"You've got to tell us how you survived out there, Beringo! It is amazing how the fall, as you mention it, was not that bad." Koyuk wanted to hear a lot from Beringo, few days following the fall. Beringo was back in the game and doing well. He was with his friends, Koyuk, Scottia and even Lewis in the boiler room in outskirts of Nome.
"Well, don't tell me that you didn't know about how you would not believe me what happened, you guys!" Beringo reminded his teammates about the events when he returned to them from the cliffs. Lewis found this rather fun to comment: "As long as yer nae talkin' haver, lad, then we ken we can trust ye!"
Truth to be said, as much as Beringo wanted to tell them who he had seen there… Aniu came to his mind… but knowing what kind of controversy would have been made should he tell them a wolf protected him, he had to construct a lie… a well made lie and a very believable one. Not even his teammates got to know what happened until today.
"Alright, are you ready to know?" Beringo was ready to share away, hoping that this was going to end all well. Scottia commented: "We're listening." And so here it went, a completely different, but yet believable story and it was not meant to be questioned by anyone present in room…
"When I blacked out, I had the lapses of being awake for a few seconds every then and little. When I had a longer lapse, I never thought I'd see her. I know that she's on the other end of Alaska, but I saw my mother." What he mentioned was something no one saw coming. Beringo saw his mother out there… but that could not have been true!
"How did she…?" Justin asked, baffled by this revelation. Beringo continued: "I don't know how, Justin. I am sure I must have been imagining it, because as l was looking at her, she never said a word, but in her eyes I could hear her warm words that were saying: 'Beringo, my son… this is not the end of your road. Take my paw.'"
This ended up others whispering to one another as they were wondering how, where and when before Beringo told them: "I followed her, I don't know how. I felt like something was carrying me to her and before she faded from my sight, I felt the cold underneath me and there I finally realized that I was no longer under cliffs, but in a small cave."
"Were there any wolves out there? Did you make sure that no one else was inside?" Dakota asked, wondering how he managed to find himself sheltered and safe from other beasts. Beringo knew that Aniu was with him in reality, but there he told her: "I don't know. I was resting there until the break of dawn, but I do not think that there was anyone else with me."
"How was it to sleep in there? I mean, you were hurt and hungry!" Hallie wondered about these things, only for Beringo to answer: "I have no idea actually! I knew that I had not eaten in hours, but me being exhausted and in pain just made me forget on anything else but to sleep! Never had I been this away from having food, Hallie."
"And then, the next morning, you've found us, right?" Roger was the one who was mostly disconnected with the topic due to him spending a good while unconscious up there. "Right." Beringo's answer was short and simple. A well made lie that the others were buying easily and so Beringo could be relieved that his encounter with Aniu was going to be his secret.
"Well, lad, at's braw to ken ye made alive, despite the chitter and the pain ye ha' to haud there!" Lewis was amazed by how Beringo was capable of surviving all that and making out of there alive. Beringo smiled as he could rely on his friends holding his back into this, namely Indiana: "You know what's the best part? We firmly believed that he'd return and there he is, right here with us!"
The excitement and joy in the room echoed from each one of them. Koyuk was relieved for that to know: "Just wait until you meet your own female one day, Beringo. When she finds out how you survived and faced the cruelty of mother nature, she's going to fall for you!" Even Scottia, Dakota and Hallie were amused by this, as heard by their laughs.
"Heh heh, yes." Beringo laughed, albeit the anxiety was a little bit present. He still had that unresolved decision whether he'd now seek someone else for a female… or consider Aniu? He still had to think wisely about all this, because he only met her and while she saved his life, what was going to be next?
Suddenly, just outside, the bang and a crash was heard outside, making Justin jump first: "What was that?" Since those were unexpected right here, it seemed like they were not alone and Lewis carelessly dismissed it: "Och, at's possibly a wee nyaff human! He dinnae we are o' here!" But was it a human?
"How can we be sure that was a human?" Roger asked, wondering who'd be around here right now? Dakota also didn't seem to care that much: "Beats me, must be one of the humans who are maintaining this place." This place was not really much visited, but it had a role as a good source of warmth in the cold winter days.
"And what if that is a human?" Beringo didn't have any clue whether to dismiss it or not, only for Indiana to answer: "And what'd he say? I'm sure something like 'What are you talking about, dogs?'" A deadpan sarcasm from Indiana made Beringo realize how dumb his question was about someone being outside.
"Whoever was out there, I don't think that someone will care about us right now. Hopefully." Scottia hoped that they were not eavesdropped. Only one who could do such thing would have been a dog. But had they done anything wrong to any other dog to receive the spite and hate? That was something none of them had any clue.
The last annual race of the year was to take place the week before Christmas. This was just perfect for Beringo, as one week later, he was going to turn two years old. At the same time, he wished that his family were here so all of them could celebrate the birthday and Christmas at the same time! If the victory in the last race was to belong to them, third would be a charm!
Beringo's team already impressed the US mail service that there were the chances that they were going to be in finale! Truth to be said, along with his and Fritz's team, there were two other teams, but none of them put enough effort to reach finale. One had all the dogs who were in their middle ages and had no strength unlike the last of two finalists' teams from previous year. Other one had at least two dogs away from service temporarily.
Therefore, Nash receiving a letter in the early days of December that had a message in it written: "Choosen as the second team in the final annual race of 1920! Tough competition: Gunnar Kaasen's team is your opponent!" While those were not the exact same words, at least Nash could tell his dogs: "This is it, we're racing against Kaasen's team in the race!"
"Did you hear that?! We're chosen as finalists!" Hallie excitedly asked her teammates, albeit her question was undeniably unnecessary in Indiana's opinion: "As if those two other teams would even bother to pull their sled further from us!" Hallie laughed on that and commented: "Even Roger with full stomach can pull faster and stronger than those teams!"
"Hey! Just because I like eating, does not mean you can make fun of it every time!" Roger complained, even if what she said was in one paw a compliment. Roger was the bulkiest among them and he was fine with it. Thus Indiana asked him: "Well fine, how about you share what you eat and we laugh less at your eating hobby then?"
"Uh, uh, uh! Have you forgotten the golden rule? I do not share with I eat!" Roger replied to him, although he admittedly chuckled after hearing what Indiana told him. He laughed at something that was truth for a change. Beringo cut this all out: "Okay, okay! Take it easy, you guys! Right now we will have some extra exercise to do to make a formidable competition against Fritz's team!"
"By that, we can always have a scheduled practice runs in town, outside town, near the forest, you name it!" Dakota suggested her idea, hoping it would receive some positive outcome. First one she got was from Justin: "And can we do some running in the air like you usually do every second night in your sleep, Dakota?"
He lost it with the laughter over here and clearly, Dakota was not amused by what he said, letting him know: "You go make fun all you want, Justin! If you really think you're funny, then prove it by at least outrunning me on one practice run before the race happens!" She was not sure it he got him right here or not?
"Dakota, don't be that harsh on him. You never know how fast Justin will run!" Hallie stood in Justin's defense here, thinking that her schedule idea was plain ridiculous. Beringo let them know: "Girls, I know how much it means to you to win, like to us boys! But if you bicker with one another like this, we won't make any progress and I'm setting tables here! Dakota, we'll practice on daily courses, but not the organized way you dream of."
She did not complain about that because she knew that she could not question his authority. He continued: "Hallie, for you and Justin I'll have to let you know that you should work harder if we'll succeed in winning this race. Indiana and Roger, you two are fine for now, but don't take pleasures in snarkiness, sarcasm and food for at least two weeks. Well, keep them under control, okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine! I have standards when it comes to eating and I'll prove it to you all!" Roger knew that he could count on someone not ridiculing him for what he loved, even if Dakota wanted to snicker. "Way to go, Rog." Indiana told him, surprisingly being honest over here. Then he asked Beringo: "So, are we having a run today?"
"In two hours. We should do one today before sunset and it is noon already!" Beringo let them know. It would have sounded odd that the sunset would be this soon, but since Nome and Alaska were pretty much on the far north of Earth, very short days were common in winter months and early December was no exception. No one complained actually.
Beringo and his team were training hard every day, but not in the exhausting hard way. In fact, if they were satisfied with how well they were training for that day, they'd treat each other with some fun, pleasure, laughs and of course, by friendly picking on one another. It seemed like that kind of influence among them held their spirits up.
Even the ace from the last year, Fritz, was training his team hard. Of course, his teammates were pretty much skilled in all this, but sometimes there were questions among his teammates if Fritz was the right dog to be the lead one. As much as Fritz appreciated his friends (Della was his girlfriend so that was special), that kind of influence was not boding well with him.
Day after day, night after night, the final annual race was creeping behind the corner and both teams were eager to compete against each other. The outcome for Fritz's team would be another victory whereas a bright new start of racing career it was going to be for Beringo. What were the odds of that kind of scenario to repeat like the previous year?
That morning, Beringo's team was already outside, earlier than they were meant to be. The race was starting at 8 in the morning and they were not supposed to be any later than that. In fact, when they made it to the post office, where the start was, Fritz's team was already over there. They must have been awake more than them.
"Look at them, Beringo! Fritz and his team are professionals! I mean, they have proven themselves to be a competition against your parents." Justin noticed how physically skilled were Fritz's teammates. Still, Justin didn't have to be this pessimistic because Hallie let him know: "Relax, Justin! They may look formidable, but I've heard that they have one fault that will give us an advantage."
"Like what?" Beringo was curious about what she was saying and it was: "I heard that Fritz only seems to trust Della in his team because his teammates often clash their opinions with his." So it seemed like that Fritz's team had strength, but lacked unity. Still… "That may put them in disadvantage, but we should not give high hopes yet. They're still pretty formidable."
Beringo and his team made it to their spots as Nash was getting ready to put them in sleds, something that Gunnar Kaasen had already done. They gazed at Fritz's team and could spot on some details. While Fritz was busy talking to Della, Roger noticed how one of his teammates, Hardy, was giving them a cold look. Bad start right here.
"You know, I don't think that Fritz concerns me… I'd say it's his teammates, save for Della, that do!" Dakota whispered to Roger because she not only noticed Hardy's cold look, but Laurel was not glad to see them either. To sum it up, maybe the leader had the honor, but his gang were suspicious ne'er do-gooders.
"Teams, are you ready?!" The announcer yelled in his megaphone as the mail bags were being given to both teams, standing in between each. Nash received his bag and so did Kaasen, with dogs being ready to move on. Announcer continued: "Today, two teams, one led by Peter Nash, and other one by Gunnar Kaasen, last year's champion, are doing the final annual race to the town of Elim!"
Elim?! Did he hear that right?! They were going to Elim! What if they were going to pass through the mountain shortcut… was Beringo going to sense Aniu's presence over there? His thoughts were blown when the announcer finished: "If the weather conditions allow, both teams might return by afternoon home and decide which one of them will take the triumph this year! Teams, get ready!"
"Beringo, is that right?" A voice, neither belonging to his teammates… neither warm nor cold, just a straight-forward one and honest, belonged to Fritz: "Good luck!" Beringo looked at his rival, who was not going to be amicable like he was to his parents last year, also replied to him in a straight tone: "Same for you, Fritz."
On Beringo's team, a rival wishing them a luck was normally acceptable whereas Fritz's teammates were wondering if Fritz was trying to be amicable towards his rivals like last year. The loud voice boomed: "One, two, three…!" BANG! The revolver in announcer's hand fired a shot up in the air as this meant one - the race had begun!
The first annual race for Beringo and second for Fritz, led them a town further than the last year. It might have been deemed like as if Golovin was just a too easy town to race so going to Elim made the race temporarily-wise and length-wise more challenging. Leaving Nome behind, two teams raced eastwards, facing the snow, rocks and sand on their way.
The first stretch, to White Mountain, was plain one, when the hills and rocks first occurred midway between the former town and Golovin and it was as they were passing next to Golovin, that the rockier paths were ahead. Then, out of nowhere, some talks were heard on Fritz's side and they were not sounding promising.
"Fritz, look! What is the big deal? We decided not to play dirty on them, but if we take the shortcut through the mountains, that's going to be an easy win for us!" Cosmo gave a wild idea to his lead teammate and even Laurel and Hardy liked it that way, only for Fritz to silence him: "Forget it! We're going to get ourselves disqualified for cheating!"
Brash and dead honest, Fritz refused to cross his standards. If they were hearing it right, a path through the mountains was not the option to go with, but rather going across the rocky peninsula! It was around then when Fritz's teammates were taunting something and that made them slow down due to their lack of focus. Only for a bit though.
"Hey, Hallie! Maybe you were right about them! It seems like they're having an argument in the middle of the race!" Indiana wondered why would they ever argue while having a race of year?! As long as they did not hear them, maybe it was for the best to keep their voices down. Elim was on their way real soon!
"Come on, the town is ahead of us!" Della taunted her team and then they advanced faster, much to Beringo's surprise, but he encouraged his friends: "Don't give up yet! They may have the advantage now, but we are going to catch up with them by the time we reach Elim!" He started mushing faster ahead, along with his friends.
Once both teams were in Elim, Beringo's team stopped just as Kaasen was exchanging the mail in the office and Nash soon joined him, giving both teams some time to rest. As for their small break, they noticed earlier something relieving - the skies were clear, which meant that no snowstorm was coming! Though Beringo wished they took that mountain path because of… Aniu.
"Hey, I think I can hear something over there. Doesn't sound pretty nice to me." Justin informed them about the talk Fritz and his teammates were having and judging by the looks on their faces, they were arguing about something and clearly neither sides seemed to be happy about it, only Della's: "As long as you're in team, then make sure you listen what we tell you!"
She was telling Laurel those words and he didn't seem like he was taking them lightly. Cosmo, Laurel and Hardy seemed like the biggest threats in the rival team and was Beringo hoping that neither him nor his friends were going to cross paths with them. Soon enough, both mushers were seen with the mailbags, ready to head back to Nome.
"Alright, we're taking the path around the peninsula again! The path through mountains is too narrow for both teams!" Kaasen told his dogs where they were going to go through and Nash told them the same thing. It was now a matter of time when the person in charge of signalizing the start was going to fire his weapon.
Trigger pulled, shot heard and fired and the race entered its second phase! None of teams wasted time when they heard that shot and started running back home to the west. The noon wasn't there yet, but by the time they were going to return to Nome, the sun was going to set already so the sooner they return home, the better.
"Let's keep it up, team! If we score our first victory this year, we're having a party to a remember tonight!" Beringo encouraged his friends with the fun for tonight and he was intending it anyhow. Fritz spoke to his friends: "Listen up! We can achieve our second victory today and when we do, we'll have a party for ourselves and some compromises to make!"
"Like what?" Laurel wondered what the compromises were going to be, but Fritz kept them for himself and Della because they were racing by the seaside, snow and sand combined. For now, the race was going smooth and there had been no dirty moves made by each… and hopefully no one was going to do anything stupid on their way home.
Running westwards, Fritz still vividly remembered how when his team won the last year, how all those humans and other dogs were not leaving him alone with all that attention he'd been receiving. At this point, every time he would hear a human or a dog recognizing him on a street made him happy in one paw, but in other, he didn't want to look like an attention seeker. If they were going to win today, Fritz expected another one of these times!
"We're almost there! Wait for the first shot to be fired!" Beringo alerted them all when they recognized the environment, after passing White Mountain not long ago. The flare signals were going to be fired in the sky anytime soon and that meant one thing - they were going to be in the outskirts of Nome and speaking of which…
BLAM! The first flare was seen, shot and heard up in the sky as Beringo and Fritz's teams were now nearing the outskirts of Nome. The sun was already setting on the west and it was only matter of miles and minutes until the first team was going to cross the finish line! Second mile flare was coming anytime soon!
BLAM! There it was, the two mile flare! Both teams were now bound to get on the clearer and wider environment. At this rate, both teams were even, one united with the might and other one with friendship. Neither of teams were showing any signs they were getting tired, even if they were running for hours… such dedication was indescribable.
BLAM! The last mile flare! First houses were in bound and both teams were heading for the Main Street! People were seen standing on those wooden sidewalks, cheering loudly on both teams and hoping that either one of these would cross the finish line first. What if there had been some of people who were making bets on them?
One last curve! Now the finish line was just ahead of them! Beringo and Fritz were leading their teams and it seemed like this race might not even have a winner to begin with! Not even the fact that Laurel and Hardy were so eager to pull a prank on their opponents, only to be disqualified on the last stretch! Nonetheless, there had to be a winner.
While Fritz's eyes shone in hope that this was going to be his second consecutive victory, Beringo looked ahead and wanted to have his team win their first season. Suddenly, whether he was aware of what he'd seen ahead of him was real or not, he saw… her?! Aniu in the middle of the people's settlement!? No, this could not have been true! His mind was playing tricks on him.
And with that look of hers and having her not say a word, Beringo was about to think that he was hallucinating! Then she did something unexpected - raised her paw towards his and her gaze was telling him: "Reach for my paw, Beringo!" Just then, unexpectedly… Beringo had made a strong leap ahead and wished that Aniu was there and he could reach her paw for real!
He only saw her for a few seconds, only to have her vanish in his eyes! Why did she appear? Was he really missing her this much? Could he no longer hide what he thought of her? Beringo was stunned by all this that his leap ahead he'd just made caused something… something that made him and his teammates burst in joy!
"Mr. Nash, congratulations! You've won the final annual race of 1920!" The race organizers and the journalist for "Nome Nugget" shook hands with Nash, who didn't see it coming how in the last moment, his team had taken victory! Everyone but Beringo saw that moment… they had won! Their howls and cheers had said it all!
"Beringo, we've done it! We've achieved our first victory!" Dakota informed him what just had happened, as he was still stunned by Aniu's sudden vision. Still, he didn't want to look like he had no idea what was happening and for so, told her: "Yes! Yes, we've done it! In the last moment, we've taken the victory!" Not the most convincing reaction though.
"Beringo, well done, ye lad! Ah ken it ye wee yins would succeed!" Lewis, who'd been looking from the sidelines, didn't hide his enthusiasm to congratulate the young team for their first victory! Beringo gladly told him: "Thanks, Lewis! It was a hard, but nonetheless, worthy victory!" Lewis was now showing some of his kinder side here!
As for Fritz and his team, who were told that they had been only half meter behind Beringo's team to score the victory, they were still shocked and confused about their defeat, namely Cosmo: "But how did that happen?! We were just tied up with them and out of nowhere, that Beringo leaped ahead and now we've lost!?"
"Take it easy there, large lungs! I'm still trying to figure out how this happened!" Hardy told him to keep it down as he was in a bigger disbelief than him. Fritz, on the other paw, seemed like he was going to take it somehow well: "Well, I don't know how that happened, but we were so close, you guys! I guess they had a lucky moment at the finish line!"
Della looked at her boyfriend and she knew that no matter if they were going to win or not, accepted how he accepted the defeat. Strangely enough, some uncomfortable sensation went through her body and Laurel's response wasn't helping: "I guess that this is it. Now that humans start giving attention to them for winning, we are going to fade away like obsolete relics."
Even for someone unlikely that was Laurel, he was not lying. Fritz, however, refused to listen to his teammate as he was hoping that today was going to be a celebration for Beringo and his team, who were having their photo taken in front of the cameraman. Soon enough, others were going to know that Fritz was still town's ace.
"Guys, girls! Tonight we'll be heading to boiler room to celebrate our victory! Now you all go back home and take some rest, because we might not have that chance tonight!" Beringo chanted them all, revealing what was coming later that night. Before he had that chance to go home and take a rest, Koyuk alone came to him.
"Beringo, I've just heard from those humans that you've won the race, congratulations!" Koyuk jovially wished to friend a well deserved victory. Beringo gracefully accepted his friend's compliment, answering: "Thank you, Koyuk! We've all thought that neither teams would win, but at the end of the day, we've had that fortune! Say, where is Scottia at?"
"She's somewhere nearby, I guess that she wants to congratulate each one of you individually." Koyuk looked for his close friend and sure enough, Scottia was congratulating to Roger over there. Beringo let him know anyhow: "Listen up! Tonight you and Scottia come to boiler room to celebrate the victory with us! You two, Lewis and others are welcome."
"Got it!" Koyuk was not going to deny this offer, sounding quite tempting to him! For now, Beringo got congratulated by Scottia as the last one, with her words: "I've knew it that you are going to win in the end! Congratulations!" Even if Beringo was not fond of getting all that attention, for one day he was actually embracing that feeling.
Soon enough, all six of Beringo's team was in boiler room, which counted at least dozen dogs over there. Not just Scottia, Koyuk and Lewis, but some other dogs who were either because they'd been invited by Beringo's teammates. If not that, at least they were going to have a blasting party!
"But come on, what's the big deal? I mean, why wouldn't you try to be sled dogs yourselves?" Hallie was talking to Scottia, changing from girls' talk into professional talk. Scottia answered her: "Look, as much as Koyuk'd like to, our owners don't think that dogs like us should waste time on that exhausting sport."
"Exhausting sport?! Are you kidding me!?" Hallie laughed that off because she found that statement pretty absurd for their standards. Scottia rolled her eyes to let her know: "Trust me, there's a lot you don't know about my owners. They take some simple things in life overly dramatic, Hallie!" Now that was making their life with them not that much fun.
"Hey there, girls. Having fun?" Justin dropped in just to see what was going on. Hallie answered: "Yeah, some girl talks and absurd things, Justin. Not much that I've got to say, you know." Pretty much he told them: "Well, I thought about having a talk with you, Hallie, but should I wait for you to be done?"
"You don't have to, we're almost done." Scottia let him know, thinking that whatever he had to tell her was more important. She gazed around the room and noticed Koyuk talking to Lewis and Beringo, with him saying: "Beringo, not only that you can beat the wilderness, but a tough competition like Fritz. About time you should seek a lady for yourself! Know what I mean?"
"Pretty much, I do. Heh." Beringo tried to brush that off by saying things like it was not that urgent. Truth to be said, Beringo didn't feel like that he wanted to have any other female's company than… Aniu's. He told him: "At least you, Koyuk, don't have that trouble. Seeing you and Scottia are constantly together, I am starting to wonder if you plan to ask her out?"
"Planned, but kept as surprise until Christmas Eve! I'll ask her out for the pre-Christmas miracle. Just don't let her know that yet!" It was a matter of them when Koyuk was going to ask her out, as it seemed like how these two lived together and were not related would end up leading to him asking her out someday soon.
"Yer asking bonnie Scottia out, lad? Hear at, Beringo? Where is yer lassie, because yer now a winner and lassies should fall for ye, geddit?" Lewis carried on with his usual talk, which honestly didn't concern Beringo that much, telling him: "Oh, don't you worry about it, Lewis. Now I will try to find one for myself."
"Dinnae try, dae it!" Lewis thought that "trying" was weak in comparison of actually doing it. Koyuk agreed with Lewis here: "He's right, you know. I mean, this is your glorious victory day, and yet you're still without a female." Had Aniu been a dog from other town, maybe he'd not have to linger around this messy topic.
"Beringo? Beringo, have you seen Dakota and Indiana somewhere?" Roger came in, telling him that these two were not in boiler room. Beringo asked him: "What do you mean? Where are they, Roger?" While it was not looking certain to him, he said: "Well, the last time I've seen them was like twenty minutes ago! Did they just leave the party just like that?"
"I don't think so. I'll go and find out where'd they go." Beringo wondered if there was a certain reason why two of his friends just left the party. Getting at the doors, he turned around to tell them: "Listen up! I'll be right back, just going to see where did Indiana and Dakota go, okay?" With the clamors of them sounding like "fine" or "okay", Beringo headed outside.
In the snowy night, Beringo raised his muzzle towards air and sniffed in the scents that he hoped to catch. Eureka! He could sense Indiana's scent leading to the town and so he could do the same for Dakota's. Where did they go? Why did they leave the victory party? Beringo wanted the answers as he was heading towards the town, following the scents with his muzzle.
"Where are you two? Why didn't you tell us? Wait… they're closer… ohhhhh?!" Beringo moved on and when he was close to the docks, he could hear two familiar sounds at the docks. Their scents were most intense right here and his reaction was genuine when he saw them. Clearly what he'd seen was something he was not expecting, at least not for a while.
Indiana and Dakota were sitting next to each other at the fishing spots. They weren't just sitting two meters from one another, but they were snuggled to one another! Indiana was whispering something to Dakota, only for her to respond with: "Awwwww, Indiana! Please stop!" Her giggling meant that Beringo's surprise and wild guesses were true.
"What? I'm serious! We're doing good together!" Indiana answered her with a warm and sweet voice and Dakota didn't resist but to lick his muzzle with her tongue, thus giving him a dog kiss. All while Beringo soundlessly gazed them from the corner, his face had a smile stretched from cheek to cheek.
He had wondered when did Indiana and Dakota start to get this close to one another? His wildest guess was that Dakota was terrified that time when Indiana was so close to fall from the cliffs, for which he'd taken that bullet. Then again, he had a feeling that something between them was building for weeks.
"It is a sweet victory. Not just for me, not for my entire team only, but also for Indiana and Dakota. You two guys deserve one another." Beringo thought this to himself, knowing that his victory was a perfect night for them to have their first date. He knew it was their first because they never sneaked out of the house in the night just like that. As much as he wished he'd asked Dakota that one time weeks and even months ago, Beringo just knew that the spark between her and Indiana was the right one.