Chapter 11

Zuma stood in front of a group. His head was heavy as he looked around. He cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of the others.

"We awe hewe today to mouwn a loss of a loved one," the pup began. "Today is the day we place ouw friend that we gwew to love, in the diwt and send him off into heaven… Not many noticed how important his job was, not many knew his name fow that mattew. But we did. We knew how much he cawed to help Adventure Bay and its people. We knew how much he loved us… This pup was seen as many things; a dog, a wescuer, a helpew, a know-it-all–"

A small chuckle went around the group.

"– but he was mowe than that. To us, he was ouw family. He was a pawt of ouw lives and will nevew be fowgotten. No matter how many yeaws since his death came to be, the Paw Patrol will always wemember what he did to pwotect us, ouw ownew, and the childwen of Adventure Bay. This pup will always be a hero and will be fowever recognized as the eco-friendly aquaphobic mixed breed… Wocky, my best fweind, you'll always have a special place in my heawt and I hope we'll meet again in another life."

Applauds and howls erupted from the group as Zuma smiled and sat down.

"That was beautiful," Skye wiped a tear, but she had a smile settled on her face.

"Yeah. That's the best speech I've ever heard," Rubble agreed with a nod of his head.

"I agree… And who would have thought – I would have totally missed it if I was dead!" Rocky exclaimed.

"Thanks, pal," Zuma nudged him affectionately, all the while being mindful of the pup's bandages. "I still don't undewstand why you wanted to heaw own… what's it called again?"

"Eulogy," Ryder assisted from his spot on the patch of grass right near the Lookout. "It's a speech made to remember what happened in the life of who died."

"Yeah. I mean, if I suddenly woke up from a coma, I don't think the first thing I wanted to hear was the speech made for me when I die," Marshall commented, scratching his ear with his hind leg a bit. Ryder helped him out, making him sigh with pleasure. Rocky simply shrugged as he subconsciously picked at the gauze on his shoulder.

"I don't know. I just wanted to hear it. Curious if you said something bad about me," the grey pup joked.

"I would do no such thing!" Zuma exclaimed innocently.

"I know you wouldn't. But, if you did, I would haunt you in your nightmares."

"Rocky!" Ryder cried when a look of horror replaced Zuma's (and even Rubble's) happy expression. It didn't stop the chuckle that escaped out of the pup's lips, however. Even the boy looked a tad bit amused.

"Sorry. Too soon?" The comment made everyone burst into laughter that lasted for a few seconds. Once everyone calmed down, he continued. "So, what are we going to do today?"

"Well, I have to head back to school, unfortunately. The district thinks that I'm taking too many days off, so I have to go deal with that tomorrow," Ryder sighed. The pups could tell that he really didn't like school. "Now I have to finish up my homework. Not like it's going to be hard, but still."

"And I have to head to the police station to help out. Apparently, some of the officers got sick and they need someone to fill them in," Chase notified.

"Skye and I are going to Farmer Yumi's. She said that she could get us some more pointers in pup-fu," Rubble said, motioning to himself and the cockapoo while he explained.

"I'm going to visit Jake's mountain, see if they need any work up there to be done," Marshall smiled.

"And to visit Everest." The simple comment from the Bulldog sent the dally into a blushing overload. The rest snickered at the dalmatian.

"I don't have anything to do. I might just figuwe something out latew on," Zuma shrugged. When everyone nodded, they went off to do their tasks. The chocolate Labrador turned to the other. "What do you want to do? That doesn't involve that much movement, of couwse…"

"Beach?" Rocky suggested. Zuma instantly grinned at the mention of his favorite place. They both stood up from their spots and began walking. When they arrived, they could see that some people were enjoying their activities, varying from swimming to sandcastle building. Since Rocky couldn't move so much at the moment, he couldn't go into the water (not like he has a problem with that), so they just plopped under an umbrella. They felt the warm sand underneath their bellies, making them settle and relax.

After a few moments of just listening to their surroundings, Zuma decided to speak. "You know that we almost lost you?"

"Yes. But it's okay now," Rocky nodded.

"It's not okay, dude!" Zuma cried. Rocky turned to him in surprise, but his eyes softened when the labrador seemed to be on the verge of tears. "We almost lost you, Wocky. We all saw you losing so much blood that day at the school. And you went into a coma, and Wydew stop talking again, and Chase was going nuts, and the othews couldn't be the same!... We were so lost. We nevew lost a pup befowe, and it made it wowse to know that it was you! You're my best fwiend, Wocky…"

Rocky was momentarily stunned. No one had really told him what was happening during the period he was unconscious, but by the way Zuma described it, it wasn't dandy at all. The mix breed placed a comforting paw on his friend, bringing the younger one in a side hug.

"Zuma. I had no idea you all were feeling this way when I was out and I'm sorry," he said softly to the slightly whimpering pup. "But you have to understand something. It was in the past. I'm here with you and alive, that's what matters. And I appreciate your concern, Zuma… Can I tell you a secret?"

The younger pup perked up a bit. He lifted his head from his paws, exposing his puffy red eyes that made Rocky internally wince. The pup nodded.

"The secret is that I heard you all when I was asleep," he admitted. Zuma's eyes immediately widened in wonder. "I heard you all come in and talk to me, saying things to me like I was awake… And I heard you, Zuma. You were the pup that I heard the most. Your voice woke me up from my coma."

Zuma froze before grinning. He bombarded Rocky with friendly links.

"I can't believe it! I woke you up!" Zuma exclaimed, clearly ecstatic by the fact he woke up his friend from his death nap. Rocky chuckled at his friend's sudden mood change. Once he calmed, with a smile permanently settled on his face, Zuma continued. "I nevew would have thought I would save youw life. I guess I'm like Apollo, except I save people fwom within."

"That's one way to look at it," Rocky grinned, his tail wagging a bit. They sat there for the rest of the time, about an hour or so until their pup tags flashed their respective colors.

"Paw Patrol, to the Lookout!" Ryder's voice came through.

"Ryder needs us!" Both pups exclaimed. As quickly as they could (or as fast as Rocky could go considering his condition), they reached the tower at the same time the rest arrived. They ran to the elevator but, like always, Marshall was last. He tripped on a forgotten toy, which sent him flying through the air and crashing inside.

"Huh," Rocky mumbled, seeming to be the only one standing and unscathed. The others couldn't be so fortunate.

"Hey, why does Rocky get a pass?" Rubble exclaimed incredulously from the bottom of the pup pile. Both Marshall and Rocky shrugged as giggles erupted from everyone. The elevator's door closed and ascended as they detangled themselves. Surprisingly, they didn't stop at the changing room. They glanced at each other before the doors opened once more. They hopped out and were, once again, surprised to see Ryder, along with Katie, Zoe, and Conner, with him.

"Ready for action, Ryder, sir!" Chase called as they stood in a line.

"At ease, pups. There is no mission for today, so you may relax," Ryder smiled, intently watching his pups relax the tension from their postures.

"So why'd you call us here?" Skye tilted her head. The group of kids glanced at each other with a knowing look.

"Well, we have a surprise for you all," Ryder began.

"How you pups been behaving the past month has been astonishing," Katie smiled.

"And how you have been helping us in our problems and Adventure Bay," Conner continued with a smirk.

"All four of us would like to reward you," Zoe ended with a small grin. By the time she was finished, the pups were beyond excited as they wagged their tails like crazy. Ryder suddenly walked next to the control panel and pressed a large red button. At once, it triggered the floor between the two groups to open. Slowly, an object appeared that caused the pups to freeze simultaneously. A ridiculously large bone, around the size of Rubble's rig, appeared in between them.

No one made a sound.

"Uh… pups?" Zoe called out, tempted to wave her hand in front of their faces. They heard the amusement in her voice, though.

"I think you broke your family, dude," Conner told Ryder with a soft snicker. Before the leader could respond, a soft voice spoke up.

"I-Is this… for us?" Rubble hesitantly asked as his tongue slowly escaped his mouth to lick his lips.

"Yes, it is." "So dig in!" Katie and Ryder said together. Like lightning, the pups sprinted to the gigantic bone and started chewing on it. The kids smiled as they watched the young pups entertain themselves with the item.

"It's good to see them like themselves again," Ryder mentioned.

"They were different? Like, did they turn into pigs or something?" Conner joked. They rolled their eyes amusingly.

"The only pig here is you," Ryder shot back with a snicker. The other boy faked an offended gasp.

"How dare you! If I'm a pig, then you're a cow!"

"I'm the greatest cow you ever seen!" They burst into laughter.

"Hey, Ryder, didn't you say that you would let me use your ATV?" Katie suddenly asked with a small smirk. Ryder's face immediately turned blank.

"No, I didn-"

"Oh, can I come too?" Zoe smiled, turning to her best friend.

"Sure! Let's go!" The two girls rushed to the fireman's pole and slid down. They left the two boys in silence.

"They wouldn't… would they?" Conner slowly asked in worry, just only imagining what trouble his girlfriend would get into on an automobile. They suddenly heard a faint engine roar to life and the garage door opening. The two kids exchanged a look of horror before sliding down the firepole.

"WAIT!" The pups, who were watching the exchange while they munched on their bone, giggled at the quartet. It was nice seeing things back to normal - between the friends, themselves, in the Lookout, and around Adventure Bay.

The End