Marshall opened his eyes once more. He was still in the living room, on the same pup bed he had gotten used to sleeping on since Katie and Liz took her in. He had also gotten used to waking up on his own. Instead of waking up alone in the middle of a dark living room, he quickly realized he was sleeping beside two other pups.
Rays of moonlight peeked through the windows nearby, giving the room gentle illumination and visibility. His paw reached up to his face. The areas beneath his eyes seemed to be soaking wet. Had he really cried that much?
His drowsy eyes slowly drifted around, studying his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was a tuft of gray fur moving in the corner of his eye. Turning his head to look into it, he noticed that the tuft of gray fur belonged to the tail of Rocky, who was sleeping on his back. His head was beside Marshall's hind legs as he let out the faintest groan.
Looking to his right, his cheeks flushed beneath his fur when he noticed a familiar Husky sleeping beside him. Everest, who was also asleep, was gently leaned up against Marshall.
As his heart began to pound faster, he quickly took note of the fact that his crush on Everest hadn't faded in the time they spent apart. Them being separated for long periods of time was never new back when he was on the PAW Patrol, but things had changed substantially since back when he was on the team.
The Dalmatian slowly stood up, walking over to the nearby windowsill. There was a small pillow on it that Marshall took the opportunity to lie down on. He looked up at the midnight sky. His sleep schedule was surely screwed after sleeping through the whole day. But it wasn't his fault. Well... Not entirely.
Marshall looked down at the bandages on his two forelegs. Those scratches from Hood really did a number on him. That fight as a whole was terrifying. He didn't want to fight. He was just clumsy enough to crash into him and instigate his own fight.
He then turned to look at his unconscious friends. His eyebrows furrowed. They certainly wouldn't react all too well to the bandages they seemed to not notice when they initially saw him. How was he supposed to explain them?
"So... Everest, Rocky... You might be wondering where I got these bandages from..." He spoke faintly to himself, "It's a new fashion statement...?"
His paw suddenly slapped his forehead. No way would they believe that. Rocky was too smart for that, and he couldn't lie to Everest.
He muttered, "What am I gonna do...?"
"You seem a lot more comfortable talking to yourself now that you decided to open your mouth."
Marshall perked up, his eyes widening. He took his eyes off of his friends, looking over to see a familiar face. With a terrible case of bedhead, Liz walked over as she crossed her arms. He looked confused to see the woman awake at this time of night.
"Mind if I sit?"
The Dalmatian nodded.
Liz sat down next to Marshall, crossing her legs. The former fire pup looked away. There was a lot he needed to say to her now that he seemingly felt comfortable talking again.
"So, these two are your friends, huh?" She asked, trying to start a conversation, "Pretty cool friends if you ask me..."
The black and white pup looked out of the window, "They came to get me. They came to find me and let me know that they wanted to be with me. No matter what."
Liz looked at the two sleeping pups, "So, tell me about them."
"Huh?"
"All I know about them is that they bicker with each other, and that they're your friends."
Marshall raised an eyebrow, "Why don't you ask them? They'd be happy to introduce themselves."
"Because I want to hear your voice."
Liz could see the pup's eyes widen. She giggled faintly at his reaction. While she didn't know much about Marshall's friends, she still didn't know much about Marshall that wasn't a secondhand account from Katie. This was the pup she had grown to care for. Not Rocky or Everest.
"Okay, well... I'll start with Rocky," Marshall spoke, "Rocky's really smart. He usually has a plan whenever Everest or I are trying to figure something out. He says he's a logical and rational pup, but he has an irrational fear of water. He doesn't like being bathed. Like at all."
"Yeah, I figured that last bit out firsthand..." Liz grimaced at the thought of Rocky's smell.
"Since he's really smart, he learned how to build stuff..." The Dalmatian continued, "Nothing super advanced like the stuff Ryder would make, but ask him to make something, and he'll probably have it done the next day."
"What about her?" The redhead gestured to Everest.
"Oh, Everest?" He asked, an ever so faint smile developing on his face, "She's really energetic. Sometimes even more than I am... Was... She loves nature, and since she had been out in the wild longer than any of us other PAW Patrol members, she has a good survival instinct."
Liz smiled, "Sounds like my kind of gal."
"...Hey Liz?"
"What's up?"
"Why did you take care of me?"
Days Prior...
"...Medicine, bandages and antiseptic..." Liz had just finished listing off the medical tools she had with her, packing them in her bag.
She had already been in Adventure Bay for a week. Katie seemed to be doing well for herself in the parlor. She was growing more and more independent by the day. Gone were the days where Katie would come to her, asking for advice on how to run the parlor. As it stood, nothing negative was coming from the parlor. She was doing a good job.
The redhead was planning to depart after Katie returned home, heading back on the road once more. She wasn't really needed anywhere, but she did like monitoring the process of the family business. There were pet parlors all over Canada. The one in Adventure Bay was the only one safe enough for Katie to monitor. At least, that's what everyone else thought.
Adventure Bay was admittedly a strange place. It was either the most peaceful place or the most dangerous place depending on whether or not it was a half hour special. According to Katie, if something can go wrong in Adventure Bay, it will go wrong.
Hell, a few months ago she got a call from the little blonde, talking about how a literal meteor crashed in Adventure Bay and how this team of puppies called the PAW Patrol got superpowers! Katie never seemed to care though, as her business thrives in the town. She's beloved by her town. Liz couldn't be prouder.
Sometimes, it never even seemed like she was Katie's aunt. Not because of their differences, but the demeanor she seemed to hold whenever the young blonde was around. Liz was still an adult, yes, but it wasn't like she was in her thirties yet. She was still young. And because of that, she often considered Katie as more like a little sister or cousin rather than her niece.
Katie, meanwhile, was on her way back home after closing up at the Pet Parlor. Holding an umbrella over her head, the young blonde protected herself from the rain. She walked down the sidewalk, her mind wandering back to the conversation she had with Mayor Goodway. She was astonished that the usually cheerful mayor tried to splash Marshall with water out of anger.
It took a while for things to really register. That Marshall really was public enemy number one. He was no longer trusted in Adventure Bay as much as he used to be. Never in a billion years had she expected something like that.
The sound of splashing snapped her out of her thoughts.
Looking forward, Katie recognized a familiar pup laying in the water, "Marshall...?" Her eyes widened, "Marshall!"
Running over, the young stylist crouched down to get a closer look at the now unconscious Dalmatian. Her brows furrowed lightly as she reached out to lightly nudge him.
"Unresponsive... Not only that, but he's not going to survive in this rain if I leave him here..." She thought, "The parlor's closed, so I'll have to treat him at home."
Dropping her umbrella, she picked Marshall up, looking around. She wondered where Ryder was. If he was looking for him. If he called, she'd surely tell him that she had Marshall. That was until she saw his tag. Or lack thereof.
She shook her head. Was this really the proper time to think about that? Now that she was using both of her arms to carry Marshall, constantly beat upon every surface of her body, soaking her hair and clothes. Katie felt Marshall's rasped, shaky breaths as she hurriedly carried the Dalmatian towards her home. She closed her eyes, wishing that she could get back before his condition gets serious.
Her shoes weren't built for running through rain. She constantly found herself fighting for her own balance in order to remain upright. Turning a corner, the bottom of her right shoe caught a puddle, taking that leg from under her as she slipped.
Knowing that there was no way she could regain her balance, she decided to prioritize her surprise patient, wrapping herself around him and taking the blow as her body hit the concrete. The force of the impact caused her to accidentally let go of Marshall, the unconscious pup flying from her arms and landing a few feet away.
"Ow, ow, ow..." The young blonde cried, hissing in pain while her left hand went to grip her right shoulder. Her eyes shut tight as she laid there for a second, trying to alleviate the pain.
That's when she remembered why she was on the ground in the first place.
Her head shot up, looking around for the pup that was supposed to be in her arms. Marshall. Her eyes shook, her hand pounding against the pavement as she struggled to stand once more. Picking herself up, she hurriedly grabbed Marshall and kept moving.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." She spoke faintly, using her body to try and shield Marshall from the rain.
Liz checked the time. Her eyebrows furrowed, "...That's odd. She's ten minutes late..."
The redhead remembered that Katie seemed to always get home five minutes after the Pet Parlor was supposed to close up. Perhaps she got sidetracked? That was the only way she could even be late. It seemed like you could take three steps and you were where you needed to go. If you weren't in and out of Adventure Bay like she was, what was even the point of having a car?
A sudden banging on the front door brought her back to Earth, standing up and walking down the hallway. Upon opening the door, Liz's eyes widened once she recognized a girl with soggy blonde hair covering her face.
Shivering, the girl blew a bit of hair from her face, revealing the blue eye of her niece.
"H-Help him..." Her teeth chattered, "Please... He's really weak..."
Her eyes drifting down to see a Dalmatian cradled in Katie's arms, Liz's eyes widened in surprise. It had been quite some time since she was asked to take care of an animal. She looked outside at the pouring rain that Katie had just saved the little puppy from, then back at the unconscious canine. Shaking her head to get rid of her daze, she immediately grabbed the soaking pup from her.
"Go and take a shower, Katie!" She ordered, "I'll handle the pup."
The soaking girl nodded as Liz quickly made her way to the living room, the biggest room in the house. She put Marshall down before hurrying over to a nearby closet. Upon opening it, she pulled out a towel and quickly rushed back to Marshall.
The first thing she did was swaddle the unconscious pup in the towel in order to at least make an attempt at drying him off. She needed as much time as possible to gather some supplies if she wanted to save this pup from a possible cold.
Running to her room, she frantically searched all of her cabinets, having forgotten that she had packed her medical supplies in her backpack earlier. The redhead tripped over the bag, using her shoulder to brace her impact as she crashed into the floor. Her eyes quickly shot over to see what she had tripped on to see her backpack, items spilling out of it, ready to save a life.
She quickly tied the messy shrub she called her hair into a quick ponytail to keep it out of her eyes, grabbed her backpack, and made her way back to the living room.
"Okay, okay..." She sat herself in front of the Dalmatian, her mind racing at a million miles per hour, "First step... First step... What was it again? Triage, right!"
She shoved her arm into her backpack, skillfully maneuvering around countless needles and sharp items. Liz pulled out a stethoscope, as well as a box of disposable plastic gloves. She nearly shot her hands right through them in order to get them on fast enough.
With that, she began her assessment. She first started by observing his heart rate. She waited for a while before reaching her verdict on his heart rate. It was slow, but constant. He was very weak, but at least his state was consistent instead of declining.
"He's weak... What should I check for next again?" Her expression hardened before she shook her head, disappointed in herself, "Get your ass in gear, Elizabeth!"
She continued by moving to the other side of Marshall, pulling the towel from around him, and putting the stethoscope on the right side of the Dally's back. She closed her eyes and listened. Her brows raised at what she heard. The best she could describe was a faint crackling noise in the Dalmatian's lungs. That wasn't good. It wasn't good at all.
He had already developed a cold.
She put a hand on Marshall's head, pulling it back after a few seconds. He was warm. Most definitely a cold. How long had he been out in that rain before Katie found him? She quickly pulled out a bottle of medicine from her bag, pouring a correct dose into the cap. She opened the Dalmatian's mouth, poured the medicine into his mouth, closed it, and tilted his head back.
Like she had expected, the involuntary response of swallowing any liquid in the mouth was triggered, and she watched as the Dalmatian swallowed the medicine. Now, all she would need to do is prepare a good place for him to rest.
Her eyes immediately went to the couch, but she quickly got rid of that idea. She didn't want the couches to smell like a wet dog for the rest of her life. Additionally, Marshall could possibly throw up if his cold gets any worse.
She left the room once more, returning with a bunch of old blankets. She was lucky she kept a few things from her time running her own parlor, or else she would've had to take the risk of using something she owned.
She gently laid the blankets out on top of one another, layering them to assure that Marshall would be comfortable on the floor. After she was done setting up the area, she wrapped Marshall in the towel once more, lifting him up and moving him over to the pile of blankets.
Katie walked back in, wearing a set of clean house clothes. She had decided to stick with just a plain t-shirt and pink shorts. Once she looked around to try and see what she had missed, she immediately noticed her aunt slumped on a couch nearby the sleeping Dally. She walked over and sat on the available portion of the couch, looking at the exhausted redhead.
"Ugh... You owe me one for helping you out!" Liz groaned, "...Nearly gave me a panic attack bringing a sick animal back home like that."
Katie raised an eyebrow, "Owe you one? We're vets, we do whatever it takes to help animals. Even if that means no pay."
"No pay!?" The woman suddenly shot up from her lying position, "You're mad, lady!" She joked, laughing a bit.
The young blonde giggled, "Seriously, though. Thanks for helping me with Marshall."
Her eyes widened slightly at the mention of the Dalmatian's name, looking over at the unconscious Dalmatian nearby, "Hm... Marshall."
Present Day
Liz sighed, "To be honest with you, Marshall... At first, I considered dumping you out. I didn't need another problem to deal with..." The redhead admitted.
Marshall's eyes widened at her admission.
"But, the moment I held your body in my arms, the vet in me couldn't leave you alone..." She rubbed the back of her head, "...No matter how much I wanted to leave that in the past."
"What?"
"You see, I didn't tell Katie this, but I quit working at another parlor as a veterinarian months ago..." Liz confessed, "I've been monitoring and watching over different parlors around Canada, but I didn't want to be a vet anymore."
"Why not?" The former EMT inquired, sitting up a bit.
Liz looked out of the window, "Because, when I was working as a vet, tending to injuries, whenever I would see wild animals be brought into my parlor, they would always be bloodied and battered... Most of the time, it would be way too late to help, so I'd..."
Marshall's brows raised.
"...I'd just have to put them out of their misery," She closed her eyes, "I couldn't just stand idly by and wait to kill animals. I didn't want to do it. I couldn't go through it."
The Dalmatian scooted over, putting a paw on top of her hand to try and comfort her.
"So, when I saw an animal that I could save, an animal that was sick, drenched, and down on his luck, I knew I had to do something about it."
"I don't know what would've happened to me had you not came to my rescue..."
"Somebody's gotta rescue the rescue pups, right?" Liz asked, "Besides, I'm glad to have saved an animal. It's... Been a while."
Marshall looked at the woman, a growing sense of admiration for the redhead filling his heart. He had gone without talking to her for days. It made him feel guilty that he would do that to her after all she had done for him. She took care of him, patched his wounds, gave him medicine, and made sure he would live, even when he felt like he didn't deserve the charity. One day, he'd pay it back a thousandfold for sure.
Liz then got up, ruffling the fur on top of Marshall's head, "Now get to bed, ya little oreo. You need it so those wounds of yours heal faster."
As the woman went walking off, Marshall's attention soon turned to Rocky and Everest. Once he looked at them though, his expression morphed from admiration to confusion.
"...Where are their pup tags?"
Ryder sat in his room, his head down on his desk. He had just finished another entry on his laptop, but he left it open, the light from the screen being the only thing to illuminate the dark environment.
"It's been nearly a week since everything began..."
The young leader leaned back in his seat, his eyes gazing up at the ceiling and away from the light of his screen. He couldn't help but to allow his fists to clench. His mind was racing, trying to figure out a proper solution. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he couldn't put a positive spin on it.
"...Marshall ran away. Thanks to seeing his note, I learned that he plans to look for answers on his own. At least, that's what the original plan of his was. But..."
He picked up two items that were laid out on his desktop.
"PAW Patrol Member zero-five, Rocky..."
In his left hand was a green pup tag, which had a recycling emblem on it.
"...And PAW Patrol Member zero-nine, Everest..."
In his right was a light blue tag, an image of an Evergreen tree on it.
"Have left their tags along with Marshall's note. They've decided that they'd rather stay with Marshall than the PAW Patrol."
And could he blame them? He knew Everest and Rocky stood behind Marshall, despite what everyone else said, despite what everyone else in the town saw on that tape. They didn't care. Ryder understood, they were friends, and now that he was thinking of it, Everest hadn't even seen the tape, just being told the situation by the other pups.
Putting Rocky and Everest's tags in front of him, the boy genius pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He was now down three members. Everest's absence wasn't that big of an issue since her busiest period was during the winter, and Rocky wasn't on that many missions to begin with, but no matter how logically he tried to think it through, he still didn't want to lose his pups.
But here he was, losing one pup after another. Things were only getting worse. The amount of stolen items in Adventure Bay was growing, and like it or not, he might have to keep Marshall under lock and key and allow Rocky and Everest to prove Marshall's innocence.
His eyes narrowed, looking down at a newspaper on the floor. It was that same newspaper article stating Marshall as Adventure Bay's thief. Many had speculated that Ryder was going easier on Marshall because he was his pup, and he couldn't even deny it. He just had to keep conducting missions with a determined smile on his face and lead the pups he had left.
Ryder suddenly looked up from the floor and back at his laptop, his hands reaching over to start typing on the keys once more.
"If thefts continue to rise, I will have no choice but to detain Marshall. And that might mean doing it by force."