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Chapter 13: The Bridge: Part 3: One Paw in the Grave.

The two of them sat together in their den, finding that they had grown so used to having a pup in the den that they no longer knew how to fill the silence that he had left behind.

They tried enjoying their alone time together, but found that there was nothing that the two of them could do that would not remind them of him in some way, and even though he was not their son by blood, they had raised him up from the time that he was barely a month old, and even though the road was rough in the beginning, the three of them realized through it all that they were all each other had ever wanted- they a child of their own, and he parents who loved him.

They had experienced it all together.

Trial and tribulation, good times and bad. They laughed with him when he was happy, and they held him when he was sad. They nursed him when he was sick, and sat up with him all night when his dreams would be haunted by memories of that horrid place from which he had come.

They had seen in him love and seen heartache, and, though he did not know it, he acted like the glue that held them together when times in their relationship proved too painful for the heart to stand. For the entirety of a year, they watched him grow up, and did everything they could do to teach him they ways of simplicity and chivalry, and to raise him into the man that he was today- and they couldn't have been more proud.

Their boy, a fragile, frightened pup when they took him into their home, grew up to be the one who married the girl of his dreams, changed the park for the better, and on top of it all, would someday be the leader of that better place which he had created. What more could parents want from their son other than grandpups, which they were certain would be on the way shortly?

Mary lied alone in the back of the den, facing the wall, when she felt a muzzle slide under her neck. She smiled softly and lift her head while her mate settled himself tightly behind her.

"Hello, beautiful," he greeted, "what are you up to?"

"Oh nothing," she replied with a sigh as she lowered her head onto of his, "just thinking about Humphrey."

"Yeah?" Jack asked.

Mary nodded.

"Yeah," she said dismally, "I'm so proud that he is seeking to better himself for his mate, but I miss him."

"Me, too," Jack agreed, "but this'll be over before you know it."

Mary sighed, smiling softly.

"I know it will," she replied, "I just wish that before I knew it would hurry up and get here."

Jack laughed softly.

"Maybe we could run up there and pay him a visit," he offered, "after all, I'm sure it would be nice for him to see a familiar face."

Mary shrugged.

"Eh, let him be," she replied, "I would love to see him, but we've gotta let him do this on his own. It's part of growing up."

Jack nodded, agreeing with her completely, and for a moment, silence ensued.

"So you know what's on my mind?" Jack asked, finally breaking the silence.

"What's that?" Mary inquired, lifting her head and gazing down upon him.

"It's been entirely too long since we could do something just you and me," he replied, "what'd'ya say we go up to the falls, just the two of us?"

Mary smiled.

"That sounds-"

"Uh, Mr. and Mrs. Long?" they heard a voice call from outside of the den, causing them to turn.

"Now Eve," Jack said with a smile as he rose to his feet, "you know you don't have to address us like that."

Mary smiled as well.

"Please, why don't you come in?" she invited.

"Thank you," Eve said politely and entered the den.

"So what brings you out here?" Jack asked, "and where is your mate? I haven't heard much from him since school started- is everything alright?"

Eve lowered her eyes to the floor of the den and sighed, because she hated having to deliver news like this, especially when it was long overdue.

"Actually," she began dismally, "I have some news concerning Humphrey."

The couple's smiles faded and were replaced with lines of worry.

"What kind of news," Jack asked, stepping forward.

"Is he alright?" Mary pressed.

Eve sighed.

"There was an incident at the training grounds," she began, "and, unfortunately, he's been hurt."

"Hurt?" Mary said frantically, but Jack quickly calmed her down and took over.

"How bad is it?" he asked, better containing his concern, "and when did it happen?"

"Jack," Eve said, placing her paw on top of his, "your son has been in a coma for three days."

"Oh my god," Mary cried in disbelief, but Jack felt anger rise in him.

"Three days!" he yelled, pulling his paw away, and pushing his nose in close to hers, "and you wait to tell us until right now?"

"Jack, I'm sorry," Eve apologized, trying to calm him down, "but pack policy states-"

"Pack policy be damned!" Jack interrupted, "that's our boy you're talking about!"

Mary, overwhelmed by everything that she was hearing, could only sit aside crying.

"Jack, I know that it's sick and out of date, but please, you have to be reasonable," Eve pleaded, trying her best to control the situation.

"Reasonable!" Jack barked, "Humphrey is in a coma, and nobody has the decency to tell us for three whole days? Does that sound 'reasonable' to you?"

"Jack," Eve began, but he turned and walked away from her, refusing to hear another word, "Jack, please-"

"Take us to him," Jack demanded in a softer voice, though his tone was still laced with venom, "with all due respect, ma'am, take us to him right now."

Eve nodded.

"I'll take you to him," she said, "but we still have a few things to discuss when we get there."

"Like what?" Jack asked crossly.

Eve only lowered her eyes.

"I see," Jack stated, deducing from her silence what it was that they needed to discuss.

A silence ensued between the three of them before finally Eve spoke.

"Please," Eve began, her voice soft, "follow me."

A&?

Kate brushed her way through the shrubs, doing her best to follow her mate's scent, but due to its distortion throughout the bushes around her, she was having difficulty keeping on the right track. Sometimes it was on the right, sometimes off to the left, and more often times than not, it was not there at all, so she would wind up having to retrace her steps, locate the spot where she had last detected his scent, then try to figure out where she had gone wrong the last time and remedy her mistake.

She paused for a moment to collect herself, as she knew that getting herself worked up would only make this task more difficult than it already was, and as silence replaced the crack and rummage of her progress through the undergrowth, a distant sound found purchase on her ears. She knew not what it was, as the sound was muddled by the bushes and the span of space between her and the source, but it sounded almost like a struggle near a body of water. She thought she could hear a pair of muffled voices and possibly splashing, but it could honestly be anything, including her imagination.

Nonetheless, she still felt as though she should investigate, because, even if it wasn't what her mate had intended for her to find at least she could eliminate the possibility that it was, and maybe ask whomever it was if they could help her.

Feeling a new sense of hope compelling her into action, she turned her body in the direction from which the sound originated and began to shove her way through the bushes as she hunted for that which she sought.

She had to adjust her trajectory a few times as the origin of the sound was difficult to locate, but after about three minutes of crashing through the thick undergrowth of the forest's feet, she paused, as she knew that what she sought lied just beyond the wall of brush before her.

She took a quick breath of collection, as she did now know what to expect beyond the confides of the bush, then pushed through the threshold and out into open space once more.

What she found when she emerged from the safety of the undergrowth was different than that which she hoped to find. As soon as she breeched the thin wall, she found not a river or pond, only a vast, empty space which spanned on for miles beyond her. Confusion and disappointment clashed, but before it could evolve into anger, all light became absent around her, and an impenetrable darkness consumed her.

Fear briefly overpowered her and she felt her heart begin to palpitate, but just as soon as her fear came, it left in lee of curiosity, as a bright, white light shimmered into existence before her.

She shielded her eyes against it, as its sudden appearance stabbed her pupils, then, once she was certain that her eyes had adjusted, she dared to lower her paw so that she may see.

But what she found to be strange was that the light did not shine upon her from above or from afar, but seemed to be emitting from her.

Puzzled, she looked down at her chest to find that the crystal which Humphrey had given her had begun to glow. This phenomenon intrigued her, so she raised the crystal with her paw so that she may examine it, but as she lifted it to eye level, the light which emitted from the precious stone retracted into its center then exploded in a bright, horizontal disk, much like a super nova in the last moments of its life.

Surprised, Kate stumbled back and fell onto her haunches, and as she fell, the light around her faded, casting her once more into darkness.

She quickly allowed her eyes to flutter open, and at first all she could see was black as thick and dark as the night without a moon, but after about five seconds, dim light began to materialize about ten feet before her position.

Mesmerized, Kate slowly rose to her feet and chanced to move closer, but as she drew near, the light faded and retreated, then illuminated once more at a distance of another ten feet.

Kate cocked her head as she watched and then approached again, but this time as she drew near, the light expanded in a brilliant spectrum of blue which swirled and swelled, causing her to withdraw a few paces so as to not become engulfed by its rays.

But as she fell back, she noticed that the light was beginning to take form.

She squinted and shielded her eyes against it, as it grew brighter and brighter as its shape became more defined. Then, with a flash, the light faded once again to a soft glow.

Kate lowered her paw from before her eyes so she could see and found the figure of her mate standing before her, but she could hardly recognize him. His body was nearly transparent due to the light which emitted from him, so his features were distorted to a point where if she could not pick her Humphrey out of a group of clones, she would not have known who it was.

"Humphrey?" she asked, surprised.

He gave her his signature, toothy smile, and began to approach her.

He seemed to move with an aura of freedom, almost like he was floating toward her, then upon reaching her, he stopped and leaned in to nuzzle her out of habit, but stopped himself upon remembering that while he was in this form, he would simply pass right through her and withdrew hesitantly as his smile faded to sadness.

Kate's face took on a look of empathy and she reached a paw out to place it on his cheek. She did not care that she could not actually feel him. She knew that the act would be enough to at least ease his anguish, if only slightly.

Humphrey leaned down upon her paw as he normally would and he placed his paw atop of hers, then allowed his smile to return, but Kate could tell by the shimmering in the bases of his eyes that there were tears in his smile. Seeing and understanding the level of pain he was in caused her to become choked up slightly, but she held back the tears which threatened to stream down her cheeks, as she wished to make any time she could spend with her mate a joyous occasion, sad, though it was. So she smiled back.

"Hello, my love," she greeted warmly.

"Hey, Kate," he replied in a strained voice, but, for her sake, expunged his grief and blinked away the tears, "how are you?"

Kate lowered her paw.

"I'm alright, I guess," she replied glumly, lowering her eyes to the ground, "I just wish I could hold you."

Humphrey nodded as he felt sadness tug at his heart once more.

"I know," he replied, flattening his ears, then looked toward the side which contained his optimism, "but soon this will all be over," he continued, "we'll go back home and we'll settle down for a while. We'll dig out some extra space and then we'll- we'll start a family, have a den full of pups. It'll be everything we've always wanted."

Kate allowed a meek smile to form upon her lips.

"We'll have a boy," she continued, though her voice became choked in her throat, "one who would mirror you, with your handsome face and your loving, care-free nature.

"And three girls," Humphrey mused, though it was evident that even he had his doubts, "they'll all be so beautiful, just like their mother, with stubborn heads and kind hearts, and the strength to overcome any challenge life throws at them. We'll grow old together, watching them grow up, just you and me, together forever."

"I'd like that," Kate said as tears began to fill the rims of her eyes, "I'd like that more than anything in the world."

Humphrey beamed softly.

"And the best part," he began, "I'll share the adventure of parenthood with the love of my life by my side."

Kate's meager grin broadened into a smile.

"And so will I."

Humphrey nodded softly.

"But before we do this, there is something that I want you to do for me," he began, placing his paw on the top of hers.

"What's that?" Kate asked him.

"I'm gonna need you to wake up."

These words hit Kate like a brick to the head and caused her to fall back onto her haunches.

"No, Humphrey," she pleaded, "don-"

"Kate," Winston called, concerned as he gently shook his daughter's shoulder, "Kate, wake up."

With a start, Kate came to, shooting up from her side and to her stomach to find herself in her and Humphrey's temporary den once more, surrounded by a crowd of curious onlookers

"Dad?" she asked, confused, "what happened?"

"You were sleepwalking, Kate," he replied as he placed a comforting paw on her shoulder.

"Sleepwalking?" Kate asked, bewildered as she attempted to find her feet, but her father stopped her, "but I was just in your den?"

"Yes you were," her father said softly, "you came into my den about fifteen minutes ago and I asked you if you needed anything, but you only muttered something about Humphrey, then turned and left," he explained, "I don't know exactly what you said, but I followed you and you were like a zombie."

Kate shook her head and attempted to rise again, but again her father stopped her.

"Kate, you need to lie still," he advised, "you need to be looked at by the healer."

"Dad I'm fine," she insisted, then turned over to her mate, who lied exactly as they had left him, "tell her to look at him. He needs the help, not me."

"Kate-"

"No," she demanded as she pushed herself quickly to her paws, "I'm sick of watching everybody stand around here and watch him die!"

"But there is nothing she can do," he reasoned, "it's up to him."

Kate sighed, knowing that he was right and allowed herself to become calm once more.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, taking a seat, "I've just been under a bunch of stress."

Winston placed a paw on her shoulder.

"I know you have," he replied softly, "which is why I want the healer to have a look at you." He paused under a sharp gaze from his daughter, then continued with a sigh. "Kate, this has been eating you alive," he said, expressing his concerns, "and now you are having trouble separating your dreams from reality. I just want to make sure that this doesn't-"

"Make me into a psychotic?" she asked pointedly.

"No," he replied firmly, "dammit, Kate, I'm afraid that this is going to be the death of you."

Kate's glare remained firm and her tail flicked irritably behind her.

Those who had come to see if she was alright upon learning the news of her active slumber began to shuffle out, having seen enough drama for one week.

"Kate, I know he's your mate, and I know you're worried about him, but this has got to stop," Winston continued, "you don't eat. You barely sleep, and when you do, it scares me because I don't know what is going to happen next with you." He paused with a sigh and lowered his head. "It's been three days and still no change," he began again, lifting his eyes to his daughter, "we need to start considering our options."

Kate's eyes began to brim with tears.

"You mean start trying to decide whether or not we should keep trying?" Kate barked pointedly.

Winston lowered his head again and flattened his ears.

"Kate, it's time we made a decision," he said, sadness evident in his tone, "I have sent for your mother. She will inform Jack and Mary of the situation. Then once they arrive, we will try to agree on what we are going to do from here."

Kate shook her head.

"I can't believe you," she said venomously, "willing to give up on him so easily. What if it were me, or mom, or Lilly lying there? Would you be so quick to cut the line then!"

Winston's jaw locked, but he said nothing.

"Would you!"

He sighed and flattened his ears as he fell back onto his haunches.

"Yes," he admitted, almost shamefully, "I would."

Kate felt a lump beginning to form in her throat, and felt the tears beginning to snake through the fur on her cheeks.

"Well that's good," she replied, her voice strained, "it's good to know where we stand."

"Kate, listen-" Winston began, reaching out to place his paw on her shoulder, but his daughter pulled away and began to storm out of the den.

"Kate, wait," he called, but she did not stop, "Kate."

He rose to follow her, but thought better of it and arrested his motion halfway, then took his seat once more.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, "damn it all."

A&?

"Come on, Humphrey," the clone encouraged, "you've gotta go in. It's the only way."

"I can't go in there," Humphrey argued, his voice a stressed whisper, "I swore when I left that I would never go back."

The other Humphrey sighed and shook his head.

"Come on, man. We're so close," he said, looking him in the eyes, "I can feel it."

"But you know as well as I what lies beyond the walls of this den," Humphrey replied, "I'm not going in there. We're gonna have to go somewhere else."

"Dammit, Humphrey, listen to me," the doppelgänger insisted, "you've gotta face him, otherwise you'll never get out of here."

Humphrey turned and began to walk away.

"F***ing coward!" the clone yelled, "you'd rather die than face your fears?"

"You don't get it, do you!" Humphrey barked, stopping and whipping quickly to face himself, "I can't face that Hell again! Even though what I did was completely justified, I can't relive it. I've buried it for a reason, can't you see? I never wanted to take somebody's life. Not even his."

The clone sighed.

"I get it, alright," he replied, "you're afraid that 'he' will be in there, too, and if 'he' is, you're afraid that you will lose control, but Humphrey, I know us. We are strong. We can do this."

Humphrey's jaw locked for a moment, then went slack as a sigh passed over his lips.

"Alright," he conceded, "wait here. I'll be back."

He took a couple of steps toward the entrance of the den, then paused and turned to his clone once more.

"Hopefully."

"You'll be fine," his other self encouraged.

Upon hearing this, Humphrey turned to the den once more, took a deep breath of courage, then entered.

As he stepped inside, he found exactly what he had expected to see.

There, standing only six feet away from him, was his father.

He had spent such a great amount of time trying to forget his image that he had to remind himself who it was that he saw before him, and as he saw that stern, grey face, and those empty, yellow eyes, the memories came flooding back to him and his blood became ice in his veins, but he had to show him that he was not afraid, so he put on a bold face.

But when his father saw this, he sneered and moved until he was only inches away.

"Save the courageous act for someone who will actually buy it," he said dryly and tried to step on Humphrey's tail, but Humphrey was ready for it and moved out of the way.

"You don't scare me anymore," he said, though his voice quivered slightly.

This caused his father to laugh.

"Then why are you shaking so much?" he asked evilly.

"Because I'm gonna do this!"

From out of nowhere, Humphrey saw his clone rush in from behind and leap upon his father then take him immediately to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?" Humphrey asked, too shocked to move.

His clone ignored him as he used his teeth and claws to maul his father, who screamed in agony. The , just as soon as the attack began, it was over, as his clone used his teeth to rip out his victim's jugular.

"What's going on!" Humphrey demanded as the body of his father along any evidence of the attack, faded, "what was that all about!"

Humphrey's clone laughed evilly and turned to him with excited, red eyes.