Whoever thought talking dogs would be awesome had never met this one.

The little brown dog with the big mouth leered up at Kakashi and me. He was dressed similarly to Pakkun, and had black rings around his eyes. It took me a moment to comprehend what he was suggesting.

"That's what blankets are for!" I said. Kakashi sank onto the couch and covered his eye with his right hand. "Kakashi, are you sure it's going to be quiet enough for you to rest here? He seems a little," I eyed the dog while searching for a word I knew, "hyper."

"Mah, I think smelling Sholpan has him all excited."

I sighed. This was why Hana hadn't wanted her around their ninken for now.

"Sorry about that. Where is a blanket?"

He pointed over his shoulder at a closed door and fell back onto the cushions with his other arm draped over his face. I stood and walked over, pushing it open.

The room was surprisingly bare with pale green walls. In the corner was a bed with a darker green blanket. A real bed with a mattress. I hadn't seen one in forever outside the hospital. There was a collection of books that looked like they came from the same series lined up on a desk.

I quickly folded the blanket into quarters and grabbed a pillow. A couple of framed photographs sitting on the nightstand caught my eye.

One was a photo of him with three children. Two boys I'd never seen before glaring at each other, with a beaming little girl who looked a lot like Sakura between them. I squinted at it. No, that was definitely Sakura unless she had a doppelganger sibling. The other was of a smiling yellow haired man with three children in front of him. One of the children a young Kakashi. He was wearing a mask and still had both eyes.

Maybe his mask wasn't there to cover up an injury then. Maybe it was just to look mysterious or something. Some kind of ninja thing.

I left the room, closing the door behind me as I exited.

"Here's a pillow."

"Huh?" He moved his arm off his face. He looked like he was barely awake. I knelt next to the couch and nudged his head up enough to slip the pillow underneath, then spread the blanket over him.

"I hope you feel better soon," I whispered.

"I will." His eye curved in a weary smile. "Thanks for keeping me out of the hospital."

"That's what friends do, right?"

His smile deepened. "Right."

An overwhelming urge to touch his soft hair came over me. It was hard to resist, so I shifted my weight to stand instead. His hand closed around my wrist. Not tight. I could have pulled free if I wanted.

I really didn't want to though.

Instead I sank back down next to his pillow on the edge of the couch. His fingers slid down over the back of my hand sending electric currents of pleasure up my arm. Long, strong fingers linked with mine. He pulled my hand to his chest. I gave in to the temptation of that beautiful silver hair and softly ran fingers through it. His eye relaxed and drifted closed.

We stayed together like that for a while, one hand witness to the steady beat of his heart while the other caressed his hair. His breathing fell into the rhythm of sleep, but I didn't pull back right away. Not after being invited to share this. Instead I savored it, the same way I savored waking up inches from him that morning.

After several minutes passed in silence, the not-Pakkun dog lightly hopped onto the couch and curled up by Kakashi's side.

"He should have picked the bed," he mumbled. "Then there would have been room for you." The dog tolerated an affectionate ruffling from me after I reluctantly disentangled my fingers from Kakashi's.

"I have to go take care of my dog anyway," I whispered.

He lifted his head eagerly. "I'll walk you home."

"Not this time. I'll introduce you to her later."

He made a face but laid his head back down on the couch. I looked over my shoulder at the cutest pug to ever exist. "I really missed you," I murmured. Pakkun nimbly jumped onto my lap and pressed against my stomach in response. I hugged him and stroked his adorable little face. "Sholpan is almost finished. You'll be back after that, right?"

"Yeah. We'll start your reading and writing then."

I smiled, hugging him one last time. He was such a good sport to put up with all my cuddling. "Thanks. You're the best."

Pakkun yawned, "Of course I am." He lightly stepped onto Kakashi's chest and curled up.

I stood carefully, so that Kakashi's head wouldn't be jostled by the pillow moving. It was almost dark outside. The street lamps had flickered on already. Ordinarily I'd have been nervous to walk back alone this time of the evening, but instead I was full of the sort of warmth you get from being with people, and dogs, you care about.

That warmth buoyed me up I walked through the streets. A familiar old lady waved at me from an open window. It was my hospital granny! One of my original patients. "Mari-chan! What are you doing out so late?" she called.

"Hi Suki-baachan! Just heading home!"

She wagged a finger at me. "You shouldn't stay out so long visiting boys."

Too surprised to deny it, I just giggled. "Sorry baachan. I'll be careful."

She made me promise to visit soon. It was hard not to get attached to the people at the hospital. She was so dang adorable too.

It was shaping up to be a nice night, even if it was only going to be Sholpan and me.

I unlocked the front door and slipped my shoes off. Sholpan wasn't there to greet me, but that wasn't unusual. She tended to sleep a lot and didn't pay much attention to people coming and going when she was in the middle of a nap.

"Sholpan, get over here. It's time for a potty break!" I called in English.

Still no response. I sighed and headed toward the bedroom. No doubt she was buried in my blankets, making my pillow extra hairy.

"Sholpan?"

She wasn't there. I walked to the blankets and nudged them aside with my foot to be sure, and there was absolutely no dog. My heart beat faster. I sprinted to the bathroom again, then the dining room, and the kitchen. I ran to the back door and it was still locked. But my dog. She was gone.

Gone.

Fighting to take a breath, I did another pass through of all the rooms of the house. She had to be here.

The bathroom window was broken.

I ran to it. Long black and white hairs gently wafted, snagged on jagged shards of glass. I ran outside and shouted her name.

There was no response.

Where would I be? Where would I go if I was Sholpan?

I hugged myself and shivered, the dark streets suddenly seeming much colder and less friendly than before. Slipping my shoes on, I ran down the streets toward the Inuzuka compound. Maybe she'd gone to find Akamaru. And if not, maybe Akamaru could help find her.