JJcoolthe1st: I'll do your request once I'm done with the previous ones, okay?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Part 2 of "Pups Save the Snowboarders". Paw Patrol is known for saving and helping other people. But when the pups get sick or hurt, it's usually Ryder who's taking care of them. But what if it was Ryder who needs help for a change?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was midnight.

Marshall watched as the pups slept soundly cuddled up against Ryder and Jake. As much as he wished that he could join them, he had to work.

The medic pup sighed heavily as the stress of the previous day weighed on him. It wasn't the fact that he had to save someone from a life-threatening situation that fazed him so badly. It was the fact that it was someone close to him that was in a life-threatening situation.

Marshall let out a strangled sob that he was forced to muffle lest he woke up the others. He was sad, scared, and stressed all at the same time. As much as he wanted to break down and cry, the others needed him to be strong. They see him as a savior, someone that could get Ryder and Jake out of their cold-induced situation.

The truth is that he can't. He was just one pup that was forced to handle tough situations. He had seen death more than the other pups combined and he was scared that two will be added more to the list.

A soft groan pulled him out of his thoughts and he forced himself to keep his expression calm and collected. It wouldn't due to the others if they saw him in a weak state.

"M-marshall?" Ryder's voice was so weak that he could barely hear him despite sitting next to him.

"Ryder? You're awake!" Marshall whispered with a hint of happiness.

"W-what happened?" Ryder tried to move around but was stopped by Marshall.

"Don't move. What was the last thing you remember?" the medic pup said while checking his vitals.

"We rescued Chickaletta," the ten-year-old answered, confused as to why his pup was asking him that.

"How many times?"

"452nd time."

Marshall exhaled. "Ryder, that was three days ago. We rescued that chicken five more times in the past three days."

"W-what? What happened? Why do I feel cold? Why am I in Jake's cabin? Why-"

"Easy, Ryder. Deep breaths," the dally said in a soothing voice. "You and Jake got into an accident a few hours ago and you need to rest."

"A-accident?" Ryder whispered in a small voice and it broke Marshall's heart to see his usually calm owner acting like a lost puppy.

"Yes, Ryder," he said, nuzzling his cheek. "I'll explain later. For no, you've got to rest, okay?"

"O-okay," Ryder smiled at him before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

That was when Marshall finally broke down. He got out of the cabin and let his tears out. He let out all the pain, the stress, and the fear that he was keeping in as he sobbed against his paws. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Morning came and it looked like the dally hasn't got any sleep. Still, he tried to keep himself positive as he checked over Ryder, who was now fully awake.

"Well, the good news is Ryder is recovering," Marshall smiled as he put away the thermometer. "However, he still has a looooong way to go."

The pups cheered and howled in happiness and Ryder smiled at them.

"How about Jake?" Everest called from beside her owner.

"Hmm... let's see." The medic pup checked over the skier and was satisfied with the results. "Jake's recovering faster but that's not surprising. Keep at it for a few days and he'll be ready to go."

Jake whooped at the news and Everest howled, nuzzling her owner.

"Thanks, dude," the skier said as he scratched the head of the husky.

"But what about Ryder? Is he going to be okay soon?" Rubble asked happily, his tail wagging in excitement.

"Yeah, awe we going back to the Lookout now?" Zuma added.

Marshall looked at the excited faces of his friends and sighed internally. He didn't want to burst their bubble especially that it was only a week away from Christmas. However, Ryder's condition was too sensitive still.

Chase noticed the conflicted look on the dally's face and became worried. "What's wrong, Marshall?"

 The medic pup shuffled his feet. "Sorry pups, but Ryder can't go home yet."

The other pups immediately quietened down.

"But why?" Rubble whined.

"Yeah, isn't Wyder getting better already?"

"Pups, Ryder wouldn't be able to drive his ATV yet," Chase tried to explain, knowing where they were coming from.

"Ryder can ride inside Marshall's ambulance," Skye suggested.

"Yeah, and we can tow his ATV with my truck," Rocky agreed.

"Pups..." Marshall tried to interject.

"Yeah! He could recover faster at the Lookout!"

"We could cuddle with him, bring him food and watch Apollo all day!"

All the pups' voices were overlapping with each other, and Marshall found it hard to interject. As the conversation went longer, the dally's patience was wearing thin.

"We could-"

"PUPS!"

Everyone was surprised when the usually happy dally shouted. It wasn't like Marshall to lose his cool in front of everyone, but the stress was getting into him. Marshall sighed.

"Ryder can't be moved until his body can handle it," the medic pup said sharply. "He has to stay here to rest before we can even think of moving him back home."

"But that doesn't mean you can't," Ryder finally spoke.

"But Ryder-"

"Chase, you all need to go back to the Lookout," Ryder told him. "What if there was an emergency? The Paw Patrol can't stop doing their job just because they're one member down."

"But Ryder, you're our leader," Skye said. "How can we do rescues without you?"

"Chase will be your temporary leader," Ryder explained patiently. "And since my old pup pad was frozen in the snow, all calls will be received in the big screen in the lookout."

The pups still weren't convinced and Ryder sighed.

"You pups can visit me every day," he tried to reason out. "It's only for a few days, and I can go back to the Lookout."

Chase finally sighed and agreed. They weren't happy, but they knew they had to. Besides, someone has to look over the Lookout.

"Marshall, you need to go back as well," Ryder told the dalmatian.

"WHAT?!" Everyone flinched at his loud voice. "Ryder, I have to stay here! I have to take care of not only you but Jake as well!"

"I'm sure Everest is more than capable of taking care of us," Ryder explained. "What if you're needed in an emergency?"

"BUT I'M MORE NEEDED HERE!" Marshall shouted angrily.

"Marshall!" Ryder said firmly and the dally immediately became quiet.

"You need to rest, Marshall. You've been working yourself hard in the past few hours. It won't do to have a sick medic pup, okay?" he continued gently.

"B-but Ryder," Marshall whimpered. "You've always been taking care of us when we're hurt or sick. I just want to do the same to you."

The pups were silent as they watched the exchange between the two.

"There's more to it, isn't it?" Ryder asked. "You don't usually worry about someone this much."

"IT'S BECAUSE I'M SCARED!" the medic pup screamed and broke down for the second time that day.

"I'm scared to lose you, Ryder," he sobbed. "W-when they brought you here, I t-thought you were d-d-dead! Y-you were so p-pale and I've never s-seen someone's pulse get s-so low!"

Everyone was quiet as they processed what Marshall said.

"I... I nearly died?" Ryder asked softly, tears brimming in his brown eyes.

Marshall didn't answer, instead, he sobbed even more, to the point that he was getting hysterical. Chase snapped out of his stupor and went to try and calm his best friend down.

Ryder was speechless. He had no idea that Marshall was taking it hard.

"Oh Marshall..." he breathed. "I'm sorry."

Ryder gestured for Chase to bring Marshall to him and hugged the dally tightly. He kissed his spotted head and whispered his apologies.

The rest of the pups were in tears at how much the two were suffering. What happened had left them mentally scarred. Sure, they were scared, but not as much as Marshall who literally had Ryder's life resting on his paws.

Marshall finally exhausted himself enough to fall limp in his owner's arms, occasionally hiccuping. Ryder himself was no better and he laid back down on the blanket and pulled the dally close to him.

"I'm sorry, Ryder," Marshall whispered as his eyes became heavy with exhaustion.

"No, Marshall. I'm sorry for scaring you. All of you," Ryder said, looking at everyone.

"It wasn't your fault, Ryder, sir," Chase said softly as the two fell asleep cuddled next to each other.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marshall had finally agreed to go back to the Lookout, with the condition that he will visit as much as he could and spend the night in the cabin.

Rescues were hard without Ryder. Chase had a hard time adjusting to the role. The pups looked up to him for answers and he struggled to give them.

It was a relief when Ryder was finally well enough to go back to the Lookout. He still wasn't allowed to ride his ATV and join in on missions (Marshall gave him an earful when he asked him in curiosity), but he was allowed to watch on the big screen and give out orders.

The pups absolutely refused to sleep in their pup houses until Ryder was completely okay, so the hangout area was temporarily converted into a bedroom where the pups slept cuddled against Ryder. The ten-year-old felt like a nursing mother dog with the number of pups laying against him. But he didn't complain.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Christmas came with good news from Marshall. Ryder was free to do as he like, as long as he's taking it easy. All of this came with a warning that if Ryder was to disobey, Marshall will be forcing him to bed for another week. No one doubted the dally's words with how much screaming they heard from him in the past week. Nevertheless, Marshall got a new nickname from the others: Mom-shall.

"I'm not a mom, guys," he complained for the hundredth time after admonishing Ryder when he tried to run out into the snow.

"Sure, Marshall," Chase said with a smile as he and the other pups followed their owner outside.

"I swear no one listens to me," Marshall grumbled as he too went outside. 

Everyone gathered under the Christmas tree, and Ryder mentioned for them to come closer to him so he could scratch their ears.

"You've all been such good pups," he said proudly. "You took care of me when I was sick. I knew all I had to do was to yelp for help."

The pups chuckled and Ryder stood up.

"Now who wants to open presents?" he said, taking a big red box from the pile of gifts.

The six pups barked and howled in excitement.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some references (for this one-shot and the previous one):

PyreFly77's "Bulldog in a Bind" on FanFiction.Net

LuigiWife1551's "Caretaker" on FanFiction.Net

S1E24B "Pups Save Ryder"

S2E11A "Pups Leave Marshall Home Alone"