Chapter forty-eight: Going Back
"Alright.. then let's start thinking about what we're gonna do for the gift and go out and get it!" Rocky announced. "Or make it.. if you've got an idea of what to make."
"Wait, what if we have a question about our items we're getting our secret pup?" Melody asked the group.
"Go through Ryder, he'll know how to help." Rocky suggested. "That's why he's the neutral party."
"Can you get more than one thing? Either on the list or otherwise?" CiCi wondered, raising a paw.
"Of course, whatever you can afford to do." Rocky confirmed. "Money can be kinda fun to manage sometimes.. but I'm glad I don't have to do it all the time."
"Okay. Ummm what's the time?" Melody replied casually.
"Dinner time." Ryder said, delivering bowls.
At this moment, both Chase and Chester glanced at each other as symmetrically as a mirror image.
"Yes!" They cheered, high fiving each other. So high in fact they were standing on their back paws, then dug in.
"And that's our cue to head out." Frank decided, adjusting his grip on his cane. "It's getting late. Coming Chess?"
"Oh right. Um.." taking one last bite for the road, he started to follow. "Thanks Ryder!" He muffed through the big mouthful.
"Of course, Chester." Ryder smiled.
Then Chase left his food and as soon as they turned to see him coming, the two Prescott siblings knelt down for a three then four individual group hug when Chester squeezed in to join in.
"Can we do the polar plunge again tomorrow?" He asked them in a mumbling tone for only them to hear.
"Baby, of course," Maggie murmured back, pressing her cheek into his. "I'll make sure Billy brings everything you boys need."
Chase's tail started to wag and he planted a couple licks on her cheek and Billy ruffled his head only for Chase to do the same to Chester. He jabbed his big brother's shoulder and then all four of them separated so he could gently hug Boomer. Chase then approached Frank and put his paws up onto his leg so he could cup his hand around the right side of pup's head, which he leaned into tenderly.
When he stepped back down, he let Frank walk away, but the man turned back around and nodded, which made the pup smile. Then with that, he strode straight toward the door with his children on either side and their rambunctious shepherd and calm old Aussie in tow. Chase sat and watched this for a long time, sitting rather erect in his trademark formality, like he were in his uniform awaiting the command to move from his post; but his tail was still wagging happily which they were glad to see.
"Wait! Are they leaving for a day or longer? We just pulled names for our pup secret gift giving arrangement," Snowflake asked Ryder, as the boy set the bowls of food down.
"Don't worry, they'll be back tomorrow.." Chase replied, leaning his head back back toward them. "Chess wouldn't miss out on the action.."
Finishing the second part of his statement, he finally turned and left his spot and returned to his food.
"Chess and Boomerang will be back for Christmas, right Ryder?" Ned commented, trying to comfort his sister.
"Of course they would, Christmas is two weeks away!" Skyler spoke up before Ryder could.
"They will," Ryder told them. "They're just going home for the night."
"Okay," Snowflake and Ned replied simultaneously before they started eating their food.
"We'll have to start our Christmas shopping tomorrow since it's pretty late," Melody stated.
"Yup, maybe give some of us a chance to think on what we're gonna get." Marshall supposed.
"Anyone else feel like they got a weird pick?" Chase wondered.
"You're not the only one," Ned responded.
"Don't worry, guys," Rocky reassured them. "I'm sure you'll do great! That's why we had everyone make a list which should make it easier."
"I bet once we really get going, it'll get easier to make a decision," Kylie supposed.
"Of course!" Ned agreed with a smile.
"Alright pups, let's go to bed," Ryder announced.
"Aww ok.." several pups sighed, every one of them sulking off to go get ready.
"Gotta rest up so you can work on your Secret Santa gifts," Ryder implied, smiling after them.
"So, bedtime?" Melody asked.
"Yes, that's what he just said." Chase pointed out.
Then everyone scattered about the Lookout and grounds to settle into their sleeping spots to go to bed.
XXXX
Panting breaths which echoed more than he remembered..
The flopping thwap of leather against flesh..
Clinking metal chain glinting as they shifted from the sprinting gait.
The snow dashed from his paws as he ran full speed through it with no apparent destination in mind.
The runners allowed the weight behind him to glide so smoothly it was like he was pulling nothing at all. However the external tension at his shoulders reminded him that he was indeed attached to something.
Closing his eyes, he could imagine a cheerful child's voice giggling with the thrill of speed rumbling under them. Or perhaps one of his friends could be the one on his sled. Either way the sounds of joy were enough to fuel his adrenaline to pump a little harder. The exhilaration of stretching his legs was the thoughtful desire beating throughout his entire body. No resistance or stiffness to restrict him, no pain to pull him down.. no other feeling but nothing which could fire his muscles on all cylinders again.
'Soon..' he thought to himself. 'Soon enough'
Barely opening his eyes though the split second decision to halt screeched hard to a stop, panning his gaze over a drop that made his heart lurch in his chest. Then his view rolled up into the direct sunlight and he was suddenly hanging where he'd remembered hanging, before just seconds before losing his grip and plummeting into a dark cyclone of wind and snow!..
xxxx
Chase jumped upright like he'd felt the impact for real, his heart pounded but he couldn't tell whether it was a good or bad thing. However, thinking on what he'd just vividly seen, burned in fact into his memory, he decided to leave his spot to draw closer to where some of his closest friends were gathered; taking the most convenient spot between Marshall and Rayla. And when he swiveled around to lay down, he must have touched them just enough for them to both slide closer to him, and though the crowded feeling felt unnerving to him, he also didn't fight it because once the awkwardness wore off, he had to admit it did make him feel more at ease, so that when he set his head down, he felt completely safe to close his eyes once again and return to sleep.
XXXX
A yawn escaped as Snowflake started to wake up. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked around to see if anyone else was awake.
The Dalmatian, German Shepherd and golden lab were still snuggled up together, Rayla laying almost on top of Chase and Chase almost laying on Marshall.
CiCi and Kylie, right behind them, were curled up next to each other facing a little offset from one another.
Rocky, Rubble, and Skyler were just behind them, Rubble over Rocky and the border collie next to them. Further to the right, closer to where she was, Zuma, Skye and Tiny, then Ned, Melody and Brian; in that order of closeness, but all scattered in her vicinity.
'I'm the only one awake? Uugghhh! What time is it?' Snowflake thought before looking around for any indication of time.
Eventually she found the clock on the wall which read six-thirty am.
'Six-thirty?! No, no way! Too early to get up!' Snowflake thought to herself before quietly falling back to sleep.
What she didn't realize when she'd closed her eyes and returned to rest, was the amount of time that passed between her return to sleep, and his return to being awake.
Chase blinked a few times, then slowly lifted his head. The natural stiffness of sleeping soundly prohibited his movement, so he stretched his neck by the tilt of his head. He yawned deeply, and looked for where he was like he had forgotten the move he'd made earlier in the night. But seeing as how he was still in between two of his closest friends, he contemplated whether or not to move or just simply give up on the possibility he had in mind and just go back to sleep for a little longer.
But then Rayla suddenly shifted back over like some higher power was answering him in some way, so he slowly eased off of Marshall and stood up. Quietly sneaking forward, minding his footing as he stepped over the Dalmatian's sprawled paws.
Though he was stiff in the shoulders, he was relieved it didn't hurt when he moved and especially when he stretched.
Finally, he thought, ..To be normal again.
He approached the window to see the color change of the sunrise horizon turning the dreamy purple sky into a blend of pinks and oranges awakening the new dawn once again.
The new hope for the day morphed a smile to his face and an anticipation he hadn't felt for awhile. Maybe it was because of his special request the day before.. or perhaps it was merely because he felt like he'd actually slept a good night's sleep for once. Or simply just that his personal peace was beginning to grow back once again, if that was a thing.
Still, as he watched the day awakening before his eyes, he viewed this vastly different from the time before. And it seemed much easier to be more positive in that regard.
Maybe more has changed than I realized. He thought, but then it reminded him of that one thing that did happen during his day away that he recalled was the only negative out of the whole thing.. even though a seed of hope had still been left in him afterwards as food for thought..
XXXX
Chase had snuck in one more time to see how his mom was fairing. He knew that the night before had been long and even though the blank spot in his understanding remained void, he still got the rough concept of what had gone on while he himself had been asleep. And even though he was hoping to go undetected..
"We're doing fine, Chase." Mariana mumbled, not even opening her eyes. The pup froze like suddenly he'd been completely exposed and the thought on his mind was almost as open as if he'd said it out loud.
"I've done this many times by now." His mother said, opening her eyes to lift her head toward him. "There's not much that gets past me."
"I thought you were still asleep." Chase murmured, beginning to slowly approach.
"I wish.." Mariana sighed, lowering her head back onto her paws, but kept her gaze on him, as he was now standing beside her. "But a mother's work is never done for long.. sleep will slowly trickle back the older they get.. just like every other time."
Chase slowly followed his mother's gaze as she spoke, letting his nose down to barely touch one of the small pups asleep at her side. It twitched slightly and settled immediately, but the one next to it seemed unusually calm.
Chase's brown eyes stared like he could see its breaths, but his ears couldn't pick anything up because of its small size. However when he touched it with its nose it didn't move or react at all, he tapped it again and nothing happened, he tapped it a time or two more and the very last one got a very slight, almost nonexistent response.
"Chase?" The young Shepherd's eyes shot to his mother's
"What is it?" She asked, with deep concern and a little confusion.
"This pup.." Chase finally said, after a long 'deer in headlights' stare. "He doesn't seem well."
"Let me see," She said, her tone shifting slightly. Without hesitation he took the pup off the pile in his mouth carefully fitting his jaws around the pup's midsection so he wouldn't crush it and essentially dragged it closer to his mom's head. Gently letting it down without dropping it before her so she could inspect it with her own sniffer.
"What did you smell?" She asked him.
"I don't know," Chase shook his head. "I just get the feeling something's wrong."
Mariana laid her head down by the pup's face for a long moment, her eyes giving way to the gears turning while her ears listened.
"Go get the Prescotts.." she finally said, looking at him certainly.
"What? What is it?" Chase asked quickly.
"You're right, something is wrong.. we must do something quickly, now go!"
Without another word the pup turned and ran on instinct, getting tripped up by the front wall of the whelping box, but he got up and ran once again.
"Billy!"..
xxxx
Just remembering how scary that was, began to get to him with anxiety. Though he was amazed now, recognizing how this reminder had only come back to light now.. Then again it was just yesterday afternoon,.. a potential disaster couldn't possibly remain in the back of his mind for too long. Not something this 'close to home' as they say.
But even so he began to wonder again of the results or if any had even come back yet. In all reality, this was no test awaiting diagnosis, though in a way it kind of was.. but with the knowledge they already had.. it still seemed.. uncertain.
Hope he's still fighting. He thought, as he contemplated going back to lay down. Even though he knew he probably wasn't gonna go back to sleep at this point.
Wassup, you guys! Merry Christmas once again, hope everyone had a great holiday.. And yet we're not done yet! New Years is right around the corner so the celebration is yet to resume!
But on that note I will say that we are still slowly trucking along, hoping to finish this story soon with hopefully very little to no more lapses in posting, but as we all know nothing is guaranteed.
As for this chapter though.. It was just a little silly with some of the banter and the flashback was quite fun! Hope you enjoyed reading this and we'll see you next time! Thx!