Is this destiny?

Aiden was walking toward the clearing, with his target being the helicopter. In his mind, as soon as they arrive, they will confirm who is going with him and they will head out.

Everyone will want to go. Bo, Souta, and Wing are eager to reunite with Master Hollow, and Nala and Haru don't want to stay here by themselves. Haru brought Nala here for two reasons, one is to meet the people with whom he grew up, and the other one is for her to see the place where he grew up. With everyone going away, there will be no people, and she saw the place. Haru has to admit that he is used to things like a well-insulated home, internet, and a shower, and he can't wait to go home.

How Aiden sees it, he will allow everyone a ten-minute stretching and bio-break, but no more than that. And then he will go and see Sarah. Finally.

Aiden is content that they took care of all the traps so quickly. Luckily, most of the traps were some form of a mechanism that snaps to capture the animal alive, so it didn't take much time to get rid of those. And with a map handy, they split up in three groups of two and it was all done faster than he anticipated.

Aiden stepped on the clearing and observed the smoke and the fire and…

"Sarah!", Nala exclaimed and rushed to greet Sarah, leaving bewildered Aiden behind.

He stood like a statue and observed as Nala and Haru greeted Sarah. Bo, Souta, and Wing also approached Sarah, and apprehensively asked about their Master.

"He is fine. Sleeping in his cabin.", Sarah responded and added that Master Hollow is weak and that he needs rest and regular medications.

They all exhaled in relief at this news.

By now, Aiden was out of his daze and he observed his wife with a charming smile on his face which reached his eyes.

"Are you not happy to see me?", Sarah asked when he approached her.

"You have no idea how much.", he responded honestly.

Sarah saw that he spread his arms, waiting for her to come into his hug and they walked toward each other like they are under a spell.

The moment her body pressed on Aiden's Sarah was startled and took a step back at the sound of an unexpected yelp that came from his jacket. She saw that his jacket is a bit puffy, but why is it making noises? And it seems to be bumpy also.

Aiden's smile widened as he unzipped the top of his jacket and one black head popped out, snout first, and he got a few licks at the bottom of his chin.

Sarah blinked, unsure what to think of this. But now she understood why he had a belt tightened at the bottom of his jacket: so that the pup does not fall down.

"Say 'Hi' to your mommy.", Aiden spoke to the pup.

Sarah's mind exploded. "Mommy?", her voice was barely audible.

Aiden reached to get the pup and pulled him out of his jacket. He cradled him into his arms. "I didn't name them. I left that for you."

Sarah grinned. If he said that she is the 'mommy' that means they are keeping the pup! Ah, finally they are getting a dog! But there was one thing… "Them?", Sarah asked and in the next moment, she saw that another head is popping out of Aiden's jacket. This one was staring straight at her.

"She already knows who her mommy is.", Aiden said while squatting. His big smile showed Sarah how much he is enjoying this.

Aiden kept the first pup down and pulled the second one out of his jacket.

Sarah squatted down as well and reached with her hands toward the pups who gave her few sniffs before they licked her fingers. She smiled.

Sarah already knew the answer, but she wanted a confirmation: "Are we keeping them?"

"I found them in one of the buildings where poachers were. They need a home."

Sarah looked at Aiden and she was about to say something when her eyebrows shoot up at the sight of another pup peeking out of Aiden's jacket.

Sarah's face broke into a big smile. "How many of them are there?"

He laughed while getting the last one out and putting her on the ground. "Three."

Sarah gave pats on the head to all three pups before leaping on Aiden and toppling him on the ground.

"I missed you.", Sarah said while raining kisses all over his face.

Aiden waited for her to calm down before responding. "I missed you more."

He held Sarah firmly, and they gazed into each other eyes for some time before she came down slowly and their lips met for a slow gentle kiss. It was only one day since they met each other, but both of them felt like it was a year. The long kiss which stirred their emotions was interrupted by pups who started sniffing and licking their faces.

Sarah laughed and pushed them away. "No licking on the face."

Aiden laughed with her. "You will need to train them."

They sat on the ground and played with the energetic pups for a few minutes before Sarah gathered enough courage to ask, even though she guessed what the answer will be based on Aiden not bringing it up: "What about Kitty?"

Aiden shook his head. "We were together when we saw her last time. But we checked all the traps, she was not in any of them."

Sarah pressed her lips into a line and sighed.

They confirmed that Kitty can find food for herself and Sarah knows that if Kitty didn't find another favorite tree to nap in, she would be back. Because even if Sarah is not present, Kitty does not go far from Aiden.

Sarah chanted internally that this is how it should be. Kitty will be happy. But no matter how much she told that to herself, tears started rolling down her cheeks.

Aiden hugged Sarah and rubbed her back gently while letting her cry it out. He knew that this is a possibility and that Sarah will have difficulty letting go. That is why they agreed to remove the collar with a GPS tracker from Kitty, to prevent Sarah from going after the leopard. Sarah will get over it, he will help her.

The pups heard Sarah cry and they stopped jumping around. They gathered around Sarah and rested their heads on her legs.

Sarah looked at the pups and patted their heads. "They are smart."

"They are also hungry. I have with me another portion of meat for them…", Aiden gave meat and the feeding bowl to Sarah and observed her with the pups.

Sarah emptied the meat from the pouch in the bowl, and the pups rushed toward it while tripping over their feet and bumping into each other.

She was arranging them around the bowl and telling them not to step into their food or push one another while trying to keep her shaky voice from breaking.

Sarah lifted her gaze and looked at Aiden: "They are busy with food and ignoring me."

Aiden smiled. He was glad that he got the pups. They will help Sarah get over Kitty, or at least they will keep her busy until she gets used to Kitty's absence, and hopefully, they can fill in the gap Kitty left behind.

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