SNOWSWEPT

by CuddleFae

Dr. Lauren Lewis has been assigned to oversee the opening of a new hospital. Overwhelmed by all there is to know and learn in an unfamiliar land, she crosses paths with a mysterious woman with a dark past - a past that has caused her to live by one rule. Trust no one. Thrown into a desperate struggle, can they overcome the barriers between them in their fight to survive?

8. Chapter 8: Clashes and Clemency

A/N: Just in case you missed, Chapter 7, go back! This is a double chapter update that includes Chapters 7 & 8.

Enjoy!

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CHAPTER 8: Clashes and Clemency

Mary was on her way to the airstrip with the local emergency services ambulance. Lauren had managed to get a urine sample when she regained consciousness and asked for the bedpan that was under her bed.

Elise appeared in the kitchen where Lauren was seated, making notes from her conversation with the conference call she'd just finished with the researchers at the CDC, Portland and Seattle. Everyone confirmed their agreement with Lauren's train of thought… they were dealing with a new strain of Legionella… Legionnaire's disease. Statistically, only about five percent of the exposed population usually get the disease, but about thirty percent of those who get it will die. It was not contagious person-to-person but was spread through drinking water containing Legionella if the water was accidentally inhaled. It could also be inhaled through means such as ventilation systems.

When Kurt had come in to check on her progress, he has assured her there was no ventilation system in the house, so it had to be the water. Mary may have simply choked on the water and inhaled it through her nose or inhaled the droplets in the shower. Unfortunately, the only way to test for and treat the disease was with a urine antigen test and, if the test is positive, fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as Cipro or Floxin are required and she simply did not have those with her or in her clinic at this time. Since the fire, only her penicillin-based antibiotics had come in with her deliveries. Delaying the drug was going to decrease Mary's chances of survival, but there was nothing she could do about that right now.

After the conference call, she placed a call to Evony explaining the need for Cipro for the entire community. Her next call was to Molly who, once she heard the whole story, was all too happy to help even knowing that the situation could become more long term if the mother did not survive. Molly was going to get to work trying to figure out what the protocol was in a situation like this. She had a lawyer friend in town who she was going to ask for advice.

Lauren's next call was going to be to Bo, but Kurt came in again after a weather check and said it was now or never. Now, she was watching as Elise packed her bags. So far, she had almost all of the clothes she owned, a framed picture of her mom and dad, a framed picture of all three of them, two coloring books and a box of crayons, an iPad and charger, her mom's cellphone, her dad's cellphone because her mom always carried it with her for some reason she couldn't explain to Lauren and her socks and slippers.

"You have to take this with you." Elise said, handing an envelope to Lauren.

"What's this?" Lauren asked, taking the envelope.

The little girl pulled her snowshoes from her closet, attaching a strap to them before throwing them over her head and onto her back like a backpack. She pulled out a pair of mukluks and a full set of winter gear as well as a helmet,

"Are we riding a snow machine to the air strip?" Elise asked.

Lauren nodded, "We are, so you can put that gear on, sweetie. Can you tell me about this?"

Elise looked at the envelope, "My mommy told me that if anything ever happened to her, that she would write a note if she could, but if not, what's in that envelope would take care of me forever. I don't know how an envelope can take care of me, but she said it would."

She got back to her packing, heading for a hammock filled with stuffed animals, "Can I take three?"

Lauren smiled, "You can take five if you'd like."

"Thank you, Doctor Lewis. You're nice."

"You're welcome, Elise. You're very brave."

"I am?" she asked, her eyes welling with tears, "I don't feel very brave."

Lauren nodded, walking to the child and putting a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure this isn't easy for you, but you're packing and doing what you have to do so that we can get your mommy help. I think that's very brave."

Elise shrugged, "Even if I cry?"

Lauren smiled, "Even if you cry."

"Mommy said it doesn't do any good to cry or argue about things we can't stop. We just have to do what we have to do."

No little girl should have to learn that lesson this early in life. Lauren could only offer a smile as Elise wiped her face and returned to her packing. The doctor opened the envelope and looked inside. She paged through a stack of documents, her eyes wide with disbelief as she found signed custody consent forms that stated the person who would select the guardian would have a letter in her handwriting. Lauren immediately pulled the note from her pocket and put it in the envelope.

Also included was a summary of Elise's medical records, her school records and a summary of her favorite hobbies. She found photos of when Elise was a child, on the reverse side of each was a summary of the photo. Another page directed Lauren to a second envelope that contained financial records that would transfer the parents' wealth to Elise's name when she turned twenty-one years of age. It specified that their material assets and house were to be sold, the money added to the same trust that would hold her financial wealth.

Until her eighteenth birthday, the guardians would receive a monthly stipend for her care. She had a college fund – something that didn't surprise Lauren considering the amount of schooling her parents had accessed. If anything were to happen to Elise before her eighteenth birthday, all assets were to be liquidated and all monies donated to a memorial scholarship for a student going on to a career in medicine named for the Valaria family.

Mary had thought of everything, "Elise, when did your mommy put this together?"

Elise shrugged, "After my daddy died. She said it was because I didn't have anyone else."

Lauren nodded, "Is there anyone here you would want to live with if it came to that?"

"No ma'am." She looked up at Lauren, her bottom lip quivering, "Do you mind if I'm not so brave for a few minutes?"

Lauren's eyes filled with tears as she opened her arms to the child. The little girl cried hard for a few minutes, before she finally pulled back and looked up at Lauren,

"I feel better now. Sometimes I just have to let out the sad stuff."

"You don't have to be brave all the time, Elise. You just have to feel the way you feel, okay?"

The little girl nodded, "Okay."

She looked around the room, "I need to get my cans of soup."

Lauren sighed, "No, sweetie. We have food where we're going."

"But Mommy said regular food wasn't safe for me."

Lauren nodded, "She meant the food that was here in the house, sweetie. Where we're going, the food will be safe."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Lauren smiled.

She watched as the youngster looked around the modest home once again, picking up odds and ends as she moved from room to room. Finally, she stood in her parents' office. She walked to her dad's desk and picked up his pen and put it in her bag. She turned to the shelves behind the desk and picked up a golf ball that was perched on a stand,

"My dad hit a hole in one with this ball. I don't know what that is, but it made him really, really happy. I want to take this to remember my dad's happy face."

Lauren smiled, "A very good choice then."

She walked over to her mom's desk and opened her desk drawer, removing two small velvet boxes

"These are my mom's rings. They're very special to her because they're from my dad. She always keeps them here when she wasn't wearing them."

She opened the other drawer and pulled out a larger velvet box, "And this was my grandmothers' brooch. My mom said that when I got married, this would be mine. She wants to make sure it always stays in the family. I think these shouldn't stay here while no one's here, right?"

"I agree." Lauren replied.

The little girl went to the book case behind her Mom's desk and took a Rubik's Cube from the shelf, "My Mommy plays with this all the time. She would make me mess it up and then she would fix it. She said it helped her think."

Lauren smiled, "I can see how that would help someone think."

"Really?" Elise asked, "It hurts my brain when I try it."

Lauren tried not to laugh as she watched the young girl crawl under the desk and pull out a box, "I don't have room in my backpack for this, but Mommy said if anything ever happened to her, I should open it. It's locked but she said the key was in the secret envelopes."

The doctor opened the first envelope and pulled out the papers. Sure enough, there was a small key in the bottom,

"You're right. There is a key."

"She's fine, so we'll keep it locked. Can you carry it?"

Lauren looked around the room and found a stack of oversized mailing envelopes. She grabbed one and put the two envelopes inside, then inserted them into an attaché case with a shoulder strap that she found. She took the box from Elise,

Lauren knelt down, taking Elise's backpack, "Let's tuck your Mom's things deep into the bottom of your bag to make sure they're safe."

"With daddy's golf ball?" she asked.

Lauren smiled, "With daddy's golf ball."

"I have to grab my toothbrush." She said, running to the bathroom and back again.

"Anything else?" Lauren asked, "Remember, it's not like we can't come back."

Elise nodded, "Yea, but some stuff I just don't want to not have."

"I understand. All ready?" Lauren asked, the two gathering all of her bags and heading for the door where Kurt was waiting for them.

"They had a snow machine in the barn with a covered sled for the kid behind. I'm thinking we put all of her belongings on the sled and put her between us on the machine."

"Sounds perfect. She has her own helmet and has the right clothing to wear." Lauren replied.

Kurt nodded, "They have some visqueen back there. Let me go grab that."

"Vis-what?" Lauren asked.

"Visqueen. It's a waterproof wrap that will hold everything tight and keep it dry."

"Oh, that's great." Lauren said, deciding that the document bag she'd brought would probably be best wrapped in as well.

"Perfect. The pharmacy delivered this bottle. Where do you want it?" He replied, handing the bottle to Lauren who secured it inside the zipper compartment of her parka while Kurt took the bags and put them into the cart he'd hitched to the back of the snow machine. He then took the spool of plastic and wrapped the entire cart.

"Thank you for the Cipro. I'll give it to her on the plane if she's conscious. If not, we'll have to wait until we get to the hospital for an I.V. delivery system."

He nodded as the three got onto the sled, "I talked to Bo. She's been home and back to Talkeetna a few times today. She has a few things she has to do, but she plans to be there when you get back unless you want her at the hospital."

"No need for her to go to the hospital. We'll meet in Talkeetna." She leaned in and whispered to Kurt, "I'd like Elise to meet Harper. She's so good with kids. Especially if the Mom doesn't make it. She'll need someone to cuddle with."

Kurt nodded, "A friend in need is a friend indeed."

"Something like that." Lauren smiled as Kurt started up the snow machine and headed for the air strip.

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Talkeetna, Four Hours Later…

Bo pulled up at the clinic to find it dark, so she walked over to the General Store to check in with Mark and Molly. She entered the store to find Molly with a customer near the cough remedies and Mark with a customer in the fishing supplies.

She slid quietly to the back and took a seat at the sample tables they had in outdoor furniture and pulled out some trail mix. Looking at their stock made Bo smile thinking of the Adirondack chairs she had finished today. They were definitely of equal or better quality than the table where she was sitting. Maybe she could seriously make a go of selling furniture. Of course, she may also just be trying to keep her mind occupied because she wasn't sure what Lauren was going through right now and it worried her.

Kurt said she looked very upset about the situation with this little girl and her mother. Were they both sick? If the mother died, she was sure Lauren would work her way through that eventually, but if a child died on her watch, Bo was sure that the doctor would be devastated. That was probably the thing that Bo respected and admired about Lauren the most – she truly cared about her patients and would do anything to save a life.

Bo was fairly certain that when it came to Lauren the doctor, she knew her heart. She became a doctor to save lives, so when she lost a patient, she struggled to recover no matter how old they were. She had told her the story of a baby who had been born with a hole in its heart. She'd performed the surgery to repair the hole, knowing that she would need additional surgeries down the road. When the child was about seven years old, she was brought into the emergency room with chest pain. Lauren was called down at the mother and father's request. Tests showed that there was valve damage inside of the child's heart.

Chances were that the damage was there from infancy, but because the valves were so small, it went unnoticed at the time. Over the years, as the heart muscle grew, it was only a matter of time until blood flow was disrupted.

She was scheduled for emergency surgery during which, Lauren found a tumor in the heart wall that had been invisible in the scans. She was put on the transplant list, but died before a donor could be found. Lauren had confided in Bo that it was the hardest death she'd ever had to recover from as a doctor.

"Hey, Bo. How's the house?"

"Hey, Mark. It's good. Looks like you opened for business early?"

He shook his head, "Nah, just opened for this couple. They called and asked if they could come in for two very specific items, so we said we'd open the doors for them."

"I guess a sale is a sale, right?" Bo smiled.

Mark nodded, "I guess so."

"Bo! How are you?"

"Hi Molly. I'm good, I guess. A little tired."

Molly nodded, "Pops told us you made three trips back and forth to your house tonight. Now you're going to go back again?"

Bo shrugged, "Depends on what Lauren needs from me, but yes, that's the plan. Pops had a little surprise for me on the last trip… bit of a curve ball, but I'll make it work."

The two looked at Bo, confused but she waved it off, "Never mind. It's not a big deal. We'll talk about that later. I was just telling Mark how nice it was for the two of you to open up for that couple. You're good people."

"If we're such good people, I would offer you some of that stew we have in back. You must be starving!" Molly said, moving towards the back of the store, but Bo stopped her,

"It's okay, Molly. I've got this trail mix and dinner is ready to go as soon as I get home."

"Oh nonsense. You'll be hungry again by the time you get there. Just a little bowl." She was off towards the back room before Bo could protest.

Mark laughed, "You know my wife, always feeding the neighborhood. She doesn't like for food to go bad and right now, we have a lot of food that's going to go bad if we don't share. We couldn't refreeze what we'd thawed to sell and with the store being closed all that time, she cooked it all and froze meals."

"Good idea." She said, just as Molly appeared with a bowl of stew and a piece of bread,

"Now, you eat that up. It'll warm you from the inside out. Lord knows you must have dropped twenty pounds during that race, Bo Dennis. You look like a skeleton."

Bo laughed, "Well, it's not like you have any pounds to spare, Molly. Did you eat a big bowl of stew like this?"

Molly laughed, "That bowl is small for you, Bo. I know you can eat four of those after race week. You haven't been takin' care of yourself. Don't think we haven't noticed. You're all run, run, run and work, work, work. You need to slow down, Bo or mark my words, you'll be Lauren's next patient."

"Oh, don't even say that. She'd kill me before she would heal me." Bo laughed, "Mmmm… damn, Molly. You should be selling this in the store. Heck with selling the meat. Put a cooler in there and sell prepared meals. I'd buy them."

Mark agreed, "She's got a point there, Molly. Everyone loves your cooking."

"Well, if you two are going to mind my shifts at the store, do the books and take care of the stock orders every week, I'll be happy to spend additional time cooking meals to sell on top of the meals I already have to cook for you and that starving nephew of yours."

Mark laughed, "I see your point, darlin'. We'll just keep things as they are."

"Well, that's unlikely, considering. Things are definitely going to be different from now on."

Mark wrapped an arm around Molly's waist, "I just hope we're not biting off more than we can chew here. We don't know much about taking care of girls."

Bo looked confused, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Didn't Lauren tell you?" Mark asked.

"I haven't talked to Lauren. She had Kurt call me. You spoke with her?"

"Soon after her patient became unconscious. It doesn't look good." Molly explained.

Bo shook her head, trying hard to keep her feelings under control that Lauren had called Molly, but not found the time to call her. She was sure there was a good reason.

"So, who is sick? I heard there was a mom and a little girl." Bo asked.

"Right. Well, the mom is sick. The father has already died – almost a year ago from what I understand. If the mom dies, the child has no one. There are no surviving relatives on either side."

"So where is the kid?" Bo asked.

"She's on her way here from the hospital with Kurt and Lauren."

"So, Lauren is babysitting?"

Molly looked at Mark, "No. She asked us if we would take her until this whole ordeal is over for her."

"Oh. So, Lauren called you to ask you if you would take the child… for how long?" Bo asked, cursing herself for being such a jealous idiot. She really couldn't wait until her appointment with that shrink tomorrow. Something was seriously wrong with her.

Molly shrugged, "Possibly indefinitely unless the girl decides she'd rather be elsewhere."

Bo nodded, "How did Lauren sound?"

"Honestly, she sounded like the night of the fire. She was in that intense doctor mode, running down her checklist, but… something was different. She sounded… off… distracted."

"I'm sure it's the child more than the sick patient. Did she say anything about her progress with the disease?"

Molly shook her head, "Not really. Just that she'd been on the wrong track. Something about what the mom told her about her husband mixed with her symptoms giving her a lead."

"Well, hopefully that's good news." Bo replied.

Mark interjected, "One thing Lauren did say was that she wanted the little girl to meet Harper. She said that hospitals often use therapy dogs for sick patients or grieving family members. She thinks that your Harper might be the perfect medicine for her."

Bo nodded, "I think I have a better idea… if you two are up to it."

Molly took her bowl to the back and Bo stood, walking with Mark towards the front of the store,

"You know the puppies that Tosh confiscated?"

Mark shook his head, "Puppies?"

Bo laughed, "That curve ball your Dad through me today?"

"Did someone say puppies?" Molly asked, pulling on her parka as she joined them at the door.

"I did. Your Dad surprised me."

Mark laughed, "As if your kennel isn't full enough, you're now suddenly the owner of puppies?"

Bo grinned, nodding, her eyes bright as she spoke, "Well, apparently one of the reasons that Big Jim was so bent on killing Harper was because she was stealing the spotlight from the rest of her line."

"Her line?" Mark asked.

Bo nodded, as they stepped into the night, heading for her new truck. She'd driven it down to see Tosh rather than take the sled. The truth was, it handled like a dream, the stereo system was amazing, and she absolutely loved the leather interior with the seat warmers. She turned to Mark to explain,

"All of Big Jim's dogs were bred from Harper's parents… the very same parents... their line. Big Jim had one of the first pups Harper ever had. I thought he'd sold them all, but apparently, he kept two. One was male and died in some accident Tosh didn't know much about. The other was a female who he'd been breeding, keeping the females in his kennel and only selling the males."

Bo sighed, "Today, Tosh told me that Harper's great granddaughter just had a litter of puppies. Harper's sire was Big Jim's dog, Kodiak. Only he wasn't Big Jim's dog at all. The Feds told Tosh that Kodiak was stolen from one of his victims. He left the guy for dead out on the ice up there… took his team so he couldn't get back."

"Bastard." Mark replied, "I cannot believe what an incredible psycho he was all of this time."

"Yup. That's for sure. Anyway, Kodiak had a great grandson who is the sire of these pups. So, it's literally the same bloodline. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Very." Mark smiled, "So who owns the granddaughter?" He asked.

Bo smiled, "Apparently the dogs that your grandfather gifted to LJ were from Harper's line. He knew he was too old to train them so he gave them to LJ knowing that he would never sell any of the family dogs.. Your dad found the dogs' papers in a safe and traced the lineage. He'd never known."

"Wait… do you mean that…"

"So when LJ bred your Hercules with his dog Wonder who are from Harper and Kodiak's line…"

Bo smiled, shrugging, "He added a whole new generation to their canine family tree."

"Wow. So, Harper's line will continue."

Mark nodded, "So, Pops gave you the puppies because they're rightfully yours. They came from your mother's family."

Bo smiled, "Yes, and they'll be loved now and that's all that matters. It would be nice if I could track down my Dad's victim…"

Mark shook his head, "Bo, you cannot spend your life with the weight of Big Jim's sins on your shoulders. If they come looking, then you can make good on it. If not, you move on with your life.

Bo shrugged, "I guess. It's just nice to know my Mom's line lives on after Harper."

Mark nodded, "Very true. Very true."

"So… um… I was wondering if you two would like to have a puppy in the family… as long as you promise not to sell any puppies that may come from his or her line? You can kennel him or her with me and LJ when they're older if you want. I'll give you the family discount." Bo winked.

The pair looked at each other and immediately nodded, "Puppy therapy… just what the doctor ordered," Molly replied, "I think it will be a great distraction for this little girl. No doubt her mom will be on her mind. You know a little something about that, Bo."

Bo frowned, "I do." She took a deep breath, "And, speaking of my mom, apparently Tamsin is coming back to town tomorrow. She wants to talk to me… more questions than answers, I'm sure, but she has some new ideas based on our interview with Big Jim. Well, at least that's what I'm told, but Pops said she'd been up snooping around the North Slope?"

Mark nodded, "That's what we heard. No idea why though. Dyson and Hale are keeping pretty tight lipped about it."

"Dyson was here?"

Mark nodded, "Came in just after you left today to check on our store licenses. Everything was in order, so he headed back."

Bo nodded, relieved that he was gone, "Hopefully tomorrow it's just Tamsin asking the questions. I'd prefer that Hale and Dyson stay far away from this now."

"Let us know if you need any backup." Mark smiled.

"I'll do that." Bo smiled, "Most definitely."

Just then, Kyle's truck pulled up. He exited the vehicle and looked at Mark, making a slicing motion across his neck.

Mark squeezed Molly a bit tighter as Bo asked, "Does that mean what I think it means?"

Mark took a breath, "If you think it means that the mother died, I'd say it's a good bet."

They watched as Lauren exited the vehicle, a small curly blonde-haired girl with bright blue eyes highlighted by red, tear stained cheeks clung to her leg. Bo's gaze moved to Lauren's pained expression,

"Elise, this is Molly and Mark. They're going to be looking out for you until you and I get something permanent figured out, okay?"

The young girl looked up at Lauren, pulling her down and holding her hand up to her ear so she could whisper to her, but still all of the adults heard as the youngster asked,

"Can't I stay with you?"

Lauren gave the child a soft smile, squatting down in front of her, "Elise, I told you that I live in a very small apartment. I don't have a room for you and I work all hours of the day just like you said your parents did. Remember when you told me at the hospital that you wished your mom would have taken less cases so you could have had more time with her before she left you?"

Elise nodded, "I know, but… I don't know them."

Lauren smiled, "You know, you just met me about six hours ago… maybe less. I'd be willing to bet that six hours from now, you'll know Mark and Molly even more than you know me. Plus, they have a son named Michael. He's not home right now because he's working at his Uncle's store down in Anchorage, but their nephew LJ is here and guess what?"

"What?" She said quietly, not quite enthusiastic as her head remained buried in Lauren's torso.

"He works with Bo Dennis."

The little girl looked up, "The Iditarod champion?"

"One and the same."

She nodded, "That's cool" She looked up at Lauren, "I know I should be happy that I might meet Bo Dennis, but… well, I'm very sad right now. You said it's okay for me to feel that, right?"

Lauren nodded, "It's okay for you to feel anything you're feeling, Elise. We'll all understand."

"It's kind of weird." Elise said.

"Feeling sad?" Lauren asked.

Elise shook her head, "Feeling sad, but feeling kind of excited."

"Oh? What are you excited about?"

"I watch the Iditarod every year on TV. Before my dad died, we went and saw the first time Bo won. My daddy held me up on his shoulders at the finish line. It was really dark out because it was really, really late at night, but I was allowed to stay up past my bedtime because I love her so much."

"Did you meet her?" Lauren asked.

Elise shook her head, "No, but daddy said we would meet her one day. But then he died."

Lauren grinned, "How would you like to meet Bo now?"

"That would be like a dream come true. My mom wanted to meet her real bad, too. We were supposed to go to the race this year. My mom was going to try to get her autograph for me, but… well… that's when she started to feel confused. She forgot when the race was… she forgot where our house was… we drove around for hours until I finally called my teacher and he came and found us."

Lauren wrapped her arms around the little girl, "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Elise. And I'm sorry you missed the race. But maybe your mom just found a way to get that autograph for you."

"How would she do that from heaven?" Elise asked.

Lauren smiled, "By calling for me to come, then asking me to find someone to take care of you which led me to call Molly and Mark who told Bo to come and bring one of her former champions."

Bo held up a finger up to Lauren, signaling her to give her a moment before moving back to open the door of the super cab. She reached in and lifted Harper out of the truck, quietly telling her to stay. The dog obeyed, allowing Bo to go back into the cab and retrieve a snow-white puppy from the pile of straw she'd laid for the pups in the back to keep them warm.

Bo glanced at Molly and Mark who had still not given her an actual yes or no answer about taking the puppy, but Molly's eyes said it all as she absolutely melted at the sight of the adorable pup.

Bo moved back towards the group, Harper by her side as Lauren put one knee in the snow and said to Elise,

"If you look behind you, I think you'll see a familiar face."

Lauren pointed, watching as Elise turned towards Mark and Molly. Molly smiled, "Look over at the truck, Elise." She pointed towards Bo who waited until the little girl turned her head the other direction and looked over her shoulder, still unwilling to let go of Lauren.

The little girl's eyes went wide as she stood, frozen staring up at Bo. Lauren laughed, as she asked,

"Well, aren't you going to say hello?"

Bo knew from experience that in these situations, often it was the dogs that broke the social boundaries best. She walked Harper forward, leaning down to whisper to Harper,

"Harper, say hello to Elise. Go on, girl."

Harper stepped forward and nudged the youngster's hand with the top of her head. Elise smiled, as she said to Lauren,

"This is Harper. Do you know what she does on the sled?"

Lauren shook her head, fairly certain that answering yes would ruin Elise's big reveal, "I don't. Do you?"

Elise nodded, "She's a swing dog. She's next to Af… Afadite or something?"

Lauren smiled, "Aphrodite."

"Yup! Do you know that Harper can't run a whole Iditarod anymore because she's old? But Bo takes her anyway? You know why?"

Lauren shook her head, taking a peek at Bo who was laughing, "I don't know why. Do you?"

Elise nodded her head, "Bo loves Harper best. They're BFF's and she won't leave her behind even if she spends all of the checkpoints in the sack thing on the sled."

Lauren smiled, "You mean the basket?"

Elise nodded, "I wanna be like Bo someday."

"You do?"

Elise smiled, "My mom and dad worked too much. Now they're gone and they never got to play much. My mom said that Bo had the best job in the world because she got to play at work."

Lauren grinned, "I think she'd agree with you. Do you want to ask her?"

Elise lowered her eyes, "I'm embarrassed."

Lauren looked confused, "Why?"

Elise whispered, "She saw me cry over my mom."

Lauren looked up at Bo, her eyes pleading for help. The brunette sighed. This conversation was hitting a little close to home, but how could she not help this little girl. She'd just lost her mother and Bo knew exactly how she felt,

"I cried over my mom." Bo said, drawing Elise's attention, "I still cry over my mom."

"Did your mommy die?" Elise asked, now sitting on Lauren's bent knee.

Bo shrugged, "I don't know. Some people say she died, some say she ran off and left me. Either way, I don't know where she is or what happened to her, so sometimes it makes me so sad that I cry."

Elise looked at Lauren, "I guess crying isn't so bad if Bo Dennis does it."

Lauren smiled, "I guess so."

Elise looked at Bo, "Can I have your autograph for my mom? She always wanted me to have it."

Bo nodded, "If you're going to stay with Mark and Molly, I'll be seeing you around. We're family."

"Really?" Bo nodded.

"It will seem strange, but Mark is actually my nephew even though we're about the same age. Molly is his wife so that means we're related by marriage."

"Wow. So I'm gonna stay with your family?"

Bo nodded, "You sure are and do you know what's even better than them being my family?"

Elise shook her head, "No."

"They're my favorite people because they're really kind and caring people. They own that store over there and they take good care of the people in our town."

Elise eyed Mark and Molly suspiciously before smiling at Mark and Molly, "It's very nice to meet you."

Molly grinned, "It's very nice to meet you as well, Elise."

Lauren gave Bo a thumbs up, saying thanks for the motivation to move towards the couple.

Molly nodded towards the road where LJ was headed towards the kennel. Bo gave a whistle and waved him to her. She saw Diana and Nike in the lead and smiled,

"Elise, do you know who my lead dogs are?"

"Sure! I know all your dogs. My daddy's friend got him some book about the Iditarod the first year you one and he read it to me at bedtime. It had all about you in there. All about your dogs and how you made your own sleds and all that stuff."

Bo smiled, "You read my bio, huh? As a bedtime story?"

Elise shrugged, "I liked it. I like Harper a lot, but it said that your lead dogs Nike and Diana are super smart. Is that true?"

Bo smiled, "Let's see if we can show you just how smart they are."

"How do you do that?"

Bo smirked, "Well, the musher is only holding on with one hand and the dogs can feel that. LJ thinks that they'll listen to the driver, but the truth is…"

"You're their real musher so they'll listen to you?"

Bo smiled, "You're absolutely right. Watch." She said as she gave a whistle and called out, "Nike! Diana! Come on, girls! Let's see if you can put LJ on his butt!"

Elise giggled as the two leads accelerated, and the rest of the team followed, causing LJ to lose his grip and fall off the back of the sled. The team was now running top speed at the group without a musher, so Bo quickly handed the puppy off to Molly and stepped in front of her team,

"Whoa! Whoa! Nike, Diana! Whoa! Haw! Haw!"

The leads turned left and came to stand right before Bo. All of them looked back to see LJ crawling to his feet, covered in snow from head to foot. They couldn't help but laugh.

Bo turned to face Elise, "Want to say hello to a sled dog team?"

Elise looked at Lauren who nodded. Bo waved Lauren forward, wanting her to stay with the child as she approached only because they dogs might be in a bit of a mood after a run with LJ.

Elise slowly, hesitantly, stepped towards Bo, who held tight to Diana's collar,

"Hold your hand out for her to sniff. She'll probably slide her head under your hand. That's how they tell you they like you and it's okay for you to touch them."

Elise smiled as Diana did just that, "Hi Diana."

The youngster looked up at Bo, "I can't believe this is happening."

Bo nodded, "Well, this is just the beginning of what you can do with these dogs. Do you want to help us out with the dogs tomorrow?"

"You mean help you take care of them?" Elise asked.

Bo nodded, "Yup. We have to feed them, play with them, take care of their coats, exercise them and… well, we have to shovel their poop!"

Elise laughed with Bo as she pinched her nose with her fingers.

"I can't wait!" She turned to Lauren, then Molly and Mark, "Do I need… permission? Who do I ask?"

Lauren could see the little girl's face drop at the memory of her mom, "I wish I could ask my mom. I wish she could see them."

Bo placed a hand on her shoulder as the tears began again for the youngster. Trying to gather herself, Elise looked up at Bo, "Can I hug you?"

Bo smiled, pulling the little girl into her arms and holding her as she cried. It broke Lauren's heart, but she took the time to talk to Molly and Mark while Bo had her,

"Her mom died of complications from pneumonia due to a bacterial infection. She was talking to her mom when she began to have trouble with her breathing. Elise pushed the nurses' call button. They ran in, she coded, they went to work with the crash cart, but no one ever noticed Elise was standing in the corner. She watched the entire thing unfold. When I came in, she was lying in bed with her deceased mother. It took me a few minutes to get her out of the room."

"Oh God." Molly said, her hands covering her mouth as she leaned against her husband.

Lauren nodded, "She's going to have a rough week, Molly. Apparently, since the ground is still too frozen, they won't bury her until spring or summer?"

"We know, Lauren. Funerals around here are always put off until the spring thaw. The ground is just too frozen to dig. There's only a few months where burials can take place. Does anyone know the mother's wishes?"

"Actually, it's probably in the paperwork Elise gave me. I'll check on that tomorrow." Lauren replied, "Are you sure you want to take this on?"

Molly and Mark both nodded, as Mark explained, "We always wanted more children, Lauren. It just didn't happen for us. We promise that for as long as we have her, she will be loved and have every experience we can offer."

Lauren smiled, "Thank you. I'll help you when I can and…" she looked over her shoulder at Bo who now had Elise focused on the dogs again, "I think you can count on Bo as well. LJ and Michael will have the sibling they never had – maybe that will be a good thing, too. Hopefully they'll be on board."

Mark nodded, "I'm sure they'll take to her as if she were their blood."

Elise had met all of the dogs on the small team when she turned to Bo, "It was really cool to meet you and the dogs." She turned back to Harper and wrapped her arms around her neck, "Good night, Harper. You're still my favorite."

Harper licked the young girls' face causing her to giggle and turn to Bo, "She kissed me, right?"

Bo smiled, "She certainly did."

"I hope my mommy can see that I'm meeting her." Another tear rolled down her cheek, "I think I'm tired now."

Bo looked up at Lauren who nodded. She looked back to Elise, "You've been through a lot today, kiddo. It's normal for you to be tired."

"Will I see you tomorrow, Bo?"

Bo smiled, "I have some appointments, but I'm sure you will." She looked up to see LJ walking up to the group, so introduced him,

"Elise, this is LJ. He's Mark and Molly's nephew. He'll be staying in the room next to yours. If you need anything you just ask him. He's my right-hand man and he'll be there for you no matter what you need."

Bo looked up at a confused LJ who just nodded and went along with it, "Yes I will."

Elise whispered to Bo, "So he's like my brother?"

Bo nodded, "Yes, LJ will be like your big brother."

"I never had a brother or sister before."

LJ smiled, "Well, that makes two of us. Nice to meet you, Sis!"

He held up a high five which the young girl slapped as she said, "Nice to meet you… what does LJ mean?"

He laughed, "It's short for Little Jon."

"Oh." She replied, turning back to Bo, "So I'm staying at Mark and Molly's house?"

Molly smiled, "If that's okay with you, we'd love to have you stay with us. Now, let's get you inside and settled so you can get some sleep."

Elise turned and gave Lauren a big hug, "Good night. Thanks for staying with me and thanks for trying to save my mom. I don't blame you that she didn't live… just so you know."

"Thank you, Elise." She leaned down and whispered, "Give Molly and Mark a chance, okay? They're really nice people who helped me a lot when I first came to Alaska."

She looked up at Lauren and nodded before turning to face Molly and Mark, "Are we going to your house now?"

Molly smiled, "Is it okay if we go to our store first? We have to lock up. Then we can go home."

Elise nodded, "I don't want to be a bother. We'll uh…" she thought for a moment, "…play it by ear. I don't really know what that means. My mommy and daddy used to say it a lot when I asked to do stuff."

Molly nodded, "Okay then, we'll play it by ear." Turning around, Molly looked down to see that the puppy Bo gave them was playing with the boughs of one of the pine trees behind them, snow falling down around her,

"Elise?"

Elise looked up at Molly, "Huh?"

"I'm wondering if you want to take on that puppy over there? She's going to be a champion one day."

"She is?" Elise asked, "How do you know?"

Molly smiled, "Because she's Harper's great granddaughter."

Elise turned to Bo, "She is?"

Bo smiled and nodded, "She is, and she needs someone who is going to be firm with her, but give her a lot of love. Are you interested in the job?"

"Yes! Will you teach me how to train her?"

Bo smiled, "We'll all help you with that, sweetie."

Molly picked up the pup and put her down in the snow in front of Elise. She waddled her way to the young girl, jumping into her lap immediately. Elise petted her, giggling and smiling. It warmed the hearts of everyone standing there to see the youngster have this moment.

"Does she have a name, Bo?"

"Not yet. Do you have anything in mind?"

Elise smiled, "She seems to love the snow and her fur is snowy white."

Bo looked at LJ, "Can you handle more Disney Princess names?"

LJ nodded, "As long as the rest of them are the tough girl princesses, I'm on board."

Bo smiled, "Tough girl princesses it is."

Elise looked up at Bo, "How 'bout just Snow? Snow storms are really strong."

"They certainly are, Elise."

The young girl smiled, "I think Snow and I are really tired now."

Molly nodded, "Well then, let's get going."

Mark picked up the puppy for the youngster while Molly held out her hand for Elise to take. The little girl hesitated for a moment, but then accepted the gesture. The three turned and walked towards the General Store.

Lauren turned back to the Bo and LJ,

"She's gonna have a rough road."

LJ pulled his goggles up, "Can someone explain to me what's going on?"

Lauren sighed, turning to the young man, "I went up to Chase to see some patients. I'm still waiting for confirmation, but I believe we've solved the problem of the disease plaguing the villages and towns. If so, we still have to find the source which will mean the EPA and CDC will have to come in to figure it out. Until then, we're going to treat everyone for the suspected bacterial infection… including both of you and there will be no discussion about it."

Bo and LJ both closed their mouths, stopping their intended protests.

"So, it's not a virus?" LJ asked.

Lauren shook her head, "Hopefully not, which would be a good thing. Anyway, Elise is the child of two parents who had the disease. Her father died earlier in the year. Her mom fell ill a few weeks ago. The doctor started treatment, but he fell ill and died. The mom was too sick to know that she was waiting for help that was no longer coming. By the time someone got through the doctors' charts and realized she was ill, she was already bed ridden. Her daughter had been caring for her."

"That little girl?"

Nodding, Lauren continued, "What I saw gave a whole new meaning to a child who had to grow up too fast. In the kitchen, the dinner table was covered in cans of soup. On the stove was a pot and a spoon for stirring. In the sink was a bowl and a spoon. There was a step stool in front of the stove. She has been surviving on soup and bottled water for three weeks and from what I can gather, the last two of those weeks, she's been cooking for her mother and herself."

Bo and LJ stood there in disbelief as Lauren continued,

"We worked as quickly as we could to get the mother transported here, but we simply started treatment too late. When I listened to her lungs, there was very little air exchange taking place. I think her heart just gave out from trying so hard to get oxygen."

"So, we're waiting for the little girls' family to show up then?" Bo asked.

Lauren shook her head, "There is no family… absolutely no one. The mother and father were lawyer and doctor, respectively. They had no friends in the community willing to take her. The mother drew up all of the papers in case of her death, so all we need is a couple willing to adopt her. She clearly states that under no circumstances is her daughter to be permitted to be confiscated by any government agencies or the foster system."

LJ nodded, "So you're hoping my aunt and uncle will actually adopt her?"

Lauren shrugged, "I haven't discussed that with them yet. This is purely temporary for now. The mother named me executor of her will."

Bo's eyes went wide, "She didn't even know you."

"She looked me up on the internet – her research was in the envelope I received with a note explaining her wishes to me. I think the whole reason I was called there is because she knew she wasn't going to make it and she needed someone she could trust to take her daughter. The good thing is that in addition to the discussion we had and the note she wrote from her bedside, it's pretty clear cut what is to be done with regards to her daughter. She even contacted my attorney back in Boston. I'll be calling her tomorrow since she apparently knows about all of this but never told me."

"Why wouldn't she tell you?" Bo asked.

Lauren shrugged, "Maybe because I haven't been in touch with her at all?"

LJ smirked, "You're a terrible client and I'm being a terrible big brother. I'd better get in there and help her navigate the mess I left in the bathroom. See you two tomorrow?"

Bo and Lauren nodded, Bo stopping him as he went to grab the team, "I'm just going to take this group home. I'll put Harper and the pups in the basket."

"You're staying out at your place tonight?" LJ asked.

Bo nodded, "Not completely sure, but might be."

"Okay then. I'll go help them get my new little sister tucked in. Then, I need some grub. It's way past my dinner time."

They watched as LJ headed off towards the General Store before Bo turned to Lauren,

"I know you may not be in the mood for dinner tonight. If you want to stay here and be on your own, that's fine, Lauren. If you want me to stay, I'll kennel the dogs and stay, but know that you'll have Harper and puppy guests. I can't leave them out in the kennel. Whatever you want is fine. We can reschedule."

Lauren turned to Bo, "If your plan was to put me on that sled and take me deep into the woods to your new home, feed me a great meal and then take me to your bed, I'm 100% on board with that plan."

"Y-you are?" Bo asked, suddenly nervous.

"I am. I've had enough sadness, enough heart ache and enough of taking care of everyone else for the day. Tonight, if your plan is to take care of me, I am relinquishing all control to you. I just don't have the strength to do anything for myself. I'm exhausted and I need to sleep, but I'm incredibly hungry so I need to eat first."

"Okay then. Have a seat on the sled seat. I'll stand."

Lauren looked confused, "You're not putting me in the basket?"

"You want to be in there with Harper and the puppies?" Bo asked.

"Hell yes! She'll keep me warm! Besides, she loves me and I need some lovin' right now. Puppies are wonderful lovers."

Bo looked at Harper, "You trying to move in on my date?"

Lauren laughed, walking towards Harper, "I'll drop her like a hot potato, my darling Harper."

Harper licked Lauren's cheek causing the blonde to laugh.

"Traitor." Bo mumbled, walking to the sled.

She turned to Lauren and smiled, "You're not wearing a husky coat, so zip up, Harper's date."

"Come on, girl." Bo said, calling to Harper who walked slowly to her side. Bo lifted her up, holding her tight, "You should probably get in first. She'll hog the whole space if she gets in first."

Lauren climbed into the space, getting comfortable before Bo passed Harper to her, "Gawd, you're heavy."

Bo smiled, "That's a good thing. The Vet said she had lost thirty pounds during chemo."

Lauren nodded, "She's coming along really well, though."

"And she's cancer free." Bo smiled.

Bo zipped up the front of the basket and put up the windshield she'd added, then stepped behind the sled. She pulled up her hood and reached down, handing Lauren a pair of goggles,

"You'll need these so you don't get your eyeballs burned out."

"Thank you, but it's getting dark, Bo."

The brunette nodded, "They're not tinted. You'll be able to see just fine. Hold tight, ladies. I've got some gear to load."

She walked back to her truck, pulling out a gear bag and the things she had picked up at the store. Hopefully the salmon hadn't been cooking for too long. If so, she'd have salmon soup and would really need that open fire grate for cooking some new salmon filets. She grabbed the bag of pillows and then walked back to the sled, putting them into the pull cart LJ had on the back.

She walked back to the truck and pulled out two backpacks, one that had the bottle of white wine she'd picked up at Molly's recommendation earlier in the day. Once everything was stowed, she zipped the bag shut and checked to be sure the cart was secured correctly to the sled. She walked back to the truck for one last pick up, locked the doors and headed towards the front of the sled,

"I hope you ladies don't mind three more passengers. Three more of Harper's tough princess granddaughters." Bo smiled, unzipping the compartment once more and handing Lauren the puppies.

Lauren smiled, "Oh, Bo. They're adorable!" Lauren said, taking the puppies one at a time and laying them between her and Harper, "Do you think she knows they're her blood? Look at her with them!"

Bo smiled, "Just as I expected. Dogs have a sense for this type of thing. I'm sure she knows."

Bo stood watching the four dogs and Lauren for a long moment before she pulled herself back to reality,

"We've gotta get going or it will be completely dark before we get there. Here's a headlamp for you." Bo said, handing the device to Lauren who pulled it over her head, then returned her attention to the dogs.

Bo moved to the front of the sled and mounted three headlamps on the special cross bar that were part of all of Bo's sleds. She switched each of them on and then checked on each of the dogs as she walked back to pull the ice hook from the ground.

"Okay everyone! Let's head for the house! Diana! Nike! Hike! Hike!"

They headed off down the trail for the first night in Bo's new home. The musher could only hope that after a day of tragedy and sadness, she could do something to lift the doctor's spirits. Looking down to see Lauren smiling amidst a basket full of puppy fun, she thought the evening was headed in the right direction.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bo stopped outside of the garage and opened the code box. Punching in the numbers, the battery powered door opened, revealing a space for her sled and gear. She drove the sled in, the dogs veering around to the right and back towards the sled before coming to a stop. Bo unhitched the team, wrapping the lead line around the hook that was permanently mounted outside the bay door. She then pushed the sled into the garage the rest of the way, unzipping the basket so Lauren could get out.

She moved back to the door and unwrapped the line, pulling the dogs around to the other side of the sled before lowering the door again. Lauren helped her to wipe down each of the dogs with a rag before she watched Bo open a door to the other side of the garage and walk through,

"Come, girls!"

Lauren watched the girls follow their master before she asked, "Do you want Harper and the puppies?"

Bo nodded, "Yup. There's room for everyone."

Lauren gave each of the pups a pat on their behinds, sending them through the gate. Harper followed without need for any action on Bo's part. The blonde walked through the gate and smiled,

"You've thought of everything."

Bo smiled, "The other side is for a vehicle… snow machine, car, truck, whatever. I don't want the dogs to get spoiled sleeping on furniture in the house. It wouldn't be fun for them to sleep on the hardwood floors either, so this is really the best. It's what they're conditioned to do. They'll get some house time and backyard time as well. Just not on a regular basis."

Putting food down for each dog, she re-filled the trough with water. The dogs came running out of curiosity just as the previous three teams had throughout the day. She pulled out a large dish pan and dipped it into the trough, pulling out enough water for all of the puppies so they would be able to drink from something they could actually reach.

"Dog food will have to do for them for tonight. I'll get a puppy version of the kibble tomorrow."

"So, I take it you weren't planning on puppies?"

Bo smiled, "Not at all. Tosh dropped that one on me today. Can you believe she has grandkids?"

Lauren grinned, "It's incredible, Bo."

"It's a long story too. I'll tell you another day. Right now, I want to get you fed and watered. I'm sure you haven't eaten since this morning."

Lauren shrugged, "Guilty as charged."

"This way then." She headed through the door that went into the kitchen, calling back to the dogs, "You all behave! Harper, you're in charge! Protect the kids!"

Harper gave a bark as the two women entered the home. Bo turned on her headlamp and Lauren's as well.

"Sorry, no power yet."

"Uh…Bo…"

"The solar panels don't come in until sometime this week. I have candles and lanterns, so we're fine for light if you just give me a minute to get them lit. Besides, the moon is out and we're not really doing anything that requires electricity. I'll have to show you how to use the water and toilet, but it's really quite simple."

"I've been using a toilet since I was two." Lauren replied, arms folding over her chest, "It's cold in here."

Bo nodded, "I've been in and out all day… mostly out. I just need to restart the fire. The place will warm up quite nicely."

Lauren sighed, looking around the house, "Wow. This place is much bigger than I thought it would be."

Bo nodded, "I've got a few things to check on. Feel free to look around. I'm running outside for a few minutes. I'll be right back."

Lauren nodded, heading into the living room while Bo exited to the garage. She went to the sled cart and grabbed the backpack that had the things she'd picked up today and headed outside. She quickly threw the cushions on the chairs before going to fire pit and grabbing the shovel. She dug quickly, using the shovel handle to pull the hot meal from the coals. She placed the pot in the sand between the two chairs, then returned to the wood stack by the fence to get what she needed to beef up the fire.

She threw kindling in the pit, then larger pieces on top of those before putting crisscrossing layers of wood over the pit. She grabbed the three burlap torches she'd made before she'd left and thrust them into the ground around the them, lighting them with a match.

Finally, she grabbed the small wooden table and put it in the sand between the chairs, adding a plate and fork to each. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the metal bucket and bottle of wine. She walked to the water pressed the bucket into the sandy river bottom, watching it fill with running water. She put the bottle of wine into the bucket,

"Chilled wine in five minutes, salmon… check the salmon to make sure it's not soup!"

She hurried back to the dutch oven and used a piece of kindling to lift the lid. Grabbing a fork, she poked at the salmon,

"So, salmon looks good." She took a bite, "Ohmagosh. That is so good!" She poked a potato and made sure the vegetables were cooked, "My compliments to the chef!"

She replaced the lid and headed back to the backpack, pulling out the vase of flowers she'd picked up for Lauren from Kenzi's greenhouse. She unwrapped them before burying the bottom of the vase in the sand between the chairs. She didn't want them to tip or be exposed to the wind. She'd give them to Lauren after dinner.

Finally, she set the backpack behind the chairs not wanting the other items to get cold before Lauren came outside. She looked up to be sure that the shelter she had built was holding in the river wind and determined that it would be fine.

Bo took one last look around, trying to figure out if there was anything else she could do to make this night perfect for Lauren. But she couldn't think of anything at the time. Hopefully it was enough to help her relax and forget the serious stuff she'd been through for now.

She headed back inside to get her date. When she entered the house, there was a fire roaring in the fireplace and the blonde was sitting on the couch in front of it.

"This is cozy." Bo smiled.

"I thought I'd help you out. This place is… I can't believe you did all of this. It's amazing, Bo. It's absolutely beautiful. I was expecting a shed at best. This is… I mean… it's a real family home."

Bo grinned, "It's much bigger than I had originally planned, but I'd start doing something and would think of a reason it should be different… eventually all of the differences added up to all of this."

"Well, you did a great job." She stood, "So, are we ordering take out?" Lauren laughed.

Bo shrugged, "Well, the downside of living out here is that no one delivers."

"Except LJ, I'd think." Lauren chuckled.

"I'm sure he'll be here quite a bit. I can ask for deliveries in lieu of rent."

"Brilliant idea." Lauren laughed.

"Well, let's get this dinner party started, shall we?" Bo asked, offering her arm to Lauren.

The blonde smiled, slipping her hand through the crook of the brunette's elbow, "Absolutely, but really… what are we eating? I don't see any food anywhere."

"Outside." Bo replied, seeing the look of terror on Lauren's face, "I promise, you won't be cold and the food will be hot."

"Bo…"

"Trust me?" Bo asked.

Lauren sighed, "Of course."

Bo pulled up the zipper on Lauren's coat, "But I will bundle you up until I get you where we're going."

She led the blonde out of the house and through the backyard. Once she opened the gate, there was enough light for Lauren to see a massive river, a snow-covered mountain range and some sort of structure beyond the fence.

"My God, this is beautiful."

Bo smiled, "Can't beat this view."

Lauren pointed to the structure, "What's that?"

"A local restaurant."

Lauren laughed, "Oh? What's it called?"

"Bo's Riverside Café?" Bo replied with a light chuckle.

She led Lauren around the lean-to structure and to her seat, "Comfortable?"

"Very. I love this chair." Lauren smiled.

Bo disappeared behind the chair, pulling out the backpack. She walked back to Lauren and unfolded a heavy wool blanket,

"This will keep you nice and toasty." She laid the blanket over Lauren's legs and torso, the blonde moaning with delight,

"It's warm." She smiled, cozying the blanket up to her neck.

Bo nodded, pulling a blanket out for herself, "It's been in a backpack that has heat packs in it for hours."

Leaning down between them, she opened the dutch oven, "Salmon Bake Surprise. Every ingredient has been grown or caught right here on the Bo Dennis Estate."

She used Lauren's fork to make a plate of salmon and veggies before pulling a baguette out of the backpack and tearing off a piece for the blonde,

"That bread may be warm enough to burn your tongue, so be careful." She smiled, handing Lauren the plate.

She walked down to the river to retrieve the bucket, making sure to leave cold water inside to keep the wine chilled. She reached into the backpack and pulled out the opener to pop the cork on the bottle. After pouring two glasses, she handed one to Lauren and put the other on the table by her plate.

When she was finally settled next to Lauren, the fire was roaring, and the blonde was taking her first bite of the meal. Bo watched in anticipation, hoping she would enjoy it. The look on her face said it all,

"You can cook! You can really cook!"

Bo smiled, "The dogs wouldn't run for me if I fed them food that tasted like crap for the whole race. I've honed my skills to keep them satisfied."

Lauren laughed, "Bo, this is delicious. You may have to go out there and catch more fish!"

Bo lifted the lid to the kettle, "Trust me, there's plenty."

"Oh gawd! That's a lot of fish!"

"Well, I was hoping for leftovers for breakfast, but if not, I've got more in my cache. I caught five today."

"Good day of fishing." Lauren replied.

"Good enough for what we need." Bo replied.

"What's in the burlap bag?" Lauren asked.

Bo smiled, "Oh, I almost forgot! I had to dig up the pot and put those in before I left Tosh's place. I had a few crabs in my traps down river, so I cooked them up as well."

Lauren looked in the bag that Bo was holding out, "I love crab! You do know I'm from Boston, right?"

Bo smiled, "I know, but you do know that most of the crab you eat in Boston is from Alaska, right?"

Lauren nodded, "The Alaskan King Crab, yes. But most of the other is from our waters."

Bo laughed and Lauren caved,

"Okay, so the king crab is much better than anything we have, but you haven't lived until you've had our clam chowder."

Bo nodded, "Can't say I've had that."

"One of these days, you will. I'm going to get you to travel the world with me, Bo Dennis. Someday, you'll see Boston."

Bo had to admit, the thought of traveling the world was… terrifying. She didn't know how to reply, so she looked out at the river,

"So, is the view to your satisfaction, Miss?" Bo asked.

Lauren laughed, "It's beautiful here, Bo. Absolutely beautiful. Can I have more?"

Bo smiled, "Of course. Do you want me to…" She pointed to the oven, grabbing the stick to lift the lid so that Lauren could help herself to more of the fish and veggies.

"This is amazing and I'm actually quite comfortable with the temperature."

"Warm meal, warm blanket, raging fire and a shelter of pine, brush and visqueen to keep the heat in."

"That's the second time I've heard that term today."

"VIsqueen? It's just a plastic we use up here to keep things waterproof. They wrap boats and all kinds of things in it. This piece will last me years."

Lauren nodded, "So this is how you live while at the Iditarod?"

Bo nodded, "This is luxury compared to that. I don't always make a fire. If I have all of the dogs in a smaller space, there's plenty of heat. I have a few caves or sheltered areas I've found over the years that are also fairly warm. All of the open stops – especially at night – I fire up the Heet and burn wood. It also helps to keep unwanted guests away. Mostly, I sleep in the open, especially the stretch through Iditarod."

"Would the other mushers harm you or the dogs?"

Bo shook her head, "I was talking about wolves and bear."

"Oh. Oh yes, of course." Lauren said, now remembering that Big Jim and his men hadn't been the only dangers Bo had faced.

They finished their plates and sat back, relaxing in the comfort of the chairs. Lauren reached her hand over, covering Bo's with her own,

"Is this okay?" She asked.

Bo smiled, "It's more than okay, Lauren."

The blonde smiled, looking out at the river. Bo, having seen the beauty of the river many times, chose to look at Lauren.

"If you get cold, just say the word and we can go inside. Someone was kind enough to make a big fire in there."

Lauren smiled, "I've got many skills."

"You certainly do, Doctor."

Lauren turned back to the river, "So, what are your dreams, Bo? What do you really want to do in your life before you get so old that all you do is sit here and stare at the river?"

Bo smiled, "Well, I'd like to have the record for the most Iditarod championships. I feel like if I did that, people would know that my mom did something great with her life despite having accepted life with my father."

"You're mad at her for that?"

Bo shrugged, "I buried who he was so deep I didn't remember him or my brothers. I'd say I must have been. I plan to talk about that at my therapy tomorrow."

Lauren turned to Bo, "You still plan to go?"

Bo nodded, "Of course I do. Is that a problem?"

"Absolutely not. I just thought that there might be a reason you couldn't go."

She shook her head, "Apparently I have to see Tamsin for another meeting tomorrow, but I'm not going there until after my appointment no matter what she says. There is nothing more important than that therapy right now. I did a lot of thinking today." She looked at Lauren,

"I'm sorry I didn't hear you at the banquet that night. You were right. I wasn't listening. I was only focused on myself and what I wanted… I wasn't even thinking about my feelings… I haven't been in touch with those for a long time. I think… and I'm not making excuses for my bad behavior… all of those years wandering on my own, I was the only person I had to take care of… everything was on my schedule and my way… even the dogs had to follow my schedule in a way. I mean, I would never push them beyond what they were capable of, but I'm sure there were days where they wanted me to play with them or let them sleep with me, but I didn't pay attention to those details."

She looked back out to the river, "I'm not sure when I started putting them first… probably when Big Jim came back into my life because I was always worried about him killing my new dogs like he did my old." She shook her head, "Honestly, I don't even know what I'm saying other than… I want to be a better person. I want to see a little girl in need like you did with Elise and put her first. I want to put my brother and my nephews first. I want to put you first. I want to be more generous, more kind, more caring… I just want to be more."

Lauren nodded, "Well, I'd say wanting to, is the first step, although I think you've already done that by helping that little girl and her family at the race. Seattle is taking her case, by the way."

Bo smiled, "That's great, Lauren. Thank you for looking into that. I truly appreciate it."

Lauren smiled, "Of course, Bo."

Bo turned to Lauren, "I want to help other people learn how to train dogs and build sled teams. I'm starting the business at the kennel with LJ. I'd like him to be the next champion in the family – if it's what he wants."

Lauren smiled, "Well, it looks like you're off to a great start with a new generation of champions in those adorable puppies."

Bo smiled, "They are cute, aren't they?"

"They most definitely are." Lauren laughed, "What else do you dream of?"

"Well, Big Jim is gone, so that's done… sort of. I mean, the nightmares still come, but not as often. Also, I have a family now, so I can check that off the list as well. I'd still like to find my mom and I'd still like to turn this house into a home. I mean… it feels more like a home now, but I just want to fill it with love and people… lots of people."

Lauren smiled, "You should have a house-warming party and invite the whole family out."

Bo nodded, "Absolutely."

"What else?"

"Build your hospital. Build… a lot of things… with you."

Lauren shrugged, "Well, it's not my hospital. It's Evony's. Just to be clear."

Bo nodded, "But you'll be working there, right?"

"I'll be working wherever she tells me to. Contract, remember?"

"Right. Contract." Bo replied, hanging her head, "So you could be back in Boston."

Lauren nodded, "It's a real possibility, Bo. I need you to keep that in mind."

"I know. I do know. It's just that… I guess I just like to ignore that small fact most of the time." Bo sighed, putting her thoughts aside, "But enough about me. What about you? What are the dreams of Doctor Lauren Lewis?"

She smiled, "Well, first I want to cure this damned plague that's killing people. I want to get the clinic back up and running, and then get the hospital up and running."

"All work-related, so what else?"

"I want to drive my sled with you side by side for at least twenty-five miles. I'd like to do an overnight trip just to get an idea of what it's like."

"Adventurous Dr. Lewis. I like it!"

Lauren smiled, "Cautiously optimistic, is more like it."

"What else?" Bo asked.

"I'd like to go back to Boston for at least a little while. I know that's probably not something you would like to hear, but if you could…"

"Lauren, I'm sure you miss your home as much as I would miss this one if I left for a year. It's another thing I was thinking about today."

She saw the doctor's shoulders relax, confirming her fears. Lauren missed home, wanted to go home and likely would go home at some point. As much as it broke Bo's heart to think of being without her, there was nothing she could do about it other than learn to deal with it. Now she was especially grateful she was starting counseling tomorrow. She wondered how long the appointment was. She would need days to talk about everything she needed to talk about.

"Bo?"

"Yea. Sorry. I kind of zoned out for a minute there."

"Are you okay?" Lauren asked.

Bo nodded, "Of course. I mean, what I want to say is that I understand how it might feel to be somewhere you feel like an outsider… like you said the night of the banquet. I've been thinking about it today. I don't have any answers for how to make you feel less like an outsider other than to help you to feel like you have a home here."

Bo looked out to the river, "Since I'm sort of an outsider as well, I may not be the answer. I just hope that you'll start to realize that Molly, Mark, LJ… they all think of you as family, Lauren."

Lauren shrugged, "But if it wasn't for you tonight, I'd be back at the lab on my own. I don't get invited places unless you're invited, Bo. I'm an attachment to you, not a person of my own."

Bo nodded and smiled, "And I realize that I can't help you with that, no matter how much I wish I could. It will take time for you to break into the community fully and feel like you have a place here. Lauren, you may not realize this, but the night that we went to Molly and Mark's for dinner – well, that was only the third time I'd been invited to dinner with them. Every time I have been, Little Jon… I mean LJ… has been there. I think he is secretly working on my behalf to get me the invite."

The pair laughed before Bo added,

"I've never been invited to have dinner or sit and chat with Pops. Now that he's my brother Tosh, he's calling me all the time. And, by the way, this texting thing? You have to show me how to do that. Kenzi's getting mad at me because I didn't respond to any of her texts. LJ was trying to reach me all day, but we kept missing each other and Kurt apparently tried to text me before he called. Forget it, I can just get Kenzi…"

Lauren smiled, shaking her head as she took Bo's phone to check it, "Bo! You've got twenty-seven text messages!"

"How do you know that?" Bo asked.

Lauren showed her on the screen, "This little red number over this green quote icon says twenty-seven, that's how. Why didn't you respond?"

"Because I don't know how! Besides, I really haven't looked at the screen all day."

"Well, when a sound comes from the phone, you need to check it."

"It doesn't make any sounds." Bo replied.

Lauren checked the phone, "You put it on vibrate?"

"LJ did it for me. All the noises were driving me insane. It's not like I can let go of the rail and check a phone. I'm on deep trails in the back woods that are ungroomed. I'm running a good bit of the trail, so…"

Lauren waved her off, "I get the picture. So how do you know to pick up the calls?"

"Well, I happened to be here or in the village both times Kurt called today."

"I'm sorry I didn't call you myself, Bo. That must have seemed very impersonal, but the situation…"

Bo waved her off, "You don't have to explain, Lauren. Really. But you do have to explain all of those noises."

Lauren laughed, checking the settings on the phone, "Emails, calendars and reminders. You set up those but don't know how to check a text?"

Bo shrugged, "Kenzi took my phone and set up a bunch of stuff. Of course, she didn't show me how to do anything." Bo sighed, "Okay, if I'm honest, I was in a hurry and didn't let her." She hesitated, but then finally admitted, "That was three weeks ago."

"Three weeks?"

Bo shrugged.

Lauren handed the phone back to her, "Well, since I'm the one that essentially forced the phone on you, I'll be the one to teach you the essentials. From there, you'll start picking things up, I'm sure. We'll do that tomorrow."

Bo sighed, "I'm not so sure about that. You'll have to make up for lost time in the clinic, distribute the cure and deal with Elise. I have my counseling session at noon followed by who knows how much time with Tamsin, then I have to get over to the hospital and check on the progress there."

Lauren nodded, "Never enough time."

Bo shrugged, "In addition, LJ wants to put the kennel on social media. Tosh said that Mark did it a few weeks ago and he can't keep up with the online business stuff."

"Well, the good thing for you is that you are running a very much in-person business. It's not like you can ship boarding and training services." Lauren smiled.

Bo nodded, "I guess. Well, anyway, my point is that we're both super busy. Maybe that's why you haven't gotten any invites within the community, but they have been nice to you, right?"

Lauren chuckled, "Edith paid me for taking a splinter out of her little boy Carter's hand with a casserole and 'Handsome Hank' paid me for patching up his wife's finger with a pair of snow shoes."

"See, they're gestures of kindness."

"Why do people call him Handsome Hank?"

Bo laughed, "He made a handsome amount of money off of a gold find… and, I suppose he is quite handsome."

"If you're on that side of the fence."

Bo laughed, "You really are opposed to any relations with men."

Lauren smiled, "What can I say? The fairer sex has always appealed to me more."

"You'll get no complaint from me." Bo smiled, "Anyway, all of those gestures are people's way of saying welcome to the community."

"Edith said I was too skinny and Hank said he saw me trying to walk through the last snow fall without snow shoes. He stopped short of calling me Cheechako, but he did remind me of what a novice I was to Alaska – as if I haven't heard that enough." She looked at Bo, "You know, Bostonians are not unaccustomed to snow – and a lot of it. I'd like to see you handle a Boston winter."

"Is that a challenge, Dr. Lewis?"

Lauren smiled, "I suppose it is, Miss Dennis."

"Well, before we get around to me coming to experience a Boston winter, we need to get you through another Alaskan one before you leave."

"Been there, done that." Lauren replied.

Bo shook her head, "You weren't here for the worst of winter, Lauren. That's why Evony brought you here when she did. The worst is yet to come. You hit the tail end months. Of course, you will get to experience an Alaskan Christmas this year."

Lauren thought of the timing. She hadn't realized she hadn't been here for Christmas. She smiled thinking of Christmas with Bo… but then again, she would probably want to be with her family. She supposed she would probably be invited by association to Bo, but that was still a long way off.

"Lauren?"

The blonde smiled at Bo, "Sorry, guess it was my turn to drift off."

"I was talking about Christmas… how you'll probably have lots of invitations by then, but by the time the invites start rolling in for the community's beloved doctor, you'll be headed back to Boston. Once you're there and feeling comfortable and welcome again, you may not want to come back."

Bo frowned, angrier at herself than about the fact that Lauren might now come back, "Sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like…"

Lauren shook her head, "I understand, Bo. Look, I can't make any promises, you know I can't. I can only say that while I'm here, I'm going to live in the moment and do my best to connect with everyone who is willing."

Bo nodded, "Live in the moment. That's a promise we made when we first started seeing each other."

Nodding, Lauren smiled, "It is."

She smiled, "This is great, Bo. Good food, good company and the most gorgeous scenery I've ever experienced. I can't believe this is your back yard."

Bo nodded, "It is pretty great."

"When you come to Boston, you'll understand just how lucky you are. The difference between the skyline I see and this… well, you'll have to see it to understand. The air here is just… clear… no, crisp… no, it's… fresh and clean."

Bo chuckled, "Lots of trees and mountains. Nature's air filters."

"Thanks for this night, Bo. It's beautiful."

"You're welcome, Lauren. I just really wanted you to relax for a while."

"I'm certainly relaxed."

Lauren looked out across the river. The sky was a dark shade of lavender just above the snowcapped mountains that soared above the river of fast-moving water that was covered in white caps. The moon wasn't far above the peaks and despite the full light provided to the mountain tops, stars were still visible in the sky. The dark sand of the river bank now only dappled with small mounds of snow as far as she could see – a sign that spring would be here soon. She looked forward to seeing Alaska in the spring and summer. She was sure there would still be snow in some places, but she had been told there would be greenery, wildlife and a reprieve from the cold.

Nothing could ever top the beauty and sense of serenity she was experiencing in this place. Boston would never come close. She felt like if she went back east, Alaska would forever call to her very soul. But sadly, it would be one helluva commute. She sighed, turning her attention back to Bo who was sitting quietly watching the river. She heard the dogs bark and her attention was immediately on their needs. She loved the care Bo showed for her dogs. They were her children in every sense of the word. She was not surprised that same nature was conveyed to the child Lauren brought into the community tonight.

Bo turned to Lauren, "I'd better go check on them. The puppies might be going through a little hazing and I'll need to set the record straight with my veterans. I don't want Harper going into protective mode and getting herself injured when she's doing so well in her recovery. Do you mind?"

Lauren smiled, "Of course not, Bo. Go check on them. I'm quite comfortable here eating this delicious crab, drinking this amazing wine and enjoying the scenery."

Bo nodded, "Full disclosure, Molly suggested the wine. I'll put a few more logs on just to be sure it stays warm unless you think we'll be going in soon… unless, of course, you want to go back tonight. I'm not making any assumptions here. I wanted you to see the place and have that fresh salmon. I will absolutely take you back to your place tonight if that's what you want. It wouldn't be a problem at all. I can just as easily stay in my apartment at the hotel. All of my belongings are actually there anyway."

"We've got time to decide, right?"

Bo nodded, "Absolutely. I just want you to do what you want to do, Lauren. You've been doing for everyone else lately. I want tonight to be about you."

"Thank you, Bo. I'm fine here for now. Really."

"More wood coming up then." Bo replied, standing up to put some wood on the fire, but Lauren took her hand,

"Thank you, Bo. For the dinner, the ambiance, for being so kind to Elise. Really, I truly am grateful."

Bo smiled, raising the back of Lauren's hand to her lips and giving it a soft kiss before rubbing it with her thumb,

"You're truly welcome, Lauren." She released the hand and added some logs to the fire before heading in to check on the dogs.

Lauren turned in her seat, watching through the small gaps in the shelter as Bo moved through the gate into the yard and around the house to the garage. When she disappeared from view, Lauren turned back to the river,

"I never wanted to cause you any pain, Bo. I love you, I do… I just… I need to go home… I need to be sure… I need to do this for myself to make sure that the reason I was okay being in Alaska for so long wasn't just because of you. I need to know that the reason I was okay being in Alaska wasn't because I was avoiding Boston because my relationship went up in flames."

Lauren's eyes brimmed with tears, "Leaving you will be hard on me, too. I wish you could believe that. I feel like you don't. I wish you could trust me, but I know people have given you so many reasons not to trust them that it must be hard to give into the fears that must come with so many betrayals. I hope that we can just enjoy each other's company until I must leave. I hope that our love can grow so we can truly know what we'll be giving up if we live on opposite sides of the country. I hope… I hope…" She chuckled, "Wow… now who's making it all about themselves?"

Lauren shook her head, "Why would I come walking into her world and expect her to be the one that uproots herself and changes everything about how she's lived all of these years? I've had a loving, caring family. I've had a roof, education and all of the advantages of wealth." She laughed, "I'm finding myself to be quite the spoiled brat."

She looked down at the large black cast iron kettle and tapped the lid to make sure it wasn't too hot to touch. It was hot, but not unbearably so. She lifted the lid and pulled out one of the large crabs,

"Speaking of spoiled brat, let's try another one of these. Bo Dennis, you've been holding out on me." She placed it on her plate and cracked off a leg, working it open to get to the fresh meat inside. She waved the long piece of crab meat in the air, celebrating having pulled all of the meat out in one expert tug, then took a bite, the juices of the marinade caressing her palate,

"Ohmagawd. This is… this is amazing. I think I'm going to eat all ten of you. Bo better hurry back or she won't get any." She went to work on another leg, again celebrating her expertise in extracting the delicate meat. In minutes, the crab was history, and another was on her plate.

Unbeknownst to Lauren, Bo had come around the hut and now stood in the shadow of their fire, watching Lauren enjoy the crab. Her little meat extraction celebrations were adorable. Bo thought she'd seen every side of Lauren Lewis, but clearly there was still much to learn. She was starting to think it would take a lifetime. Since she only had a few months, she would have to step up the list of activities so that she could experience Lauren having experiences enough to last her… well, possibly a lifetime if she never returned to Alaska.

She hung her head, taking a moment to collect herself. It was so easy to cry over the thought of not seeing her again. But for now, she needed to draw on the strength of the musher and the child who was left alone to survive. That strength would allow her to show Lauren a good time for the remainder of her time in Alaska and if it meant she got to see more of this version of the good doctor, then it would be well worth it. She really needed to learn how to take pictures with that damned phone.

"Bo?"

The brunette quickly wiped her cheeks and walked around the fire to where it was darker. She wanted to hide the evidence. Lauren needed her to be fun and happy and relaxed. Not a blubbering idiot filled with doom and gloom over her coming departure.

"I was secretly observing your crab-eating skills. It seems you are quite happy with yourself, Dr. Lewis. The dancing crab celebrations are exquisite. I give you a ten."

Lauren laughed, "Okay, I'll have to admit I'm just a tad embarrassed right now."

Bo smiled, "Hmmm… Is a tad closer to a bit or more like a smidge? I just want to make sure I have my blush measurements correct since it's too dark out for me to actually see your cheeks turning red."

Lauren licked her fingers clean, replacing the lid on the kettle and putting her plate aside before pulling her blanket over her head,

"More like a lot than a bit and definitely much more than a smidge."

Bo laughed, pulling the blanket off of Lauren's face, "I brought you a friend, if you don't mind."

Stepping into the light, Lauren laid eyes on the white puppy with a full black mask and two deep blue eyes. She licked her fingers clean, taking the pup from Bo, "Oh, how precious! She looks like she just woke up!"

Bo sat down, holding a white puppy with a gray mask, one blue and one brown eye, "Yea, more like trouble, these two. They were the only ones awake in there and they were climbing all over the other dogs. Golden rule, kids… stay in your own crate. Don't trespass without permission."

Lauren laughed as Bo scolded the two pups who were busy chewing on anything they could get their teeth into. Bo gave up, standing and handing the second pup to Lauren,

"Sorry, I forgot. They're teething big time. I'm going to run back and grab them something to chew on." She handed Lauren the second pup,

"Good idea." Lauren said, cuddling the two puppies together in their arms. They both looked up at her, heads cocked to the side, "You may be trouble, but you're still utterly loveable. She doesn't know it yet, but one day in the not-so-distant future, you're going to be her champions. You may just be the record breakers. You're energetic and curious. You're clearly not afraid of taking on the big dogs and you're likely smarter than we suspect at this point, aren't you? Yes, you are. Yes, you are."

Bo came running back to the shelter, "Here we are. Two homemade puppy bully sticks. It will take them a very long time to get through these." Bo smiled, taking one of the pups from Lauren and handing her the treat in exchange. The young female immediately settled into the doctor's lap, dragging the chewy stick in a circle with her until she finally found her comfy spot.

"So, what happens next with this new litter?" Lauren asked.

Bo shrugged, "Training… lots and lots of training. They'll still have about two weeks of doing as they please as permitted by the older dogs. The beauty of a well-trained kennel full of dogs is that they teach the youngest in the group animal etiquette right off the bat. They'll also learn some human commands by their example. They'll get daily sled runs in the basket so they can watch the dogs run and hear the commands. Eventually, we'll put them in a harness and see how they do with dragging twigs, branches and then logs. If they won't run with those attached, then they won't be racing sled dogs. We'll send them off to be trained as family sled dogs, search and rescue, farm work or therapy dogs."

Lauren looked surprised, "I didn't know there were so many options for these dogs."

Bo shrugged, "A dog is a dog. It's a life. Every dog has a purpose just like people. We just have to help them find it since they can't really do that for themselves. You seem surprised."

"No… I mean… well, I guess it's because my limited education about what happens to dogs who don't make the cut comes from a reporter at the Iditarod that asked Kenzi what she thought of dogs being put down who couldn't win a trophy."

Bo laughed, "Now you know better, Doctor Lewis. There are at least two sides to every story."

"Of course. I'm sorry for assuming…"

"Lauren, you didn't offend me. You're new to sled dogs and I know you're a very intelligent woman who wouldn't judge based on one opinion."

"Of course, I just…"

"Lauren, really… it's okay. You probably didn't give it a second thought when he came snooping. There are always reporters at the race looking for that story. The truth is that if they won't run, owners sell the dogs to new owners. Unfortunately, some of those new owners are people who think they can turn a dog bred and trained for running into pets. Sometimes they're also cocky enough to think that the professional musher or handler didn't know what they were doing and that they can make a go of them as sled dogs. Ultimately, these are service and work dogs It's simply what's in their genetics. They don't make good pets because they need a lot of veterinary care, a lot of exercise and a lot of attention. When people think pets, they think lap dogs and dogs that they can open a door and they'll be fine in a small backyard. They'll end up with fence jumpers who want to run because that's all these dogs want to do… run - plain and simple."

"So, the real story is what happens to the dogs after the mushers retire them or give them up to new owners."

Bo nodded, "I can tell you that retired dogs who are too old for breeding are usually kept and live a good life in retirement, courtesy of their owners. Personally, I don't know of any dogs who have ever been put down unless it was for medical reasons. Dog owners throughout the world put their dogs down when they have chronic diseases because they simply cannot afford to treat them. Even humans without health insurance have conditions that go untreated. Let's face it, in the dog world, there's not many options out there for health care insurance and if they carry it, it doesn't cover much. We've got a health care plan for our dogs because we have so many of them, but you know as well as I do that Harper's treatment just cost me a mint. I should rename her Jamie Sommers, the Bionic Woman!"

Lauren laughed, "Well, I was simply the care giver, not the billing official, so I'm not actually sure what it costs. You told me to make sure she got the best of care, so I never asked about prices."

Bo smiled, "And that's exactly how I wanted it. Fortunately, Evony is paying me well for this job at the hospital and I've got plenty of other jobs that give me the money I need to care for the dogs. Harper may have been expensive, but she's worth every penny. I would put this house up for sale if it meant Harper would live one more day."

Lauren nodded, "I know you would, Bo."

Bo shrugged, "I just hate that mushers get a bad rap when most people would have just put Harper down."

They sat silently for the next little while, each watching the puppy in their arms enjoy their snacks. The truth was, they were both avoiding the conversation that they knew they needed to have… badly.

"I know we need to talk…" Bo began, "… but I want tonight to be relaxing for you. I don't want to bring any stress into it. Can we just… be?"

Lauren smiled, "Like we agreed from the beginning."

Bo nodded, "We did."

Lauren nodded as well, "I'd love to… but honestly, Bo, there are a few things I'd like to get off of my chest if you're in the mood to listen."

Bo laughed, "That's the point, isn't it? I shouldn't need to be in a certain mood to listen to you, Lauren. Loving someone means I should listen all the time. This may sound strange, but… well, I've been watching Mark and Molly… I've noticed… I mean, never having had role models of my own… I'm learning things I should have learned from them a very long time ago about how couples treat each other. I think my past… it sort of handicaps me in a relationship and I don't want you to be the victim of that. You deserve better."

"Wow sounded an awful lot like a break up… I mean, if we're calling ourselves a couple." Lauren replied.

Bo shrugged, "I sort of thought you had already broken up with me… I mean, everything you've been saying lately seems to me like you're leaving for Boston in a few months and that's that. If you come back, you do, but you're not coming back for me. You're coming back for Alaska – if you come back."

Lauren thought about the past few weeks and her comments, "I guess you're right. It has sort of sounded like that, huh?"

Bo nodded, "And I'm fine with that. If you don't want to be with me, you don't want to be with me. There are other things to life than girlfriends and you've said from the very start that you had just gotten out of a relationship with Nadia and were in no hurry to jump back into one. By the way… she's a real peach."

Lauren laughed, "She got dumped, so she came running back."

Bo hesitated for a moment, but then decided to ask, "Do you still have feelings for her?"

"Feelings of regret, anger, disappointment… yes, but not love. She's a great surgeon, but I feel like she's lost her way. She's become everything we hated when we met. The high and mighty surgeons that put money before the needs of our patients. I wish I could say when it happened… I've thought about it… but I can't. I mean, do we ever really know the moment when we change for the better or worse?"

Bo smiled, looking down at the pup in her arms, "I do."

Lauren looked towards Bo, "You do?"

She nodded, "The night that I found you in the snow… I know I said it was stupidity, but honestly, I was shocked that you had the guts to try, let alone actually do everything right in trying to survive. I mean, you had no experience in this type of cold and yet you knew to release the dogs, to keep one with you for heat and protection…"

Lauren laughed, "A good amount of that was being a doctor and my experience in search and rescue in Afghanistan. It's not all desert and heat there like some might think."

Bo smiled, "Well, I didn't know you were a soldier at the time, so I was impressed. But, while you were laying there unconscious, something in me just… I don't know… I just felt like I needed to know you. All of a sudden, I found myself telling you things I'd never told anyone. I shared random thoughts and feelings… something I'd never done with anyone. That was my moment. I've been changing… I guess, evolving ever since… not out of obligation to anyone… just because I want to be better. I don't want to be feared anymore… it was always my armor and what kept people from asking questions that I couldn't answer. Now, I want to be cared for by those around me."

"You are, you know." Lauren replied, "Loved."

Bo's throat tightened and again she could feel the burn behind her eyes as she struggled not to cry. The truth was that she felt like the love she most wanted was slipping away.

"Bo, I want to say that, well, for my part in this, while I've accused you of being selfish, I've been pretty self-focused as well. The clinic, wanting to learn to sled, train dogs, snowshoe, meet Seline and learn about native medicines, have my own team, meet people and have friends. I just want to say that we've both been looking out for our own needs. It hasn't just been about you. But I do think that a lot of what you're doing right now you're doing out of fear. That is probably hard to hear because you pride yourself on being fearless, but I think it's a different type of fear."

Bo smiled, "I'm well aware of my fears, Lauren. A lot of how I'm thinking and behaving is about fear. It's one of the main reasons I want the counseling session so badly. If I could, I'd walk into her office right now and have absolutely no problem leaving you and the dogs sitting here alone. I feel like the fear is going to swallow me whole. That's how bad it is."

"Oh, Bo…"

"No, Lauren. I don't want your pity, but I do want you to know that I don't need you analyzing me. You're a doctor and you tend to do that a lot… and it sort of bugs me. I don't think I can live my life under your microscope being studied and tested all the time. I know I'm afraid… I've been afraid most of my life because I've been on my own. I just hide it well when in social settings. Out there on your own, you can't hide from fear. You're forced to face it or die. But… do you know you're afraid too?"

Lauren shook her head, "I don't believe I am, Bo. I'm doing what I have to do. I need to be here now for work and I need to spend time with you and everyone else because I know I have to leave soon and I'll miss all of you, terribly. But I know that I must put the sadness of leaving aside so that I can go back to my life and be sure that this is what I want. I need to see who I am in Boston without Nadia. I need to see who I am in Boston without Bo. I had a plan and I need to see it through."

Bo nodded, "So you have to leave me to know if you want me… to know if you are willing to give up all that Boston has to offer… because heaven forbid you should change your plan."

"I have a life there, Bo. I never intended to stay here. I never intended to like it here. I never intended to love anyone here. I came to do a job and leave."

"To turn off all of your emotions for a year and just work." Bo suggested.

Lauren laughed, "Honestly, my emotions were already turned off. I was numb."

"Well, you came to the right place to be numb." Bo joked, "Well, I'll try not to be offended that your love for me could be replaced by a city."

The brunette carefully stood holding the pup and turned to throw her blanket down on the chair before laying the puppy on top and covering her torso. She was completely absorbed with her treat, so wasn't going anywhere. Bo turned to Lauren,

"Do you want more of this?" she pointed to the kettle, watching as Lauren shook her head, "I'm just going to go store it away and clean up so I have the leftovers and we don't attract any unwanted guests out here."

Lauren nodded, "Do you need help?"

Bo shook her head, "I'm good. You enjoy the scenery. I've been cleaning up after myself for years."

Lauren's shoulders sagged, sensing the change in Bo's demeanor as she set to cleaning up the kettle. Lauren knew that if she wasn't careful, she was going to push the brunette back into the Bo she was before they'd become friendly. She didn't want to be the cause of Bo retreating within herself again. She'd come so far in recovering from her past. Bo stopped what she was doing and looked at Lauren,

"I'm sorry, Lauren. That comment was uncalled for. It's just… I don't know where to go from here. I don't know how to do… us… from here. Knowing that you see me as this… I don't know… wounded animal. I feel like you see me as damaged goods. It's why I was so upset with Little Jon for telling you anything about my past all of those months ago. I wanted you to know the me that I am now. Part of me wishes you had come next year so all of this would have been behind me and you would have met the new and improved Bo."

She shook her head, "I just don't see how you'll ever see that I'm stronger than you've come to think I am. I've never allowed fear or loss to stop me before. Do you really think I'll let it stop me now?"

She pressed a leaning torch further into the ground, picked up the stick she'd used to move the kennel lid and tapped it on her chair as she thought carefully about what she wanted to say. She moved closer to the fire before she continued,

"Lauren, I loved my mother more than I could ever explain. She was the only positive thing that ever existed in my life but despite her absence, I survived. I survived and I became a successful business woman, a successful bush pilot, a successful trapper and hunter, a successful builder and woodworker and a champion musher who is on track to set new records. I've conquered the man who brought me some of the darkest years of my life and I've found my real, blood relatives. Now I'm about to start a new business with the kennel and for the first time in my life, I'll have a partner in that business. Despite being sad about the situation between us, I feel stronger than I ever have and I'm growing in ways I never imagined I every would."

She threw the stick into the fire and turned back to Lauren,

"I wish you could see that woman. But lately, it seems all you see is poor Bo, the woman who has had so much suffering and loss. The woman who, when you leave her, is going to crumble to pieces and regress into the callas, hard woman she was when you first arrived here. Well, that's not going to happen, Lauren. Life will go on here without you. I'm sure that is hard for you to hear since you seem hell bent on telling me over and over again that you're going back to Boston. I mean… do you have to keep saying it? It just seems like you're trying to hurt me… what do you want me to do? Beg you to stay?"

"No, of course not. I…"

"Well, then stop saying it, Lauren. I'm well aware it is your intention to return to Boston. And by telling me as much, you cheapen what we have had here. It becomes something that you can live without... a fling… an itch that you need scratched… something disposable. So, tell me then, Lauren – you're so convinced you can leave and not look back, how can you honestly look at me and tell me you love me? At least it looks like my mom was either killed by Big Jim or she was forced to leave. I know in my heart it had nothing to do with how she felt about me. You are choosing to leave."

Bo laughed, shaking her head,

"You know, I've never stopped seeing you as a bad-ass woman. But now, I think it's you, my dear, who are afraid. You're afraid to stay here in Alaska because things may get tough for you. You have the best of everything back at your luxurious home in Boston. At your fancy hospital. Let's face it – it's easy to save patients there when you have the budget, the support staff and the equipment to go with it. You don't have to worry about trying to save someone with a respirator made by a garage mechanic from a snow machine engine, truck compressor, some plumber's tubing and a stop watch timer. All of your instruments are precise, so there's no actual challenge to the medicine. Here, there's no awards for saving a life. Here, there's no fancy banquets to stroke your surgeon ego. Here, you just may not measure up, so you're afraid."

"How dare you!" Lauren said, her temper flaring as she stood up, forgetting the pup on her lap.

Bo's eyes went wide, as she rushed to the puppy, "And I have the bad temper?"

Lauren pushed her away,

"I've got her. I'm sorry." She said emphatically before lifting the pup into her arms and checking her from head to tail. Satisfied she was no worse for wear, she laid her on the blanket on the chair, covering her as Bo had the other pup and gave her the treat. Assured that she was settled back in, Lauren turned to Bo to speak, but the brunette wasn't done yet,

"I'm sorry if that's hard for you to hear, but just consider what I'm saying through my brutal honesty. Professionally, you've looked down your nose at this place from the day you arrived, just like Nadia did when she saw your upgraded clinic which you now think is so wonderful. Your perspective has changed because you gave this place a chance. You sounded just like Nadia when you first arrived and I suspect it's that perspective that led Evony to think we needed a hospital built here at all."

She took a breath, "In your personal life, if you go back to Boston, you won't have to admit you wanted a life with me, you wouldn't have to stay with me… you wouldn't have to risk failing at another relationship – one where everyone would see your failure because in Boston, unlike here, there are so many people, no one would notice and if they did, it would be ancient history in a matter of days. There, you don't have to tell anyone I ever existed. I mean, who would ever know? There, you can just hop from bed to bed and put up the walls you built when you first arrived. But here, you'd have to admit to loving me and do the work to stay with this wounded animal that is me. If you can't handle it and our relationship fails, it stays with the community for decades and you might even have to watch me fall in love with someone else. That would sting, huh?"

Lauren stood, silent, her eyes moving to the fire. Bo walked to the shed and grabbed another piece of burlap. She carefully poured the contents of the pot into the cloth before lifting it and allowing the liquid to drain off. She wrapped it into a bundle, returned it to the dutch oven and walked back to the pit. Picking up the shovel, she walked to her snow-covered yard and began digging a hole as deep as she could manage. When she hit frozen ground, she set the oven in the ground and covered it with snow, then soil and finally more snow.

She walked back to the fire and picked up the plates, carrying them to the river to wash them clean before taking them to the shed. She returned to the fire,

"You know, I had it all planned tonight. You called me out on my mistakes earlier and I was prepared to make good on them. I told you how sorry I was for being a bad listener, for being too self-centered, for being an emotional infant and for not taking better care of you when you were going through so much. I said it all and I meant it all… deeply."

Bo shook her head,

"And in response, I got a new diagnosis about my fears… just another check in the 'no' category, Lauren? Is that what you're doing here? A pros and cons list? If so, I should just take you back to town and avoid you for the rest of your time here because I promise you there will be more cons than pros. So why don't we just get them all out here tonight so that you can decide…"

Bo pulled a piece of kindling from the wood pile and drew a line in the sand, placing a 'C' on one side and a 'P' on the other.

"Bo…"

"No, Lauren. I'm helping you get over me. Here we go… anger… con…" she put a slash beneath the 'C', "… poor listener… con… selfish… con… didn't have a mom into adulthood to teach her about relationships… con… backwoods, uneducated girl… definitely a con… not wealthy… con…"

"Bo, I never said…"

Bo looked up at Lauren, her eyes dark despite being illuminated by the fire, "You didn't have to. Let's face it, the reason you've just thrown out general suggestions about me coming to Boston and not suggested we actually do a long-distance relationship for a while is become if I come to visit you, you're afraid I'd be the Alaskan version of Crocodile Dundee and embarrass you in front of your fancy friends and colleagues."

"What?" Lauren asked.

"Crocodile Dundee? Movie about a dude from the Australian Outback who falls in love with a woman from New York City. It took like, three movies for them to figure it out, but they made it in the end."

"I don't know the movie." Lauren replied.

"Wow… terrible taste in movies… another con for Bo. Let's see… is there a pro in there anywhere? Oh, right… I'm a pretty good lay, right?" She grinned, "Yea, you've enjoyed at least that. I did save your life once… I hope that's a pro. I've gave you a sled to get around… pro. Of course, I refused to give you the lessons. Kyle had to do that, so I guess that's another con, but then again, I did introduce you to Kyle which is a pro, but then again, I am the reason for the fire and therefore the reason Kyle is laying disfigured for life in a hospital bed so that's a big con. Oh… wait… I see a pattern in those pros…"

She threw the stick into the fire, "And now I just feel used. All the things you've liked about me were things where you were getting something out of it. I've never used you like that, Lauren."

She turned to get the puppies, "Let me know when you're ready to go back to town, Lauren. Clearly you aren't going to be staying here tonight. I think I've figured out for you how you really feel about me and where we really stand. I have nothing to offer a woman who is as smart, accomplished, strong, self-sufficient and beautiful as you are. There's an entire city of women in Boston who would kiss your feet for the chance to be with you."

Lauren watched as Bo picked up the pups and headed around the house to the garage. She stood staring into the fire, unsure of what just happened. What she did know is that most of what Bo had said was true. Was she just using her? She was the one who had set the terms of their relationship from the start. She was the one that crossed the line and made it a daily thing. She was the one that got upset when Bo wasn't stopping in to see her but was instead, avoiding the clinic to keep Big Jim away from her and the clinic… to keep her safe. She did treat Bo like a project… and she was right, she did think of her as damaged. She did pity her. That was not love.

Lauren turned and spoke silently to the fire, hoping to make sense of her thoughts after all that Bo had just said to her,

"She's right, Lauren. You weren't ready for a relationship. You weren't ready and you knew it. You wanted some fun… really, you wanted sex… and it was the best sex I've ever had in my life. Who could turn that away? Well, I should have turned away before she told you she loved you because you knew then that you weren't going to give this a real shot and you knew she was opening herself up to you in a way she'd never done with anyone else. But you were flattered. She was stroking your ego."

Lauren chuckled to herself, "She's right on point about the surgeon's ego. As much as I hate to admit it, being recognized for saving patients that weren't expected to live by a room full of amazing doctors is something I've grown accustomed to." She shook her head, "It's funny that I criticized Nadia for being all about the money and not about the patients anymore. I've lost track of it to."

She laughed at herself, "All of that stuff Nadia said when told me she was divorcing me… well, she was right, Lauren. You weren't any fun anymore. You were completely absorbed with work. You took every extra shift you could. Even your friends weren't calling anymore after you'd stood them up so many times. You only stayed with Nadia for as long as you did because you were afraid divorce would make you look like a failure."

Smiling and shaking her head she added, "You were the Bo Dennis of Boston. The nurses went stiff in your presence, doctors and your assistants were afraid to question you during a surgery… wow… it's been a long time since you analyzed yourself, Doctor Lewis. Doctor Archer would be very upset with you."

She thought about the man who had been her mentor when she'd arrived at the hospital and became her most cherished friend in his retirement,

"Any doctor worth their salt will continually evaluate their performance each and every day of their life. I'm not just talking about your surgical performances, Lauren. I'm talking about how you treat others, how you treat your patients, how you treat your friends and loved ones, how you treat yourself and how you feel. Feelings are very important, Lauren. When you stop feeling, you stop healing."

She replayed the day she walked into the hospital and told the nurses they were getting divorced. To say that she was embarrassed was an understatement. But of course, she pulled the professionalism card to get the women to stop talking about it,

"Oh, yes. Aren't we little Miss Perfect?" She shook her head, "Mom always taught you about casting stones without considering your own sins first."

She looked around the fire and, for the first time, saw the flowers. She moved to the bouquet between the chairs and pulled it from the sand. She turned it, looking at all of the beautiful colors that glistened in the flame,

"Where in the world could she have gotten these beautiful flowers at this time of year?" Lauren asked as she thought about how difficult it might have been. She saw a full-sized card and smiled, "I guess they don't have small arrangement cards this time of year."

She put the vase on the small wooden table and opened the envelope, pulling out the card and a note,

"Wherever you go…" She opened the card, "…My heart goes too."

Her eyes welled with tears as she tilted the page towards the light of the nearest torch to read the note that Bo had written,

I think we're both well aware by now that I'm not very good with the spoken word… especially around you. My thoughts get twisted and nothing comes out the way I want it to. I get frustrated with my social incompetence and then everything just comes out angry. For years, I've written in journals, so I thought I'd try this instead of using my voice.

You've awoken something in me, Lauren and for that, I shall always remember you and be grateful for the time we've shared here in Alaska. You've taught me things about myself that most likely would have taken many more years for me to learn had it not been for you. You've helped me to open up to the world around me, which has allowed me to make friends… true friends… and true family.

I've always considered myself brave… but when it came to Big Jim, I was the little girl I was when he was my father up north even though I didn't remember him. That little girl was too afraid to face him, challenge him or call out those around him for letting him do wrong. You helped me to find the courage within to finally fight the battle that would give me the freedom to pursue the life I choose.

I must say – and this might be hard to hear – but I feel like you've somehow come to view me with the same lens as many in my community. I'm sure their stories are compelling, but I'd always thought I'd get a fair shake from you. That rather than judging me from what you heard, that you would judge me from first-hand knowledge. When you first decided to close the gap between us, it was because you knew me… the real me. Now, it seems your focus is on my past and the stories that are coming to light. I can't help but feel that it has changed the way you see me, treat me and look at me. I can see it in your eyes. My past may be horrible and it may not have afforded me the expected social skills and behaviors that others have had the luxury of being taught, but it has also provided me the opportunity to be who I am today. And frankly, I'm proud of myself and the woman I am becoming. I'm clearly a work in progress, but aren't we all?

I may not outwardly show love, but I do love, deeply and with all of my heart. As you said, it's what led me to pull Little Jon from the water that night and risk my own life and the lives of my dogs. I do whatever I can for those in need including running medicines from Point Siku to Talkeetna all winter long until you arrived. When trucks and snow machines couldn't get through, my team made the runs. I'm getting better at demonstrating affection for others as I further immerse myself in the community, but it's not without difficulty. I'm breaking a twenty hear habit of keeping my distance. All I ask is that you look for the good in me, rather than pity my past and see me as some hardship case you need to take care of or fix.

Hopefully, you haven't stopped reading after those two paragraphs. If you haven't, please know that I'm not making any assumptions, nor do I hold any expectations of you or us. I don't know what the future will bring for us… together or apart. What I do know is that I'm better for having known you. I'm better for having been challenged by you. I hope that I've offered some of the same to you, although I'm not sure I really have anything to offer you. You are so strong, so independent, so intelligent and so brave. You have an amazing career and are a highly respected doctor. I may have saved Little Jon's life, but you save multiple lives every day. That's pretty special stuff. Still, I hope that when you think of me in the future, that you will have at least some fond memories of the time we've shared… that you won't think of me as the angry, damaged, selfish Bo you seem to be seeing now.

I'm sorry for my emotional instability, my distance, my crazy past, my anger, my lack of social skills and my general lack of knowledge about relationships and how I should treat a partner. I really have zero experience in anything lasting this long and I have even less experience handling such powerful feelings. I am growing and learning every day – again, thanks to you for opening those doors for me.

I offer these flowers to remind you that even in the harshest of climates, living things can grow into something beautiful. You've started me on the path to becoming more beautiful… inside… something I never thought I could feel or be until now. My past has unraveled, and my future feels… brighter, somehow. Again, I owe so much of that to you.

I've spent all day thinking about our time together. I pulled out my personal journal this afternoon and read some of the things you had said to me during our time together. I know you didn't plan on finding love and I don't know what kind of love this is, but please know I love you enough to let you go if that's what you need. I love you enough to do what you need me to do for you to find happiness.

That said, tonight and every night from now until you leave, I'd like to put you first. After the fire and my race, you've spent most of your days and nights taking care of the people in this community and me… so tonight, whatever you need is yours. Whether that is dinner and a ride home or dinner and a home to use for the night, either is yours. You'll get no pressure from me for anything. I want you to feel free to explore your newfound freedom from marriage and the obligations of the east for the time you have remaining in Alaska – be that with me or others. Consider me your tour guide, teacher, colleague or companion – whatever you need – no expectations or pressure. I can even provide a dog to snuggle with if you don't want to snuggle with me.

Sincerely and with all the love in my heart,

Bo

Lauren held the letter to her chest, unable to stop the tears streaming down her face. Bo was letting her go… out of love. She walked to the edge of the water and stared up at the majesty of the mountains, the crystal-clear skies and the brilliant stars. She took a deep breath, savoring the crisp, clean air,

"I'm going to miss this. I'm going to miss Molly, Mark… oh, LJ… I'll miss him so much." She looked down river, watching as the moonlight danced back and forth off of the small ripples in the current, "I'll miss my little baby dog sled team."

She lowered her eyes, "Bo was right about so many things. She was brutally honest. I suppose I needed someone to hit me between the eyes with my own shortcomings. The clinic… it was a challenge. It's so much easier in a hospital with a big budget."

She thought to herself, Bo was right about so much more. She did tend to 'doctor' a lot. She was always analyzing people and their motives for doing things, though that may have been because of Nadia and not necessarily because of her profession. She had been very focused on herself and her feelings of being an outsider, possibly because she felt rejected after the end of her marriage. Regardless of why she felt like she didn't belong, it wasn't Bo's fault that she was new to Alaska and it certainly wasn't Bo's responsibility to help her get a social life or invites to places. Bo had graciously invited her to just about everything she was doing since they started speaking. The truth was, Lauren had been socially awkward since the day she was born.

Lauren shook her head, "And here I am, blaming Bo for people only inviting me as an extension of her. She didn't have to invite me at all. She's not my personal escort. I've made no effort whatsoever to make friends on my own. I wait for people to come to me. I stay in my clinic and wait for people to come to me."

She thought for a moment, "Except Kyle. I found her number and called her. I forged the friendship with her…"

Lauren circled the fire, realizing something about who she had become since being here,

"… and I haven't tried since. Everyone I get close to… I'm the one that pulls away. But with Bo, for some reason I expect her to conform. I don't allow her to feel what she needs to feel. When she's angry, I take it personally rather than ask her to stop and think about why she's angry. I just judge and judge and judge with Bo. My expectations for her are… well, much higher than I have a right to set them considering I've been blatantly honest about the fact that I do not intend to stay around. I'm also blatantly honest about the fact that I do not intend to continue this relationship with her when I leave… despite telling her that I love her. I'm just keeping her close right now so that I'm not alone. When did I become so needy and dependent? Dammit Lewis! She's right about that, too."

She laughed, "I've been judging and diagnosing Bo and every aspect of our relationship." Laughing harder she threw her arms up to the mountains, "What relationship? I've destroyed any chance at a relationship!"

She shook her head, deciding that she needed to let Bo take her home now so that it wasn't too late for her to mush her team back here if she wanted to. She definitely wouldn't want to stay with her tonight, and she wasn't sure if she would want to stay at her apartment in the hotel.

Lauren wiped her face and tucked the letter into her pocket. She looked to the fire and decided to fill the hole, so Bo didn't have to. Once the fire was out, she smothered the torches and turned on her headlamp. She picked up the two blankets and the seat cushions, fairly certain Bo wouldn't want those left outside overnight and headed back to the house.

She entered quietly through the front door and headed to the sofa where the fire was fading to small blue flames. It was very hot, despite being mostly coals. She lowered her hood and unzipped her parka before extending her hands towards the glowing logs.

She looked around, not seeing Bo anywhere. She supposed she might be in the garage with the dogs but wasn't completely sure. Of course, she wouldn't blame Bo if she had taken off to go stay in town for the night and left her here on her own. Lauren really needed to go to the bathroom. She looked around and saw a staircase,

"It would only make sense for the bathroom to be near the bedroom." Lauren said and headed for the staircase.

She'd taken only a few steps when she heard a sound she'd heard all too often lately. The soft sound of Bo's sobs as she released her emotions – whatever they may be. Lauren was sure she was probably feeling a little bit of everything just like she was. They really needed to stop this pattern of hurting each other.

Unsure if she was welcome, she started down the stairs, but stopped, summoning the courage to face the music. She sat on the step, listening to the painful sound of another person's emotional pain. Hadn't this woman been through enough? How is it that she, whether as a person or a physician, couldn't find it in themselves to be kind enough not to continually slather her with the ways she was emotionally wrong.

This was on her… she'd been brutally honest with Bo for weeks despite being fully aware of the abuse she had suffered at the hands of an entire community in her past. On top of that, Bo was right about her incessant need to remind Bo of the fact that she was going back to Boston. After all the ways she'd said it today alone, she couldn't stop the list of the ways she'd said as much over the time they'd shared since she'd arrived,

"Twelve months and then I'm out of this godforsaken place…" or "I don't know how you people live like this. I cannot wait to be back in civilization next year…" or "I can't wait to be back home where we have actual intubation equipment…" or "You would love skiing. I spend a lot of time on the slopes of Vermont. If you ever come east, I could take you. You'd probably be very good at it…" or "I miss my car…" or "I miss the beach at Cape Cod. I have a summer home in Provincetown and it's simply magnificent there. I can't believe I won't get to even remove the storm shutters this summer let alone feel the warm sand between my toes…" or, the worst one, "I'm looking forward to being back in my bed…" when she was at Bo's hotel apartment, naked in her bed after making love.

Lauren was sure she would not have fared half as well as Bo if she had lived her life. As a matter of fact, for someone who had a history of running, Bo had showed tremendous resilience in staying despite the ongoing criticism and judgement in the stretch from Point Siku to Talkeetna. Now, the one woman who had showed her kindness and caring had jumped on the same bandwagon. The one woman who had allowed Bo to fall in love with her despite knowing just how hard that door of her heart would be for her to open had turned her back on her, destroying the trust that Bo had invested in her. She'd kicked Bo when she was down, and she was ashamed. It was a power play she despised among other strong women she associated with and now, here she was, doing the same.

She took a deep breath and moved up the stairs, quietly walking to the loft. It was a large U-shaped space that circled the main living area below. It was sparsely filled. There was a small dresser, a closet and a desk with a stool. There were two baskets that Lauren recognized as the same type that Bo would weave and sell. There was some snowshoes and what looked like climbing gear mounted to the walls. Since Lauren had arrived, Bo had only served as a Denali guide for one climb. She'd returned to the clinic that day swearing she was done taking stupid tourists with a death wish up the mountain.

She slid her hand along the hand-carved wooden railing, her mind connecting with the fact that Bo's hands likely sanded this down to beautiful surface that lay beneath her fingertips. It was amazing what this woman was capable of doing. People would pay millions of dollars for a home like this back east.

She shook her head, thinking of how she was constantly comparing things here to things back east. She supposed it was normal to do so, but she needed to be more aware of when, where, in who's company and in what context she made such comments. Thinking something is fine as long as you don't speak it without taking the feelings of others into consideration. She shook her head thinking that was something she learned in kindergarten.

She looked up to see a lantern was glowing in the corner of the space that illuminated four pictures on Bo's desk. One was of a woman with long dark hair behind a sled with a full team of dogs. Lauren guessed it might be Bo's mom. Another picture was of Harper. She stepped closer to see she was in the other two photos. She smiled, knowing that Bo took the time to frame pictures of her for her desk. One was of her kneeling between Harper and Elsa. The other was of her with LJ. Bo was in the background hooking up her three-team sled for her very first sled ride… well, the first Bo-supervised ride that didn't result in near death. She smiled, remembering the day that she first stepped foot on the rails behind a team.

She turned the corner to see a small flame flickering next to Bo's bed. She was laying on her side facing a window that provided a view of the mountain range and the moon. She was quiet now, but it still hurt that Bo was in pain because of her.

"Bo?" She spoke softly just in case the brunette had fallen asleep.

Bo quickly sat up with her back to Lauren. The blonde could see her wiping her face with her sleeves as she moved to face her, sitting with her legs off the side of the bed.

"Sorry. I must have dozed off." She reached back and grabbed a large sweatshirt that was on the bottom of the bed, her eyes still lowered as she wiped at her cheeks with her sleeve.

Lauren couldn't blame her for trying to save face. She had said it all. She thought Lauren saw her as damaged goods… as weak. The truth was, Lauren saw her as anything but. She had spoken her mind and said exactly what she thought. She had stood up to yet another bully who was telling her everything that was wrong with her rather than focusing on the reasons she loved her.

"Bo, we don't have to go back tonight. You're tired."

Bo shrugged, pulling her hoodie over her head and moving to sit on the edge of the bed, "I'm good. The nap helped."

Lauren shook her head, "The pups are asleep, Bo. Really, we can sleep here tonight."

Bo looked up at Lauren, "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with having someone here who doesn't really want to be here. When we wake up in the morning, it will be awkward and… well, I'm sorry if this sounds selfish, but I've spent a lot of time building this house and years from now when I recount my first night under this roof, I'd like to be able to say I was alone with my dogs and we had a blast or I was with someone who loved this house… and me."

Lauren shrugged, "I haven't had the grand tour of the house, so can't speak for my love of it yet, but it is beautiful and particularly amazing because it was crafted by those two hands alone. I know that you had some help on a few things that were impossible to do alone, but apparently, I'm not so good at listening all the time either. I believe I've found it very easy to spend my time judging you, because it makes it much easier to not have to look at myself and my own issues."

She shook her head, lowering her eyes, "For the record, you're right about Nadia. One of the reasons I didn't want a relationship when I arrived was because I knew I needed to process my own faults and weaknesses in what caused our relationship to fall apart. I had blamed it all on Nadia when in fact, I did my own version of running from the relationship – I withdrew into my work like I always do when I don't want to face things. When I talked to you about Nadia, I continued to make excuses by blaming the whole thing on Nadia rather than process and admit my part in it like I promised I would do when I came here."

She looked up at Bo again, "You know, it's ironic that I'm supposed to be a fabulous doctor – one of the best, in fact – and yet I didn't take the time to analyze my own condition. Instead, I tried to spend time fixing you… something you didn't need because you'll find yourself in your own time and in your own way. I blew up a relationship with Nadia and in being too afraid of the same thing happening with you, I've done it again anyway." She offered a tight smile, "It's also amazing that my specialty is cardiothoracic surgery and yet I suck in matters of the heart."

Lauren shrugged, "The bottom line is, the Bo I loved was all of a sudden the Bo I was criticizing. You are beautifully imperfect. You know it, you own it and you made me feel safe to be the same. I have always felt like I had to be this strong, perfect doctor. Here, you taught me that it was okay to fail sometimes… it just wasn't okay not to try."

"Lauren…"

"No, Bo… please let me finish." Bo nodded, offering the same courtesy Lauren had given her outside.

"It's not okay not to try. It's not okay to let fear stop you from trying. It's usually the way I operate. The night I took the dog sled out when I didn't know a kid sled from a dog sled proves that. If we end this thing between us now, it's over and it ends because of my fear – not yours. I can't and won't do that to us."

Bo was confused, "So… what are you saying?"

Lauren laughed, pulling the letter from her back pocket, "I'm saying no one has ever written a love letter quite like this one to me. I'm saying that no one has ever had the guts to stand up to the great Doctor Lauren Lewis. I'm saying that no one has ever wanted to provide a night where they wanted to meet all of my needs. I'm saying that everything you said out there was true, Bo. It was brutally honest, just like I had been with you. It was hard to hear… very hard to hear… but you were right."

Bo nodded, "Just like you were right with the things you said to me."

Lauren smiled, "How many couples can be this honest with each other and still… one of them makes the gesture to talk about it?"

"I guess I should have been the one to make the gesture." Bo said, her eyes down.

Lauren knelt down between Bo's legs and reached up with her hands to cup her face, "You did… this afternoon when you set up everything on the beach by the river. You made the gesture and I came in here intent on setting you straight on how I thought things should be… the 'my way or the highway' speech. You had this beautiful evening planned and my plan was to come here judge you."

Bo nodded, giving Lauren a smile as she took her hands in her own, "I'm sorry if I hurt you with the things that I said."

Lauren smiled, "And I'm sorry for hurting you with the things I said, but we were both right and we both have work to do."

Bo smiled, "Life is a journey through a series of experiences that create the person you are meant to be."

"Wow. That was profound, Miss Dennis."

She let out a chuckle, "I wish I could take credit. It's another Mom Dennis quote."

Lauren lowered her lips to Bo's hands and softly pressed them to her skin, "I hope I get to meet her someday."

Bo nodded, "Me too."

They heard a squeal and turned to see one of the pups running in her sleep. They both laughed as the other pup rolled over and stood, staggering over to her sister and plopping down on top of her.

"Comforting her during a nightmare, I suppose?" Lauren asked.

Bo smiled, "They do take care of each other. They were separated from their mother way too soon. I think Big Jim was trying to hide the evidence."

"Sounds like him." Lauren replied.

"Are you sure you want to stay out here tonight?" Bo asked.

"I want to test these waters with you, Bo. I want to be here with you or at my place with you or in your hotel apartment... I want to be smothered by you before Evony sends me packing. I want to know as much as possible about a life here with you before I leave, Bo. I want to know exactly what I'm missing when I got back to Boston."

She lowered her eyes and gripped Bo's hands a little bit tighter, "I do want you to come to Boston. I want you to see where I came from… how I've lived… I mean… if you'll come."

Bo smiled, "I will come and visit, Lauren. I promise."

Hesitating for a moment, Lauren floated an idea, "Just an idea – you don't have to decide now – but the day that I fly back, it would be nice if you could come with me. That way, you wouldn't have to fly alone."

Bo shrugged, "You'll be really busy when you get back. I think I'd just be in the way. Besides when you came, it was the start of my Iditarod training season. If you're going back at the same time, I'm not sure if…"

"Like I said, Bo. It's just an idea. I mean, there will always be a reason for you not to come to Boston. You've got thirty-five dogs and counting in you care, but you've also got a business partner now… and family. I'm sure they would cover for you for seven to ten days if you asked. But like I said, it's just an idea."

Bo nodded, "I've got to learn to compromise sometime, right?"

Lauren smiled, "We both do."

They were greeted by a little squeaker walking towards them. Bo saw her start to bend her knees and quickly picked her up, grabbed her legs and pulled them straight,

"Don't you dare! Emergency! Grab that pup and follow me!"

"Bo?"

"Full bladders, Lauren!"

"Oh crap!" Lauren laughed, picking up the pup and pulling her tightly to her body.

She watched as Bo opened the front door and put the pup on the grass before running back inside to grab her parka and gloves. Lauren headed right outside and watched the pair, pulling up her hood, zipping her coat and pulling her gloves from her pocket to put them on.

She turned to see Bo coming outside, her legs covered in fur, "What are those?"

Bo smiled, "I'm a trapper, remember? Nothing goes unused. Had to put down a bear who wasn't threatened by my team. It was him or the dogs. I made the decision for him. I kept some fur to make a new pair of boots and sold off the rest. I hate killing bears. They're really peaceful, playful animals for the most part. It's not their fault we run into each other on occasion."

Lauren nodded, chasing after one of the pups who tried to make a get away, "Come here, you little adorable ball of fluff!"

Bo laughed as the small black and white came to stand at her feet. She sat down and looked up at her new master,

"Well, aren't you the obedient one? Are you hoping for some extra kibble?"

The high-pitched bark echoed through the night, yielding a bark from the garage, "Uh-oh. You woke up the rest of the crew."

It was only a matter of minutes before the whole garage was barking up a storm, "Lauren! Can you make sure that gate is locked? The rest of the crew has to come out as well."

She waved, picking up the small gray and white pup before walking to the gate. Bo went around to the garage and opened the door, stepping out of the way as her team came rushing into the yard. Harper took her time, walking slowly behind the group.

Lauren and Bo stood, waiting for all of them to do their business before putting the puppies down so that they could play,

"With the rest of the dogs out, they won't make a run for it."

"Are you sure there's no gaps under the fence or anything?" Lauren asked.

Bo smiled, "There's a wooden fence beneath the snow that comes up to meet the fence. When the snow melts, you'll be able to see it. The tops of the wood are capped with steel so they can't chew threw the wood. Mark wants me to double the height of the fence due to the value of the dogs, but I'd hate to lose that view from the back porch."

"That view is priceless."

Bo laughed, "So are the dogs. I really think that if anyone came down river or on land to enter this yard, they would all bark. I'd be out here with my shot gun or rifle in a hot second even if I had to come out naked. No one is taking my dogs."

Lauren nodded, "I'm sure."

Harper came to sit between the two women, watching the activity in the yard. Bo laughed,

"Are you the recess playground supervisor, Miss Harper?"

She looked up at Bo and yawned before lying down in the snow. Lauren smiled,

"I love these dogs. I love this life you've built for yourself, Bo. The view, the dogs in the yard, the new pups… you're a very lucky woman to have all of this."

Bo smiled, "Thank you. Don't you have a lucky life back in Boston?"

Lauren shrugged, "Well, right now I'm in an apartment because I gave Nadia the house. I just didn't want it… too many crappy memories and… well, she picked it, furnished it, decorated it… I just paid for the stuff. I have the vacation home on the Cape that I've told you about, but it's too far from the hospital for me to live there year round."

Bo frowned, "Well, that sucks that you have to rent."

"Yea. I didn't care at the time. I just wanted her to be happy and by that I mean I wanted her off my back about who was getting what. She was miserable when she didn't get her way."

Bo let out a short laugh, "I guess I understand why you don't want to do a selfish partner again."

Lauren smirked, "Everyone is selfish one way or another, but she took it to a whole new level. Of course, that's just my point of view. She would say I never had time for her and our friends. She would be right."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that."

Lauren shrugged, "My lease is up when I get back. I'll have about three weeks to make a lot of decisions. I also have a leased car. Evony insisted I lease instead of purchase just in case I didn't like the car. It was a new model year and… well, frankly, I could have cared less, but Evony is all about dressing up her doctors so that people know how much she's paying us. Still… it is a nice car. But then again, there's plenty of public transportation."

Bo shook her head, "I'll never understand that woman."

Diana and Nike came to lay by Harper, signaling that play time was coming to a close, "Okay kids! Let's head back inside. Time for bed!"

The dogs rushed back to the garage, Diana, Nike and Harper all walking behind them.

Bo laughed, "Just in case you didn't know who the cool kids were… it's these three."

Lauren smiled, "Look who's hanging out with the cool kids."

They both laughed as the puppies ran up and walked with the three big dogs, running occasionally as they fell behind,

"I love their little tiny legs and how fast they have to move them to keep up." Lauren grinned, "Gosh, they're just so adorable."

Bo nodded, checking the water trough and tossing a treat into each dog's crate. Once they were all settled, she stood, observing the pups.

"What now?" Lauren asked quietly.

"I wait and see what the pups do instinctively. What dogs do they seem to gravitate towards, which of those dogs will accept them. From that point forward, I'll start pairing them up for play time, feedings, anything I can, really. When they're big enough, they'll pair on the sled."

Lauren nodded, watching the pair of pups wander from crate to crate, looking for someone to welcome them. Finally, it was Harper who accepted them both.

"Crap." Bo whispered.

"What's wrong with Harper taking to them?"

Bo shrugged, "Harper will be retiring well before they start running a sled. They need to bond with one of the others."

"Does that mean you'll try to keep them apart?"

Bo nodded, "Except for bedtime, yes. This is likely a mothering instinct which is fine. It's just going to take some work keeping them apart during the day if they're naturally heading towards her. Like I said, they were pulled from their mother too soon and they are from Harper's bloodline. Dogs sense that kind of thing."

Lauren nodded, "The whole nature to nurture thing."

"And be nurtured." Bo agreed, "Okay. They all look like they're settled. The pups will pee in the straw tonight, so they should be fine now. Ready to head inside?"

Lauren nodded, "Lead the way."

Bo smiled and moved to the side garage door, making sure it was locked before moving into the kitchen. She took Lauren's gear and hung it in the cold room off the kitchen, doing the same with her own. They both stripped off their boots, Lauren shivering a bit as she walked across the cold floor and back into the kitchen. Bo walked to the front door and locked it, then moved to the fire and checked to be sure the screen was properly in place. She grabbed an armful of wood and headed up the stairs, putting a few logs in and removing the hot rocks from the top of the stove for use in the bed. She walked back down the steps to find Lauren still standing near the kitchen.

"Lauren? You can head up. Take the bed."

"Uh… I still have to pee, Bo."

"Ohmagosh, I'm so sorry!" She waved Lauren from the kitchen into the corner of the living room where she opened the bathroom door,

"So, this is a composting toilet… it doesn't flush. There's a bucket beneath the seat that has water and a solution to help solids biodegrade. After you go, if you do a number two, just lift this door and pour the contents of the bucket out. It will land in my composting bin. If you do a number one, just put the lid down. When it's half full, I pour it into the outside bin. The sink is like a regular faucet, so keep in mind that there's only five gallons of water under the sink, so use it sparingly."

"Got it."

Bo smiled, "I'll leave you to it then."

She closed the door to give Lauren some privacy, "Well, she handled that well. Then again, if I had to pee like a race horse, I probably wouldn't care either."

She headed out to the living room, "Maybe we'll stoke you up a bit. Hot air rises, so it can only help to keep the bedroom toasty for Lauren."

Lifting the sofa cushions, she set about pulling out some sheets and two blankets so that she could sleep here on the couch. Bo didn't like to be too warm at night at this time of the year. Three weeks sleeping outside at night was something her body adapted quite easily to. When she came back inside, she was always a bit warmer than others. Bo laid back on the sofa, arm behind her head, staring into the fire. She loved this room and she loved the stone fireplace. She smiled thinking of how badly her fingers hurt after three days of laying the stone hearth, fireplace and the slate mantel. It was probably the most challenging part of the build.

Lauren entered the room, "Bo, you don't have to sleep on the sofa. I can sleep there if you don't want to share a bed."

"It's okay, Lauren. I want you to be comfortable."

The blonde smiled, "Well, I'll be more comfortable knowing that you are spending your first night in your new home in your bed. I insist."

Bo smiled, giving a nod to the blonde. She stood up and double checked the screen to be sure it was secured around the fireplace before starting up the stairs. She stopped, wanting to say good night to Lauren, but found her not far behind. The blonde smiled up at her,

"You said you wanted to have fond memories of your first night here. You wanted to know that if you were here, that you were here with someone who loved this house and who loved you."

She took the few steps to cover the distance to get to Bo,

"I want to be the one who loved you on your first night in this house." She reached up and slid her hands around Bo's waist, laying her head against her chest, "It doesn't have to be physically, if you don't want, but I don't want you to be alone in your bed the first night here. We can just lay and talk if you want."

She waited for what felt like an eternity before Bo's arms wrapped around her, holding her tight. They slowly separated, Lauren pulling back, her eyes set on Bo's as she lowered her lips to meet the blonde's in a soft kiss. Bo stood, looking down into Lauren's eyes,

"Are you sure?"

Lauren nodded, "I told you, Bo. I want this… us. It's going to be messy. It's going to be scary and at some point, it's going to hurt like hell, but I'd rather delay the hurt. I can't let you go without knowing for sure. I can't give up on us just because things didn't work out with my ex... I would never forgive myself. Hell, you would never forgive me. I can't give up on us just because I have to go back at the end of the year because we may decide we want to figure out a way to be together. We both have some work to do on ourselves, but that doesn't mean we can't be together while we do. I want to try. Don't you want to try?"

Bo smiled, "Of course I do, Lauren."

She led the blonde up the stairs, stopping by the stove, "I just want to put a few more pieces of wood in the stove so you won't be cold."

"You'll keep me warm." Lauren replied, walking with Bo to the bed.

They sat on the end, Lauren looking out of the huge picture window, "Look at that view."

Bo smiled, closing the wood stove door and turning the handle to lock it tight. She moved to the window to stand beside Lauren,

"It is pretty amazing, huh? When I'm lying in bed at just the right angle and look out the window, it feels like I'm floating in outer space." Bo chuckled, "As a little kid, I was obsessed with science and astronauts. That's the one thing my mom used to sort of squelch. She would somehow parlay that into a how I was going to someday be the best musher that ever lived and I would win the Iditarod."

Bo lowered her eyes, her fingers running along the wood, finding a small splinter. She lifted it up, breaking it off, "I'll have to sand that."

Lauren stilled her hand, "She was right, Bo. You are a great musher. You did win and you may yet prove to be the greatest of your time."

She shrugged, "There's been times where I've been on my way to a new town," she looked up at Lauren, "You know, those times when nothing is happening, so you're kind of stuck with your own thoughts?"

Lauren nodded, "Yea, that happens for me when I'm sitting in traffic waiting to get to work on the freeway or when I'm waiting for a patient to wake up or die… like Kyle. Once I've run out of ideas, I just start thinking about how I should have been in the Coast Guard."

Bo chuckled, "Coast Guard?"

Lauren smiled, "My childhood dream. We used to go camping a lot. My parents took me and my brother to Acadia National Park in Maine. We were visiting Bar Harbor and went out on this tall ship. They were going to cancel it because of weather, but my dad pulled out his wallet and convinced the skipper it would be worth his while to take us out. The weather got bad, the ship got into trouble. They were lowering the sail and my brother got in the way. He got bumped overboard… almost drowned, but a coast guard rescue helicopter showed up and pulled him from the water." Lauren chuckled, "They were so amazing… so badass."

Bo elbowed the blonde, "You're still pretty badass even though you aren't in the Coast Guard."

Lauren laughed, "I have my moments of crazy bravery."

"Or extreme sledding." Bo smirked.

"I'll never live that down."

Bo grinned, "Not in the near future, no. But as I've said, it was pretty impressive."

"My crash?"

"No, your survival."

Lauren turned to face Bo, "You were pretty impressive too. You saved me."

"I found you. I transported you. I didn't save you… not really."

"You knew what to do to warm me and that was the most important thing. You may not be a doctor, but you know a helluva lot about surviving. I need a medical kit whereas you find a bush of some sort and stop bleeding."

Bo shrugged, "Born and raised… we use the land because the land offers solutions to everything. Believe it or not, it's a very spiritual existence."

Lauren cocked her head, "Really? I've just never thought of you as… spiritual."

"And I've thought of you as scientific."

"Guilty as charged," Lauren replied, "I guess I've always been the more… factual sort. Were you raised with religious beliefs?"

Bo shrugged, "As I've mentioned, my mom was Athabascan, so I was raised with an animistic belief system. Basically, it makes animals and some elements of the earth, our guides because within them reside spirits that are active and powerful. What you call animal instinct, our belief system calls the spirit inside of the animal allowing them to see things that aren't apparently obvious to the naked eye. So, our beliefs translated to hunting, fishing and gathering."

She chuckled, thinking of some of her childhood friends, "There were, of course, those who took it to extremes. In some groups, there were all of these rules about what girls could do versus what boys could do. One of my friends wasn't allowed to step over her brothers' clothes because it would be hutla'nee."

"Which means?"

"Taboo. Basically, all of the traditional gender roles were firmly intact in some sects, so they believed if a girl was to look at a bear, talk to a bear, hunt a bear… well, it was all…"

"Hutla'nee."

Bo smiled, "Very good, Dr. Lewis. You are quite the cunning linguist."

Swallowing hard, Lauren turned back to the window, "And… I don't know how to reply to that. If we were on… more solid ground, I would have some nifty sexual play on words to throw back at you, but… it just feels awkward to do that right now and…"

Bo could hear the blonde's voice crack, "Hey, Lauren… hey…" she saw her eyes well with tears as one managed to escape and roll quickly down her cheek, "Come here, you."

She took the blonde in her eyes as Lauren mumbled into her chest, her hands grasping at the cloth of her hoodie,

"I'm so sorry this is where we are, Bo. I was blaming everything on you and your anger and…" she pounded both fists on Bo's chest, her eyes already red and swollen, but her face twisted in anger, "… you have every right to be angry!" She pulled back, her hands running through her hair as she walked to the banister that overlooked the living room,

"I'm so angry! I'm so angry that all that has been done to you has come between us!"

"Lauren, I'm sorry…"

"No, Bo. This isn't on you or me. That man created a disease that infested the minds of the people from Point Siku to Talkeetna and who knows where else. That disease was prejudice and hatred about you… about your birth right, about your mom, about your lifestyle, about heritage… he's the one who created the shroud of darkness around you that made people believe you were dangerous."

Lauren shook her head as Bo took a seat on the bedside, "The first week I was here, I was staring out of the clinic window watching the snow fall. You came up on your sled and pulled in on the path between the clinic and your kennel while a woman was walking past the clinic with her two kids. She pulled them away from you as you stepped off of your sled, shielding them from you as she hurried them past. Another man was coming from the opposite direction and he actually went out into the street to pass you."

She looked up at Bo, "I didn't think of it then, but between the incident at the store in Point Siku when I first arrived and that visual that has stuck in my subconscious mind until just now… he made me believe you were dangerous too. I stood up to you because I was taught to carry myself as a strong woman because I would less likely become a victim of some thug who wanted to mug me in the street."

She shook her head, "I didn't realize it until now, but in my mind… you were dangerous from the start because of all of the talk, mystery and body language that was happening around me that I didn't even pick up on."

She walked to the window, standing across from Bo, "He told everyone that you were a half breed, that your Dad was a half breed. All that trash he talked about your dad and it was him all along! And he had not one, but two families! Two wives! Who knows, maybe he had more!"

Bo sat quietly, allowing Lauren to process all that she had apparently been holding in. Bo had wondered what Lauren was thinking about this. Since the truths of her past had been revealed, Lauren had not reacted or commented… at least not in Bo's presence. Luckily for Bo, she had already had the opportunity to do the same with Tosh. Bo didn't drink often, but two nights after the Iditarod, she and Tosh had gone to a bar to grab a bite to eat and talk – heart to heart – for the first time. Bo didn't frequent the bars in Point Siku… she wasn't exactly welcome, but Tosh and the owner, who everyone called Taps, had been childhood friends. Like the rest of the community, he now knew the truth about Bo and treated her with kindness that night.

After a long chat over some grub and beer… a lot of beer… Tosh's temper flared. He started shouting at the top of his lungs about his dad, eventually directing it at everyone in the bar who had supported him and the insults he had thrown at his sister. He then turned his temper on himself for doing much the same. When he began throwing beer mugs and furniture, Taps cleared out the bar, not wanting Dyson to show up and throw him in a cell. That was all the feds would need to get wind of since they were already suspicious of Tosh's involvement in Big Jim's business dealings at that point.

Taps stood by Bo, the two working together to calm him. It was then that Taps told Bo that Big Jim used to beat the living shit out of Tosh when they were kids, so he understood his anger… and the hurt. Eventually, they were all talking, drunk as can be while lying on the three side-by-side pool tables. At some point they must have passed out, because they all woke up on the pool tables in the morning. Taps laughed saying that he should rent them out as a hotel bed because it was the best sleep he'd had in years.

Bo was drawn back to the sound of Lauren's voice once again as the volume grew. The blonde was working up to a new level of pissed as she shouted out the window towards the mountain, her breath so powerful it was fogging up the glass,

"…that man took your childhood from you! He took your mother from you! He left you to fend for yourself when you were just a kid! You should have been in school, having fun with friends, playing with your dogs, sewing dresses and making cookies in the kitchen with your mom! You're so smart! You could have gone to college and… well who knows! You could be an astronaut right now, but because of him, you'll never know who you could have been or what you could have done! He tortured you by spreading lies and rumors! He insulted you down to the very core of what makes you the woman you are!"

She turned to face Bo, "You had brothers! Clearly, they were brothers who protected and cared for you. He turned them against you! You say that I treat you like you're damaged… well, you are and he's the one that did the damage! DAMN HIM!"

Bo could see the tears falling again. She stood and walked to Lauren, placing a hand on her shoulder as the blonde placed her hands on the window sill,

"Lauren. It's okay. I'm alive, he's in jail for life. I'm okay. We're okay."

Lauren shook her head, "But despite him… despite the fear and hatred that some of the people in the town have showed you because of the vile words he has spewed about you, you've been strong… so strong. Despite all that man has done to you and your family, you're stronger than you've ever been… and now you your step brothers are finally together and you're a united force to be reckoned with. On your own, you've accomplished incredible things despite him and now you'll accomplish even greater things with your family and friends by your side. Yes, you're angry, but that anger has helped you to survive."

Bo smiled, "By the way, my mom was never going to sew dresses with my mom."

Lauren burst into laughter, her head falling to Bo's chest, "I don't know where that came from."

Bo pulled back, lifting her eyes to meet her own, "It came from the very best place inside of you… your big, adorable, caring, kind heart, Lauren Lewis."

Lauren stared into the deep brown eyes of the woman before smashing her lips against Bo's. Her tongue begged for entrance which Bo allowed, gripping her face to soften the kiss. When they pulled back, Lauren sighed,

"Sorry. I just…"

Bo smiled, "It's okay, Lauren. I'm not complaining. It's been a long time since you've kissed me like that."

Lauren nodded, "It felt good. It felt… right."

Bo brushed a strand of hair back behind Lauren's ear, "We're good together, Lauren. There's no denying that. But, for tonight, what do you say we shelve all of this drama and just… be."

"Sounds perfect." Lauren smiled, laying her head against Bo's chest.

They remained in each other's embrace, Bo's lips buried in Lauren's hair as the blonde stared out the window at the sky,

"It really is a magnificent view, Bo. I could get used to staying here."

Bo smiled, leaning back so she could speak, "You're welcome here anytime, Lauren."

"My new apartment over the clinic is very nice. I have a full bathroom and a small kitchen, a reading area and a queen-sized bed to stretch out in. I even have a walk-in closet and room to store my snow shoes and sledding gear. But my view, no offense, is of the barn for your kennel and a small patch of woods on one side and the street and snow on the other."

Bo chuckled, "I suppose I do have the better view."

"Better than most, I'm sure."

Bo smoothed out the blonde's hair, settling her head close to Lauren's, "I grew up right on the Arctic Circle, so my view of the water, sea ice and the wildlife was amazing. Polar bears and their cubs, seals and their cubs… I loved my life there. The cold didn't bother me as most would expect. It was just the way it was. I was born into it, just as you were born into the climate that surrounds you. It was beautiful."

Lauren smiled, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Smiling, Bo pulled back and looked at Lauren, her hands cupping her face, "And I see nothing but beauty when I behold you."

She leaned in and kissed Lauren softly, "What do you say we get into that bed and get toasty. You're shivering."

"Yes, well, unlike you, I was not born into this climate." Lauren stripped off her layers one by one until she was down to just her panties and bra, then climbed into the bed.

"Well, let's get you warm until your body learns how to handle Alaska." Bo stepped away, moving to the stove to filling it with wood. She opened the vent a bit more to allow more heat to escape into the room. She would likely be sweating her ass off, but at least her body heat would keep Lauren warm. It was much colder here near the mountains and river than it was in town.

"It's so warm in this bed. Do you have an electric blanket or… wait… Bo, there's a rock in your bed." Lauren said, gripping the rock and showing it to Bo. The brunette laughed,

"Hot rocks, to be exact. I put them in a while ago so that the bed would be warm for you… just in case you were staying. I didn't assume…"

"Bo, it's okay. Thank you." She grinned as Bo took the rock from her, "So do we sleep with the rest of them?"

"Not unless you want to risk a concussion or a lot of bruises." Bo smiled, pulling back the covers to grab all of the rocks, placing them back on top of the woods stove.

Lauren watched, nodded, "That's ingenius."

Bo shrugged, "My mom taught me this. We used hot rocks to cook on, to sleep with when we were on the hunt for days at a time, you name it."

"Still a great idea." Lauren smiled, propping her head up on her hand, "Do you need me to turn off the lanterns over there?"

Bo shook her head, "I've got them. You just stay there and be warm."

Lauren laughed, "You'll get no argument from me. I was just trying to be polite. I didn't actually want to get out of this bed to turn off the lanterns."

"I never would have guessed." Bo replied, turning down the wick on the first lantern before moving to the next and doing the same. She then began stripping off her layers of clothes, "Excuse me while I go relieve myself."

"Of course." Lauren replied with a smile.

Lauren rolled onto her back and stared out the window, "So many stars… it does look like I'm floating in outer space."

She chuckled, trying to make out the various constellations like she had when she was a child. She didn't see stars like this in Boston. Well, sometimes when she was out on the harbor in her kayak at night, but lately she hadn't been taking the time. She really had become all work and no play. She hadn't been out to her house on the Cape since last summer. Usually she would take a few trips out there during the year, but with Nadia unwilling to do anything but what she wanted to do, she didn't go. She used to go there on her own all the time. When did that change? When had she become so rigid?

She felt the bed moved and turned to see Bo slipping under the covers, her shoulders suspiciously bare. She blushed remembering that Bo slept in the buff and was not the least bit shy about her body. They'd discussed the culture differences where that was concerned as well with Bo teasing Lauren for hiding her body from Bo for at least the first two weeks they'd shared a bed. Of course, she could ask, but that would be awkward. Did she mind? Honestly, no. Feeling Bo's warm, hard body against hers would be welcome… more than welcome. But did Bo want that?

She lay there, staring at the ceiling, paralyzed with uncertainty until she felt Bo's hand on hers,

"Lauren, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Like I said, no pressure. You can just roll over and go to sleep. You must be exhausted. I can hold you or not. You can hold me or not. Big spoon, little spoon or two knives laying side by side. Whatever makes you comfortable."

"Do you… I mean… you're wearing your usual bedtime attire?"

Bo laughed, "Yes, but if that makes you uncomfortable, I'll go put something on."

"No, of course not." Lauren replied, pausing for a long moment before she gripped her panties and slid them down and off, then did the same with her bra, "I just… thought we should match."

Bo laughed, "Lauren, you really don't have to…"

Lauren turned towards Bo, "I want to feel you against me, Bo. All of you. Would you just mind holding me tonight?"

"Of course not. Roll over little spoon." Bo smiled.

Lauren leaned in to kiss her softly, "Thank you, Bo."

"You're always welcome, Lauren."

Lauren rolled over onto her side, facing the window, lifting her arm until Bo's settled around her. She felt the brunette's body press against her, the sensation bringing comfort with the usual surge of excitement. She pressed that down, reminding herself to be grateful for this woman's presence in her life, reminding herself that she wanted more than just sex from Bo. She wanted… well, everything.

"Bo?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

Lauren could hear the smile in Bo's voice, "I'm very comfortable. It's nice to have you in my arms again. It's nice to feel your body against mine. It's nice that this is the first night in my new home and that you are here with me like this. Thank you, Lauren."

The blonde turned in Bo's arms, coming to face her, "I need you to know… I'm not just doing this so you would have a good first night in your home. I really want to be here with you."

Bo kissed the blonde's forehead, "I know, Lauren. I think we've both said enough tonight to know that we are women of our word. I know that we're going to have to go our separate ways after the new year, but I'm going to vote for us figuring out a way to be together if that's what we both want at this end of this year together. It may be long distance for a while, but if that's the case, we'll either care enough to figure it out or we won't."

"I don't think I could ever bare losing you from my life altogether, Bo. That's what's making this so hard."

Bo smiled, "It's hard for me too, Lauren. Keep that in mind."

Lauren nodded, "I'm not usually this honest… with myself or with you… about things that are hard for me. I guess it's been trained into me that there is nothing that can't be fixed with good old-fashioned intellect and a strong will. This… this is something completely different."

"Well, then let's both be glad that we don't have to solve this problem tonight. Get some sleep, Lauren. You've more than earned it after the day you've had." Bo said, wrapping her arms around Lauren who crossed her arms over her chest and cuddled into Bo's arms.

Lauren smiled, "As have you. I heard you made several trips back and forth to the village, finished up your house, visited your brother and the kennel…"

"That was all just my daily routine, Lauren. I wasn't flying to a frozen village to try to save a life and a child. How are you?"

Lauren shrugged, her finger tracing Bo's collarbone, "It's sad… I mean, it's never hard to lose a patient, but if I had never gone there… if that woman hadn't had the raw motherly instinct to protect her child… she and I never would have met and I would still be searching for a cause and a cure."

"How did she find you?"

"The internet…" Lauren gave Bo the full backstory of how the woman had chosen her to become the guardian for her daughter, drew up all of the necessary legal paperwork for Molly and Mark to assume temporary or permanent custody, provided for the girls' financial future and given her a few things to remember them by as she aged.

"Wow. I'm so sorry that she lost her mom, but that's quite a sendoff. How did she know?" Bo replied, her eyes telling Lauren everything she needed to know,

"Well, I would like to think she had a contingency plan because her husband had also passed. After going through this with Elise… well, it made me think about all you've told me about your relationship with your mom. Bo, she never would have left you willingly… there's just no way."

Bo nodded, "I know, Lauren. Big Jim was the only reason I ever had any doubts. I just… this may sound strange, but… Lauren, I just know she's out there somewhere. I don't have any proof, it's not some weird spiritual or supernatural thing… I just… know."

"I believe you, Bo." Lauren replied, "And I think you should start working with Tamsin to find out if she has any leads."

Bo groaned, "I wish it was a different agent."

Lauren chuckled, "She's not that bad, Bo. It can't hurt to ask her to look into it."

Bo shrugged, "I have a feeling that's why she wants to talk to me tomorrow. Some things that Big Jim said when Tosh and I went to interview him seemed to set her off. I'm not sure exactly what was going on, but somehow it was tied to another agent and some case that guy was working on. I just assumed it was something to do with another one of my dad's criminal ventures. But then I heard she was up on the North Slope last week. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but… well, we'll see."

They shared a gaze for a long while before Bo leaned in and kissed her softly, pulling her closer, their legs tangling together in the heat of the kiss until Bo pulled back,

"Are you warm enough?"

Lauren nodded before laying her head on Bo's chest again, her fingers gliding over the form of her upper chest,

"Do you actually work out?"

"What, you mean like in a gym?"

"No, I mean like you have an exercise routine that you follow."

Bo nodded, "I do, I just never really talk about it. If you look up in the rafters up there, you'll see a rope."

Lauren rolled back, looking up at the ceiling, "I see it. Is that your fire escape?"

Bo shrugged, "Yes and it's a climbing rope. Remember that I have to stay in climbing shape for when my buddies at Denali need an assist. I did tell them I'm done for this year though. I've just got too much on my plate."

"So what do you do with the rope?"

"Climbing drills, swinging drills, drop and catch drills, stuff like that." Bo said as though it was no big deal.

"Can I work out with you?" Lauren asked.

Bo nodded, "You really want to?"

"I haven't had a good workout since I got here. I'm dying for something to do."

Bo smiled, "A little cabin fever, huh?"

Lauren laughed, "People talk about that as if it's a real thing here."

"Oh, it's very real here. We have a very high rate of depression and suicide. Up on the North Slope, domestic violence and violence against women are two very real side effects of no sunlight and cold temps that keep you locked inside with the same group of people day in, day out. You've likely treated people with it. Be suspicious when people come in with random cuts or bruises. Compare the imprint with what they say caused it, look at their size and you can probably figure it out."

"I had no idea… I'll have to review my cases and see what I've had."

Bo nodded, "I guess I should have said something sooner."

"What's the matter, Bo?" Lauren asked, noticing that Bo had put a little space between them.

"Uh… what?"

Lauren rolled over, snuggling up to Bo, "Did I say something to upset you?"

"Uh… nope. Not at all."

Lauren sat up, the covers sliding off of her shoulders, leaning down over the brunette, "Bo Dennis, you talk to me right now."

Bo stared past Lauren's shoulder to the ceiling, "Uh… well… geez, Lauren… you rolled over onto your back bare naked with your nipples all hard and now they're hanging right over my face."

Lauren burst out laughing, falling down to lay her head in the crook of Bo's neck. The brunette, however was not laughing,

"It's not funny, Lauren. You know I love your body, but you just want to cuddle. I'm trying to do the right thing and do what you want, but I am a red-blooded all-American woman."

Lauren growled, "Yes, you are. All five and a half feet of your hard, muscle-bound torso is definitely all woman."

Lauren lifted her head and gave Bo a wink, kissing her on the cheek, "I'm sorry, Bo. I wasn't really thinking about it."

"Apparently."

"Bo, please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad. Just trying to reel in my libido." Bo replied, "And you laying on top of me is not actually helping that effort."

Lauren propped up her head on her elbow, her hair hanging like a curtain around their faces, the candlelight streaming through the blonde strands, giving just enough light to put an orange glow on Bo's face,

"I have another way to calm that libido." Lauren said, sliding her hand from Bo's shoulder down to her chest, cupping the ample flesh, "I love how your breasts spill out of my hand."

"Lauren… you don't have to…"

The blonde slid on top of the brunette, pushing the hair back behind her ear and giving Bo a mischievous grin as lowered her mouth towards the hardened peak,

"You said I could have anything I wanted tonight. Are you breaking that promise?"

"No, but…"

"I want this… I want to touch your body. I want to satisfy you. I want to be the one who makes you feel good… and feel good about yourself. I want to be the one who you feel you can be yourself with, the one you can talk to about anything, the one you can cry with, laugh with and yes, scream, yell and shout with. I'm sorry if I made you feel like you couldn't be any of those things with me, Bo. It's one of the things that I love about us and it just hit me now. This is what makes us special. I don't want you to have to deny yourself pleasure because you think it's not what I want. Okay?"

Bo's eyes brimmed with tears, "Okay."

Lauren thumbed away the tears, again lowering her mouth to Bo's breast, enjoying how the sensation was immediately reflected on her face. Her teeth covered her bottom lip, her hand moved to Lauren's cheek while the other stroked the side of her breast.

"Lay back and relax, Bo. Put your arms up over your head."

Bo did as she was asked, and Lauren sat up to admire the brunette's upper body, "So strong. So powerful. I admire your physical strength."

"Apparently I have man body. At least, that's what I've been told."

"Seriously?" Lauren asked, though it was more a statement that a question, "Bo, whoever told you that is an idiot. Did you not allow them to see these beautiful samples of womanhood?" She palmed the heavy flesh, causing Bo to move her hips as a surge of need rush through her.

"It was a comment about having too much muscle, not the obvious girl parts. It made me very self-conscious for quite a while until I was finally able to adapt the 'if you don't like it, tough shit, they're the tools of my many trades' concept. Gawd that feels good."

Lauren chuckled, "My breast masseuse skills are top notch."

"They definitely are." Bo said, lowering her hands to Lauren's hips and spreading her legs, "I want to feel you."

The blonde adjusted her body pressing her core against Bo's and grinding down, "There?"

"Mmmm… perfect." Bo said, her eyes traveling the length of Lauren's body and back up again, "Speaking of strong, powerful bodies… I love your arms…" she reached up caressing Lauren's neck into her shoulder and down to her chest, "I love all of this and your breasts are perfect."

Lauren chuckled, "I've been told I'm flat as a board."

Bo reached up, palming the aforementioned mounds of flesh, "They fit perfectly in my hands and even better in my mouth."

Lauren gave a devilish grin before lowering her chest to Bo's mouth, the angle working perfectly to press deeper into Bo's core as she quickened the pace of her hips. The brunette pulled her mouth from the hardened peaks to take Lauren's mouth with her own, deepening the kiss as their passions flared. Bo broke the kiss,

"Fingers." Was all she could say as she reached between them, allowing Lauren to do the same. A collective groan was exchanged between their lips as they entered each other, sharing the same rhythm while lips and teeth sought out any flesh they could find.

Finally, Lauren gripped Bo's jaw with her hand, finding Bo's eyes set on her own as the pace quickened, voices raised in unison as they reached their peak before Lauren crashed on top of Bo, completely spent and breathless. Bo gripped the blonde tightly as the emotions of the last month rushed through her and the tears fell again.

Lauren rolled off of her, pulling Bo into her arms, allowing her to release, "I'm here, Bo. You're here. It's all over. He's gone and you've won."

Bo shook her head, "That's just it, Lauren. I don't know that I have. He did his damage and I have a long road to fix it all."

Lauren pulled back, brushing the hair from Bo's face, "Bo, there's not that much to fix, sweetie. I told you, you are a strong, self-sufficient woman who has made a great life for herself. I mean, have you seen my life? I'm the all-important, tough Doctor Lauren Lewis and I don't even own a home anymore!"

"You own a beach house." Bo mumbled into her neck.

Lauren laughed, "It's a cottage, Bo. It's not one of those Hollywood star Malibu homes. But you're right, it's mine. I'm actually kind of pissed that I didn't stand up to Nadia and fight for more."

Bo placed a hand on Lauren's neck, settling into her embrace and heaving a big sigh, "Don't regret it. Life's too short for regrets. You loved, you lived, you lost. Time to move on and put it behind you, right? That's what you're always telling me."

"Yea, great words of wisdom from the great Doctor Lauren Lewis. I really should take my own advice. I'm very good at dishing it out."

"You actually are. I mean, what did she really take that you can't get again if you want it? Apparently, you make good money. At least, that's what Evony says. She's all 'she'll do it, I pay her enough' about this and that."

Lauren shook her head, "She said that?"

"More than once before you got here and plenty of times while they were building the clinic according to my foreman."

"Yea, well she'd better be careful or she'll never have a renewal on my contract."

Bo nodded, taking a deep breath and allowing her body to relax against Lauren's as she exhaled.

"Better?" Lauren asked.

"Yea. Thanks for the distraction."

"I didn't mean to completely distract you. I just wanted to get a little laugh so we could backtrack and little and adjust that perspective a bit. I know you're really emotional right now, Bo and there's nothing wrong with that. I just want you to make sure you're letting it out."

"I'm trying to channel it into constructive activities."

"Yea, well I'm sure swinging a hammer does a lot for the anger, but the hurt is usually best served with crying until you're angry, then swinging a hammer."

Bo laughed, "Cry, then swing. Got it."

Lauren smiled, "What I'm trying to say is that you need to let it out, Bo. It's the human thing to do. Crying doesn't make you weak. It takes courage to show your vulnerability. You're allowed to cry with me, Bo. I want to be your safe haven."

Bo shrugged, "I guess the fact that you're leaving makes me hold back a bit, honestly. I mean, I don't want to get used to leaning on you and then…"

"When I'm gone you won't have me here. Bo, there's this wonderful thing called texting. I got you an unlimited plan on that phone, so you can call me anytime as long as you're not in Canada. And there are a lot of apps that will let us talk face to face."

"Face to face?" Bo asked.

Lauren smiled, "We can see each other every day if we want, Bo. Obviously, it will depend on our schedules, because you'll be three hours behind me, but yes."

Bo nodded, "We're on the topic of you leaving again. We really have to stop this. We've still got the rest of May through until the first week of January. Let's try not to talk about you leaving so much."

"Deal." Lauren said, puckering up her lips to Bo.

"What's that?"

"Seal the deal with a kiss!" Lauren said, puckering her lips harder, causing Bo to laugh.

Lauren kept her lips together as her eyes moved into a scowl until Bo finally obliged. The brunette laughed,

"Don't you ever kiss me like that again. It was hard and wrinkly."

"Are you calling me old?"

"No, but when you pucker your lips really tight like that, your lips get hard and wrinkly." Bo said, her fingers tracing Lauren's lips, "They're so soft. I love your mouth."

She lifted her head and kissed the blonde, lightly, their lips gliding against each other before they pulled apart. Lauren laid back on the pillow, pulling Bo to her,

"I want to hold you all night. Don't get out of bed without me in the morning, okay?" Bo asked.

Lauren chuckled, "I dread the thought of getting out of bed without you in the morning. I actually dread the thought of getting out of bed at all in the morning. It will be freezing in here, huh?"

Bo shrugged, "I'm afraid so. Once the fires go out, it's going to get cold. If I wake up to pee – which I usually do – I'll load up the fireplace downstairs and the one up here too. As a matter of fact, give me two minutes."

Throwing back the covers, Bo left the bed and ran across to the loft to the staircase. Lauren yelled,

"Your boobs are bouncing and they look marvelous!"

Bo stopped and shimmied her chest at Lauren before heading down the steps. The blonde laughed, propping her head up on the pillow and pulling the covers over Bo's side of the bed to keep it warm. She thought for a moment about the day they'd shared. Two hours ago, she thought she might never see Bo again. Now, she didn't care if she ever went back to Boston. It was confusing, being in love.

She heard a crash downstairs and jumped out of bed, running to the railing, "Bo! Are you okay?"

"Lauren, go back to bed! You'll freeze. I just knocked over the screen. I'm fine, really."

The blonde nodded, climbing back into the bed and pulling the covers up over herself, "Brrrr…"

Bo came running up the steps, jogging around the corner to the woodstove. Lauren smiled, "Yes, those boobs are magnificent."

Bo chuckled, but continued to feed the fire. She pulled a burlap sack from beneath the wood stack, then picked up what looked like an oversized pair of salad tongs. Lauren watched as she lifted the hot rocks from atop the wood furnace and tossed them into the sack. When they were all in, she nudged them around until they were in a straight line and then rolled them over and over until the sack was a long roll of rocks. She lifted them up and carried them to the bed, placing them behind Lauren.

"There, you'll be toasty in just a minute and because they're outside of the covers and in the sack, they'll last longer and they won't burn you."

Bo slid into bed, opening her arms for Lauren to cuddle into her chest, "Okay. You need to get some sleep since you have to be at work before I have my appointment."

"Workout in the morning?" Lauren asked.

Bo nodded, "That's up to you. I need thirty minutes to get you back to Talkeetna and I'll need thirty minutes to get the dogs fed and hitched up."

"Okay, so we'll see what time it is when we wake up and go from there." Lauren agreed.

"Sounds perfect." Bo replied, pressing her lips to Lauren's forehead, "Good night, Lauren. Sleep well."

"You too, Bo." Lauren said, her fingers cupping Bo's breast.

"Lauren?"

"Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

"I couldn't resist. Can we just have one more round before we sleep?"

Bo grinned, "I thought you'd never ask."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Some of you have asked for more information on the Iditarod. As I've mentioned, I'm no expert in dog sledding, but I've researched a lot to write this story. While it's fiction and therefore not 100% factual, here's a more realistic look at the race from the 2008-2009 race. It's one of the best comprehensive videos I've viewed. This is the northern route of the race. The one that I had Bo taking was the same one they used this year, the southern route. They basically start the same, veer off in two different directions to make the north versus south route and then come back together at White Mountain through Nome. If you're interested, here's a link to the movie. It's almost 3 hours long but follows the entire race. It gives you a visual to the scenes I was writing while I was doing the race chapter and the stretches of river and mountains give you an idea of what Bo's homestead land looks like, although hers is right on the water that runs at the base of the mountains that loom directly over her property. Enjoy if you'd like! watch?v=wqFVYci_Dpc