18 Reunited)
Afternoon was now upon them, making the weather warm. Traffic wasn't as bad today, so they were able to get through it easily. Rose decided that they'd stop by Jenny's house to see Ryan and Oliver.
When they got there, they saw Winston's limousine was still parked out front. "Mama, why're we here?" Whisper asked.
"There's someone I want you to meet. Or rather three individuals," Rose answered with a smile. Whisper was assured by her mother, she trusted her.
Rose walked up the steps and started to scratch at it. She barked loudly, even propping herself up on the door for a minute. Hearing footsteps approaching, she quickly trotted down the stairs and faced the door.
The door opened, revealing Jenny, a now 10 year old girl. "Rose? Is that you?" The young girl asked. Whisper hid behind the limo out of fear. Rose barked and did a dance, tail wagging.
Jenny laughed in excitement and rushed down the steps. "C'mere, girl!" Jenny called, patting her knees. The dog rushed over, her tail spinning so fast that it looked like helicopter blades.
Jenny loved on the dog, sitting down while Rose pounced on her, licking her feverishly. "Where have you been all this time?" The young girl asked, running her fingers through Rose's fur.
Rose stood up and trotted over to where Whisper was hiding and turned to face Jenny. "Who's behind there?" Jenny asked, walking to where the husky mix was.
"It's alright, she won't hurt you," Rose said to Whisper. Whisper crept slowly from behind the limo, looking at the girl. "Aw, you're so pretty," Jenny said with a smile.
She reached out to the nervous dog, making the dog close her blue eyes. Jenny stroked the dogs' fur that was on her head, helping Whisper relax. "There you go," Jenny said.
Rose smiled at this, seeing just how comfortable her adopted daughter was with Jenny. Rose was then distracted by another familiar voice, well two voices.
She looked around Jenny and saw none other than Oliver, who was now a grown cat. "Hey, kid. Never thought I'd see you again. You're all grown up," Rose said, walking over to the cat.
"Yep, how time flies. Where have you been all this time? We hadn't seen you in almost two years," Oliver asked, rubbing against the older dog.
"It's a long story. I'll explain later. It's good to see you," Rose said, wagging her tail. "I can't tell you how excited I am to see you too," Oliver smiled.
"Where's Ryan? Is he here?" Rose asked, looking towards the open house. "Nah, he and Rita are off on another date. This us the fifteenth one this month," Oliver answered, licking his paws.
"Heh, give 'em credit. They are mates after all," Rose replied with a chuckle. "Yeah, that's true," Oliver said, "What happened to your bandana?"
"Oh… I gave it to someone," Rose answered, missing Kaiden and little Samuel, remembering how she gave her bandana to them.
After saying their goodbyes, Whisper and Rose left Jenny's house to fund Fagin and them. It felt great to see Oliver and Jenny again.
"Mama?" Whisper said. "Yeah?" Rose asked. "Who was that cat you were talking to?" Whisper wondered. "Oh, that cat's an old friend of mine. It's a long story," Rose answered.
The two dogs jumped on top of a taxi, letting them take them to Central Park.(Central Park)
After making it, they make their way in the park. Whisper saw a lot of people and other dogs, most of them were pets. They kept walking until they approached the lake that was in the middle of the park.
Whisper went to drink some of the water. Rose walked on, trying to see if the gang was here. Much to her surprise, she thought she saw none other than Dodger, eating out of a basket he snatched.
Rose's heart quickened when she saw her mate for the first time in almost two years. "Dodger?" She said loud enough for him to hear.
Dodger's ears tilted back and he turned around, seeing Rose. "No way…" he gasped, raising his ears all the way. "Dodger!" Rose barked, running to him at full speed.
Dodget abandoned the basket and he ran back to her. The dogs tackle one another and licked each other furiously. "Rose… I missed you so much," Dodger said, nuzzling his long-lost mate's head.
"I missed you too, Dodger. Everyday I wondered if I'll ever see you again… you and the gang…" she whispered, nuzzling back with her ears dropped. "Where's your bandana?" He asked.
"I'll explain later. Where's the gang?" Rose asked, resting her head on Dodger's back. "Back at our apartment," he said.
Rose looked at him in surprise. "Really? No wonder you guys weren't at the barge," Rose whispered. "Yeah, Fagin got a good deal from the kids' family. We live in an apartment now,"Dodger replied, now walking with her.
"Things seemed to have changed a lot while I was gone," Rose said. Dodger nuzzled her, dropping his ears. "Yes, they have. Sammie started her own gang, but she's been distant since you disappeared," Dodger mentioned.
Rose perked up but it quickly vanished when she learned this. She knew that's what was gonna happen. "Distant?" She asked.
"Yeah, after you disappeared, she was distraught, thinking you weren't going to come back," Dodger explained. Rose dropped her ears and looked away. "What about Charlie and them? How're they doing?" She said.
"Oh, they're doing great. Lemme tell ya. Charlie found his place with a boy who was sick. Pepper became a drug and search dog. Riley has a gang outside of the city that he's the leader of and Lilly joined him as his right hand. They sure miss you, but none took it as hard as Sammie," Dodger explained, which made Rose feel a bit better.
Dodger looked around Rose so he could look at Whisper. "Who's she?" He asked. "That's Whisper. I took her in as my own because her father was hit by a car. I taught her everything she needs to know about being a street dog," Rose answered, looking at Whisper, who was jumping in the air to catch butterflies.
"You seemed to raise her right," he said, tilting his head. Rose nodded.
Whisper was then introduced by Rose, seeing that Dodger would be Whisper's surrogate father, which made Rose happy.Dodger took Rose out of the park with Whisper, walking back to the apartment complex. On the way there, the three dogs walked back an alleyway, only to get greeted by a puppy that looked to be a month old.
The pup was a tannish-gold color with a black muzzle, and white on its chest and paws. It had semi-flopped ears, which had black tips. It had blue eyes like Sammie. Their ears were floppy and had long patches of fur on it, the tail was curled like a husky's tail It's fur was as long as a husky's.
Dodger, Rose , and Whisper looked at the pup with a raised brow. Just as Rose was about the step forward, Sammie as well as another dog, a black.and white husky with brown eyes at her side. "Mathias!" Sammie shouted.
Sammie stooped in front of her parents and just stared. Mostly at her mother as opposed her father. Rose saw the anger in her eyes, seeing how unforgiving she looks.
"So you finally decide to return," Sammie curtly said. Rose dropped her ears, seeing she needed a moment alone with their eldest daughter. "Dodger, can I have a moment alone with Sammie?" She asked.
"Okay. Come on, Whisper," Dodger said, understanding what she meant. He said he'd be where the barge is. "Who's she?" the husky asked suspiciously.
"My mother Take Mathias back to the alley," Sammie said. Mathias looked up at his mother worriedly. "Mama?" He asked. "Go with your dad, son," Sammie strictly said. The pup looked up at his grandmother and sighed, having no choice but to give in.
After her mate and son left, she looked back at her mother. "Okay. Let's talk,"