By the time Marshall got home with Ryder, it was already getting close to the evening. The rest were all playing with each other on the lawn to pass the time until they got back. However, whatever game they were enjoying was put on pause when one of the pups noticed who had arrived.

Seeing the dally, Everest immediately dropped the game and ran to him. Without thinking, she hugged him tightly. She quickly realized she would end up just being pushed away again, but there was never any harm in it. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, she knew he still needed a hug every once in a while.

But, to everyone's surprise, especially Everest's, Marshall didn't try to stop her. In fact, he actually hugged back. "Hi, Eve." He greeted, resting his head on her shoulder in a shockingly loving manner.

The husky, completely taken back by what had just happened, slowly separated and looked at him confused. "M-Marshy, what did you just call me?" She asked. After hearing her response, Marshall turned his head away, almost looking like he was expecting her to get mad after what he did.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. I can just call you Everest if you want. That was stupid of me, we aren't even mates." He apologized, moving his eyes away from her in an act of shame.

Everest gave him a warm smile and moved his head back to be looking directly at her. "You shouldn't be sorry for anything. I don't think you realize how good it feels to be called that again." She responded.

"Y-you're not mad at me? But, why not?" Marshall asked, confused. Everest reached out and slowly caressed the dally's cheek, hoping to reassure him that she was anything but angry with him.

"Of course I'm not. I'd never be mad at you. And besides, I love it when you call me by that nickname." The husky answered. Marshall gave her a small nod and turned to walk away, but Everest grabbed onto him and stopped him.

Although she had no idea what exactly had happened during his therapy, it was obvious that the dally was trying to open up to her more. That meant, if she could help steer him in the right direction, she might just have a chance at getting him back.

"Look, I know you've kept saying you don't want to, but do you wanna something? Like maybe watch a movie tonight? Just the two of us?" She offered, assuming that if he was ever going to agree on spending time with her, now would be most likely time.

"Uh, s-sure." Marshall replied. The husky smiled in success. She turned to Ryder to ask for permission, but he just gave her a nod before she could even speak. Although she kept her cool, she was screaming on the inside at this opportunity.

"Alright then, well it's already getting kinda late, so let's go. We can watch it in the lookout if you want." Everest suggested, trying not to sound as excited as she really was. Finally, she would be able to spend some quality time with her Marshy. Although it may not have seemed like a lot for others, it had been way too long for both of them to do that.

"Ok, yeah we can watch it there." He responded as he started walking towards the lookout. The husky smiled and followed behind him.

"What movie do you wanna watch anyways?" She asked once they got to the TV room. Of course, she knew he wasn't going to care what they watched, and honestly neither did she. As far as she was concerned, they were only with each other to try and rebuild the bond that they once had.

"I don't know. We can watch whatever you want, so I guess you can pick." The dally replied, confirming Everest's assumption. Personally, she didn't know any good movies. For that matter, she didn't know many movies, to begin with. She had lived most of her life alone in the Arctic. Even before then, considering the environment she was raised in, she didn't get much entertainment.

"Well...I don't know many movies. I never really had the chance to watch any. But it's fine, we can just look around on the TV until we find something that looks good." She answered, hoping that it didn't sound like she was ridiculing him. The last thing that was going to happen was him getting upset because of her.

"Oh ok. S-sorry I brought it up." The dally responded, looking towards the ground in guilt after remembering what she had been through. Everest silently cursed herself for not choosing her words better. She should have known better than anyone not to mention her past, as it would tend to bring back both painful emotions and memories for him.

"No, no Marshy it's ok. Don't be sorry. I know you didn't mean to bring it up. It was just an accident." The husky cooed, wrapping her arms around him in another hug. Sure, they had hugged only five minutes ago, but they would always help to calm Marshall down, so it wasn't an issue at all.

"B-but I should've known not to. I'm s-sorry, I really am. I-I don't wanna make you think about h-him." Marshall whimpered, trying to get out of the hug, but of course, Everest didn't let him. She was starting to see the look of fear starting to grow on his face, so she wasn't going to let him go that easy. She knew it was him that shouldn't be thinking of Damian, but now it was a bit too late.

"I know, but you don't think about him either. He's never coming back. He can't hurt either of us anymore. Think about me, Marshy. I'm still here, and I still love you, and I'm still going to help you, whether you want me to or not." Everest said, but she could tell Marshall still wasn't completely convinced.

"B-but, what if he does come back? Then what? I-I know we aren't even together, but I-I can't lose you again. I can't be alone like that again. If I lost you..." He trailed off, not even knowing himself what would happen.

In all honesty, Everest wasn't sure how to answer that. If for some reason, Damian did come back, it would only be worse. Marshall was extremely vulnerable, with or without her, and even just thinking about him terrified the dally.

"He's not gonna come back, don't worry. You're safe. No one, especially him, is gonna hurt you while I'm around, ok?" She asked in return.

"Eve, I'm not scared for my safety. I could care less if something bad happens to me. I was never worried about myself. I'm scared for your safety. I-I'm not losing you a-again." Marshall replied. At this point, he looked like he was about to cry, so Everest was quick to make sure he stayed calm.

"I'm not gonna die, I promise. I'm safe here, with you. You're never gonna have to lose me again.  And if you ever still feel alone, I want you to come talk to me." She demanded, speaking in a serious tone at the end to make sure he got the point.

"O-ok. I guess you might be right. Just, if you're ever forced to choose between saving me and yourself, please, I beg you, just save yourself. I-I can't have you die again." The dally pleaded

Everest let out a quiet sigh. As much as she didn't want to deny him, she knew it would be a lie. It would be completely out of her nature to just abandon him to save her own skin. As much as it would hurt him, she would be willing to sacrifice herself if it meant he would live.

"Marshy, we both know I would never leave you to die. It might not be what you want to hear, but I just can't let that happen. But, I will promise that I'll be careful, and if something seems too dangerous, I won't do it unless I absolutely have to." The husky responded. Just as she expected, it was obvious Marshall wasn't too happy with her response.

"N-no. D-don't risk yourself because of me. I refuse to let you d-die because of me failing you again." He shot back, hoping he would end the conversation, which Everest noticed.

"You never failed me, but, you don't wanna talk about this, do you?" She asked, getting a shake of the head from the dally. "Alright, let's just pick out a movie." She continued as she laid down on one of the beanbags in front of the screen. Before he got the chance to sit somewhere else, she motioned for the dally to come up and lay with her, which she was happy to see him accept.

"So, do you have any types of movies in mind?" The dally asked as he laid down next to her, slightly cuddling up. She was about to say no, but then an idea came to her head that might just help them out.

"Let's watch something romantic." She replied. She hoped maybe seeing something about love would maybe help him get closer to her again. She had no clue if it would work, but it was worth a shot.

After a while of searching, they found something that they both thought would be interesting. The two didn't speak much during the film, as there wasn't much to say. But that didn't matter. What mattered is that they were together.

By the time the movie was nearing its end, Everest noticed that Marshall was fast asleep, which didn't come as much as a surprise. Feeling quite tired herself, she carefully set him on her back and went downstairs to get some rest herself.

Although of course she wanted nothing more than to be able to sleep with him, she wasn't sure if it was the best idea. Yes, she could tell he was willing to open up and get closer with her, but she didn't want to overwhelm him. If she tried to go too fast, it might backfire and the dally would start pushing her away again.

Deciding that it was for the best, she silently opened the door to Marshall's puphouse and set him down on his bed. She couldn't help but smile lightly after seeing how peaceful he looked in his sleep, even if his sleep would sometimes end in horrific visions. After that, she closed the door and walked to her own puphouse, falling asleep almost immediately.

◾◻◻⬛◻◻◾

Marshall's eyes shot open as he jumped up in his dog bed, shaking in fear. He had another one of his repeating nightmares. His head darted the room as he tried to convince himself he was safe, or at least, that Everest was safe.

But this time, it wasn't the same as it usually was recently. It was much different. This time, there was no Everest. No one was there to comfort him. He felt alone again. It was the same feeling he had felt for three months. Alone and scared, haunted by his own memories, with no one there to take them away.

The dally just curled into a ball and cried for what seemed like forever. He wanted so badly for this pain to end, but it just wouldn't leave, and the one pup who could take it all away, who could let him escape from this hell, wasn't there. Because of him. Because he had been stupid enough to push her away and possibly ruin their relationship.

Suddenly, Marshall managed to remember something. Everest was still with him. He could still go and be with her. Although he didn't want to wake her up, it was worth a shot. Anything was better than laying alone in fear.

He forced himself to get up and go to the husky's puphouse, hoping that she wouldn't be mad at him for going to her this late. Once he got over to her, he knocked on the door and waited.

Not even ten seconds passed before the door opened, revealing an obviously tired Everest. She studied him carefully before saying anything. Just by looking at him, she could tell exactly what was wrong. He had the same look in his eyes that he did after every nightmare. A look of guilt, terror, and sadness.

Without any words being said, the husky slowly opened her arms. Marshall knew exactly what she was doing, so he gladly accepted her offer and lightly cried into her shoulder. After seeing it happen far too many times, the husky knew exactly how to calm him down.

"Shhh, it's ok, Marshy. It was just another nightmare. It wasn't real. You're safe." She whispered as she pet him on the back. In all honesty, despite waking her up, coming to her for help was probably the best thing that could've happened after a nightmare. Things could've turned much, much worse if he didn't. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to soothe him, although he was still clearly shaken up.

I-it's ok if you don't want me to, but do you think I could sleep with you tonight?" The dally asked. Everest, who was of course more than happy to agree, nodded.

"Of course you can. Go on ahead, I'll be there in a second. I just need to go use the bathroom real quick." She replied, moving out of the way. Marshall smiled and walked inside, laying himself down on what was now their bed, as the husky walked away.

Despite what he had just gone through a few minutes ago, he felt strangely happy laying inside Everest's puphouse. Right then, he silently swore to himself that tomorrow, he would fix his mistakes. Or, at least try to. He was still terrified of being rejected, but he figured that if he could ask her to be mates once, why would doing it again be any harder?

Marshall laid there for a while before noticing something. It had been nearly twenty minutes since Everest had left. Where was she? The dally decided he would go check on her, just to make sure everything was ok.

"Eve? Where are you?" He quietly asked once he had left her puphouse. Nothing in response. Now that he was starting to get worried, he frantically darted his head around, trying to find her. Again, there was nothing.

"Eve?! Hello?! A-are you there?! T-this isn't funny! Where did you go?!" Marshall called out, not caring anymore if he woke the others up. At this point, all he wanted to do was find Everest.

The dally started panicking, having absolutely no clue where the husky might have been. She definitely should've been back by now. Something was wrong. She would never just leave him like that, right?

Suddenly, Marshall spotted something. A small piece of paper lying in the grass, to be exact. Confused, he reached out and grabbed it. Not knowing what to expect, he silently read it to himself.

By now, you've noticed what we've done. So if you ever want to see your precious husky again, come to the abandoned warehouse in Barkingburg. Alone, and within 24 hours, or all you'll be arriving to is a bloody corpse.

The clocking is ticking, Marshall, and you wouldn't want to be responsible for her death again, would you?