(A/N: I do not own Paw Patrol, hope you have more drinks and snacks for the rest of this story, enjoy!)
Lost and Found – Part 2
"I smell Ryan!" Snowflake called out excitedly as her nose dropped to the forest floor and she started following the smell.
"Pups, over here!" Cinder barked loud enough for the rest of her team to hear and the other pups came running.
"That's definitely Ryan!" Snoop called out as he took off after Snowflake.
Cinder, Void, Angel and Slick followed, searching either side of the scent trail to see if it diverged anywhere.
Snowflake was moving quickly, the scent kept getting stronger. And then suddenly it disappeared. Snowflake skidded to a stop. "Oh no…" She said as the immediately backtracked until she found the scent again, it was pretty strong, almost as if Ryan was right where she was standing but wearing a cloaking device.
Snoop came out from the bushes and flipped onto his back as his nose stopped where the scent was the strongest but the rest of his body kept going up and over.
"Are you ok?" Snowflake asked worriedly.
"I'll be ok" Snoop groaned, "just give me a second." Snoop picked himself up and circled where the scent ended. "Very strange…" he murmured.
"Find him?" Cinder called as she and the other pups ran up.
"Not quite" Snowflake reported, "the scent ends right here, but it is very strong."
"And it didn't diverge anywhere on my side" Void added.
"Not on mine either" Angel added.
"Then he might be in a cave and this is where the air is blowing out from" Cinder deduced, "Spread out, see if you can find a cave entrance with his smell." As the pups started looking, Cinder pawed at the ground to confirm her theory. Under the leaf litter, she found some rocks with enough gaps to let air flow. Ryan's smell was definitely coming from between the rocks.
"Ryan, can you hear me?" Cinder barked down into the air gap.
"Who…who is there?" a faint child's voice came back.
"Ryan, my name is Cinder, I'm a fire and rescue pup, we've been looking for you, are you ok?"
"Have I been missing?" Ryan asked, confused.
"Yes, you have" Cinder barked back down, remembering his ADHD, "You were at the park this morning playing with your mom, do you remember?"
"A little" Ryan replied, "but I decided I wanted to be an explorer so I went exploring."
"Where did you go exploring?" Cinder barked, she needed to get as much information as she could to help her pups find out how to get to Ryan.
"I saw a cave and I didn't remember seeing it on the map," Ryan answered, "So I decided that an explorer would explore the cave and report back so others would know about it."
"That's very good Ryan, I'm proud of you" Cinder barked back, "do you know how to get back out?"
"I do, but I can't" Ryan replied, pain leaking into his voice, "You see, as I was climbing through the cave, part of the ceiling fell down on my legs, I can't really move."
"How do your legs feel Ryan?" Cinder barked.
"They hurt and were bleeding for a while but then they stopped" Ryan replied.
"Ok Ryan, we are going to find a way into the cave to get you unstuck ok?" Cinder barked.
"Ok" Ryan replied, "Promise you won't go anywhere Cinder?"
"I promise Ryan, I'm going to stay right here until we find a way to get to you. I'm going to call in more pups and people to help on my radio."
"Ok Cinder," Ryan replied.
"Skipper, LT Joe," Cinder said as she keyed her radio.
"Go ahead Cinder" LT Joe replied.
"We found Ryan!" Cinder softly reported, "We have a pile of rocks with Ryan's scent coming out. He is trapped in a cave by a rock fall. I got my team looking for the entrance right now but I need the rest of the team ASAP!"
"How will they find you?" LT Joe asked.
"Follow my howl" Cinder softly replied before she threw her head back and cut loose the loudest howl that she could.
"Got it!" Marshall reported over the radio. I'm coming Cin! Marshall's thought echoed in her head, with all the right volume and urgency as if Marshall had been standing next to her when he said it. Yes! The link is fully established! Cinder thought happily.
"I got it too" Rain reported over the radio.
"Me three" Splash added.
"I got nothing" Pedro admitted.
"Me neither" Kelly added.
"Ok, head east towards the two largest caves, we are a little south and west of there" Cinder directed, "I'll keep howling until you are all here."
"Got it!" Pedro and Kelly replied in turn. Cinder let forth another howl that echoed through the park. Marshall, Rain and Splash replied with howls of their own; they were closing fast.
Cinder kept howling every couple of minutes and soon, Marshall's team came running up. "Spread out, start looking for the entrance" Cinder softly directed. They were followed by Splash's and Rain's teams and finally Pedro's and Kelly's teams.
"Pedro, Kelly, find the closest path and then guide Dave and Ashley to us" Cinder ordered her firefighters.
"You got it Cinder" they replied before running off.
"You still ok down there Ryan?" Cinder barked into the air gap.
"About the same, Cinder" Ryan replied, tiredness permeating his voice. "What was all that noise?"
"Me calling in everyone to help, we'll get you out soon" Cinder barked back with a smile.
"Oh, do you think that will be soon?" Ryan asked, "I'm getting really tired."
"We'll get to you as fast as we can Ryan" Cinder barked, "But I need you to stay awake for me, can you do that for me?"
"I'll try" Ryan replied with a yawn.
"That is all we can ask for Ryan," Cinder barked as she laid down next to the air gap, "Can you tell me all about your exploring today?"
"Sure Cinder" Ryan replied as he started telling his story. Cinder continued to keep Ryan engaged and talking while everyone else looked for a way to get to him.
Snowflake was sitting in front of a rock wall, with a plethora of vines growing down the side. She had a confused look on her face.
"Did you find something?" Marshall asked as he padded up.
"AH!" Snowflake yelped as she startled, falling backwards. She felt strong paws catch her and keep her from hitting the ground. She looked up into a pair of hypnotizing blue eyes.
"Sorry I startled you" Marshall apologized.
"That is quite alright" Snowflake replied dreamily, "I've never been caught like this before…"
Marshall replied by almost effortlessly flipping Snowflake back up onto her paws. Her eyes were pin wheeling from the flip. "So, did you find something?" Marshall asked, getting her back on topic.
"Oh, right, um, yes!" Snowflake replied, "I faintly smelled Ryan and it let me to this rock face. I traced the scent the other way but it gets weaker. I checked the top of the wall but there was not even a trace of his scent."
"Did you try going through the wall?" Marshall asked, totally serious,
"How could I possibly go through a rock wall?" Snowflake asked incredulously.
"One paw at a time" Marshall replied with a smile as he approached the wall. He gently patted at the wall, looking for something.
Snowflake was sure Marshall had lost it and turned to leave when she heard a yelp behind her. She spun around to see Marshall's back end sticking out of the wall and his front half inside the wall. Oh wow, look at that tail…Snowflake had never looked that closely at Marshall's physique and now that it was front and center she was momentarily mesmerized. She didn't even hear Marshall calling in Rain and Splash over the radio to bring more rescue line.
"You coming or you going to stand there staring all night? Marshall called and Snowflake snapped out of it.
"Coming, right, sorry!" Snowflake spluttered as she walked up the wall next to Marshall and pushed her way through the vines and into a cave. The cave was beautifully lit my bio-luminescent plants growing up the walls and ceiling. "Oh wow…" Snowflake breathed.
"Isn't this a better view?" Marshall teased.
Snowflake blushed and chose not to reply.
"Ruff, Rescue line!" Marshall barked and a roll of rescue rope on a spool popped out of his pup pack. "Take this end and attach it to that tree outside so we can find our way out" Marshall directed, unspooling the rescue line and handing the end with a clip to Snowflake.
"Got it" Snowflake replied as she ran back outside. She clipped the line to itself so it wouldn't come free of the tree before returning to Marshall inside the cave.
"This way" Marshall said as he led Snowflake towards one of several tunnels deeper into the cave. Marshall activated his helmet light with his paw and they entered the tunnel.
The tunnel was the complete opposite of the cavern. There were no plants, no light, no anything. The only light came from Marshall's helmet light. It made Snowflake nervous so she pressed up against Marshall's side for comfort. Marshall said nothing but without looking gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder with his paw.
The two pups moved slowly through the tunnel until they found a solid rock face. "Well, he didn't go this way" Marshall said, "let's loop back and try a different one. You go first, follow the rescue line." With Marshall's head lamp illuminating the rescue line, it was easy for Snowflake to find her way. She decided to add a little sashay to her walk to improve Marshall's view. Marshall noticed but kept his eyes on the rescue line. It wasn't that he found Snowflake unattractive because she definitely was; Marshall just didn't care and wanted to focus on finding Ryan. Plus, Everest's is better! Marshall spared a split second to think of her before immediately returning to focus on finding Ryan.
As they re-entered the main chamber of the cave, both pups stopped to sniff. Ryan's scent seemed to come from every direction. "Looks like he explored multiple tunnels before he got trapped" Marshall surmised.
"Which one do we search next?" Snowflake asked. She couldn't tell if any of the scent trails were more or less fresh than the others.
"First, we need to mark this one as searched" Marshal said, nudging several stones into the shape of an 'X' in front of the tunnel. "Clear out the stones from in front of the other tunnels so it is clear" Marshall directed. The two pups soon had places cleared out so there was no mistaking which tunnels they had and had not searched.
"This way," Marshall said, leading Snowflake into another tunnel. Snowflake was even with Marshall when he suddenly stopped. Snowflake didn't catch herself in time and took another step into nothingness. With a yelp she tried to stop herself but couldn't as she started to plunge into darkness. Suddenly, Snowflake felt a vice grip on her scruff. Her paws were flailing in the air, trying to find something to support her.
"Stop squirming or you'll pull us both down!" a voice from behind her head hissed through her scruff and Snowflake froze. Marshall pulled Snowflake back onto solid ground and let her down. Marshall turned back to the drop off and shown his light down; he couldn't see the bottom
"Thanks Marshall" Snowflake whispered. Once again he had saved her from certain death.
"Sure thing, that's why I'm here" Marshall replied with a smile as he led her back to the main alcove. They marked that tunnel with three 'X's to indicate danger.
"I'm picking the next one" Snowflake asserted.
"Fine by me," Marshall invited pleasantly.
They made it barely a dozen steps into the next tunnel before they found it blocked by a giant bolder that neither of them could get around, much less Ryan. "Don't you say a word" Snowflake warned.
"Who, me?" Marshall asked innocently.
Back in the main cavern, the pups took another deep sniff, hoping to somehow smell Ryan better this time. Suddenly, Marshall cocked his head to the side thoughtfully.
"What is it?" Snowflake asked.
"Ryan said his leg was trapped right?" Marshall asked.
"Yes, he did" Snowflake replied, unsure of where Marshall was going with this.
"Did he say if it had been bleeding at all?" Marshall inquired.
"He said it had been but it stopped" Snowflake replied questioningly.
"Only one of these tunnels should smell like blood then, right?" Marshall hypothesized.
"Of course!" Snowflake cheered with a happy hop, "If we follow the smell of dried blood, we'll find him!"
"This way" Marshall called, heading into one of the smaller tunnels. This tunnel was not nearly as big as the other tunnels. Where an adult would have easily fit elsewhere, this tunnel was definitely only big enough for a kid or a pup. The tunnel twisted and turned and eventually the two pups came to a section where they had to jump up to get to the next part of the tunnel.
"I don't know if we can make that" Snowflake said nervously.
"Nothing to it, come on" Marshall said. There wasn't enough room for a running jump so Marshall crouched low before launching himself upwards. Snowflake could only watch in amazement as Marshall flew up and over the ledge. Then she heard a thud as Marshall flopped the landing.
"Marshall, are you ok?!" Snowflake worriedly called up to him.
"I'm good!" came his reply. "Ok, now you do it" Marshall said as he turned and peered over the ledge back down at her.
"Are you kidding?" Snowflake gasped, "I can't jump like that!"
"You won't know if you don't try" Marshall countered, "just jump as high as you can!"
Snowflake still didn't think she could make it but she wasn't about to give up. Mimicking what Marshall had done, Snowflake crouched down before launching herself up towards the waiting Dalmatian. She made it high enough for her front paws to catch the ledge. "A little help?" Snowflake asked as she hung precariously.
"I've got you" Marshall said, taking her paws, "now just walk your back legs up."
Snowflake did as Marshall instructed her and between her hind paws on the wall and Marshall pulling on her front paws, she made it up.
"You know, you're going to have to start pulling your own weight around here; I can't drag you everywhere" Marshall teased as they continued.
Snowflake's head whipped around in fear that he was being serious but then she saw the smile on his face and realized he was just giving her a hard time. You are such a tease, Marshall, Snowflake thought distractedly, even if you aren't trying to be one.
As the two pups rounded a corner, they were greeted by the sight of a rock slide. They were about to turn back when Snowflake noticed something. "Look, there!" she called, pointing with her paw to what appeared to be a child's shoe sticking out of the rubble.
The two pups bounded over. "Ryan, can you hear me?" Marshall called through the rocks.
"Huh, who's there?" a child's voice answered him.
"My name is Marshall, I'm a fire and rescue pup and a paramedic, and I'm here to get you out!"
"Hey Cinder," the voice called, softer, "is there a pup named Marshall on your team looking for me"
"YES, yes there is!" Marshall faintly heard Cinder's reply, "has he found you?"
"I don't know" Ryan replied, "I just heard him through the rocks near my foot."
"Yes, I found you Ryan" Marshall cheered, "I'm going to start getting you out ok?"
"Ok" Ryan replied, "just be careful with my leg, it really hurts."
"Ok buddy," Marshall replied reassuringly, "I'll be careful and take a good look at it once you are free, ok?"
"Sounds good" Ryan replied with a tired sigh, "Cinder, can we stop talking now?"
No, keep him talking, we can't let him lose consciousness! Marshall thought urgently to his twin.
"Not quite Ryan, I need you to stay awake until we get you out, ok buddy?" Cinder softly and tenderly said. "Tell me more about your model train layout at home please."
Marshall smirked to himself, Cinder hated model trains. She had been fine with them up until the day Marshall accidently ran over the tip of her tail with one on accident. Marshall had said she was fine and was whining about nothing. Cinder maintained that her tail was shorter now because of it. "Snowflake, follow the line back and bring 6 or so pups to help us dig out Ryan's leg" Marshall directed his searching companion.
"Without a light?" Snowflake almost whimpered. The thought of heading back with nothing but the rescue line to guide her made her quite nervous.
"Here, take my helmet" Marshall said, passing it to her.
"What about you?" Snowflake asked as she adjusted it on her head.
Marshall reached back into a side pocket on his pup pack and pulled out a green glow stick. He cracked it to life before hanging it on his collar. "I'm good, now go, we need more pups to get him out."
"Back in a jiffy" Snowflake said as she trotted back the way they had come.
Marshall watched her disappear for a second before turning back to Ryan's leg. He carefully removed select stones and placed them in other spots to ensure the weight of the rocks remained well distributed and didn't cave in more. "Ryan, I'm going to expose where your leg is hurt and put it in a splint so it doesn't get hurt worse" Marshall called to the boy through the rocks, "would you like something for the pain?"
"Yes please" came the quick reply before he returned to his conversation with Cinder.
"Ruff, Lidocaine!" Marshall barked and the injection syringe popped out. Marshall carefully injected the anesthetic into Ryan's leg and gave it a minute to set in before he started cleaning the wounds and splinting the leg.
Snowflake had reached the drop off where she had jumped up before. It looked so much farther up when she looked down. I can do this, she thought to herself, Marshall and Ryan are counting on me! Grabbing hold of the rescue line in her jaws, Snowflake backed herself over the ledge. She slowly scooted backwards until all of her was dangling in the air, held only by her jaws on the rescue line. Snowflake closed her eyes and let go, dropping the last few feet to the floor. That wasn't so bad, hopefully we'll be able to get pups up that wall!
In the main chamber, Snowflake found two fire pups and two firefighters along with a bunch of other volunteer rescuers waiting. The fire pups and firefighters ran up to her.
"Where is Marshall?" Kelly asked.
"Back with Ryan, he is stuck in a rockslide. We need six or so pups to help get him out" Snowflake replied.
"Just pups?" Pedro asked to which Snowflake nodded.
"Only kids or pups will be able to get back there."
"Pedro, you go back and help Dave and Ashley bring the stretcher down here" Kelly directed, "Rain, Splash, take a dozen pups with you and this husky to help Marshall, I have a feeling you'll need all the help you can get."
"We'll take them all just in case then" Rain replied, "Can we get glow sticks on everyone?"
"Of course" Kelly said, pulling a large bag of them out of her kit bag.
Snowflake led Rain, Splash and the rest of the pups back into the tunnel. It was a snug squeeze for some of the bigger dogs but no one complained about being stuck so they pressed onward. Then they came to the sheer rock face.
"You've got to be kidding me" Splash said, looking upwards, "You guys jumped that?"
"Marshall did," Snowflake admitted, "I needed some help to get up."
"Well, we got a lot of pups to get over this so we may as well get started" Rain said as she crouched and leaped upward. Her lithe lab frame flew upward and she landed on her feet. Whoa was all Snowflake could think.
"You expect me to do that?" Splash called up to her fire pup sister, "ain't no way!"
"You could do it if you spent your time at the gym doing more than making goo-goo eyes at all the guy pups working out" Rain teased as she turned around and looked down.
"Hey, you do the same!" Splash shot back.
"Ah, but I do it from the treadmill next to them" Rain said with a smile, "you do it from the space between or in front of the treadmill!"
"How are we going to get the rest of the pups up?" Snowflake asked with a smile.
"Splash will help lift them up from below and I'll pull from up here" Rain said, "Let's get you and a couple more pups up and you can lead them to Ryan."
Rain gave Snowflake a boost and she was up in a jiffy. Once three other pups were up, she led them the last little bit to Marshall and Ryan.
"Oh good, you are here" Marshall said as they rounded the last corner, "Start removing the rocks near the top and put them along the sides to help support the weight."
Snowflake offered Marshall his helmet back but he waved her off so she kept shining the light back and forth for the pups that were working.
As more pups continued to flow in, Marshall turned to Snowflake, "I thought I said six or so pups?"
"You did," Snowflake replied, "but that became a dozen and then all of them."
"I hope we don't run out of air in here," Marshall said, semi-seriously.
"Talk less," Snowflake teased.
Marshall stuck his tongue out at her before turning back to check on Ryan's leg.
Soon, Rain and Splash arrived with the last of the pups. "How did you get up?" Snowflake asked the American Water Spaniel.
"I don't want to talk about it," Splash grumped.
"She had to be lifted by the Great Pyrenees," Rain said with a laugh.
"How is his leg looking, Marshall?" Splash said, changing the subject.
"Broken, several deep gashes but nothing looks too too bad" Marshall replied, "we'll need the stretcher when we get him out."
"Pedro went to help Dave and Ashley get it to the main cave" Rain informed him.
"But how are we going to get Ryan out to them?" Snowflake asked.
"Carefully" Marshall, Rain and Splash said in unison with a laugh.
"We'll see how well he can hobble on one leg" Marshall said seriously, "the only part we'll have to be careful with is the drop down."
"And if he can't hobble or walk?" Snowflake asked.
"Then we'll carry him on top of 5 pups," Marshall said.
"Ha, that's funny" Snowflake started to laugh until she realized he was totally serious, "wait, how would that work?"
"We take 5 pups of roughly the same size and put a pup under each major limb joint," Rain explained, "with one additional one under the chest to support the weight."
"It actually works quite well," Splash added.
Snowflake was dubious but hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Marshall looked at the rock slide and noted that the pups finally had a gap all the way across the top. That meant that the ceiling was holding which meant that they could move the rubble much faster. "Ok pups, let's hustle, the ceiling is holding for now but we need to move quickly to get Ryan out!"
All the pups redoubled their efforts and maybe 20 minutes later, enough of the rubble had been removed and Ryan was free.
"Thanks everyone" Ryan said as Marshall helped him to try and stand up. Ryan let out a hiss in pain, "I don't think I can do this, Marshall."
"That's ok Ryan, we'll still get you out" Marshall said with a smile. "Rain and Splash, you take the shoulders, Snowflake, you have the torso, and can I get you two to come over here to help?" Marshall asked, pointing to a pair of Golden Retrievers. Marshall adjusted where each pup was standing before turning back to Ryan, "Ok Ryan, you are going to lay down on top of them and we'll carry you out."
"Ok…" Ryan said doubtfully. Snowflake felt the same.
Marshall guided Ryan down from underneath, supporting his weight evenly amongst the pups until his weight was partially on all of them. "Ready pups?" Marshall asked which all 5 pups confirmed they were ready with a bark. "Ok, here we go…" Marshall said as he left Ryan fully rest on top of the five pups. Snowflake felt the weight but she was determined not to let Ryan or Marshall down.
"Every pup good?" Marshall asked as he squirmed his way out from underneath.
"Good" Rain and Splash said in unison.
"Good back here" one of the Golden Retrievers answered for both of them.
"You good Snowflake?" Marshall asked the husky.
"Yeah, just take it slow please" Snowflake replied.
"Ok, everyone but you six out first" Marshall said, indicating five pups about the same size as those underneath Ryan and Angel, the Great Pyrenees. "Angel, you go in front of them to the drop off and we'll lower Ryan onto you, the tunnel is a bit taller between there and the entrance so you should be able to carry him the rest of the way out. Just duck for the low points"
"Sure thing, Marshall," Angel replied.
"Ok, you five with me in case something happens and we need to swap anyone out" Marshall directed, "Once we get to the ledge, you'll help lower Ryan down onto Angel. Everyone ready?" A chorus of barks acknowledged him. "Ok, let's move out."
Angel led the way as the pups slowly moved Ryan through the tunnel. Snowflake was getting fatigued but refused to let that stop her. She was going to help save Ryan if it killed her, figuratively speaking of course. Soon they reached the ledge.
Angel hopped down and then pressed her side up against the ledge. She was just a little shorter than the ledge itself. Since there was not enough space to put Ryan straight on, the pups rotated so that Ryan was parallel to the edge.
"Ok, great, now bring him sideways slowly…" Marshall directed. The five standby pups hopped down and reached their paws up to support Ryan's weight as Splash and one of the Golden Retrievers reached the edge. Once the pups below had Ryan's weight, the two right side pups slipped out to the ends to help guide Ryan down. Next, Marshall got under with Snowflake and the two of them rotated so that they were again perpendicular to the edge. They slowly lowered Ryan's torso down until it was resting on Angel's back. Finally, Rain and the other Golden retriever guided Ryan's left arm and leg down.
With Ryan on Angel's back, Marshall had her wait for a moment while he checked the splint on Ryan's leg. "Ok Angel, take it slow, we don't want to jar his leg any more than we already have." Marshall said.
"Sure thing" Angel said and she slowly walked down the tunnel surrounded by the rest of the pups.
Before too long, they reached the main cavern where Dave and Ashley were waiting. The two paramedics gently lifted Ryan onto the waiting stretcher. Ryan was starting to get a little agitated so Marshall hopped up to comfort him, "It's going to be ok Ryan, we almost have you out, and you'll see your mom and dad soon."
"Thank you for saving me Marshall" Ryan said as he wrapped his arms around the Dalmatian and pulled him into a hug. "But where is Cinder, I need to thank her too!"
"Right here" Cinder said as she too hopped on the stretcher on the opposite side as Marshall.
"Thank you Cinder" Ryan said, releasing Marshall and turning to hug Cinder just as hard.
"You are most welcome Ryan" Cinder softly whispered to the boy, "But you really need to be thanking Snowflake, she is the one who first found your scent. Without her, we might not have found you so quickly."
"Can she come up too?" Ryan asked.
"Sure" Cinder replied with a smile as she and Marshall hopped down. "Go on up Snowflake," Cinder softly said as she waved Snowflake to hop up.
"Thank you so much Snowflake" Ryan said as he grabbed the nervous husky and pulled her in close and hugged the stuffing out of her.
"Can't…*gasp*…breathe…" Snowflake panted and Ryan relented just enough so she could breathe but not letting her go as Dave, Ashley, Pedro and Kelly carefully moved the stretcher out of the cave and down towards the path.
"I think that went well, don't you?" Marshall said nonchalantly as he, Cinder and the rest of the search and rescue volunteers followed them to the path and back towards the staging area.
"So far" Cinder softly said with a non-committal undertone.
"All the other search teams are waiting for us aren't they?" Marshall leaned in and whispered.
"Yup," Cinder softly replied.
"And the newsies?" Marshall groaned.
"Yup," Cinder softly replied again.
"I'm so glad I'm just a paramedic and you are the Fire Captain who has to talk to them" Marshall whispered with a shudder.
"Fortunately, TF 3's Captain has to deal with them, I just have one short remark to make, though I'm sure Snowflake is not going to appreciate her media debut" Cinder softly whispered with a nod to the husky still trapped in a hug. "Speaking of, why does she have your helmet?"
"She was nervous about going back to get everyone without a light so I let her use it. I used glow sticks for myself as I didn't need much light" Marshall replied matter-of-factly.
"So why does she still have it?" Cinder softly inquired with an amused look.
"Because I have this on," Marshall said, pointing to his paramedic ball cap, "and I never bothered to grab it."
"You know, she is probably going to read too much into it," Cinder softly warned him.
"I know, and I wish she wouldn't" Marshall said with a sigh. "I like her as a possible friend, we haven't really hung out at all. She just has a rescue crush on me that she doesn't want to let go of and she was trying to flirt with me during the rescue. Plus, she seemed to keep getting distracted by my tail."
"To be fair Marsh, a lot of girl pups get distracted by your tail," Cinder said, giving him a playful shove.
"Do I need to put a sign on my tail that says 'taken'?" Marshall softly asked.
"Only if you are taken" Cinder softly whispered back.
"Ouch, now that's a burn that will take a couple weeks to heal" Marshall whispered playfully. "You know as well as I do that I'm going to ask Everest out when we get back."
"Yeah, but to a single girl pup with a crush on you, like Snowflake, that means she has until then to work on you" Cinder softly warned him.
"Not going to change anything" Marshall said defiantly.
"I know Marsh," Cinder softly said, pressing up against him, "I'm just warning you and looking out for you."
"Thanks Cin" Marshall said, giving her a lick on the cheek which she returned.
Just before they reached the staging area, Ryan's parents met them. They rushed over to give Ryan a great big hug. Poor Snowflake remained trapped in the middle of the hug.
"Mom, Dad, this is Snowflake, she is the one who found me" Ryan told his parents.
"And we are so very glad she did" Ryan's mom said, holding her son and Snowflake tight together.
"Thank you so much Snowflake," Ryan's dad said.
"You're welcome" Snowflake managed to stammer out. She didn't like talking to adults but she didn't really have a choice. These were the parents of the kid she helped save; she had to say something when they talked to her.
"And down there are Cinder and Marshall. Cinder kept me awake until Marshall could get to me and patch me up" Ryan informed his parents.
"Thank you Captain" Ryan's dad said, bending down to give the Dalmatians a hug. "And you too Marshall."
"Our pleasure" Marshall and Cinder said in unison as they returned the hug.
"Are you ready to run the gauntlet to get into the ambulance?" Marshall asked.
"We can't just go home?" Ryan's mom asked.
"No unfortunately" Marshall replied, "Ryan has to get cleared by a doctor. But don't worry, once we make it to Medic 25, we'll make the rest go by as quickly as we can. We just have to get past the muckrakers…"
"Leave them to me, I have a plan" Cinder softly said. Here is what we'll do… Cinder thought as she mentally relayed her plan to Marshall.
As they entered the staging area, they were greeted by a cacophony of fire engines honking, sirens wailing, and a roar of cheers that temporarily deafened them. Cameras were flashing like they had just come back from the moon.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the team that rescued Ryan, Light Force 25 and their volunteer search and rescue team, led by Captain Cinder!" If the cheers were deafening before, they were doubly so now.
"Thanks Capt. Grant, and at the risk of riling everyone up more, I would like to thank the pup who first found Ryan's scent, who braved searching through dark caves and was overall instrumental in this rescue, Snowflake!"
The roar of the crowd was so loud that Snowflake couldn't hear herself think. She was blushing up a storm from all the attention.
Now! Cinder thought to Marshall. Marshall immediately hopped up behind Snowflake on the stretcher and gently tossed the husky off, much to her surprise. Cinder caught Snowflake as she landed, making it look like it was perfectly planned. Marshall ducked back down on the stretcher as Dave, Ashley, Pedro and Kelly continued making their way towards Medic 25. All the cameras and attention were on Snowflake and not on Ryan.
Snowflake was totally overwhelmed with the attention, she didn't know what to do so Cinder gently prompted her to take a small bow and wave. The crew reached Medic 25 and silently opened the doors and quietly but quickly loaded Ryan and his parents inside.
"But, Snowflake was just one of many volunteers who came out and gave up all or part of their day to help find Ryan" Cinder continued, "Every single one of them was crucial to our success and they are the reason that Ryan is now safely on his way to the hospital with his family…" Cinder pointed to Medic 25 where they had finished loading. Dave hit the lights and siren and guided the ambulance out into the street and on their way to the hospital.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, and all the pups who came out, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your assistance today. And with that, I turn you back over to Capt. Grant of TF 3" Cinder closed as she guided Snowflake back away from the cameras as they panned back to TF 3's commander.
"Sorry I used you as a distraction" Cinder apologized to Snowflake as she led her back over to Skipper's command SUV and away from the crowd. "But, I mean it when I say you went above and beyond what we expect from volunteer search and rescuers and for that you'll always have our thanks and be welcome at the station any time."
"Thanks Cinder," Snowflake said.
"You know, that helmet looks good on you," Cinder softly continued.
"Marshall's helmet?" Snowflake asked, hopefully.
"The helmet of a fire and rescue pup. You showed today that you have what it takes and for that, I'm giving you this challenge coin." Cinder hopped into the front seat of the command SUV before hopping back down with a coin in her paw which she handed to Snowflake. On the front was the fire department logo. On the back was the crest of Light Force 25 and the words "Fire and Rescue Trainee" inscribed below the crest. "If you ever decide you want to join, send this coin in with your application and it will be immediately approved and the coin returned to you. Upon completion of initial training, you'll join us at station 25 to finish becoming certified at which point you'll get your team coin. You don't even have to be on active duty, you can be on the reserve squad that we call on for special rescues if that is what you want to do."
Snowflake was overcome with emotion, she fully understood the significance of what Cinder was giving her. "Thank you so much Cinder, I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything" Cinder said softly with a smile, "But I do. Thank you for all of your help." Cinder stepped closer and gave the surprised husky a hug.
"Now, do you want to hang around for a bit and have to brave the press, or do you just want to go home?" Cinder knowingly asked.
"Home please" Snowflake replied with feeling, she did not want to see another camera ever again.
"Hop in then" Cinder said as she opened the backseat door for Snowflake before hopping in herself.
"Where do you live?" Skipper asked from the driver's seat as the two pups buckled in. Snowflake gave him the address and Skipper started the engine and started driving in that direction.
"At the risk of ruining this moment, there is something else we need to talk about" Cinder softly whispered to Snowflake.
"I know…Marshall," Snowflake whispered back.
Cinder nodded before softly continuing, "I know you have a crush on him, he knows too. He thinks it is just because he has saved you a couple times and I would tend to agree. Now, we can't tell you how to feel, but I can tell you that the place in his heart you seek belongs to another pup and he isn't interested in you as anything more than a friend." Cinder paused for a moment to let that sink in.
Snowflake couldn't say she was happy with what Cinder was telling her, but she sensed the caring, if brutal, honesty behind her words. Cinder wants to protect me from myself and from the pain that will most certainly come if I keep pursuing this crush on Marshall. And they are probably right on this being a rescue crush, I wouldn't have this crush if Marshall hadn't saved me. Maybe it could grow to more than that but the first step should be friendship. I guess I can live with that for now. Doesn't mean I won't have dreams about that tail though!
"As I said before," Cinder said, "You are welcome anytime at the fire station so if you want to come hang out and chat and learn more about what we do before you decide if you want to join us, we'd be happy to have you."
Skipped pulled up in front of Snowflake's house and Cinder opened the door for the husky and followed her out. "Would it be alright if I came inside for a moment and embarrassed you one last time today?" Cinder softly asked.
"You may as well" Snowflake replied with a laugh, "At least this time it will be in front of family and not the whole city!"
Snowflake opened the door and Cinder followed her in, shutting it behind her.
"Is that you Snowflake?" Benjamin called from his rocking chair.
"Yes Benjamin, I'm home" Snowflake said as she walked into the room, her tail wagging madly.
"I hear you've had a successful day, little miss," Benjamin said as he leaned forward to rub Snowflake behind her ears.
"Quite a successful day sir" Cinder softly said as she walked in behind the husky and sat down on the floor, facing them.
"Ah yes, the Fire Captain pup who embarrassed my poor girl so badly" Benjamin said, "And what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Only that she did a wonderful job today and that we would be happy to have her on the force" Cinder replied with a smile. "I've given her a lot to think about and I hope you two talk about it. But for now, she is an amazing pup who saved someone's life today."
"Come on up here Snowflake" Benjamin said, wiping a tear of happiness at Cinder's words from his eye. Snowflake hopped up onto his lap and licked his face while he continued to rub her.
Cinder silently walked out of the room and let herself out the front door. She hopped up into the front seat of the Command SUV and buckled in as Skipper drove them back to the station.
"I wonder if LT Joe noticed we left him," Cinder softly chuckled.
"Abandoned to the press, I'll bet you he noticed seconds after we left" Skipper chuckled.
"Hey, we left him with TF 3's Capt., that should be all the top cover he needs" Cinder softly reasoned.
"We'll see how long it takes him to get the team out of there" Skipped laughed, "It will be a good test of his leadership." Both of them chuckled as they drove the rest of the way back to the station.
Predictably, Skipper and Cinder arrived back at the station first and went straight into filling out paperwork. The Medic 25 crew with Marshall arrived not too long after. Eventually, LT Joe managed to drag the Engine 25 crew back to the station. LT Joe popped his head into the office where Cinder and Skipper were working, "I hate you both."
"Whatever for?" Cinder softly asked, with mock surprise in her voice and giving him wide puppy eyes.
"I don't know, how about the Captain of the team that found the missing kid disappearing with the star volunteer rescue pup and leaving me to fend off a feeding frenzy of paparazzi with nothing except my own charm!"
"Oh no, you misunderstand, we did that to Capt. Grant" Cinder softly said sagely to which Skipper nodded.
"That dude was pouring blood in the water to increase the frenzy" LT Joe complained, "we were lucky to make it home at all!"
"Tut-tut, such poor leadership from a senior TF captain, we must speak with him about it, mustn't we Skipper?" Cinder softly asked.
"Oh yes, indeed we will," Skipper said gravely between stifled laughs.
"Your corrective actions fill me with confidence" LT Joe said, dipping his head in defeat before his own laughter overtook him as he walked out.
There were no more calls the rest of the day. After dinner, Marshall and Cinder decided to watch a movie. As Cinder was collecting the snacks, some pup called Marshall on his pup tag.
"HI EVEREST!" Marshall cheered, tail wagging as fast as a jet engine, "Hey Cinder, hurry up, it's Everest!"
"H-hi Marshall" Everest said nervously; she was fighting the urge to hang up the call right then to get away from Cinder. In Everest's mind, Cinder was better than her in every way. She moved with effortless grace, was incredibly smart and was the most beautiful pup that Everest had ever seen. There was no possible way in Everest's mind that Marshall and Cinder were anything other than boyfriend and girlfriend and it made her physically sick because she was longing for Marshall with all of her heart.
"Hi Everest, it's so great to finally meet you!" Cinder softly said as she put the bowl of pup treats down and laid down next to Marshall, whose smile was so big it looked like it might break his face. "I can't wait to get to meet you in person here in a few weeks, Marshall has told me so much about you. I have a feeling that we are going to be sisters for life!"
"Yeah, that's great, I…." Everest started to say before the call dropped.
"That's odd," Marshall said as he tried to call Everest back. All he got was a connection failure error. "Her pup tag must have died."
"What a shame, I was hoping to really start getting to know her," Cinder softly said sadly.
"Sorry Cin, maybe next time" Marshall said, wrapping a comforting paw around his sister. The twins snuggled into the beanbag, started the movie, and started snacking on the pup treats. I love you Cin Marshall thought to his twin.
I love you too, Marsh Cinder thought back.
Many miles away, sitting in front of a fireplace, a lavender husky was holding her pup tag in one paw and the battery for it in the other, afraid to put them back together. Everest put her tag and the battery down on the coffee table before softly walking outside…
Jake, asleep in his room, was awoken by the most mournful howl he had ever heard, it seemed never ending. Wow, the mountain wolves must have lost someone special to be howling like that he thought as he rolled over and went back to sleep. Little did he know that the howl of loss was not coming from wolves.
A long while later, Everest came back inside, put her pup tag back together and called another pup.
"Hello?" a sleepy voice answered her.
"Skye, I need you up here right now, it's a girl emergency!" Everest whimpered.
"Ok, let me get my pack and leave a note for Chase and Ryder" Skye replied, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "I'll be there as soon as I can."
Ten minutes later, Skye landed in front of Everest's pup house, walked inside and shut the door. If one listened carefully, you could hear the bawling and whimpering and sobbing coming from inside the pup house.
(A/N: Special thanks to Bluewolfbat for continuing to allow his OC Snowflake to have a role in these stories and especially for his help with her thoughts and dialogue!)