A few days have passed and Bandit was at the moment at a part outside of Darwin where evidence for the presence of bones. Together with his excavation team and Dr. Boxer, the palynologist recommended by Dr. Cooper, they have found the right place, set up their big tent around the area to protect it from the rain and soon began to dig up the place, eventually finding some bones.

Bandit was at the hole, with his brimmed hat, carefully digging up some bones and cleaning them. As the bones were found, Bandit would oversee their extraction and categorized them as belonging to the same individual. It was then that he found a skull. Freeing it from the ground and cleaning, Bandit observed.

"By the look of it, it really matches the ones we have found… an adult female…" he said, passing it then to a member of his team. "Put it with the others."

"Yes, Dr. Heeler" he said.

Bandit had to admit that it was still strange to be addressed as 'doctor', but the feeling of being called that was actually very good.

"Dr. Heeler" another member of his team said. "We may have found something around here."

"Okay, mark the place and then we'll deal with it after we're done here" Bandit replied.

He continued to dig up the place and soon found a set of remains that didn't match the one they have found. After working around it, he sound found another skull, but that one would leave him without reaction.

"No…" he said.

"What is it, Dr. Heeler?" the member of the excavation near him asked.

Bandit was able to set the skull free and hold it to clean it, showing that it was quite small.

"A kid…" he said. "It must be… an infant."

"Oh my…" the other dog said.

Seeing that skull, Bandit couldn't help but remembering Bluey and Bingo, with a sense of worry invading him. Passing the skull to the excavation dog, he said:

"Please, put it with the other bones, but… carefully."

"Yes, Dr. Heeler" he replied, while proceeding to get out of the hole.

Sighing, Bandit also got out and told to his team:

"Okay, guys, let's take five. I need… a rest."

He went to the tent, where the bones were being placed on separate tables, according to the individual they belonged to. Two tables were already being occupied, one for the female remains they have found first and the second for the remains of the infant. Bandit couldn't help but staring at it. He arrived to the table he shared with Dr. Boxer, who was analyzing the samples he was gathering from the environment around them and the bones. Seeing Bandit's look, he said:

"You don't look that well. Something the matter?"

"I just found the remains of an infant" Bandit replied, while going to take some notes.

"Oh, I see…" he said, noticing then the bones he was talking about. "I guess it must not be easy… even if the bones are thousands of years old. I know, why don't you call your family? It may cheer you up."

"Yeah… that's what I was thinking in doing… cheers, mate" Bandit replied, while getting his tablet.

He called Chilli and she picked up the call.

"Hey, honey, how is everything over there?" she asked.

"Hey, babe… everything is… fine" Bandit replied. "I just found some bones. If everything goes according to plan, we may just stay here for just a few more days."

"That's great!" Chilli exclaimed. "The girls will love to know about that. But, Bandit… are you really fine? You look a little down."

"Ah, I'm just tired" Bandit replied. "And the fact is raining is not helping. Are the girls around? I would love to see them."

"Sure…" Chilli said, turning around. "Girls! Come see who is calling!"

It didn't take long for Bandit to hear his daughters' footsteps and he felt an immense happiness when he saw them appear at the screen of the tablet.

"Hey, Dad!" they exclaimed.

"Hey, there, squirts" Bandit replied. "How're things at home? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine" Bluey replied.

"We just miss you, Daddy" Bingo told.

"I miss you too, Bingo" Bandit said.

"How long will you be away?" Bingo asked.

"It will be a few more days, but don't worry, I will come back home as soon as I can" Bandit answered.

"Will you be back before I go back to school?" Bluey asked.

"I'll do my best, mate, after all, you'll going to first grade and I do want to be there for you" Bandit said. "Have you already bought your things for school with Mum?"

"Yeah, I did" Bluey replied. "I can't wait to show them to you."

"And I can't wait to see them" Bandit said, while tearing up.

"Dad, why are you crying?" Bingo asked.

Noticing the tear on his eye, Bandit hasted to clean it, while replying with a smile:

"This is just a happy tear, Bingo. It's just I'm very happy to see you and your sister. Okay, kids, I need to go. Can you give the tablet to your mum?"

"Yeah, Daddy, bye!" Bluey and Bingo replied.

"Bye, mates" he replied.

Chilli appeared on the tablet and said:

"Bye, honey, I wish you good luck."

"Thanks, babe."

The call ended.

"That family of yours seems to be very lovely" Dr. Boxer commented.

"It's the best one I could have wished for" Bandit replied. "You know, as an archaeologist, I wish that we have a lot of work here… as much as possible. But, as dad and a husband…"

"You just wish this job ends as quickly as possible" Dr. Boxer said.

"Is it weird I think that?" Bandit asked.

"Of course not, we're dogs, after all" Dr. Boxer replied. "The pack for us is everything. But I bet it's the same thing… for them."

He motioned towards the remains they have found. That caused Bandit to remember the first things Dr. Cooper had taught him when he was just a young pup.

"And it's our responsibility to tell their story" Bandit replied. "You're right… Okay, guys, let's get back to work. By the end of today, I want to know for sure if there's more remains at the nearby area."

Bandit returned to the hole and continued to dig, along with some of his team. They dig up more bones belonging to the two set of remains they have uncovered, until they found a third one. But Bandit couldn't help to notice that, despite being canine, these bones looked different, as they were bigger than the usual dog bones. When Bandit found and cleaned the skull, he noticed something that caused him to get out of hole and head towards Dr. Boxer.

"Look at this" he said to him. "It's the skull of the third set of remains we found."

"I see that, but… you know I'm not into bones, you know?" Dr. Boxer asked.

"But this skull is not from a dog, the size is too big, but it's obviously canine" Bandit told.

"So… it's a wolf" Dr. Boxer said.

"Through the size and how sharp the teeth are, I say it may be a dire wolf" Bandit replied.

"A dire wolf?" Dr. Boxer asked. "But I thought they only lived in the Americas."

"And Eastern Asia" Bandit replied. "Maybe this one traveled from there to here. I'll only know for sure after a detailed examination. But I think this goes beyond to just a simple anomaly. His remains were found together with those two others and they seem to be from the same time. Not to mention we have another set of remains yet to be dug up. I don't know, but I think we've just found something big here."

"Is that your archaeologist instinct talking?" Dr. Boxer asked, to what Bandit nodded. "Well, I've worked with many archaeologists to know when they are so sure about something, it's worth the shot."

Bandit then headed towards the hole, where he proceeded to keep digging up more of the bones. He hurried the process as much as he could without compromising the quality of his work and the integrity of the bones. Both his desire to get back to his family and his archaeological side were both working together for that end.