Hi everyone! I've had this idea running in my head for a while, and I really felt the need to write it down. Don't worry; I'm not giving up on my other story, just working on something else to keep my creative mind going. This story is apart from my other ones, with another theory of Ryder's parentage, and him going on new adventures, and experiencing new hardships as he grows up. Fair warning, many of these chapters, such as this first one, are very, very sad. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it, and remember to stay safe during this awful pandemic.
Side note: The Covid-19 pandemic will NOT be mentioned in any of my stories, because we don't know how long it will go on for, and it is not a joking matter. It will be written out of my stories completely as if it never existed to give people a glimmer of hope that it will all be over soon. Fingers crossed that all will be normal again.
Remembrance Day; the 11th day of November. It was a day to remember the fallen soldiers who fought for their country. For Ryder, the young leader of the Paw Patrol, Remembrance Day meant a lot to him, especially this particular one. Just like all the other citizens of Adventure Bay, along with his pups, Ryder was dressed in black and standing in the local cemetery just on the other side of town, mourning the loss of his beloved father.
One Week Earlier
Ryder and the pups had just returned from helping Rex and Dr. Turbot in the Dino Wilds, and were really excited to start preparing for his father's return home from work at the multi-military base across the water. His father served as a mechanic and technician in the Canadian Army, so he was away from home a lot; he was also the reason behind Ryder's mechanical and technical knowhow. In spite of being very busy, he always made it home for the special occasions, such as surprising his son every Christmas Eve, birthday, and sometimes Canada Day if he got lucky. And the last time Ryder saw his father was when he came home on his 11th birthday just a few months prior, after which he stayed home for almost a full two months before going back to work just after Easter. This time he would be returning because he wanted to take Ryder and the pups to the Remembrance Day ceremony in town, which was something they always did ever since Ryder could remember, which dated back to the time of his great, great grandfather, who fought in both the First and Second World Wars as a Flight Sergeant in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
It was an occasion Ryder always looked forward to with his father, as it was a way for him to know how his paternal ancestors bravely fought for and served their country; he only heard stories of his great, great grandfather who passed away a few years before he was born, so he never got the chance to meet him. His great grandfather was also a Flight Sergeant in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and fought in the Second World War, and he passed away when Ryder was 7, but at least he got hear some great stories from him before his passing. His grandfather was a Captain in the Royal Canadian Navy, and even trained Cap'n Turbot during his time before he lost his battle with cancer when Ryder was only 5, so he didn't remember a lot about him. Many people thought Ryder would also join the military, but he decided to help in his own way; which is what led him to forming Paw Patrol, with a little help from his father in the beginning days.
Ryder smiled at the memory, especially when it was his father who found a couple of the pups, Chase being the first. And the pups always helped to make Ryder's father coming home a very special occasion, especially since he raised Ryder all on his own since his mother succumbed to a bad case of pneumonia when he was just 3 years old. But the two stayed strong for each other, and always kept in touch while apart. And Ryder loved it when his father was around, even when he just showed up unexpectedly. And that's what he thought was happening when a military car pulled into the long driveway; he knew his father was due to arrive, but not this soon.
The car stopped, but it wasn't his father that stepped out, but rather one of the other members of the army and he did not look happy. The pups watched from afar as the man said something to Ryder that did not make him smile, and then handed him something folded ever so neatly that looked red and white, and Chase recognised it as the Canadian flag. That was not a good sign, it was a sign that a family member who was in the police force, or in this case the military, had fallen; apparently there was an accident at the military base where Ryder's father was, and he just happened to be one of the fallen from that accident. The man gave his condolences, and then turned to leave, but not before telling Farmer Yumi and Mayor Goodway, who followed the easily recognisable car all the way from town, what had happened. They were devastated, and they began to worry for Ryder as the man got back into the car and left.
Ryder felt numb, just absolutely broken. He did feel sad when his grandfather and great grandfather passed away, but at this point he was completely crushed now that his father, the only family he had left, was gone. Everyone watched as Ryder sunk to the ground, holding the flag tight close to his chest, and cried. Nobody had ever seen Ryder cry before; he wasn't the type to cry a lot, but this time he had a good reason to. The pups dropped whatever they were doing, and joined the two adults in rushing to Ryder's side to give him the comfort he needed.
Present Day
Since then, Ryder had a hard time getting by. Lucky for him, there were no rescues to go to in the last week, which gave him time to grieve. Ryder just stood there in front the closed casket, with Cap'n Turbot at his side, and tears just kept pouring down his face like a never ending river. On his other side was Katie, his long-time best friend, and she too was in tears as she held his hand and her other arm holding her grey and white Persian cat Cali. She was very fond of Ryder's father, and both of them were her go-to whenever she felt lonely after the tragic death of her own parents some years prior.
Many of the residents had very kind words to say about Ryder's father, and some of them were trying to hold back tears as they spoke. That's how much he impacted the town with his great deeds to the country, and how much he meant to everyone. That included Farmer Yumi, who had known Ryder since he was just a baby, and she used to look after him whenever his parents went out for some alone time; and she continued to do so after his mother died, and his father had to work, up until Ryder had formed Paw Patrol, at which point he was old enough to take care of himself. When Ryder went to say a few words, he couldn't hold back his tears at all; in fact he couldn't even finish what he wanted to say. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't stop crying long enough to talk.
He was already missing his father very much; he didn't know what he was going to do without him. He was his ultimate teacher, and the best father in the world to look up to. But now that he was gone, Ryder wondered who he could look up to now, especially when it was his father who could keep Mayor Humdinger away from Adventure Bay for several weeks on end; maybe even several months, because the last time he was around was just after Ryder's birthday and he tried to make a fool of Ryder and the pups yet again; but then his father came to the rescue on his big Harley Davidson CVO Tri Glide, and everyone cheered when he said a few things that sent Mayor Humdinger running scared back to Foggy Bottom, not to be seen for quite some time. Oh, how he was going to miss that; especially now since Mayor Humdinger made an appearance to the funeral, but remained behind a tree and snickered as if he wanted to crash the funeral, and make a mess of the town like he normally did. But Farmer Yumi quietly pulled away from the crowd, and approached Mayor Humdinger with a strict look on her face.
"You've got some nerve showing up here," she said sternly. "Can't you see this is a funeral?"
"Gee, I wonder who died," Mayor Humdinger sneered. "Was it Mayor Goodway? Does Adventure Bay need a new mayor?"
"Stop it!" Yumi snapped. "First of all, Mayor Goodway is fine; she's standing right over there glaring at you. Second, if Adventure Bay needed a new mayor, it would be someone from this town, not somewhere else. And third, look at Ryder."
Mayor Humdinger looked over to Ryder, who continued to cry as the Canadian flag was lifted off of his father's casket, folded neatly and handed to him by the army's General, who then gave his condolences.
"That's his father in that casket," Farmer Yumi continued. "He had just passed away last Friday, and so it's been a really rough week for Ryder. He hasn't slept, he hasn't eaten; we're all worried about him. His father was the only family he had left, and now he has no one. If you lost a close family member as a child, you would understand the pain Ryder is going through right now. Show some respect for once in your life."
Farmer Yumi walked back to join the crowd to comfort Ryder just as everyone else started to dispurse, leaving them, Farmer Al, Cap'n Turbot, Francois, Jake, Carlos, Mayor Goodway, Katie, the Porter's, and the pups, alone to continue mourning. Even though the casket was now being buried deep in the ground, Ryder did not want to leave, but he knew he had to. They all went to the Lookout for the wake; many shared their favourite memories of Ryder's father, and some just sat there in silence to mourn. And a few were gathered together, which included Yumi, Al, Mayor Goodway, Carlos, Jake, Cap'n Turbot, Francois, the Porter's, Katie and the pups; they were discussing their concern for Ryder. Especially since at this point, he was not taking part in any of the crowds.
He was sitting on the little boardwalk in the back yard, looking out at the water. Yumi tried to get him to come inside and eat, but all Ryder did was shake his head to say no, and went back to watching the water. There was even a new routine for him; he would get up in the morning, put out the bowls full of food for the pups, go watch the water, put out more food for the pups at lunch time, wander around the yard for a bit before watching the water again, and then putting out more food at dinner time before going upstairs to bed. During that time he never ate, and whenever he went to bed, he would lay awake for hours with tears in his eyes, thinking about his father. He would then look at his favourite picture of the two of them together for a good few minutes before getting very emotional, causing him to put the picture down and cry himself to sleep.
This new routine had been going on for a while, and Marshall, being the EMT and knowing a thing or two about mental and physical behaviour, took that as a sign of depression; and the other pups and a few other people in town came to discover he was right. Everyone had noticed a change in Ryder's behaviour since his father died, and even Daring Danny X, who was out of town at the time, had a feeling Ryder didn't even care about what he was up to, to the point where Danny didn't feel that daring anymore. He didn't even want to show off his stunts as a way of showing his concern for Ryder, and that itself was unusual. But what was more unusual, was the event that happened that very evening. The pups woke up to food in their bowls, as per the 'new usual,' which brought many questions to their minds about the whole situation.
"Poor Ryder," Rubble sighed, looking up to the top of the Lookout.
"It's been going on for days," said Rocky. "And he hasn't spoken to anyone since the funeral."
"He hasn't even left his room since he put out our breakfast," Zuma added. "Will he ever get better Marshall?"
Marshall shrugged upon hearing the question.
"Time will tell, Zuma," he said. "If you knew Ryder as long as Chase and I did, you'd know his father was everything to him. He just needs time to heal, however long it takes."
"Maybe we should check on him," Skye suggested.
"I agree," said Chase. "I think what he needs right now is comfort."
"I think you may be right," Marshall agreed as he stood up, and went with the other pups up to Ryder's room, only to be stunned by the sight…
… Ryder was gone.