Chapter two: The Tales Of Chase
"Chase was just a young pup," Ryder continued his story. "So after we gave him a bath, we decided to feed him..."
Katie held Chase close holding him on his back and the bottle up so he could drink it. Katie's tender smile confirmed her endearing pride for the small pup; she now realized how soft his coat actually was now that it was clean. And she could feel his little tail brushing against her leg, as he wagged it with content. The German Shepard soon fell asleep, after nearly drinking the whole bottle, and was snuggled down on a puppy-sized pup bed. Katie and Ryder watched him from a distance.
"He's adorable." Katie commented dreamily, leaning against the counter.
"Yeah, he is." Ryder agreed, also leaning on the outer edge of the counter; next to her.
"I wonder why someone would just put him in a box and leave him all alone." Katie suddenly felt sad at the thought of someone doing that to poor Chase."
"I know." Ryder sighed, looking down at Chase again...
"We later learned that it was an accident." Ryder finished. "I tried for months to find out where he came from, but the return address on the box I found him in was ripped apart. Eventually I gave up and kept him,... and raised him myself."
"Oh no!!" Skye whined sadly. "So Chase was thrown in a box?"
"Not exactly." Chase told her shaking his head sheepishly. "See back when I was living with Billy, Maggie and Mr. Prescott, I was enrolled to police pup training. Billy was my handler, he taught me a lot of what I know." Chase shot a knowing and thankful grin up at Billy.
"Really? So you were training to be a police pup before you met Ryder?" Rocky articulated.
"Uh huh," Chase nodded again. "And that's where I was, when I... ended up in that box."
"So.. how did you end up in that box." Marshall asked, curiously raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I kinda fell into the box." Chase smiled awkwardly, recalling it like it was yesterday. "See it was right after training. Billy usually came to get me in the mornings, and we would do some training, and then we'd have a break for lunch. Well one day someone left the door open and I decided to go find Billy myself. Eventually I got lost and wandered into the shipping dock. I accidentally got locked in one of the storage sheds, and when I tried to climb out one of the small windows... I fell into one of the boxes. Someone came in and I didn't want to get caught so I stayed still. What I didn't realize was that the box I landed in was meant to be shipped to some other place, so I kinda got shipped with it." Chase couldn't hide a smile, while still being a little embarrassed by the whole thing.
"And some how he ended up on your door step." Billy finished thoughtfully, putting the pieces together.
"Yep, and when I couldn't get a hold of you, he kinda became my pup. And I've had him ever since." Ryder concluded. "I guess he's also the reason I started the PAW Patrol. He was the first member of the PAW Patrol ever!"
"Wow!" The three newcomers breathed. Maggie then came up and hugged Ryder, to which he was surprised by, but accepted it nonetheless.
"Thank you... for taking such good care of our Chase." She said kindly.
"And I guess, now, he's your Chase." Frank emphasized, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder once she drew back.
"But- don't you still want me?" Chase asked, feeling a little sad.
"Of course we do." Frank smiled gently. "But look around you, Chase... You've got a life here. And a family that loves you." He gestured Ryder and the pups as he said this. "We couldn't ask you to leave that all behind for us. And, besides, remember what I always told you." He pulled Chase's chin up to meet his gaze in saying this.
"One day I'd have to leave your side to find my own way." Chase recited these words as if reading them off the man's face.
"That's right. I always told you that one day you would have to carve out your own destiny. And it looks, to me, like you have." Frank smiled proudly at the pups and Ryder, then back down at him. "This...PAW Patrol sounds like a pretty big deal. And you helped to start it."
"I guess you're right." Chase sighed, feeling only slightly better, his tail steadily beginning to wag.
"Besides..." Maggie shrugged carelessly. "Now that we know where you are we can visit you. If that's alright with Ryder." Chase looked back at the boy hopefully.
"Of course!" Ryder smiled broadly. "You're always welcome to come visit. I'm sure me and the pups would love to get to know you guys! Right pups?" Ryder glanced around at his other pups with his hands on his hips. The pups happily barked and howled in agreement, Chase's spirits rising once again.
Ryder smiled happily, the mystery was now mostly solved, and he was glad that Chase got to see them again. He could tell that these people were very important to the blue police pup. Suddenly two hands reached around him and covered his eyes.
"Guess who?" An amazingly familiar voice said. Ryder couldn't believe who it was that was standing right behind him.
"Maya?!" The hands were removed and Ryder turned around to see his sister standing there beaming mischievously. Her eyes sparkling happily upon seeing her brother again.
"What are you doing here?!" Ryder was both confused and excited.
"Oh I was just passing through, and thought I'd stop by while I'm at it." Maya's slightly British accent was something he'd, just now, realized he missed hearing.
"Well thanks!" Ryder smiled hugging her. They broke apart after a brief moment and Maya turned the pups that now surrounded them.
"It's great to see you too pups!" Maya grinned, bracing her hands to her knees to bend down closer to them. She then looked up to catch a glimpse of Chase still surrounded by the Prescotts. "And.. your new friends?" She said, a bit curious.
"Yeah!" Chase squeaked excitedly. "This is Billy, Maggie, and Mr. Prescott." Chase gestured to each of them in turn.
"Please, call me Frank." Mr. Prescott said, shaking a hand at her bashfully. "Chase has always known me a certain way. And that's the way he operates. Once he learns a certain way to call someone; he keeps it."
"Oh believe me I know!" Maya agreed with a chuckle. "Remember when you first got Chase, he couldn't say my name right, so we taught him to call me May?" She looked to her brother knowingly.
"Yeah. And Rocky couldn't remember Jake's name, and so we taught him to remember the first letter of his name; so he could call him Jay?" The siblings shared a laugh at the memories as they returned.
"Well then Chase isn't the only one to struggle with names." Frank commented, thoughtfully.
"Yeah." Ryder chuckled.
"Why's that?" Marshall spoke up.
"Well see Chase here, when he was younger and was just starting to talk; he couldn't really say Billy's first name. And so we shortened it and taught him to call him Billy instead." Frank explained simply.
"You mean Billy isn't his real name?" Skye asked, cocking her head in surprise.
"Not exactly." Billy chimed in. "See- my first name is William, but I have most people call me Billy. And it was easier for Chase to remember. Cause see- the Sargent put him in the K-9 program sooner than normal. He wasn't really supposed to be in the training program for another couple of years. But somehow the Sargent pulled some strings to get him in; he said there was a lot of potential in him. And I guess he was right."
"Aww, But I wouldn't be as good as I am now without you!" Chase remarked, snuggling close to him. "You taught me a lot of what I know." Billy beamed and scratched the pup's neck.
"And I'm glad it paid off." He said thankfully.
"Anyway, I'm Maya." The girl continued. "Ryder's my brother. I was just on my way back home to Barkingburg when I thought I'd stop in to see them."
"You live in Barkingburg?!" Maggie squeaked with excitement and amazement. Her eyes flashing with wonder.
"Yup. Ryder did for a little while, but moved away to be here." Maya explained briefly. "So you know Chase?" She went on, having noticed how comfortable the German Shepard was around them.
"Ha! Know him!" Billy scoffed playfully.
"We practically raised him." Frank chuckled heartily. "He was born in my breeding facility outside of Barkingburg. And we'd helped his mother care for him since then... which reminds me..." Frank shifted his weight onto his cane and turned his head around. "Say Chess, you gonna come join us?" Chase craned his neck curiously to peek around him at whoever Mr. Prescott was talking to. To his surprise another German Shepard strode up to come muzzle to muzzle with him.
"Woah! They looked exactly alike!" Marshall commented, awestruck.
"You're right Marshall." Ruder agreed. "I bet if Chase wasn't wearing his PAW Patrol uniform we'd never know the difference." Chase and the other pup stared at each other a moment longer before the pup spoke.
"Chase? No way!" He said, his eyes flashing proudly, tail violently wagging. "Wow! Who knew my little brother was a member of the famous PAW Patrol."
"Chester?!" Chase gasped, dumbfounded by that realization, finally recognizing his brother; unable to keep himself from hugging him.
"Little brother?" The pups echoed, confused once more. Chase and the new pup soon parted, their eyes twinkling with relief and gratitude of seeing one another again.
"I can't believe you're here too." Chase told him.
"Yeah, well you don't get to have all the fun." Chester joked, nudging Chase playfully. "So whatcha been up to lately? Haven't seen you since we were pups."
"Well.. I've been here, doing my PAW Patrol duty. Ever since Ryder took me in, and found out I was training to be a police pup, he'd been training be to be one til I got my certification. And I've been the PAW Patrol's police pup and traffic cop every since. I'm also a spy too!" Chase gushed, his excitement building with every word.
"Wow! That's amazing!!" Chester gasped in amazement, gibbing him a high five. He was going to say something further, but a sudden gust of wind picked up and the pups had to hold onto their hats before they blew away. Everyone's eyes lifted to the skies; as they blinked in the sunlight, they could make out a big black helicopter with deep red accents land on the sand next to the boardwalk on the beach. Chase squinted as the sand blew around them. A booted foot stepped out of the passenger compartment of the helicopter, the group's eyes widening in confusion at who the foot belonged to.
Well here's the next chapter. Phew! The Christmas season is always a busy time. But I got it done. Hope you enjoy and enjoy your holidays!! Thx!!!