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?

43. Chapter 43: Iditarod, Part 4

A/N: Newly posted today, Sept 21st – Chapters 42 & 43, so go back if you haven't read 42! Previous post was Sept 13th – Chapters 40 & 41.

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CHAPTER 43: IDITAROD, PART 4

Journal Entry: Beaver Flats to Iditarod

When I left the Beaver Flats area, I should have checked my rails. I didn't. Yet another rookie mistake for Bo. What is my problem!? I know I need to focus on protecting my leg, but I think I've made that such a big part of my focus that I'm forgetting to take care of the basics.

The stretch through Beaver Mountain Pass with Don's cabin, Windy Creek and the Dishna River is a heavily exposed area. I hit a stump or rock and made a mental note to check my rail, but when I couldn't stay at Don's cabin, I got distracted and forgot.

Sure enough, the rail was cracked. There was nothing but snow past the cabin, so I didn't notice it since the sled ran smoothly. Unfortunately, the minute I hit First Chance Creek and headed into the valley of the Iditarod River, the rail broke, flipping me and my sled. I managed to drop the anchor and bring the team to a halt, but my sled was trashed.

With my bad leg, it took some effort to flip it onto its other side after getting the dogs settled for a nap. I pulled out the repair kit Kyle had stowed beneath the sled. When I removed the contents of the basket and the basket itself, I found that the cargo bed and the runner on the right side were broken.

I was able to replace the runner with a spare easily enough but the cargo bed was a whole different story. There isn't a replacement cargo bed or enough wood to build one, so I had to down a small tree and carve out a replacement. What a mess.

My hands were all cut up and bloody from stripping the bark off the wood. I could barely hang on to my axe. One thing's for sure – having those sharpened before I left was the best thing I could have done. I'd still be chopping out replacement slats if I hadn't.

I chipped down a long, thin piece of river rock to pound out holes for the nuts and bolts to hold everything together. Right now, I'm just hoping I can make it to the town of Iditarod. I've sent off a text to Kyle hoping it goes through at some point before I get there, but there is zero signal out here since I'm in a valley.

Still, I'm focused on the positive. I'm not running one of those metal or carbon fiber sleds. If I were, I wouldn't have a fix for it and I'd be shooting up a flare on my way to an early exit.

Another positive was that my sled didn't crack and flip despite the white out conditions after our last stop. Doing what I just did in white out conditions would have been impossible. I would have had to ditch my supplies and drag my sled in front of my dogs the remaining twenty miles to the checkpoint in the town of Iditarod. With my leg, I never would have made it.

Another bright spot is that the next section of trail along First Chance Creek goes southwest across open swamps, small lakes, hills and wooded areas about three miles to the east side of the Iditarod River. While that's rough terrain for a busted sled, it's also a straight shot from here to Iditarod, so if my patch doesn't hold, at least there will still be trees around for me to carve out new sled pieces.

Thinking past First Chance, I have a couple miles to Twin Island Creek then another five miles to Moose Creek. On both creeks, I may have to deal with some overflow, but should be okay. After Moose Creek, I've got around sixteen miles over three unnamed creeks until I reach Caribou Creek where there's a heavy tree line (all I see when I think of it is sled wood!) before the three mile stretch to the hill on the opposite bank of Iditarod.

At this point, I usually imagine what this area must have looked like back in 1909-1910 before the river changed course. Steamboats used to dock right in front of the town all summer after making the long trip from the Bering Sea up the Yukon, the Innoko and the Iditarod Rivers.

It's strange to think of how nature can cause an entire town to disappear but there's evidence of that sort of thing all over Alaska… and this race trail.

Once I get to the checkpoint on the northwest side of the old oxbow slough, there will be a few old cabins. The checkpoint sets up at an old house that belonged to a trapper who moved on because of the crowds the race brought to the area. I completely understand where he's coming from.

This checkpoint has a lodge, tents and a fancy communications trailer from one of the race sponsors. I don't mean to make this place sound like it's loaded with –fancy Boston hotel amenities – it's not. The nearest town is Flat – population about six to ten people year-round, but it does have a runway.

Personally, I'll use the old trapper's outhouse so I can take a nice frozen dump and have a video call with Lauren from the communications trailer if it's a reasonable hour. Otherwise, I'll sit and enjoy the silence of a quiet place that feels a bit haunted.

It's strange to think that Iditarod was once home to more than ten thousand people with electricity, phones, newspapers, banks and even hotels. Now it's nothing.

The night air is filled with the sounds of howling wolves and the collapsed buildings belong to the packs now. The Big Dipper should be visible tonight, so I'll hunker down with the dogs, a bright fire to keep the wolves away and get a few hours' sleep before we move on.

Signing off in favor of food and sleep.

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Ophir – Team Bo Campfire

"How ya doin' Lewis?" Tamsin asked, coming to sit beside Lauren who was curled into her chair under a blanket staring into the fire.

"I'm good. Are the kids settled in?"

Tamsin nodded, "Mary and Molly have them. You look worried."

Lauren shrugged, "I hate that we're relying on her to send up a flare. We should have met her in Iditarod."

"She told you, Lewis – it's a bare-bones checkpoint… nowhere for the team to stay and too much wildlife."

"I know! So why is she there alone?"

Tamsin smiled, "She's not. She's got two axes, a spear, a shotgun with a box of shells and fifteen dogs. It's wolf territory, Lauren. Wolves don't like dogs and dogs don't like wolves."

"But what if the dogs get hurt? How will she get back?"

Tamsin shook her head, "She won't. She'll send up a flare. Bo lived with wild animals in the wild long before you or I ever came into her life, Lauren."

"I know. I just can't stop the questions coming into my mind. Where is she? Is she safe? Did she do more damage to her knee? She could be unconscious."

"You're spiraling, Lewis."

Lauren sighed and nodded, "I know."

"Okay then, let's go get a cup of coffee," she looked at Lauren again then snarked, "Maybe decaf for you."

The doctor smiled and nodded, taking Tamsin's hand, "Fine, but there's no way I'm drinking unleaded."

They walked, side by side up to the main cabin, got their coffees and took a seat on the double-wide Adirondack bench by the fireplace where they sipped in silence for quite some time.

Lauren's mind drifted off to when she was last in this cabin sitting on the chair in the opposite corner where she could hear the operator at the communications desk…

The operator talked quickly about a stranded musher who had lost their team. After the woman called for a pickup for the musher, she used her radio to send out volunteers on snow machines to find the team of dogs.

Lauren would not leave the operator at the desk. She waited and waited. When the phone rang again, she lept up out of her chair, hurrying to the counter only to interrupt a conversation between the woman and her neighbor,

"Yes, yes! I'm finished in two hours. Only my dogs and my daughter are coming. Gruff is still working with the trail crews, my dad is still working at the store and mom volunteered to stay at her checkpoint. I've gotta go, Alice. A surgeon is waiting to talk to me."

Lauren waved her hands, whispering, "No, no. Don't rush for me…"

But she hung up anyway, "It's okay. Just my neighbor. I really shouldn't tie up the line during the race with personal business. We've got a lot of air traffic being short-handed on volunteers this year."

"Yes, of course."

"Still waiting on Bo Dennis?"

Lauren nodded, "Yes. Her team…"

"Shouldn't worry none about the Champ. She's built for this mushing life like no musher I've ever seen – man or woman. I hate to play favorites, but she's something special on a sled, that one. Can't say I care for the gossip I've heard about who she is personally – mean one, I hear – but I try not to listen to gossip. Not right if you ask me."

Lauren shook her head with a scowl, "Have a conversation with her then. I think you'll find she's one of the kindest people on the planet despite all of the lies that have been perpetrated by Big Jim Morton and his kind."

"Is that so?"

"It is," Lauren said, steeling her jaw, "I'm just going to go back over here and wait."

"If it suits you," the woman nodded, watching as the blonde turned and walked back over to sit in the small wooden chair by the fire, "Might try that lounge chair! Much more comfortable."

Lauren smiled, but stayed where she was, extending her hands to the flame.

The operator returned to her duties, taking after call. Lauren listened, hoping – but simultaneously not hoping – for some word of Bo, but none came. Then, she felt Tamsin's hand on her own.

"Lewis?!"

Tamsin watched as Lauren slowly turned to her, seemingly in a trance, "You okay?"

"What?" She asked, absentmindedly, listening to the radio while trying to bring herself to answer Tamsin's question, "Sorry. I was just… I was…distracted."

Tamsin followed Lauren's eyes as they moved back to the woman at the desk. She dropped her head and sighed,

"Lewis, no news is good news at the Iditarod, okay?"

"Right."

Tamsin placed a hand on Lauren's shoulder, "Lewis."

Lauren turned to her, "Tamsin?"

She looked around, fully expecting to see the operator and the switchboard, but she found herself sitting on the other side of the room by the open firepit next to her friend. She stared at her, getting her bearings.

The agent smiled, "No news is good news, okay? Especially where Bo is concerned."

But Lauren shook her head, "She would never send up a damn flare, Tamsin. She's too stubborn."

Tamsin nodded, pulling out her phone and showing it to the blonde, "She's on the move, Lauren."

The blonde's eyes went wide before her shoulders relaxed and she offered a tight smile, "I forgot you were tracking her."

"I know how you get. Of course, I'm tracking her… when she has a signal. It comes and goes, but right now she's on the move."

"Good. That's good," Lauren nodded.

"But Lewis…" Tamsin began, then thought better of it, "Never mind."

"No. Say it. I insist," Lauren replied, crossing her arms over her torso.

"You said you want to get away from the hospital – away from operating on hearts because of the demands it places on you and the expectations of others. I just wonder if you ever thought about how much of that comes from your need to be in control all the time."

"I do not need to be in control all the time!" Lauren declared, turning to face the blonde, "And it's insulting for you to say that to me!"

Tamsin shrugged, "Well, I would hope that you would know that I'm a friend who is just trying to give you another point of view to consider. My point is that you cannot control what happens… ever. Control is an illusion, Lewis. I learned that early on after I left Quantico. Plan all you want, but there will always be an unexpected twist in the plan."

She turned to face her friend, "If you want to worry about Bo getting hurt here, you might as well worry about her crossing the street, slipping on the icy driveway and cracking her head open or choking on a cherry seed."

Tamsin looked down at her hands and then back up at her friend,

"Anything can happen at any time, Lauren, and I would think working in a hospital all of these years you would know that. If not from your work as a doctor, then from your time in the military."

She shook her head, "I'm begging you, Lewis - stop letting worry consume you. Especially worry over things that are out of your control. I think it's what Bo has been trying to tell you since you met."

A notification sounded on Tamin's phone letting her know she was back on shift,

"I've gotta go back to work. I love you, Lewis. You're the sister I never had but always wanted. I'm not trying to insult you. I would never do that – unless I was being sarcastic… which I know, is ninety-nine percent of the time but in this case, I just want you to be happy… relaxed and happy. Trust your girl, Lewis. It's a must. Think about it."

She stood and pulled her coat on, closing everything up tight before heading to the door. Lauren turned back to the fire, then looked over at the new shift operator. She stood and marched to the desk,

"Hello. I'm Doctor Lauren Lewis, part of the medical staff for the race?"

"Yes, Doctor Lewis. I've made a few calls on behalf of your patients when I was at other checkpoints earlier in the race. How can I help you?"

"I'd like to place a call to Dr. Dala Mujambi at Talkeetna General Hospital," Lauren replied.

"Certainly. I'll make the call right away."

She connected to the hospital and handed the phone to Lauren,

"Yes, Hi. I'd like to speak to…"

"Hi Doctor Lewis. It's Tracy Bergman. I've paged Dr. Mujambi and she should pick up any minute. She was just doing patient rounds."

"Thank you, Tracy. How are you enjoying your new job?" Lauren asked, deciding she might as well check in with the young telecommunications graduate while she had the chance.

"Oh, I love it! I'm upgrading the communications array and working with the marketing department on the new hospital logo, stationary and signage. I've also established all of our online communications tools so that they're ready to launch when you and Doctor Archer give the go ahead. I just love all the freedom I have to be creative! It's like I've landed on my dream job right out of the gate! They tell us to expect to change jobs about ten times before we really find what we want, but I guess I beat the odds. I feel like I've struck gold without having to swing a pickaxe once!"

Lauren smiled at her enthusiasm, "Well, that's certainly great to hear. You could run those tools you've prepped by Penelope. She has a good idea of what we're looking for."

"Oh! Thank you so much! I'll do that. Oops – there she is…"

Lauren waited, hearing multiple clicks.

"Doctor Mujambi, I have Doctor Lewis for you. Thank you, Doctor Lewis."

"This is Doctor Mujambi, how can I help you."

Lauren smiled, "You're welcome, Tracy. Take care."

"I will. You too."

"Lauren?" Dala asked.

"Hi Dala. Yes, it's me. I'm calling to check on two patients…"

"Lauren, before you go any further, your brother gave me strict instructions that I was not to discuss his case with you until after the Iditarod."

Lauren sighed, "Brother-in-Law-to-be and was that before or after you treated him?"

The phone was silent, so Lauren spoke, "Dala, I just have to know if he's alive. I'm already keeping Bo in the dark about that young girl who was actually the other patient I was checking on."

Again, Dala was silent for a long moment before she finally replied,

"I just finished rounds and Mr. Morton reinforced his desire that you not be told anything about his case until after the race."

Lauren heard papers shuffling,

"As for the other patient, I met with Doctor Jane to get a Neuro update before the two of us checked in on the young lady."

"And?"

"The patients' medical team is meeting each and every morning to discuss the case."

"Are you saying she's still unconscious?"

Dala again hesitated before saying, "Since you sent her in, she woke up once… long enough for us to get medical power of attorney paperwork signed, but she refused to allow us to get it signed by a parent. She eventually gave us the number of an Aunt. We repaired her vessels, nerves, bone and soft tissue, but the swelling in several organs and her brain continues. We are discussing the use of CWI as a potential treatment."

"The side effects…"

"…Are of great concern to us, Lauren," Dala acknowledged, "But drugs and surgical procedures haven't worked. Unless you have another suggestion…"

"No. I'm not there," Lauren conceded, "I trust the team to do what's best if you all agree. If even one of you is not sold on the idea, don't do it, Dala. Not unless you are prepared to call the family for consent. You mentioned an Aunt?"

"Yes. We found her, but she refused to sign until she talked to her sister. We explained what her daughter had said about her mom and so she flew in to meet with her sister to draw her own conclusion about telling her. After the visit, she agreed, but got her sister to sign the MPA, saying that they were forms that needed to be completed for Julia to race."

"Good idea."

"She's a smart woman… and a physician's assistant at Seattle General."

"You don't say?" Lauren asked.

Dala smiled, "Your friend Dr. Grace told us to tell you that you can't have her."

Lauren chuckled, "How is he?"

"He's good but upset that you haven't submitted the final paperwork to have permanent surgical privileges at his hospital. I wasn't aware you had worked there."

Lauren nodded, "I believe you heard about the fire at the clinic last year and am sure you've noticed a certain friend of mine who has burn scars on her face and neck…."

"Oh, Lauren. I'm so sorry. I didn't realize."

Lauren smiled, "It's okay, Dala. She's alive and still improving. If it weren't for Doctor Grace's hospitality, she never would have had access to a proper burn unit. We also worked together on the disease from last spring – you came in on the tail end of that."

"How can I forget."

"He's a good man, but I haven't been a very good colleague. I've not kept in touch about my… current status as a surgeon. I guess I'd better give him a call and update him on my life choices."

"Probably a good idea unless it's a bridge you're willing to burn."

Lauren laughed, "Are you kidding? I work in hospital administration now. I've learned very quickly that burning any bridge is a bad idea."

"I'm sure. Well, if there's not anything else…"

"Of course. Thank you for taking my call, Dala."

"Anytime, Lauren," she laughed, "I mean, you are the boss."

It was Lauren's turn to laugh, "Yes, and I often dodged my former boss' calls when she was off site by having a nurse tell her I was in with a patient. Worked every time. Of course, it didn't stop her from sending thirty text messages to my phone, but it at least gave me time to catch my breath."

"I'll have to remember that trick," Dala chuckled.

Lauren smiled, noticing a more relaxed Dala had answered the phone,

"May I just say that you sound… happy."

"I'm settling in, meeting people, getting into a groove in my job, becoming accustomed to my nurses and staff and the community is opening their arms to me. It's just… I've never had an experience like this."

She paused, "I have to say… you were right, Lauren. Life isn't all about the operating room – it's about the people, our cultures, and our lives together. I feel… open to possibilities and… I've just never had that before. I think it's what my grandmother tried to teach me for decades."

"Well, then I hope she's proud of you."

"She is and she's going to talk to my family about flying here in the spring."

"Really?" Lauren asked.

"Yes. It would be so good to see them. I just… wish I'd left on better terms."

"I think most of us have regrets around family but if they come for a visit, it will be a great opportunity to make things better, right?"

Dala sighed, "I hope so."

"You've gotta believe, Dala," Lauren replied, her tone filled with encouragement, "Make a schedule to keep them busy in public, introduce them to friends and colleagues, have them stay in our hospital hotels... I'm sure they'll meet other parents who are just as concerned about their children making this move."

"But I'm not a child, am I, Lauren?"

"You're not, but in the eyes of your parents, you'll always be a child, Dala."

"I suppose that's true." Dala conceded, "Well, I'd better get back to work. I hope Bo is doing well."

Lauren nodded, "She's due in anytime, so we'll see."

"Great. Take care."

"You too, Dala," Lauren said before turning to the operator and handing her the phone, "Thank you."

"Of course, Doctor."

Lauren turned towards the fire but noticed a large group had taken the seats around hers. She was cold, but not in the mood for socializing with strangers, so she refilled her coffee cup and walked to a small table by the window. She stared out at the snow, falling harder now than it had been when she first came in.

"Snow here doesn't mean snow wherever she is," she whispered to herself, trying to push the worry from her mind. Besides, it made no difference if there was snow or no snow when it came to Bo.

But then she checked her watch and saw the time, which only raised her concerns that something was wrong. She thought of Tamsin and the image of Bo's little blue dot moving on the screen of her phone and sighed.

"Release control, Lauren. Release control. You know Tamsin was right," her whisper a little stronger now as she raised the cup of hot coffee to her lips.

She inhaled the steam, drawing it deep into her lungs. The warmth flooded her body, and the aroma filled her senses. She relaxed, putting her trust in her fiancé and her faith in Tamsin's monitoring skills. If anything did go wrong, the agent would know it and she would find Bo.

She sat, trying to focus on the beauty of the landscape just as Bo had taught her. Through Bo's eyes, she had learned a new appreciation for the snow she used to loath when she lived in the Northeast.

There, she only had headaches when the snow fell foot after foot. Getting to work, getting home from work, getting home from work only to be called back to work for a patient… Her entire life had been about transportation troubles in the winter, but here, all you needed was a little knowledge and a sled to go just about anywhere.

She noticed the team coming together by the fire and put down her coffee. She pulled on her jacket when she saw Kyle addressing the group, pointing towards the trail, and shrugging. Rudy wrapped her arms around Mary's leg, Elise hugged Molly's and that was all it took for Lauren to hurry out the door, covering her neck and face as she ran. She got to the group and blurted out,

"Something's wrong with her sled."

Kyle turned to Lauren, "What?"

"I just… I have this gut feeling that I just can't shake. Something happened to her sled. I don't know why I think that. I don't know how I know that. I just… I just know. It's been nagging at me and nagging at me for the last hour. I've tried to push it aside and not worry, but… I know. I just can't explain how."

Mary heard a sound overhead and looked up into the trees behind the cabin to see a pair of eagles in the shelter of the branches high above. She noted the markings on each bird and smiled,

"Kyle, get the sled kit ready. If Bo does have a damaged sled, she won't want to spend much time here. This is not a scheduled stop unless she has an injury to herself or the dogs."

"Mary, you aren't really saying…"

Mary stepped towards Kyle, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Humor me and trust Lauren's instincts," she turned to Lauren and smiled, "Worrying about your partner is one thing – what she's saying now is specific information."

Looking back at Kyle, Mary repeated, "Get the sled repair kit ready," she turned to LJ and then looked down at Rudy, "You two helped build her sled, you're the best ones to fix it."

"Momma?" Rudy asked, looking up at Mary, her eyes welling with tears.

"Child, your sister is fine. Trust her as she will trust you to get her back on that trail as quickly as possible."

Mary smiled when she saw her daughter's fists curl into little balls, her jaw clenching. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand,

"I'll be ready," she said, turning to LJ, "Come on! I need a piggy back! I wish my legs were longer…"

Mary smiled as she listened to her daughter bark orders at her mentor,

"…you get the tool kit, I'll pull out the wood and start the fire. Do you think we'll need new runners? I mean, if the rail is broke, the runners may have cracked. Better safe than sorry, right? We won't use the steel kits because steel causes too much friction on snow in cold weather. That would be bad if she's in a sprint for the finish at the end…"

Molly laughed, "Your daughter and her science."

Mary smiled, "My daughter?" she looked down at Elise, "And what about your little biologist there?"

Molly grinned, "I guess there's a bit of our beloved doctor in each of them."

"I'm okay with that, you?"

"Lauren is the only reason I have a daughter and since the parents selected our doctor as her mom, I will never have a problem with Elise following in her footsteps. I'm the stand-in mom. As a matter of fact, I can understand why Elise's parents chose Lauren. They're a perfect fit. While I'm happy to have her, it's a shame the two of them aren't together as mother and daughter."

Mary smiled, "That's big of you to admit."

Molly shrugged, "I've made Lauren her legal guardian should anything happen to me. Mark admitted he would be a horrible single father and that in that situation, Lauren would be the best choice no matter how difficult it would be for him to give her up."

Mary nodded, "Now that I understand. Bo would become the legal guardian of Rudy in the event of my death as well."

"My, how dark this conversation has become," Molly chuckled.

"Dark, but realistic, I suppose."

The two women turned up towards the trailhead when they heard Shannon calling out to the group,

"It's Bo! Here she comes!"

Everyone turned to see Bo running beside the sled, a backpack on her back and gear strapped to her waist. Lauren shook her head,

"Kate? Can you run into the clinic and get William? Carolyn? Can you help out in the clinic so he can come out and take a look at Bo?"

Both women nodded their reply as Lauren moved down the hill to the checkpoint. Bo pulled in, dropping the equipment and falling to her side, gripping her leg,

"Fuck!" she shouted, pulling her checkpoint papers from her pocket and handing them to the official who asked,

"Do you need assistance? Do you wish to drop out?"

Bo looked up at the woman, "Are you kidding me? No! I don't want to drop out! If I wanted to drop out, I would have called for a chopper to come pick me up from the woods instead of running the last three miles!"

"BO!" Lauren said, cocking her head when she had her girlfriend's attention, "Apologize."

Bo sighed, looking up at the official, "I'm sorry. I'm in pain, I'm mad at my sled and I'm tired. I didn't mean to be such an ass."

The official smiled, "You're Bo Dennis."

Bo gave a half smile, "Pleased to meet you?"

"I'll trade you an autograph for forgiveness," the woman smiled, "My daughter is your biggest fan."

Bo grinned, "Sure. Do you have a pen and paper?"

"Really?"

"You said an autograph for forgiveness. I'd like the forgiveness and an autograph is a small price to pay."

"Wow. I mean… I heard you don't give autographs."

Bo laughed, "You can't believe everything you hear – especially where I'm concerned."

The woman nodded, pulling an official race form from the bottom of her clipboard, and handing it to Bo with a pen. Bo picked up the pen,

"What's her name?"

The woman hesitated before she replied, "Ysabeau. Her name is Ysabeau."

Bo paused, looking up at the woman who smiled and said, "My husband and I are big fans too. When we learned what your full name was, we… well, it's a beautiful name and… maybe it's a little creepy?"

Bo nodded, "No. It's okay and you're right – my mom had great taste in names. I'm flattered that you would use my name for your daughter."

The woman quickly waved her hand over the clipboard, "But she goes by Izzy. She insisted on it. She didn't want to have the nickname Bo because there's only one Bo as far as she's concerned."

Sitting up, Bo nodded, "Izzy it is then."

Bo scribbled out a message to Izzy,

To Izzy – may you have the intelligence and instincts of a lead dog, the awareness and resiliency of a swing dog, the endurance and determination of a team dog and the strength and patience of a wheel dog. Every race is full of ups and downs, so take them as they come. You never know when the skies will clear and the sun will shine, making it easy to see the way home. Best wishes, Bo Dennis.

She smiled and handed the clipboard back, inviting the woman to bring Izzy by the store some time to see her dogs and sleds. The woman accepted excitedly before signing her checkpoint papers and handing them back with a wish of good luck in the race.

Lauren helped Bo to her feet, the rest of the team having picked up the gear and carried the busted sled up to the truck where Rudy, LJ and Kyle would start work on fixing it while Kyle supervised. Lauren walked to the fire with Bo where they were met by William,

"Heard you had a busted sled, so now I'm wondering how busted your knee is," William smiled, "Can't believe you hauled the sled on that knee. What was it? Three miles?"

"I couldn't risk hurting my team by forcing them to haul the full weight of a sled with all of that friction. I had no runner on the right side of the sled."

"Oh, I'm not judging. I'm impressed at your ability to tolerate pain. Your knee must hurt like hell. Hope you have a pair of backup pants," he said as he ran a pair of scissors up the side of Bo's leg like the material was made of butter.

"Gee. I guess I better," she snarked, unhappy about another pair of her favorite pants being destroyed, "Lauren, can you text…"

"Already on it, Sweetie."

Bo nodded, "Thanks. Where's my sled?"

"We were all set up for the repair before you arrived. Rudy and LJ are all ready to start the rebuild process. It shouldn't take long."

William looked up at Lauren, "How long do I have?"

Lauren shrugged, "I'll find out."

Bo gripped Lauren's wrist before she could leave, "Ask them if it would be better if I just took my last eight-hour rest here."

Lauren looked at William, then back at Bo, "But if you take it now, you won't have it for the toughest part of the trail when your knee is going to be under the most stress. That's when we had planned for you to take the long rest, Bo. Can't you just do a standard three-hour dog sleep stop now and save that eight?"

Bo sighed, looking over at the dogs who were all laying down, ignoring their food and water,

"You're right. They need to sleep. Tell them they have three hours. If it takes any longer than that, I'll have to take the eight and deal with my knee when the time comes. I have to do what's best for the dogs, Lauren. Worst that happens – I give William a bigger challenge on the operating room table."

William cleared his throat, "Actually, the worst-case scenario is that the condition of this knee ends your race career."

Bo twisted her face, "That's ridiculous. I've known plenty of people who have torn tendons and gotten right back into a sport. You read about it all the time."

William shook his head, "Bo, you've been pounding the crap out of your knees your entire life. I won't know until I get more images, but I'm fairly certain you may have some loose or torn cartilage and possibly a bit of arthritis. If you're not careful, you could be looking at knee replacement in a decade or two. Like I said, there's only so much we can do surgically."

Bo shrugged, "This won't end my career. I know my body. Trust me."

Lauren sighed, covering her abdomen with one arm while her hand, rubbed her neck, "I'm going to go talk to Kyle about their timeline. Please listen to William."

"I'll listen to everything he has to say except his ultraconservative approach to this race. I'd be dropping two or three dogs right now if I hadn't run those three miles. My life is no more important than theirs. My legs - are no more important than theirs," she said turning to William, "You need to understand that."

He nodded, "I hear you, loud and clear. I understand your priorities and will adjust my recommendations to meet them."

"Thank you," Bo said, giving Lauren a nod as she walked away.

Of course, Bo's eyes followed the blonde, knowing that she was not happy with her,

"She worries about me as any partner would but William, you need to remind her that beyond my love for her, those dogs… well, I was prepared to spend my life with them instead of a human until I met her. If I have to give up racing after this because I screwed up my legs, so be it. I will not put them at risk – no matter what."

"Careful Bo – you're starting to sound like a full-fledged member of PETA."

Bo smiled, "I never said I didn't agree with their beliefs – just not their one-sided coverage of what they believe to be a dog-slaughtering sport. They don't have all the information. There are more pet-owners in this world who do what they're accusing all mushers of doing. Abusive mushers are few and far between. They look at all animals as pets without understanding that every dog is as different as every human – needs, desires, physical abilities and instincts vary for each."

"Can I quote you on that?"

Bo looked up to see Gwen standing over her. She shook her head, "Yes and go away, Gwen. I'm exhausted and do not want to talk," she added, "Of course, my team has worked hard too. Why don't you go help the humans take care of the dogs? It takes a lot of us to take care of their legs since they each have four and we only have two hands."

"But I don't know how to…"

"Find my mom. She'll teach you."

Gwen smiled, "Of course. I'll help in any way I can. You're serious, right? I mean, I can really help?"

Bo chuckled, shaking her head, "Yes, you can really help. But be careful with them. You can easily hurt them while trying to help them."

Bo turned back to William,

"Look, this race will always raise issues about my safety for Lauren, but she knew who I was when we met. I'm not going to change what has gotten me to where I am today. This isn't the first time I've run injured and in pain. It's just the first time I've allowed the medical staff to intervene. If it weren't for Lauren, I never would have entered that medical tent and you never would have been called."

She suddenly thought about what Lauren had said about the team being ready for the sled. She turned to William,

"William? How did my team know to be ready for my busted sled?"

William shrugged, "I don't know. I was in the medical tent when Kate and Carolyn came in to relieve me. They said Lauren sent me."

"Was that before I got here?"

Bo flinched as he applied the cleansing solution to her wound then spoke, "I think it was just as you came into view, but I'm not sure. Why?"

Bo shrugged, "No reason," she smiled, seeing Elise come her way once more, "Hey, kiddo. What's up? Aren't you supposed to be with Cassie at this stop?"

Elise nodded, "I was. She sent me out to you."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"She said I'm supposed to tell you that your microchips aren't working… two of them."

"What?" Bo asked.

Elise frowned, "I don't know anything else! It's what she told me to tell you! I didn't do it!"

Bo smiled, taking Elise's hand and pulling her in for a hug, "Hey, kiddo. I'm not blaming you. I'm just shocked that they're not working. It's not your fault."

Elise pulled back, her eyes down, "Oh. I thought maybe you were mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you?" Bo asked.

"Because Rudy told me that she doesn't like that I kissed Mack Torgo and since you two have talks about everything, I thought you might be mad at me too. I mean, he kissed me first and I just sort of stood there. I didn't kiss him back but Rudy was upset. She hit him with an ice hockey puck and I yelled at her for hurting him. She thought I was picking him over her, but I wasn't. I just… I didn't know what to do. He just grabbed my face and smashed his lips against mine. It wasn't very nice. I mean… when you and Lauren kiss, she doesn't smash your face with hers. Molly and Mark don't smash faces either."

William laughed as he continued to work on Bo's knee, pausing for a moment to look up at his patient who smirked and asked,

"Do you want to take this one, Sir?"

"Challenge accepted. You're not the only competitive athlete out here, Ma'am."

He sat down, looking up at Elise, "You know, my youngest daughter had a similar experience when she was her age. She didn't like the boy kissing her at all. She was very upset because he didn't ask permission. He just told her he was going to kiss her and then pushed her against the playground wall and smashed her face against hers. When I picked her up from school, she told me all about it and how upset she was."

"What did you do?"

William looked at Bo and smiled, "Well, I didn't do what I wanted to do."

"What did you want to do?" Elise asked, sitting down beside Bo, a wicked grin on her face.

"I wanted to give the little rugrat a good long swirly."

"What's a swirly?" Elise asked, encouraged by Bo who chimed in, "Yea, what's a swirly?"

William looked at the two for a beat, then remembered he was not in the Northeast,

"Let's just say it would have gotten me into a lot of trouble and that would have made things worse for my daughter. Instead, I waited until the next day and called the principal once my daughter was in school. I told her what happened - that the young man's advance was not wanted and that I expected the teacher and playground volunteers to keep a better eye on my daughter."

"And did they?"

"Better than that," he smiled, "They switched him to another class so that my daughter didn't have to see him anymore. Apparently, she wasn't his first offense. The parents were calling him the 'kissing bandit'. Can you imagine?"

Bo laughed, "Ah, young crushes and little boys…"

William smiled, "I remember it well. My first crush was a little girl with big light green eyes, almost as light as Kenzi's."

"Her eyes are super cool," Elise smiled.

William nodded, "They're very pretty and not unlike my wife's."

"What was your crush name?" Elise asked.

"Her name was Patty. I wanted to kiss her, so I asked her friend Willa to ask her if she would kiss me and she said that I could kiss her one time after school when we got off the bus behind the storage shed at Willa's house."

Bo smiled, "How was it?"

"I almost melted, but Patty told everyone I was a terrible kisser. I was so humiliated. All of my friends picked on me for months after that and the worst part was that the nickname stuck all through high school."

Elise smiled, "What was the nickname?"

"Well, there's this movie that was popular when I was a kid called Star Wars…"

Bo and Elise shared a chuckle before Elise explained, "Lauren is always trying to get us to watch that."

"You haven't seen Star Wars? What is wrong with you two? You've got to see it!"

"Okay, okay. Nickname. Stop stalling," Bo smirked, knowing she would use it when an opportune moment came around.

William pulled out his phone, pulling up a picture on the web, "This is Jabba the Hut, a character from the movie. When I was a kid, I was chubby and when I kissed her, it was apparently slimy, so…"

Bo and Elise burst into laughter, Elise exclaiming, "Ewww! He is the worst! They really named you after him?"

William lowered his head, nodding, "Yup. Not the best way to spend a childhood."

Elise turned to Bo, "I have to come up with a nickname for him!"

William frowned, "Please don't."

"Huh?"

He knelt down in front of Elise,

"I know that a lot of women think little boys are annoying – even jerks but male culture in our society is tough on little boys. It's all about who the toughest kid on the playground is and when you're not that one, you tend to be a target for the others."

He looked down for a moment before looking back up at the two,

"I was that target. I was smart and I was a people pleaser. I liked to be kind to others, I enjoyed the praise of my teachers and parents. None of that made me popular at my school. Maybe things are different here, but boys often act the way they do because they're just trying to avoid being beaten up by the tough guys."

He shook his head, "That's no excuse for planting a kiss on a girl who doesn't welcome it, but clearly, he hasn't been taught how to treat a girl. Maybe instead of making him a target for the other guys, you could just befriend him? You know, talk to him like you do with Rudy and help him to learn how to treat girls."

"I wouldn't know how to do that," Elise said.

"Well, you and Rudy are both girls, right?"

"Well, yea."

"Then you know what girls like and don't like. Teach him instead of picking on him for what he did. Who knows – maybe he'll stop trying to kiss the other girls too."

Elise looked at Bo who shrugged, "He's got a point."

"Okay. I'll talk to Rudy about it. He's in her art class and gym class now that he's switched classes."

Bo nodded, "I'm sure she would love to help you."

Elise nodded, "I don't think so. She doesn't like him and she doesn't believe me."

"About what?"

Elise dropped her fists to her lap, "That I didn't want him to kiss me!"

Bo smiled, "Well, maybe you can find a way to convince her."

Elise nodded and Bo could see that her mood was definitely going in the wrong direction, so she decided to give her a job to focus on,

"You'll figure it out, Sweetie. So, let's talk about these microchips."

Elise shrugged, "I don't even know what they are."

Bo smiled, "Has Harper been walked yet?"

Elise shook her head, "No. Should I walk her?"

Bo nodded, "Walk her right down here and I'll teach you all about the chips. While you're getting her, can you ask Kyle to give you the chip kit? You'll need it for Cassie."

"Okay. I'll be right back!"

Bo smiled as she ran away, her snowshoes getting caught every few steps. She smiled and turned back to watch William work,

"What's that?"

"Another Kurt invention," he smiled as he pulled a plastic ring over Bo's knee, "He said he thought of it after I explained the contrast bath I used to get you vertical. He was on the chopper and saw the life ring, then thought of the hot-cold and the time it took to fill the troughs, the gas in the engines, the noise… he decided there was a better way."

"And this is… a better way?" Bo asked.

William shrugged, "I don't know. You're the first one we're using it on. I'm just looking at the positives…"

"Which are?"

"You can keep your long underwear on so your skin doesn't get burned, you don't have to get wet and chilled, no engine or diesel fuel means no risk of poisoning ourselves with carbon monoxide, no moving during treatment and you can do this on the trail."

"Really?"

William nodded, "I pull this plastic sleeve over your leg and attach these two tubes. One is metal and will sit in the fire, the other is plastic and will sit in the snow."

"Okay. Hot and cold. Where is the water?"

He smiled, opening up a suitcase with a pump and a gas container in it,

"There's water in the gas container. This small solor-powered motor will pump water out of the container, through the metal tube thereby pushing a continuous flow of hot water through the wide ring around your leg until I hit this switch that will divert the water from the metal tube to the plastic which…" he buried the tubing in the snow, "… will be ice cold, cooling the water as it enters the tube. I'll feel the tubing to be sure it's at temperature before I start the stopwatch to be sure you're still getting hot and cold for the right amount of time."

"Wow."

"I know, right? The guy is a genius."

Bo smiled, "That's our Kurt. I am a bit worried about that hot tube though. I mean, a fire is a lot hotter than the water in the whirlpool."

He nodded, "Yes, but I can bury the tube closer to the flame to keep it cold longer if the heat gets too high."

"Right. Okay then. Let's do this."

"Before we start, how does your knee really feel?"

"Like someone put it in a vice and twisted it. You don't have my permission to tell Lauren that. Doctor-patient privilege and all."

"Bo…"

"I know – she's your boss, but I'm your patient and that trumps boss… legally."

William nodded, "It does, but you're putting me in an awkward position."

"I won't let her fire you, be mad at you or make things weird in or outside of the hospital. It's on me and she will know that. I'm the one that put you in a bad situation, so if anything, she'll be apologizing to you for my behavior."

William sighed, "Fine. Now, when you say vice, do you mean pressure inside the knee like it was before I drained it?"

"Maybe? It just feels stiff."

"Like it wants to lock up?" William asked.

Bo nodded, "Exactly like that. It locked up on me about a mile back. I fell flat on my face. Thankfully, the dogs were too tired to drag more weight through the deep snow at that point."

"Okay. I'll have the scanner at your eight-hour rest so we can do another MRI. I think you might have some torn cartilage in there."

Bo nodded, "Let me ask you – is knowing that I have torn cartilage going to change anything about how you're treating me right now?"

"Well, no but I would know…"

"More about what you have to do in surgery after the race. I thought we agreed we were going to take this one checkpoint at a time?"

William smiled, "We did. I'm sorry. I'm not used to working in the field like this and every fiber of my being wants to get in there and fix it right now. What you really need is an Athletic Trainer out here. They're the ones who patch up athletes and get them back out there to play."

"Well, I don't have one of those… whatever it was that you just said I need… but maybe you can talk Lauren into hiring one or two after the race."

"That's actually a great idea. University of Alaska at Fairbanks has a great Sports Medicine Program from what I've been told. She could start another one of those joint programs with the university. Great idea, Bo."

She laughed, "I was just trying to get you back to working on my leg. We're on a clock, remember?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry," he said as he finished hooking up the machine, "Now, just sit back and relax. If you fall asleep, it's all good. You don't have to do anything right now except rest."

"Food. I need food."

"We'll make sure you eat. For now, sleep."

Bo nodded, closing her eyes as the warm water surged from mid-calf to mid-thigh, "That feels… amazing."

He smiled, placing two fingers on the metal pipe about halfway between the fire and Bo's leg, ready to detach it if his fingers began to burn. It was crude science, but it was also great field science. He was going to have to find a way to help Kurt take this device to medical-grade prototype and then get it to market.

It really was an athletic trainers' dream machine. No more filling whirlpools, no more water waste, no more cleaning and sterilizing, no risk of transmissible infections and he was pretty sure he could help Kurt connect with someone about a better power source.

Lauren approached, about to speak when William raised a finger over his lips. He nodded to Bo and watched as Lauren smiled with relief. She moved over next to her colleague,

"How's she doing?"

He shrugged, "This machine is incredible. I mean… we need to help Kurt get this to market. I'll talk to you about all of the reasons why later, but first, I want to talk to you about starting a Sports Medicine Department partnership with University Alaska, Fairbanks..." He hesitated, "Bo's fine… so the University?"

Lauren pushed a stray hair from Bo's cheek and turned back to William,

"I'm listening…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Supply Truck

"That's not going to work, LJ! I'm telling you, the friction is the key! The trail that Sister has left isn't going to be all snow. She's got dirt, water, ice flows and snow not to mention that tussocky stuff!"

Shannon and Betsy had been watching the rebuild and both looked at each other, confused,

"What's tussocky, Squirt?" Shannon asked.

"You've seen it. It's these big bulges of grass that grow up out of the tundra. You look at the trail and it looks like brown grass, but it's more like hair on a doll."

"Hair on a doll?" LJ asked.

Rudy sighed, "Don't you people ever look at dolls heads? They have holes in their heads and a bunch of hairs come out of the holes, but the holes are like separated, so it doesn't look like real hair. Our hairs only grow out of one teeny tiny hole and they're all really close together so our hair is more like grass in Hawaii. Here, hair is more like the hair on a big-headed doll."

Shannon nodded, "Actually… I think I know exactly what you mean."

"Yea and now picture yourself a teeny tiny musher with a teeny tiny sled with hair that's been cut down so it's just a little taller than your sled. When you run over it, it's smooth and then you hit a clump of hair with one rail, but maybe not the other one so you're all lopsided and you have more weight on one rail than the other. Worse than that, you can hit a tussocky twice on one rail and one is taller than the other, so it can break your runner. I think that's what happened to Bo's sled. She went through that whispery creek or something and it's all tussocky stuff," Rudy explained, holding up two pieces of wood,

"See? She carved this slat and a bunch of sled bed slats from a tree. The wood is super wet but it smells like swamps, so she probably got busted on tussocky since it usually grows in places like that."

LJ scratched his head, "Damn, Sis. That's… wow. You're super smart."

"I know! That's what I've been trying to tell you! Now you keep on wanting to use plastic on the runners, but they're going to give her no friction. How can she control the sled on ice with no friction? Still, we can't have friction on the dirt stuff. The old days they used steel, but ice and steel stick together because of the cold like Bobby Robertson's tongue got stuck on the flagpole on the playground 'cause everyone dared him to do it."

The three adults burst into laughter which Rudy couldn't understand,

"It's not funny! It could have ripped his whole tongue off. Kids are so stupid sometimes!"

"Hey!" Shannon warned, "You know how your family feels about that word."

Rudy sighed, "Sorry but it really wasn't a smart thing to do."

"Then that's how you say it more politely."

"Fine," she said, turning back to LJ, "Okay. Wood is great but it gets dried out by the water. That's probably why she busted the rail to begin with, right?"

LJ nodded, "Probably."

"And sister has used plastic before, right?"

LJ nodded, "Definitely. She ran super-fast on those last year and we still have the two new ones that Kyle had made for this year. Do we try those?"

Rudy shrugged, "We put on eight-foot runners and the bow is right in the middle."

"Sled-building 101, Rudy. What are you getting at?"

"What if we had slicks on the front and a higher friction skid from Kyle's new ones in the back?"

"You mean cut the plastic in half?" LJ asked.

Rudy nodded, "We did this experiment about friction at school. We used a box and two pencils to build a sled and then we were given all this different stuff to put on the pencils and teacher put a weight in the box to see who could design the best sled that would drive fastest and straightest."

She looked up at the three adults, dropping the sled on its side,

"Sister can't put her leg down because it's hurt so we have to give her a sled that will go straight as much as possible. If there's more friction under her feet and the bench, the sled can't go side to side, right?"

"Yes, but it's going to slow her down and won't it be harder on the dogs?"

Rudy nodded, "Not if we can put plastic behind the pivot point too."

LJ's eyebrows raised, "So you're saying three different slicks on the runners."

"Yup. What do you think?"

LJ shrugged, "I think we ask Kyle and Bo and see what they think."

"Okay. I'll go ask Sister. You find Kyle."

LJ nodded, jumping down off the truck before lifting Rudy down. The two ran off in two different directions, leaving Shannon shaking her head,

"Betsy, that kid is a walking, talking miracle."

The woman nodded, "I've never met a child like her."

Shannon laughed, "Me either and I've been around Lauren Lewis my entire career."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fireside

Lauren could see Rudy coming and immediately held up a finger over her lips so that she wouldn't call out to Bo. The youngster came to sit on Lauren's lap and whispered in her ear,

"What is Doctor William doing to Sister's leg?"

Lauren smiled, explaining the machine to the younger Dennis leading her to get up and go over to the machine to see how it worked. She followed the metal tube first, then the plastic tube before going over and whispering into William's ear,

"Are you sure the water isn't too hot?"

He smiled and nodded to his fingers, whispering back, "If it burns my fingers, it will burn her leg. That's how I'll know to quickly pull the metal piece from the plastic sleeve that's holding the water."

"But won't all the water leak out?"

He nodded, "But then we just melt some more snow and refill the container."

"How will you stop it from being hot?"

William smiled, nodding towards the set up, "You tell me?"

Rudy considered the machine for a moment, smiling when she saw the plastic tube in the snow, "Bury the metal pipe?"

William nodded.

"Will the gas last for enough time?"

Again, William nodded towards the gas can a few yards away, buried in the snow, "Right now, it's running on stored solar power, but we have a backup engine and a gas-oil mix if we need a boost."

Rudy giggled, "What a good idea."

William smiled, "I thought so. Kurt built it."

She squatted down over the engine, yelling her whisper to William, "I asked Kurt to teach me how to build an engine. I want to build my own snow machine out of a dog's sled."

William looked at Lauren who simply shrugged. He turned back to Rudy, "You can do that?"

Rudy smiled, "You never know until you try. Look at you? You thought Sister wouldn't be able to keep racing, but she's still running. That's because of you. She'll thank you after the race. I know she will."

William smiled, "I'll be happy if she finishes. That's all the thanks I need. It's important to her, so it's important to me."

"It's important to me too."

"Then I'll try extra hard to keep her on her two feet."

Rudy shrugged, "I'm trying to help her only have to be on her butt," she turned to Lauren, "That's why I came. I have to talk to Bo about something I want to try with the sled. LJ is talking to Kyle about it, but we need Bo to say okay before we can do it. We don't have a lot of time to do this and Sister can go back to sleep right after she says yes. Can you wake her up?"

Lauren nodded, knowing that without a sled, Bo was going to be forced into the eight-hour rest she didn't really want to take right now. She leaned over and tapped Bo once, twice, then three times before Rudy called out to her,

"Sister! Sister! Wake up!"

Bo jolted awake, moving to sit up, but William held her leg in place,

"Easy, Bo."

"What… what's wrong?" She looked over at Rudy, "Roo. You okay?"

She nodded, "Sorry I scared you awake but Lauren's taps weren't working. I need to ask you about my sled idea. You can go back to sleep after you say yes."

Bo looked at William, then Lauren before she nodded and waved Rudy over, "Come on, Roo. Tell me what's going on."

Rudy sat down on the chair beside Bo and began, "So, remember that friction experiment we did in school where I won the fruit basket for making the fastest and straightest sled?"

Bo nodded, "You kicked butt."

Rudy nodded, smiling proudly, "Well, I was thinking we could do that with your sled so that it wouldn't fish tail on ice from Rohn to the pass. Here's my idea…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Supply Truck

Rudy stood in the truck, hands on hips looking down at Kyle, "Can someone tell me why we're not just using one of the three backup sleds we brought?"

LJ and Kyle looked at each other before Kyle looked up at Rudy and said, "Your sister is superstitious."

"What's that?"

LJ sighed, "It means she thinks that it's bad luck to switch sleds during a race."

Rudy dropped the screwdriver, "Well, if you ask me, this thing has bad luck written all over it. Are you sure we can't just switch the sled? I mean, they're all the same model. How will she even know?"

"Would you know if I switched out your sled?" Kyle asked.

Rudy sighed, "Okay. I get it, but she busted up her knee, had to drop Harper, broke a runner and had to run three miles with this sled. I just don't see the good luck in using it. Change the sled and she changes her luck to better. But I'm just a kid, what do I know!"

"Okay, Squirt. Pull it together and focus. Are you two finished?" Kyle asked, her eyes set on LJ.

"We're ready to go other than oiling the wood runners."

"And we have to test the sled too. I'm need three people in the basket so we have about the same weight Sister will have to carry," Rudy said, pulling on her gear.

LJ shook his head, "Maybe I should drive."

Rudy shook her head, "I drove a fully loaded sled all the way here with Sister. Besides, I don't weigh enough. You have to sit in the basket."

LJ looked at Kyle who said, "Get Mary. She'll add to the weight of the sled."

Nodding, the young man headed off to find Rudy's mom. He knew what Kyle was planning. She wasn't going to let Rudy drive the heavy sled without her permission.

Kyle looked up at the sled, "So if Bo has to switch out these skids, how will she do it?"

"Flip the sled on its side and pull out whichever of the three she needs to replace," Rudy smiled.

"Okay. That's easy enough. She's going to need wood oil for the ones in the middle."

Rudy held up a can, "They had it in the cabin store."

Kyle smiled, "Do you know what to do to that?"

"Wipe it on the wood?" Rudy asked.

Kyle shook her head, waving the youngster over to the fire, "Lesson number one hundred and seventy-two."

Rudy giggled, "It's number one hundred and ninety-six."

"How do you know?" Kyle asked.

"Because I wrote it down in my journal! I copied it from our Rudy lessons board in your office."

Kyle poked at the fire, placing an empty coffee can from the stack into the flames.

"Are you gonna make more sealant? Won't that…"

Kyle shook her head, "Not the kind of sealant you used on the sled. This is specifically for the runners. That linseed oil will just come right off if you put it on wood that's always in contact with snow or water. When you boil the linseed, however, it works as a guard seal. Hot oil is also more workable when you rub it on the runners."

"So we just put it on right over the wax we use on our sleds?"

Kyle nodded, "The wax protects our sleds because they aren't in contact with the ground like the runners. The boiled oil will seal in the wax and prevent it from coming off for at least the duration of the race."

"Cool," Rudy said, watching the flames, "Do I pour it in now?"

Kyle shook her head, "Not yet."

"Now?" Rudy asked.

"Not yet."

"Now?"

"Rudy!"

Rudy giggled and giggled until Kyle realized she was intentionally trying to annoy her, "Got me, Squirt."

"I needed to make you laugh. You're being too serious this week and you're not having any fun."

Kyle turned to Rudy, "Really?"

"Uh-huh. You're all serious and worried and do this, do that with everybody. You're ignoring Tamsin too. You're not supposed to ignore your girlfriend."

"Well, aren't you the observant one," Kyle smiled.

"What does that mean?"

"Rudy lesson number one hundred and ninety-seven, it means you are very aware of what is going on around you."

"Oh! My science teacher says that noticing everything during an experiment is really important to getting the right answer. That's how I thought of doing the three slick thing."

Kyle smiled, "Well, it was an excellent idea."

Rudy shrugged, "But we don't know if it really was unless Bo wins. What if my idea makes her lose?"

"She said yes to the idea, right?"

"Sure, but what if she was just saying yes because she didn't want to not try my idea?"

Kyle shook her head, "She wouldn't do that with the race on the line, Squirt. Besides, both LJ and I agreed to try this too. It's not all on you, Rudy so don't worry about it. Besides, winning and losing takes more than just a good sled."

Rudy nodded, "Stratchy is important too."

Kyle smiled, "Strategy is the word and yes, it is. Timing your rest intervals, driving the sled, having the conditioning and of course, having the best team of dogs are all factors as well. The big thing about your choice is that it could keep Bo from flipping her sled."

"So that she doesn't hurt her leg more?"

"Exactly. If she can't stay in the race, she can't win the race," Kyle smiled.

Rudy shrugged, "Which is why I still think she should use one of the other backup sleds."

"You don't trust your repairs?"

"LJ said we did everything right. I just don't get why we're patching new wood to old wood. I'm not sure why I think it, but isn't that a bad idea? I mean, what if the old wood is too old and that's why it cracked to begin with? What if her other old runner cracks and we just can't see that it's about to crack?"

"I think you're cracking up," Kyle laughed.

Rudy giggled, "You're funny."

"You said I wasn't laughing enough, so I think I'll try to do better."

"Kyle? Can we please ask Bo if we can use a backup sled when she wakes up?"

The older woman could sense Rudy's worry over the sled they had just repaired and her insistence on giving it a test run just added to Kyle's concerns over the youngster's instincts. She was very, very young to sledding, but she had watched her do amazing things at the sled shop under supervision.

The number of lessons they'd had was also a constant reminder to Kyle of how inquisitive and interested she was in the sport. Kyle had told Bo on numerous occasions that her sister was like a sponge. She sighed, looking at her young protégé,

"We'll ask her. Maybe you can explain to her why you think this sled that she always thinks is her good luck charm may have run out of luck."

Rudy nodded, "I'll do that part if you do the asking part."

Kyle held out her hand, "Deal."

"Deal," Rudy said, shaking the hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

An Hour Later

Bo walked over to the truck, to check on the progress of her sled, but instead, found her little sister flying into the staging area from the upper trail with what looked like LJ, Kyle and her mom loaded onto the front of the sled with the backup dogs hauling the load.

Rudy pulled right up beside Bo, calling the team to a halt. Bo reached down and grabbed the leads while Rudy pulled the brake and dropped the anchor, stomping it into the ground. LJ immediately helped Mary from the sled, then Kyle, the three of them walking over to Bo with Rudy,

"Sister! It works awesome! Right guys?" Rudy said, turning to the three of them.

"Well, we didn't slide on ice," LJ said.

"I didn't feel any fishtailing," Kyle added.

"I had my eyes closed," Mary smiled.

"Mom!" Rudy pouted, but the eldest Dennis turned to her child and smiled,

"I'm just kidding, my Roo. You handled the heavy sled like a pro," she looked up at Bo, "Even avoided a run-in with a caribou."

"Really?" Bo asked, her eyes wide with shock and worry.

"It came outta nowhere, Sister! Ran right beside me for a couple yards and then jumped over the sled and took off. It was so cool!"

Bo looked at her mom, taking a deep breath before releasing it and shaking her head, "Glad you had fun, Roo."

She noticed Rudy tugging on Kyle's sleeve until her partner spoke up,

"Bo, we're wondering if you want to use a backup sled. They're the same model as this one only without a mix of old and new wood."

"No."

"Sister, wait. Listen to me, okay?"

"Roo, I don't switch sleds if the sled can be fixed."

"Sister, you have to listen! You promised to always listen!"

"Not with this, Roo. I'm sorry but…" she could see the look of disapproval on her mom's face. She sighed, her eyes landing on the disappointed faces of LJ and Kyle before turning back to a dejected Rudy.

"Okay, Roo. I'm listening."

"You started this race with those mean men in the meeting, then you had that sneaky reporter stick her hooks in you, then you had those two kids that you had to try to help, then you almost crashed into a bunch of moose, then you made some other mistake that I don't remember and then you had to drop Harper and then you cut your leg, but it wasn't just a cut because you actually busted up your knee and then you busted up your sled and then you broke it again so you had to run three miles to get here. This sled is bad luck, Sister."

Bo's mouth hung open as she stared at her sister before she finally spoke,

"Okay."

Kyle's eyes went wide while Rudy smiled, throwing a signature fist pump and shouting, "Yes! Bad luck sled goodbye! New sled, new luck! You're gonna win! I know it!"

Bo laughed as Rudy danced around in a circle, "Don't get too excited, Roo. You've got less than an hour to get my other sled prepped while I go feed and water my dogs one last time before we leave."

Rudy looked up at LJ, "Help me?"

Kyle smiled, "We'll all help."

Bo reached out and gripped Kyle's elbow, "The handle…"

"Wrap it in string with the gaps exactly one inch apart, then wrap it in that thing tennis grip in the toolkit."

Bo nodded, "Make sure you…"

"Rub it down with steel wool so the grip isn't slippery."

"Thank you, my friend."

"Let's win this thing, Bo. Enough with the bad luck. New schedule, new bandages, new sled, new race."

Bo nodded, "Agreed."

Kyle waved to Shannon and Molly who started gathering the others to cool down the backup dogs and start getting the new sled ready to go.

Bo smiled, looking down at her old sled,

"No offense old friend, but before you can run another race, we've got to fix you up right. Rudy's dead on about blending old and new wood. You could have a fracture somewhere that we can't see, and I don't want to have to leave you behind. Besides, maybe it's time that you retire since Harper's retiring, huh? There's something poetic about that, dontcha think?"

Bo smiled, running her hand over the wooden handle, stopping to wring her hands around the grip,

"Yea, I think it's time. You'll still be my number one at home. Nothing can separate us. Besides, I still plan to pass you on to Rudy or my mom… or someone."

She sighed, moving to the front of the sled to give a little rub to each of her backup dogs, particularly her former veterans who were now relegated to the bench. They got a little extra time from Bo. She wanted to check on Harper but it was a much longer walk in uphill deep snow. Hopefully someone would bring her to her at some point.

Finally, she stood and headed over to her team to help feed and water them before spending a little quality time sitting amongst them before they headed out onto the trail. Hopefully they would like the modifications that were being made to the sled runners. She would know in the first couple of miles if they were going to do the job.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Journal Entry: Iditarod South to Ophir South

Well, I'm on the way back. Of course, it would have been nice if a race official had told me that the loop around Flat had to be closed due to trail conditions. I've now gone an extra ten miles over any other Mushers before an official on a snow machine stopped me to tell me the trail was not passable.

They say I'll get time credit after the race. Too bad they can't give me back the energy and calories spent by me and my dogs especially since it's going to make us even more fatigued than our competitors at the finish line. I swear if any dogs are hurt during this unnecessary stretch, this committee will have hell to pay.

Anyway, now I'm headed back to Iditarod where I started this leg. I'll get my papers checked again before heading south to Ophir… back to the snow. I'll have to take a break off trail again, but this time, I won't pull the rookie move of sitting exposed on the open tundra. I'll pitch Kyle's new shelter and put that baby to the test. If it keeps me toasty, I'll give her the go vote to put it into manufacturing and get it on our kennel shelves by summer.

Kyle and I had a short business chat before I left. She agrees we should pull LJ in as a partner at twenty-percent owner. We'll each give up ten percent to him and see if he sticks with it. It's incentive, for sure, but my big brother's voice is still in the back of my head telling me his Dad wants him to go to college. Frankly, I could give two shits what my absent nephew Big Jon wants these days, but I do want what's best for LJ's future.

Kyle was talking about how much Rudy is learning as an almost-eleven-year-old in elementary school science class. Her understanding of sleds, particularly friction and sled dynamics is beginning to surpass LJ's. If he has any hopes of keeping up with her, he really needs to do some engineering courses.

Hell, if I did those online courses to get up to speed with my construction business, he can do them too. I didn't have the money for college, but if I followed Kyle's suggestion, I could pay LJ his share into a college fund rather than give him the cash to blow on more sledding gear that he, frankly, doesn't need.

No matter how much we teach him, he's still drawn to buying these new high-tech pieces of gear that we've proven time and again aren't any better than what we're using.

Kyle has tried to tell him that I've tried every sled on the market and still went back to wood. The skids on my sled right now are a hybrid of the three that I usually use – not a standard hi-tech market skid. What Rudy did with my skids earlier is something LJ never would have thought to do because it's not what the other racers are doing.

If he'd stop looking at the mushers we're beating and start paying attention to what our winning team is doing, he'd see my wins aren't about the equipment but how we adapt it to the race.

Sled building is an art and so is mushing but winning is about dogs, sled and musher working together against three basic opponents – the land, its hazards, and a clock.

For me as the musher, I'll always monitor the other racers, but overcoming the weather, the trail, our basic needs, the mental and physical stress and the unexpected curve balls from the committee are all things that I have to handle. If I make the wrong choice, I put my dogs and sled at risk and that has nothing to do with the other racers or the equipment they were using.

My gear doesn't make the race. Sure, a broken sled can end a race, but I'd love to see those metal sled mushers fix their sled twenty miles from the nearest checkpoint. I could have fixed my sled a second time, but I knew I could run the three miles hauling the gear. I've trained for those situations with my daily runs in deep snow and hi-tech equipment couldn't have helped me do that run… although two good legs would have been nice.

Speaking of my crap leg, I guess the cortisone is officially kicking in because my knee hasn't been bothering me much at all. William told me that Kurt welded in additional steel supports to the brace while I was sleeping, so maybe it's just because this contraption wrapped around my leg is keeping it from being moved in the wrong way.

I couldn't straighten it if I wanted to. I can only bend it further. William says it will protect further damage to my ACL. The new supports should keep me from lateral movement that could cause more problems. I guess I'll find out since my plan is to haul ass while I can and if it blows up, it blows up. I'll ride the bench through to the end.

I know it's a risk, but right now, the dogs are tired, and they need my help through to Nikolai because I'm going to need them at that point.

I rested Nike the last twenty miles, so I'm going to rest Diana the next twenty, then Aphrodite the twenty after that. From there, I'll rotate each dog into the basket for five to ten miles unless we're on an uphill.

Of course, well-rested leads tend to drive the whole team faster, so I'm having to be pretty persistent in keeping them at a steady pace, so they don't run the rest of the team into the ground too early. I'm using my drag brake as needed, but I'm always concerned about the stress it puts on the shoulders of my Wheel dogs since they're closest to the sled and feel that tug the most.

Well, time for a nap then I'll give the kids another snack before we get on the road. Note: Remember to get a full refill on snacks and a bit extra before leaving Ophir. The dogs need more calories for the trail to Nikolai. Also, Artemis has a bad piece of Velcro on her pelvic protector.

Thinking of my love as I lay down to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

OPHIR CHECKPOINT

"See you at Rohn, Lauren!" Kyle called out before hopping into the truck.

Rudy and Elise came running across the snowy field to the doctor and knocked her back into the snow when they both hit her at the same time. They all giggled and rolled around before Lauren sat up, looking down at the the pair,

"You look like a couple of snow bunnies all covered in fluffy white!"

The two friends looked at each other and laughed as they saw snow on their eye lashes and in the loose hair sticking out from under their hoods and hats. They sat up, brushing each other off,

"Oops! My snowshoe is half off!" Elise said as Lauren reached down and refastened it.

The two sat up, Rudy turning to Lauren,

"Are you sure you won't be at McGrath?"

Lauren shook her head, "I'm sure, Roo. I told Bo I would be here for her stop in Ophir just to be sure her leg was okay, but I have a shift in the medical tent in Rohn and then in Rainy Pass. I probably won't see you until Bo gets there."

"But what if something happens to her?"

Lauren felt a pang of worry run through her body, but kept her smile,

"There are plenty of other doctors here to see to your sister should she need them. Besides, Doctor William will be at McGrath and Kate is covering a shift at Nikolai so if Bo gets there when they're there, they'll look out for her."

Rudy sighed, "Okay."

Elise was silent, so Lauren asked her, "Sweetie? Is something wrong?"

She shrugged, "I don't think we're supposed to ask."

Lauren smiled, "You can ask me anything. You know that."

The pair looked at each other before Rudy asked, "Where's my big brother?"

Lauren hesitated, hating to lie to the two, but she couldn't risk them letting the news slip to Bo, "Nobody told you that he had an emergency at the General Store down in Point Siku?"

Elise looked at Rudy, then back to Lauren, "We know we're not supposed to listen to adult conversations…"

"But we were sitting in the kennel truck feeding the back up dogs…"

"And they were right outside the back of the truck…"

"So we would have to have cotton balls in our ears not to hear them…"

"And they said…" Rudy began, but stopped, looking at Elise who asked,

"Did he really have a heart attack?"

Lauren's blood ran cold as she struggled to keep her composure. She thought she'd sent him in time. Did he really have a full-blown heart attack?

"Lauren?" Rudy asked.

Taking one of their hands, she responded, "I honestly did not hear that. But I'll tell you what – I'll talk to your Moms and check to be sure he's okay. Alright?"

The pair nodded, but Lauren added, "Let's not talk to Bo about this, okay? We don't know anything, and we don't want her pushing the dogs too hard just to get back to find out he's fine."

"She wouldn't forgive herself if one of her dogs died because she pushed them too hard. She says a mushers first responsibility is to take proper care of their dogs, not winning a race."

Lauren nodded, "And she's right, so let's not talk to her about things that don't have anything to do with the race. She's nearing the end and she's got the toughest trail sections ahead of her. We need to help her to stay focused on getting to that finish line, right?"

"Right!" the two girls said in unison.

"Okay then – you two better head over to Bo's truck. It looks like LJ's got the trailer hitched up and ready to go."

"Bye Lauren!" they each called out before racing up the hill to where LJ was waiting to lift them into the truck and strap them into their booster seats.

Lauren walked over to the fire where Mary and Molly were cleaning up the site they'd called home for three days. She didn't hold back,

"Did Tosh have a heart attack?"

Molly looked up, shocked to see Lauren and hear the question.

"I'll take that as a yes. Is he stable?"

Again, Molly stood, unable to speak, so Lauren pulled out her phone,

"Tell me now or I'll find out myself."

Molly held up her hands, "Do not put your staff at risk, Lauren. I'll tell you."

"Okay. What's going on?"

Molly began, "His chest pain wasn't caused by his heart. It was caused by a tumor that was pressing on his spinal cord. A doctor…"

"Hannah Jane," Lauren nodded, "Removed the tumor. Was it malignant?"

"No. She said it was a benign mass that had adhered to the spine and third thoracic vertebrae. We were waiting until the race was over for you to explain it to us."

Lauren shook her head, "You shouldn't have kept this from me."

Mary spoke, "Child, we…"

"No. Don't you Child me! I'm the owner of that hospital and the Chief of Staff. Yes, I'm currently on leave, but what happens there and what happens to patients that I send there is of my concern."

"But Tosh asked…" Molly began, but Lauren cut her off,

"You should know better! Both of you! You want me to feel like I'm a part of this family and yet you keep this from me? Well, I call bullshit! Stop trying to protect me! I'm as strong if not stronger than Bo!"

She turned, storming off to her truck. She didn't acknowledge Shannie or Lynnie when they yelled to her, instead, pushing the button on the dash and pulling out with a vengeance onto the road leaving the two nurses, Kate and Anna standing there looking at a shocked Molly and Mary.

Shannon called out, "Do I need to go after her before she gets herself killed?"

Molly began to speak, but Mary put a hand on her arm, "Take Anna."

Anna gave a wave, the four women having a better idea of what was going on before they piled into Kate's truck and headed off towards Rohn.

Carolyn asked from the back seat, "Do we have a plan once we catch up to her?"

"Run her off the road?" Shannon snarked.

"Not helpful," Kate replied.

Anna spoke calmly, "We're going to… stop the truck."

"What?"

"Stop the truck, Kate!"

Kate slammed on the brakes, pulling over to the side of the road. Anna looked at her, "Lauren's back there in a ditch. Come on."

"Wait. Let me back up to her. If we have to tow out, we'll need the truck there."

They all turned over their shoulder, watching Kate back down the shoulder of the road until they saw Lauren, head on the steering wheel in the truck.

"Oh God," Carolyn said, "Shannie, grab the kit!"

First out of the vehicle, Carolyn ran down the short incline to the door and ripped it open,

"Lauren? Lauren!"

The blonde looked up at her friend, tears streaming down her face, "I… I was just… I lost control of…"

"Are you okay?"

Lauren nodded, "I think so."

"Okay then. Let's get you out of here."

Lynnie looked up at her three friends, "She's okay, but we'll need to tow her out."

"Why don't you four get Lauren to where she's going and we'll bring her truck behind you. We've got time."

They all turned to see Mark and LJ walking up the shoulder of the road.

"And my humiliation is complete," Lauren said, eyeing the passengers in the two vehicles.

Anna turned to Lauren, "We can leave right now and let them handle this. Molly can drive your truck."

"Honestly, I'd rather they just all move on right now so I don't have to look at them."

Mark yelled, "Kate? You have tow chains in your truck?"

"What am I? A rookie?" She snarked, causing Mark to smile as he walked closer to the five women.

"Listen – I'm not sure what happened back there, but Molly did tell me she screwed up and we needed to catch up with you, Lauren."

"I'd rather not talk to them right now, Mark. I'm sorry but… I'm incredibly hurt and you know I like to keep my armor up when I'm hurt."

"Yea, well just keep in mind that every time you put that armor on, you're bound to get another chink in it until eventually, the armor is useless."

Anna laughed, "Wow. Is Counseling for Idiots your nighttime reading? That wasn't bad, Mark."

"Thanks, Doc. I've got a little experience with putting on armor myself. It didn't serve me well and now I can barely look Aunt Bo in the eye."

Anna nodded, "Well, that's a conversation for another day…"

"Really?" Mark asked.

Anna's tone softened, "Any time."

"Thank you," he replied, "I think I'll take you up on that."

Anna only nodded in reply, turning to the four women, "Ready to go?"

Shannon spoke up, "I'll help these guys. You four go on ahead."

Lauren started to protest, but Anna placed a hand on her arm, "Can you drop her off at the café in McGrath? We're going to hang there for a while. Lauren doesn't have to be in Rohn for another sixteen hours."

"Absolutely," Mark replied, "Lauren, I don't know what's going on between you and my wife, but please know that she's very sorry right now for whatever she did. I… I love you, Lauren. You're family to me and… well, my Dad might be dead if you hadn't sent him off in that chopper a couple days back, so… thank you."

Lauren nodded, "You're welcome, Mark."

"I know you can't tell me any more than that Doctor Jane since my Dad gave her instructions not to tell, but I know you're looking out for him. So, thanks again."

Lauren accepted the hug that Mark offered before he headed down the incline to her truck. She turned and walked silently to Kate's truck, climbing in and closing the door.

"Anna, you should know that the hospital has been radio silent with Lauren about Tosh. Even we don't know anything about it," Carolyn said.

Kate nodded, "Once they determined it wasn't cardiac, I was pushed out of the loop too. I did the vascular work on that young musher but I haven't even been updated on her condition either."

"Do you think that's what this was all about?" Carolyn asked.

Kate looked at Anna who shrugged, "I guess we'll all find out soon enough. I'll take the lead in the conversation."

Carolyn nodded, "We wouldn't have it any other way."

Shannon walked to Carolyn to say her goodbyes before they went in their respective directions. Shannon watched her friends head towards McGrath, suddenly feeling like she should have gone with them,

"Too late now."

She joined Mark and LJ, working together to get Lauren's truck out and when Mark turned to get Molly to drive the truck, Shannon stopped him.

"Lauren is going to need her truck to get to McGrath, Rohn and Nikolai. I don't think she'll be up for driving there with Molly, do you?"

Mark nodded, "You're probably right."

"I'll take her truck to McGrath and meet up with them so you guys can all get going. I know you've got a bunch of set up to do and you're going to be even more shorthanded than you already are."

LJ pulled out his phone, "This is ridiculous."

"LJ, what are you doing?"

"I'm calling my dad. He needs to get here and help out. He's being a jerk."

Mark shook his head, holding his breath when LJ began to speak…

"Yea, Dad. It's me. With Pops in the hospital and some other stuff we have going on, we need your help. We're really short handed."

They all paused, unsure of what Big Jon was saying, but had a good idea when LJ replied,

"Dad, you're being a real asshole, you know? Bo has paid you a stipend all year long coming into that race. Are you going to pay her back all that money?"

Again, there was a pause, a hint of the other side of the conversation coming when he slammed his hat on the ground,

"How can you say that? Bo had nothing to do with your business dropping off! It was Big Jim's fault and more your fault for ever listening to that evil, asshat, douchbag, satanic murdering son of a bitch to begin with!"

Again, a pause before LJ exploded,

"YOU OWE HER THIS! WE ALL DO! WE DESTROYED HER LIFE AND IF YOU EVER CAME TO FAMILY DINNERS, IF YOU EVER LISTENED TO POPS, YOU WOULD KNOW ALL THAT HE DID!"

He took a breath,

"After last year's Iditarod and your fake apology, you've just slowly closed the door on all of us. Pops has tried to get you to face up to your part in everything, but you just continue to claim immunity from all wrongdoing!"

He pumped his fist at the sky, "Well, I know the truth, Dad! I know you stood by next to Uncle Mark while Big Jim shot all of Bo's dogs in the head one at a time before throwing them into a fucking bonfire like they were garbage."

Tears streamed down his face now, "YOU WERE THERE AND I KNOW THE TRUTH! YOU'RE A MONSTER AND YOU WILL NEVER SEE ME AGAIN! YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER AND I AM NOT YOUR SON! DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER! YOU COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE!"

He slammed his phone the ground, shattering it before he dropped to his knees and began to sob uncontrollably. Mark stood frozen, staring at the phone, then looked at his nephew. He stood… and stood…

Molly heard the truck door slam and looked up to see Shannon running towards them. She knelt down in front of LJ and whispered in his ear. He nodded and stood, taking her hand,

"LJ and I are going to head to McGrath in Lauren's truck if it's okay to drive," Shannon said, receiving a nod from Mark.

She took LJ's keys and handed them to Molly who had rushed towards her husband, "Would you drive LJ's truck? We'll get him where he needs to be after he has a chance to... talk to Anna?"

Mark nodded, holding Molly back as she took a step towards him. They watch as the two left in Lauren's truck. Mark slowly bent down picking up the phone,

"Let's stop in McGrath and get our son a new phone."

"Our son?" Molly asked.

Mark nodded, "LJ just disowned my brother."

He looked at Molly, "Whatever happened between you and Lauren, let it rest for now. She'll come to you when she's ready just like Bo came to me."

He looked back at Mary, then down the road, "The damage my grandfather did just won't go away. It will never go away until we all admit our failures. Family dinners aren't really family dinners unless all the dirty laundry is served up as the appetizer and the dessert is forgiveness. It's going to take a years worth of meals."

He turned and walked to the truck, "See you at McGrath."

"But Bo said…"

"We need to be there just in case. Rudy's worried about Lauren not being there… and so am I. She's on a bum leg and a new sled heading into the worst part of the course. The least we can do is be there to cheer her on at the checkpoint even if she's not stopping for longer than the mandatory vet check."

He pulled his hat on, "Besides, there's always a chance she may need to drop a dog. She said they were tired. I'm not sure anyone else took her seriously, but I sure as hell did. First time in a decade I've ever heard her say her dogs were tired. You can drive on if you want to, but me and Mary – we're gonna stop."

Molly nodded, "I'll see you in McGrath."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Journal Entry: McGrath South to Nikolai South

When I hit McGrath, I was surprised to see Mark, Molly, LJ, Elise, Mom and Rudy waiting. The plan was for them to meet me at Nikolai. Still, I took advantage and had them watch the dogs while I headed to the nice warm shower. It was a quickie, but the water was hot and it helped to shed the stench from that three mile run coming into Ophir some one hundred and twenty miles back or so.

I was back on the trail in twenty minutes with a team of well fed and hydrated dogs who had gotten some quick lovin' from their favorite humans – Rudy and Elise. As I pulled out of McGrath, I stared at the group and oddly, they felt like strangers. It was weird. I don't know why I felt that way. Maybe it was because something felt off with Molly.

LJ was all business as he usually is lately, and Mark seems to be hanging onto his guilt. Mom was nervous about me getting off schedule and again expressed her concern that if I fall behind, I'll push harder and injure myself to the point where I can't continue. She wants me to keep a slow and steady pace rather than stop longer and have to sprint. I don't know if she's right. I just know I have to run my race the way I always do. Watching the dogs and taking my cues from them.

Honestly, since I lost mine shortly after entering my teen years, I never really understood family… I mean, the whole concept. Family is complicated.

Out here on my own, it's easier. I think mostly of Lauren, Rudy and Elise. My mom is there but, in my mind, I don't think to hold her as I do Lauren and Roo. Even though she's now physically present in my life, when I'm alone, she's still with me as the woman who died when I was a young teen.

Maybe there's still some baggage there, but I think I've always sort of carried her with me... in a spiritual sense. Even when she's in my presence, she's this sort of omnipresent being who I listen to without question and believe without thought.

I watch other families together and look at the way mothers and daughters interact like best friends. With my mom, it's like this mutual respect and deep understanding of our past, but I wonder what we have in the here and now… and what we'll have in the future.

Then I think of Elise and wonder if she feels this way. Does she ever think of her mom? Does she ever feel her presence with her like I do mine? Of course, she won't have the opportunity to regain the bond with her mom. It's almost unbearable to think about because I know the helplessness she feels when it's late at night and she's longing to talk to her mom but can't.

Still… in the end… I was lucky. I didn't see my mom dead in my home at such a young age. I didn't care for her as she slowly withered into the great beyond. My mom left, but I didn't believe she left me. I got to search for her. I got to find out she was alive. It may have been a rough childhood, but I have her and Elise…well, she'll never have her mom again.

She has Molly and Mark, though. Part of me wishes Lauren had adopted her now, but I realize I was not the kind of person a child should have been around when Mary Valaria willed her to Lauren. I'll always wonder if that was why Lauren gave her up and more importantly - does she regret it now?

Sometimes I wonder about the Valaria family. I still find it hard to believe that neither Mary or Judd had any surviving parents or siblings, aunts or uncles… not even a cousin?

I talked to Tamsin about it soon after Elise arrived in town. She said she would look into it if Elise ever asked. Would she ask? Would she ever want to know her biological family or would she be satisfied with the Lewis-Morton-Dennis family she had been given to? She seemed happy enough, but that was now.

Anyway, the weather is picking up. I found a little knook not far off the trail. It's not too steep, but with the shelter and a fire, we're all quite toasty. The mandatory rule that the dogs must be staked to the ground is making comfort a bit of a problem. The dogs are practically on top of each other, and Aphrodite seems to think I'm a pillow, so it's actually pretty funny to see. I should try to take a selfie before we go. Rudy was right about Jenna and Muk. Those two don't go anywhere without each other. They're all curled up like a yin and yang symbol around the stakes.

Anyway, everyone is fed – maybe overfed, at least the musher – and watered. Everyone got their vitamins, though as always, it took several tries to get Nemesis to down the damn pill. I knew she was the problem child from the day I named her. I had to break open the peanut butter to get her to take it, then – of course – everyone had to have a lick. Good protein for all of us and good entertainment for me to watch all of them try to get a tablespoon of peanut butter off the roofs of their respective mouths.

Ah yes, this is the life. Me and the kids camping out under the stars. Of course, in two hours when we wake from our nap, the sky will be gray and the snow will probably be coming down sideways at this elevation, but snow has never bothered us. I'm savoring the remaining hours we have out here on the trail because I know a box awaits me when I get home. What makes it bearable is the woman inside… my love, my life… my Lauren.

Well, this entry certainly did stray from the trail, didn't it? I'll write more about the trail after a nap and another fifty to eighty miles or so.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Café, McGrath

"It's good to see you smiling again, Lauren. You had us all worried for a while there," Carolyn said.

Lauren grinned, "Yes, well give me a hot cinnamon bun and this amazing cup of coffee and I'll smile for days."

Kate laughed, "That's all it takes? I'll be sure to tell Bo."

Shannie chuckled, "We already taught her the Lewis Solution."

"The Lewis Solution?" Kate asked.

Lauren shook her head, taking another bite of her wonderfully gooey treat.

Lynnie explained, "It was soon after her divorce and Evony had decided that the best cure for her would be to go to a few medical conferences."

Lauren shook her head, "Because that would give me at least three opportunities to get laid."

"Oh, she didn't!" Anna said, shocked.

"Oh yes, she most certainly did," Lauren recalled.

"And just before the third conference, Lauren stopped picking up Evony's calls and wouldn't respond to her texts, so the big bitchy boss came to see us," Carolyn explained.

"She knew better than to ask me or Lynnie about Lauren's sex life, so she went to Kelly because she knew what a gossip she was…" Shannie began.

"And she had a wicked, wicked crush on Lauren," Carolyn concluded.

Shannon was barely able to contain her laughter as she spoke,

"She asked Kelly point blank if Lauren had gotten lucky and Kelly told her that Lauren didn't sleep around. When Evony said she was divorced and it wasn't like someone was going to pop her cherry, Kelly got a little rattled."

Carolyn nodded, "And when Evony would get her employees rattled, she would get whatever she wanted."

"So, she flew Kelly out to the third conference with a package for Lauren. She was to deliver it and wait for a response," Shannon said.

Lauren lowered her head, shaking it from side to side, "That poor, poor kid."

"What happened?" Kate asked, on the edge of her seat.

Carolyn smiled, "Kelly went to her hotel room at the end of the day as directed by the boss…"

"She knocked on the door…" Shannie added, "And when Lauren opened it, she stepped inside, took her hand and walked her to her bedroom…"

"Just as Evony had directed," Carolyn said, laughing.

Shannon pulled it together long enough to speak again,

"Evony had told Kelly that she had gotten Lauren a massage to help her get rid of all the stress and the gift was a robe. So, she was to wait for Lauren to pull off the big red bow from the big red box, read the card in the red envelope and then wait for her to open the robe and agree to Evony's suggestion."

Carolyn shook her head, "When Lauren sat down on her bed, Kelly just stood there watching. She opened the card, read it, opened the tissue paper and pulled out a piece of red lace lingerie."

Shannon continued, "She held it up and looked at Kelly before giving that adorable Lauren smile where she's both flattered and shy and awkward and…"

"Doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings while she's politely rejecting them," Carolyn laughed.

They both looked at Lauren who still blushed at the thought of the incident, "The card said… and I quote…"

Both Carolyn and Shannon mouthed the words as Lauren spoke them aloud,

Dear Lauren, you may have lost a wife, but you've gained your freedom and the ability to toss that snatch at anyone you see fit. Personally, I think this pretty young thing would ramp you up to eleven while she took you to paradise. Her perky firm breasts and that incredibly round bottom has got to send a quiver that gets your river flowing. Trust me, she's been waiting for years to bed Doctor Lewis. So, just ask her to put this little sexy nighty on and have yourselves a blast. Champagne and strawberries are on their way to your room…

Shannon and Carolyn spoke the last line aloud, laughing, "…with a little whipped cream on the side! Enjoy! Kisses! Evony."

Lauren shook her head, her cheeks red as roses as her friends recalled the humiliating moment, "It was just awful."

Kate and Anna couldn't help but laugh but Kate soon asked, "So what happened next? I mean… poor Kelly."

"Oh, Kelly was all in, baby! Evony had heard the hospital gossip since it wasn't really gossip at all," Shannon explained.

Carolyn nodded, "Kelly never hid her crush on Lauren nor her desire to bed her just once. On the day Lauren left for Alaska, she almost walked in on Kelly talking about her."

"So what did she do?" Kate asked.

"You have to know Kelly before she met Kurt and fell head over heels for him," Carolyn explained, "This Kelly would never do what that Kelly did."

Shannon nodded her agreement, "She was a bit… shallow and a completely freewheeling hot, single, oversexed girl in her early twenties. She told Lauren what Evony had told her, but Lauren read the card to her thinking Kelly would see that Evony was being a manipulative bitch."

Lynnie shook her head, "Instead, Kelly shrugged and said 'Cool – I'm in!',

Shannie continued, "But Lauren told her she would never take advantage of an employee and that Evony was way out of line sending her to her hotel room."

Lynnie nodded, "But again, the Kelly of that time took the lingerie from Lauren and said she would keep it if Lauren didn't want it because it was from Agent Provocateur and cost a fortune. She stripped and tried it on right there in front of Lauren,"

Shannon slapped the table and laughing, "And Lauren turned her back so she wouldn't see Kelly's naughty bits."

They all turned to Lauren who was again shaking her lowered head, "I still can't believe she did that."

Lynnie laughed, "We eventually got Lauren to admit that Kelly looked really, really hot in that skimpy little outfit."

Lauren blushed even more, her cheeks now hot to the touch, "Okay, so she was. I mean, I am a hot-blooded, lesbian with a pulse, for the love of all things science. However, she cannot hold a candle to Bo."

Shannie shook her head, laughing, "Oh, don't even get her started on how hot Bo Dennis is. She'll never shut up!"

Kate smiled, "She looks ripped, but I haven't seen her in summer clothes. Is she really ripped?"

Lauren shook her head, "You have no idea. She wears a sports bra and underwear or shorts when she works out. She hangs upside down from the rafters above the living room where we sit after family dinners."

"Ohmagosh! That's so high," Anna said, covering her mouth.

Lauren shrugged, "I've honestly never thought about it."

"You? The safety girl?" Kate asked, laughing.

"I would challenge any of you to lay on our bed and watch her work out. You would never give the height a second thought. You would, however, not be able to tear your eyes from her – that I guarantee."

Kate smiled, "I have a feeling if I didn't find a way to tear my eyes away, I'd be sleeping alone for a month."

Anna elbowed her fiancé, "I wouldn't blame you. From the sounds of it, I'd be watching right next to you… although if you ever considered doing your crunches that way, I'd certainly hold you on belay while you did."

"Hmmm… I would do the same for you," Kate said, leaning in and kissing the tip of Anna's nose.

"Oh gawd, you two are adorable," Lynnie smiled.

Kate smiled, "Yes we are!"

Anna turned back to Lauren, "So how did you get rid of Kelly?"

Lauren shrugged, "I didn't. It was really late and Evony had cut off her room at three o'clock since she was supposed to spend the night in mine. Fortunately, our illustrious boss had gotten me a suite for the conference, so there was a sofa bed in the outer room. She slept there…"

"In the red lingerie!" Shannie laughed.

Lauren shook her head, "The next day, I got her an airline ticket. Apparently Evony thought we would have a sex-filled weekend, but since that wasn't going to happen, she didn't see a point in staying. I agreed."

"Awww, poor Kelly."

Lynnie shook her head, "Never. She got home, got showered and dressed and met us at our bar that night. She went home with a lovely blonde-haired, brown-eyed girl who – ironically – resembled Lauren."

Shannie chuckled, "And she had the red lingerie in her purse."

"I'm getting another cinnamon bun," Lauren said, standing from the table, but Kate grabbed her hand,

"As the most likely person to do your bypass surgery when you clog up your arteries, maybe a blueberry muffin?"

Lauren laughed, "I feel like living dangerously today."

They all laughed as Kate released her friend and shrugged, before joining in with the laughter. The two remaining couples decided to split a second so that Lauren wouldn't have to eat alone. Time flew by and eventually, it was time for Lauren to call Kurt,

"I've got to call for a lift, Ladies. I want to get there early so I can get at least eight hours of sleep before my shift."

Shannon nodded, "So how are we getting these vehicles where they're going?"

"Mark told us we just leave them in town. The company that gets them for us use them locally, so they just stay here, and we fly out."

Kate nodded, "Well, our flight isn't coming until tomorrow."

"Why don't you all come on the chopper with me? He won't be carrying patients since we're going from here to the post office."

"Post office?"

Lauren nodded, "That's where I'm picking up the snow machine they've rented for me to get out to the trail. There's a guide taking me out."

"This whole race is so complex. I had no idea," Kate said.

Lauren shrugged, "This is Alaska. Roads from one town to the next don't usually connect unless you're in a heavily populated area. Even then, a town can be heavily populated for a generation and then become a ghost town eighty-years later when everyone's kids move on and get jobs somewhere else."

Kate's phone rang, causing everyone to stop. She looked at Lauren, then opened the call and raised it to her ear. Lauren's posture stiffened, bracing herself for news from the hospital. Kate didn't speak, only nodded and said 'yes' or sounds acknowledging she understood. After about five minutes, she finally hung up and turned to Lauren,

"Okay. The tumor was exactly where Molly said it was. There were some precancerous cells in the biopsy segment they removed, but the second sample was benign…"

"So, mixed bag," Lauren acknowledged,

"Yes, but the tumor was wrapped around one of the spinal nerves. The surgery was done yesterday. Hannah excised the tumor, but as you can imagine, working around a spinal nerve, she's not one hundred percent sure she got it all. She is recommending targeted radiation therapy to be sure whatever she missed is taken care of just in case any of what's left is precancerous as well."

"Function?" Lauren asked.

"He just woke up four hours ago and he has full function. However, she said that he is resisting the radiation treatment. She would like you to talk to him."

Lauren scowled, "Isn't his son there?"

Kate looked at Anna, then back to Lauren, "He never showed."

Shannon shook her head, "Unbelievable. I don't even know this guy and already I can honestly say, unbelievable!"

Lauren leaned past Lynnie to look at Shannon, "Shannie? What's wrong?"

"I didn't want to bring this up because of everything else that you're dealing with, Lauren but after you guys drove off this morning, LJ called his Dad and asked him to come down here and help. He refused, so LJ… well he was pretty upset considering his dad's role in Bo's past and… he had some very strong words for him."

She hesitated, looking at Carolyn,

"Shannie!" Lauren demanded.

"He disowned him, Lauren. He told his dad that he was no longer his son… shouted it actually. Then smashed his phone on the ground and lost it. He came here with me. He wanted to take a walk around town and then he talked to Anna."

Anna explained, "I couldn't tell you where I was really going early, Lauren."

"Priviledge. I understand," Lauren nodded with a sigh, shaking her head, "I suppose I'm not all that surprised. LJ and his father have been at odds for some time now which is why he's here living with Mark and Molly – not Big Jon."

"What does Bo think of all of this?" Anna asked.

Lauren smiled, "Honestly, I think she tries not to. In her mind, the only Morton's that are her family are Tosh and LJ… maybe Molly. They're the only ones who have consistently supported her in her life. She's working on things with Mark, but that's some heavy baggage."

Lauren lowered her eyes, "It took some forgiving with her mom, but she's come through that after concluding that her mom had very few choices but to run. Tosh is the one who arranged for Bo to run her trading business in town and helped her to get construction jobs."

She looked up at the girls again, "Tosh didn't know she was kin at the time, but it was his way of separating himself from his dad and the way he treated what he saw as an innocent, mistreated woman. Big Jon was his grandfather's pawn. Tosh tried to separate his son from his dad, but in the end, he followed the Pied Piper of Talkeetna like many others."

"It's tragic, really," Anna said, shaking her head.

Shannie shrugged, "But at least Mark is interested in seeing you."

Lauren turned to Anna, "He is? He actually asked to talk to you?"

"I offered and he accepted," Anna explained.

"Wow. That's a big step," Lauren said, surprised.

Anna nodded, "Agreed."

Lauren sighed, "Well, I feel a bit better about things, so let me call for our ride."

She opened her wallet and pulled out a card, "Can one of you call and arrange for our vehicles to be picked up in an hour? I'm going to tell Kurt to come then."

"Sure," Lynnie said, picking up the card while Lauren called Kurt.

Soon enough, their travel arrangements were all made and they headed out to drive the vehicles to the pick-up location. From there, they would gather their belongings and board the chopper to pick up the snow machines then head to their respective locations – the Team to Nikolai and Lauren to Rohn.

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Journal Entry: Nikolai to Rohn

A little experiment – let's see if Doctor Gray's counseling sessions have paid off. Let's begin.

First… be honest with myself…

Well, if I'm being honest, my knee is on fire and my calf and hamstring are cramping like a bitch. If I could only straighten my leg to stretch it! Peddling is almost impossible as we head into the steeps between here and Rohn. It's hard not to think about how painful it's going to be from Rohn to Rainy Pass.

If I'm being honest, I have entertained thoughts of just sending up the fucking flare and surrendering to the pain, but the dogs have found a new gear and I can't let them down. Of course, I also can't keep up with their new gear… since I'm being honest.

So, this rest stop, I've made my own little contrast bath set up. A towel wrapped in boiling water for three minutes, followed by burying my leg in snow for a minute alternating as long as I can stand it. I have to sit in the snow to do it, so I'm a little worried about my body temperature, but I'm going to put up Kyle's shelter and lay by the fire with the dogs close for my sleep.

If I'm being honest, I'm also hoping that 'mother knows best' isn't a lie. I found an extra bag tied to the dogs' grub bucket. Inside was a letter…

My Dearest Ysabeau – I know that my native medicine seems ineffective compared to the medicine being used to treat your injury, but when you are alone and the pain returns, you might try these compounds. I know that you have not sought my healing knowledge, but I decided it would do no harm to offer these medicines. Use as follows:

1 Perform the ice and heat treatment your doctor has prescribed first.

2 The deep red paste with black specks should be applied to your entire knee joint – 360 degrees. Do not swallow or allow the dogs to swallow. Wipe your hands on a towel and then burn it before burying it. The paste is toxic.

3 Next, apply the green paste to the back of your entire leg from your buttocks to your ankle.

4 The red paste with orange tones should be dissolved into your soup. Do not confused the two red pastes – one contains Devil's Club! You should recognize the odor.

You are strong, my child. If you choose, use these with faith that they will restore you after a good sleep. All my love and power to you, Mom.

I'm not surprised by her use of Devil's Club. It's been used by her family for generations to treat arthritis, stomach issues, colds, the flu, pneumonia, wounds and even a TB outbreak in her village. Of course, it also causes vomiting and diarrhea to the point I would be absolutely down for the count if I ate it. I know which paste is which, but I'm still a little hesitant to put the benign red paste into my soup. It doesn't smell very good.

Still, if I'm being honest, I need to try something or I doubt I'll be able to fight through the pain to finish, so after another three rotations of hot and cold, I'm going to follow mom's advice, massage the heck out of this hamstring and then sleep for a couple hours. We'll see how it works out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ROHN CHECKPOINT

"I've got to go back and pick up a customer from Bear Creek Cabin, Doc. See you soon," Kurt said from the pilot's seat as Lauren climbed out. She turned, bracing herself for the answer she would receive,

"Where is Bear Creek Cabin?"

Kurt thought about it, then answered in a way he thought she might understand, "It's almost halfway between Nikolai and here."

Lauren nodded, "Is it Bo?"

Kurt shook his head, "You know I won't know that until I get there, Doc."

Lauren lowered her eyes a bit, pausing before she looked up and asked, "Could it be Bo?"

Kurt shrugged, "She could definitely be in the vicinity, but so are a lot of other mushers, Doc. Remember that a large group of teams are still heading north from here, so it could be just about anyone."

Lauren nodded, "Thanks. You'd better get going. Thanks for the lift."

Kurt nodded, wishing he could give Lauren more reassurance, so he tried, "Doc, remember – she's the best there is. Have a little faith, okay?"

"You're right, Kurt," she smiled, "Thanks again."

He watched as she walked away before he turned back to Kelly and the other medic, "Ready to go?"

Kelly nodded, "She'll be okay, Kurt. Let's just focus on our job. Bo or not, someone needs us."

He gave her that crooked smile she loved so much, before turning and cranking up the engine once more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

JOURNAL ENTRY: ROHN TO NIKOLAI

I had a dream and apparently, mother really does know best and her daughter is an ass for not seeking her advice as explained by the dream. I was on the trail and I kept listening to some stranger about what path to take while my mom sat whispering her advice once, then twice. Naturally, mom was right, but naturally, I listened to the stranger and my sled rolled over my team as I descended a steep icy slope. The stranger didn't show up, but my mom found me. She never said I told you so… she just silently untangled my dogs, put Aphrodite in the basket because she was injured, put some green crap on the cuts on my face and arms then sent me on my way.

Anyway, I woke from my dream… honestly, more of a nightmare… and my knee feels great. Okay, so not great, but the pain is tolerable, and the damn burning sensation is gone. I found a stretch that targets my hamstring, so it won't cramp up again and my flexibility is actually pretty good.

I just finished another contrast session, slathered on some more of mom's medicines, burned the poisonous towel, smothered the fire with snow and packed up the sled.

The dogs are finishing off the rest of their melted snow and salmon cocktail and then we'll be on our way – after I drink my nasty red-orange stuff… it really is nasty and I can't imagine how bad it will be with just water.

Next stop, Rohn Roadhouse Safety Cabin where I'll wash this smelly stuff off of my leg, change my pants and then… well, rub more of this stuff on so I smell again. On the bright side, maybe animals will find the smell so bad that they'll stay away from us. Even better – maybe it will slow down any mushers that might catch up to me. I know that if I could get away from my smell right now, I definitely would.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ROHN MEDICAL TENT

Lauren sat, staring out through the opening in the tent. It had come to her attention that the scenery… the land… had a calming effect on her. So, she had been staring out at the land for the last hour while waiting for Kurt to call in or land.

He still hadn't which means they either diverted to the emergency services tent at Nikolai or they were heading to the Specialty Hospital in St. Eli. If they were coming here, they would have been here by now.

Of course, if they were carrying Bo, they might not bring her here just because Lauren was here. They would call on Mary and Stephen to go to make the decisions for Bo. But still… would they? She really didn't know for sure. She never looked at the emergency medical contact Bo had written on her form. She assumed it would have been her, but she didn't know for sure.

She turned to the sound of snow machines and saw about ten people pulling into the cabin parking area. It wasn't until she saw the two younger children that she recognized it as Team Bo. She smiled as Rudy and Elise ran down the hill calling to her. Lauren grinned. It was nice to be loved.

She stood, leaning forward after remembering her last encounter with flying hugs and braced herself for the impact.

"Lauren!"

"Lauren!"

"Hey, my girls!" she said with a grunt, "How was the trip in?"

Elise pulled up her goggles, "Cold! Really cold! We're gonna get hot chocolate! Want some?"

Lauren smiled, "I've actually got some in here. Want to join me?"

The pair nodded, Rudy pulling up her goggles and turning back to her family, "Rudy and I are going to drink hot chocolate with Lauren! Okay?"

Molly gave a wave and nodded before the two disappeared into the tent with the doctor.

"Put your gear over there so you don't get it on the patient seats, then come over here where we can sit around the Bunsen burner and drink my special hot chocolate."

"What makes is special?" Elise asked while Rudy simply said, "Goody!"

Lauren laughed before she pulled two beakers from a box and put them on the table next to the glass coffee pot full of cocoa. She filled the two cylinders before pulling a can of whipped cream from the snow at the base of the tent,

"This hot chocolate is vanilla cinnamon cream flavored."

Rudy watched as Lauren moved the can in a spiral until she had a tower of whipped cream on her glass and then sprinkled cinnamon on top. She then did the same to Elise's before handing them each a beaker. They sat on three stools, the Bunsen burner in the middle before Lauren dropped three bamboo straws and a spoon into each beverage before picking up her own.

"Wow. This looks amazing!" Rudy smiled, taking a spoon of whipped cream first.

"Where's the vanilla?" Elise asked, doing the same.

"It's mixed into the chocolate… just a hint," she smiled, taking a sip, "I like to mix my whipped cream and cinnamon in before I drink the chocolate. It takes a little while, but it's totally worth the wait."

"Cool," Rudy said, trying to stir, but the straw got in the way. Lauren smiled,

"Hold them together and then stir."

"Right," Rudy smiled as Elise followed her friend's actions.

"Has anyone heard from Bo?" Lauren asked.

Rudy shook her head, "Mom said she'll probably be a little late if she had to stop to treat her knee and sleep. She thinks Sister will need another hour of sleep from what she said on her schedule."

"Why's that?" Lauren asked.

Elise explained, "She said that since she felt really good when she left… whatever that last place was called, she would probably go really fast at the start, so would need sleep sooner. That's why she thinks she'll take longer. She thinks she would go slower after she wakes up because she'll probably be sore again."

Lauren nodded, "So…"

Rudy smiled, "So that's when she'll find Momma's medicines. Momma's medicines always work. We all know that."

"Your Mom gave Bo medicines? She's been…" Lauren didn't say anything further knowing that the two youngsters were in her presence, but she was worried that the medicines Mary was administering could interact poorly with the cortisone injection. She would need to talk to Bo's mom.

"Lauren? What are these things we're drinking out of?"

The doctor smiled, "They're called beakers."

"What are they for?"

Sighing, Lauren decided her energy was better spent on a science lesson for two rather than something that was completely out of her control,

"Well, we mix different compounds in them and put them over this flame to get a chemical reaction," she stood and moved to another box that held a small kit of chemicals. Pulling three tubes from the collection, she grabbed another beaker and a glass stirring rod then returned to the table,

"Okay, let's have a little fun, shall we?"

The two girls looked at each other, then back to the doctor, "Yes!"

She smiled, "Okay. Here we go…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

JOURNAL ENTRY: NIKOLAI TO ROHN

We have about ten miles to go, but I didn't want to chance going the distance without at least giving the team some snacks and water. Truthfully, I was starting to zone out as well, so we're all having some jerky and melted snow. I used Heet instead of making a fire since I managed to stop in the open tundra.

This pop-up shelter is really awesome. I put it on the wind side of us, so we're actually pretty cozy here even without any big heat source. Using up the rest of the chemical flames will also give me less to carry this last stretch which has a few steep climbs.

I've been running with Aphrodite in the lead while Nike and Diana moved back to Swings. I also rearranged the team dogs to put more strength in the front, so Nemesis and Artemis are now leading the group with Jenna and Muk behind them, then Sadie and Keegan followed by Rosie and Reese. Gaea and Demeter remain my steadfast Wheels. They're doing a great job.

Mom's salve and the wraps she put around their harnesses seems to have helped with the rub they had on their shoulders – or so Cassie said before I left - but I can see it in their performance as well. They seem to be better, though a little worn from the pace this faster team is keeping.

We're reaching the point where I will learn if their speed equals their endurance. They seem okay, but Rohn to Rainy Pass is really going to stretch their stamina. For that reason, I'm going to rotate dogs into the basket from Rainy Pass to the end of the race. If I can pedal, I'll rotate two into the basket at a time.

I have to say that I agreed with the decision to remove trail cages for dogs years ago. I know the ten or so racers using them didn't agree since there had never been any incidence of injury, but I can't believe any musher can feel confident having their dog in a cage behind them if they can't see them.

I mean, it's fucking cold as hell out here and they're not running which means they're relying on their coat, hay and my body to shelter them from the strong winds.

What about winds that aren't head on to the sled? They could freeze to death and a musher would never know. What if I turn the sled and the trail sled goes with it? What if a paw comes out of the cage and gets caught between the ground and the weight of the cage? In any of those cases, they're behind me and I can't see them – not to mention them being trapped in a cage if we end up in a lake.

There are just too many things that can go wrong. It's not like they can steer the sled their cage is on not to mention the torque placed on the hitch when the lead sled fishtails. Personally, it's just a bad idea.

Still, right now, a trail cage would be a nice thing. Again – I'm not saying I'm a… hold on, I have to look up that word…

PROPONENT – noun – a person who advocates a theory, proposal or project. I'm not a proponent of trail cages, but the convenience can't be ignored.

Question – can I extend the bed of the sled to allow for second basket? It would mean another undercarriage remodel since the longer the bed, the greater the chance it could break on a stretch filled with tussocks. There's also the issue of a longer bed making the sled slower and it would definitely be subject to more fishtailing. If we broaden the distance between runners… hmmm… would it be a legal sled? Would it be too wide for the trail? We'll have to look at the specs.

Anyway – that's for later. Right now, I'm running twenty-two minutes behind schedule. The leg has loosened up tremendously. Thanks, Mom!

I'm going to do a little light peddling for the rest of this trek - try to help Aphrodite out a bit and take some of the load off of the shoulders of my veteran Wheels. I think the dogs are running at about a ten mile per hour clip, so we should be at the Rohn checkpoint in another hour… about twenty minutes behind schedule. Not too bad considering I'm resting two dogs at a time this leg.

Once there, I'll feed and water the dogs, take the last eight-hour sleep while I do a contrast bath, change out the skids on the runners, check the chassis and the lines of the dogs and the sled then head for the homestretch with all dogs running again.

Note: I am well aware that I am on record pace, however the race this year is shorter by almost two-hundred miles. I hope they have already decided that no records for time should be awarded this year, but if they have not, I fully intend to reject such an honor. Setting a record for running only 832 miles against previous records set for one thousand miles is just… well, wrong.

I will break that record one day, but this will not be the year. If someone else should defeat me, I would argue the same against them taking such an award. Let's honor the memories of all of the dogs lost in the serum run by recognizing that we are not working as hard as we would have with a full course.

Note 2: It's March now and I had hoped to take Lauren on a second honeymoon trip to Norway's Finnmarkslopet. It's Europe's biggest race and I've been checking it out on the computers in the town library for years. At one point, I thought maybe mom was hiding or had been taken there. I almost went, but then I figured out that I wouldn't be able to get my dogs there without a whole lot of help from the people in town who were kind to me.

Even Kyle and Tamsin wouldn't have been enough to get me there with all their connections. Besides, Tamsin would have found a way to convince me not to leave – then again, maybe she would have taken advantage of my possible willingness to get on a plane so she could have detoured me to Hawaii?

Anyway, after the wedding and honeymoon, I don't think we'll have enough time to get there before the race ends. Maybe next year we'll go there for our anniversary.

Looks like the dogs are finished. Time to down the red-orange water that's left and head out. Rohn, here we come!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ROHN CHECKPOINT, Two Hours Later

Bo had arrived as she'd predicted, about ten minutes behind schedule. Rudy didn't hesitate to tell her mom she had been wrong, but Bo had greeted her Mom with a huge hug and a thank you. When she was alone with Lauren in the medical tent, Lauren had lectured her on combining drug therapies without talking to her first, but Bo assured her she felt fine. She had also not hesitated to tell her that Mary's salves were working much better than the cortisone injection.

When Lauren removed her brace, clothing and dressing, she was shocked to see that there was no swelling at all. Bo was no longer tender on any of the attachment points that had sent her through the roof just a day and a half earlier.

"I have a hundred and seventy-two miles left, Lauren. I'll be finished in two days if the dogs are okay. At least now I know I won't be the one holding them back. It feels fine, I promise and if there's more damage because I'm just not feeling the pain, you can say I told you so all you want... later."

Lauren sighed, "I just wish Kurt was here so I could get you under the helicopter's scanner."

"And if you did and there was more damage, would you hold me out of the race?"

The doctor was silent for a long moment before Bo spoke, "I know that doctors take their medical oaths seriously, but running or not running is my choice, Lauren. I'm a human being, this is my body and the choices I'm making with my body are well-informed."

Lauren shook her head, "Is all of this just for the record of consecutive wins?"

Bo sighed, looking towards the door, then back to Lauren before she whispered, "Can you just take a quick walk around the tent and make sure that reporter isn't listening?"

Lauren smiled and did as asked. When she re-entered the tent, she found Bo laying back on the table, her leg packed in ice,

"I thought you said it was fine?"

"It is, but I have been doing treatments at every stop and don't want to change anything now that it feels this good. I'll need hot towels for the three-minute rotation."

Lauren turned to the sink, "So you were saying? About wins?"

Bo hesitated, but then decided honesty was best, "I'm thinking about not racing next year."

Lauren turned abruptly, "What?"

Bo smiled, "Now, I realize this is shocking news for you, but I also know you heard me."

Turning back to the sink, she squeezed out the hot towel, shaking out her fingers as she returned to Bo,

"Hot. Very hot."

Bo smiled, "I think my fingers were so cold out there that I didn't realize."

Lauren looked down at the digits on both hands, making sure they were okay, "All pink."

Bo nodded, "Oh, believe me – I know to protect against frostbite out there. I was taught enough stories of villagers dying of blood poisoning from frostbite to last me a lifetime."

Lauren smiled, "Good to know."

"So how are things here? For you, I mean?"

"It's been quiet, actually. Kurt left to pick up someone at the Bear Creek Cabin."

Bo frowned, "That's not far from here. He's not back yet?"

Lauren shook her head, "I'm guessing it was something more serious, so he diverted directly to a medical center."

Bo nodded, "That would make sense."

The musher watched as the doctor switched the hot towel for ice, immediately feeling the chill run up her spine,

"Are there any blankets in here?" Bo asked.

Lauren jumped, "Einstein! I'm so sorry, Bo. I'm in a hat and coat while you're in a pair of one-legged pants and a t-shirt. I wasn't thinking…"

Bo smiled as the blonde covered her with three blankets, "Wool."

Lauren shook her head, "I'm sorry, I'm not thinking clearly."

She pulled back the blankets, putting a hospital sheet over Bo, then the blankets, "There. Better?"

Bo smiled, "Much."

Lauren moved to turn away, but Bo caught her wrist and gently pulled her back, "What's wrong, Lauren?"

The blonde stood, staring down at her lover's hand. It has small scratches and bruises on it – something that was to be expected. She had a broken nail and the tips of her fingers were red – probably first degree frostbite. Again, expected. Finally, she spoke,

"When Kurt didn't come back…" she began, but Bo was already heaving a sigh and completing her thoughts,

"You worried he was carrying me to the hospital."

"No one knew where you were and Tamsin is on security up at Rainy Pass now, so…"

Bo took Lauren's hands in her own, "I'm here. I'm fine. I'm going to leave, then I'm going to be with you again. I'm going to be fine, Lauren. Now, I'm going to ask you one last time to trust me. I won't ask again. If I get to the next checkpoint and you're worried, I'd rather not know because it will just send a message loud and clear that you don't trust me."

Bo sat up, tossing away the heat, but taking the ice and blankets, "I'm tired. I think I'm going to go bed down in the cabin for a bit."

"Bo…"

"We'll talk later, Lauren," she paused at the door, pulling the blankets over her head and around her body before she said, "I love you… with all that I am… but I will not live my life with a woman who doesn't trust me to live the way I've lived my entire life."

"But you've been so unsure of yourself lately…"

Bo nodded, "That's because I've honored my promise to be open and honest with you. Clearly, I'll have to draw a line with some topics."

She turned to face Lauren, "There is always uncertainty in the life I've lived. There is always fear and there is always rethinking my actions, but in the end, I've never stopped doing what I had to do to survive."

Bo took a few steps closer, "You see, what you still haven't learned is that the absence of fear is not what makes me a champion. What makes me a champion is admitting the fear is there because of my shortcomings, but then proving myself wrong over and over and over again."

Bo smiled, recalling three quotes she'd once shared with Lauren from her journal when they were laying in the old barn beneath the old clinic,

"The second time we ever made love was in the hay in the old barn. You remember?"

"Of course," Lauren said.

Bo turned to look outside, "I read from my journal… three quotes…" she paused, then spoke the three,

"Forget everything and run, or face everything and rise."

Lauren nodded, "You said that running just happens to be the way a musher rises."

Bo nodded before she spoke again,

"Everything you have ever wanted is on the other side of fear," Bo said.

Lauren nodded, "You said that by staying in the town that you feared the most, you found me… everything you ever wanted."

Bo took a deep breath and sighed before she spoke the last of the three,

"Let your faith be greater than your fear," she paused, "That one applies to you now more than ever."

Bo walked through the door of the tent, leaving Lauren standing, hands on her mouth as the tears began to fall. Bo was right. She had become focused on her own fears just like she had last year. She had allowed fear to consume her ever since the night she doubted herself while standing over Thea Gauthier's still heart…

FLASHBACK…

There was no sound… Lauren didn't even hear the monitors, though she was certain if she didn't do something in the next few seconds that the only sound to fill the room would be the sound of the monitors signaling no rhythm… a flatlined heart… death… of a young girl who had never been on a date, would never go to prom, never fall in love, never graduate from high school or college, never have the choice of marriage or family… hell, she'd never have her driver's license or the Jeep Wrangler death trap Lauren had been trying to talk her out of for two years. Jeep Wrangler… car… engine… Kurt… heart just like an engine… fuel… oxygen… potassium… sodium… water… protein…

Lauren looked up, "Push Potassium Chloride 0.3% w/v and Sodium Chloride 0.9% w/v solution now!"

The nurse did as instructed, looking shocked when Lauren took the syringe from her hand and injected the last portion of the solution directly into the coronary artery,

"Lauren…" Dr. Archer spoke, but the solution was already in.

"I know, Stephen, but I have to try."

She continued cardiac massage for another thirty seconds, "Charge the paddles."

The nurse hesitated, but Lauren shouted again, "Charge the paddles!"

She handed them to Lauren, counting out until the machine sounded. Lauren took a quick look around the patient,

"Clear!"

Phfump! The paddles sounded before the room fell silent, Lauren checking the pulse as she watched the monitor,

"Again!" she shouted, the machine's familiar high pitched squeal sounding before she shocked again. The room fell silent… everyone watching… everyone waiting… and waiting until… beep… beep… beep.

Her shoulders relaxed as her eyes moved to Stephen, pride on his face until he noticed the tears in Lauren's eyes. He looked to the door as he spoke to the staff,

"I'll close from here, Doctor Lewis. You've been on your feet for hours and she's going to need you if things go sideways again. Get some sleep. I'll take first watch so you're ready to go again if need be."

Lauren nodded, lowering her eyes as she made her way to the door. She snapped off her gloves and hit the disposal pedal, tossing them in before stripping off the gown and dropping it into the laundry. Her eyes loitered on the pattern of blood across the abdomen, chest and shoulder of the gown caused by the ruptured vessel likely nicked by her scalpel.

She walked the hallways, unsure of where she was going. She had seen the plans for this hospital several times a day for months and had memorized them as well as the anatomy of the long and winding blood vessels of the body, but in this moment, it was as foreign to her as the roads of Alaska.

She didn't know how long she walked before she found an empty stairwell where she sat down and cried as she had never cried before. She wasn't sure exactly how, but she was sure she had made a mistake. What she was sure of in this moment, is that she wasn't sure she could ever pick up a scalpel again.

END FLASHBACK

Lauren sat on the chair by the tent entrance once more, this time, her eyes carried to her right where Bo stood with her team, likely discussing strategy. Eventually, she took her mom's hand and led her towards the cabin, the two talking as they moved along.

She lowered her eyes and closed the tent flap, then curled up in a ball on the bed where Bo had laid for her treatment. She tossed the towel into the sink and closed her eyes, allowing sleep to claim her, relaxed in the knowledge that Bo was safe… for now.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ONE HOUR BEFORE DEPARTURE

Bo sat in the cabin with her mom staring into the fire. Mary stacked the forms in one hand,

"So, you say Rudy gave this to you before you went to sleep?"

Bo smiled, "She waited until you left and then came in and gave me that packet of papers."

"She does realize…" Mary began, but Bo was already nodding,

"Oh, she knows. She knows it all. Apparently, she has been carrying that around with her for several months. She downloaded all of the forms to her laptop in school and printed them all out so that she could read them after story time at night… with the flashlight… under her sheets."

Mary shook her head, smiling down at the forms, "I fear I am not up to the challenge of raising this child. I believe she may outsmart me one of these days."

Bo laughed, "Well, I'll try to help you stay one step ahead… if I can."

"So, she just handed the envelope to you?"

Bo smiled, "Yup. She went to see Penelope to get the envelope and Lauren's dear friend helped her to prepare her presentation. She had a whole speech prepared, Mom," she shook her head, "She told me she realizes she can't run any of the qualifying races until she's fourteen, but she wants to start young and gain experience… and allow her dogs to gain experience."

Bo explained further, "If you look at the 2022 Junior Iditarod Rules, you'll see that her big concern was that you wouldn't sign the parent release when she's fourteen. She's afraid you won't let her race against the seventeen-year-olds – especially the boys who can be very unsavory fellas."

Bo looked at Mary, "Her words, not mine. She found it in the dictionary."

Mary chuckled, "Not your word-a-day calendar?"

"Ha. Ha. She also needs her birth certificate which – for some reason – she thinks you don't have."

Mary nodded, "Well, she's right about that. The FBI took it for our passports, and they haven't returned it just yet. I did mention it to Tamsin, and she said she would look into it, but no word yet."

Bo nodded, "Her next concern was that I have to sign off on the participant's release because I own the dogs. She asked when she could buy them from me and for how much. Mom, I know you want her to earn things, but you have to know I'm going to ask you to permit me to gift those dogs to her."

Mary shrugged, "If you give her a team of puppies and she is required to learn and raise them on her own, yes. If she is going to race dogs you've raised, I would want her to pay for them, yes."

"Jenna and Muk? They'll still have plenty of years left in them when I stop running."

Mary smiled, "Ysabeau, you have decades of mushing left in you."

Bo sighed, "I don't know if I can handle the Lewis worry factor, Mom. She's obsessed that I'm going to die out here. I just don't know where that comes from. I thought that taking her out with me, she would see how it is and how I can handle myself, but for some reason, she just doesn't trust me."

Mary shrugged, "She hears you discuss the trail, Child but she has never seen it. Perhaps that's the problem."

"Yea, well I was sort of hoping for more of the 'I trust my future wife, so I don't have to see the trail to know that she can handle it' vibe, Mom. She met me when I was still living off grid. She knows that's how I've lived for more than a decade. I mean, I've survived hanging from the back of my bench over a gorge while my dogs fought to pull me and the sled up! It honestly makes me angry, Mom."

Mary shook her head, "I did not need to know that, Ysabeau."

She shrugged, "A slight miscalculation on a mountain trail. Luckily, I was only fourteen and a total lightweight with no money to buy anything that could weigh down the sled. I also still had all of our dogs, so you know Yuji and Yara weren't going to let me die."

Mary smiled and nodded, "I'm glad you had them."

"I'm sorry I lost them. I never should have set foot in that town."

"But if you hadn't, Child, Tamsin may never have found you in which case, we wouldn't be reunited and you wouldn't know your sister. You also wouldn't know your half-brother and you definitely would never have met Lauren."

Bo nodded, "The Great Spirits sure do like messing with our fate, eh?"

"They're merely guides, Ysabeau. As for our fate? Well, that is all about the choices we make along the great trail of life. You've made all the right ones to get you to where you are now."

Bo slouched, "To a woman I love more than my own life who doesn't seem to believe in me."

"Child, this isn't about trust for her. Lauren is a doctor. For them, scientific evidence is how they draw conclusions. I gave her the medicines I gave to you because she needs to get them under her microscope and then into Amelia's hands so that they can decide how they work. That they work is not enough for her. She has to know that the way they work won't cause other problems while resolving the problem at hand."

Bo sighed, "It just takes a lot of energy to live like she does. I think I understand why she wanted to give up surgery for a while. Do you think she worries about every patient like she does about me?"

"Only Lauren knows the answer to that question, Ysabeau."

Bo nodded, taking the papers her mom handed her. She smiled thinking of the next item Rudy had discussed,

"She asked me if the Iditarod people would mind if her sister wrote her Rookie Reference. I told her I wasn't certain, but I didn't see why not since it's not in the rules. I also told her that the kennel would sponsor her, and she could talk to Lauren and Doctor Stephen about the hospital sponsoring her as well."

Mary smiled, "That would be very kind of them."

Bo smiled, "Apparently she took Stephen and Betsy for a ride with six of the backups."

"I was on the bench behind her," Mary smiled, "She is truly amazing as a driver, Ysabeau. You've done a wonderful job teaching her."

"As have you, Mom. I really think the surfing thing helped her to develop an eye for the best line to follow on a trail. She's got fantastic instincts."

Mary nodded her agreement, holding up another paper, "I suppose she would use Elise as her substitute driver?"

Bo nodded, "That's their plan, so they are going to train together. Elise is worried that Molly will say no because Molly treats her like a little girl. Rudy said more like a little princess."

Mary smiled, "She's the daughter Molly was never sent. I suppose I can't blame her."

Bo watched her mom carefully before she said, "I miss them too, Mom."

Mary lifted her eyes to her daughter and nodded, "I wish I could have saved them from their father. I will never stop wondering if there was something I could have done."

Bo sighed, "Me too."

Mary nodding to the papers in her daughter's hand, "This looks like it runs very much as this race. Pre-race meeting, draw for starting position, staggered start by time… it's one hundred and fifty miles."

Bo nodded, "She's already done that getting here."

"And then some," Mary smiled, "You'll have to teach her how to handle the press. That's outside of my wheelhouse."

Bo laughed, "Mine too, Mom. But I'm learning."

"So, this is just one qualifying race to get to the Iditarod?"

Bo nodded, "Yes. She'll have to do three prior to the Iditarod and send that other form – the race report cards – within a week, I think – of each race she completes. There's one required ten-hour stop in the junior race. It's at the halfway point and the time starts after they've accounted for all of their required gear. They have to reach the halfway point within five hours, or they're given the boot."

"Oh, that changes things a bit."

"It does, but Rudy is already hitting that time."

"I see," Mary said, nodding, "You have a concern."

Bo nodded, "They're permitted to use a smaller sled, but the basket has to be at least four feet in length. We're going to have to start moving her to a full-length sled. I mean, we've got a little over three years to get her there, but I think the longer…"

"…she uses the smaller sled, the more difficult it will be to adapt to a bigger one."

"Right, so I think we add eight to ten inches every other month for the next year until she's at a regulation sled."

Mary smiled, "I would have moved you to a full-length sled when you were twelve, but not in increments."

"That's normal?"

Mary smiled, "It's cost effective. I didn't have a sled building workshop full of materials. You do."

Bo smiled, "True."

"It says she's permitted seven to ten dogs."

Bo nodded, "Which will mean leaving some of hers behind, but that's the rule so she'll learn."

Mary agreed, "And the Good Samaritan Rule? I've mentioned it to her, but we were interrupted that lesson."

"I've mentioned it as well. When we were coming back from the Kennel a few months back, she thought the Good Samaritan Rule required us to stop and help Mrs. Tuckell with her hay bales. I said it would be nice to stop, but since she wasn't a racer, it wasn't required. Needless to say…"

"You stopped. I'm aware. She told me what wonderful daughters I had the next day when I went into town to see Kyle about the handle grip I bought her for Christmas."

Bo smiled, "I love our grip product."

"As do I, Child," Mary smiled, "I'm sure she's happy about that firearms rule."

Bo nodded, "Roo doesn't like guns any more than I do."

"You know, she saw the shotgun when she was repairing your sled," Mary noted.

Bo sighed, "Shit. I forgot. What did LJ tell her?"

Mary shrugged, "That it was just a backup plan, so you didn't risk getting stranded with a bunch of dead or dying dogs out on the Alaska Range."

Bo nodded, "I'm sorry, Mom."

Mary shook her head, "I should have thought of it too, Child. I'm the one who insisted you carry it and she should know that. Sooner or later, she'll have to learn to use one."

"I know. I just want it to be later. As long as she can learn how to use the dogs to escape or protect and keep up with her knife and axe throwing, she'll be fine. Wounding an animal is usually enough to make them lose interest in you. Of course, spotting them and moving away from them is even better."

"Agreed, but we both know that dogs barking is the best solution to uncooperative animals," Mary replied. "The rest of these rules she'll see in action here. I'm sure she'll have no problem with the awards ceremony unless she doesn't finish first."

"I'll work on that sportsmanship thing," Bo smiled.

"Me too."

Bo nodded, "Hard to believe she's already reading about this stuff, huh?"

Mary smiled, "It is. I was so worried when I brought her here that she would want to go back to her beach. I'm so grateful that you took to her and helped her find a love of this climate."

Bo nodded, "Me too, Mom."

Her alarm sounded, causing both women to sigh before getting to their feet. Bo took the two cups and tossed them in the trash,

"Well, nothing but checkpoints from here on out. I'll see you back at the finish line in a little less than two days, Mom."

Mary pulled her daughter in for a hug, "I love you, Child. Take care of your team and yourself. Be wise, be swift, be strong and have faith in the spirits that follow you."

The elder Dennis pointed towards the large window by the fireplace where off in the distance, two eagles sat perched high up in the tallest tree,

"Oh. My. Great. Spirits," Bo said, shaking her heads, "They're magnificent."

"You're never alone, Child."

Bo smiled, "I carry my family and the Spirits of the Ancestors with me always."

Mary leaned in, pressing her forehead and nose against her daughters. They stood, eyes closed listening to each breath before they pulled back and, with a smile, parted ways.

As expected, Rudy was by Bo's side in a blink when she exited the cabin, "What did she say? Will she let me? Huh? Will she let me? Will you help me? Will you? Huh?"

Bo stopped, bending down to cup her sister's face, "Yes, I will help you. Yes, in three years we will start your racing career. Until then, you need to learn everything you can about everything that happens here. The races are very similar…"

"I know! Just the mileage is different."

"That's right, but there's a few things that will be different for you too."

"Bigger sled, but I'm already test-driving people and the backup dogs around here on a full-sized sled anyway! It's more fun. I can make it go sideways. Totally cool! Oh, but Doctor Stephen and Miss Betsy didn't like that much."

Bo shook her head, laughing as she pulled her little sister in for a hug, "You're my special Roo and I'll teach you everything I know."

"Great. Right now, you better go. Kyle's down there doing that nervous pencil tapping thing she does on the clipboard."

Bo hugged Rudy again, "I'll see you at the finish line. I'll just be waving at the checkpoints."

Rudy smiled, "I'll be the one yelling the loudest – maybe on LJ's shoulders so I can see better!"

"Thanks, Roo… for everything. I couldn't have done this without you."

"Well, one day you'll be doing all this for me, right?"

Bo smiled, "Unless I'm racing against you."

She turned and walked away as Rudy shouted, "What? Sister! That's not part of the deal!"

Bo turned and winked at her before walking the rest of the distance to her sled. Rudy felt her mom's hands on her shoulders. She turned to look up at Mary,

"Momma? Bo's gonna still race when I'm racing?"

Mary smiled, "What? Did you think she was just going to give you the Dennis Family Mantel? That, Child, you'll have to earn to run solo in the Iditarod."

She felt Rudy's shoulders slump as Bo pulled out with a wave, the youngster speaking softly, "Well, I guess I'll have to get my butt kicked by Sister once or twice before she sees that I'm better… and I will be."

Mary smiled, "That's the spirit, Roo."

Rudy looked up, "But Sister is super amazing. I probably won't beat her until I'm like fifty."

Mary laughed, "Oh, I'm sure you'll beat her before then."

"When, Momma?" Rudy asked, taking Mary's hand as they walked down to the team,

"I'm going to say when you're twenty-five."

"Wow! That's really soon!" Rudy smiled.

Mary nodded, "I fear it is as well, Child."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX END CHAPTER 43 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX