It didn't take long for Ryder and the pups to run up to give Ash an enthusiasic greeting as he snuggled the living daylights out of his son. Once the initial excitement of seeing Marshall again had finally worn off and the group finally had the chance to say 'hello', Ash was quickly hurried onto the Paw Patroller, where he took a seat with Marshall and lay cuddling him with all of his might, while Marshall buried his face into the chest of his formerly-distant father, closing his eyes and occasionally nuzzling him, looking more serene and happy than he had in a long time.
"Oh my... my, oh my..." Ash whispered. "I don't think my poor, ancient heart was ready for this... I mean... I swore I wouldn't cry if this day ever came..." Ash moved to brush a single tear away from his eyes. "Wow, I'm bad at making promises..."
"We all feel the same way, Ash." Ryder replied. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again on the day you left..."
"Same here, Ryder... goodness gracious... you look so different than you did five years ago! You grew up so fast!"
Ryder sheephishly brought a hand to rub the back of his head, a clear blush forming on his cheeks. "Aww, well, I don't think so..."
"It feels like you grew so much overnight, dear boy!" Ash retorted. "But I could say the same thing about Marshall, too! It's a little like looking in a mirror, actually!"
"Dad..." Marshall whispered, nuzzling into Ash's chest again while Ash, in return, gave Marshall some affectionate licks.
But upon looking back over the group, Ash froze up.
"Ah-! Where are my manners?! You all have so many new friends, too! I've never seen any of you up close before!"
"Oh, yeah! It's so nice to finally meet you, Ash! My name's Skye!" Skye greeted cheerily.
"Rocky!"
"Zuma!"
"Rubble!"
"Wow, the Paw Patrol got so big, didn't it?" Ash asked rhetorically, looking truly impressed.
"And that's not all!" Chase added. "We've got other members who come with us sometimes!"
"Wow! I forget just how big the world is around Adventure Bay!" Ash replied in amazement. "But all of you have given my heart enough of a shock as it is! Har! Ohh, let me tell you, all of you are even cuter than I thought you'd all be!"
"Daaaaad..." Marshall moaned in obvious embarrassment. Ash suddenly had a devilish smirk spread across his lips.
"Awwww, I'm sorry my widdle Marshy-poo, are you feewing weft out?" Ash cooed babyishly, moving to gently nibble on Marshall's neck. "I've got lots more dad embarrassment to give, my widdle snuggy-wuggy puppy pie!"
"Daaaaaaaad!" Marshall moaned even louder, screwing up his face.
"OK, Ash, I think Marshall's head might be about to pop..." Ryder defused, trying his best not to laugh along with the other pups.
"Ah, sorry about that..." Ash said apologetically, chuckling audibly with a guilty smile. "But I'm just so happy to see him again! And to finally meet you all! We've got SO much to talk about!" Ash froze up again. "OH-! Actually, you haven't met my owner yet, I'm guessing?"
"No, actually." Ryder replied. "We've only been here about half an hour, now. We wanted to stretch our legs a little. Is he back at Mistveil Farms?"
"He is! Oh, I simply have to introduce you-!"
But Ash found himself cut off by a violent coughing fit. Without warning, Ash simply starting coughing loudly, trying to catch his breath to no avail. But eventually, his coughing slowed, leaving him panting heavily, much to the pups' concern and worry.
"Ugh- ahem... excuse me." Ash panted, clearing his throat again. "All this excitement... my lungs ain't what they used to be, you know?"
Marshall frowned while looking at his father with concern, which Ash managed to quell with a few reassuring licks.
"So, Ash. Want me to take the Paw Patroller over?" Ryder asked, deciding to try and get things back on track despite his concern.
"Please do. We can welcome you in and get you all settled." Ash replied.
Ryder cocked his head. "'Settled'?"
"Well we won't have you and the pups sleeping in this biggol' van, Ryder!" Ash declared emphatically.
For a moment, everyone stared at Ash in amazement, before Ryder smiled widely, remembering just how kind Ash was five years ago.
"You haven't changed, Ash..." Ryder observed warmly, before turning to the driver's seat. "Robo-Dog: take us to Mistveil!"
A robotic bark later, and the Paw Patroller got moving yet again. This time, the drive was only about ten minutes before they reached their destination. And much to everyone's shock, Mistveil Farms was almost exactly like it was in the sketch on the letter. And yet somehow, the simple, if large, cottage at the end of the path looked far more inviting than a mere sketch could convey.
"Wow... it's so pwetty..." Zuma whispered in awe.
"Not bad, huh? You think this is nice, you should try living in it!" Ash replied.
Soon, the Paw Patroller rolled to a halt outside of the cottage, allowing everybody off. Ash led the pups up the stone path to the cottage, before stopping at the rustic, wooden front door with a small, cream-coloured dog door built into the front.
"Now, all of you just wait here. I'll be right back." Ash said, turning to the group.
But as Ash turned around, he didn't quite notice how close he was to the door itself. Before he knew it, a loud bang resounded across the field as Ash's head collided with the door.
"OW-!" Ash shouted.
"Dad!" Marshall cried in equal parts concern and sympathy.
"Oooohhh..." everyone else chorused, wincing at the painful-looking display.
"I'm OK!" Ash quickly reassured.
Regaining his bearings slightly, Ash headed through the dog door. But he hadn't regained his bearings enough to not trip over halfway through...
"WAGH-!"
...and leave his butt sticking out of the dog door, pointed right at Ryder and the pups as he struggled to get up. But much to his annoyance, he just couldn't find the traction to stand.
"Ummm... sorry, but er... a little help?" Ash called.
Giggling, Ryder and the pups helped Ash to his feet, allowing him to go on his way through the dog door.
Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Marshall turned around to see the other pups giving him a series of knowing smirks.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, it runs in the family..." Marshall conceded, shaking his head while smiling slightly.
"Actually, it explains a whole lot!" Skye observed.
But they didn't have time to reflect on this before a series of muffled voices came through the door.
"(Gage! I'm home! But could you come and get the door? We have guests!)"
"(Guests? Whaddaya mean, Ash?)" a higher, more distant voice replied.
"(I mean our letter found its mark! It worked!)"
"(...it worked?)"
Heavy footsteps could be heard behind the door. Then, a series of latches and locks were heard being undone before the door flew open to reveal the astonished face of a large man clad in overalls and a white t-shirt. With green eyes, a long, flowing mullet and a small moustache, the man was definitely close to how the person Marshall helped earlier described him.
"Oh my stars and garters... I... I can't believe it! It actually worked!" the man stuttered, a smile growing on his face.
Quickly, the man had herded everyone inside and shown them into a wide living room. Despite the fact that only one person and his dog lived there, there were a lot of chairs and sofas dotted around the room. At the other end of the room sat a large, boxy television, and the walls were adorned with plates and pictures. Some of them being photographs, but others being pencil sketches like the one the Paw Patrol had received.
With everyone having taken a seat, with Marshall sitting close to Ash on one of the sofas, the man began to introduce himself.
"I dunno if y'all would believe it, but I've actually been watching ya on the news long before... that story broke... name's Sullivan. Gage Sullivan. I run this here farm. And I gotta say it's a serious treat to meet y'all in the flesh."
"Pleasure's all ours, Mr. Sullivan." Ryder replied. "My name's Ryder. Ryder Chapman."
What Ryder wasn't expecting to hear next, however, was a loud, room-wide gasp from each of his pups. Confused, Ryder scanned over every one of them, with each of them looking like they'd seen a ghost.
"Ryder, sir! You have a last name?!" Chase shouted in amazement.
"Err, yeah? I..." Ryder looked perplexed for a while, until a realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. "I never actually told you what it was!"
"Har! I guess all this time you've all called him Ryder and nothing else?" Ash asked rhetorically.
"We sure have!" Marshall confirmed.
"Wow... that's embarrassing..." Ryder whispered audibly, looking down at his feet and scratching the back of his head.
"Well, no matter." Gage interjected with a shrug "Y'all must be tired after comin' so far just to see us!"
Chase sighed heavily. "You can say that again, Mr. Sullivan... took us hours to drive up here..."
"Aw, please, call me Gage. There's lotsa room in this old house, so there's all kindsa places for y'all to sleep..."
While Gage went on to talk to Ryder and Chase, Marshall turned to Ash.
"Hey, Dad?" Marshall asked quietly.
"What's wrong, my boy?" Ash replied, turning to look down at his son.
"I remember you were adopted by a family. Why's Gage the only one in the house?"
Ash opened his mouth to answer the question, only to realise that Gage was looking straight at them, having overheard Marshall.
"Shoulda known ya'd ask that, l'il feller. You of all pups would be wonderin' that, I'm sure." Gage interjected.
Marshall lowered his head. "Er, s-sorry, was that too far?"
"Naw, not at all! Answer's pretty simple, actually. Ash got adopted by me, my big bro and my folks. We even had another couple of younger sisters back here! But everyone's moved away since those days. I'm the only one left."
That piqued everyone's interest. "Huh? Why?" Ryder asked.
"Not many jobs in a village as small and sleepy as this. We don't got much in the way of tech, neither. Ya want work? Ya gotta go where the money is. And that ain't here."
Chase tilted his head. "Then why did you stay?"
"The city life ain't fer me, pup. I've grown too attached to this little patch o' land. So's Ash. The family still come to visit sometimes from Rainberg, the big city, but that aside, it gets mighty lonely around here... still ain't had much luck findin' myself a bride, neither... but I still got Ash, here. He's always been with me."
"And I've happened to see every one of his... er, "dates", too." Ash added teasingly.
Gage glowered at his dog. "Hey! Don't act like I'm some casanova, Ash! I'm only on my 52nd try, here!"
"FIFTY SECOND?!"
As Gage started to look downtrodden, the pups soon found themselves filled with regret at what they'd blurted out uncontrollably.
"E-Err, I mean... hey, chin up, Gage! I'm sure you'll get there!" Marshall stammered.
"Yeah! I mean, I'm sure someone as nice as you will find someone any day now!" Chase seconded.
The air was soon filled with the pups' reassurance. Prompting Gage to give the group a sad smile. "Aww, shucks, pups..."
Thankfully, their attempt to fix things went down well.
"Whew..." Marshall sighed quietly.
Ash leaned in close. "(You'd better not mention that around him too much, Marshall...)" he whispered.
"(I wish we could help, somehow...)"
"(Me too, boy. Me too...)"
"By the way, Gage, I'm cuwious about something." Zuma piped up. "Wedcweek's weally faw away fwom Adventuwe Bay. How'd you manage to get wowd out so faw that you were looking fow a dalmatian?"
Gage gave Zuma a curious look. "How'd ya know that?"
Zuma looked over at Marshall and raised a paw in his direction.
"Oh, I get it..." Gage replied. "Anyway. Ya know Gladys? Mayor Goodway? She's actually an old friend 'a my brother Drew. They went to school together 'fore Mayor Goodway moved away."
"Weally?" Zuma asked.
"Drew actually went up to Rainberg early, but he lived between the village and the city fer a while. Really took to all that technology stuff, too. He still kept in touch with Gladys on... some kinda social media thing? But once, she posted on there 'bout a dalmatian and his pup that needed adoptin'. Drew came runnin' down to the farm, and the rest is history."
"Ohhh... now things make a little mowe sense..."
"Well, anyhoo... I'm guessin' y'all have had a long day... just gimme a sec, and I'll scrounge up somewhere for y'all to get some shuteye." Gage began to make his way towards the stairs just outside of the room. "We got a lotta spare rooms, so we ain't gonna be short on space. Won't be long!"
"Thanks so much, Gage!" Ryder called after him, with the pups following suit as Gage disappeared upstairs.
"See why I grew so attached to him?" Ash asked, looking around at the Paw Patrol. "He's really got a big heart. And not just for the animals he cares for!"
"It looks like you found a great owner all your own, Ash!" Ryder said.
"I sure did... after losing the Firehouse and my old owner, I didn't think I'd ever have a happy home ever again..."
"Your talking about Lukas, wight?" Zuma asked.
Ash went rigid, tilting his head and staring right at the chocolate labrador with confoundment. "You knew?"
"I actually told him our story on the way over, Dad!" Marshall explained.
"Did you, now?" Ash asked with great interest. "Well, while we wait, how about I tell you all a story of my own? One about my mate? One that happened a couple days after Marshall was born?"
Marshall gasped loudly. "A story about Mom?!"
"Oh, HECK yeah! This is gonna be good!" Chase shouted excitedly.
"Ooh! I've gotta hear this!" Skye cheered.
"Well, Ash. Looks like we're all ears, now." Ryder smiled, looked at Ash and shrugged.
"Ooh, an audience? Don't make me nervous, now!" Ash joked. "Anyway... where to start? Let's see... well, the day was pretty cloudy..."
Six years ago, the Adventure Bay Firehouse stood proudly above the sleepy town. With another day in full swing, its inhabitants, both human and canine, were buzzing back and forth as per usual. Some were happily laughing and joking in the TV area, others remained glued to the news and phones in case of a fire announcement, and yet more checked on their equipment, making sure everything was in good condition and ready to go for their next emergency.
But there was also a sense of sadness hanging over the firefighters and fire dogs. And nowhere was that being felt more than with one particular, heavily-spotted dalmatian and a tanned firefighter listening to him rant.
"It's messed up! How could that have happened to a sweet dog like Willow?!" the dog shouted.
"I guess sometimes these things happen..." the firefighter replied sadly.
"So you're saying that it's OK?!"
"Wha-?! No! When did I ever say that?!"
"What did Willow ever do to deserve this?! She should be the proud mom of a huge litter, and-"
"Smokey..."
The dalmatian went rigid at the gravelly voice behind him. With his rant having ceased, he quickly turned around to see a well-built firefighter with blue eyes and a face adorned with freckles standing right behind him.
"O-Oh! Lukas!" Smokey stammered.
"You do realise that just yelling isn't going to help, right?" Lukas asked sternly.
Smokey whined in shame and lowered his head. "I'm sorry, sir... but... it's so messed up... What happened, I mean."
Lukas sighed and laid a comforting hand on Smokey's head. "I know... but the best we can do is help Willow through this as best we can, right? We're not just gonna ditch her at a time like this are we?"
Smokey looked right back up. "No, sir!"
"Then can I count on you to find a more constructive way of helping Willow than just getting angry?"
Smokey paused for a second, before giving Lukas a determined look. "You sure can, sir."
"Excellent. Now, if you'll excuse me..."
"Smokey was always fired up over something... but he cared so much about the rest of us that he was PARTICULARLY upset that day. I mean, I'm only guessing what Lukas said, but Smokey was someone you could hear at most times of the day!" Ash explained. "But anyway..."
After talking to Smokey, Lukas calmly made his way into a side room, away from the bustle of the main building. It was there that something special, if somewhat tragic, had occurred mere days ago. It was there that his two dogs, Ash and Willow, were resting. And it was there that Willow had welcomed a new life into the world.
Closing the door behind him and applying some of the hand sanitizer on a nearby table, Lukas looked right at the worn pet bed occupied by the thinner, female dalmatian with deep, blue eyes and little in the way of spots. It was there that Willow kept something very special snuggled close to her. Something more precious and fragile than any treasure. Next to her in the same bed, Willow had her paw draped over a tiny baby pup.
A plump pup so tiny that his eyes had yet to open, with spotless, snow white fur, and a pink, slightly squashed muzzle. This pup was snoozing peacefully under the caring arm of his mother, with his father, Ash, sitting a little ways away.
"Hey, Ash, Willow..." Lukas whispered.
"Hey there, Lukas..." Ash replied quietly.
All Willow mustered was a brief nod as Lukas approached the pet bed, along with her and her baby.
"Little fella's looking well." Lukas observed, as he kneeled down.
But as he went to pet the pup, Willow glared ferociously at her owner and let out a savage, protective growl, curling protectively around her young.
"Ah-! Willow!" Lukas shouted scoldingly.
"Honey, take it easy! It's just Lukas!" Ash frantically reassured.
Willow suddenly stopped with a short gasp, looking appalled at what she'd just done. "Ah-! I'm sorry! I-It's just... well..."
Lukas sighed, reaching over and reassuringly scratching Willow behind the ear.
"It's OK, Willow... After what happened, I guess it'd be weird if you WEREN'T protective of your pup..."
Everyone took a look at the tiny white bundle of fur, who twitched in his sleep and gave a muffled squeak.
"Yeah... I'm a little.. jittery right now..." Willow admitted sadly. "I'm not PUP to very much, I guess!"
That one terrible pun was all it took to get the two men laughing again, and to get Willow back to smiling.
"Ohh, Willow..." Lukas whispered, sighing as he got his breath back. "But how're you holding up? Not feeling sick or anything?
"Just sad... as usual. But little Marshall here? He lifts me right back up."
Everyone stole yet another look at the tiny pup lying under Willow's arm, who now appeared to be trying to run in his sleep whilst emitting a series of soft, sleepy groans.
"Don't blame you... such a sweet little thing..." Lukas said adoringly.
Marshall's sleepy groans soon turned into a louder one as he stretched, clearly now fully awake, despite his eyes having not yet opened. Then, the infant pup's tongue flicked out a few times as he licked his lips.
"Ooh, probably hungry, too..." Ash observed. "I'll never know how such a tiny thing eats so much!"
"He's the Willow Bar's best customer!" Willow explained. " Er, he's also the Willow Bar's ONLY customer, but, er, still, heh! I guess it's not like he has competition."
"Well, now that he's awake, er... can I?" Lukas asked.
Willow suddenly looked somewhat nervous. "Go ahead. But PLEASE be gentle with him."
Nodding solemnly, Lukas reached out and gently scooped the tiny pup into his arms, quickly bringing him close to his chest to keep him warm. Marshall started squeaking and whimpering in confusion and slight distress at the sudden lack of warmth.
"Shhhh..." Lukas whispered, despite Marshall not being able to see or hear him yet.
Reassuringly, Lukas stroked the pup from his head to his tail a few times, before gently rubbing one of his paws inbetween his fingers. Then, Lukas moved to scratch the pup's belly with one finger. And with every affectionate action, Marshall responded with more drowsy groans and squeaks.
"That's the spot, huh? Coochie coochie coo!" Lukas cooed, before gently squeezing the pup in an affectionate cuddle. "Aww, Marshall's so soft..."
"Doesn't he feel nice? I kept him warm for you!" Willow joked.
Lukas snorted. "Aww, you're too thoughtful, Willow..."
Lukas kissed the top of Marshall's head, prompting a silent yawn from the tiny pup, before Lukas gently rubbed behind his ears.
"You know, he's so tiny, but I can see big things in this pup!" Lukas observed.
"Well, we imagine he'll probably grow up to be another fire dog..." Ash replied.
"I'd hope so! I can tell he'll grow up big and strong!" Lukas predicted. "He'd be the perfect fire dog if we raise him right!
But then, Marshall started to squirm and fuss, loudly squeaking and crying in obvious unhappiness.
Ash snorted. "Or maybe not..."
"Ooh, sounds like little Marshall says 'no thanks'!" Willow joked.
"Aww, c'mon... his ears haven't even opened yet!" Lukas complained.
But seeing that the tiny pup wanted to be put back with his mother more than anything, Lukas carefully lowered the fussing dalmatian back into the pet bed next to Willow. And Marshall's whining turned much quieter as he put his tiny limbs to work crawling towards his mother, who, in turn, shifted positions in the bed. Marshall soon found was he was looking for, latched on, and started suckling hungrily.
Ash smiled down at his son. "What a little trooper..."
"A trooper who can't march on an empty tummy! Er, well. Crawl." Willow quickly added.
Lukas smiled at the scene, but at the same time, the whole thing felt incomplete. Ever since what happened, the happiness he felt at that point was bittersweet. But then, that was also the case for every dog and firefighter that had entered the room to get a look at the newborn pup. And if that was how they all felt, then Lukas could only imagine how sad the new mother was, even as she affectionately licked her nursing brood like nothing was wrong. She'd need more help than usual to get Marshall ready for the life that lay ahead of him.
"Willow... I can tell that your smile's not reached your eyes since I came into this room." Lukas gently began.
Willow's head drooped sadly. "I'm that easy to see through, huh?"
"Maybe. But I want you to know that we all felt your loss. Not just Ash. Or even Smokey."
"Heh, it's a little hard not to know how that crusty old dog is feeling..." Willow gave a rueful smile.
"The entire Firehouse is with you on this one." Lukas continued. "We're all behind you. Especially when it comes to raising this tyke."
"But still... this whole thing feels like my fault..." Willow sounded like she was close to tears as she lowered her head once more. "Was I just not strong enough?"
"Now, Willow, I won't be having any of that." Lukas retorted sternly. "None of this was your fault. At all."
"Honey, you need to be at least a little easier on yourself! Bad luck? Maybe. Your fault? Absolutely not!" Ash added with great conviction, quickly rushing to his mate's side.
"None of us in the Firehouse will ever abandon you. You know that."
After a while, a smile returned to Willow's face. A sad one, but one that, at the same time, had far more sincerity behind it.
"Thank you, Lukas... and thank you, darling..." Willow whispered. "You know? I think I'm gonna be OK."
"You think so?" Lukas asked, cupping her head in his hands.
"Well, with you around... and with such a wonderful mate... I definitely will be..."
Somehow, everyone in the room felt a little better from the affirmation that everyone had Willow's back. Especially Willow herself, who was very appreciative of the scratching behind the ears her owner was giving her.
Once Lukas was done, everyone looked down at Marshall once more, only to find that despite having his mouth still wrapped around Willow's teat, the infant pup had fallen asleep once more. Everyone present couldn't help but laugh.
"Fell asleep on the job, huh?" Lukas said fondly.
"He's got a tough life, huh? Sleeping all day and only waking up to eat." Willow observed amusedly.
"Baby pups have all the fun!" Ash quipped.
Looking down fondly at her baby, Willow realised that despite the awful circumstances surrounding everything that had happened, things hadn't been all bad. After all, she'd been blessed with a beautiful little pup that, despite his small size, turned out to be a real fighter.
Willow slowly curled around her pup, cuddling him affectionately.
"Marshall... my little miracle..."
And so, Ash finally meets with Marshall again, along with meeting all of the pups not named Chase in the flesh for the first time. And after showing them where he lives and introducing his owner, said owner gives a little history on the village. Later, Ash recalls a time from when Willow, his mate, was still alive, not long after Marshall's birth...
So yeah, this chapter's flashback was just as much an excuse to show off Willow and Lukas as it was an excuse to show off an infantile Marshall. Also, I feel like now is a good time to remind you that not every OC is going to have story relevance. The ones that show up in the OC Key are the important ones to remember.
Fun fact: Did you know that Marshall as a baby is similar to how newborn puppies are in real life? It's true! Puppies are born with their eyes and ears firmly closed, and spend almost all day sleeping. Their eyes don't open until about two weeks after birth, with their ears following a little while after. And in a dalmatian's case, they aren't born with their signature spotty coat. They're born with pure white fur, and their spots come in over time.
And that was the trivia for tonight.
Thought I'd trial an earlier upload hour with this chapter. But come the chapter after next... well... Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review/favourite/follow if you did, and I hope to see you next time.
OC KEY
Ash – a male Dalmatian and Marshall's father. Was adopted years ago whilst his son stayed behind with Chase and Ryder to form the Paw Patrol. Sent a letter in the hopes of drawing his son and his friends to Redcreek. Old and wizened, but also about as clumsy as his offspring.
Gage – Ash's artistic owner. Was part of a large farming family, but is now the sole remaining member after everyone else went to the big city to pursue loftier ambitions. Kindly and patient, if romantically unlucky.
Willow – a female Dalmatian and Marshall's tragically-deceased mother. A high-spirited and jokey fire dog, who sadly suffered one extreme tragedy too many and died of heartbreak, leaving her mate a widower.
Lukas – Ash's owner, and later the owner of Willow. A friendly and caring, if slightly strict, firefighter, who sadly did not survive one fateful outing, leaving his dogs and their pup alone.