PAW Patrol: Road to Recovery || Book Two

(C19) Exchange of Favors

In the short time it took to get from Jake's cabin to Katie's clinic, Everest's originally overwhelming, tear-jerking emotions had turned into pure excitement. Most of the others had been dropped off at the lookout, which was fine by her, all they would've been doing was waiting for her surgery. She had Marshall for company, who was all she really needed, and of course, Ryder, Katie, and Audrey came as well.

By now, they were pulling into the driveway, two of them being happier than ever to have finally arrived after what felt like hours upon hours of driving. The husky jumped on the ground the second she had the chance, instantly feeling the cold concrete pressing against her paw pads. She usually wasn't the fastest, but now that she was excited, it was a different story. Audrey wasn't too far behind either, although she was just glad to be back home.

Everest held the door open and let the pup rush into her temporary home, even if technically she was her guest. Before the door could close on her, she bolted inside, expecting to see the other three walking in as well. However, she quickly found out that besides themselves, the place was a silent ghost town with no one else in sight.

Slightly confused, she turned back and walked to the glass door to see what the hold-up was. Of course, as luck would have it, her decision didn't take long to lead to an unfortunate outcome. The husky was forced to scramble backward to get out of the way of Katie and Ryder opening the door, both struggling to carry the large crate inside.

She just barely managed to get out of the way—minus the close call of her tail almost getting stepped on—and thankfully her instincts kicked in quick enough to grab Audrey before she could run to greet them. The two humans thanked her for keeping her out of the way and finally got to set down the box, which was probably an amazing feeling for their arms.

"Excited?" the Dalmatian asked as he stepped inside, more joking with her than anything. She flashed a quick glare at his obvious sarcasm, but either way, she nodded in confirmation. As if she even needed to give an answer, her tail was giving him all the evidence needed. Though that almost felt like cheating, he could admit that having their tails convey the majority of their emotions could get troubling.

"Well hang on, don't get too excited yet. I still have to go get everything ready for your surgery. It'll only take a minute or two, so just relax and I'll come get you soon," Katie explained, petting her head before disappearing behind the door to the operation room. As good as her intentions were, telling Everest to "just relax" in this state was pretty much impossible.

Even if the girl's estimated time wasn't long at all, those first couple of seconds felt like minutes for Everest. She wasn't usually one to be impatient, in fact, compared to the others she was probably the best at waiting, but everyone had a breaking point when they were excited.

She wasn't even as nervous as she usually was, which was saying something considering how much she typically hated going to the vet. It was a foreign concept until she lived with Jake, so at first the idea of going somewhere to get needles stuck into her skin and have a bunch of data collected sounded like something straight out of a horror movie. But thankfully, Jake and Marshall had slowly explained to her that it was only to look after her health, and Katie was used to dogs being nervous for their first couple visits.

However, her irritation was interrupted by the sound of a small bark, which caught both her and Marshall's attention. They both looked up to the source of the sound, being greeted with the sight of Audrey standing at one of the doors scattered around the lobby while looking back at them. The Dalmatian was the first to take initiative, walking over to the pup with her close behind to see what all the fuss was about.

"What's up?" Knowing she probably wouldn't understand most of what he was saying, the Dally made sure to tilt his head so she at least had an idea. The pup seemed to catch on—for all he knew she actually could understand him—and she nudged his leg with her nose before pointing back at the door.