Rivals to Brothers-A Paw Patrol Story

Chapter Thirteen

When Chase woke up, Ryder was no longer on his bed. Chase walked out of the room and looked around. There was no sign of the young boy or his dad. Ryder's mom was prepping their breakfast.

"Good morning, Chase," she told him. She wore a white apron and had a rag around her hands as she dried off dishes.

"Uh, good morning," Chase said. "Where are Ryder and his dad?"

Ryder's mom frowned. "They're outside," she replied. She didn't say it, but Chase got the message. They were outside cleaning up their mess.

Chase ate his food in silence. Once he finished, he started walking outside when Ryder's mom stopped him. "Chase, wait," she said. "I need to tell you something." Chase gulped.

"Oh, you're not in trouble," Ryder's mom stated. "At least, not with me. I just wanted to tell you something. It may seem hard, but try to get along with Marshall. You both have a lot in common, but you also have things that Marshall doesn't. He's much younger than you, Chase. He was born inside a dog shelter. That's all he knows. He hasn't been in the real world like you have, Chase. So there are still things that he needs to learn. He needs someone to be an older brother to him. You have to teach him how to be brave and strong, okay? For me?"

Chase thought about it. He figured that there were things that he didn't know about Marshall. And one thing Chase always wanted was a little brother. Sadly, he saw Marshall as a competition instead of a brother, and it may be too late to change that. Either way, he nodded his head. "I will," Chase replied.

Ryder's mom hugged Chase around the neck. "Thank you, Chase," she said softly. She scratched behind his ear and got up. "Now, go to the backyard. There's a small pool filled with water and soap. Go rinse yourself off, please. You smell bad."

Chase laughed. "Okay," he said.

As Chase left the house, Marshall walked out of the room. "Where is everybody?" he asked, looking around.

"Ryder and his dad are out front," Ryder's mom replied.

"Oh," Marshall replied. He ate the food that Ryder's mom left out for him. After eating, he sat down, staring at his bowl and the other one.

"What's wrong?" Ryder's mom asked him.

"What?" Marshall replied, coming out of his thoughts. "Oh, uh, nothing."

Ryder's mom knew better. She dried off her hands on her apron and knelt down in front of Marshall. "I know something's wrong, Marshall. You can tell me."

Marshall glanced around to make sure no one was watching. "I don't know, honestly. I feel bad for what happened, but I don't know what to do. I want to become friends with Chase, but he doesn't seem to want to. And now, I feel like we won't ever be friends."

"I see," Ryder's mom said. "Well, it's never too late to make friends, even with your enemies. Sometimes you need to find something you both have in common."

"But we don't have anything in common," Marshall said.

"Actually, you do. You both love to help others, and you both are loyal and strong pups."

"Maybe," Marshall said. "But the similarities stop there."

"Well, being different is not always a bad thing. You can learn from each other. You can teach each other new things, Marshall. But only if you give him a chance."

"I tried, but he pushed me away."

"Then keep on trying. Chase has a tough time trusting others, so you need to help him with that. Help him understand that he's not alone anymore. He was alone for a long time before we met him, and now, he still thinks he is. You can help him see that that's not the case anymore. You can do that, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," he replied. Marshall didn't say it, but he hoped what Ryder's mom said was true. Chase and Marshall didn't know that the other pup wanted them to be their first real friend. Someone they could trust in hard times.

"Good," Ryder's mom replied. She hugged Marshall and sent him out back to wash up.

After Chase and Marshall washed up, they walked out front and noticed that Ryder and Justin were done fixing up the yard. All that remained was the dent in the cruiser.

Ryder and Justin looked at them as they walked out of the house. Before either one of them could say anything, Chase stepped forward. "Justin, sir, I want to speak for the both of us and say that we're sorry." He looked back at Ryder's mom, who nodded approvingly.

"Well, apology accepted," Justin said. He wiped his hands on his shirt, which was now brown and green. "But there's still going to be consequences. Until I say so, neither of you will help with assignments. We can't have liabilities like that when we are helping someone. You two will stay here or at the tower while Ryder and I go on assignments. Do I make myself clear?"

Chase and Marshall didn't like the consequence that they were given. They enjoyed helping out Ryder, Justin, and the community. But they also understood where Justin was getting at. "Yes, sir," they said in unison.

"Good," Justin said. He opened the back door of his car. "Hop in," he said. "We're going to the tower."