PAW Patrol: Irritations!

The sun shone brightly down over the PAW Patrol, the small clearing that acted as their campsite was now the host for their game of Tag.

"Tag! You're it, Chase!" Rocky giggle tapping the German Shepard on the shoulder and running away.

"You asked for it. Here I come!" Chase called, racing after him.

"Hee hee, can't catch me!" Marshall teased running the other way. Chase stopped and bounded after the Dalmatian. His excitement began to build the more he ran; he was panting hard by now, but wasn't at all deterred by this.

"I'm gonna get you, Marshall!" Chase called, sprinting faster.

"Haha, no you won't!" Marshall chuckled, he suddenly darted sharply to the right, away from a tree next to a bush with a rock wall just beyond it. Seeing this, Chase had to screech to a halt as fast as he could. And somehow he barely managed to stop; and when he realized he was safe was, turned to leave. He soon realized, though, that he couldn't. He pulled back, but felt tension on his collar.

"What? *grunt* I'm- stuck!" Chase placed his paws up onto the tree's trunk and tugged a bit harder, now realizing that a branch had somehow gotten caught under his collar. Chase tugged harder and harder; trying to get free. Unbeknownst to him, a little buzzing creature hovered around a bush a few feet behind him; the scent of the beautiful flowers on the bush drawing it in like a magnet. Chase's collar came loose and he was sent rolling backwards a ways; part of the branch snapped and flew off with him, crashing through the bushes. Now lying flat on the ground on the ground, the German Shepard rubbed his head waiting for the spinning to stop. All of a sudden he heard a buzzing sound, and, only seconds later, felt a pinch in his neck.

"Ow!" He cried, the pinch was quick, but stung nonetheless. Standing up, he shook his entire body; as a tingling feeling rattled through it and subsided.

"Chase, you ok?" Marshall asked, as the other pups hurrieded up to him; Ryder with them.

"Yeah, I think I'm good." Chase replied, shrugging.

"Ruff! Claw!" Rocky barked, and as soon as it retracted out, he picked up Chase's collar that had been sitting there amongst the fallen leaves and broken sticks.

"What happened, dude?" Zuma asked curiously.

"I was chasing Marshall when he took off on me, and I nearly crashed into that tree over there. I managed to stop, but I got my collar caught on the branches." Chase explained simply.

"Here's your collar, it must have fallen off, when you tried to yank it free." Rocky told him, setting it before the German Shepard.

"Thanks Rocky." Chase smiled.

"I'll help you get it back on." Ryder said, kneeling down next to him. Ryder clipped the collar back on, and Chase stood up. His nose felt slightly tingly and he sneezed; turning around.

"Woah! Those are Lion Poppies!" He gasped stepping back from them. "Also called Fire Roses because of their orange, yellow, and red colors. They're really pretty flowers, but their pollen makes you're skin REALLY itchy. Some say it almost feels like your skin is on fire!"

"Ooo." The pups cringed at the thought.

"You're right, Chase." Ryder agreed. "Best to stay away from them."

"Let's go play somewhere else; away from the flowers." Zuma suggested.

"Good idea." Chase nodded, stopping to briefly scratch his neck. The pup led the way, to a clear spot on the far right of where they had just been. Halfway there, Marshall stopped and glanced to his right.

"Hey guys, look! More flowers!" The Dalmatian called, racing toward the giant patch. Everyone halted and looked back.

"Marshall, be careful!!" Chase cried, but the pup had already tripped; skidding into the nearby bushes disappearing from view.

"Marshall!!" The pups cried, sprinting toward him. The clumsy fire pup in red poked his head up and shook the leaves off it.

"I'm good! Don't worry guys!" Marshall smiled, but hopping out of the bushes his skin began to itch. But when he would scratch, the itch worsened.

"No Marshall. Don't scratch! You could cause more damage." Chase told him.

"Let's get you back to Adventure Bay." Ryder said. "Katie should have a treatment for this." Packing up everything as fast as they could, they set off back toward Adventure Bay.

"Stop scratching, Marshall!" Chase urged.

"I'm trying." Marshall sighed, setting his paw down again.

"Don't worry Marshall. I'm sure Katie'll help you feel better soon." Rocky reassured him.

"No Rocky wait!-.." But before Chase could warn him, the grey mixed breed had touched a paw to his Marshall's shoulder.

"What's wrong, Chase?" Skye asked, taken aback by his reaction to this gesture.

"We shouldn't be touching Marshall, because the itch can spread to anyone who does." Rocky and Marshall froze looked at Rocky's paw still touching the Dalmatian, then glanced up at each other.

"Oops, Sorry." Rocky apologized, leaning away from Marshall and rubbing his infected paw on his other leg.

"No- ugh." Chase groaned, placing a paw to his head; becoming exasperated already.

"Take it easy, Chase were almost there." Ryder encouraged.

"You sure know a lot about this flower, Chase." Rubble remarked thoughtfully. "Did you get into it once?"

"No." Chase shook his head. "But Capt'n Turbot did, and he had to have his hands all wrapped up for a couple weeks to heal, because it got so bad."

"Woah. That's not good." Marshall commented, stopping himself from scratching once more.

"I know." Chase continued, reaching a back up up to his neck. "That's why I've been extra careful around it so I don't get infected by it. It's some pretty nasty stuff. Wouldn't want to get it as badly as Capt'n Turbot did."

"Um.. then, have you noticed that you've been scratching this whole time?" Skye asked, gesturing to him curiously. Chase froze and realized she was right.

"Oh, well I think I just got a little scratch that's bothering me from the stick earlier." Chase guessed, setting his paw back down again.

"You sure you didn't accidentally get into the flowers yourself?" Marshall asked, scratching his own shoulder. By now the Dalmatian's white coat was turning pinkish, where the most irritation originated; covering all parts of his body.

"Absolutely sure. I would know it if I did." Chase responded, confidently brushing this statement off.

"We're here!" Ryder called.

"Come on, pups." Chase called, hopping down off his seat. "Let's get Marshall and Rocky all fixed up." The German Shepard was already sprinting off, followed by the other howling pups.

"Hi Ryder, hi pups. What can I do for you today?" Katie greeted, waving at them as they entered.

"We need help." Chase told her urgently. "Marshall got into some Lion Poppies; and Rocky accidentally touched him and now they're both itching."

"Looks like you're itching a little too, Chase." Katie observed. "Maybe we should check you out too." Chase tilted his head to rub his neck and shoulder together, gazing up at her quizzically.

"Who me? Nah, I'm good." He gestured away from himself in a carefree fashion. "Marshall and Rocky are the ones that need to be treated."

"Well..ok, let's go." Katie smiled, a bit unsure.

"Great! Then no more scratching!" Marshall breathed, standing up from scratching again. He started to follow, but a ball of yarn suddenly appeared underfoot and his paw rolled out from under him. This momentum was enough to send him rolling into Zuma!

"Oh no! Not again!" Chase groaned, rolling his eyes in frustration.

"Sorry Zuma!" Marshall apologized quickly, getting off the Chocolate Lab.

"That's ok, dude." Zuma smiled, but then a second later... "Uh oh." The water rescue pup in orange rolled onto his back to try and scratch his back on the floor; hoping to stop the burning sensation that came upon it.

"Don't- scratch- Zuma." Chase urged; rubbing his neck against the side of the counter as he spoke.

"Chase you seem to be scratching an awful lot too." Ryder noticed.

"I'm fine." Chase groaned, standing up straight again. "Let's just get these three treated."

Chase helped Katie get things set, by running water for medicine baths to wash the pollen off each pup.

"Um... do we have to do it this way?" Rocky wondered anxiously. "Isn't there way to take away the itch.. without taking a bath?"

"Sorry Rocky." Katie said, testing the water one last time. "But a quick soak in here will calm the itch a bit, then we can use this ointment on it to stop it completely." She held up a small tube with the contents in which she spoke of. Rocky sat down, his ears drooping miserably; scratching his leg.

"Ok, let's get this over with." The grey mixed breed, walked over to Katie. She took out some rubber gloves and put them on.

"Hopefully these will prevent me from breaking out too." She said. Rocky clenched his eyes closed as she set him into the water, and shuddered at the sensation of water on his body. Marshall was soo itchy, he was practically chasing his own tail to stop it. He scratched in any way he could.

"Ugh, make it stop!!" The Dalmatian cried, then he stopped to look up and dived into the waiting tub next to Rocky's. "Ahh, that's better." He sighed relaxing a bit.

"Your turn, Zuma." Katie called, waving him over to her.

"Ok." The Chocolate Lab stood and walked toward her, hopping into the final tub. "Hey you're right! No more itch. Thank goodness." The three pups sighed with relief, thankful to feel the burning itch under their skin begin to fade away.

Chase stopped himself from scratching his neck, to smile at them.

"Glad you're feeling better guys." The German Shepard grinned. "I think we got you here quick enough to stop it early. Before it got really bad."

"I don't know." Katie thought aloud, a hint of concern showing on her face. "Some of these itchy spots seem pretty bad. We'll have to watch Marshall's rash for a while and treat it aggressively so it doesn't get any worse."

"Definitely." Ryder agreed. Skye's smile soon faded as she glanced around the room.

"Hey. Where's Chase?" She realized, searching for their police pup in blue.

"I'm right- here." Chase called poking his head around the counter, leaning into it to rub his neck on it again.

"Chase, I think it's time we get you checked out too." Ryder decided, rising from his place. "You've been itching more and more since we got here. He should check and see if you did get into the flowers."

"*sigh* Fine." Chase sighed reluctantly. Katie picked up Chase and set him up on the counter.

"I don't see anything." She said, squinting slightly. "Maybe it's just the darkness of his coat." She felt along the back of his head; down toward his shoulders, and soon found what the problem was. Since she was standing directly behind him, her right hand found his tender spot and he grunted; flinching toward it. Picking up on this, and feeling something strange, she took his collar and gently eased it up a little more to fully expose an irritated lump on his neck; surrounded by a rash similar to Marshall's.

"Uh, Ryder." Katie conveyed, nervously tilting her head neck toward the boy; who came to see what she did, and gasped. Chase glanced back out of the corner of his eye, feeling a bit of anxiety slowly coming upon him; yet not having the courage to turn around, or speak.

"What is it?" Ryder asked, worry clearly ringing in his tone.

"It looks like a sting of some kind." Katie guessed, thoughtfully. "Any idea what could have done it?"

"Well.. we were out camping yesterday into today." Ryder recalled. "We were preparing to come home, when Marshall got into the flowers."

"Chase crashed into a branch and got his collar ripped off." Marshall recollected. "It must have happened after that."

"Marshall may be right." Katie thought aloud. "Judging by the position of the sting, his collar had to have been off when it happened."

"Now that I think of it.." Chase began, reaching his back paw up to scratch; which was stopped by Katie. "I did notice a buzzing noise, followed by a sharp pinch after I fell." A gasp escaped them at this information, as Skye said...

"What?!"

"Chase, you do realize that that's not good, right." Marshall asked, alarm unmistakable in his tone.

"Well...uh.. yeah, but I thought it was just a bug bite. We get them all the time."

"I bet it was a bumblebee." Katie definitively hypothesized. "It must have been gathering pollen from the Lion Poppies when Chase fell, which is why it stung him."

"And why it's in a strange spot on his neck;.. His collar was off." Ryder concluded.

"But then.. why is he scratching too?" Rubble wondered.

"Bumblebees have fine hairs all over their bodies." Katie explained. "So when they land on flowers the pollen gets stuck to them. And anything else they land on, leaves behind some of the pollen. Since this bee was pollenating Lion Poppies, it left behind some of its pollen when it landed on Chase to sting him."

"So he was infected." Rocky concluded, looking at Marshall and Zuma; who nodded in agreement.

"Yep, and now it's infected his bee sting. This needs to be treated right away." Katie picked up Chase and took him into another room. The other pups were asked to stay put where they were; and, naturally, they were upset and concerned by this. Minutes felt like hours, as they waited for their friends to return. Ryder had also gone with them, so the pups were alone together; only Cali remained, napping on a pup bed across the room from them.

They all perked up at the sound of a door finally opening.

"We're back." Katie announced cheerfully, allowing Chase to lightly hop out of her arms. Ryder stood at her side, both of them were smiling; which only slightly put them at ease.

"So.. is Chase ok?" Rocky asked, hopefully.

"He'll be fine." Katie beamed, half chuckling. The pups all breathed a sigh of relief.

"See everybody, I'm ok." Chase smiled. The group was all smiling back at him... until they noticed the patch of white peeking over his shoulder. Chase froze and followed their gaze. "Oh..this, don't worry guys, it's just to keep it from getting infected. That's all."

"He'll need antibiotics, but otherwise he'll be fine." Katie reinforced. "We wanna keep it protected for a little while until it heals."

"Woah, you're doing just what you said Capt'n Turbot did, dude!" Zuma realized.

"I guess I am." Chase responded a bit sheepishly. "And to think, I didn't even realize it."

"Well you were a bit busy worrying about us to notice that you yourself had been affected by the flowers. You care too much." Rubble pointed out. "Too much to worry about yourself, I mean." They all shared a laugh at this.

"Well, now that that's over let's get the rest of you pups out and check on your rashes." Katie decided, shifting gears near immediately.

XXXX

Katie smoothed out the last bandage over Marshall's forehead.

"There, all done. You're all set Marshall." She smiled cheerfully.

"Thanks Katie!" The Dalmatian grinned back. The pup was now covered in white bandages and patches, some even covering his black spots.

"Hey, Marshall dude, I didn't know a pup could have square spots!" Zuma joked, earning him another wave of laughter from the group.

"I know! And now we're all patched up. Haha, get it? Check it out!" Marshall giggled and pointed at the other treated pups. Rocky has only a small patch on his foreleg, Zuma had one big one across his back; and, of course, Chase had his on his neck from the bee sting.

"Hahaha, I guess you're right." Skye giggled.

"Well at least you pups are alright. And that what's most important." Ryder reminded them.

"Yep, and now we can go home, right?" Chase asked, not so subtly directing this statement at Ryder.

"Of course, you're all such good pups." Ryder responded. And the pups cheered, bounding back outside and into the PAW Patroller; to head back to the Lookout. And as the sun shone high above them, they made their way back home.

~Irritations!~

Hey everybody, whasup! Do his story is kind of a just-for-fun, goof-off story that's was jut meant to be fun and silly. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I do apologize for the redundant beginnings and ends, it tends to get hard writing beginnings and ends to fanfics for this show for some reason. Either way hope you still liked it!! Let me know!! Thx!!!