Chapter 1: Filling in the Gaps - Love and Anger
Time went by pretty quickly when the pups were playing with their new friend Gabriel and it was already nighttime. The pups were all having dinner all while Gabriel was looking around him.
'The pups are all so nice to me, but I still have no clue why I always flinch when Marshall is close by.' He thought to himself as he continued eating. As they finished eating, Ryder approached the pups.
"Okay, pups. Our newest members of PAW Patrol will be coming tomorrow so I'll call you all up first thing in the morning so we all are waiting for them." Ryder said.
"Wait, new additions to the team are coming? Effarant!" Gabriel exclaimed.
"Exactly," Ryder replied. "They should be here in the morning so you all better go get some sleep." He said.
"You got it, Ryder!" The pups all replied.
Later that night, The pups were all in their pup-houses and asleep, except for Gabriel, who was watching the stars
"I can't wait to meet the new pups that are coming. I'm sure they're all nice." He said to himself before yawning and soon falling asleep.
At night, Gabriel was tossing and turning a bit and a dream began. In that dream, there was a big building with many doors, all similar, and at the same time, all different. At the end of the corridor, we can see a Huge Hall, A bell rang and as a result, the main door opened and a large number of puppies entered the building, all different and cheerful, but there was a certain Chow-Chow pup walking alone and timidly.
"One more day ... I hope it's better." He spoke to himself as he walked down the hall to the place where the lockers were, and stopped to look at a pup friend of his. The pup observed him and she smiled at him.
"Good Morning! It's a cool morning! Don't you think?" She asked. The pup couldn't respond to her so he just looked at her smiling and agreed to the words of his friend with nothing more than a nod.
She looked at the pup and continued smiling. "Always so quiet! But I think that's what makes you more interesting! I'll see you in class!" She exclaimed, winking at her friend, and then ran to a classroom, while the pup sighed smiling, while he looked at the pup who walked away.
"One day ... One day I will have the courage ..." He spoke to himself, just planning how he would confess his feelings to his beloved friend. But while he was thinking, three other pups cornered him in the corridor. One of them was a little Dalmatian and he looked at the Chow Chow pup.
"Look, what we have here! An unruly flea! " He spoke mockingly
"I'm not a flea!" The Chow Chow shouted back, trying to defend himself. However, one of the pups threw him against the lockers, the second pup hit him on his stomach and finally, the little Dalmatian grabbed him by his neck and hit him against the door of a locker.
"You're pathetic, haven't you noticed? Nobody wants to be with you!" He shouted.
"That's not true!" The Chow Chow pup yelled again, but his attempt to defend himself failed again. This time, the little Dalmatian whipped him against the lockers before throwing him some buckets of cleaning water causing the pup to be completely soaked.
"Do you realize?! Nobody is here to help you! You're alone! "The little Dalmatian and the other two bully pups turned around and retreated to their classrooms, laughing while the Chow Chow pup stood there, alone in the hallway being soaking wet and feeling alone. He couldn't help but cry.
At about 2 A.M., Gabriel woke up with a scream. "AAAAAH!" He screamed but was lucky it didn't wake anyone else. He was very agitated and realized that he was crying in his sleep. Quickly observing the other pups, and sighed in relief when he realized that everyone was still asleep despite the scream. But something wasn't really right about his dream.
"It was a nightmare?" He asked himself. But was it a nightmare? No. And Gabriel knew it was more than that. It was a memory, one that had been tormenting him since the day of the fire. Gabriel looked to his right and watched Marshall while he was sleeping. Then he shook his head.
"No..." He began. "he's not that pup ... that pup disappeared many years ago ... he doesn't exist anymore!" He said to himself, then observed Marshall once more before breathing deeply. He decided to try and get some sleep while at the same time wishing he didn't have that nightmare anymore. He really wanted that.
Little did he know that another pup was suffering from the same dream. They did not get the sleep they wanted.
The next morning, the pups were all sleeping in their pup-houses when Chase woke up first. When he was ready to go out with his gear to wake others,
Chase uses his megaphone to wake them all up but two pups are still asleep as he uses it. Chase walks up to Gabriel's pup-house and sees he is asleep with bags under his eyes. his eyes also reflected the sunlight with a small glow. Chase starts to shake him to try to get him up. "Come on, time to get up," Chase tells him as he shakes him.
Gabriel stirs as he starts to wake up. he looks at Chase with tired eyes. "Morning Chase," He said with a smile. "Have you been up all night?" Chase asked him. "I'm fine, I just had a rough night," He tells him with a smile to console his fears. their collars beeped.
"Paw Patrol, to the Lookout!" came Ryder's voice.
"Ryder needs us!" The pups exclaimed in unison. They leaped to their paws, running to the elevator and lining up, only to have Marshall trip over a chew toy and crash into their neat line.
"Sorry, pups," Marshall said sheepishly.
"Marshall, will you ever change your clumsiness?" Chase asked with a sigh. He was at the bottom of the pile and thought it was way too early to have a pup pile on him. Gabriel poked his head out from the middle of the pile to give Chase a reproving look.
"Chase, will you leave Marshall alone? He doesn't need to change." He spoke. As a result, Chase lowered his ears.
"You're right, Gabriel. Sorry, Marshall." Chase apologized.
Marshall perked up. "No problem, Chase. Thanks, Gabriel."
"It's nothing," Gabrial said with a shrug, almost dislodging Zuma balanced on his shoulders. The elevator reached the top and the Paw Patrol jumped out into full gear. Gabriel, wearing his new purple vest and cap, sat proudly between Marshall and Zuma.
"Paw Patrol, ready for action, Ryder, sir!" Chase said in an authoritative voice.
"Sorry for disturbing your sleep, but the new medic pup just arrived and she wanted to surprise you," Ryder said. Marshall whipped his head around so fast that he was in danger of hurting himself. A new Dalmatian had just arrived in the elevator. She scanned the pups with narrowed eyes that narrowed even more when she spotted Marshall. Marshall tried to move away from her stare, but she swiftly ran over and tackled him.
"Marshy, I wanted to be with you forever since you left so abruptly! Mom and Dad have had a litter since you left so it got a little overcrowded, and I was missing my clumsy little brother that I love so much but never writes or calls!" Margareth said in one breath. The other pups saw that she seemed to have a little problem switching from scolding Marshall to hugging and licking his face, much to the other's amusement.
"Margareth, I..." Marshall began, but never got a chance to finish the sentence as his older sister kept hugging and kissing him. But immediately, Margareth's attitude changed a bit and if that was even possible, she embraced her younger brother even stronger.
"Marshall, how could you not call after that fire? You don't know how worried we were for you!" Margareth exclaimed.
Marshall only looked at his sister and he understood that she was only worried about what could've happened to him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I was doing my duty and didn't want to worry anyone." Marshall answered.
Margareth looked at her younger brother for a second, She smiled more calmly, although she still showed her serious look. Then Ryder got her attention.
"You can thank our other new member, Gabriel. He saved Marshall and the little boy. If he hadn't shown up, maybe the story would be very different." He said. Margareth watched the pup in question and gave a sincere smile.
"In that case, thank you, Gabriel," Margareth said.
Gabriel smiled but was observing Margareth with great attention. Margareth's smile practically hypnotized him, however, there is something else, something that brings back memories of the past to Gabriel, as if he knew her. But why.
"Who is she? She's pretty," Gabriel asked himself with affection. Skye turned her head to him and grinned. Even through his thick fur, his blush was visible. So Skye walked over to Gabriel.
"Gabriel, can I have a word with you alone?" She asked with a smirk, snapping Gabriel out of his trance as he blinked and finally looked away from Margareth.
"Sure, we can go to the bottom if you want," Gabriel said. Skye nodded as Gabrial and Skye went to the bottom floor and exited the elevator.
"What did you need, Skye?" Gabriel asked curiously. Skye smirked.
"Gabriel, do you like Margareth?" Skye asked innocently. Gabriel blushed deeper than before.
"How do you... I mean, what..." He tried to find an excuse.
"C'mon, tell me! It's just between us." Skye spoke. Gabriel sighed, knowing Skye wouldn't give up so easily.
"Is it THAT obvious?" Gabriel asked with a blush already deep red.
Skye giggled and nodded. "Yep. And you just met her too."
Gabriel thought for a moment. What Skye said just now didn't seem to be entirely true because he felt that he knew the two Dalmatian siblings from a long time ago, but was still not sure at all. So Gabriel preferred to keep that detail a secret for now, at least until he was sure. However, Gabriel couldn't help but let out a dreamy sigh. "Oh, but she is so beautiful and so kind."
Skye tilted her head in confusion. How was he supposed to know if she was kind? Sure, she had just about smothered Marshall in affection, but she had scolded him pretty well, too. But instead of questioning more out of curiosity, she spoke, "Why don't you tell her how you feel?" Gabriel's eyes went wide and he blushed deeper if that was even possible before promptly shaking his head.
"No no, I can´t do that! What if she rejects me?" He exclaimed as if the thought literally pained him. "I would prefer to keep my crush hidden and just stare at her from a distance." He added, but Skye shook her head.
"That won't do. If you won't tell Margareth, maybe I should." She said. Gabriel's eyes went wide yet again.
"You wouldn't dare!" He exclaimed with a growl.
"I was just…" Skye started but was interrupted.
"If you tell Margareth, I'm never talking to you ever again!" Gabriel shouted in anger.
"Fine, be that way!" Skye shouted back angrily, running for the elevator. Gabrial went into the elevator as well, not making eye contact with Skye.
Back at the top of the Lookout, Margareth finally left Marshall alone to approach Zuma.
"Hey, you're Zuma, right?" She asked, earning a nod from the chocolate Labrador. "Where is that Chow Chow pup? I would like to get to know him." Margareth said with a slight blush much subtler than Gabriel's had been. Zuma assumed why Margareth was so curious.
"Do you have a cwush on Gabriel, Margaweth?" He asked curiously, remembering how Gabriel had stared.
"Well, he is quite handsome and a little shy. I love shy pups." Margareth admitted with a smile. Zuma tipped his head to the side.
"Really? Maybe you should tell Gabriel that. If he did have a crush on you too but he is much too shy to say so."
"I think he is afraid of spots," Rubble put in from where he was listening with Rocky, causing the others to stare at him.
"What?" Marshall shook his head. "I don't think that is the problem, Rubble."
"Oh, really? Gabriel isn't so shy, you know. He scolded Chase for being mean this morning but he jumps whenever you startle him, Marshall, and he hasn't said anything to Margareth yet."
Margareth shook her head. "No, I don't think it's the spots. Anyway, I would rather want that he was the first to make a move."
"Isn't this, like, the second time of a shy crush in the Paw Patrol? First Chase and Skye, and now Gabriel and Margareth," Rocky whispered to Rubble.
Rubble giggled and whispered back, "Yeah, and none of them are willing to admit it to each other!"
"Margareth, if you would like, I could tell Gabriel that you like him," Rubble said.
"You will NOT do that, Rubble! If you do that I will NEVER forgive you," Margareth said angrily. "Unless Gabriel says something first, you are NOT to bring up this conversation with him ever."
"Sorry, it was just a suggestion," Rubble whined sadly. Zuma backed away to Chase's side.
"Man, Margaweth is really tough and feisty. I would hate to get on hew bad side." Zuma said.
"You better behave then, Zuma," Chase warned sternly. Just then, the elevator rose, bringing Gabriel and Skye. Neither pup would look at one another as they joined the others. Skye was lacking her normal enthusiasm, making Chase go to her side and lean against her in comfort. Gabrial was scowling at his paws and seemed to make a huge effort to not look at either Dalmatian.
Before anyone could question what was wrong, Ryder walked in. Oblivious to what had happened, the boy walked to Margareth and knelt in front of her. He clipped a new red collar with a medical cross on the tag around her neck. "Margareth, here is your collar and medic pup tag. Your ambulance is waiting downstairs. Welcome to the Paw Patrol," Ryder said with a smile.
Margareth howled happily. "Yesss! Thank you, Ryder! I will do everything in my power to be the best medical pup Paw Patrol has," Margareth said with a smile, jumping on Ryder and licking him made Ryder giggle a bit. Margareth eventually did stop and Ryder put her down with a smile.
"Now, we have two Medic pups in the Paw Patrol, now we can be prepared for any emergency! "Ryder exclaimed, looking at Marshall and Margareth with a smile.
"Not exactly," Marshall said, shaking his head.
"Huh? What do you mean, Marshall?" Ryder asked.
"Well, um ...I want Margareth to be the main medical pup of the PAW Patrol." Marshall pointed out. Margareth was taken aback.
"Are you sure about that, Marshy?" Margareth asked in surprise. Marshall simply nodded in response earning a smile from the older Dalmatian.
"Then I guess I will just have to be the best Medic Pup Paw Patrol has ever had," Margareth said happily. Marshall was about to say something to Margareth, but a loud beep cut him off. Ryder sat up and opened his Pup Pad. Upon answering, Jake appeared on the screen.
"Hey, Jake," Ryder said as he smiled.
"Ryder dude, some skiers were caught in an avalanche on the mountain! I need the Paw Patrol to rescue them!" Jake said with a bit of worry.
"Yikes!" Ryder exclaimed. "Don't worry, Jake. No job is too big, no pup is too small!" He shouted as he was about to call the pups before realizing everyone was already there. "Oh, everyone's still here." All the pups giggled in response as they scrambled to their spots. Gabriel blushed when he realized that Margareth sat right beside him, between him and Marshall.
"Paw Patrol, ready for action, Ryder, sir!" Chase exclaimed, then then blinked and added, "Uh... again." Ryder laughed before scrolling through the icons on his screen.
"For this mission, I need... Skye. I need you to use your helicopter and goggles to locate the trapped skiers," Ryder said. Skye grinned, her earlier argument forgotten.
"This pup's gotta fly!" she said, doing a backflip and landing with a smile. Ryder then looked at Margareth due to not having her logo in his pup-pad yet.
"Margareth, I need you and your medical gear ready in case any of the skiers got hurt in the avalanche," Ryder said to the newest member.
"Target is on a healing," Margareth said as she smiled.
"Nice catchphrase, sis," Marshall commented, earning a smile from the older Dalmatian.
"Now, I need a searcher pup in case there are trapped skiers we can't see. He should be here soon." Ryder said. As if on cue, a Dalmatian pup arrived on the top of the Lookout and walked out. "Uhmm, am I interrupting something? Am I even in the correct place?" He asked, seeing the pups in uniforms. "I'm Marcus and I am ready to serve the Paw Patrol. Also, I am new in Adventure Bay" He added.
"You are in the correct place, Marcus. We are the Paw Patrol. I'm Ryder, leader of the PAW Patrol. We've been expecting you." Ryder pulled something out of his pocket. "Come here so I can give you your new collar and searcher pup tag."
Marcus obediently approached Ryder and sat proudly as Ryder clipped on his new cyan collar and pup tag. Ryder stepped back, and Marcus sat on the other side of Skye, who gave the new pup a wide smile. Ryder tapped on a new icon on his Pup Pad.
"Marcus, I need you and your nose to sniff the trapped skiers, so we can free them," Ryder said.
"Scent is on the air," Marcus said happily while Ryder scrolled to Rubble's icon next.
"Rubble, we need you to dig up the trapped skiers from under the snow," He said.
"Rubble on the double!" Rubble exclaimed with a smile. Ryder nodded and put Pup-pad away before looking at Margareth and Marcus.
"Marcus and Margareth, your vests and hats are waiting in your vehicles. Now, let's go! Paw Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder exclaimed. The pups barked and howled as Ryder ran to the pole, while the chosen pups went to the slide.
When the Paw Patrol left, the Lookout, Gabriel approached his Pup House to rest a little and think about Margareth. But at the same time, he was also thinking about Marshall. For some reason that he couldn't understand, something in the two pups kept reminding him of his past, but he still couldn't identify what that was. But he wasn't the only one with that problem. "Nothing a little meat can't fix," Gabriel said with smile and stared looking for some meat.
After minutes had passed, the Paw Patrol arrived as quickly as they could to Jake's mountain, where they found Jake and Everest waiting anxiously. "Ryder, Dude, good to see you. We need to find those skiers and get them inside." Jake said worriedly.
"Don't sweat it, Jake. This pup has all covered." Ryder said before turning to Marcus. Okay, Marcus, you're up." He said. As a response, Marcus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment, his eyes snapped open.
"I have caught the scent of three skiers in this direction." He exclaimed before running North. Ryder turned to the other pups.
"Skye, Jake, and Everest will search for skiers higher up the mountain that aren't buried but need help getting down. Rubble and Margareth, you two come with me and Marcus." Everyone nodded and took off to their duties. Marcus stopped in front of a mountain of snow and stared at it in dismay.
"Ryder sir, the skiers are in there, but the snow is too hard and I'm not good at digging snow." He said, but Ryder just smiled and nodded to Rubble, who got closer with his digger.
"I'll oversee the digging. I am an expert in digging after all."He said before getting to work. It took a little while, but Rubble was able to clear the snow, allowing Ryder to guide the skiers. He pointed them down the mountain where they could warm up in Jake's cabin.
This went on for some time, with Margareth clearing the skiers of injury and guiding them to the cabin, where Jake had left hot chocolate and snacks. The pups, Ryder, and Jake made sure to take breaks to warm up, except for Marcus. The Dalmatian was so intent on his job, that he completely forgot how cold it was. Everyone else was so busy running around, that no one noticed.
"Ryder, I have caught the scent of five more burrowed skiers on the north," Marcus said before sneezing.
Ryder crouched at Marcus's side. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I-" Marcus broke off to sneeze twice in a row.
"Oh no! Marcus, you are getting cold. You should go back to the Lookout before it gets worse," Ryder said with concern. Marcus opened his mouth, ready to protest, but Margareth, who had heard what Ryder said, rushed over.
"I am the new medic pup. Now I'll check you out." Margareth laid a paw on Marcus's forehead to check his temperature.
"Uhmm, let me see, you feel like you are running a fever. Let me take your temperature." Margareth barked. "Thermometer. Say 'ahhhh,'" Margareth said, sticking the thermometer into Marcus's mouth.
"I am saying I am not sick. It´s just a sneeze," Marcus said with frustration, his voice muffled by the thermometer in his muzzle.
"Uhmm, the thermometer says otherwise and it´s 40 degrees out here. You are sick and will only get worse unless you listen and go back to the Lookout, NOW!" Margareth demanded.
"No fair! I do have a superior nose, I am needed for this!" Marcus said in protest, before sneezing out the thermometer. Margareth glared at Marcus as a response.
"That was before you got careless and didn't watch out for yourself in the cold!" She yelled. "You might have a superior nose, but your nose will not work if you are sneezing all the time. So go to the Lookout NOW!" She ordered angrily.
"Okay okay, no need to bite my head off! Geez!" Marcus said in defeat. Marcus jumped into his vehicle. He even muttered, "Stubborn pup." and began the ride back to the Lookout. But not before he heard Margareth yell, "I heard that!"
Soon after that, Everest and Jake came up to Ryder.
"So, Margareth is Marshall's older sister, but she is tough and feisty while Marshall is clumsy and kind? Is she really related to Marshall?" Everest wondered silently as Jake spoke, "Ryder, the upper part of the mountain is clear," Jake reported to Ryder. "I did a head count, and only five are missing now."
"Marcus said he found them just before he had to leave," Ryder said.
"Let's just hurry up and dig them out," Rubble said, starting to shudder a bit. "My paws are almost numb now."
Marcus said they were to the north. Margareth turned to the north and spotted a gloved hand poking out of a pile of snow.
"I think I see them. I'll go get them, you get warm, Rubble," Margareth said, her voice once again gently.
"I'm going too, Margareth!" Everest said, running after the Dalmatian. Margareth and Everest began to dig the buried skiers free from the snow. Soon, the digging became a competition, both pups trying to free more skiers than the other. In the end, Margareth won the competition.
"I win! I dug up three skiers while you dug up only two!" She gloated when everyone was free and being led away by Jake and Ryder.
"Such a show off you are," Everest said with an exasperated, but amused, shake of her head. Both female pups giggled and Everest started walking down the mountain with Margareth at her side.