Vigilante PAW

Chapter Seven: Guilty 'Till Proven Innocent

"Rise and shine, PAW Patrol!"

Chase's voice echoed through the premises of the lookout, assisted by the megaphone he had gotten used to using every day.

Marshall, for the first day in his life, didn't come out of his pup house at the sound of the Shepherd's voice. He didn't have to. He wasn't on the PAW Patrol's schedule anymore. It was strange to think, but for at least the next month, that was his reality. He got to wake up when he wanted, for whatever reason he wanted.

Hearing the faint groans of the PAW Patrol as they left their pup houses, Marshall rolled onto his back. There was no way he was going out there with them, even if he wanted to still operate on their schedule. He couldn't face them. He knew he wasn't guilty, but he couldn't go out there and see the disappointed faces of his team. He didn't want to see them look at him like that.

As the Dalmatian listened to the commotion outside, many memories of the early morning rises with the PAW Patrol ran through his mind. The thought that he wouldn't be able to wake up alongside the PAW Patrol, to eat with the team, to do their daily exercises and pup yoga with them, nearly brought tears to Marshall's eyes.

Rocky, meanwhile, was walking into the lookout with the others. The first pup to speak to him was Zuma, who walked up beside him.

"Morning, Rocky. How'd you sleep?" The Chocolate Lab greeted, a kind smile on his face.

The mixed breed turned to smile at his best friend, "Sleep? Not much..." He spoke incoherently, "Up for a while gathering data."

"Data?"

"You know, to help Marshall..." He yawned, "He only has a month after all..."

Zuma decided against questioning Rocky's motives. Back when Marshall was initially suspended, it seemed as though his mind was made up. The Chocolate Lab knew that it would only be a month. No matter what happened, it would all be over in a month. Whether Marshall stayed or went was going to be decided in a month.

"Just try to get some sleep tonight, dude!" He decided to just give him a smile, patting his back, "Don't want you falling asleep during any of the missions... Especially since we're down a member."

Rocky nodded at his best friend's comment as they made their way in.

Breakfast was silent that morning. The five ate their food quietly, short glances being thrown at one another. They were all thinking the same thing. The pup who was able to get a conversation off of the ground without even thinking about it. The pup that would turn the quiet morning into a breakfast of jokes and laughs.

That was until Skye's pup tag glowed with her signature pink light, a voice coming from it, "Skye! It's Everest. Do you think Ryder would mind if I came around the lookout again today? Things have been pretty slow at the resort..."

Skye's eyes lit up, along with the eyes of the other pups. There couldn't have been a better pup to call them, "Sure!"

"I'll go ask Ryder!" Chase smiled, finding a sudden enthusiasm to finish his breakfast.

Skye was nearly shoving mouthfuls of food into her mouth, finishing quickly, "I'll set up Pup Pup Boogie!"

As excitement surged around the top floor of the lookout, Rocky took advantage of the chaos and made his way over to a red bowl, which was filled to the brim with food. Ryder was disappointed in Marshall, sure, but that didn't mean he would just let him starve. Picking up the bowl, the mixed breed began to quietly make his way over to the elevator.

Putting the bowl down on the floor of the elevator, Rocky watched his team mates set up for a visit from Everest. He wasn't exactly as excited as the others though. Before he found out about Marshall's crush on her, he never really interacted with her as much as Skye, Chase, Zuma, and Rubble did. Their jobs were in two different fields, so it wasn't as though they'd be able to work with one another as often, and when it came to their interests, Everest had always been really physical, while Rocky, meanwhile, wasn't very good at many physical challenges. He was a thinker.