'Dusk, you're going to lab 54, right?' Petrash asked a few days later.

She looked up from preparing her bag with emergency supplies. 'Yeah, what of it?'

'Mind if I tag along? I have to have some papers looked over and I'd like to have a word with the administrator there. It's not far so if it's not a bother..?'

He looked like a lost puppy to her with his flattened ears and carefully wagging tail and couldn't bring herself to refuse him.

'All right then. Just don't make a fuss and distract me from driving.'

He smiled. 'Thanks, I'll get ready.'

Soon after he had settled in the passenger seat of her truck with a book. Occasionally he looked at her while she was concentrating on driving.

'What?' she asked, noticing his looks.

'Eh, what?' he asked.

'You keep looking at me, you want something?' she asked, feeling a hint of regret taking him along. She didn't like a male hanging around her all day.

'Oh! Ah, no. Just admiring how you can drive this thing every day. I think I'd end up buried in the snow after ten meters.' he said with a grin.

She blushed at the unexpected compliment. 'Just read your book.' she said, hiding her surprise.

Eventually they ended up at the lab, a series of red coloured low metal buildings. Petrash met with the people in charge there while Dusk helped with unloading the cargo. After going through the numbers and schedules, Petrash got taken on a small tour of the facility. He found it interesting to see what they did here and Frant, the administrator, was happy to show anyone interested. When they walked out the back at the kennels they met with shouting. Petrash recognised Dusk's voice and worried instantly.

'You can't do that!' she shouted.

Petrash and Frant turned the corner at the kennels to see her and Kull, a burly feline and the caretaker of the dogs, shouting against each other.

'I can and I will because I have to!' Kull said, holding tight onto a tranquillizer gun.

'Wow, what's going on!?' Frant asked.

'He wants to kill her!' Dusk shouted, pointing at Kull.

'Wait, what? Kill who?' Frant asked.

'You know the young husky-wolf who's mother died last week?' Kull said. 'She's going wild and attacks everyone coming close to her. I have no choice but to put her down.'

Dusk glared at him, bearing her fangs. 'She's hurting! You can't put her down for that!'

'I can't keep her here if she doesn't calm down! This is no charity!' Kull shot back.

Dusk turned to Petrash. 'You say something too!'

He saw the frustration and tears in her eyes and racked his brain to think of something before all hell broke loose. 'Hang on.' he said, holding up his hand. 'Let me see first.' He moved closer to the cage and watched the blue-grey young husky, huddled all the way back in a corner, and thought of what he could do for her. He leaned over to Frant after deciding to take the risk on a hunch he had. 'Mind if I give it a try?'

Frant nodded. 'Sure. I don't like to have to put down an animal, so if there's a chance to save it..'

'Okay.' Petrash said, opened the kennel carefully, walked in slowly despite the growling from the husky, pulled out his book and sat down on a potato bag used by the dog to sleep on.

'What are you doing?' Dusk asked, confused by what he did.

'Don't worry.' he said, giving her a smile. 'Why don't you get some rest before we're taking the trip back. I can see you're very tired.'

'I'm not!' she huffed.

'Just do it. Nothing you can do here now.' he said.

She stared at him for a moment, then sulked while she left for her truck.

'Are you going to be okay?' Kull asked.

'I will. I just have to try anything I can because I don't like to see Dusk this sad.'

Kull nodded. 'Okay. If you need anything, just call.' he said and left the gun on the floor at the cage. 'Just in case.'

'I'll try to get out before I'd have to use that though, but thanks.' Petrash said and pulled out the carton of cookies he had put his coat, pulled one out and laid the carton next to him. Then he started to read his book and nibble on the cookie, ignoring the growling from the corner.

After a while the growling became softer and stopped. Petrash occasionally pulled out a cookie and this time he tossed it over to the husky. It looked wary at it at first, then watched him eat another cookie and started sniffing it. Slowly she crawled closer and licked it once. It must have tasted good because she carefully ate it, making him smile softly.

When she looked at him as if asking for one more he tossed another one, only a little closer to him so she had to crawl closer to get it.

After she finished that one he laid a cookie next to him, then ate another one and continued reading his book. She crawled a little closer but stayed put for some time before she dared to crawl closer again. It took quite a while before she got close enough to snatch away the cookie making him smile once more.

This time he took another cookie and held it out to her on his flat hand. She let out a growl at first, looked sideways a few times, sniffed carefully, then carefully took the cookie from his hand and ate it.

'So, feeling better now?' he asked.

She sniffed his hand once more and gave it a lick.

He patted on his lap. 'How about coming here so I can pet you?'

Carefully she came closer and laid down on his lap and he gently ran his fingers through her fur. It was really thick and soft and he scratched her head a little. He could sense her warming up to him as her tail started to wag more little by little. After bribing her with a few more cookies he knew she trusted him.

'So, what are we going to do with you?' he asked, stroking her head and scratching her ears.

Kull returned just then to check up on him and grinned. 'Looks like you managed to get through to her.'

'Yeah. Although I think I'll feel my butt for a while.' Petrash said and flexed his behind to get the blood flowing again. 'And now I'm not sure if what I have in mind is possible. I'm thinking of taking her off your hands if that's okay.'

Kull smiled. 'She's attached to you now, so it would be bad to break her bond again. I have no problem with it, if you can let her stay at your place.'

'We'll manage.' Petrash said to the husky who responded by more wagging of her tail.

Dusk had woken from the nap she managed to get, and by the time she got out of the transport truck he stood outside with the husky next to him.

'How?' she asked, not really believing what she saw although a wave of relief washed over her.

'I hope you don't mind if we take her with us.' he said with a teasing smile.

Her eyes grew big. 'We can take her with us!?' she asked, her heart beating faster in happiness.

He nodded. 'Yeah, she can live with us if you girls don't mind having her around.'

She held out her hand to the husky. 'Are you okay with it?'

The husky stepped forward, sniffed her hand and gave it a lick.

'Well, guess that's settled then.' Petrash said. 'Let's go home.'

Dusk and Kull exchanged apologies while Petrash gathered some supplies for the dog until he could order them, then they drove off for home.

'What's her name actually?' Dusk asked after setting the course in the navigation system.

'Dawn.' Petrash said, the husky looking up at him at her name.

'So how did you do it?' Dusk asked, looking for a moment at Dawn.

'Well,' he said, thinking the idea had been silly. 'to be honest I thought she looked a little like you because of the similar colour of your fur. And then I thought of how you love cookies and how I had taken a carton to bribe you with if I needed to. So I took the chance of bribing her with it.'

She looked at his embarrassed grin. 'Right.. She does have the same colour though. But she has grey eyes, just like you.'

He nodded. 'Looks like she got those from her wolf father.'

He sniggered suddenly and she raised an eyebrow. 'What's so funny?'

'I was just thinking, with her name, her fur and her eyes it almost like she could be our daughter.'

'True.' Dusk sniggered, then blushed hard. 'Wait! What are you thinking of!?'

The next moment he found himself kicked out in the snow and heard her shout. 'You can walk home! Pervert!'

Luckily the sad face from Dawn made her turn around and pick him back up before he was completely frozen, but she felt embarrassed all the way home.

Ghost saw them acting strangely when they walked into the living room, 'What's up with you guys?' she asked, then noticed Dawn behind Petrash. 'And how did you get this?'

Dusk blushed harder and stepped quickly to her room. 'Go ask that pervert!'

He explained how he got close to Dawn, and turned red when he explained what happened to make her mad at him.

Ghost, Dice and Rusty laughed.

'Pervert is right.' Rusty said. 'You're not going to make up for that for a long time.'

'Crap.' he said and looked at Dawn. 'I hope you can do something about it.' She just wagged her tail.

Ghost nudged Dusk later that evening. 'So, he got to you?'

'What do you mean?' she asked quickly.

'I see you looking often at him, then away quickly.'

She pouted. 'It's just that Dawn is so close to him and I'd like to pet and hug her too.'

'Okay, if that's it.' Ghost grinned.