"M-Marshy, please let me go with you." Everest begged, grabbing the dally's paw. It was that time of the week again. Marshall was supposed to be at Haley's for his therapy in about forty-five minutes, and since it was a fairly long drive, he was getting ready to go.

However, this time was much different. Instead of Marshall wanting nothing more than the husky to come with him, now he was refusing to let her go. Ryder was a bit shocked at first, but after thinking about it, it sadly made sense.

"You're not going, so quit asking to. I-it's for your own good that you stop worrying about me. I don't even get it. You're free from having to put up with me. Why do you insist on keeping this up?" The dally asked, yanking his paw away from her.

Everest looked so overwhelmed at the sudden reaction, or just from the situation as a whole. It almost seemed like that at any moment now, she would just break into tears. At this point, they'd been separated for about a week. It was taking a toll on both of them.

"B-because I love you! Just let me help you, please. Pushing me away isn't going to make anything better. Please just let me come with you. Let me do this, Marshy." The husky pleaded in return.

"No, Everest, just stay here. Stop making this harder than it needs to be. For the last damn time, just leave me alone." Marshall snapped back in frustration. Everest stepped back and sadly looked towards the ground in disappointment.

"But...fine. Just be careful." She whimpered quietly, clearly upset. After that, she turned around and left the two. The husky walked past the rest of the pups and simply laid down in the grass, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

Ryder would have questioned his pup's actions, but when he looked at him, all he could see was guilt written all over his face, so he decided not to push it. Besides, he didn't want to cause any more emotion for the dally.

"Come on, Marshall, you don't wanna be late." His owner spoke up. Just by his tone, Marshall could tell he wasn't too happy with the way he had talked to Everest. The dally nodded sadly and walked to his fire truck, mentally preparing himself for his next session.

◾◻◻⬛◻◻◾

The two got there right on time, as per usual. Just like always, Marshall and Ryder went in and sat down in the waiting room. About ten or so minutes passed before Haley came out, wearing her usual comforting smile on her face.

"Hey, buddy, you ready?" Haley asked as she noticed the two and walked up to them. The dally gave her a small nod and went inside their usual room without any further comments. However, it didn't take any therapist skills to notice that he was more upset than usual.

She could tell that he was different then most sessions. His fur was nowhere near as clean and nice as it usually was. Plus, it was obvious he had been crying a lot recently because of his red eyes. He looked like he had been completely drained of hope and happiness, even more so than usual.

Marshall jumped up onto the couch like he always did, but there was something besides his appearance that was off. And that's when it hit her. His company wasn't there. "Uh, Marshall, where's Everest?" She asked, clearly confused. The second she asked, a look of sadness appeared on the dally's face.

"I-I broke up with her." He answered. Haley's eyes immediately widened. She was expecting the husky to be sick or something minor that had caused her absence. But this? This was completely out of her range of ideas.

"Wait what? Why would you break up with her?" She asked, trying her best not to sound as concerned as she really was. She knew probably better than anyone how important Everest was for him. Her constant care and comfort were one of the things that helped him cope.

"Because I want her to be happy. A-and if I'm like this, and she has to constantly watch over me, I just don't think I can do that anymore." Marshall replied sadly, dropping his head down. The girl frowned, seeing as this was clearly something he didn't want, only something he believed was the right thing to do.

"I see. Well, how does Everest feel about this?" She questioned. Questions were always the easiest way to get patients to open up, and the dally was no exception to that. Despite him being extremely sensitive, she had learned how to talk to him without him getting too upset.

"I mean, of course she didn't like it. But, it's for her own good. I can't keep her safe, and I can't let her get hurt because of me being too weak again. I-I just did what was best." He whimpered in response. Haley sighed, but in all honesty, she wasn't that surprised by his answer. He always seemed to try to put Everest before himself.

"How do you feel about it?" She asked. Obviously, she already knew how it felt for him. He was very mentally dependent on the husky. But, it was always better to hear it in Marshall's own words.

"I-It hurts. I hate being without her more than anything, it's like torture. I-I'm so lonely, a-and scared. But...it doesn't matter. A good mate is supposed to make the other feel happy, and keep them safe, right? If I can't do that, then why do I deserve to be with someone as good as her?" He answered in return. The girl nodded and wrote a few things down,

"Well, that's simple. You're right, a good mate should make the other one happy, and that's exactly what you do for Everest. I've seen how she is around you, how much she cares for you, how much she wants to help you. Do you really think she would do all of this for someone that didn't deserve her?" Haley questioned, immediately noticing the dally's sudden questioning face as he tried to come up with an answer.

"W-well, she's always nice to everyone, not just me. Maybe she just wants to help me cause of that. I mean, if someone you knew was hurting, you would help them regardless of if they deserved you, right? " The dally countered.

"Marshall, helping those who need it is my job, of course I'd help them. But here's the thing, I'm not Everest. I want to help you, but not the way she does. She adores you, and she knows you're hurting so she wants to do everything she can to help you. She wouldn't feel the way she does if she didn't think you were worthy of her help." She explained softly, resting a hand on the pup's paw, who sniffled lightly.

"S-she almost died because of me. If you or whoever it was wasn't there, she...s-she wouldn't be here. I couldn't save her the one time she really needed me to. You can't tell me I deserve her help when I failed her the way I did." He denied, refusing to accept what he was being told.

"And that's everything but true. You do deserve her. You deserve everything from her. Her love, her care, her comfort, and everything in between. You two complete each other, it's not hard to see it. I know it sounds cheesy, but love truly is one of the most powerful things." Haley responded warmly.

"NO, I DON'T! S-stop saying that I do!" The dally burst out. "Everyone keeps saying that, over and over again, and has it changed anything? No, of course it hasn't. I don't deserve her. S-she almost died because of me. I...I'm such a failure..."

Haley sighed and gave the dally a few pets on the head, hoping to comfort him. She had seen from Everest physical contact was usually the best way to do so, and it was obvious he needed it.

"Marshall, you're anything but a failure. Honestly, even though I know you're convinced otherwise, you really are a fighter, buddy. One day, and this is a promise, you're going to be better. You'll be happy, it won't hurt the way it does now. and I'm sure you'll be with Everest again. And I'll be with you every step of the way." She reassured him.

Despite everything his therapist had said so far, it was that last sentence that really hit Marshall's heart. That was the exact promise Everest had made to him when all of this first started. But now, she wasn't with him. He had made her break that promise. Maybe, pushing her away wasn't as good of an idea he had thought it was. Maybe, this was actually just hurting both of them.

All he wanted to do as the husky's mate was mate her happy. Or at least, make sure she would never have to experience being with one who didn't treat her the way she deserved again. And now, he couldn't help but feel like in reality, he was doing the very thing he had pledged to make sure never happened. If she really was hurting because of his decision, then that left him responsible, and yet there was still a part of him that said this would help her.

"A-am I...hurting her by breaking up with her? O-or...wait, no. T-this has to be a good thing for her, right?" Marshall asked, already debating his decision in his mind, unsure if he was right or wrong. As much as the girl didn't want to upset him further, she knew she couldn't lie to her patient.

"As much as I hate to tell you this, it probably did hurt Everest when you broke up with her. She's trying her best to help you, and I don't think pushing her away would help either of you." She responded truthfully.

This entire time, Haley had prepared herself for an outburst since she knew it was likely to happen, so she wasn't at all surprised when Marshall began crying. In an attempt to help, she slowly picked him up and carefully set him on her lap. Knowing it was something Everest would always do to calm him down, she also started to slowly pet his back.

"I-I'm such an idiot! I-I've ruined our r-relationship! S-she'll never l-love me again..." Marshall exclaimed in between tears. It was obvious he wasn't taking the truth very well.

"Don't say again. I highly doubt Everest ever stopped loving you, and I don't think she'll ever stop either. You can still make things right. You haven't lost her yet." Haley responded, speaking in an even more soothing tone than before.

"B-but, why would she now? Now all I've done is add another thing to her list of problems. S-she probably hates me for this. She has so many reasons to not take me back as her mate." The dally replied, still crying slightly.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Just with the time I've seen you two together, I can tell she holds nothing against you. You've done nothing wrong. Nothing that happened was your fault." Haley cooed, knowing how guilty he still felt despite not being the one to blame.

"I-I don't know. It feels like everything that's happened is my fault. And besides, I've been pushing her away this whole time for her own good. I-I'm just not sure if getting back together is the best thing I can do. W-will that really make things better if I do?" Marshall asked.

"Yes, yes it would. It would make things a lot easier for you, and probably her as well. And I'm not saying you have to go and ask her to be mates again the second you get home. Maybe just start off simple. Stop pushing her away and allow her to help you, that'd be a good start." She explained. 

"Ok, I-I guess I'll try. But, I d-don't know why she would be willing to take such a failure back as her mate. I-I've been such a jerk, I even yelled at her when she was trying to help. Are you really sure this is a good idea?" Marshall questioned, as he jumped off her lap and went back to his own couch.

"Tell me, buddy, what is the thing you want most right now? Out of anything imaginable, what would it be?" The therapist asked, answering his question with another one.

"I...I just want to have my Eve back with me again." The dally muttered. Haley felt a small smile appear on her face. This was the first time he had used his nickname for Everest since he'd gotten there, and she figured it was also the first time since they had broken up. It was showing that he was opening up to her a bit more.

"Exactly. If that's truly what you want, then it's a great idea, and I guarantee you that's what Everest wants too. As I said, I'm sure everything will work out for you two. And you let me know what happens next week, cause we're out of time. Go get your husky buddy, I believe in you." Haley encouraged, knowing how much he needed it.

Marshall gave her a weak smile and a nod before heading out the door. Although he still felt terrible for what he might've done to his and Everest's relationship, and the looming feelings of guilt and hopelessness didn't help, he felt a small feeling of hope inside him. And despite him not believing in himself as the others seemed to, he would take Haley's advice and attempt to fix his mistakes, even if deep down he felt it wouldn't work.

Even if he didn't think he was worthy, he was still going to try to get the love of his life back.