Later that night, the group found a place to stay for the night, which was in the alley where they had found all of that food. Lucy woke up a little while later, seeing that it was well after dark. She figured she could have some time alone to reflect on their journey so far.

She sat in front of the Bellagio hotel again, watching the water dance in front of her. Her hardened heart had softened throughout their long journey. Everything felt right to her, especially with Bolt around. She didn't feel the trauma of her past catch up to her anymore; it was a wonderful feeling.

"Lucy?" Bolt said from behind her. Her ears twitched and she looked behind her, smiling when she saw the white shepherd behind her. "Hey," she said, watching as he joined her. "I didn't wake you, did I?" Lucy asked him.

"Kinda. It did feel a little cold without you there. Why're you here alone?" he asked her. "I just needed to think. Nothing more," Lucy replied, looking up at the hotel in front of her. When Bolt looked at her, his heart raced and his tail wagged a bit. He also looked at the scars on her body. It begged the question as to why she has them to start with.

"Lucy? Can I ask you something?" he asked her. The red husky looked at him, smiling at him. "Yeah, what is it?" she replied, tilting her head. "Those scars on you, how did you get them?" he asked. In an instant, the red husky stopped smiling and she looked away from him.

"Bolt… I don't want to talk about that… Let it be," she said, tears starting to rise in her eyes. "How come…?" he asked worriedly. "It's personal, okay?" she told him, keeping her head turned away form him.

"It just is. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't pry into my business," she said, gritting her teeth a bit. Bolt shut his mouth, not saying anything more about it. "Oh.. okay. I'm sorry. Why don't we find something to eat?" he suggested, deciding to leave it alone.

Lucy looked back at him and she sighed. "Yeah. Guess it wouldn't hurt," she said to him, getting up from the edge of the fountain and she hopped down. Bolt followed after her. The two dogs went to go find something to eat, finding themselves at a restraunt that served steak.

"Perfect. I could go for a steak," Lucy said, her stomach growling a bit. "Are they good?" Bolt asked her, tilting his head a bit. "Yeah! I… had plenty of them back in the day. Why don't you get them?" she told him. "Why me?" Bolt asked. "Because you're way cuter than me. The humans will turn me away in an instant," Lucy said. She had tried many times back in New York but was turned away almost every time. She knew how street life was.

He sighed and looked down before going up to the back door. Lucy hid behind some trash cans while she waited. He was able to get a good sized steak from a man. After he got it, the red husky smiled and she came out of hiding. "There you go," she said, already feeling her mouth watering.

"Let's go," he said, smiling at her. Bolt picked up the steak and the two dogs started making their way out of there. When they turned a corner, an unfamiliar scent hit Lucy's nose, making her stop. "Bolt, stop," Lucy said, her hackles raising instantly. Bolt stopped too, setting the steak down. "What's wrong?" he asked, seeing her distress.

"Someone's coming," she said, starting to growl. Bolt looked around with his ears dropped, becoming nervous at what she said. Then, a big dog came into view, much bigger than Bolt and Lucy. He growled at them, coming closer to them. Lucy stood in front of the white shepherd while she growled, ears pointed all the way, standing in the correct stance she learned from fighting.

"Lucy, what are you doing!?" Bolt shouted, shocked that she was protecting him. "You need to run, Bolt. I can take him," Lucy barked, not breaking eye contact from the bigger dog. "He's going to kill you!" he shouted, his heart racing that she would get hurt. "Trust me! I know what I'm doing!" she shouted, waiting for the other dog to make his move.

Her days back in the ring came back to her, and she remembered her training. "Lucy!" Bolt shouted, unable to move. Lucy started to circle the bigger dog, who lost interest in Bolt instantly. "Let's see what you got, mutt," Lucy taunted, her hackles raised completely.

The bigger dog charged at her, to which she charged back at him. The two dogs clashed together, sinking their fangs into one another. When Lucy was pinned down to the ground, Lucy used her hind legs to kick him off. She didn't hesitate to spring back up to her paws.

She went for his neck and pinned him to the wall behind him, sinking her fangs deep into it until he stopped resisting. When he stopped fighting, Lucy dropped him to the ground. He landed on his side and she put a paw on his neck. "Now listen to me. Get out of here and don't let me see you again! Got it!?" she snarled at him, showing her donimance.

The dog's confidence went down from the way she said that. She let him up and he ran away with his tail between his legs. Lucy stared ahead to make sure that the dog was completely gone. When she turned around, she saw the stunned look on Bolt's face. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"I didn't know you could fight like that! That was incredible!" he said, wagging his tail. "Yeah… it's something that comes with being a fighter dog," she said, looking away from him. She wasn't proud of being a fighter dog and it showed.

"What? You were a fighter dog?" he asked her, tilting his head. She sat down and curled her tail next to her. "Yeah. I was. Penny… if it's the same girl you have, she was my owner too when I was a young puppy. I was taken from her about a month after I was adopted by her. I've been a fighter dog ever since then… Whenever I lost a fight, my handler would beat me. That's the reason I was scared when Mittens raised that stick over her head. At this time, I'd only been out of there for about 5 months. They made me feel like I was nothing. Like I didn't matter… I couldn't trust another human after that…" she said, trying to not let her voice shake.

Bolt listened to every word she said. He was shocked to hear that Lucy had Penny as her owner too before she was taken from her. He walked over to her and he nuzzled her, licking the scar that was on the back of her neck. Lucy blushed deep red when he did that.

"You don't gotta be afraid anymore, Lucy. I didn't know how much you've been through. You do matter… I won't leave your side. Penny would be happy to have you back in her life again when we make it to her," he said, resting his head on her neck. Lucy put her head back against his shoulder, closing her eyes.

Did he mean what he said? Did she hear right? If it was, he would be the first living being to ever say that to her; To say that she mattered. Tears ran down her face, letting her bottled up emotions out. They ate that steak when things calmed down.

The two dogs started wandering the streets while the lights lit up. They went to a park to continue their little rendezvous. They couldn't take their eyes off of each other, their love for each other growing. Eventually, they couldn't hold back anymore. Lucy never believed that she would ever find a mate much less anyone that would actually love her like this.