Wow this story has a lot more chapters than I was expecting to give it. Don't know if that's a good or a bad thing, but it is getting closer to the end now. About 3/4 of the way through. This chapter skips ahead a few days because I wanted there to be some developments that wouldn't really happen in the space of a few hours, and reading through my previous chapters, I felt as if I should have done that sooner, as a lot happened during the day after the crash, and I feel as if it would have been better if I let more time pass between events, but this is the first time I've wrote something, so at least I'll remember for the future.

I know at the start of the story, and in the description, I said this wouldn't really focus on romance, but I just sorta added it a few chapters ago and I think it's going well. In this sorta situation, I think I'd want someone to comfort me too. SO! I am adding romance to this story. And yes, there is a malexmale pairing. Don't like it? Tough :)

Thanks to wrldqueek for pointing out a few things I missed, especially messing up names which when reading through it again, actually sometimes made me laugh. Just updated it and it's only had one or two tweaks to fix grammar and messed up names. I did think I got them all when I was writing it, but if I have missed more, please let me know by copying and pasting the sentence into a PM and I'll fix it asap.

Gonna keep this brief, I'll waffle on some more at the end of the chapter, so that people who want to read the story and not listen to me can do without having to scroll tonnes of pages.

Chapter 10: Rocky's Rescue

9:45pm - 1 Day after crash

The sound of the ocean roared outside the confines of the Sea Patroller. Inside, six pups sat exhausted. After days, the rain had finally subsided, or the Pups had sailed out from under the clouds, either way, one certain mixed breed was grateful for the reduction in the amount of water he was going to have to come into contact with throughout their mission. He sat outside on the deck, watching the dark horizon for the sign of life. He knew he was miles away, even days away from Scrawlrock Isles, and even then, they'd have to find which one they were on. Rocky was formulating plans, he worked best separated away from others, it meant his mind had more time to concentrate on more important topics than "tug-rope" or "tag". Sure, Rocky loved playing with the others, and would happily play over work, but this was no time for games. He continued to stare out over the edge of the ship, not hearing the sound of footsteps approaching from behind.

"Wocky?" Rocky turned his head to see Zuma stood, looking concerned. "It's fweezing out here dude. Not to mention it's getting late, you coming back in soon?" The lab asked.
"Um, who's piloting the ship?" Rocky asked, changing the subject.
"Mawshall and I agreed we all needed rest, so we but wobodog in charge of the helm", he answered, "and when he said all of us need west, that includes you". Rocky sighed nodding.
"Just.. five more minutes out here Zuma". Zuma nodded and sat next to Rocky, silently staring up at the stars.
"Jeez, you can see all of them out hewe. Can barely see this many back home", Zuma said, admiring the view.
"We're miles away from civilisation in all directions. Light pollution blocks our view back home, so we-", Rocky stopped, seeing the glazed look in Zuma's eyes, "um.. Yeah, they are pretty sweet out here".

"Rocky called him cute", Everest said, watching out the window at the two male pups sat at the bow of the ship.
"What?" Marshall answered, walking over and joining her.
"I think he has a crush on him", she continued.
"What? Zuma and Rocky?" Marshall asked. Sure, it didn't bother him even slightly, the idea of two male pups, but.. Rocky and Zuma? They were so... different to each other. One can't stand water, and the other practically lives in it. Rocky is so, calculated, whilst Zuma is entirely impulsive. "It's not our place to say Everest", Marshall finally said, walking away from the window. "C'mon, we need rest too."
"He also said you had a crush too". Marshall froze, turning around.
"Uh... what?"
"Your crush", she answered, turning away from the window, "and.. if you don't mind me saying.. I'm quite fond of the colour red too". Marshall gulped and blushed.
"Eh heh heh, um.. Everest, we.. we should be getting some rest". Marshall stuttered, walking away. "In our own rooms", he said, pushing Everest out as she tried to follow.
"I get it, I get it... we don't want to... rock the boat too much?" Marshall quickly slammed the door as Everest laughed.

"Zuma... why didn't you tell me about your plan?" Rocky asked. Zuma thought about his response for a while, continuing to look up at the stars. "Didn't you trust me?" Zuma didn't like that. Of course he trusted Rocky.
"Of course I twust you dude. I wasn't actually gonna tell anyone originally, but Skye was in the woom when I found the signal, and she and I agweed that we shouldn't tell anyone because we didn't know how they'd weact".
"So how did Rubble get involved?"
"He found me and Skye in your puphouse with the page. He didn't weally have a choice, either tell Mawshall and rat us out, or join us. Rubble's too caring to just give up on Chase and Wyder like that. He'd always put family before his duties. Just like me, and Skye-"
"And me" Rocky interrupted. "I'd always put you guys before Adventure Bay. If I'm totally honest with you here Zuma, and you can't tell anyone about this", Zuma nodded, "I think we're too good for the town. I know that sounds so.. vain? Big headed? But c'mon, we rarely get big rescues, we just rescue a chicken from a bell tower, or convince a kid to go to the dentist? I can build machines like the puphouses we drive, or this boat we're on. I helped Ryder develop most of the tech we own, and the machines I have to make include a Peanut launcher? Sometimes.. I feel as if we're wasted on the town, and if they weren't so damn lazy, maybe they could solve their own problems". Zuma sat, looking a little stunned at Rocky's confession.
"I suppose I feel the same way sometimes too dude," Rocky looked up at Zuma, looking confused. "I mean, how many times do I get called out on wescues? For a town that lives on the edge of the ocean, I don't get a lot of jobs. Obviously, that's a good thing, I wouldn't want more people in danger just for me to feel more useful, but.. sometimes I feel as if I'm not even part of the team, seeing you guys get called out on missions all the time". Rocky felt bad for Zuma. He understood what he was talking about, he too noticed how little Zuma was called out. Almost every mission had Chase, or Marshall or Skye, heck, even he got called out more often than Zuma.
"Rocky, you're an important member of the team, like everyone, but no-one else can do what you can do?"
"Can't they? Even you got a lifeguard badge. All of us are lifeguards now, so that's just one last job for me to do I suppose.."
"Zuma.. yeah, we're all lifeguards, sure. But Adventure Bay is tiny, the ocean is massive. None of us would know what to do if this boat suddenly started to sink", Rocky did his best to cheer up Zuma.
"If my job is so important, then why can all of you do it too? You don't see Wubble with a firefighter badge, or Chase with a pilot's license, but everyone gets lifeguard badges? Before I joined the Paw Patwol, I felt useless, just jumping between ship to ship. Even now, after joining the Paw Patwol, sometimes I just feel as if I'm not needed anymore. I mean, look at this mess. This was all my fault. I decided to steal the Sea Patwoller. I dragged you guys out here, I even almost sailed right through Mawshall", Zuma began to tear up, "Wocky, If I really am that useful, why do I feel like deadweight?" Zuma said though his soft sobbing.

Rocky couldn't take it anymore and dragged Zuma into a hug, wrapping his forelegs around his legs and pulling his head over his shoulder. "Zuma. No one thinks you're useless, and no one can do your job like you. Sure, we all work as lifeguards now and then, but that isn't replacing you. Plus, what about the Air Patroller? We all have flight packs, but we don't take Skye's job. Zuma, you're not useless, you made this happen, yes, but is that really that bad of a thing?"
"It is when it almost kills Mawshall!" Zuma said, still sobbing into his friend's fur. Rocky didn't mind the water making his back damp.
"Zuma, Marshall made the decision to stop in front of the patroller, he took the risks. And from what he's been saying, he would have moved before it hit. He's actually a bit angry at Everest for moving him since now he doesn't have a boat, not to mention I'm gonna have to make him a new one when we get back". Rocky stopped hugging Zuma and looked him in the eyes, his amber eyes meeting Zuma's amber-green. "Because of you, even though it could have been handled better, we're on our way to save Chase and Ryder. If you didn't do this, we'd be in Adventure Bay convincing Marshall to let us go. Thankfully, Everest is quite... 'handy' when it comes to convincing", Rocky said, remembering the several slaps he saw others get that day. "You're not useless, not to me". Zuma wiped his eyes, looking back up at Rocky who put his cap back on his head. "C'mon, you share my room tonight, I don't want you on your own after the things you've said", Rocky said, standing up and began walking back towards the bridge.

The soft sound of snoring filled the lower deck of the ship. The waves outside gently rocking the boat whilst Robodog kept them on the path to Chase and Ryder throughout the night.

8:37am - 2 days after crash

Marshall was the first to leave his room. He leaned forward, stretching his legs out and yawning, his eyes adjusting to the artificial light of the cabin, the rest of his body fighting to go back to sleep. Slowly he trudged himself down the corridor past the rest of the pup's rooms. He stopped for a second, looking at the blue door with Chase's badge on. He continued walking slowly towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. He just reached the door before hearing a hissing sound behind him and seeing Rocky's door open. "Morning *yawn*.. Rocky", Marshall said, turning back towards the bathroom, "wait... Zuma?" Marshall spun back around.
"Morning Mawshall"
"What're you doing in Rocky's room?" He asked, remembering the short and very quickly ended discussion between himself and Everest the night before.
"I... I was a bit upset last night, and Rocky offered to let me sleep in his room". Marshall raised an eyebrow, before hearing another door open, this time, a blank door designed for guests. A familiar husky walked out into the hallway.
"Oh.. aha, see Marshall, looks like someone else rocked the boat for us!" She laughed, grinning.
"Shut up guys, it wasn't like that" Rocky said walking out from behind Zuma.
"Hey, don't look at me Rocky. I didn't suggest anything, that was all her!" Marshall said, pointing at Everest, who was still laughing.
"Zuma just felt... bad. So I let him sleep in here".
"Yeah, 'sleep'. Sure Rocky", Everest said before being slapped on the nose by Skye.
"None of our business, couldn't care less. Is the bathroom free?" Skye asked, walking past Everest.
"Um, well actually I was- ugh ladies first I guess" Marshall sighed, Zuma laughed.

"So.. Rocky?" Rocky turned his head towards Everest, who sat down taking her place in the queue, "you told him yet?" Rocky's face turned red.
"Um.. yes?"
"Oh, so you wouldn't mind if I asked him then?" Everest said, about to stand up to walk to Zuma.
"No!" Rocky shouted, all the pups turned to look at him. "Um... sorry, just remembered I didn't close up my puphouse, it's gonna be soaked when we get home, heh heh", he said, quickly making an excuse for his outburst. The others just shrugged and resumed their own conversations. Rocky grabbed Everest quickly and threw her into the nearest room. "Listen here.. I know you think I should tell him, but he's got enough on his plate without having to know that his friend wants to be.. more than a friend", Rocky explained, some anger in his voice. "You go telling him, or anyone else, and it won't just be Ryder and Chase who need rescuing, got it?" Everest just sat and nodded.
"Um.. guys" A light turned on, and Rocky looked at his surroundings in a yellow room.
"Oh.. crap".
"Oh my god" Everest kept laughing.
"Rocky?" Rocky looked down at Rubble who took off his sleeping mask. "Zuma?" Rocky nodded, "I mean, dude that's cool, I'm not gonna tell anyone". Rocky thanked Rubble and took Everest by the collar and left back into the corridor, soon followed by Rubble.

"Ugh, I hate queues. And if Skye's in there, we have ages. Lets go get some food", Rubble said turning to the other end of the corridor and headed towards the onboard kitchen.

9:30am - 2 Days after crash

Five of the pups sat on the floor, enjoying their breakfast. Rocky sat close to Zuma, before slowly moving slightly away when he caught Everest looking at him and mouthing "tell him". He just stared back angrily. "Why does Skye take so long?" Marshall said, pacing. Skye entered the kitchen, causing Marshall to run out of the door after he walked past muttering something. The rest of the pups laughed.

"So, what's everyone up to today?" Skye asked, looking at the circle of pups eating their breakfasts. Rocky looked up and swallowed,
"not much to do really is there? On a boat, middle of the ocean, Ryder didn't exactly expect us to be on voyages this long". He sat next to Skye, who at this point was looking out of the porthole on the wall at the expanse of sea, being lit by a low morning sun. "So what's up with you then?" Rocky asked. Skye nervously shifted,
"nothing much. Just don't like being out at sea this long", she said, nervously giggling.
"Skye, out of everyone on this boat, don't you think I'd be the one who'd be uncomfortable being this far away from land?" Rocky's point made sense, and Skye knew it.
"Alright fine. I'm worried or Chase and Ryder," she said, slumping down onto the ground, "they've been stuck out here for 2 days, Chase is hurt, they don't have any food, water or first aid stuff. What if something else happens before we get there? What if Chase got hurt more?" Rocky sighed, "oh sorry, are my concerns boring you Rocky?"
"No Skye, but this is Chase and Ryder. Ryder is too smart to let anything else happen. And Chase knows what he's doing too. You can't worry on what ifs, you should only focus on what is. Something I heard Farmer Yumi say a few months back". Skye nodded,
"I suppose".

"Pups we have an emergency"
"Marshall, I'm not unblocking that toilet again".
"No Rocky, I mean an actual emergency, meet me on the bridge". The pup's puptags turned off as Marshall finished speaking, the others stopped eating and walked out of the room, Rocky and Skye followed and headed up the stairs.

"Ok guys, I know our mission is Ryder and Chase, and believe me, that's still our priority, but there's a small passenger ship nearby that's been struck by another boat and is taking on water. We need to move them safely onboard whilst Rocky patches the hull."
"Me? In the water? C'mon Marshall?" Rocky said, looking at Marshall, who simply gave him a very authoritative stare. "Uh, fine".
"Zuma. I need you and your hovercraft to ferry the passengers across to our ship in the meantime. Rubble, you do the same. Everest, you stay onboard and keep people under control. Skye and I will board the other ship and direct people onto Zuma and Rubble's-"
"Um, Mawshall?" Zuma interrupted Marshall, who stopped to see what the lab wanted, "would it be okay with you if I dived down with Wocky. He hasn't dived this far out into the ocean, the cuwwents are much stwonger and I think it'd be safer for him if he didn't go alone". Marshall thought about this for a second,
"Good idea Zuma. Skye, you help Rubble ferry everyone across instead. OK guys, Paw Patrol is on a roll!"

Rubble headed under the deck to get onboard his boat, whilst Skye headed out onto the top deck and took Zuma's hovercraft.* It took her a few seconds to get used to driving something that didn't go upwards, but she soon drove off the side of the deck and onto the water, Rubble launching out the front of the ship to join her. Marshall jumped onto the back of Rubble's rig and headed out towards the sinking ship.

Meanwhile, Zuma and Rocky were gearing up under the deck. Rocky hated wearing wetsuits, they were too tight on everything and made his fur itch, but Zuma wore his practically all the time. Zuma rigged Rocky's rebreather into place onto his pup-pack. "So what's the actual reason you're coming with me?" Rocky asked as he walked towards the edge of the water.
"Because what I said was twue. Dude, cuwwents this far out could rip small boats apawt. I don't want you heading in there without someone to watch you", Rocky gulped, "plus, I haven't had a bath in a few days. Still better than you though!", Zuma said before diving headfirst into the water. "Hey!" Rocky yelled, diving in after.

Zuma's lights lit up the hull of the damaged ship, showing a large tear along the side. Rocky looked at it whilst thinking to himself. "He really wasn't kidding about these currents", Rocky fought against the strong forces of water pushing him around like a bathtoy. He kept his focus on Zuma, who was effortlessly gliding around the boat looking for any more problems. Rocky began to weld the side of the ship, using his pincer arm to bend the metal back into place before sealing it. As he was welding, a strong current pushed the mixed breed towards the boat. His paw ran along the edge of the tear, slicing through his fur and into his skin. The cut wasn't very deep, Rocky just looked at it and shrugged it off. Zuma came back around from the end of the ship, seeing that Rocky was almost done, but stopping seeing a crimson liquid float around in a cloud around Rocky. Rocky looked over and waved a paw, showing Zuma where the blood was coming from. Zuma shook his head and pointed towards the surface. Rocky looks confused but Zuma simply swam behind him and pushed him up to the surface with him, they both breach the waves and pull their rebreathers out of their mouths. "What gives Zuma? I'm almost done!"
"You go get that looked at and stitched. A cut from wusty metal can get bad. I'll finish fixing the hull". Zuma explained, a small tone of concern audible in his voice above the sound of engines and waves around them.
"It's just a small cut, come on Zuma, there isn't even that much left to fix", Rocky argued. Zuma sighed,
"Marshall", Zuma spoke into his tag.
"What's up Zuma?" Marshall responded,
"Wocky cut himself on the hole underwater, I think he should go and get it sorted, but he won't listen to me", Rocky just looked at him, jaw agape, stuttering. His puptag lit up,
"Rocky, it's Marshall. Go back on the Sea Patroller, I'll come have a look at that cut when I'm done out here",
"But Marsh-"
"Rocky, the safety of the team is too important to argue over. Trade packs with Zuma and go sit in the first aid room. Wash the cut with clean water until I get there". Rocky sighed as he and Zuma climbed out of the water and took their gear off. Zuma put Rocky's pack on. "Sowwy dude, but I've seen some pretty nasty things happen to cuts at sea. Wather safe than sowwy".
"Yeah yeah, I get it. Just be careful. Use the pincers to pull the metal together and then weld it shut. Don't look at the welding light". Zuma nodded and dived back into the water. Rocky began to walk to the first aid room at the back of the bridge. He sat with the door open, watching the monitor on the wall as he washed his wound out with water, wincing at the stinging feeling. Each of the pup's tags were shown on the screen, including Everest's. Tracker's tag was also shown, but it was greyed out and darker than the rest.

8 minutes later

"How many more passengers have we got to shift?" Rubble asked? Skye looked up at the deck of the ship,
"six at most. You take three, I'll take the other three", Rubble nodded as he and Skye sailed up to the side of the sinking boat again.
"Watch your step. Careful, that's it!" Marshall directed the last few people onto the rigs below the edge of the deck. "Ok guys! That's everyone!" Marshall said before jumping onto the roof of Rubble's rig. The three began to sail to the side of the Sea Patroller, but stopped suddenly as something dove off of the side of the deck. "Rocky?" Skye, Rubble, Everest and Marshall all said in unison as Rocky threw himself into the water wearing Zuma's gear.

6 minutes earlier

Rocky turned the tap off, looking at the cut on his paw. It was a bit deeper than he thought, "that's gonna need stitching. Oh joy", Rocky said, leaning back on his chair, keeping his paw over the sink. Suddenly, his ears flattened against his head at the sound of a loud beeping coming from all of the monitors on the top deck. Rocky looked up at the one closest to him. He didn't see anything strange, all of the tags were still lit, (tracker's being the exception of course). But then he saw it. Zuma's tag was flashing between a red shield and the normal icon, beneath it read "SOS". Rocky slammed the door open fully and sprinted down the stairs back into the lower decks. He scrambled as he fell over from the pain of running on his injured paw. Quickly, he put Zuma's kit on and ran back to the top deck, his normally rational brain, that took time to calculate the best solution to situations, was thrown into a completely different mode for Rocky; he ran off of impulse.

He blazed past Everest at a speed that would make Marshall jealous, and threw himself off of the railing. He heard the rest of his team shout out his name in confusion before splashing hard into the surface of the water, the freezing feeling enveloping him again. He shook off his fear of water and swam back towards the sinking ship. Automatically, the light's in Zuma's pack extended out, lighting up the sight before him. The water had turned a cloudy red colour, and through the murk, he could see a figure with a blinking red light around it's neck.

Meanwhile, back up on the deck, Marshall was putting his diving gear on. Just as he finished zipping up his suit, he heard the sound of wet fur slap against the deck, then Rocky. "Marshall! Get over here, fast!" Marshall sprinted to the rear of the ship to the ladders, but stopping quickly looking at the sight before him. "Skye, I need all of my medical kit now! Rubble, Everest, help me move him to the first aid room. Rocky, I know you're gonna hate this, but that ship isn't patched up yet, please, I-" Rocky doesn't argue, he takes his pack from Zuma and quickly swims away.

Rubble and Everest come around to the back of the ship and see the situation, they both gasp, but Marshall urges they move quickly. Zuma laid on the deck of the ship, one large gash across his side, from his front right shoulder all the way to his tail, ruby liquid mixing with the water on the deck and running off the side, contrasting starkly with the white floor. Marshall checked his vitals, and found he was still alive, breathing but not very well. Everest and Marshall hoisted him onto a stretcher brought round by Rubble and headed indoors quickly. Skye stayed outside, keeping an eye on the sinking ship and attempting to keep everyone else calm, whilst trying to do the same with herself.

Rocky threw himself back onto the deck, the hull of the other ship sealed. He panted, gasping for air, his legs feeling weak. He laid there for a moment, before remembering.
"Zuma!" Rocky rushed inside, heading up to the first aid room, about to burst through the door before behind held back by Rubble and Everest. "Hey, hey. Marshall said he's probably gonna be fine, but we have to let him stitch him up first", Rubble said,
"He's right Rocky. The cut wasn't as deep as he thought, but it cut through the air lines to his tank. If you didn't pull him out soon enough, he would have drowned for sure", Rocky winced at Everest's last words.
"I'm gonna go help Skye with whatever is going on out there", she said. "You two gonna be ok?" Rubble and Rocky nodded as she headed off through the door.
"The way you jumped off the boat was awesome Rocky!" Rocky looked at himself, he was dripping wet and stank of sea water, and also, sort of pink. The amount of blood left in the water had mixed in with the sea water on his fur. "Though, you should probably go and wash that out", Rocky nodded before heading off to the shower.

13:12pm -2 Days after crash

Marshall walked out of the first aid room to be greeted by a triage of worried faces. He admired the worry his teammates showed each other, it showed they were more than just a team, they were a family. "Well? Is he OK?" Rocky asked, breaking the silence. Marshall noticed something odd about him, not just the fact that he had his paw raised above the ground as it still slowly dripped blood onto the floor, but also, out of all of them, he seemed the most worried. Perhaps it was because it was Rocky who saved him?
"Zuma's gonna be fine. Out of action for a few days for sure, but that shouldn't be an issue, lets hope we don't have anymore rescues," Marshall answered, causing a huge wave of relief to wash over the room, none more relieved than Rocky. "Skye, what's the situation with the other boat?" Marshall asked,
"all of the passengers are back onboard their ship. Everest and I helped pump the water out of their hull. They're sailing to the nearest port to get proper repairs", Skye answered.
"Good, well, I suppose everyone can just go about their business then. Except Rocky, you come with me and I'll sort out that paw". Rocky nodded and followed Marshall into the first aid room, the rest of the pups walked away back downstairs.

Rocky pushed the white door open, the clinical smell hitting him right in the face as he walked through, that, and the smell of blood. He looked over at the bed in the corner and saw Zuma, laid out on his side wrapped up in bandages that were already seeping with scarlet liquids. "Like I said, he's gonna be fine Rocky. C'mon, sit over here". Rocky turned his head, walking over to Marshall who had his equipment out on the counter.
"So, do you know what happened?" Rocky asked as Marshall began to clean his wound, causing him to hiss slightly at the pain.
"When he stabilised, Zuma woke up. He was in a lot of pain so I put him back under sedation as quickly as I could. He didn't like it, but no one really does", Marshall answered, "so until he comes to again, none of us will know how he got hurt". Marshall went silent as he concentrated, "now don't move and it won't hurt as much". The needle glided through his skin and pulled the wound closed, Rocky watched both fascinated and grossed out at the same time. Marshall may seem daft and careless, but he really was a talented medic, a talented firepup and a talented leader, despite some flaws so far.

"Marshall?" Rocky asked, breaking the tension in the room,
"hmm?" Marshall responded, holding a pair of suture scissors in his mouth.
"If you were already a firepup, which is a huge and dangerous role in itself, what made you want to be a paramedic too?" Rocky asked. Marshall actually had to think about his answer, no one in his team had really asked that other than Ryder. He finished suturing Rocky's paw and wrapped a bandage around it slowly.
"My job as a firepup is dangerous, to me and everyone involved. One day, I was called out to a rescue at Farmer Al and Yumi's barn. After a storm, an electrical pole had fallen through their barn and ignited the straw and feed inside", Rocky sat and listened intently. "Obviously, I was called out to deal with the fire, but Chase was brought with me too, in order to help move the animals away. At one point, I was extinguishing the fire but realised I would have to get closer to it to reach the heart, so I backed my truck up slowly. Whilst putting it out, I saw two sheep at the back of the barn. I told Ryder, who said to put the fire out around the animals as priority and he and Chase will move in to rescue them. So I did. I began to douse the flames at the back of the barn. Ryder ran in and quickly came out with one of the sheep on his shoulders. Chase tried to do the same, but the sheep was too heavy for him, I didn't know until I heard possibly the worst screaming in my life, I aimed my hose directly around him and ran in with Ryder. He carried the sheep out and I carried out Chase. I don't want to describe how he looked completely, because honestly I'd rather forget, but his breaths were very shallow, parts of his fur were singed off and showed red, burnt skin underneath, in fact, if you look at Chase's stomach, there is a patch of fur that never grew back". Rocky could see Marshall was pained by this memory,
"I get it Marshall, you don't have to keep going".
"Nah I'm good. If this didn't happen, I wouldn't have been able to fix your paw, or patch up Zuma. Anyways, Ryder called an ambulance, and whilst we waited the 20 minutes for it to get to the barn, Yumi and Al were doing all they could to help Chase. I continued to put out the barn fire, but I couldn't help thinking that we needed someone on the team who could deal with this stuff, at least until the ambulances arrive. I never wanted to see anyone, especially my team, my family, looking like that again, I wanted to be able to help out if it happened again. So, I asked Ryder if I could be an EMT pup. At first, he was... concerned, EMTs see a lot of gruesome things, and he's right. I've seen much worse than Chase was that day, but in the end, he sent me to train for a few weeks in Adventure Bay's hospital". Marshall finished, taking a breath. He looked down at Rocky's paw and saw that whilst he was talking, he had wrapped it up with more than enough bandages. "Oh.. heh heh, sorry Rocky", he apologised as he began to unwrap his paw again, stopping halfway and cutting the bandage, before pinning it in place. "You only need to keep that on for today and tonight, I'll take it off tomorrow".
"Thank you Marshall. You're brilliant." Rocky said, before standing up and walking out through the door, but stopping hearing a familiar sound. He and Marshall turned around to see Zuma moving about in his bed.

"Woah Zuma, careful", Marshall said, running over and sitting next to him.
"Mawsh- ow! What the?" Zuma looked at his side, seeing bandages wrapped all the way around his chest and stomach. "Jeez Mawshall, don't you think that's a bit much?" He said, laughing lightly.
"Actually Zuma, I think for once he got it right. The cut on your side was huge". Zuma looked up and saw Rocky sat at the top of the bed.
"Oh, hey Wocky. You smell good", Zuma said, giggling again. Rocky sniffed his leg and looked up at Marshall, shrugging.
"It's the sedation. Give it an hour or so, it'll wear off. But in the meantime, he's gonna say some weird stuff".
"Mawshall! Heyyy.. Are you white with black spots, or does the white cover all the black underneath? Oooohh, your spots look like smoke clouds! And you're a firepup!" Zuma laughed heavily again, Marshall just looked up at Rocky.
"Point taken", he responded. Marshall looked at his spots, they did indeed look like clouds of smoke, he shrugged, then looked at his paws, stained pink from the amount of blood they had been in contact with.
"You.. uh.. You should go get cleaned up Marshall. I'll watch Mr Giggles over here", Rocky said, tilting his head at Zuma who was looking at them both.
"I can't let you do that Rocky, you've done so much today",
"Yeah, and so have you, now go get a shower, you look like something out of a horror movie". Marshall sighed and nodded.
"Come and get me if something happens", he said, walking towards the door.
"Duh", Rocky replied.

10 minutes later

Rocky looked at the first aid room, he had just finished mopping up the various red puddles left on the floor by both himself and Zuma. It's the least he could do after all the things Marshall just did for the two of them. "Hey, Wocky. Why are you cleaning?" Zuma asked. Rocky was thankful at least that the sedative's loopy part had worn off, he was just a bit airheaded now.
"Because you and I covered the floor in blood Zuma. It would be rude to let Marshall do it just after he saved your life and fixed my paw". Zuma nodded,
"Suppose it would be". Rocky walked over to the counters, putting various bottles back in place. After a few minutes, Rocky turned and sat next to Zuma.
"So, do you know what happened? Why you ended up practically dead underwater?" Rocky asked.
"Jeez, was I that bad?" Zuma responded, a little shocked.
"Your collar was blinking red; SOS mode Ryder calls it. It's a feature that I suggested we add to the puptags after Skye crashed in the snow.** Basically, your puptag saw that your heartbeat was slow, and you couldn't breathe. I never ran so fast in my life".
"Wait, you're the one who saved me?"
"Uh.. yeah.. I guess?" Rocky answered, "everyone else was busy or too far away. I jumped in, swam to you and brought you back onto the deck, Marshall did the r-" Rocky was cut off as Zuma leaned over and hugged him. Rocky was surprised, but hugged back.
"Thanks dude".
"Anyways.." Rocky said, pushing himself off of Zuma, feeling awkward, "you still didn't answer my question; how did you get cut up so badly?" He asked, tilting his head. Zuma laid back on his side.
"Cuwwents", was his answer, "I was welding the ship back together like you told me to. I was doing a pretty decent job as well, until I felt a sudden surge of water behind me. I tried to fight against it, but your pup-pack wasn't as powerful as mine was for moving underwater, so when I fought against it, instead, it just slid me along the side of the boat, wight along the side of the bwoken part. After that, I don't wemember what happened, just a lot of wed, and then black I suppose". Rocky shuddered at the thought of being alone underwater. It was one of his biggest nightmares, stuck under the waves and not being able to get back up, and Zuma had basically just lived it, but even worse.

"Well it's a good thing Ryder made that upgrade then I guess", Rocky said walking back over to the counters and continued cleaning.
"Wocky, dude, haven't you done enough cleaning?" Zuma joked.
"I wish Zuma. Apparently the toilet is blocked and I'm the 'only one' who knows how to fix it", he sighed, Zuma just laughed.
"That's gwoss dude. I'd say just go in the ocean".
"What and that isn't?"
"Well I don't mind doing it from time to time" Zuma said before laughing,
"Oh great, another reason to avoid water", Rocky responded, laughing along with him.

Marshall stepped into the living area on the lower deck, shaking the last bit of water from his fur. Everest, Rubble and Skye looked at him and waved him over. They were playing a card game, Marshall wasn't very good at that. "I'll sit this one out guys, been a busy day".
"Fair enough", Everest said, "hey, where's Rocky?" She asked, noticing that the mixed breed hadn't followed him downstairs.
"Zuma woke up and Rocky volunteered to give him some company whilst I went for a shower". Everest and Rubble looked at each other, both shared a mischievous look in their eyes.
"You left Rocky.. and Zuma alone in the first aid room?" Rubble asked.
"Yeah?" Marshall responded, "why?" Skye too was curious at Rubble's odd question.
"Oh, nothing, I just think Rubble might be concerned that the two might be playing Doctors and Nurses by now" Everest said, causing both Rubble and herself to laugh out loud. Skye and Marshall just looked at each other shocked. Skye hit Everest and Rubble on the head.
"Ow"
"Hey what gives?"
"Zuma and Rocky have been through enough today, they're just chatting", Marshall said, but even part of him had his suspicions. "Nah", he thought to himself.

8:25pm - 2 Days after crash

Once more, nighttime fell across the rough ocean, the clear, calm skies a direct parody to the harsh waves beneath, which held the sea patroller on the surface. Inside, one of the pups had began to walk about. Zuma's breaths were shallow and sometimes laboured as he moved around the bridge. Every few moments, he'd sit down to hold his side, hissing through clenched teeth at the pain underneath. The sedative had worn off completely by now, and he was thankful for that. He had said enough weird things to Rocky already. He looked back at the first aid room, seeing Rocky curled up at the end of the bed he had been lying in all day. He approached the captains chair and climbed up, getting a good view of the malevolent sea they were sailing. To his left, he could see Robodog, who had been expertly sailing them towards Ryder and Chase for over 24 hours. Zuma considered letting the dog rest, but remembered that Ryder had once said that Robodog wasn't like them, he wouldn't need rest as long as he was charging, and upon further inspection, he saw that Robodog was indeed charging.

His ears perked up at the sound of familiar laughter, and something else. He knew there was no point being on the bridge alone, and his friends were probably worried for him, so he decided to go and join them. Slowly, he climbed down from the seat and headed towards the staircase, seeing that the door to the first aid room was open. He shrugged and kept walking. He couldn't walk very fast, and kept stopping for breaths, well, not just to catch his breath. Zuma felt like he was being followed. Carefully, he stood back up and began walking slowly, lifting his ears and hearing soft footsteps behind him. He quickly spun around, "Aha, I knew someone was following me!" He said, before clutching his side again and stumbling. Rocky stood forward, catching Zuma before he fell.
"I wasn't following I was..." Rocky tried to think of an excuse, but saw the look in Zuma's eyes. "Ok, ok, I was following you". Zuma rolled his eyes,
"dude, why are you following me like some cweepy dude in the shadows?" He said, turning back around and continuing to walk towards the living area. Rocky just shrugged. "Dunno, but you clearly aren't fit to be wandering about on your own anyways".
"I appweciate the concern, but-" Zuma inhaled sharply, grasping at his side as he fell down onto his chest, "yeah yeah, you have a point ok", Zuma said before stumbling back onto his paws. Rocky laughed as he stood next to Zuma, supporting his weight with his own. They both reached the end of the corridor together, but just before Zuma pushed the door open, Rocky stops him.
"What?" Zuma asked, before Rocky places a paw on his mouth.
"Listen, I heard my name", Rocky said, curious to what the others were saying, he and Zuma pressed their ears against the door.

"I can't believe Rocky, out of all of us, was the one to dive into the ocean. I mean, Ryder struggles getting him in the bath!", Marshall said, the others chuckling at the mental image of Rocky avoiding his baths, "but at least he knows when he needs one!" Marshall continued, before gesturing to Everest, who just looked blankly at the other three, before sniffing her fur.
"What, I had a shower earlier, I can't smell that bad can I?"
"I think Marshall is talking about that time with the skunk, Everest", Skye said. Marshall nodded. Everest remembered that, and the confusion she had as all of the pups tried to avoid her.***
"You were so focused on them berries I couldn't stop sneezing for ages", Marshall said, laughing.
"What can I say, Jake really likes those berries!" Everest said smiling.
"Rocky looked so cool when he jumped over, and then swam back up with Zuma! He looked like a real life super hero!" Rubble said, grinning. Zuma looked up at Rocky who was just blushing lightly. "Suppose he really does care for him", Everest said. Rocky's blushing face changed to one of mild horror, stepping back from the door.
"What do you mean Everest?" Skye asked?
"Oh not this again", Marshall said rolling his eyes.
"What?" Skye asked.
"Well Everest and I were on the bridge last night, and we were watching Zuma and Rocky out on the bow", Rocky looked at Zuma, who looked just as confused. "She said that Rocky called Zuma 'cute'". Zuma just stared at Rocky who was walking backwards away from the door chuckling nervously,
"aaaand I think it's time I went to bed night Zuma get well soon and all that bye", Rocky said quickly, but just as he tried to turn, Zuma grabbed his collar and pulled him to the floor. Rocky just stared at him.
"We're still listening to this, I wanna know where it goes", Zuma said, smiling.

"Everest! You promised you woul- oh. Oh no what have I done?!" Rubble said, burying his face into his pillow. Skye and Marshall just looked at Everest, jaws totally agape.
"After Marshall began chasing after the Sea Patroller yesterday, Rocky and I started unhooking his and Chase's boats. He started to say stuff about Skye and Rubble, and Zuma. He talked about Zuma twice actually. The second time, he said he was.. well, cute! I tried to get him to confess, but he just changed the subject quickly. Which really just did a better job at confirming my suspicions". Marshall and Skye just looked at each other, and then Skye grabbed Rubble's collar and dragged him out of the cushions.
"And how did you find out?" Skye asked, Rubble shook his head.
"I didn't find anything out, what are you talking about?" Skye just looked blankly at him, rolling her eyes. "Oh.. fine. This morning, Everest and Rocky woke me up, quite.. abruptly. I don't think they realised that they were in my room. Anyways, I heard everything they said and I promised Rocky I wouldn't tell a soul. Looks like that promise lasted all of what.. 12 hours?"

Zuma looked at Rocky, who at this point just covered his face with his hat. "I'm sorry Zuma", he said before trying to walk off again.
"Is what they're saying.. weal? Wocky, just tell me, I mean at this point the whole team knows", Rocky just silently nodded. Zuma was shocked to say the least. "Dude, why me?"
"Why not you?" Rocky burst out, tears in his eyes. "Zuma, you're just so happy all the time, you never seem scared of doing anything, heck, when we had to convince Alex to go to the dentist, you're the only one who didn't have to do anything",
"not twue dude, I hate doctors. Don't tell Marshall",
"See! No matter what the situation, you always seem so laid back. You're kind, you're optimistic and... sorta hot". Zuma blushed at the last bit. "But why just me? I mean, I'm not the only guy on the team. Chase is cute, Marshall is happy all the time an-"
"I don't care about them, they have their crushes, they're so obvious. And none of them are on me".
"Means you're all mine then", Zuma said, Rocky just looked up before being pulled into a hug. "Y'know, for being the smartest one out of all of us, you didn't think this thwough vewy well". Zuma said, licking Rocky's face. The door slid open, behind it, Marshall and Skye stood still looking shocked. Marshall just stood smiling, whilst Skye ran over and hugged them both, giggling. Everest walked towards Rocky, who just shot her a glare, which caused her to turn around quickly laughing.

"C'mon lovebirds, we're just about to start another round of cards. You in?" Skye asked,
"Sure"
"Totally".

1 Hour Later

Rocky was smart enough to easily beat all of the pups, multiple times. Surprisingly, to everyone, the only pup who came close to beating him was Rubble. At the end of the final game, Rubble stood up, stretching and yawning. "It's been a long day, I'm gonna go to bed". He said, walking towards the door. Skye stood up and did the same, followed by Zuma and Rocky.
"You two keep it down tonight!" Everest said, Rocky turned around rolling his eyes and walked to her, playfully slapping her on the back of the head. "Hey hey, Rocky, save it for the bedroom!" She said, winking and laughing more as she watched the two leave the room. Marshall just looked at her.
"Do you ever stop?" Marshall asked. Everest slowly stopped laughing, smiling at Marshall.
"When I want to", she responded, sticking her tongue out. Marshall did the same back, giggling. They both watched as the other pups said goodnight, and watched as Zuma and Rocky entered Zuma's room. She nudged Marshall, before whispering something in his ear.
"You want me to do what?!" Marshall yelled, standing up and walking towards the door.
"C'mon Marshall, Rocky told me about your 'secret' crush ages ago. And you don't do a great job at hiding it". Marshall just blushed,
"I.. um... I should go and check on Zuma and Rocky's bandages, 'night Everest". Marshall ran through the door, startling Skye who stood on the other side.
"Does everyone round here eavesdrop?" Everest asked, sighing?"
"Ev, you gotta give him time. It's Marshall. He's too... well.. Marshall to think about dating and such. But he always does what's right in the end. Plus, everyone, even Ryder and Katie know that he's got a massive crush on you, and he's never denied it. C'mon, Rubble was right, it's been a really, really long day". Skye began to walk out followed by Everest.

They reached the bedrooms, Skye gave Everest a hug before heading into her own room. Everest headed to the unmarked dorm she was put in for the journey, looking over as Marshall walked out of Zuma's room. She waved at him as his door opened. He blushed heavily and stepped inside, tripping on the doorframe. She smiled, "yeah ok, he's worth waiting for I suppose.." She closed her door behind her.

All of the pups fell asleep quickly after the stressful day they had just finished. The sound of rough ocean rocked the boat and its inhabitants to sleep, but also drowned out another noise coming from the bridge.

*They loaded Zuma, Skye and Rubble's normal rigs when they stole the Sea Patroller, hence why Zuma's normal hovercraft is available.
** The Episode "Pups Save Skye".
***The Episode "Pups Get Skunked". In which Everest is sprayed by a skunk, causing all of the pups, especially Marshall, to react badly.

WELL THAT ENDED UP LONGER THAN I WANTED. Officially the longest chapter of this story so far according to the word count. (I don't include all this stuff in bold when counting the words, just the story).

Review Responses;

Zuma Lover: I'd be happy to hear them, but I cannot respond directly to you because you aren't signed into with an actual account, and I'd rather not have the plot to your idea in a review because then people would know what the story would be if I chose to write it. If you'd like to discuss ideas, I'd make an account and PM me.

Chase: Glad to hear it dude. Thanks for sticking with me this long.

Sub Officer Gues: I can guarantee any of the jobs the pups do in the series will be harder in real life. Of course they'd make it look easier and they won't give any of them really dangerous situations like a huge building fire or armed robbery or something like that because it'd be too intense for the younger audience that the show is aimed for. Your job sounds really difficult, not one I could do for sure. And I agree, most of the jobs the pups are put on are pretty stupid.

Look, I know what some of you are gonna say, "this story said it wasn't gonna be about romance". Well, it's not. But I was genuinely running out of things to do, so I wanted one of the pups to get hurt (call me sadistic), to try and build some kind of tension. (Zuma's injury will cause problems in later chapters, so it wasn't just a plot device for him and Rocky). I had Zuma get hurt, and Rocky to save him because it shows how much Rocky cares for him. As I wrote it, it just became a romantic thing. I suck at it, but I introduced the idea of Rocky being into Zuma in the previous chapter and it's too late to stop it now.

I'm not gonna take the Marshall and Everest thing any further, as I don't want there to be too much of a focus on romantic relationships in this story, and from this point, it will focus more on Marshall. (Apart from an upcoming Chase and Ryder focused chapter, probably next). Same goes for Skye hinting at her interest to Chase. Might crop up once or twice more, but it's not a massive plot point.

Some people might view this chapter as filler, but I wanted something dramatic to happen to the team whilst they were out at sea, which gives me something to work with in future chapters from Marshall's POV, after all, this story was originally made to be about him, and I sorta just wandered off on a different storyline. Sorry if you didn't enjoy it, I'm not 100% on this one either, but I'm gonna upload it anyways. I've sorta hit that infamous writing block stage, so bear with me whilst I do my best to work around it.

I've been discussing some potential next stories after this one with Rescue Wolf, and I have one or two ideas in mind for now. But after writing this, I am not sure how long it'd take before that showed up. I think it was Entity of Spite who I recently commented on and I think I'm gonna take his tactic of writing at least 4 or 5 chapters in advance so there are always chapters to be posted. But not with this story, it's a bit late to do that now as I don't think there will be many more after this one anyways. (I am estimating 4 more chapters now).

Also, I've had a few questions sent to me, and I'd prefer to answer them on here so everyone can see. (Also will be put into my profile desc.)

What version of Paw Patrol do you watch?:
Now this is a good question, and I'd like to clarify that I HATE the voice acting in the 'British' aired version. I don't get why they need a dub. Chase sounds like he's 20 or something, so does Rubble. Plus, they all have that stereotypical posh British accent. So, I wait for the American versions to air because their voices fit the characters much better. (By the way, I'm from the UK). For anyone who doesn't get what I'm talking about, I implore you to go listen to Chase's voice actor in the British version.

Favourite pup?:
Not sure I actually have one. Somewhere between Rocky and Marshall I guess?

Favourite Episode?:
Considering the show has over a hundred episodes, I can't exactly just have one, but if I had to choose from a few, I'd say that Marshall Home Alone is one of my favourites as it puts Marshall into situations that he would usually not handle otherwise, and also makes him face his fear of flying. Same could go for the Pups save a baby octopus episode, when Rocky has to go in the water. Overall though, any of the Sea Patrol, Mission Paw, Air Pups or the new Ultimate Rescue episodes are my favourites. (I can stand Sweetie's voice actor, and the other Barkingburg characters, because they're meant to be posh).

Least Favourite Episode
The dream episodes, and the alien episodes. I know its a show about cartoon dogs that talk and drive cars/boats/helicopters, and there is some wiggle room for random things, but the dreamscape episodes are just daft. They always start and end the same way, with one of the pups, so far either Rubble or Marshall, (and for some reason, Tracker?), falling asleep for some inane reason, and then waking up after the episode is over and thinking it was all real. And the situations just aren't realistic. Once again, aimed for kids, I know, but dinosaurs in Adventure Bay? The only one I can live with is Pups Save a Tiny Marshall, as Ryder and Rocky invent a shrink ray, and whilst this isn't realistic, it at least fits with the show.
Aaaand then there's the alien episodes. I actually cannot bring myself to watch these. I've watched about 3 minutes of the first one, and I hate it. The alien sounds obnoxious, and the pups interacting with it is equally so. So, I'm not ever gonna mention them again.

Favourite HUMAN character:
Honestly, the go to for this answer would be Ryder, because.. well it's Ryder. The show confirmed he's an absolute genius, part of me likes to think that he made the Lookout too. (I'd love some backstory episodes like we got for Rubble on Ryder and the others). But aside from Ryder, It's actually a tie between Mayor Goodway and Jake. Jake is pretty badass, snowboarding down the side of a cliff, and sometimes, Mayor Goodway genuinely makes me smile. Her earlier antics in the series back in the first few seasons were somewhat... pathetic, but they've improved her and actually made her helpful.

Least Favourite Character:
Wow. For a show about colourful, likeable characters, you sure do end up hating a lot of them. Alex. Thick as shit, always doing stupid stuff. Mayor Humdinger. I get they needed an antagonist, but some of this shit he's pulled is worth jailtime, I'm surprised Chase does't lock him up. Dude stole royalty in that Ultimate Rescue episode. Finally, Daring Danny X. Danny is just so... hateable in everyway. Almost every situation he gets himself into is through sheer stupidity, not to mention the dick stole the Paw Patroller and plowed it straight into the ocean. Surprised Ryder even talks to him after that, he just doesn't listen to a word Ryder or the Pups say.

Things I wanna see more of in the show:
God, wow, this is easily gonna be the longest section. Um.. idk. The Air Patrol series is dead in the water I think, so I doubt we're gonna see more of that. Would be nice though.
It'd be nice to see more.. "extreme" rescues for the pups, especially Chase, Zuma and Marshall. Marshall is a firedog and he rarely puts out fires. I think the only times he has prevented a fire is in Pups Save a Friend and Pups Save the Corn Roast, where in both he just puts out smoldering things, I'd love to see him actually tackle a fire. Mr Porters would be a good example. I like the episode where Marshall tells Alex and Mr Porter about fire safety, because I honestly didn't see him as much of a firepup until then. Plus, we rarely see him as an EMT anymore. Maybe be nice to see him do more with that. Obviously they won't do blood and gore, I dont even think they can do broken bones, just sprains.
Chase never arrests anyone. I mean, seriously, I guarantee you. For a police pup, he just does a lot of traffic control and herding. Be nice to catch a robber or something and have Chase arrest him. Thought that was gonna happen in the Ultimate Rescue episode but nope.
Zuma is just underused. That's all I have to say about him. He just needs to be used more often.

Sea Patrol episodes are fun. Whilst Sid is annoying, at least he isn't Danny. I know we have more of them coming because of the episode summary on the wikia page. I just love the scene where the Sea Patroller comes out of the pier, plus the music is pretty good too.

As far as I know, Mission PAW is also gone now too, replaced by Ultimate Rescue. (Which I prefer btw). But it would be nice to see that a few more times.

That's all the questions I was asked. Feel free to ask anymore.