Chapter 25: Rocky Recovery

Thunder clapped across the bleak sky as rain showered down onto the imposing Adventure Bay Hospital, standing alone amongst a thiket of trees and surronding commercial buildings sparcely placed along either side of the road leading up to the roundabout infront of the hospital entrance.

Despite the sometimes chaotic hustle and bustle that came with running a hospital, the environment inside contrasted with the storm outside, a tranquil buz reverberated off the interior walls. Ringing phones, conversations between Doctors and nurses as well as the patients they were caring for, the nervous tapping of shoes on the laminate flooring from family members awaiting the news of their loved one's condition, all added to the ambience that filled every inch of the calm yet busy building.

It was nearly three in the morning, and yet the pace the hospital staff was setting was creating organized pandamonium to the untrained eye. The nurses running between patient rooms, trailing the Doctors as they themselves idly sauntered from patient to patient, calmly navigating between the army of nurses and interns trailing either them or the residents of the hospital.

In the eye of the storm, among the sea of staff members was a pup, desperately trying to keep up with a fast paced doctor who was calling out orders to him as they moved down the long hallway.

"Inspect the surgical sight and make sure it is properly healing coherently with the patient's fur and asses his level of conciousness, if any. Monitor his cardiac rhythm, breath sounds, respiratory affect, and muscle strength upon regained consciousness, I want a full report on his progress following your thorough examination." The doctor ordered, turning to face the medical pup who was hot on his heals, before sitting attentively at his feet.

"Yes sir, right awa..."

"Do not make me regret having you on this case, Frost. You may be of the same species as this patient, but that does not give you the authority to make decisions about either of them or their care without my concent. I am still your superior, and you, my subordinate."

Without another word, the doctor turned his back to the pup and began moving towards his next patient. leaving Cody alone, alone in a hoard of nurses and Doctors moving about the floor, doing rounds, filling out labs, or collaborating with fellow colleagues. The latter striking a nerve within the young pup.

'Must be nice.'

He though bitterly, remaining still as his festering negative emotions rocked throughout his body, threatening to bubble to the surface. Guliping in several deep breaths, he steeled himself. Mentally, he shut off his emotions as much as he could, for the time being. Tucking them away to be revisited when his shift ended like he always did. There was no room for them while he was on the clock; he had patients to attent to.

Everything was in a blurred state, bright white was all the groggy pup could see as his eyes adjusted to the flouresent lights shining down brightly into his retinas.

His head was spinning as noises and vibrations blended together, filling his ears all at once, twisting his stomach into knots. It took him several seconds before he was able to gather himself enough to look around his surroundings without wanting to vomit.

White walls surrounding him, a single window letting in a glimer of moonlight into the dimly lit room.

Looking down at himself he noticed wires shooting out in every with way from his body to various beeping machines, an I.V drip penetrating his gray fur, his body neatly tucked under a thin layer of itchy blankets. He was in a hospital no doubt, but where was everyone else, his family, Chase? He wondered, cringing at the mere thought of the police pup.

Feeling overwhelmingly alone and a growing urge for an update on everyone and everything that's happened , he tried to call out for someone; immediately reaching for his throat as fire replaced the oxygen he was breathing in. Hutching over, Rocky began involuntarily coughing out of instinct as fire continued to spread down his throat.

The pain didn't last long, subsiding after a minute allowing his breathing to normalize. He mentally groaned in his head. Deciding to stay silenlet, not wanting to risk going through that again. Slowly he rested his head back against his bed, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Rocky, your awake!"

Before he knew it, Skye was at his side, looking down at him with both relief and anxiety seeing his sleepy amber eyes open again. She seemed calm, happy even, and besides her sleep deprived eyes, Skye looked relatively fine. Alot better than what he had expected her to look like. Being reminded of his previous expectations for her initial reaction caused a growing pit to begin expanding in his stomach, for fear of what was yet to come.

Rocky shifted his eyes away from her, remorsefully reflecting on the night that had assumedly gotten him, all of them, into this less than ideal situation to begin with.

Silently the gray pup waited, fidgeting in place as he continued struggling to make eye contact with his girlfriend, as if once he did, she would explode. Heck he was surprised she hadn't already. Skye was never one to hide her true emotions, the pup wore her heart on her sleeve, and yet their was no trace of anger or frustration on her face.

"What if she's faking it?"

Rocky cringed at the sudden reamergance of that infernal, nagging voice, but tried not to let his face reflect the anxiety that was slowly taking hold of him. Silence was all that filled the air, not a word was muttered between them as Skye continued gazing down at him, a now unreadable expression masking her face.

"If you don't say anything now, she will never be able to forgive you."

Swallowing the lump that was growing in his throat, and bracing himself for the pain that would follow, he broke the silence.

S-skye..I kno..."

His words were cut short by another wave of coughs erupting from his throat. At his aid in a flash, Skye began rubbing his back as he struggled through the waves of pain, whispering soothing nothings into his ear.

Again, the pain subsided, leaving Rocky to rest his head back against his pillow in defeat. A paw was quickly placed on his muzzle, preemptively keeping him from continuing.

Looking up to the owner of the paw, Rocky felt his heart sting as he was met with a teary eyed Skye, who was seemingly fighting an internal battle of her own, trying like hell to keep herself in one piece.

"Don't speak, rest your voice." She said in a hoarse voice, cupping his cheek in her paw, before continuing.

"I..baby I thought I lost you. After they brought you here, you went straight into surgery, hours went by...with no updates or so much as one encouraging word from anyone. The boys were taking sides right then and their while both of you were under, they were more concerned about who was in the wrong than anything else."

"Marshall was a complete wreck, it took me hours of holding him and reassuring him before he finally stopped sobbing. And Ryder, he looked like he'd seen a ghost, never speaking a word to any of us, just starring a hole into the wall infront of him. Leaving me all alone, I was so scared..so scared."

Skye said becoming more and more emotional as she spoke, now moving away from the bed and to the window. Briefly, she looked out into the cold damp night trying to push down the anger that was crawling to the surface.

Turning back to face him, Rocky saw in an instant that Skye had lost the battle to keep her emotions in check, now being stared down by a firey-eyed cockapoo.

"And the one pup that I needed with me more than anything, the one who could make everything just a little less dark, was in surgery fighting for his life. For something that he, that you did."

Finishing with a shaky breath, she wiped away the stray tears that had already escaped her eyes.

"I asked you what was wrong, Rocky. I told you I was there for you, I wanted to help you. And you looked me right in the eyes and lied; Chase is our friend, and what you did...you crippled him. And for what..FOR WHAT?"

Her words penetrating through whatever justification Rocky held in his heart towards his actions, leaving him wallowing in a storm of guilt as the full weight of his actions unforseen consequences crushed him.

It only added salt to his wounds seeing how hurt and utterly betrayed Skye looked as she broke down in front of him; and with no ability to say a word on his own behalf to try and fix the mess he had created made it immensely worse.

"This, us, isn't going to work out if I can't trust you. I can't love you if I can't trust you Rocky. Whatever drove you to do such a thing, if you can't tell me, wont let me in, then I can't be with you anymore. " She said struggling to get the last bit out.

"So you take this time, to think about what it is you truly want." she said as strongly as she could.

Finally after what seemed like a small eternity, Skye was finished, her true emotions out on the table. Silently she stared, looking Rocky dead in the eyes. The mix slowly nodded his head as if to say he understood and accepted her words. Whether it was out of fear or the realization of an answer, only time would tell.

Placing his paws on his head, Rocky tried to steady himself and his racing thoughts, trying to wake himself up from this nightmare he was sure his mind had cruley dreampt up.

But he new better, he was awake.

"Your awake." a voice called alerting both pups of a new presence in the room with them. Skye recognizing the same nurse that she had talked to while Rocky was still under.

Cody made his way over to Rocky's side with a small smile on his face, as if to communicate to him that he was a friend, someone to be trusted at the very least.

"He's having trouble speaking, it seems to cause him pain when he tries, and then there's the coughing that follows." Skye said, speaking on the gray pup's behalf.

Now looking over Rocky's chart, Cody nodded his head, humming in response. "That is to be expected, unfortunately, but you should slowly regain function of your voice within the next few days, just be sure to not overuse it or the pain could return." He finished as Rocky gave him an understanding nod before laying his head back on his soft pillow, closing his eyes, trying to escape the mess he had caused.

"Thank you, I'll be sure he behaves himself." She said sweetly to the nurse, before shooting Rocky a deadly glare.

Before Cody could respond, the loud echo of a tray slamming to the ground, the hurried taps of footsteps, and a pained yell erupted from the adjacent room, echoing into the hall and Rocky's room.

"What the hell?" He mumbled before Cody left the room with great urgency, running over to check on the noise.

Skye had a look of fear on her face. She momentarily looked at Rocky, who was wearing an equally disturbed expression, coming to the same realization as she had.

"Chase." She whispered, mostly to herself, before bolting out of the door.

Hey all, I hope everyone is staying inside and staying safe during these trying times, Despite all of the fear and uncertainty spreading around, I know that we will get through this to, by faith, prayer, and everyone doing their part by social distancing! Thank you to all of the medical workers and first responders on the front line risking their lives for us.Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, hopefully pulling you away from the chaos of the world and getting lost in the world of the story. So are you guys picking sides like Rubble and Zuma? Team Chase or team Rocky? Or are you like Marshall, simply wanting everyone to be ok and pull through this crazyness, or are you like Ryder, not having a clue of what the hell is actually going on haha.Either way, enjoy guys, you are the reason that I do this and put so much effort into my work after all.

–W.P