This is a sort of "Valentine's Day Special" kind of story. Hope you enjoy -mitch :)

stuffed love

written Februrary 13th-14th, 2021

"PAW Patrol...to the lookout!" Ryder proclaimed through their pup tags. The pups were all playing in the front yard when the message came in.

"Ryder needs us!" They all proclaimed, as they ran to the lookout doors in excitement.

"YES! I'm first! Let's go!" Marshall cheered, as he ran into the elevator. The rest of the pups followed behind him. Shoot! I forgot to put that stupid Mr. Cuddles away. The dalmatian thought as the teddy bear lied there, unmoving. All the pups stood in the elevator, confused.

"Wait...where's Everest?" Rubble asked, putting everyone's thoughts into words. Suddenly, a husky was running into the lookout full speed, not knowing that an innocent teddy bear was lying directly in her path.

"Eve! Watch out!" Skye cried to her friend.

"Huh?" She blurted in confusion. Seconds later, the mountain rescue pup stepped on the poor teddy and was sent flying, eventually crashing into her comrades. As the pups lied there in a pile, with Marshall being on the top, Everest looked out in front of her.

"Marshall...you really gotta remember to put away your toys." The husky muttered.

"Admit it. You do like my toys. A lot." Marshall replied with a sly grin. Everest facepalmed herself in shame. "Goodnight, everybody!" The dalmatian shouted as the rest simply laughed. The elevator took them up, getting them into gear in record time as they met Ryder on the top floor.

"PAW Patrol ready for action, Ryder sir!" Chase proclaimed with pride.

"Thank you for coming, pups. I have called you all to an important meeting," Ryder began. An animation of what transpired was being shown on the big screen behind him. "The Princess and the Earl are going on a vacation for a week, and they are leaving Sweetie in charge of Barkingburg while they're gone. The Earl told me that he did this to trick her into a false sense of control. He has asked that Chase come to Barkingburg to watch over the castle during this time and foil any potential plans." The german shepherd smiled as his friends congratulated him, happy to see him being called up by the royal family. "Oh, and he also said that you can bring one friend of your choice." The boy concluded as he looked towards the police dog. Chase looked at all of his friends, who were silently begging him to take one of them. The german shepherd usually went alone with a Mission PAW-style task, but since the Princess and the Earl were to be gone for an extended period of time, that meant he needed extra help to stay motivated. Chase took a gander at all of his friends and curtailed his options in his mind.

Everest...no. Marshall would kill me. Rubble….no. Zuma….hell no. Chase's options were now trimmed to three friends who he trusted. He looked at each of them intently. Rocky….he's smart. He could build anything in an instant...and he's reliable...but he's boring. So...no. The german shepherd then gazed at his two friends that he loved dearly, and was torn. Marshall...he's my best friend...and I haven't hung out with him alone in a while...Skye...she's the love of my life...she's always wanted a vacation with me...damn. This is so hard... The dalmatian and cockapoo were giving him puppy-dog eyes, knowing that one of them was certainly going to get picked. Chase scratched his head for a few more moments before stopping abruptly. "Ok, Ryder, I've made my choice." He announced. A few seconds passed in silence. "Marshall...wanna go with me?" Chase smiled, gazing at the fire dog.

"You know it, dude!" The dalmatian shouted excitedly, as they bro-hugged one another. All the other dogs groaned in disappointment.

"Aww, I thought I was gonna get picked for sure!" Rocky complained. All the pups then turned to Skye. She smiled on the outside, but everyone could tell that she was heartbroken. She simply walked into the elevator and went down the tower without another word. Everyone looked on in stunned silence.

"Real smooth, Chase. Real smooth." Zuma muttered. The shepherd turned around and gave him a death stare that the lab wouldn't soon forget.

"Says you." The police pup sighed. As soon as the elevator came back up, Chase ran in and went down the tower. As the german shepherd reached the bottom, he saw Skye sitting in her pup house with the door open, her face barring emotion. He quietly approached her pup house and sat down next to her. They looked out into the distance, not even peering in each other's direction for a while.

"Hey...I'm sorry." He began. The cockapoo didn't even acknowledge him. "Are you mad?" He asked. Skye sighed deeply.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just a little disappointed." She replied quietly. "It's just that you've promised me that we would go on a vacation together...just the two of us." She spoke, finally looking at his face.

"This isn't a vacation, Skye. It's a business trip. When Sweetie is concerned about the crown and she's all alone, it's my duty to stop her. I can't just relax like we're in Miami or anything. I was called there to work." Chase emphasized.

"If it's a business trip, why didn't you tell Rocky to come? He's the most useful teammate that we have! He can literally make anything in existence to help you stop her!" The pilot argued.

"Rocky's cool. He's a good guy, and he would help me a lot. But he's kinda boring. And I wanna have a bit of fun on this trip, though." Chase responded.

"Still, why did you have to pick Marshall? I'm not being mean or anything, but he's not nearly as smart as him." Skye replied.

"Well, he's my best friend, for one. Second, we haven't hung out alone in a long time. And third, well, he's a Pup-Fu god. That would change everything. Sweetie wouldn't even guess." Chase smiled. Marshall had gone a long way since starting to learn Pup-Fu when he was a young pup. He worked on his craft relentlessly with Sensei Yumi, and it paid off tremendously. By the time he was 14 dog years old, he had a black belt and was ready to take care of anyone who dared to challenge him. Everyone else gave up at the blue belt stage, seeing how incredible he was.

"Yeah...that's true." Skye admitted.

"Plus, well, you get to hang out with Everest for an entire week. You guys get to do pretty much anything and not have to worry about us at all. I'll still talk to you every day, I promise. It's just that it might be weird timing, being that it's six hours further than us. I...left something for you in the basement while I'm gone. It's a white box. It has my scent." Chase said.

"Thanks. I love you, Chasey-wasey. I'll miss you." Skye cooed, putting on her paws on his cheek.

"I'll miss you more." He replied with a grin. The two kissed, as the pups and Ryder came down the tower. The Air Patroller rose out of the ground, its engines roaring to life while Robo-dog was already in the cockpit. The two separated as Marshall said his last goodbyes to his beloved.

"Have a fun time, dudes." Zuma said.

"Oh, we will." Chase replied.

"Hey, Marsh? Can you do me a favor?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Can you visit Freddie Mercury's grave for me?" The mix begged.

"Sure thing, dude." The dally laughed.

"It's 'cause you're gay, bro." Zuma quipped as Chase and Marshall headed for the Air Patroller.

"For the last time, I'm not gay! I just like Queen a lot, alright?" Rocky stammered. The pups and Ryder watched the Air Patroller rise slowly in the air and eventually take off on a 9 hour flight to Barkingburg.

"I have to go get some pup treats for you guys. Be back in a bit." Ryder announced as he drove off on his ATV.

"Yo, girls! You wanna spend the day at the beach with us?" Rubble asked eagerly as the boys got into the bulldog's rig. It was a beautiful, sunny day in the low 80s, with no clouds in the sky.

"Sorry, but me and Eve are doing hot girl shit." The cockapoo relied with a wink. Everyone laughed.

"Well, let's go, my boys!" Rubble exclaimed. The other guys celebrated as the construction pup turned on the gas and headed to the beach.

"So...uh...what kind of 'hot girl shit' do you wanna do?" Everest asked. Skye laughed again.

"Well, Chase told me that he left something behind for me. It's in the basement. Wanna join me?" The cockapoo asked. The husky agreed, as they descended into the dim basement of the lookout.

"It's so dark...we gotta remind Rocky to fix the lights in here." The mountain rescue pup said. For a while, the two sniffed around until the familiar scent entered Skye's muzzle.

"I think I found it!" Skye cheered. The girls continued to follow the scent until coming upon a white box. It had a note on it, and the cockapoo read it, with the husky looking over her shoulder.

Dear Skye, I left you something behind as a way to comfort you. For a while, I've thought of leaving you something behind if I ever went on a long trip. Just to keep your spirits up. Love, Chase

"Oh my god, what could POSSIBLY be in here?" The pilot squealed in excitement.

"Well, open it!" Everest replied. The pilot opened the box gently to reveal a surprise.

"OH MY GOD, YES!" She cried, holding the object. It was a Build-A-Bear, but it wasn't an ordinary stuffed animal. It looked exactly like Chase. It had the brown fur, the tail size was just right, it also had his brown eyes. Skye flipped with joy, holding the stuffed version of her boyfriend tightly.

"IT'S SO SOFT, I LOVE IT! It even has his scent all over it!" Skye exclaimed with glee.

"Wow...that's awesome! Does it have the voice recording like the commercials?" Everest asked eagerly.

"I hope it does!" Skye replied. She gazed at the stuffed animal and found a heart at the bottom of its right front paw. She pressed it.

Skye, I love you...Let's take to the skies together. It said. It was Chase's oh-so-unmistakable deep voice that she adored. The cockapoo squealed in excitement again as she continued to embrace the stuffed canine. She realized that Everest became quiet really fast.

"Wait..Eve...you're jealous, aren't you?" Skye smirked, poking the husky.

"Yeah, a little. I'm just thinking what it would be like if Marshy did that for me...I'd probably die of happiness." Everest blushed as she daydreamed.

"Marshall's gonna do the same thing for you, I guarantee it!" Skye said, trying to encourage her.

During the long flight to Barkingburg, the german shepherd and dalmatian were sitting next to one another, talking about their relationships while Robo-dog piloted the Air Patroller with emotionless efficiency.

"So, what did you tell her before you left?" Marshall asked.

"Well, she was disappointed that she couldn't come, but I convinced her that you were the better choice." Chase replied.

"How so?"

"First, you're my brother in everything but blood, and we haven't hung out by ourselves in a while. Second, you're a black belt. I mean, Sweetie would be dead if she tried to mess with us." The german shepherd spoke.

"Well, not dead. I only use it for self defense, remember? Just saying."

"Yeah, and you have some talent with being a spy. That 'silent as a mouse' thing you have is second to none. You might be better at me." Chase acknowledged.

"Thanks, dude."

"There was one other thing I did for her. I left her a little something." The police dog smirked.

"What did you leave her?" Marshall asked.

"You know those Build-A-Bear commercials with the voice-recorded stuffed animals in them?"

"How can I forget? It pops up literally every time Rubble watches Apollo. It's so damn annoying." Marshall spoke, a little irritated that he had to be reminded of that awful jingle the commercial had.

"Well, I went over there about a month ago, and I got a plush made of myself." Chase smiled.

"Bruh, you can DO THAT?" Marshall exclaimed.

"Sure. If you're a dog, you can get your own stuffed animal stitched and make it look exactly like you. And, you can leave a voice recording." The german shepherd answered.

"Bruh! I wish I knew, man. I mean, it sounds so cool."

"Dude, I know there's a Build-A-Bear somewhere in Barkingburg. I remember seeing it last time I was there. We gotta do that on our free time, though." Chase said.

"Yeah. And we gotta visit Freddie Mercury's grave. You don't have to come, I'll handle it." Marshall laughed.

After 9 hours, the AIR Patroller finally landed in Barkingburg and descended into the Mission PAW HQ. The two canines walked to a room that was already set up for the both of them by the Earl himself in the deep basement of the castle. It was a secret room that only the Earl knew; not even Sweetie knew it existed. When the duo left Adventure Bay, it was only nine in the morning. It was now 6 PM there, as it was midnight in Barkingburg. They knew that London wasn't far, and rumors swirled of a fellow named Chaney who was roaming around. But they knew that they were false. After two hours of getting accustomed to their surroundings, the duo were getting tired fast. Luckily, Chase remembered what to do. He was surprised that the pup tag signals that Ryder invented for them traveled around the globe.

"Hey, Skye...how's it going back home?" He asked drowsily.

"Hey, Chasey-wasey! Life is going good over here...oh, and thank you SO MUCH for that thing you left me! It's so adorable, I love it! It's so soft, and I can't resist holding it!" Skye replied, still having an over-the-moon feeling of what her boyfriend left behind. Marshall overheard the couple's conversation and snickered.

"No problem, babe. I got it a month ago. I wondered what it would be like if I would go on a business trip and you couldn't come." Chase spoke.

"Did you tell Marshall about what you did?"

"Yeah. We're planning to go get a stuffed animal version of himself before we head home."

"So, did you two get settled in yet?"

"Yeah...the Earl already set a room up for the both of us. It's in a top secret location. Not even Sweetie knows we're here right now." Chase answered.

"Did you guys remember to bring your tuxes?" Skye asked.

"Yeah, we did. I think this the first time I've ever seen Marshall wear one. He's literally been obsessing over it since we started unpacking." Chase joked.

"Dude, I'm a stud! I mean, look at this! It fits so nicely! I'm wearin' this for my wedding!" Marshall remarked, gazing in one of the mirrors in the small room. The couple laughed.

"Yeah, James Bond ain't got nothing on us," The german shepherd smirked, as he started to yawn. "You got anything happening back home?"

"The boys headed off to the beach for the entire day without us. Me and Eve didn't do anything special. Just headed out to lunch, hung out all day. It's pretty relaxing, actually." The cockapoo said.

"What are you guys doing now?"

"Well, everyone's playing Pup Pup Boogie right now in the lookout. I ran down to my house the moment you called. For privacy, obviously. Oh, and Zuma's trying to beat your high score again." Skye smirked.

"If there's one dog that can beat my high score, it's you. And it's totally fine if you do it. I just don't want anyone else to break it." Chase responded with another yawn, this time louder than the others. The pilot blushed.

"I'll let you sleep, my love. You and Marsh have fun tomorrow. Be careful, though."

"I will. Love you." Chase gently said.

"Love you too." Skye replied. They both hung up. A tired Chase and Marshall hit the pup beds not soon after, being it was 2:10 AM in the morning. The fact that it was 10 PM didn't bother the pilot, as Skye ran back up to play Pup-Pup Boogie with her friends, and they all had a great night. As midnight approached in Adventure Bay, the pups finally headed back to their pup houses to retire for the night. As the cockapoo entered her pup house, the stuffed animal version of her love sat upright on her pup bed. Skye paced around the bed three times before curling up next to it. She sighed in a loving way, blushing and holding it in her paws and gently falling into a nice, long sleep.