AN: Welcome to my first story on here, and this is my first Paw Patrol fanfic. Hope you guys enjoy! ^~^

Exposure

Chapter 1

Marshall's POV

I hear a faint voice echoing outside. My ears twitch. I have been awakened. Tuning into the noise outside the pup house, I recognize that it's a megaphone. Chase's, to be exact, and he's going around waking all the pups up from their peaceful slumber early in the morning as usual. He's not exactly gentle with it, either, often times the german shepherd yells right in your ear or just repeats the same line over and over till you show symptoms of waking up from the "Don't-Wake-Me-Up" disease. And yes, I made that up just now, but it fits the situation, because almost none of us are early risers other than him. Our leader. Perking up a bit, the sounds of foot paws against concrete grab my attention. It's time. I don't want to get up, and since I'm already somewhat awake, the megaphone blaring in my ears doesn't seem too evil this morning at least.

Knock knock. There it is. First it's a light rapping on the door with his paw, and then it's the ever-so-loud megaphone that haunts every pups' dreams and nightmares. A few seconds pass. Wait, could it be, Chase the police pup not using his megaphone for the first time in Paw Patrol history? With me of all pups… oh boy, I must be really special. My paw floats up to reach for the button-'cause I'm still groggy and exhausted-to unlock the door to my pup house for him. The sound of his foot paws lightly clanging against the metal of the pup house ring in my ears, but nothing else, my eyes still closed, waiting for a possible sound ambush of abnormal proportions. His snout brushes against my own instead, and the fuzzy feeling it provides creates a warmness in my cheeks. This opposed to a hard slap in the ears is much preferable, and I open my eyes without a moment's hesitation, offering the german shepherd a grateful smile in return for his kindness.

"Mornin' Chase…" I mutter, still quite out of it, but trying to muster the strength to show my appreciation.

"Good morning, Marshall. Get up as soon as you can. Time for morning yoga." The shepherd offers me another smile and waltzes out of my pup house. No megaphone invasion included with this day's sunrise. I still can't get over it; Chase had chosen me to experiment on not waking us up with his irksome speaker. Yawning and stretching, I shake my body to jolt it awake then trot out of my pup house. I squint my eyes. The sun is rising and it's blinding. Where are some sunglasses when I need them? My blue eyes spot Chase waiting for me to start yoga; all the pups having already woken up and gotten their mats in place on the grass. I dash up to the grass and grab a red mat from our toy box nearby and set it next to Zuma's, who is at the end of the line of pups. I took that honor away from him, though. I chuckle to myself, and watch Chase take his place in front of us, preparing to lead us in yoga. He's got his head up in the air, as if he were the general of an army of pups, looking down on us like we were his troops. Hopefully we don't get any military drills.

The german shepherd begins with the downward dog pose, having us hold it for a minute. Then, he commands that we do the warrior pose, holding that one is tougher. I glance at the other pup's, nearly all of them are falling over, except Zuma who knows how to balance himself well since he windsurfs. I watch Chase, his deadpan expression penetrating through our eyeballs all the way down to the fur on our coats. He notices me eyeing him, and he breaks this serious aura around him to smile at me, only at me. I furrow my brows at him, hopefully sending the message that I don't comprehend this treatment, and he only chuckles to himself and shakes his head. We go through more poses, some pups doing well and some not so well, but at the end, just for fun, Chase has us do a tailspin. Like Pup Pup Boogie and any other time I try to do that move, I fail, and I mess up hard, usually involving knocking into somebody or an object. This time around, I swear, doing the move again and watching as my vision blurred I knew I was going to crash into one of the pups. It's time for Russian Roulette to decide who's the next target. After a few seconds I feel my tail swiveling off the mat and onto the grass, how it keeps spinning on the green blades is beyond me, but this curiosity is killing me. A few more seconds and… bam! I crash into somebody, but I don't know who, I wasn't concentrating on the sound of their yip.

Brown and tan fur, brown eyes, and a hint of blue on the collar. Yeah, this is a no-brainer: Chase. The shepherd's protests and groans bring me back to reality.

"Marshall... " the shepherd moans. "Maybe I shouldn't have offered that move in the first place."

"Ya think?" I say, gazing at him with a cheeky grin and a laugh. At least he chuckles along with me, though. I break the mood with a question. "Hey, Chase, why did you wake me up differently than all the other pups this morning?"

The shepherd recovers from the incident and tilts his head. "Huh?" His eyes widen for a moment. "Oh! Thaaaat. Yeah, that's a secret." Chase begins to walk toward the center of the group. "Alright, pups, Ryder should have breakfast for us soon, so sit tight till then. Dismissed."

I get up on all fours from the crash and think to myself, heh, he still acts like a military general. Oh, Chase, you never change. The pups head over to the toy box to fetch out some items they can use to play with until their morning meal. Zuma and Rocky head over to an open area in the clearing and play catch with a frisbee, and Rubble and Skye just play tug-o-war with one another using a multi-colored rope with knots on both ends. It wasn't the one Chase and I use, though. We've been best friends since I had joined the Paw Patrol, and the other tug rope in the box has been our favorite ever since. Off limits to every pup except us, of course.

Chase and I are left standing face-to-face with each other. "So, a secret, huh? Why's that?" I say, trying to loot some info out of the shepherd.

He smirks and blushes a light pink. "Heh. It's not going to be that easy, Marshall."

I frown, my floppy ears drooping slightly. "W-why? Why are you keeping a secret from me, of all pups?"

"Soon enough, Marshy. Soon enough." Chase lends me a soft smile and turns away. His pup-tag blinks and beeps.

"Chase, tell the other pups that breakfast is ready, okay?" Ryder says on the other end.

"Will do, Ryder."

That nickname… Marshy… I like it. I've never heard Chase call me that before. Huh.

"Hey Marshall, are you just so excited for breakfast that you can't stop grinning like an idiot or what?"

"Huh?" Chase is talking to me again. "Y-yeah, I'm pretty starving this morning."

Chase giggles. "Heheh, well… if you need some more food, we can, you know, share some of mine if you'd like..." The shepherd glances in the other direction drawing random patterns in the grass with his front paw.

"Thanks for the offer, but we'll see how I feel when I engulf all of my own food, first." I chuckle.

"Sure, sure. It's time to eat anyway, why don't you go head in first, since I know you hate being last."

"Alright, I'll gladly take that offer!" I rush down to the sliding glass doors of the Lookout. I hear the shepherd calling the other pups for breakfast behind me.

"Awu! Awu! Awoooo!" I'm howling and running through the entrance to the Lookout, excitement coursing through every muscle in my body propelling me forward, I fail to recognize just how fast I'm going. I skid to a halt once I reach the elevator, but I still slam into the cylindrical glass wall.

"Oof!" I yell out as I slide back down to the floor in a lying down position. I hear the other pups howling behind me. "I'm good!"

"Oh, Marshall, even though you were first you still found a way to crash into something!" Rubble shouts, laughing afterward. The pups and I join him in his laughter as they all enter the elevator. We shoot upward and go behind the Paw Patrol logo to switch into our uniforms. The only way I can explain it is that the moment the flash ends I'm wearing my firefighter outfit. I don't get it. I thought Ryder always said there's no such thing as ghosts, yet there's a supernatural thing occurring behind this logo every day. Needless to say, we arrive at the top and get into position.

"Paw Patrol ready for action, Ryder, sir!" Chase says.

Ryder stands there with a blank, confused expression. "Uhhh, pups, what are you doing? Your breakfast is downstairs."

They all glare at me like this was my fault. "What?" I ask with a nervous chuckle.

"Wyder told us breakfast was weady, but since you wan into the elevator, we all just went along with it," Zuma says, and then his stomach rumbles. He sighs. "Still your fault…"

Rubble's tummy starts to growl as well, and that's when the bulldog bolts back to the elevator, opting for food rather than mission. The other pups follow suit, too, and I'm last to the elevator yet again. Once it stops at the first floor, they all rush toward their respective bowls. Chase waits for me to arrive at my red bowl with a white ladder stretched around the exterior. He glances at me and smiles, and I smile back, silently thanking him for waiting for me. We both begin to dig into our pup kibble. I kind of lied back there when I said I was starving, but I have to at least eat fast to make it look like I am super starving to the shepherd. My food is gone in a few minutes flat, but the other pups aren't too far behind. Maybe they, too, are trying to get their revenge on me by pretending to be famished. What if they really were…? Nah, no use thinking about that now. Chase notices my bowl has been licked clean, and he nudges me to grab my attention.

"Hm?" I mumble with my mouth still full of food.

He points with his muzzle toward his bowl, a little less than half the food still scattered in there.

I shake my head, swallow the mashed up bite. "Uh, no thank you, Chase. I'm kinda stuffed now, but I really appreciate the offer." I give him a soft smile.

"Alright, but the offer is here whenever you need it next time." The shepherd continues eating.

After breakfast, Ryder calls us on all of our pup-tags. "Paw Patrol, to the Lookout!"

I can hear the pups groan as they waddle back into the elevator, their stomachs full and slowing them down. I realize this may be my chance to be first, and I begin to charge for the elevator but can't. My stomach won't let me. It gurgles and roars, causing pain to erupt in my abdomen, and I plop to the floor, unable to move. I protest with low grumbles and moans. Chase is the first pup to walk out of the elevator in concern for my safety. Figures. Not that I don't appreciate his help, but it just further drives the point home that he has a secret that involves him treating me extra nice. The rest of the Paw Patrol sits in the elevator, muttering about me I'm sure.

"Does it hurt, Marshy?" The shepherd asks, his muzzle is dangerously close to my own, and I'm defenseless to do anything about it. Not that it matters, since it kind of makes me feel funny. I don't quite understand the feeling. Warm, hot, embarrassed. All this within my cheeks. Chase chuckles, but I don't know why. "Heheh, let me help you get to the elevator, Marshall."

No nickname this time. Dang, I like it. "I can do it myself…" I make an attempt to get back up to all fours and fail, falling back down. "Maybe not… heheh."

"Don't worry, Marshy, I got you." There we go: back with the nickname. Heck yeah. Chase scooches around to my backside and pushes me forward with his snout. His nose is sticking up against my tailhole. I yelp a bit as I feel his cool nose touch my exposed rear, but I regain my composure fast. The feeling is back in my cheeks again, and this time I think I'm starting to understand what's causing it. Inch by inch, the shepherd slides me across the floor toward the elevator. Luckily, I wasn't too far away. The elevator goes up, and the Paw Patrol goes through the line up for the second time this morning.

Ryder touches a button on his pup pad. The monitor lights up with a cute animation. "Sorry for making you work after breakfast, pups, but we have to act fast. Danny dared Alex if he could climb higher than he can, and now both of them have gotten stuck in a tree near Mr. Porter's. Danny told me he fell down and hurt his leg, and now Alex is stuck hanging from the tree. For this mission I'll need… Marshall. I'll need you to use your X-Ray screen to check if Danny has any broken bones, and then treat his wounds if necessary."

I sit up straight, putting a firm paw down. "I'm ready for a ruff, ruff rescue!"

Ryder continues, "I'll also need… Chase. Your net here will be crucial to catch Alex if he falls."

"Chase is on the case!" the shepherd shouts.

"Alright, the rest of you pups stay here and rest up; I overheard that your stomachs have been bugging you after that quick breakfast. Alright! Paw Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder slides down his pole to his ATV; Chase and I head down the slide to our vehicles. We ride out to Mr. Porter's restaurant and immediately notice the dire situation at hand. Danny is wincing and groaning in pain, and Alex is literally holding on for dear life from a tree branch. With my sirens blaring, I drive up to the scene as close as possible, and then I step out of my fire truck, turning off the sirens as I do so. Chase does the same. I dash out to Danny, who's still yelping in agony, and I whip out my X-ray screen. "Awu! Awu! X-ray screen!" My pup pack opens up to reveal the small tablet that will allow me to scan for broken bones. It stretches out in front of me using a retractable bending arm, and I begin the search for any injuries. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I rush through the upper half because I know exactly where the pain is coming from. Don't do that at home, kids. Just as I thought, Danny's leg is the problem, but at least it isn't broken. "Only a sprain," I say to him with a sigh of relief.

He wipes sweat from his forehead. "Phew, thanks Marshall."

"Stay here, I'll get you patched up in a jiffy!" I say. "Arf! Bandages!" The wraps pop out of my pup pack in a tight roll right in front of me. I catch them in my mouth and begin to apply them to Danny's leg.

"Wait a minute, you told me to stay here, but I can't really move…" Danny mumbles as I finish up the process.

I chuckle with the bandage roll still clenched in my teeth. Once I finish wrapping, I reply, "That was a joke, Danny, you're supposed to laugh at those, you know."

He laughs. "Oh, right. Yeah, my bad."

I glance at Chase: he's just watching me do my work, but that worries me. I furrow my brows at him, making a gesture up at Alex. And then I notice that the boy is literally about to fall! Why didn't I hear his protests? Why wasn't Chase watching over him like he was told to do?

"Chase! Your net!" I yell as my heart beats fast with fear.

He looks dumbfounded but responds by whipping around to see Alex's fingers nearly losing their grip on the branch. "Rarf! Net!" The shepherd's net launcher shoots out of his pup pack and gets into position. Chase aims and fires just as Alex falls, catching him just in time. "Phew," he says, "that was close, huh, Marshy?"

I shake my head in disapproval of his actions, despite how hard that is when he uses that nickname. "Yeah," I say, my tone calmer and even. Now is not the time to get angry. I have to act professional on a mission. "Why were you watching me instead of doing your job?"

"Uh… I, uh…" the shepherd fails to respond, not looking at me because his cheeks had lit up red, and both Alex and Danny, wanting to thank us for being rescued, give each other awkward glances.

I sigh. "Alright. Danny, Alex," I give the two of them a head nod, "don't do this again. Climbing trees isn't safe, nor are dares that you don't think you can do. Don't let your pride get in the way of your safety. That's all." I turn around and head back to my fire truck. Chase looks at me like I'm insane, but I glance back and huff, not even caring. I may not want to get flustered on the job, but I have the right to be angry. Their lives were in danger, and Chase failed to do his job. The german shepherd nods to Alex and Danny, and then he, too, heads over to his police vehicle.

"Nice work pups!" Ryder says, not having moved from his ATV since the rescue. That's another thing, why didn't he come help or alert Chase? Maybe he was playing on that stupid pup pad of his… I can't blame him, though, that tablet really has some addicting games on it.

"Thanks, Ryder," we both reply, and then the three of us report back to the Lookout. The other pups weren't doing much in particular when we came back, just watching some tv with Apollo the Super Pup echoing throughout the first floor. Chase and I rush over to join them on some bean bags, but what had happened today during the mission still irks me, and I really want to understand why the shepherd wasn't doing his job as usual. Luckily, one pup started the conversation for me.

"Hey guys, how was the mission?" Rocky asks, sitting up from his lying position on a green bean bag near the far end of pups.

With the two of us lying down on one blue bean bag, since all the rest are taken, we're right next to the mixed breed. "It almost didn't go so well."

Chase glanced at me, worry painted on his expression. "B-but it did go well in the end, though," he turns back to the mixed breed, "so there's nothing to worry about, Rocky!" He chuckles, darting his eyes around a couple times and looking quite uncomfortable. Normally, he's serious to the core, but sometimes he slips up a bit and reveals his immaturity or playful side.

Rocky doesn't buy it. "Oooookay~ obviously something went wrong. Marshall, wanna fill me in?" He glances over to me, and I nod in response.

"Oh, something went wrong, alright. Chase wasn't focused and if I hadn't stepped in, it would've caused Alex to possibly get seriously injured."

The mixed breed gasps, as do the other pups, their attention now averted to us rather than Apollo. "Woah," Rocky says, his jaw nearly dropping to his green bean bag, "Chase, you're never not focused during missions. Is something up?"

"No. I almost had a mishap during the mission, but I was able to handle it."

"With my help," I add.

Rocky tilts his head. "What was the mishap?"

Chase looks away. "Well, I wasn't paying attention, and Alex was going to fall from a tree. I didn't quite have my net ready yet."

"'Cause you were staring at me while I was working, like I was a god or something."

The shepherd clears his throat. "Uh, yeah, I guess I was doing that." He refuses to make eye contact with either of us.

Rocky smirks. "I see what's going on here…"

Chase's eyes widen. Blush heats his muzzle. "I-I don't think you do."

I finally realize it: why he's been staring at me and treating me differently.

"Wanna tell Marshall something, Chase?" Rocky teases, his eyes squinting and eye brows wiggling up and down.

"N-no… I don't." The shepherd watches me, and my eyes, attempting to judge my reaction. He wants to see if I know.

My heart is beating. I don't know how I feel about this yet, but I give Chase a soft smile. "I've been dying to know why you've been treating me differently since this morning. It was so sudden: it drove me nuts."

"I see…" The shepherd is blushing hard now, still avoiding eye contact, and all the other pups were still tuned into this conversation. "I don't like all this pressure…"

I await his reply, smiling at him and wagging my tail, communicating to him that I'm excited to hear his news no matter what it is.

Chase takes a deep breath in, and then he lets it out, although a little shaky. "I… I like you, Marshy!" He winces in fear, turning away from me and cowering.

Despite my preparation for such a proposal, I'm still shocked, and this reflects in my immediate hesitation in responding. Unable to bear the silence and awkward tension, the shepherd hops off the bean bag and runs out of the double doors of the Lookout. "W-wait! Chase!" I call out, a desire to answer back to him still burning within my fast beating heart. I need to tell him how I feel.