When Fires Collide - Chapter 15
Amethyst was still trying to get her blush under control as they walked. She was purposely walking in the back of the group so that Marshall wouldn't see her blushing. The downside was that she was having a hard time removing her gaze from his tail which was slowly wagging hypnotically.
"You know you can talk to him, right?" Everest said softly, startling Amethyst.
"Is it that obvious?" Amethyst said, blushing deeper.
"Why do you think I'm walking back here?" Everest replied with a knowing smile. "But as enjoyable as he is to look at, you'll hate yourself if you never talk to him."
"I know," Amethyst softly whined, "but I get so…I don't know what, around him."
"Star-struck? Tongue tied? Can't think straight?" Everest offered
"All of the above" Amethyst replied, "I just don't know what to say and I don't want to make myself look silly in front of him."
"Trust me, looking silly in front of Marshall is the best thing you can do" Everest replied, "he may have a super professional exterior when he is doing his job, but he also loves to have fun and be a goofball. Don't forget he is just a pup, nothing special."
"How can you say he is nothing special?!" Amethyst asked, flabbergasted that Everest would say such a thing.
"Because on one paw, he is incredibly special, caring and amazing" Everest replied, "but on the other paw, he is still just a pup, he isn't perfect. You can't put him on a pedestal of perfection because he will let you down in some way, shape or form. Does that make sense?"
"It does," Amethyst replied with a quiet sigh.
"Whenever you are ready, just go up and talk to him" Everest replied, "but you can look as long as you want if it makes you feel better."
"You don't mind?" Amethyst asked in surprise.
"Please, I know I can't stop anyone from looking at a tail that fine" Everest replied with a laugh, "and if it helps you feel less awkward and weird around him, all the better. It used to bother me and I would get super possessive, but I'm over it now."
"How did that happen?" Amethyst asked in genuine curiosity.
"When I realized that Marshall wasn't something I possessed, but someone who chose to be my partner, and whom I also chose" Everest replied, "it is a two way street with both of us making a choice. Of course, it helps that Marshall is basically an endless fountain of love that pours out into everyone he meets and still drowns me continuously in his love."
Amethyst laughed at that, now much more at ease. "You know, I think I am ready to talk to him now," she said.
"Go get him tigress," Everest replied encouragingly.
Amethyst made her way up to where her dad, brother, and Marshall were talking and neatly slid herself into the conversation.
"Is her crush going to be a problem?" Lilly quietly asked as she and Cinder joined Everest.
"Not at all," Everest replied with a knowing smile as she watched Marshall laugh at something Amethyst said, "in fact, I'm thinking she'll get over it fairly quickly and start building an actual relationship."
The group soon arrived at the cafe. Amethyst sat on the right side of Marshall while Everest sat on his other side, followed by Cinder, Smudge, Dalstrom and finally Lilly with Amethyst on her other side around the circular table. They were soon accosted by waiters bringing all manner of things for them to try.
The conversation wandered as the pups ate, from competitions that Dalstrom, Lilly and Amethyst had been in recently to strange happenings around London to the trip that Everest had abducted Smudge and Cinder on.
"I still have no idea how she pulled parts of that trip off," Smudge admitted.
"What can I say, I'm magic," Everest said with a smile.
"Well, now we know who to have plan our vacations," Dalstrom said, "I know too many so-called vacation planners that couldn't have put something like that together."
"Have you ever thought of making it a second career?" Lilly asked.
"Oh no, I just do it for fun" Everest replied, "I love being a rescue pup too much to ever give it up. Plus, someone has to keep an eye on old butter-paws here" she added, giving Marshall a playful shove.
"Let me remind you that I'm least likely to skip, trip, fall, or otherwise be clumsy while taking care of a patient," Marshall replied.
"Yeah, but otherwise…" Everest teased, giving Marshall the perfect nudge to unbalance him.
"Whooooaaaa!" Marshall yelped as he flailed about to try and get his balance. His flailing caught Amethyst and the two pups fell to the floor with a splat.
"I'm good" Marshall said as he popped up, "what about you Amethyst?"
Amethyst's head was resting on top of Marshall's and her paws were wrapped around his neck. She had never actually hit the floor, instead landing on top of Marshall, just like a certain shepherd years before. "Yeah, I think I'm good too," she said breathlessly.
Amid the laughter, Everest and Cinder heard Lilly softly mutter "what beautiful Dalmatian puppies they could have made, and we could have taken care of that clumsiness too."
Cinder was taken aback that Lilly still only saw Marshall as a could-have-been show dog and was totally ignoring that he and Everest were mates and instead thinking about what kind of puppies Amethyst and Marshall could make. She opened her mouth to say something but then felt a soft, fluffy paw close it.
"Let it go," Everest softly whispered, "not worth your breath."
Cinder was about to reply that it was in fact when they all heard a woman scream.
"HELP! MY HUSBAND JUST COLLAPSED!" a lady on the other side of the cafe patio screamed.
In an instant, Amethyst found herself standing alone as Marshall sprinted across the patio.
"Ma'am, my name is Marshall, I'm a paramedic and I'm here to help" Marshall said as he skidded to a stop next to the man in the ground. "I need you to tell me what was happening right before he collapsed."
"He was talking like normal," the woman replied, "but then he stopped mid-sentence, clutched his hand to his chest and fell down."
"He's not breathing, no pulse, probable heart attack" Marshall said to himself. Louder, he barked "Everest, I need your paws! Smudge, have someone call 911 and report a male, late 60s just suffered a heart attack. And find an AED while you are at it. Cinder, you know what to do!"
"He means 112 or 999" Smudge said to the confused crowd. As the woman was now hysterical, Smudge pointed to the nearest person who wasn't freaking out. "You, make the call" he directed before dashing inside the cafe to find an AED.
"Give him some space everyone" Cinder softly commanded everyone as she ran up.
Marshall had already started CPR on the patient as Everest slid to a stop beside him. "What do you need?" she asked.
"Expose his chest" Marshall panted, "make sure we have good contact points for the AED. Once that is done, take over rescue breaths until the AED arrives."
"Got it," Everest replied. The moment Marshall removed his paws from the man's chest to give the next set of rescue breaths, Everest tore open the man's shirt with her paws. Grabbing napkins from the table, she quickly dried the two spots where they would place the AED pads and then smoothly gave the next two rescue breaths perfectly as Marshall finished the set of compressions.
Amethyst stood on the edge of the crowd watching. She was mesmerized by the teamwork between Marshall and Everest as they performed CPR. And Cinder too as she kept everyone back and calmed down the previously hysterical wife.
"Make way!" another pup barked.
Amethyst instinctively backed up, just in time for another black and white blur to run past her. Belatedly, she realized it was her brother Smudge and he was carrying a case of some kind.
Smudge dropped the AED next to Everest who immediately opened the plastic case and connected the leads. After the next pair of rescue breaths, Everest placed the pads on the man's chest. "Ready" she reported.
"After this set" Marshall replied as he pumped out the last few compressions. Suddenly, the man gasped for a breath and tried to sit up.
"Whoa sir, take it easy" Marshall said as he steadied the man. "My name is Marshall, I'm a paramedic and I'm here to help you."
"A dog?" the man asked in confusion.
"I prefer to be called a pup" Marshall replied with a smile, "but, yes, I am an adult canine."
"And a paramedic?" the man asked, still obviously confused.
"Yes sir" Marshall replied with a warm smile, "I need you to stay still for me while I check your pulse." The man complied as Marshall pressed a paw gently against his carotid artery in the neck.
"Ok, your pulse is weak, but steady for the moment" Marshall informed the man. "We are going to put you in the recovery position until an ambulance arrives to take you to the hospital."
"What happened?" The man asked as Marshall and Everest laid him down on his back.
"Most likely you had a heart attack" Marshall said as he nodded to Everest who laid the man's left arm perpendicular to his body. Marshall crossed the man's other arm across his chest and tucked it under his head as he continued, "you were unconscious for two and a half to three minutes while we performed CPR on you." Marshall tucked the man's right leg up towards his chest before he and Everest gently rolled the man into his side.
"Why is my shirt ripped? What am I hooked up to?" the man asked.
"Sorry about that," Everest apologized, "we had to attach the AED to two very specific places on your skin."
"AED? the man asked.
"Automatic External Defibrillator" Marshall replied as he and Everest switched sides and Everest laid down against the man's back and pressed herself against him to keep him warm. "It is used to restore proper heart rhythm and consciousness."
"So that is what saved me?" the man clarified.
"Actually, someone performed such great CPR that he restored your heart rhythm without needing the defibrillator" Everest said, giving Marshall a smoldering look.
"I wouldn't put it that way" Marshall said with a blush, picking up on his mate's signal before pushing those thoughts away for the moment, "but yes, we had just finished attaching the AED when you regained consciousness in the last cycle of CPR before we would have turned on the AED." A distant wail of a siren could now be heard drawing closer. Marshall gently pressed his paw against the man's carotid artery to continue monitoring his pulse. "You cannot use an AED on someone who is conscious, which is why we need to get you to a hospital for observation so they can monitor your heart rhythm and determine if anything else is needed. Right now, it still feels ok but you need a cardiologist's highly trained and experienced opinion."
As the wailing siren grew louder, the man reached out and pressed his left hand against Marshall's flank. "Thank you for saving me" he softly said.
"It was my pleasure to be of assistance" Marshall said with a smile as the wailing siren finally stopped with a skid of tires and the hubbub of people making their way through the crowd.
"I just had a bad thought" Smudge whispered to Cinder.
"You shouldn't do that" Cinder softly whispered back, "but what was it?"
"We don't have any paramedic trained pups in the UK," Smudge whispered, "and none of our fire pups are EMTs…"
Cinder's eyes widened in understanding and opened her mouth to say something but was immediately distracted by the emergency responders running past them through the gap that the two fire chief pups had made in the crowd.
"I need you dogs to back away from this man" the arriving paramedic said firmly.
Marshall turned to face him deliberately slowly. "Is that your way of asking for a turnover of this patient?" the paramedic pup asked.
"I'm a highly trained paramedic and we got a report that a man had a heart attack here" the paramedic said, almost yelling, "now get out of my way so I can help him!"
"That guy is a rookie," Smudge whispered to Cinder who shook her head.
"This may come as a shock," Marshall gently said, "but I'm a paramedic too. Whenever you are ready, we can turn over this patient."
Before the flustered paramedic had a heart attack of his own, another voice cut in.
"Chief Smudge, what are you doing here?"
Everyone turned and saw a yellow lab and another Dalmatian walking toward them.
"You Chief, are supposed to still be on vacation" Perry said as he walked up to Smudge, "I never got word from Mrs. Everest that you were allowed to return to work."
"That's because I never said he could go back to work," Everest said, poking her head up from behind the man, "but emergencies happen even when on vacation."
"True enough" Cinder softly said from beside Smudge.
"Convenient way to stay out of trouble" Sparks muttered from next to Perry, "Chief never buys any of my excuses…"
"Gary…" Perry said to the paramedic, "This is Marshall of the Paw Patrol…" the rookie paramedic gulped, "since I'm not your medical supervisor I can't tell you what to do but I think you should treat him with the appropriate level of respect for his experience and skills."
"Umm, right," the young paramedic said abashedly. Turning to Marshall, "sorry, I'm calm now, what do you have for us?"
Marshall smiled, "Male, late 60s, probable heart attack, he was unconscious for two and a half to three minutes before CPR revived him. Pulse is weak but stable at the moment. His breathing is also shallow but improving. He is safe for transport to the nearest hospital."
"Got it," Gary the paramedic replied, waving the stretcher team over. Together, they loaded the man onto the stretcher.
"Marshall, aren't you coming with us?" the man asked as they loaded him into the ambulance.
Marshall smiled and put a paw on the man's face, "you are in good hands. Gary and the team will take over your care now, but I will always be with you in here" Marshall finished, putting his other paw over the man's heart.
The man sighed in relaxation as they finished loading him and Marshall hopped out. "Thank you Marshall," the woman said, giving the Dalmatian a big hug.
"You are most welcome ma'am" Marshall said before helping her into the ambulance.
Everest came, sat down next to Marshall, and rested her head on his shoulder. "You give me premature ventricular contractions" she whispered in his ear.
"Interesting, you should be kissed - and often - by someone who knows how to treat those" Marshall replied smoothly.
"Thanks for volunteering" Everest replied huskily as she pulled Marshall into a deep kiss.
"Ahem" Cinder coughed after a moment. Her head was starting to hurt from the outflow of psychic energy from her twin and sister-in-law.
Marshall and Everest immediately broke from their kiss. "We'll finish this later," Everest whispered.
"All I do in life is make my way to you" Marshall whispered back, making Everest swoon a bit.
"Sometimes you two make me sick" Cinder groaned.
Everest's reply was to give Marshall a long sensual lick up the side of his neck while staring straight into Cinder's eyes as they walked back to the cafe table.
'You need to control your mate' Cinder thought to her twin.
'You're just mad you aren't doing the same thing' Marshall teased her back.
Cinder stuck out her tongue at Marshall and Everest.
"Ah, so that is what that looks like," Dalstrom said.
"Marshall and Cinder sharing thoughts? Yes it is" Smudge said with a knowing smirk.
"That was incredible to watch," Amethyst said.
"I do hope you are talking about how they handled the heart attack and not that disgusting public display of affection" Lilly said to her daughter.
"Lady, you ain't seen nothing yet" Everest whispered to no one in particular.
"Yes, that is what I was talking about" Amethyst said with a side glance at Everest. "I mean, one moment we are all here having a great time relaxing. The next, Marshall is at the other end of the patio with Everest, Cinder and Smudge are halfway there, all of them perfectly focused on the emergency."
"I have to agree with that," Dalstrom said, "the four of you work for three different departments in different countries. Sure, two of you are twins who can share thoughts and two are mates, but you've also been on vacation for a week and don't really ever train together. You are all obviously great at your jobs but you also know how to work as a team in an unexpected situation as total professionals."
"I'm not sure that last part is totally true," Lilly said with a look at Marshall and Everest.
"I'd be careful what you say," Cinder softly said, "Everest is not known for her shyness, especially about her affection for Marshall."
"Marshall is always ready for a medical emergency" Smudge added, "I don't think anything could distract him from a patient."
"How is that less of a challenge?" Amethyst looked agape at her brother.
"Because nothing can distract Marshall from a patient," Everest replied with a smile, "and I know better than to try."
"At least that is a blessing" Lilly said, "Marshall, you were wonderful in how you took care of that man. Everest, you knew exactly what help Marshall needed and took care of it. And Cinder you were wonderful in how you kept his wife calm and the crowd back. I'm just not sure what my son did to help other than play fetch."
All four rescue pups rolled their eyes in amused resignation. "He collected the AED," Marshall explained, "which we would have needed if the man had not regained consciousness."
"But he did regain consciousness so it was not needed" Lilly replied.
"He did," Everest said, "but that was unexpected, you can never count on it happening so while we didn't need the AED this time, we would have been worse off without it."
"I understand," Lilly said, "but it still doesn't seem like much."
"Trust me, you don't want to be anywhere near a situation where your son has to show off his skills" Cinder softly said, "we would be talking about quite a large fire or mass casualty situation in that case. Marshall was the first certified canine paramedic in the world, it's not widely accepted everywhere yet."
Dalstrom nodded in understanding and Lilly looked like she wanted to continue but her mate held her back. "Well, three of you don't have much time left here so let's make the most of it," the older Dalmatian said.
After lunch at the cafe, it was time for Marshall, Everest and Cinder to head to the airport to fly home.
After returning to his parents home. Dalstrom insisted on having the family driver take them to the airport.
"It was lovely to see you again, Cinder," said Lilly, hugging her goodbye. "I was quite impressed with your abilities Marshall and Everest, I hope to see you again soon," said Lilly.
"It was a pleasure to meet you both," said Marshall, as he stepped up to shake Dalstrom's paw and give Lilly a hug.
"I can't believe I finally got to meet you," said Amethyst.
"It was great meeting you as well," said Marshall as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. Amethyst's eyes went wider than dinner plates and she could no longer form words.
"Great Marshall," laughed Smudge, "now they're going to need a cart to carry her inside."
Amethyst snapped out of it and stuck her tongue out at her brother.
"Have a safe flight," said Dalstrom, as he, Lilly, and Amethyst stepped into the house.
Smudge and Cinder held each other as they rode toward the airport.
Once again Trey met the pups and took care of having their bags checked. He stood by awaiting their goodbyes.
"Smudge I'm so glad we got to share this experience with you," said Marshall, shaking Smudge's paw. "I look forward to seeing you soon."
"I'm so happy you came," said Smudge. "Everest, I can never repay you for setting up the trip and all the memories that were created as a result."
Everest stepped over and hugged the stuffing out of Smudge, kissing his cheek. "You two take your time, We aren't due on the plane for a while," she whispered.
Smudge turned to Cinder and noticed the tears already forming. Immediately it was all he could do to not run to the ticket counter and buy a ticket himself.
"I promised myself I wouldn't cry," whimpered Cinder.
With tears forming now in Smudge's eyes he said, "I made no such promise. But I promise you this won't be a long goodbye. I will find a way to come see you soon."
Smudge stepped over and took Cinder in his paws, pulling her into a tight hug. He lifted his face back and was immediately met with Cinder's muzzle as she pressed into a kiss that made his heart race and his mind fog over.
Marshall and Everest both sank to their haunches as the feelings shared between Cinder and Smudge poured through the link. They both turned to each other and smiled.
Cinder finally released Smudge as both sat there staring into each other's eyes and panting.
"Wow, That was definitely a kiss I'll remember forever," said Smudge. "I'm going to miss you terribly."
"I don't want to leave," said Cinder. "I don't even want to let go."
"While that sounds perfectly fine," said Smudge, "we both know it's not goodbye, at least not for long. I promise that I'll see you in less than a month somehow."
"I know," whispered Cinder, "But I don't have to like it. I promise I'll call this evening when we get home."
"You make sure you do," said Smudge. "Don't worry about what time it is here. You call me the second you get back to your apartment."
They shared one last long kiss and a tight hug before the three pups turned and walked into the airport.
Smudge watched them until he could no longer see them through the crowd. He turned and walked back to the car. The driver opened the door and closed it once he was seated. The driver returned to the front seat. "To your apartment sir?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you," said Smudge, through a robotic voice.
As Trey helped them through security, Cinder went through the motions on autopilot. She walked the airport concourse sandwiched between Marshall and Everest, not engaging in conversation or anything. After exchanging the barest of pleasantries as she boarded the plane, Cinder settled into her seat, not even noticing that she was still between Marshall and Everest.
Cinder paid the bare minimum of attention to the pre-flight safety brief and before the pups knew it the plane was roaring down the runway and leaping into the sky. As London faded behind them, Cinder closed her eyes to hide the tears threatening to escape.
Marshall allowed his twin a few minutes to wallow in her self pity before he and Everest intervened. When the seatbelt sign clicked off, Marshall leaned over and rested his head on top of Cinder's while Everest wedged her fluffy self up into Cinder's neck.
"You don't have to smother me" Cinder softly whispered, eyes still closed.
"Have to, no" Everest softly acknowledged, "want to, yes."
"We may not have ever had to go through what you and Smudge are with the distance," Marshall added, "but we can feel your pain. And we can't fix it either, but we are here to support you and love you."
"And I'm sure the two of you smart pups will figure something out," Everest finished.
"Pft, says the pup who manipulated two different fire departments into letting two canine fire chiefs be abducted and taken to a foreign country and arranged every possible detail without giving even her mate hardly any hint as to what was going on" Cinder softly retorted.
"I had help," Everest reminded her, "and I love you and Smudge but you two were only 49% of the reason for this trip."
"Only?" Cinder softly asked, her eyes finally opening as she turned to head to look at the husky inquisitively, "what was the 51% reason?"
"Figure it out," Everest replied with a smirky smile.
Cinder was not really in the mood for games so she immediately turned her thoughts to Marshall. 'tell me what it is,' she thought to her twin.
'oh no, not this time' Marshall thought back, 'I'm not telling you anything!'
'Why not?' Cinder mentally whined.
'Because it will be so much more fun for you to figure it out' Marshall thought back cheekily.
'Party pooper' Cinder pouted. She started probing Marshall's mind. Cinder could see that Marshall was thinking about Everest; in her twin's mind they were running through a grassy field laughing and playing together. As Cinder watched, she felt something about the play change, becoming more…needy? Longing? Urgent? Cinder couldn't quite place it.
On a whim, Cinder decided to try something she had never done before; probe Everest's mind. It seemed silly since she wasn't part of their neural link but Marshall was focusing so hard on Everest, Cinder knew she wouldn't be able to get anything not involving Everest from his mind right now. Cinder tenderly reached out with her mind to the husky.
Cinder felt and saw only blackness. She waited a bit, playing around the way she had when trying to re-establish her link with Marshall but nothing changed. Dejectedly, Cinder started to turn attention back to Marshall but a subtle change made her stop.
Cinder wondered if she was seeing things but the darkness seemed slightly brighter. As Cinder tried to focus on that, whatever was making it lighter disappeared and the darkness returned.
Intrigued, Cinder looked down at Everest. The Husky had her eyes closed, possibly in concentration. Even more intrigued, Cinder once again tried to reach out to Everest's mind.
Again, all Cinder found was blackness. Remembering that the lightening came when she stopped focusing, Cinder stopped trying to probe and instead tried to open her mind. Slowly, Cinder sensed the lightening return. Slowly, almost as if the sun was rising, an image started to form in Cinder's mind.
The image was blurry, as if taken from a camera that was horrendously out of focus, and all Cinder could see was a light blue haze over a green haze. Cinder tried to bring the image into focus the way she would with Marshall but stopped because it became less focused as she tried.
Trying to be patient, Cinder opened her mind again and let the image slowly swim into focus on its own. More color added itself to the image as the focus improved. A white blob appeared in the center. The green slowly resolved itself to grass and the light blue to a clear sky.
The white blob also started to take shape. Legs sprouted out, tails and heads emerged. Two familiar looking puppies who looked just as Cinder remembered from the photos her mom had kept of herself and Marshall. But Cinder's heart stopped and then began to soar as spots began to appear on the puppies.
Lavender spots.
"Everest?" Cinder softly whispered, "are you trying to tell me something?"
"Are you seeing something?" Everest hesitantly asked.
"Two white puppies" Cinder softly replied, "with lavender spots…"
"Then yes" Everest replied, a smile spreading across her face.
Cinder was silent for a moment.
"Wait for it…" Marshall whispered as a smirk spread across his muzzle.
"EEEEEEEEEEE!"
Back in London, Smudge sat in the back of the car looking out the window wistfully at the sky. On one paw, the Dalmatian hoped he never had to go through that again but on the other he was anxiously counting down the seconds to the next time. At the moment, the melancholy feelings were winning when he felt an unexplained wave of happiness wash over him. Yes, saying goodbye hurt, but only because he loved the most wonderful pup in the world. And soon they would see each other again. Smudge held onto that hopeful thought with all his strength.
Inside the airplane, more than a few heads turned to look for the source of the shriek. Cinder, mortified, hid her face in Everest's scruff as her paws rapidly encircled the Husky and proceeded to hug her with all her might.
"Good thing hugs can't hurt me" Everest snickered as she returned the hug.
"Told you" Marshall added as he hugged his twin sister from the other side.
"I can't believe this!" Cinder softly whispered.
"Which part?" Marshall asked, "the fact that Everest is pregnant or that you could see the image she was trying to share with you? Or that you didn't pick up on it until now Mrs. 'I always know when someone gets pregnant'?"
"Any of it" Cinder softly replied, "it is all just so…"
"Pawesome?"
"Spotastic?"
"Fluffarific?"
"Puptacular?"
"Wonderful" Cinder softly giggled, "miraculously wonderful."