(A/N: I don't own Paw Patrol, Enjoy!)
Chapter 4: Night play
The afternoon flew by and soon it was dinner time. The future EMT pups dragged themselves inside with Marshall trotting behind them.
"I feel it leaking out of my skull" groaned Zuma.
"I never knew that there was so much stuff in Marshall's ambulance" replied Everest.
"Do we really need to know all that stuff, Marshall?" questioned Tracker.
"Yup" replied Marshall "You three are the most likely to have to deal with a medical emergency where I won't be readily available. Tracker, it takes us a few hours to get to the jungle. And Everest, while we can get to your mountain fairly quicky, the cold significantly reduces chances of survival if I'm not already there when you rescue a patient. And Zuma, the beach is the most likely place where someone could require medical attention. Plus, it is centrally located in town so you can respond quickly to any issues that come up while I'm gone."
The pups nodded in understanding. They knew getting certified wouldn't be easy but they knew they had to do it. And deep down inside they wanted to do it so they could be better rescuers. Then they heard Ryder calling "Come on pups, dinner time!"
All the pups cheered as they bounded towards the lookout. Marshall even managed to make it inside without causing a wreck, to the amazement of all. As the pups chowed down, they discussed what to do with their evening.
"Apollo Super Pup Movie?" suggested Rubble.
"Nah" replied Zuma, "we watched that last night, dude."
"Pup-Pup-Boogie tournament" suggested Skye.
"Maybe" said Chase "but how about a game we haven't played before?"
"Like what?" asked Rocky.
"How about Freeze tag with glow sticks on our collars?" said Marshall "but the pup who is it doesn't have one to make it more fun!"
"Sounds like fun" said Everest, "Lets do it!" So, all the pups ran outside.
"I'll be it first" volunteered Marshall "you have 30 seconds before I start hunting."
The pups yipped excitedly as they disappeared into the night. Marshall covered his eyes as he counted to 30. When he opened them, he saw seven lights arrayed before him. "Ready or not, here I come!" he yelled as he took off in pursuit of a little orange light.
Zuma wasn't sure how this was going to go since he couldn't see Marshall so he decided to just listen to see if he could tell where Marshall was. Then he heard a certain dalmatian whisper in his ear "you gonna run?"
Zuma shrieked and leapt up into the air and started running before he hit the ground. Unfortunately, he landed in a wet patch and instead started to dig himself into the grass. Just as he started to gain traction, he felt Marshall tag him. "Aww man" he groaned "though that was a good tag bro!"
Now the other pups knew better than to stay still so they started running in different directions. Marshall just smiled as he slowly picked them off. Next, he caught Rubble and then Tracker. He saw Rocky and Chase going towards Zuma to unfreeze him so he let out a howl. Rocky quickly reversed direction away but Chase broke into a sprint hoping to get to Zuma first. He didn't make it as Marshall tagged him about 5 feet shy of Zuma.
Chase groaned in frustration as Marshall slipped back into the darkness. Then Chase heard a soft rustle in the bushes next to him. He sniffed and realized Skye was right there, ready to tag him back in. "Quick Skye, unfreeze me!" he whispered to her.
"Hehe, ok!" she giggled as she bounded up to him but decided to unfreeze him the best way she knew how. As she skidded to a stop in front Chase, she batted her eyes at him. "So, what do I get for unfreezing you?" she teased.
"You'll have to unfreeze me to find out" flirted Chase back.
Skye leaned up and kissed Chase to unfreeze him. They held the kiss for a moment before they both felt a paw tapping their shoulder.
"Nice technique Skye" laughed Marshall "but now you have to stay like that."
"And the problem is?" Chase and Skye responded together as they blushed at being caught.
"Someone else will come to unfreeze you" cackled Marshall as he took off.
Chase and Skye turned bright red as they realized their predicament.
Meanwhile, Everest and Rocky were working their way around unfreezing the other pups. First, they got Zuma.
"Thanks dude and dudette!" cheered Zuma as he raced free.
Then they went and unfroze Rubble and Tracker who were similarly grateful, even if Rubble was frozen again right after. As they approached a pair of pink and blue lights, they both grinned at what they saw.
"Aww, so adorable" teased Everest.
"They do look cute together, don't they?" teased Rocky.
"Not helpful bud" replied Chase, who was turning the color of Marshall's fire truck.
"Pleeeeease unfreeze us!" whined Skye.
"Aww, you don't want to kiss Chasey Wasey forever Skye?" continued Everest.
"Well, I do, but not like this!" replied Skye as she turned the color of Ryder's ATV.
"Too bad, you might be there awhile" said a voice off to Everest's left.
"EEEEEKKKK!" shrieked Everest as she leapt back from the voice and crashed into Rocky, flattening him and ending up laying on top of him. Then both of them felt the soft tap of a black and white paw…
"Gotcha!" laughed Marshall as he faded back into the darkness.
"Well shoot" said Rocky "so close."
"Yeah" replied Everest "but you are pretty comfy" she teased as they both turned pink.
Now that Marshall had almost all of the pups contained, it was only a matter of time. He managed to freeze Tracker but he couldn't find Zuma.
Then Ryder came outside. "Whatcha doing pups?" he asked as he walked toward a cluster of teal, green, blue and pink lights.
"Freeze tag" said Marshall from beside him.
"Ah, oh you scared me Marshall" yelled Ryder as the realized there was an unlit dalmatian next to him.
"Sorry Ryder" replied Marshall, "but you should really see this!"
Ryder couldn't help but laugh as he shined his light over the four frozen pups who were all blushing.
"Run like the wind!" Zuma yelled as he raced in to try and unfreeze Chase.
"Not if I get you first!" yelled Marshall as he raced to catch Zuma first. But he tripped over Everest's and Rocky's splayed-out paws and rolled into a bowling ball.
"Ah!" cried Zuma as the black and white ball crashed into him, inches from Chase.
"Guess I froze everyone out" laughed Marshall as all the pups gathered around.
"I'm glad you had fun pups" laughed Ryder, "but now it's bedtime."
"Awww" all the pups wined as they turned to head to their pup houses.
"Dogpile!"
On cue, all the pups turned around and tackled Ryder with hugs and licks. Ryder was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
"AH, NO, ACK, STOP, IT TICKLES" Ryder cried from laughter. The pups kept giggling and tickling and licking Ryder until they all had to stop because they couldn't breathe.
Regaining his breath, Ryder laughs as he says "You all are such good pups, but it really is bed time"
"Ok Ryder!" all the pups respond as they squirmed their way out of the pup pile and start heading to their pup houses.
"Now is your chance" whispered Skye to Everest.
"Maybe…" replied Everest. She had immensely enjoyed being flirty with her crush all day but now she was beyond nervous to actually say or do something more.
"Come on" yipped Skye as she started trotting over towards Chase, Marshall, Rocky and Zuma. Everest followed her, butterflies filling her heart but with her normal smile on her face.
Skye flipped up onto Chase's back "hate to break up your boy band but I'm tired and I need my pillow" while patting Chase on the head.
"Guess it really is bed time" blushed Chase as Marshall, Zuma and Rocky snickered at him. "Goodnight, bros!" he said as he gave them each a high-paw before heading towards his pup-house with Skye laying down on his back with her head on top of his.
"Goodnight boys" smiled Everest as she walked past, "accidentally" swishing her tail under her crush's nose before walking off to her pup house with a little extra bounce and sway in her step. Her crush froze for a split second before forcing himself to return to the conversation while keeping one eye on that swishing tail…
"Well dudes, I'm gonna go to bed" said Zuma, "getting up early to catch some waves. But don't worry, I'll be back before you leave Marshall."
"Yeah, I should probably finish packing and get some sleep" replied Marshall.
"Yeah, goodnight, buds!" returned Rocky as the three headed off to their pup houses.
Marshall was already mostly done packing, he just had to throw in the last few things. It was actually the first time that Marshall had needed to actually pack since normally they took their pup houses in the Paw Patroller or just their vehicles outright for camping or anything else. Ryder had gotten Marshall a red duffle bag with the Paw Patrol logo on the ends and Marshall's tag on one side and his EMT symbol on the opposite side. It even had every other pups' symbol lining the inside to help remind Marshall of his family. It looked great but Marshall had trouble fitting everything he wanted to take. Marshall brushed his teeth, stashed away his tooth brush and tooth paste and closed his bag. Then he walked over to his bed and laid down to get some sleep.
Everest stirred when she felt her tag vibrate. She had set an alarm to wake herself up after everyone else would be asleep. She was nervous for what she was about to do, but she was also very determined. She might not be able tell her crush how she felt, but dog gone it she was going to do something tonight! She grabbed the cloth pouch she had placed four items inside and snuck out into the dark.
Everest padded softly over to her crush's pup house, ever so carefully opened the door to let herself in before softly shutting it behind her. First, she hid the pouch so it wouldn't be found right away, but that it would be found at the right time. Then she turned to look at her crush. He was flopped over on his side, legs splayed out in all directions. He is just so gosh darn handsome and cute Everest thought as she stared at him, working up to courage for the next phase of her plan.
She carefully laid down with him, putting her head next to his and laying down such that she didn't bend his limbs awkwardly and wake him up. Though, he was used to being in awkward poses she silently giggled to herself. She was quietly setting her alarm to wake her up before her crush when she felt him move. She froze in fear that he would wake up and discover her. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized what was actually happening. Her crush had pulled his top two paws out from under her and placed them over her before pulling her back against his chest and wrapping his paws around her. Everest was well and truly snuggled up to him like his little spoon. She had dreamed about this happening after they got together but now that it was happening now, she could barely breathe. She loved the feeling and wished she could stay like this forever but her fear of being caught and having to explain herself was almost as strong. Her heart skipped a beat or two when she felt his wet nose nuzzling her neck and take a deep sniff.
"mmm, smells so nice, so perfect, like the first snowfall in a forest" her crush whispered and she melted against him, hoping he stayed asleep. She started to breathe again when he said no more and moved his head to rest on top of hers. Making sure her alarm was set, Everest gently pressed against her crush, surrendering to the blissful feeling of being cuddled by him as she fell asleep.