(A/N: I do not own Paw Patrol, enjoy!)
Recovery
It had been two weeks since the arsonist has been stopped. The Paw Patrol had flown back to Adventure Bay after a couple of days once Cinder and Augie were stable. Cinder found her remaining time in the hospital boring and lonely without Marshall and Everest to keep her company when she couldn't go see Augie. The doctors and nurses seemed to clamp down on that too as soon as the Paw Patrol left for some dumb reason.
When Cinder and Augie were finally discharged from the hospital, it was a madhouse of reporters shouting questions at them, cameras flashing, and everyone trying to get close to them. Both pups were relieved when they were finally able to get into Darrell's and Claire's SUVs and make their escape.
Darrell took Augie straight home, where Jan and June quickly hustled him into the apartment that the three of them shared. Cinder, on the other paw, went to Station 25 in an effort to avoid attention. It was successful in that no one followed her inside. It was unsuccessful in that reporters seemed content to park themselves outside the station in order to wait her out.
"This is ridiculous," Cinder softly groused as she peaked out a window at the mob of reporters.
"You are famous now," Rain reminded her.
"Yeah, everyone wants to catch a glimpse of the 'Darling Firefighting Savior of Heartland,'" Splash added cheekily.
"The what?" Cinder softly gasped in surprise.
"Oh, right, you haven't seen it yet," Rain said with a smirk. The yellow Lab ran out to grab something.
"I haven't seen what?" Cinder softly grilled Splash.
"Oh, just a little complimentary piece one of the local rags printed," Splash replied evasively.
"Which one?" Cinder softly asked.
"The 'Heartland Scoop,'" Splash smiled.
"Oh great," Cinder softly groaned, a gossip column of all things. Right on cue, Rain came running back with a newspaper in her mouth. "Take a read," Rain said as she laid down the newspaper.
Cinder began reading through the article in question, her eyes widening as she read. It took her a couple minutes, but she finally got to the end. "The world wonders," Cinder softly read, "what will it take for a lucky pup to catch the heart of the Darling Firefighting Savior of Heartland?"
"Quite a line, isn't it?" Splash snickered.
"And I'm sure some pups would love to know," Rain added with a snicker of her own.
Cinder said nothing as she continued to stare at the article.
"Hey, are you ok?" Rain asked, suddenly acutely aware that Cinder wasn't responding to the banter.
"Civilian lives lost, days upon days of investigation, one suspect in a body bag, Augie and I almost being killed by a biological weapon, and all they want to talk about is how hot I am," Cinder softly spat.
"I mean, they have a point," Splash noted, "you armmmmfm!" Whatever the American water Spaniel was about to say was silenced by a yellow paw on her muzzle.
"They don't have a point," Cinder softly asserted as she closed the paper firmly, "I haven't worked this hard for this long to be eye candy for the blind!"
"Now you've gone and done it," Rain softly hissed in Splash's ear. Splash winced as she realized what was coming.
"Do they think it is easy bring the first canine Fire Captain, especially as a female?" Cinder softly ranted. In a rare display of losing her temper, Cinder proceeded to explain very explicitly why she was both competent and capable of holding her current position as a Fire Captain, and all the hard work she put into making it possible, not to mention the multiple ceilings, both actual and glass, that she had to smash through.
When Cinder was done, Rain softly spoke, "No one here is disagreeing with any of that, Cinder, except for one thing."
"Which thing is that?" Cinder softly challenged, her blue eyes blazing icy fire.
"That only a blind pup would classify you as eye candy," Rain softly replied.
"You think anyone wants to try and mate with this sterile cow?" Cinder softly said as she gestured to herself.
"You are not a cow," Splash jumped in, unable to hold her tongue any longer.
"Moo," Cinder softly replied.
"Great impersonation," Rain laughed. "Good enough for the school play and that is about it. You, dear Cinder, have a very strange dichotomy about your looks. You take a minimal amount of time to do yourself up and know exactly how beautiful you are and the accompanying effect on male pups. But the second you shake that off, you think that all your looks are gone with your no longer brushed fur. But what you are missing is that the little preparation you do is just the tip of what some pups do to try and look half as attractive as you."
"Hogwash," Cinder softly dismissed.
"It's true," Splash protested. "All you have to do is brush your fur! You don't need to do anything special to look good."
"I'll take your word for it," Cinder softly conceded to get them to stop talking about it.
"Don't take our word, take Augmmmmffffmms!" Splash started to say before a yellow paw silenced her again.
"Take whose word?" Cinder softly asked suspiciously.
"Ours," Rain said firmly. "Remember when Everest thought she lost Marshall to some hot Dalmatian from the city?"
"Yeah, that was pretty funny after the fact," Cinder softly laughed.
"And you would say Everest is pretty attractive, right?" Rain led.
"Yes," Cinder softly agreed.
"And at least reasonably confident in her looks?" Rain continued.
"Most of the time, yes," Cinder softly confirmed.
"So how attractive do you think that means you look if you scared her; that after less than a month of you and Marshall working together, Everest was panicking that she had lost Marshall to your looks?" Rain softly asked.
Cinder opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out.
"That's what I thought," Rain said triumphantly.
Cinder nodded to both fire pups before getting up and walking away from the window. "I should muzzle you," Rain softly hissed once Cinder was out of earshot.
"Just make sure it is a nice one with a ball," Splash teased.
"No, with duct tape so your muzzle actually stays shut," Rain replied with a glare.
"She just needs to look around once in a while," Splash said with a sigh, "and not just at her work."
"Good luck with that," Rain said with a shake of her head, "but that is on her to figure out. Don't you go blabbing about it."
"Fine," Splash said with a frustrated sigh.
"Aren't you not supposed to be walking yet?" a voice challenged Cinder as she walked past the station kitchen area.
"You going to turn me in?" Cinder softly asked as she stopped to turn and face the voice.
"To who, myself?" Ashley said with a short laugh. "That would imply I thought I could stop you."
"You could, I would listen to you," Cinder softly said as she walked over sat down next to Ashley.
"I appreciate that," Ashley said with a smile as she rubbed Cinder in her favorite spot behind the ears and down her neck. "I couldn't help hearing your little rant and the girls' rebuttal."
"Oh, that," Cinder softly said as she shifted uncomfortably on her paws.
"All of that aside, there are those who are very proud of you," Ashley said, "both people and pups. Hold on to that. And if you ever need a reminder, let me know. I know some of them."
"Thanks Ashley," Cinder softly said. "It just makes me so mad to be objectified that way."
"You can't control what people say about you," Ashley gently reminded her. "You can only control yourself. And in this case, as long as you don't actually murder anyone, I think you can call that a win."
"Thanks," Cinder softly laughed.
"Want me to take you home?" Ashley offered. "I don't think any of them expect you to leave here in a paramedic SUV."
"That would be great, it's worth a shot," Cinder softly thanked her.
As expected, they slipped away unnoticed by the news hounds. "That was easier than expected," Cinder softly said as she raised her head back up and turned to look out the window.
"Thinking about recovering in Adventure Bay?" Ashley knowingly asked.
"It would be so much easier," Cinder softly admitted, "and there are lots of plus sides."
"Which means there is also a downside since you haven't already decided to just go do it," Ashley noted. "It's Augie, isn't it?"
"What makes you say that?" Cinder softly asked.
"First, if there was no downside to recovering in Adventure Bay, we wouldn't be here having this conversation, because you would have gone back with Marshall and crew when they left," Ashley laughed. "As for the second part, I can't think of any legitimate reason that you would prefer to recover here. And, being a wise mom, I would hazard a guess that it isn't even that you are Augie are dating, but you have an inkling that there might be something more and want to see where that inkling leads."
"That is kind of scary how accurate your analysis is," Cinder softly admitted. "But why Augie and not anyone else?"
"If there was someone else of romantic intrigue, you would have said something about it. You haven't, which means that you were thinking with your head and weren't going to try and figure out that inkling until you actually could without it being against the rules. Since there have been no changes to pups here, other than you coming back, that really only leaves one option, doesn't it?"
"I'm not sure if I should be impressed or scared," Cinder softly laughed.
"I'll take impressed," Ashley joined her in laughing. "And if I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion, why don't you talk to him and see if he would be willing to come with you?"
"Yeah, why doesn't he go with a work colleague to recover in a small town away from his family and support network?" Cinder softly countered with a snort.
"They can take a week off to come visit, or come up on weekends or any number of options," Ashley replied. "You say that like he would have no interest in coming with you."
"Why would he?" Cinder softly asked.
"Ask him yourself and see," Ashley said with a shrug. "No one can tell you what he is thinking except him. So, you can either follow the Marshall plan or make your own Cinder plan."
"I think you know both of us too well," Cinder softly snickered. "But the point is noted."
Ashley smiled, there was nothing else she could have hoped to achieve. The two of them continued talking the rest of the way to Cinder's apartment. Against Cinder's want, but not against her will, Ashley carried the injured female Dalmatian up to her room and helped her get everything settled, including making her dinner, before leaving her for the evening.
Cinder woke the next morning to a key turning the lock on her door. Instantly awake, Cinder crept toward the door to see who was breaking into her apartment, her paw ready to swipe 911 on her tag.
Skipper closed the door to Cinder's small apartment behind him, turned around and was so surprised to Cinder standing there staring at him that he dropped the bag he was carrying with a yelp.
"Take it easy Skipper, I'm not going to bite," Cinder softly laughed.
"I just didn't expect to see you standing there when I brought you breakfast," Skipper said as he picked up the bag. "You are not supposed to be standing or walking."
"I promise to stop if I feel any pain," Cinder softly replied. As she turned to walk to the kitchen and dining area, she winced in pain. "Any major pain," she amended her statement as she kept walking.
"You better not re-injure yourself," Skipper said with a shake of his head as he followed her.
"Or what?" Cinder asked as she laid down in front of her bowl.
"Then you'll really be upset," Skipper reminded her.
"Fine, you have a point," Cinder softly admitted. Skipper pulled out a breakfast croissant with ham, bacon and cheese on it for her. "Thank you for bringing me breakfast," Cinder softly thanked him before taking a bite.
"Someone is going to bring you every meal," Skipper said as he sat on the floor next to her. "We'll take care of you until you are well."
"That won't be necessary," Cinder softly said.
"Yes, it is," Skipper insisted. "You can't cook for yourself or walk around right now. And getting delivery for every meal still requires walking to open the door."
"I'm not disputing that," Cinder softly laughed, "I mean I'm going to go to Adventure Bay to recover. It won't be a burden for Marshall and the Paw Patrol to take care of me while I'm recovering."
"I sort of expected that would happen the moment you realized that we were going to take care of you at home," Skipper laughed. "Which is why I brought this, just in case it was the only meal you were served. When do you leave?"
"No idea, I haven't told anyone else yet" Cinder softly admitted.
"Well, there is one thing I hate to ask you to do before you leave," Skipper said. "You and Augie have been asked to do a quick press conference today."
"Do I actually get a say, or is this part of my continuous training?" Cinder softly asked, suspicion hanging in her statement.
"The latter," Skipper admitted.
"I hate you," Cinder softly said with a roll of her eyes.
"Augie told his Chief the same thing," Skipper noted. "It seems you two think alike in that regard."
For some unknown reason, that sentiment made Cinder's fur flush ever so slightly.
A short time later, Cinder found herself back stage of the press room at City Hall wearing her dress uniform. Skipper had dropped her off there before going to find the Fire Department's public affairs folks who were going to coach her through the process. Before they came back, Augie was brought in by Darrell, also wearing his dress uniform.
"How are you doing?" Cinder softly asked as Augie was laid down next to her.
"Well enough," Augie replied. "Everyone is tripping over themselves to take care of me. Honestly, it seems like a bit much."
"I get that," Cinder softly agreed, "which is why I'm going to go recover in Adventure Bay where I won't be a burden on anyone."
"Who says you are a burden?" Augie asked protectively.
"No one," Cinder softly giggled, "but, unlike you, I live alone. So having people take care of me is taking them away from everything else they could be doing. Again, no one is complaining, but I want to be considerate of them. Marshall and the Paw Patrol can take care of me just fine without it being an imposition."
"Oh," Augie said thoughtfully. The black Belgian shepherd paused for a moment. "Do you think that they would mind taking care of me too?"
"What?" Cinder softly yipped in surprise, her heart skipping a beat.
"Don't get me wrong, I love having Jan and June take care of me," Augie hastily clarified, "but they work too. In a similar way that folks are taking time out of their day to take care of you, Jan and June are taking time off to care for me. If I could go somewhere and not drastically changing their lives, I would feel much better."
"I'll ask. I doubt it will be an issue," Cinder softly said with a smile. At that moment, the public affairs team swept into the room along with Skipper, Chief Callie, and several other high-ranking members of both departments, including both police and fire chiefs.
"I don't like the look of this," Augie whispered to Cinder who softly giggled. The silvery sound was music to Augie's ears.
"Captain Cinder, Sergeant Augie," the public affairs chief greeted them formally, "let me lay out the ground rules for today's press conference…" The next ten minutes or so were spent going over the roadmap for the conference, discussing the order of speakers, the transitions between them, who would cover what topics, and so on and so forth. Cinder dutifully paid attention to ensure that she understood, but her mind wanted to focus on other things.
When they were done and everyone was ready, Cinder and Augie were carried into the main press room. Usually open, this time there was a blue curtain between the stage and the reporters. Cinder could hear the cacophony of chatter as she got situated.
"Nervous?" Augie quietly asked.
"A little," Cinder softly admitted. "I've done press conferences before, but none quite as big and formal as this one."
"I've never had to speak at one before," Augie admitted, "I've only ever been in the background or occasionally acknowledged."
"We'll be fine," Cinder softly encouraged him, putting her paw on top of his and smiling confidently. At that moment, the curtains drew back and it was time to begin.
"Good morning," the Police Chief began from his podium on the right side of the stage from Cinder. "Welcome to the press briefing regarding the recent string of fires in Heartland caused by a serial arsonist." A general murmur rose from the assembled reporters. While everyone there knew the purpose of the briefing, there was still an air of anticipation and sensationalism regarding what had happened.
The police chief, Chief Dante, if Cinder remembered correctly, spent the next few minutes laying out what had happened over the course of the investigation. "With the death of the arsonist at the Fire and Rescue training complex while attempting to murder members of the arson investigation team…" A general angry murmur rose from the assembled reporters. "... And the subsequent discovery of all his safe houses, we have determined that he was working alone for his own chaotic motives."
Cinder and Augie looked out of the corners of their eyes at each other. That did not match what Chief Callie had told them. Both of them came to the conclusion that the truth was being hidden to protect the real investigation and prevent fear from spreading.
"And with that, I turn over the briefing over to my esteemed Fire and Rescue colleague, Chief Gallery."
"Thank you, Chief Dante," the chief of Heartland Fire and Rescue replied from his podium on the left side of the stage from Cinder. Cinder had met Chief Gallery before; in fact, she had to interview with him before entering the training pipeline to become a fire captain. She had found him both professionally sharp and personable. There was no question that he was a good leader, having shepherded the department for the past 11 years.
"First, I want to thank all the hard-working firefighters who have battled the blazes set by the arsonist," Chief Gallery said. "Without their dedicated efforts day and night, the damages caused by the arsonist would be much greater. Well-done team; you kept the city safe." He paused for effect while the reporters clapped and cheered.
Cinder reflected on that for a moment. Not a single firefighter or fire pup did what they did for the glory or adoration. The few who entered with that as their motivation quickly washed out of fire training, or after their first commitment. On the off chance that they stuck it out, they never rose in rank to command anything. And yet the few words from Chief Gallery that they had done their jobs well would be far more motivating than any news story.
"Moving onward," Chief Gallery said to bring the focus back, "the method used by the arson revealed some weaknesses in the city's building fire code that need to be addressed. Right now, a combined team of fire and structural engineers are codifying changes that will significantly reduce the damage that could be caused by a similar strategy in the future. By the end of the year, we will be well on our way to retrofitting major buildings in the city with a plan to complete the rest soon after."
Cinder considered that. It was never something she had spent much time on, preferring to focus on operations. The fact that even amongst the damage and destruction caused by the arsonist, the city would be safer because of it was a welcome reminder.
"And now, I would like to take a moment to remember the victims who lost their lives in this series of attacks," Chief Gallery soberly said. The room was silent as Chief Gallery proceeded to read off the names of every fatality that was attributed to a fire caused by the arsonist. A total of ten dead. Chief Gallery read the last name and let the silence hang in the air.
"One fatality is too many," Chief Gallery softly said to himself before he composed himself to continue. Turning back to the microphone, "Fortunately, we have two pups to thank for keeping that list from continuing to grow. And, because I have the mic, Chief Dante, I'm going first."
Cinder was thrown off at the departure from the plan and looked at her Chief in surprise. Her eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen.
"Fire Captain Cinder," Chief Gallery said formally, "for your service and sacrifice in the line of duty, and by the power vested in me as Chief of Heartland Fire and Rescue, you are hereby awarded the Fire Service Medal."
The various very loud noises of approval from the audience were not heard by Cinder as she watched Chief Gallery remove the medal from its case and step over to her. "I don't deserve this" Cinder softly whispered as Chief Gallery knelt down to her level.
"Fortunately, you don't make those decisions, Captain," Chief Gallery whispered back with a smile. "Now dip your head before this becomes awkward."
Cinder obeyed and dipped her head. Chief Gallery draped the red and white ribbon around Cinder's neck, letting the medal settle on her breast bone. "You may not think you deserve this," Chief Gallery whispered in Cinder's ear, "but you do. If it makes you feel better, think about all the times that you've turned down a decoration or award. Think about all the lives you have been personally responsible for saving, along with all those saved by fire pups and firefighters under your command. You are lucky that it is only an FSM…"
Cinder's eyes widened, she had never considered herself worthy of this, so hearing it being described as "only and FSM" was startling.
"And to further emphasize the point," Chief Gallery continued to whisper, "remember all the awards and decorations you have recommended for your firefighters and fire pups. Just as you are proud of them and their achievements, they are proud of yours. Let them be proud of you; be the beacon they look to for guidance. Once you are back from recovering in Adventure Bay, let's have a chat."
"Yes sir, thank you sir," Cinder softly whispered back, overwhelmed by the litany of things her Chief had given her to think about.
Chief Gallery stood with a smile and nodded to Chief Dante. "Sergeant August," Chief Dante said formally, "for your service and sacrifice in the line of duty, and by the power vested in me as Chief of the Heartland Police Department, I hereby award you the Detective's Medal."
Chief Dante stepped over and knelt in front Augie. "Good work Sergeant," Chief Dante said as Augie dipped his head.
"Thank you, sir, but I don't think I meet mark for this. Captain Cinder did all the hard investigative work," Augie whispered in protest.
"Then who was it exactly that cracked the case of a Paw Patrol member being framed for arson?" Chief Dante whispered back. "Who pushed back against his team lead and found a tiny seam that tore an otherwise perfect frame job apart?"
Augie opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. "That's what I thought," Chief Dante said with a smile. "You can't blame this on anyone but yourself. Now, smile for the cameras."
"Yes sir," Augie said sheepishly as he did just that. Cameras flashed and shutter clicked as reporters snapped pictures of the newly decorated pups.
"Are we done yet?" Augie plaintively whispered to Cinder.
"I wish," Cinder softly whispered back, "we still have Q and A."
"Maybe they'll be happy with this and forget," Augie whispered hopefully.
"And now for the moment you have all been waiting for, the Question-and-Answer session about the case with Fire Captain Cinder and Sergeant Augie," Chief Dante said with a nod to the two pups.
"You were saying?" Cinder softly teased as the reporters clamored to be the first to ask a question.
"It was a long hope," Augie admitted as one reporter gained control of the microphone.
"Captain Cinder, when did you first determine you were dealing with a serial arsonist?" the reporter asked.
"I will actually defer that question to Sergeant Augie," Cinder softly replied with a hidden smirk at the Belgian shepherd.
"Thank you, Captain," Augie said deftly. "Without going into the boring details of the investigation, it comes down to finding the similarities in cases that appeared unrelated on the surface…" several minutes of long-winded answer later, everyone was ready to move on.
"Captain, how exactly did you get a handle on combating the fires the arsonist was starting?" the next reporter asked.
"That is relatively simple," Cinder softly replied. "A fire needs certain things to progress: fuel, heat, and oxygen. In sufficiently hot conditions, fuel combines with oxygen in a chemical reaction called oxidation…" several minutes of mini-lecture on the fire tetrahedron later, everyone wanted Cinder to stop, much to the Dalmatian's amusement.
"Sergeant, earlier Chief Dante mentioned that the arsonist was working alone. Can you elaborate on that? Is the city safe?"
"I cannot comment on the first part, as I have been recovering from being shot," Augie pointed out, "but to the second point, all the emergency services in Heartland are always vigilant for any threat: ready to defend everyone in Heartland," Augie deftly deflected.
Several more reporters asked questions of the pups, with Augie working deflections and Cinder tending towards long-winded, technical explanations that started putting them to sleep and made them want to stop asking questions.
"We have time for one more question," the public affairs chief informed them.
"Captain Cinder," the reporter behind the mic asked, eliciting a barely audible groan from the other reporters that was music to Cinder's ears, "can you comment on the rumor that you and Sergeant Augie have secretly been having an affair over the course of this investigation?"
"What?!" Everyone in the room was caught off guard by the off-color question, with several of the reporters closing their notebooks in resignation that the question was even asked.
"You don't have to answer that, Captain," the public affairs chief said protectively as he stepped up to the mic to end the brief.
"No, I think I need to," Cinder softly said, to everyone's surprise. "Just to be clear, sir, you want to know if I have been having an affair with Sergeant Augie for the last few months while we have both been assigned to arson investigation?"
"That would be correct," the reporter replied. It was not lost on Cinder that the report's hat indicated that he worked for the Heartland Scoop.
"First," Cinder led off, "an affair would require that one or both of us be married to someone." This time the groan was more than audible as everyone realized that they were in store for another lecture. "I am not married; feel free to check the public record for that, but you already knew that. Sergeant Augie, are you married?"
"I am not," Augie replied.
"So, now that we've established that it would be impossible for us to have an affair together," Cinder softly continued, "let's move onto what you are really asking, which is whether we were in any sort of relationship. Per both of our departments, it is against the rules for people or pups in the same chain of command to be in relationships. This is to preserve good order and discipline, as well as allow focus on the task at hand, without the distraction of a loved one being in danger, or having to order one into a dangerous situation. The same rule applies to siblings to the maximum extent possible. Training pipelines, such as the one I went through to become a fire captain, tend to generate the most exceptions, such as when my twin brother Marshall and I trained and certified together; that exception is in the record as well by the way. Additionally, the same rules prevent officers, firefighters, and fire pups from being assigned their own neighborhood. Now, if something does develop, there is a request procedure for the affected personnel or pups to request a transfer so that they may explore their relationship without endangering themselves or others. You can review the records and will find that no such request has been made by either of us. Both Sergeant Augie and myself are consummate professionals who would never do anything to undermine the integrity of our positions or departments with such a relationship. If you had any evidence, you are more than welcome to file the necessary paperwork with the IG division of either of our departments. But you won't do that," Cinder softly and ever so aggressively asserted, "because you have no evidence and are just trying to drum up some sensational and scandalous story at our expense. To speak plainly, Sergeant Augie and I were never in any sort of relationship at any point during our investigation of the serial arsonist."
Every eye in the room was glaring at the Heartland Scoop representative. Satisfied that she had driven a stake through the heart of that rumor, killing it permanently, Cinder nodded to the public affairs chief to end the brief.
"What about now?"
Every jaw dropped at the Heartland Scoop reporter's audacity to keep pushing after being so clearly exposed as nothing more than a scandalmonger.
"Just drop it," one of the other reporters yelled at him.
"Leave them alone," another shouted.
"You are wasting their time, and ours!"
"That concludes the briefing," the public affairs chief stated firmly.
"Why do you want to know?"
Every eye turned in surprise to look at Cinder. "Why do you want to know?" Cinder softly repeated.
"It's not for me," the Heartland Scoop reporter replied, slightly emboldened by still having Cinder's attention. "It is for all our readers who want to know."
"No one cares," another reporter spat.
"Don't waste your time indulging him, Captain," another recommended.
"Take your inappropriate muckraking back to the gutter where it came from!"
"You can either follow the Marshall plan or make your own Cinder plan." Ashley's words echoed in Cinder's head.
"Well, I have completed my temporary assignment with arson investigation and returned to being the fire captain at Station 25, so there is no prohibition against it. You're an investigative reporter; you figure it out," Cinder softly replied. Cinder then grabbed Augie by the collar and yanked the surprised Belgian shepherd into a kiss.
Everyone froze as time stood still.
Augie may have been surprised by the kiss, but his body responded immediately by melting into the kiss. Something he had only dared dream of was suddenly a reality.
Miles away in Adventure Bay, every jaw in the Lookout was on the floor. "Did anyone see that coming?" Rubble asked.
"No," Rocky replied. "There go your chances, Zuma."
"I nevew had a chance anyway, dude, but thanks for rubbing it in," the chocolate Lab groaned sadly.
"She sure showed that nosy reporter," Skye yipped in approval.
"Did you see that coming, Marshall?" Chase asked his best friend. Silence answered him. "Marshall?" Chase turned toward the Dalmatian who seemed to be frozen in shock. Chase gently nudged his brother with his paw, causing him to fall over like a wooden toy.
"We'll have to wake him up somehow before she gets here," Everest giggled with a roll of her eyes.
"Huh?" Several pups yelped in surprise.
Thousands of miles away, two Dalmatians' jaws dropped open in shock. "Did you teach her that?" the male Dalmatian asked his mate.
"Teach her that?" the female Dalmatian replied with an amused snort. "You know very well we raised our daughter better than that. Though, judging by his reaction, she remembers something I did teach her," she added with a flirtatious wink at her mate.
"She still hasn't called to tell us how she is doing," the male Dalmatian noted.
"I think it might be time to visit our wayward spawn," the female Dalmatian said with a knowing smile. "Shall we tell them?"
"If they call," the male replied with a smile of his own as his brain started working out a suitable plan.
Thousands of miles away, in a hidden bunker, a shadowy figure pulled out the .50 caliber Desert Eagle he always wore on his hip and fired it repeatably into a TV he had been using to watch the press conference until the magazine was empty. "You can foil my plans and kill my agent," he stated darkly. "You could have even been allowed to survive. But I will not let you insult his sacrifice this way…"
Cinder inwardly smiled as she felt Augie returning the kiss. She had decided to take a chance for once and it was paying off quite nicely. After another moment, Cinder broke off the kiss.
"When you figure it out, be sure to let us know," Cinder softly said to the reporter. "We would hate to not know what is going on in our lives."
A general snicker swept across the room as the stunned Heartland Scoop reporter just stood there.
"You had to open your mouth, didn't you," one of the other reporters jested. "I think you just killed your own storyline."
"Shall we get out of here?" Cinder softly asked Augie.
"Anywhere you want if we can do that again," Augie softly replied with a goofy grin. Cinder smiled back at him.
"I would not recommend doing that every press conference," Skipper mused as he picked Cinder up.
"Of course, not," Cinder softly replied. "It won't make sense any other time."
"Hopefully that is the case," Darrell said as he scooped up Augie. "Home buddy?"
"Nope, wherever she is going," Augie replied.
"Adventure Bay," Cinder softly directed.
"That didn't take long," Darrell snickered.
"I'll call Ryder and have him come get you in the Air Patroller," Skipper said as he put Cinder in his SUV. "Darrell, take Augie home and get him changed. Meet us at the airport in an hour."
One hour later, and wearing only her collar, Cinder was sitting in the back of Skipper's SUV on the tarmac at the airport, awaiting the arrival of the Air Patroller.
"So, you are stealing Augie away already?"
"Hey June," Cinder softly replied as she recognized the voice. "Hi Jan," she added as she turned and noted that both jet-black sisters were present.
"Just make sure he recovers fast," Jan said with a smile. "We want both of you back here."
"I'll make sure to tell Marshall," Cinder softly laughed. "He'll already be waiting on me paw and paw. He'll just have to do the same for Augie."
"I wish someone would do that for me," June said wistfully.
"I don't recommend getting shot to achieve that goal," Cinder softly giggled.
At that moment, Darrell pulled up with Augie.
"What are you two doing here?" Augie asked in surprise when he saw his sisters.
"Getting rid of you," June replied with a smirk before jumping up and giving her brother a hug.
"Fly safe. Enjoy your recovery-vacation," Jan added before also jumping up and giving Augie a hug.
The Air Patroller touched down next to the fire department helicopters and the back ramp opened.
"See you soon," Cinder said as Jan and June gave her a hug as well.
"You can count on it," Jan replied with a smile.
Skipper and Darrell carried Cinder and Augie into the Air Patroller, and were surprised when they found no one inside: just a large dog bed.
"Hey Skipper," a hologram of Ryder projected from the bulkhead. "Sorry I can't be there; the pups and I are out on a rescue. RoboDog will bring them back safely."
"Arf arf!" RoboDog confirmed from his pilot console.
"Well, fly safe. See you when you are better," Skipper said as he laid Cinder down.
"It won't take long," Cinder softly reminded him.
Darrell set Augie down next to Cinder. "Cya buddy."
"Back in a flash," Augie confirmed.
Both pups waved goodbye as the back ramp of the Air Patroller shut. RoboDog effortlessly guided the tilt rotor aircraft into the sky and towards Adventure Bay.
"How long is this flight?" Augie asked.
"Arf arf!" RoboDog replied.
"Don't worry, I know just how to spend the time," Cinder softly said.
"How?" Augie asked in surprise.
"Practicing," Cinder softly replied as she wrapped her paws around Augie's neck and pulled him into another kiss.
A/N: Yeah, that just happened. Enjoy the awaited romantic bits. But wait, there is more…
"Project Outreach: Travel Log update 110. April 21st, 2023. 12:34 PM EST."
"Universe: FoxFireverse"
"Monitoring has been going well, but there's nothing new to report since last week. A 63-year-old in Cloudcroft, New Mexico forgot her own birthday, but that's the biggest far-reaching change I can find. All major differences seem to be centered entirely around Cinder and the rest of the Paw Patrol. Oh, and Augie too of course. Surprisingly, the Heartland Scoop staying in business didn't change things too much."
"Tomorrow is the two-week mark of monitoring the universe, so as planned, I'll be going to interact with the twins again. However, there are… a few issues. First, Cinder hasn't actually gone back to Adventure Bay yet. My prediction is that she probably will after the news briefing, but her going back this late could cause issues to arise."
"The second issue is that the twins still haven't given any indications of remembering the past timeline. Which means they're going to have a nasty shock tomorrow when I tell them about everything. This time I've got backup plans in case they try to jump me again for whatever reason. No way am I underestimating Cinder twice. But knowing them, I can't put it past them to just be pretending to not remember the alternate timeline. Their Marshall seems to be better at keeping secrets than ours."
"Huh? Did I hear my name?" a voice echoed from outside the open garage door. Marshall raced inside, the soles of his shoes letting out a squeal as he expertly skidded to a stop. "Sorry I'm late!" he yipped quickly.
"Oh, you're fine. Um, end log," Gizmo hastily replied before stopping the recording. "I was running late myself."
"Oh, alright," Marshall nodded as he looked around the garage underneath the Lookout. "Hey, where's Ryder and Rocky?"
"Late as well, presumably," the black Lab stated simply.
"You invent time travel and people don't even use it to be on time. What a waste," Marshall teased, letting out a dramatic sigh.
Just then, Rocky ran into the room, panting slightly. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Ryder told me to tell you he got a call and is heading out with Zuma to help the Turbots with a floundering Flounder problem."
"That's fine," Gizmo reassured. "What was our meeting today going to be about?"
"We were going to talk about how to bring this up with my sister so we can tell her later today," Marshall recalled.
"How to bring up what with me?" an accusatory female voice pressed from outside.
Everyone caught their breath as another Dalmatian stepped into view. In contrast to Cinder, Auburn looked nothing like her twin. Her heterochromia was incredibly apparent. The right eye was a soft brown while her left sparkled sapphire blue. A black patch of fur covered her blue eye while a couple smaller spots dotted her cheeks. Her ears were slightly fluffy, and the left ear was black to match her patch. She had a couple larger spots on her body, differing from Marshall's hectic pattern. Aside from a band-aid on her right cheek, the only thing she wore was a black collar from which hung a plain silver tag with a cross etched into it.
"You know, if you're planning secret meetings, you really shouldn't have them in public areas. You also shouldn't be planning them with Marshall," Auburn quipped with a smirk.
"Oh! Uh! Auburn! What were you doing back there? I thought you were with Ryder!" Marshall exclaimed hastily, attempting to change the subject, but only making himself look more suspicious in the process.
"He left, but that doesn't matter," his sister explained. "I knew there had to be a good reason you had me visit this week. Now let's hear what problems the Time Lord has caused this time. Is the universe collapsing? Am I going to blip out of existence?" Auburn cheekily queried.
"Please don't call me Time Lord…" Gizmo sighed under his breath.
"It's nothing bad!" Rocky hastily reassured her. "In fact, we think it's something you'd enjoy."
"If it's got anything to do with traipsing about the cosmos, count me out," Auburn politely declined.
"Well, not exactly. You see, this was actually Marshall's idea. He wanted to surprise you," Gizmo elaborated.
The female Dalmatian tilted her head to the side. "Oh? Well, what was the surprise?"
Marshall took a deep breath before beginning to explain, "Let me start from the beginning…"
Before he could though, an alarm started going off from the computer display behind them. "Uh oh…" Gizmo breathed as he dashed to the control panel.
"Uh oh? What do you mean 'Uh oh?'" Auburn asked worriedly, walking up behind him to see. Marshall and Rocky crowded over Gizmo's shoulders as well.
Gizmo continued to type as he answered, "It's a relatively small change, but it resulted in universal instability. Possibilities are branching faster than the computer can predict."
"That sounds really bad. What did you do to our universe?" Auburn gasped fearfully.
"It wasn't me, and it's not our universe. It's a different one," the Labrador retriever clarified. "The butterfly has flapped its wings, and there's no way for me to tell if a hurricane is on its way."
"You're speaking in riddles again," Marshall groaned.
"He means that something happened, and whatever it was made it so the computer isn't able to predict the universe reliably anymore. Everything from now on is completely unknown," Rocky translated. "We knew it would happen eventually, but we didn't know what would cause it."
"And what caused it?" Auburn asked in morbid curiosity.
After a moment's hesitation, Gizmo responded, "They kissed on live TV…"
A/N: Special thanks to RodentRacer for bringing his OCs Gizmo and crew into this world and his help writing and proofing this chapter!