Hey everyone. Sorry for the long delay; I was kind of stuck on what to put in this chapter; for a while I couldn't seem to get it past a third of a page, and my time was so crammed that I didn't get to sit down and just work on it. Finally came up with something; I hope you enjoy it!

Kodan

The first thing I knew was pain. "Ooah," I groaned. "Who put the rocks in my head?"

"Is that what the man did?"

"No Aniu; that's an expression."

I recognized Aniu's voice, but the other one was buried so deep in my mind that in my fogged state I couldn't recognize it; all I got was a vague sense of deja vu. "Who...?" I asked groggily.

I guess the confusion must have shown on my face, because the next thing the other voice said was, "It's okay, Uncle Kodan. That stuff the vet gave you could leave Einstein half-brainless. It's me, Snowflake."

At the moment I didn't know who Einstein was, but I recognized the second name. "Snowflake?"

"Yeah. You're back in Nome again; Aniu and I managed to get you here, and the vet gave you some medicine."

I groaned, opening my eyes to a blurry vision of two white figures. Part of me wished he hadn't; my head hurt, and I could barely think at all. Even remembering where I knew Snowflake from was a struggle. "Well," I said trying to look at the better side of things, "at least all this pain... means I'm still alive." Then I remembered why her name rang a bell. "Oh, Snowflake... about your dad..."

"I know," she said quietly, and I found myself worrying that she would hold her father's death against me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. Maybe it was the meds, or maybe it was guilt, but I felt like I was going to throw up. "For what it's worth, I owe him my life."

Snowflake looked away. Through my clearing vision I could see the pain written on her face. "I don't want to talk about that," she said glumly. "Besides, we have another problem."

"What problem?" I asked. I looked from her to Aniu, and felt my already ailing stomach drop like a stone. "Oh no," I whispered. "Please God, no."

Aniu, sitting some distance from Snowflake, looked at me through glazed eyes. "I'm sorry, my love," she said quietly. "All that hurry to get you help... I suppose I should have been more careful."

Snowflake said nothing, but I got the feeling that she had begun to think I was bad luck. I half-wondered if she was right; first Blizzard had died and now Aniu might die just to keep me alive. "How far along are you?" I asked my wife.

"I noticed the symptoms a day ago, perhaps two," she answered, blinking heavy eyelids. "I don't know how long it will be before the sickness takes its full effect. I'm sorry; you did try to warn me. I had such high hopes for our future, and now..."

"Stop," I cut her off. As upset as I was, there was a tiny piece of me, somewhere deep, that wasn't ready to quit. "Stop right there. Forget about the 'now;' we're going to have a tomorrow."

Both of them looked at me, wearing matching expressions of confusion. "Uh, Uncle Kodan," Snowflake pointed out, "Aniu's terminally ill."

"I know that," I answered, trying to think. "The disease is treatable, though; if I'm coming around now after having it so long, there's got to be a way to save her."

"Saving you is one thing," Snowflake pointed out. "You may be a stray for all purposes, but at least you're a dog. No offense, Aniu," she added as Aniu glanced her way.

"None taken," she replied. Then she looked back to me. "Kodan, I'm afraid Snowflake is right. There's not a chance your veterinarian would treat me."

I looked back and forth between the two of them. "Maybe not you," I reasoned, "but what about Snowflake?"

Both of them stared at me as if I had completely lost my mind. "I think the meds have messed up your brain," Snowflake suggested. "They do that sometimes, you know."

"No, listen," I pleaded. "You and Aniu look almost exactly alike, and I remember your human has bad eyesight. If you hide and he sees her, he'll think she's you."

"What about the vet?" Snowflake reasoned.

I shrugged. "He might see the difference," I admitted, "but it's the only chance we have. If we don't get some medicine into Aniu soon, she'll die. None of us can tell which bottle has what she needs." Seeing Snowflake's reluctance, I made a dangerous move; one which could secure her help or kill any chance of it.

"Snowflake," I implored, looking directly at her and making my face as pitiable as I could – which wasn't so hard under the circumstances. "I know you're upset that I'm here and your father isn't. I am too; the very fact that he isn't here proves he deserved to live. Aniu did the same thing he did; she deserves to live too."

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and anger in her voice. "Are you saying I should help you for my father's sake?"

I winced. "I know it won't help Blizzard," I admitted, trying to soften the sting of how she was taking what I had said. "I only meant that-"

"Stop," she cut me off. She glared at me mournfully for a long moment, then sighed. "You're right. I hate you for it, but you're right. It's what he would want." She looked at Aniu. "You I'll help." Then she turned to me again, and in a cold voice growled, "As for you, never talk to me again."

Ouch. To be honest, even I wasn't really expecting her to have that kind of attitude toward him (you readers of the original may recognize that as a break from the previous course). I'm expecting some big twists coming up; hope you enjoy them!