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?

37. Chapter 37: Feelings and Focus

A/N: Thanks to those of you that are still reading and reviewing this one! I truly appreciate your time!

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Chapter 37: Feelings and Focus

Bo and LJ watched as the otters scampered across the narrow sandbar to the river on the other side, well away from their captors. Bo felt the familiar pang of sadness as she watched the family of twelve otters try to find their bearings. It would be a few months until they would run playfully in and out of the water without fear of predators in their new habitat, but Bo knew they would adjust. She looked up at LJ who was laughing,

"You're seriously crying over this?"

Bo scowled, "Who stole your favorite toy?"

"What?"

"You're being an asshole. What's your problem?"

He laughed, "I'm not the one crying over releasing some otters."

"Yea, well I should be crying over the loss of my old friend Little Jon. Treating customers the way you are, snapping at Rudy and Elise… and Lauren. Now you're laughing at me for having a heart? There was a time where you would have understood. These otters were just uprooted from their home to protect my dogs and our sisters."

"She's not my sister."

"Wow. You really are an ass. She thinks of you as a brother. She lost her Mom and Dad to a horrible disease – remember? You were there when Lauren found her. It's been less than a year and she's fucking ten years old, LJ. How would you handle losing everyone in your life?"

"I already have!" he shouted, his eyes showing his own shock when he realized what he'd said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He shook his head, turning back to breaking down the traps, "Nothing."

"Seriously. What did you mean by 'you already have'?"

He threw down the rope he was coiling, "You said you were going to train me… help me, Bo! You haven't! I don't know what the hell I'm doing!"

Bo nodded, "I know and I actually just talked to Lauren about that this morning. We can talk before I leave or after I get back… I'd prefer before if you can squeeze in the time."

He shook his head, "It's okay. We've got a ton to do for the race."

"Well, if I recall, we've always talked while we've worked on prepping equipment before. Why should that change now?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Everything is different."

Bo smiled, "It's called growing up, LJ."

"Maybe."

"There's something else bothering you. Come on. Out with it. You and I have no secrets. Big Jim kept us apart more than a few months before. There was never a wall between us like there is now. Come on, little brother."

LJ smiled, "You're my Great Aunt. That's still so weird."

"I know which is why I still think of you like my annoying little brother."

Nodding he replied, "My Dad hasn't sent for me. He hasn't called, he hasn't come to visit. It's like I don't exist to him anymore. I see Pops all the time, but no Dad. What's up with that, Bo?"

Bo shrugged, "I don't know, LJ. Have you asked him?"

"I haven't talked to him, Bo. Are you listening?" He snapped.

"Hey! Do not take your problems out on me – or anyone else for that matter! You've gotta get a grip on those emotions, my man."

Bo considered the emotions she was witnessing and sighed, "Is this about Penny?"

LJ sat down on one of the traps, "She hasn't called me or texted me back for a month."

Bo shook her head. She had a feeling this moment would come.

"I mean, she's really busy at school but it would be great if she could just send me a single text to tell me she was still alive."

"I'm sorry to hear she's got you on hold, LJ. It could be that she read the text and couldn't reply at the time, then forgot. I've done that before. It could also be that she didn't get the text…"

"I sent twenty-one texts, Bo."

Her eyebrows raised, "Uh… well, she could be terrified of her stalker boyfriend and maybe wants some space?"

"Like you did with Lauren?"

Bo nodded, "And she did with me."

"And you're still together."

"We are, but we're also much older than you are and have a little bit more experience with relationships."

"Yea, but you're a mess and your relationships always sucked. Even you admitted that." LJ laughed.

"Hey! What I can admit is that I've made great progress in the past year. Give me some credit. I'm a work in progress!"

LJ looked up at her, "Can I be honest with you?"

"Um… you aren't being honest?"

"No, I am, but… well… I sort of miss the old Bo."

"Really?" Bo asked, shocked.

He shrugged, speaking very softly, "She was all mine."

"What?" Bo asked, unsure of why she'd asked the question since she had actually heard him.

"Nothing."

Bo redirected, "No, I meant what do you mean by I was all yours?"

He looked away, "I don't mean… I mean, I wasn't talking that we were… you know… or that I was… you know… I meant… you didn't have so many other… forget it."

Bo smiled as the realization hit her, "I didn't have so many other people taking up my time. Now I do. Back when I was the most hated woman in town, you were the only one that I spent any regular time with other than Kenzi. Now, there's my mom, Lauren… and Rudy."

He nodded, "You have a little sister now… your own flesh and blood. And saying it out loud makes me feel like an idiot."

Bo smiled, "You know, I overheard one of Lauren's parents tell her youngest daughter that she would never be too old to need her mom. I think it's like that with you and me. No matter what, we're always going to need each other. I'd be willing to bet you didn't miss me as much when things were good with you and Penny."

He shrugged, "I suppose you're right about that."

"And by the way – always remember - you're my blood too."

LJ nodded, "I guess so."

Bo laughed, "Well, if you need it, we can have one of those fancy DNA tests done, but since your grandfather already had one."

"Thanks, Bo."

"For what?"

LJ smiled, "For this chat. I guess I needed it."

Bo nodded, "You also need you to stop being an asshole… and stop calling and texting Penny. She knows she has a boyfriend. She introduced herself to my mom as your girlfriend. Whatever is going on right now, she'll get it squared and get in touch. Just trust that everything is going to work out the way it's meant to."

"The way it's meant to? What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"It means she may not be your one, LJ. It took me my entire life to find Lauren. Penny is your first and why that's very special, she may not be the one you're meant to walk the great path with. If not, it's okay. You'll find the one. If she is, then you each walk your own path for now and when the time is right, your paths will come together again."

And in the meantime?" LJ asked.

Bo shrugged, "Go to work, save your money, train, go out with your friends, meet people, enjoy your life."

"You mean meet other girls?" He asked, somewhat surprised.

"Well, don't go sleeping around."

"I don't sleep around!"

Bo laughed, "I'm sorry to offend you, Mr. Sensitive."

He lowered his head, "It's just a sensitive topic."

"Sex?"

"Yes, sex!" He snapped.

"There you go snapping at me again. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a fifty-something woman going through menopause."

"Ugh. Don't remind me."

"Really?"

"Do you know how many times a day I have to hear about how much Little Jon has grown up?"

Bo laughed, "Well, that's going to happen until you're an established working adult in the community."

"And how do I get that illustrious title?"

"Make a name for yourself, LJ. Instead of being the guy that took over my contracts, be the guy that they can't wait to see each time you deliver. Always have a little something extra to add."

"Like what?" LJ asked.

Bo shrugged, "Make conversation, look around the property, be aware of what they were doing when you arrived and just… get to know them. Be yourself. One of the things I always noticed about you is that you always did the little things. Helping Mrs. Lightfoot carry her groceries to her car, helping Bart in his kennel when the floods took out his fencing. Do what comes naturally."

He shook his head, "Maybe I'm not cut out for this."

"Sure you are. Just treat everyone like you treat your family. When you come to The Homestead, you always bring something for my mom and Rudy. Why?"

He shrugged, "Rudy loves those hidden picture puzzle books and your mom loves the berries that grow on the trail that goes past the Wadsworth's farm. It's no trouble to get them and they're making me dinner, so why not?"

Bo smiled, "Exactly which is why I always took Mr. Lin a few pieces of salmon jerky. He loves the stuff and once the Iditarod is over, I have plenty left to spare."

"Good tip. I think he hates me."

Bo shook her head, "Well, he actually did hate me. Kill 'em with kindness, LJ. That's the number one rule in customer service."

"Betsy said it's 'the customer is always right'."

Bo nodded, "Unless you have documented proof that says otherwise. Don't let people tell you they ordered something that you didn't deliver. Always have the order in writing… or email. Back in the day when Kenzi took the orders for me, she always repeated the order back to them before she hung up so that they had to confirm that she had written everything down. She knows how to manage a business and its customers. She'll teach you a lot of you spend some time with her."

"So your little brother should spend time with your adopted little sister?" LJ smiled.

Bo laughed, "Exactly. Starting with a plan for taking orders and accounting for your finances," She tilted her head, "Of course, It's easier now that you have email. I never had that. They send the list to you, so if they missed something, it's on them unless you don't double check the list to be sure you've packed the order correctly. You can also take the extra step of making some notes, like if you take Mrs. Savod fruit, she'll probably make you a pie next time out."

"You mean Betty."

"What?"

"Betty. She won't let me call her Mrs. Savod. She said it makes her feel like an old lady," He paused, laughing, "She does know she's eighty-six years old, right?"

Bo shook her head, "Betty is eight-six years young, LJ. Get it right!"

"She told me the two of you have had some wild adventures together. I think she misses you."

Bo nodded, "I really should go see her. We have had some adventures. I took her climbing a couple times."

"Really?"

"Yup. I took my plane up to one of the lower mountains on the range and we did some bouldering and a low climb for a couple of hours. She did really well. Gutsy lady. It was her seventy-fifth birthday."

"Wow," he said, pausing before he asked, "Is it possible that she would hold my great grandfather against me?"

Bo sighed, "You asked why I was upset about the otters. Well, the truth of the matter is, this was not my first wildlife relocation effort… not by far. The most recent had been three years ago when Betty called me to report that the drunks out at Big Jim's cabin were using wolves for target practice."

"They were shooting wolves for no reason?"

"Worse. They were shooting them one leg at a time, leaving them in pain. Then they would kill them and take the pups."

LJ's eyes went wide, "They were part of that dog fighting ring breeding hybrid wolves?"

Bo nodded.

"Come on, Bo. You gotta tell me the story."

Bo laughed, "You see? You'll always be that little boy who became my adopted little brother. You're just as wide-eyed and adventurous as ever."

"Quit stalling and tell me."

"Fine." Bo said, "But story time overlaps work time. We've got three girls to pick up for an air tour."

"You still won't tell me where we're going?"

Bo shook her head, "Nope. But I do want you on board just in case we have any problems. With the kids along and Lauren's inexperience, I'll need the extra hands if I have to make an emergency landing."

"Kurt will come get us right away if he has to."

"Nope. Lauren scheduled their emergency drill training for this weekend, so there's no guarantees."

"Oh," He said, looking around the back of the plane as he stored the first crate, "Are you sure we have everything we need?"

Bo nodded, "Two duffle bags in the rear."

LJ pulled the zippers, "Wow. You really came prepared."

"Like I said – two youngsters on board. Precious cargo comes with 'just to be safe' gear."

LJ nodded, "Great. Now quit stalling and tell me the story. Don't leave anything out."

Sighing, Bo allowed the memory to flood her mind…

Flashback…

Bo had parked her sled in Betty's garage, then set out on foot to find a suitable tree in which to spend the night. The space she picked was high above the remote cabin a good distance from Betty's home. It faced a rocky cove where she had spotted many wolf tracks. She needed to spend the day there to know the comings and goings of both the humans and the wolves. She wanted to know the size of the pack to determine her best option for relocation. She was fairly certain the aggressive behavior of the wolves that had led to the call from Betty was due to their interaction with humans, but she needed to know for sure. If the wolves were aggressive without provocation, she would call animal control in to deal with them.

If her theory was correct, it was the men staying in the cabin that were to blame, not the wolves. In that case, the easiest solution was to set fire to Big Jim's cabin. The idea was humerous… okay, devious… but relocating humans was always a better option than moving wildlife. The problem was, he would likely just rebuild. Wherever that man bought land and set up a structure, there was a strategic reason for it. She often wondered if he was a drug lord or something, but there was no real proof of that.

Another option was to call National Park Services instead of animal control since she had friends there. Well… sort of friends. Certainly Ranger Katrina Winter would be more than willing to help her out, but then Bo would have to deal with her childhood friend's increasingly insistent advances for a relationship. Still, she was fairly certain the wolves were on the Federal Lands belonging to Denali, so maybe she would have a chat with Holly, Eric or Matty. They would be sympathetic enough not to tell Katrina she had been asking for help and would also take care to protect the wolves.

Of course, Bo had other concerns about involving them. In the last seven years, three park rangers who had investigated criminal activity on or around Denali had been found dead. One had been attributed to eating a poisonous plant, but she had been a Botanist who Bo had known and foraged with before. Bo had insisted that Dyson get in touch with Tamsin. She was sure Big Jim had something to do with the deaths, but in the end, he had told her there was simply not enough evidence.

Bo lifted her binoculars to her eyes, peering through the window of the cabin to see six men sitting in various parts of the main room. Four were playing cards, all were drinking and two were cleaning guns. She sighed, whispering to the wind,

"One of these days, you're doing down, Big Jim. It's like they say. The bigger they are, the harder they fall and I intend to make you fall… hard."

She sat for a long time. Coat on, coat off. Goggles on, googles off. Lay face down on the limb of the tree, sit up. Climb down, check for tracks, climb back up. Eat some jerky, drink some not-so-hot coffee from her thermos, eat some berries, drink some not-so-hot soup from her other thermos, climb down to relieve herself, climb back up… until finally…

Bo could see activity at the cave entrance. An large adult male wolf emerged first. He was likely the alpha. Another emerged, then another, and another. A female and another. Another male and finally, several pups.

"Shit. Keep those pups in the cave mommas," Bo pleaded, wondering if the men were aware there were pups in the pack. If so, they were in danger. These were just the type of men that would take these pups and breed them with Alaskan Huskies and make hybrid dogs… dangerous dogs that should never be trusted. Tamsin had told her about men that had been using them for illegal dog fighting in the lower forty-eight.

She heard a ruckus in the cabin, so swung her binoculars to the window. Sure enough, one of the men had spotted the pack. They all rustled around the cabin, getting dressed and grabbing their guns before running for the door.

"Come 'ere wolfie, wolfies. We've got food for your pups and if you're stupid enough to come and take it, we'll take your pups in return."

"Bingo," Bo whispered.

"Got 'im in your sight Lem?" One man asked.

Bo moved her focus to a younger man who was lying on the ground, the barrel of his rifle propped up on a downed tree,

"Git 'em Lem!" Another man laughed, "One leg at a time, boy!"

Bo watched, helpless to intervene as the one named Lem fired on the pack. She quickly lifted her binoculars to see one of the males go down, then struggle to get back up on three legs. The rest of the pack ran into the cave, each grabbing a pup by the scruff of the neck. Bo shook her head,

"No, no, no. That's where they want you to go. You'll be trapped," She whispered, "It'll be a slaughter."

Her vision blurred as angry tears filled her eyes, her mind rushing back to the killing of her own dogs – the orange light of the bonfire flashing like a spotlight before her eyes. She felt her balance fail and quickly grabbed the trunk of the tree, turning sideways to remain hidden from sight.

She snuck a peek over the limb to be sure she was not discovered but found the men to be on their way to the cave. She had to act quickly. She scampered down the tree and broke off a small lower branch. She dragged it behind her, covering her tracks until she reached the side window. Naturally, it was unlatched, so she climbed inside and wiped the snow beneath before carrying the branch in with her.

She looked around the room, finally setting her eyes on the bottles of whiskey on the table. She checked the bottle,

"80 Proof. Not flammable but it will definitely bring a nice big bang to the effort. Combustible is what I need," she moved over to the fireplace, knowing she didn't have much time. She rolled two bottles of whiskey toward the mantle, hoping they looked like they could have fallen there when they left in such a hurry. She took the sweater that was hanging off the seat of one of the chairs in front of the fire and dragged it just a bit closer to the whiskey bottles. She quickly scanned the room again and smiled, seeing lit cigarettes on the table with the cards, "Always put out your cigarettes before leaving, boys."

She flicked the end of one cigarette off of its rest in the ashtray and watched as a playing card began to smoke,

"Okay, so table catches on fire, what fuels it to the fireplace?" She noticed a hat on the table and quickly moved it to the edge, "That catches on fire, falls onto the floor… nope," she pushed in the chair, "Falls onto the chair, catches the seat cushion on fire and…" she rolled a glass of whiskey off the table and smiled at the pattern, "That should ignite the carpet and possibly the table and chairs."

She moved back to the fireplace and pushed another glass of whiskey off of the end table, then flicked the cigarette off,

"Whoa," she said, to herself as the fire flared and quickly ignited the chair seat cushion as well as the rug in front of the hearth, "Shit. That wasn't supposed to happen that quick! We wanted a slow burn, Bo. Those whiskey bottles are gonna blow! Run, Bo!"

Bo grabbed the tree branch and rushed for the window. She slammed it closed and removed her tracks, before heading back up the tree, taking the branch with her as she climbed.

She picked up her binoculars and scanned the land between the cabin and the cave, "Shit. They're almost there."

Bo held her breath, swinging her vision to the inside of the cabin. She heard one whiskey bottle pop, then another, "Crap. I need a bigger crackle then that! Come on – you need to burn just a little brighter to get them back here."

When nothing happened, she considered going back in to fire off a round with the shotgun by the fireplace to draw them back, but suddenly a big bang shook the tree. She gripped the trunk, tucking in tightly so as not to be spotted, put her binoculars into her pack and threw it onto her back. She grabbed the pine branch and climbed down the back side of the tree clearing her tracks as she ran through the tree line and into the woods. When she was sufficiently distanced and camouflaged, she pulled out her binoculars to have a closer look at the scene,

"Shit! What the hell exploded? The whole fucking cabin is going to burn down. Dammit, Bo! It was just supposed to be a fire! You didn't actually want to burn it down! Damn subconscious! Fuck!"

She ran, her mind filled with crime scene stories told by Tamsin and Dyson, hoping she had done everything to keep from getting blamed. Of course, not being anywhere near the scene would be a good idea. The cabin was fully ablaze now and the light would give her away, so she needed to make like a dogsled and hike.

She stayed in the woods, making sure to use the tree branch in her possession to hide any tracks that she made on open land. The winds were high, and the snow was falling, so she felt confident that she would be safe from law enforcement trackers. She didn't smell like a regular human since she lived in the wild, so even if they used the crime dogs, they'd have a hard time tracking her. She'd seen Dyson and Hale try to track criminals. They tried hard, but they were just not experienced off-grid trackers. They actually called her when they needed such work done.

She made it back to Betty's house and quickly headed inside.

"Bo…"

"Not now, Betty. The wolves are safe and I'll take care of moving them soon. For now, you didn't see me today, you understand?"

"What did you do, Bo?"

"I did what I had to do. No one got hurt – that's the most important thing… well, one wolf was shot in the leg, but he'll live."

Betty went for her first aid kit, but Bo stopped her, "I promise, I'll go back for him later when those men are gone."

"Men?" Betty asked.

"Never you mind. Don't go looking for them. I'm not telling you anything so you can remain truly oblivious if the Sheriff or anyone else comes asking questions."

"But I can go get him. I hike that trail all the time."

"Not tonight you aren't. That hip is bothering you today, you hear?"

"I don't understand. Bo, I can't let that wolf die."

"I'll take care of him, I promise. I have never broken a promise to you, now Betty, you stay out of this, you hear me?"

"I can take care of myself, Bo," she countered, hands on her hips.

"Is that why you called me to help the wolves?"

She sighed and Bo knew she was finally seeing reason, "Now you listen to me. There's six of Big Jim's men out there and they're gonna be pretty upset about their cabin burning down."

"Bo!"

"Your wolves are safe."

"You burned down their cabin?"

Bo shrugged, "The wolves were in the cave and they were going to be trapped in there unless I gave the men a reason to go back to the cabin. It was just going to be a small fire… just enough to put an orange glow on the horizon so they would turn around and run back."

The brunette hung her head,

"Bo? How did the whole damn cabin burn down?"

Bo shrugged, "Dunno. I mean, I saw them cleaning their guns and there were shells out, but I didn't think… I mean, I didn't see… I guess they were loading shells and the gunpowder exploded. I didn't know it was there, Betty! I swear!"

Betty laughed, "Oh, Bo. You do tend to find trouble with Big Jim, don't you."

"I'm sure I covered my tracks… unless you tell."

"I would never, Bo. You're like a daughter to me. I would never feed the fire that Big Jim has been trying to set under you since the day you came to town," she could see that Bo didn't trust her, "Okay, so maybe I would have back then, but I know you now and I know your heart. You're one of the good ones, Bo Dennis. Now, I baked you this pie for the meat and fish you brought me. Take it so you have proof you were with me. I'll pay you next week when I get paid."

"No rush, Betty," Bo smiled, "And thank you."

She took the pie and headed out to the garage. Once her team was hitched, Betty opened the garage door,

"If the fire crews come down that road, they'll see you and think you're running from the fire. You'd best go a different direction."

Bo nodded, "I've got to go take care of moving those wolves."

Betty shook her head, "Now's not the time, Bo."

She shrugged, "Now's the perfect time. They'll be dealing with the cabin. If I leave them there now, they may blame the wolves for the fire and shoot them anyway."

"But how will you get a pack of wolves…"

"Leave that to me, Betty."

"Be safe, Bo."

"I will and thank you."

Betty reminded, "Remember, anyone sees you, you tell them you were here with me helping me bake pies after bringing me my order. You left about four hours ago."

"Yes, Ma'am," Bo smiled, "Thanks again."

Bo pulled down her goggles and headed out into the darkness. The storm was getting worse, the conditions near whiteout, but it would only be better cover for her to move the wolves. She rushed across the narrow-wooded trail, the quick turns challenging even her team. She was tired and needed rest, but the memory of the wolf being shot in the leg kept her going. When she finally reached the cave entrance, she found the injured male lying just outside of the cave, unconscious.

"Lucky me," Bo smiled, pulling a blanket and some rope out of her basket.

She went into her first aid kit and pulled out the ether and rag, took a deep breath and then moved to the wolf. She wrapped the ether-soaked rag around its snout and immediately had a fight on her hands until it fell unconscious in her arms once again. Still, its cries would likely bring at least two of pack out of the cave, so she quickly wrapped the wolf in a blanket, tied the ends fast just in case it woke up and zipped it into the basket,

"Hike! Hike!" she called to her team, running to jump on the rails as they obeyed. She looked over her shoulder once, twice and on the third try, smiled when she saw the chase group.

She ran hard, hoping to stay in front of the wolves, but keep them interested enough that she would see where she took their brother. It was a good thirty minutes before she found another cave nestled in a wooded area,

"Much better cover and a much better home… as long as no one else has taken out a mortgage on this space," she said, entering the cave with her axes drawn. Her headlamp shined in every crevice and found nothing. She smiled and headed back out to her sled where her dogs were now growling at the pack who stood before them.

"Whoa Harper! Easy there, girl. Whoa Diana! Whoa Nike! Stay, my girls! Stay!"

Bo opened the basket and lifted the wolf from the sled. She opened the blanket and immediately took a look at the leg,

"Bullet went through the thigh. Bone feels solid… maybe some fragments. The muscle and tendons are definitely meatloaf. Infection is the big concern, but we can take care of that."

She dug into her doggie first aid kit and pulled out a tin of antibiotic ointment and placed it on the ground. She looked up at the pack to see them now moving closer to her, growling. She stood, moving to the sled and released Harper, Aphrodite, Nike, Diana and Gaea and Athena. The six immediately took up positions between Bo and the wolves. She released the other six who immediately moved into place behind and around the leads,

"Stay girls. Guard. Guard."

They'd been in this position before. Her dogs were trained to do several things. Run, run harder, turn, stop, pull, brace, guard and defend. The six leads were her biggest, quickest and strongest dogs. The wolves did not stand a chance against them and being outnumbered, it was unlikely they would test them. If the rest showed, there might be casualties, but again, the wolves would lose when she pulled her weapons and joined the fight.

Still, Bo did not want any of these animals to die, so she turned her attention back to the wolf, quickly stitched up the wound and then slathered the ointment on it. She added a native version of a bandage – a combination of herbs, soil, tree sap and gum before wrapping a bark piece over the wound to protect it. She then firmly mounted a splint knowing that the wolf would chew it off when it was no longer needed. Once she was finished, she carried the wolf into the cave and released the ether rag from its snout, untied the bindings used to restrain him and backed out of the cave. Once outside, she saw that the wolves were standing over her head on the rocks above the cave entrance,

"Shit. Easy there, kids. I just saved your friends' leg. Why don't you leave me alone and go into your new house and check on your brother. We'll just be on our way."

Bo detached the centerline from the sled, then slowly attached her dogs to it before moving to the front of the team and then slowly pulled from behind so they would back away from the cave. Once a good distance away, she waited until the pack slowly went into the cave before speaking softly,

"Come girls! Diana, Nike, Gaea, Athena, Aphrodite, Harper, come! Come girls!"

The dogs remained in defensive mode, but slowly made their way back to Bo. The rest of the team followed their leads. She adjusted their positions on the center line so they could run forward, then hopped onto the rails of the sled and headed off into the woods. As the dogs ran, she folded the blanket into a shape that would resemble small game and tied the rope to it. Now, she needed to get the rest of the pack to their new home. All she needed to do was lure the final male out of the old cave. Once they were all out, with any luck, at least one would go back to get the females. She only hoped they were all still there and alive.

Luckily, that was the case. In addition, one of the pups was exploring alone along the base of the rocky mountain base. She tossed the lure into the basket, instead deciding to use much better bait. Leaning out to the left, she grabbed the pup by the scruff of the neck, held it up and called out to her team,

"Hike! Hike! Pull girls! We're in big trouble now!" Bo said, pulling the pup inside her jacket and zipping it up to the collar, the pups head looking out over the sled. She gave the head a rub, "I promise I'm going to get you right back to your family. Hang in there little one."

As the tiny pup howled to its family, she could hear the snarls of the angry pack behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that there were more wolves in the pack than she had previously witnessed,

"Shit. Hike! Hike!" She shouted, jumping off the rails and peddling as fast as she could. She would take a much more direct route, so it would take much less time to get there, but this was her team's third big sprint of the day, and they were still tired from the North Slope delivery trip this week.

She dug deeper, pushing as hard as she could, the pup whining in her ear as she ran. She looked back again, seeing that they'd gained a bit more distance on the pack. To keep the pup settled, she set herself back on the rails and tried to soothe the little one,

"I know, pup. This is not how your life is supposed to be, but there are some very bad men who want to slaughter your entire family," The pup let out a tiny little howl which made Harper's ears perk up, her head turning slightly. Bo laughed, "Wow. You're going to be a mighty wolf one day. But seriously, I promise you that I know these men. They're the worst kind of human a pack of wolves could ever meet. They really do want to steal you from your parents… after they kill them and all of your aunts and uncles. But I'm not going to let that happen. Okay? I need you to trust me, little one."

As they neared the cave, Bo eyed the entrance while also surveying the area for any of the wolves. She saw none, so assumed they were either inside with their injured brother or following their scent back to the rest of the family. They would be reunited soon enough. Her job now was to drop this pup at the cave entrance and keep going. She tossed the blanket behind her, holding tight to the rope and trailed it from behind the sled. The injured dog's scent would be just what the pack needed to find their way to the new cave.

She leaned down, holding the pup out by the scruff of the neck and called out to her team to slow. Once in front of the cave, she made the drop, carefully placing the little guy on the ground. He took a tumble but came up shaking the snow off his fur. She called to her team once again, bringing them back up to pace before taking them into the woods.

She looked back, noting the pup sniffing around the entrance just as the pack caught up with him. Two wolves continued their pursuit until they heard a howl… then another. They stopped, turning back to the pack, then looking at Bo,

"Go on, boys. Stay with your family."

There was one more thing Bo knew she could do to keep them here and that would mean a bit more work. She looked to her dogs and found all eyes were on her,

"What do you think, kids? I've got a few traps about two miles from here. If I clear those and give whatever is there to these wolves, they'll know there's food nearby."

Bo heard a rustling in the trees, her team getting anxious, "Hush now. Stay. Stay."

That's when she saw it, "Hey there, Mr. Big Old Caribou… it's a bit late in the season for you to be this far north, isn't it?"

She set the anchor and brake on her sled before reaching beneath the basket and slowly pulling her bow from the long tube that held it. She reached in again, feeling only two arrows,

"Dammit, Bo. You knew you needed to make more arrows!" She shook her head, "Better make both shots count. Better yet, make one shot count and be sure to leave another arrow for self-defense if you don't take this down with one arrow and it charges you."

She crouched down, lowering herself behind the sled, walking to each pair and whispering, a soft 'down' as she walked. Once the team was settled, she pulled off her coat and turned it white side out before pulling it back on. She turned to Nike,

"I know you like the multicolored side better, but I need to blend in with the snow or that big caribou will see me and run. It will feed that entire pack and you and your team will get to go home and rest."

She walked carefully, quietly – just as her mom had taught her as a child. When she was well inside the range of her bow, she laid down on her side, nocked her arrow, took two deep breaths, eyed her target and released.

She stood, again scouring the area for wolves before walking the short thirty-yard distance to her prey. She heard the heavy breathing before she reached the downed animal. Pulling her knife from its sheath, she moved quickly,

"May your Spirit run wild with the wolves who will use your earthly body to nurture their young… their family," a tear escaped as she ran the blade skillfully through the vessel that would end the caribou's pain. She stood, gathering the hind legs into the loop of the rope and running it to the rear of her sled. She tied it fast to the "Y" hitch Kyle had crafted for her trail sled and stepped onto the rails.

Calling to her team, she made a wide U-turn and headed back towards the cave to drop off dinner for the pack. It would be enough to feed them all and hopefully, prevent them from going back to their original home. She gathered her speed as she approached the cave entrance yet again, keeping a wide berth. She prayed her knot would work as expected and release when she yanked the rope. She did not want to leave any evidence of her presence behind and did not want to stop for she would give the wolves a chance to attack.

She saw several pack members atop the rocky outcrop above the entrance,

"Okay girls, let's drop this a good distance away. They'll be able to see and smell the fresh kill. Hopefully it will be enough to keep them from coming after us."

She could see one of the wolves crouching down, readying his attack, so she made her turn away from the cave, reached back, gave a firm tug with a flick of her wrist and grinned when she saw the rope release the animals' legs,

"Yes!" she said, turning away and pushing her team on, "Hike! Hike! Our work is done here, girls! What do you say we head back to the barn tonight rather than sleeping rough out here? You kids deserve some great food, a soft bed and a little lovin' from your favorite Aunt Kenzi!"

Bo smiled, looking back to see several members of the pack working hard to pull their meal into the cave. She called the team to a stop, stepping on the drag break to slow the sled and turned to see a single wolf still sitting on the rocky ledge,

She eyed him knowingly as he stepped forward until he was lying down, his eyes still set on Bo. She smiled,

"So you're the Alpha, huh? I'll take that as a thank you. Just be sure you don't lead your family back to the other cave. Those men will kill you all. Stay vigilant."

He howled, his nose lifting to the sky drawing the rest of the males from the cave. They stood, eyes set on Bo as their leader again called out. They echoed his sentiment, all five lying down where they stood.

Bo kept her eyes on the group, stepping from the sled. She put one knee to the ground, her eyes moving to the leader before standing and heading off on her sled. She looked back once to see the family once again entering the cave,

"I'm not sure, Harper, but I think I've just been declared their human."

- END FLASHBACK -

"Wow. That's quite a wildlife relocation effort," LJ said, "I hadn't realized you had dealt with so many people who didn't like Big Jim. I thought it was just in town."

Bo shook her head, "I wish it had been. My father's devastation was far-reaching, and I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make amends for our family's failure to stop him."

LJ nodded, "Me too."

"Let's get going before we miss the boat. I want to be out on the water for sunrise. Hopefully we see whales quickly, then we'll have sundown in the plane."

"Sounds perfect," LJ smiled, "Elise and Roo are going to love this."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lauren and Bo walked up the dock side by side while LJ had Rudy by the hand and Elise on his back,

"He's back. What did you say to him?" Lauren asked, smiling at their young nephew and friend who was singing along with the girls as they half walked, half ran along the dock, stopping to spy fish along the way.

Bo shrugged, "Among other things, I called him on his shit and he admitted what he was missing. Basically, I think it's just growing pains. He's not a kid, yet still a very young adult. You were right though – he needs more of my time, but more importantly – he needs more of his dad's time."

"So you'll talk to him?" Lauren asked.

Bo shook her head, "That's Tosh's job. His son is ignoring his kid. Hell, Big Jon has been ignoring most of the family. I'm not touching that conversation with a ten-foot pole."

"Why not, Bo. He's as much your nephew as Mark is."

"Honestly, I think he's got more of Big Jim in him than any of us would care to admit. I get the feeling he's not happy we're related."

"Bo, that's not true," Lauren replied.

She shrugged, "I was beneath him when I was a trader in his store, Lauren. Now LJ is that trader. I think he never liked my influence on LJ anymore than his grandfather did even though he gave me permission to work with him. He needed someone to toughen up his son and used me to that end, all the while never expecting I was blood. He's probably still in shock over that revelation."

Lauren sighed, "Maybe you're right about leaving it to Tosh then, but I certainly hope you're wrong about how Big Jon feels about you."

Bo nodded, curling her arm into Lauren's elbow and leaning up against her, "I hope you're right about everything – as always."

Lauren smiled, "It's funny to watch your little sister try to multitask between singing and talking about everything she saw on the boat."

Bo chuckled, "I'm just glad she saw everything from inside the boat. If she'd had her way, she'd have jumped in to swim with the whales. I hope she never loses her enthusiasm for… well, everything in life."

They walked and laughed as they listened to Rudy break from song to talk to LJ about the events on the boat – even though he'd been on the boat with them,

"… and then, this whale… a humpback, I think he said… came way up out of the water and showed us his big white belly. I thought it would be smooth, but it had these ridges in it. Then it just fell back in the water and there was this super big splash. It was SO cool!"

LJ laughed, "You do realize I was on the same boat, right?"

Rudy nodded, "Uh-huh. But you were taking all of those pictures with your big old-fashioned camera. You were all clickety-click-click-click. You gotta live in the moment, LJ! Put the camera down and watch real life right in front of your face."

Elise nodded her agreement, "That's what our teacher says."

LJ smiled, "Well, you have to remember that I've been on a lot of boats and seen a lot of whales. We want some good pictures to print and sell in kennel store and I have a client who I think would really love some of these."

"Yea, but you've never seen Elise and I see whales. Sister and Lauren say that the best part about experiencing things with me and Elise is watching our face when we see things for the first time. You don't want to miss out on our first times, do you?"

LJ put both girls down and pulled his camera around. Kneeling down, he pulled the pictures up on his screen, searching for a specific cluster while the girls hung on his back,

"Here. I didn't miss a thing. As a matter of fact, I'll be able to print these pictures so that Molly, Mark and Mary all get to see the first faces of their little girls watching whales."

"Hey! I didn't know you were taking pictures of us!" Elise said.

"Me either!" Rudy added.

"If you girls ask my grandfather, I'll bet he'll help you make a frame and you can each give the pictures out for birthdays or next Christmas."

The two girls looked at each other and said, "Cool!"

Bo interrupted, "Okay you three, on the plane. The sun's coming up and I don't want to be out at dark if I can avoid it."

"Yes, Sister," Rudy said, hopping into the plane and pulling on her headphones while Elise followed.

Bo turned to the dockworker. Nodding to her plane, she asked, "Is she good to go, Charlie?"

He smiled, "Just as good as the day she came off the assembly line, Bo. And can I just say that I like this new, friendlier, Bo Dennis. I saw your interview after the Quest. You seemed… happy. I mean… I don't mean you weren't happy before, but if you were, you never showed it. In the interview you looked like…"

"A regular human or maybe a normal musher?"

Charlie pulled off his hat and scratched his head, "I'm sorry, Bo. I didn't mean to offend you."

Bo smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay, Charlie. My… circumstances… have changed over the last year, so I've changed too."

Charlie nodded, "Big Jim."

"I guess that's part of it."

"So, he really was your long last Dad, eh?"

Bo nodded, "Apparently. Not something I'm proud of."

He shook his head, "Maybe not, but you've got plenty else to be proud of. That little sister of yours sure is proud of you."

Bo chuckled, "You met her, huh?"

"Walked right up to me and introduced herself with a handshake. Told me to take good care of your plane because she had too much to do to die in a plane crash at age 10."

Bo laughed harder, "Yup. She's a bold one."

"I'd be willing to bet she's a lot like you were before… well, before you lost your parents. Glad you found your mom. Tosh speaks highly of her."

Bo nodded, "She's a good woman."

"It's a shame so many listened to Big Jim all of those years. While he was running around calling you a half-breed, he was half the reason you existed."

Bo nodded, "If I recall, you were one of the people listening to him."

Charlie's mouth dropped open as he stuttered trying to find an appropriate reply. Finally, he just removed his hat and nodded,

"You're right and I'm very sorry, Bo."

Bo smiled, "Apology accepted, Charlie. You were better than most. You never turned me away when I needed fuel to fly tourists, make deliveries or help out with rescues."

He hung his head, "Honestly, I'm ashamed to admit the only reason I gave you the fuel was because it wasn't fair to deny anyone else the services you were providing – particularly the rescues. You and those dogs of yours were always saving lives… or at least finding the dead so their families could have closure. Until recently, I never thought about the fact that you gave and gave to the people from here to Talkeetna and back but never asked anything of the people who treated you so poorly."

Bo shrugged, "It's how I was raised. Survive and while you're surviving, help the people the Spirits throw in your path."

Charlie cocked his head, "Never knew you to believe in the Spirits."

Bo nodded, "All my life until the day Big Jim burned my dogs alive. Grief turned to anger, anger turned to rage and rage turned to a need for justice everywhere I went," she said, hanging her head.

"And that's why you were always kicking the shit out of people who went after the little guy."

Bo shrugged, "Over the last year, I let love back in and – well, like I said, a lot has changed. Having my mom back reminded me of who she raised me to be and that included the Spirits. I was so angry for so long…" she looked up and smiled, spying her spirit eagle on the street-light above her, "I'm finding peace with my past and looking to living the life I choose now and every day for the rest of my life."

He nodded, "That's good, Bo. That's real good. Well, just know if you need anything, I'm Team Bo for life. I'm done with the past too."

Bo smiled, "Gave up the bottle, huh?"

He grinned, "You noticed?"

She nodded, "What changed?"

"The wife made me choose. A bottle won't keep your bed warm at night."

Laughing, she nodded, "You're right about that."

"So… you're that fancy doctor from the lower forty-eight everyone's been fussing over?" Charlie asked, looking at Lauren.

Bo shook her head, trying to keep her cool, "Charlie, this is…"

"Lauren Lewis," the doctor replied, extending her hand.

Charlie wiped the grease from his hand and took Lauren's, "Nice to meet you, Lauren. So… not the doctor?"

He looked between Bo and Lauren, the brunette not wanting to respond since it did not seem Lauren was comfortable saying she was,

"I'm a doctor, yes. When I looked in the mirror this morning, I was far from fancy and as far as I know, no one is fussing over me. I mean, Bo says hello to someone and she gets cakes, pies and muffins. If she makes a delivery or repairs a sled, she gets a dinner invite and leaves with enough food for a week."

Charlie laughed, "Yea, she's the new favorite daughter now. I think we're all feeling the need to make amends for treating her like shit all these years."

Lauren smiled, "Well, there's certainly no one more deserving of your support."

"Saving lives is kind of a big deal, Doc," Charlie reminded.

The blonde nodded, "Yes, but we've got a whole lot of doctors, nurses, technicians and specialists here to meet the community needs now. I'm just one of the crew."

"Oh yea? I was at Kenzi's for lunch the other day… Bo, you know Ellie and Sam… well, they were talking about how you saved Paul Krause last week by pounding on his chest until his heart started again. Hard thing to ask a man to believe. They said it was like watching the hand of God himself come down and bring that man back to life. Said you have the will of ten thousand soldiers protecting their homeland."

Lauren looked at Bo, "Um… I'd better check on the girls – make sure they're buckled in. Sun's gonna be up in a few minutes."

She turned to Charlie, "It was very nice to meet you."

Lauren gave Bo one last glance before boarding the plane, then Bo turned to Charlie,

"Hey, Charlie, think you could do me a favor?"

"Anything, Bo. Is the Doc okay?"

"She'll be fine. She doesn't much like attention and definitely doesn't want people comparing her to God. She's very humble. She would compare what she does to what you do. The engine is the heart of the plane, the fuel lines are the blood vessels. Your job is to make it all work so that we all live when we use the plane. To her, you're keeping three adults and two children alive. In her job, she's there after the plane crashes to put a person back together… maybe. She fights with God all the time. When she can't save someone, she counts on God to do what so many believe a god is supposed to do. Sometimes…"

"He doesn't come through."

Bo nodded, "Right. So, she has sort of a love-hate relationship with the big guy. Actually I'm not sure she believes in him after all she's seen. Little kids dying…"

"That's just wrong," Charlie said, "Sorry, Bo. I never thought about a doctor's work like that."

Heaving a sigh, Bo glanced back at Lauren whose eyes were down. She turned to Charlie, "She'll figure it out. It's just… when you hear people talking like that… comparing her to God or talking about how great she is… if you could just… I don't know… settle them down? Maybe make them realize she puts her pants on one leg at a time just like we do."

"Sure, Bo. You're a good friend."

"Friend," Bo said, looking up at Lauren and nodding, "Yup."

She walked to the plane, carefully navigating the narrow strip of metal that led to the pilot's cockpit door and stopped, staring out across the ocean. It wasn't often that she came this far south these days, but she did love the view. The sun was rising… well, as much as it did this time of year in Alaska. The eagles were coming in to take their favorite spot atop the streetlights. From there, they would dive fearlessly towards the water to catch their breakfast, possibly catching some smaller fish to take back to a nest. Spring was coming and if they didn't have young yet, they would soon enough.

She looked back at Charlie, wondering why she hadn't told him Lauren was more than a friend. She thought back to the conversation she had with her mom a week ago. She needed… no… she wanted to be true to herself. She wanted people to know she was proud of who she was… and proud to be with Lauren.

She turned and climbed into the pilot's seat, pulling down her clipboard and lifting her pen to the paper when she stopped. She looked up at Charlie, then looked to Lauren. She smiled,

"I love you."

Lauren grinned, "And I love you," she paused, "Are you okay?"

Bo shook her head, "Not yet."

She unclipped her seatbelt, handed the clipboard to Lauren and exited the plane before the blonde could ask her where she was going. Lauren watched as her fiancé carefully walked in front of the plane, making her way back to the dock where she walked over to Charlie.

Lauren could see that she was nervous, but she started talking to him, her hands moving a lot more than they usually did when Bo spoke. She pointed at Lauren, then at herself, then at Lauren again before she suddenly stopped talking. She looked down, then back up again. She started talking, her hands moving more slowly before Charlie nodded and gave her a hug.

She could see Bo wipe her eyes before Charlie hugged her again, then she walked back to the plane. Lauren kept her eyes on Bo for a moment, then looked to Charlie who was giving her two thumbs up, a smile and a wave. Lauren waved back before she turned to Bo,

"You okay?"

"I am now."

"What was that all about?"

Bo clipped in and then took the clipboard and pen from Lauren, "We have our first wedding guest."

"What?"

Bo smiled, "Charlie's on my wedding guest list. He apologized for how he's treated me. I told him who I am and that I'm madly in love with you, then invited him to the wedding. After he got over the shock, he smiled, told me he was happy for me and said that he would be there… with his wife if that was okay and that he would even wear a tie."

"Of course his wife is welcome. You told him a tie wasn't necessary, right?"

"What?"

"He doesn't have to wear a tie, Bo. I want people to be able to come as they are, don't you?"

Bo smiled, "You know, I guess that's what we're all about, huh? It's a come as you want, be who you are wedding."

Lauren smiled, "We have a theme! Rudy, did you hear that? We have a wedding theme!"

Rudy scowled, "How in the world do I do a come as you want… what did you say?"

Elise chimed in, "It's just a 'be who you are' wedding just like Bo and Lauren."

"But how do we make that a wedding?" Rudy asked.

Elise shrugged, "We'll figure it out."

Rudy nodded to her friend, "Right," she looked at Bo and Lauren, "We'll figure it out! It'll be the best wedding ever!"

"Does anyone have a paper and pencil?" Elise asked.

Bo pulled out a piece of paper and placed it on the clipboard, then handed it to Elise, "Don't write on anything underneath that paper. That clipboard has my very important flight papers on it."

"What are you writing?" Lauren asked.

"The wedding guest list! We have our first guest!" Elise smiled.

Bo grinned at Lauren, then looked back at Elise, "Don't forget to add Charlie's wife and all of our family. Lauren will tell you who she wants to invite."

Rudy added, "Don't forget our friends too. Kenzi, Hale, Vex, Doctor Stephen and Betsy, Doctor Faith, Doctor Cassie, Kyle, Tamsin, Kurt, Kelly, Shannie, Lynnie, Agent Acacia, Agent Adam, Patrick, Penelope, The O'Breens and Sheriff Dyson, Judge Payne, The Lightfoots, Janie and Mrs. Tyson, The Gauthiers…"

Rudy stopped, looking at Elise, then Lauren, "Lauren? Are we allowed to invite people even if they're your patients or your doctors and nurses?"

Lauren smiled, "You make the list of who you think you want there and then your sister and I will double check for anyone we don't feel it appropriate to invite, okay?"

Rudy nodded, then turned to Elise who said, "My Molly said that she wasn't sure if Bo would want Sheriff Dyson to come or not, but I don't think we can invite the O'Breens and not him. I think the O'Breens can use a wedding and a party, don't you?"

Bo smiled at Lauren before yelling back, "You can invite Sheriff Dyson. It's fine. As a matter of fact, everyone you've mentioned so far is fine."

Lauren spoke softly, "Should we do this really quick?"

Bo nodded, "Better now than later. It will give them something to do this week. I guess we'd better buy invitations while we're in town."

Lauren shook her head, "Your mom said they were already handled. They're making them."

"Really? I didn't see…"

"It's top secret, Sister, so just stop asking!" Rudy called up to the couple in the front.

Bo laughed, shaking her head, "I guess we'd better get going."

Lauren put up both hands, "Wait…"

She opened the door to the plane and stood on the rail, "Hey Charlie! Our wedding is a come as you are event, so no tie necessary!"

Charlie smiled, "Well, somebody better call my wife and tell her! She'll want me all gussied up!"

Lauren waved, "Bo will have Tosh talk to her!"

"Safe travels!" He shouted with a wave, "And thank you for the invite! I can't wait!"

Lauren sat down and closed the door, turning to smile at Bo who asked, "What?"

The blonde shrugged with a smile, "I didn't except to be so… giddy."

"Giddy?"

Lauren nodded rapidly, clapping her hands together, "We have our first wedding guest! I mean… a confirmed 'yes' guest!"

Bo laughed, her smile wide, "We have our first wedding guest."

Rudy's voice came through the intercom, "Most boringest wedding ever if you don't get your little sisters the rest of the guest list soon!"

Bo and Lauren laughed, the blonde turning to Rudy, "Just keep making the invitations, Roo. We'll have the rest of the list to you before you leave for Anchorage. Your mom and Elise can get the envelopes started while you take your sister to the race. We'll stuff the envelopes and send them out when we get back."

Rudy rolled her eyes, "Finally! We're setting some goals!"

Again, Bo and Lauren laughed before the elder Dennis said, "Our goal right now is a flightseeing trip! Elise, take what you have on the guest list and tuck it somewhere safe, then hand me back that clipboard, please?"

Elise nodded, doing as asked, "Will we see stuff right away?"

Bo nodded, "I'll circle around Harbor Cove so we can see how the otters are doing before we head up, so you'll be able to see wildlife right away. There's usually some moose or caribou around too."

Elise pointed excitedly to Rudy who smiled and picked up a bag from the floor, pulling out a box,

"Lauren? Did the man in the store get this set up right?"

Lauren smiled, "It's all ready to go. Let me show you a few things while your sister does her pre-flight."

The blonde slid out of her seat, Bo stopping her, "What's that?"

Lauren smiled, "I bought her a real camera and I bought Elise binoculars."

"You what?"

The blonde smiled, "I wasn't here for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years, or the Winter Solstice. Elise wants to see things up close and Rudy wants to take pictures today, at the Iditarod and at Fur Rondy," Lauren whispered, "The kind of pictures you can put in the newspaper."

"Rudy wants to publish her pictures?" Bo asked.

Lauren shrugged, "We were shopping while we were waiting for you and the girls started talking about the pictures they saw in the paper at the… well, we went to the candy shop…"

"Did you get me something?"

Lauren grinned, "Yes, but it's a surprise."

Bo responded with a knowing smirk, "You know I love your candy surprises."

The blonde swallowed hard, returning to the topic of the girls, "Rudy started talking about how the woman who took this picture in the paper had caught an eagle in the background."

"Was it a good picture?"

"According to Rudy and Elise? No. She should have been paying attention to the eagle – that would have been the money shot."

"The money shot?"

Lauren laughed, "Apparently, that's the picture that gets you paid."

"Oh boy."

Lauren nodded, "Well, for now, she has something she's interested in, and I've asked her to try to get wildlife pictures on the way to Anchorage."

"Wait. She's definitely going?"

Lauren nodded, "They saw pictures of wildlife families and thought they were adorable. I thought maybe you might see a bear family that might help her to see bears in a different light?"

Bo smiled, "Good idea, Doctor Lewis."

"All of this therapy is helping me review everything from my psych rotation in medical school."

"Well, go help them get the camera ready. I'm going to call in our flight."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Skies over Denali National Park

"Where is it, Sister?"

Bo looked at Lauren and smiled as the blonde replied, "She told you, Roo. We have to wait for Denali's weather system to clear."

"But all the other mountains are out! We've taken like fifty-hundred pictures of a bunch of mountains that aren't Denali! Why won't she come out and play with us?"

Bo smiled, "Because she is the best ever at hide and seek."

Rudy groaned, sitting back in her seat crossing her arms over her chest until Elise handed the camera to her,

"Your turn, Roo."

She smiled, "Thanks, Elise. Did you see anything good?"

Shaking her head, she replied, "Nope. Did you see anything through the binoculars?"

Rudy shook her head, "Mountains. Snow on mountains. Clouds around mountains. A lot of water and trees."

Elise nodded, "We have to work at the kennel as much as we can until we make enough money for that really big zoom lens. Then we'll be able to take pictures of a booger coming out of a Moose's nose from up here!"

Rudy giggled, "Gross!"

Bo's voice came over the intercoms, "Lauren? Did you get them any other lens?"

Lauren nodded, "Wide angle."

"Perfect," Bo smiled, "Going down."

"What?" Lauren asked.

"You know I've got a plan, right?"

Lauren shook her head, "Of course you do."

"Sister? Are we crashing?" Rudy asked, staring out the windows while her tiny hands clung to the seat handle.

Bo smiled, "No Rudy, but we are going to land just behind the Park Ranger's hut at the park entrance."

"Why?" Rudy asked.

"Because I've got a surprise for you."

Rudy smiled, "Cool."

Bo looked in the mirror, her heart breaking at the look of fear that remained on her sister's face. She sighed, banking left,

"Roo, take off your seat belt and come up here."

"But what if we crash?"

"We won't crash, kiddo. Come on up here," Bo said, nodding to Lauren to take Rudy's seat.

Rudy looked at Elise who shook her head, "What are you waiting for? Go on!"

Rudy took off her seat belt and handed the camera to Elise before walking up to Bo who nodded to Lauren's seat,

"Now what?"

Bo smiled, "Put on your seat belt."

Rudy did as she was told.

"Do you know why Kurt wants to buy this plane so badly?"

Rudy shook her head, "No, but it's annoying how much he asks you when he can buy it."

Bo laughed, "Well, do you see that steering wheel in front of you?"

"Yea. Mom said I shouldn't touch it."

Again, Bo laughed, "Well, this plane doesn't usually come with dual flight controls. You have to buy the Twin Otter for that."

"But this plane doesn't have a twin?"

"Nope. It's got a special engine, landing floats and carries ten passengers. The Twin Otter carries more passengers, has wheels for landing and has a different kind of engine all together. It wouldn't do as well at this altitude."

"But how does this plane have what the Twin Otter has?"

"Actually, it only has one thing that the Twin has and that's the steering wheel you're sitting behind."

"Oh," Rudy said, her finger touching the surface of the handles.

"Get up on your knees so that you can see through the front window. There's a lot to see up there."

Rudy did as asked, her eyes going wide, "Wow! You can see where we're going!"

Bo smiled, "Yup. Now, look here. When a pilot pulls the wheel towards them, we go higher. When the pilot pushes the wheel away from them, we go down. The wheel right or left, we turn right or left just like in the truck or on a sled. Got it?"

"Got it."

Bo released the wheel, "Good. Fly the plane."

"What?" Rudy asked, her eyes staring at Bo's folded arms, "Are you crazy?"

Bo looked back over her shoulder, "No. I trust you and we've got three people we love back there, so you really should take the wheel so we don't crash."

"Bo!"

"Rudy!"

"it's not funny!"

"Crashing is definitely not funny. Take the wheel, Roo."

"Bo!"

"Take the wheel, Roo."

"Sister!"

"Rudy, put your hands on the steering wheel."

Bo watched as Rudy stared at the wheel, rubbing her hands together. She put one, then the other hand on the wheel.

"We're going downwards."

"Better pull back on that wheel… just a little bit."

Rudy did as she was told, staring out at the horizon. They started to gain altitude, "How high?"

"Well, considering we want to go down, that's high enough."

"How do we go down?"

"What did I tell you to do?"

"Push forward?"

"Yup. Just a little bit and turn the wheel slightly to the right."

Rudy did as she was told, Bo putting her hand on the bottom of her steering wheel to keep things smooth as she entered her turn.

"Is this right?"

Bo shrugged, "How does it feel?"

Rudy looked at Bo, "Amazing."

Bo smiled, "Well, it won't feel amazing if we crash, so keep your eyes on the skies."

"Oops," Rudy said, turning back to the front of the plane, "Keep going down?"

Bo nodded, "You're doing great, Roo."

"How am I now, Sister?"

Bo had to chuckle, "You're still doing great, Roo. Let's straighten her out now."

Rudy looked around, confused, "But if we straighten out, won't we fly way past the mountain?"

Bo nodded, "We will, but we have to make a big circle to come back towards the ranger's hut to land."

"I don't wanna land."

"I'll land us, but you'll keep your hands on the handles so that you can feel what it feels like."

"Kind of like how you taught me to sled?"

Bo nodded, "Exactly like that."

"Am I going straight now?"

"Look down at the line inside the circle. Are the wings even with the line?"

"No."

"You're not going straight until the wings are on the line."

Bo smiled as she watched her sister's concentration peak, the tip of her tongue at the corner of her mouth and her brow furrowed. This was Rudy Dennis the young musher. Bo knew she still had a long way to go to get her courage back, but this was a start. Not ten minutes ago, she was on the verge of a full-blown anxiety attack thinking the plane was going to crash. Now, she was maneuvering the plane, focused on the task rather than her fear. Looking in the mirror, Bo saw Lauren eyeing her. They needed to talk. Bo had an idea, but she wanted her opinion. A trip to Dr. Gray may be just what Dr. Lewis would order before she took Rudy to Anchorage.

"Sister? Should I start going down again?"

Bo gave Rudy a nod, "Now you want to watch those numbers that are moving backwards. That's called the altimeter. It takes us about two minutes to descend one thousand feet. We're at 8,000 feet right now, so it's going to take us about sixteen minutes to land. Do you understand why we went so far past the mountain now?"

Rudy smiled, "Because we would have been back at the ocean by then?"

"Not quite, but you get the idea," Bo smiled, "We're about seventeen minutes out, so let's start our descent."

"How do I know if I'm going down a thousand feet in two minutes?"

Bo smiled, "I think I'll call your math teacher and have her teach you how to calculate that. First, we have to know our descent angle. I'm going to set that for you."

Bo helped Rudy ease the handle into position, then continued explaining, "So this is called our descent angle which is about one degree. If we multiply our descent angle by our miles-per-minute then add two zeros, we have our FPM descent rate."

"What's f-p-m?"

"It stands for flight path monitoring. So what is our speed?"

Rudy leaned closer, "It says… one-hundred and uh… twenty?"

Bo nodded, "That's correct. So, we're traveling at twenty knots since we don't use miles per hour in the air or at sea."

"Why not?"

Bo laughed, "Because we don't travel on roads, we travel using geolocation."

"What's that?"

"Latitude and longitude."

"Are those the lines on the globe in my classroom and on our sledding GPS?"

Bo looked over her shoulder at Lauren who nodded, "According to Lauren, yes they are."

"You don't know?"

Bo shrugged, "I've never seen a globe."

"What?" Rudy asked, shocked.

"Hey! Watch where you're flying young lady."

"Whoops."

"Wow. Can you imagine Sheriff Dyson talking to mom?" Bo used her best Dyson impression, "Mary, I regret to inform you that your daughter's plane went down in the national park today because Rudy got a bad case of the whoops while flying the plane."

Rudy giggled, "He wouldn't say that."

"Oh? What would he say."

Rudy smiled, "First of all, he would have that Sheriff Dyson look… you know, the one he has all the time even when he's not in his office. He looks all serious. Elise can do it. Show them, Elise!"

Elise laughed, then grabbed her cheeks, forcing the smile away. She looked at Bo, setting her brow and turning her head slightly before sitting up perfectly straight,

"Mary, I'm sorry, but Bo let Rudy fly the plane so it crashed. They're all dead and…" Elise giggled, her voice going really high, "I miss Bo so much already! I don't know how I'll go on," Elise put the back of her hand on her forehead, "I know she was crazy in love with Lauren but she was my world, my everything."

The two little girls began to laugh uncontrollably, so Bo took control of the plane, "He would not say that."

"Ohmagosh! He totally would! Everybody knows he totally has a crush on you. The whole town knows it."

Lauren tried hard to hold back her laughter, but a sound escaped her pursed lips drawing Bo's ire. She felt bad, but at the same time, it really was funny to see the girls' dramatic performance of a smitten sheriff,

"Bo, be a good sport. They're just kidding and they obviously don't know the latest about Dyson's love life."

"Awww, you gotta tell us!" Elise said, sitting on the edge of her seat before Lauren pointed for her to sit back.

Lauren smiled, "He's with Mrs. O'Breen now."

Rudy's head spun around, her eyes meeting Elise's who asked, "Cinda and Seth's mom? Nu-uh! He just babysits."

"Apparently it's become more."

Bo nodded, "Don't be gossips, girls. We don't know if Mrs. O'Breen has told Cinda and Seth. We only told you so you wouldn't say anything about Dyson wanting to be with me in front of the O'Breens – especially Ciara."

Rudy sunk into her seat, "Fine."

Bo looked at Elise who sighed, "Fine."

"Thank you both," Bo said, "Now, get that camera ready, Elise. You'll want to look out the window everyone. It seems mighty Denali has decided to make an appearance."

Everyone turned their eyes to the nearest window. Even LJ got up from where he was laying in the back with the traps trying to nap. Like most people, he would never tire of seeing the mountain in all of its glory.

"Wow. It's so cool," Rudy said.

"Amazing," added Elise.

"Majestic," Lauren said softly.

Bo turned to Rudy, "Mom will be disappointed if I don't do a little Athabascan history, so tell me, what does Denali stand for?"

Again, Rudy's face reflected deep thought, causing Bo to smile. Her sister was too cute for words when she was trying to figure out any problem. After a few seconds, she held up a finger,

"The tall one? Or is it the high one?"

Bo smiled, "It's either of those. Very well done."

"Are we gonna land soon?"

Bo nodded, "Look ahead."

"We're gonna land there?"

Laughing, Bo nodded and switched her channel, "Denali Tower, this is Bo in Otter 1 on approach."

"Otter 1 this is Denali Tower reading you five by. Damn good to hear your voice, Bo. It's about time you came home."

Bo smiled, "Good to hear your voice too, Ronnie. Clear to land?"

"As only you can. The snow is deep, downdrafts at 5 knots. Denali just wanted to say hi, so she's sending you a challenge. Keep your nose up."

"Got it. See you soon, Ronnie."

Bo clicked off her tower mic and shouted to everyone, "LJ, I need you in a seat and buckled in. Lauren, everyone in the second row of seats or behind, please. Quickly."

Rudy looked at her sister, "But I thought…"

"Sorry kiddo, this is gonna be a rougher landing than I thought. You'll help me with take-off when we leave, okay?"

Rudy looked worried, "Are we gonna crash?"

Bo smiled, "No, Roo. There will be no crashing, but it is going to be bumpy, so I need you buckled in back there right now. Quick like a bunny, okay?"

"Right."

She watched as Rudy quickly unhooked her belt and headed back to where Lauren was waiting to help her into a seat. The blonde checked to see that everyone was buckled in before heading back towards the front seat, but Bo stopped her,

"Lauren, you're in the back too."

The blonde looked worried, so Bo smiled, "Just a precaution. It's going to be bumpy and you've got a steering wheel in your seat that you can't touch. I'm afraid if you get thrown forward, you'll put our nose into the snow."

"Right," Lauren said, turning back to sit in front of the girls. She turned around, "Okay, girls. Here we go. It'll get bumpy, but Bo knows what's she's doing."

She faced forward again and whispered, "I hope," she turned to LJ, "You good?"

"All good," he replied.

Bo flipped on the mic, "Otter 1 on approach."

"I see you, Otter 1. Looking good. Downdraft holding at 5."

"Roger that," Bo replied, "Dropping altitude to lower my approach angle."

"Careful Bo."

"It's my middle name, Ronnie."

"Just remember you're not driving a sled."

"Gee, are you sure? I could have sworn I loaded sixteen dogs under the hood of this plane. They've been running for hours."

She could hear Ronnie laugh before he replied, "You've got otters under that hood and they don't tend to listen as well as your dogs do."

"Thanks for the clarification, tower," Bo smiled as she felt the pressure of the wind on the nose of the plane, "Feels more like the downdraft is ten or fifteen. Nose is heavy."

"Ease up on the throttle, Bo. May be best to glide her in."

Bo shook her head, "That would be incorrect, tower. Need speed to keep the floats from burrowing into the snow."

"Sorry for the bad advice. Forgot you had floats on."

Bo nodded, "Wouldn't have come with wheels at this time of year."

Looking back at her most precious cargo, she steeled her will and lightened her grip on the handles. She accelerated, lowering her altitude suddenly before cutting her speed and lifting the nose. She could feel the downdraft catch the center of the plane, pressing it downward. She fought hard to keep the nose up, sensing the brush of the floats beneath the plane kiss the surface of the snow. She could feel the initial skid when metal contacted ice and she road it with expert precision until she felt the plane's weight sink.

"Hold on!" she shouted as the plane slowed and lurched forward as they hit deep snow. She made a quick turn, accelerating before the plane could get stuck and made it to the shoveled entrance to the outgoing runway, "How's everyone doing back there?"

"Sheesh! That was terrifying!" Rudy said.

Bo laughed, "Get's your blood pumping! Get dressed and let's head over to the Ranger's Hut."

The girls were excited, so Bo didn't have to ask them twice. They were dressed and headed for the door with LJ before Bo was finished filling out her arrival paperwork. The blonde sat watching Bo as she pulled on her gear,

"Sorry. Shutting down a plane isn't like shutting down a truck - not up here. If you want to go meet up with the kids, I'll catch up."

Lauren shook her head, "It's okay. I'll wait for you."

Bo pulled on her coat and lifted the hood, then put her goggles in her pocket. As she pulled on her gloves, she grew concerned at the solemn look on her fiancé's face,

"Something on your mind, my love?"

"Not really," Lauren lied.

Bo chuckled, "You know, I know you pretty well by now and I think maybe you just fibbed."

Lauren looked up, "Oh?"

Bo knelt down in front of her, "Come on. Out with it."

The blonde looked out the window, eyeing the Ranger's hut suspiciously, "Will she be here?"

"Who?" Bo asked, genuinely in the dark.

"Katrina."

Bo nodded, suddenly understanding, "Kyle mentioned your run-in with her. She told me a bit more than you did."

"I didn't want to sound like a jealous idiot."

Bo laughed, "You are a jealous idiot, but I love you anyway. Even if she is here, you know that my entire universe revolves around you, Lauren."

Lauren sighed, "Well, if she is here, I wouldn't mind you making sure she knows that."

Bo smiled, "I get the message and I'll be sure she gets the message as well. Okay?"

Lauren nodded, "I'm sorry."

Bo sighed, "You know, I believe it was very soon after we met that I told you that you apologize too much. I think at this point in our relationship, apologies should only be reserved for times when you actually hurt my feelings or do something that is potentially unforgiving. Feeling a little insecure or jealous does not qualify. It just means I'm not doing my job."

"Your job?" Lauren asked.

Bo smiled, "Letting you know how madly, deeply, hopelessly in love I am with you."

Lauren offered a small smile and a nod, "Okay."

"Okay?" Bo asked, lifting the blonde's eyes to meet her own.

"Okay," Lauren smiled closing her eyes as Bo leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I love you, Lauren Lewis. You and you alone, now and until my last dying breath."

The blonde smiled, "Well, just make sure that breath is a really, really long time from now."

Bo laughed, "I'll do my best."

Lauren nodded, holding back on mentioning that her Iditarod worries had resurfaced. She knew Bo wouldn't be chased by a mob of men trying to kill her this time around, but she knew all too well that there were other things that could go wrong. She closed her eyes, pushing the fears away and looked at Bo,

"You ready then?"

Bo eyed her suspiciously, "There's something else."

Lauren smiled and shook her head, "Not at all."

"Lauren…"

"The kids will be waiting, Bo."

"Let them wait. Knowing Rudy, she'll be asking enough questions to keep everyone entertained. There's something else bothering you."

Lauren shook her head, "I'm just thinking ahead to next week. I've just got a lot on my mind."

"You're worried."

Lauren shrugged, "I'm trying not to be."

Bo shook her head, "Do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Instead of trying not to worry, try having confidence and faith in me and my ability to drive a sled and make the best decisions of any musher out there. Remember – I have a lot more to lose than I did last year. You're going to be my wife now. I've got my mom and sister now. I've got nieces, nephews and friends now," she smiled, kissing Lauren's lips softly and whispered, "And we're going to have a family one day soon."

Lauren's eyes glistened as she stared back at Bo, "I'm… do you mean…"

Bo's smile broadened as she nodded, "We're going to have a baby…. I mean, you're going to have it and I'm going to stand there and do whatever it is I'm supposed to do. Then, we're going to make sure that little one has the life we both wish we'd had."

"They're going to be so loved, Bo."

"Yes, they are."

Lauren smiled, "We'd better go catch up with the kids."

Bo nodded, taking Lauren's hand and helping her up before pulling her into a tight embrace. She closed her eyes, her heart filled with hope for the future. They turned and walked to the door, smiles glued to their faces as they exited the plane.

"I thought it would be much colder here," Lauren said, observing the sky.

Bo shrugged, "The closer you get to the peak, the colder it tends to get but there have been days where I've been freezing down here and then I near the summit and it's calm and sunny. You just never know what you're going to get here."

A thought suddenly hit Lauren, "Bo, we're not climbing…"

"Oh hell no!" Bo laughed, "With Rudy and Elise? No way."

Lauren nodded, "Right. I don't know why I thought…"

"A friend of mine sings native songs here for tourists. I wanted Rudy to learn and I thought it would be cool for everyone else as well."

They approached the Park Rangers hut and immediately stood back while Rudy fired off question after question. As expected, the crew smiled and took turns answering. Elise had her elbows perched on the counter next to Rudy's and was asking follow-up questions as well. Bo recognized everyone in the window except one, so she knew the girls were in good hands.

Bo and Lauren turned when they heard the sound of a snow machine approaching. Bo's heart sunk when she saw Katrina in the driver's seat with LJ on the back. The young Morton dismounted first, heading over to the couple,

"Sorry. I couldn't hold it any longer and didn't want to… well, you know… in front of the girls. I asked Katrina to take me to an appropriate spot and she was more than happy to help since her shift just ended."

Bo smiled, "Oh. So, she's heading out."

LJ shook his head, "When I told her you were here, she decided to stay and lead our tour."

"it's okay. I've already booked us with Po and Ellie."

"Oh. I thought you and Katrina were tight."

Bo shook her head, "Don't worry about it. Why don't you go over with the girls and ask Po and Ellie if they're ready to take us? I'll talk to Katrina."

LJ nodded, "Sure, Bo. Sorry if I caused a problem."

"Not at all," Bo smiled as LJ walked away and Katrina came over.

"Hey, Bo!" She smiled, leaning in to give Bo a hug, but the brunette turned and gave her a side hug, facing Lauren,

"Katrina, I'd like you to meet my fiancé, Doctor Lauren Lewis."

Katrina tightened her hold on Bo's waist and eyed the blonde, "We've met."

Lauren smiled, looking at Katrina, "Right. I'd almost forgotten."

Bo turned away from Kat to compose herself, trying to pull away from the ranger, but she held tight to her,

"Bo, I've missed seeing you. When are we going to go up again? We're so perfectly matched to climb together."

The brunette didn't even try to hide her laughter as she tried to pull away again. When Katrina didn't release her grip, Bo took a stand,

"Do you mind?"

Kat smiled, "It's been so long! You used to like my hugs, Bo."

"Release me, Katrina."

The Ranger did as asked, turning to Lauren, "Would you mind if we speak – alone, please?"

Lauren grinned, pausing for a moment before she crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes set firmly on Katrina's,

"There's nothing you can't say in front of me."

"Actually, Bo and I have some unfinished business to discuss."

Bo moved to Lauren's side, "No. We actually don't have any unfinished business."

Kat folded her arms over her chest, "I have some things I need to say."

Bo nodded, "You love me. You want to be with me. You are jealous of Lauren. You don't want me to marry Lauren. I should marry you, not Lauren. Any of those among the things you want to say?"

"She's an outsider, Bo. A cheechako."

Lauren could feel Bo lean in, so she tightened her grip. She looked at the brunette, seeing the muscles of her jaw contract. She leaned in and whispered,

"Play nice, Bo."

Bo turned to Lauren, "Why don't you go see to the kids."

Lauren leaned in, whispering in Bo's ear again, "She's not worth it, Bo. You don't have to defend my honor. Keep your cool. She's a federal employee. I need you home with me – not in some damn prison cell. I want you to keep your eyes on Rudy as you speak to her."

Bo whispered back, "All good advice. I'll be over there in a minute or so. I'll say my peace and walk away. I promise."

Pulling back, the brunette placed a hand on Lauren's neck, her thumb grazing the side of her jaw before she placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Ever the professional, the doctor turned to Katrina and said, "Nice seeing you again."

Bo watched as she walked away, her eyes moving to Rudy as she spoke, "What do you think you're doing?"

"She's not like us, Bo."

The brunette stepped towards the woman, "Never call her cheechako. That word is insulting, degrading and was used by my father to describe me. That woman is a world-renowned surgeon who is caring, compassionate, hardworking and intelligent. She is deserving of our respect and thanks. She is building a healthcare system in this state unlike anything we've ever known. It will change our lives and the lives of every generation after us. She has chosen to make a life here, so she is no outsider. She can handle herself better than most newcomers to Alaska and she has been trained by both me and my mother."

She took a breath, setting her eyes on Rudy again until she felt herself calm, "So if you're trying to insult my fiancé, you'd better come with something better than the standard Alaskan insults."

"I love you, Bo. I've never stopped loving you."

"Kat, nothing has changed for me. I told you before, you've got to move on. Kyle told you to move on," she shook her head, "I'm not meant for you and you are not meant for me. If you truly love me and have any self respect, you'll let me go. If you truly love me, you'll be happy for me. I've spent most of my adult life feeling hated, outcast and betrayed and it made me an angry woman forced into isolation. I'm not that woman any more."

She looked up, "It's impossible for you to love someone you do not know, Kat."

"But I do know you. I know everything about you!"

Bo shook her head, her eyes moving to Lauren, Rudy, Elise and finally… Little Jon, "He knows me. He knows me better than anyone. LJ has known me at my darkest and he has grown with me until this very moment. He can tell you – you may have known me years ago, but you don't know me now. I've changed… and that small group and my family back in Talkeetna have helped me to grow."

Katrina lowered her eyes, "It's so hard."

Bo nodded, "I know."

"You can't."

Bo smiled, "Actually, before you met her, Lauren and I had separated to be sure we were with each other for the right reasons."

"So, you do have your doubts," Katrina said, her voice hopeful, until she heard Bo's reply,

"I did, but that time apart cleared away any hesitation I had. Kat, I couldn't breathe without her. I not only want her… I need her like I need air."

Kat whispered, "Wow."

Bo nodded, "Yea. It's a pretty heady feeling."

She saw the ranger heave a great sigh before she replied, "Well, I guess I'll have to find a way to move on then."

"Thank you."

Kat nodded, "I really do wish you all the best, Bo."

The brunette smiled, "And I wish the same for you, Kat. There is someone out there who can love you just as much as you love them. I'm sure of it."

"You are?" Kat asked.

Bo nodded, "I'm just an angry, ass-kicking Athabascan Warrior, Kat. I don't think that anyone saw Lauren as my soulmate. Hell, I didn't even see it. I had to find my own self-worth to believe that I was worthy of her… and I did. Somehow, despite everything Big Jim, his minions and the people of our region did to keep me down, I've risen above."

She placed a hand on Kat's shoulder, "Everyone deserves happiness, Kat. That includes you. Find yourself and you'll find your love."

Kat nodded, "You know, I spent a lot of extra shifts here for the soul purpose of getting a fleeting moment with you when you brought a group of tourists up."

"Oh, Kat," Bo said, shaking her head.

"I know. Pathetic, huh."

"I'm so sorry," Bo said.

Kat shrugged, "It's not your fault, Bo. I wasn't listening to you. I was living in a fantasy because it was a lot easier than facing the truth. Maybe now I can work my shift and then use the rest of my day to find myself."

Bo smiled, "You won't regret finding other things to do with your time. I know you love your job and I know you love this mountain, but there is more to life, Kat."

The ranger smiled, "Thanks, Bo. Thanks for setting me straight and getting me thinking about my future."

"You're welcome."

"Are you sure you don't want me to take your crew on the tour?"

Bo sighed, "I appreciate the offer, but I think you and Lauren need a little space right now."

"I'd like to apologize to her. I don't want to leave things as they are."

Bo nodded, "I'll send her over."

"If you don't mind, can you wave her over? I'd like you to hear what I have to say. I don't want you to doubt what I said to her – or my sincerity."

Bo nodded, and while she expected Lauren to refuse, she came as asked. Bo shouldn't have been surprised. Her fiancé always took the high road.

"Yes?"

Kat spoke immediately, "I asked Bo to call you over. Bo didn't ask me to, but I wanted to apologize. I've been unfair, unfriendly and a total ass to you since we met. I was jealous and unwilling to accept that Bo had no interest in me beyond friendship. I wish you all the happiness in the world in your marriage to our regions' favorite musher as well as in your endeavor to build a fantastic healthcare system for our people."

She looked down, "I'm ashamed of my behavior, but promise to do everything I can to make amends. I promise that the next time we meet, you will meet the Katrina that my colleagues and friends care about rather than the jealous twit you've come to know."

Lauren smiled, extending her hand, "I look forward to it. Are you coming to the Iditarod?"

Bo nodded, answering for Katrina, "She's one of the race officials. Most of the time, we don't see each other since she's often at checkpoints that I blow through. Maybe one of these days we'll meet up on the course."

Kat smiled, "I won't hold my breath but it would be exciting to finally see the great Bo Dennis in action."

"You've never seen Bo race?" Lauren asked.

Kat shook her head, "Only into Denali when she was late for a client. Most of the time she flies into here though so no, not usually. We have done some sled runs together, but I can't keep up with her at full tilt. Most of my rescue or tour runs are done by snow machine or chopper."

Lauren nodded, "Understandable."

"Yea. Speed is of the essence with rescues… I mean, those not on the mountain."

"And when someone needs a rescue up there?"

Bo shook her head, "The rangers are not obligated to go up. Depending on where they are, a chopper may be able to perform a rescue, but the weather makes it unlikely."

"I didn't realize," Lauren said, "And climbers are aware of this before they go?"

Both women nodded, Bo replying, "It's in the contract that's reviewed by the guides before any trip."

"I would think some people would back out after hearing that."

Bo nodded, "Some do, but most people know that little piece of information before they ever choose to register for a climb."

Kat smiled, "The internet gives them a place to gain a lot of insight before they're even seriously considering the climb."

Bo and Lauren turned to their traveling companions when they heard Rudy call out to them. Bo smiled,

"Well, that's the youngest member of the Dennis family. We've made her wait long enough."

Kat grinned, "She's adorable, Bo. I didn't realize you had a little sister."

Bo sighed, "Until last spring, neither did I. She's the greatest blessing in our lives."

"Well, I'm very happy for you," Kat said, turning to Lauren, "Both of you."

Lauren smiled, "Thank you, Kat."

The doctor paused before suggesting, "Our wedding invitations will be going out soon. If you would like to come, we would be happy to have you. I mean… if it's not too awkward or difficult…"

Kat smiled, "I made a promise to myself a few minutes ago that I was going to get back out into the world. I would love to come to your wedding."

Bo eyed Kat suspiciously, "No drama? No objections when they ask?"

Kat laughed, "Absolutely not. I believe if I did, you would never speak to me again… either of you… and that would be unacceptable.

She paused, but then turned to the couple, "Why would you even allow the person doing your vows the chance to ask that question anyway?"

"Excuse me?" Bo asked.

Kat shrugged, "Pardon my judgment since – apparently - I don't really know either of you that well but you do seem like two people who are going to choose to build a life on their own terms. Why would you care if anyone doesn't approve? Is that going to stop you from getting married?"

The couple shared a long glance before they responded in tandem, "No."

"Well, then take that question off the menu. Just my opinion… which you didn't ask for, but I'm giving it in the name of peace and so that you don't worry about me saying or doing anything stupid at your wedding."

"Thank you, Kat," Lauren said.

"Well, you two had better go catch up to those youngsters. That Rudy looks a bit like my mom when I would come home late as a teenager."

Bo and Lauren turned to see Rudy tapping her mukluk, her arms folded, her lips pursed, "Yup. We're definitely doing whatever she wants for the rest of the day."

Bo laughed, "Agreed."

Lauren turned to Kat, "Are you sure you won't join us? Honestly, I wouldn't mind getting to know you better and I think you would have fun with the kids."

Kat looked at Bo who shrugged, "I know this is all new, but maybe it's not a bad idea to spend a little time with the new Bo Dennis."

Kat smiled, "I'll join the rangers and serve as a third."

Bo nodded, "Good. That will probably set Rudy's mind at ease."

"Her mind at ease?" Kat asked as they began to walk towards the waiting group.

"While Rudy has native blood she was born in Hawaii while my mom was on the run from Big Jim."

"On the run?" Kat asked, "I'm sorry. We never discussed your mom, so…"

Bo shook her head, "That's a story for another time. She has only lived here for about ten months but has caught on fast – especially with sledding."

Kat smiled, "It's in the blood."

Bo nodded, "My mom was amazing in her prime… still is. Anyway, Rudy was out on a trail with Molly and Elise behind her in their sled… you know Molly and Mark, right?"

"Yes, Kyle introduced me a while back. Elise is their daughter? I thought they only had a son."

Lauren explained, "Elise was left in my care by her parents – both died in the plague last year. Molly and Mark took her in because single parenting while working round the clock as a doctor was no way to raise a child. Things went very well, so they adopted her," Lauren looked at the youngster and smiled, "She's very happy."

"Wow. Those are two very special little girls," Kat replied.

Bo nodded, "They're like sisters. If they had their way, they would live together in their own house and host our family dinners. They're actually planning our wedding – with a little oversight from the moms."

Lauren chuckled, "So you should expect cake, ice cream, twinkle lights and teeny bopper music. We can't promise you'll be fed real food."

Kat laughed, "I'm sure it will be very special."

Lauren frowned, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"

Shaking her head, Kat reassured the blonde, "Lauren, please don't apologize for being happy with Bo. Really – I'll be okay. Seeing the two of you together – it's quite clear you are the real deal. It's okay."

Kat forced a smile before she turned back to Bo. Sure, it stung, but she would rather have Bo as a friend than nothing at all. She could see in the way she looked at the blonde that she had found a love unlike anything she'd ever known. Bo had never looked at her that way. Besides, Lauren was actually very nice. It pained for her to admit it, but she was also very attractive. She forced her mind back to the topic of the girls,

"So, you had mentioned something about Rudy needing reassurance?"

Bo nodded, "Possibly Elise as well. No one has really mentioned anything to me about how she's feeling although she did talk briefly to Lauren."

Kat sighed, "So what happened?"

"Rudy was the victim of a recent bear attack. It came out of nowhere and caused her to flip her sled. As soon as she saw that it was a brown, she curled up in a ball. It came and tossed her around pretty good before Molly managed to draw its attention and put it down."

"Oh, geez, Bo. She's so young," Kat said, placing a hand on her elbow and holding her back so that the three of them could talk before they reached the group by the hut. Kat turned to face the couple, "You know we'll see a lot of wildlife at this time of year."

Bo nodded, "That's the whole idea. I want her to see wildlife from a distance. Lauren just bought her a camera to take pictures and Elise has binoculars to view them up close. We want the girls to see the animals calm, playing, fishing… living their lives."

Kat nodded, "I get it."

Lauren added, "Elise was on Molly's sled. She witnessed the whole thing, but Molly dropped her off with Rudy before she went after the bear."

Kat shook her head, "I'm so sorry. I'll do what I can. Thanks for the heads up. I'll tell the team. You know we do this type of thing all the time."

Bo nodded, "That's why I brought them here today. Po and Ellie already know."

Kat gave a nod, laughing, "So we're doing the great lesbian Denali tour today?"

Bo smirked, "I hadn't noticed."

The three women laughed, "Of course. Let's go."

The three women walked to the hut where Rudy scolded them for taking too long. She and Elise wanted to take pictures while they had daylight and now they would have, 'like a whole fifteen minutes less time'.

"Well, we'd better get going then. Po and Ellie will lead us and I'll bring up the rear."

Rudy turned to follow the guides, but turned and looked at the third ranger, "Hi. I'm Rudy, Bo's sister. This is my adopted sister, Elise…"

Bo and Lauren turned to each other and smiled, "I've never heard her refer to Elise as her adopted sister, have you?"

Bo shook her head, "They're growing up. I guess they're talking more about their circumstance than we would think to suspect."

Lauren nodded to Elise who was standing proudly, "Our adopted niece seems to like it."

Bo grinned, "And I like that you referred to her as our adopted niece and not just mine."

They turned to Rudy who was shaking Kat's hand and questioning her about her resume. Bo interrupted,

"Hey Roo? We're burning daylight. Kat and I go way back. She's climbed Denali many times. She's knows her way around this park like you know your way around a math problem."

"It depends on what kind of math it is, Sister," She turned to Kat, "So what problem do you struggle with in your job?"

"Rudy!"

"It's okay, Bo," Kat said, taking a knee in front of Rudy, "I struggle with super smart little girls that I have to take on a tour. I'm always afraid they're going to know more about the park than I do."

Rudy smiled and extended a pinky finger, "Challenge accepted!"

The Dennis crew all laughed while Kat looked on, not sure what to do. Elise stepped up,

"You should know that my adopted sister is in special classes like me for super smart kids at school and she has five huge books on Denali. They're not all picture books, either so if you want to make the bet, you hook your pinky finger in hers and shake, then offer what she gets if you lose. Bo owes her first choice of the next two pups in the next litter from her champions, a chance to drive Bo's truck from her lap, a trip to the candy store, three trips to Dr. Faith's greenhouse, a helicopter ride and a trip to Boston."

Kat turned to Bo, "Wow. You're either really bad at bets with your sister or you really don't know when to not take a bet."

"Hey! Stop stalling! Is it a deal or not?" Rudy asked, wagging her finger.

Kat considered the youngster for a long moment before making the pinky bet, "Bo tells me you're from Hawaii originally."

"Sure. What does that have to do with the bet?"

"Have you ever snowboarded?"

Rudy smiled, "No, but I've surfed. Is it sort of like that?"

Kat shrugged, "I've never surfed, so I'll tell you what… if I lose, I give you a snowboarding lesson and if you lose, you give me a surfboard lesson… with your mom's approval, of course."

Bo smiled, "We can take a flight down the west coast until we find suitable water temperature and waves for the surfing and Kat's a regular at the Alyeska Ski Area. Lauren's good with a surfboard and snowboard, so she can supervise. I'll take pictures," she turned to Elise and LJ, "What about you two? Are you guys up for both surfing and snowboarding?"

Elise gave an enthusiastic fist pump, "Yes!"

LJ shrugged, "Depends on my work schedule."

Bo laughed, "That's a yes, then. I'm going to say this one time, LJ – do not allow your life to become all about work."

She wanted to add 'or Penny', but she didn't. She hoped he recalled their conversation from earlier and assumed.

"I guess I'm going to try something new," he smiled.

"Good man," Bo smiled, "Now, let's get this tour on the road! We're burning daylight!"

Rudy turned to follow Elise who was right behind Po and Ellie, but stopped, running back to Kat,

"Do you have bear mace with you?"

Kat turned, showing her the can that was on the back side of her belt, "Yes. I've got my sidearm and my bear bells as well. Ellie and Po have both of those too."

"And do you know what to do if a bear attacks us?" Rudy asked, her eyes welling up with tears.

Again, Kat knelt in front of the little girl, "Rudy, most animals in the wild have zero interest in humans. As a matter of fact…" she pulled the bells out of her pocket, lifted Rudy's foot and wrapped them around her ankle, "They'd prefer we let them know we're coming so that they can get out of our way if we don't see them. If we do see them, we give them plenty of room so we don't bother them. It would be rude if you walked into a stranger's house without knocking and getting their permission, right?"

Rudy nodded.

"Well, think of any land where wildlife is, their home."

"And they won't attack us?"

Kat shook her head, "It's highly unlikely, but if they do, it's likely because we surprised them, and they became afraid. Humans aren't usually too kind to wild animals, so they've learned to fear us."

Elise nodded, "People shoot them. My mom shot the bear that attacked Rudy."

Kat offered a frown, "It's unfortunate, but Molly must not have had a choice in order to keep the two of you safe. For every bear that attacks, there are hundreds that never will. You'll see."

"We're gonna see bears?" Rudy asked, looking at Bo.

Kat shrugged, "Maybe. Maybe not. We'll definitely see a Moose family. We think the mom is pregnant, so maybe you can come back in the spring to see the baby being born."

"That would be so cool!" Elise smiled, "You could get really good pictures, Roo!"

Rudy smiled, "Of a baby!"

Kat nodded, "We'll see small animals like rabbits and beavers, we'll see caribou and Dall's sheep, too. How does that sound?"

"Cool!" Rudy smiled.

"Okay then. Are we ready to go?" Kat asked.

Rudy nodded, "Sure."

Kat was surprised when Rudy took her hand and started walking, Elise took her other hand. LJ settled in with Po and Ellie while Bo and Lauren followed,

"Well, that's a surprise," Bo said.

Lauren shrugged, "Not at all. Kat just offered her the reassurance she needed… plus she has the bear spray and the sidearm. The girls just selected their personal protection detail for the trip."

Bo nodded, smiling, "Do you feel safe with me?"

Lauren laughed, "Don't worry, sweetie. I'll save you."

The pair laughed as they followed the group down the trail. Lauren felt lighter having met a different version of Kat and Bo felt optimistic about Rudy's recovery for the first time in days. It was a good day and it looked like things were finally coming together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Anchorage, Dr. Gray's Home Office

Rudy bounded through the office door, dragging Elise by the hand. She rang the bell once,

"Hope? Dr. Faith? Kip?"

When no one responded, she rang the bell again, "Hope?"

"Hey there, Rudy!" Hope said, coming down the hallway to the door, "It's so good to see you!"

The youngster ran to Hope and wrapped her arms around her friend's waist, "Did Bo tell you I was coming?"

Hope looked around, "Yes, but she didn't tell me you were coming with only a friend. How did you get here?"

Rudy smiled, "In Sister's plane. She's talking to the mechanic guy about what to do with the plane while we're here, so we ran down instead of waiting around and listening to more boring adult talk."

Hope laughed, "I totally understand. So, who's this?"

"This is my adopted sister, Elise! Elise, this is Hope. She's Dr. Faith's niece!" Rudy said, watching as Elise shook Hope's hand and said hello.

"Well, hello there, Child! I'm so happy you've come to visit!" Faith said as she entered the room.

Rudy ran to Faith stopping short to be careful with the older woman before throwing her arms around her,

"I missed you, Doctor Faith! How are you?"

Holding tight to the youngster, Faith smiled, "I missed you as well, young Rudy. Who's this?"

Rudy smiled, "This is my adopted sister Elise! I told you about her, remember?"

Faith grinned at Elise, "It is so very nice to meet you. Rudy has told me a lot about you and Mary tells me you two are the very best of friends."

Elise smiled, taking Faith's hand, "We're more like sisters, so we've decided that's what we are."

Faith glanced up as Bo, Lauren and LJ entered the foyer, then turned back to the youngsters,

"Well, since Bo is Rudy's sister and Elise has been adopted by Bo's nephew and his wife, that would actually make you Elise's great aunt."

Rudy and Elise scrunched up their faces and looked at each other before turning back to Faith, "Great aunt?"

Faith laughed, "Yes."

"That's just weird. We'll stick with sisters," Elise said while Rudy nodded her agreement, "Can we go out to the greenhouse? I told Elise all about it and she's dying to see it!"

Faith smiled, "Well, since the adults have arrived, I don't see why not."

The pair turned to see Lauren, Bo and LJ standing behind then, "Come on you guys, let's go!"

The two raced off, while Lauren and Bo introduced LJ to Faith and Hope. After the formalities were complete, Lauren and LJ set off to find the girls leaving Bo with the opportunity to fill Faith in on Rudy's incident. The doctor decided she would talk to the two of them together in the growing room of the greenhouse. There were trees that needed care and that was always good talking work.

Bo and Faith eventually followed, finding the group in the large greenhouse where Rudy was running from section to section, showing Elise everything there was to see from the bridge over the small stream to the tallest tree in the building. She told the story of how Faith and her husband planted it as a sapling and how the older woman was now all alone.

Rudy turned to Bo and Faith, "Is there any fruit on the trees?"

Faith smiled, "We have dwarf apples and cherries."

"Dr. Faith, may I take Elise to the fruit trees for a taste?"

The doctor nodded, "Yes, but don't eat too much. You'll spoil your dinner."

"Yes, Ma'am," they said in unison before running off to pick some fruit.

Bo smiled, "She has been nagging me to come to see you and the greenhouses for two weeks."

"It does my heart good to know that she enjoys being here," Faith said.

Bo nodded, "I love that she is so interested in planting and growing. My mom has big plans for spring now that they're settled in."

Faith smiled, "I'm aware. Your mom is excited to share gardening with Rudy as she did with you. She's not sure she will be as focused as you were, but she feels certain that she'll spend at least an hour out there a few times a week."

Bo smiled, "It's a daily task, but one that my mom will enjoy whether she has help or not."

"Yes, she has stated that in our conversations."

Bo took a final bite, "I love these apples. It's too bad they're gone in three bites."

Faith smiled, "Incentive to take care of the trees."

Rudy and Elise came running back, holding their shirts up in front of them, "We brought them back to share with you!"

Faith and Bo looked down to see a small pile of cherries in each shirt. They each took one, "Thank you very much for sharing, girls," Faith said, "Is this all you had?"

Lauren laughed as she and LJ approached from behind, "Those, a dwarf apple each and a sweet pepper."

They shared all the cherries before Rudy stood and lifted her shirt, sticking out her belly, "Look at all the apples and cherries and sweet peppers in there!"

Everyone laughed and laughed harder when Elise did the same to compare who ate more. They headed to the pruning room, the two younger girls going with Faith to the small trees and Bo, Lauren and LJ tending to the trees that were being packed for transport to one of numerous planting areas.

Bo was hesitant to leave them, but when Faith turned the girls around and walked them to the far end of the room, she got the hint. She sighed, turning, and heading to the adjoining room, looking back several times before closing the door behind her,

"Release control, Bo," she whispered to herself.

Faith walked to the shelf and pulled down one plant, then another and then another. She had each child choose one and then sat with the remaining plant at the head of the table,

"Now, what is the most populous tree in Alaska?" Faith asked.

"Popular?" Elise asked.

Faith smiled, "Populous – in other words, which tree is most common. Which one do we have the most of."

"Alaska Yellow Cedar!" Rudy shouted, but Elise countered with, "Balsam Poplar!"

Rudy added, scratching her head, her voice lower, "But there's a lot of black spruce, mountain hemlocks and paper birches, too."

"And quaking aspen, red alder and scouler willows… and don't forget shore pines," Elise added, cocking her head towards Rudy who smiled,

"Then the Sitka spruce, tamarack, western hemlocks and western cedars."

Elise had been counting on her fingers, "We missed one, Roo."

"Um…" she said, going back over the ones they had said already, "Black, red and white are the color trees."

Elise smiled, "White spruce!"

"That's it!" Rudy smiled, high fiving her friend.

Faith smiled, "Excellent! Now, which of those do we have in front of us?"

The pair analyzed the trees before Elise asked, "Are they shore pines?"

Faith nodded, "Excellent, Elise. Now, why are they so important?"

Rudy smiled, "Because they protect coastal whatchamacallits… uh… wetlands!"

"That's a portion of the answer. Can you elaborate?"

"What's… e-labate?" Elise asked.

"Elaborate means to explain further," Faith said with a smile.

"Oh. We sure do learn a lot of vocabulary words with you, Dr. Faith," Elise said, turning back to her tree.

"The southeast of Alaska is like our rainforest…"

Rudy laughed, "More like snow forest!"

Faith smiled, "And like most rainforests, there are many very important plants and trees that live there. The shore pines are supposed to protect the plants so without them, the plants die and so does our rainforest. It's not as big as the Amazon, but it's still important to clean air here."

"Aunt Mary gets a lot of her native medicines there, too," Elise smiled.

Faith nodded, "As do I, so you are correct."

"Cool," Rudy asked, staring at her plant for a long while before she asked, "Which animal are there the most of?"

"I think you know the answer to that question," Faith replied, putting shears, wire and floral tape on the table.

Rudy shrugged, "All I can see right now are bears. I see them in my sleep."

"You see one in your sleep," Elise replied.

"Well, the most common animal is the moose, then caribou, then grizzly bears, then dall sheep and finally the gray wolf. There's others, but those are the most common," Faith paused, "Which one do you see in your sleep?"

Rudy looked at Elise, her eyes watering. Elise got off of her chair, walked around the table and hugged her friend before she whispered to her, "You should talk to Dr. Faith."

Rudy nodded and as her friend turned to walk away, she grabbed her arm, "You should talk to her to."

Elise sighed, "I'll talk to her after you talk to her."

Rudy shook her head, "I think this is one of those things we have to do together. I don't think I'll be able to talk…"

The words got stuck in her throat as tears started to fall. Faith moved the seat next to Elise between the other two, forming a triangle between the three seats. She nodded to the young friend to take the empty chair. Once Elise was settled, she took Rudy's hand,

"Do you want me to start, Roo?"

Rudy nodded, turning to Faith. She tried to speak, but the tears just fell harder,

"Child, let your friend speak on your behalf if she knows what's in your heart. I can see you are deeply saddened or afraid by whatever it is you feel you need to speak to me about. It's okay. Let's just take this one step at a time," She smiled, "Now, let's take a breath… both of you. In and hold it… now relax and release your breath. Again… breathe in deeply and hold… relax and release. Keep breathing deeply and think calm thoughts as you release your breath."

She watched as the two friends stared at each other, holding hands while they performed the relaxation exercise. To Faith's surprise, Elise took control, her presence calming young Rudy. Once she sensed that they were both relaxed, she turned to Faith,

"I think we're good now, Dr. Faith."

Faith smiled, "Thank you, Elise. You two really are just like sisters."

Rudy nodded, "One of my friends at school says that she and her sisters fight all the time, but when I was a kid, I always imagined having a sister who would be my best friend."

Faith grinned, "Then I suppose your dream came true twice! You have both Bo and Elise."

Elise smiled, "And soon, we'll get Lauren when she marries Bo."

"Yes, you will, child," Faith replied with a smile, "So, what do you have to tell me, Elise?"

Elise looked at Rudy, giving her hands a squeeze, "Molly and I were on one sled – she was driving – and Rudy was on her sled in front of us. My sled got busted and Molly had a bunch of stuff to take to The Homestead."

"Oh dear. Your sled is out of commission. How tragic."

Elise smiled, "It's okay. Rudy and I are rebuilding it. She's amazing at building sleds and I make a good assistant."

Rudy spoke up, "She's actually really good with the designs. It's her thing."

Elise grinned, "Thanks, Roo."

"It's true," Rudy said with a shrug, lowering her eyes again.

"Anyway, my sled got busted when I was racing Johnny Steed. He forced me off the trail and when my dogs swerved to avoid a tree, my sled skidded into a big boulder. I jumped off and rolled like Bo taught us. My dogs took off, but thankfully, Rudy was on her sled watching and managed to run them down. Molly and Mark would have been so mad if I'd lost my team."

Faith shook her head, "I think they would have been, first and foremost, grateful that you were okay."

Elise shrugged, "I guess."

Rudy patted her hand, "Dr. Faith is right. Everybody knew it was Johnny's fault. He cheated."

Elise nodded, "Anyway, I was riding with Molly when we noticed Rudy swerve, then we saw the bear… a huge brown bear… a grizzly, I think."

Faith considered Rudy's body language and the look on her face before turning back to Elise who continued,

"Rudy went flying… I mean, I literally thought she could fly until the bear hit her in mid-air and pushed her to the ground. She hit really hard… I thought… I… I was so… afraid…"

Faith turned to Elise as tears flooded her eyes, "Take your time, Child."

Elise nodded, trying to catch her breath, but Rudy boldly spoke up,

"I started to get up, but everything hurt. When I saw the color of the fur on his foot, I recited the poem my mom taught me… If it's brown, lay down… so I curled into a ball and just laid there, trying not to let him hear me crying. I felt his claw hit my arm, then my back. It rolled me over and I couldn't tell where it was. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. I thought I was going to die. I thought that over and over again. I thought about my mom and how sad she was going to be. I thought about Bo and how angry she would be… how she would blame herself that she wasn't there to save me… that she might run away and never come back again. My mom would be all alone again. She didn't do well without Bo."

She looked up at Faith, "She thinks I don't know about my father, but… well, I snooped and I know that when she was alone, she missed Sister like someone had cut a hole in her heart. She sent Aunt Tamsin to look for her because she was afraid the bad men would kill her. She drank a lot. She drank until Aunt Tamsin told her she wouldn't work her case anymore unless she stopped drinking."

Rudy's eyes welled with tears again, so Elise continued, "Aunt Mary went out with a man who used to work in one of her bars. He started adding water to her drinks a little bit at a time. The more Aunt Mary liked him, the more she stopped going to the other bars. Rudy read that she loved him a lot, and they made Rudy together so he would probably want to get married but Aunt Mary wasn't divorced and her old husband was a bad man."

Rudy shook her head, "Well, she wasn't really married too him since you can't marry two people, but she didn't know that yet."

Faith nodded, "That's a lot to take in."

"Tell me about it," Rudy said, rolling her eyes.

Faith turned to Rudy, "So, you're on the ground curled up in a ball and the bear is batting you around. What happened next?"

Rudy shrugged, "He stopped and ran away."

Elise stepped back in, "Molly fired a shot, told me to get on Rudy's sled, pick her up and drive her home. The bear was distracted by the shot but didn't run away. Instead, it ran after Molly," Elise lowered her eyes, "She had to kill it."

Faith looked at Rudy to see that her head was lowered as well, "So the two of you are upset because Molly had to kill the bear that attacked Rudy?"

Elise shrugged, "We were sad about that, but… well, I haven't said this to Rudy…"

Rudy looked up at the sound of her name, "You kept a secret?"

Elise slowly made eye contact with her friend, "You were so scared, and I didn't know what to do to make you feel better, so I just tried not to make you feel worse. I tried to make you laugh as much as I could, but you weren't laughing at anything."

Faith sighed. The two friends would do anything to protect each other – even hold the burden of fear and grief on their own young shoulders,

"Child, tell Rudy what you have been feeling."

Elise looked at Faith, then Rudy. She hesitated, unsure of what to say, "I… I don't know… I mean, I was… I saw…"

She turned back to Faith, "You didn't see. You didn't see! It was standing over her and it was growling so hard that her hair blew back. She had her ears covered. His claws cut right through her coat and I wasn't sure if it was cutting through the fur skin or not. Then there was blood in the snow and she stopped moving. I thought… I thought my friend was dead. I thought she was dead!"

Elise jumped off the stool and ran from the room. Faith and Rudy both called to her, but she kept going. Rudy, Bo and LJ ran into the room to see Rudy crying in Faith's arms,

"Where's Elise?" Lauren demanded.

"She ran out of the greenhouse – that door," Faith said, nodding to the south exit.

Lauren looked at Bo who released her arm, "Go. I'll stay here with Rudy," she turned to LJ, "Can you call and get Molly and Mary on the five o'clock train here? Hope can help you. We can all fly back together."

LJ nodded, heading off to find Hope while Bo walked to Rudy,

"Hey, Roo."

Rudy released Faith, looking up, "I was selfish, Sister."

Bo shook her head, "Of course not, Rudy. You don't have a selfish bone in your body."

Rudy shook her head, "I didn't do it on purpose. I just wasn't paying attention. She's my adopted Sister. I should have been paying attention."

Bo looked at Faith who sighed, her eyes encouraging Bo to find the words to reassure her sister this was not her fault. Bo turned back to Rudy, sitting in the chair that Elise had vacated,

"Roo, you could not have avoided the bear. You could not have controlled the bear. You could not have prevented Elise from seeing what she saw. She has been working with the vets at the Kennel and the doctors at the clinic for months," Bo smiled, "I think a little of that doctoring instinct has rubbed off. She was treating you like a patient while forgetting to take care of herself."

She took Rudy's hand, "Roo, it's Molly and Mark's job to take care of Elise. Her guidance counselor at school, her teachers, me and Lauren… Elise is not alone, and neither are you."

"But no one noticed her. Everyone was more worried about me. It's not fair."

Bo shook her head, "We don't know that Elise didn't talk to Molly, Mark or someone else. You can't blame yourself, kiddo. But you can be grateful that you have such an incredible friend."

"Adopted sister," Rudy corrected.

Bo nodded, "Of course. She looks out for you when you can't look out for yourself. If Elise had been the one the bear attacked, wouldn't you have been looking out for her?"

"Yes."

"Well, she's just doing what you would have done."

Rudy shook her head, "That stupid bear ruined everything!"

Bo smiled, "Ruined? No. Gave you and Elise a life lesson? Yes, most definitely. The problem right now is that both of you are stuck in that lesson rather than learning from it and moving on with your lives."

Rudy shrugged, "I guess we're pretty stupid, huh?"

Bo shook her head, "Hey, we don't use that word, remember?"

"Sorry."

Bo sighed, pulling Rudy into her chest, "I'm the one that's sorry, Roo. I wish you didn't have to go through this."

Rudy sighed, "Well, I was going to have my first bear meeting… what was that new word we learned?"

"Inevitable?" Bo asked.

"Yea, that," Rudy said, lowering her eyes.

Bo smiled, "This is Alaska, so I suppose that's true. I just would have preferred it was much, much later… and that the bear had run instead of treating you like its new toy."

"That's what I was?"

Bo shrugged, "I'm not a bear, so I don't know."

"But you've lived with animals your whole life. People say you can talk to them."

Bo chuckled, "I'm not Dr. Doolittle from your movie, Roo. I have an instinct about what they want and don't want, that's all."

"What would you have done, Sister?"

Rudy crawled onto her lap, sitting sideways. She stared at her sister's profile, leaning around to see her eyes. Bo laughed when the little one made a funny face,

"I wish that bear had taken the time to see how adorable you are."

"No way! He might have wanted to adopt me! Then he would have carried me away to live in his cave with him and you might never have found me."

Bo smiled, "So you see? The attack was a good thing."

Rudy twisted her mouth and rolled her eyes at Bo, "Not helping."

Bo looked to Faith who smiled, "I'm curious to know what you would have done as well."

"See?" Rudy smiled.

"Well, based on the details I've been given from Molly and mom, there's several possibilities. First, when I drive a sled, I'm always using all of my senses to be fully aware of my surroundings. It's not just about direction, conditions, dogs and speed, it's about this feeling…"

She shook her head, "It's hard to explain but it's something that has grown in me over the years."

"Do I have that?" Rudy asked.

Bo smiled, "You're learning, Roo but that's why mom is hesitant for you to go out on your own. That day will come, but remember, you were raised in a place where there are no big animals that can kill you."

"You're not serious, Sister, are you?" Rudy asked.

Bo looked surprised, "I thought I was."

Rudy laughed, "You've never heard of Kohola?"

Bo looked at Faith who shrugged, "We're native Alaskans, Child. You'll have to help us out with your language."

"Oh. Right. Well, Kohola is what we say for the humpback whale and the reef where it lives," she reached into Bo's pocket and pulled up her phone.

Faith and Bo waited patiently as the child typed feverishly, finally turning the phone sideways and showing the two women,

"That's a humpback whale…" she said, then showed another picture, "… and that's 'ālaluka en… or an orca."

The pair nodded their understanding, Bo speaking first, "I didn't realize you had whales near your home. We have those here as well."

Rudy smiled, "Duh. Sister, I lived on the ocean! They're not mean but it would be a bad idea to run into them on my surfboard."

Faith chuckled, "I can see where that might be a problem."

"Definitely. I had to worry more about sharks. There's all kinds and if I fell off of my board before reaching shore… well, to them and to Orcas, I just look like a seal or some other nice meal because I'm small."

"Oh gosh," Bo said, the thought just occurring to her that her little sister may have been raised in a different part of the country, but she still had predators to deal with.

"Of course, there's a bunch of other fish that can hurt you in the water. Some have shells and some have stingers, but the guys taught me everything I needed to know to stay safe. Most of the time, my wet suit would keep me pretty safe. I did get stung by jellies sometimes, but it's not too bad. You just pee on the burn and it's all better… mostly."

"Pee?" Bo asked.

"Uh huh."

Bo and Faith were looking at each other, both beginning to get an idea of how they could use the information about Rudy's past to help her now. They turned back to Rudy who held up her camera again,

"So, there's all of these snakes and spiders…. I mean, most are just going to make you feel really, really bad for a day or so. Not many people would actually die from their bites."

She sighed, raising her eyebrows as she continued, "Of course, the red velvet ant is also known as the cow killer because… well, it can kill a cow with one bite. The ones with wings aren't as bad as the ones without wings… so I've heard. I've never been stung by one of those but I was fishing with the guys one time and there were all of these snakes on the surface of the water. They pulled up to them and used a gaff to pull one out to show me the yellow belly. That's when I learned all about the yellow-bellied sea snake. They're nasty."

"Oh? How so?" Bo asked.

"Well, they're super rare but they float in groups of like thousands, so if a fish comes up thinking they're food, they get stung over and over. Then, the snakes just eat 'em," she made a sour face, "If I saw a big yellow pile of stuff on the surface while I was snorkeling, there is no way I would swim up through. Can you imagine being eaten alive by a thousand snakes because you were too paralyzed to move?"

Bo's mouth dropped, "Oh horff!"

"Seriously!" Rudy laughed, "Did you know on the island we have a plant that can kill?"

"A plant?" Faith asked.

Rudy typed into the phone and showed the picture to Faith, "This is the angel's trumpet. Momma said it's named after angels because if you touch it, they'll come and get you. It's also called the trumpet of death."

"Well, stay away from that one," Bo said.

Rudy shook her head, "Too late. I already got sick from it."

"Really?" The pair asked in tandem.

Rudy shrugged, "Momma found some growing near our garden, so she put on her gloves and clothes that covered all of her skin and went out to pull it before I could get into it. I was really young – like six or seven..."

Faith and Bo chuckled at Rudy's concept of really young as the child continued,

"The doctor thinks that when my mom took off her clothes, she must have touched the poison with her bare skin and then touched our lettuce or tomatoes before she washed her hands and the salad stuff. We both got really, really sick. Turns out it was food poisoning from the plant."

Faith shook her head, "As is the case with many Alaskans each year with our toxic plants."

Rudy nodded, "Mom and Bo already started teaching me about those on our walks back in the summer," at that point, Rudy noticed that her sister was staring at the floor. She jumped down and stood between Bo's knees,

"Sister? Are you okay?"

Bo's eyes moved to Rudy's, "I'm fine, Roo. I just… I can't imagine knowing all there is to know about wildlife and plant life in Hawaii."

Rudy shrugged, "I've been living and learning that stuff my whole entire life. I don't really think about it most of the time. As long as you're not sleep walking, you see what you need to see to stay safe."

"And in the water where there's killer whales, sharks and jellyfish?" Bo asked, her eyes drifting to Faith's.

Again, Rudy shrugged, "I'm more worried about the poisonous snails that wash up on the beach. Step on one of those suckers and you'll have a really bad day. Really bad."

Bo smiled, "I take it they bite too?"

"They sting and their venom is nasty."

Bo shook her head, "How do you avoid stepping on them?"

"Don't know. I just watch where I'm going, I guess."

Faith smiled, "It sounds to me like you've developed an instinct for survival in Hawaii."

Rudy nodded, "I guess so."

"And do you see how that instinct might translate to your life here in Alaska?" Faith pressed.

Rudy looked at the doctor for a long while, leaving the doctor unsure if she had fully understood the question. Finally, her gaze moved to her sister,

"Would you be afraid in Hawaii?"

Bo laughed, "Honestly, after what you just told me, I'm not sure I'd go rushing into the water to learn how to surf. I mean, killer whales and killer sharks and killer snails on the beach… sounds like a scary place. I'm pretty sure I'd be glued to you or mom the entire time."

Rudy giggled, "You rarely see any of them, Sister. I was just answering your question. Just because they exist doesn't mean you see them all the time. Usually, if you don't bother them, they won't bother you."

"And the plants?" Bo asked.

Rudy shrugged, "I'll show you what they look like and then you just avoid touching them, but there aren't any at our house anymore."

Bo looked at Faith, then back to Rudy, "Does mom still own the house in Hawaii?"

Rudy nodded, "When we left, we weren't sure you would want us to stay, so she rented it to one of the guys so it would be taken care of until we came home."

"And do you want to go back there?" Bo asked, her throat tightening at the thought.

Rudy shrugged, "I'd like to go visit and see my surfing friends. I do miss my island and my house. I mean, it's where I was born. It's where I lived and… well, since we promised to always tell each other the truth, I do miss surfing. I love sledding, but… well, you would understand if you learned to surf."

Bo smiled, "I've watched Lauren surf. She smiles like you do when you're on a sled."

"You've never seen me smile on a surfboard! That's my biggest smile yet!"

"You like surfing better than sledding?" Bo asked.

Rudy shrugged, "No bears."

Bo shrugged in reply, "No sharks, orca's or things that sting you to death."

"I guess we both grew up around animals we could have been afraid of," Rudy realized.

"But when those animals were in our own backyard, we learned not to be afraid," Bo challenged.

Rudy nodded, "Yea, cause the ones in your backyard are way scarier."

Bo shook her head, "You see, to me, they seem pretty tame compared to yours. I mean, an orca could swallow me whole. A shark would rip me apart one arm at a time. I've survived five bear attacks in my lifetime. Mind you, most people will never be closer than fifty yards to any bear they see and most of the time bears will never attack. I'm always more wary of a moose than a bear – especially during their mating seasons."

"Agree to disagree."

Bo and Faith shared a glance before Bo turned back to Rudy, "Where did you hear that phrase?"

Rudy shrugged, "Molly and Mark. They were arguing over new rain gear products from two different companies and they couldn't agree. Elise told them to stop arguing, so they said agree to disagree."

"But what did they do to solve the argument?" Bo asked.

"They ordered some of each," Rudy said.

Bo chuckled, "Got it. Well, we can agree to disagree about whose home state is scarier but unless you and mom are moving back home, you're going to have to realize that the animals here can be dealt with just like the animals in Hawaii. It's all about confidence in your ability to identify situations where you may encounter an animal of concern and being prepared to act. If you can do it with the animals in Hawaii, you can do it with animals in Alaska, too."

The two adults watched as Rudy processed Bo's words before saying, "I never really think about the animals in Hawaii… I mean, until I see them."

"And when do you see them? When they're about to bite or sting you?"

"Oh no. I see them long before that. I go around them."

Bo shrugged, "So you have to do the same thing here."

"But the bear attacked me!"

"Think about it, Rudy. Did he actually charge you or was the team running into his space?"

Bo watched as her sister replayed the events of her past over again. She hated to make her do it, but it was the only way she was finally going to move past it.

"It ran across our path," Rudy said, "The dogs started to bark and… I guess I didn't slow them down. I mean… I just froze and they turned away which threw me off balance and towards the bear."

Bo looked to Faith who asked, "Child, go back in your mind to a time before you encountered the bear. Tell us when you first caught sight of it."

"I didn't see it coming."

Faith nodded, "I understand you believe you didn't see it coming, but I'd like you to go back and think about it anyway."

Rudy closed her eyes and did as asked while Bo and Faith waited patiently. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and looked between the two women,

"It came from between two trees near the stream. It was there. I remember it. So… how did it surprise me?"

Faith smiled, "Close your eyes again, Child."

Rudy did as asked and Faith asked, "Are you aware that I wear a bracelet of many colors on my left wrist?"

"Yes. I've seen it."

"Okay. Now, tell me the order of the colors from my thumb to my pinky finger."

"Um… red, light blue, black… white… I'm not sure of the order but there's a brown one and a yellow one too. Maybe there's green and purple?"

Bo and Faith laughed as Bo said, "You just listed all of the colors in a box of crayons."

Rudy sighed, "I can't remember."

"Open your eyes, Child."

"Can I see?"

"Yes, but first I want you to realize that you've seen my bracelet every time we've visited together and our visits are long. How could you not know the colors?"

Rudy shrugged, "I dunno."

Faith nodded, "That's because there's a difference between seeing and being aware of something."

The doctor held out her wrist and allowed Rudy to gaze at its design. Rudy ran a finger over each bead,

"Black, brown, orange, red, orange, yellow, brown, black," she looked up, "What does it mean?"

Faith smiled, "Hope made it for me when she was about your age. She said it was the sun rising and setting. I wear it to remind me to live each day from sunrise to sunset no matter how much daylight my home provides."

"Neat," Rudy smiled, closing her eyes, "Black, brown, orange, red, orange, yellow, brown and black," she opened her eyes, "Now I'm aware!"

Faith nodded, "That's what you need to do on your sled. Don't just see, but instead, become a part of what is around you. Be part of our world, Child. Be present when you are out in nature. If you are present and respectful of the daily lives of our animals, they will give you the same in return."

Rudy nodded, "I think I understand," she turned to Bo, "Kat kinda said the same thing, right?"

Bo smiled, "She did."

"You're going to be fine, Child. It's just going to take time for you to learn Alaska as well as you learned Hawaii. Remember, you had just about ten years to learn everything there. You've been here less than a year. Be patient and kind to yourself, my young friend."

Rudy gave Faith a hug, then turned and gave Bo a hug too, "I still want to take you surfing."

Bo smiled, "I can't wait."

Rudy looked at the exit, "Should I go find Elise?"

Bo shook her head, "I'll tell you what. You stay here and get started on the trees with Doctor Faith. I'll go look for Elise, LJ and Lauren. Okay?"

"Okay. Tell her I love her?"

Bo smiled, "I'll do that, Roo."

She kissed Rudy on the head, winked at Faith and headed for the door. She felt a pang of guilt as she began her search. She should have known Elise was suffering. She should have noticed that Elise didn't seem to want to drive a sled of her own lately.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in Greenhouse Five

Elise rushed into the shelter and found herself in a grove of orange trees. She sat, curled up, knees close to her chest on the grass in a space between three trunks. The sound of her cries led Lauren straight to her with LJ close behind.

Lauren walked slowly to the child, moving to a tree across from where Elise sat, head in knees,

"Mind if I join you?"

Elise looked up, her tear-stained, red cheeks breaking Lauren's heart. She hiccupped several breaths before nodding, so Lauren took a seat, leaning against the trunk of the tree. LJ leaned on the rail of the nearby bridge and waited for the doctor to start the discussion. Elise had spoken to him about the incident at bedtime several nights. He had made her promise to talk to his aunt and uncle about how she was feeling and while he was sure she did, he now thought she might have held back from them.

"Having a rough time, huh?" Lauren began.

"I feel so stupid."

"Hey. We don't use that word, right?"

"Sorry," Elise replied, "I feel… I feel like I shouldn't feel this way. The bear didn't even attack me."

Lauren nodded, "But you're worried now that one might?"

Elise shrugged, "I guess but… well… I can't stop seeing the bear hurting Rudy. It was hurting her and I just stood there watching. I didn't do anything to help her."

Lauren shook her head, "You dragged Rudy onto the sled and drove her home, Elise. She needed her wounds tended to and you got her to Mary so that she could get the care she needed."

LJ added, "Molly never would have let you get near the bear, Elise. Remember, you were on her sled until she lured the bear away."

"Still, I can't stop hearing her scream. I can't stop seeing the blood. I can't stop seeing her flying through the air and the bear slamming her into the ground. She didn't even look like a real human. He treated her like she was one of my stuffed animals."

Lauren sighed, "Come here, Bug."

Elise crawled over to Lauren and sat on her lap, laying her head on her chest. Lauren's eyes filled with tears as the child wept. She looked up at LJ who wiped his right eye, then his left, shaking his head. Realizing the young man who had become like a brother to Elise was not going to be able to help right now, she took a deep breath and pulled from her own past,

"Do you remember how I told you that I was in the Marines?"

Elise nodded, speaking into Lauren's chest, "They paid for your medical school and so you had to pay them back. You were in the First Baton, Fifth Marines unit…"

"Battalion," Lauren corrected.

"Right. You learned about how to take care of their dogs and you also took care of the soldiers."

She looked up at Lauren, "Oorah."

Lauren chuckled, "Oorah."

"I still don't understand what that means."

Lauren smiled and explained, "Well, it depends on who you ask, but in today's terms, it's basically 'let's go do our job'. But originally, it came from the marine reconnaissance missions. In a submarine, the command to 'dive, dive' would have the boat go deep underwater so it would be more difficult to find. When that command was given, the alarm that sounded went 'Aarugha'. Eventually, it was shortened to 'oorah'.

"Oh. Seems weird."

Lauren smiled, "It's a marine thing. It's kind of like saying 'hike' to a dogsled team. In other states, 'hike' is a football term or a 'walking through the woods' term. They would never say 'hike' to mean 'go'."

Elise nodded, "That's kind of interesting."

"Well, you love social studies, so of course it's interesting," Lauren grinned.

"Did you see a bear in the Marines?"

Lauren shook her head, "No, but I did see a very good friend of mine get into trouble like you did."

"Did they live?"

Lauren smiled, "He did, but he was hurt very badly."

"What happened?"

Lauren offered a weak smile and began, "We were relocating to a new base, so we were driving in a convoy."

"What's a convoy?"

"It's a long line of trucks and other heavy machines. My friend was riding in the truck in front of us when our convoy was attacked. A bomb struck the ground beneath the truck and when it exploded, it flipped the truck up in the air and it landed upside down, then it caught on fire. All of the vehicles in the convoy scattered, trying to avoid getting hit. Then they all came to a stop and our soldiers started firing back until we were finally clear…"

Lauren was struggling to keep the gruesome images of the wounded and dead from her mind,

"We ran back to check for survivors, but before I could get to my friends' truck, I had to go take care of other soldiers. When we got to our new base, I was directed to a surgical tent where I started working on saving the lives of whoever was put on my table. I kept hoping my friend would show up on my table, but he never did."

"So where was he?"

Lauren smiled, "I didn't find out until morning that he had been sent to Germany on a transport because his injuries were too severe to be handled in a tent. It took a week to find out where he was and it was over a year until I was able to visit him. For a long time, it felt like I would never forget seeing his truck getting blown up like that. I could hear myself screaming to the driver to go back, but in my mind, it was like he didn't even hear me. Everything just felt like it was moving in slow motion."

Elise nodded, "Every time I see Rudy and the bear, it seems like the bear gets bigger and there's more and more blood."

Lauren smiled, "We tend to do that with memories that scare or worry us. Of course, we can also choose to do the opposite."

"Make the memories smaller?"

Lauren nodded, "You know how you can make a flashlight beam really wide or adjust the rim to focus the light and make it like a pinpoint?"

Elise nodded.

"Well, you can do the same thing with your memories. Instead of focusing on what happened to Rudy, focus on the bear."

"He was really mean and really growling loud."

"Are you sure?"

"You weren't there! You didn't see!"

Lauren took both of Elise's hands and smiled, "Hey. I'm not saying you're lying, Bug. I'm asking you to put yourself in the bears shoes."

"Bears don't wear shoes."

"Okay," Lauren said, rolling her eyes, "Pretend you're the bear and a big group of dogs is running towards you, barking like crazy. How do you feel?"

Elise smiled, "I know exactly how they feel. While you guys were gone, I was helping LJ at the kennels and Mr. Matson's center line snapped on his sled. The dogs ran straight into the road that leads to the barn where I was coming out. He was yelling at me to stop them, but all I saw was me getting run over by a bunch of dogs. Kyle pulled me out of the way and LJ jumped in to stop them. I never knew how fast a team is until I was in front of them. It looks a lot different when you're behind them. When they pop out in front of you like that, it's super scary."

Lauren nodded her agreement, "I've had that view as well and I whole-heartedly agree."

"So, Rudy scared the bear?"

Lauren nodded, "That's what Bo thinks," she looked up at LJ, "And I think that LJ agrees."

Elise looked up, seeing LJ in the area for the first time. He smiled, "Do you remember when we talked about the things that bears like to do?"

"Sure. They like to eat, drink, play, sleep and watch over their cubs if they have any," Elise replied.

LJ nodded, "So if I'm a bear and I'm doing any of those things and suddenly find myself being 'attacked' by dogs, what do you think I'll do?"

"Freak out?"

LJ smiled, "I certainly would."

Lauren agreed, "Me too. But humans don't have really long claws and big teeth."

LJ nodded, "And we don't weigh a ton or stand ten feet tall either."

Elise sat up straight, "I get it! If we freak out, we scream and run, but bears are bigger so they don't have to."

Lauren shook her head, "But you already said the bear was running and growling, so he really did exactly what a human would do."

"Really?"

LJ nodded, "He just screams differently than we do because his voice box is different."

"So, if Rudy had stopped her sled, he wouldn't have attacked her?"

LJ shook his head, "I don't think so. I've sat and watched bear families play from a distance many, many times. They've never bothered me at all. The only one I draw my weapon on is a polar bear, but if I'm far enough away, I can usually outrun them with a full team. They can't sprint for a long time."

Lauren smiled, "LJ had to draw his weapon on a polar bear when I first arrived. He picked me up at the airport on his sled and our paths crossed on the way back while we were still out in the open tundra."

"Whoa. What happened?"

Lauren laughed, "Honestly, I may have peed myself a bit, but LJ calmly drew his shotgun from the rack on the sled and fired two shots into the bear. He didn't want to do it, but…"

"If it's white, goodnight. Polar bears are too hungry so they eat whatever they can find," Elise said.

LJ nodded, "That and getting the new doctor killed on her first day wouldn't have scored me any points with the boss, right?"

Elise laughed, "That would have been awful."

"Well, I'm alive thanks to this guy," Lauren said, nodding towards LJ, "And my friend is alive thanks to some great doctors. Rudy is alive because she applied the poem we've all been taught and because Molly chased the bear off and you were able to get her home to her mom. You did your job, Bug. You did it well."

LJ walked to his young cousin and sat across from her and Lauren, "You've seen something that you can't unsee, little Bug. But we can't allow ourselves to get stuck in the past. We've got to learn from what happens and keep moving forward."

"Like you did after your sled fell through the ice?" Elise asked.

LJ nodded, "Exactly. Do you remember what happened after I told you that story?"

"I had nightmares for a month."

LJ smiled, "You did – because you were seeing the event instead of the lesson I was trying to teach you by telling you the story."

"So… I have to put the lessons first."

He nodded, "Think first instead of reacting first. I'm sure Bo is also going to work on Rudy's awareness when she's driving a sled. I think all of the adults agree that Rudy never should have been in the situation she was in. Bears are big and they come in three colors, so the only people they can hide from are the ones who aren't looking for them."

Elise raised a finger to her mouth, "I never thought of it that way before," she turned to Lauren, then LJ, "So how did you guys stop remembering the bad things that happened to you?"

Lauren smiled, "I focused on the fact that my friend was alive and safe in Germany."

LJ nodded, "To be honest, I avoided sledding across water for a long time after that. Bo eventually set me straight and told me I needed to do a crossing just to prove to myself that I could. Then she explained to me how to know if ice is safe or not. Of course, I also looked it up on the internet and watched videos that showed what solid ice looks like and how you can drill to see the depth. Knowledge is power, little Bug."

Elise smiled, "Then Lauren must be super powerful."

The doctor laughed, "In a hospital or clinic, yes. On a sled, I'm learning, so I'm gaining that power every time I go out and so are my dogs. I just try to keep focusing on learning and doing, learning and doing. That's what life is all about. No sense living in the past. Leave all of that behind and just carry the lessons with you… and maybe some great pictures of the fun times."

Elise nodded, "Thanks you guys. It's nice to have you to talk to."

She gave Lauren a hug and then launched herself onto LJ's lap where she received another big hug, "You're my little bug, right? No more holding stuff in? You talk to me if you're having trouble, you hear?"

She nodded, "I'm sorry for not telling you, LJ."

"Well, just make sure you tell Molly and Mark. It's not fair to leave them out of your feelings, Bug. They love you to pieces and really want to be there to help you when you need it."

Elise nodded, "I know. I just… well lately, I just really miss my parents."

Lauren sighed, "They're not trying to replace your real parents, Bug. They have asked me a lot of questions about them over the months since you've come to live with them. Maybe you could start telling them those stories?"

"But won't I hurt their feelings?" Elise asked.

LJ shook his head, "Of course not, Bug. They don't want you to forget your parents. They want you to remember them and grow up to be a young lady they would be proud of. The more stories you tell them, the more they'll have to remind you of as you get older."

"Does that mean I can't be a veterinarian?" Elise asked.

Lauren shook her head, "Of course not, Bug. You can be anything you want to be."

"You don't think my parents would be upset that I'm not a lawyer or a doctor?"

Lauren smiled, "Not at all. I'm sure they would want you to do what makes you happy."

A wide grin stretched across Elise's face, "Good. Cause Roo and I have plans."

LJ laughed, "I'm sure you do."

The three sat quietly for a long while before Bo entered the room, commenting on their unique ability to play a great game of greenhouse hide and seek. The four laughed for a while before heading back to the tree projects. Molly and Mary would be along soon if they'd made the train, so they wanted to be able to have dinner ready when they arrived.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dinner…

From the time Mary and Molly arrived with Mark and Tosh in tow, Faith had been observing the family dynamic. The bond between them was even stronger than she had suspected. They all showed genuine concern and caring for the two children – something she was sure would lead to a full recovery in the coming weeks. They had each taken a big step today in talking aloud about their respective journeys and now, they seemed closer than ever.

She had observed Bo and Lauren take a step back once the parents arrived. She understood why they felt it necessary, but the parents had been tending to the situation for almost a month with little gain. Clearly, the two needed to remain involved in the recovery process. She knew that Bo was taking Rudy to Anchorage, but she was going to ask that Lauren find a way to maintain her connection with Elise. Faith did not want Elise to become withdrawn and silent in her young friend's absence.

Rudy ran over to Faith and tugged on her pant leg, "Doctor Faith? We're all set. What do you think?"

Faith turned to the space Elise and Rudy had set up for dinner. One of the rows of tables used for tree care had been converted to a long dinner table, the youngsters laying out plates, napkins and utensils for the family, Faith, Hope and her boyfriend, Kit. Stephen and Betsy had called Lauren after their meeting about a potential relationship with the hospital in Anchorage, so Faith had invited them as well,

"It's fabulous, girls. It's simply wonderful. Did you remember to set plates for Stephen and Betsy as well?"

Elise nodded, "And Hope and Kit, too. Is that everyone?"

Faith smiled, "Yes, Child. Now, I think we'll need a few other things on the table. If you ask Hope, she'll tell you what to put out for the meal we've prepared."

Rudy chimed in, "We caught the biggest fishes you will EVER see!"

Faith laughed, "So you caught a blue whale?"

The two girls looked confused, Rudy asking, "Huh?"

Faith walked towards a bookshelf on the opposite side of the room, "The biggest fish I ever saw was a blue whale."

"Is that a big fish?"

"Well, whales are technically mammals, not fish but they do reside in the ocean. The whale shark is a fish and is actually the largest fish in the ocean."

The girls followed Faith, waiting excitedly as she pulled a large book from the shelf and sat down at a table. She rifled through the pages, first showing them a picture of a blue whale,

"This is the blue whale. The image provided shows you the whale next to a human. I hope you get to see one someday. My first sighting was absolutely astonishing. The creature was easily the size of our largest greenhouse."

"Really?" Rudy asked as she and Elise knelt on their chairs and leaned in over the picture.

Elise pointed to the page, "That whole man could fit inside the whale!"

Rudy looked up at Faith, "Do they eat people?"

Faith smiled, shaking her head, "One of the greatest fictional stories is that of Moby Dick. I believe it is the origin of human fascination with whales swallowing us whole. Only the sperm whale would be physically capable of doing so, but it is highly unlikely as we're not really tasty to them. The blue whale could also swallow us, but like the sperm whale, it is not predatory…"

Elise nodded, "Says here that they eat tiny krill. We read about that in another book, remember, Rudy?"

Rudy smiled and nodded at her friend, "It must need a whole lot to get full! Its stomach is probably as big as all of me! I'd be hungry all the time with a stomach that big."

Elise laughed, "You are already hungry all the time and your stomach is only about the size of my fist!"

The two girls giggled before Rudy looked up at Faith and asked, "So if the whale shark is bigger, why did you say the blue whale is the biggest?"

"Remember, Child, I said the blue whale was the biggest mammal in the ocean. The whale shark is a fish, the blue whale is not."

Elise nodded, "Just a resident of the ocean."

"Exactly," Faith nodded, flipping the pages and then turning the book back to the girls, "This is the whale shark…"

"How are some whales not fish and others are?"

Faith smiled, "This is a shark, not a whale."

"Then why is it called a whale shark?" Elise asked.

"Purely because of its size, Child. Compare the sizes and I believe you will find this species of shark is more than deserving of the title 'whale' despite being a fish and not a mammal."

The two girls scanned the pictures and then read more information before Rudy looked up at Faith again and asked,

"Did you see a whale shark, too?"

Faith shook her head, "Only on the television."

"Where did you see a blue whale?" Elise asked.

Faith closed her eyes, the memory filling her heart as she spoke, "I was with my husband. He was still a young man working on his doctorate degree. We were on a marine research vessel in the Bering Sea. Our ship was quite large, but when the pod of whales swam just a few yards from the hull, we understood why they are known as the largest mammal,"

She opened her eyes, turning to the girls, "They moved effortlessly, gliding just beneath the surface, some traveling directly beneath our boat, some next to it. I must say it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life."

The two girls smiled, "Did you take pictures?" Rudy asked.

Faith held up a finger before walking down the aisle to another bookshelf, "Hmmm… the year would have been 1968, I believe. Now, back in those days, we used film and even the professional photographer we had on board could only do so much to get quality action shots," she explained, flipping through the photo album until she found the pictures taken in rapid succession,

The girls leaned in, taking in the scene, "Oh, wow," Elise said, amazed, "It's so huge – even blurry!"

Rudy nodded, pointing to its belly, "Definitely big enough to fit me in his stomach."

Faith corrected, "That would be a she, not a he," she traced an outline just behind and next to the whale, "That's her calf."

"Ohmagosh! Even the baby is huge!"

Faith shrugged, "But not as big as a whale shark. The mother will keep a close eye on the baby as they travel, for the young would make a nice meal for shark predators."

Rudy nodded, releasing a big sigh, "It's too bad that some creatures have to die so that others can live."

Elise added, "Even if it is a big bear batting your best friend around in the snow."

Rudy sighed, "I still hope he didn't have a family."

"Me too," Elise agreed.

Faith took a seat across from the girls, "Is there anything else you would like to talk about?"

The two looked around, wanting to be sure the room was clear before turning back to Faith. Rudy opened her mouth to speak but couldn't form words. Elise nudged her twice,

"Tell her, Roo. Let's just get it all out."

Rudy smiled when Elise held her hand and added, "I'm right here with you. Dr. Faith will know what to do."

Faith's eyebrows raised for a split second before she gathered her professional demeanor and asked, "How can I help?"

Rudy looked at her best friend, then back to the doctor, "How do I not flip out on the way to Anchorage? Sister can't be late for her big race. What happens if another bear attacks? I don't want Sister to blame herself."

Faith nodded, "I see. Well, let's take one of those questions at a time, but before we do, use my phone to text your sister and have her tell everyone that the three of us need some alone time and they can start eating."

Rudy took the phone, Elise helping her with the wording in the message before she hit send, "Okay."

"Good. Now, let's practice some exercises for the trip. Elise, you should practice these as well since you will be traveling with Lauren, yes?"

Elise nodded, "I'm helping out with the dog checks at each stop! I'm so excited!"

Faith smiled, "Yes, well keep in mind that part of that job will involve traveling by snow machine or sled and I don't want you to be unprepared."

"Oh. Yea, right," Elise nodded, "Teach me."

Faith looked to Rudy who gave her two thumbs up, "I'm ready."

The doctor smiled, "Okay girls. Here we go…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Homestead, Later that night…

With Harper by her side, Bo sat on the end of her sled looking out at the snow-covered barn shaking her head. While they were in Anchorage, an unexpected storm had blown in and temperatures had dropped ten degrees. Sure, it was late at night, but it had been much warmer in the past week.

"I'm going to have to carry more weight, Harper. That means I'm going to need the bigger dogs. Damn I miss you being on the team. I mean, I'm confident that Aphrodite can do the job, but having to retire such a core team group because of those damn tumors is the worst. Fucking Big Jim!"

Bo took a breath and pushed her father from her mind. Heaving a sigh, she got to her feet, "I'm going to ask Lauren if she can make sleeves for everyone's legs. We'll need extra booties and everyone will be wearing their snowsuits. The big question is about how I'm supposed to travel light. Damn human skin isn't worth shit."

"Human skin is incredibly resilient and functional. I'm surprised you don't know that."

Bo turned to see Lauren walking towards her. She shook her head and turned back to the storm. It wasn't long until strong arms wrapped around her torso,

"What's the problem?"

Bo shrugged, "My sled was all packed, the gear bags loaded into the trailers, the dog feed buckets and their corresponding food packs gathered and my team was all set."

"It sounds like you're all ready to go."

Bo turned in Lauren's arms and placed a kiss on her cheek before bending down and flipping her sled,

"Wrong runners for this weather, but it's expected to change eventually. That means I'll have to carry additional runners. My skin doesn't adapt like the dogs, therefore I'll need more clothes. Colder temps mean the dogs will need more fat for fuel which means a change to the menu. I'll need to carry additional line just in case the temps impact its tensile strength."

"Okay, so you have a lot of extra packing to do. I still don't see the problem. We're all here to help you and you've got two days until you leave."

Shaking her head, Bo explained, "Weight is my problem, Lauren. More equipment means more weight and I've built a team for speed based on the predicted weather. I think I'm going to have to change out my lineup."

Lauren nodded, "Well, isn't that why you take backup dogs to the start?"

"Yes, but I've never actually had to use them."

"Bo, you've been rotating all of them into your team and between runs with LJ, Mark, Molly, Tosh, Rudy, Elise and even light runs with your mom, they're all in great shape."

"But the chemistry…"

Lauren shook her head, nodding towards the kennel, "Bo, you've narrowed your team down to thirty and then twenty dogs in the past two weeks. They've been living together here in this kennel unless they've been attached to a sled. Look at them, Bo."

Bo turned and looked at the dogs playing together in the kennel. It looked much the same as it did in the yard earlier when she'd let them all out to stretch their legs. She smiled when Aphrodite let out a mighty howl and they all joined in,

"I had no idea I was raising a rock band."

Lauren smiled, "They're united in whatever they do – and that's R&B, not Rock."

Bo chuckled, "Okay, I'll give you that. They are united like one soul."

Lauren nodded, "They have a home… with you, Bo. They're family – all of them. They'll fight for their family in that race the same way any family fights for their own. You've created something special in this kennel, Bo. I'm no expert, but this is not the same atmosphere you had in the barn last year."

Bo sat down beside Harper, rubbing her neck. The canine leaned into her master, rubbing her head against her neck before falling onto her lap. Lauren could hear Bo chuckle, but then saw a tear trailing down her cheek. It was all very clear to the doctor. This wasn't about the weather, the dogs or carrying more weight. This was about Bo being out on that trail for weeks without her most trusted companion.

Lauren came to sit on the other side of Bo, Harper immediately extending a paw to her. She smiled and took the offered furry limb, the doctor in her unable to stop herself from taking a moment to examine the healing progress,

"I'm still amazed every time I look at this leg. I never thought she'd get any of her fur back let alone this much muscle mass. It seems that the smaller muscle groups are growing to make up for those that had to be removed. She truly is a miracle, Bo."

The musher tried to keep the quiver from her voice, but failed miserably. Honestly, she really didn't care,

"It's a miracle that Big Jim didn't kill her with the rest of my team all of those years ago, it's a miracle I didn't lose her through the ice, it's a miracle she didn't die in the fire, it's a miracle she didn't die from tumors and it's a miracle she survived that bear attack. She is the miracle, Lauren. Her undying loyalty to me, her strength and resilience… her caring nature, her leadership of the pack and the unconditional love she has given to me every single day of my life – even when I was in a foul mood."

Lauren nodded, "You don't like the idea of doing the race without her."

Bo burst into tears, "I'm really struggling to leave her behind."

Lauren shrugged, "Hook her up to the sled and let her run."

Bo's head snapped up, "Are you crazy?"

"Bo, you are more than capable of controlling the speed of your team. Take her out for a short run and see if she's even interested in trying to get back into sledding. I think if you do that, it may help you to move forward just as it will for her."

"One last run together," Bo said, her eyes set on Harper's as she stroked the side of her face, "Do you want to take the girls for a light tapered jog?"

Harper flipped over and stood, facing Bo. She barked once, then again. A big smile stretched across the brunette's face,

"I didn't think… wow. You really want to go, huh?"

Bo turned to Lauren, "Thank you."

The blonde nodded, "Can I pick your team?"

Bo smiled, "Sure."

Lauren walked to the kennel and pulled the dogs out one at a time, releasing them to Bo so she could hook them to her sled,

"You'll have to take my three since they've never had a chance to run with Harper. You'll have to take Nike, Diana and Aphrodite since they're her besties. You have to take Jenna and Muk because they're in the same boat as my dogs. Is eight dogs enough to keep the strain light for her?"

Bo smiled, "Not if you're coming with me."

Lauren smiled, "Really? I can come?"

Bo nodded, "I'll make you snug as a bug in the basket or you can sit behind me on the bench. I want to give her a little weight to pull."

"As much as I'd love to sit with you, I've always liked sitting right behind the dogs. It makes me feel like I'm part of their team."

Bo smiled, "I'll take your word for it."

Lauren paused, "You've never ridden in a basket?"

Bo shook her head, "Not since I was about five. Even then, I was often standing on the rails in front of my mom. I loved driving the sled even if it was only pretend."

Lauren smiled, "Well, one of these days, you'll have to ride in the basket on my sled just to have the experience."

Bo shrugged, "How about you drive and I'll ride in the basket. It will give me the team experience for Harper's last ride."

"You don't want to drive her one last time?"

"I guess if I have my choice between a new experience with the new version of Harper or driving her at less than her strongest, I'll choose the new experience for our last experience together."

Lauren shrugged, "Well, if she can do it, this doesn't have to be her last experience."

"True," Bo smiled, "Okay, so pick eight more."

Lauren nodded and set to the task before joining Bo to double check the lines and don their outdoor gear. Harper was last to get dressed. Lauren added a double covering over her leg and the new fur sleeve Mary had made for her with a brace inside that Cassie had built. It attached with Velcro so was easy to put on and take off. The leg would be protected, warm and have some additional stability,

"Okay. Just the coat and then you're ready to go, Harp," Bo said, smiling at the excited pooch.

Finally, Lauren tucked Bo into the basket and turned on her headlamp. She walked to the front of the sled and turned on the lights attached to the collars of Nike and Diana before turning on the lights Bo had added to the lead lines since Lauren had no experience driving in these conditions.

"Anything else I need to know?" Lauren asked.

Bo looked up, "I'm shocked that you ever wanted to ride on the bench. It's really cozy in this basket. I had no idea it was this comfortable."

Lauren grinned, "You're more comfortable to me."

"Good answer," Bo smiled, "Okay. These are near white out conditions, so focus on any dark spots you see – particularly if they're in the air."

"Those could be bears or some other form of wildlife."

Bo nodded, "It's late, so mostly it will be smaller nocturnal animals. Plus, they don't want to be out in this anymore than your average human."

"Good to know."

Bo smiled, "The snow will feel… different under your feet… looser. You may feel like you're sliding and you may be, so just remember your transfer of weight. I'll be able to feel from the basket, so I will help you if I notice anything. Just remember to keep an eye on our girl. Let her determine the pace."

Lauren had an idea, "Bo, what would you think of a last-minute change in order?"

"What's your thinking?"

"Put Aphrodite and Harper in the lead?"

Bo shrugged, "Makes sense. Harper can set the pace and Aphrodite would never try to overrule her. Harper is still the alpha even though she's been on the sideline."

Lauren smiled, "So I'll switch them?"

Bo nodded, "Literally – no need to bump everyone. Just put Nike and Diana back here with me."

"Okay."

Lauren set to work moving the groups and then mounted the rails and gave the command,

"Hike! Let's get Harper out there, ladies! Hike! Set your pace, Harper."

Though Lauren couldn't see her face, she just knew that Bo was grinning from ear to ear right now watching her best canine friend back in front of a sled where she belonged after so many years relegated to the wheel position. For now, Lauren could only hope this would help Bo to move forward while carrying the memory of decades of good times with Harper.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Homestead, Next Morning

Bo opened her eyes to find Harper wrapped around her and hay in her mouth. She scowled as she tried to remember how she got here, but had no answer. She slowly sat up, smiling down at her canine friend who rolled onto her back and stretched all four legs towards the sky. Sky. What the hell?

She sat up, looking around but couldn't get her bearings. Where were they?

"Good morning sleepy head."

She looked up to see Lauren covered in fur from head to foot carrying firewood. She looked around her again and saw the team of dogs they had left with last night. The dogs were surrounded by…

"You built a shelter?"

Lauren smiled, "You fell asleep in the basket. I was having so much fun, I didn't notice. I just assumed you would tell me when it was time to turn back. By the time I was too tired to continue… and our Harper was starting to limp a bit, I pulled up to a rocky outcrop at the base of a mountain where there was a small grove of cedar trees. It was the perfect shelter. See behind you?"

Bo turned to see the open landscape, then turned to her right to see the rock face, "You're brilliant."

"Yes I am," She smiled proudly, "I had this incredible teacher," Lauren smirked, "Anyway, when I opened the basket, you were sound asleep. I didn't have the heart to wake you, so I spread out the hay for the dogs, let Harper into the basket with you, added some hay over you for insulation, added oil to the lamp and zipped the basket shut again. You never flinched. I slept with my girls and the rest of the team. They kept me toasty."

Bo felt a pang in her heart, "Look at you, the lead musher. You amaze me, Lauren."

The blonde smiled, "Well, your girls aren't quite as amazed. We only have dry food with us since we didn't exactly plan or pack for an overnight trip."

"Do you know where we are? Nothing looks familiar," Bo said, a bit concerned Lauren had gotten turned around in the snow squall they had entered last night."

Lauren nodded, pulling the GPS device from her pocket, "I was sure to pull out your journal and record where we were just in case the battery or signal was lost again."

"Again?"

"We lost signal for quite some time. I was a bit concerned for a while, but once I found this spot, I figured it was the equivalent of hugging a tree. When I woke up, the sky was clear and I had a signal again."

Bo shook her head, "It doesn't look so clear to me."

"I've been up for almost three hours," Lauren smiled, "You were out cold."

Bo smiled, rubbing between Harper's ears, "No, I was out warm… really warm thanks to this one."

Lauren cocked her head as Bo grew silent, "What's wrong?"

She could see Bo hesitate but the brunette finally spoke, "Uh… I know we said we would be open and honest, but… well, the stuff I write in my journals isn't really how I feel… not completely. I mean, I write things in the moment and then think about what I write and… what I mean is, if you don't read the whole thing, you may get the wrong idea and I wouldn't want…"

"Bo, let me stop you right there. I didn't read your journal – not a word of it. Well, there was the "I didn't think I could love Lauren Lewis more than I already do, but after seeing her handle the kids today and then handling my team like a professional…"

"So you did read my journal?"

"It was one long sentence at the top of the blank page where I wrote the GPS coordinates. I saw my full name and… I'm sorry, but it's the only paper I had."

Bo smiled, "It's okay. Really, if you read every word of every journal, I wouldn't care… as long as you remember not to jump to conclusions until you read on. It's like a book with a surprise ending. Things are not always as they appear."

"Got it," Lauren smiled, "So I can really read all of your journals?"

Bo nodded, "Of course. You read one or two of my older ones so why not? No secrets. They're in the trunk beneath my desk."

Grinning, the blonde nodded, "The one with the padlock on it."

"I'm not a very trusting individual. The whole family thing was new to me and… well, let's face it… they're the kin of Big Jim so even though we shared blood, it took a while."

"It wasn't to keep me out?"

Bo shook her head, "Never. I just didn't think you'd be interested…"

"In learning about your life?"

Bo sighed, a frown on her face, "There's some real ugliness to my life Lauren, but if you really want to know, feel free. I changed the combination to your birthdate recently."

Lauren nodded, "Under the bed on my side is my military emergency pack that I carried in Afghanistan. My journals are inside. A lot of it is medical jargon and ideas for handling certain conditions without modern medical tools. More of it is about the carnage I witnessed… and the aftermath I was expected to treat. I'd say the overarching theme is that war is stupid. No one wins, everyone gets hurt in some way, shape or form. When it comes right down to it, a bunch of old white men send young people to fight – possibly die – so that they can feel more powerful because they're too damn proud to sit down and talk to the people they're fighting and compromise."

Bo raised an eyebrow, "Tell the class how you really feel, Doctor Lewis."

Lauren sighed, looking around the shelter at all of the perked up ears and wide eyes turned her way, "It's okay girls. I'm sorry I raised my voice."

She walked to Elsa and gripped her face in both hands, thumbing her cheeks, then made the rounds to the other dogs, giving each an apology until she was back to Harper and Bo,

"I'm sorry," she turned and stepped outside before coming back in and holding up a stringer with three beautiful salmon attached, "Peace offering? I don't know how to cook them if I can't get a fire going. All of the wood is wet and… well, I figured one for us and the rest for the dogs."

Bo pulled her knife from her sheath and waved Lauren to her, "It's called sushi, Lauren. If you want to cook ours, we can use the lantern from inside the basket."

Lauren nodded, "I turned it off this morning thinking you would be plenty warm with all of this body heat around you and Harper practically on top of you."

Bo smiled, "I'm surprised you didn't get us both naked in the basket together."

Lauren grinned, "Of course the thought crossed my mind, as did the idea of waking you up and ravaging you. Believe me, it was more than tempting," she added, biting her lip until she sighed and clapped her hands together, "But this trip was about you, Harper and her teammates. I chose to be selfless and believe me… I'm very proud of myself for resisting the temptation… over and over and over again… throughout the night. Three dogs laying on top of me helped suppress the need."

Chuckling, Bo grabbed the back of Lauren's knees and pulled her towards her, "I'm sure your terrible trio was in doggy heaven getting a night alone with their human. You haven't had much time with them lately. I will say, they did well with the team."

"My dogs are not running in the Iditarod."

Bo laughed, "I would never just take your dogs for a race. That decision – if the day should ever come – will be entirely yours. Of course, there is another decision that I wouldn't mind taking from your daily burden of decisions to be made…" she ran her hands up the back of Lauren's thighs to her buttocks, sliding her fingers towards her aching core, "You don't have to resist those temptations now."

Lauren shook her head, stepping out of Bo's grasp with some effort, "We have to put the pups first, Bo. They're hungry and they have a long race ahead of them for the next few weeks. Now is no time to put our needs before the needs of your dogs."

"Hey, the human has a long race ahead of her for the next few weeks, too. My needs are important too."

Lauren laughed, "Oh boo-hoo. It's time for you to lock into race mode. I will not be the reason you fail to win this race."

"It's just a race, Lauren," Bo said, a scowl forming across her face.

Lauren turned to stand in front of her partner, "Do you really not care about this race? Do you not want to run it?"

Bo sighed, her eyes moving to Harper, "I'm having a hard time. It's just… it's just not the same. I know she's one dog on a team of sixteen but not having her in front of me is… unsettling."

"I'm sorry, Bo."

"I know. I just wish there was a way…" Bo's voice trailed off as she finished cleaning the last fish, "I'll be okay. I'll figure this out. I'd never forgive myself if I didn't run and I don't want to let down my team – human or canine."

Lauren nodded, sitting beside her partner, "I'm here if you need to talk about your dogs, the race or anything else, Bo."

"Our dogs."

Lauren smiled, "Our dogs."

"Here – can you help me portion out these fish into equal sized fillets for them? We'll add it to the dry food with some water. Once everyone is fed, we'll head back. How do you think Harper will be?"

"Stiff, but we'll see if she heads for the basket or a spot on the center line. I'll let her do what she wants to do but we have to keep a close eye on her. I tried to get her into the basket when I lost the signal, but she wouldn't go. By the time we stopped, she was favoring that leg a bit."

"Okay," Bo smiled, giving Harper a rub before turning back to cutting salmon filets, "Will you give her one of those massages?"

Lauren smiled, "Already on my to-do list after breakfast."

"Great," Bo nodded, "Do you mind if I drive today?"

Lauren shook her head, offering a bright smile, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Thanks for this, Lauren. Watching her run again was… well, it was what we both needed."

"It's like they say – doctor knows best!" Lauren laughed.

Bo laughed at Lauren's geeky sense of humor before turning back to the task at hand. She focused on her work, getting through the task quickly with Lauren by her side. They both knew this was a going to be a moment they would remember for the rest of their lives… it was the first and last time they would ever be together with Harper in this setting.

Once everyone was fed, Lauren began Harper's massage with Bo watching carefully so she could learn how to care for her legs. She had learned how to apply her wraps, her leggings and now the fur brace. Cassie had taught her how to mix the salves that were applied to her scars every morning and night, though most of the time, Mary took care of that. Even Rudy and Elise had learned to do all of Harper's care in Bo's absence so the champion canine had plenty of caretakers.

With the massage complete, Harper lay down and allowed Bo to slide on the protective sleeve followed by a packing of snow that would sit for twenty minutes.

"Okay," Lauren said, "Ready to pack things up?"

Bo nodded, "Sure. Can I ask – in your professional medical opinion… and I know you're not a veterinarian, but you have plenty of experience by now… who do you think are my strongest dogs overall?"

Lauren opened the dufflebags to pack in the straw, thinking about Bo's question, "So what characteristics does 'overall' entail?"

"Speed, strength, endurance, attentiveness, teamwork and temperament," Bo replied.

"Obviously Aphrodite, Nike and Diana," she began.

"Obveiously," Bo replied.

They worked while Lauren offered the names as requested. Bo was surprised to hear her mention Muk and Jenna, but if she was being honest, the pair had grown on the musher as well. She just had to make sure her instinct wasn't being driven by Rudy's passionate desire to have her two leads run the Iditarod. Decisions about the team couldn't be emotional choices. Bo would be devasted if she lost any of her dogs because she chose a team that wasn't physically or mentally prepared for the race.

Once they were packed, Lauren handed Bo the GPS which she mounted to the sled, they hitched the dogs – including Harper – to the center line and headed home. It was going to take several hours to get back with Harper as lead and while the champion canine seemed to think she wanted to run, Bo wasn't sure she would last. That would mean another stop to put Harper in the basket with Lauren.

"Here we go, Harp! Hike Aphrodite! Take us home, ladies!"

Bo smiled, seeing Harper and her daughter work together at the lead of her sled. While she loved the view from the basket last night, this was where she belonged… where they belonged. Of course, Nike and Diana had been the lead team dogs back in the time of Harper and Aphrodite as leads. Eventually the pair would be relegated to the rear just as the mother-daughter team had been but Bo hoped Nike and Diana had many good years ahead. If she were honest, they were the best navigators she'd ever had.

She thought back to her original team who had been lost to Big Jim's bonfire. They were the start of her racing career and had given birth to Harper and her siblings. Aphrodite and her siblings were the next generation and Nike and Diana the newest of the line. She would likely breed one or both of them after the Iditarod and their children would become her next team.

In two years, she would breed Rudy and Elise's pups to keep the lineage alive for them. Those pups would go to Rudy or be shared between the two if the adopted Morton decided to race with Rudy. Lauren had mentioned the adopted sisters had a plan and Bo couldn't help but wonder if it was building a team of their own with Rudy as the driver and Elise as the vet and breeder of the line. It would be interesting to see how it all panned out.

Today, she would live in the here and now with her dogs, Lauren and the human race team that would see her through the Iditarod. Bo truly believed she had the best team in the field of mushers and that, in the end, could make all the difference in a close race. One thing was for sure – Lauren was right. Bo needed to get her race focus on and start making the final decisions. It was go time and losing was not a scenario the musher would stomach easily. That left only one option… winning this year's Iditarod.

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