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One Night in Heaven

Chapter One

EMBERS danced gracefully as they rose to join the millions of stars in the darkening night sky. I traced the sparks of the now smouldering barn-side bonfire as a cool breeze swept across the surrounding fields under the light of a glorious full moon, night's embrace beginning to fully take effect.

Remnant heat from the recently died down inferno lingered in the fabric of my Los Angeles Kings jersey as I let out a nervy exhale and swilled the final mouthful of Coors beer.

Despite my best attempt at providing a calming influence on myself, the consumption of alcohol had not actually managed to slow my heart rate by any stretch as my eyes urgently darted back up to the projected image before me.

“Stanley Cup Final. Game 7. Overtime... What more must be said?" Mike 'Doc' Emrick had proclaimed through the semi-circle of speakers around us, almost half an hour prior to me opening my latest alcoholic beverage.

The sun was well into its descent from the sky when the game started, but it had slipped behind the distant mountains and completely gone down in the few hours since.

I sat nestled in my camp chair, nerves on edge as the puck skittered along the ice before my eyes; the currently-deadlocked NHL Stanley Cup Final beamed onto the side of the barn via a projector.

Two silky ears twitched off to the right of my line of vision as the picnic rug at my feet ruffled. I looked down and saw the snow-White German Shepherd atop it shifting with anxious movements, pointed ears perked forward and eyes laser-beam focused front-and-centre as he swayed from forepaw to forepaw edgily.

“Bolty, you alright down there, buddy? Remembering to breathe?" I asked, with a chuckle.

A smile crossed his boxy muzzle as he glanced back over his shoulder at me, his black customised 'BOLT 03' LA Kings jersey contrasting against his glorious white fur stunningly as it adorned his sturdy canine frame, whilst his intermittently-wagging fluffy white tail poked cutely out from the bottom of it.

“Uh, sometimes..." he muttered. “I don't remember the magic box being quite this intense!"

A sweet, girlish giggle floated through the night air as Bolt's fiery haired owner ran a hand compassionately through his warm, soft head fur, petting his ears delicately.

“So, we officially have ourselves a Hockey convert, hey silly doggy? I've never seen you this engrossed before!" Penny giggled, flashing a smile as Bolt whined happily at her touch as she traced her fingers through his fur.

“Well, when my person's favourite team is playing well and making her happy, how could I not join in?" Bolt said as he cast a quick glance back to Penny, ears dropping affectionately.

“Plus, you know. This was a really nice birthday present!" he said, glancing down with a smile at the LA crest emblazoned across his chest from his fresh-out-of-the-box jersey.

My heart fluttered as I gazed across at Penny's gorgeous coffee-brown eyes shimmering with affection as she took in the sight of her handsome canine, her shoulder-length auburn hair glimmering with the light of the projection before her.

A smile graced her lips as she sipped happily on a bottle of Corona and lime while she sat snuggled up in a camp chair just behind Bolt, donned in a form-hugging Kings Hockey long-sleeve shirt. She glanced over at me, her gaze catching mine.

“You OK, Johnny?" she asked.

I blushed deeply and averted my gaze to the screen.

“Y-yeah, fine! Um, do you want another beer?" I said frantically, as I realised the game was going to a quick commercial break.

“Yeah, that'd be great!" Penny giggled, light beaming delicately off her freckled cheeks.

I nodded and hastily made my way towards Penny's back porch, a blush continuing to burn in my cheeks.

Upon my arrival at the esky I found my thoughts turning to the long nights back in Australia spent chatting with Penny over Skype as she informed me of the happenings in her and Bolt's life after they had left the show, settling into rural life and normalising to the life away from superstardom.

Bolt too would jump online and talk to me as his person slept, introducing me to Mittens and Rhino as they told me stories of their epic adventure across America to find Penny.

I would often find myself daydreaming about one day getting the chance to visit them; so a smile hadn't been far from my face on this day as feelings of immense joy swelled inside of me, with every brown-eyed glance and every beautiful smile that Penny had sent my way, along with every hug and pat I had given Bolt as we shared these precious few moments together.

I let out a happy sigh, smiling to myself as I grabbed two bottles from the icy depths of the esky and returned to the picnic rug with ice-cold beverages in hand as the NBC logo flashed up on the barnside projection, vision of a faceoff in the neutral zone greeting us as we looked on once more.

I handed Penny her umpteenth Corona of the evening and she flashed a grateful smile.

I smiled back, my eyes resting on her beautiful face a tad longer than normal - so long in fact that I forgot to let go of the beer. I managed an awkward chuckle as I let my grasp on the bottle go, before promptly settling back in my chair.

'Smooth.' I thought, wincing to myself.

“The goal light has flashed six times, three times per side, as we press on through Overtime. The next team to score will be crowned Stanley Cup Champions, it's that simple!" 'Doc' announced.

I swallowed uneasily as Bolt, Penny and I watched on together, the players darting down the ice before our eyes as our nerves rose.

“Washington play it through centre ice, they look for the cross-ice pass and it's poke-checked away! Broken up by Drew Doughty, intercepted by LA, and it's Marian Gaborik who's into the attacking zone!" 'Doc' called.

“GO!!" I cried, a surge of excitement shot through me as all three of us leapt to our feet with uncontrollable nervous energy.

Penny twitched in nervous excitement as she clasped her hands in front of her mouth pleadingly, while Bolt stood almost unmoving, tail and ears raised straight up as he focused on the screen.

“Gaborik skirts the boards and gets around Oshie and it's two on one, Kopitar joining in! Gaborik draws Holtby across his crease, fakes the shot and a cross-ice pass to Kopitar..." 'Doc' called.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as adrenaline coursed through my veins. My heart pounded in my chest, jaw dropped open in pure excitement as Penny and Bolt leaned forwards, our eyes utterly transfixed to the screen.

The puck slid almost perfectly flat across the ice, right onto the tape of Anze Kopitar's stick as he flicked his wrist shot towards the net.

I almost didn't believe my own eyes as the puck streaked towards the top right corner of the goal, sneaking over the blocker of a desperately-diving Braden Holtby, pinging off the bottom of the crossbar and finding the back of the net.

“SCORE!! Kopitar! The Captain does it for Los Angeles! The Kings have won the Stanley Cup!!" 'Doc' bellowed over the cheering crowd as LA's freight train-like goal horn blared through the speakers, players onscreen spilling onto the ice as sticks, gloves and helmets went flying in wild jubilation.

“YES!!" was the unanimous cry that erupted across the yard as Bolt, Penny and I shot up like we were spring-loaded, hours of adrenaline and nerves unleashed in an instant.

“KOPI!! Let's go! Stanley Cup Champions!" I yelled, jumping up and punching the night sky victoriously as Bolt and Penny whooped and hollered in celebration.

“Woohoo!!" Bolt cheered, leaping up with his front paws onto Penny's stomach in a doggy hug with a massive smile across his muzzle. He was met with a look of glee from Penny as well as she held his front paws and danced around with him.

“We did it, Bolty! You're the best good luck charm ever!" Penny beamed, smiling down at her dog before she kissed his nose tenderly and tousled his ears.

“Not to mention the cutest!" she gushed.

Penny then spun to face me, joy sparkling in her eyes as she jumped into my arms with a big hug.

“Champions, Johnny!" she said as we jumped around together laughing, Penny arching her back and lifting her arms into the sky with a cheer.

Unfortunately for us both, her slightly erratic movement sent me off balance, and my foot slipped on the picnic rug, sending me toppling over backwards.

“Whoa-oof!" I cried, Penny landing belly to belly on me with her full weight forcing the air from my lungs momentarily.

“Oh crap! Are you OK, John?" Penny asked hurriedly, a tone of panic in her voice.

I shook my head to clear the spinning sensation. Luckily the damage was minimal, my head didn't hit too hard off the cushiony fabric of the rug, and Penny managed to brace herself with her hands and knees.

“I'm fine. But that was unexpected." I wheezed as Penny shifted her weight back onto her knees, a look of concern on her face.

“I'm sorry!" she blushed.

“It's OK!" I replied with a smile, my cheeks beginning to burn a little as I glanced down at Penny all but straddling me in this position.

Before either of us could react, however, an overjoyed Bolt jumped onto us from the side, completing a now literal dogpile.

“Go Kings, go!" Bolt chuckled as I thrashed around beneath him, his cold nose mixing with warm licks across my cheeks as he pinned me down with his powerful forepaws.

“Ahh, Bolty! Penny's right, you are slobbery!" I wailed through an assault of saliva.

“Alright buddy, you got him!" Penny laughed, patting Bolt's head as he chuckled and backed off into a sitting position.

We turned our attention to the NHL projection one last time as Los Angeles' captain Anze Kopitar lifted the gleaming silver Stanley Cup above his head while the three of us cheered.

Penny turned back to me, a smile on her face.

“See! Aren't you glad you stayed here instead of going back to LA early?" Penny said, keeping her voice unusually low.

“I'm not so sure anymore…" I sighed sarcastically, still wiping Bolt's sticky saliva from my cheek.

Penny giggled, then hunched down towards me, a slightly sultry look in her eyes.

“Well... I am!" she whispered, before giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

My eyes shot open at the unexpected gesture and I turned to Penny who blinked a few times as the realisation of her actions sank in.

“Penny?" I asked, confused.

“I-um… Sorry..." she stammered, her freckled cheeks noticeably redder under the pale moonlight.

A couple of awkward seconds passed, neither of us quite knowing what to say, a blush burning on both our faces.

“Uh… W-We should clean up!" she finally said, her usual ice-cool composure vanishing as she pushed off the rug with her hands and stood up, whirling away from me with an embarrassed stiffness to her movements.

“Mum will be pissed if there's dead patches in the grass from our beer bottles!" she warned as she began gathering various items, avoiding eye contact with me.

I wanted to say something reassuring, something to let her know that I was more than fine with what had just happened, but Penny was already on her way inside, carrying a bowl of half eaten popcorn and other knick-knacks.

'What was that!?' I thought as I watched her disappear inside, feelings of yearning and guilt warring in my chest.

“You look a little discombobulated." Bolt said as he turned his attention from the screen and tilted his head slightly from his seated position beside me.

I gave him a pat on the head as I clambered to my feet, stifling my confusion and embarrassment from him as best I could, not entirely sure if he had witnessed his person's actions just now.

Discombobulated was one word for it.

Utter shock was another.

With a heavy sigh I headed around the far side of the house and returned with a trash can to pick up the multiple empty beer bottles that were littered around the picnic rug; Penny and Bolt darting around with the area almost looking spick and span again.

The number of bottles strewn across the grass and rug seemed slightly deceptive, as both Penny and I were tipsy at worst despite a comfortable few hours of drinking.

“Hey Bolty, you wanna know what Sunday mornings in Australia sound like?" I asked, before dropping several empty bottles into the bin with a clatter of noise.

Bolt laughed as Penny shook her head, facepalming herself as she walked back from the barn after returning the last of the portable speakers to the tack room.

“Good to see you've kept the Australian reputation intact… You more than played your part!" she mocked, rolling her eyes after gesturing to the pile of beer bottles now inside her trash can.

I smiled at Penny, as at least now she was able to look at me again, a few minutes passing since the earlier incident.

“Bloody oath, mate! Can't be a dinky-di Aussie without crackin' a tinny or two!" I replied with the most exaggerated Australian accent I could muster, laughing at the confused looks on my friends' faces as I picked the trash can up and began to carry it back.

“W-Was that even English?" Bolt asked, looking up at his person.

“I'll ask Google Translate for backup..." Penny sighed with a raised eyebrow and a shake of her head.

The trash can clattered as I returned it to its spot, before jumping the railing of the back porch and landing with a thud on the wooden slats.

I was met by the unimpressed piercing emerald-green eyes of Mittens as she woke from her snooze on the railing with a look that could kill.

I winced a little in guilt as I realised I had interrupted the slender black and white feline's cat-nap. She shook her head in irritation.

“Ya know, years ago I complained about the number of lunatics I surrounded myself with, willingly or not, and no one listened to me... So I'm really not surprised to find out, hey guess what? They're still not listening to me!"

I laughed as I gave her a quick stroke down her spine, fingers running gently through her smooth fur.

“Really? Come on, Mittens, I'm not a lunatic… Am I?" I said, screwing my face up and pretending to ponder the thought.

“Oh you're not a lunatic, huh? A guy from Australia travels halfway around the world to watch a Canadian sport and drink Canadian beer with a bunch of Americans?! Did I miss something?" Mittens said nonchalantly with raised eyebrows. I nodded with a chuckle as I accepted her retort.

“But we won, Mittens!" I replied as I raised my fists into the air victoriously with a wide smile. Mittens scowled with a slight shake of her head.

“Yeah, yeah, real impressive. Your beloved Kings bashed their way to the Stanley Cup. Typical! All brawn, no brains. Must be a Los Angeles thing..." Mittens mocked with a roll of her eyes.

“What do you mean by that?" I asked.

“Exhibit A!" she responded, waving a white paw down to Bolt who thundered his way onto the back porch.

Bolt's ears twitched and he paused mid-stride as he whirled to face up at the feline.

“Aw, come now Mittens, that's not very nice!" Bolt said with an innocent smile as he leapt up with his front paws onto the railing beside her. “I thought you loved me?"

Mittens scoffed aloud, shooting the white canine a bemused look.

"Oh-ho! Don't flatter yourself, dog-breath!" she retorted, playfully swatting him on the nose with her paw.

“Trust me Bolt, that's stretching it! Even on your best days I would be using the term 'love' in its loosest possible terminology. Most days, it's more like… Endure!" the feline said.

Bolt's ears twitched and a smirk crossed his muzzle as a plan seemed to form in his head.

“That's OK Mittens. I'll still love you all the time, no matter what mood you're in!" he said as sincerely as possible.

Mittens groaned out loud, shaking her head with a quick roll of her eyes as she faced away from Bolt to stare out across the yard.

“Ya-huh, wags. I'm sure you dooo-waaahh!!" Mittens wailed as Bolt seized his opportunity in giving the feline a big, sloppy lick across her cheek, before darting through the back doggy-door as quick as a flash.

“ARGH!! Screw you, pooch!" Mittens cried as she wiped a clod of fresh canine spit from her cheek fur.

“I told you I love you, Mittens! I just wanted you to know for sure!" Bolt called from behind the relative safety of the screen door, struggling to keep the laughter out of his voice.

“You are SO goddamn lucky I'm declawed, dog!" Mittens growled angrily as her rapid wipes of her cheek fur began to subside.

I laughed and leant against the railing as Penny emerged from the relative darkness of the backyard.

"Alright, I'm going for a shower and putting some washing on. So play nice you two!" Penny said, pointing a finger at Bolt and Mittens as she headed through the back door.

“She started it!" Bolt sighed as Penny patted his head on her way through the house.

“Yeah. And I'll finish it!" Mittens snarled as she shook her head at Bolt.

Penny couldn't help but giggle at the exchange between the pair.

“You two are adorable, you know that?" she said as the two bickering friends shot each other a mutual smile.

“Come on Bolty, upstairs. Let's get this jersey off you." Bolt nodded and turned tail to follow his fiery-haired person up the stairs with a clacking of claws on wood.

I let out a sigh and a chuckle as I turned back to Mittens who had calmed down a bit and was gazing at the full moon.

“You know, despite your differences, you and Bolt make a pretty cute duo!" I said, giving Mittens a soft scratch to her cheek as she turned to face me.

“Yeah, well. I watched him grow up in front of my eyes, ya know? In just a matter of days I watched his entire perception of life change. But one thing has never changed. His heart has always been in the right place!" Mittens said with a sincere smile as she once again gazed up at the moon while I continued my petting of her soft pelt.

“And while Bolt's out of earshot, I guess I can admit that... for all the shit-talk and the banter we give each other, the truth is..." Mittens paused for a second and took a deep breath.

“I really do love that dog!"

I smiled down at Mittens as I took in this rare admission of affection from the normally reserved feline.

“He's the kindest, sweetest, most fiercely loyal friend I've ever had. When we got caught by animal control, I thought that was it; for us and for me. Bolt could have just walked out of my life like everyone and everything I cared about had done before then... But he came back! And he literally saved my life that day, there's no two ways about it." Mittens said, a tremble of emotion stirring in her voice.

"Even after all these years not once has he ever held it over me, or rubbed my face in the fact that he saved my life." she confessed, as I stood stunned by this uncharacteristic outpouring of pure emotion from her.

“And come to think of it, back in New York I was abandoned, declawed and borderline starving to death. So if that delusional dog hadn't tied me up and dragged me with him across the country to LA… I would have died in that back alley. So he probably saved my life twice to be fair." Mittens sobbed, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her paw.

She blinked away her tears and shook her head with a chuckle.

“And ya know he drives me insane on a daily basis, they all do! But I can never stay mad at him, or them. Because for the life that I came from to the life I have now… I wouldn't have it any other way." Mittens said with a sniffle and a smile.

“Wow, Mittens! That was actually really beautiful to hear." I said soothingly, petting her head and stroking her back before the sound of Bolt rumbling back down the stairs caught our ears.

“You know Bolt loves you, right? A lot!" I asked.

Mittens smiled with a nod.

“I know he does. But that's not gonna stop me ribbing him every chance I get! It's the only entertainment I get around here." she jibed with a wry smirk.

Inside the house Bolt sniffed around a little, his stomach growling before snapping to attention with a happy wag of his tail as his eyes spied the single remaining piece of pepperoni pizza leftover from earlier in the night on the kitchen counter.

“A-ha!" he cried happily, leaping up and chomping on it before laying on the floor and holding the slice in his front paws.

“Hey, you saboteur!" an angry cry came from the direction of the living room.

A small figure darted across the floor towards the kitchen and came to a stop inches from the eating canine.

“Oh, hey Rhino! Was this yours?" Bolt quizzed the annoyed looking hamster.

“Was being the operative word… I thought the cat was supposed to be the evil one?" Rhino sighed as Bolt tore off a chunk in his teeth and dropped it for the bemused hamster to share.

“Maybe you should get off the couch a little quicker next time, hey Rhino? But then again, I noticed the hamster wheel in your cage has started to gather dust... Again. Coincidence?" Mittens jibed from the railing.

The hamster spun around to face Mittens with a frown.

“Be still your tongue, cat! Or see it parted from mouth!" Rhino said, doing his level best Spartacus impersonation.

Mittens groaned, annoyed.

“Oh, now I'm really scared. Hey Hamtaro, how about you lay off the red cordial and tell your 1/16th wolf side to pipe down before you get hurt?"

Rhino shook his head in defiance.

“Be thankful it is not in the stars that you meet your end this night, cat. The Gods are on your side… For now." he warned, before munching down on the chunk of pizza Bolt had left him.

“I'll be sure to thank them…" Mittens groaned, rolling her eyes.

Bolt began to pant as he neared the final chews of pizza.

“Whew! This pepperoni is wicked stuff! Did we order extra spicy?" he said, tongue lolling out of his mouth between bites.

“Uhhh… Bolt?" Rhino answered, pointing to the countertop.

Bolt's eyes swiveled to the countertop and he tilted his head a little confusedly, his ears twitching.

“What the-? That's a weird place to leave the tabasco sauce…" he muttered to himself.

Then his eyes shot wide and his ears perked upright as the horrible realisation hit him.

“Oh god! Uh- I'll be back!" he said hurriedly, and he dashed out the doggy-door to his water bowl.

Mittens cackled atop the porch railing as Bolt whizzed past us, tongue flopped out and started slurping up mouthfuls of water.

“Looks like he can still zoom-zoom! Haha. What'd I tell ya? All brawn, no brains!" the feline howled, clutching her stomach.

“Got your back, Bolty!" I said, reaching into the esky and opening one of the few beers that were left.

I twisted the lid off and turned to where the heavily panting Bolt now sat, muzzle drenched with his efforts to soothe his burning tongue.

“Here buddy, down this!" I suggested, tilting the Coors bottle towards him.

Bolt nodded as I slowly tipped the ice cold beverage onto his tongue and he happily lapped a good portion of the bottle down.

“Haha. Chew on some styrofoam! That'll take the burn away!" Mittens jibed through fits of laughter.

“Thank you for your concern, cat!" Bolt muttered through laps of beer.

“Whew! That beer is nice, though!" Bolt sighed with a heavy exhale.

“Told you it'd work, mate!" I said with a wink and a pat.

“Beer seems to be your answer for everything... You Aussies are ridonkulous!" Bolt chuckled.

“Haha. Ah, Bolty... that was almost funnier than the time you got into the peanut butter!" Mittens chuckled, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes as her laughs died down.

“I'm high-tailing it, they'll start charging admission with entertainment that good!" Mittens chuckled, jumping down from the railing and heading across the yard towards the barn.

“You always were a cheap skate, Mittens!" Bolt fired back, a little agitatedly.

“Oh, bite me, dog! Ya know, it's probably not too late for you if you wanted to get back to Hollywood in a comedy role! I'll send an audition tape, I've got some great stuff!" Mittens called from across the yard, before disappearing into the barn.

“Cats..." Bolt grumbled, rolling his eyes.

“Speaking of Hollywood..." I mused as the unmistakable theme music from the Bolt TV show wafted through from the lounge room.

“Sorry Bolt. You're usually so vigilant!" Rhino called, shrugging sheepishly. “Didn't you pass me in the kitchen earlier? You know I like my snacks how I like my TV shows; intense!" he said, raising a clenched fist.

“Well, maybe I was a little distracted by the, uh, magic box outside." Bolt muttered.

“I guess the power of the magic box works on Superdogs too? Lucky the Green-Eyed Man never figured out that weakness!" the hamster concluded.

“Or maybe it was your stealth mode? Like a phantom!" Bolt said with a wink, massaging his biggest fan's ego as Rhino squeaked with joy.

“I will continue my training, master Bolt… uh, right after season three that is!" Rhino gasped as he scurried off back to the lounge room.

Bolt chuckled to himself as the over-excited hamster slipped out of view.

“Sure you don't wanna watch a couple episodes, Bolty? You know, hark back to the glory days?" I teased.

Bolt shook his head.

“I've seen enough Green-Eyed Men to last a lifetime, I don't need to see more… But I've got a better idea. Let's go for a walk!"