(A/N): Hey guys. Finally back with a chapter after what seemed like forever.

I do apologize for taking so long with this. I plan on getting back to weekly so it shouldn't a recurring thing.

This is a short one but it is very hard hitting so I hope you enjoy.

Welcome back to Paw Patrol: The Ballad of Dally!

Chapter 12: Repressed Memories of The Truth

While Ryder was pouring food into Rubble's bowl, Ryder found himself looking back at the two dalmatians that were still sitting in front of his father. Mostly at Ashley, who was staring back at him with the same eyes she had when Ryder went outside. Pure disbelief as if Ryder had just stabbed her in the back.

Ryder felt almost the same thing. While he felt terrible about the dog's recent string of events, the well being of his pup came first and he didn't think too highly of Ashley snapping at Rocky. No matter what their history was, Rocky didn't deserve it. He wasn't going to show his anger towards her. Now was not the time to start fights and show egos. All he wanted, was a very good explanation as to why Ashley acted out that way.

Once he was done with Rubble, Ryder went over to the group and joined his father beside him.

He looked at his father with very curious eyes. Also noting the fact that Ashley was still staring at him while Sparky was tending to a disturbed Ember, trying to calm her back to sleep.

"Did you guys talk while I was out." Ryder whispered to his father.

"Not really." Norman informed. "All that happened was Sparky calming Ashley down then tending to Ember. Ashley hasn't said a word since you ran out to check on Rocky."

Upon the mention of the mixed breed, a short snarl came from Ashley, which prompted Sparky to switch focus to her. "Ash…..please….stop. He's just a pup."

After hearing her mate, Ashley stopped snarling and closed her eyes. She then drew a deep breath to calm herself.

Ryder tried his best to mask his animosity but some of it noticeably leaked out from his tone. "I don't know what happened between you and Rocky, but whatever the reason, you should know that I don't condone you snapping at my pup."

Norman eyed his son, ready to swoop in and calm his son, in case Ryder were to act out. He kept his focus on him, as Ryder continued.

"There is absolutely no way I'm going to let either of you harm him in any way. Instead of asking you to leave, I want to figure out just what this is about. Why did you pop at Rocky? What did the pup do to make you act that way?" Ryder's voice was unpleasantly monotone, as he laid out his line in front of the dallys.

Sparky could only look at Ashley as she continued to point her very sharp eyes right at Ryder. She didn't say anything.

"Marshall's funeral is coming up, and I'm not going to have a situation where the two of you are making Rocky feel uncomfortable in any way. So I'm going to ask as nicely as I can again. What happened between you and Rocky and why did you snap at him?"

Rubble, who had just entered the area and was flabbergasted that he was hearing his owner in such a serious tone. He had never seen Ryder ever get like this. Norman himself was worried. He could feel empathy with his son. When it came to his pups, Ryder was very protective over them, and would usually run through hell and back to defend them, help them, and bat for them. Whenever anyone even breathed a threat to any of his pups, Ryder would instantly stand in front of them and be the end all be all. It reminded him of how much he would do for his son, and protect him in any way he could. Although he trusted his son to not get nasty and won't lose himself, he still had reasons to worry, as anything could happen.

Sparky finally opened his mouth to speak, but Ashley lifted her paw in front of him, causing him to stay quiet. Sparky looked at her confusingly, as she shook his head. "No Spark, Let me speak." Her voice was very serious as she turned to look at a glaring and anticipated Ryder. She then speaks with sincerity but some distaste. "First, Let me apologize for acting the way I did in front of you all. That is not how I normally conduct myself."

Ryder kept calm and nodded in acknowledgement while his father looked at him, ready to step in if Ryder were to get more heated.

"Now that I have said that, I'm going to be completely honest with you, Ryder. When I saw that pup walk in….." Ashley's paws clenched as she pushed out the nicest tone she could, which wasn't much. "...when HE walked in, I felt…..betrayed."

Norman looked with uncertainty, as Ryder kept full attention at Ashley, wanting to hear every word that she would say. In symmetry, Sparky had the same look as Norman as Ashley matched Ryder's gaze.

"While I couldn't tell or show you, how much I appreciate you taking care of my pup, seeing Rocky here, made me so angry. It made me feel that you had no criteria which pup was good or not." Ashley stated grimly. "Although you may not believe me, Rocky is a lot more trouble than you think he is. At least he was then. I don't know about what's been going on here, but I tell you, before long, that pup will be too much trouble for you to handle. I don't care if you love him or not, I'm just telling you from experience, not opinion."

Ryder would've popped off right there, had it not been for his father being there. He couldn't believe what Ashley was saying about Rocky. It was like Rocky was some sort of criminal that Ashley was hunting down.

Norman took it upon himself to ask the questions even though he himself was a little agitated that Rocky was being castrated like this.

"Why do you say that? What could the pup have possibly done to make you say these things?"

Sparky watches his mate carefully as she answers the question. "Because, I truly believe that Rocky talked Marshall into running away. The fact that they ran away together proves it. He convinced Marshall to leave us and run away with him. So technically, he stole our pup away from us." Ashley's paws clenched more as her anger grew, everything she was saying enraged her more.

"What?!" Ryder blurted out loudly, as Norman grabbed him and pushed him back down, preventing him from bolting to the angry dalmatian. "That's ridiculous! Rocky would never do anything like that! What makes you think that he would do such a thing?!"

"Because that's all that pup knows! Running away from his problems!" Ashley harshly responded with distaste. "Rocky was nothing more than a stray pup! I'm sorry if that's mean, but that's the truth! He ran away from his owner for whatever reason that doesn't matter, and lived at the dump for as long as we knew him! He knows no better than that!"

Ryder was livid at this, as Norman really had to try to keep him back. "No! You're wrong! Dead wrong! Rocky is an amazing pup! Just as much as Marshall or any of the pups here!"

"That may be true now, but trust me, that pup is no good! He betrayed me! We helped him! We essentially took care of him! I was always sketchy about him, but I put my worries aside because he made Marshall happy! That's the only reason I tolerated him! But after all the things we did for him, none of that matters to him! When things got too tough for him, he left everything and took Marshall with him! He took our pup away from us! For that, I can never forgive him!"

Sparky then stepped in, trying his best to calm his mate down. "Ashely, stop. You can't really believe that. I highly doubt that he alone would've been able to convince Marshall to pack up and leave us like that! Come on Ash! We talked about this!"

Ashley responded to her mate with a sudden calm voice. "I don't want it to be true Spark, but we have to face facts. When we went to the dump where he lived to see if Marshall was there, Rocky was gone too conveniently. Which means that they ran away together. He talked him into it Spark! Marshall would never just up and leave without at least talking to us!"

"Ash! Please! There's no way that's the truth!" Sparky argued. "There has to be another explanation!"

"How can we think of any different Spark?!" Ashley yelled back with tears as she truly believed what she was saying. "We don't even have a note as to why Marshall left! It's not a coincidence! Rocky took our pup away from us! And now, we definitely will never ever see my darling little pup again and it's all that little stray pup's fault!"

Ashley buckled down on her belly and started to sob, completely forgetting about everyone in the room, including her little pup, Ember who had started to whimper and cry herself after being disturbed again. Upon hearing her pup crying again, Ashley stopped immediately and went to her. She started nuzzling the crying pup and hushed her with a trademark motherly tone. "Shhhh it's okay. It's okay sweetie. Mommy and Daddy didn't mean to yell. Mommy is so sorry. Shhhhh." She started to give the pup comforting licks which caused the newborn pup to calm her cries to soft whimpers.

Sparky sat speechless. Although he still didn't believe that Marshall ran away because Rocky talked him into it, he didn't have anything to combat his mate's beliefs. He knew that nothing he would say could convince Ashley any different, and was starting to worry what would happen once the mixed breed came back.

Ryder was surprisingly no longer feeling any sort of animosity towards Ashley. Instead, he was feeling that this whole thing was just a big misunderstanding and Rocky was caught right in the middle of it. He knew it was because it was just so out of character for Marshall to just run away because someone told him to. Marshall probably loved his parents so much that if Rocky were to try to convince him to run away, Marshall would never comply unless he had a very good reason to. Hearing Marshall's life story though, painted the picture as to why he would even think to leave. It was a no brainer why Marshall ran away, and Rocky being gone was only a big nasty coincidence. He just hopes that he will be able to convince Ashley that, and can help put this nightmare to bed, so Marshall's funeral would be the final chapter to these unfortunate events.

Funeral.

Once Ryder's mind focused on that word, his mind was flooded about the pup he failed to take care of. He was in full disbelief that in two days, it would be time to fully accept that one of his pups had fallen in action. He didn't know if he could handle it, and what's worse was that he told the Mayor that he would give the eulogy without thinking about how hard it would be.

Needless to say, the past few days had been absolutely miserable for the young lad. It was almost like he had shut down himself, but because his surviving pups were counting on him, he had to stay strong as he could for everyone's sake, including Marshall himself.

But what scared him was when the time came…..what will he do? Will he be able to keep his mind strong to help his pups and himself through everything? Or will he cave in and let the flow of time pass by with him in the past and the other's feeling nothing but misery?

"Hey, Is that Marshall's sister?" Rubble asked, drawing attention to him.

"Why-Why yes. It is. Her name is Ember." Sparky answered, a little displace over the sudden change of subject.

Rubble looked at the pup in pure awe as he went up next to her and watched her sleep, being careful not to disturb her. "Aww. She's so cute! I had no idea Marshall had a sister."

"Well that's not really surprising considering that she was just born two days ago." Sparky added with a little happiness.

Upon hearing that, Ryder, Norman and even Rubble gasp in complete horror. Sparky looked at them with a puzzled face while Ashley did the same. "Hm? What's wrong? Why are you in disbelief?"

Somehow, Rubble spoke his question. "A-Are you're that she was born a couple days ago?"

Ryder and Norman look at Rubble like he had just asked if the earth was flat. Ashley tilted her head very bewildered. "What do you mean pup? Of course we are. I did give birth to her after all. How could you ask a question like…" Ashley stopped immediately when she finally realized what they were implying. Her eyes went as wide as dinner plates and she produced a horrified look. "Wait…...no…...you-you're not implying that…..oh please tell me…." Tears filled her eyes as she tried her best to finish her question. "Please tell me…...My daughter…...was not….born when Marshall….." She never got to finish as she immediately had the answer when she looked at the three who had done nothing but bowed their heads. More tears filled her eyes as she looked at her pup, who was stirring a little as she tried to sleep. She went up to her again and licked her gently. "Oh…..my poor poor pup." She sobbed quietly while nuzzling Ember as gentle as she could. Tears rolled down her face.

It was then that Sparky caught on after being confused for a solid minute. He bowed his head as his eyes fell to his paws. "I...I….guess we never realized that…." Sparky started to lose his voice as he was on the verge of crying himself. "...why..wh-why does god hate us?"

Ryder could only look on in devastation. It just kept getting worse and worse for Marshall's family. It seemed that each passing moment gave them more reasons to be miserable. He felt bad for Sparky and Ashley, but mostly, he felt bad for little Ember. Not only does she have to live her life never knowing her brother, but now she will have to live with the fact that her brother died on her birthday. That definitely would be a big weight on her shoulders when she becomes sentient, and would cause her to hate her birthday, maybe even her life.

Chase sat there in true bewilderment at Rocky's revealing piece to the troublesome puzzle of both Marshall and Rocky that was buried for years.

Rocky stared at Chase sternly while he kept still, waiting for him to respond.

Chase didn't know what to say though. The big revelation was a case changing pint. A change that completely changed how Chase thought about the story dramatically. He truly didn't expect Marshal to not only leave a very important detail out, but to also lie about it.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense a little surprisingly. A damning truth like that would definitely give Rocky some unneeded bad impressions. Marshall probably would've never been allowed to see him again had the truth come out. Marshall would've been absolutely miserable, as he cared about every one of his friends and loved to be around them, so it probably wasn't very surprising for Marshall to lie for Rocky. But what boggled the shepherd's mind was why did he keep it from Ryder and everyone else? It wasn't like anyone would think any less of the recycling pup. He assumed that it was an accident…..right?

"Chase?"

It was then that Chase noticed that he was drowning in his mind. A very patient Rocky was sitting there, wondering what his friend thought about him now, with his baggage out in front of him. Chase looked at Rocky with a very curious face.

"I bet you have an endless amount of questions in your mind right now." Rocky assumed.

Chase nodded in response. "You would be right Rocky."

Rocky dipped his head and whimpered. "You probably think that I'm a troublesome pup right now."

Chase's heart dipped at Rocky's statement. "No Rocky, that's not true buddy. I don't think of you any different. It was a long time ago, and it was an accident, right?"

Rocky raised his head in slight happiness at Chase's loyalty. "O-Of course it was. I definitely didn't do it on purpose."

Chase sighed in relief at that. He had one question on his mind. "I thought so, Marshall wouldn't have stuck his neck out for you if it wasn't an accident. But what I can't figure out for the life of me, is why did Marshall keep it from us? Did he think that our opinion of you would change and wanted to protect you?"

"Not to surprise you Chase, but I have no idea. At least for me, I didn't want to think about it anymore. Whenever you guys would ask about our time in San Francisco, I would leave that part out, figuring that if Marshall didn't tell you, me telling it would only make him sad, so I kept quiet about it." Rocky responded. "I'm sorry Chase. I didn't mean to keep a secret so crucial from you guys."

"It's okay Rocky." Chase calmly stated. "Marshall probably had some reason for keeping it under wraps, and it's a very traumatizing moment for you and him, so there's no use in getting upset about it. But if we're going to help you, you've got to tell me everything you know. Start from the beginning please. What started the fire?"

Rocky dipped his head again, as he was tryin to get out of telling the events. Thankfully for Chase, Rocky decided to go through, and tell what happend. He sighed deeply as he started.

It was a normal day. I went up to Marshall's fire house like I always do to see him and hang out, but this time, I had something to show him. Something that I had worked on for so long."

"You invented something?" Chase asked.

For a minute there, Pride was suddenly showing in Rocky's eyes and his tail wagged a little. "Well...not completely, It was just a prototype back then but I was so proud of it. If I had followed through with it, it might've changed the world."

Chase was very intrigued by this. He always thought that Rocky was a pure genius when it came to creating things out of useless and worn stuff. He wagged in excitement. "Really? What was it? I bet it was amazing."

A small prideful smile appeared on the mixed breed's face at Chase's admiration. "Well, like I said. It was just a prototype. But basically, it was a machine that could make rotten and expired food and make them fresh again. I was quite proud of it and I wanted to show Marshall what I came up with. I thought that he would've been so impressed and thought that I could finally contribute something in my life. I hurried over to his firehouse to show it to him. When I got over that, the firetruck was gone so I thought he wasn't there, but then he called out to mean that he didn't go with them, which was very strange considering that he usually went on all of the missions."

Rocky thought about it a bit before shrugging off the mystery. "Anyway, I went in and showed him what my invention was, and he was so excited to see it in action. I told him what it did and he was very happy, like he was very proud of me…."

Chase noticed that Rocky had paused and had a very mellow smile. "I-I never had anybody be that proud of me before. It was like someone had really believed in me." As soon as Rocky finished his sentence, his heart warmed mood deflated like a balloon. "But like everything else good in my life, it went wrong. The machine short circuited, and due to that, the fires started."

Rocky started to shake slightly and whimpered his words out. "I...I stood there frightened as it got worse, until Marshall immediately pushed me out to save me. He then told me to hurry on back home. I protested highly at first, but he insisted, so…..I ran home."

Chase had a somber look on his face. "So, Marshall put the fire out by himself?"

"Like I said, I wanted to help him. But I couldn't convince Marshall otherwise. I assumed that he could get it under control with no problem, plus….It probably wouldn't have been a good idea to be there when the firemen got back, but when I got to the landfill, I was so worried about Marshall. I couldn't get him out of my mind, so I went back."

"You returned?" Chase asked curiously. "How bad was the building."

"Well….I wasn't sure of the inside, but the building was still standing when I got there, so it wasn't so bad. Nevertheless, I still wanted to be careful, so I slipped into the alleyway and waited for Marshall to see me. When he noticed that I was back, he came out to talk to me. He told me that the fire wasn't really that bad, and he was able to put it out, but he had to have some help to do it from his parents and the firemen. That obviously meant that they knew about it so I was scared that they would try to run me off and I would never see Marshall again."

Chase felt disheartened about this. He couldn't imagine being forced to stay away from Marshall. He probably would end up rebelling against it and try to convince them otherwise. However, Rocky was in a difficult predicament. He wouldn't have had any luck considering what Rocky said about Marshall's mom's uneasiness with him. But Chase assumed that Marshall knew that as well.

"Well, did they know?" Chase asked with anticipation.

Tears suddenly filled Rocky's eyes. He dipped his head and closed them. The shepherd went silent as he eyed the recycling pup. He felt that Rocky was thinking twice before telling him the answer. The feeling of dread hit Chase as Rocky was now whimpering softly.

"You okay buddy?" Chase called out, as he felt the urge to hug the sad pup.

As if Rocky didn't hear him, the mixed breed sniffled before he finally spoke. "No. They didn't. …..Marshall lied to them. Told them that he started the fire."

Even though it wasn't surprising to hear, the answer still impacted Chase immensely. He couldn't imagine Marshall lying to anyone let alone his own kin. Not to mention, the dally was about as good at lying as Chase was. Which meant that he was not good at all.

"He-He told me that-that after I-I left, He ma-made it look l-like he d-did it. He...He didn't s-say how, j-just that when th-they asked him, he t-told them that he was p-playing too c-carless and knocked over a candle."

Rocky's speech was taken over by his crying as he was struggling to tell the tale. "I-I asked hi-him why he would do that." Rocky could barely hold it together as he told Marshall's heartfelt answer. "I..I'll never forget what his response….He…..He told me That….." He sniffled. "...that he thought the same thing I did. That he was sc-scared that his parents would find out about me starting the fire. Then he and I would never see each other again. He was so sc-scared of Chase. He t-told me that he c-couldn't go any d-day without me. So he dr-dressed the scene to make it look like he did it, adn sc-scrubbed me from the cause."

Chase's heart was warmed by the story. It reminded him of how determined and desperate Marshall would get to help his friends no matter what happened to himself. It really reminded him hauntingly of Marshall's actions when getting through to Chase when he locked himself up after his father died. Marshall never gave up on him, and pushed until Chase let him in.

That day changed Chase's feelings about Marshall. That was when he knew he could always trust the dally and that he would never give up on him.

"That-That was when I knew….that M-M-Marshall was my b-best friend in the entire world." Rocky revealed with tears almost breaking down. "No one had ever done anything that much for me. So much to still be my friend. I'll never forget Marshall for that for as long as I live."

The mixed breed ceased his talking, as he then started to whimper and cry. Chase could feel his pain and sorrow in each of his heartstrings. He felt that he finally understood how much Marshall meant to Rocky. It was like the final piece of the puzzle had been put in place and it fit perfectly. As much as Chase wanted to find out more, he needed to change the subject for Rocky's sake.

"Do you think that's why Marshall's Mom is rejecting you?" Chase blatantly asked. "You think they know how the fire was started?"

It took Rocky a good minute before he settled down to respond "It's the only reason I can think for why she snapped at me. I don't think they could ever forgive me for the problems I caused Marshall. I didn't mean to Chase. I didn't mean to cause problems. All it was was just some stupid dream to do someting valuble in my life. Something that could change the world for the better. But it backfired horribly, not only for me, but for Marshall as well….." Rocky started to tear up again as his voice turned to sobs. "...I ruined his life Chase. I ruined it! They will never forgive me for that and neither will I!"

Rocky broke down after finally finishing his feelings off. Chase felt very hurt watching him pour his heart out in front of him. He now knows why both Rocky and Marshall held it in for so long. It probably was so painful to even talk about, let alone think about it. He thought about calming him and telling him that he at least didn't ruin the dally's life, but suddenly, he figured there was one way Rocky could move on from this.

Chase went up to him, and put his paw on his shoulder and rubbed it comfortably. "Rocky, I think you know what you have to do."

Rocky looked up from his sorrow curiously. "What is it?"

"You have to talk to them and be honest with them." Chase stated firmly.

Rocky fidgeted at Chase's statement. He moved his eyeballs away from him and started to get very quiet. "I-I don't know if I can do that Chase."

Chase didn't back down from Rocky discouraging himself. "You have to buddy. It's the only way to get closure with this."

I want to Chase, Trust me, I do. But I don't think it's a good idea. I doubt they even want to see me." Rocky calmly insisted.

"That maybe the case," Chase admitted. "But it won't be so bad if you just talk to them. Maybe they would understand once you finally tell them what happened and how sorry you are."

The mixed breed tried to be as calm as he could but Chase could hear much fear leaking out of his tone. "But...But…...what if they don't want to hear me? Or…worse what if they attack me?"

Rocky whimpered terrified as Chase responded. "Rocky, buddy. I don't think that's going to happen, I'm pretty sure they're those kinds of dogs."

"You don't understand Chase, When I walked in there, I saw nothing but hate and anger. I thought that Ashley was going to rip my paws and legs apart. She clearly doesn't like me, and seriously wants to kill me for what I did to Marshall."

Chase could see the fear and terror that was coming out of the now shaking recycling pup. He was legit terrified of what would happen if he went back in the lookout. While he didn't believe that Marshall's parents wouldn't get hostile with Rocky, it wasn't going to be easy to convince Rocky that they wouldn't hurt him. He needed to reassure him that it wouldn't happen.

"Rocky, you don't have to be scared. If anything were to happen, I will stand in front of you. I won't let them hurt you." Chase stated.

Rocky looked at the now determined face of Chase. "He didn't say anything, as nothing came to his mind. Chase continued on.

"And even if I'm not enough, I highly doubt Ryder will sit there and watch. Neither will the other pups. So you have nothing to worry about buddy. We will have your back."

It was then that Rocky finally found words to speak. "Really? You really mean that? Even…...Zuma? Whose promise I just broke?"

Chase smiled a little as he held a paw out for Rocky to grab. "Of course buddy. You know Zuma will never leave you hanging, and neither will we."

Rocky looked at Chase's paw, contemplating on whether or not to take it or not. There was no doubt that he was scared that something would happen but with Chase's reassurance, he felt safe and thought that whatever happened, Chase, Ryder, Zuma, Skye, Rubble, and Mr. Norman will protect him.

After a few seconds, Rocky finally accepted Chase's gesture as he grabbed the paw and got up on his feet, suddenly feeling confident. "I guess it's worth a try for everybody's sake."

Chase kept his smile on as he finished helping Rocky up. "Not just everybody Rocky. Mostly...for Marshall."

Rocky smiled as Chase's statement filled his body with warmth.

Ryder had one feeling in his mind at the moment. Guilt. While he may have not known of Marshall's parents anytime before Marshall's death, he truly regretted that. Neither Marshall or his family deserved to be treated like this. They had been through so much in the matter of seven years that it was admittedly surprising how they were still together to this day, minus one of course.

What was easily Ryder's biggest regret was the Paw Patrol himself. He wished he never ever started the rescue team in the first place. That way, Marshall or any of his pups would be in danger. Ryder felt that Marshall entering his life was the worst thing that could've happened to the dally. He ended up getting caught up in a very ambitious dream made by a very ignorant ten year old who thought he knew what he was doing. But after many accidents, close calls, and now death, it was very clear that Ryder shot for the moon when he should've aimed way lower.

He didn't understand what possibly could have convinced him that a boy his age would have handled a team like this, invent so much equipment for them, and not suspect that something would go wrong. The past few months had been a gruesome reminder of the oblivious person he was and how many stupid decisions he's made that put his pups in so much danger.

But what made his insecurities worse was the events that were caused by these stupid decisions. From Rocky's meltdown with Zuma's mind going with it, Skye's insecurities, the possibility of Chase shutting down again, and Rubble having to watch it all, they were all permanently attached to his mind like super glue. He felt that he not only let Marshall down, but his team down.

On top of that, hearing all of the misery that had plagued Marshall's parents and late, Marshall's little sister. His bad decisions have affected their lives greatly and although he didn't directly cause it, His very bad decision added to their already horrible lives.

Ryder's pup pad sounded off like a jump scare in a horror game. He didn't realize that he was lost in his thoughts for a good bit, after stating the horrible coincidence.

He looked at his pup pad and saw that Chase was calling him. He looked around to see all eyes on him as his ringtone sounded off. He felt embarrassed as his pup pad had interrupted a very sad and heartless moment. He got up, apologized for the interruption, and moved to the other end of the room as he excused himself.

He answered it in a hushed tone. "Hey Chase. What is it boy?"

"Rocky's ready to talk to Marshall's parents Ryder sir, and he's got a lot to say." Chase responded firmly.

Through all the sadness and despair, Ryder had forgotten about Rocky and Ashley's incident thirty minutes before. He suddenly had to put all of his thoughts aside for the sake of his pup.

Oh. Th-That's great." Ryder stammered.

It took Chase a second for him to respond. "Um….are you ready Ryder sir?"

"Huh? Oh no! No not yet. I have to talk to them and see if I can convince Ashley to not snap at Rocky again and hear him out. I'll let you know when we're ready okay boy?" Ryder informed.

"Yes sir Ryder sir." Chase sounded off. "Hope you can get her to reason with you."

"I hope so too. Ryder out."

Ryder hung up and walked back off at the group who were still waiting patiently for him to come back. He sat next to his father and looked at Ashley and Sparky who were eyeing him.

Ryder took a breath before he started his request. "That was my police pup, Chase. He told me that Rocky wants to talk to you, and that he has something he needs to tell you two."

When Ashley heard Rocky's name, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to keep herself calm. "Is that so?"

Ryder nodded sternly. "Yes. Now I'm going to let him come in here and speak to you. I ask that you please not snap at him and hear what he has to say."

Sparky said nothing as Ashley opened her eyes and looked very displeased. "I will try. Ryder."

Ryder eyed Ashley sternly. "I'm going to tell you this Ashley. I am sorry for you and your family, but mark my words, I don't care if you don't like him. My pup comes first, and I would do anything to protect him. If you should do anything to harm him, I will protect him, and there will be hell to pay. Am I clear?"

Sparky and Ashley both nod in unison.

"Yes Ryder, I understand. I will give it my best to at least hear him. Maybe…..I got this all wrong. If I am, I will own up to it." Ashely responded.

"I hope so, because I really want you three to get along, for Marshall." Ryder stated, as he brings up his pup pad to call Chase. He gets him on the line as he lets Chase know….. "Okay Chase. We're ready."

(A/N) Here we go. Time to finally put this animosity to rest...hopefully.

Chapter 13 is in production right now and I'm aiming to release it next Friday.

Question of the Chapter: Do you think that this will get resolved in time for Marshall's funeral?

Let me know in your review!

Please review and tell me your favorite parts and if you have any questions about the story or anything else, just put it in your review or pm me and l'll get back with you as soon as I can.

This Is Sean Thames of Dragonsfire Entertainment signing off!