The world itself seemed to fall apart as the husky finally found herself in front of the clinic doors. Light tears had broken their way out of her eyes, escaping down her cheeks to the freedom of the ground below her. Her confidence was nearly drained, if there was any to begin with, and yet she still tried to build up what little bit of courage she could find to walk inside and face the inevitable.

Hoping for the best, though assuming, preparing, and practically convinced of the worst, she forced her legs to move as much as they could, pushing past the glass entrance. The lobby was deathly quiet, even without her species' hearing she would've been able to hear a pin drop. It was a ghost town with no one except herself present.

The daunting reality held its strings over her mind as she glanced around the room, whimpering as she nervously took a few steps on the cold, tiled floor. The sound of her paws walking was almost silent, but that of a second pair of feet was far from it, forcing her instincts to take over as she jumped back and darted her eyes up to the source looking down at her.

"Oh, there you are," the nurse commented, her soft voice sending shivers down Everest's spine. How one could seem so monotone in a situation like this was beyond her. Her heart was pounding harder than sheets of hail crashing down in a blizzard, and here Katie was, smiling.

"W-what happened to him? Is he okay?" Somehow, despite the brutal circumstances, a gentle hand was placed on her fur with small pets to accompany it. Her head was screaming on the inside, part of her wanting to burst out and ask how she was perfectly fine with all of this.

"Come and see for yourself." The husky choked her tears back and obliged, still unsure if Katie's tone was supposed to be giving her reassurance or as a preparation for what she would see. As painful as it was, she knew the matters of life and death were out of her paws. As much as she dreamed of being able to fix this, she wasn't the one in control. As if she ever was.

Swallowing what ounces of hope she could still cling onto, she followed the girl into the room. Ironically, nothing seemed to be far out of the ordinary. Ryder was sitting on the edge of the bed as Katie walked past him, sitting in her own cushiony chair on the side.

Everyone seemed relaxed, yet another detail that threw her off. If something important really did happen, why was everyone so calm and collected? Her voice unfortunately didn't want to work in the moment, so all she had to rely on was her eyes.

Deciding to just get the pain over with, she glanced over at the bed. Although already accepting the harsh reality that she would have to suffer through, she only found herself drowning in the lake blue eyes staring back at her.

She quickly blinked and stepped back, instantly coming to the conclusion that she was either dreaming or had finally reached her breaking point and was hallucinating. It certainly felt like a dream, far from the nightmare she had fully convinced herself would become the truth.

The cruelty of the world had never once held back on her, the only exception was the love of her life, and up until now, it seemed even he was being taken away. But here she was, eye to eye with her shining star. Maybe this really was just a dream, but even if it was, why waste this chance she was being given?

The thousands of droplets rolling down her fur morphed into tears of relief as she flew across the room and onto the bed, her paws clinging to the Dalmatian. What was real or what wasn't couldn't have mattered any less, this was far from what she wanted. This was what she needed, like her life depended on it. To feel her Marshy's paws slowly make their way around her, caressing her fur and sucking out the torturous pain from inside her.

"U-uh...E-Eve, I need t-to breathe." Alarmed, the husky instantly let go, scooting just far away enough so that they were still brushing against each other. Not that the dally would mind in the slightest, if anything this is how he would prefer it too. Besides, if she were to fully move away, who's to say she wouldn't wake up from this miracle.

"Marshy, I-I....I-is this real?" she asked, slightly tilting her head as the spotted pup carefully sat up in bed, leaning his back against his pillow. Her lip was quivering ever so slightly, anticipation to let herself finally give in to this seemingly false hope growing by the second.

"U-unless I'm dreaming too, it sure is, snowflake." Everest smiled and leaned her forehead against his own, her heart dancing around in her chest the entire time. She felt like she was flying, weightlessly soaring above the darkness. She had broken the expectations set in her head, giving the ending that was so far away, so unrealistic that it seemed out of touch, directly to her.

It wasn't necessarily all happy and perfect, that was impossible with the looming elephant in the room, but it was all she could've hoped for. Marshall on the other hand didn't see this within the same light, the guilt in his hoarse voice telling her all she needed to know. He was smiling, but his eyes told a much different story.

"I...I'm s-so sorry. I-I got caught up in the moment, I couldn't control myself. It was stupid, I know, I-I didn't know how else to stop it. I-I...I really don't have any excuses, I-I'm sorry..." Everest gently shook her head, holding her tears in and taking on his own instead with her paw brushing them out of his eyes.

"No, don't be sorry, honey. I know how hard it is to control those thoughts. I get them too. I promise, it's okay, what matters is that you're still here." The dally looked down, still feeling the sting in his heart. Even if he knew he wasn't alone with having those stupid voices in his head, he wished he was, nor did he feel any less guilty.

"E-Eve, I love you, but how is any of this okay? I hurt you, again, I-I know I did. It's been what...a week? I've already put you through so much, a-and now this. W-what is wrong with—"

"Shhh," the husky cooed, gently scooting her paw up from his face to over his mouth, muffling his voice as it came to a close. As much as she hated to interrupt him, one could only sit and listen to their beloved talk themselves down for so long. "Listen, would you be saying these things about me if I was in your position?"

Marshall tilted his head, his eyes alone showing the absurdity he saw in that question. Knowing his answer, she carefully moved her covering away to let him speak. She was aware that her analogy was about to once again make her a hypocrite, but for now, that knowledge could be let go. For once, the negatives were far overshadowed by the positives.

"O-of course I wouldn't," he replied, his hoarse voice cracking as he spoke. Despite the question's intentions still unknown, it barely sounded like an accusation. Her eyes squinted and her head slowly nodded, giving the smile that would make dentists across the world jealous.

"Then you shouldn't be saying them about yourself either." As much as he wanted to argue in return, they both knew he couldn't say much that he hadn't tried already. That didn't necessarily mean he believed it, that Everest wasn't counting on in the slightest, but she got her point across.

Before the dally tried to argue any further, she laid herself down, nuzzling up next to him as she nearly melted from the relief of being able to do this again, no matter how casual a small cuddle may have seen. A perfect case of only missing the little things when you don't have them anymore.

"You know I love you, right, Marshy?" At long last, a small smile crept onto his face as he snuggled closer, his head ending up under her chin as he stole her coat of fur and claimed it as his very own blanket. Even saying there was a centimeter between them would've been an exaggeration.

"How could I not? You're not very good at hiding it, you know." Everest giggled and wrapped her front leg around him, holding him so close that either of the two humans would have assumed she was choking him. The dally allowed himself to sink into the moment, letting his paranoia and guilt go as he loosened up in her grasp. Both his body and heart melted as her fur finally gave them both a sense of relaxation knowing that the worst had been avoided, even if it wasn't by much.

"Don't say that like you're any better at it," she replied softly, her voice that of an angel to the Dalmatian. He knew better than anyone how comforting she could be, especially now, even without words the way she held him took almost all the worries out of his mind. Not all though, this guilt...that wasn't going away for a while, they both seemed to know that.

Suddenly, without any warning in the world, the husky bolted up from the bed, turning around quickly with her legs pinning her mate on the bed. He naturally seemed surprised, his eyes widening as she stared him down. She still had that sweet and caring expression on her face, but the inner mechanisms of her mind clearly had a new objective.

"A-am I in trouble?" His voice quaked with nervousness, there wasn't a clear answer and chances were he wasn't getting one. Granted, there was nothing he could do to escape this either, and a big smile spreading onto the husky's face was enough for reassurance. She bent down and lightly nuzzled him, forcing a small bit of laughter out of his mouth.

"Nope, buuuut, it's almost Christmas. So c'mon, let's go enjoy it while it lasts, I think we could both use a bit of a break from everything." For once, the grin on her face was the polar opposite of a lie. She was genuinely excited to share such a holiday with him, this was far from just an excuse to up his spirits. It was for both of them.

That being said, there was no doubt in her mind that with everything that he had been through within the last week—which to him was only a few hours at most—there was no time to dwell on it. His actions were the last thing he needed on his mind, and she wanted her chance to escape just as much. Both their lives were broken and frightening, and at the end of the day impossible to fully get away from. The best she could do was a distraction.

"Heh, y-yeah, sure. You're right, we both need a break." Everest, glad that they were on the same page, got off of him and extended a paw. Without any hesitation, the dally took hold and she pulled him up closer, in the process of getting him out of bed and accidentally, although neither complained, muzzle to muzzle with each other.

"Uhm, Katie, is he allowed to leave yet?" Now realizing their moment was coming to a close and she was given permission to intervene, the girl appeared next to the bed, looking over the spotted pup carefully.

"Uh...yeah I think he'll be fine. Just don't do anything reckless for the next couple of weeks, make sure he takes it easy. That and his voice will probably be a bit hoarse for a few days from the scar." Even if she hadn't said anything, it wasn't like either had plans to do anything crazy, they both could agree on wanting nothing more than some peace for once.

"In that case, let's get you out of here," the husky muttered, wanting nothing more than to get out of this self-inflicted prison of a building and back home. Marshall didn't have to be told twice, he was almost immediately on the floor below then, extending a paw to help his mate down. She gladly accepted, carefully lowering down onto the tiles as she found her balance soon enough.

"Hey, Katie, where's my collar?" The girl looked around the room, quickly locating the blue and red collar on one of the tables. She bent down and slipped it past the Dalmatian's ears, rubbing down his head and to his neck. However, with a sharp yelp echoing out of his mouth, she instinctively ripped it back off, Everest shooting her a death stare in the process.

"Woah, what's wrong buddy? Oh...it hurts to put pressure on your scar, doesn't it?" The dally nodded slowly, rubbing the injury as the husky scooted herself closer to him. Part of her admittedly was furious with Katie for hurting him, even if it was an accident, but it went away about as soon as it appeared. She was a friend who had done more than enough for both of them, after all, nor was the pain intentional.

"Y-yeah...i-is there any way I can cover it up?" No one could blame him for such a request, if anyone—be it a random passerby or even one of the others back at the lookout—saw him walking around with a huge scar on his neck, chances are it would raise questions. And that wasn't his anxiety talking for him either, no sane person would enjoy openly conversing about such a topic.

Everest was the first to act, searching for something of use, eventually looking down at herself and finding an answer. She knew that chances were the cold weather she'd be exposed to would likely punish her for this, but she unwrapped her teal scarf from her neck and carefully set the cloth around his own. Even if it did come with consequences, they didn't outweigh the reward for peace of mind for her mate. Sacrifices for his own sake were an old friend at this point.

"Does that hurt?" The dally shook his head, if anything the warmth, and partially the scent that was still lingering within, brought a sense of comfort. Much like the collar he was given, only this one was a bit more worn in. "Well, you can keep it if you want. Blue looks good on you."

"It looks better on you though. Then again, you do look good in anything, so I guess that's cheating." Everest blushed and walked past him to the door, smacking his face with her tail in the process. As he would've in her position, she refused to be complimented and just stand there and take it.

"Hush, you flirt, or else I'm taking it back." Even with her threat, the spotted pup paid no worry to it, starting to move closer to the door himself. Neither of them wanted to stay here any longer than they had, though unfortunately, their owner seemed to say otherwise.

"You two go on ahead, I gotta talk to Katie real quick. I'll be out in a minute," Ryder said. Neither of them argued, taking their chance to escape from their overstayed visit. Like a bird spreading its wings for the first time, both were out of the building in seconds, only leaving the two humans alone.

"So...did you make up your mind?" Katie asked, already having a feeling she knew where the conversation was heading. The boy chuckled lightly, wrapping his head around how right she probably was with her idea. It seemed unbelievable, the tiny pup he had raised as a child now all grown up with his mate, and now this. He always knew to expect the unexpected, he did run a team full of rescue dogs after all, but this was something else.

"Honestly, it makes total sense. I think he really would love that. But my concern is Everest, you know they'd both have to be on the same page for this to work. You think she's ready for that?" he questioned in return, knowing how wrong it would go if she wasn't.

He was near-certain Marshall would be on board with it, but the husky was the one he was unsure about. And if by any chance she wasn't ready, this wasn't one of those things she could adjust to within the snap of their fingers. A life changer such as this one needed both parties' signatures to work out.

"Well...I thought about that too. But I can take care of that, or at least give them a choice in it without ruining the surprise. Plus, I have a feeling she'll like it too." Ryder gave it a small thought before nodding in agreement, sealing the deal. The most important part of this was making sure they were ready and understood the responsibilities with such a task, so if that was no longer a risk, not much could go wrong.

"Alright, let's do it. I really owe you one for this, thank you." Katie giggled lightly, mentally adding this to the tally of times he had said something similar. It wasn't uncommon that she ended up doing small favors like these before, especially in their youth. Being lifelong friends tended to have its perks.

"Ryder, at this point you owe me millions. But it's no trouble really, I'm glad I can help them. I think they could both use that extra light in their life, ya know?" The boy agreed without hesitation, even a blind man could see they were both in need of something positive.

Katie smiled and, with no warning whatsoever, leaned forward and wrapped her own arms around him. It didn't matter if he was the most caught off guard he had probably ever been, it would've been rude not to return the favor, resulting in him doing the same.

It was a harmless act, ending in her arms still locked around his neck once they broke away. She seemed perfectly fine with it, as if she was doing nothing wrong in the world. If only making it hard to hide an extremely obvious blush was a crime.

"Oh, and by the way, what are y'all doing for Christmas?" Finally pulling away and giving him some chance to recollect himself, Ryder let his brain catch up with him as he thankfully remembered the plans on the spot. Granted, he wasn't sure if they were still happening, but any answer was better than nothing.

"Last I checked me and the pups were gonna stay at Jake's and celebrate it there. You wanna come with us?" Within the blink of an eye, Katie's face lit up as her childlike excitement brought a smile to them both, though one bigger than the other.

"Really? You don't think he'll mind?" The boy shook his head, silently hoping that Jake actually wouldn't mind if he brought a friend. Surely he had enough room in that cabin if he was more than willing to invite him and seven dogs.

"Nah, he'll probably be fine with it, I don't see why he'd care," he explained, just pleading that what he was saying was true. For all he knew the plans had to be canceled with all the chaos of the past couple of weeks.

"Well, if he's fine with it, then I'd love to. It's been way too long since we've actually gone and hung out, not doing something work-related. And I can bring you know what over as well." Ryder silently cheered in his head, thankful to now be able to bring a friend with him. His pups were great, he loved them like his own kids, but they were, well, dogs, and Jake was a bit on the older side compared to him.

"Great, I'll make sure to let you know what happens. See you, and thanks again!" Katie gave him a small wave as he walked out, the boy entering the frigid temperatures, mentally cursing himself for forgetting his jacket. Neither of his pups seemed bothered by it, but they had the joys of a constant sheet of fur on them.

Everest had already taken initiative and had given Marshall almost her entire weight, keeping the pressure on her legs to a bearable level. Chances were they would've chosen to lay down on the concert, but even their fur couldn't save them from feeling the coldness of the ground.

"Alright, you two, let's get you home." Before he could've even taken his keys out of his pocket, both squeezed themselves into Everest's snowcat—which somehow wasn't given a ticket after being parked for over a week—before taking off in the direction of the home they haven't seen in far too long.

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Despite the fact that she hated driving with her legs, Everest felt infinitely times better compared to the drive to Katie's. That may not have been setting the bar very high, but she would take what she could get. The warm fur brushing up against her was plenty to remind her how lucky she had gotten, maybe the world really had decided to help her out for once.

Unsurprisingly, the others were inside with the tower serving as protection from the coldness, especially now that the sun was starting to set. They never had the resistance their husky friend did, even Marshall had to huddle closer for extra warmth. Not that she minded, she was the one who encouraged him to get closer in the first place.

The three rode the elevator up, two of which not expecting anything. However, those unexisting expectations were blown away as their eyes were met with a barrage of colored lights. The entire lookout was crowded with boxes, filled to the brim with decor. Clearly, they hadn't thought to wait to begin the decorations.

The sight was a surprise but a spectacle to take in. A breath of fresh air compared to the usual look of the tower. It was beautiful, coming home to see it appropriately prepared for the season, without a doubt keeping the mood high. The others were all occupied, taking part in the celebration without a single care.

"Hmm, Chasey...maybe a bit to the left?" Skye suggested as the German Shepherd moved a wreath in the said direction. It was a miracle he hadn't come back down to all fours yet, standing on hind legs was no easy task for any of them.

"Does that look better?" The Cockapoo gave a nod of encouragement, slightly helping him back down as she rubbed his nose against her own. Both Marshall and Everest felt a tiny spike of jealousy, seeing how carefree the other couple of the house got to be. No overwhelming sadness, no constant fear, no disorders, just each other to live the life of their dreams. But maybe they'd get to be like that, one day living a normal life with each other.

All of them seemed pretty relaxed, just enjoying the time of year as a family. It wasn't until Skye turned around, probably to get more decorations, that their presence was noticed and very highly appreciated.

"Marshall!" she squealed, forgetting about the decorations as she bounded in his direction, tackling him to the ground in a hug. Naturally, after hearing his name shouted with such excitement, the others dropped what they were doing—quite literally for one or two of them—-and rushed to their side.

"Hey, Skye." Chances were he would've said more if given the opportunity, but by the time he could've gotten anything out, the others had all appeared around him. From the second they all had seen him, there wasn't a single tail in the building that wasn't wagging.

Barely giving him the time to stand back up and recover from Skye's hug tackle, everyone had decided to return the same treatment. Everest only stood on the sidelines and giggled, watching the others attack him with their love and welcomes. How happy they were to see him, but nothing could compare to her euphoria of seeing him like this. Not only alive, but laughing and embracing the others.

"Guys, give him some space," she ordered, avoiding the otherwise inevitable overwhelmingness. The others did as they were told, scooting back as the dally flashed her a smile, likely as thanks. That warm smile was all she lived for, once again giving her the reminder of how lucky she has gotten.

"Well, glad to have you back, bud. We were just about to move on to decorating the tree, you two wanna help?" Chase offered, glancing over to the tub of ornaments already set out. The couple looked at each other, both shrugging and accepting the opportunity.

With them agreeing, all seven of them made their way over to the tree, which stood up in the corner of the room. For the most part, there was nothing too special for the majority of ornaments. Most were just bright-colored balls with stripes, or maybe the occasional candy cane shaped one.

But that wasn't the case with all of them, some were much more special depending on the pup. It had always been a little tradition they'd do, take pictures over the years and hang them up on the tree. As they all aged and grew up, it ended up becoming a timeline of sorts.

"Chasey, Marshall, look at this one," Skye beckoned, grabbing them both and dragging them in her direction. In her tan paws laid a small yet memorable picture, all completed with a tiny hook on the top, fit for the branches it would soon come in contact with.

None of them could've been any older than a year at the time, but even back then the scenario was as easy to see as ever. Marshall had his forelegs wrapped around the German shepherd and Cockapoo, smooshing them together while a single strand of mistletoe resided in his mouth above them. The victims were blushing madly, and despite them all being so young, the chemistry between the two was undeniable.

"Hey, well at least you two don't need me to make excuses for y'all to kiss, right?" Skye rolled her eyes but saw her opportunity and leaned over, giving her mate a quick peck on the cheek before hanging the ornament up. The Dalmatian laughed lightly, scooting away from the lovebirds and getting back to his own, who was doing what she could to not crack up watching the trio.

"And a good thing too, I want nieces and nephews eventually," she chimed in, forcing the two to end their moment and shoot her equally embarrassed looks, though both their faces were about as red as a tomato. The Cockapoo didn't hold back either, grabbing the nearest pillow she could find and chucking it at her friend.

Thankfully, she managed to catch it, but the downside was using two paws to save herself took away what little support she had to stand. And even if a pillow of all things was far from strong, it was enough to knock her back into Marshall. By this point, tears were hitting the ground from her laughing so hard. It had been years since she felt this good.

"Shush, Everest, don't think I don't want some mini versions of you two running around." The husky blushed slightly, though she knew it was nothing more than a comeback. She stood herself back up, digging her paws into the tub of ornaments for something that caught her attention.

As luck would have it, the one she pulled out was all too familiar. Without taking her eyes off one of her few precious memories, she tapped the Dalmatian's shoulder, grabbing his attention within seconds.

No words had to be spoken as he looked over her side and down at the picture in her paws. The day they found her in the Arctic, both of them were a mere fraction of their current age. All the pups may have been in the picture, but with her legs wrapped around Marshall—who at the time everyone just assumed was nothing more than her new best friend—it was clear who the stars of the show were.

Such a simpler time it was back then, far before things had gotten the way they were. She knew just looking at her old self, that past reflection was still hurting on the inside without anyone having a clue, but that smile was genuine. Just as her current one was.

She shut her eyes and smiled, small streaks slipping down her face as she held the dally closer than ever. She may have seen him laughing, but it didn't take much for her to read him like a book. It was impossible for one not to be hurting only recently waking up from his intentions. There wasn't a clue in the universe as to what direction they'd end up going in next, but she was smart enough to know what was important.

He was her family, and no force in the world could take that away. They may have been lost in their own darkness, but something told her they were on the right track, for once a tiny glimmer of hope in her lifetime of suffering.