A few days later, Connie and her mother, Shenoah, took Luna to the office of John Greenbrier, Nome's only doctor. He held a stethoscope to Luna's belly, and by the sound of multiple heartbeats and the subtle movements he felt through her fur, announced his diagnosis. "Yep," he said. Connie, who had felt the movements when giving Luna a belly rub, had insisted that they take her in for a checkup. "No doubt about it. She's expecting puppies all right."

Connie squealed with delight and wrapped her arms around Luna's neck. "Did you hear that, girl?" she asked.

Luna smiled and thumped her tail. Even though she already knew, it was satisfying to have confirmation, especially coming from the same vet who'd said it would never happen. Gotcha, she thought with a look so smug that even the vet saw it for a moment.

Greenbrier just scratched his head. "I just can't see how, though," he admitted. "She is the same dog who got her back hurt when she was a puppy, right?"

"That's right," Jarrett confirmed.

"Then this makes absolutely no sense. The damage to her back and pelvis should have made it impossible."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," the vet assured him. "With her injuries, it was incredible that she survived in the first place. And for her to be expecting puppies now on top of that…it blows everything they taught us about the spine in veterinary school out the window. I don't mean to sound superstitious, but it's nothing short of a miracle." He glanced at his chart. "Still, her checkup shows everything's going just fine. She should deliver in about five or six weeks."

Connie tried counting it on her fingers, then looked at a calendar that was hanging on the wall. "Then they'll come on Christmas!" she cheered.

Jarrett and John chuckled at this. "Just the sort of present she wanted, I'm sure," joked the vet, with very little if any idea just how true his words were. He turned to Connie's father. "Mr. Calvin, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked quietly. "In private?"

Jarrett nodded. "Of course." He told Connie to wait in the examining room, then followed the vet into his office.

"Close the door, please," the vet instructed.

Jarrett shut the door and asked, "What's this about?"

"Well," said the vet, "I can't deny that your dog is pregnant. But even though she's managed to beat the odds there, I can't guarantee that the birth will be successful. With the condition of her spine and pelvis, there are bound to be complications. She could miscarry." He paused and added, "There's even a strong chance that she may die."

Jarrett drew a slow, slightly stunned breath. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"I can't say for sure," John replied. "But I would say it's very likely." He paused, then offered, "I think it best that you tell Connie instead of me."

Jarrett shook his head. "I'd better not tell her," he muttered. "At least not right away. It's bad enough that her Christmas might be spoiled already. I don't want to make it worse by making her worry."

Neither of them was aware of a silent figure listening through the ducts, shaking his head at the strangeness of these people. But the figure was not focused on them at the moment. Rather, he was dwelling on the subject of their discussion…

The following day, Luna was basking by the fire while Connie patted her head. Arrow was perched by Luna's shoulders, her front paws positioned on her mother's back, slipping her head into the gentle stroking whenever she had the chance. Suddenly they heard a voice outside calling, "Toby, what are you doing?"

All three looked in the direction of the sound, then followed it as footsteps ascended the front steps and onto the porch. Toby walked in through the pet flap with his leash in his food dish and his dish in his teeth. He hurried over to the corner and put both down near Luna's food bowls.

"Toby!" exclaimed Connie. "What are you doing here?"

"She took the words right out of my mouth," agreed Arrow. "What's going on, Dad?"

Toby was prevented from answering by a knock at the door. "Hello?" Charlie asked hesitantly.

Confused, Connie went over to the door and opened it. "Charlie?" she asked upon seeing Toby's owner. His coat seemed to have been thrown on in a hurry, and his puffing cheeks made it clear he'd been moving faster than he would have liked. "What's going on? Why is Toby here?" asked Connie.

"I don't know," Charlie replied. "He came up to me with his leash and food dish, then took off out the door. So I followed him here."

Both children stared in confusion at Toby. Arrow's face matched theirs, while Luna's expression seemed, if anything, amused.

"Toby, what's going on?" asked Charlie.

"What, do I have to drag my basket over?" Toby countered, though the humans only read it as a confused stare.

"Would you really do that?" asked Arrow, trying to picture Toby pulling a wide basket through the doggy door.

Toby shook his head, walked over to Luna, and set himself down next to her.

Charlie and Connie stared at each other as Connie's mother Shenoah came into the room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "What's going on?" she asked. Both kids started talking at once. "One at a time, one at a time," she said.

Connie spoke first. "Toby just came over with his food dish and leash!"

Shenoah raised an eyebrow. "Any other dog and I'd be surprised," she remarked.

"I think Toby wants to stay here for a while," Charlie observed. "Would that…be a problem?"

"I don't know," Connie replied. "Luna's expecting puppies, see…"

Shenoah's mouth twitched at the corner. "And I think I know who the daddy is, too," she muttered.

Luna rubbed her nose under Toby's chin, hoping the humans would take the hint.

"Well," giggled Connie, "it looks like Luna wants him to stay."

Charlie nodded, noting the way Toby had positioned his feet. "And he sure wants to," he added. "The last time he planted himself like that was when he heard my dad talking about taking him to the vet for his shots."

Both children turned to Shenoah, who threw her hands up in a display of defeat. "Fine," she conceded. "Why not? What's one more dog when we're going to have several anyway?"

Arrow was glad at first. Having Toby around all the time would mean that at least for a while longer, she'd still be getting the same amount of attention as before. Right? Then she looked at the two of them. Yeah, right, she thought glumly.

Convincing Charlie's parents to let Toby stay was no easy task, but he somehow managed to talk them into it. "Just watch him," Nolan told the Calvins. "He's a real rascal."

"What, he's only just figured that out?" asked Luna.

Toby looked hurt. "Am I really that bad?"

But soon it was Luna who began acting strangely. She took an interest in closets and closed spaces, causing Toby and Arrow no small amount of confusion. "But you've always loved the outdoors," Toby pointed out.

"I know," she replied. "I can't explain it."

"Maybe it's because she's part-wolf," suggested Arrow. "The whole den thing?" This seemed to make sense, but after a talk with both Terry and Taya, the parents-to-be discovered that it wasn't just a wolf thing.

"All mother dogs do it," Terry explained. "It's just instinct."

Toby and Luna accepted this, not seeing it as anything particularly strange or too hard to handle. Luna's family came to accept it as well, although it did ultimately cost them the use of the coat cabinet in the living room for the time being. It was the next thing that really started Toby worrying…

One night, Arrow woke up to find herself alone. Luna usually allowed her to sleep in the closet with her, although there wasn't enough room for Toby to fit in too. But there was now, because Luna was nowhere in sight!

"Mom?" asked Arrow, staring around. She ventured out of the closet, which was always left open so Luna could enter and exit as she pleased. "Mom?" she whispered to the darkened room. Did she leave? she wondered. It didn't make sense. Why would she leave home when she was pregnant? There had to be some other explanation, but anxious as she was, she had no idea what it could be.

After a moment she walked up to Toby and began nudging him. "Dad," she whispered. "Where's Mom?" Toby mumbled in his sleep. "Dad," Arrow persisted, moving from his shoulder to his face and butting her head against his cheek. "Mom's gone." Toby rolled over. I bet he'd be up in no time flat if Mom was trying to wake him up, thought Arrow. Irritated and slightly paranoid about the whole business, she nipped his ear.

"Ouch!" Toby yelped, finally beginning to rouse from his slumber. Sleepily he lifted his head and stared blinking at Arrow. "What's going on?" he yawned.

Arrow jerked her head toward the closet. "Mom's disappeared," she replied.

Toby was instantly alert. "What? When? Do you know where she went?" he asked.

Arrow shook her head. "No," she replied. "I just woke up, and she wasn't there."

Toby looked in the closet. What, he doesn't believe me? wondered the pup.

"Well, she's gone all right," Toby agreed. He put his nose to the floor and began to sniff, tracking Luna's scent. It led straight to the pet door. "You'd better stay here, Arrow," he instructed.

As Toby disappeared into the night, Arrow sat dejectedly in the living room. "Sure," she muttered. "It's not like you want me around now anyway."

Toby followed Luna's scent out the dog door, down the street, and into someone's back yard. There she was, rooting through the garbage. "Luna, what are you doing?"

Startled, Luna spun around with her hackles up. When she saw it was Toby, her look of surprise was quickly replaced by one of embarrassment. "Toby! I, uh…didn't know you were awake."

"I wasn't," Toby replied with a yawn. "Until Arrow woke me. Now would you mind telling me what you're doing?"

Luna blushed. "I don't know. I just had this sudden craving for Chinese food."

Toby lifted an eyebrow. "Okay, that's new. Why Chinese?"

Luna shrugged. "I don't know. But I knew these people were Chinese, so I figured it would be the best place to go. There's not a lot, though; they don't waste much."

Toby could see that. There was hardly any food left, although he suspected this had more to do with Luna's strange appetite than a lack of garbage. "Well, you'd better come home. It's too cold for you to be outside."

Luna smirked in a clear effort to hide her uneasiness. "This from a dog who's half-bloodhound," she replied. But after grabbing one last bite, they headed home.

"You found her," Arrow remarked tonelessly.

Toby yawned. "Yeah, so I did," he grumbled. "Nothing to worry about, just a garbage raid."

Arrow tilted her head, befuddled. "I thought you said that dogs don't dig through garbage when they've got people," she pointed out.

Luna started to protest, then realized that she'd said that on more than one occasion to correct Arrow for the same misdemeanor. "I'm going back to bed," she announced, disappearing into the closet. After a moment, Arrow followed her. But as she lay next to Luna, avoiding contact with her belly so the kicking wouldn't keep her awake, she knew she'd touched a nerve. How much longer before she touched one too many?