UPDATE 02/03/2019: A cover image has been recently added to this fic, made as a gift by Zojak. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to make this for me. It means more than you might think that you took the time to make something for me like this. Anyway: on with the show.

If you'd asked Marshall what the worst day of his life was, he'd struggle to give you an answer. He was no stranger to having a bad day where his clumsiness flared up or he got into a spat with one of the other pups. But at the end of those days, things would always get better. Either by smoothing the cracks over with the others, or by making up for his clumsiness by doing his best later on. He may have been a clumsy, unlucky pup, but truly bad days for him were few and far between.

Until now.

For the past three days, Marshall had been trudging near to the side of a raging river through a thick forest that he didn't even know. A raging river that had nearly killed him. Operating off of minimal water from what remained of his Pup Pack and whatever leaves and grass he could force down at the time, all that kept the dalmatian going was determination as the painful memory of where it all went wrong played on repeat through his head.

It was meant to be all so simple. Ryder had brought him and Chase to recover Cali from a tree overlooking the river. Once more, the cat's movements were incomprehensible to all but her. However, things started going wrong very quickly. With the tree being on the very edge of the river bank, one wrong move threatened to send Cali, Ryder or the pups careening into the deadly rapids below.

Marshall had to be very careful, and Chase had to fight to keep his nerves in check. Marshall and ladders didn't exactly go well together, and with something potentially-lethal barely a stone's throw away, Chase's heart was threatening to burst from his chest. Despite the danger, it all looked to be going so well. Until a frightened Cali had latched onto Marshall's head, blinding him to the world around him, and sending him toppling off of his ladder while Cali hopped to safety.

One rough landing later, a tiny outcropping of rock just above the water was all that separated Marshall from his demise. It was only barely large enough for a pup of his size, but the worst part of it all was that Ryder and Chase couldn't even reach him because he was so far down. Even Chase's net was no help thanks to the awkward angle of the outcropping.

And the rock was beginning to break under Marshall's weight. Every crack served as a tick of the clock. Marshall was terrified out of his wits, but as the rock he stood on grew ever closer to breaking, he realised that there was nothing that could be done.

He didn't want to die, but there was nothing he could do now but accept it. But as much as he tried, he couldn't keep himself from crying.

"Guys… I'm sorry…" Marshall said with a tearful smile. "I guess this is the end..."

"Marshall, do NOT give up!" Ryder desperately commanded. "W-we'll think of something!"

"We'll call Skye! Zuma! Anyone!" Chase frantically yelled. "Just hang on! PLEASE!"

"There's no time left…" Marshall replied sadly. "Promise you'll take care of Adventure Bay! Take care of yourselves! Keep everyone safe like always!"

"MARSHALL, DON'T YOU DARE-!" Chase screamed.

"Goodbye, Ryder! Goodbye, Chase!" Marshall sobbed. "I LOVE YOU!"

Marshall was sure those would be his last words as the rock finally crumbled to nothingness, dropping him into the freezing, roaring river that swept him away in an instant, trapping him beneath the surface. All he could hear was rushing water, which drowned out Chase and Ryder screaming their lungs out at their worst nightmare coming true.

The Paw Patrol losing one of its members.

Marshall was still stunned at how he'd managed to wake up washed up on a riverbank in the middle of nowhere. His equipment was almost-completely ruined, his Pup Tag had been smashed to bits and he was freezing cold and thoroughly sore from being smashed against the walls of the river by the violent current, but after a few tests, he'd managed to confirm that he was still very much alive with nothing more than a few grazes.

The long walk back had given the pup time to think on his luck. Historically, it had been nothing but black mark after black mark for him. But somehow, when he needed luck more than ever, it came through to save him from an untimely end. It also seemed to be doing its job in keeping him from meeting hostile wildlife. But inbetween musing on his luck and fighting through fatigue, hunger and thirst, all he could think about was home.

Adventure Bay was always a peaceful town, where violent deaths were a mercifully uncommon occurrence. So how then was this small town going to react to one of its beloved protectors abruptly "dying" in a freak accident? How would Cali feel for indirectly causing his "death"? How would Katie feel knowing that Cali had accidentally "killed" one of her closest friends?

But above all, his thoughts drifted to Ryder and the pups. They had to have given him up for dead. After all, if the Paw Patrol were searching for him, they would have found him by now. How did Ryder and Chase break the news that Marshall wasn't going to be coming home? And how badly did they take it? Ryder in particular always freaked out if a pup was in serious danger, so how was he going to react to one of them seemingly dying right in front of him?

And then there was Chase.

Chase, the pup who he'd known the longest out of any of them. His brother figure. His nearest, dearest friend. Chase was always overprotective, hating to see anyone get hurt and never hesitating to chew one of them out for doing something especially dangerous. And he held himself to such high standards that he was always quick to blame himself for something not going correctly. He never took failure especially well. Something told Marshall that Chase was going to take this "failure" horribly. But how horribly? All kinds of unpleasant scenarios ran through Marshall's head, which, ironically, only sped him up, praying that Chase hadn't done anything drastic.

It had been a long day, and it was starting to get dark once more. A filth-encrusted Marshall could only keep following the river until he spotted a familiar-looking tree hanging over the river, the only one of its kind across his entire journey. As much as his spirits began to raise, his heart leapt upon seeing tire tracks in the dirt. Faded, but very much there. A delirious smile overtook the pup's face as he wasted no time in following them. Now he was back where this whole mess began, and only a stone's throw away from closing the book on it.

Marshall had forgotten how tired and thirsty he was as he followed the tracks as fast as he could. He had just about exhausted his water supplies, so this find couldn't have come at a better time for him. And sure enough eventually he found himself looking down upon the glittering lights of Adventure Bay. His home. And it had never looked more welcoming than it did now. Marshall didn't take long drinking in the sight of his home before casting his eyes to the Lookout. The slender tower that served as Adventure Bay's eternal pillar of hope. And now it was his. With the thoughts of his family engulfing his mind once more, Marshall charged towards the town as quick as he dared.

Marshall hadn't gotten far in the town before he noticed that everything was deserted. This much was to be expected, considering that night had fallen on the town, but along with the emptiness was a feeling of desolation in the air. Marshall couldn't quite place it, but the atmosphere was heavy and depressing. Just being in the town made him feel oddly hollow. Even so, the dalmatian stopped for nothing as he charged through the town to the Lookout…

...with the exception of a familiar blue truck parked on the road. Its occupant nowhere to be found. Marshall halted. What was Chase doing out so late? Perhaps he was doing patrols? But then he remembered that this wasn't far from the beach spot that he'd showed Marshall once. He said that it was always a great place to go when he needed to relax. When he needed a little time to himself. "Sorry, Chase." Marshall thought with a huge grin. "It looks like 'Chase Time' is gonna have to wait..."

Marshall wove a path through the trees and over the grass, before crossing a small footpath to finally let his paws sink into the soft sand of a hidden cove of Adventure Beach. And sure enough, right in front of him, in the middle of this tranquil, hidden slice of paradise was a sight that Marshall had hoped with all of his heart that he'd get to see again. A brown-furred german shepherd. Only Chase was facing away from him, towards the sea, lying on his belly almost entirely motionless.

Marshall found it hard to find the words to say. After three days of wondering if he was ever going to see his family again, here he was behind the one pup he cared about the most. The one pup who watched him "die". And words were completely failing him. Marshall could only stand a few feet away from Chase in complete silence, desperately trying to find something to say.

"What?!" Chase snapped all of a sudden, causing Marshall to jump. "Darn big ears..." Marshall thought to himself. "Here I was thinking I was being pretty stealthy!"

"I said what do you want?!" Chase snapped again, continuing to avoid turning in his direction. "Can't you see I'm thinking here?! If you don't have anything to tell me, just leave me alone!"

"Chase..." Marshall finally spoke up, causing Chase to visibly stiffen on the spot. "What are you thinking about?"

Marshall resisted the urge to slam his head into the sand. He spent all that time thinking for THAT?! What else could he have been thinking about?!

"What's with the cold shoulder?" Marshall continued, deciding to not allow himself to be deterred from asking more questions with obvious answers. Anything to get a conversation rolling. "C-can't you at least look at me?"

After a couple of seconds, Chase finally got to his feet and very slowly started to turn around, as if he wasn't sure if the voice coming from behind him was someone trying to trick him. Eventually, Marshall finally caught a glimpse of an amber set of eyes. The same eyes that were once filled with nothing but terror and desperation, now devoid of the usual determined glint that they carried. Chase's face shifted from one of confusion to one of raw disbelief as he fell backwards onto his rump. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and his jaw dropped more than Marshall even thought was possible, with Chase quickly covering his agape muzzle with his front paws.

For three days, Chase had been living in a waking nightmare. Not only was his best friend dead, but he watched him fall to his death right in front of him while just out of reach. For these three days, Chase was convinced that he'd failed to save Marshall. And now Marshall was standing right in front of him, if not well, then certainly alive.

"Chase, I… I know what you're going to say..." Marshall stuttered. "And no. I don't know how I survived. I don't know if it was just luck or something but..."

Chase didn't reply. He sat there as ever with his paws covering his mouth, staring widely at the allegedly-dead pup before him.

"Look, I know I gave up back there… But I… I made my own way back… I lived off leaves and Pup Pack water just to get me through that forest… And… I made it, so… no need to worry any more… right?"

Chase remained as silent as ever. It was as if a statue was sat before Marshall.

"Darn it, Chase, say something already!" Marshall shouted, starting to get worried. "I didn't nearly die so you could give me the silent treatment!"

"M… Mm- M… M-m-m… M-muh..." Chase had finally started to make sounds similar to speech again. But this was more of a squeaked series of noises.

"Muh… M-mu-muh… Mu-mu… Mmm… Mm-Ma… Ma-Ma… M… M-M-M… Ma… Ma-Ma-Ma..." Chase's voice gradually increased in pitch as his eyes flushed with tears.

"MARSHALL!"

Until finally, Chase yelled his name loudly enough that it could rattle the windowpanes of just about every building in Adventure Bay. It was so loud that Marshall was momentarily stunned by just how loud and sudden it was.

Marshall barely had time to react before Chase shot forward and leapt at him, knocking him sliding across the sand for a little while as the shepherd wrapped every one of his limbs around the dalmatian in a crushing bearhug. But the next thing that Chase did shocked Marshall more than anything. Chase started to bawl wildly into his fur.

Chase was never usually one to cry in general, so seeing the waterworks from him was always a shock for the Paw Patrol. But this time Chase was letting out a hysterical cacophony of wailing and screaming. It was as if Marshall was being hugged by a newborn pup.

The emotion in the air was contagious, and it didn't take long for it to spread to Marshall. The time he'd spent alone was finally over. After wondering if he'd actually make it back home, if he'd ever see his family again, he finally had his answer. Chase's ugly crying soon spread, and Marshall too began to wail as he held on to Chase as tightly as he could.

The fact that nobody came to investigate the source of the loud noise was astonishing. The wild bawling could be heard from a mile away. Neither Chase or Marshall had ever cried as hard as this, and somehow, they managed to keep it up for roughly ten minutes. Any attempt at talking from the pair of them simply came out as noise for that time. But slowly, yet surely, the two had started to calm down. While the tears continued to spill forth from their eyes, they were at least able to stop wailing enough to get their words out.

"Th… Th-this… This is real… r-right? Tell me… T-Tell me I'm… not d-dreaming… Tell me this… this is really you..." Chase sobbed, finally looking Marshall in the eyes.

"...B-B-Be… Believe it… or not… Y-Yeah..." Marshall whimpered. "It… It's really me… We're not… dreaming..."

"So I'm… not gonna wake up later… A-and find that… that you're s-still… dead..."

"N-no… Because I… r-really made it back…"

"S-so it's… it's official… Th-that's that… Y-you… You… Y-you're… YOU'RE ALIVE!" Chase began screaming again, sinking his face back into Marshall's fur. "YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Chase kept repeating himself in between his wailing, while hugging his friend as tightly as ever. If Marshall could see his friend's face, he'd see tears gushing from his eyes, but also a giant smile. Not that he needed to see it know the overwhelming jubilation Chase was feeling. Marshall continued to cry as Chase screamed with joy for another couple of minutes, slowly returning to his prior tearful state as he looked at Marshall once more.

"W-we… We saw you… We saw you fall into that river… We thought… thought you were… were..." Chase stammered.

"I know..." Marshall sniffled. "But I'm not… am I?"

"What… happened?"

"W-well… I..."

"No." Chase gently placed a paw over Marshall's muzzle. "Y-you know what? Don't answer that… N-not yet. Not until… until you're good and ready..."

Chase gave Marshall a tearful smile, which Marshall was quick to return. However, Chase's smile dissolved very quickly upon taking a good look at the haggard-looking, filth-covered pup before him.

"Oh, Marshall..." Chase whispered, continuing to weep. "Y-you… you look awful… This… this was my-"

"Hold it right there." Marshall shakily cut Chase off. "Chase, do NOT tell me that this was your fault. I don't want to hear 'I failed you'. This wasn't your fault at all. I don't blame you for a second. This wasn't anybody's fault!"

"Except…" Chase stuttered tearfully, screwing his eyes closed. "Except… CALI'S..."

Marshall was taken aback at the sheer hatred Chase put behind that name. Much though Marshall wanted to deny it, he wouldn't be able to. However accidentally, Cali had nearly killed him on that day. There was no changing that. But Marshall being Marshall, he didn't blame her for it. In fact, he forgave her. Cali may have been snooty and grouchy, but how would she feel about causing one of the Paw Patrol's "deaths"? More to the point, how was she being treated after the fact? Marshall gulped slightly at the thought of Cali being villified for a simple accident. "Guess helping her will be my next assignment..." Marshall thought to himself, before pulling himself back to reality.

"Well, it doesn't matter now…" Marshall whispered, his tears having mostly dried. "I'm safe… And I found you again-" Marshall cut himself off as he started to cough, his throat dry from only taking small sips of water.

"Marshall!" Chase yelled, ceasing his own crying immediately. "Wh-what's wrong?! Are you hurt?! Sick?! What do you need?!"

"Chase, easy! I'm just thirsty… and hungry… Not much to eat or drink out there..."

"Then we gotta go back home and get you some food and water! Besides…" Chase's voice turned to a quieter, more solemn one. "...I need to show you something… Come on..."

"Gladly..." Marshall sighed, being slightly hesitant to pull away from Chase. But Marshall soon dragged himself back to his feet and followed behind Chase as they slowly made their way back to his truck.

Chase couldn't believe what was going on. The world had seemed to go into overdrive around him. The past few days had been a blur. The shepherd had mostly shut down entirely from the loss of his closest friend. Marshall had fallen to his death right in front of him, and Chase was unable to do a thing to save him. All the gadgets in the world and he was completely powerless. But it seems that fate itself had taken pity on him. Three days later, Marshall had returned to them. Marshall had survived against all the odds. And he'd somehow managed to slog his way back to them. Chase was at his lowest for those three days, and now his spirits had been sent through the roof just like that.

Chase looked over at the filthy dalmatian sat slumped in the passenger seat as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Chase couldn't resist the urge to lean over and give Marshall one more hug before setting back off towards the Lookout. All those days of depression had been rendered moot in a few moments. Fate truly moved in mysterious ways.

"I still can't believe you're OK..." Chase whispered.

"Neither can I..." Marshall whispered back, nuzzling Chase tightly.

I return once more. I mentioned back in the Afterword of Bulldog in a Bind that I was writing a series of one-shots as my next fic, and this is one of them... or rather, it WAS, until I realised that I was going overboard with it. So I've decided to split it in two and upload it as its own thing. A two-shot, if you will. I'll be uploading this on a daily basis, since there's only one other chapter to it.

Not much else to say here. Thanks for listening, and I'll be back with the next upload tomorrow.