AN: I just found out my story got on TV Tropes. Maybe the story will get its own page. So I'm going to answer a few questions I've gotten from PM's and reviews. I won't say the names of the people for the sake of privacy:
Yes, I know I spelled Mayor Goodway's name wrong twice. Once the fic is finished, I will go back and fix mistakes.
I did toy with the idea of Marshall and Everest getting together officially, but I'm not going to do that. Yeah, Everest has a crush on Marshall (who doesn't know) but the story already has a couple so I can leave it open in the air on the possibility that they might get together in the future.
Only two more chapters remain.
Yes, I will be writing more Paw Patrol, I have the following ideas:
-A comedy/romance where Marshall gets a confession note from an anonymous love interest on Valentines Day and sets off to find her.
-A sad story where Zuma's fear is explored, after Pups Save a Toof, and it's tied to his past (I know it implies he's afraid of ghosts, but hey Fanfiction. I can can change a few things.)
-A comedy where Rocky falls in love with a female dog from Zuma's swim club, but he accidently agrees to go swimming with her
Don't know which one I'll do first.
The reason I still went with the funeral scene was because I wanted to keep it left in the air if Marshall was alive or not. Not the best reveal, but I wanted to show the pups in a deep emotional state.
There was an original plan to have a scene with Ryder, his Dad, and Katie, but I plan to have something of that nature in this chapter. I didn't want to make the chapter too long.
There is no planned sequel.
Anyway, enjoy the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol
The moment Everest hung up the call, Marshall felt a flood of emotions overwhelm him. Everyone had been crying, grateful that he was alive. His parents were there, holding each other as they told him they loved him. Ryder's face was the happiest he had ever seen. And then there were the pups…
They missed him. They were mourning for him. He thought they didn't want him, but he was wrong. They searched everywhere, even through a storm, to find him. He never heard so many apologies at once; he could still hear them in his head. Marshall wanted nothing more than to leap out of the bed, rush down to Adventure Bay, and hug them all until his front paws fell off.
But then he remembered how they hurt him. Yelled at him. His heart began to feel like it was in pain again. He could still remember those harsh words that drove him to do this. But they look so sorry.
He closed his eyes. He wanted to forgive his friends, he really did, but what if this happened again? Could he stay with Paw Patrol? Could he trust them? He had to make sure.
"Jake. Everest?" asked Marshall, getting their attention. "Can you do something for me?"
The moment the call ended, everyone got into their vehicles and rushed off for Jake's mountain, sirens blaring. Chase was pretty sure that everyone in Adventure Bay was confused by this, but that wasn't important. What was important was that Marshall, his brother, was alive. Chase wanted to cry, he probably was, but he was too busy rushing head of the rest of the pack as they drove up the mountain.
Chase had so many things he wanted to say to Marshall, but most importantly was the apology. He didn't care if Marshall forgave him or not, he just wanted to hug him and tell him how sorry he was. He looked behind him and saw the rest of the Paw Patrol, Ryder's ATV, and his father's truck containing Katie and Marshall's parents. Looking up, he saw his crush, Skye, not too far behind him. He blushed thinking about how they confessed just moments ago and were about to kiss. Are we… boyfriend and girlfriend now?
He knew they had to have a talk, but only after they had talked to Marshall first.
Before he knew it, he reached the main cabin where Jake and Everest lived and was about to rush inside when the said pup and owner stood in front of the door. "Wow, dude. Can't go in there yet. We need to talk."
"Jake, you have to let me in! I need to see Marshall!" shouted Chase, growling and showing his teeth.
Upon seeing her owner threatened, Everest stood up in front of Chase and growled back. "He said to wait. If you actually use your head for a change you won't do something stupid like you did to Marshall."
"What did you say?! I'm his best friend!" shouted Chase.
"At least I was a better friend than you six were!" shouted Everest.
"You don't-"
"Chase! Heel!"
Ryder's command instantly made him stop and sit down. He slowly turned around and saw how the others were staring at him with either worry or disappointment. Ryder walked up, shaking is head before he put his hand on his dog's head. "I know you want to see Marshall, but yelling at the ones who saved him isn't going to help."
Chase whimpered in shame as he looked at Marshall's saviors and bowed. "I-I'm sorry. You're right, Everest. I haven't been a good friend. I helped make this horrible mistake happen. Forgive me?"
Everest didn't say anything, but sighed. "I'll forgive you if Marshall does. Which leads us to what we need to talk about."
"Marshall wants to talk to you in three groups," said Jake, shaking his head. "Dude's been through a lot and wants to get some stuff of his chest."
"Does he hate us?" asked Rubble, whimpering.
Jake and Everest looked at each other before the former answered, "We don't know. That's up to you guys to find out."
The five pups sighed and lowered their heads even further. Chase closed his eyes and realized that he might never get Marshall's trust again after what happened. Yet, we deserve it. Our actions caused all this to happen. If Marshall can't forgive me or the other pups, I'll… I'll just have to live the burden for the rest of my life.
"Whose going first?" asked Ryder's father.
"He wants his parents first," said Everest.
Without wasting a second, the two adult damatians rushed in to see their son followed by Jake and Everest.
"Mom! Dad!" shouted Marshall as he was tackled by his two parents. He laughed with joy as they nuzzled, barked, and licked. It made Jake and Everest smile as they watched the family. After the excitement had worn off, the two hugged their child with tears dripping down their eyes. Marshall whimpered, but a smile was on his face. "I… I missed you… I thought… when I was going to die… I… I…"
"What were you thinking, Marshall!" shouted Misty in a tone that made everyone in the room wince. "You almost died out there! How could you do something so stupid as run away from your home?! If you were that upset, or needed to be away for a while, you could have told us and we could have taken you home! Instead, you almost… we thought you…"
With a heartfelt cry, Misty held onto her son as Blaze nuzzled his wife. "When we heard you died, we thought our world had fallen apart. We didn't know what to do. How could we have gone on without our baby boy?"
Marshall felt the guilt in his heart stab him again and again like a harpoon. "I didn't mean to make you cry. It was stupid, and I'm sorry! I'll never run away again!"
"It's okay, Marshall," whispered Blaze as he hugged his son and smile. "You're safe thanks to Jake and Everest. That's all that matters. "
"Yeah, I owe them a lot," whispered Marshall, giving Everest a smile.
"In fact," he turned around and gave Everest a toothy smile. "Everest, you have my permission to marry my son. Welcome to the family!"
"W-what/Dad?!" shouted both Everest and Marshall, who blushed as images of them in a wedding ceremony entered their heads.
Misty rolled her eyes and swatted her laughing husband in the face. "Ignore him. He's being an idiot again."
"Just trying to lighten the mood."
Marshall giggled before sighing. "I'm really sorry I ran away. If you want to bring me home as punishment, I understand."
"Don't you want to stay with Paw Patrol?" asked Blaze.
"I…" Marshall lowered his gaze. "I don't know What if Ryder is upset with me? What about the pups and what they did to me?"
Blaze pup a paw on his son's shoulder. "Marshall, your friends were all mourning for you at your funeral just a few hours ago. They regret what they did and showed how much they loved you by looking for you non-stop. Did you know that they offered to be punished by us for what they did?"
"T-they did? Why?" asked Marshall.
"Because they thought they were responsible or your death," said Misty. "They submitted judgement to us. We could have done anything to them, but we chose to forgive them. Just one look into their eyes and we could tell they would have taken everything back that they said about you."
"I…" Marshall didn't know what to say, he just sighed and nodded. "I see."
Did they really regret it? That much?
After a long talk and a hug session with his parents, Marshall called for Ryder and his dad. Katie decided to stay behind, seeing as this was a family thing and she was only here for support. When Marshall saw his owner's face to face for the first time in days he jumped of bed and into his arms, laughing and licking him. Ryder, with tears on his, laughed as he hugged his fire pup harder then he ever could.
Ryder's father smiled and scratched the dalmatian's ear. "Good to see you're among the living, Marshall."
"Thanks, Professor!" said Marshall before he turned to Ryder and whimpered. "I'm sorry. I wasn't a good pup."
"What do you mean, Marshall?" asked Ryder.
"I… I ran away and worried everyone. Even worse, I made you all think I was dead. I'm so sorry." Marshall jumped off Ryder's arms and back towards the bed, his back facing his owner. "If… If you don't want me anymore… for what I did… I understand."
A surprise hug was the answer as Ryder whispered, "Don't ever say that Marshall. You're one of my pups. If anything, this is my entire fault. I'm responsible for you and I failed. I'm so sorry."
"Ryder, it's not your fault!" shouted Marshall, turning around and shaking his head. "It's mine! I ran away!"
"But I should have stopped you or known what the other pups did," said Ryder.
"I didn't tell anyone! I should have gone to talk to you!"
"Enough!" shouted Ryder's Dad as he got their attention. "The truth is there is a lot to be blamed for, but there is no point in thinking about it as it's all in the past." He put his hand on both pup and owner and smiled at them. "You two found each other and you've learned from your mistakes. "That's the most important part."
He turned to his son. "Ryder, did you not scold the pups for their actions and organize the best rescue you could to find Marshall? Never once giving up until it seemed all was lost? You did your best to rescue Marshall and showed how much you cared for him. But most importantly, you kept calm when the situation called for it. And don't say you could have prevented this, your pups should have known better than to do what they did. And I have a feeling they know better now, thanks to this experience."
He then turned to Marshall. "Marshall, what you did was foolish, but we understand you were hurt. But never think that there isn't someone out there who loves you. You are family to me and Ryder, and he'll always be there for you. And I know you may be thinking the pup betrayed you, but friends fight all the time. They care about you. Did you now that Chase and Skye fought a bear together because they believed it killed you?"
"Wait, that bear?! The one that hurt me?!" asked Marshall, jaw dropping.
"Yup. Chase and Skye ignored my orders to come home cause of the storm and continued to look for you. They fought that bear and won, for you."
Marshall just sat there, stunned beyond all reason. His friends. They fought for him. The almost died for him. He closed his eyes and nodded.
"Ryder, I think I need to talk to the pups."
