"S-see you soon Eve." The dally muttered. He knew there was no going back anymore, this was his end. All he hoped was that on the other side, he'd be with Everest once again.
However, before he got the chance to move his paw, he felt a tight grasp around it, preventing him from moving. Marshall was frozen, realizing he had been caught in the act by who he assumed was Chase.
The dally dropped the blade and lowered his head in shame, refusing to make eye contact with his brother. He couldn't handle it, not after what he had almost done to himself.
"I-I'm sorry, I-I just w-wanted to see my husky a-again." He whispered, unable to form any other explanation. He silently stood there, waiting for the shepherd to respond. How he would react was a mystery. And eventually, he heard a voice speak up.
However, it didn't belong to who he expected. In fact, it wasn't even a male voice. It was far more soothing and beautiful. It was a voice he hadn't heard outside his own head in three months.
"Then open your eyes silly."
Marshall, completely taken back, obeyed the command. Once he looked up, he saw the last pup he could've ever dreamed of seeing. In front of him stood a very familiar lavender husky.
"E-Eve?" Marshall whispered. Everest sat directly in front of him, giving him a warm yet sympathetic smile.
"Hi Marshy." She responded, trying not to choke on her words. To be honest, she felt like crying herself after seeing what her mate had almost done. But she had to stay strong, for his sake.
A few moments of silence passed. Marshall had no idea what to say or feel, but eventually, a grim realization came to his head.
"T-this isn't real, is it? This has to be just another stupid dream. You're d-dead, you can't be here. I bet the second I believe that you're real, I'll just wake up, won't I?" He exclaimed, slowly backing away from her. He knew this had to be too good to be true. Everest was dead, this couldn't really be her, right?
"Marshy-" The husky tried to say before being cut off.
"No! Y-you don't get to call me that! Only MY Everest can call me that! You're not even real. Y-you're just some s-stupid dream trying to trick me again. You're just...you're ...you're..." Marshall trailed off as tears started flowing down his face once again.
The husky leaned forward and licked the tears off his face before backing away and looking into his eyes.
"I-it's really you, isn't it?" He whispered, starting to realize this couldn't have been a dream. This was nothing like the usual nightmares that tormented him. This was too good to be true, yet too good to be a dream.
"Yeah, it's really me." Everest replied, with sympathy filling her voice. The dally stared at her for a few seconds, trying to process what he was seeing. This was really her. She was still alive.
The husky opened her arms, and Marshall scooted closer as she embraced him in a warm, tight hug. He buried his face into his mate's shoulder and began sobbing, not only just from all the emotions, but as the realization of what he had nearly done to himself hit him.
Everest slowly started to caress his back as she attempted to comfort him. "Shh you're ok. I'm here now. Eve's here now. Everything is gonna be ok, I promise." She whispered, hoping it would calm him down.
"I-I'm s-so sorry...I-I...was r-really g-gonna..." The dally tried to explain, but he couldn't even finish his sentence. He was too distraught to speak clearly, he just kept crying into the husky's fur.
"Shh, J-just, don't think about that, think about now. I'm here now, and I'll never leave you again." Everest cooed, not wanting to think about it herself. The moment she opened the door and saw him so close to hurting himself like that might've been the most scared she had ever been.
After what felt like forever, Marshall slowly started to calm down. He was still a bit shaky, but he had finally processed everything that had happened and could speak clearly.
"H-how are you here? I saw you d-die." He questioned, realizing the husky had just shown up out of nowhere.
"Well, after you know what." She started, purposely avoiding the topic of the attack. She wasn't exactly sure what exactly would trigger an episode, but she didn't want to accidentally upset him, so she figured it was best to not mention it.
"Long story short, I was rescued by a nurse named Haley. She's pretty nice, I think you'd like her. Anyways, she brought me to her clinic and treated me. I ended up staying in a coma for three months, which is why I couldn't come back to you sooner." The husky explained, although she immediately noticed a pained look on Marshall's face.
"Hey Marshy, what's wrong?" She asked, even though she knew that for him, almost everything was wrong. He was in too much pain for too many reasons.
"T-this is all my fault." He muttered. Everest sighed and licked him, trying to lift his spirits. If it had worked, he wasn't showing it.
"No, none of this is your fault. It's Damian's, not yours. I made the choice to risk my life for you, and I would do it again if I had to." She reassured.
"Y-yes it is. I was s-so weak, all of this happened because of me. I didn't save you, I-I let you down. I-I don't deserve to be your mate..." He mumbled.
Everest looked at him sympathetically, knowing everything he had said was untrue. Especially right now, he deserved everything from her. She would give him all the love and help possible. He would get everything she could give, whether he wanted it or not.
"Marshy you never let me down. You're not weak, and you're not to blame. You do deserve me, and I want you to see that." She replied.
Marshall nodded, but he was clearly still unconvinced. He broke what seemed like the never-ending hug and looked away, knowing he had one more thing that needed to be said.
"E-Eve, there's something you need to know. I-I have-" He tried to say, but Everest put her paw on his mouth, muffling his voice.
"I know Marshy. They told me about your PTSD."
She noticed Marshall seemed to be upset that she knew, almost like he was expecting her to be disappointed or angry, so she tilted his head to be facing her's.
"And that isn't going to change how I see you. I swear to you, as your mate, that I will help you get through this. That is a promise." She stated, looking directly into his eyes.
Marshall could tell by the tone of her voice that she was very serious. Although a part of him was still saying that everything was his fault, that he still didn't deserve her love, that didn't matter right now. As Everest said, what mattered to him was that he still had his mate, which is all he could've ever wished for.
After three whole months of this being something he could only dream of doing again, Marshall leaned forward and pulled the husky into a kiss. One that was full of love and emotion. A kiss that truly came from both of their hearts. The dally began to feel an emotion that almost seemed foreign. He felt genuinely happy, and even if he knew the feeling would leave him shortly, it was a breath of fresh air.
"I love you Eve." Marshall stated once the two broke apart. Everest smiled and nuzzled him, which the dally happily returned.
"I love you too Marshy. Now we should probably head back upstairs, the others are probably waiting on us." She responded, starting to turn around to leave.
"Oh wait, you should probably take your collar back." Marshall called out as he took it off of his neck. Everest thanked him and put it back on herself, as the dally grabbed his own and put it on. She did notice that he seemed to tense up, but hopefully, her gift would help with that.
The two walked into the elevator with a bit of nostalgia in the air. It was kind of like when they planned that prank on the others after they first became mates, only now with much darker circumstances.
"How long have you been back anyway?" Marshall asked though he assumed it was recently that she had arrived.
"Actually I just got back today. I was too weak to go home sooner, and Haley just dropped me off a few hours ago." Everest explained.
"I really owe her then, she saved your life, and in the process...s-saved mine." Marshall responded, still thinking of what he had almost done. Just to imagine, if Everest was even a second late, he would've put her in the situation he had been in. That was something he would never wish on someone, not even his worst enemy.
"Hey, look at me." The husky demanded, making sure he knew she was serious. "I know you were hurting then, and I know you still are. Just know that things are only going to get better from here, you'll never feel the need to do that again. I'll make sure of it." She stated, talking a bit to herself near the end.
"Thanks Eve." Marshall replied as the elevator stopped. Everest smiled and nodded as the two walked in.
The others were simply sitting on the couch, talking to each other. As per usual, Skye was laying on Chase's back. It seemed like everyone was having a good time.
The shepherd noticed the couple walking in and smiled. "So, you like your gift Marshall?" He jokingly asked.
The dally laughed, which was something no one had heard him do since Everest's supposed death. "I love it." He answered as he gave the husky a quick lick on the cheek.
"Speaking of gifts, I still have to give you mine. Sorry if it isn't much, I didn't have much time to think of something." Everest said, but not before licking her mate back.
"Eve, you didn't have to get me anything. You being here is more than enough." Marshall replied truthfully.
"Yeah well, you're getting a gift from me whether you like it or not." She insisted as she nudged a small box over to him. Marshall picked it up and opened it, revealing a red and blue-colored collar inside. Both his and Everest's signature colors.
"Ryder told me that you liked to wear my collar since it helped calm you down. I figured I would get you something that might let you have something to think of me if I'm not around for whatever reason." She explained.
The dally smiled and turned back to face her. "Eve, it's amazing. Thank you, I love it." He praised, earning him a quick nuzzle.
"I'm glad." She responded.
The dally took his own collar off and put the new one on. Everyone told him that he looked good in it, which he was happy to hear. Everest noticed he didn't seem as anxious with it on, meaning it had done exactly what she had hoped.
"So, now what do we do?" Marshall asked. Everest shrugged, not really knowing how to answer.
"Well, I hate to say this, but there's only like an hour left until we need to go to bed. It's already really late." Ryder said.
"Aw man. Well, we have the new pup pup boogie, wanna play a few rounds Eve?" Marshall offered.
"Yeah, sure!" She responded as the two ran over to the machine, eager to try it out, even if they were both very out of practice.
As they went off to go play, Chase turned to his owner. "She really is gonna make his life so much easier." He remarked, kind of to himself. Ryder smiled and patted his head.
"I couldn't agree more. It might still take him some time for him to fully get better, but he'll get there, especially now that she's back." The boy replied. Chase couldn't help but smile, seeing his brother laughing and playing with Everest. This really was his second chance.
After about an hour of everyone playing and hanging out with each other, Ryder spoke up and gave them the news they were all dreading to hear.
"Alright pups, time for bed!" He called out. Everyone knew better than to argue with him, so they all said goodnight and went down to their puphouses.
"Night Evershall!" Chase called out to the two as Skye laughed in the background. The couples had always teased each other with nicknames like that. Obviously, no one dared call the dally that when the husky wasn't around, but now that she was, it was all in good fun.
Marshall rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help but laugh, as did Everest. It almost felt good to be called that after so long, but nonetheless, he would still get them back. "Yeah whatever Skase, night." He shot back, causing the four to laugh more.
Inside his puphouse, Everest noticed that the dally still seemed a bit down. She laid down as the dally cuddled up with her before asking something. "Marshy, what's wrong? You seem upset." She asked, a bit worried.
Marshall sighed before looking up at her. "Can you promise me something?" He asked. Of course, the husky wasn't gonna say no, so she nodded, curious to see what he would ask of her.
"Promise me that when I wake up, you'll still be here. That this isn't just a dream. I don't wanna be alone again. I need you Eve." He whispered. Everest could see the tears building up in his eyes, so she was quick to reassure him.
"Of course Marshy, I'll still be here, I promise. You won't have to be alone or scared anymore." She comforted. The dally smiled and buried himself in her fur, feeling more comfortable than he had in months.
"Thanks. I love you Eve." He replied, his eyes slowly starting to close.
Everest bent down and licked him. "I love you too Marshy." Right as those words left her mouth, Marshall fell asleep almost immediately, still wrapped up in the husky's fur. She didn't mind at all. She too laid her head down and closed her eyes.
Although, despite the smile on his face, Everest still knew it was only temporary. Deep down, he was still greatly hurting. As much as she wished that she could take away all his suffering, that wasn't the case. He wasn't the same as he was three months ago, and she was very aware of that.
It would take time for Marshall to get better. Everest could tell that it may take some time for him to completely forgive himself for what had happened, and his PTSD wasn't going to get better overnight. It could take weeks, months, even years to recover from the trauma he experienced. Although it hurt the husky to think of how much suffering her mate has endured, she knew that, in time, he would get better.
Because she would be with him every step of the way.
