As Marshall woke up in his pup house, the Dalmatian found himself at a loss. The last thing he remembers was going to bed with Marshall and waking up here on the cold floor of his pup house. He looked around, confused. He didn't know where he was or how he got there. His mind was blank but for one thing. Why does he feel so... off still? It's been multiple years since he was left to die by his family, and he's been living with Skye, Chase, Ryder and the new members of the Paw Patrol ever since then; being Zuma, Rocky, Rubble and Everest.
Marshall has been happier than he ever was as a puppy while living in Adventure Bay as part of the Paw Patrol, but the shadows in the back of his head continued to stalk him in the depths of his consciousness, no matter how much he tried to drown them out, the thoughts always returned to beat him down every night when he finally fell asleep; if he even managed to actually get sleep.
But something else Marshall was wondering about was how Skye was doing, she was abandoned by her family too, was she feeling okay? The Dalmatian felt as if he had to know so that he could help his friend... after all, that's all the two of them are... right? Right.
The question only lingered on his mind while he stood up on his four legs and walked over to Skye's pup house as the automatic door opened.
As he stepped inside and saw Skye snoozing soundly under a blanket, he couldn't hold back anymore, he had to make sure that she was alright. The question only made itself known in his mind as he padded towards her, careful not to startle her awake. She slept peacefully on her side, curled up into herself slightly like she always did, her face relaxed with her eyes closed. She appeared peaceful as her breathing was regular and she was sleeping. Marshall felt relieved as he sat down next to her; it seemed that Skye hadn't been having the same problem as he had.
He watched her face closely as he leaned forward, his paw gently resting against her chest, and softly nudged it with his nose, hoping that maybe Skye would wake up. To his surprise though she never even stirred as she rolled slightly onto her side, and kept sleeping deeply. The Dalmatian slowly laid himself down next to Skye as he rested his head on her side, his muzzle nestled on her stomach as he listened to her heart beating rhythmically underneath his paws, allowing Marshall to relax as well, letting the nightmares of being abandoned by his family fade away for now as he cuddled Skye; with any luck, this was helping Skye with her nightmares as well.
Slowly, Skye began to wake up as she saw Marshall awake next to her in her pup house, cuddling against her golden fur as the Dalmatian rubbed Skye's fur with his paws.
A smile spread across Skye's face as she nuzzled him in return, causing the Dalmatian to lean closer and give her a lick as she let out a small yawn. "Morning Skye," he whispered happily.
Skye let out another yawn before rolling onto her other side, facing away from Marshall as her tail started swaying back and forth.
The Dalmatian sighed before turning himself around as he laid back down. He laid his head on his paws, staring up at the ceiling while listening to Skye breathe deeply as she slept. After a while, Skye finally woke up and yawned again; she glanced down at Marshall who was still laying on his side, staring at her, with a content expression on his face.
"Morning Marshall," she said quietly as she stretched out her front paws, arching her back slightly.
The Dalmatian gave her a gentle lick as he replied, "Did you sleep well, Skye?"
Skye nodded her head lightly, "Yeah. I slept really good, thank you." The dog let out a soft sigh as she lay his head on top of her paws and stared into the distance once more, thinking back to what happened multiple years ago.
"I still can't help but wonder why my parents abandoned me in that helicopter, are you wondering why yours left you in that house too, Marshall? Sorry if that's still a sore spot for you." Skye asked as Marshall sighed lightly.
"It is... I don't think I will be able to fully forget. And it still hurts when I look back. But it does help knowing that I am a part of the Paw Patrol. That I have a job to do, and a reason to live, and helping me understand that I can't change what happened." Marshall admitted as his heart raced, "And I still remember what it feels like to be a pup when they abandoned me. That day is one of the few things I wish I could relive and forget. Because every time I see that photo of me lying there on the ground covered in blood and bruises that the staff from the shelter I met you in took when they found me... it's just... such a painful reminder of what happened." Marshall cried out as Skye began to rub his fur with one of her paws in an attempt to help him relax.
"Sorry if I brought up bad memories for you Marshall. You were so young, so innocent and I'm sure that being abandoned was extremely traumatic for you." Skye spoke softly, looking down at Marshall as he blinked back tears of pain.
"No, please don't apologize Skye. You were abandoned by your family too, we're both survivors, we've survived worse than this. I was lucky enough to meet you in that shelter. You're the reason I'm still alive, I'm sure of it." Marshall stated as he sniffled.
"That means a lot coming from you. I don't deserve your kindness." Skye stated as she looked over to the Dalmatian.
"You don't deserve to feel like you are alone in your world." Marshall replied, "I want to help you, whatever way I can, Skye. Even if it involves just being here by your side, no matter what." He smiled at the Cockapoo he was cuddling into.
While the two pups continued to cuddle, they both heard their pup tags begin to ring with a call from Ryder, the team's leader. "Hey you two, it's time for breakfast." Ryder's voice was heard through the tag.
"Coming!" The pair answered together, quickly jumping up and running outside of the pup house to join their teammates as they hung up from the call.
"Good morning Skye and Marshall! Did you two sleep well?" Rocky greeted with an excited look on his face as Marshall and Skye walked up to the rest of the team.
"The two of us ended up going to bed together, it was the best both of us have slept since... the day me and Marshall met each other in Adventure City at the shelter that Ryder adopted us from." The Cockapoo replied as she joined the group at the entrance of the lookout.
The group of seven pups then walked into the lookout as they began to eat their food.
And as Skye began to eat, she closed her eyes as she began to have a nightmare. This was something that was surprisingly common for the Cockapoo to have to deal with ever since the fateful helicopter crash in her past. But unlike how the nightmares usually were for her, this one was extremely vivid.
And fairly quickly, she collapsed inside of the lookout as she began to cry out, curling into a ball as she tried to silence the voices in her head saying that the helicopter crash was her fault, but to no avail.
"Why?! Why did it happen to me?! What did I do wrong?!" She shouted as she continued to scream in frustration, clutching at her chest with a paw as tears streamed down her cheeks, making contact with the floor as they splashed onto the ground.
As tears continued to stream down her eyes, Skye extended her claws out of her forepaws as she dragged her claws across her hind legs and paws, beginning to draw blood as she stopped.
"I-I can't commit to it. It wouldn't take too much more of a commitment to finish the job... just one clean slice to the neck... and all of my pain is over. But I can't do that. Not here. Not while my friends are watching me." Skye thought to herself as she cried, retracting her claws as she put on a happy face, hoping it would put on a good enough facade for long enough. She's been using one for years now, what's a few more weeks?
Her paws stung as the pain caused by the sharp scratches she received from her own claws hit her sharply as she tried to calm herself down; however, nothing could stop the flashbacks of the accident and the fear it brought upon her. They were hauntingly vivid and very realistic. It almost felt like she was there again in that traumatizing moment again; and yet, somehow this wasn't the same experience as the previous ones.
"Why am I not strong?!" Skye suddenly screamed in anguish, "Why am I alone?!" Skye continued to shout in anger, "Why is this happening?" She sobbed and shook as she continued to yell as she dug her claws into her own fur, trying desperately to fight back tears. "WHY AM I NOT STRONG!" The Cockapoo roared as she clenched her eyes tightly closed, feeling completely defeated as all hope disappeared from her mind, leaving her trapped and empty. As she sat huddled in a ball, surrounded by darkness as the voices in her head kept screaming in torment at her.
She whimpered and cried out in agony as the images continued to replay themselves in her head; but she couldn't move or respond anymore because of the overwhelming force of the memory.
The only thing she was aware of was her pain and despair as everything else faded away as she slowly succumbed to unconsciousness again, leaving nothing but darkness and sorrow behind.
"Skye!? Are you alright?!" Skye opened her eyes groggily as she blinked them open; feeling light headed as she pushed herself off the floor of the lookout.
"Y..yes...I'm okay." The Cockapoo muttered softly as she looked around, confused and frightened as she remembered where she was now. Marshall was by her side instantly as he gently placed his muzzle onto hers.
"Are you having a nightmare again?" The Dalmatian asked worriedly as Skye slowly shook her head.
"N...no, it's gone now." The Cockapoo stated as Marshall pulled her into a tight hug and held her close to his chest.
"Is it okay for me to hold you like this?" Marshall asked gently as he looked down at the Cockapoo in his paws, who was now hugging back, nuzzling against him, resting her head on the edge of his neck, which was exposed due to his gear. Skye simply nodded her head as she buried her face deeper into his neck, closing her eyes as she relaxed into his embrace once more.
"Thank you, Marshall." She whispered softly as she hugged him tighter.
"Anytime, Skye. If you get a nightmare like that again, let me or another one of us know, okay? We're all here for each other." Marshall replied as he rubbed her back gently, trying to ease some of the stress and terror within her that has formed due to the traumatic memory.
"I will. Thank you." Skye said gratefully as she leaned further into him and continued to hug him tightly, holding onto him as tightly as she possibly could; not wanting to ever let go.
"Also, Skye, I'm sorry if this is too personal for you, but I noticed that your back legs and paws are covered in blood and small wounds. Are you sure you're okay?" Marshall asked as Skye glanced down to see that her fur was stained with blood from the scratches she had endured when she cut herself with her claws not too long ago.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine Marshall. It's nothing, really." Skye lied as she attempted to conceal the fact that her paws and hind legs were stained with blood and cuts by using a few bandages that she wrapped around the wounds. It's not like they were bleeding anymore, anyway. They should heal just fine on their own by themselves, so why was everyone so concerned?
"If you say so..." Marshall replied, unconvinced. Though, as time passed, he found it slightly hard to believe the cockapoo, especially after seeing such a vulnerable and scared state she was in earlier, but he let it go for now as it was evident that she didn't really want to talk about it, but Marshall did make a mental note to talk to Ryder about this later; after all, this was something that Ryder would need to know about.
But that would have to wait, despite how knowing about something as important as this is extremely important for everyone involved.