A/N: Well I've officially been stationed in Hawaii for a few weeks now, and I am happy that I can begin writing throughout the weeks to come if my schedule doesn't jam pack with field operations or any of that jazz. But anyway in other news, this story has surpassed 30,000 views, and I couldn't be happier with that. This is the story is more successful than I have ever could have imagined it to be. Yeah, I know I say that a lot, but that is the truth. It's also nice to see that new authors join the fandom every day with new stories to share. I had many fears that this fandom would have died off soon, but I guess I was wrong about that. Anyway, I'll shut myself down right there, and I'll get right into it.

Welcome to Chapter 25 of Hearts of Ice and Fire

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." -Nelson Mandela

For the first time in at least a couple of weeks, Marshall stepped outside the Lookout. The sun shined brighter and warmer than any light bulb in the workshop where he had resided for what felt like an eternity. The fresh air filled his nose, and the light breeze ran through his short fur making his skin tingle. It had taken a moment for his eyes to adjust, but they fixed themselves quickly.

But that didn't fix the giant weight that hung over his head.

Marshall felt like his body was about to wither away into nothing at any second. His worst fears were finally unveiling before him, and he didn't know what he was supposed to do about it. He froze like a statue. The fear and uncertainty washed over him, and his heart beat faster and faster. But he knew that one thing was for sure. Chase had regained his memory, and Marshall didn't know what to do. He had left the room after Ryder and Rocky showed up.

"Go upstairs, for now, Marshall," Ryder had instructed calmly. "We'll talk later."

He didn't know when that would be, but he wasn't sure if it was going to be a good talk or if he was going to get his butt chewed out for directly disobeying what Ryder had told him. But he didn't seem to care. The only thing that made his heart hurt was that he may not ever be friends with Chase again.

The fire pup walked out towards the tree where he and Everest talked what seems like forever ago. He hid behind it and looked out towards the ocean, which lay directly in front of him and about a hundred feet down. His gaze peeked over the edge, seeing the ocean slam against the sharp rocks that pocked out. One wrong step and he was a goner for sure.

But he wasn't a jumper.

The idea of jumping to end one's life wasn't farfetched, but it just seemed impractical in the long run. Not only did it have long-term effects on anyone that did survive their attempt, but it also carried the results over to the friends and families of the victim. Marshall would never do anything more severe than he had already done.

But the thought did linger in his mind like lousy kibble.

He felt something touch his shoulder and turned to see Everest looking at him. Just by the look in her eyes could he tell that she knew what happened between him and Chase. The pup invited her to sit next to him, which she did promptly and leaned her head against his shoulder. But she stayed surprisingly quiet for a few minutes before she finally decided to speak with him.

"Are you doing alright?" she whispered

Marshall drooped his head and shook it slowly. "I don't know how I could be alright anymore, Everest. Chase has his memory back, and he hates me."

"Well," Everest sighed. "What did you expect to happen, Marshall? You hurt him bad. Can you blame him for being angry and afraid of you?"

"No," Marshall breathed. "I can't blame him, but it doesn't make it any easier to cope with the fact that I might never get to see him as my friend again."

"Hey," she said gently grabbing his muzzle and looking into his blue eyes. "You know just as well as I do that you two will be friends again. You have to give him a little time, and before you know it, you two will be chasing each other around the yard playing as though nothing ever happened."

"But what if you're wrong?" Marshall sobbed, a tear forming prominently in his eye. "What if…what if that doesn't happen? What if he sees me for what I am for the rest of his life?"

"He won't Marshall," Everest promised. "He might have his memory back, but he still must remember all that you've done for him in his life, right?"

"Maybe," Marshall shrugged. "But it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't."

"Why are you only seeing the negatives, Marshall?" She asked seriously. "It seems like you don't want Chase back to his good old self. Like you'd rather see him with anger towards you for the rest of his life. Surely that's not what you want from him or anyone for that matter, right?"

Marshall shook his head without even a second thought. "No, of course I don't want that. It's just…...I'm prepping myself for the worst possible outcome is all. If I am destined to be a traitor and an even worse friend in his eyes, then I need to be ready for the road to come. I need to ready myself for a tough, but hopefully prosperous journey. He can't see me as this forever."

Everest shrugged. "Seems like you've gotten it figured out then, huh?"

He nodded. "It's all that's been on my mind since he woke up from his coma. I knew that if he were to get his memory somehow back, which has now become a reality, he wouldn't see me as the same old Marshall he grew up with his whole life. No, I expected him to be like this." He sighed. "I guess I just wasn't sure how I was going to take it."

Everest leaned her head against him once more giving as much reassurance as she possibly could. "It's a long road, but I think that you're strong enough to make it through, despite it being a large pill to swallow."

"I honestly am lost at this point," Marshall said. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore."

"So that's it, huh?" a new voice questioned.

Marshall and Everest turned their attention to the new, yet recognizable voice and saw Chase's father, Tracer sitting a few feet away with his tail resting on his feet. He didn't seem happy, sad or even angry. A true professional at having a cold, emotionless face.

"Beg your pardon, dad?" Marshall asked confusedly

Instead of answering, Tracer looked at Everest. "Mind giving me a few moments with my son? I'll send him your way when we're done."

"Umm…sure, no problem," she said, giving Marshall a last look before walking away.

Once she was out of earshot, Marshall spoke. "What's so important that you can't let her hear?"

"You're just going to give up?" Tracer whispered, barely louder than the ocean breeze. "After all you've been through, all your hard work, everything against you, almost no support from anyone and you don't know what you're supposed to do anymore. Are you serious?"

Marshall gulped. "I…. I…. I," he finally just sighed and drooped his head. "I guess not. I guess I'm just scared is all. I feel helpless."

Tracer moved to sit right next to him and wrapped an arm around him. "What's on your mind, son? You know you can tell me."

"It's just…. I thought that I was working to fix, Chase," Marshall admitted. "But I think I broke him even more."

"You can't blame yourself entirely for him being broken, Marshall," Tracer reassured. "Sure, you caused him harm, but we both know that Chase was never perfect, to begin with, and I mean that in good faith. Nobody is perfect, and some are forged from being at rock bottom."

"So, you're saying that Chase being broken is good for him?"

"Kind of, sort of, not really," Tracer chuckled. "I'm saying that things will eventually get better. It's just going to take a little bit of time. It may seem like a long and bumpy road, but I honestly believe that Chase will be back to his old self. But you can't achieve that if you don't believe in yourself. Chase can't fear you forever. The best thing for you to do is to interact with him more than avoid him."

"You think so?" Marshall mumbled looking up at his step-father. "How do you know that this will work?"

Tracer nodded and sighed. "Let's say that I've had a similar situation happen to me in the past and I was able to fix it by using this method. I was terrified when it happened, but after constant usage of this method effectively, I was able to get my partner back to his old self."

"What happened to your partner?"

"Again, let's say that I hurt him pretty bad completely by accident during a police investigation. I'll tell you about some other time, maybe when you're a little older, alright?" He asked to which Marshall nodded. "So, you see, Chase may see you as a threat now, but as your girlfriend said, he can't possibly remember all of the things that you've done for him in his life. Yeah, he probably only wants to remember that you beat the daylights out of him, but I think that you can let him see something good for a change."

"Wow," Marshall exclaimed. "I never thought that what I feared most could be my biggest ally. Thanks, dad, I owe you big time. And for the record, Everest is not my girlfriend."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Tracer hugged his adopted son tightly before pinning him down and tickling him.

Marshall giggled and screamed like a little girl. "No! No, stop…. That …that…. tickles," he cried with joy. When his father stopped tickling him, he laid there to catch his breath and let out the occasional giggle before getting up. "Again, Everest is not my girlfriend."

"You want to know how I found out that Chase had a girlfriend before you boys joined the PAW Patrol?" He asked rhetorically. "Observation of the smallest details. You display them whenever you're around that cute, little Husky friend of yours. I don't know, is mom going to get those grandbabies she has always wanted?"

"Not any time soon," Marshall chuckled nervously, his cheeks red with embarrassment. "I haven't even gone on a date with her yet."

"Might want to fix that," Tracer patted Marshall on the back and began to walk away but stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Marshall?"

Marshall looked in his father's direction and saw the love and warmth in his eyes. "Y-yes, dad?"

Tracer smirked. "Smile and laugh more, please. I don't like seeing you upset. A smile looks better on you than anyone else that I've met." He walked away before Marshall could get out a response.

"Anything for you, father," Marshall sighed to himself.

It had taken some time, but Ryder was able to get Chase to calm down finally. He had gotten the poor pup to lay down in his bed and sleep finally. But the Shepherd pup occasionally whimpered and shivered, and Ryder knew that Marshall was still on his pups' mind. So, to hopefully help remedy that, he had asked his mother to stay with him until he could figure out how to fix the tension between Chase and Marshall.

"I don't know what we're supposed to do, Athena," Ryder said, worryingly. "I didn't expect Chase to get his memory back so fast."

Chase was fast asleep against his mother's belly. The injured pup gave the occasional jolt and mumbled in his sleep. His mother rubbed his back gently to relax him and coax him into a deeper, more peaceful sleep.

Athena sighed. "I'm glad that he has his memories back, but I feel like the trauma is too much for him to bear. He might never be the same again."

Ryder approached the bed and placed a hand on Chase's head. "It pains me to say this, but I wish that he didn't have his memory back. In all honesty, it would have been easier to start from square one with him, let him get his memory back on his own."

"You don't mean that, do you?"

Ryder shrugged. "I….I don't know. I know it sounds wrong, yet it's what my gut keeps telling me. But there's no use of trying to achieve that feeling now. Oh well, I guess we'll have to take the more challenging road."

Athena reached out and touched his hand. "And we'll be with you and the PAW Patrol until everything gets figured out. Tracer and I are both retired, and Brooke is old enough that we can raise her about anywhere with only the essentials."

"You know I can't ask you to do that, Athena," Ryder sympathized. "You've got a new baby to take care of, and we can take care of Chase on our own. Hell, I've been taking care of him for the last year."

"And I'm grateful for that, Ryder. Truly, I am grateful for everything you've done for my two boys. You've shaped them into model citizens and better rescuers. But now is the time where the parents need to step in and give their assistance and guidance." She looked down at Chase. "I don't want to be remembered as the mother that sat back and watched."

"You won't be, I can promise you that," Ryder reassured. "Come tomorrow morning; we make the drive out to Foggy Bottom where Chase will get his surgery. A few days after that, we'll be back here at the Lookout, and we will begin his physical therapy. You and Tracer will be with him every step of the way."

"What about Marshall?" Athena asked. "Surely you must have someplace for him to partake in all of this, right?"

Ryder sighed but gave no response.

"You weren't planning on including him, were you?" Athena demanded, trying not to raise her temper. The last thing she needed was for Chase to wake up to her and Ryder fighting.

Ryder shook his head. "No, I wasn't. I can't have Chase freak out during his therapy or else he's going to go over the edge, and we might lose him forever. I don't want to risk it, Athena. I can't do it."

"You say you can't, but I know you can, Ryder," Athena pleaded. "Marshall may have caused this and put himself into a pretty deep hole, but he sure as hell worked his tail off to drag himself out of it. You said his punishment was to help fix Chase or else the pup was going to be gone. Now I don't know about you, but he still hasn't accomplished that yet. As you can see, my baby isn't fixed yet."

The boy was lost for words. He had nothing to argue with because deep down, he knew that Athena was right whether he wanted to believe it or not.

"Marshall is helping us with Chase, and that's final!"

A/N: Hey fellow writers, enjoyed writing this chapter. I had some skepticism about coming back, but an author helped motivate me to go back and rewrite. You know who you are! I know I keep saying the same old trash about wanting to write more and being able to stick to an update schedule and whatnot, but I've decided that I will update when I feel ready to update. If that's every few days, every week, once a month, I don't care, but I will be updating. I'm not ready to give up on this fandom. We already lost too many good authors to trolls, and I won't let them get to me. But anyway, I've updated now. I got ideas for my one-shot story with one chapter as a work in progress.

All the best and see you next time!

Atlas Out