Chapter twenty-two: Past And Present Collide
Spencer smirked.
"What? Never seen a champion before?" he said.
"Dude?!" Jack hissed, shooting the group an awkward smile. "Pence, we talked about this.." He continued in a lowered voice. "Good sportsmanship, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah, I remember." Spencer scoffed. "But it's true isn't it?"
"Well- -yeah.. I guess, but still,.. humility's important too, you know." Jack stuttered correctively.
"Ok, ok,.. Sorry." Spencer finally backed down.
"Ok, wait.." Billy began tilting his head back with a thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose. "You became a Zoom-it trainer.. AND own the championship winner of three consecutive years?"
"You know it." Jack smiled, humbly accepting the fact by the soft knowing grin spreading across his face.
"Dude, good going, pal." Daniel smiled, extending a fist to him,.. who finished the gesture for a simple fist bump.
"So how'd you swing that?" Marcus wondered, also grinning proudly.
"Well,.. I guess you could say luck was on my side.. or I guess.. some higher power dealt me the right hand. Cause it wasn't long after I was officially certified that a certain stray pup sort of adopted me." He glanced down on the young malinois and smiled fondly with the recalled memories.
"Cool." Billy smiled, lifting a thumbs up in addition.
"Sounds like you've got it made then.." Marcus added.
"And it sounds like we've got some competition,.." Daniel agreed. "Right, Chase?"
The German Shepherd was silent a moment, staring at Spencer. His proud smile widened slightly, and a flash reminded him of a certain pup who bore the same amount of pride and pleasure. Blinking hard with the passing flash, he could finally respond with..
"Yeah,..uh..m.. I guess so." And he maintained his stone-faced stare.
"Well we should get back to practicing.. got lots to do before the competition." Jack said finally, turning to leave, while keeping his glance on the group. "I guess we'll be seeing you around! And may the best pup win! Rooting for you guys! Congrats, Chase!" Whistling with the flick of his finger, Spencer immediately responded by turning and bounding after him, but of course, not before shooting them one last grin.
"Charming pup." Chester remarked dryly, as they continued to watch them fade into the crowd.
"Cool your jets, Chess." Frank told the pup, reaching down to ruffle the fur of his head. "He's just another competitor fully involved in victory.. rather than sport."
xxxx
"Honestly, who does that guy think he is?" Chester was complaining, while pacing back and forth; the other pups among him spread in various stances and positions amongst the Lookout's lower level pillow section. "I mean, anyone who uses my little bro as a trick device has to have something wrong with them."
"It doesn't matter, Chess, just let it go." Chase groaned, letting his paw down from supporting his chin, then laid the side of his head on them to close his eyes.
"What?!" Chester gasped. "You telling me you're okay with that maniac do that to you? If it were me-.."
"Let it go, Chess!" Chase barked, lifting his head to glare at him. This finally got his brother's attention, and even those of his friends among him were prompted to look his way in concerned surprise.
"Uhh.. Chase? You ok?" Rubble asked, rising to come closer to him. Chase heaved a sigh.
"I will be." He said.
"But?.." Rocky implied thoughtfully. And Chase caught other glances from the pups as they came varyingly close to him.
"I don't know,.." he said finally, as if brushing something to the side. "It's nothing." Then laying down again, he heaved another deep breath; leaving those around him to exchange weird glances before landing them on him once again.
XXXX
"Woah really?!" Rayla gasped, hardly believing her ears with what she was just told. Tiny and Skyler's jaws dropped and they looked to one another only to be shocked with the same expressions. Ci Ci and Kylie simply exchanged glances, with not much emotion to definitively decipher, but he could be sure some of it was surprise, like everyone else among the group.
"Yeah.. and they seem like a great team and all,.." Chase went on slowly. "But.."
"But?.." Skyler echoed, as if goading him to elaborate.
Chase's downcast expression remained unchanged, but after a minute he winced as though receiving pain then looked up.
"I don't know, I.. I just feel like.." his words scrambled again and forming them became even more difficult. "-I don't know,.. there's just something about Spencer that.. seems familiar.. The way he acts,.. feels.. like I've seen this kind of behavior before. And.." he almost restrained himself from saying this. "It.. makes me wonder about Jack.."
"Why? Has he changed at all?" Tiny wondered.
"No.. that's just it.." Chase answered, beginning to express more of his confusion. "He hasn't changed hardly at all. 'Least not from what I could tell. That's why it's weird that he would have a pup so.. unlike him."
"Sometimes people change their taste even if their personality doesn't." Rayla guessed.
"You sound like Boomerang." Chase sighed, the slightest bit of smile hinting on his lips, with the very slight inner lightening of his heart.
"Why? Did you talk to him?" Rayla wondered, more curious than anything.
"No.." Chase shook his head. "But I guess I've just gotten to know him way too well."
"And that's a good thing, right?" Skyler guessed.
"Cause from the look of it.." Kylie trailed, looking the tired pup over a moment. "You don't seem so good."
"It's nothing.." Chase answered, rubbing his eye with the back of his paw. "Just haven't been sleeping too good lately."
"Your shoulder again?" Rayla asked, her glance not giving him the chance to lie this time.
"Not really," he shook his head earnestly. "Though it hasn't been any help."
"You're not coming down with anything are you?!" Kylie wondered, increasingly concerned.
"No!.. uh..I mean.. I don't-.. think so." Chase recovered quickly. "I'm just.. tired,.. that's all."
"Well.. I'd still wanna have someone take a look." Rayla suggested, coming to stand directly in front of him in an erect fashion quite normal for her. "Especially if you wanna compete this weekend. You've got three days left till the competition."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Chase vocally sighed, the look she detected hitting right where she thought it would.
"Alright, knucklehead, don't you empty promise me." She told him sternly, and she completely expected him to look up at her in surprise.
"I know all too well what a terrified soldier looks like." She answered his unspoken question.
"I am not scared." Chase answered defensively.
"Nice try. You're afraid of what that means, so you don't wanna know." Rayla smirked, which broke his forced certainty down to nothing.
"You're going to get checked out, if I have to drag you back to the Lookout myself." The golden lab insisted. "You should know better by now that you can't get anywhere without a little help."
"And if you wanna compete this week.." Ci Ci added, coming alongside Rayla.
"You'd be wise to stay on it." Tiny added.
"And if you can't?.. that's why we're here." Skyler piled on, pressing herself in amongst the gathered group.
"Please?" Kylie softly begged, slowly appearing close to Chase so that her tender eyes could gnaw into him enough to make him slightly creeped out by their sudden appearance.
"Ok, ok, fine, I'll go." Chase gave in, shifting away from her slightly. "Gosh!.."
"Good!" Rayla smiled, all of them perking up. "But just in case.. I'm going with you.. for.. for moral support. Yeah, let's call it that."
And as she eased his good shoulder over to turn him around, he held his gaze on the remaining pups as they all watched with affirmation as he was led away out the door. And even Madge, having overheard the whole thing, couldn't help but send a wink his way as he passed by her, while she held the door for them to come out.
xxxx
"Ouch! Dude!" The group heard Chase shout from inside the Lookout. Every pup perked up,.. as did the people among them.
"Oh quit whining, you're fine." They heard Rayla counter, as Ryder shifted up to set his book aside. The doors finally slid open and Chase shifted his step even as Rayla held onto the tip of his ear to drag him with her. He was finally able to pull his ear from her, and he stumbled over till he fell over, landing on his right side.
"I think you need your patient back." Rayla told them, looking from the pup to the group, while he recovered himself.
"What'do you mean, Rayla?" Ryder wondered, approaching the two pups.
"Apparently, someone hasn't been sleeping well." Rayla said, shooting a brief glance at Chase in emphasizing this. "And I just wanna make sure it isn't a bad thing."
"Well we can definitely take a look." The boy said, kneeling beside Chase to feel his fingers along the injured shoulder.
"Marshall,.. grab your gear?" He requested moments later, when peering over his shoulder at the EMT Dalmatian.
"Sure thing!" Marshall replied. "I'll be right back!" And as the pup took to the elevator, Ryder stood up again.
"Come on, Chase.. let's go settle in again." The boy said, stepping aside for the German Shepherd to sulk forward toward where the rest of the group were situated; amongst all the pillows on the floor and the chairs set around them.
Rayla followed a little closer and stood at a small distance, watching intently as Chase hopped up onto a blue pillow and plopped down onto it with a sigh. And she made no mistake in catching the slight tense which she had noticed with this act; further validating the line of thought she'd had in mind the whole time. But to what extent, she knew she would soon discover.
xxxx
"Well I don't see anything major.." Marshall concluded, after reading the infrared scan across his x-ray screen. "You might just be sleeping on it wrong.. but we can fix that."
"How?" Rayla wondered, knowing by Chase's expression that he wasn't going to ask.
"Well we'll treat him for pain and swelling before bed,.." Marshall went on thoughtfully. "And.. give him some more cushion so he can hopefully stay comfortable. If that doesn't work I have another plan that might work."
"Sounds like a plan." Ryder said.
"But Chase?.." someone among them spoke up, and he was surprised that it was Frank. "If you haven't been able to sleep very well.."
"Why didn't you say something?" Marcus added.
"I didn't wanna worry you.." Chase admitted sadly, his ears flattening as his gaze hit the floor. "You've already been worried enough."
"Chase, we'll never stop worrying about you." Billy told him. "And do you know why?"
By now, Chase's head was on his paws, and with an audible sigh he leaned it to the left. Boomerang saw this and approached him in silence.
When his paws stopped before the pup, Chase looked up slowly. Boomerang eased his head down to almost search him with his nose, but Chase could tell that that wasn't the case when he lifted it again and smiled. Then his mother came up alongside Boomerang to exchange glances with the old dog, before lowering her head to the pup to lay a licking kiss across his head.
And as a small pillow was eased under his head and a strangely warm blanket over his back. His heavy eyes began to get heavier and he finally had to close them.
xxxx
After a while he was so soundly asleep, he didn't seem to notice it when they set another blanket on him to walk away.
"Thanks for bringing this to our attention Rayla." Ryder told the military pup. "'Don't know when we would've figured it out otherwise."
"No worries.." Rayla smiled, shrugging slightly. "I know all too well how stubborn he can be.. even in the short time I've had to get to know him."
"And yet you know him like you've known him for years." Ryder smirked.
"Eh.. what can I say.." Rayla shrugged again. "We're both cut from the same fabric." She finished, setting her gaze on Chase once again from afar.
Hey you guys,.. FINALLY A NEW CHAPTER! Oh my gosh I HATE leaving you guys hanging on a story so much, let alone weeks and MONTHS at a time! Life is unfortunately full of curveballs and that honestly drives me nuts! Anyway… I hope the wait was worth it.. and I'll see you next time! Thx!