(If We're Heart To Heart)

Rose was startled awake in the middle of the night by a gentle tap on the side of her head. Her mismatched ears perked up as she blinked her eyes open. Lifting her head from her paws, she scanned her surroundings, trying to make sense of where she was.

Dodger was patiently waiting for her to wake up, standing right beside her. "Dodge?" the shepherd mix said with a yawn. "I want to talk to you for a minute. That's all," Dodger responded in his typical smug manner.

"It's too early to wake up…" Rose yawned again. She knew there was no urgent reason to wake up, especially after the stressful day they had yesterday.

"Everyone else is asleep, Rose. Nobody's gonna hear us," Dodger told her, seeing that she was still trying to get awake. "It's gotta be now or I won't be able to do it later,"

His urgent tone caught Rose's attention. Dodger felt comfortable enough to confide in her, but the timing needed improvement. "Alright, alright. I'm coming," she replied, getting up and stretching her legs.

Quietly, she trailed behind him as they ascended the old, creaky staircase, making sure not to disturb anyone's slumber. Everyone was fast asleep, completely exhausted from their heroic endeavors the day before.

Dodger glanced over his shoulder to check if Rose was still with him as they strolled along the boardwalk and onto the deck. The pair of dogs then made their way towards the Brooklyn Bridge.

Dodger leaped onto the ledge of the bridge, catching Rose's attention. He settled himself, gazing towards the Twin Towers. Following suit, the shepherd mix joined him, finding a comfortable spot to sit beside Dodger.

Dodger exhaled deeply, letting his ears droop slightly. He hadn't anticipated how difficult it would be to approach Rose. His gaze shifted to the cityscape reflected on the water's surface.

Tonight, the air had a chill to it, but Dodger couldn't bring himself to stay home and sleep. He needed to get this off his chest, even though his mouth felt dry.

"You remember the day we found our mothers a while back?" Dodger asked. Rose took a deep breath as she remembered that day. "Yeah, I remember that. Why do you ask?" she said, wanting to forget that ever happened.

"It's because I haven't been honest with you guys about her. Truthfully, I was born with a brother and a sister, but they died a week after we were born. Fagin had taken her in while she was pregnant. When I turned a month old, she walked out on me. Einie told me that she was going to see her master so she couldn't bring me with her. I was just a pup so I didn't understand it. Aren't mother's supposed to love their kids, which is what I was thinking. What was so great about that human that made her choose him over her own son?" Dodger said, not looking at Rose.

He felt as if he couldn't press on with this so he jumped down from the ledge of the bridge wall. Rose jumped down with him and walked beside him. Dodger glanced over at her and he continued, "I guess I was young enough to forget about it. I did have Einstein and Fagin. The city was open to me. I was just a little pup being a little pup; I was happy. Fagin had taken a picture with a polaroid camera of what she looked like. You should know how I felt when I saw you did the same thing,"

Rose noticed the bitterness in his tone since she was listening empathetically yet closely. She didn't want to be guilt tripped. "Dodge, you know I'm on your side. But if you're gonna be that way, then I'm going back to the barge,"

Dodger looked at her, regretting the possibility of causing her emotional pain. "I know and I'm sorry," he expressed, realizing he nearly botched his admission. Despite a part of him wanting to go back to the barge, he decided to push forward and complete what he had begun.

"You remember how you were with me that day?" Dodger asked her. "Yeah? What about it?" Rose said, remembering the day they found their mothers again. "Well, when you left with yours, she made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with me. She couldn't stand the thought of having a puppy in tow. That made me feel sick to my stomach. I couldn't stop running… She didn't want me, Rose. My mom!" he whined, realizing that he was shaking.

Rose's stomach sank to her paws, a familiar feeling she had once felt when her own mother had done the same thing. She shut her eyes, understanding the pain all too well. "I can relate... My own mother did the exact same thing," she expressed with empathy.

"Really?" Dodger asked. "Yeah… before that… Kaiden and I haven't seen her since we were six weeks old. We waited for a whole week for her but she never came back so I had to take care of us before we were separated at eight-weeks old, just a few days before we met… I can't tell you how much hearing her telling me that she never wanted me and Kaiden…" Rose said, both ears dropped down all the way.

"Oh, Rose… I'm so sorry…" Dodger replied, giving her a nuzzle. "It's okay… I guess that's one thing we have in common," she said, nuzzling him back.

"You think we must've done something wrong to make our mothers not love us anymore…? Is there something wrong with us?" Dodger asked. Rose glanced over at her old friend and gave him a nuzzle.

"We didn't do anything. There isn't anything wrong with us; Especially one. It's not our fault that we were unwanted. You've had Fagin and Einstein from the start. You're the apple of their eyes. After Kaiden and I got separated, I was alone for the last week before you and Einie found me. You're pretty special if I do say so myself," Rose explained.

"If I was, then you'd think my mother would've noticed," Dodger said through a scoff, finding it hard to be convinced.

Rose frowned as she addressed Dodger, "We've known each other since we were young pups. Could you please respect my opinion?" She was well aware of Dodger's stubborn nature.

"It's not just me, Dodge, it's all of us; You helped Francis become a great street dog. If it were any one of us still in the pound, you wouldn't just sit on the sidelines. It was you who made us a pack, a family," Rose said, gritting her teeth while shaking her head.

"You're right. It's not just about you; It's us against the world. I guess I get scared sometimes. It's hard to let go of that," he told her quietly, starting to smile, "It's for the best though and we turned out alright in the end. If my mother was sticking around, I wouldn't have found you,"

Rose smiled and wagged her tail. "Yeah, that's true," she said. "Yeah, plus I want you to stick around more than a mother; There's things I can't do with my mother," Dodger said flirtatiously.

Rose rolled her eyes and nipped at his floppy ear. "You wish, Dodgie. If you hadn't come along- I know that those humans at the pound wouldn't hesitate to get rid of me for good. And you know what, things are working out great in the end. You did it your way because you were made to; It made you who you are. Don't dwell on the past because it's all over and you triumphed over it," She told him confidently.

Dodger thought about what Rose said and realized how much he had going for him. He had an earned reputation that didn't require parental guidance. He had no match for the streets, not even Rose. He couldn't imagine a lone Rose in the pound, waiting to get put down. Under Rose's leadership, they were able to get all of those dogs out of the pound. That gave her more reason to be proud of herself.

"You ready to head back?" Dodger asked, noticing that Rose was stretching her legs. "Yeah. You feeling okay now?" Rose wondered. "I'm fine now, Rose. I know I'll get better with time," Dodger replied, also feeling tired himself.

Rose's tail wagged happily and she smiled at him. "Glad to hear it. Our mothers will be put on the back of our minds. Trust me, it'll get easier," she assured him.

The two dogs head back towards the barge, feeling relief between them. With everything out in the open, things would get so much better.

*X*

The two dogs make it to the barge with Dodger leading the way. They certainly felt better by opening up to one another. On the way to the barge, they playfully nipped one other, their joyfulness returning to them after all of that happened.

They'd bump into each other while laughing. It'd been a long time since they laughed and had fun like this. Their playful side hadn't been lost; They just needed a little push.

Rose had rolled over onto her back while hysterically laughing, kicking all four legs in the air. Dodger bounced back and forth while wagging his stubby tail. That little dark cloud that gathered around them seemed to float away, bringing in the sunshine.

They make it back to the barge and go inside without waking anyone up; Not even Tito. Rose went over to her mess of blankets and moved them around to make herself comfortable. She laid down on them in the donut position while Dodger laid on his rubber floaty bed.

Rose didn't sleep just yet though. She glanced over at each of her gang members, seeing them all sleeping peacefully. They were a family and it made all the difference to her. Both her and Dodger could finally move on from their past and become one of the leaders in the gang. Everything would be alright now.

Sorry for being away for so long. Life got in the way as usual. Finally got the motivation to finish this story. Hope you guys like it. X3