Hello everybody and welcome to the final chapter of Comfort and Loss. Before we begin, I would just like to thank my new friend Razska on Deviantart for creating the new cover page for this story. Seriously, this guy is super talented and his rates are extremely reasonable so you should totally check out his DA page whenever you have some free time. You won't regret it. As always, Balto and all its characters are the property of Universal, I own nothing except for my OCs. So without any further ado, I proudly present the final chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 4: Full Disclosure.
Awkward…
Awkward did not even begin to describe the complete and total unease of this situation.
Out of everything that had ever happened to him in his entire life, with the possible exception of nearly dying in a snowstorm, Balto could not, for the life of him, imagine a more unpleasant and potentially disastrous scenario than the one he was presently facing.
His daughter, his youngest daughter, his sweet little Petunia, had apparently walked in on him just as he was relieving himself of the massive ball of grief and emotional turmoil that had been building up inside of him for far too long. Oh… the things he had said. How long had she been listening? How much had she heard? How much had she understood? So many questions, and the handsome half-blood suspected he wasn't going to like the answers.
For what felt like an eternity, the two dogs just stood there, staring into each other's eyes. The older canine looking quite distraught while the younger's expression was largely unreadable. The tension in the air was so thick it was almost too much to bear. Thankfully the silence was soon broken by the saccharine sound of the young pup's sugary voice.
"Daddy, are you okay?" she asked, sounding concerned. "You look kinda… yuck."
"Oh… I… I'm just fine, Sweetheart." He answered, sounding more nervous and stupid than he would've preferred. "But I don't… I don't understand, what are you doing here? Why aren't you with your mother?"
"Well, Mama said you had some stuff to do and since you looked so sad before I thought I'd keep you company."
"I see…" said the handsome half-blood, adopting a much more fatherly tone. "And does your Mama know you decided to stay behind?"
"Not exactly…" his daughter replied as she looked down at her paws to avert his gaze. "But Trixie and Daisy started arguing again, so she probably didn't notice when I snuck away."
"No… probably not." He reasoned. "Though she's sure to have noticed by now, and knowing her she's probably sick with worry."
The noble wolf-dog looked up from his youngest child for a moment. He looked toward the town, he saw no sign of his mate or his other offspring, so perhaps she hadn't noticed just yet; she could be a bit slow at times after all. But she would notice soon enough, possible once they arrived at the old wreck, perhaps sooner. Either way, Petunia needed to be returned immediately. So, after sparing Jenna's cross one final glace, he let out a sigh and spoke.
"Alright, come on Sweetheart." He said to her as he slowly began to move toward Nome. "I'm taking you back to your Mother before she has a fit."
"Oh… um… okay Daddy." The tiny Pom replied as she slowly waddled after him.
For about a minute or two they walked in silence, Balto walking extra slow to allow his chubby daughter to keep up. They were about three feet away from the edge of the Bone Yard when the silence was finally broken.
"Daddy, who's Jenna?" asked Petunia innocently, causing her father to nearly misstep as he walked.
He had been expecting her to ask something like that, but he had hoped she wouldn't be quite so blunt. He knew he couldn't lie to her, not about something like this, but he also knew he must handle the situation delicately; lest he emotionally scar his sweet little Creampuff.
"Why do you ask?" he began casually, attempting to act as if her question wasn't an extremely sensitive subject.
"Well… I've heard some of the other grownups in town say that name before, and then I heard you say it when you were talking to yourself, so I figured she must be important." Petunia answered innocently, unaware of her father's discomfort.
"I see…" Balto replied, dreading the answer to what he was going to ask next. "Sweetheart… what else did you hear?"
"Well…" said Petunia as she began to search her memory. "First I heard you say 'Jenna'. Then I think you said something about loving Mama. But after that my tummy started rumbling and I… um…"
"Started thinking about food?" the noble half-blood asked with more than a slight edge of hope in his voice.
"Uh-huh." The tiny Pom answered, sounding a little embarrassed. "So I guess I missed most of what you said earlier. Sorry Daddy."
"No, it's alright Sweetheart." Replied the noble half-blood before letting out a deep sigh of relief. It would seem that his daughter's irrepressible appetite had spared her, not to mention himself, from a rather long and potentially damaging explanation. For one brief and shining moment, the weary father felt completely at ease; only to have reality slammed right back in his face two seconds later.
"So who is she Daddy?" asked Petunia curiously, unaware of what she was doing to her father.
"Jenna was…" Balto began tentatively, not wanting to say or do anything that might upset his little angel. "She was someone I used to know, a long time ago."
"Oh…" she replied with some level of understanding before asking a follow-up question. "What do you mean 'used to'? Did she move away?"
"Not… exactly…" the handsome half-blood replied, feeling as though his insides were filled with broken glass. He really did not want to be having this conversation. Not now, and definitely not with her. "It's… a bit… complicated Sweetheart."
"Daddy… are you okay?" the tiny Pom asked concernedly.
"Of course I am," the noble wolf-dog lied unconvincingly. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you're crying."
Balto stopped dead in his tracks. He hadn't noticed before, but Petunia was right; he was indeed crying. Not quite the hot streams he had been producing earlier, but he was still crying nonetheless. He was crying and his daughter was watching. Not good.
"Daddy? Daddy, what's the matter?" the miniature puff-ball asked again, sounding even more concerned than before. "Are you hurt? Did you step on something?"
"No… no sweetie. I'm not hurt…" he lied again as he vainly attempted to wipe the tears from his eyes. "It's nothing… really."
"But if it's nothing then why are you crying?" Petunia asked yet again, sounding much more forceful than anyone had ever heard her sound before. "Daddy, please tell me what's wrong."
"I… I…" the handsome half-blood stuttered as he felt his stomach twist into a knot. "I… I can't Sweetheart. I just can't. I'm sorry."
"Is it… is it because I mentioned Jenna?" the tiny Pom asked, adopting a much more somber tone. "Did I make you cry Daddy? Is… is this my fault?"
In that moment, a new sensation filled the noble wolf-dog's extremely addled brain. One that seemed to completely overwhelm his senses; making him forget about all of the fear, pain, and loss that had consumed him mere moments ago. Balto had felt this sensation many times before over the last few months, but never before had it been so powerful. Parental Instinct had taken hold of his soul.
With the emotional muck that had been clouding his mind suddenly fading away, the handsome half-blood slowly turned toward his youngest daughter; his pale yellow yes burning with a newfound sense of purpose. Tentatively, he walked toward her, taking care not to upset any more than he already had. Once he was close enough he came to a halt and sat down right in front of her. Then, using the utmost of care, he gingerly wrapped his right front paw around her and pulled her in close for a much needed embrace.
"Shhh…" the older canine said in soft and soothing tone as he stroked his child's fluffy head with his free paw. "No… no Sweetheart. This isn't your fault. This isn't anyone's fault… except mine. I've been keeping so much from you, from everyone, because I thought I was protecting you, but all I've really been doing is torturing myself and pushing away everyone else. Well it stops now."
"I… I don't understand…" Petunia replied in a confused and somewhat less somber tone. "Daddy what are you talking about?"
"Well, it's… kind of a long story, but it's one I think you have a right to know." The noble half-blood said stoically, pausing only briefly to take quick, cleansing breath. "You see, a long time ago, before you and your sisters were born, before your mother and I fell in love, I was… something of an outsider. I didn't have any friends in town; except for one."
"Jenna?"
"Exactly." Balto answered, feeling increasingly more relaxed as each syllable seemed to make him feel ten pounds lighter. "She was my first real friend and she the time we spent together… well, it was the highlight of my life. Until I met your mother of course."
"Oh…" the tiny Pom said, not truly grasping the full context of her father's explanation, but still understanding enough to follow. "So what happened to her, Daddy? Where did she go?"
"Well she… she's gone Sweetheart." Balto continued to explain as his eyes began to grow misty once again. "She got really sick one day and… and…" He paused briefly as his brain worked to find a way to explain what came next. "Petunia, do you remember that old dachshund that used to live next door to us."
Petunia didn't answer, but instead nodded in reply.
"Do you remember what your mother and I told you when he got sick?"
His youngest daughter nodded again as the full scope, or at the very least what the young pup understood about the full scope, finally became clear to her.
"Daddy… I…" she began, only to be cut off when her father pulled her in for an even closer hug.
"Shh… It's okay Sweetheart." He said soothingly.
"But you're still crying."
"I know, but everything's going to be okay from now on, I promise." Balto vowed softly as the last lingering vestiges of pain and sadness oozed from his body in the form of several stray beads of salt water.
For what felt like an eternity the two canines just stood there at the edge of the Bone Yard; locked together in a solemn but loving embrace. Neither of them daring to say another word and neither of them needing too. However, after another minute or two, Balto finally broke the hug and looked down at his daughter with dry eyes and a warm smile.
"Alright Sweetheart, I think we've spent enough time in this place." He said in a fatherly tone as he slowly spun himself around and worked his way back onto his feet. "Now come on, your Mother's probably having a panic attack looking for you."
"Um… Okay Daddy." Replied Petunia as she too got back on her feet. "But… but what do I say to Mama, and Daisy, and Trixie about… well, about all this?"
"Don't worry about it Sweetie," he answered as a strange sense of ease suddenly enveloped his weary brain. "I'll handle everything."
With that said, the two canines made their way out of the Bone Yard and back toward the tiny town that was their home; the older slowing his natural pace to allow the younger to keep up.
Balto had begged for a sign that Jenna was alright with him moving on and in some odd way the universe had delivered. True, it wasn't a spiritual vision or a mystic anomaly in the sky, but the moment he saw his sweet little Petunia start to blame herself for his condition he knew he had to let go; not only for her sake, but for his own.
Until the day he died, Balto was never entirely sure if his daughter's timely appearance at Jenna's grave had been the work of a higher power and quite frankly he didn't really care. Because in that instant, he knew he was exactly where he was supposed to be. And that was good enough for him.
End Notes: Remember when I said this was the final chapter? Well I lied. There's also a short little epilogue. You can read it if you want, but it doesn't really add anything to the story. It's just something I whipped up at the last minute just for fun. Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed reading this story and I hope you all leave a nice review before you leave. See you during my next Fanfiction project. Peace.