They Shouldn't Have to Suffer

Lady sat there with her eyes closed in deep contemplation. She was in a building not unlike the one Ivan's parents would go to on a weekly basis to hear a speech by an Airedale terrier that everybody called Father Boris.

"The many mistakes my husband and I have made," she thought, mulling over their history as parents. First, she guiltily remembered the years of neglect and abuse they had imposed on their own pups. Second, they remembered the unnecessary favoritism shown toward their "talented pup", which in the end had turned her into an arrogant, and at times, malicious prima donna. However, the biggest blow to them as parents was that two of their own pups had left them, for good. At the time, she had chalked this up to divine retribution for the promiscuity of her youth, the same promiscuity that had landed her with six puppies she was neither ready to have or take care of. However, during a video call two years later, she learned this wasn't the case. It was on that day, she learned she passed her curse onto her daughter. It was then she realized that this was the actual punishment for her licentiousness, to know her daughter had to deal with things she should not have had to deal with until she was older, and to know that that was all her fault. If anything, Skye and Orkney running away had shown what horrible parents they were. They had made their own pups' lives so miserable that they not only wanted to run away, but had the conviction to go through with it, successfully.

Lady then remembered planning the attempt to recapture her son and daughter with the rest of the family.

"How could we have ever concocted something so super villain-ish," she asked herself

Even after this attempt failed, she and her husband had attempted to contact the PAW Patrol with the knowledge that at least Skye was in their custody. Ryder had not only refused to return her but justified it on the grounds that they had "failed her as parents" and that she "deserves better than to be in your care".

"Jura!" she suddenly remembered. The only real blessing that either her or her husband got with regards to their pups was Jura's change of heart from a malicious bully, like his two brothers, to a genuinely kindhearted canine. But of course, we squandered that too. It all started when we began noticing him touching himself. While he was rather young to be doing this, initially we thought nothing of it, but what did become concerning was when we learned who he preferred to think about. We didn't know how it would affect us, a troop of traveling show dogs, in terms of reputation, it was for this reason we had him keep things in the closet, and a heavy influence on why we broke up him and his boyfriend in Scotland. Thinking back, we put unnecessary stress on him, and we really hurt him when we, as he put it, ripped his heart out.

Lady sighed regretfully. Never before in her life had she ever seen such pain in any other dog. Even now, she knew that the sound of her son crying would haunt her for years to come.

However, the Almighty saw fit to punish them for doing this. There was no doubt in her mind, Jura's accident was not a mere accident, it happened as a punishment to them for what they did to him, and a blessing in disguise for the blonde pup himself. She vividly remembered that day, seeing him fall over the bluff only to be smacked back and forth by numerous tree branches before finally hitting a stone ledge, hard, all the while she stood there, having to watch this happen, completely powerless to do anything. Seeing this happen was more horrible than anything she could ever remember, not only for her as an individual, but particularly for her as a mother.

Lady then refocused her mind and began.

"O Almighty one, I know I have been a terrible parent, I know I have committed many wrongs, and that I have a lot to answer for. I accept whatever punishment you feel necessary to impose on me, but please, please, please don't make my pups have to suffer for my misdeeds. I know you have decided to include half of them in my punishments, but I just want to know they aren't suffering for what I did," she whispered. "Please, give me a sign, anything, I just need to know that my misdeeds have not hurt them."

Suddenly, an image popped into her head. She was initially upset that it was of her daughter scared and crying, but then saw that she was being cradled in Ryder's arms as he told her it would be all right. And then she realized what she was seeing: her daughter getting the care and support that she and her husband had failed to give her. Next, she saw her daughter lifting off in a helicopter, the same one she'd seen her daughter used the day she saved Jura's life, wearing the same pink flight hood and goggles. The next picture she envisioned initially seem somewhat strange. It was a scene of several sheep being herded by a brown dog, but as she paid closer attention, she noticed the brown dog was her son. It felt good inside to see Skye and Orkney doing what they always wanted. Next, she saw Skye on the examining table at a veterinary clinic, talking about her body with a blond veterinarian. Lady lit up when she saw this. She knew this meant her daughter was getting help for their curse, and that this help was probably the explanation for her daughter's stronger self-control. Finally, she saw Jura and the paraplegic Bernese from that day at the clinic, kissing under the moonlight. At this site, she began to tear up with all her emotions.

As Lady opened her eyes, she realized this was her ultimate fate. Her three pups were leading, and would go on to lead, happier lives than she ever would. Whether this was retribution for her sins, or a blessing for her contemplation of her misdeeds, she readily accepted this fate. In the end, this is what she, as a mother, wanted.

The End

Notes:

Lady's religion: I intentionally tried to avoid specifying any specific one because I don't want to deal with that whole shitstorm.

What I wanted to do here was examine how the events she deems as punishments for her own wrongdoings ended up benefiting her children. Also, I just feel like we need something positive happen to sky's mother for a change. Next on the docket is the whole Tracker gets punished story (no one objected to this idea), which is coming very soon, and after that will most likely be the final chapter of Rough patch. The whole plot point about riders "regrets" over Skye's punishment is one I have to think about how I'm going to do, if I am going to do it. As always, don't forget to leave a review if you have any comments, questions, or concerns.