Embrace (Rocky x Chase)

Chapter 14- Medicated Tension

Chase was asleep, having lost the battle of staying awake while he waited for Marshall to call him back. He had passed out around the crack of dawn, only getting a single hour of sleep before morning arrived. The shepherd was slumped over his desk like he had been shot in the back, drooling on a scattered mess of papers and crime scene photos. He would've snored through the entire morning if someone hadn't knocked on his kennel door.

"Hnng!" He snapped awake in an instant, jerking his head up as papers flew in all directions. "Rocky!! I'm not-" With his claws stuck into his desk, he looked around frantically and realized it was morning.

A voice came through the door. "Are you okay in there?"

"Marshall?" Chase turned his head, trying to slow his heartbeat.

"No, it's me." Said a very confused bulldog, stepping away from the door slightly. "You're about to miss breakfast, and that's like-" his voice shuddered. "Well I'd be devastated to miss such a thing."

Groaning to himself, Chase pushed himself up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Yeah... thanks Rubble. I'll be there in a moment." Once his heartbeat calmed down and the surprise faded, the gripping lull of exhaustion quickly returned. The shepherd's eyes were already starting to close by themselves, slowly filling him with quiet panic.

"Rubble on the double!" Chirped the construction dog, turning and walking off.

It was difficult suppressing his own agitation at his colleague, as only one of them was a morning dog and it certainly wasn't Chase. Grumbling as he swiped all the papers off his desk, a small compartment was exposed on the far end. Hating what was coming, Chase knew he couldn't lose any more battles if he was going to get somewhere.

"Screw this." The shepherd growled, fitting his claw under a small groove and opening a secret drawer. There was only one, small item rolling around within it: an orange bottle of caffeine pills. Just one of the tiny capsules would electrocute the body awake, spiking the heart and sharpening the mind in seconds. Any side effect listed on the bottle went unnoticed, his desperation forcing him to make harsher decisions. The ones meant for humans were stronger anyway, kicked him a lot harder than the ones made for dogs.

No matter how poisonous they were.

Forcing open the fractured cap, he held the bottle and shook out two pills into his mouth, swallowing them quickly. "Unng." He cringed, twisting his face at the revolting taste. The dog-designed ones at least tasted like chicken, but it seemed humans didn't care too much about flavored medicine in the grand scheme of things. "I'll sleep when this is all over," he said to himself.

The breakfast circle had already formed outside when Chase emerged from his kennel, his head delirious and vision unable to focus. Just like any other day, a circle of food bowls had been set out, and the PAW Patrol all joined together under the sunrise for a meal. Rubble was the first to see him walking up. "There he is!" He held out his paw warmly, while Skye and Marshall turned to greet the shepherd. "Morning Chase, how'd you sleep?"

Taking his place at the meal circle, Chase was noticeably fidgety and alert. "Fine, fine, fantastic really." He scratched the ground with his hind leg. "Morning Rubble, thank you for fucking banging on my door and waking me up." A deranged chuckle left him.

Marshall frowned as he chewed his food, looking toward Chase with a narrowed expression. Although Skye nor Rubble didn't notice the shepherd's elevated mood. "Hey, take it easy." Rubble stepped back, eyes widening slightly. "I just... didn't want you to miss breakfast."

"Right, right," Chase laughed off, before shoving his nose into the pile of dog food, messily eating it from the inside out. His legs twitched as he ate, ears flattened against his head and refusing to relax. With every bite he felt unease, nearly choking on a clump of beef and quickly coughing it out back into the bowl, only to suddenly eat it again mid-chew.