Chapter 4

"Excuse me, Mr. Bolt?" Bolt and Penny had just arrived at the studio, but he was approached by another dog. She was a German shepherd like he was, except brown with a black patch of fur on her back.

"Hey there, what's your name?" He greeted.

"My name's Zoey. I'm sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to tell you how much my younger brother loves you. He thinks you're the coolest dog ever."

"Aw, how sweet," he chuckled. "Is he with you?"

She shook her head. "Unfortunately no, I went to find some food for us, but I just happened to see you as I was passing by."

"You don't live with humans?"

"No. We've always lived on our own, but it's been hard ever since my brother…" her head dipped as her voice softened before finishing her thought.

"Tell me about him."

"He took care of me and my younger brother since we were separated from our parents. He protected us and always watched out for us. But one day… he passed away without any warning. That was six months ago." She took in a deep breath, trying her hardest not to cry, but she was caught off guard when she was suddenly embraced by Bolt's arms as he hugged her.

"It's been so hard," she continued, "especially for Tim. Tim didn't know our parents, so he was the only one he had to look up to. I still spend most of my nights wondering if there was anything we could have done to save him or something."

Bolt sympathized with Zoey. He never lost anyone close to him before. There was the time he was separated from Penny for a while, but that was only temporary. He thought about life without Penny, life without Mittens. He felt his heart turn numb just by the mere thought of it alone.

"I'm sorry, Zoey," he whispered before finally letting go, "I've never lost anyone close to me so I can only imagine your pain." He gave her a soft grin. "You're strong Zoey, you have to be for your little brother and I'm sure your older brother would be proud of you."

Zoey nodded and smiled for the first time. "You're right," she wiped away her tears with her paw, "he would hate to see me crying like this. Thank you."

Bolt gave her a wink. "By the way… Is there any chance I can meet your little brother?"

Mittens was startled when she suddenly felt Bolt hug her from behind. "Hey Bolt," she laughed, "I didn't hear you get home."

But the dog didn't say anything, he just held onto her tightly. "Bolt?"

"I'm sorry," he murmured softly, "I just... need a hug tonight."

Mittens turned around to face him. Something was off tonight. His eyes looked weary with faded circles under his eyes. She hugged him back and she felt his big paws softly rub her back and suddenly, she felt like something was wrong, but he spoke again before she could ask.

"Mittens, I care about you a lot." The sudden confession from the dog melted her heart and she couldn't help but smile. He's told her this many times already, but she never got tired of hearing it.

"More than anything in the world," he continued. She listened quietly, enjoying the moment, wishing it could last forever. "Please don't ever let go."

"I don't see why we would ever have to," she finally replied. "As long as you never let go either."

He let out a soft sigh of relief. "That makes me happy."

The idea of living without Mittens in his life was unbearable. He would have no one to talk to, no one to hug, no one to care for. He tried suppressing the thought all day while at work, but when he got home, the possibility hit him hard. Of course, he would never cry in front of her though. He sent a silent thank you to Zoey, for reminding him to never take the ones you love for granted.

Mittens was still slightly concerned though. "Is everything alright, Bolt?"

Because you never know when you could lose them.

"Just perfect."

He gave her a quick kiss before finally letting go. "Hey, I want you to meet some new friends I met."

Bolt and Mittens traveled through the city to reach a local junk yard on the outskirts of the city. It wasn't too far from the studio he worked at. It made him wonder how he didn't meet Zoey sooner.

"I had forgotten what it's like to live out on the streets," Mittens murmured.

"Do you miss it?" He asked.

"Sometimes," she answered truthfully, "but I really like what I have now; a home," she turned to him, "and someone to share it with." He smiled and they continued into the yard.

It was similar to the one he and Mittens had stayed at for a while, back when they were still traveling home. There were fewer cars, probably because fewer humans drove in LA, and there were more furniture and old appliances, mostly torn up or broken. Piles of junk that looked like small hills were scattered throughout the place. Bolt kept an eye out for Zoey, but didn't see her.

"Zoey?" he called out. Just then they heard a rustle of metal cans by a ragged blanket that hung between two taller piles of appliances. The female shepherd poked her head from under the blanket to greet them.

"Hey Bolt!" She padded outside and approached them. A tiny pup followed closely behind her, at least until he saw Bolt. He instantly charged forward in front of Zoey to look at Bolt. He examined his fur and spotted the lightning bolt on his flank.

"I-it's you! Are you really Bolt?" he asked eagerly. Bolt looked down at the pup and grinned.

"The one and only." He proudly said, puffing out his chest a bit. Mittens rolled her eyes and slapped the back of his head.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"I thought you didn't feel any pain, Superdog," she teased him. The little dog and Zoey just laughed.

"So who's your friend, Bolt?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you guys. Maybe if a certain evil cat didn't hit me." He muttered quietly, but loud enough for Mittens to hear while still rubbing the bump on the back of his head. Being the evil gal she was, Mittens just smiled smugly. Bolt chuckled to himself, "This is my girlfriend, Mittens."

"Girlfriend? But cats and dogs can't be together!" The little pup wailed. Mittens actually flinched at the pup's remark, but Zoey was quick to silence the pup.

"Tim! Hush! That's rude to say. Where are your manners?"

"I-I'm sorry." The tiny dog stammered while looking down at his own paws, ashamed of himself. Bolt went up to him to pat him on the head.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Bolt tried to comfort him, but he still seemed down after being scolded by his older sister. "So, your name's Tim?" He looked up to him to nod.

"You know I could use your help with a mission I'm on." Bolt crouched to meet the tiny dog's eye level and whispered. "How would you like to be my new sidekick?"

Tim's eyes lit up. "Wow, really?!"

"But I have to warn you, the road will be tough. Danger at every turn!" Bolt's eyes narrowed as he crept even closer to Tim's face.

"I'm not scared!" Tim insisted. Bolt smirked at the kid's spunk.

"Good, let's roll then." And with that, the two ran across the clearing with Bolt in the lead. The two hid behind one of the pillars of old appliances while Bolt debriefed him quickly of his so called 'mission'.

"I've been told this place has had suspicious activity lately. I need to check the place out and make sure nothing is going on. But I need your help. I don't know what's in here and you're smaller so you can help me scout ahead safely."

Mittens watched the two in their own little world. Tim was so excited he could barely even stand still and she couldn't help but admire his admiration for Bolt. She found herself staring at Bolt, kind of mesmerized as he happily played with the little guy. She had never seen this side of Bolt before, willing to go out of his way just to spend time with a little kid who was a big fan of his show, and how easily he was able to cheer him up. She thought she knew everything about Bolt already, but it made her happy to see him like this.

"I haven't seen Tim so happy like this in so long," Zoey padded next to Mittens to watch the two heroes off on their adventure with her. "Ever since our brother died, it's been so rough for Tim."

"He must have been close to Tim." The brown shepherd nodded.

"He cared for both of us a lot. He always put us before himself."

"I bet you miss him." Mittens turned to the Zoey, but she just smiled as she watched her gleeful little brother playing with his idol.

"Did you find anything Tim?" Bolt called out from behind.

"I did! Look! Tennis balls!"

"A dog's best friend! Awesome work Superpup."

"You're really lucky." Her trance broken by Zoey's words, unsure of what she meant at first, "he's really something special. He's so kind and amazing with Tim."

Mittens looked over to her mate once again. This time with Tim on his back, running aimlessly around the yard 'at super speed', no doubt. But Bolt wasn't paying attention and ended up tripping on an old lamp, sending Tim flying forward as they both face planted into the ground. Tim was slower to recover. Bolt rushed to check on him, but they just both laughed at his clumsiness. Mittens and Zoey giggled among themselves too.

"Yeah," Mittens murmured, "he is."

She felt like the luckiest girl in the world.