2018 REVISED EDITION

3 Hours with Rubble

So, after Rocky and Everest had their top-secret fun, they went off to Mr. Porter's, where Rubble was waiting there for them.

I'd bet that it must have been really hard for Rubble to get a hold of himself. The thought of losing a friend was really something he didn't want to face.

Well, okay, none of us wanted to face that, but Rubble is the youngest after all. I guess it was a good thing Skye was able to give him a more brighter perspective on the whole thing.

Rocky also ended up being a help to him as well, when you think about it. . .

"Thank you, Rocky, for all those lectures about saving money," Rubble said to himself as he walked out of Mr. Porter's restaurant. No matter how many rescues the PAW Patrol did, there's no way the pups would ever ask anyone to do something like this for free. Sure, if Mr. Porter knew about Everest's. . . limited time, he probably would be happy to do this for nothing. But of course, Rubble couldn't tell Mr. Porter for two reasons.

One: he didn't have the heart to tell him she was gonna. . . go.

Two: he'd be unable to hold back his tears once the words crossed his lips, and Everest seeing him crying would spoil everything.

And so, Rubble had Rocky to thank for making his part in Everest's best (and last) day ever a reality. Ryder had recently started to give all the pups an allowance for fun or treats or other stuff. On that very first day, Rocky had given them all a talking to about budgeting and saving money for something great. Rubble had found it annoying and silly at first, figuring that he had no reason to wait when he could buy meatballs right away. But the moment he saw that Apollo the Super-Pup skateboard deck, Rubble became the poster pup of saving money.

So, when Rubble handed Mr. Porter about $30, he couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit disappointed.

Rubble frowned and shook it off as he waited by the curve, "No. It's just a skateboard. It's just a toy." Rubble suddenly became misty eyed as he stared into space. With a gently smiled, he said aloud, "Everest is an irreplaceable friend. She's reaaaaal special!"

Rubble then began to drift off into a recent memory from only two days ago. . .

"Prepare for trouble! Cause Rubble's on the double!" Rubble shouted as he drove his rig towards the Kitten Catastrophe Crew's purple carrier. The kittens were all inside, and Mayor Humdinger was standing on top of it, hanging onto a metal strong box he had stolen from Mr. Porter. Inside were all of Mr. Porter's most secret recipes, which the greedy mayor planned to use to open up his own restaurant in Foggy Bottom Bog to make tons and tons of money.

The jet engines on the carrier were starting to heat up, and once they fired they villains would be able to make their escape. However, Rubble zoomed in and swung his rig's digger and struck the carrier just in the nick of time.

Mayor Humdinger dropped the strong box as the force of the blow knocked the carrier along with him and the crew into the air. Just then, the jet engines turned on and propelled the villains up into the sky.

As the kittens meowed in terror, Mayor Humdinger held on for dear life as he screamed, "Curses, agaaaaaiiiiin!"

Chase drove up beside Rubble as they watched the villains disappear into the distance with a twinkle of light.

Chase blinked his eyes and said, "Huh. You know, that makes the third time this week we've beaten them this way. Is this gonna replace his whole 'what if I fall?' thing, or will he go back to that when Jake and Ryder come back?" Chase had said it as if it were merely just an amusing fact he felt like brining attention to.

Rubble shrugged and grinned, "I don't know, but I gotta say that the one yesterday was the best! The look on Mayor Humdinger's face after Rocky sabotaged their carrier, and it BLEW UP!" Rubble rolled onto his back and flailed his legs as him imitated Mayor Humdinger's voice, "'AHHHH! Not again!'"

As Rubble rolled around laughing, Everest rolled in on her vehicle and said, "No way! The first one was the best! When we caught them trying to steal the lighthouse's lightbulb, and we chased them away from the lighthouse, and then Marshall used his water cannon at full force to blast them off towards the sea!" Everest waved her forelegs high and shouted in mock terror, "OH-NOOOOOOOOOO!' SPLASH!"

As the bulldog and husky laughed together, Chase tapped his pup tag and said, "Rocky, Zuma, Marshall; we took care of Mayor Humdinger, so you can open up your blockades."

"Green means go!"

"No pwoblem, dude."

"Yeah! Arrrrroooooo!"

Chase nodded, "Good. And great job to you too, Skye! Your aerial recon made it all come together! You can take the strong box back to Mr. Porter."

"Thanks, Chase! Over and out!"

"Over and out," Chase said, and he ended the calls and sighed in disappointment, "It's too bad we can't just arrest him, but not only is he out of our jurisdiction, but he also just keeps paying everyone off in that corrupt town he's in charge off. What a jerk."

Skye lowered her helicopter's hook, and Chase helped attach it to the strong box. As Skye disembarked towards Mr. Porter's, Everest gave Chase a reassuring smile and said, "Aw, cheer up, Chase. As Jake would say, just chill! That purple guy is just so funny! He never wins anyway!"

"Yep! We always save the day! And no bad guys can't beat me, cause I'm a tough pup! Rrrrrrr!" Rubble said. Suddenly, a different kind of growling was heard. Rubble chuckled and said, "Heh-heh. I guess I'm a hungry pup, too! Beating bad guys sure gives you a big appetite!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of an even louder growling. Rubble and Chase turned to stare at Everest in awe. The husky chuckled and said, "Well, I guess I'm a little hungry too."

"Hey, I thought I had the loudest belly in Adventure Bay?" Rubble asked sourly.

Everest looked at Rubble with a pair of heavy lidded eyes and a satisfied smile and said, "Well, not anymore!"

Rubble gave a look of determination and said boldly, "Oh yeah! Well, how about I challenge you to a Pup Food eating contest!"

Everest grinned and leaned in. "Bring. It. On," she said.

Rubble sighed as he remembered that day. Marshall, being the Medic Pup, made them stop at their ninth bowls. Although he'd never admit to it, Rubble had been a little worried that Everest might have actually been able to out eat him. But right now, that worry had now turned into admiration.

"It's so sad, that the world is gonna loose such a champion of eating . . ." Rubble thought to himself sadly.

"Hey, Rubble!" came Rocky's voice.

Rubble turned and saw Rocky running over, with Everest behind him.

Rubble took a deep breath. "Stay calm. Don't cry. Remember what Skye said. This is supposed to be a happy time. And you're gonna enjoy this too. . ."

Rubble let out the breath he was holding and smiled at his two friends. "Hi Rocky! Hi Everest! You're just in time for lunch!"

Rocky nodded and said, "Well, there's actually something I gotta do, like, right now. So, you and Everest have fun! Bye!"

Rocky quickly ran off in what appeared to Everest to be a random direction. The husky cocked her head and remarked, "He sure ran off in a big hurry. . ."

Rubble smiled nervously, hoping that he wasn't sweating.

Everest then turned and smiled at Rubble, eyes bright and tail wagging, and she asked, "So, what's the surprise?"

Rubble's smile became true and excited, and he said, "Oh, you are gonna love this, Everest! Okay, quick question: do you remember our eating contest?"

Everest nodded and replied cockily, "Yeah. I was on my way to eating twice as much as you when Marshall made us stop."

Rubble closed his eyes and shook his head, a confident smile on his face as he did so. Then, he looked right at Everest and said, "Well, do you see Marshall around anywhere?"

Everest looked to her left. Then she looked to her right. Then she shook her head and said with a grin, "No."

Rubble leaned in close and said, "You like pizza, right?"

Everest grinned in an adorable manner and answered, "A lot. And Jake likes the way I think." A loud growl emanated from Everest's stomach, and she said, "Sounds like playing with Rocky made me hungrier than I thought."

Rubble felt like he was gonna burst from anticipation. "Well, that's great. And I like the way you think too, Everest. Heh-heh. So, how about we have a little rematch, right here, right now." Rubble walked over to the door and called out, "You can bring them out, Mr. Porter!"

Everest's eyes widened as Mr. Porter carried out a stack of four pizza boxes. As Mr. Porter placed the boxes on a table, Rubble ran up and jumped on a chair. The bulldog winked at her and said, "Are you ready, Everest?"

Everest jumped onto the chair opposite to Rubble and said confidently, "You're on!"

About an hour into Rubble and Everest's pizza eating contest, Rocky had just arrived up at Jake's Mountain, where Chase was waiting for him. Rocky pulled his recycling truck up next to Jake's cabin, and then he got out to meet with the police pup.

"Did you pick out a. . . nice place?" Rocky said gently with a slight whimper to his voice.

Chase nodded professionally, "Yes. Right there." Chase pointed over to a patch of dug-up ground a few yards away from the cabin. "So, she'll always be near him," he said.

Rocky whined and hung his head. "Everest was so much fun. . ." he thought.

"Get a hold of yourself, Rocky," Chase said authoritatively as he stood firm, "We've got a job to do. Do you have anything nice we can use to . . ." Chase swallowed hard, ". . . hold her? I think it would mean a lot to her if we made it ourselves."

Rocky nodded and said, "Yeah. Sure thing, Chase."

Rocky then turned and began searching the back of his truck. After a few minutes, he pulled out a wooden sled. "We can use the wood from this old sled to make a nice. . . yeah." Rocky went back into the truck and came back out carrying two cans of Honey Pine wood stain in his mouth. He placed the cans down next to the sled and in a whisper, "This'll be a nice color. . ." Unable to hold it back any longer, Rocky laid himself down and began to softly cry.

Chase moved over to Rocky's side and quickly hugged him, saying, "I know, Rocky. I know. . ."

Pizza is definitely more filling than Pup Food, so Rubble and Everest found themselves in a whole new level of fullness.

Rubble felt really impressed with himself and Everest. The four pizza boxes were empty, and neither of them had shown any sign of slowing down during their gorging spree. Although Rubble couldn't help but be thankful that he couldn't buy any more, because right now he was one hundred percent sure Everest would have out eaten him. Rubble knew the look Everest had in her eye as she sat up straight with her tail wagging. She was still hungry, and he knew it. He, on the other hand, was slouching a bit, and his eyes were already starting to feel heavy.

Everest licked her lips and said, "That was fun! Did I win?"

"We finished at the same time," Rubble corrected.

Everest shrugged, "Oh well. I could still eat more, but then Marshall would probably give me a lecture on healthy eating habits. He's really devoted to his job as a Medic."

Rubble nodded, "Yeah, Ryder taught him a lot, and he actually really likes learning about anatomy and biology and all that 'sciencey' stuff. He's a lot smarter than you'd think, you know."

"And so funny and cute," Everest said softly while looking away bashfully.

"Huh?" Rubble asked.

"Oh, nothing," Everest said with a quiet giggle. She then settled back into her chair and said, "You know, after all the excitement I had with Rocky and then all of that pizza, I think I could use a nap."

Rubble grinned enthusiastically and said, "No problem! Just follow me!"

Rubble jumped out of the chair and ran off. Everest followed, wondering what Rubble had planned.

In the vicinity of the park, Cali peeked out from behind a tree to spy on a pair of seagulls. The birds had a rather large fish between them, and it was simply too good for Cali to pass up.

Cali carefully and quietly began stalking up behind the birds, wearing a sly smirk as she approached. She finally reached pouncing distance and readied herself to spring.

"Hey Cali!" Rubble shouted as he thundered in with Everest right behind him.

The seagulls immediately called out and dispersed, carrying the fish with them.

Cali hissed angrily, and she turned to the pups, meowing in frustration.

Rubble smiled sheepishly, "Oops. Sorry about that Cali. You see, we just kinda need a favor."

Cali simply turned her nose up at him and showed him her tail.

Rubble sighed, "Aww, we didn't mean to ruin your fun, Cali. Just tell us where we can find today's best napping spot right now."

Cali walked forward a few steps, then turned back to Rubble and meowed at him slyly.

"But I don't have time to get you another fish!" Rubble said in dismay.

Cali meowed and shook her head, silently sighing as she started to walk away.

Rubble quickly ran up beside her and said, "Alright then. The three of us can just hang out together all day!"

Cali stopped in her tracks, frozen in shock. Then she looked up at the sky, meowing in frustration. Then she turned to Rubble and grumpily meowed several times at him.

Rubble nodded his head excitedly. "Alright, that sounds perfect! Thanks Cali, and I'll remember to get you that fish later on. You're the best," Rubble said kindly.

Cali rolled her eyes, but she gave Rubble a small smile nonetheless before going off on her way with a sweep of her tail.

Everest approached Rubble and said with wonder, "I didn't know you could talk to cats."

Rubble blushed and said, "Well, I don't really speak kitty. I just know what she's trying to say. Like how Chase understands Little Hootie."

"Who?" Everest asked.

"No, not Hoo. Hootie."

"Who?"

"No, Hootie."

"But who's that?"

"Ohhh! Who is Little Hootie."

"Yeah, hoo? I mean, who? . . ."

". . . ."

". . . ."

Everest and Rubble suddenly burst out laughing.

"I'll tell you the whole story on the way. Follow me!" Rubble said as he led Everest onward.

". . . and that's how the pups saved a hoot!" Rubble concluded as he and Everest lay settled down on a pair of long chairs on the beach.

"Wow, that's a cute story," Everest said as she lay partially under the shade of the sun umbrella.

"Hey, wasn't I awesome?!" Rubble said, puffing his chest out slightly, "I've saved the day tons of times! Like the time where Katie and Cali were stuck on the ski lift on Jake's Mountain! I-"

Rubble stopped when she heard the sound of Everest's gentle snoring. He grinned at her, realizing that all the food and whatever top-secret game she had played with Rocky had finally caught up to her. Rubble's full stomach was catching up to him as well, so he settled down and enjoyed a well needed nap.

"You know, I totally could have eaten more than Rubble if there had been more pizzas to eat!"

Everest, you would've gotten sick for real.

"That's what you think! I defy medical science!"

Oh brother. . .

"Aw, come on, Marshall. Do you want me to be boring?"

No way! Don't ever change, Everest!

"You don't worry about that. Hey, next we talk about Chase, right?"

Uh-huh. Your time with him was super exciting. . .