Sorry about disappearing for a while. Schoolwork has really been weighing me down, but I've finally figured out a rhythm to follow, so maybe now I'll be able to write more often.

Disclaimer: places right hand on book I swear I don't own anything except for my characters and my own plot twists.

Chapter 11: Nighttime Thoughts

John hobbled to the entrance of the cave to wait for Summer to return. With his spare time, he had crafted himself a type of crutch, but he still remained in the cave for most of the time. Part of it was his own uncertainty of how well he could get around, and part of it was because he knew Summer would ream him out if she found him more than 10 feet from the cave. Tomo got up and walked over to him. The wolf had grown over the last few…days?…weeks? John truly didn't know how long they had been stuck there. The wolf whined quietly, and John realized he must have looked worried enough to scare Tomo.

"Relax, fella. She'll be back soon," he said, rubbing him behind the ears. The wolf wagged his tail and went back to his corner. He sat there staring into the flames of the fire. John wondered what he was looking at so intently. He had noticed how much the wolf paid attention to it, and it was starting to unnerve him. John was extremely happy when Tomo whipped around sharply to look at the cave entrance then jump up and race over to it, his tail wagging happily; his usual routine when Summer returned.

"Hey, Tomo! How's it going?" Summer knelt down to scratch to canine's back.

"What, no happy greeting for me?" John asked, trying to decide if he was pretending to be hurt or if he genuinely was.

"That's why I asked you how you were doing," she replied, looking up at him.

"But you…the wolf…ugh, never mind. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You don't seem particularly overjoyed right now."

"The wolf got the first greeting," John said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, you're not the one who was standing by the door wagging your tail and looking up at me with pitiful eyes," Summer shot back. John started laughing. He had seen just how cute Tomo could be when he wanted to be, and he knew just how hard it would be for the softhearted Summer to resist Tomo's patented I'm-a-cute-little-wolfy face.

"Alright, I forgive you…this time." John went back to his bed and was about to sit down when Summer stopped him.

"Hold up. I need your help."

"Look at me. How can I help?" Summer gave him 'the look'. "Okay," John sighed, "What do you need?"

"You remember how you told me you took shop class?" John nodded. "I need you to show me how to build furniture. Like a bed."

John considered this for a moment. "Sure. I can do that. Do you have wood?"

"I have some, but probably not enough to make 2 whole beds. I'll need to try out the new travois tomorrow with Tomo. I can use it to bring back more wood than I could carry alone."

"Sounds good. One question: Can I leave the cave yet?"

Summer giggled at this. "Absolutely. I think you might be able to make it down to the beach by now. Just don't try any climbing, okay?"

John settled down in front of the log pile Summer had brought in. "Can do. Now, about the beds. Use the knife to cut a notch into one end of the wood, like this." John started to whittle away at the log, slow at first to show Summer, then faster when she started on her own piece.

Soon, they had finished the base part of the beds. "Not bad," John said looking at their work. "Nice idea to use some leaves as a mattress to soften them up."

"Thanks. While I'm out tomorrow, I'll see if I can bring down some deer. Then we'll have plenty of food, and we can use the fur as blankets and more bedding."

"Definitely. You should get some sleep. You too, Tomo," John added looking at the wolf, who yawned in response.

"What about you?" Summer asked, although she obediently lay down in her bed.

"I'm going to stay up a little longer. Maybe go down to the beach."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Summer asked, sitting up straight.

"I'll be fine. If something happens, I'll shout and odds are that at least Tomo will hear me."

"Okay. If you're sure…I'll see you in the morning," Summer said, even though she still looked a little uncertain. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Summer. 'Night, Tomo," John said to the lump of black fur. The wolf raised his head and looked at John with his almost completely gold eyes, sneezed, and curled back up.

"John chuckled as he left the cave. When he reached the beach, he finally let himself think about all the thoughts he had been pushing away.

Will we ever get home? Of course we will, he chided himself at the thought. We've come this far, and we're doing fine. I'm almost better, especially if Summer is letting me off my leash. Man, I'm amazed we even got this far. Thanks to Summer, mostly. Here I thought I'd have to take care of her, and here she is watching out for me! Still, I'm glad I got stuck here with her. I've never met someone so much fun before. I wonder what things would have been like if it was Shelby…

Back in the cave, Summer was having similar thoughts. I hope we can make it out of this in one piece. I'm sure we can. John has helped me so much. Every time I look at him, I feel motivated again, even if I think I've lost all hope. To see him trooping along, it makes me want to keep going to. And now with Tomo, it almost feels like a regular household. Well, with the exception of no beds, rooms, shelves…okay, maybe not entirely like a home. More like a family. Her last thought before sleep claimed her conscious mind was, we will get home together, I'm sure of it.

A little mushy, but not too bad, I hope. The next one will be in Tomo's POV again. I'm not sure how I could put the next chapter into writing any other way unless I use Tomo to tell it. So, it will be yet another wolf story!