Chapter 15: The Circle of Life.
November 12, 1929.
Dusty growled, and dug her paws into the veterinarian's carpet in a desperate attempt to distract herself from her current situation. It was funny. Whenever people talked about the miracle of childbirth, they always left out the part about the excruciating pain. And Dusty kind of would have liked to have known about that part ahead of time, so she could at least prepare herself mentally for the agony of birthing a child. The only comfort she felt right now was the knowing that soon a brand new baby would be born into the world, her baby. Not to mention the husband of hers that had been standing by her side the whole time, despite being thoroughly creeped out by what he was seeing.
"You're doing good Dust. Just keep pushing", Kodi told her, before squeezing her paw. With half a dozen other humans standing around her, waiting for the big moment to come, Dusty couldn't afford to get distracted and make a mistake, and her Kodiak was there to make sure she didn't.
"I am pushing!", Dusty growled, snapping her jaws at her husband, and causing Kodi to take a step back cautiously. As soon as she saw the surprised look on the hybrid's face, Dusty's expression softened, and she lowered her head guiltily. "Sorry Kodi, I didn't mean to snap at you like that", she mumbled.
"Don't worry, the doc said that mood swings during childbirth is normal, even for animals. Heck, if I had a baby fighting it's way out of my stomach, I'd be snapping at people left and right too", Kodi said reassuringly.
Kodi had followed his father's advice, and made sure he was there to support her once she went into labor. Kodi had been extra cautious for the past two months not to leave Dusty alone, since the doctors had informed John that her due date had been pushed up. And they were right. Instead of having a winter child, it seemed their baby girl would become a part of their lives right before Thanksgiving. And as soon as Dusty's water broke that morning, her husband had rushed her to vet's office and barked at the door non-stop until he gained the humans' attention.
"Don't worry, you're doing great Dusty. You too Kodi", Jenna said, smiling at her son before turning her attention back to Dusty. Not long after Dusty went into labor, word of her condition had spread throughout Nome's canine population, and only half an hour later Kodi's family and friends had arrived at the vet's office. Since the vets had all been in such a hurry to tend to Dusty, they had left the door unlocked, allowing any dog in town to just slip in, including Kodiak's rust-and-cream colored mother. But she was the only one of Kodi's family who had came inside.
Since the rest of Kodi's friends and family were all men, Jenna had ordered them to stay outside (including her husband). She knew from experience that was it already hard to concentrate when a bunch of humans were all staring at you at your most vulnerable moment, let alone a bunch of guys. And the only reason Kodi was permitted to stay was because he was Dusty's mate, and it was his job to support her in her time of need. Everyone else (Balto, Nikki, Kaltag, Star, Ralph, Kirby, Blake, Griff, Jake, Ron, Hal, and yes, even Steele) was still waiting anxiously outside. Even Boris the goose had come along, while Muk and Luk were forced to stay behind at the trawler, much to Boris' delight. For obvious reasons, two polar bears couldn't just march into town without causing a panic.
((()-()))
Standing on the sidewalk outside, Steele and his mate leaned against the vet's wooden door, while Balto paced nervously back and forth. The malamute, who was usually stone cold when it came to any kind of emotion, felt the tiniest bit of sympathy for his old rival as he saw how anxious and restless the wolf-dog was. After all, it must suck being the only one of your family left out while your wife, your son, and your daughter-in-law are put through such a grueling experience.
As much as Steele hated to admit it, the malamute was there for the same reason his mate Kaltag was. Steele actually considered Kodi to be a friend of his now, believe it or not, and today Kodi's mate was in the middle of giving birth. There was a dozen different things that could go wrong, and Steele wanted to be there to help the couple if something did. But right now, he was more worried about Balto giving himself a heart attack than anything that was going on outside the building (what was the world coming to? He actually cared about what happened to the wolf-dog these days).
"Calm down boychic, Kodi and Dusty will be fine", Boris said, placing his wing on son's shoulder reassuringly. Balto was about to argue with his father about how inexperienced his children were, when both animals glanced to side to look at Steele, as the malamute had just decided to put his two cents in.
"The goose is right Balto, Kodi knows what he's doing. If the kid can keep a level head in a storm, he should be able to handle watching over his wife", Steele added, though there was real sincerity to his tone this time instead of it's usual sarcastic nature.
"Yeah, you gotta give the kid credit Balto. He's had half a year to prepare for this", Kaltag reminded him.
Balto opened his mouth to say something, when Steele raised his eyebrow, challenging the hybrid to find a hole in their logic. When he couldn't, the wolf-dog sighed and sat down on ground with his friends. "You're right. I'm worrying too much", Balto resolved, allowing his head to sink in the snow.
Boris scoffed, and rubbed the hybrid on the head. "My son, when you're a father, and a grandfather, there's no such thing as worrying too much", the old goose replied, before walking away, looking to find something to distract himself with until Dusty's ordeal was over.
Even though he wasn't pacing anymore, Balto still found himself moving restlessly, drumming his paws against the snow subconsciously. Steele and Kaltag caught onto this in no time, and the malamute's eyebrows raised even higher. "I've never seen you like this. Not even during a snowstorm. Why are you so worked up?", Steele mused.
Balto glanced over at the duo, surprised that his old rival would actually care if he had the jitters, but he replied nonetheless. "I've always wondered, was I a good father to my children? Did I do a good enough job preparing them for what the world had in store for them? I wasn't even there when they were born, and I had to say good-bye to them all so quickly. I taught Kodi everything I know about being a sled dog and being a father, but was it enough?", Balto explained.
"Of course it's enough you idiot", Steele replied, frowning before getting up and walking towards Balto. To everyone's surprise, Steele leaned over and pressed his nose directly against Balto's, but the hybrid made no move to move backwards or push the malamute away. Instead he just sat there, staring confusedly into his old rival's dark blue eyes.
"You raised a kid who's not only willing to go to the ends of the Earth for his family, but will put his neck on the line to help someone like me. Yeah sure, he never stops talking, and his 'good boy' ideals are enough to make you sick, but he's one hell of a sled dog, and one hell of a man. And I couldn't have raised him better myself. So I don't wanna see you sitting there, doubting yourself all the time, you hear me wolf-dog?", Steele asked, though as much as he wanted to sound intimidating, he couldn't stop himself from grinning just a little.
Once he realized what Steele was trying to do, he nodded his head slowly, and Steele, clearly satisfied, sat down again in the snow, albeit closer to Balto this time. "Thank you Steele", the hybrid said quietly.
"Don't mention it", the malamute grunted.
"I don't know why I'm so nervous. I've had years to prepare for moments like these. But when I see my kids all grown up with lives their own, my fears always come back that I wasn't the father they needed me to be", Balto explained.
Steele scoffed, and raised his eyebrow at him. "Are you kidding? Your kids idolize you. And why wouldn't they? You taught them how to be brave, how to work together as team, and how to stand up and do the right thing when no else will. All the things you wouldn't expect a wolf to teach his kids. Your son Kodi, he's always trying to look for the best in people, even when they've stopped seeing it a long time ago. He's always so stubborn and optimistic about the 'humanity' in people", Steele said, though he said in a mocking tone, the malamute obviously considered these ideals important himself, since there was also a hint of reverence beneath the sarcasm.
Steele sighed, and to Balto's surprise, he actually made a friendly gesture of patting the hybrid on the back. Steele and Balto hadn't been in any kind of argument since their encounter in White Mountain, but they hadn't exactly been talking to each other for the past two months either. In order to stay on good terms, they had decided to keep their distance from each other, and that's just the way they liked it. So it surprised Balto to see his old enemy being so helpful and encouraging now. And he was sure it pained the malamute to do so.
"So if Kodi's a damn good sled dog, then you're a…a…damn good family man", the black and white dog admitted, forcing himself to swallow his pride and compliment the half-breed he had once considered to be life's greatest thorn in his side. "When I left you alone with Jenna all those years ago, I told you to take good care of her. And you did. You've been a good husband and a great father to her kids. Everything I could never have been. You've had a great life since the last time I saw you Balto, and I'm…I'm proud of you for everything you've done for Jenna and your family", the malamute said under his breath, talking low enough so the other dogs couldn't hear him, but just loud enough for Balto's supersensitive ears to pick it up.
Balto stared at the malamute, speechless, before he cleared his throat. "Um thanks, I never thought I'd hear that coming from you", the hybrid said.
"Trust me, I never thought I'd hear myself say that either", Steele thought to himself. "Just don't forget it, cause I'm not saying it again", he grumbled.
"You know, you didn't turn out too bad either", Balto said. As expected, Steele scoffed at Balto's reassuring words, but the half-wolf paid his skepticism no attention, since he was too busy moving his paw towards the dog. The hybrid hesitated, wondering if he was crossing the line and pushing Steele's patience, before deciding to bite the bullet and pat Steele on the back. Unsurprisingly, Steele cringed from his ex-rival's contact, but didn't snap at him or anything.
"You've got an owner, a team, and a mate now. That's not such a bad life. Most dogs would call you lucky", Balto reminded him, grinning when Steele couldn't find a way to counter him this time. "And you shouldn't sell yourself short in the morality department. I know you've made plenty of mistakes in the past, and a lot of people in this town will never be able to forgive you for that, but I'll never forget what you for my family in White Mountain. It takes a mighty big dog to put his feelings aside for the greater good. And it takes an even bigger dog to let go of someone you've loved for so long, just they can be happy. Gunnar wasn't lying when he said you always had the potential to be a hero Steele. So don't going doubting yourself all the time either, eh?", Balto said, mimicking the malamute's 'threat' to him a few minutes before.
And that was how the ice between two old adversaries was broken, while just on the other side of the wall, a man and his wife fought their hardest to bring a new life into the world.
And over two hours later, their efforts paid off, and the rest of their family was finally allowed inside.
"Victoria", Dusty cooed, referring of course to the sleeping ball of fur and fluff that was snuggling up against her stomach for warmth.
"Little Vicky", Kodi said affectionately.
"That's one cute baby", Kirby said, too enchanted by the little one lying before him to mind the sappiness of the words coming out of his mouth.
"Maybe she won't be a slacker like me after all", Ralph admitted.
"She's beautiful son", Balto said, rubbing his son's shoulder with his paw.
"It seems like just yesterday I was becoming a grandfather, now I'm a great-grandfather. I'm not old enough for this kind of stuff yet", Boris mused, joining the circle of canines that surrounded Dusty and his daughter.
"So when do you think the humans will catch the other two?", Griff asked. It turns out Balto had been right after all about Dusty having a litter of pups. Instead of just one daughter, they had had an additional two sons who came before Victoria was born, both of whom wandered off while the doctors overseeing Vicky's birth. Right now, they were probably walking around blindly in the veterinarian's office (since they still couldn't see yet), or seeking shelter behind a desk or underneath a carpet.
"Here they come now", Blake replied, gesturing towards the pair of human doctors who had just walked into the room.
"A pair of little troublemakers, they are", Kaltag said, laughing to himself as he saw how the two pups squirmed in the humans' hands.
"It runs in the family", Jenna added, thinking back fondly to the days when Kodi, Aleu, and the rest of her children would ambush Balto and Boris at the trawler.
"Buck and Spitz won't be that much trouble Dust, they're just…adventurous", Kodi replied, to both his mother and his wife's amusement.
"Kodi, these kids can't even see yet, and they're already sneaking out. How are we ever gonna keep track of them all?", Dusty asked jokingly, as the humans placed her two other pups next to Victoria in the dog bed Dusty was lying in.
"You could always tell them the story about the falling hotel. That'd scare them enough to keep them in their beds at night", Blake suggested. Only a second later, Griff burst out laughing at his boyfriend's joke. And people said he had a sick sense of humor.
Meanwhile, one black and white malamute was being exceptionally quiet while his friends all laughed and congratulated Kodi and Dusty for their new parent statuses (while at the same time offering their sympathy for all the sleepless nights that were ahead of them). Steele leaned over towards Vicky, Buck, and Spitz, and reached his paw towards the little ones. Being as gentle as he could, he nudged little Buck on the head with his paw. However, the feeling of the much larger dog's paw on his head didn't seem to disturb the newborn, or even upset it. Instead, Buck yawned and lifted his tiny paws into the air, feeling around blindly until his little fingers came in contact with Steele's.
The malamute flinched, and for a moment wondered whether or not he should pull away and leave Dusty's kids alone (she was already going through such an emotional moment, he didn't need to add to it by upsetting her children only a few minutes after they were born). But before he could make up his mind to do anything, Buck tried to stand up on his feet, and toppled over onto his side, landing softly on Steele's paw. Worried that he might fall down again, Buck wrapped his mini arms around the nearest solid object, which was Steele's paw, and he proceeded to squeeze and hold onto it as hard as he could.
Now the malamute really didn't know what to do. He was completely uncomfortable with this, but he didn't know what would happen if he shook Buck off him. Why had he even meddled with Kodi and Dusty's kids in the first place? What in his right mind would convince him to try and make contact with something that he usually couldn't stand? And why did he start to like the feeling of Buck hugging his paw? Why did his chest feel a little bit warmer as he saw the happy-go-lucky youth turn to him, the dog that everyone hated, for support against the unknown? And why did he feel some stupid grin spreading across his face as he the puppy started to climb higher onto his hand?
"Aww", Ron said, in a child-like voice.
Steele's head snapped up, and he realized for the first time that everyone else had stopped talking a while ago, and all their eyes were now fixed solely on him. What's more, Kodi and Dusty had surely noticed their kid (who was only lying a few feet away from his mother's stomach) hugging his leg for the past two minutes. This had to be the most humiliating moment in Steele's life (being beat by a wolf-dog in a race was nothing compared to this), but that warm feeling in his…ugh…'heart' just wouldn't go away.
Kaltag, who's smug grin mirrored Steele's, walked up to his lover and threw his arms around the back of his neck. "Well Steele, looks like you're starting to feel what it's like being uncle. Yep, I got all soft and sentimental the first time Kodi and his siblings hugged me too", the tan husky said.
"I'm not…", Steele argued, before Kaltag cut him off.
"Then why is he still holding onto your paw?", Kaltag reminded him, smirking.
Steele, not knowing how to get himself out of the corner he had boxed himself into (growl, blush, shake Buck off his leg, all of things would have been the entirely wrong thing to do), simply closed his mouth, and lowered his eyes, refusing to meet the teasing stares of his friends/frenimies.
"Hey, so the kid likes you, that's nothing to be ashamed of. I'd say the fact the kid actually wants to come near you is an achievement", Kaltag said, his grin softening into a smile. "And admit it, they are cute, aren't they?", he asked.
"I guess they're alright", Steele grumbled, which Kaltag took as a yes.
"Alright Buck, let's get you back to your brothers and sisters. You're making Uncle Steele uncomfortable", Kodi chuckled, picking up his son in his mouth and returning him to his siblings' side.
Even though Steele thought his first reaction to Buck letting go of him would have been a sigh of relief, he actually found himself smiling when Kodi and Kaltag had referred to him as 'uncle Steele'. Kodi and his family actually did consider him a part of their group now (he supposed since some of them were half-wolves, they considered it to be their 'pack'), and they trusted him not to hurt their children. And he was gonna make sure their trust wasn't misplaced. He would never even think of harming something so small and innocent. In just a few minutes, his opinion on children had changed completely.
When he looked at little Buck, he couldn't believe someone could ever be so affectionate. That he could ever have had been so affectionate. Buck had warmed up to him so quickly, the giant who could have done so many horrible things to him (god knows he had hadn't hesitated when it came to hurting others before), but without even knowing him or seeing him Buck had come to consider Steele his friend, maybe even a member of his family.
Most people lost this kind of compassion as they got older, considering it to be foolish or ignorant, or weak, Steele included. But Kodi had retained this optimistic ideal his whole life, and look at the difference he had made in Steele because of it. The new generation had managed to help the old one in a way no one had ever been able to do for it before. And that was why Steele was gonna protect these kids so fiercely. Children were more than just a few cute faces, they were the future. They were the hope for a brighter tomorrow. They had always been, but Steele had been too foolish and self-absorbed to see it earlier.
He may never get to be a father, but Steele was gonna be the best damn uncle he could be, just like how Balto had been the best father to his kids. And if Kodi and Dusty's children did turn the proud old grouch into a big softie, well then, that was just a risk he was gonna have to take. Maybe going soft wouldn't be too bad. Blake and Griff were some of the nicest guys he knew, but were still pretty tough and intimidating when they needed to be. Besides, swallowing one's pride was a small price to pay if it meant getting a chance to see the circle of life unfold before one's eyes.
Author's Notes:
As you can guess, the name of this chapter and the closing line is a reference to one of the most memorable songs from "The Lion King" (this fic was all about the generation gap, so the circle of life reference fits). And the date Dusty's pups are born is a homage to "Back to the Future". November 12, 1955 was the night lightening struck the Hill Valley clocktower and sent Marty McFly back to the year 1985 (coincidentally, today is Oct 27, the same day Marty, Doc, and Clara returned to Hill Valley in Part III).
Well, that's the end. For real this time. I hope you've all enjoyed "The Revenge and Redemption of Steele". And if you didn't, well at least you guys can't say Kodiwolf and I didn't try our best. Whether you liked it or hated it, feel free to post a review below about your final thoughts on this story (but if you did dislike this fic, please be kind. Reviews are supposed to be civil after all, that's what separates them from flames).
Also, don't turn your mouse away from this story yet. There's still the acknowledgments chapter left. And if you guys look, you just mind find that I mentioned your names in dedication. That Nerd Next Door, Miskey67, Unshippedcorpse, Animation Universe 2005, EthanXPeaches, and Brasta Septim, I'm looking at you guys. And don't think I've forgotten about you either Thomas, this fic wouldn't have been written if it hadn't been for you.