DISCLAIMER: I own this story. All characters and certain elements in this story are the property of their respective owners.
Chapter 2
The moon was high in the sky, signifying that a new day had begun. Its radiance bathed the town of Nome in an ethereal glow.
Balto and Jenna were walking in near perfect sync with each other towards the hospital. Balto couldn't help but look over at her as they walked. The moonlight made Jenna look like an angel from the heavens. Balto was convinced that this was a dream. It had to be. There was no way that he, a half-breed who has been on the streets almost his entire life, would be with a purebred husky. It was just not possible to him. He feared that any minute now, he would awake from this dream, and be back to his regular old self. Living on his trawler and struggling to survive. "But this is NOT a dream," his heart would say. "This. Is. Real."
Jenna was thinking about Balto, too. Since she first met him, he displayed more selflessness and humility that any other animal she had ever met. He was like her guardian angel, always there to defend her and willing to do whatever necessary to keep her safe and happy. Steele NEVER made her feel that way. All he ever cared about was himself and his public image. He hated Balto more than anything and wanted him dead for crying out loud. "Why am I comparing Steele to Balto?" She shivered at the thought. Balto saw it.
"Are you cold?"
Jenna snapped out of her thoughts to see a concerned look on Balto's face. She looked down, avoiding his eyes. "A little bit. I'm not used to the cold like you are." She shivered again, but this time it was due to a light breeze that came up.
Balto swung his bushy tail up and over Jenna's back in an attempt to shield her from the wind. She was grateful for it, and she intertwined her tail with his. The loving gesture instantly made them both feel warm. As they walked, Balto remembered the first time he was in this part of town several years prior. It was his first trip into the strange place to explore for food. Unfortunately, it didn't end well for him, as he met Steele for the first time. Every day after that was a challenge for him. Steele loved to bully Balto, and Balto learned fairly quickly that he needed to adapt if he were to make it anywhere. So he learned how to navigate the rooftops across the town. It made it possible to be there during the day rather than having to stick to the shadows in the alleys by night. He also took note of Steele's routine, which was stupidly simple. When he wasn't out on a race, he was either in the boiler room or out stalking the female dogs. Balto stopped abruptly in reminiscence to that day. When Jenna felt the wind envelope her, she realized that her companion had stopped and was distracted by something. She walked over to him.
"Balto? Is... is everything alright?" She nudged him, causing him to snap out of it. He looked up to see her concerned eyes shining in the moonlight. Her gaze cut right through his soul, and his head and ears drooped.
"I'm fine. I was just thinking of the last time I was in this part of town. I was just a pup back then. I met Steele and his crew, and it didn't go so well for me. It was my lucky day." Balto tried to make the last part sound sarcastic, but it ended up sounding somewhat depressing.
Jenna sat in front of him and pushed herself into Balto's chest, wishing she could ease the pain of the memory. "Would you be willing to share the story with me?" she asked. Balto wanted to tell her, but it wasn't the right time. "I'll tell you eventually, Jenna. I promise." The last two words was all she needed to hear. She trusted that in due time, he would tell her when he was ready. Nothing more was spoken about the topic. She nuzzled him and gave him a quick kiss on his muzzle, before wrapping her tail around his, silently conveying to him that they should get moving again. Balto leisurely stood up, and they resumed their late night walk down the street.
A few minutes later, the two arrived in front of the hospital. The wind had picked up more by now, and Balto raised his nose and began to sniff. Over the last couple years, he had learned to tell the weather based on smell. Boris accredited it to his wolf nature. Muk and Luk, being young and naive, thought it was a 'divine gift.' It was an odd talent that he rarely spoke of. And because of it, he knew that another winter storm was brewing.
"Another storm coming in. At least this time no one has to leave town in it," he said. Jenna looked over at him. "How do you know?" she asked. Balto grinned. "You learn a thing or two when you live on the streets... Not exactly an amazing feat, but it's saved me a lot of trouble in the past."
Jenna was confused. "How can that not be amazing, Balto? I wish I could predict the weather!" She looked out towards the night sky, lost in imagination.
Balto took that moment to gaze at Jenna. "You are... so... beautiful..." he whispered. Walking up beside her, he brought her back to the present with a loving nuzzle along her neck. She reciprocated the action, and shivered yet again. However, this time it was not due to the cold or her thoughts. It was from the intimate contact with Balto. The two stood there, alternating between nuzzling each other and the occasional kiss on the muzzle.
Eventually, Jenna reluctantly stopped to bark a few times and scratch at the door to be let in. Seconds later, the door opened to reveal Rosy's father, rubbing his eyes.
"Hey girl! What have you been up to? Do you want in?" He bent over and pet Jenna on the head. She closed her eyes and wagged her tail, clearly enjoying it. Balto sat patiently next to her, his tail slightly wagging. He could only hope that he would not be shooed off for being there. His last interaction with this man was when he invited him in to see Rosy. It wasn't a bad one, but he knew humans could change in an instant. To his surprise, the man's hand found its way to his head, too. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and exhaled. It felt... nice. "And how are you, Balto? Keeping Jenna company, I see... It would not be right to make you stay outside in the cold while Jenna gets to sleep by the nice warm fire. Get on in here, both of you!"
Without hesitation, the two rushed in. Jenna took the first right into the room where Rosy was, while Balto cautiously looked around at the main waiting area, trying to analyze everything in case he needed to make a quick getaway. There were several rooms he could run into if he needed, but his only easy way out was the door he just entered from. Rosy's father stepped up next to him, and ran his hand down Balto's head and along his back.
"You have nothing to fear now. You're safe here, boy. Go on in that room with Rosy and get some rest." Balto looked up at the man, and saw truth in his eyes. He nuzzled the man's hand and then made his way into the room where Jenna entered moments ago. Rosy's father watched as Balto headed in. Before this whole diphtheria scare, he would never have let Balto anywhere near Rosy. He was fed false information about him like many of the other people in town, and so they hated him. But Balto was the reason Rosy was still alive. He risked his life to save her, and if Balto had her best interests at heart, why should he continue to treat him poorly? The man sighed. He wished he had known about this a long time ago when Rosy first told him about Balto. The past was the past now. He could only make sure that from now on, he treated Balto the way he should have always been treated.
A small wood stove burned in the corner, causing shadows to dance around the room. Balto made his way over to Jenna, who was dragging a blanket off the top of a table next to Rosy's bed. She proceeded to take it over to a rug under the window, before calling him over.
"Sorry it's not a dog bed, but it beats sleeping on the wood floor." She smiled lovingly at him. Balto couldn't help but smile back. He nuzzled her softly once he got to her. "With you around, I wouldn't care if I was sleeping on a tundra plateau in the dead of night in a raging winter storm." Jenna took a shaky breath, pushing her head up against Balto and trying to hold back tears of joy in response to this. He rubbed his chin on the top of her head.
"Sorry to kill the moment, but you must be tired," said Jenna. Balto pulled back and replied to her. "You don't have to apologize, Jenna. My adrenaline has been running in overdrive ever since I left Nome to go find the serum. It still hasn't gone away just yet. I am not very tired. Just extremely exhausted." Jenna put her paw out in front of her, and tapped it a few times. "Well, lie down and at least try get some rest. You deserve it."
Balto curled up on the rug. Just as she did at the lake after he almost drowned, Jenna snuggled up to him and pulled the blanket over the two of them. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. And then a realization hit him like a brick.
This was the first time in his entire life that he was not sleeping outside. When he was a pup, he stayed in a small abandoned wolf's den with his mother and father. And on some occasions, they would sleep on an outcrop from a mountain, or even in small caves along the mountainside. And then after he lost them, an old washed up fishing trawler outside of Nome after Boris had found him on a cold winter night. And now here he was, in a nice warm place with none other than the dog he loved more than anything. And just a few feet away was the human he loved most in the world. He couldn't ask for anything better. He could have never imagined being in this position. But, here he was.
She snuggled further into him and gave him a tender kiss on the side of his muzzle. Jenna had been secretly looking forward to this moment for a long time. She had always wanted the best for Balto because he deserved nothing less.
Just as Jenna started drifting into sleep, Balto spoke up.
"So... this is what it feels like." Jenna was perplexed by this. "What does what feel like?"
"This. Being here. With you and Rosy. This very moment in my existence. It feels like home."
~The End~
A/N: I have a sequel planned for this story. I don't know when it will be released due to my schedule, but I'll try and make it worth the wait. Hope you enjoyed this one!
