Disclaimer I don't own any of the Paw Patrol characters.
Hey guys, so I thought of this idea while playing basketball the other day, what this is, it's a couple of one-shots about the Dads of the Paw Patrol members (excluding Ryder) and before we get started I just want Y'all to know that these one-shots have nothing to do with any of my continuous running stories. So enough introductory, on with the story!
Note: the story that follows is completely fictional that makes references to real names during that operation.
Chapter one, "Father of Honor"
One day Everest is cleaning out her log cabin with the help of Marshall and Rocky when they stumble upon Everest's closet...
"Whos going to open it?" Rocky asks
"don't worry guys, I got this" Marshall replies
Marshall trots over to the closet door, twists the doorknob and begins pulling. After pulling for a couple of seconds with no results, he looks back at Everest and Rocky...
"Its stuck"
"Really? Let me help" Rocky insists
Rocky walks over to the doorknob and helps pull, after a couple quick tugs, the closet door flies open and a wave of junk, old clothes, and mountain equipment pours out of the closet and scatters all over the room
"Wow, I bet I could build an entire rocket with all this stuff!" Rocky shouts
"Man, anything could be hiding in there!" Marshall exclaims
"C'mon boys, it's not that bad, it could be worse," Everest says
"Yeah, says the pup who asked us to help" Marshall jokes
"Hey, you asked to help, then you drug Rocky into it" Everest responds
The dogs share a laugh and go right to work. They start by throwing away all the completely useless garbage first, after that, they move onto Everest's mountain equipment, if Everest doesn't want some of the spare equipment, she gives it to Rocky for him to recycle
The process of cleaning the floor that led up to the closet was long and rough, but eventually, they made it to the actual closet itself. Marshall was looking through some of the shelves in the very back of the closet when a small, package sized box caught his eye...
"Hey Everest, what is this?"
Everest trudged to the back of the closet through all of the junk full of excitement at the thought of what Marshall could have found, once she saw the box though, her demeanor changed drastically...
"What, that old box? It's nothing...nothing at all"
Marshall observed Everest's sudden change in behavior before asking...
"Are you sure? Cause from the sounds of it, it's more than just "nothing"
Everest took a deep sigh, the day she had always dreaded was here and was it ever too soon. She slowly looks at Marshall with tears beginning to form in her eyes...
"it was the last thing my dad gave me before..." Everest choked up
"before what?" Rocky said from the front of the closet
Marshall gave Rocky a quick glare with cold eyes, Rockies ears dropped as Marshall turned back to Everest again...
"it might be better if I show you" Everest regained her composure
Everest grabbed the box with shaking paws, slowly opened it and pulled out a triangle that was red and white striped on the bottom while the top was covered by a blue field with stars. Marshall and Rocky both stared at it in disbelief, neither of them spoke a word until Marshall broke the silence...
"Is...is that a...is that a folded flag?"
Everest nodded her head
"How did it happen?" Rocky asks
Everest took a deep breath, she was going to need all the help in the world to tell this story
"It all started in 2003, a couple of years after a very particular day in September, the military needed some dogs to help the army rangers in Afghanistan..."
Date: February 21, 2003
Location: a small town in Virginia
It was early in the morning, the sun wasn't even up yet, in one room three young husky pups were fast asleep, in the room next to them a red husky was backing his bags while his mate, a grey husky was watching him. They both kept silence until the grey husky voiced her opinion one more time...
"Dawson...you don't have to do this"
"I know, but I've already made my mind up Heather, I'm going with the army rangers and you can't change my mind"
"you've already served in operation enduring freedom, what more do want?"
"Heather I already told you, you're not going to convince me to stay"
"So why are you going when there are so many other qualified younger dogs?" Heather asked almost sobbing
Dawson stopped and thought about it for a moment, but after remembering, he quickly reverted back to packing...
"The army needs scout dogs they can rely on while they're in Afghanistan, that's why I'm going"
Dawson zipped up his bag, threw it over his shoulder and looked into Heather's deep blue eyes, she still had warm tears streaming down her face...
"It's because Danny was in the twin towers when they collapsed...isn't it?" Heather cried
Dawson choked up at that, Danny was his only brother and now he was...gone.
"Maybe...but that's not important now, what's important is that you keep the pups safe"
"But Dawson, what if..." Heather couldn't possibly imagine Dawson not making it home
"Heather relax, this is my last tour in Afghanistan, and once I make it home, I'm done with war. And we'll celebrate everything together as a family"
Dawson gave Heather one last goodbye kiss, only to have it cut short by the rumbling of a military vehicle stopping in the front yard...
"I'm sorry Heather...I've got to go now"
"Alright, be safe out there"
Dawson gave Heather a hug and a warm smile
"That's my girl"
Dawson trotted out to the military vehicle that was waiting for him, he hopped in the back and was greeted by the rest of the veterans serving their last tour in Afghanistan. Heather watched with hot tears streaming down her face again as the vehicle pulled away from the house...
"Just, promise me you'll come back home...alive"
Date: March 19, 2003,
Location: American base in Afghanistan
The Rangers were helping each other pack each other's bags in the Chinook hanger when the captain of the third platoon stepped onto the scene...
"Attention!!"
The platoon stood at attention
"Alright boys, the enemy is spread out in isolated pockets here, here and here..." the captain pointed at a map on the wall
"So our job is to clear these pockets out and take out Osama bin Laden.The operations name is "valiant strike." each trooper will memorize this operation by heart and know his and any other outfits operation to the detail!"
"Sir yes, sir!" the whole platoon chanted in unison
The captain breathed a sigh
"And with any luck, your tour should be over before the fourth of July...dismissed"
The third platoon was then loaded up onto helicopters, where they were transported to a remote village in eastern Afghanistan, the village was reported to be a friendly one, but no one really knew.
When the rangers arrived at the village, they immediately set up the main command center and began looking at maps to determine the best place to start looking for Osama bin-Laden and his followers...
"If you take a squad there, then I'll take the platoon here we should pinch them against the Pakistani border," a ranger said pointing at a map
"Sounds good sir but how do we know that Pakistan won't let bin Laden just cross over?"
"The Pakistani government is known to be an American friendly one and I don't think they would just let a terrorist cross their border"
"Yes sir"
"Alright first squad, let's move out!"
The squad began maneuvering through the rough, mountainous terrain, searching for any cave or hiding place where the terrorists might be hiding. After searching for hours with no luck, the squad leaders made the decision to return to the village...
"Alright boys, we're going back to the village, be on the lookout for anything suspicious"
So the Rangers began marching back to camp and were almost there when they were ambushed by at least 50 terrorists, what followed next was the sound of gunshots and loud voices echoing through the mountains...
"Get down!!!"
"Johnsons hit!"
"Can anybody get a visual!"
"Sir! private Holland is hit!"
"Stroker! Call in air support now!"
"Yes, sir! Airbase 24 this is squad one, come in airbase 24, we need immediate air support, our location is 24 degrees south, 130 degrees east"
"Where are they coming from!"
"Stroker, I need you to also contact the platoon, let them know where we are so they can give us some support!"
"Sir! Platoon three, this is squad one, we are in need if immediate ground support! Our location is 4 miles south-east of the main command center"
The battle only grew more intense as the first squad waited for their support to arrive, platoon three never made it. Squad leader McKnight began wondering just where platoon three was...
"Stroker! Get me platoon three on the radio now!"
"Sir!" Stroker began calling platoon three
"Platoon three, this is squad one, over"
Static
"Platoon three, this squad one, over"
Still static
"Sir I'm not getting anything over the radio"
"Well get us a chopper to come pick us up!"
"Yes, sir! Airbase 24, we're going to need some choppers to come pick us up!...yes I'm sure!...look right now we're pinned down hard, we have a couple K.I.As and multiple wounded, there's no way we can hold out!!!!"
Stroker turned over to McKnight
"They won't send the choppers till they know what happened to platoon three!"
McKnight let out a sigh
"Who wants to go check on the platoon!"
The Rangers were silent until one shouted
"We have Dawson sir!"
McKnight looked over at Dawson
"he's a dog but he'll work!"
The Ranger looked down at Dawson
"Alright Dawson, you're it! Go find the platoon boy!"
Dawson gave a stern bark, then began crawling back towards the village, after he was past the firefight he stood up and started running, never looking back.
Dawson arrived at the village only to find it in smoldering ashes, everything was gone, even the main command center! Dawson scanned the area in a panicked search for any sign of life only to turn up empty.
Dawson was just about to move on when he heard a groan, he stopped in his tracks and tried to locate the area from where the groan was coming, after listening and smelling for the body he was led to a big rock some 50 yards away from the village
Dawson looked behind the rock and found a badly wounded ranger, the ranger groaned in pain then lifted his head and looked at Dawson, the ranger couldn't help but smile...
"Hey buddy, am I glad to see you..."
The ranger grabbed his calf and winced in pain
"We were on our way to help y'all but on our way, we were ambushed by the village, I was trying to flank the right side when I got shot in the leg"
The ranger slowly sat up and grabbed his calf again
"So while I was trying to patch up my leg, there was a big explosion or something that knocked me out, and that was the last I heard of the platoon"
The ranger looked at Dawson
"So where's the rest of the squad?"
Dawson looked back in the general direction from where the gunshots were coming from, once the ranger realized this his smile quickly faded
"They're over there?"
Dawson nodded, the ranger rolled his head around stared at the rock for a couple seconds then grabbed the rock and started pulling himself up, once he had pulled himself up on his two feet, he looked over at Dawson with a smile
"I think we ought to go join them...don't you think?"
Dawson let out a joyful bark
"Alright, but you're gonna have to help me get there," the ranger said
Dawson walked right next to the ranger, Dawson's advanced training had helped him prepare for this. The ranger grabbed Dawson's collar then laid on top of him
"Alright boy let's go!"
Dawson gave a bark, then proceeded to drag the ranger back into the firefight he had just left.
When they arrived, they found the first squad barely hanging on for dear life. the ammo supplies were next to nothing and the battle was at it's hottest point
Dawson and the ranger would've gone unnoticed had McKnight not seen them...
"Dawson over here!"
Dawson drug the ranger over to McKnight with bullets hissing all around him and laid him down
"Wheres the rest of the platoon!?"
"I'm it, sir!"
"You're it!"
"Yes, sir!"
McKnight looked away mumbled something under his breath then looked back at the ranger...
"Good thing Dawson found ya, cause we're about to get out of here! Stroker let them know we have what's left of the platoon!"
"Sir! Airbase 24 this squad one, we have what's left of platoon three, so send those choppers!"
So the squad continued fighting, even though they had no idea when the choppers would come pick them up. Eventually, the squad was depleted to just five men and one dog which included McKnight, the ranger, and Dawson.
The squad was down to their last magazines of bullets when they heard a faint chopping sound in the distance, it wasn't that noticeable at first, but as the sound got closer it got louder and louder until the squad saw a Chinook flying towards them...
"Squad one this is Chinook seven, where is your exact location?"
Stroker reached for the radio
"Look for the smoke!"
Stroker grabbed his smoke grenade, pulled the pin and threw it towards a clearing about 30 yards from the squad, once the grenade hit the ground smoke started spewing out of it
"Rodger, I've got you in my sights. Prepare for a hot extraction"
"Will do!"
McKnight looked over at the men that were left
"We're going home"
The squad gathered all the dog tags of their fallen comrades and waited for the Chinook to land, the Chinook landed in the clearing and the door fell open, after that it was a mad dash for the Chinook
The Rangers made inside the Chinook and started yelling at the pilot
"Alright, we're in let's go! let's go!"
Everything was hectic, then as the door began closing, a grenade was thrown into the Chinook
"GRENADE!"
Dawson had a split second to think, was he going to jump on the grenade? What was going to happen to his family if he did? All these thoughts raced through his mind in this split second but what sealed the deal was the thought "If I don't who will?"
So before anyone could react Dawson jumped on the grenade...
Boom!
DAWSON!"
Mcknight yelled in disbelief as the red husky had just laid his life down for him and the four other rangers
The ride back to the base was one if defeat, the Rangers could only let warm tears slide down their face and stare at the lifeless body in its own pool of blood. What made this death different from the rest was that if he didn't cover the grenade, everyone in the Chinook would've died.
When they arrived at the base, the commander was there and waiting for them, he wanted to be the first to greet the rangers. The Chinook landed on the landing pad and opened the door, the commander watched as the door lowered and a pool of blood came flowing out, he looked up at the men's faces...
"Was it that bad?"
The men nodded their heads. The commander then saw Dawson's lifeless body lying in the Chinook...
"How did it happen?"
"A grenade was tossed in here, then Dawson jumped on it, sir"
"He really was...man's best friend," the commander said
The Rangers got off the Chinooks with heavy hearts, many of there comrades had fallen that day, yet thanks to one dog, those five had managed to survive.
McKnight grabbed Dawson's dog tag before they zipped him up in a white death bag, and searched his canine house for anything else he could ship back to Dawsons family, he found a couple of letters and pictures put them in a big yellow envelope along with a letter of his own then shipped it back to the United States.
Date: April 5, 2003
Location: small town Virginia
A grey husky is washing some food dishes when a taxi cab pulls into the front yard, her heart sinks but she keeps washing dishes acting like she didn't notice until she hears the doors to the taxi open, she looks up and sees a military man carrying a box and a big bright yellow envelope...
"Get in your rooms pups!" she says
"Yes mama" is the reply
The grey husky can hear the steps that military man is taking up the front porch very slowly, there's a moment of silence then, a knock at the front door. The husky slowly walks towards the front door, takes a deep breath, then opens the door...
"May I help you?"
"I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am, but..." the military man choked up
"You're husband...passed...away in Afghanistan recently"
The man took a deep breath
"So I'm giving you what's left of his belongings from the field"
The husky now had warm tears sliding down her cheek, she looked at the man and asked
"When is the funeral?"
"This Saturday"
The man began walking back to his car when he looked back at the husky who was now sobbing
"I'm really sorry ma'am"
He turned back and got into his taxi and left.
The funeral that followed was sad and dreary, the weather was barely raining a spring shower, the husky and her pups watched as the casket passed in front of them, and as the Rangers paid their last respects. The Rangers then lined up, seven of them in a row and shot the last twenty-one shot salute, and when they were done, two rangers folded the flag that was on top of the casket and presented it to miss Heather...
"Our sincerest condolences," the commander said then he and the rest of the rangers slowly walked back to their vehicles
Miss Heather, on the other hand, stayed for a little while longer until the graveyard workers began filling up the hole, she said her last goodbye to her best friend then took her pups home. When they got home a curious pup began wondering about the "Present" that her dad had left her...
"Mom?"
"Yes Everest"
"When can I open dads last present?"
The red husky looked at her pup with a smile
"How about, when you're older...ok?"
The pup stared at the ground and shuffled her feet
"Ok mom" then she turned around and walked out of the room
Date: a couple of months before Everest joins the Paw Patrol
Location: Everest mom's house
"Alright, mom I'm all packed!"
An excited voice filled the room, Heather knew that Everest was bound for the mountains ever since she was little because she, like her father loved the mountains and had her fathers heart and now that day had come.
The grey husky looked over the bright yellow envelope, untouched since the day she got it. Heather let out a deep sigh and called out for her grown pup...
"Okay meet me in the living room before you go!"
"Ok mom!" was the reply
After a couple seconds of silence, Everest walked into the room full of excitement...
"Alright, mom I think I'm ready to go!" she said
Heather couldn't help but smile, she looked at Everest with the envelope in her hand...
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"I don't think..."
Everest gazed at the yellow envelope, her smile slowly faded away
"...so..."
Her mother held out the envelope, Everest slowly reached for it and grabbed it, she held it with both of her paws contemplating on whether or not to open it, she looked at her mom with tears starting to form in her eyes...
"Mom I...I...I don't know if I can open it"
Everest's mom smiled
"Then let's open it together," Heather said
Heather then placed her paw on the envelope and looked at Everest
"On the count of three...one...two...three..."
They opened the envelope and found a letter from her dad along with a poem written by McKnight, so naturally, Everest read her dads letter first...
" Dear Everest,
By the time you read this letter... I'll be gone. So let me give you a few pointers about life before I go. number one would be...live every day as if it were your last, don't worry about tomorrow because you might not have tomorrow. Number two...be reliable, because everyone can respect a reliable person. Number three...be loyal, it doesn't matter if everyone else is doing it, chose the right side and stick with it. Last but not least Number four...don't spend your life regretting the fact that I'm gone, live your life as though I'm right next to you encouraging you...because I am.
With lots and lots of Love, DAD"
Date: present day
Location: Everest's house
Marshall and Rocky stared at the flag and envelope with their jaws dropped...
"You're...you're dad did all that?" Marshall asked
Everest nodded
"Wow, that's amazing!" Rocky said
"Yeah, I guess it is kind of amazing" Everest perked up
"I just have one question...what does the poem say?" Marshall asked
Everest tilted her head and thought about it
"you know...I actually never read it"
"You never read it!" Rocky shouts
"I guess I can read now if you want me too"
"Yes! please! I have to know what it says!" Rocky shouts again
"Ok, ok, I'll read it" Everest laughs
Everest looks inside the box and finds the poem, she reaches down and grabs it...
"Okay, here's what it says..."
"Dear Everest
Hello Everest, my name is Henry McKnight, you probably don't know me or ever will but I was asked by your dad to give you this poem by Tecumseh, it might be a lot to take in, but it also has its truths:
Live your life, by Tecumseh,live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.
When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero...going home."
Marshall looked at Everest with tears streaming down his face, he never knew about her dad. Everest had warm tears sliding down her face too as she put everything back in the box. When she was done she looked over at Rocky who was still wiping his sniffly nose...
"Wow, Everest, that's a family heritage to be proud of," Marshall said
Everest had a warm glowing radiant smile
"Yes it is Marshall"
Yes, indeed it is.
So what do y'all think? I'm going to say this now I don't own any of Tecumsehs poems or any other act of valor quotes.