A/N: Hey everyone! Wanted to get a quick one-shot out to you all, as I continue to work on my other stories. Hopefully this one is a little lighter mood than my last one, though I think my last one was a very touching piece.

Right now, I'm working on Of Flames and Fury and hope to have the next chapter of that one done soon. I won't give a time frame as I am pretty busy. After that, I plan on getting another PAWsome Love short story complete before embarking on future work.

Make sure you check out the other stories, and please follow, favorite, and leave reviews.

Until next time, please enjoy Hide and Seek!

"PAW Patrol, to the lookout!" Ryder called firmly to his team of pups through their pup-tags. Each of them immediately stopped what they were doing and, in unison, replied enthusiastically to their leader.

"Ryder needs us!"

The pups hustled to the lookout, hopping swiftly into the elevator. Marshall, lagging behind the group like usual, slipped on a tennis ball left out earlier that day and slammed into the other pups, landing on top of the rest of them as the tennis ball bounced out of the elevator.

"Ace!" Marshall exclaimed, causing the rest of the pups to burst out laughing. The elevator rose quickly, stopping momentarily behind the PAW Patrol symbol for the pups to change into their mission packs. The team jumped out and landed in front of Ryder, lining up in order to learn about their task ahead.

"PAW Patrol, ready for action, Ryder, sir," Chase called out. The shepherd pup stomped his foot in salute of the team leader.

Ryder readied the pups for their mission as they all listened intently. The package delivery man's van had broken through a wooden plank bridge and was hanging perilously over the slow-moving river. The PAW Patrol was needed to help pull the van off the bridge and grab any packages that may happen to fall off.

Zuma's ears perked up at the sound of a water-rescue. "Over the river, catch packages…sounds like a perfect job for a hovercraft," he thought to himself. The lab had been feeling left out of numerous rescues in the recent past. Most of the time, it seemed like the other pups were called over and over again while he just sat and waited in the lookout. Every now and then, Ryder would require his expertise partway through a mission, making Zuma feel like an afterthought a lot of the time. "Today's my day, after all. I think everyone knows why…"

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Ryder choosing the pups for the mission. He started by selecting the blue star symbol of the police pup.

"Chase, I need you and your winch to pull the van off the bridge," Ryder directed.

The German Shepherd pup stood up and called out, "Chase is on the case!"

Zuma sighed but remained hopeful. "Chase won't be able to catch the packages if they fall off the truck," he thought to himself.

Ryder swiped the screen of his pup pad and pushed the button. Zuma's tail began to wag, knowing he had to be called for the mission. His anticipation grew as the next pup popped up on the screen.

"And I need Skye…"

"Huh?" Zuma wondered quietly as his heart sank.

"Skye, I need your claw to grab any packages if they fall out of the truck," Ryder commanded.

"Yip! This puppy's gotta fly!" Skye exclaimed with a backflip.

"The rest of you pups know what to do," Ryder instructed. "Alright! PAW Patrol is on a roll!"

Chase and Skye ran over to the slide and hopped on, sliding down to their vehicles. Ryder rode the fire pole to his ATV and took off, heading to the mission.

Zuma stood up slowly with his head lowered. "Another mission without me…what am I really to this team…and today of all days…" The frustrated and somber lab joined the three remaining pups in the elevator. They rode down in silence before jumping out into the living room of the lookout. Zuma wandered over to the treat dispenser and pressed the pad. "Might as well enjoy a treat. It's not like they're going to need me anyways."

Zuma mindlessly munched on the crunchy snacks. He walked slowly outside to see what the other team members were up to.

"Hey Mawshall, do you want to play hide and seek?" Zuma asked the Dalmatian, his tail wagging behind him. Marshall glanced around nervously before getting a smile on his face.

"I wish I could, Zuma, but I promised Captain Turbot I'd help him wash the flounder today with my water cannons," the fire pup answered.

"Can I help? I love helping Cap'n Tuwbot," Zuma asked, his mood picking up slightly.

"I can't make you do that, Zuma. Besides, what if you're needed on the rescue? It's near water after all. See ya!" Marshall called to Zuma as he sped away in his fire truck.

"Like I'm ever going to be needed…" the poor lab thought to himself again. He began to feel down before he noticed Rubble digging a hole in the yard. Zuma scurried over towards the bulldog, hoping the fun-loving pup would play with him.

"Wubble, will you play hide and seek with me?" Zuma asked excitedly. If there was any pup who wouldn't turn down a game of hide-and-seek, it would be Rubble. The bulldog finished burying his bone before he turned to Zuma.

"Sorry, Zuma. I promised Mayor Goodway I'd help her plant some flowers today. And then I'm getting a bath at Katie's. I wish I could," Rubble answered.

Zuma sighed in defeat before replying to the construction pup, "That's ok, dude. I'm suwe the mayor is waiting for you."

"Bye, Zuma," Rubble called out as he rushed into town.

"I don't think any of them remember…" Zuma thought to himself sadly as he wandered aimlessly about the yard. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of grey fur in his peripheral vision. "Rocky will do something with me, I know it! He's my best friend, and he'll remember."

Zuma began to flash back to some memories of his earliest days at the lookout. Worried he wouldn't fit in. Nervous he'd make mistakes. Afraid he'd be made fun of for his speech impediment. But Rocky took him under his paw and made Zuma feel at home.

"Hey Wocky, do you want to go to the beach? It's a beautiful day, dude. And I won't make you get in the watew, I pwomise," Zuma asked the recycling pup, his tail wagging once again.

Rocky looked at the chocolate lab with sad eyes, and Zuma knew his answer before he spoke. "Sorry, Zuma. I agreed to help Farmer Al rebuild his fence today," Rocky answered.

Zuma could feel tears forming in his eyes. "Nobody wants to spend time with me, today," he thought to himself. He took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"That's OK, Wocky. Fawmer Al is pwobably waiting. You should go," Zuma replied.

The recycling pup thanked Zuma and hurried off. Zuma shuffled back inside the lookout, sadness beginning to overtake him. No one wanted to play with him. No one needed his help around town. And Ryder never needed his skills on missions anymore.

"Why am I even part of this team?" he wondered to himself as he plopped down on a beanbag in the living room. He closed his eyes and began to dream.

It was a beautiful day in Adventure Bay. The bright sun shone over the water as everyone played on the beach. Except for one pup. A chocolate lab hid behind some rocks, afraid to come out and embarrass himself in front of everyone. He was born with a speech impediment… "wotacism", as he said.

Zuma watched intently as a boy and three pups played on the beach and in the water. Zuma laughed silently to himself as one of the pups seemed to be afraid of the ocean, avoiding the crashing waves each time they approached the shore. "I wish I had friends like that…" he thought to himself sadly, watching the pups enjoy their time together.

Zuma became an outcast at a young age; his owner and his own parents ruthlessly abandoned him when they learned of his speech impediment. They were part of a high-class group of citizens and didn't want "damaged goods". He wandered aimlessly for a few weeks before ending up in Adventure Bay. Some friendly residents gave the cute pup food and water routinely, though Zuma rarely spoke to the townspeople in fear of them disowning him as well.

Zuma remained hidden in the rocks all day. As the sun began to set, the people began to filter home from the beach, tired from their long day of leisure. The boy and his pups continued to play on the beach, only stopping briefly for a snack before starting a game of frisbee. The white pup in the group stumbled and crashed into the other two pups, knocking them over as the frisbee landed on his back. Zuma could almost hear their friendly laughter, which made him even sadder.

Suddenly, the three pups stared intently into the water. A small collie pup was thrashing in the waves, unable to keep his head above the water. The small beach had no lifeguards to help the pup; Zuma watched with fear. Two of the pups approached the water, but their owner called them back. They looked around, hoping to find some help for the poor pup. Without a second thought, Zuma dashed out from behind the rocks and rushed into the steady waves. He paddled furiously to reach the drowning pup, grabbing him by the collar just before he sank under for the last time. Zuma swam with the added weight back to the shore and dragged the pup on to the beach. He began pressing on the pup's chest to clear any water in his lungs.

"Don't stop bweathing on me," Zuma grunted quietly as he worked to revive the pup. Tears began to form in Zuma's eyes as he thought his efforts were failing.

"Bweathe…bweathe…please," Zuma pleaded as he continued CPR. Suddenly, the collie pup hacked roughly and regurgitated a large amount of sea water. Zuma carefully turned him on his side and allowed the pup to clear his lungs.

"You'we OK," Zuma comforted the pup. He wiped some sweat from his brow and the tears from his eyes and looked up. His face became bright red as he realized the three pups and boy were watching him work.

"Wow! Nice work, pup!" The boy said to Zuma. "What's your name?"

"Zuma," he answered, looking down to the ground, embarrassed everyone heard his speech impediment.

"Hi Zuma, I'm Chase. And this is Rocky and Marshall," the German Shepherd pup responded, pointing towards a grey mixed breed and Dalmatian, respectively. "Where are your owners?"

Zuma pawed nervously at the ground before he answered Chase. "I don't have any. I was abandoned because I talk funny." Zuma looked up, expecting the pups to laugh at him like all the others he'd encountered.

"That's horrible! I'm sorry, Zuma," the grey mixed breed, Rocky answered.

"Yeah! Hey, do you want to be our friend?" Marshall asked. "Ryder, don't you think our team could use a water rescue pup?" The Dalmatian asked Ryder.

Zuma looked intently at the boy, though he was worried he wouldn't want the poor pup. Ryder smiled at Zuma and answered, "Of course, Marshall. Zuma, how would you like to join our team?"

Zuma jumped up, his tail wagging, and a huge smile on his face.

Zuma was jolted from his nap by Ryder's voice through his pup tag.

"Zuma, we need you at the beach," he called to the lab pup.

"Coming, Wyder," Zuma replied tiredly. He yawned and stretched his legs before running to his pup house and turning it into his hovercraft. He jumped in and headed to the beach, the sun beginning to set over the bay.

"Wow…how long was I asleep?" Zuma wondered to himself as he approached the shore. When he arrived, he saw Ryder standing alone.

"Wyder, what do you need, dude?" Zuma asked, hoping for some kind of task before the end of the day.

"Follow me," Ryder said with a smile.

Zuma hopped out of his vehicle and trailed behind Ryder. As they approached some large rocks on the beach, the entire team jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!"

Zuma was startled by everyone, but quickly regained his composure. "Wyder, what is this fow?" Zuma asked curiously.

"We're celebrating you, Zuma! It's been exactly one year since you joined the team. We all thought we'd set up a great party for you today. That's why you weren't called on the "mission", and that's why everyone else had "tasks" to complete today," Ryder explained to the confused pup.

Zuma began to tear up; the entire day he thought he was useless and that no one remembered his special day. And he thought everyone else wanted to be away from him.

"All this, fow me?" Zuma wondered aloud, his mood brightened immediately upon feeling the friendship and inclusion.

"Yes, Zuma, for you."

Hope you enjoyed that! There are times I feel Zuma is under-utilized on the show, and not chosen for certain rescues you'd think he'd be a definite choice. I wanted to grasp some of his "frustration" in this quick story. Until next time, please check out my other pieces!

-Zomatic-