Under most circumstances, the pups loved going to Katie's, despite the fact that very few of their species enjoyed such a visit. Sure, occasionally there would be the typical annoying checkup, sometimes even a dreaded shot, but those weren't too common. Being genuine friends with her definitely helped, seeing as she always offered baths and treats, both of which would be accepted in an instant—though only the latter for a specific mixed breed.

However, this was no average visit filled with the normal light-heartedness. The atmosphere in the room was far beyond just lacking the usual joy, that was out of the question before they even got here. They had all been rushed out of the lookout in seconds, knowing nothing other than that Marshall needed medical attention immediately. As one would suspect, that was definitely a way to kill the mood.

The only one who seemed to have a clue as to what had happened was Everest, but she was too occupied crying to herself in the corner of the lobby, with enough tears flooding her face to create a sixth ocean. They had tried to calm her down, but it was no secret that wouldn't happen until she got confirmation that her beloved was okay. And for all they knew...well, he was anything but okay.

It had all happened so fast, and even now that things had calmed down, still they were lost. They had nothing to go off from the time they were spending, waiting in the ominous silence, only broken by occasional cries.

However, letting them all take a breath of relief, the door opened and Katie finally showed herself. The Husky instantly jumped up, her expression pleading for any good news. To her concern, the look she was getting wasn't exactly promising, doing very little to get herself into a better state of mind.

"I-I've done everything I can, it's just a matter of time now." The rest exchanged their own anxious glances, unsure of what the implications were, though that didn't sound promising. Katie seemed hesitant as well, and if the vet herself was nervous, that usually wasn't the greatest sign to see. "I...I don't know if he'll make it."

Silence. Silence was the only answer she got, even from Everest, who was desperately trying to hold back tears as she looked at the ground. Somehow she wasn't surprised, she had a gut feeling this wouldn't immediately have the happy ending she wanted. Moments like these were when she hated how often she was right, life itself seemed to have an ongoing grudge against her.

"Everest, you can come back and see him if you want. He's still unconscious, but you're welcome to stay with him." Her instincts told her there was a bit more to the invitation than stated, but that barely changed anything. Her mind was already set on the one goal that mattered, and everyone knew when it came between her and Marshall, very little would stop her.

The Husky silently stepped down from her chair, following the girl into a secluded operating room. Despite the torturous weight in her chest, the heartache only increased when she saw her beloved mate strapped to machines. They were the only thing keeping him alive, even his willpower had clearly run out.

What started as just worry and fear was slowly evolving into a more physical feeling. Her head spinning, her legs barely agreeing to move—as if that wasn't a struggle already—, the looming pressure on her heart and shoulders. She had been sad and scared before, that was no foreign feeling in the slightest, but this...this was different.

Is this what he felt? She thought to herself. The pain of watching the one you loved most fading away before your eyes, as you were forced to helplessly watch. Sure, she may not be watching him mauled and thrown off a cliff, but this gut-wrenching feeling had to be within the ballpark, though nowhere near as severe. After all, his situation was far worse than hers, who was she to say she understood what it felt like?

Carefully, for the obvious reasons of not wanting to make anything worse, she jumped up onto the bed, looking down at his condition. Bandages had been wrapped around his neck, no doubt hiding a nasty scar underneath. His eyes were practically glued shut, no sign of them opening anytime soon.

This is how he was now, and how he'd remain for who knows how long. Fast asleep, trapped in the seemingly unending darkness, something she herself had already experienced one too many times. She was curious if this was how she looked in her coma, but it was highly unlikely Haley had been taking pictures of her then.

"Hey, honey, i-it's gonna be okay. Y-you'll be okay," she whispered quietly, although she knew he couldn't hear her. If anything, she was just talking to herself in a desperate attempt to convince herself the same thing. It wasn't exactly working, but it never hurt to try.

"So, Everest...you were there when this happened, right?" The Husky nodded, thinking back on the event she thought would never happen. It was always a fear she had held onto, especially with the number of times he had reported having such thoughts, but never in a million years did she think this would be a position they'd be in. It always felt like one of those unrealistic fears, one hiding in the back of your head despite how unlikely it realistically was. "I see. Well, I know this is personal, b-but did he try to...you know...?

Even with her trailing her sentence off, the missing word wasn't a challenge at all, and it was one Everest was still trying to wrap her head around. She didn't exactly want to discuss such a topic, it being quite the sensitive one for herself, but this was for Marshall's sake. Even if she didn't want to think about his actions more than she needed to, it was at least for the best. "Y-yeah, h-he did."

Katie lowered her head, sitting down next to her as she carefully pet the Dally, making sure to avoid any wounds in the process. "Poor thing, I can't imagine what he's going through." The Husky sighed, even she didn't really know what it felt like for him. It was pure torture, that she knew better than anyone, but it was impossible to really understand without experience. "But, I'm sure he'll make it, he's always been a fighter."

"H-he has to, Katie." The girl sighed and nodded solemnly. From a medical perspective, she honestly had no idea if what she was saying was true or not. Marshall was strong, she had seen that first handed, but that didn't change that he was in critical condition. The odds weren't exactly in his favor, and she didn't have the heart to tell Everest how slim the chances were she'd get to see the love of her life open his eyes.

"I'll do what I can," she promised, resting her hand on the Husky's head, who if noticed, didn't have any reaction to show it. "Uhm, I know this might not be the best time to bring this up but I have your medicine for you."

"O-oh...right." Up until now, her already scheduled appointment had completely slipped her mind. Katie had already walked off to one of the bordering rooms, so there wasn't any point in trying to get herself out of the situation.

On the bright side, no one was here to see her mentally panicking at the thought of whatever would happen next. The girl eventually materialized in the doorway, and Everest fully shut her mind down, ready to get this over with as soon as possible. Do your best and forget the rest, as he'd always say.

"Just take two pills a day, same time per day, if you can just do it when Marshall takes his." Katie set a small prescription bottle on one of the bedside tables, deciding to end the conversation there for the pup's own sake. Although, for her, curiosity struck her as she looked at her medicine. Admittedly, part of her felt weak, having to rely on medicine just to feel better. But if they worked this well for Marshall...

"A-are these really gonna make me better?" she wondered out loud. A bit surprised that she was willing to talk about this, the girl sat down next to her and gave her some pets of reassurance. She on the other paw instantly regretted her poor choice of continuing this longer than she had to, but it wasn't like much could be done now.

"That's the goal. They aren't gonna fully fix whatever you're going through, but they should at least take some of the bad feelings away." Everest smiled lightly and stayed quiet, curious about how they might affect her. She was a bit nervous about it, although it wasn't like things could get a whole lot worse. "Do you mind if I let the others in to see him?"

"Hm? Oh, sure." Katie lightly patted her head as she went back out to the lobby, and just as promised, the others nervously bounded into the room. A few gasps and whimpers bounced off the walls, but for the most part, everyone was too worried to have much of a reaction.

"I-is he awake?" Chase quietly asked, no louder than the beeps steadily coming out of the machine. Everest shook her head, her long winter coat shaking around as fur fell onto the sheets. Thankfully, Katie was plenty used to having fur everywhere, nor was she surprised. Huskies had a habit of shedding like crazy when the colder seasons rolled around.

"I don't really know when he'll wake up, i-if he does....But you guys are more than welcome to stay with him," she explained. The pups and Ryder, still more concerned than over, took a seat in anticipation. There really wasn't anything they could do, the only thing left was a painful process of waiting.

The awkward silence in the room was enough to make everyone uncomfortable, time itself seemed to drag on, minutes were feeling like hours. Everest hadn't even paid attention to the comments the others tried to support her with, for all she knew that background noise was just in her head.

Eventually, with nothing else better to do, the others started talking amongst themselves to pass the time, or just as a distraction, maybe both. The Dalmatian could be stuck in here for just a few hours or a few weeks, or anywhere in between, and that was ignoring the chance that he never left to begin with.

Getting the sudden urge to check on him Ryder stood up and walked closer to the bed, sitting on the edge next to where the Husky was. He slowly reached his hand out to pet him, that was about the most comfort he could give, but a low growl got everyone's attention, and certainly put a stop to his actions.

No one expected to see Everest with her teeth showing, especially not aimed toward her own owner, but here they were. Her bones aggressively sticking out as she made her warning obvious to all of them, and her paw—with her claws out as an added bonus—protectively moved over the Dally. Daggers were shooting out of her eyes as she stared him down. If this were a staring contest, she'd be breaking records by now.

The boy, as basically anyone would be with a full-grown Husky snarling at them, was hesitant at first. Deep down, he knew she'd never actually bite him, despite her seemingly ill intentions. It was likely just a case of her instincts getting the better of her, no real logic backing up those thoughts. The only real challenge was trying to convince himself that.

Everest may have been still giving him the same treatment, but once his hand slowly came down on the Dalmatian purely as a means to gently pet his head, her aggression died down. The only thing he could notice was guilt flashing in her eyes before she laid her head back down on the spotted pup's side.

Even she wasn't sure how long she ended up staying in that position, either way, it would've felt like never-ending torture. But eventually, just to push the fact of how long it had been, the light levels in the room decreased enough to get her attention.

She turned face over and glanced out the window, and sure enough, the outside world was covered in darkness. If the Arctic had taught her anything, it was how to read the time by using the sun and moon, and from what she could tell now, they were settling into the much later hours of the night.

She wasn't really positive about what was supposed to happen next, clearly not all of them would be able to sleep in here. And besides, who knows how long they'd end up being here, it's not like any of them could just start living here full time. Even she doubted she would stay sane in this building for weeks straight, if it came to that.

"Hey...Ryder? Where are we gonna go tonight?" The boy's eyes widened almost the second his mind processed the question. This was obviously the first time he had considered this, and just like her, he didn't have a clue to save his life.

"Well, I have a couple of guest beds, but definitely not enough for all of you. Everest, I'm not making you leave, you can stay with him if that's what you want," Katie chimed in. Without giving a second thought, the Husky nodded and went back to her previous position, not giving much of a care of who, if anyone, stayed with her.

"I can stay here in one of the guest beds, probably a good idea for me to keep an eye on him," Ryder volunteered, surprising absolutely no one that he'd rather be able to keep tabs on his pup in such a condition. "Chase, can you make sure everyone gets back to the lookout and to bed on time?"

"You bet, sir. Chase is on the case." The German Shepherd let out a small laugh alongside his signature line, though it was more hollow than usual. There was no spirit in it, as if there was any spirit going around to begin with. All but one seemed opposed to the plan for the night as most of the pups gathered together and made their way out the door.

"Hey...actually, can I stay with Everest?" The others looked over, slightly shocked to hear the Cockapoo speak up. She seemed determined too, and no one dared argue with Skye when she had that spark in her. Not that anyone would have, they all figured their Husky friend could use a bit of company anyway.

"Of course you can, as long as it's fine with Ryder. I'm sure I can find an extra dog bed laying around for you to sleep on," Katie answered, looking over at the boy for permission, who had to snap himself back to reality once called out. He barely even processed the question, his eyes were already trying to kidnap him and drag him off to sleep. It had been a draining day for all of them, no one wasn't ready for some shut-eye.

"Oh...y-yeah, that's fine." Ryder let out a yawn before giving Everest a small scratch in the ear, already looking around for wherever the guest bed may be. The girl slowly leaned close, wrapping her arm around him as she steered him in the right direction. "I-I'm going to bed, you pups take care. Night guys, night Katie."

Everyone drowsily wished their owner—or friend, depending on the species—goodnight as he disappeared into the other rooms. Skye turned in the other's direction, scooting close to Chase as they gently rubbed their noses together.

"Love you, Chasey, take care of the boys for me. Don't get into any trouble." The shepherd laughed, licking her as the rest made their way out, some chuckling, others rolling their eyes, all of them about to pass out on the floor.

"Love you too, see you tomorrow." After a few seconds, just about everyone has split out of the room. The others had gone back to the lookout, Ryder was probably fast asleep, Katie did a quick checkup on Marshall before heading upstairs to her own room. Now it was just the Husky and the Cockapoo, both laying in the bed as the former did what little she could do to comfort her mate.

"I-I can't believe I let this happen," she muttered, emptiness corrupting her voice to the point where Skye wasn't sure if she was who she was talking to. Even if it was just herself, she carefully rested a paw on the Husky's back. No self-deprecation was to be allowed in this building, not that she could help at least.

"Everest, no one could've seen this coming. We all thought he was doing better, even I could tell. I guess...maybe he just snapped in the moment?" The snow pup shrugged, maybe she had a point. It could've just been too much pressure in the moment, he was grieving over his parents after all. Or maybe this was something that could've been prevented. That she could've prevented, if she had just done more.

"I don't know, Skye. I thought I was enough. He just seemed so on the right path, last night he was laughing so hard I thought he was crying. He hasn't been happy that way in like half a year. B-but...it didn't mean anything, did it?" The Cockapoo lightly shook her head, ignoring the fact that her suspicions of them staying up were true. She knew she heard some laughing, but she didn't have it in her to get them into trouble. It wasn't like Chase and her had never done something similar.

"If he felt genuinely better in those moments, then I'd say it meant everything." Everest sighed, just deciding to keep her mouth shut from arguing any further. Skye did have a point, even if she didn't want to admit it.

To see him smile would be worth millions, that face was worth every second of the pain she endured on a near-daily basis. Having someone to call her own while also feeling mostly safe around them was all she wanted from a mate, and she had gotten all that and more.

"Wait a second..." The Husky muttered, slowly connecting the missing pieces as she put together what her friend had said. At first, she just accepted it, but logic finally knocked on the door and reminded her of that detail. "You know what happened to him?

"I had a hunch, same with Chase. Ryder might have known too, the others I'm not really sure about." Everest bowed her head, there goes trying to keep his real intentions a secret. Although in hindsight, all things considered, it more than likely wasn't the hardest to figure out. There wasn't a whole that could've gotten him into such a condition like this in a town where their regular missions were spent saving a chicken.

The Husky, silently pleading to move on from the topic to practically anything else, turned her head around and carefully laid it on the sleeping Dalmatian's chest. Warm and fuzzy, just as it always was.

She could almost feel his paw running down her cheek, caressing her face as he so often would. Sometimes as a loving way to show affection, other times to calm himself down through contact. She knew it wasn't real, it was just her imagination, but the thought of it was comforting. As long as she didn't dwell on the idea that she'd never feel it again.

The only thing she had to count on now was time, but that was moving at a snail's pace, which came with some generous rounding up. It hadn't even been a full day yet, but just the hours spent were molding together, forcing themselves as nothing but mere lies of the seconds that had passed.

"Hey, he'll make it. We both know he's strong, he can make it through this, I'm sure of it," Skye tried to reassure her. Deep down, she had a gut feeling it would only do so much, but she couldn't not try. She was about all the Husky had for the time being.

"And if he doesn't?" Everest could tell she was never the best at self-evaluation, but even she knew she wouldn't be able to bear losing him. It's not like she'd ever be able to move on, nor ever find love with someone else. Even if she wanted to, it had taken years to work herself into being ready for another relationship. If this one were to spiral downhill—even if it wasn't anything like her previous experience—that would be about it for her.

The Cockapoo shifted in her seat, the question was again something she couldn't be certain about. For all she knew, the odds weren't in their favor. She couldn't see the future, both of them had the same spread of knowledge on what would happen, and the same amount of control too.

"I-I don't know, Everest, I'm not a vet. Let's just...hope for the best, alright?" she tried to offer, giving off a small smile, her voice cracking as she spoke.

The lavender pup silently laughed to herself, even Skye was losing her confidence. She knew it, everyone was telling her that he'd be fine, that she'd be able to see him again, but what did they know? If they weren't sure, why should she be?

It was only a matter of waiting and seeing, every second spent pleading for the world to throw her a bone for once in her life. Even with all that had happened, through the abuse of her past and the harsh blizzards of the Arctic, nothing could come close to seeing her mate, the one who finally gave her a shot at a good life, disappear.

For now, the clock was ticking, and one could only keep themselves together for oh so long with their missing piece ripped from the world.