Chloe was curled up in her bed the next morning. Tail wrapped around herself, she had buried her face under her paws. She had no desire to talk with anyone at the moment. At the same time though, she hated how quiet the apartment was and desperately wanted to talk with somebody. The tabby closed her eyes.

Just then, a small tap could be heard on the door. Chloe lifted her gaze as Mel's voice called out quietly from the other side, "Chloe, you in there?" Sighing softly, the gray tabby cat mumbled, "Come in."

The door opened a second later and Mel walked in. He padded over to Chloe's bed and sat down. Neither the dog or the cat spoke a word to each other. Biting his lip, Mel was the first to speak, "Duke told us what happened. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," Chloe murmured. All of the sudden, she got one of the biggest surprises in her life as Mel leaned forward and embraced her gently. Startled at first, she relaxed and hugged him back. The sadness and loneliness she had been feeling melted away slowly as she accepted probably the greatest gift the pug had ever given her... sympathy.