, I can’t guarantee that the birth will be successful. With the condition of her spine, there are bound to be complications. She could miscarry.” He paused and added, “There’s even a strong chance that she may die.”
Connie’s father drew a slow, slightly stunned breath. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“I can’t say for sure,” the vet replied. “But I would say it’s very likely.” He paused, then offered, “I think it might be better if you tell Connie than if I do.”
The man shook his head. “I’d better not tell her,” he muttered. “At least not right away. Bad enough her Christmas might be spoiled. I don’t want to make it worse by making her worry.”
Neither of them was aware of a silent figure listening through the ducts, shaking his head at the strangeness of these people. But the figure was not focused on them at the moment. Rather, he was dwelling on the object of their discussion…
The following day, Luna was basking by the fire while Connie patted her head. Arrow was perched by Luna’s shoulder’s her front paws positioned on her “mother’s” back, slipping her head into the patting whenever she had the chance to do so. Suddenly they heard a voice outside calling, “Toby, what are you doing?”
All three looked in the direction of the sound, then followed it as footsteps ascended the front steps and onto the porch. Toby walked in through the pet flap, leash in his food dish and food dish in his teeth. He hurried over to the corner and put both down near Luna’s food bowls.
“Toby!” exclaimed Connie. “What are you doing here?”
“She took the words right out of my mouth,” agreed Arrow. “What’s going on, Dad?”
Toby was prevented from answering by a knock at the door. “Hello?” Charlie asked hesitantly.
Confused, Connie went over to the door and opened it. “Charlie?” she asked upon seeing Toby’s owner. His coat seemed to have been thrown on in a hurry, and his puffed cheeks made it clear he’d been moving faster than he would have liked. “What’s Toby doing here?” asked Connie.
“I don’t know,” Charlie replied. “He came up to me with his leash and food dish, then took off out the door. So I followed him here.”
Both children stared in confusion at Toby. Arrow’s face matched theirs, while Luna’s expression seemed, if anything, amused.
“Toby, what’s going on?” asked Charlie.
“What do I have to do, drag my basket over?” Toby asked.
“Would you really do that?” asked Arrow, trying to picture Toby pulling a wide basket through the doggie door.
Toby shook his head, walked over to Luna, and set himself down next to her.
Charlie and Connie stared at each other as Connie’s mother came into the room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “What’s going on?” she asked. Both kids started talking at once. “One at a time, one at a time,” the woman reprimanded.
Connie spoke first. “Toby just came over with his food dish and leash!”
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Any other dog and I’d be surprised,” she remarked.
“I think Toby wants to stay here for awhile,” Charlie observed. “Would, uh… would that be a problem?”
“I don’t know,” Connie replied. “Luna’s expecting puppies, see…”
Mrs. Calvin’s mouth twitched at the corner. “And I think I know who’s the daddy too,” she muttered.
Luna rubbed her nose under Toby’s chin, hoping the humans would take the hint.
“Well,” giggled Connie, “It looks like Luna wants him to stay.”
Charlie nodded, noting the way Toby had positioned his feet. “And he sure wants to,” he added. “The last time he planted himself like that was when he heard my dad talking about taking him to the vet for his shots.”
Both children turned to Connie’s mother, who threw her hands up in a display of reluctance. “Fine,” she conceded. “Why not? What’s one more dog when we’re going to have six anyway?”
Arrow was glad at first. Having Toby around all the time would mean that at least for a while longer, she’d still be getting the same amount of attention as before. Right?
Then she looked at the two of them. ‘Yeah, right,’ she thought glumly.
Convincing Charlie’s parents to let Toby stay was no easy task, but somehow he managed to talk them into it. “Just watch him,” Charlie’s father warned the Calvins. “He’s a real rascal.”
“What, he finally figured that out?” asked Luna.
But strangely enough it was Luna who soon began acting strangely. She took an interest in closets or any close space, causing Toby and Arrow no small amount of confusion. “You’ve always liked the outdoors,” he pointed out.
“I know,” she replied. “I can’t explain it.”
“Maybe it’s because she’s part wolf,” suggested Arrow. “You know, the whole den thing?”
This seemed to make sense, but after a talk with both their mothers, the soon-to-be parents discovered that it wasn’t just a wolf thing. “All mother dogs do it,” Terry explained. “It’s just instinct.”
Toby and Luna accepted this, seeing it as nothing too strange to handle. Luna’s family came to accept it as well, although it did ultimately cost them the use of the coat cabinet in the living room for the time being. It was the next thing that really started Toby worrying…
One night, Arrow woke up to find herself alone. Luna usually allowed her to sleep in the closet with her, although there wasn’t enough room for Toby to fit in too. But there was now, because Luna was nowhere in sight!
“Mom?” asked Arrow, staring around. She ventured out of the closet, which was always left open so Luna could enter and exit as she pleased. “Mom?” she whispered to the darkened room. ‘Did she leave?’ she wondered. It didn’t make sense. Why would she leave home when she was pregnant? There had to be some other explanation, but anxious as she was she had no idea what it could be.
After a moment she walked up to Toby and began nudging him. “Dad,” she whispered. “Where’s Mom?”
“Mmm-mm-mm-mmmf-fff,” Toby mumbled in his sleep.
“Dad,” Arrow persisted, moving from his shoulder to his face and butting her head against his cheek. “Mom’s gone.”
“Mm-mm-mrrr,” Toby protested.
‘I’ll bet he’d be up in no time flat if Mom was trying to wake him up,’ thought Arrow. Irritated and slightly paranoid about the whole business, she nipped his ear. “Ouch!” Toby cried, finally beginning to rouse from his slumber. Sleepily he lifted his head and stared blinking at Arrow. “What’s going on?” he yawned.
Arrow jerked her head toward the closet. “Mom’s disappeared,” she replied.
Instantly, Toby was on his feet. “Do you know where she went?” he asked.
Arrow shook her head. “No,” she replied. “I just woke up, and she wasn’t there.”
Toby looked in the closet. ‘What, he doesn’t believe me?’ wondered the pup.
“Well, she’s gone alright,” Toby agreed. He put his nose to the floor and began to sniff, tracking Luna’s scent. It led straight to the pet door. “You’d better stay here, Arrow,” he instructed.
As Toby disappeared into the night, Arrow sat dejectedly in the living room. “Sure,” she muttered. “It’s not like you want me around now anyway.”
Toby followed Luna’s scent out the dog door, down the street, and into someone’s back yard. There she was, rooting through the garbage.
“Luna?” he asked. “What are you doing?”
Startled, Luna spun around with her hackles up. When she saw it was Toby, her look of surprise was quickly replaced by one of embarrassment. “Toby! I, uh…didn’t know you were awake.”
“I wasn’t,” Toby replied with a yawn. “Now would you mind telling me what you’re doing?”
Luna blushed. “I don’t know. I just had this sudden craving for Chinese food.”
Toby lifted an eyebrow. “Okay, that’s weird. Why Chinese?”
Luna shrugged. “I don’t know. But I knew these people were Chinese, so I figured it would be the best place to go. There’s not a lot, though. They don’t waste much.”
Toby could see that. There was hardly any food left, although he suspected this had more to do with Luna’s strange appetite than a lack of garbage. “Well, you’d better come home. It’s too cold for you to be outside.”
Luna smirked in a clear effort to hide her uneasiness. “This from a dog who’s part bloodhound,” she replied. But after grabbing one last bite, they headed home.
“You found her,” Arrow remarked tonelessly.
Toby yawned. “Yeah, so I did,” he grumbled. “Nothing to worry about, just a garbage raid.”
Arrow tilted her head. “I thought you said good dogs don’t dig through garbage when they’ve got people,” she pointed out.
Luna started to protest, then realized that she had said that on more than one occasion to correct Arrow for the same misdemeanor. “I’m going back to bed,” she announced, disappearing into the closet. After a moment, Arrow followed her. But as she lay next to Luna, avoiding contact with her belly so the kicking wouldn’t keep her awake, she knew she had touched a nerve. How much longer before she touched one too many?
The following morning, Their neighbor Mr. Young came to the door and complained that he had found his garbage overturned, with dog tracks leading directly to their front door.
“Bad Toby!” scolded Connie, shaking a finger at him.
“Me?” he protested, although of course no one understood. “But I didn’t do it!” Arrow, meanwhile, began to worm her way under the couch lest any blame should fall on her.
“I don’t think Toby’s the culprit,” noted Mrs. Calvin. She gave Luna a knowing look. “I think it’s someone who’s eating for more than just herself now.”
“But Luna’s never done anything like that before,” Connie pointed out in her dog’s defense.
“She’s never been pregnant before, either,” their Dad pointed out. He gently took Luna by the head and held the top of her head to his nose as he inhaled. “Yep, she’s the one alright.”
“We’re sorry about this,” Mom apologized to Mr. Young. “We’ll keep an eye on her from now on.”
“Tank you,” Mr. Young replied in his Chinese accent, and he left.
Luna’s family decided to give her extra food, but night after night she kept raiding various people’s garbage, looking for scraps. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to her crazy eating. One night she wanted sausage, the next it was dried apples. Again, Terry and Taya attested that this was perfectly normal. But it did little to settle anyone’s confusion.
By the end of about five weeks, Luna was extremely fat even though her owners had started locking the pet door at night to prevent her midnight snacks (and, although Mr. Calvin never mentioned it to anyone but his wife, to minimize the chances of Luna dying away from home). She was heavy with puppies, and had begun having mood swings.
The evening when that began, the three were eating as usual from their bowls. Luna’s was placed in the closet with her so she wouldn’t have to leave her “den,” as the family had started referring to it. Toby’s was just outside the closet because of his extreme reluctance to leave her unattended. For although he never voiced his worries, he had developed a growing sense of dread about Luna’s condition. He had no way of knowing the vet’s concerns, and his own faith in the certainty of a good outcome prevented him from consciously perceiving what his sub-conscious had started to guess.
In any event, Luna was certainly eating well, although she kept a wary eye on Toby and Arrow and growled if either of their heads came too close to hers or her dishes. Expecting mother dogs are sometimes very touchy, as you have probably seen if your dog ever had pups. And of course interfering when a dog is eating is never a wise move. Indeed, there might have been a disaster if Arrow hadn’t piped up.
“Mom, why are you growling at Dad?”
Luna, surprised by the realization, blushed. “I… I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just feel strange when he gets close.”
“You always feel that way,” he pointed out.
“No, not good strange,” she replied, shaking her head. “Bad strange.” Her ears slid back and she hung her head. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Maybe she’s still got some effects from that time she hit her head back when you were dating,” suggested Arrow. Toby and Luna gave her a look, and her ears and tail drooped. “Well it’s possible, isn’t it?” she asked.
“I hope not,” Toby replied. “But I’ll see what I can find out when I get the chance.
Toby was not the sole victim of Luna’s mood swings. Several times she drove Arrow out of the closet at bedtime, often with near-violence. Toby tried to comfort the pup, reassuring her that it wasn’t over soon. But Arrow, who until meeting Toby and Luna had known little but the things she was experiencing now, had grown to in some sense depend on their daily shows of affection even more than she did on air and water. Playtime, a comforting word, a warm place to sleep, all these things were gradually being removed, leaving her to wither like an uprooted tree. With even her respective owner, Eugene, often paying more attention to Luna than to her, Arrow was slowly becoming convinced that once the puppies arrived, there would be no place left for her.
On the evening of one of Luna’s episodes, Arrow decided to go out for a while. The fact that neither Luna nor Toby, who was busy trying to calm Luna down, tried to stop her further damaged her already battered sense of security. As she wandered the quiet streets, she wondered what it would be like to go back to living on them.
As she passed by a lonely corner, she saw a yellow-tinted dog sitting on the porch of one of the stores staring out at the street. He looked to be older than Toby, but not so old as Rex and Terry (or Grandma and Grandpa, as she called them). Curious, she walked up to him. “Hi,” she said tentatively.
The dog glanced at her, apparently decided she wasn’t of too much interest, and resumed his vigil. “Hi,” he said flatly.
She sat down. “Mind if I sit here?”
Without so much as a shrug he replied, “It’s a free country.”
Arrow had never seen or even heard about the Royal Guards in
He snorted, at last showing some sign of emotion. “Mind your business,” he grumbled.
“I was just asking.”
He rolled his eyes and answered, “Remembering. What’s a squirt like you doing out here?”
Trying not to bristle at being called a “squirt,” Arrow replied, “I, uh, needed a little time away from my parents.” She followed his gaze into the street as if that might reveal some clue as to what memories haunted this dog. “What are you remembering?” she asked.
He sighed, whether out of sorrow at the memory or exasperation at her persistence she didn’t know. “My Dad,” he said simply.
“Oh.” Arrow had memories of her own father- her biological father, that is- but she had tried not to think about him since she had been adopted. “What happened to him?”
“Dead,” he growled. “Right out there.” And he gestured to the street.”
“My parents died when some old wood fell on them.”
“I thought you said you came out here to get away from them.”
“No, my other parents,” she explained. “I’m adopted.”
By way of reply, the yellow dog gave an anemic “Hm,” and kept staring. After a minute he remarked, “My Dad died in a sledding accident.”
“Was he a sled dog?”
“The best.” Arrow caught a hint of positive tone in the dog’s voice now. “He was a champion racer, lead dog of his team.” Then his voice caught. “They were racing for the job of mail carriers, and he tripped. The rest of his team piled up and he…” he choked. “His neck broke.”
Arrow winced. “Ouch,” she whispered.
The dog spat. “I’ve hated this time of year ever since,” he remarked. “September, when he died, and December. Christmas is the worst.”
“Why Christmas?”
“Because he said he would start training me that Christmas,” he replied. “After the holiday rush was over. That’s all I ever wanted, to spend time with him. To be like him. And now…” he sighed.
“Did that make your mom sad?” asked Arrow, trying to imagine how upset Luna would be if something like that happened to Toby.
He snorted hatefully. “Nah, she just went and had pups with some creep from down south,” he spat. “She didn’t care, not even after living with Dad for years.” His voice began to rise now, finally coming to a shout that echoed up and down the streets. “I lost both my parents, and NOBODY STINKIN’ CARES!” On the last word he smashed his foot down on the boards.
Arrow cringed. “Uh, well, I think I hear my Mom calling,” she fibbed. “See yah.” And with that she dashed off. After running a good distance from the enraged husky, she stopped to catch her breath and mull over what he had said. ‘If his Mom could just forget about his Dad,’ she wondered with a sense of overwhelming dread, ‘How hard could it be for Toby and Luna to just push me aside?’
A few days later, when Luna was about due to give birth and Toby was taking as much care of her as he could without triggering her “instinct,” as they had begun to call it, Arrow made her decision. While Luna was busy trying to determine if she was having a contraction or a random muscle cramp, and Toby was worrying that it might be both, Arrow quietly slipped out the door. She walked several yards from her house, then looked back with a desperate longing to just go back in and find everything normal. But she knew it wouldn’t happen. “It’s better this way,” she said quietly. She didn’t know where to go, or who would want a pup like her if Toby and Luna didn’t. She guessed she would just keep walking until she found a place in this world, or perhaps the next. So she walked off, her paws already feeling chilly from the snow as a passing wind bit through her fur, into the months-long northern night.
There’s no telling for sure how long it was until the pain in Luna’s side subsided, and they decided it must have been a cramp. “You shouldn’t scare me like that,” Toby reprimanded anxiously.
Luna sighed. “Look, I’m not the first dog to have puppies. If you want to practice worrying…”
To this day no one knows how they became aware of it. It might have been their instincts. It might have been Luna glancing in the direction of Arrow’s favorite spot to sit without realizing it, or Toby suddenly noticing a change in the mix of scents which characterized the Calvins’ home, or perhaps all three. But both of them suddenly had an overwhelming sense that something was very wrong. “Did you feel that?” asked Toby.
Luna nodded. “Yeah. And if you felt it too then it can’t be a…”
And then full realization sprang upon them like a tiger roaring as it hurled itself into the air. “Arrow!” they both exclaimed.
Toby lifted his nose and sniffed. “She’s not in the house,” he reported.
“Then where is she?” asked Luna, worrying Toby all the more. All this anxiety couldn’t be good for her, especially this close to term.
“I’ll go find her,” he said, heading for the pet flap. Sensing Luna’s intent he added, “And you stay here.”
Luna groaned as she felt the pups move around inside of her, anxious to leave but not quite ready. “I’ll stay here,” she conceded.
Toby made every effort to stay calm as he stepped out the door and descended the front steps. It was only when his paws hit the snow that he started to run. And this time he made his run in November look like he had been standing still.
Toby had been walking for what felt like forever as stinging ice gathered on his coat. The storm made tracking all but impossible even to his keen senses, but he trudged on, praying that he would somehow find his daughter. ‘Maybe I’ll get lucky and trip on her,’ he thought as he struggled to see through the whiteness that hung before his eyes. “Arrow!” he called, but the wind flung his words literally back down his throat, chilling his lungs.
She couldn’t have gone this far, could she? ‘I must be on the wrong track,’ he thought. “Arrow!” he cried out.
“Aroooo!”
Toby blinked and turned toward the sound. With the wind no longer in his face, he was just barely able to make out the shape of a dog. But it wasn’t Arrow. This dog was full-sized, and its fur was a shade of gray.
“Have you seen my daughter?” he yelled to the stranger, trying to be heard over the storm.
The figure turned its back to him, walked a few steps, and turned to look back. It seemed unaffected by the cold or the wind.
“My daughter,” Toby called again. “She’s a little pup, looks like a raccoon, and she’ll never survive out here if I can't find her!”
The dog, or wolf, threw back its head and howled. The sound carried high and clear, as if there were neither wind nor snow to drown it out.
Toby shook his head. He didn’t have time for this, but if the stranger knew where Arrow was then he had to follow. “Alright,” he called. And he followed after the dog, desperately hoping it would lead him to Arrow.
It was dark. The wind was blowing, whipping snow up off the ground into frigid gusts and mini-cyclones. Arrow trudged on, her nose running and her eyes dripping. Every step made it harder to keep going, both from the cold that flooded her limbs and from the ongoing desperation to turn back, go back home, and find everything as it always had been.
Running, however, became a lot easier when she sensed she had someone, or something, on her tail.
She wasn’t sure how she knew it. She couldn’t hear anything, and when she looked behind her she couldn’t see anything but the wind-blown clouds of ice. But somehow she knew she was being pursued.
Could it be a wolf? She knew some wolves were nice, she had even met a bunch when Luna had taken her to meet the Northern Lights Pack. But Arrow wasn’t sure if she was in their territory or not, and she’d heard stories about what some wolves did to dogs, especially little ones by themselves, and especially when it was winter and food was scarce.
Maybe it was a bear, or a fox? As she glanced back and saw an outline beginning to appear, she stopped wondering and ran faster. When the snow let up for a brief moment she managed to spot what looked like a cave farther ahead. ‘Maybe I can hide in there,’ she thought. ‘Maybe whatever it is will be too big to follow me inside.’ But when she reached it she found that anything smaller than a bear would be able to enter easily. Still, she had nowhere else to go, so she ran into the cave and huddled in a corner. Whatever was following her, now she was trapped.
Toby followed the figure for several minutes. The figure’s pace never seemed to change, always remaining at a steady, patient walk. But no matter how fast he himself went, the wolf never got any closer, nor any farther away.
Which made it all the more strange when suddenly, it vanished. Toby ran to the spot where he had last seen it, but there was nothing. No wolf, no scent, not even footprints. His guide had just… disappeared.
“Where are you?” he called into the night. No answer. “Please!” he begged, icy tears beginning to well in his eyes. “I don’t have time for this! Arrow’s lost, Luna’s probably in labor right now…” a blast of wind sent snow down his throat, almost choking him. When he recovered himself he cried out with all his strength, “Help me!”
Then, he saw a black outline only a stone’s throw away. A cave. ‘Could he have gone in there?’ Toby wondered. He had nothing to lose by trying. “If that wolf is wasting my time,” he growled, his mind a muddle of worry and frustration, “He’ll wish he’d never been born.”
Arrow waited and waited for what seemed like forever, until she saw a large shape at the cave mouth. It sniffed the air and came in. It wasn’t a bear, or a wolf. But when she saw who it was, she thought perhaps even a hungry wolf would have been better than Toby.
“Arrow?” he asked. His fur was encrusted with snow and he was shivering, but his voice at least was a strong mix of question and reproach. “What are you doing out here?” he demanded.
“I’m… I’m running away,” she replied meekly. “Please, just leave me alone!”
“Arrow, it’s OK. I’m here…”
“Go away!” she shouted, beginning to sob.
“Arrow, Arrow, it’s OK,” Toby repeated, trying to calm her. “Now why did you run away?”
She sniffled. “Because… you and Luna don’t want me anymore. You’re having your own kids.”
A spear of guilt pierced Toby through the heart as, in an unbidden rush, he suddenly understood his crucial mistake. “Oh, sweetheart,” he nuzzled his daughter. “Look, I know we’ve been a little caught up about all this, but just because Luna and I are having more pups doesn’t mean we love you any less.” He gently licked away her tears. “Your Mom and I have been worried sick about you. She almost had a heart attack when she realized you were gone.”
Arrow hung her head. “I’m sorry,” she whined.
“Hey, it’s OK,” he told her. “Now let’s get back home before you catch a cold. Wouldn’t want to have to keep you away from your new brothers and sisters, would we?”
Arrow rose to her feet. “Has it happened yet?” she asked.
“I don’t think so,” he replied. “But we don’t want to miss it, so come on.”
“OK.”
They turned to leave, only to see a very unwelcome shape looming in the mouth of the cave. Two blood-red eyes gleamed out of an ugly face attached to a squat, bear-like body. A ghastly miasma, like rotting meat mixed with concentrated skunk, surrounded the animal. Arrow cried in fear.
“Now just relax,” Toby told her, hoping she couldn’t hear his heart pounding. He’d never encountered a wolverine before, but he’d heard some pretty bad stories from dogs who had… or had seen what was left of dogs who had.
The creature glowered and walked toward them. “My cave…” it growled.
“I’m sorry,” Toby apologized. “We were just leaving. If you’ll just let us by, we won’t bother you again.”
The wolverine kept growling. “My cave…” it rumbled again.
“Arrow,” Toby whispered. “I’ll move right and try to distract him. You go left when I’ve got his attention and get out of here.”
Arrow nodded, her eyes each about the size of a golf ball. “Got it.”
Toby slowly maneuvered to the right. As he had hoped, the wolverine turned to follow him, although it held its position in the middle of the cave.
Toby glanced at Arrow and nodded slightly, prompting her to make her move. The beast, however, also picked up on the cue and turned toward the smaller prey. Arrow, seeing the approach of a monster at least three times her size, froze.
“Arrow, get out of here!” Toby cried.
“But…”
The hairy beast lumbered toward Arrow before Toby threw himself at it and diverted its attention. Red eyes glinting, it turned to face him.
“Just get out of here!” he ordered. “I’ll distract it!”
Arrow looked both ways frantically, then dashed off. It was no retreat, though. Orders or no orders, she was going for reinforcements.
The wolverine glowered at Toby. “Intruder…” it hissed as it swiped a paw at him, with claws that clearly evidenced why some tribal people would refer to it as a “Devil Bear.”
“We didn’t mean any harm,” Toby protested. “But if you can’t listen to reason, I’ll just have to show you what happens when you mess with my daughter.”
Meanwhile, back in
“Aaah!” she cried as another one, worse than before, struck the entire back half of her body except for the tail. This was no cramp, she knew, even as Connie came running to the sound of her cry. ‘Please, wait,’ she thought, willing the tears not to come. ‘I wanted Toby here for this.’
But there was no stopping it now. Nothing, not even the fact that she might never see Toby or Arrow again, could put it off any longer. Ready or not, better or worse, it was time for nature to take its course.
Arrow ran into town, desperately searching for someone to help. “Hey,” she said to a passing dog. “Can you…?”
“No time,” he interrupted. “Got places to be.”
She turned to another dog walking by. “Can you…?”
“I’m busy,” the dog replied, continuing on her way.
Arrow wanted to scream. It was Christmas Eve, there were dogs and people everywhere, and no one was willing to even let her ask for help!
Then she caught a glimpse of a familiar face. The yellow dog! Maybe he would help! Breathless, she ran up to him. “Can you help me?” she asked anxiously. “It’s an emergency.”
He looked at her, barely registering any sign of recognition. “Sorry, squirt. Can’t help ya.”
“Please!” she begged. “My Dad needs help!”
“Well what do I look like, the cavalry?” he retorted. “Go bug somebody else.”
“PLEASE!” she persisted, on the edge of tears. “If nobody helps, he’s gonna die!”
“So?” he asked, cold as stone.
Shocked at this Scrooge of a dog, she turned away. “I thought you would understand,” she said, beginning to sob. “You, of all dogs…”
As the yellow dog stared at this strange puppy, a piece of the past entered his mind. A memory of his father explaining to him the importance of hard work as a sled dog.
“It’s all about helping people,” his father had said. “Helping them when nobody else can. That’s what it really means to be a sled dog.”
“I’ll remember that, Dad,” he had promised. “Someday I’m gonna make you proud, I promise.”
As the husky remembered with a shudder the nightmares he would sometimes have, nightmares of his father scolding him for failing to do as he’d been taught, failing to follow his example, he picked Arrow up and tossed her onto his back. “Hold on tight and give me directions,” he said as he began to run.
Surprised, Arrow blinked away her tears. “You’re helping me?” she asked.
He closed his eyes to slits as he focused on his running, remembering every motion he had seen watching his father. “I’m doing this for my Dad,” he replied. “No one else.”
Only one observer paid them any attention as they ran past the edge of town. Standing at the corner of a building, a single canine figure murmured, “So much grief, even in the midst of joyous times.” Then he began to walk after them, as silent as the snow on which he trod.
Meanwhile, Toby was still locked in combat with the wolverine. The animal kept making lunges at him, keeping him guessing. Its attacks left no opening, no way to counter. It moved with the speed of a train, and was able to turn in an instant to counter any move he made. Already his face had suffered some painful scratches from its inch-long claws and, while the damage was minimal so far, he knew it was only a matter of time before it managed to land a more serious blow. He couldn’t beat the wolverine, but he knew if he tried to turn and escape it would be on him in an instant and then it would be over.
‘It can’t end like this,’ he thought. ‘Luna’s gonna give birth! I can’t die now, she needs me! My kids need me! Arrow-’
“Dad!” cried a voice.
Toby blinked. “Arrow?”
There she was, coming into the entrance of the cave astride another dog who quickly tossed her off and lunged at the wolverine. The beast was caught unawares, and in a moment the other dog had it by the back of the neck. The dog growled, the wolverine snarled and tried to turn. Unable to maneuver, it tried to raise its tail to fire its spray. But the other dog had a paw holding the tail down, and the wolverine couldn’t free it.
Toby didn’t know where this other dog had come from, but her had other things to think about. Quickly he darted into the fray and clamped his jaws on the wolverine’s neck, closing off its windpipe. The creature slashed at his neck, but Toby held on and was greatly relieved when it began to weaken. Finally, it hung limp and he let go.
The other dog tossed its heavy body to one side, and Arrow stared at it. “Is it… dead?” she asked.
“Just unconscious, I think,” Toby replied, his voice raspy from shortness of breath. “Whatever it is, I’m not waiting to find out. Let’s get out of here.”
As they left the cave, he turned to thank the other dog. “Thanks. I’d probably be dead if it weren’t for…” he began, but stopped when he caught a good look at the other dog’s face. “You?!” he asked in surprise.
The other dog looked at him, gasped, and turned to glare at Arrow. “You dragged me out of town to save him?!” he demanded in rage.
Arrow was baffled. “You know each other?”
Toby sighed. “Sadly yes,” he admitted. “Arrow, say ‘Uncle.’”
Arrow was puzzled. “But we won.”
“No,” Toby replied. “Arrow, this is your uncle. Pete.”
“Uncle Pete?” asked Arrow in surprise. “The big dummy?”
Toby winced. “Arrow, uh…”
Pete was furious, and that last bit from Arrow didn’t help at all. “I can’t believe you got me into a fight with a wolverine just to rescue this punk mutt!” he snapped. “I’m outta here.” And with that he took off, headed for town.
Toby and Arrow stared after him. “Even from the way you described him,” Arrow commented, “I never thought he was that bad.”
Toby laughed. “Who’d have thought,” he chuckled. “My life is on the line, and Pete of all dogs saves the day.”
Arrow smiled. “You’re not so different,” she told him. “He wanted to be a sled dog too. And he loved his Dad, just like you. He still does.”
Toby stared at her. “Really?” he asked.
She nodded. “Maybe it runs in the family.”
He laughed. “Well, speaking of families,” he said, “Let’s get back to ours.” As they walked back to town through the snow, he asked, “So how did you get him to come anyway?”
She shivered. “It’s a long story. Got an hour or two when we get home?”
He smiled. “For you, all the time in the world.” Then he shivered too and added, “After we get back home.”
Moving as quickly as they could through the cold, they made their way back to Luna’s house. Toby began announcing their approach at least a block away, drawing irate stares from anyone out on the streets. He didn’t care, though. All he cared about was getting back to Luna. With Arrow close behind, he ran up the steps, leapt at the dog door…
And fell back with a crash as it held firmly shut.
“Dad!” cried Arrow. Are you okay?”
Toby stood up in a daze, rubbing his head with a paw. “What happened?” he asked, sounding a bit foggy.
Connie looked out the window and shook her head. “No, Toby,” she chided, her voice muffled by the glass. “The vet said no dogs around while Luna’s having her puppies.”
“Luna’s having them?!” Toby practically shrieked. He ran at the door and butted it again. “Connie, I know you can’t hear me, but you gotta let me in there!”
“Come on, Connie, let him in,” protested
The conversation was punctuated by a cry from the background, prompting Toby to begin clawing at the door. “Luna!” he called. “This is nuts,” he growled in the back of his throat. “I just took down a wolverine and now I’m being stopped by a little girl!”
“Mom, are you OK?” called Arrow. “I’m sorry I ran away, I promise I’ll never do it again!”
“No,” Connie insisted. “The vet said she might be upset if it was too crowded. And stay away from that closet, she needs her privacy!”
“Connie,
Eugene was silent for a moment, then protested, “What about Mom?”
“She has to keep an eye on Luna to make sure she’s alright,” Mr. Calvin insisted. “And I’d rather not have you kids see some of what’s going on in there.”
“AAAAAAGH!” Luna cried, as if to prove his point, although to human ears it was just a very shrill howl.
Toby’s claws were shredding the wood like a wood chipper, tearing splinters away, completely oblivious to any which stuck in his paws. “Luna!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.
Luna let out another cry, and then all was silent within the house. “Are they here?” asked
“You don’t want to,” warned Mrs. Calvin. “There’s a lot of blood. I’ll clean it up and then you can look.”
“Blood?!” cried Toby as if they had just announced Luna was dead. The impact of the one syllable drove him back. Luna… no, no it wasn’t possible. Or was it? “Luna!” he cried out, his voice echoing up and down the street. “Answer me, please!”
“Dad, what’s wrong?” persisted Arrow.
“I don’t know,” Toby growled, “But I’m getting in there even if I have to turn this door into a pile of toothpicks!”
He continued to claw while Arrow sat by, completely unaware of what to do. She didn’t know how bad the situation was, but she was bombarded by an irrational and completely unshakable feeling that it was all her fault. Desperate for something to do, she began to howl. Their silent follower watched, unseen even from a few feet away, and simply shook his head in wonder as he stepped through the closed door to see to Luna.
Inside, Luna lay still, her breath coming in weak, ragged gasps. While she was pregnant, she had sought advice from several dogs who had already had puppies, from her own mother and her aunt Dusty to total strangers she met by chance. All of them had told her giving birth would hurt, but the pain of actually having her pups was worse than they had described, worse than she had ever imagined. It felt as if she were dying, and even now she was so exhausted from the effort that she could barely move her head. Weakly, she looked as best she could out the corner of her eye at the puppies now nestled against her stomach.
“Luna, are you okay?” asked Connie. Her voice sounded distant even though she was right there. Luna let out a weak whimper to let her know she was still alive. It was all she could do.
“Mom!” cried Connie, “Luna’s really hurt!”
“Get her some water and a warm blanket,” ordered her mother. “And
“Right!”
Luna dimly heard running footsteps as Connie dashed off to get the necessary items. ‘Where’s Toby?’ she asked through the haze of wild thoughts and residual pain. In her labor, she had barely been lucid enough to hear him outside. ‘I hope he’s okay,’ she thought, imagining what kind of effect her cries of pain must have had on him.
Connie’s parents knelt next to her, wanting to help but not sure how. “Do you think she’ll make it?” asked Mrs. Calvin.
Her husband shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “The vet said she might not.”
‘What?!’ thought Luna. ‘Why didn’t they mention it sooner?’ She was dimly aware of the man picking up her pups, and watched as he set them down again next to her in a different order. It was all she could do not to growl at him in spite of herself.
She heard Connie come running back. “Here!” the girl yelled. “I got them!”
“Good,” said her mother. Carefully, she arranged the blanket on top of Luna so that it covered her body but left her stomach – along with the puppies – exposed.
“Why aren’t you covering them?” asked Connie.
“They’ll probably need air, and plenty of it,” she replied. “Now, let’s give her some water and see if that helps.”
Mr. Calvin set the bowl near Luna’s head. Slowly, trying not to disturb her pups, Luna moved her snout over the bowl and began to lap up the water, relishing the soothing sensation as it drenched her parched throat.
“She’s drinking!” cheered Connie. “She’s okay!”
“Let’s hope so,” murmured her father.
A loud BANG sounded through the room as Toby slammed his weight against it from outside, accompanied by Arrow’s plaintive cries. “Can we let them in now?” asked Connie.
Mr. Calvin nodded. “If this keeps up we won’t have a front door in five minutes.” He strode to the door, grasped the knob, and paused to look at his progeny. “You’d better stand back,” he advised. “If he’s anything like I was when you kids were…”
As soon as the door was open a crack, Toby bolted in with such force that the door whacked Mr. Calvin in the face and sent him tumbling to the floor with a crash.
“Honey, are you alright?” asked his wife.
He nodded, looking slightly dazed. He touched his forehead to check for bleeding and then he laughed. “I guess some things are the same whether you’re a person or a dog,” he commented as he closed the door with his foot and looked over at Toby, who was standing several feet away from Luna. He looked nervous, timid, eager, and excited all at once. “Just like I was, alright,” the man chuckled.
Luna smiled at Toby. The instinctive paranoia of her pregnancy was apparently gone now, leaving nothing but an anxious desire to have him close again. “Come on, Toby,” she whispered.
Toby approached slowly and looked down at the five hairless puppies all lined up along Luna’s stomach as neatly as stockings on a mantle. There were no words in the world to describe the swirl of emotions inside him. “They’re beautiful,” he whispered. “Absolutely beautiful.” After a pause he asked, “Are you okay? You sounded like you were dying in here.”
She took a deep breath. Her body still ached, but she was beginning to regain just a little of her strength. “I’ll live,” she answered. “It takes more than this to kill me.” She rubbed her muzzle against his and flicked her tongue across his nose. He kissed her back, but the tender scene was interrupted by the door opening. Toby instinctively dropped to the floor to shield the puppies from the icy blast of air as two snow-caked pairs of boots rushed in.
“Are they here?” asked Charlie’s voice.
Connie nodded. “Yeah, they’re here.”
Charlie knelt next to Toby while
“What’s he saying that to you for?” asked Luna. “I did all the work.”
Toby chuckled. “When I figure out how, I’ll point that out to him.” After a pause he added, “And I’m going to remember you said that in case you ever try to blame this on me.”
Luna groaned. “You’ve been practicing your bad jokes,” she noted.
“What should we call them?” asked Connie, interrupting the discussion.
“You remember our deal,” answered Charlie. “I name the boys, you name the girls.” He looked over the pups. “Which ones are boys?”
Connie’s father pointed to the three on the left. “These three,” he answered. “I put the boys and girls lined up so we’d know which ones were which without picking them up too much.”
Charlie nodded. “Good thinking,” he acknowledged as he knelt down. “I was hoping there’d be three boys,” he added with the air of one who had thought things out beforehand. Pointing his finger to each in turn, he said, “Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior.”
Connie made an odd face. “Those are some pretty weird names.”
Charlie shrugged. “They were the names of the three wise men.”
“But how will anyone learn to say their names?” asked
He shrugged. “They can use shorter ones,” he replied.
“Caspar and Mel would work fine,” observed Connie’s father thoughtfully, “But Bel would come across as a girl’s name.”
Charlie sagged. “I guess I never thought of that,” he admitted.
“How about Zar?” suggested Connie’s mother.
Charlie brightened. “That’s good!” he agreed.
Connie looked over the girls, thought for a moment and asked, “What does Luna mean?”
“Crazy,” Toby joked.
“I think it means moon,” replied Mr. Calvin.
Connie thought for a moment. “Okay, then I’ll name her Star.”
“Wasn’t there a dog on the medicine team with that name?” asked
“Now that you mention it, there was,” said Connie’s father. “But I’m pretty sure that team was all male.”
“Well I say her name is Star. Let’s see, what about the other one?” Connie looked at the second girl with a hand to her chin. “What about you?” she asked. “What should I call you?”
“Angel?” offered Arrow. She had no idea where the name had come from, but it seemed to fit.
“How about Angel?” suggested
Connie smiled. “That’s a good name,” she said. “How did you think of it?”
Eugene shrugged. “I guess it just came to me,” he replied.
Connie nodded. “Well, it’s a good name,” she decided. “Angel it is.”
“So which one do we put on the tree?” Charlie joked.
Connie’s eyes widened. “You leave those puppies alone!” she cried as Charlie laughed at the look on her face.
Luna just stared at Arrow. “How did you do that?” she asked.
The pup shrugged. “I dunno,” she admitted. “I guess he guessed what I was thinking, like a miracle or something.”
Toby’s gentle smile could have pacified a rampaging bear. “I think that’s what this whole thing is,” he replied. “A miracle.”
“All of it?” asked Arrow. “Even all that noise Mom was making?”
Luna nodded. “Oh, especially that.”
As Arrow nestled herself between Luna’s front paws, Charlie impulsively began to sing and was soon joined by the Calvins. Even Toby hummed a few lines, though to human ears it was just the thumping of his tail.
“The first No-oel, the-e angels did say,
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay,
I-in fie-elds whe-ere they la-ay keeping their sheep,
On a cold winter’s ni-ight that wa-as so deep.
No-oel, No-oel, No-oel, Noel,
Born is the Ki-ing of I-Israel.”
As the humans continued their soothing music, Luna felt the last of her pain slipping away. Arrow felt her loneliness disappear, and Toby felt like a fifty-ton weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Taking the place of all these was an overwhelming sense of peace and calm, as if there were some magic, or a thing beyond magic in the song. They all knew the new additions to their family would take work to raise and somehow or other each manage to get into trouble, but for this blessed moment they were all at perfect rest. Arrow smiled and pushed her head against the underside of Luna’s chin like a cat against a hand that wasn’t petting. “Merry Christmas,” she whispered.
Luna smiled, then in a quick motion bumped Arrow onto her side, buried her nose in the puppy’s fur, and blew making a raspberry sound. Amidst her daughter’s laughter she said, “Merry Christmas.”
Toby, drained but satisfied by the events of the past few hours, let out a prodigious yawn and added, “Merry Christmas… to… all…”
As his mind drifted into slumber, Toby found himself thinking of the mysterious stranger who had led him to Arrow. ‘I wonder where he disappeared to?’ he drowsily pondered. ‘I wish I could thank him.’
Meanwhile that same wolf stood by the front door, smiling at the whole scene. “And to all, a good night,” he whispered in a voice no one could hear. Then he passed through the door and walked through the streets of
Toby, Luna, Norik, Arrow, Connie, Eugene, Connie’s parents, Charlie Winters, Pete, and pups © Dragon Tamer
Taya, Copper © redwolf03
Kodi, Dusty © Universal Studios
Please Note: Due to the religious nature of the song lyrics in The First Noel, personal approval was obtained months in advanced from steet. If you have any objections about this or any other content, please contact me or steet for resolution.
To find out the story of what went on before the Toby series, go to my shared account with Kelev http://baltosource.timduru.org/en/fanfic/PoliceDog/1456.html for the upcoming story, "Toby: The Beginning."