AN: Featured story: "Pups and the Trouble with Love" by KNDfreak

Go and check it out if you can.


It didn't take the man long to finally come to consciousness. At first he woke up delirious with no idea what was going on, but was able to calm down soon after the two explained the situation. Marshall used his X-ray scanner to survey his condition and ensure that no bones were broken or fractured. Meanwhile Joey went to work treating the man's injuries. Joey was so quick and skilled. Marshall had gotten distracted plenty of times just watching him. Joey looked so serious while he worked and was definitely good at what he did. Noticing this, Marshall couldn't help but feel a little inferior to Joey, but he shook this feeling off and tended back to his own duties continuing his X-Ray.

"No broken bones here. Just a sprained leg and fractured knee bone." He said, putting away his device. "Do you feel any pain in any other areas besides the ones I just mentioned?"

The man took a moment to answer as if he was trying to discover the answer to that question himself.

"No. I don't think so." The man replied.

"We're going to send you to the hospital so they can help you with that bone fracture." Marshall told him. The man nodded while Joey proceeded to dab antiseptic on his wounds.

"Thank you so- OW…much." The man told them as he tried to withstand the burn of antiseptic going into a few of his cuts and scrapes.

"We're just lucky that we were able to get that door open." Said Joey, without turning his attention. "It's a good thing that your car was the same '98 model that allows manual entry."

The man chuckled at Joey's comment.

"Heh, yeah… The ironic part is that I was just on my way to the dealership to get that fixed. My insurance agent is never going to believe what happened." The man said, shaking his head.

"That reminds me… What did happen? How did you crash?" Joey asked as he finished bandaging up the man's wounds.

"Well… This is gonna' sound a bit out there, but some guy in a purple suit and top hat came out of nowhere riding some kind of pet carrier and cut me off. It was so sudden that when I tried to avoid him, I lost control of the car." The man clenched his fist and began to speak angrily. "If I ever see that bastard again, I'm gonna' shove that carrier down his throat and ride him into the courthouse. There could have been women or children in the car. Selfish road hogs like that don't deserve a set of wheels."

"I'm with you on that." Joey agreed. "Hopefully that guy gets caught."

Just then a second EMT truck pulled up to the three.

"Looks like Dirk finally made it." Joey said.

A guy stepped out of the driver's side of the vehicle and approached them. He had gray eyes and looked to be in his mid teens surprisingly. His skin was a brown complexion and atop his head was jet black hair in a bushy yet tamed hairstyle. Despite his young appearance, he looked very serious and intimidating.

"What's the damage?" He asked facing Joey.

"The patient was involved in an accident. One which was caused by a reckless- er…driver. The crash gave him a fractured knee along with a sprained leg and minor cuts and scrapes." Joey motioned his paw to the patient's leg. "I recommend getting him to a hospital ASAP."

Dirk walked over to the patient and surveyed him, noticing the bandages and gauzes in various places.

"That's what I'm here for." said Dirk as he rubbed his chin. "Go get my stretcher. This one seems a little on the small side." He told Joey. Joey wasted no time running into the back of his partner's truck.

"I'll help too." Marshall called out following behind him. The two entered the back of the truck and grabbed a tall folded stretcher. "So that's Dirk? I didn't didn't picture him being so young." Marshall said while undoing the locks and latches on the stretcher.

Joey laughed. "I felt the same way when I first saw YOUR boss. He's even younger than Dirk."

"That's true. Though, Dirk looks kinda strict." Replied Marshall. Joey waved his paw and shook his head.

"Nahh. He just likes to look serious most of the time. He thinks it'll make people take him more seriously instead of looking at him for his age." Joey explained.

"He sure had me convinced." Said Marshall. The two rolled the stretcher out of the truck and up to Dirk, who was knelt down, checking over the patient's bandages.

"How are you with walking?" Dirk asked the patient as he stood up.

"I feel like I wouldn't get far on this knee." He chucked. Dirk helped him off of Marshall's stretcher and secured him into his own.

"You're going to need a crutch to get around." He told him as he finished strapping him in.

"I've got that covered." Announced Marshall. "Crutch! Arf!" A short crutch popped out of Marshall's EMT pack and extended to full size. He then gave the crutch to Dirk.

"Wow that's pretty handy." Dirk said, giving Marshall a smirk before turning to Joey. "So this is the pup you've been telling me about, huh?"

"Yep, this is the Marshmallow." Joey said turning to the other dalmatian. Marshall slightly blushed at his new nickname.

"Great to finally meet you." Dirk gave Marshall a small nod. "I was starting to wonder when we'd finally meet because this guy won't shut up about you." He said, pointing his thumb at Joey. Marshall blushed even harder, to which Joey noticed.

"Looks like my Marshmallow has a bit of strawberry in it." He joked, walking up to him. Marshall couldn't have gone more red after that comment, holding his head down as Dirk and the patient laughed.

How embarrassing… Marshall thought to himself. It's times like this that I wish my fur was black…

"Joey, wheel this guy into the back. I need you to keep him company back there on the ride downtown." Dirk said as he sat the crutch on the patient's lap. Joey slowly pushed the man up a ramp and into the back of the truck and secured the stretcher before walking back to Marshall, who had finally returned to his normal color.

"You coming along for the ride Marshmallow?" He asked. This time Marshall was able to smile without blushing.

"Whatever happened to just Marsh?" He asked him.

"I like Marshmallow better, because you're so soft and fluffy." He replied rubbing the top of Marshall's head. Marshall held his breath and tried to cover his cheeks as he felt another blush coming on.

"Ok then Sloppy-Joey." Marshall joked back, making Joey laugh.

"Hey, not bad. I like it." Joey replied smiling and rubbing the back of his head. "By the way, great job. You looked really good out there. You make a good partner."

"Thanks, but YOU looked really great out there. You did most of the work. I didn't help that much..." Marshall said.

"Are you kidding? That was more of a team effort." Joey reassured him. "I couldn't have gotten things done this fast without you. I mean it." He smiled. "Stop being so modest."

Marshall started to smile, getting lost in his amber eyes. He could have sworn that Joey was blushing.

"You've got a little ketchup on your face Sloppy-Joey." Marshall laughed. Joey looked surprised at the comment.

"Uh… Yeah." He smiled shyly, looking away.

"C'mon you two. We need to get a move on." Dirk called to them from in front of the truck.

"You go on ahead." Marshall told Joey. "I have…something I need to do."

"Alright. See ya later then?"

"Of course." Marshall answered. Joey turned to walk away. "Wait." Marshall called out, making Joey turn around. "Uh… Can I borrow the speaker on your collar?" He asked, twiddling his paws." Joey looked confused.

"Hmm? What for?" Joey asked him. Marshall looked rather nervous.

"I can't tell you but...you can trust me." Said Marshall looking away. Joey removed his speaker and held it out to him.

"I trust you. Dirk has a backup for me in case he needs to contact me."

"Thanks." Marshall said, accepting the speaker from him. Joey ran off into the back of Dirk's EMT truck.

"Come meet me at our favorite spot later!" He yelled as he closed the doors. "All set!" He called to Dirk. Dirk started the engine and sirens before driving off. Marshall watched as they drove into the distance, silently left in his thoughts.

Heh, we're only friends and we already have pet names for each other. Not to mention a secret spot. He giggled to himself. I never thought I'd feel this way about someone again… I wonderhow he feels about ME. He stared at Joey's speaker in his paw. "Well, enough of that for now. Time to get to work on this."


Marshall arrived back at the lookout. He parked his EMT truck and transformed it back into his pup-house. He made his way into the lookout and saw that Skye and Everest were playing Pup Pup Boogie along with Zuma, Rocky, and Rubble watching.

"Go Everest! You've got the moves!" Rubble shouted with a wink, causing Everest to blush when she looked at him. Everest was extremely good at the game and Rubble couldn't get over the sight of how graceful she looked dancing. She was already near to breaking Zuma's top score.

"No way… Where'd you learn to dance that good?" Zuma asked her in amazement. Everest simply giggled.

"Penguins taught me." She replied. Everyone including Skye stopped what they were doing and stared at her in silence. "What?" Everest looked around at their faces. "They're really good dancers." She explained. Everyone laughed.

"Those penguins could still learn a thing or two from me." Zuma said, with a cocky smirk. Rocky, Rubble, and Skye all groaned at his ego.

Marshall had took off his uniform and was on his way to the elevator when he heard someone call his name.

"Marshall!" Called Chase, walking up to the dalmatian. "You're back." He said smiling. Marshall looked at him as if he was crazy. It was certainly odd for the two to engage in a conversation these days.

"Yeah…" Marshall answered as he turned away, not even showing the slightest bit of interest.

"Where ya been buddy?" Chase asked, trying to keep up the small talk. Marshall stopped in his tracks. He almost scoffed at the word buddy.

"Just out…" He stated whilst still not facing the shepherd. He tried to keep this conversation as short as possible.

"Really what happened." Chase inquired. Marshall frowned at this.

"I don't feel like talking right now. I'm kinda busy." Marshall replied in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"Oh…" Chase replied with a hint of disappointment. Marshall started to walk towards the elevator again. "Marshall wait…" Chase called out to him again. "I can't remember the last time we actually got to have a conversation that lasted more than three seconds... I miss you." Chase said. Marshall gritted his teeth trying to hold back a low growl. "I miss my friend. I miss playing together, telling each other secrets, and just having a good time…" Chase looked sincere.

You MISS me?! Did you miss me when I had to go through those agonizing weeks of pain?! Did you check on me or ask if I was ok? Where were you when I was all alone and broken huh? Answer that, german shep-turd! Marshall wanted to tell Chase out loud, but decided against it. He could feel a huge amount of hostility boiling up towards Chase and his expressions were starting to show it.

"I just want to hang out. Like we used to. Sometimes I feel like we aren't even friends anymore..." Chase continued, looking away sadly. He was hoping that Marshall would respond by assuring him that they were still friends no matter what, but to his dismay he received no response. "Me and Skye had to reschedule our picnic because it's supposed to rain… so, maybe you and me could do something."

"I told you, I'm busy…" Marshall answered. He began to squeeze Joey's speaker tightly in his paw.

"Maybe later then? Even if it's something simple like playing Pup Pup Boogie or watching Apollo the Movie, I don't mind." Marshall closed his eyes in frustration and thought about this for a moment.

Why is it NOW of all times that you all of a sudden want to spend time with me?

Please Marshall. I just need to know that we're still friends…" Chase pleaded. Marshall took time to respond. The silence was long and awkward for Chase.

"New high score! Alright Everest!" The two heard Rubble yell from the other room.

"NOOOO!" Zuma cried. "I worked so hard for that scorwe!"

"At least we don't have to hear you gloat anymore." Chimed in Rocky.

"Marshall?" Chase said, still awaiting his answer.

"Fine." Marshall answered having still a hint of a tone. Chase's eyes lit up.

"Really?" He asked.

"Only AFTER I'm done with what I'm doing." Marshall said as he walked towards the elevator and stepped on.

"O-Ok. See you later then?" Chase asked as the elevator closed and ascended to the top. Chase huffed. "It looks like my suspicions were right… He DOES hate me. I could see it in his eyes…"


"He misses me? What a joke…" Marshall said aloud. He had to take a moment to calm himself down. He couldn't believe how hostile he had almost acted towards Chase. He was in a great mood before Chase spoke to him and now it's like he wanted to be far far away from this place. He inhaled and exhaled repeatedly before looking at Joey's speaker again. The sight of it seemed to calm him down. The elevator stopped on the top floor of the lookout. Marshall stepped out and looked across the room to see Ryder sitting in his chair, very engrossed into a game he was playing on his pup-pad.

"C'mon. Flap! Flap!" He yelled as he tapped his screen.

*smack*

"Oh come on! How could you not fit through those pipes?!" He screamed angrily. Marshall stood near him unnoticed and cleared his throat, grabbing Ryder's attention. The ten year old turned around in surprise. "Oh! Marshall. I didn't hear you come up." He said feeling a little embarrassed from his previous outbursts. "Did you finish helping your friend?"

"Yeah, he was called to an accident near Big View Trail. He's an EMT pup like me, so I decided to help him."

"Were there any casualties?" Ryder asked looking concerned.

"The guy involved suffered a fractured knee and had a few scrapes and bruises, but thankfully nothing too serious. We bandaged him up and sent him to the hospital." Marshall explained. Ryder looked relieved.

"That's good. It sounds like the two of you made a pretty good pair." Said Ryder. Marshall smiled shyly, looking away.

"Yeah… We did." He answers. Turning back to face Ryder, he smiles brightly.

"Ryder, can you do me a favor?"