Puppy Love
It was a perfect day. The sun was shining, and the birds were chirping. In the middle of a beautiful field, Chase and Skye were sitting together.
"Isn't it a beautiful day, Chase?" Skye sighed.
"Sure is." Chase nodded. "And the company's not bad either."
"Oh, you're so sweet." Skye chuckled.
"Not as sweet as you." Chase beamed.
The two leaned forward, their noses about to touch...
Chase suddenly shot up, finding himself in his pup-sized house. He'd had the dream again. He had been having it on and off for the last week. He had long held hidden feelings for his cockapoo teammate, but had always managed to keep them in check. Until now...
Chase yawned and stretched before stepping outside. As usual, Skye was the only other pup who had woken up as early as Chase.
"Good morning, Chase." She smiled.
"Morning, Skye." Chase said nervously, trying to push the dream out of his mind. "Time to rouse the troops."
Together, they woke up the other pups, and started their morning routine. After breakfast and yoga, they went to the park to play. As the pups split up to have fun, Skye played tug-o-war with Marshall. Chase watched her from out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey, Chase!" Rubble called. "You wanna play tag with us?"
"Huh?" Chase turned. "Oh, sure..."
"What's up, dude?" Zuma asked. "You look a little out of it."
"Oh, it's just, uh..." Chase stuttered.
"Wait... you're looking at Skye." Rocky smirked. "Why? Do you like her?"
"Uh..." Chase mumbled.
"He does!" Rubble chuckled. "Chase likes Skye, Chase likes Skye..."
"Shhh!" Chase hissed, glancing over to see if Skye had heard. "Please don't tell her. Please!"
"Okay, we won't." Zuma shrugged. "You're totally overreacting, though. 'Cause I'm pretty sure likes you back."
"Really?" Chase smiled.
"Why don't you just tell her you like her?" Rocky suggested.
"Well, I..." Chase said, flustered.
At that moment, Marshall, pulling as hard as he could, tripped on a ball. His mouth opened in shock, and the rubber rope snapped back, pulling Skye into the air.
"Whoa!" Skye yelped.
"Skye!" Chase yelped.
The German shepherd pup rushed over, jumped up, and caught Skye. They tumbled onto the ground, Skye ending up on Chase's chest.
"Thanks, Chase." Skye sighed with relief. "That was a close one."
"Uh, n-no problem." Chase stuttered, uncomfortably aware of close their noses were.
"You really came through for me." Skye smiled, inching slightly closer.
Just then, their collars beeped.
"PAW Patrol, to the lookout!" Ryder's voice called.
"Ryder needs us!" The pups chorused.
"Come on!" Skye backflipped off Chase. "Let's go!"
"Saved by the beep." Chase whispered, as the pups began their rush to the lookout.
As usual, Marshall was the last pup in line. As he headed toward the elevator, he tripped on another ball, and crashed into the other pups, knocking them other.
"Stee-rike..." He mumbled woozily.
The elevator carried them up to the control room, the pups changing into their uniform en route.
"Ready for action, Ryder, sir!" Chase announced.
"Thanks for hustling, pups." Ryder smiled, activating the main screen. "Katie and Callie were hiking up in the hills. Katie slipped, and now she and Callie are trapped on a ledge."
"Oh, no!" Marshall gasped.
"Poor Katie!" Rubble whimpered.
"And Callie!" Skye added.
Ryder activated the computer's pup selector.
"Skye, I'll need you in your copter to find Katie and Callie." Ryder declared.
"Yipee!" Skye backflipped. "Let's take to the sky!"
"And Chase, I'll need you and your winch to help lift Katie and Callie up." Ryder continued.
"Chase is on the case!" Chase stepped forward.
"This is your chance, Chase." Rocky whispered. "You and Skye, on a mission together... It's the best chance you have to tell her!"
"Shh!" Chase hissed.
"Alright! PAW Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder cheered, before racing to his pole.
Skye went down the slide, followed by Chase. Once their houses had transformed to vehicle mode, they set off for the hills, Ryder leading in his ATV. As they neared their target, Skye activated her telescopic goggles, and spotted Katie and Callie.
"I see them!" She called. "Turn left!"
Ryder and Chase complied, driving up a slope. Following Skye's directions, they stopped at the edge of a craggy hill, Katie and Callie stuck on a ledge many feet below them.
"Everything okay, down there?" Ryder called.
"We're fine!" Katie yelled. Callie mewed loudly, not sharing her owner's optimism.
"Chase, activate your cruiser's winch." Ryder instructed. "I'll grab hold, and you can lower me down. Then you can lift us all back up."
"Winch, ruff!" Chase called.
The bark-activated machinery responded, and the winch unwound. Ryder grabbed hold of it as it slid over the edge. Gripping it tightly, he rappelled down the side, soon reaching the ledge.
"Okay, grab hold!" Ryder told Katie.
Katie did as instructed, using the arm that wasn't holding Callie. Just then, there was a crumbling. The ledge gave way under their combined weight, leaving Ryder, Katie and Callie dangling.
"Oh, no!" Skye gasped. As she directed her chopper toward them, it was caught in a wind tunnel, and veered off-course.
"Skye!" Chase yelped.
"I'm fine!" Skye called, as she fought to regain control. "Help Ryder and Katie!"
Chase did as instructed. As he kept pulling, there was a another crumbling sound, as the ground beneath his cruiser started to crack. Chase recognised the danger, but couldn't stop his mission; He could only help the ground held long enough for him to lift Ryder, Katie and Callie up.
As the liftees neared the top, one of the front tires slipped into a hole that had suddenly appeared. The other one joined. Skye's chopper returned just in time for her to see it.
"Chase, get out of there!" She called.
"Almost there!" Chase declared.
Just as Ryder, Katie and Callie reached the top, the ground beneath the holes started to come apart. Once they were on solid ground, Chase backed up, moving away from the crumbling rock.
"Good job, Chase." Ryder smiled. "That was a close one."
"I knew you could do it." Katie smiled, while Callie miaowed appreciatively.
Skye landed her chopper, she and Chase rushing to each other.
"Are you okay?" They asked at the same time. "I'm fine."
They then chuckled.
"You were both good pups today." Ryder assured them. He then looked around. "Hmm, the ground seems a little unstable here. I'll talk with Mayor Goodway, see if she could have this hill cordoned off for safety."
"One thing's for sure, I won't be going hiking for a while." Katie joked.
As they returned home, Chase thought about what had almost happened to Skye, and came to a decision.
Back at the lookout, Chase and Skye had just parked their vehicles, turning them back into houses.
"Skye, can I talk to you for a second... in private?" Chase asked nervously.
"Sure." Skye nodded, a little bewildered.
Chase led her to the back of the lookout.
"What's up, Chase?" Skye asked.
"I... have something I need to tell you." Chase declared. "I... like you, Skye. I really, really like you."
"You do?" Skye smiled, only partially surprised (she had a feeling Chase felt that way about her). "Well, I really like you too."
"But it can't really work." Chase sighed.
"What can't?" Skye asked.
"Us... 'being together'." Chase declared. "We're teammates. We can't be worrying about each other when we're out on missions."
"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" Skye smirked.
"Yeah, but... I'm Ryder's second." Chase continued. "I can't afford to treat you any better then the others."
"So don't." Skye said matter-of-factly. "I wouldn't want to you anyway."
"Really?" Chase gaped.
"Of course not." Skye nodded. "That was strike two, by the way. Wanna try for three?"
"Well... it's a big change." Chase grasped at a straw. "What if we're not ready?"
"We won't know 'til we try." Skye pointed out.
"Um, I..." Chase stuttered, out of reasons.
Smiling, Skye tilted her head up and licked Chase on the cheek. The German shepherd blushed sheepishly. Skye did the same, surprised by her own boldness. Chase then returned the favour, lightly running his tongue across her cheek. Skye responded by nuzzling against him.
"So, I guess we're going for it, huh?" Chase nuzzled her back.
"Uh-uh." Skye sighed blissfully.
"Great." Chase rubbed his nose against hers, his dream having become a reality.
Unbeknownst to them, the rest of the PAW Patrol, Ryder, Katie and Callie were watching.
"Well, it's about time." Rocky snorted.
"Yeah, I was totally getting impatient with those two." Zuma declared.
"Really?" Marshall asked. "I never even noticed..."
"Aww, that's so sweet." Katie grabbed Ryder's hand. "Isn't it, Ryder?"
"Uh, yeah..." Ryder blushed. "Sweet."
"Looks like Chase and Skye aren't going to be the only couple around here..." Rubble chuckled.
Meanwhile, blissfully ignorant of their audience, Chase and Skye continued their nose-rubbing, both happy as could be.
The End.
(PAW Patrol and all related characters are the property of Keith Chapman and Nickelodeon.)