"Ghost was sent to support you as you went down the path of saving two others. As far as I'm concerned, that's a very honorable thing, dear. You're a special soul. An angel-dog." God said from beside her and nodded towards her halo. And as Gypsy watched her puppies approach, she felt all of her grief lift from her shoulders and fly away on a pure-white dove.

"Thank you," the mother whispered.

Kiwi squealed excitedly, as she was the first to encroach upon her mother-dog.

The others followed with squeals of glee, the mother noticing with a sigh of relief that she saw Star's white pelt following close behind.

Her heart sank, but also lifted at the same time. North really did kill him.

Her misgivings were forgotten as all four of the puppies jumped on her, little tails wagging and each one attempting to talk over another.

"Mother?" Kiwi cried with undisclosed anguish. "I missed you so much!" She flung herself on Gypsy's foreleg and stayed there, peering up with shining blue eyes.

Star also huddled beneath her, squeaking "Mama! Mama! Where were you? Where's Finn and Copper? Mama...?" as two of the puppies leaned back to look up at her, their eyes searching.

"She's our mama too," said one, a brindle-and-white female with triangular ears like Gypsy's. Her name had been Ginger.

Gypsy looked back at the two smaller puppies desperately. She hoped they held no misgivings for what the humans had done to them, or about the fact that they had died much younger than her new pups.

"Mama! I was worried I'd never see you again," Cried her tiny black pitbull puppy Riley, then running up beside Star and nuzzling her foreleg.

Gypsy bent to reciprocate the affection as Ginger approached, following her brother Riley and squeezing up to Star as well.

Kiwi seemed satisfied that she had at least half of her mother to herself, and sighed with content. But then, Star stiffened and looked up at his mother again.

"Where's Finn and Copper? And Ace?" The white puppy repeated his earlier question, his fat puppy legs resting gently against one of her paws.

"They're still out there, dear." She said as she gave Star a lick on the forehead. "They're living their lives on earth while we start ours here. But one day, they'll join us. And we can all be together again."

After a few moments of silence, Star seemed content with this answer. He pounced on Gypsy's tail, and the mother leaped to her paws and play-bowed.

All four puppies stamped their paws and began to run around the clearing after her. Riley picked up a fallen willow branch, then giggled with laughter as Gypsy tugged on the opposite end.

She ripped it away from him, and was soon pounced on by all four pups as they pursued with glee. The mother stopped to look up with a grin. She realized the sky was turning a misty golden grey.

Time seems to move faster here, whenever you're happy rather than bitter. So maybe that should be my goal. She gazed fondly down at the four puppies. It was adorable how Kiwi had immediately taken to the much shyer and smaller Ginger. The two she-pups chattered together quietly. Ginger even shot a glance over at her brothers and then giggled.

To enjoy the pups I have, and wish for a long, good life on the ones I don't.

She began to wonder once again whether Finn had been saved. And yet... She knew she could not dwell on such a thing. It was for the better.

Instead, the she-dog ran a circle around the tree and began playing tag. For hours, none of them stopped playing. None of them grew thirsty, or tired, or bickered about being too cold or hot.

And every few moments, one of her puppies would catch her eye and smile with glee. They would fling out their paws and run amuck, tails to the ground as they sped along.

The mother couldn't help but laugh and shake her head, and feel proud. And stanch the wonders, to finally- for once in her life... Live in the moment.

"Kiwi, I bet you can't jump as high as me!" Star challenged with an encouraging yip, and then they all began pouncing up from the grass like frogs.

"Mama, look! I'm doing it! I'm the highest jumper!" Kiwi barked as her gold-and-white ears flipped up and over her head while she jumped.

"I'm looking, dear. That's certainly a very high leap!"

Teeny little Riley looked over at his half-sister with determination, pushing his paws against the earth in a massive leap.

Without judging either one, Gypsy looked up into the branches before making her own flying jump. She sailed upward, and then landed with a hefty thump that left no expected sting in her paws.

"WOW!" Riley said, as his siblings gasped or looked fondly over at their mother's involvement.

Each puppy then took turns rating each other's jumps, and Gypsy praised each one in turn with a lick on the forehead. The pups practically swallowed up her loving devotion, deprived from the many weeks spent without her.

The world did turn dark eventually. Whether it was a few hours later, or the entire turn of a long day, no dog knew.

And none of them minded to question it. Kiwi, Star, Riley and Ginger settled down under a curtain of greying peace.

She felt them lean into the curve of her belly, resting there tiredly as the sky lit up above.

Even through the trees, she could glimpse it. She could feel it. She could see a brilliant wash of silvered moonlight from far off, outside of the tree's encasing shadow.

A night sky that shone with a million- no, trillions of stars. Purples and blues and deep golds and grays swathed the stars above, slanting them into colored pools of light on the grass.

I'll keep waiting for you, Ace. And I hope you know that, as long as I'm here... You'll be on my mind. Every second, every moment that I wait for you.

__________________

Ginger

Riley