The pups were all waiting patiently, excited for the arrival of their friend's savior. Well, not all of them were up and excited. Due to the lack of sleep they had gotten the previous night, Marshall and Everest were both curled up with each other, taking a well-deserved nap.

The husky had already gone ahead and called Haley to see if she could visit, and surprisingly she said she'd be in town later that day to pick up some supplies. The two talked for a bit and the nurse explained she'd be there in a few hours and would stop by the lookout.

With that in mind, she had no trouble falling asleep, knowing that both she and Marshall really needed some extra rest. Plus, the others told her they'd wake her up when Haley got there, so that wouldn't be a problem.

"They look so cute together." Skye whispered to her mate, who was simply laying on the couch beside her. She wasn't wrong, they both had their heads resting on each other's back as they were cuddled up in a little ball.

"Heh, you're right. But I still think you're cuter." The shepherd responded, giving her a small smile.

"Well, of course, I know that Chasey." The cockapoo stated teasingly as she gave him a little lick on the cheek. Chase rolled his eyes and gave her a playful push. "Hey, that's not fair. You're the one who called me cute in the first place." She pouted.

"And I stand by it, cause it's true." Chase replied with a wink. Skye smirked and jumped on his back, something she could easily do due to her small size.

"Hey, quit playing with my ears." He laughed as the cockapoo started batting them around, acting like she was just a pup.

"I think you'll live." That was all he got in response. He couldn't say he was too surprised though, it wasn't uncommon for the cockapoo to be like this around him. Eventually, once she was satisfied with her work, she laid back down into his fur.

"Happy?" The shepherd asked, noticing she had stopped. Skye just let out a joyful sigh and nuzzled him.

"Never better." She answered softly.

"Will you two stop flirting with each other?" They hear suddenly, followed by a small laugh. The couple turned their heads around to see Marshall half-awake, letting out a few yawns as he looked at them.

"Oh shoot, sorry I woke you up. We can try and be quieter." Chase apologized, realizing it was probably their fault for interrupting his sleep, which was something he still desperately needed to catch up on.

"Nah, it's fine. How long have I been out?" Marshall asked. He normally would've just gotten up and checked the clock himself, but he really didn't want to get up. Laying there snuggled up with his mate made him feel so warm, safe, and....loved. It had been too long since he'd felt this way.

"You both have been asleep for about a few hours now. Haley should be here pretty soon. You wanna go outside and play with us until then?" The shepherd offered happily, with his tail starting to wag.

Marshall shook his head and lightly nuzzled the sleeping husky. "Nah, you two can go. I'm just gonna wait until Eve wakes up. I don't wanna leave her." He responded as he leaned back on to her.

"Oh ok, well Skye and I are gonna go outside. We'll come get you if Haley gets here, or you two can just come out and meet us when Everest wakes up. Take care buddy." Chase stated as he and the cockapoo started to walk towards the elevator.

The dally smiled and nodded, despite still not being in the mood to play with the rest. However, he didn't mind having to wait for the husky to get up. As long as he could stay close to her, he knew he'd be fine.

Some time passed before he noticed Everest slowly opening her eyes with a yawn. The dally smiled and hugged her tightly. "Hi Marshy, how'd you sleep?" She asked tiredly, returning the hug.

"Pretty good actually. I think I needed that nap." He answered, letting out a few yawns himself, still trying to fully wake up. "What about you Eve, how'd you sleep?"

"I slept well. I'm glad you did too." The husky replied. After seeing what had happened when Marshall had nightmares, she was thankful for any restful sleep, even if it was just a nap. The look on the dally's face was something she wished would never have to see again, but deep down, she knew she would.

◾️◻️◻️⬛️◻️◻️◾️

Down in the yard, Ryder was just sitting down on the grass, watching his pups play with each other before someone spoke up.

"Hey, excuse me, but this is the lookout, right?" A voice called out.The boy turned over to see a woman walking up to him. It only took him a second to figure out who it must've been.

"Yeah, you're in the right place. My name's Ryder, and you're Haley, right?" He asked, extending his hand out. The woman smiled and accepted the handshake.

"Yes, that's me. It's an honor to meet you Ryder." Haley responded.

"The honor is all mine. You saved my dog's life. I'm grateful, and I know all of the others are too, especially Marshall. You have no idea how much you've done for him, Everest is really helping him with everything." Ryder explained.

"Well, that's my job after all. Where is Everest anyway?" The girl asked. Despite only knowing the husky for a short period of time, the two had managed to bond a bit. Although, she still had one question about what she was told. What did Marshall need help with?

"Oh, she's upstairs with Marshall. Actually, they may be still asleep. Everest did say to wake her up if you got here." The boy answered, before turning his attention back to the pups, realizing he had yet to announce her presence."Hey guys, Haley is here!"

Almost instantly, they all came running over to her with their tails wagging out of excitement. Haley smiled and bent down to pet them all. "Aw, well aren't you a bunch of good pups." She greeted happily.

"Well, let's go up to the lookout so you can see Everest, then we can all talk more. Chase, do you know if those two are even up?" Ryder asked.

"I know Marshall is awake, Sir. I'm not sure about Everest though. I said he could come down with us, but you know how he is, he didn't want to leave her." The shepherd answered. Ryder nodded and gave the shepherd a light pat on the head.

"Ok then, let's head up there." The boy stated. Of course, everyone else agreed and they all walked over towards the elevator.

When they all got to the top of the elevator, they walked out to see Marshall and Everest happily cuddling with each other. "Well, hello there Everest." Haley said brightly as she walked over to the couple.

The husky slowly looked up, having woken up only a moment ago. "Oh, hey Haley." She greeted in return.

Almost immediately after her name was said,
Marshall lifted his head off of Everest's side. A huge smile appeared on his face, then he suddenly jumped up onto the women and started licking her face, almost knocking her over.

"Alright, alright, get down boy." Haley demanded, but she couldn't help but giggle. The others just stood there shocked, the dally was usually shy, and even if he wasn't, he was never this excited to meet someone.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, for everything. For saving my Eve." He praised as he got off her. The others could've sworn they saw tears in his eyes. But they quickly put together the dots and figured out why he was so excited. In hindsight, it made perfect sense to be happy to meet the one who saved his mate.

Marshall smiled and walked back to Everest's side, hugging her once he got back, which she of course immediately returned.

"I can see that you two are gonna get along well." She joked. Although, she couldn't help but be glad that her mate seemed to take a liking to her new friend so quickly.

Everyone talked for a while, introducing themselves and whatnot before Haley asked something. "Hey Everest, can I ask you a question?" She brought up. the husky, although not sure what it could've been, nodded.

"I was wondering, when I found you, how did you get all those injuries? They were pretty bad, and I don't think the fall alone would've been enough. What happened?" She questioned curiously.

Everyone in the room cringed, especially Everest. Of course, Haley had no idea what she had just done, but the others all knew that even just mentioning the incident was never a good thing with Marshall around.

The husky immediately turned around and hugged the dally, who had fallen dead silent with a pained expression on his face. He wasn't having another episode, but she could tell his anxiety had skyrocketed.

Marshall slowly moved his shaky arms around his mate, gripping her tightly. He remained silently in that position, until Everest could slowly feel his heartbeat going back to normal. She let out a small sigh of relief, knowing the situation could've been so much worse, but luckily nothing major happened.

"You're alright Marshy, it's ok. Everything's ok. I'm still here." She cooed, as she broke the hug, although she still kept one arm around him for extra comfort and reassurance.

"I-I know, t-thanks Eve." He whispered, scooting a bit closer to the husky, which naturally she allowed him to do.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but what just happened?" Haley asked. Everest looked back at her mate, a bit concerned about explaining it right in front of him. Instead of saying it there, she just walked over to the nurse. The pup motioned for her to bend down, which she did, despite having no idea what was going on.

"Something happened a while ago. It was the reason I got those injuries, but the Marshy was there with me when it happened. H-he has PTSD due to the incident, and I know you didn't mean to, but please just don't try and mention anything related to that." She explained.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry I brought it up." The girl apologized. Everest of course accepted it, but in the middle of their conversation, the girl realized something.

"Ryder, Everest, can I speak with you two alone for a moment?" She requested. Ryder nodded and walked into a separate room with her. Everest of course told Chase to keep an eye on Marshall, then hurried behind the humans. She already wasn't liking that they'd be separated, especially after what just happened.

The three walked out of hearing range from the others before they started to talk. "What was it you wanted to talk about?" The boy asked. Haley paused for a moment, trying to think of how to say this.

"Ryder, I think I can help Marshall. You see, while yes I'm a nurse, I'm also an animal therapist. If you want, we can schedule an appointment for him. Treatment is something I'd highly recommend, it would really help him a lot." She explained.

Ryder and Everest both looked at each other wide-eyed as smiles grew on their faces. This is what both of them knew he needed, and now they were being presented with the perfect opportunity.

They could finally give the dally the real, professional help he truly needed.