For as long as the moment was lasting, Marshall felt like he was dreaming. The fact that he and Everest were casually playing with a puppy was melting his insides, the experience was one he always assumed would remain a figment of his imagination. Even then, the Border Collie in front of him was very much real, only partially mentally killing him with the knowledge that she was just hanging around for the holiday.

"How long do you have her for?" he asked, looking up at Katie who for some random reason was high-fiving Ryder. They both seemed pretty excited, though it was Christmas Eve, he couldn't really blame them, nor were they the center of his attention.

"I'm not really sure, just long enough until things get less crowded at the pound or until someone adopts her." The Dally nodded solemnly, realizing even with that short time frame, she'd be living with Katie for all of it. Anyone with a brain and a pair of eyes would probably adopt this thing the second they saw her.

It almost felt like some cruel joke that was being played on him, dangling the one thing he had wished for since he was a kid right over his head but just barely out of reach. Of course, out of all the things in the world, puppies were what fate decided would be his kryptonite.

"Uh, Marshy? You still there?" The Dally shook his head, forcing himself back to reality. Everest seemed concerned, looking into his eyes as the Border Collie innocently chewed on his paw. "Are you okay, honey? You zoned out."

"Oh...n-no, I'm fine, don't worry." The Husky for once couldn't tell how truthful he was being, but it wasn't her place to intrude for now. There were so many things he could've gotten caught up on, it probably was best to stay silent for now, especially with everyone else here. Besides, even if she did dig deeper into it, whatever she would've said was interrupted by the pup tripping over the Dally's paws and yelping once she hit the ground.

Apparently, she had that same magical trait both her and Marshall seemed to share, a natural sense of clumsiness. Kaite laughed from the side, grabbing one of the chew toys she had brought with her and tossing it into the circle the three canines had formed.

Completely forgetting about the two beside her, the pup's mind went straight into fight mode, viciously biting the rubbery bone with the full intent of tearing it to shreds. She was likely the reason those toys were made with materials that wouldn't be broken by her teeth, she was attacking it as if she was a wolf putting its prey out of its misery.

"Now that she's occupied for, well, probably not very long, what do you guys say we get this party started?" she suggested, taking a cup of hot chocolate Jake had passed her way and holding it up as if she were about to give a toast. The others howled excitement, with Everest as per usual beating them all on the loudness scale. Even the Border Collie joined in right after Marshall, despite it being highly unlikely she knew what she was doing.

Admittedly, her howl could use a bit of work, but none of them dared hurt the obvious pride in her eyes. She held so much accomplishment in her face, one would have assumed she just won an Olympic medal. Her head and eyes were locked on the Dalmatian, her tail wagging at the speed of lightning as she practically begged for approval.

Marshall smiled, gently rubbing his nose on her head. The pup's expression almost immediately brightened, and she suddenly jumped up on the couch. She was looking down at him with her tail up, front paws bent down, and a tilted head. It was an obvious invitation, one she could clearly portray despite her age. She wanted to play, any dog—and probably human too—would've been able to tell.

The Dalmatian was no stranger to a simple game of tug of war, in fact, he used to play that game with Ryder and his clothes all the time. He jumped up in front of her and repeated the same position, quickly after sinking his teeth into the rubbery bone, though not before she did the same with her end, letting out small growls in the most desperate attempt to be threatening. She was the exact opposite of threatening, but to her, she probably felt like the most dangerous being alive.

The pure determination in her eyes was impressive, there was no doubt about that, especially considering she had no chance of winning this battle she had waged. Well, that wasn't fully true, it was more of she had no chance of winning fairly. Marshall had no intention of stealing her victory from her, and the pride in her eyes was amplified by thousands once he gave up and let go.

"Hey, just 'cause you beat Marshy doesn't mean you'll beat me," Everest announced, climbing up next to them and winking at her mate. The black and white pup's ears flopped to the side as her head did the same, fully unaware of anything she was just told. But the Husky knew that and did the same stance the other two were in moments ago.

The message thankfully came off as she intended it to, and the Border Collie quietly growled as she engaged in yet another game of tug of war. Everest of course had no plans on winning, doing just as Marshall had done and accepting her defeat, making sure the pup knew her efforts were something to be proud of.

"Well jeez, you little rascal, you're pretty strong." Even if she had absolutely no idea what that meant, the pup reveled in her success. She had clearly made her strength known to the pack, walking over to Katie and nudging her leg.

"Yes, girlie, you did good," the girl praised, lightly scratching her behind the ear. However, even with the shower of compliments, she didn't let up against the assault on her foster owner's leg, and small barks were starting to join in as well. Luckily, the nurse had learned her behavior enough to catch on. "Ohhh, okay, that's my cue. She probably wants her dinner, so I will be right back."

The nurse grabbed the ziplock bag of dog food and carried it into the kitchen, with the puppy trailing at her feet during the entire trip. With them gone, and the other dogs already distracted by each other, that only left Marshall and Everest alone.

"You two get along pretty well, huh?" the Husky asked as she laid back down on the couch, stretching her legs out in the process. The Dalmatian giggled, laying down next to her as he tried his best to ignore the small butterflies swarming in his stomach.

"I guess so, but you can't say that you don't like her too." Everest smiled, and although he wasn't wrong, she was positive she could see some sort of connection between them. She hadn't seen his face light up like that in months, which although wasn't saying a whole lot, she would take what she could get.

But even then, she too felt some strange gravitational pull towards her. Some sort of indescribable urge to protect her at all costs. She wasn't sure what it was, it wasn't the same type of protectiveness she felt for Marshall, but it was a new feeling that she had yet to pinpoint its exact source.

"Well of course I do, she's adorable. We gotta find a name for her before we leave tomorrow, we can't just keep calling her 'pup'." The Dally blushed, his head whipping in her direction in both confusion and the most blissful rush of joy running through his veins he had felt in a while.

"Y-you wanna come up with a name together?" he questioned, hoping he was doing at least a good enough job of hiding his excitement. His only goal was to make sure he wasn't too obvious while he shared time with the Border Collie, that would just lead to an awkward conversation with Everest probably being on a very different page.

He could only imagine, the look of disgust on her face that would surely come. She likely wouldn't have been harsh about it, but he was positive he'd be turned down. He wouldn't have blamed her either, with where they were in their lives, starting a family might be a bit much. And whether she talked about it or not she still wasn't a hundred percent at peace with the whole relationship thing after her last experience.

"I mean, why not? I doubt Katie would mind, we can at least just give her the idea, and it might be kinda fun if we end up thinking of something. Plus, you're clearly her favorite by a long shot. It wouldn't be surprising if she hung around with us most of the time we're here." Marshall nervously nodded, and though he was never the best when it came to names, he would've never forgiven himself if he passed up the chance.

"W-well, sure, I guess we can do that. But I-I highly doubt I'm her favorite, Katie said she was usually shy and she's known me for like five minutes, I really don't think—"

As if right on command, his denial was unknowingly interrupted by the flash of black and white arriving at the base of his paws, looking up at him with curious eyes as she waited for his signal. Everest snickered, gazing at him in her typical "I told you so" fashion, but even with that look Marshall wasn't going to complain about the situation he had gotten himself into.

"Uh-huh, well I guess you're right, clearly you're not," she answered sarcastically, smiling as she gently nudged his side. She knew full well he was completely trapped by the being setting her tiny paws on his own, so as much as his face told her he wanted to get back, chances were that wouldn't be happening.

However, saving his paws from falling asleep, the pup finally noticed the other dogs around the room, most of which by now were just talking amongst themselves. She had never seen this many of her own species in the same room, although that wasn't saying a whole lot when the previous month and a half she was alive weren't spent doing much socializing.

Deciding that there was no time like the present to engage with her next victims, she ran in their direction, both figuratively and literally sticking her nose into their conversation. Up until now, none of them had really taken a closer look at her, for the most part, they all simultaneously agreed to not ruin the fun she was having with the other two.

"Aw, hi, what'cha doin'?" Skye asked, being the first to draw attention to her. The Border Collie grinned, looking around at the others who stood up and got a closer look. What followed was anything but a surprise, being dogs, they all leaned in with their snouts in her direction. It was the usual way to greet someone new, by now it was a custom to them all.

The pup was curious at first, intrigued by the possible new friends. However, as all five of them arose and moved closer, all of which speaking at once as they introduced themselves turned into a very different image.

What at first were those of her own kind slowly morphed into giants towering over here, their jumbled voices only coming off as one forced together mess. They had good intentions, only she had yet to figure that out, she couldn't even process the situation. She whined and lowered her head, scooting back and cowering behind Marshall's tail.

"Woah, hey, what's wrong?" he asked, only realizing after he spoke that she had no way of responding nor understanding him. Part of him had to fight off the urge to glare at the rest for scaring her. He looked over at Katie, assuming if anyone had an answer it would be her. "What was that all about?"

"I'm...not actually sure. She's just a puppy, it's likely she got overwhelmed by so much going on at once, I wouldn't look too far into it." Marshall was mostly content with the closure, he didn't see much of a reason to dwell on it either. Besides, they had a Christmas Eve party to finally get going.

"Well, now that that's all settled, let's get to partying! The night's not gonna last forever," Jake announced, standing up from his seat and walking to the kitchen, likely to prepare dinner for his guests. The mood almost instantly went to a more exciting atmosphere; the festivities had begun.

"So, now what? Anyone got any ideas?" Somehow, despite how excited all of them had been leading up to this, none of them actually had a solution. It was never the easiest finding something all of them could agree on, especially now with the new age gap to take into consideration.

"Hide and seek?" Everyone brought their gaze over to the Bulldog, who only shrugged at his own idea. They hadn't played that game since their early childhood years, probably due to how unfair it would be when playing with a certain police dog. "What? You guys have any better ideas?"

"Well, we do have a pup here, might as well do something she can kinda understand. Anyone object?" Chase asked, shaking his head with a hint of laughter. Then again, he should've known better, leave it to Rubble to bring in the most innocent yet familiar game from their younger years.

Even if it was pretty immature, no one bothered to argue, there really wasn't much better to do. For all they knew, a bit of nostalgia would be nice, and for once they would be playing somewhere other than the lookout. The same game can get boring once everyone's memorized every spot possible.

"In that case, the boundaries are inside and outside the cabin, but no leaving the yard. No using your nose to sniff out the hiders. And as far as the pup goes, uhm..." The shepherd froze in his words, he had yet to come up with a plan for her. She was way too young to be left completely alone, especially not if they wanted her to learn the game.

"I can stay with her," Marshall suggested, knowing that she probably wouldn't leave him anyway. Everest was right, apparently, she had latched onto him like glue. Speaking of the Siberian Husky, she quickly leaned in his direction after hearing certain aspects of the rules.

"Are you gonna be okay with going outside?" she quietly asked, keeping her tone down to avoid any large discussion over it. The Dally was admittedly, very unsure. As much as he obviously hated going out there for too long, especially without her acting as the best cure for his worries, the game in itself might be a distraction.

"Uh...I'm sure it'll be fine, it's not like I have to hide outside." The husky nodded and moved back for her previous position. Although that was fully in vain, before her body even came to a stop she was already leaning back.

"You want me to hide with you two? That's probably cheating but if you don't wanna be alone we can work something out."

"Eve, I'll be okay, I promise. You don't have to worry about me." Everest flashed him a small smile, more of a somber one than anything. She could tell he wasn't fully confident in his own words, but if he was willing to try to shush the anxiety in his head, she wouldn't be one to stop him.

"You know I worry about everything anyway." Ignoring the fact that their conversation had only lasted twenty seconds at most, by the time they had finished the others had all gotten ready and laid out the rules. All that was left was to pick the lucky one of them to be the seeker.

"Ryder, give us a number from one to seven," Chase called out to their owner, who only just now walked back in, eggnog in hand. The confusion in his expression was obvious, getting him a small giggle from the tiny pup who only saw it as a mere funny face.

"Two, I guess. Why? What are you guys doing?" Completely not bothering to answer his human, even though he was typically the most loyal out of all of them, the shepherd turned back to the circle of his own species.

"Alright, Skye, you're the seeker." The Cockapoo accepted her position with ease, looking at the rest with a small hint of confidence. Everyone else was just relieved that Chase wasn't the one chosen, having to hide from a cop was always a pain.

"Bettew not cheat and let Chase win, okay?" Zuma shamelessly butt in, forcing all of them to release laughter from their mouths. Skye glared at her mate, quickly shushing him before giving the same look to the Chocolate Labrador.

"You're lucky I don't live here, Zuma, or else I'd be throwing another pillow at your face." Her words may have had some threatening tone to them, but the only thing they had done to the lab was help him. He now had a sense of leverage, or so he thought.

"But you don't, so ha. What's with you thwowing pillows anyway?" The Cockapoo had no hesitation in setting one of her best friends straight, grabbing the Border Collie's toy bone off the ground and holding it above her head.

"Should I use this instead? Trust me, I don't care what it is that I hit you with." Zuma's ears lowered as he mumbled some incoherent apology, silently scooting back to his seat. She smiled with success, setting the bone down in front of the pup who innocently went back to chewing. "That's what I thought. Now, y'all got a minute and thirty seconds to hide, starting...now!"

Like mice scattering away from a cat, everyone bolted off in different directions, aside from the humans who only just now put together what they were doing. Marshall had to physically steer the pup alongside him to keep her from wandering off. There wasn't any doubt that she was slowing him down, but that wasn't important to the game nor to him.

"Come on, this way," he ushered quietly, leading her to the wooden entrance of the cabin. The good news was that he knew exactly where to hide, a spot he wasn't even sure if Everest remembered existed. They had only been there once, and she was just as surprised as he was to find it. The bad news was that he had to go outside to get there.

By now the door was already open from some of the others rushing out to find a spot, so that much was taken care of. The burden now was just to get through the snow, a task far easier said than done. Only Everest came close to understanding his fear, and as the name of the game stated, she was nowhere to be seen.

The best he could do for now was swallow his fear and make a run for it, but before he even got close to making the move, the pup had already done a full-speed jump off the porch. Much like he once was, she was obviously fascinated with the freezing powder in her fur, as evidenced by the sparkling in her eyes as she watched her paw disappear in and out of the whiteness. Unless Katie let her play before bringing her inside, this would be the first time in her life she'd experience it.

Her excited aura practically took him over, forcing him into the snow directly next to her without giving it a second thought. Within a few seconds, her entire face was covered in it, whether from her sniffing it or attempting to eat it. She had no idea what it was, but he was at least glad to be by her side as she got to enjoy her first taste in this new weather.

However, as much as he wished he could let her have her fun, there was no time to waste. Marshall grabbed the Border Collie with his mouth and gently set her on his back. She seemed thrilled by the ride, gripping onto the fur on his neck as he walked to the back of the house. To the naked eye, nothing would've looked remotely close to a hiding spot, but his were trained to know otherwise.

All he had to do was walk under the window and brush away some snow, revealing a wooden entrance in the ground. Cracking away some of the ice keeping it shut, he heaved the door open and snuck both of them inside, double-checking to make sure he could reopen the door when the time came.

Inside was a small yet surprisingly cozy room, surrounded by concrete walls, filled with mostly boxes and a machine. According to Everest, Jake built this room to keep the generators out of the constant snow so they wouldn't mess up, and over time it sort of became a basement. It was almost never used, but even then the solid barriers kept it fairly warm.

Heh, Skye doesn't even know this place exists, she's not gonna check here, he thought to himself, turning around to see the pup mindlessly chasing her own tail. He knew there wasn't much to do, they at least had a few minutes before someone would find them, or more preferably the game ended with them as the victors.

"So...I take it you can't talk yet." The Border Collie just tilted her head, her ears flopping to the side along with it. Marshall shrugged to himself, he wasn't surprised, though he was still curious as to what she'd sound like. For now, all he could do was sit and wait, so that's exactly what he did. Laid down and almost immediately had her lay down next to him. "Hmm, can you say Marshall?"

He was partially kidding, not expecting a single peep to come out of her. But by some one in a hundred miracle, her mouth slowly opened. The Dally's eyes widened in amazement, up until now he didn't even think she could fully comprehend other's words, much less her own.

It seemed far too good to be true, and because he just had to be right, it was exactly that. He was wrong to think she wouldn't respond with any noise, but his name definitely wasn't what he got, only a small yawn while she stretched her legs out. His hopes were crushed, but as soon as they were taken from him, they were replaced by the next best thing.

She rolled over in his direction, burying herself in his fur as her own personal blanket. And her mission to cover herself in his spotted coat wasn't over, she still continued to shower him with small nuzzles as she made herself at home. He wasn't really sure what sleep schedule she was working with—it wasn't even seven yet—but it didn't take long for her to be snoring away. Considering both of them were dogs, that alone was a sign of trust and affection, one he wasn't planning to receive that quickly, if at all.

Unfortunately, just as their short seconds in the snow had ended, the sudden sound of the hatch opening startled him, but thankfully didn't wake the pup. His best guess was that Skye had found them, and he had already kissed goodbye to their victory.

However, he was very pleasantly surprised to see the other female of the house sneaking into the room. The husky quietly laughed to herself as she shut the door behind her. She turned around, and with the extremely unexpected sight of someone else here, she jumped and had to stifle a small scream. Marshall put his paw over his mouth, shushing as he nodded to the Border Collie sleeping on his side.

"Aww, and you said she didn't like you," she whispered, tip-toeing next to him. She laid down on the other side of the pup, still close enough to the Dalmatian where she could rest her head on his shoulder. "I wasn't expecting you to hide outside, I'm proud of you though."

"Neither was I, honestly. You should've seen her when she was in the snow, she loves it." Everest smiled, she could clearly see that from all the bits of snow in the pup's fur. Even if she never had the childhood that most others were lucky enough to call their own, she could still confirm that nothing was able to beat the feeling of pure childlike joy. "Hang on, why are you even down here? Skye started seeking like five minutes ago."

The Husky sheepishly smiled, her face screaming a thousand apologies. Marshall sighed, realizing what was about to happen just in time for the door to be opened, a tan Cockapoo sticking her head in and looking at them both, very unimpressed.

"Everest, I literally watched you—"

Skye was suddenly interrupted by two rather violent shushes, both of which combined were louder than her voice was to begin with. Just as he did for Everest, Marshall nodded towards the sleeping Border Collie, and thankfully the aviation pup sealed her lips.

"Well, you three were the last ones found, so...I guess you all win?" she whispered, not even sure herself if three-way ties were a thing in hide and seek. She had played this game for years, and yet somehow almost every time something new managed to happen. "C'mon, let's go back to the cabin. Dinner's ready and Rubble is probably gonna eat all of it if we don't stop him."

The worst part was that they really had no idea if she was kidding or not, it wasn't too far-fetched for them to believe. The Cockapoo sprinted off, presumably to either stop the Bulldog or help him in his quest to wipe out all the dinner on the table. As much as Rubble was known for having an appetite, none of them were too much better, almost every dog on the planet was a sucker for food, especially if it was that of their owner's.

Marshall carefully picked up the sleeping pup, who was snoring almost as loud as Everest did—unknown to her, he still had yet to tell her about that, though he likely never would—and carefully set her on his back. The three slowly emerged from the room, the Dally being extra slow to keep the child from falling off.

Thankfully, even with any sort of grip, she stayed on until they got back inside and safely laid on the couch for as much rest as possible. With her taken care of, they happily moved to the kitchen, relieved that neither Rubble nor Skye had eaten their food. The others had already gotten to work, any second now and they likely would be finished before they even started.

Jake was carrying a large tray of food as they sat down, making sure he didn't step on any of their tails as he made his way over to the dining room. Under any other circumstances, he wouldn't have mentioned anything, but the dish in his hand was giving him an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

"Everest, this turkey is for us this time. Don't eat this one, alright?" he teased, slightly bending his knees down enough that only her ears would notice him. The Husky rolled her eyes, remembering that dreaded Thanksgiving day. She almost knocked this one out of his hands and ate it out of spite.

"Shut up, Jake, or else I'll tell everyone about that F in math you got in high school." The man's eyelids lowered, squinting at her in disbelief. The lavender pup only smiled a smile of victory, turning back to Marshall knowing fully that he wasn't going to try and stop her now that she had blackmail. Oh the liver treats she could've forced out of him if she still lived up here.

However, she knew how to steal them from the cabinets at the lookout, so it wasn't a problem. For now, she had to focus on both hers and her mate's dinner. Neither of them had eaten a while, and the noises from their stomachs were all the evidence they needed.

They both had no plans on stopping until there wasn't a crumb left, their mouths being greeted with the sweet, savory flavor. Marshall probably could've eaten it all in one sitting, but because she insisted on keeping her streak going, a black and white coat of fur materialized at the edge of his bowl. A sudden interruption, but one he didn't fight with.

"I thought you were supposed to be asleep," he commented, somehow not raising anyone else's awareness of her presence. She was forcing him to replay the past five minutes in his head, unless he was crazy, they were spent by her snoring away on the couch. And yet here she was, quite clearly far from tired.

The pup barely acknowledged his words, jabbing his red bowl with her nose with the most obvious intentions possible. If that wasn't enough, once she realized that wasn't working—even though she had given him nowhere near the time necessary to give her what she wanted—she raised her head and gave him the classic puppy eyes. It was a trick they all knew, but she seemed far too young to be using such harsh forms of guilt-tripping.

"Fine, just don't tell Katie," the Dally whispered, silently scooting his food an inch in her direction. It was a good thing her temporary owner had taught her some manners, seeing as she didn't try to bite his face off when he ate alongside her. He was more than willing to share, but not to let himself starve.

She seemed to hold the same appetite as the rest of them did, and with their combined teamwork, their dinner didn't stand a chance in the world. The Border Collie smiled at him, probably her mute way of thanking him for helping with her master plan. It wasn't until the clomping sound of footsteps came in that she darted back to the living room, laying her head down just as it was before.

"Hey, have any of you guys seen the pup? Is she in here with y'all?" Katie asked, looking around in what was now her own game of hide and seek. Marshall had to stifle his laughter, knowing he couldn't blow her cover now that he had finally realized what she was doing. If she was smart enough to fool her owner despite only being around a month old, he saw that as a justified win.

"She's over in the living room taking a nap, me and Eve brought her in once our game was finished." The girl nodded, walked into the room she was directed to, and sure enough the border collie was 'fast asleep' on the couch. She gently set a hand on the pup, and with what anyone else would've bought as a realistic yawn, stretched her legs and traced Katie's feet as she walked around the house.

Now that neither of them were in the room, Marshall laughed to himself. He wasn't sure how happy Katie would be with him for sneaking the pup food, it might not have been the best habit to build, but couldn't have not played along. Besides, it wasn't like Ryder wouldn't occasionally give him snacks when he was a pup, it was a tradition at this point.

He didn't dare rat her out, he was never one to betray trust. It was already a miracle that the Border Collie trusted him in such a manner, and for now, he had a clean record with her. Just like all the others in his life, he hadn't hurt her, and his goal was to make sure that he, or anyone for that matter, never did.