When Fires Collide - Chapter 13
The next morning light streamed in through the bedroom windows. Cinder began to stir but was held tight against Smudge's chest by his strong paws wrapped around her. She began to try to stealthily slide out of his grip. He suddenly grabbed her by the scuff and playfully growled, "Payback Time."
"No, no, noooo," Cinder began giggling softly as Smudge unleashed his own tickle attack paying her back double for her previous attack. As the assault continued, he rolled her onto her back and then pinned her forepaws with his own and passionately kissed her as they both closed their eyes and luxuriated in the moment.
"OK you can do that anytime you want," panted Cinder softly after he released the kiss.
"Good," smiled Smudge, "because I really enjoyed that and plan on waking you that way every morning I can."
"Without the tickles?" Cinder softly smirked.
"Sure, we'll go with that," laughed Smudge. He leaned down and kissed her neck then cascading kisses down her shoulders and then returned to her lips. He finally broke the kiss with a smile.
"Shall we see what torture our abductor has instore for us today?" asked Cinder softly.
"I guess we should," said Smudge, "although I'm ok staying right here and continuing this torture session."
Cinder leaned forward, kissing Smudge's nose. He stood and helped her to her paws. They walked into the kitchen and found Everest and Marshall eating breakfast.
"Oh good, I didn't have to send Marshall in with a hose after all," laughed Everest.
"Morning pups," said Marshall. "I trust you slept well."
"Better than I have in months," said Cinder softly.
Smudge didn't say anything, he simply leaned over and kissed the top of Cinder's head, just behind her ear eliciting a soft giggle from her.
"So what is on the agenda today?" asked Cinder softly.
"New Year, new snow," laughed Everest. "I thought this morning we'd try the main slopes."
"Great," said Smudge, "a little more snowboarding sounds like fun."
Cinder and Smudge joined Everest and Marshall for breakfast before heading out on the slopes. They had all made an early run alone, but other people and pups began showing up and skiing or snowboarding. Marshall and Cinder were laughing as they raced side by side. Suddenly, Cinder slid to a halt. Marshall felt the alarm from Cinder and also stopped, looking back at Cinder.
"What is it?" asked Marshall, faintly he heard something.
"HELP!" came a voice from just off the run.
"That," said Cinder softly. She turned and boarded over toward the voice.
"Hello, Does someone need help?" called Cinder softly.
"Over here," yelled what sounded like a female voice.
"Marshall!" barked Cinder, "Over here, someone needs help!"
Cinder slid over to where the young lady kneeled next to a male laying on the snow. Blood was steaming from the right side of his head.
Cinder and Marshall jumped off their boards and ran over, with Marshall beginning his assessment as he approached. There appeared to be a few tree branches and pine needles scattered on the ground nearby.
Smudge and Everest had seen Marshall and Cinder leave the run and boarded over to see what was wrong.
"Everest," said Marshall, "alert Maximus and Hugo, one male approximately 25, head injury."
"Ice or Snow, I'm ready to go!" barked Everest before taking off.
'I've got to come up with a call out,' mentally laughed Smudge.
"What happened?" asked Cinder softly.
"We were skiing along and he began skiing back and forth when he turned and ran straight into this tree. He hasn't spoken to me since I got to him. I rolled him on his back but haven't moved him from here yet" replied the lady.
Marshall turned to Smudge, "Hold his head in alignment with his spine while I assess him."
"Ma'am, I'm Marshall," said Marshall, "I'm a paramedic and this is Smudge and Cinder, they're firefighters. We're going to help you. What's his name?"
"Randell," said the Lady, "I'm Roxy, thank you for stopping to help him."
Marshall continued his assessment. In the distance you could hear the engine of a snowcat and the howl of a siren.
"He is breathing, but it's shallow," said Marshall. "His pupils are not equal, indicating a possible head injury. We need to get him to a hospital quickly, by air ambulance if possible. Does he have any medical history of narcolepsy, passing out, any brain related issues or any allergies?"
"No" Roxy replied, "he has been in good health as long as I've known him, no allergies that I know of."
"I agree," said Cinder softly, "we need to get him off the mountain quickly.
Maximus, Hugo, and Everest came running over.
"What's the assessment Marshall?" asked Maximus.
"Mid 20's male," said Marshall, "Breathing but Unconscious. Ran full speed into a tree. Possible head injury. Vitals are weak, I recommend air MEDEVAC if one can reach us up here."
Hugo hit his tag, "Spool up Alpine Air. We have one male 20's head injury. I'm sending our location now."
"Received Hugo," said the dispatch voice, "ETA 10."
"I'll grab a board from the cat," said Maximus, "Let's get him packaged and ready for pick up."
The pups began getting Randall ready for transport. The group flowed together as if they had worked together for years. Adrian had rode over on a snowmobile upon hearing the call. He stood back, marveling at the proficiency of all the pups. He stood back taking pictures of the pups working.
Hugo turned and ran off running up the slope.
"Where is he going?" asked Smudge
"He's going to divert the skiers from the area while we bring the chopper in," said Maximus without looking up.
"Wow, I wouldn't have thought about that," said Smudge.
"Do you pups have your snow goggles?" asked Maximus.
The pups all acknowledged that they did have them.
"You'll want to put those on about now," said Maximus. You could hear the chopper circling and then settling over the slope about 20 feet above. The snow began swirling under the force of the blades. Marshall, Cinder, Everest, and Smudge got their goggles on just as the snow blown by the rotor wash hit them.
"Wow, add that to things I wouldn't have considered," laughed Smudge. Each pup picked up a corner of the board and carried it over to a line that was descending from the helicopter. As the line touched down the pups all heard a loud howl and looked up to see a Bernese Mountain Dog bail out of the chopper sliding head first down the line before letting go and flipping onto the snow. The pup howled again upon landing.
"You just can't help yourself, can you, Alpine?" laughed Maximus.
"Head injury correct?" asked Alpine.
"Correct, impact with a tree," Marshall yelled over the rotor wash. "His helmet is damaged to the front. Secured in the basket. Male 26, impact was witnessed by his girlfriend. Vitals weak but stable, Right pupil dilated left normal. Breathing is shallow but steady and he has remained unconscious since we arrived on scene. No known prior health history. No known allergies."
"Perfect," said Alpine, as he began fastening clips to the basket and attaching it to the line. He jumped to the side of the basket and secured himself to the clip. He spoke into his headset and the line began retracting. "See you guys soon!" Alpine yelled as he ascended with the patient.
Once the patient was loaded and Alpine had closed the side door, the chopper banked and flew away.
Maximus turned to Roxy, "If you'll jump in the snowcat. Hugo will carry you down to the Chalet. There will be a driver waiting that can take you to the hospital."
"Thank you pups," said Roxy, "I hope that Randell will be ok. I can never repay you."
"It's what we do," said Maximus. "I hope Randell is ok as well."
Hugo and Roxy drove away. Maximus turned to the others. "Well that was fun. I'd say thanks for the help, but I think I was helping you."
"We worked great together," replied Marshall.
Adrian walked over, "Pups that was amazing. If I didn't know better, I'd say you guys have been working together for years."
"We're used to integrating with whatever teams are on scene or come to assist us," said Cinder softly, "this sort of thing happens more than you would expect."
"Well I got pictures of all of you working," said Adrian, "I will definitely be sending copies to Jake and you as well if you want them. Maximus, I got a great shot of you and Marshall packaging the patient and more of all of you carrying him over for the retrieval.
"Cool," said Marshall.
"Great job everyone," said Cinder softly.
"That was fun," said Everest.
"I don't know about all of you but I'm starving," laughed Smudge.
"Let's go back to the Chalet," said Adrian. "I think this calls for a victory meal."
The pups and Adrian all returned to the Chalet. Adrian walked into the kitchen and returned with two waiters following him carrying large steaming bowls of soup.
"First, a warm up appetizer," said Adrian. "Then a special meal for the rescuers."
The pups enjoyed the warm soup and awaited with anticipation to see what they were presented with. The waiters came back with plates of what looked like some form of pancake with cheese melted on top.
"This is Rösti," said Adrian. "It is a national favorite. It is a potato pancake. It is served with a variety of things. In this case, cheese. Please enjoy."
"This smells amazing," said Everest as she took a deep inhale of the tantalizing smell.
"My mouth is already watering," laughed Marshall.
Smudge didn't speak, he instead began eating, moans of enjoyment were suddenly heard from all the pups.
"I think they might like it," laughed Maximus.
Everyone ate and enjoyed conversations over their meal.
"So I take it you've worked with the pup that repelled down from the chopper?" asked Smudge.
"Oh yes," laughed Maximus," Alpine and I go back a few years. He actually considered coming here. That was until he met her."
"Her?" asked Cinder softly.
"Yeah, Dusty," laughed Hugo. "She's uh, um, what's the right way to say it."
"Hot, Hugo," laughed Maximus, "hot is the word you're avoiding. She's a mountain dog also. She's the pilot of the chopper. He met her and it was obvious they were meant to be together. Their mates now, and they make a heck of a team."
"There's not much they won't try," said Hugo, "They will fly in weather the military won't fly in. And they've gone to heights that the chopper isn't supposed to be able to make it to."
"Wow, a mate rescue team," said Marshall. "What a great idea."
Everest looked at him and laughed, "Goofball, what do you think we are? Do you think Chase could learn to repel like that? That was really cool."
"Chase would try it," laughed Marshall. "Skye might kill him for it though."
Cinder looked over at Smudge and raised her eyebrow.
"Don't look at me," laughed Smudge, "I won't repel the regular way. No reason to depart a perfectly good aircraft."
"And I can't help from falling down my ladder half the time," laughed Marshall.
"Hold on," said Maximus, "Let me go make a call."
The pups continued talking. Maximus came back after a few minutes.
"They're going to come back over to visit," said Maximus. "Dusty said the patient looks to be improving. The docs are pretty sure he did not fracture his spine but he definitely has a concussion and will be staying for a while."
"That's good," said Marshall.
About an hour later the helicopter set down in the snow next to the rescue office. The pups were waiting inside the office waiting for the blades to stop.
"You should put a helipad out there," said Smudge.
"There is one," laughed Hugo. "You can see it during the summer."
"Besides," said Maximus, "During the winter they have the skis on the wheel assemblies anyway."
After the helo shut down, Alpine opened the doors and waved for the pups to come over. They walked over to the awaiting chopper. A female Bernese Mountain Dog stepped out of the cockpit and walked over.
"You like my baby?" asked the pup. "My name is Millie, but everyone calls me Dusty."
"My best friend would flip over your baby," laughed Everest.
"Literally," laughed Marshall.
"I would love to meet Skye," said Dusty. "It's great to meet you two though. Marshall, I assume this is your sister?"
"Uh, you know who we are?" asked Marshall.
"Well honestly," said Dusty, "I had heard about Skye. But someone," she said pointing to Maximus behind her paw, "talked about you so much that I looked into all of you. You guys have a lot to be proud of."
"Told ya he was a fan-pup," giggled Everest.
"And yes," said Cinder, "I'm Marshall's twin sister, Cinder. This is my um,"
"Boyfriend, Smudge," said Smudge, winking at Cinder.
Cinder blushed, Smudge leaned over to her and whispered, "I still have to ask your dad."
Cinder blushed even more and Marshall snickered.
"Well, let me formally introduce my mate," said Dusty. "This is Alpine. He's looking for new ways to kill himself. Australian repelling out of a hovering helicopter is his latest stunt."
"Good day mates," said Alpine, jumping down from the chopper.
"Are you Australian?" asked Smudge.
"No, he's a smart ***," laughed Maximus, paw bumping Alpine.
"It's great meeting you for real," said Alpine. "We didn't get to talk earlier. Great patient report and transfer Marshall. I can't believe we get to tell everyone we worked with the Paw Patrol. So Dusty, did you tell them already?"
"No I was about to," said Dusty.
"Tell us what?" asked Everest.
"Maximus requested I come back and take you for a ride," said Dusty. "Another team is on call so we should be free from call outs for a few hours. If you're ready, let's go see the Alps from the air."
"Awesome," said Marshall. "Thank you Maximus. Are you going to go with us?"
"No, I'm still on duty," said Maximus. "You pups have fun."
"Skye's going to be so jealous," laughed Everest.
The pups climbed into the back with Alpine, who handed each of them a headset. He then showed them how to strap in. Dusty began spooling up the helicopter and soon lifted off heading to fly around the Matterhorn. She then banked and flew over the resort and then flew over the nearby town. She explained that this chopper was rigged for rescue but did not have the capability to make it safely to the top of some of the mountains.
"But that doesn't stop you," said Alpine.
"Emergencies are different," said Dusty. "Risk a lot, to save a lot."
"A nut job decided to try to peak Doufourspitze during a blizzard," explained Alpine.
"Still it wasn't at the peak," said Dusty, "Only about 4300."
"That doesn't sound very high" Everest noted.
"Meters, not feet" Dusty clarified, "it was about 14,200 feet."
"During a blizzard," said Alpine proudly.
"Yeah, ok," laughed Dusty, "and it was during a blizzard."
"The military pilot said no man is crazy enough to try that," laughed Alpine. "Dusty told them before she took off, that it was a good thing they sent a pup."
"That's close enough," laughed Dusty.
"So what did you say?" asked Everest.
"Yeah, I won't repeat it," laughed Dusty. "I was mad that those cowards wouldn't fly. It stressed my baby out to land and take off that high. The winds were the main problem, but a pup's gotta do what a pups gotta do. The climber lived, so it was successful."
Dusty continued flying over several areas and then she headed back but continued to hover just to the side of the Matterhorn.
"Here you go," said Dusty, turning so the pups could see the sunset. "This is why I love to fly here."
All the pups gasp as the full view of an amazing sunset unfolded before them.
"Oh my," said Everest and Cinder together. "That's beautiful."
Smudge had pulled out a camera and caught a picture of the girls with the sunset in the background. It was a perfect silhouette of them against the sunset.
"Yep," said Smudge, "That's going on Mom's wall for sure."
"I was thinking over the fireplace," said Marshall, as Smudge showed him.
Dusty landed and the pups exchanged information saying they would keep in touch.
After a long day the pups all headed back to their cabin. "What a great day" Everest said with a yawn, "we got to do a mountain rescue, save a life, and fly around the Alps in a helicopter."
"It was pretty pawesome" Cinder softly replied.
"But also wore me out" Smudge added with a yawn of his own.
'are you sure that the wearing out wasn't your doing?' Marshall thought to Cinder. Cinder responded by ramming her shoulder into Marshall's shoulder and turned a bright shade of pink.
"Ok you two, no causing permanent damage" Everest said with a laugh.
"Yeah, well, he deserved that one," Cinder softly replied. "He'll be fine. And we are going to bed. See you in the morning."
"Goodnight" Smudge added as he followed Cinder to their room.
Everest put her paw on Marshall's muzzle to forestall any comments. "You know that doesn't stop me from sending thoughts, right?" Marshall teased as he gently shook his mate's paw off.
"No, but maybe it will distract you" Everest said in a sultry voice as she drew her paw up Marshall's chest and then neck and along the underside of his muzzle as she led him to their room.
Some time later, Marshall was letting his mind wander as he lovingly stroked his sleeping mate's fluffy fur with his paw. In the other bedroom, Cinder's mind was also wandering while she stroked a sleeping Smudge's short fur.
'someone is happy' Marshall teasingly thought to his twin as he felt her warm mind-glow.
'I don't think you could find an unhappy pup here' Cinder thought back playfully.
'I'm happy for you sis' Marshall thought more seriously, 'you deserve the best.'
'Thanks Marshy' Cinder thought back, 'but it will be a little bit until we catch up to you and Eve.'
'You can say that again' Marshall absentmindedly replied, sending off a different warm glow that Cinder didn't recognize.
'what haven't you told me?' Cinder asked suspiciously as she probed her twin's mind. Surprisingly, all she could get was more of the warm glow, which seemed to only grow warmer but less distinct the harder she probed. Curious, Cinder let an idea wander across her mind. As she did, she felt the glow rapidly become brighter.
'I love you Marshy, sweet dreams' Cinder thought.
'Sweet dreams, I love you too.'
'I love you two.'