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Cabin Fever

Written By: Spudz

Featureless. Utterly featureless no matter where he looked. The horizon held nothing but a flat white expanse of snow, made all the more eerie by the waning light of dusk. Tom McCarthy was a dog well and truly out of place.

The German shepherd held on for dear life on the back of the charging snow machine, biting back a curse at each bone jarring surge and drop that seemed to reorganize his insides like an Etch A Sketch. He regretted the idea of stealing a glance out to the bouncing world around him and screwed his eyes firmly shut instead.

See the world, they said. Experience new and exciting things, they said. No one had bothered to tell him just what part of the world that would be. Or rather, no one had explained that 'see the world' meant 'see the last stretches of inhospitable frozen hell that no rational person would ever think to live in.' Foolish of him not to ask for clarification on that one. But the shepherd knew, deep down, that would not have made any difference. He really hadn't been given a choice on this assignment.

Finally, mercifully, the snow machine came to a gradual halt. It wasn't until the driver killed the two-stroke engine and dismounted the seat did Tom chance opening an eye. He'd made it, but not quite in one piece.

The stocky malamute that had been the cause of his torture favored him with a raised eyebrow above the brim of his fur-padded hood. "You ok there, son? Looking a little ill."

And the award for understatement of the year goes to. Tom's dismount from the snow machine seat--he didn't dare think of the cursed thing as a snow mobile for fear of being crucified by the locals--could've only been described as graceless. He tried to wave off any further words from his driver and took a moment to study the snow in intimate detail as he knelt on hands and knees. His stomach made every attempt to add a bit of color to its pristine whiteness.

"Not a rider, are ya?" The malamute's hardy slap on Tom's back didn't help his struggle. "I'm guessing you're not from 'round these parts."

_Ya think? What tipped you off? The layers upon layers of jackets I'm wearing, or my cheery disposition for being out in this godforsaken hell? _ The shepherd only barely won his battle to keep his stomach's contents where they belonged and stood shakily. "You could say that."

"Well, we're here. Not much to see, but here's where ya be working."

'Here' turned out to be a nondescript radome structure situated right on the edge of Barrow's lone airport runway--the town's only connection to the outside world. To the north, the Arctic Ocean sprawled from east to west. To the south, a featureless expanse of Alaskan tundra stretched on for as far as the eye could see, or could see in the few meager hours of dusk that counted as daylight this time of year. And in the middle of it all stood the humble town of Barrow itself, a small oasis of civilization in an otherwise desolate land.

Barrow had the dubious distinction of being the northernmost town in all of Alaska, and the eleventh northernmost public community in the world. You couldn't get any closer to the pole without striking out on the ice of the frozen Arctic from here. Not that any sensible person would want to do that. Hell, of the roughly four thousand nuts that called this place home, Tom figured none of them were sane to begin with.

Small as it was, the town still necessitated an airport to ferry in supplies and people, being that there was no means of land transportation to the other corners of Alaska and the world beyond. As such, the airport needed air traffic control services. Air traffic control services needed a network to manage it. Said network needed people to build and maintain it. And that was where Tom, a humble entry-level integration engineer, came into the picture.

He watched as his driver pulled a large key ring from his coat pocket and trudged through the knee-deep snow to the locked door that barred entry into the radome site. "So you're going to oversee our installation?"

The malamute paused with a key inserted into the padlock. "What? Me? Pah. You'll be fine. I'm just here to let you in."

"But I'm not FAA. Just a contractor. I'm supposed to have the local FAA rep supervise me. I thought that was you? At least, that's what the big wigs in Anchorage seem to think."

The other dog smiled a crooked, toothy grin. "It is. But I'm not sticking 'round here. Storm's comin' soon. Gonna be a nasty one at that."

Tom blinked, chancing a look up to the clear sky above painted in many hues of red and gold. The sun had never poked above the horizon, even with it being noon presently. From what he understood, the damned thing set sometime in November and never appeared again until late January, and only for a fleeting moment then. In what light that was available now he couldn't see a cloud in any direction. "Are you sure about that?"

The malamute chuckled ominously as he plodded over to the sled they'd towed behind the snow machine. "Sure as sure, my friend. My bones ache and tell of a nasty blizzard." He took a moment to remove several boxes of supplies and set them in a stack in the snow. "Weather folks never get things right. You gotta rely on ya gut to make do up here."

Tom blinked. "Ok, then should I be here in the first place?" Please say no. Oh, god, please say no so I can go home.

Another grin, more crooked than the last. "Well, what did your superiors say?"

"They said..." Honestly they hadn't said much beyond 'go here and do your job.' "The schedule calls for this site install to start tomorrow. So that's why I'm here."

His companion laughed heartily. "Then you should stay here, my friend." He leaned over to kick at a box. "Plenty of supplies to ride out the worst of anything. And the radome is heated... sort of."

"Wait. What do you mean 'sort of'?"

The malamute just laughed again and mounted the snow machine. A turn of the key brought the two-stroke motor back to angry life. "Never mind that. Enjoy your stay! I'll be back to check on ya."

Tom raised a hand to protest, but was met with a spray of snow as his driver, the very man supposed to oversee his work, spun his mechanical steed about and peeled away back toward the town, headlight casting an ever-smaller fan across the snow. Admittedly, the radome wasn't located all that far from the next closest building, maybe a half mile or so, but the shepherd still felt a since of loneliness take hold as he watched the snow machine retreat into the distance. So much for following proper procedure.

The retreating light of one snow machine gave way to the approach of a second. Tom watched from beside the open radome door as the second machine came to a halt next to him sporting two riders. The driver made no move to dismount, or even turn to acknowledge Tom's presence. He simply sat there until his passenger, who was bundled up in heavy insulating clothing from head to toe, gingerly slid off the seat.

The second departing snow machine managed to spray snow directly into Tom's face, adding injury to insult. He took it all with a numb amusement, waiting a moment before wiping the white fluff from his muzzle and face when the din of revving engine faded away.

"Well that wasn't very nice." The feminine voice came from the bundled canine as she came to stand before Tom. When she pulled back her jacket's hood, Jenna's familiar husky features came to light.

The shepherd merely shrugged his indifference. "Eh, next time I'll wear a balaclava so they can spray snow in my face to their heart's content. I'm just a lowly contractor, after all."

She reached up to brush a bit of white from his nose that he'd missed. "At least you're not the only one," she added with a wry smile.

Jenna, like Tom, fell into the 'lowly contractor' bucket for work on the program. Hired for being cheaper and more efficient than government employees, they both made up one of the teams tasked with upgrading the Alaskan air traffic control system as part of a tech refresh program. While the shepherd focused on the hardware aspect of said upgrade, Jenna complemented him with her background on software and network management systems.

Of course the husky's name had caused an amused chuckle from Tom when they'd first met a month back. He had, not so cleverly, made a poor jest at the comparison to a certain husky character in a movie. He regretted that to this day, and that she had laughed politely at the stupidity of his joke, which had been in quite bad taste.

Her quiet politeness usually greeted him whenever they worked together. She probably put up with him because the shepherd was the only coworker of the same late-twenties age group. They didn't have much in common, which made workplace conversation awkward at times. And now I'm stuck with her alone for god-knows-how-long.

Both dogs watched the last snow machine headlight disappear into the gaggle of buildings that had the audacity to call itself a town. _Had it really only been that short of a run?_Tom had to laugh at himself and his weak stomach. But then again, he'd also just gotten off an airplane after a flight that seemed more like a pinball machine with wings than anything else.

"What's funny?" Jenna asked, favoring him with a quizzical look.

He shook his head. "Ah, nothing. Just don't think I'm cut out for this last frontier business, s'all. I'm just too good for this sort of place." The cold silence of the surrounding tundra mocked his poor attempt at a joke. "Ok, so I'm a bit of a pansy when it comes to flight and motorized means of transportation that want to kill you."

Jenna, to her credit, smiled. "Would a dog sled have been better? I could always put on that harness you had mentioned."

Tom flinched so hard he thought he might've broken his neck. "Oh, you haven't forgotten that one, have you?"

"No." Her smile took on a cheeky air just for a fleeting moment.

Jenna may be soft-spoken and quiet, but damn can she work in a zinger or two when you least expect it. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

"Nope."

Well shit. The shepherd brought a hand up to cover his face beneath the hood he wore. "I guess I deserve that."

"Not entirely."

"Any chance of redemption?"

She made a show of thinking it over. "Perhaps. I'll have to get back to you on that."

The cold started to get to Tom through all the thick layers of clothing he wore. He drew a deep breath and coughed as the sub-zero temperature stung his lungs. "Want to head inside? I hear there's a nice heater for us to enjoy, provided it works. I'd rather not turn into a dogsicle if I can help it."

The husky nodded and took the lead at his exaggerated sweep of the hand. _Like I was some kind of gentlemen or something. _

The radome structure was a decidedly simple construction. When the two dogs entered, they found a satellite antenna dominating the center of the hollow building. Given the high longitudinal location, the dish itself had to be pointed almost level with the horizon to reach the satellite in orbit over the equator. The rest of the space was taken up by a generator, a bank of backup batteries for the UPS, two racks full of networking equipment, a large space heater, and a hastily arranged living space that was really just two cot beds, a butane stove, and other simple commodities strewn about the floor to give the impression of civilized living.

Tom whistled his approval. "Man, this is a sweet setup. To think that we actually have beds to sleep on. And really, I never needed a toilet or shower anyway. So overrated."

Jenna cuffed him on the arm and moved to one of the server racks. The equipment housed within had seen many long years of service dating back to the early 90s. She ran her hand along the edge of the rack structure, giving each network element and cable run a careful scrutiny. All of it would be replaced with the new equipment they had in boxes outside.

"How's it look?" he asked, getting serious for a moment as he stepped up to her side. The hardware installed had very long and durable lifespans, typically. But the Alaskan climate was a cruel mistress, even with a radome to provide some means of shelter from the elements. "Should be a challenging swap?"

The husky pursed her lips in contemplative silence. "Yes. This won't be easy. But the first sites never are. Once we get a system down, this will go a lot quicker."

"I suppose so." He brought his eyes up to inspect the RF equipment mated to the eleven meter satellite dish, his particular area of assignment. A good portion of the cabling and powered hardware was not in easy reach. "Doesn't this all strike you as a bit ham-fisted though?"

Jenna peeked her head around the back of the rack with splayed ears. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he swept his hand across the entire radome structure around him, "all of this. The last-minute tasking. The lack of schedule. Oversight. This is just." He shook his head, laughing at the stupidity of it all. "I mean, it's fucking Christmas Eve. We're supposed to be enjoying the holiday for fuck's sake. Not have our happy asses flown out to the farthest reaches of this earth to do a fucking site install by the seat of our pants."

The husky's expression wilted more and more with his every word until her grimace stopped him from saying more. Of course there I go again complaining about the job. Not like she doesn't already know how shitty this all is.

After a long pause, where only the hum of the equipment in the rack broke the silence of the dome, Jenna shrugged her shoulders coyly. Her reply carried its typical quiet reserve. "It's not a decision we make."

That's very true. Those inept idiots are back in Anchorage enjoying the warmth of their nice and cozy homes. Tom felt his fists ball up uselessly at his sides and made a concerted effort to calm himself. "I'm sorry. I know I complain too much."

"Misery loves company," Jenna replied sympathetically, and then graced him with a thin smile before ducking back behind the rack. "Least we have heat."

Speaking of. The shepherd wasted no more time crossing back over to slam the radome door shut, sealing off the brutal cold. After a bit of searching he found the controls to the large space heater and flipped a switch to hear the roar of a gas burner light. Pleasant, satisfying warmth soon began to wash over him.

Jenna had not removed herself from behind the rack in the meantime. When he rejoined her, he found the husky combing through Ethernet wire bundles with her tongue poking out the side of her long muzzle, as was her typical expression when in deep concentration. There she goes again.

"Whoever dressed this rack needs a good thumping," she growled. Tangled cables were the husky's pet peeve, and it seemed the rack's previous installer had figured a rat's nest of disarray counted as 'good enough.'

As is the going theme for this entire project. Fixing one hell of a sloppy mess. "At least we're tearing it all out anyway?"

"It's not that simple. I can't tell which cable goes where. They're all the same color." She pulled her lips back to give a hint of fangs, unbecoming of her typical modesty. "A thumping would be too nice."

Tom threw his hands up in defeat. "Just add it to the list of shit that's fucked. Not like they wanted to make this easy on us or anything."

The two of them spent the next fifteen minutes bringing in several of the crates containing their supplies and diagnostic equipment, which unfortunately meant opening the door to dissipate the building heat of the interior. Not all of it could be stored in the radome, though, given the massive dish taking up most of the interior space.

By the time Tom closed and latched the door again at the end of it all, panting with the exertion of moving hundreds of pounds of hardware about, the fleeting dusk of the day had already given way to the seemingly eternal darkness. And it's only 1pm! Why is this place so ass-backwards?

The shepherd took a moment to peer out the small window built into the door to marvel at said darkness. A few seconds later he sensed Jenna's presence ghost up behind him. "Guess we're stuck here now for the night," she remarked.

Tom managed not to start as he felt Jenna slide up against his side. Her closeness came as a surprise, and after a moment of indecision he realized she wanted to take a turn at the window. "Not, ah, much to see. Just the lights of Barrow and utter blackness. Still a manageable walk if we have to get back though, right?"

Jenna took her turn looking. "I don't think I'd want to chance running into a polar bear."

Oh shit... He'd completely forgotten about the wildlife. A fucking polar bear would ruin my day in a hurry. "Are they common out here?" The husky just shrugged, still looking out the window. Neither of them was familiar with Barrow, or Alaska in general for that matter. Like him, Jenna had just relocated from the lower forty-eight. The locals were smart enough to turn this job down.

"We'll have to make do," she breathed, pulling away from the tiny glass that was their only glimpse to the outside world.

"For better or worse." Think I'd rather do without getting eaten by a polar bear. Would be fitting, though. Maybe a nice way to end it if this gets to be too much. He started to think on how amusing that would be for someone to report back to management when...

Something perked Tom's ears.

Something was different. Not wrong, per se, but... off. Yes, something is not right here. He took a careful sniff of the air and picked up on a faint scent, almost not there at all. Whatever it was tingled his nose.

When he turned, he found that Jenna had begun to remove her jacket in the now comfortably warm air of the dome's interior. Her slender and lithe figure, wrapped in a sweater and form-fitting pants, revealed itself from the bulky clothing, holding just the faintest hint of supple curves that Tom had to admit was rather appealing. Most of her white and black fur still remained concealed, but it wasn't hard to start imagining that sleek feminine figure in all its...

Wow... where did that come from?

Jenna saw the shepherd's sudden look of confusion. "Tom?"

"Ah. What?" That tingle in his nose grew more pointed and a flutter welled in his chest. He could feel his long tail wagging of its own accord in the insulating tailsock he wore. Oh, is this? God let it not be that.

"Is something wrong?"

The way the husky's ears fell back told him everything he needed to know. "Jenna? Are you," he tried to find a diplomatic way to phrase his question and failed, "Are you coming into heat?"

And now I made it awkward. Way to go, Tom.

She bit her lip and hesitated, before dropping her gaze to the floor between them. Her reply was almost a whisper. "Yes. For a few days now. I... hoped you might not notice."

"Well, that's ok." The way she recoiled at his words filled him with sudden alarm. "That's ok, right? Like, you can just take your suppressants and be ok?"

She shook her head with curled tail trying its best to tuck between her legs.

Uh oh... "What? Why not?"

"I forgot my meds back in Anchorage. In the rush to pack with the short notice. It just... slipped my mind. I took them this morning. But it's starting to wear off." She had trouble meeting his distressed gaze. "I'm so sorry, Tom. I'm right in the middle of the worst of it too."

Shit. This isn't good._He could feel her scent already starting to mess with him, stirring his body up. He liked Jenna, really he did. But anything more than a friendship between them was never in his cards. Not a coworker. He had sworn never to get involved with a coworker. The shepherd had seen way too many of those relationships go by the wayside. _Think, damnit. What can we do to fix this?

The lightbulb went off in his head. "Ok. They gave us an emergency medical kit. There's gotta be something in there. Has to be. Not like this isn't an uncommon problem, right?" Jenna blinked, and then nodded dumbly. "Can't hurt to look." Oh, please, for the love of god, let there be suppressants. He knew full well how much a female in heat could drive him crazy.

A flurry of frantic searching scattered the contents of several boxes all across the floor of the dome. Jenna watched the shepherd with a grimace, electing to hold her distance. Probably for the better since I'm already getting spun up here. Let's see. Canned food, bottled water, heavy blankets... a shotgun?

Tom had to pull back and do a double-take. Sure as shit, he pulled a pump action shotgun out of the crate to hold it awkwardly in the air, Jenna's heat momentarily forgotten. "The hell is this in here for?"

"Polar bears?"

"Ah, right." He set the weapon next to the door and did the same for a box of shells that came with it. He'd never fired a gun before in his life, and certainly couldn't tell what the make and model of the weapon was. Hopefully it wouldn't be needed. Of course the next thing to be discovered was a can of bear spray--pepper spray on steroids. I guess that puts the polar bear question to bed.

He added the spray to the stockpile at the door and moved to another box. More digging netted him a pile of thick blankets that smelled quite musky and looked to be ancient. They almost masked Jenna's heightened scent. Almost. He set those aside with an idea for later.

Finally the medical box with a welcoming red cross came into view. Jackpot! The shepherd had to resist the urge to tear the box to shreds trying to open it. Survey says...

He found the customary medical aids. Nothing for major trauma that might come with, oh say, getting an arm torn off by a polar bear. Probably wouldn't get a chance to render first aid in that case. Gauze and plenty of bandages of various sizes made up the bulk of the kit. And at the very bottom of the box, the suppressants he so dearly sought. Thank the maker!

"Found 'em!" Tom held up the suppressants for Jenna to see like they'd both just won the lottery. She immediately perked up at the sight, giving him a jubilant wag of the tail until her expression turned to horror. His blood ran cold. "Oh, what's wrong? We have the suppressants?" He looked at the box, half expecting it to be Tylenol. "These should work? Please tell me these will work?"

"I'm... I'm allergic to that brand."

"You're kidding?" At her splayed ears and slow nod of the head, he drew a long breath. Now we're in trouble. "Ok, so we can't use these?"

"No. I would have a serious reaction and need to go to the emergency room."

At least Barrow has one of those. But the trek to the facility was no less perilous than any other location they could try walking to. "Then that's out of the question." He chucked the suppressants aside with an irritated flick of the wrist. "I guess that means we're shit-outa-luck. Not like they keep condoms in a medical kit."

The way she cocked her head at him with a funny look made Tom instantly regret saying that.

"Not that I was thinking that was the only solution," he hastily added, rubbing his head. Why can't I just make myself disappear. Stupid dog. Why would you say that? God, she must hate me.

Jenna seemed to look past his sudden awkwardness. "They probably should. This is a medical emergency after all." She smiled sheepishly as Tom realized his muzzle had fallen open and promptly shut it. "It's hard to fight instincts."

"Yes... but this isn't really the time and place," he managed, suddenly feeling all kinds of uncomfortable. Ok. Ok. Try to think your way out of this, shepherd. "You said you're in the middle of your cycle?"

The way the husky sucked in a hitching breath and visibly tried to steady herself against the server rack spoke volumes. "Yes. It's... it's coming back now. The suppressant is wearing off." She worried her lip a moment, almost seeming to squirm where she stood. "It's getting worse now. I tried to ignore it with the work. But... I don't think I can."

He was seeing the change quite literally starting to take her over. Heat always brought out the worst in women, making them incredibly dangerous. And not in the harmful sort of way too.

"Ok, so we need a distraction." Jenna nodded her agreement. "We have the job to do. What better way to keep our minds busy, right?"

"Ri...right." She blinked. "We should get started."

A particularly strong pang jolted Tom. Goddamnit, I just wanna...

The shepherd growled his frustration and forced himself to walk to the other side of the dome. Jenna thankfully didn't follow him. He ended up next to the secure phone to the network operation center in Anchorage, which hung on the wall just within reach. He wasted no time lifting the handle to let the line ring out, waiting as the signal bounced off the satellite.

A few seconds later, the grainy connection clicked to life with an operator picking up on the other end. "Ops, Gerry speaking."

It took Tom a second to remember where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. "Hey Gerry. Tom here at Barrow. We're on site and fixing to start our installation."

"Tom?" A few seconds too long a pause. "Ah, ok, the contractor. Yes. You're out at Barrow now?"

The shepherd resisted the urge to facepalm. Not like this guy was briefed on this a number of times already. Granted, his only job was to monitor the system status from the control center in Anchorage, but at least he could pretend to know what was going on. "Yes. The schedule has us starting install tomorrow. But I wanted to see if we can get a jump on that this afternoon."

Another long pause, more aggravating than the last. "You're supposed to start the install tomorrow?"

Deep breaths Tom. Don't lose your temper. "Yes. Isn't that what they briefed you on?"

"I don't," the operator paused and was replaced by the sound of papers being hurriedly flipped through. "They did? I don't. No wait, I have this here. Yes. Site upgrade is set to start tomorrow on the 25th. But that request was rejected, I thought?"

The shepherd blinked, and took a moment to stare at the phone receiver in his hand. "What do you mean 'rejected?'"

"Didn't they tell you?"

Oh, here we go..."No, what wasn't I told? I'm out here in Barrow_right now, standing in the _radome. So I'm expecting to be granted approval to start my install."

"That's not what I was told. Washington voided any work through the holidays. Moratorium for the seasonal travel to avoid any possible disruptions. Didn't they tell you?" There must've been a long period of silence from the shepherd, as the operator seemed concerned. "Are you still there?"

Tom banged his head into the bulkhead of the radome. He did it again for good measure. "Yes. I'm still here." Don't know why I am, though.

"You understand that you're not to perform any work over the moratorium, right?"

A heavy sigh. "Tell me why this wasn't communicated to me before I was hustled out here." He felt a little anger starting to creep into his voice and forcefully dialed it back... a little. "We had no plans to work over the holidays. But then suddenly I have a rush tasking from my superiors, and I'm on an airplane out to Barrow_before I even know what the _hell's_going on. And now you're telling me that all of that was for _nothing? That now I'm stuck out here in an icy hell on Christmas Eve because someone didn't get the memo?"

The pause on the other end was deafening. "Yes, that's what I'm telling you. Sorry."

Course you are, not that it's your fault or anything, though. Don't shoot the messenger and all that. Tom wanted to be angry. But he had nothing to vent his frustration on. "So now what am I supposed to do? It's not just me out here. We have the equipment ready to go. What is the earliest we can pull the trigger?"

More shuffling paper could be heard on the other end. "Let's see. Looks like... January 4th is the earliest. I'm sorry. Call your supervisor tomorrow and arrange a flight out. There's nothing that can be done until then."

Tom added a third whamp of his forehead to the bulkhead and hung up the phone without a reply. He could feel Jenna's eyes on his back but couldn't muster the energy to turn around. Just thinking about her now was enough to bring that damned heat back into stark focus.

"That bad, huh?" she asked from the other side of the dome. He just nodded and turned to slide his back against the wall down into a sitting position. "Guessing we're not doing the upgrade?"

"Nope, not this year at least."

The husky took the news like she'd been slapped in the face. "Of course," came her weak reply.

Tom had to avert his eyes. Just looking at her was spinning him up into a frenzy. Not the time to have my hormones going bonkers like this. Her heat had only grown more potent in the confined space of the radome interior. A conscious effort had to be made not to start panting.

"Can we get ahold of the local FAA rep?"

Good idea. Tom whipped out his cell phone and toggled the power button to bring the display to life. No bars... fantastic. "I don't even have a contact number for him."

Jenna did the same with her own phone and shook her head. "I guess we wait until he comes back? When will that be?"

That's the million dollar question. "I don't even know the guy's name for crying out loud. Said he'd be back to check on us later." He punctuated his words with his hands raised in defeat. "I have no idea when 'later' is though."

"So we're stuck?" Jenna clearly wasn't comfortable with that notion, and for good reason.

"Not unless you want to brave that walk back to Barrow." Tom made a point to check the exterior thermostat and cringed at the negative thirty degrees Fahrenheit it indicated. "I don't like that idea."

The husky collapsed onto the floor and reached up to hug her knees. "I don't either." She started rocking back and forth, unable to stop fidgeting.

"Let's hope he comes tonight. If not, can you hold out until tomorrow afternoon when we get some light?"

She worried her lip again with her sharp canines. "I think, I can. I haven't had to experience this in a long time." She pulled her legs against her tighter. "I'm not ready for this."

Neither am I. Tom put on a brave face and made his way around the satellite dish to her side. Her scent immediately assaulted his senses, drowning everything else out. Those baser instincts reared their ugly head, but he pushed past it all, only just maintaining his composure. "When they come, we'll hit up the local pharmacy. Barrow's bound to have at least one with the right brand you need. Can get you all fixed up."

Jenna nodded, still clutching her knees. "It came on so suddenly. I was fine earlier when we first arrived. Thought I'd be ok." She shook her head, still rocking back and forth. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to forget."

"Don't worry about it." Tom thumbed his chest. "This dog is the model of restraint. I'll manage right along with ya." Of course I need to angle myself away from her so she can't see the obvious bulge in my pants. When she looked up to him he smiled over his shoulder with no lack of showmanship, like the good German shepherd that he was.

Her own smile carried a self-deprecating air as she motioned at his semi concealed arousal. "I think a different part of you says otherwise."

Well, fuck. "Sorry. I can't... really help it." He straightened, giving her a perfect view of the generous lump that tented his pants. His instincts were starting to drive him mad, and that seductive look that she wore didn't help. Did she just lick her lips?

Jenna seemed to realize her eyes were lingering below his belt and visibly started. Her ears disappeared against her head. "Not your fault. I'm not helping."

"We need that distraction." He looked around. "Is there any work you can do without touching the system? Anything at all?"

"I could..." She trailed off, deep in thought. "I guess, I could deploy the virtual machines on the new server."

Tom nodded. "Good, do that. We need to keep busy. I don't see any other way to get around this." He moved at that to one of the crates to peel the lid open. Inside, one of the two modernized solid state power amplifiers rested in its protective foam packaging. He quickly began the delicate process of extracting it from the box.

The SSPA did just what the name implied, boosting the carriers coming from the local Barrow services--radar tracking, voice communications, etc--to a C-Band frequency that could then be transmitted over the satellite links back to Anchorage and the other system facilities dotted all across Alaska. The device comprised a critical point of the antenna infrastructure, making it a good starting point for Tom to distract himself. _Might as well give this unit a good once-over._Nevermind the fact that a complete check of the power amp had been done prior to it being shipped out to the site. No, he was willing to ignore that just to find something to occupy himself with.

That incessant heat never released its hold on his nose as he began hooking up a spectrum analyzer to the SSPA. He growled softly, low enough that Jenna couldn't hear him from where she had started messing with the ruggedized server, and tried to force the bad thoughts away. If anything the scent--a spicy, sweet, musky fragrance--had grown stronger, far more potent. His fur felt electrified. Goddamnit I can taste it now!

Tom's hand fumbled trying to make the cable connection to the SSPA output. "Damnit all!" His fist banged against the floor before he could stop himself. Jenna's alarmed whimper brought him back to himself. He tried to reassure her with a look. "I'm sorry. Let my temper get the better of me."

The heat was starting to get to her too, he could see. She panted lightly with tongue poking out of her muzzle, and had trouble holding his regard without her eyes drifting downward. The husky didn't say anything, and apparently decided in that moment that she had to be rid of her sweater and pants.

What is she... oh. Tom couldn't force himself to look away as Jenna unceremoniously tossed the offending clothing to the floor with an annoyed growl, leaving her clad in nothing but a very thin T-shirt and boxer-briefs. His heart skipped a beat; the shepherd's tail wagged eagerly as he drank in the stark black and white fur of her cute lithe figure. She clearly wasn't wearing a bra with her pert little nipples poking through the thin white fabric of her shirt. Jesus Christ! Not helping!

Finally, grudgingly, the shepherd tore his hungry gaze away to stare intently at the nearest bulkhead. "Jenna. Ah, erm."

A subtle whimper perked his long ears. "I was hot. I'm sorry. I needed to do that."

Tom bared his teeth as his vision actually started to tunnel with the flood of hormones inundating his senses. "It's ok. Rah! It's... perfectly ok." Cause that's what you do when you're hot. Strip down to your underwear in front of a coworker. Things had deteriorated rather quickly.

He didn't return to the SSPA and kept his back to her, working to steady his breathing. Goddamn I'm so fucking hard right now my pants are going to rip apart! That heady, musky scent, beautiful and irresistible, hounded him ruthlessly. He didn't dare take off any of his own clothing.

Jenna's pitiful whimper compelled the shepherd to break his staring contest with the wall. He instantly regretted turning back to her.

Her eyes focused on nothing, and her hand had found its way down between her legs as she supported herself against the side of the equipment rack. A distinct wetness in her boxer-briefs could not be missed as her fingers rubbed in a teasing circle against the moist fabric. The husky's almost feral growl met Tom's involuntary one.

The air between them came alive with electric energy. A voice in his head stoked the fire. She's ready for you. The bitch needs a male to sate her hunger. Go over there. Make her yours. Breed her like the stud that you are.

He shook his head, thumping a fist against his ear. "No!"

His outburst snapped Jenna out of her trance. She recoiled back, suddenly realizing what she had been doing. "Oh god, I'm so sorry!" She looked down at herself horrified and bolted behind the rack out of sight.

Tom had to take a moment to collect himself. This isn't going well at all. "Jenna, it's ok. Don't be ashamed. I know what's happening to you." He paused and was met with nothing but the hum of the rack equipment. "Look, you have my solemn promise that, as far as I'm concerned, nothing happened. So don't worry; we're in this together. The only thing Anchorage will know is that we came to the site and they cancelled the install on us. That's a promise."

The husky poked her head out from behind the rack. "What do you mean?"

"I mean." He had to pause and force himself to stop panting.Goddamn hormones. "I mean that none of this ever happened."

"Oh." Her ears remained splayed. "Thanks, Tom. That means a lot to me."

"We should probably keep our distance though," he warned. I'm not sure if I could stop myself.

She nodded slightly and withdrew behind the rack again. "That's probably best. I've already made a fool of myself."

"Don't worry 'bout it."

An uneasy silence took hold as both canines went back to their respective tasks. With his back to Jenna, Tom tried his best to keep the roiling urges at bay. The battle seemed to be a losing one. How long has it been since we last talked? And when is that fucking malamute going to come back? Bastard's probably drunk off his ass in a bar or something. He stole a glance over his shoulder to Jenna, who was clearly struggling with her own task. We need a better distraction.

Turning back to his work, the shepherd dialed in the frequency sweep of the spectrum analyzer and watched the SSPA signal materialize on the instrument screen. "Did you have any plans for Christmas? Before we got shipped up here, that is."

He heard a tool drop to the floor behind him, signaling Jenna's surprise at his words after nearly thirty minutes of silence. "No, not really."

The shepherd felt his shoulders slump. "Me neither. Have no friends or family up here."

Jenna's voice gained a little life. "All back in the lower forty-eight?"

"Yeah. We used to have great Christmases when I was younger." Tom sat back on his butt, letting his thoughts drift back to the past. "Always be up at the crack of dawn. The parents would make us sort the gifts into piles for each person before we set about opening them one at a time. I'd always be embarrassed at how many gifts ended up in my pile." He leaned back and looked over his shoulder. Jenna had sensibly put her pants back on. That thin T-shirt still isn't helping though. "What about you? Any special Christmas traditions?"

The husky gave him a thin smile through the lust-driven haze that clouded her countenance. "Yes. Parents always made us wait until after church. We couldn't touch the presents or anything and it would drive us crazy." Her smile grew. "But what I loved most was the breakfast."

"Oooh, yes." Tom laughed at the memories that brought. His tail thumped against the floor a few times. "I was the egg guy. Every year they always gave me the eggs to cook. You'd think that scrambled eggs would be easy to make, and that anyone could do it. But no, apparently mine were always the best."

"What was your secret?"

He chuckled. "Butter. Just throw in half a stick of butter with at least a dozen eggs and add salt and pepper. Nothing more to it." He mimed using a spatula. "Just make sure to keep an eye on them and constantly stir. That," he held up a finger with a wink, "was my secret."

Jenna's laugh held a musical quality to it that he always enjoyed hearing. She became more animated. "Pancakes for me. Mother had the recipe and passed it down to me. I could whip up a stack that the brothers and father would devour."

"I think the breakfast was the best part. Not the presents. But that morning meal when we all sat down as a family. I always cherished that." He turned to face Jenna anew. "I still do."

"I do as well." She panted lightly for a few seconds before favoring him with perked ears and the inclination of an idea. "I know we don't have much here to make a good meal, but how about we promise to have that breakfast when we get back to Anchorage?"

Her suggestion took Tom aback. "You and me?"

"Yes, shep. I think your eggs and my pancakes would go well together. Don't cha think?"

He mulled it over and then nodded, his heavy tail giving another few thumps of approval on the floor. "That sounds like a great idea. I look forward to it." Speaking of. "But man, I just remembered that I was supposed to Skype with my family tomorrow morning for Christmas. Mother's gonna be pissed when I don't call."

Jenna canted her head in typical canine curiosity. "Do you do that every year?"

"Yeah. Ever since I graduated college and moved away a few years back. It's best to keep up with the family. I don't ever want to lose that connection. Even when I'm five thousand miles away from home and those balmy Florida Christmas days."

In spite of all the current adversity, Jenna laughed again, more heartily this time. "This is a little different than a Florida Christmas."

Tom brought his index finger and thumb together. "Juuuuust a little bit."

"I guess, I can't claim such a dramatic change from my roots in Maryland," the husky remarked. It was good to see her almost back to her old self after the earlier incident. "Although still not as cold as here."

"Not many places are." And I hold fast to my claim that no sane person would live in a climate like this. "So here we are, two canines alone on Christmas Eve out in the middle of nowhere on the last isolated stretches of the world."

"Well," the husky's ears pinned back and her curled tail twitched where she sat. She started to pant again. "I have you to spend it with at least."

"Me? Oh, you could do a lot better than me and my terrible jokes, and my constant complaining about the job."

Jenna actually scowled. "That's not true. I find your company enjoyable." Before he could speak, she stopped him short with a look. "And it's not because you're the only other twenty-something like me fresh out of college. I've heard you say that to others before."

Tom made a point to shut his muzzle, chastised. Me and my big mouth.

She took a moment to gather herself, still warring with the raging urges of her body. "I actually enjoy your crude and silly jokes. Even your Balto one." She had to laugh at the way that made him cringe. "See, that's what I love about you. You and your silliness. It's refreshing when on a job like this. It keeps me going."

Tom found himself at a loss. "Really?"

"I mean every word of it."

Jenna had never been this frank with him before. She had a way of playing things close to the chest, not really letting on her thoughts or feelings in any given situation. He'd never tried to pry into her social life, or engaged in anything other than the occasional banter at work. Is this the heat exerting its influence?

She searched him with a nervous look, showing a little unease. "Are you... are you ok with that?"

The shepherd started, realizing he had gone silent for too long. "Yes, of course I am. I always assumed I got on your nerves. Figured you just put up with me because of the job."

Her subsequent smile took on a wicked air for just the faintest of moments, or so Tom thought. He couldn't be sure. "Far from it. If there's anyone to get stuck in a radome with, it's you."

"Oh." His pointed shepherd ears alternated between splayed and perked a few times before he found words again. "I could say the same. Misery loves company, right?"

"Of course."

Go, go, gadget topic change. "How about you? Do you typically still do anything with the family for the holidays?"

Her playful smirk told that she saw right through his attempted diversion, but she played along anyway. "I do. I actually had a flight booked to head back to Maryland to see them."

"Had?" Don't tell me...

"Yes." She shrugged helplessly and stood to stretch with arms held above the head, giving him a very good view of her pert breasts pressing up against that stupidly thin T-shirt. All those perfect curves and that shapely... Fuck! And I was doing so good too! "They made me cancel it for this assignment."

Tom beat the naughty thoughts away. "You can't be serious?"

She shrugged again. "What could I do?"

"That's not right. How can they get away with that?" He looked down to the SSPA box at his feet. "I can't say that I had any plans myself. But they didn't even ask me either. Why do we put up with this treatment?"

The husky finished her show of stretching. Damnit, she has to be doing that on purpose."The pay is good, isn't it?"

This is true. Not just good, but pretty great honestly. How else would they sucker someone into an isolated hell like this? "Point taken."

Jenna moved to take possession of one of the two cots that served as their beds. The movement only fanned her spicy scent about the dome more, making the shepherd's whiskers twitch as he gripped his thighs forcefully with both hands. "I would've liked to see the family though. I'm not sure if the money's worth it," she spoke softly.

"Maybe we can ask for some time off after we get back to Anchorage?" Tom offered, still desperately clinging to the conversation as a means of distraction.

Jenna sucked in a heavy breath and leaned back against the wall the cot was butted up against, spreading her legs apart. The tip of her curled tail waved back and forth enticingly, inviting him to join her as she lidded her eyes and favored him with a drunken grin. "It couldn't hurt."

The electric tingle in his limbs and fur surged into new life. The shepherd's pants had never felt smaller, or more restricting. He coughed nervously and averted his gaze. Come on, Tom. Think your way out of this. "Gifts! Did you get any gifts for your family?"

Another heavy breath, which resulted in her legs splaying further apart. His imagination started running wild picturing what that lush white and black fur looked like beneath those damnable pants. Her reply exuded provocative charm. "Of course. I always get a little something for the folks and siblings." She shifted and brought a hand up to trace idle claws across the curves of her lean stomach. "Mostly clothing with Alaska themes. What about you though. What does sheppy want for Christmas?"

The question hung heavily in the air with Tom unable to look away from the husky sprawled out on her cot, openly inviting him to take what his instincts so desperately wanted. Shit, I'm losing her... I'm losing myself.

His hands reflexively gripped and relaxed their hold on his thighs, trying to find some avenue for releasing the tension winding tighter and tighter in his body. Finally something gave.

The shepherd stood up in a rush. "I need--I forgot something outside. I need to get it really quick."

Before Jenna could say anything Tom whirled and made for the door. He retained enough sense to pause and don his heavy jacket and pulled the hood up over his ears. The plaintive whimper that came from over his shoulder tugged at him. No! I need to get some air. I can't hold out much longer!

The shotgun felt unnaturally heavy as he hoisted the weapon up, almost dropping it on the first try. He didn't linger to figure out how to load the damn thing and instead shoved a bunch of shells into a pocket of his jacket.

The door didn't budge when he tried the handle. _"_The hell?" Another forceful push with his shoulder did the trick, and then some.

All at once the door flew open and the shepherd's momentum carried his flailing body outside with his startled yelp. Father Winter wasted no time punching him squarely in the gut, before he tripped over his feet and face-planted right into a good foot of snow.

The biting cold, at first, came as a welcomed relief, and for a long pause Tom just lie there in the drift. This is... only fitting. How much worse can this day get?

When he finally did muster the willpower to pull himself up onto hands and knees, the howling bitter wind stole his breath and almost knocked him back down. A storm? Where did this come from? He made the mistake of looking up, and took a face-full of blowing snow that ripped the hood off the shepherd's head. The sky was clear not a few hours ago!

A great effort had to be made for Tom to crawl up against the side of the radome to take partial shelter from the driving wind and snow. There was nothing; the exterior flood lights of the structure only managed to pierce out a few feet before the blizzard's fury swallowed up their radiance. He couldn't see Barrow, couldn't even tell which direction the town even was. And the noise--a haunting, unrelenting howl--filled him with a dreadful fright.

This was a dangerous storm. Even with so many layers of clothing and his own fur, the bitter cold found a way to chill his very bones. He shivered, clutching at his chest, suddenly very aware of how alone and exposed he was. It's like a deserted island. I'm surrounded by an ocean of white with nowhere to go.

A few stacks of crates sat in the building snow drifts around him. He gave each a quick look, wondering if anything could be procured from them to substantiate his excuse for venturing outside. No matter what, he couldn't remain out here long. Anything longer than a few minutes could be lethal; even a relatively naïve Floridian like Tom knew the hazards he faced--but not all of them apparently.

One of the boxes moved. He thought that the wind might've dislodged something, or maybe a drift of snow had blown off the top of a lid.

The shape moved again. No. No, that's not it. The shepherd's heart started to race.

It was white. Big. Very big. Definitely not a crate or a box.

Powers of deduction quickly brought his safety into serious jeopardy. Holy fucking shit, a fucking polar bear! As if the storm alone wasn't bad enough!

His eyes quickly darted about as he froze with his back pressed up against the side of the radome. The shotgun! The fuck did it go?

The weapon lie in the snow just out of his reach from the earlier face-plant, closer though than the door and his only avenue of escape. Carefully, slowly, he started inching his way closer to it. The bear still hadn't seen him yet. If only I could... there!

His foot hooked the weapon's strap and started to pull the gun closer to his reach. He didn't even dare breathe out of fear. Closer and closer still the weapon came to his outstretched hand. Just a little bit more.

A curse inadvertently escaped his muzzle when the butt dug into the snow and the strap slipped from his foot. A jerk of movement snapped his eyes over to the bear, which had stopped rummaging about the crates to look at him. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shiiiiiit!

He threw caution to the wind, literally, and reached the rest of the way to pick up the heavy shotgun. Rounds. I need to load it... how the fuck do I do that?

The slugs came out of his jacket pocket to spill onto the snow at his side. The bear took a step toward him and paused. Its head tilted.

Tom's hand shook from the cold and his rattled nerves as he picked up a round and tried to shove it into the breach. No, that's not it. Where the fuck! He switched to the underside of the weapon and found the loading flap.

The bear took another step toward him, its hulking form materializing more clearly in the floodlights the closer it got. Jesus the thing's fucking huge!

He fumbled with the round, trying desperately to shove the damn slug into the loader. Dumb luck finally helped as he felt it slide into the tubular magazine. The second met equal resistance with his fumbling fingers. "Damnit!"

The bear had grown bolder and closer. He knew better than to get up and bolt for the radome door. If he ran, he became prey. And that could be all it took for the animal to charge before he could tear the door open and shut it behind him. The bear could very easily follow him inside too.

Tom shoved the third round home with better results and decided three shots would have to be enough. Now, next problem. How do I fire this fucking thing?

His eyes darted back and forth between the approaching bear and the weapon--which almost seemed more intimidating than the hulking animal--trying to figure out his next course of action. Never fired a gun in my life. Now I have a polar bear looking at me like I'm dinner.

He rotated the gun from side to side, and found the safety to click it off. What came next was, sad to say, something he had learned from watching too many terrible action movies.

The distinctive double click of a round loading into the chamber gave the bear pause. It stopped ten feet away and regarded him with a curious look. Yeah, that's right. Gun bad. Don't want to fuck with me. He leveled the muzzle at the animal and growled, although the wind stole the vehemence from his verbal warning.

A standoff ensued. Tom kept the gun leveled at the massive animal that could very easily reach out and swipe a paw at him at any moment. So this is what it's like to stare down an apex predator that can easily kill me. Come on, go away. I really don't want to shoot you. I don't think I'm even capable of it.

The cold was starting to get to him now. He had to find a way to get back indoors. Of course this bear probably had something to say about that.

A quick glance to the radome door showed that Jenna had not come to his rescue. She probably didn't even know he was in trouble.

He started to inch himself toward the door, keeping his gaze locked on the predator. The bear still didn't move, and just stared him right back. If you're not going to leave, at least stay there until I get inside.

As if hearing his thoughts, the beast took a cautious step.

"No, don't you fucking dare!" Tom yelled. Again the howling wind didn't help. "Back off!"

Another step. Oh, come on! The last thing I ever want to do is kill an endangered species.

He kept up his slow gradual creep, sliding on his butt with the structure still pressed up against his back, being mindful not to pinch his tail. The gun shook in his hand. He had to take the shot... if he didn't the bear could lunge at any moment and kill him before he could even react.

Now the polar bear stood no more than four feet away. Tom could literally reach out and touch the damn thing's nose! His index finger twitched on the trigger. Last chance! Run you dumb bastard! And then it happened.

The animal reached out and poked the muzzle of his shotgun with its nose, taking a deep whiff. He watched the confusion play out in its expression, his own dumb surprise leaving him incapable of anything.

Another beat, and the bear licked the gun's barrel, almost jarring the weapon from his shaky grip with its massive tongue. He got a fleeting glance of teeth that were far, far too large for his comfort.

And then, only to add to Tom's growing amazement, the bear sat back on its haunches and just stared at him, as if to say 'your move, mate.'

The gun inexplicably lowered in his hands. "What are you doing?" Of course it didn't answer him, and just tilted its head with another cautious sniff. He didn't wait around to see what the animal planned to do next.

Blindly, he felt behind him for the door's handle and had to bite back a giddy laugh of relief when he felt his glove close around the cold metal. A slow and cautious turn should've let him pull it open, but that fucking howling wind pushed back against his efforts. Oh come one. Just... open already! I don't have a Coke, buddy, so stop giving me that look!

A little too much force won the struggle against the blizzard, jarring the door open with a sudden motion. Tom held his breath and waited for the bear to pounce, only to be surprised again as the animal held its ground.

His escape route was in reach, and the German shepherd took it, sliding himself up and around the partially open door to slam it shut behind him decisively. The even warmth of the interior washed over him as he sunk down onto his knees and exhaled pure relief. The shotgun clattered to the floor at his side. Holy shit!

And then Jenna's heat slapped him rudely in the face. I just traded one predator for another...

Not just her heat; the shepherd's ears perked at the lewd noises coming from over his shoulder. I'm going to regret looking back, aren't I?

Sure enough, Tom's jaw dropped to the floor when he did chance a look back to where he'd last left Jenna sitting on one of the cots. Every wild imagination that had popped into his head since this mess had started did no justice to the scene that presented itself with the husky completely naked on the bed. Mother of God...

That lush snow-white fur of her face and muzzle did indeed work its way down her front across the husky's petite breasts and hard pink little nipples. It flowed elegantly across her waist, hips, and thighs down along the underside of her curled tail to meet the black of her backside--thick and plush, and no doubt pleasantly soft to the touch.

But the shepherd's gaze did not linger on any one of those captivating features, nor the husky's half lidded eyes, panting tongue, and splayed ears. No, what held his rapt attention were her two thrusting fingers splaying the outer petals of her slick pussy, each plunge right up to the knuckle met with her arching hips and her breathless whine.

That electric fire in Tom's body exploded into an outright inferno. He tried and failed to look away, subtly whimpering as he imagined his own rock hard cock taking that tight cunt. Before he knew it the button of his pants had mysteriously come undone, leaving the zipper to fight the battle against his raging erection alone.

The husky's pace built to a fevered pitch. Her other hand went down to rub at the tiny nub of her clit, sending her doggy vocalizations to a new high. She rocked against her thrusting digits, panting, growling, whimpering. It all blended together into an enthralling symphony of a needy bitch in heat, punctuated by the rhythmic squelching of her diving fingers that grew wetter by the second. Tom couldn't tear himself away; his hand trekked downward without him even noticing.

Jenna's efforts reached the pinnacle moment. She bit her lip, whole body going rigid as her thrusting digits hilted in her sopping cunt. "Tom!" She cried out, eyes screwing shut as the throes of release overtook her. Her hand rubbed against her clit urgently as the husky's toes curled. She hissed through clenched teeth, caught up in the heat induced bliss of the moment.

Tom watched it all in shocked silence, his own tongue lolled. He saw every sensual wave of ecstasy wash through her trembling body, ending with a subtle kick of her spread feet and a jerk of her tail. He wanted her. He wanted that heat for his own. He wanted to be the source of that wondrous pleasure. It was only then that the shepherd perceived his hand stroking his length through his tented boxers, which had somehow sprung free from his pants.

The high soon seemed to come down for Jenna as she collapsed back onto the cot in a fit of breathless pants. He could see that her bodily hunger wasn't satisfied, how her eyes still held frustration and annoyance for the heat that relentlessly assaulted her senses even after her climax.

Jenna finally noticed the shepherd's presence--more specifically his hand gripping his erection through the thin fabric of his boxers--and regarded him with perked ears and a wag of her tail. She kept her legs spread and looked to the dog with a feral hunger that beckoned him. "Tom. I can't take this anymore." She wriggled her hips, squirming uncomfortably. "I need you. Please. Take me." She pinned her ears all the way back and dipped her muzzle to look up at him with a pitiful whimper. "Please help me. I want you."

He sucked in a heavy breath as she reached down to splay her outer petals with a hand, giving him all the open invitation he needed. He could see just how matted the surrounding fur between her legs was.

The German shepherd took a step forward and stopped. No! I can't. It's not right!

She saw his hesitation and whined, giving him a wag of her tail as she spread her legs even further apart. "Please, Tom," she almost whispered. "Take me as yours."

He backed up, a war raging on within him. "No. I can't, Jenna." Another step back as his better judgement gained a slight upper hand. "You're not yourself right now."

Something snapped in Jenna. She sighed, and then got to her feet in one fluid motion, making sure to give the shepherd the best possible view as she did. Her eyes became predatory and a low growl built in her throat.

"Jenna?" He took another step back. Not good. "Jenna?"

She said nothing, just advanced on him with that wicked glint in her sapphire eyes.

"Jenna, please..." He backed up again and smacked into the door. She loomed closer, her scent filling his nose like never before. His gaze kept drifting lower, drinking in the husky's perfect body that he could easily reach out and touch. God damnit, I just want to rail her!

He stole a look through the door's window to the raging storm outside. And of course Mr. Polar Bear has to be chilling right there like 'hey, remember me?'

The next beat had Jenna press her bare fur up against him. She only came up to his shoulders, but that didn't stop her from leaning up on her tip toes to waft her hot breath into his perked ear. "Come on, shep. Make a move."

This close he could catch just a hint of the flowery shampoo she used through the raging hormones that very nearly shattered the last of his waning willpower. Her body was so tantalizingly close that her heat radiated through his clothing and fur, fueling the fire that smoldered within. This is the same husky that's always soft spoken and mild-mannered!

She brought a claw up to trace along the hem of his exposed boxers above the shepherd's open pants. "I've wanted this for so long."

That made him start, momentarily shaking off the haze that had clouded his judgment. But before he could speak she placed that same claw against the tip of his opened muzzle and leaned in to lick his whiskers once.

The last ebb of his restraint finally broke; Tom wrapped his arms around the beautiful husky girl and pulled her against him. His hands moved on their own, running fingers up and down the small of her back, groomed nails working groves through the silky soft black fur there.

He growled into her perked ear before giving it a playful nip of his teeth. "You win."

Jenna shuddered with excitement in his arms and leaned up to bathe his muzzle and whiskers in eager submissive licks, splaying her ears back to look unbearably cute as she did. Her scent took on new life, mingling with his own arousal. Rah, fuck!

The shepherd held back, barely, and settled for tilting his head down to find her needy lips. Through canted muzzles the dogs met in a passionate kiss. His tongue wrestled with hers through their parted lips, raking along her sharp teeth, exploring the husky's maw zealously.

She murred, rolling her hips against his body to grind her heat-soaked fur up against the thin fabric of his tented boxers. Tom growled in turn, his hands reaching down to grip at her tight ass, groping and pulling her against him. His cock throbbed angrily, feeling that welcoming heat so close and yet so far away. A dabble of pre appeared at the tip to mat his boxers.

He couldn't have stopped himself if he tried now; pure feral instincts drove the shepherd on.

The kiss broke in breathless pants. He took the chance to hurriedly shed his jacket, tossing the heavy clothing to the floor without a single care. Jenna's hands fondling at his erection through his boxers didn't make removing his pants and tailsock as easy. I'm gonna pop a nut really quick at this rate!

Only the boxers in question remained after a moment of fumbling, letting the brown and black fur of Tom's tall and slender build stand out in the interior lighting of the radome. Jenna's approving grin and lick of her chops didn't give him enough warning before she hooked a claw around the hem of said underclothing and pulled, tearing the boxers to shreds to finish the job.

His painfully hard cock sprang free to pulse readily between them with his knot already partially swollen at the base; the sheer relief made him forget about his annoyance at having his clothing ruined.

She whined at the sight, her eyes fixated on his crimson tapered length in all its shepherd glory. "Oh, so big." Another predacious curl of her tongue across her lips. "Just like I'd hoped."

She advanced on him again; Tom had other ideas. "No, you teased me enough!"

He wrapped her up in his arms again, meeting her muzzle in another fiery kiss as his doggy cock pressed up between them to smear a bit of his pre into her white belly fur. The smaller husky knew her place and surrendered to his dominance, melting into his embrace.

He couldn't keep his hands off her. His fingers worked and caressed all over her supple rump, giving a playful tug of her thick tail, not letting her escape. The kiss broke again and Tom wasted no time guiding Jenna over to the blankets he'd found and discarded on the floor earlier. Gonna get some use out of these.

She licked at his neck and muzzle, her tail wagging like a pup who'd just unwrapped that special Christmas gift. He responded to her cute display of affection with an approving growl and shoved her down onto the blankets.

Jenna obeyed his silent command without question and looked up to the German shepherd looming over her with splayed ears and tongue lolled playfully out the side of her muzzle. She gave him a quiet little ruff and spread her legs as an open invitation to take her hot and ready cunt.

"You devilish dog," Tom growled. "Are all you software engineers this horny when in heat?"

She clicked her teeth at him. "Only when I have a strapping stud of a dog to fuck me sideways." She reached down to splay her sodden pussy lips again. "Take me. Give me that cock!"

To hell with the consequences! Tom pounced on the husky bitch with a predatory snarl, pinning her to the blankets. He bit down on her exposed neck to let her know who was in charge, his hands reaching up to hold hers down on her either side. Her heady scent and intimacy stoked the red-hot fire as he rocked his hips to grind his raging erection between her legs, matting the husky's already soaked fur of her inner thigh with a streak of pre.

The shepherd's instincts screamed at him; all he wanted to do was thrust forward like a feral animal and claim her heat for his own. And yet he managed to resist the overpowering urge and instead released his hold of her neck fur to slide downward. A need to pay back the husky for all this trouble came first and foremost. Time to turn the tables!

Jenna's hitching breath perked his pointy ears when his muzzle found the soft bare flesh of her nipple. He gave the sensitive nub a lap of his tongue, teasing it into beautiful hardness before leaning down to suckle gently to the giddy whimper of the husky girl beneath him.

His hand moved to cup her other petite breast, fondling the supple orb that fit in his palm perfectly. Between muzzle, tongue, and massaging fingers he teased her ruthlessly, enjoying every canine whimper and moan that escaped her muzzle and every impatient squirm of her body. "Tom! Oh... please! Stop tormenting me!"

He grinned to himself and switched sides, making sure to give her other pert nipple the same sloppy treatment with his muzzle. The husky was by no means busty; but he loved that about her. A short, diminutive dog who had just enough curves and figure to be perfect in his eyes. He never would've imagined the very same woman he'd first met a month ago would be spread eagle beneath him right now, her bare fur all his to do with what he wanted.

Jenna's words came as a half-bark. "Rah! Just stick it in me already!"

"I will," he teased. But first! He finished his torturous licks of her breasts and gave her stiff nipple one last blow of his cool breath to make her cringe and wriggle beneath him.

"Evil!"

Tom just smiled and slid further down her perfect figure, not wasting any more time. The husky uttered a surprised bark as he shifted up into a sitting position on the blanket, reaching over to pull her back with him into his lap.

Her confused look made him laugh when she looked up to him, her legs ending up dangled over his shoulders and her thick fluffy tail teasing his rock hard cock between them. The bitch's heated cunt hovered just within reach of his hungry muzzle. "Your scent's been driving me crazy. I..." He drew a labored breath, filling his nose with nothing but Jenna's honeyed arousal. "I gotta have a taste."

Her reply cut off into another startled bark when he parted his muzzle to lick all along her wet pussy. The husky's whole body went stiff as a board as he gave her lips another eager lick, sliding his broad canine tongue all along her slit. Awesome! Simply awesome!

Tom's life as an engineer had not afforded him many opportunities to fuck the fairer sex. What few chances he'd taken had always ended up being awkward in one way or the other. But he'd learned from his mistakes and knew now just how to push the husky's buttons. This was the first chance he had to eat out a dog in the middle of her heat and he damn sure was going to make the most of it!

He couldn't get enough of her; the shepherd's tail wagged excitedly as he lapped at her succulent cunt, splaying her outer lips with each stimulating slurp. The way her ears splayed back and her eyes lidded with the husky's enchanted moan goaded him on. He let his instincts--and many years of porn watching--guide him, holding her hips firmly but lovingly in his grasp. Her tail wagged faster and faster, brushing against his crimson length, adding tingly thrills of pleasure to the joy of eating her out.

"Oh, Tom. Yes, lick my cunt!" Jenna threw her head back and groaned pure unadulterated pleasure. Her hands reached out to seize the blankets in a death grip as she held on for dear life, her tongue spilling out of her muzzle as she panted between cries of passion.

Tom pressed his cold nose against her clit and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath and a surge of her hips against his muzzle. He followed it up with a teasing kiss of his lips against the tender nub, giving rise to the husky's sharp bark. "Yes, right there. Oh god, yes!"

Through all the roiling emotions the shepherd managed to grin. Why didn't I do this sooner? He went in for the kill, parting his muzzle to shoot his probing tongue deep into the writhing husky's hot snatch. He was rewarded with a strong arch of her back and her legs closing around his head to hold him against her.

Her scent, her taste, her heady moans--all of it filled him with carnal delight. He prodded deep into her heated folds, curling and scraping against every inch of her tight pussy as he started to muzzle fuck her proper.

Every bob of his head, every thrust and jab of his tongue, sent the husky reeling in his lap. He could feel that amazing peak of hers starting to approach. Her body tensed more and more with each passing moment. Almost!

"Tom. Tom!" Jenna tried to find words and failed. She fell back against the blanket and clamped her eyes shut, biting her lip. Her hands went to his head and pushed him deeper into her needing cunt. "So... close! Fuck!"

The husky's climax spilled over suddenly, violently. She cried out, her whole body going completely rigid.

Tom felt her tense and buried his muzzle as deep into her trembling pussy as he could, shooting his tongue out to twist and grind against her folds. She bent over him, whimpering with the sensual waves of pleasure that flooded forth.

He drank in her release hungrily, enjoying her taste and reveling in her euphoric bliss. The husky in his lap was a right mess, yipping and barking, her body thrashing in his grip--far from her normal reserved self. He continued to bob his head, prolonging her high as long as he could. Hearing her so caught up in her climax was like sweet, sweet music to his keen ears.

Tom had no way of really knowing how long her release lasted. Some undetermined time later, he felt her body go slack in his grasp. The delicious nectar of her release slowly trickled away, until the shepherd pulled his muzzle back to lap at her pussy lips, getting every last bit he could get at.

Jenna's appreciative whimper gave voice to her giddy delight. "Tom, oh, shep. Wonderful!" She shuddered, her hands still holding his head between her splayed legs. "I need more. Please, fuck me already! I can't take much more!"

He pulled back and licked his lips, savoring the last delectable taste of her release. Her heat burned like an ever present inferno in his mind, unfazed by his efforts. He knew what had to be done; they both did.

Jenna leaned up with some difficulty to lick at his muzzle. The husky only just managed to give voice to her deeper desires. "Please, Tom. You know what I want."

He obliged; he was done prolonging what they both dearly wanted.

There's only one way to properly fuck a software engineer. He grabbed her neck scruff and coaxed her up to stand unsteadily alongside him as he did the same. His cock ached to finish what his muzzle had started.

She whimpered at his commanding gesture, but obeyed. He kept his hold on her scruff, and guided the husky over to the equipment rack. Another curt gesture showed her what he wanted.

Jenna gave him another soft ruff at his request and reached out to grip the rack's sides with both hands. She looked back over her shoulder and leaned down, hiking her rump up toward the shepherd with curled tail flagged high and to the side. Her wanting eyes left nothing to the imagination what she needed from him. Oh, yes. I like.

Tom didn't hesitate. He moved to her and mounted the husky from behind properly as dogs were wont to do, spreading his stance to line up the prize. Instinct guided him as he wrapped hands around her presented hips, saddling up behind the bitch in heat to rub his cock between her inner thighs beneath that nicely flagged tail of hers. He felt just a fleeting hint of her slick cunt brush against his tapered tip and shook uncontrollably.

Jenna's smaller stature made it easy for the shepherd to loom over her bent figure, asserting his claim of her heat. He shifted his hips and thrust forward ferally, just missing the mark to grind his cock up under her flagged tail. He growled his frustration and leaned over the bent husky to nip at her neck scruff. "Arw, hold still!"

She responded by looking back and whining like a good little dog, shaking her rump to rub the underside of his cock against her heated lips. "Give it to me!"

He didn't need to be told twice. With the husky bracing against the server rack, he thrust his hips forward again and buried himself shamelessly into her needing folds, hilting in one desperate motion all the way past his partially swollen knot to the brown fur of his bunched sheath.

They cried out together, both dogs tilting their heads back with splayed ears as slick hot tightness draped itself around Tom's crimson length. He pulled back and rocked forward again, losing himself to his baser instincts. Finally! Oh God, finally. "Oh yes!"

His pace built, each surge of the shepherd's hips pounding his cock into the reeling husky beneath him. He gave her every inch of his doggy length, sinking the beginnings of his knot into her wet pussy lips with an audible squelch. His heavy balls slapped against her clit rudely on each stroke, just waiting for the chance to unleash the shepherd's pent up cum.

Jenna's cries took on colorful oaths that perked his ears and quickened his pace. Each thrust of his hips jolted her tiny body, shaking the rack that she braced herself against. It's a seismically rated rack. Good to test out its durability.

Tom was beside himself, caught up in the heady delight that each thrust of his cock into her sopping, tight folds brought. He wanted more. He wanted to fuck her harder. He wanted to knot her and fill her full of his potent seed. He wanted the husky's heat all to himself. All of it!

His hands released her hips and moved forward. They found her pert bouncing breasts and fondled each, letting him feel his every frenzied thrust jolt through her body. Jenna's impassioned cries took on a new heightened edge. She grew tenser and tenser beneath him, until her ears flattened against her head and her lips peeled back to flash fangs in a snarl. "Rawr! Fuck!"

Her third climax of the night flooded through her trembling body in a raging torrent. Tom bit his lip as her tight doggy cunt clenched rhythmically around his pounding length, trying to draw him deeper into her, imploring the male looming over the husky to empty his potent seed into the her unprotected womb.

Tom panted with his ever quickening tempo, his hips pounding against her rump in a frenzied blur. He felt Jenna's peak linger, still squeezing him mercilessly. In spite of his raging drive to knot the husky, the shepherd's legs started to grow weak from his awkwardly bowed stance.

With Jenna's high receding away, Tom pulled back and let his cock spill from her husky cunt to throb irately. The pause gave both dogs a chance to catch their breath with tongues lolled.

Her release coated his cherry flesh; the shepherd brought a hand up to stroke along his slickened length, marveling at how wet the husky's heat had made her.

That thought was only fleeting. Just as Jenna looked back over her shoulder with a questioning regard, he forcefully spun her around by the shoulder to face him. "Let's get more comfortable," he grinned with a flash of teeth.

A small step stool was nearby, used by techs to reach the upper portions of the equipment racks. An extended foot by the German shepherd scooted the plastic step over so he could shove it up against the side of the rack.

Jenna got the idea with a crooked smirk and stepped up with one foot on top of the stool. Tom took care of the rest, lifting her other leg up with a hand hooked under the thigh to bring the husky's pussy right up to his painfully hard length. He pushed her back forcefully against the rack, rocking it on its foundation as he snarled possessively in her ear. Another seismic test can't hurt.

That slick inviting heat wrapped around his cock again as he sunk himself back into her needy folds. With Jenna's back pressed up against the rack panel, he buried himself again, letting her wrap her arms around his back to hang on.

Her intimacy in this position let him nip and bite at the side of her neck as he started rocking his hips again. The husky's keening whimper right into his ear held the perfect musical note as he relished how her pert breasts pressed into his chest and her body's heat fused with his own through their fur. Her flowery scent assaulted his nose as potently as ever.

Faster the shepherd's hips pounded into her. He let gravity help, supporting almost all of her weight in his grasp as he kept the bitch pinned against the side of the rack. The lewd slurping and sucking of their mating grew wetter by the second, mingling with both dogs' impassioned grunts and whimpers.

The clanging of the rack grew louder as well, giving sharp punctuation to Tom's fervent thrusts up into the quivering husky pinned against the structure's side. His loins began to grow tight; the shepherd's massive knot started to swell with the crescendo of his passionate mating.

Jenna beat him to the punch; the husky bit down on his shoulder, smothering her intoxicated whine into his fur as she cried out in the throes of another powerful heat-stoked climax. Her body shook in his hands, her wet pussy clamping down on him powerfully once more, squirting her release onto the shepherd's crotch fur.

The pressure built to a zealous pitch. Each stroke came with greater and greater difficulty as his knot grew, popping brusquely in and out of her tight lips. The tie loomed; he strived for it... but no. This wasn't right.

His pace slowed, and eventually stopped. After a moment Jenna peeled open an eye to regard him as she let go of his shoulder. Even after multiple climaxes her heat was clearly not sated yet. She tried to hold his eyes through the haze of crazed emotions, exhaustion, and carnal longing. "Oh... what's... did you cum?"

Tom shuddered and shook his head. "No, I want to finish this right." He slowly pulled his aching cock from her folds, inwardly astonished at how matted her surrounding fur was with the husky's sweet nectar. His tail wagged as he licked at her whiskers, before letting her come down off the side of the rack. A not so subtle jerk of his muzzle drew her panting gaze to the blankets that they'd started out on. He didn't say anything, just let a low growl build in his throat.

Jenna licked her lips. She knew what he wanted. There was only one proper way to breed a bitch in heat.

The husky moved to the blankets and dropped down on all fours. She made a show of prancing about, barking eagerly at Tom with a wag of her curled tail. Oh, god damnit that's hot! She finished the flourish with her rump pointed at him and looked back over the shoulder with heady pants, eyes full of lust and longing. The husky barked again and hiked her tail high, showing off those beautiful pussy lips once more. "Come on, shep. Finish in me. Knot me nice and good." And that's fucking hotter!

Tom snarled and moved to mount the waiting husky girl from behind, falling to his knees to hump against her presented ass. His hands wrapped around her waist, letting the shepherd loom over his smaller bitch to bite her scruff in quite the satisfying way. Her heat drove him onward, unleashing his pure animalistic urges.

She yipped beneath Tom, submitting to his dominance again as he thrust blindly against her rump. He fumbled to find her tight cunt again, to bury himself all the way to his bunched sheath and fill her to the brim with sheppy cock.

A subtle shift, and his tapered tip found the prize he so desperately sought. The shepherd rammed forward with all his might, taking Jenna's heat one more time. Oh, fuck yes! Perfect!

He humped against her haunches a dog possessed, pounding his tapered tip deep into her. His balls slapped against her clit purposely to stoke her pleasure to a new high. The male's passionate grunts and growls around her scruff in his jaw were punctuated by Jenna's hitching breath and heady moans beneath him.

He held that scruff with a firm but loving bite, not letting go to relish every jolt of her body from his untamed rutting of her tight pussy. He felt his knot swell again, each thrust becoming more difficult to signal the impending tie. The energy within surged to a new high, twisting him tighter and tighter. Nothing mattered beyond that one feral craving to knot the fertile dog beneath him.

He pulled her back against him now, meeting his every surge with her haunches to add more vehemence to the wet slurping of his knot popping in and out of her harshly. Jenna was gone, lost to the bodily pleasure. She didn't resist him, didn't move at all. Only his bite on her scruff kept her from collapsing onto her face on the blanket.

The husky whined louder, simply overcome. Tom finally did release his hold on her neck to let her fall forward. He straightened up with a savage snarl and thrust into her cunt with everything he had.

The shepherd's knot met that final apex moment of resistance, grinding against her lips one final forceful time. A satisfying pop and a sharp bark from the husky below met the simple carnal elation of feeling his knot slip within to lock them together, bringing their mating to a head.

He pounded her like nothing before as much as his damming knot allowed, feeling his balls tighten and the impending peak loom ever closer. _So close! So fucking close!_He never thought of the consequences, never even cared.

Jenna's hitching breath beneath him faltered in that moment, and ended in a long winded whine as she surrendered to her most potent climax yet.

He felt her go taut beneath him and tried to hold out as long as he could. Her folds squeezed him hard, enveloping his cock in warm and wet vise-like tightness. No use!

Tom gave one last fervent buck and squeezed his eyes shut, driving his tapered tip directly into her vulnerable womb. His body teetered on the ragged edge and then careened over the cliff headlong into an earth-shattering high.

He tilted his head back with ears pinned and only managed a weak groan as his furry balls jerked and his cock twitched, shooting the first thick creamy spurt of shepherd cum deep into her heat-soaked womb. Another followed, more powerful than the last. Again and again his balls jerked and his cock gave a gush of the dog's potent seed.

He rode out the high with her, thrusting weakly against her trembling body. That extraordinary high remained, grew stronger, and consumed all. He never came so hard in his life, relishing each burst of sensual pleasure that rocked his body to its very core.

For a long astonishing spell the shepherd and husky basked in their climaxes together as the male pumped Jenna full of everything his heavy balls had to offer. His groan faded away and was replaced with a weak whimper that joined hers. The surging pleasure washed everything away. He didn't want it to end.

Tom wasn't sure how long they remained frozen like that, before his spurts of shepherd cum tapered away and the high gradually faded into one hell of a euphoric afterglow. He panted with exhaustion and bodily satisfaction, still holding himself against Jenna's unsteady haunches. Holy hell... awesome. Simply awesome.

Jenna drew an unsteady breath and almost lost her balance beneath him. The shepherd came back to himself and leaned down to wrap his arms around her waist, supporting some of her weight.

With her muzzle lying on the blanket sideways, Jenna puffed her cheeks in a long exhilarated sigh and managed to look back up at him, fighting the urge to pant and losing. "So wonderful."

The shepherd felt his own strength fading and started the awkward process of lying down to the side with the husky. The motion tugged on his knotted cock, and he couldn't help but moan as his tapered tip gave a few more weak spurts of cum to add to the copious amount filling her sated womb.

They ended up cuddled together on the blanket with Tom curled up against the husky's backside, both dogs panting as they fought for breath in the intervening lull of their passionate mating. For a time he simply listened to the hum of the equipment in the server rack. I guess it passed the seismic tests.

With his instincts finally satisfied, Tom slowly started to piece together the consequences of his actions. Strangely, he wasn't all that concerned. Sure, he'd just fucked Jenna's brains out at the pinnacle of her heat, but there was always the morning-after pill. There had to be something they could purchase in Barrow to take care of that.

He refocused his gaze to the back of Jenna's head. Her ears were partially splayed, and her side rose and fell with her panting in a decidedly cute way. Maybe I can break that coworker rule of mine after all.

The shepherd leaned over to lick at one of her folded ears, making it twitch as she started against him. "You ok?" He asked softly, snaking his hand around her side to start rubbing his fingers in gentle strokes across her soft belly fur.

She drew a breath. "Yes. I... really enjoyed that." He could feel her tail trying to wag between their bodies. "I'm sorry though."

He shushed her with another lick of her ear. I like doing that, actually. "Don't worry about it. We can get a morning-after in town when they come get us." He kept on licking her ear when she didn't reply.

After an appreciative murr escaped her muzzle, Jenna managed to speak again in a soft voice. "I need to get this off my chest, Tom."

At this he stopped to blink. "What do you mean?"

"I..." He could see her bite her lip. "I didn't exactly forget my meds."

Tom was silent for a pause. "What do you mean?"

"I--I know this was stupid--but I left them in Anchorage on purpose." She started to look back at him and then changed her mind. Her gaze instead fell to the blanket beneath her. "I've always wanted to... get to know you more." She seemed to gather more courage. "But I never had the nerve. So I thought, maybe, if I let my heat take over, I'd find that nerve."

The German shepherd took this revelation in contemplative silence. He shifted without thinking and felt his knotted cock hold him firmly against her rump. "That's a pretty brazen plan," he finally managed. Then a laugh came from his muzzle, both for the silliness of their predicament and how wrong he'd been about the husky. "And here I thought you hated my company."

Her ears had wilted at his laugh. They perked back up again at his words that had followed. "I realized it was a dumb idea when we got out here. But it was too late. I don't know what I was thinking."

He licked her ear again, showing the husky just what he thought. "It's ok. I enjoyed this." He wriggled his hips, causing his knot to shift so that they both shared in a moan together. "I never was good at reading others. Lucky me that you decided to be rash. I never thought I'd end up knotted with a beautiful husky like yourself."

She finally allowed herself a wan smile. "You're being too kind. I'm not that good looking."

He bit at the tip of her ear playfully. "You kidding? You're perfect in every way. Mostly because you put up with my bad jokes." His hand on her stomach moved up to cup her pert breast to toy with the stiff nipple. "It's not about looks for me. I never made a move because I was afraid about workplace relationships. It was a silly thing to be concerned about. You showed me that just now."

Jenna sighed at his teasing. "You do have bad jokes."

"I try," he chuckled. "I only regret the Balto one. That was stupid on my part."

Now it was Jenna's turn to laugh in her typical musical way that he always loved. "What? You think I was offended by that?" He saw a grin work its way across the corner of her muzzle. "What's to say that I don't like putting on a harness to mush for you?"

Tom's eyebrow arced so high it almost came off his face. "What does that mean?"

"It means that, maybe, I'm not so innocent as you seem to think."

Well damn. Point fucking taken there. "You're full of surprises."

Another grin from the husky, more devious than the last. "Good ones, I hope?"

"Oh, yes. I think I could grow to like this new side of you."

She reached up to stroke a teasing finger along her pussy lips, tracing the outline of the shepherd's knot that kept them locked together. "The night's still young, yet. I don't think you've quite satisfied me. The burning itch is still there."

Tom licked his lips. "Yeah?"

"If we're going to get that morning-after pill tomorrow, then why don't we make the most of tonight?" The way she asked the question so innocently made the suggestion all the more provocative.

"Why not? Not like we can do any install work anyway. And don't get me started on the damn polar bear."

***************

The next morning, Tom roused from his slumber at the sound of a high revving engine cutting off just outside the radome door. For a moment he forgot where he was, until the lump of black and white fur cradled up against his side stirred to life.

Jenna's eyes fluttered open as she rolled over to rest her chin on the tawny fur of his bare chest. She smiled when he planted a kiss on the tip of her cute little nose. "Morning," he greeted. I could get used to this.

She leaned up to kiss him on the lips briefly. "Morning, right back."

Both dogs looked to the door, where some muffled commotion could be heard from just outside. Figures he picks now to come back.

Tom didn't move to find his clothing. Neither did Jenna. They were well and truly caught. The radome reeked of their scents and the many sensual escapades they'd enjoyed together over the long hours of the night. Any dog with half a nose would know what was up even if they had been dressed.

A harsh metallic clank announced the turning of the door's handle. And when the malamute FAA supervisor stepped through the threshold, a long and awkward silence took hold.

What he came across was the two dogs wrapped up in the blankets, clearly naked, but at least mostly covered. The malamute's nose wrinkled. He obviously understood what they'd been up to. "Ah, so, yah. I got a call from Anchorage asking for an update on the work. Uh... apparently you're not 'posed to be doing anything, right?" He scratched his head, at a loss. "Couldn't get back out here 'til now, what with the storm. I hope you two are... ok? They want an update from me here real soon."

Tom thought quickly. With Jenna wrapped up against his side, he brought a hand up above the blanket to motion to the malamute. "I'll make you a deal right here and now." The outstretched hand motioned to the dome space around him. "This never gets mentioned or written up in a report. We just spent the night without any issues, ok? In return, I go back to Anchorage and report that you kept an eye on us the whole time, like you were supposed to, and everything was hunky dory. That and we need a lift to the local pharmacy right now. Do we have a deal?"

The malamute thought it over briefly, and then nodded. "Aye, deal. I'll, erm, leave you two to get decent." With that he removed himself from the radome rather hurriedly.

In the silence that followed, Jenna licked at Tom's whiskers. "Merry Christmas, shep. When we get back, we're making that breakfast you'd promised me."

Tom smiled and got up to get dressed. "Deal."