(A/N: I do not own Paw Patrol, enjoy!)
Coming Together
"You seem surprised to see me," Gasket said with a smug smile.
"Surprised doesn't begin to cover it" Chase spat angrily. "I should be arresting you, along with Hubcap." Chase nodded to the still trembling French Bulldog.
"Maybe, but not today," Gasket replied with that same smug smile.
"And why is that?" Chase said angrily, ignoring Ryder as he drove up.
"Two reasons," Gasket replied with a sweet smile as she counted them on her paws. "First, you've got nothing to charge me with."
"Attempted murder of Rocky for starters," Chase replied angrily, "and I'm sure there are plenty of other things."
"I can assure you that Rocky is fine" Gasket noted dryly, with a hint of something else in her voice. "But you already know that, don't you, since he is standing right behind you…"
Chase growled in frustration because he knew she was right.
"As for any laundry list of minor infractions you might have on me," Gasket continued, "I think I've got a pretty good plea-bargaining chip."
"And what might that be?" Chase asked sarcastically.
"I believe Dwayne and I just delivered Hubcap to you," Gasket replied. "Hubcap, who attempted to abduct Mayor Goodway, attempted to murder Oscar's and Olivia's chicks, who has 'masterminded' so may failed incidents in Adventure Bay."
"WHAT?!"
Hubcap's angry yell took all the pups, except Gasket and Rocky, by surprise. "You are supposed to be helping me escape! Not blasting my motorcycle with an EMP! Which you now have to fix now, by the way!"
"No, I don't think I will." Gasket jumped down and then walked towards Hubcap as she addressed him. "And here is why. You aren't worthy of my loyalty. You don't value the work I do to take care of the pack. In fact, you spit on it and take it for granted. In addition, you don't value me. Not for the inventions I've cobbled together to try and make your crazy ideas work, not for saving your tail time and time again, and certainly not me as an individual."
Over the course of her discourse, Gasket had closed to be less than a paw's reach from Hubcap. "You aren't worthy to lead the Ruff Ruff Pack."
"You wouldn't know a worthy leader if they smacked you in the face!" Hubcap spat. "Tell her Dwayne!"
"Yeah, tell me Dwayne," Gasket added gently. Something about the way she said it caused Skye to cock her head to the side curiously.
Every eye was on the golden-brown Great Dane. "Gasket is right," he finally said, hanging his head down. "You don't take care of us; you don't look after us." Dwayne lifted his eyes to look right at Hubcap. "Gasket does. Gasket has a plan to take care of us."
"You don't know what you are talking about," Hubcap spat derisively.
"Keep telling yourself that," Gasket quietly said.
"You!" Hubcap continued to rant. "You turned him against me!"
"You have done that yourself," Gasket noted. "Call yourself leader of the Ruff Ruff Pack if you want, because you have no one to lead. And you want to know what else? Whatever trouble you try to cause, know that we'll be there to stop you."
"Yeah? How are you going to do that?" Hubcap taunted. "I know you didn't make those fancy cars you drove up in."
"Not alone, no," Gasket said, turning her back on Hubcap as she walked past him. "I had some help. From someone who actually believes in me and helps instead of ridiculing. Someone who values and treats me like I matter instead of like dirt." Gasket stopped next to Rocky and looked back over her shoulder at Hubcap. "I'll let you figure out who that might be."
"No one values you, Gasket," Hubcap sneered, "you are nothing but a failure!"
"And that is where you are wrong," Rocky said with a smug smile of his own. "Gasket is more than capable and more special than you could possibly imagine." Rocky then grabbed Gasket by her spiked collar and pulled her into a passionate kiss.
Every jaw hit the floor in unison and time stood still as the implications registered with every pup. No one even noticed Marshall drive up. When he saw his grey brother smooching Gasket, he just smiled.
"YOU B***H!" Hubcap's angry snarl snapped everyone back to reality. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"You don't want to be doing that," Rocky said smugly.
"NO, I REALLY THINK I DO!" snarled Hubcap as he tensed to leap at them.
"Your funeral," Gasket shrugged.
"Ruff, Net!"
"Ruff, tranquilizer!"
Hubcap looked around. Marshall and Chase were ready to take him down and the rest of the pups seemed ready to throw down; even Dwayne seemed ready to fight him. Rocky and Gasket were the exception, looking placidly back at him.
"You'll pay…" Hubcap threatened as he slowly backed away, looking for a way out. "You'll all pay!" With that, Hubcap turned and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him towards the desert.
"Where is he going?" Marshall asked quizzically.
"Probably the diner," Gasket answered with a shrug. "There is enough food to last him three days, more if he rations himself, and plenty of water. I disabled everything else except the radio and the TV. And he can't fix any of it."
"Are you going after him Chase?" Skye asked.
"No, I have a traitor to deal with," Chase said angrily, spinning to face Rocky and Gasket.
"Don't do this Chase," Rocky said gently, shifting positions so he was between Gasket and Chase. "Whatever you are thinking of doing, it's a bad idea."
"And how would you know that, traitor?" Chase growled.
"Because you are still my brother," Rocky said, taking a step forward. "Because we have been through so much together." Rocky took another step forward. Out of the corner or his eye, he confirmed that Marshall still had his tranquilizer gun out. He hoped it wouldn't be needed. "Because we are family. You can't pretend that anything has changed that." Rocky stopped in front of Chase and looked into his molten brown eyes. "I'm not your enemy, neither is Dwayne and neither is Gasket."
"Stand down Chase," Ryder finally intervened. "You and Skye head back to the Lookout. Marshall, please escort Dwayne back. I need to talk with Rocky and Gasket."
"Yes sir," Chase acknowledged the order. "This isn't over," he whispered to Rocky before turning to walk away.
"No, it's not," Rocky replied. "It's just the beginning. But remember something, Chase…"
"What's that?" the police pup said, looking back over his shoulder.
"You are still my brother, and I still love you," Rocky wrapped a paw around Chase's shoulders and hugged him.
Chase froze for a moment, before angrily shrugging Rocky off and walking away without another word. He jumped up into his cruiser and headed towards the lookout. Rocky watched him go with a sad look in his eyes.
"It will be ok," Marshall said as his tranquilizer gun retracted back into his pack. He came over and rubbed up against Rocky. "It will take time, but he'll come around."
"I hope you are right." Rocky replied with a sigh. The easy part of his and Gasket's plan was over; now it was time for the hard part.
"Just remember, it's all worth it," Marshall reminded him with a grin and a nod to Gasket who came up on Rocky's other side. The grey Malamute pressed herself against Rocky's other side comfortingly.
"Marshall," Ryder firmly reminded the Dalmatian of his tasking.
"On my way, Ryder," Marshall said cheerfully, turning to Dwayne. "Come on Dwayne, you can tell me all about your new ride."
"Ok Marshall," Dwayne replied as he jumped back into his car. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he knew in his heart that he had made the right choice.
"You two have some explaining to do…" Ryder said as Marshall and Dwayne departed.
"I know," Rocky replied, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the plan Ryder."
"I'm less concerned about that," Ryder said and he gently rubbed Rocky behind his torn ear. "I'm more concerned about the next phase of your plan."
"Would you believe us if we didn't think we'd make it this far?" Gasket replied, questioningly cocking her head to the side.
"No," Ryder replied with a slight smile. "I know Rocky is too smart for that and I have a suspicion that you are, too."
"Worth a shot," Gasket replied with a shrug, to which Rocky and Ryder both started laughing.
Chase didn't say a word the whole way back to the Lookout. Skye tried to engage him in conversation a few times, but he shut those attempts with single syllable answers. The Cockapoo sighed in frustration. She loved Chase dearly but there were times where his stubbornness was less endearing, like now. But she was not about to let him tear her family apart. As Skye set her copter down, jumped out, and watched it change into her pup house, she conceded to him today. But tomorrow, it was game on.
Chase was oblivious to Skye's thoughts as he parked his cruiser, consumed with his own raging thoughts. There was so much about the day for him to process, from the fire and fake attack on Rocky, to the his speed pursuit, to the revelation that this was all a setup. In any other situation, he probably would have been impressed by Rocky's ingenuity. But all of that was marred by the fact that Rocky set had it up with Gasket. Gasket the criminal and antagonist of the Paw Patrol. And even worse, he was dating Gasket. The very thought made Chase want to vomit, preferably all over the mixed breed and malamute. Chase didn't even bother with dinner, instead jumping down and going straight inside his pup house.
"So, you had no idea that this was the plan?" Marshall said incredulously.
"Nope, Gasket just said we were going to have to do something crazy to take care of Hubcap," Dwayne replied.
"So how did you know how to do a PIT maneuver?" Marshall asked
"A what?" Dwayne replied, confused.
"That thing you did to spin out Hubcap," Marshall explained. "It is called a Precision Immobilization Technique, or PIT. It has also been called a Tactical Vehicle Intervention, or TVI."
"Oh, I didn't know that," Dwayne replied. "Gasket taught me. She said I might have to do it one day to get someone to stop. Today was the first time I actually did it on someone that wasn't practicing on Gasket."
"Well, you did a very good job," Marshall complimented.
"That you." Dwayne was silent for a moment. "Are we in a lot of trouble?"
"I don't know," Marshall admitted. "This is way above my pay-grade. I suppose that is what Ryder is talking to Rocky and Gasket about."
"What about Hubcap? Is he going to be alright?" Dwayne pressed.
"I think Gasket and Rocky have a plan," Marshall replied. "It may not make sense to us, but I trust Rocky."
"And I trust Gasket," Dwayne added with a smile.
"Sounds like we are good paws, then," Marshall said with a smile. As they drove up to the Lookout, Marshall noticed that Chase's door was closed. Hopefully some sleep will do him some good and let him calm down and approach this rationally."
Who? Cinder asked curiously.
Chase Marshall replied, he is not in a rational mood.
That matches what Skye said Cinder replied.
"Marshall?" Dwayne said hesitantly.
Marshall shook his head. Belatedly, he realized he had stopped in the middle of the driveway. "Sorry, I got distracted," he fumbled for an answer. "Why don't you park your car over between Skye's and Rubble's houses?"
"Ok, but where will Gasket park?" Dwayne asked.
"Between Rocky's and Rubble's houses" Marshall replied. That would put her as far from Chase as possible.
"Ok!" Dwayne said happily. The Great Dane parked his car and hopped out.
Marshall parked his fire truck and changed it into his pup house. "Are you hungry?" he asked as he hopped down.
"Yup, I haven't eaten all day," Dwayne replied with a wag of his tail.
"Come on inside then," Marshall said with a wave of his paw. Marshall led the golden-brown pup through the doors and to the kitchen. Then he grabbed a spare bowl and filled it. "Enjoy," he said with a smile as he deposited it in front of Dwayne.
"Thanks!" Dwayne said as he started to eat. "Inhale" might have been a better word, though; the food was gone in seconds.
"Are you still hungry?" Marshall asked nervously.
"Uh huh," Dwayne replied, "but I can wait until breakfast."
Marshall considered his options. Dwayne definitely needed more food, but he couldn't just keep feeding him because that would make him sick. "No, you can have another bowl," Marshall finally said.
"Seconds? You're the best, Marshall!" Dwayne said, his tail wagging in excitement. Marshall just smiled as he set the re-filled bowl down.
Where are you? Cinder thought to Marshall.
Getting Dwayne dinner Marshall thought back.
When he is done, can you bring him up to the control room? We want to meet him, Cinder requested.
Sure thing Marshall acknowledged as he got himself dinner as well.
When they were done eating, Marshall led Dwayne up the stairs. As they crested the stairs, Dwayne's eyes bugged out at everything. "Wow," was all he could say.
"Dwayne, I don't believe you have met my twin sister, Cinder," Marshall said as he gestured to the other Dalmatian. "And the jet-black Belgian Shepherd next to her is Augie."
"Hi, pleased to meet you," Dwayne said with a wave of his paw. "Do you both live here now, too?"
"Temporarily," Cinder softly said. "Augie and I got hurt at work so we are staying here so Marshall can take care of us."
"He is very good at that," Dwayne said. "Isn't he the only pup in the world to be certified as a paramedic?"
"He is," Everest said with a smile, walking over and giving Marshall a quick kiss.
"You were pretty impressive in that car," Augie said. "How long have you been driving it?"
"Today was the first time," Dwayne replied, "I usually drive my motorcycle with a sidecar."
"What?" Augie said in surprise.
"There is a bit to talk about" Marshall said with a smile.
"You two are crazy," Ryder said.
"Of course we are, you have to be a bit crazy to be inventors," Rocky replied.
"If we were sane, this never would have worked," Gasket pointed out.
"Fair, but there is still so much that can go wrong," Ryder replied. The boy sighed, "I'll try and keep Chase at bay, but he is not going to take this well at all; especially if it plays out the way you think it will."
"No, he won't," Rocky admitted with a sigh of his own. "But let's be honest, it could be worse."
"How?" Ryder asked.
"I could be in love with Sylvia or Sweetie. Or even worse, Skye," Rocky said with a smile.
"Nope, you are all mine," Gasket said darkly, wrapping her paws jealously around Rocky's middle.
Ryder just laughed. "Let's go home then."
"Does that mean Dwayne and I have to go back to the diner?" Gasket as hesitantly.
"For now, no," Ryder replied. "You can stay at the Lookout for the time being."
"Thanks Ryder, I was hoping you would say that," Gasket said with a sigh of relief.
"Just, try not to cause any trouble," Ryder added the condition.
"Easy enough," Gasket acknowledged. "Just don't ask me to keep my paws to myself…" she added with a sultry wink at Rocky.
"Yeah, she tends to lose her cool when I put my paws on her," Rocky winked back.
"Just don't be worse than Marshall and Everest," Ryder said with a beleaguered sigh.
"No promises," Rocky and Gasket said in unison.
"I am not ready for this," Ryder groaned, eliciting a laugh from Rocky and Gasket. The trio hopped into their vehicles and headed back to the Lookout, with Rocky scooping the parts of Hubcap's disintegrated motorcycle into his truck along the way.
When they arrived at the Lookout, Rocky parked in his normal spot while Gasket parked between Rocky's and Rubble's houses. The pair walked inside and straight to the kitchen to grab dinner. As they were chewing, they heard voices approaching.
"Wow, that was you? That was incredible!" Dwayne said.
"I'm actually surprised you heard about it," Cinder softly said. "I didn't think it was big enough to get any media coverage outside Heartland."
Marshall walked in, with Cinder on his back, followed by Dwayne, followed by Everest with Augie on her back, Zuma, Rubble, and Skye.
"It was all over the news," Dwayne said, "I'm glad you are going to be ok."
"We are too," Augie said with a smile. "It was definitely a close thing."
"Welcome back," Marshall said to Rocky and Gasket. "How did it go?"
"Well enough," Rocky replied. "Time will tell though."
"At least you have tonight," Marshall said with a smile.
"That is something," Gasket said.
"Gasket," Rocky said, "this Dalmatian that looks just like Marshall is his twin sister, Cinder."
"We've met before," Cinder softly said with a smile, "when she gave me a lift to the Lookout from the train station after pretending to crash her motorcycle."
"I was hoping you hadn't put that together," Gasket said quietly.
"She is a bit too sharp for that," Augie said with a proud smile. "I'm Augie by the way."
"Right, that police pup that proved someone was framing Marshall," Gasket replied, connecting the dots in her mind.
"I see introductions weren't strictly needed," Everest laughed.
"But still important," Rocky noted.
"So, what is the plan?" Marshall inquired.
"Stargazing?" Cinder softly offered. The rest of the pups quickly agreed as Gasket and Rocky finished their dinner. All of them headed outside with Marshall carrying Cinder and Everest carrying Augie.
The night sky was clear as the pups all found places to lay in the grass at the top of the cliff overlooking Adventure Bay. Gasket and Rocky were lying next to each other, leaning against the other. Marshall and Everest deposited Augie and Cinder a few feet over from them with Dwayne settling down on the opposite side. The pair immediately snuggled up against each other. Marshall and Everest laid down next to them. Rubble and Zuma found spots a little bit over from them, with Skye laying a bit farther away from everyone else.
"It's so pretty," Rubble said quietly to Zuma.
"It suwe is," Zuma softly replied.
The two single pups were quiet for a moment. "Do you think Skye is ok?" Rubble whispered after a few quiet moments. He nodded towards the Cockapoo who had buried her face in her paws. The occasional sniff could barely be heard from her direction.
"I don't know dude," Zuma whispered back. "She is definitely upset about something."
"Should we try to cheer her up?" Rubble asked.
"And how would we do that?" Zuma asked.
"Ask her what is wrong and fix it," Rubble said with determination.
"I don't think it's that simple, mate," Zuma said with a shake if his head. Rubble was the youngest of the pups, and with that came a certain perspective. Zuma had an idea about why Skye was upset, and he wasn't about to open that can of worms. "Sometimes you just need to let things wowk themselves out."
"When will that be?" Rubble asked.
"I think something will happen in the next five minutes," Zuma predicted. Sure enough, two and a half minutes later, the dark form of a pup materialized behind Skye and scooped her onto his back. The shadowy pup carried Skye back around the group and deposited her right next to Everest. Marshall then laid back down next to Skye and sandwiched her between himself and Everest.
"Weirdly accurate prediction," Rubble noted.
"Maybe" Zuma admitted, "but I think you would agree that Marshall was not about to let her wallow in self-pity all night."
"No, you are probably right about that." Rubble conceded. "I wonder how he always knows what to do?"
"He doesn't," Everest quipped, startling Zuma and Rubble.
"In this case," Cinder softly added, "it was definitely a team effort."
"But it needed to be Marshall who came to get me," Skye softly added.
"Why is that?" Gasket asked curiously.
"Because he is both Skye's brother and Chase's," Rocky explained. "More so than anyone else. If Marshall wasn't here, I would be the next best, but that comes with a complication of its own."
"This isn't your fault, Rocky," Skye quickly cut him off. "Yes, Chase has to work through this, but don't for a moment think that things would be better off if you were still hiding your relationship with Gasket from everyone."
"Thanks for saying that, Skye," Gasket said with a smile. "Because I've been waiting for-ev-er to do this in public…" The grey Malamute grabbed Rocky by his collar and kiss him so fiercely that his floppy ears and tail stood straight out.
"Ah! Cooties!" Rubble yelped before running for the safety of his pup house. The remaining pups laughed good-naturedly at the assault on poor Rubble's Innocence.
"I will say you did do a good job if hiding it, dude," Zuma complimented Rocky. "I had no idea."
"Maybe you just didn't know how to look, Zuma," Marshall teased.
"Yeah, when did you figure it out?" Rocky challenged. "Earlier today?"
Marshall and Everest looked at each other for a moment. "When you went on your first 'not date' to the monster truck show," Marshall revealed.
Rocky's and Gasket's jaws dropped open in shock. "But, but, how could you?" Gasket spluttered. "I didn't even know about that until I was there! And I definitely didn't think we would end up dating for a single moment that night."
"I guess that will just have to stay a mystery then," Everest laughed.
"Wait, are you saying Marshall actually managed to keep a secret for a prolonged period of time?" Skye said in disbelief.
"I'll take credit for that," Everest replied with a laugh. "There is no way he could have kept it without me."
"How did you do that?" Zuma asked.
"Every time he was about to spill, I would distract him," Everest replied demurely.
"With what?" Zuma pressed.
"That will stay my secret," Everest replied before turning to give Marshall a long, slow, lick on the cheek.
"I think I'm going to go to bed," Dwayne said nervously.
"Good idea, I'll show you to the guest room," Zuma said quickly.
"No need," Rocky replied, "your car changes into a pup house just like the rest of our vehicles."
"It does?" Dwayne asked with a mix of surprise and wonder.
"Show him how, please, Zuma," Rocky asked.
Zuma and Dwayne walked up to the Great Dane's car. Dwayne jumped into the cockpit while Zuma stretched himself up the side. "Press those two buttons," Zuma indicated with his paw.
Dwayne pressed them and then yelped in surprise as the vehicle changed. In a moment, he went from sitting in the cockpit to standing on the roof. "Whoa" he said in wonder.
"Just wait until you see the inside," Gasket said with a smile. No sooner had the words left her mouth than Dwayne was jumping down and running inside with Zuma following him.
Zuma yelped as he plowed into Dwayne from behind and fell flat on his back. Zuma rubbed his nose as he got up and walked around the Great Dane to see why he stopped.
Dwayne was standing with his jaw hanging open in shocked surprise as he looked around the inside of his new pup house. A large portion was taken up by his bed to the right of the doorway. The wall behind the bed was dominated by pictures of various stunt motorcyclists, but if you looked at all the pictures together, they made up one giant picture of Evel Knievel, who also happened to be Dwayne's favorite stunt rider of all time. The back wall had a simple sink for washing his paws and brushing his teeth, just like the other pup houses. The wall opposite the bed was totally white and blank.
Dwayne hesitantly took a step closer to the wall. In the bottom right corner, several colored paws appeared on the wall, along with what looked like an eraser icon and a floppy disk icon. Tentatively, Dwayne reached out and touched the green paw with his own. He then slowly traced a squiggly line on the wall. "She always knew I wanted to draw" Dwayne said softly.
"What was that?" Zuma asked because he hadn't heard what Dwayne had said. As an answer, Dwayne bolted past the chocolate lab, sending him spinning around like a top.
Outside, the other pups were talking quietly when Dwayne burst upon them. Without a word, he ran to Rocky and Gasket and wrapped his large paws around both of them. "It's perfect, thank you," Dwayne whimpered in happiness.
"You're welcome," Rocky replied.
"Only the best for my best buddy," Gasket added as she squeezed Dwayne back. After a minute, Dwayne released them.
"Goodnight, everyone," Dwayne said with a wag before heading to his pup house. A dizzy Zuma stumbled out a moment later before wobbling his way over to his own pup house.
"He really liked that," Skye noted softly.
"He has never had anything like it to call his own," Gasket replied with a trace of sadness. "It's the least we could do for him."
"We should all probably follow his example," Cinder softly noted with a yawn.
"I know it's not Friday night," Rocky said, turning to look at Marshall, "but can we bend the rules just a bit?"
"What rules?" Gasket asked suspiciously.
"Ryder doesn't let us sleep with our boyfriends every night," Everest explained with a sigh. "Just Friday and Saturday nights."
"That's dumb," Gasket pronounced.
"We'll explain the reasons later," Skye promised.
"You are crazy if you think I'm letting this grey hunk of pup out of my paws," Gasket muttered as she wrapped her paws around Rocky possessively.
"We all got our first night," Marshall said with a knowing smile. "And this is your first night after going public so I'm going to say that it counts."
"Thanks Marshall," Rocky said gratefully.
"We didn't get our first night," Cinder softly pouted.
"You got part of it riding in the Air Patroller," Marshall corrected, "and right now we can't leave the two of you alone just yet and none of our pup houses are big enough for the four of us."
"Just leave the patient collars on us, we'll be fine," Cinder softly insisted.
"You know she's right," Everest chimed in with a snicker.
"Fine, do you want my pup house or Everest's?" Marshall relented.
"Yours," Cinder softly replied with a victorious smile.
"Let's go then," Marshall said before scooping Augie onto his back. Everest then scooped Cinder and the foursome headed to Marshall's house.
"You heading to bed too, Skye?" Rocky asked as he and Gasket stood.
"Not just yet," the Cockapoo replied.
"Ok, goodnight," Rocky said.
"Goodnight," Gasket added as she fell in step beside Rocky.
"Goodnight," Skye said. She watched them walk into the Eco pup's green house before letting out a big sigh as she turned to look back at the stars.
"You're right, this is too small for four of us," Cinder softly admitted. It was like playing a game of Tetris trying to get her and Augie situated.
"Almost done," Everest said patiently as she got the Dalmatian situated alongside the Belgian Shepherd.
"Goodnight you two," Marshall said before giving his twin a kiss on top of her head.
"Goodnight," Augie said.
"Goodnight," Everest replied.
"Goodnight, love you both," Cinder softly finished. With that, Marshall and Everest left the two of them alone.
"That was pretty smooth," Augie said as he wrapped his paws around Cinder.
"He never could say no to me," Cinder softly giggled as she snuggled up to him. The two shared a quick kiss goodnight.
Skye was staring up at the stars when she heard soft paw steps approaching. "Come on Skye, bed time," Marshall said quietly.
"No, you go ahead," Skye tried to brush him off.
"Not tonight, Skylark," Marshall said lovingly but firmly, using one of Skye's pet names. "You can either come now, or in an hour or two when you can't sleep. Which is it going to be?"
Skye turned to look at Marshall. His tranquil blue eyes were bright, loving and serious. Marshall was right, and they both knew it. "Fine," Skye surrendered as she got up. The two of them walked to Everest's pup house.
Up on the balcony, Ryder was sipping hot cocoa as he watched. Uncharacteristically, he had been spying on his pups. He still wasn't sure how much he could trust Dwayne and Gasket, but he was now sure that, if nothing else, they were not going to cause trouble. The revelation that Marshall and Everest had known about Rocky's secret relationship that long and said nothing was slightly unnerving, but Ryder also acknowledged that he hadn't asked. As he watched Skye and Marshall enter Everest's pup house, he turned off the stream on his pup pad. "You are all such good pups," he said to himself with a smile as he headed inside to bed himself.
A/N: Thanks for being patient with me as we revisit previous events, hopefully the changes make up for it.