Newfound Emotion: A Kodi and Dusty Romance Story!

By: BaltoLuver63

Subject: Balto

Rating: PG-13 for some OOC (out of character) language

Pairings: KodiXDusty! Yeah!

Summary: After a restless and troubled sleep, Kodi decides to take a stroll through Nome after midnight…and discovers Dusty lying in an alleyway, badly beaten, bruised, and sobbing after being abused and then left to die by her tormentors. As he takes her home and helps nurse her back to health, he begins to get these strange feelings of light-headedness and peace of mind whenever he's around her…What could this mean? Could it mean Kodi is just growing closer to his already dear friend, or could it mean something more…? Could it perhaps mean…Kodi is…falling in love…with Dusty…?

Dedications:
This piece is dedicated to my good friends and constant readers, Ninetalesuk and Eagle205 (who, I might add, could possibly be considered the GOD of Balto Fanfiction!)! I couldn't have done this without your support my furry little friends! May you continue to ROCK OUT LOUD forever!

Chapter 1
The Beaten

Kodi sighed and rolled over in the bed of straw where he slept nightly, brown eyes boring holes in the wall opposite him. His body, bathed in moonlight streaming in from an above window, insisted that he rest, that he was exhausted. Kodi couldn't have agreed more; he was exhausted. After all, who wouldn't be after pulling a sled nonstop through a driving blizzard for ten hours straight? "But who can sleep when your stupid head won't shut up and leave you alone?" he mumbled to himself, mind turning back to the dream again, the one about a pack of merciless wolves that he kept having over and over and over again, like a videotape playing in an endless loop…

With another sigh, the rust-colored Husky closed his eyes in an effort to dispel the unwanted and unpleasant images, but this, as he himself quickly discovered, only heightened the problem; with his eyes closed, the vision became much clearer and more pronounced, the scene showing the wolves – there were only three this time around as opposed to the usual dozen or so – with their cold yellow eyes, shaggy dark brown coats and large white fangs. The trio chuckled cruelly as they encircled the crippled deer again, tongues lolling out of the red maws of their mouths as the sucked back long ropy streams of saliva from gaping jaws. Then, they pounced, all three growling and snarling, ripping and tearing at the poor defenseless animal before them, it's blood flying through the air to splash onto the snow, eyes rolling horribly…

Kodi's eyes snapped open as he realized he had dozed off, only to have the dream reoccur again. Heart pounding slightly in his chest, the young dog grumbled and rolled over again, closing his eyes, telling himself that it wasn't real, it was only a dream for God's sake! As he slipped into another doze, he saw them again, the wolves. But it was not the same. It was different this time. Now, there was no crippled deer with her leg trapped beneath a fallen tree. Now it was Dusty, the best friend he had ever had, and his body jerked spasmodically in his sleep as he heard her last frightened shriek, the words almost lost with the sheer magnitude of the cry.

"KOOOOOODDDIIIIIIII!"

For the final time that night, the young Wolf/Husky hybrid was startled awake, a small whine escaping his lips as he saw it over and over again, saw Dusty about to be eaten by the wolves, and he could not be still anymore and he got up. After getting shakily to his paws, he sucked down water from the dish close at hand, the cool liquid working wonders to sooth his rapidly beating heart and furiously racing mind.

Breathing heavily, he almost screamed when Kirby turned over and mumbled in his sleep across the room. Turning his gaze, he saw that worthy was still dreaming peacefully, as were the rest of the members of the small Mail-Dog team…except for one.

"Dusty…" he breathed, the simple exhalation of the name causing an understandably bad, but mercifully short rush of images. He looked over them again, his team, his friends, but couldn't find Dusty. "Probably had to do her 'necessary'…" he muttered quietly to himself. He looked out the window, and then back to his small pile of straw that served him as a bed. 'Screw this,' he thought, shaggy head swinging gently from side to side. 'I think I'll go for a walk…Yeah, a walk that's it. Just what I need to calm myself down a little so I can actually get some sleep…'

With his plan of action decided, Kodi carefully crept over the rest of his team and slipped out the doggie-door. Immediately the cold winter air rushed into his lungs, refreshing him wonderfully, his thick fur ruffled by the sudden blast of cool air. Flicking his gaze from side to side momentarily, he tried to decide where to go, then just said 'Screw it.' again and trotted off down the street with no real idea of where his paws were taking him. Buildings and shops passed by in a haze, but Kodi was too preoccupied with his most recent variation of his dream to notice. What did it mean, seeing Dusty? Surely nothing, of course: dreams rarely meant or had anything to do with the real world…But the detail of it…and the way she'd screamed his name…He shivered slightly, despite his naturally warming coat of fur.

He was suddenly interrupted from this internal interrogation of his subconscious by a soft, almost inaudible snuffling sound. He would have missed it entirely had he not recognized the sound for what it was; someone, somewhere very close by, was crying. Needless to say, Kodi did, for a moment, find this very odd. No one in his or her right mind would be out this late – well, with the exception of himself that was. Then he heard something else that would haunt him forever, right down to his dying day; someone laughed, a low, cruel, almost unearthly chuckle that made him shiver. The crying strengthened in response, and then there came a low piteous moan, followed by a sharp yelp of pain and fear.

The sound seemed to startle Kodi out of his trance, for he began to race down the street, twisting and turning, taking every shot-cut he knew in order to try and reach the steadily increasing sobs more quickly. So much pain and fear was in them that he felt his heart wretch inside his chest as he turned down a side street and knew by the sounds, that he was only a block away, maybe less. He quickened his pace to that of an almost all-out sprint and pushed forward.

As he rounded what turned out to be the last corner, he stopped, and had to fight with all his might and willpower to keep from merely screaming out in rage and horror. Lying on the snow, not ten feet before him, was Dusty. But not his Dusty, not the cheery, bright-eyed canine who filled every one of his days with laughter and happiness; this didn't even look like a dog.

Dusty was lying on her side, breath coming in ragged gasping hitches as she struggled to stay conscious. Her usually bright and cheerful eyes were now dull, full of pain and tears were streaming from them. Her glossy coat was now caked with dirt and blood from several bite and scratch wounds. One eye had swelled almost shut, the flesh puffed up around it presumably caused some vicious paw-strike. All in all, she looked like she'd been attacked by a Grizzly in a foul mood with a bad case of rabies.

Kodi was at her side in an instant, heart racing wildly. Who could've done such a thing, and to Dusty of all dogs? She'd never even growled at anyone, much less given anyone an excuse to abuse her like she'd been! Rage boiled up inside him as these thoughts and more flooded through his mind. 'I'll find whoever did this! Find them and rip them apart!' he mentally snarled. 'The monster that did this doesn't even deserve a quick death!'

Dusty's voice, little more than a croaky moan snapped him back to reality. "K…Kodi? Is…t-that you…?" she asked, and Kodi nearly broke down right then; he couldn't stand the way she sounded, with her usually proud and confident purr of a voice now reduced to a creaky rasp.

"Y-yeah Dusty. It's me, Kodi! I'm here, okay? Don't worry!" he involuntarily licked one of her dirty, blood and tear splattered cheeks.

"Oh…okay…" she trailed off and for a moment, Kodi was sure the worst had come to pass. Then, in a voice barley above a whisper, she asked; "Kodi…Am I…gonna die…?"

"No Dusty." He said, trying to calm his already quivering voice. "You'll be just fine! Who…who did this to you?"

"Bunch of…uncivilized mongrels…not like your dad…rude bunch of…idiots…" she replied, and smiled weakly. The small gesture made Kodi feel like his soul had cracked. "…They…wanted a…place…to stay…I told em'…dogs like them…aren't welcome…here…Told em' to…get out…They didn't…like that, so…they beat me up…and would've…r-…and would've r-…r-…" Grief and shame (not to mention sorrow and obviously extreme pain) overtook her and she started to cry. Cry? No, cry wasn't a strong enough word; bawl was more like it.

Kodi, overcome with grief for his friend – who had obviously undergone severe pain and humiliation – bent his head and licked the salty tears from Dusty's cheeks, their taste spliced with the putrescence of blood and dirt. Again, he felt that almost uncontrollable rage build up inside him. Dusty had been almost been raped! RAPED! He now wanted more than ever to hunt down whoever was responsible. 'I'd like to kill the wolf or the dog – or the thing – that did this!' but such thoughts were not honorable and he pushed them away, turning his attention to the more important matter, that being his wounded and shaken friend.

He lay down next to her, pressing his furry body against hers in an effort to give what comfort he could, and began to gently clean and lick her wounds, murmuring soft and soothing nothings in order to quiet Dusty down a bit. At first, she whimpered in slight pain as his pink tongue sterilized the gashes he could reach, but after a few moments she quieted and let him do what had to be done. After perhaps ten to fifteen minutes, Kodi stood, moving gently so as not to cause Dusty any further pain.

"Kodi?" she said, slightly alarmed at his abrupt shift in position.

"It's okay Dusty, I'm just standing up…" he paused slightly, unsure of how to proceed exactly. "Dusty…do you think…can you walk?" He didn't want to rush her; moving her this early if her body still hadn't healed enough might make the damage longer lasting.

"I…don't know…let me try…" She replied, and with a series of strength of both spirit and body that left Kodi in temporary awe, she managed to roll over and push herself into a sitting position, although her breathing quickened to the point where it became little more than gasping hitches. She held this for a few seconds, then would've fallen face-first on the ground had in not been for Kodi, who cushioned her impact with his muscular chest and helped to steady her as well. She looked at him with her one good eye and he smiled sadly. "That…that was great Dusty…but I'd better give you a paw if we're going to make it back to house before…" he trailed off slightly, again unsure of himself and not wanting to make the moment any more awkward than it already was.

"Before…everyone else…gets up…and sees me…like this…?" she panted, raising her voice a bit at the end, turning the sentence into something that was almost a question.

"Yeah…" he replied, cheeks burning slightly. Dusty, in spite of the pain it must have caused her, nudged his snout with her paw.

"Hey…c'mon Kodi…what're you blushing about…?" she started to smile, but the smile turned into a grimace as a wave of pain tumbled through her body. "Ow…"

"Dusty! Are you okay?" Kodi asked, instantly chiding himself for asking such a stupid question.

"Yeah…my back…hurts a little…is all…Can we…go home now? I'm…a little tired…" she looked at him, eyes seeming almost to plead.

"Sure, you bet." He replied, and helped her to stand on all fours.

The actual process of movement was made slightly more difficult be the fact that Dusty had to lean on Kodi for support, meaning he had to carry almost double his own weight. However, he did this without complaint, and within the hour, the two of them had reached their Master's house and had gained the front porch.

"Wait here, okay?" Kodi told her breathlessly, stopping so that she could lean up against one of the outer walls as he went to the front door and began to scratch and whine. When that didn't work however, Kodi resorted to the big guns; he began to bark and howl in long baritone cries that brought his master to the door in a hurry. Despite her pain, Dusty felt a small shiver course its way down her back. 'Man…he's kind of cute when he barks like that…' she thought. 'Wait…I didn't just think that did I? I mean, this is Kodi we're talking about here!' She hadn't much time to think anything else before her owner came hurrying over, scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the house, muttering about calling a doctor…

((()-()))

15 minutes later, Kodi sat in the little back room that served as his sleeping quarters and stared bleakly around. The room, so quiet and peaceful when he had left in not two hours ago, was now buzzing with questions, most of which were directed at him. Kirby, Ralph and the rest were all eager to hear what all the commotion was about, so Kodi told them the whole terrible story; how he'd gone for a walk to clear his head and stumbled upon Dusty, broken and beaten in an alley. It took less than 5 minutes. He was surprised at how easily the worst kind of situations could be summarized. When he had finished, there was appalled silence in the room as the rest of the team tried to comprehend what had happened and (more importantly) why? Why to Dusty? No one could supply an answer.

Kodi sat, shifting restlessly every now and then; he couldn't stand being made to sit still! He wanted to see Dusty, to make sure she would be okay! Kirby, noticing this little change in Kodi's mood, padded over to where his friend sat in front of the closed door behind which Dusty was presumably being patched up. "Hey, don't worry," he said, nudging Kodi with his snout slightly. "She'll be fine! Didn't have anything more than a couple of scratches is all, so don't sweat it."

Kodi turned, face almost devoid of emotion. "Kirby, most of those 'scratches' were over 5 inches long!" Noticing the way his friend flinched slightly at his tone, Kodi forced himself to calm down somewhat. "Hey," he said after a pause. "Sorry I snapped at you. It's just…I'm worried about Dusty is all…" he looked to Kirby, hoping to see understanding.

"Hey bro! It's okay! I know what you're going through! We're all worried about Dusty! Just try to remember you're not the only dog who cares, okay?" Kirby replied, a thin smile spreading across his face. "And try to get some sleep, you look awful."

Kodi returned the smile and turned his attention back to the door Dusty was behind as Kirby stood and walked over to converse with the others. None of them understood! It wasn't Dusty's physical condition that worried him the most – they'd been through worse; they were sled dogs after all – it was her psychological condition that was his main priority. He'd be surprised if Dusty didn't come out of this with some sort of lasting damage – she'd almost been raped for crying out loud – and that was what worried him and kept him at his station all through the rest of the night even as, one by one, the others dropped off into sleep again. "Oh Dusty…why did this have to happen to you?" he half-sighed, and continued to wait as the hours and minutes ticked slowly by…

((()-()))

4 to 5 hours later, Kodi was roused from his doze by the abrupt opening of the door and the slightly tense lowered-voice conversation going on between their Master and the Veterinarian, who had a small amount of blood on the rubber gloves, he wore. He shook his balding head and sighed looking over at the still motionless Kodi and five still-sleeping others. "How bad is she, Doc?" Their owner asked in a low murmur, genuine worry etched into his face.

The Doctor sighed again and rubbed at his temples. "Well…she's going to need about three weeks to heal, what with her throat injury and all. Also, she's got a sprained left forepaw in addition to God-knows how many other bruises and gashes." He switched his gaze to regard Kodi's owner again. "I don't know exactly what happened out there, but I can tell you this much; somebody – or something – beat the living hell out of that dog. Could be we've got a wolf problem on our hands…" He trailed off, looking thoughtfully out the window to the now steadily accumulating snow.

"Will…will she ever completely recover, do you think?" the owner asked, fidgeting slightly; Dusty was one of his best dogs, and he couldn't afford to lose her this soon when she was so young and strong.

"I don't know. It's like trying to predict the weather; you sometimes get lucky and guess right while other times, you're way off course. I can say for sure she'll recover from her physical injuries, but there might be damage done to her mind as well. So…we'll just have to wait and see…"

"Alright…thanks for coming on such short notice Doc."

"Hey, no problem! Anything for you so long as I get my monthly subscription to 'Modern Medical Marvels Monthly' on time!" They laughed softly as the owner escorted the Doctor out.

As soon as the door closed, Kodi got to his feet, padding into the adjoining room. He had to see Dusty! He had to make sure she would be okay! The rest of the team still slept peacefully.

The concerned hybrid crept silently into the room, making sure to give Dusty more than adequate space. She was lying on a large, soft red cushion in a large whicker basket, a soft blanket covering most of her body, but what he could see of her was covered in bandages and stitches. She whined softly in her drug-induced sleep and Kodi involuntarily licked her cheek again, causing her to moan slightly and roll over. 'Why do I keep doing that?' he asked himself, and was startled when a small voice in the back of his head spoke up; 'It's because you just love the way she tastes…' it whispered slyly.

Like any sensible dog would've done, Kodi told the voice to 'shut the freak up' and lay down next to Dusty. He thought; 'Well, at least now I know my insomnia will be good for something. Now I'll be able to…stay up all…night and…make sure…Dusty's…all…right…' His eyes slipped slowly closed for the last time that night, and he drifted off into lovely dreams of playing in the green meadows during spring and summer, trying to help Muk and Luk overcome their fear of water – something both he and his father had been unsuccessful at for the last three summers in a row.

In particular, however, he dreamed of someone else, someone very special. A female someone, with large blue eyes and a shiny gray coat…someone who laughed and yipped as they wrestled together in the grass…So, mostly, he dreamed of being with Dusty, and of all the fun they had and would have in future springs and summers. 'Dusty…' he thought, the words echoing across the vast corridors of his mind as he dreamt. 'I'll avenge you…I promise…I'll make it so that you'll never have to be afraid of anyone or anything again…I'll protect you…I swear it…' So thinking, Kodi and Dusty slept, each – although they didn't know it unless they could read minds – dreaming of each other…

((()-()))

Author's Note:

Um…yeah. Okay, so there's the first chapter! I really hope you guys like this one! I'm working REAL hard on it so please, be gentle! I know it really sucks and the whole idea's a bit cliche, but hey, give me some slack...please? Just looking for some feedback! How was it? Good? Bad? God-Awful? Let me know! I'll listen to everyone, regardless of opinion!

LoL,

BaltoLuver63