Ok, guys. I know it's been over a week already, but...THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS ARE THE 2021 NBA CHAMPIONS! Oh my god, I am SO HAPPY. Giannis was an abolute MONSTER in the Finals, ending the series with a 50 point game in Game 6 to win the Bucks their first championship in 50 YEARS. It's absolutely incredible experiencing this, and I got something very special coming up about the Bucks playoff run in the next week or two, stay tuned :) The Brewers are probably not gonna win the World Series, even though their pitching has been on FIRE. It's the batting that is holding back the Brewers from a chance to win the World Series, honestly...come on, Christian Yelich...please return to MVP form. Aaron Rodgers seems like he's gonna play for Green Bay this year, which is a sigh of relief. And the Packers brought Randall Cobb back! I'm pretty pleased about that. This year for Green Bay has one message: Super Bowl or Bust. If they don't win the Super Bowl this year, the Packers are gonna completely start over and lose a lot of games in the near future.
But that isn't my main focus today. My main focus is this story, which I have developed in my head over the course of almost 8 months. It mainly focuses on the theory (that has been floating in PAW Patrol fanfiction but has never been fully dived into. As far as I have read) that Everest's parents died in a snowstorm when she was young. I just wanted to give my own take on the theory with this project and go deep into it. Plus, I haven't published a emotional story in a while. This story is the saddest I might ever make, so...get the tissues out while you still have time. Anyways, enjoy- mitch
paw patrol all grown up #17: closure
written July 12th to July 29th, 2021
chapter 1: the call
It had been the moment that Marshall and Everest had been waiting for. A loving, amazing passion project, with the help of Rocky and Rubble, was just completed. The four had constructed a small log cabin in Jake's Mountain, and it was just for the husky and the dalmatian. It was small, being that they were dogs, but it was absolutely perfect. It was very similar to Jake's cabin, but smaller in scale. Marshall sensed that even though his girlfriend loved living with her friends at the lookout, she deeply missed being in the mountains. The dalmatian created a perfect solution. For a month, the couple had dreamed of owning a small cabin retreat of their own- a house where they can escape to for a weekend-just to escape from society and enjoy the love they had. But this was not just any ordinary vacation house. Not in the slightest, for they had big plans for it. They determined that the house would be the same place where they would eventually move to permanently, make love, raise a family, watch their future puppies grow and live the rest of their lives together. But, for now, it was a cozy dwelling in the middle of the mountains. The cabin itself was placed in the middle of a wide, snow-clad plain, with the many traditional evergreen trees far away in the distance. The sky above was dark, and the moon was full, stars painting the stratosphere. To top it all off, fresh snow was falling ever so gently outside. This was Everest and Marshall's first weekend there, and so far, it couldn't have gone better. It was still Friday night, and the couple had left the lookout a few hours earlier. Ryder told them it was okay to stay there: as long as they were ready for a mission at a moment's notice. They both agreed, and had all their gear ready and parked outside the home just in case. But work was the furthest thing from their minds right now. They had both just finished an incredible make-out session and were relaxing in front of a big, warm fireplace in the living room. Marshall and Everest were cuddling with each other as they both took everything in. The dally sighed happily to himself as they both continued to stare lovingly at the fire in front of them.
"Hey...you wanna know something...there's only one thing I love more than a nice, warm fire…" Marshall whispered.
"What's that?" Everest quietly asked.
"Staring into one...especially with you…" The dally answered happily, gazing into his love's matching blue eyes. Being too tired to respond with words, she simply let her actions do her talking, licking him on the cheek and holding him tighter with her paws. They let the radiant warmth of the fire grace them, soothing their coats and muscles. All was perfect until a sudden noise was heard.
RING! RING! RING!
It was a phone that was attached to one of the walls in the kitchen. The couple put it there just in case if anyone else wanted to call them-for whatever reason. The canines both groaned. They were in a very romantic and tender moment, and they hated getting called to do anything in the middle of one. Chase and Skye both hated getting called during a lovey-dovey moment as well, but brushed it aside when the time called.
"I hate when this happens…" Marshall complained.
"You get it, Marshy…" Everest yawned as she laid on her back, stretching her limbs. Marshall grudgingly got up, yawned and walked over to the wall. There was a stepladder set up near the phone, since he couldn't reach for it by himself. He slowly climbed up, put on a happy face and took a hold of the phone, answering it.
"This is the new and official cabin r-r-residence of Everest and Marshall…" The dally began in a comedic tone, rolling his tounge in the process while getting his girlfriend's attention from across the home. "Please leave a message after the beep. Beeeep." Marshall concluded obnoxiously, causing Everest to laugh.
"Uhhhh, yeah. Hey, Marshall...it's Jake." The other voice spoke over the phone. This caused the dalmatian's eyes to light up. He hadn't heard from Jake in a while, and it was always great when they talked.
"Yo, what's up, man?! How's your South Pole expedition going?" Marshall asked in curiosity. Jake had been doing some exploring down in Antarctica, and he had been gone for several days.
"Yeah, about that...I actually wanted to congratulate you and Everest for getting the cabin all built. Ryder sent me pictures of it yesterday. It looks amazing….so proud of you guys." The mountaineer said.
"Thanks, dude. Really means a lot." Marshall answered.
"You and Eve having a great time, huh?" Jake asked with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Yeah, we're livin' the dream...you ok?" The fire dog inquired with concern.
"Hey, uhh...is it ok if I talk to Everest for a bit? It's pretty important." Jake asked calmly.
"Sure, dude." Marshall dutifully replied. He then walked over to his girlfriend and pointed back to the phone. "It's for you." He said with a grin. Everest walked over to the stepladder, climbed it up and took control of the phone while Marshall sat in front of the fire in the other room.
"Hello, who is it?" The husky asked.
"You already know who it is." The man said over the phone blatantly. The husky knew that voice immediately. Her eyes lit up like stars and her mood instantly got better.
"Jake?! Ohmygodohmygodohmygod it's been so long! How's your South Pole trip?! Have you found anything?" Everest asked him excitedly, overjoyed to hear her old owner's voice.
"I did find something...that would...peak your interest…" Jake began in a somber mood.
"Wait, what? You ok?" The husky asked quietly, concerned about what he could have discovered.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But what I found was...well...pretty sad to say the least." The mountaineer hinted. Everest nodded as he started to speak again. "I was out in the middle of the ice earlier today. It was the southern part of Antarctica, when I smelled something very peculiar. I got out my detector, and it showed me that there was a dead wolf that was frozen deep inside the ice." Jake remarked solemnly.
"Oh...that's...that's horrible…" Everest stated, biting her lip nervously.
"That wasn't it. I brought a few drills and hoisted the dead wolf out of the ice with a couple of ropes. I took him over to my small cabin that I'm staying at right now and looked at him. Very grey. He was dead for a long time in order to be buried like that. I took a piece of fur and a piece of yours...I kept it for luck. I ran a DNA test and...well...that wolf is a confirmed match. That dead wolf...was your father." Jake said, trying his hardest not to cry, but he let a tear slip down his face. Everest nearly dropped the phone in pure shock. Her eyes were wide, and her jaw was agape for a few moments before she truly grasped what she heard. The husky began to get emotional, tears instantly running down her cheeks at a hundred miles an hour. Her world came to a screeching halt. Ever since that night, her world was never the same. Living alone in the South Pole with her parents at the age of five, a terrible snow storm of disastrous ripped through the region, separating the small family. Everest survived, only to find her mother on her last legs and ultimately dying. Everest never saw her dad ever again. She held hope that her father was alive since, and looked for him before she met Jake. After that, her hopes of her dad being alive have dipped slowly, and now, all of that small optimism completely vanished.
"I-i-is that true?" Everest whimpered.
"Yeah…" Jake replied slowly, trying his hardest to keep composure. They both went silent for almost 30 seconds. "Do you still know where your mother is buried?" The mountaineer asked her.
"Yes...I do…" Everest remarked, trying desperately to keep her tears inside, but failing terribly.
"I was wondering if you wanted to help me...bury him next to your mother...if that's ok with you…" He mentioned.
"Yeah...I'll head over there tomorrow morning…" The husky whispered, as her emotions slowly started to get the best of her.
"Ok...I guess I'll see you then...bye…" Jake stammered as he hung up. Everest held the phone still for 10 seconds before she put it back up. She jumped off the stepladder and looked in front of her. Marshall was still near the fireplace. Everest couldn't hold her emotions any longer. Her ears dropped, and tears fell fast on her lavender face, as her boyfriend finally gazed back at her.
"Hey...what's wrong?" Marshall stuttered in shock. With a sad look on his face, he then sat and extended his front paws. The husky ran towards the dalmatian, embraced him and started crying uncontrollably. Marshall was taken back by this, and was initially unsure what to do. Usually, when Everest cried, it was over something insignificant that worried her more over time. The dally began to think about Chase. Chase's girlfriend, Skye, was the most emotional dog on the PAW Patrol by far, and the german shepherd knew about it all too well. Chase told him once that if Everest started getting emotional, it was best to let her cry. And that was what he did. Marshall embraced her back, and said nothing as Everest kept the waterworks flowing. Five minutes later, she finally stopped and separated from his grasp, but continued to gaze into his eyes. Marshall was sad as well, with a few tears coming down his spotted face.
"Marshall...there's something that I've never told you...it's...my dark secret..." Everest stated while the dalmatian nodded. "It's about my life...before I met Jake...or any of you for that matter…" The husky continued.