Winter Moon (a Balto 2 fic)

Disc.: Only in my fantasies is Balto 2 mine officially, but in reality all I own is the mind that supplies these chapters to everyone who reads them.

A/N: Welcome to Chapter 2 of Winter Moon, last time Steele fainted after learning that his very male mate Balto is pregnant and he's gonna be a daddy! So, I'm thinking that it's time for Roscoe to find out he's gonna be a grandfather, and maybe I'll have Jenna's reputation dragged through the mud even more than it was in the previous fic…because I love tarnishing good girls like her and ruining them- within legal and realistic reason, of course. Now, time for the chapter to get started! Enjoy, all my lovelies who review my stories!

Ch.2- Severed Heart

Steele had finally come back to conscious reality after roughly 25 minutes, Rick was helping him up by grabbing his collar between his teeth and pulling him into a sitting position.

"Steele, you okay? You blacked out for a while there, is everything still functioning properly?"

"I don't know, Rick…but I just had the weirdest dream, Balto said that he was pregnant and that the puppies are mine."

Balto looked down at his mate from the examination table that he was sitting on before jumping off and landing in front of his mate. He closed the relatively short distance between them and sat down right in front of Steele, a smile forming on his face before he lifted his mate's paw and placed it on his stomach.

"It wasn't a dream Steele, it's true…I am pregnant, and they are your pups- do you feel that? They're moving around, only a little bit at a time but they're definitely moving."

Steele could no longer deny the truth, the pups were there as he felt them squirming inside of Balto's still semi-flat stomach. This brought a huge smile to the Malamute's face, his dreams of being a father with a loving mate were finally happening, and nothing would ruin this moment for them.

(Time skip- 2 months)

Steele woke up on the rug in Rosie's house, the warmth from the fire earlier that morning still surrounding and washing over him in soothing waves. When Rosie had followed Steele a month ago out to Balto's home, she and her family were shocked that their town's hero was living alone on a houseboat in the freezing cold. They soon made arrangements for living conditions for the wolf-dog savior of Nome and from that day onward Balto was living with them.

It made him uncomfortable at first, but after they had learned of Balto's pregnancy on top of his horrid living conditions they decided it would be better for the wolf-dog to live with them from now on, they even had a loft built for Boris after he'd gotten sad when they chased the visiting goose away.

So, here was Steele's current situation…he was laying on a warm rug near the fireplace with Balto cuddled up against him on his side, the wolf-dog making sure not to lay on top of the puppies growing inside of him, his stomach had now started becoming round with the puppies in his womb. They had also found out that with special cases like Balto's, he would have to have a cesarean when it came time to actually have the puppies because he didn't have a birth canal like the female dogs of the small town. Only three more months and both dogs would be parents.

But Steele just couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen to them, he wasn't sure what exactly it was but it probably was going to happen very soon.

Back to Steele's 'situation'…he leaned down and gently kissed Balto on the side of his nose, which earned him a giggle from his mate. Steele then licked his upper jaw, which made the wolf-dog moan slightly in pleasure, before gently nipping his cheek- which finally made Balto open his eyes and smile at his mate.

"Morning, beautiful…did you sleep well?" Steele asked in a loving voice, which in turn made Balto's smile grow even wider before answering Steele's question.

"Morning to you too…and yes, I slept well. So, only three more months before we're parents. Aren't you excited, Steele? I hope at least one of them looks like you, but with my mother's eyes."

"What color were your mother's eyes?"

"Blue."

"Well then, I too would love a pup with blue eyes…but I want at least three of them to have your eyes."

Balto just giggled at his loving mate's hopefulness of puppy eye colors…yes, only three more months and the litter growing inside of Balto would be born.

And the parents of that litter were definitely anticipating their arrival.

(Time skip- another 2 months)

Balto walked through the town, his baby bump by now was very noticeable. It looked like the wolf-dog had eaten one too many boxes of dog treats and then slept them off every day, but the dogs and the doctors of the town all knew better. Despite his being pregnant with only one month left before it was time to give birth, Balto was still in surprisingly good shape…Steele had insisted that Balto get up and walk around a little bit each day so he wouldn't get out of shape between now and when it was time to actually go into labor, he had never felt any happier than he did right now.

Even though he never once noticed the hateful chocolate eyes of a certain Husky bitch out to wreak havoc on the happily expecting parents in a way neither of them would expect.

(Time skip- 5th month, night)

Steele and Balto were lying together on the rug in the middle of the den. The due date for the pups was fast approaching, they could come at any time. Every once in a while, Balto would either turn away from his mate or snuggle closer into his warm fur in an effort to get comfortable and wait until the tell tale signs of labor would be induced.

After turning over on either side for three hours, Balto felt a sharp pain rip through his body…like someone had grabbed his tail and turned it inside out after tying it up into knots several times in a row. He let out a howl loud enough to wake everyone in the house, Patrick rushing into the den and putting his hand on Balto's stomach, he knew what this meant- the wolf-dog's stomach tightening followed by terrified and painful whimpers meant that Balto was going into labor.

As quickly as humanly possible, Patrick woke his wife and daughter, put his boots on, and picked Balto up to put him in the truck that would take them all to the veterinary hospital…Steele hugging his mate close and giving him gentle kisses to soothe his pain until the task of pup birth(1) was over.

(3 hours later)

Patrick saw that the sun was starting to color the sky dark blue, a sign that sunrise would be occurring soon. He was about to fall asleep again when the doctor came out and stopped in front of him, a smile on his face as he motioned for the man and Steele to follow him into the emergency room. Balto was sleeping in a dog bed with his puppies lying near his now flat stomach, their eyes had yet to open but they were content for the time being knowing that their mother was sleeping close by.

"Mr. Jodelle(2), I am pleased to announce that Balto came through the delivery beautifully. He has six gorgeous puppies to tend for, they've just been fed and you'll have to bottle feed them with help from your family when Balto deems it necessary for them to eat…he'll let you know when it's time to do so, just trust him on that. As for the pups, there are 4 boys and 2 girls. Right now, I think it best for the pups' father to spend some time alone with his family."

Patrick got the message and left Steele in the room alone with Balto and their pups while the two men left, closing the door quietly behind them.

After making sure the humans were really gone, Balto woke up and looked at his mate tiredly. That didn't stop him from smiling at Steele and motioned for him to come see his puppies, talking quietly so as not to wake the sleeping bundles of joy next to his stomach as they snuggled into his side.

"Come look at them Steele, they won't bite…yet."

Steele cautiously walked over and stared down at the puppies next to Balto. He just kept staring at them, a smile forming on his face as he took in the scene of his family.

His puppies.

The puppies that had been created with him and his mate.

The dream of being a father now a reality as he happily cried while nuzzling Balto affectionately.

"Balto, they're…absolutely beautiful, just like their mother. Thank you for giving me this chance to be a father, and for being their mother."

"You're very welcome Steele, this is everything we could have ever hoped for…a family of six, just like we've always wanted."

Neither dog said anything else, they just enjoyed this moment together…this moment with their new family.

However, their happiness would soon be shattered…by a certain Husky with brown eyes.

T.B.C.- Yay, the puppies are finally here! Now then, time for explanations!

1- Since Balto and Steele are dogs, you can't really call it childbirth since they're not human so I called it pup birth instead because of them being…well, dogs!

2- Technically, they never mentioned Rosie's last name in the movie so I gave her one- Rosie Jodelle, I think it fits don't you?

And finally, names! I'm keeping Aleu's name the same, but what of her siblings? Should their names be the same as they are in the second and third movie or should I change them? Reviews with suggestions and answers, please! Thank you!