A/N: I apologize for the re-upload. I was fairly tired during the original draft of this chapter, and I have just now corrected all the grammatical errors. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Paw Patrol.

"Hey Chase, you think you can fix us some more rabbit?"

The hammer that was Rubble's voice drove the question like a nail through the wood of Chase's skull. It had been three hours since the mountain lion attacked, and since then the bulldog had asked for the Shepherd's now-famous cooked rabbit five times. His responses were:

"Maybe later."

"Maybe later."

"Don't you listen? I said maybe later."

"Rubble, don't test me. I'll make some rabbit. Later."

I bet you can guess what his fifth response was.

"Fine," was all that croaked from Chase as he stood, stretching as his bones creaked and groaned. The mud on himself and Zuma dried in the hours since they were applied, and their bruises were still visible. Now, they were simply seen by Zuma as crudely given battle scars. Chase soon walked away from the group, glancing up at the sky. The sunset was soon to come. Chase deemed it a tiresome day. That's how long the journey had been so far. A day. He realized that as he slowly crept about the forest, searching for an unsuspecting bunny to come bounding along his path. The Shepherd now thought that at this rate it would be impossible for them to return home any time soon. Not that he hadn't considered such a thing before. Chase's brown paws shuffled ahead of himself in the grass as he walked, sniffing for the rabbit that was to become his quarry. What he hadn't expected however, was for his snout to bump into a sheet of metal that blanketed the ground in front of himself. A train track. In the middle of the forest. Beginning to wonder how long he'd been walking, the police pup turned and ran back to the rest of the pups. Although they were disappointed he didn't return with food, they quickly changed their tune after hearing about the train tracks. They were now delighted. They could walk along the tracks back to civilization, or even find someone willing to give them a ride. Although hesitant at first, the four agreed to follow the tracks for at least an hour before hitting the hay.

"Just this way," Chase beamed, now walking in the direction of which he'd just taken. The others followed suit. Liberty was quiet this time, and the two younger pups were simply too tired to continue singing as a means of killing time. Chase and Liberty were grateful for this.

They underestimated the sunset however, and it had passed by the time they reached the train tracks. Aside from the moonlight and occasional glow of a passing firefly, there was hardly any illumination in the darkness.

"Chase, I dunno about this," Zuma hesitated.

"Yeah," Rubble chimed in, "maybe we could all just sleep here and then walk across it the next day? Come on, please?" Rubble now made whining sounds at his last statement, making his lip quiver as he gave the puppy dog eyes.

"Rubble, I really-"

Zuma suddenly joined in.

"No guys, I-"

He turned to see Liberty laying fast asleep, just a few feet from the tracks.

"Fine," Chase grumbled, looking down.

"Yay!" Rubble and Zuma shouted, waking Liberty.

-.-.-

Chase growled in frustration. It was much harder to catch a bunny in this part of the woods, and it didn't seem as densely populated by little critters as the part of the forest they were in previously.

It had to be around 11 PM by now. Despite Rubble being overtaken by sleep, Chase would be in a world of hurt if he returned empty-pawed.

Chase kept reminding himself that this was all worth it. That it would all be over soon. The question was, how soon?

In the shadows before him, Chase saw a figure quickly get behind a tree once it realized it had been spotted. This could not be the mountain lion. It was much smaller than that. A tail stuck out from the other side of the tree, gently wagging.

Chase decided to tiptoe towards the tree, sniffing just in case the pup hiding from him was of a familiar scent. The pup did have one recognizable trait that Chase could relate to; the pup smelled like dirt.

"Come out," Chase whispered. "I know you're there."

A few seconds later, a sigh could be heard as the pup emerged from behind the tree. It was Zuma.

"What are you doing out here? I thought you were sleeping."

"I had a showt nap," Zuma began, "but Libewty took watch instead of me, and now I can't seem to fall asleep."

"Oh, okay. So why come out here with me?"

"Just thought you wewe getting a little lonely out hewe."

"Oh," Chase replied softly. "Well, I wasn't. But I appreciate the thought. Now why don't you go back and-"

"Because I'm lonely myself," Zuma interrupted. "I couldn't have you feeling the same. Especially when we all just out-voted you."

"Oh, okay then. I'll keep you company."

All became quiet after Zuma and Chase's short conversation, the former walking quietly behind the latter as he sniffed the ground.

"I don't think thewe's any wabbits awound hewe," Zuma whispered almost to himself.

"No, there's some," Chase said in a low voice. "But they're too fast. That, and there's less here than anywhere, it would seem."

Zuma just nodded at the Shepherd's intuitive observations. He in turn lost hope that any rabbit would ever be found.

"Hey, a whole day has passed, so do you think we can clean this diwt off now?"

"Yeah, sure," Chase nodded, turning the other way towards a stream he saw during his earlier hunting. Zuma promptly followed him, eager to rid himself of the dry mud that had spent hours dulling his fur.

When the two pups reached the stream (which was just in between two large hills as if it were a ravine), they jumped in. They were met with a chilly sensation as the water spashed about their bodies after they took the plunge. It was cold out, and the water was absolutely freezing, but the pups still endured as they wiped themselves with their paws gently, rubbing the clumps of dirt away.

"I bet the othews awe doing this down in Flowida," Zuma wondered mournfully. The thought that his friends would be enjoying the waves without him there really stabbed him with both jealousy and sadness.

"I bet it isn't the same without us. You, I mean," came Chase's comforting tone. "You know good and well that water activities are no fun without you."

Zuma couldn't help bet chuckle endearingly. "Thanks. That means a lot, coming fwom somepup who I was on the vewge of killing yestewday."

Chase snickered at this comment. He found it funny they could be at each other's throats one day but then be buddies the next.

Zuma waited until Chase turned his head. He slowly moved his paw into the water, he aimed, and...

Splash!

Water shot at Chase from behind, soaking the back of his neck. "Agh!" he shouted in surprise, turning to the grinning Labrador.

"Sowwy, dude," Zuma grinned, "I slipped."

"Oh, I'll show you a slip!" Chase exclaimed playfully, setting all seriousness to rest. He whipped both of his paws up from the water, splashing Zuma with all his might. The Labrador was now completely soaked, and he looked at the Shepherd as if daring him to do it again.

"Oh, that was a slip? That was nothing!" Zuma shrieked playfully. He then charged at Chase, soon tackling him and pushing him into the water. The Shepherd repeatedly came back up for air, Zuma pushing him back into the stream again and again. That is, until he stopped moving.

"Ch-Chase? Chase!" Zuma shook his friend, worried that he'd gone too far. "Chase! Come on, buddy! Wake up!"

The Labrador turned to yell for help, but a low whisper came from behind.

"And the Oscar goes to... me!" the Shepherd shouted, tackling Zuma and holding him against the hillside.

"Lesson one of playing dead: always slow your heart rate."

"Aww, come on! No faiw! I thought-"

"Well, ya thought wrong, Zums," teased Chase, now letting go of Zuma.

"You got me good, I guess. I was wowwied. And that sounds funny, considewing what Wubble thinks."

Starting to walk back up the hill and towards the path they'd taken, Chase gave Zuma a curious look. "What's Rubble think?"

"That you and I... awe... dating," Zuma replied, doing all he could to stifle his laughter.

The Shepherd's cheeks flushed red underneath his fur, the thought of him and one of his good male friends- how embarrassing.

"What, because we cuddled one time? That's crazy."

"That's Wubble, all wight."

The two pups were soon accompanied by silence. A few crickets in the distance and the hoot of an owl here and there, but silence lingered about their minds.

"So, uh, there's one part of our deal I was never clear about."

"What?" asked Zuma, looking at a massive tree as they passed it.

"How do I find out who you like? Cause, if I just straight-up ask, you could easily say no. You seem like a good liar."

"Pfft, yeah suwe. Uh, I guess I'd always thought you'd come to me, knowing." A sly grin could be seen spreading across Zuma's face as he turned his head from the Shepherd. "It's iwonic. All those clues you put togethew, and all those mystewies you solve, and yet it doesn't cwoss the mind once that I may not like anyone at all."

Chase suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking at Zuma with a shocked expression. "You... you don't like anyone?"

"Uhh," the water pup took a second to realize that he'd said too much. "Nope, that's- that's not what I said."

"That's exactly what you said," grinned Chase. "I just won the bet."

"No you didn't!"

"Bull," argued the police dog. "I said if I couldn't find out who your crush was in a certain amount of time, I'd have to ask Skye out. Well, I just found out, didn't I?"

"Well, uh-"

"And if I did find out, you'd have to clean up after Rubble for a week, am I right?"

"Well... yeah..."

"And then we shook on it, right?"

Looking down, Zuma answered. "Wight."

"So, deal's a deal."

"But uh... Skye still knows you like he-"

"Does she though?" asked Chase, winking mischievously.

Zuma groaned in displeasure, thinking of how many bags he'd have to take with himself when Rubble left the Lookout. "You'we a mean pup, Chase."

"Eh, you'll get used to it," said Chase, patting Zuma's shoulder before going back to walking.

The water pup followed, his previously calm mood was all but gone as he hung his head and his ears drooped.

"So tell me, how come you don't wanna be with anyone?"

"Well, evewyone looks down on me as "too young' fiwst of all. And then thewe's the fact that welationships suck."

"How so?" asked Chase, his mind now drifting back to the rabbit situation.

"Cause giwls awe fun to hang out with at fiwst, but then comes the questions. Will you move in with hew? Will she move in with you? Does she actually love you? Will you evew be able to welax and watch TV again? How do you say you need pwivacy? Was she lying about that bed belonging solely to hewself?"

"Uh... you sound like a pup of experience," Chase noticed uncomfortably.

"As I was saying befowe," Zuma proceeded, "single life fow me, Wocky and Wubble. Maybe even Wex, Al, Tuck, Wildcat and the west of the guys, but I have yet to ask 'em."

"What, so I'm not with you on your 'single dudes' list?"

"You like Skye, doncha? And Mawshall likes Evewest, wight?"

"Yeah, so?" asked Chase.

"So, you desiwe love. The west of the dudes do not. Know what I-"

"Shhhh!" Chase hushed Zuma, putting one paw over his mouth while using the other to point to a rabbit in the distance. It was skinny and probably not enough for all four pups, but it was a decent enough rabbit nonetheless.

"Quiet," whispered Chase, staring intently at his prey. "When I say go, you go chase after him, I'll try to cut him off when he runs. Deal?" Feeling tired, but nonetheless willing to help his friend catch a decent meal, Zuma nodded. Chase, slowly crawling his way towards the trees in order to hide his movements, turned back to Zuma and quietly uttered one word.

"Go."

With the speed of a mongoose, Zuma was on the rabbit's heels, lunging after it as it made its hasty escape. Something seemed to click within the water pup that late night. Although not an experienced hunter, the Labrador seemed to know what he was getting himself into. Zuma was no hound, but he was of a breed known for being useful in a hunt. Being quite smart in the game of tag, Zuma, having played said game with his friends countless times over, got the general idea of how to pursue an evading individual. It was as if the water pup had unlocked an inner instinct, one that had been there for as long as the dawn of his breed, and one that would be there until the dusk came to the earth for the last time. With much speed and aggression, Zuma thrusted forward each paw after the other, desperate to catch the little creature. He nearly tripped here and there on some overturned rocks with sharp edges, but the Lab endured. The scars he'd developed from earlier ached ever so slightly, but the resurfacing pain felt irrelevant to him; he ran with so much adrenaline running through himself that he hardly felt it.

Through the little streams, to the tiny squeezes through densely grown trees, and even through some muddy, swamp-like waters that blanketed the ground near a waterfall, Zuma never once thought of ending his pursuit, no matter how tired he was.

"Get... back... hewe!" wheezed Zuma, the weariness in his paws slowly beginning to tear him down. But he couldn't let this rabbit get away, not while there was a fighting chance he didn't have to listen to Rubble whine about rations for a full day. But nothing ever lasts forever; the rabbit was making its way towards a hole in the base of a fat oak tree. The chase would soon be over.

No, Zuma thought wearily. I need to catch him! I haven't worked hard for nothing!

But the Labrador was fighting a losing battle. The rabbit couldn't have been more than thirty inches away from its escape when a german shepherd emerged from the bushes at random, quickly snatching the small woodland creature in his jaws and striking it against the ground; the harsh impact effectively snapping the rabbit's neck.

Zuma groaned at the sight, having something of a personal vendetta to never watch horror movies due to their constant use of gore. He never liked the concept of blood, as he saw it as an impure molestation of his favorite element: water.

"Let's get 'er washed up and ready for skinning," Chase said while holding the rabbit .

"Wait," said Zuma, looking around. "Which diwection did we come fwom?"