Ike laid on his bed wondering if maybe the new friendships that he and Buck were making would be just as good as their own. If they all could become that close, then nobody would be left out. He wished he could talk like everybody else so that he could get to know the others without having Buck around to translate. He hated depending on someone else to be his voice. He hoped that he and Buck could still be as close as they always had been, but he also hoped that everyone in this group could accept them despite their differences. So far it seemed as though they were becoming a family. Maybe this would be the family that he and Buck needed so badly.