Behind The Mask

Chase And Edan

     Next morning came, and Chase's conditions hadn't changed. The others were saddened by that, but again, they couldn't do anything but leave it to Katie. She finished taking his temperature again and sighed.

"His temperature has dropped a tiny bit, but other than that, nothing changed." Katie said as she put the thermometer in her bag. The others were disappointed in the news, then Ryder spoke up.

"Hey, let's not let this get to us, let's try to have a good day." Ryder tried with a smile and the others looked at each other and knew they couldn't let their moods be down, so they agreed.

And with that, they decided to head out and start searching for the gifts they're gonna give out on Christmas. While the others headed out, Kushina walked up to her husband.

"Hey, I'm gonna stay here for the day." She spoke which earned a little surprised look from Edan.

"Really? Are you sure?" He asked and his wife just smiled at him.

"Yeah, I've got time to look for a gift, I guess I'm just really tired this morning." Kushina chuckled, with Edan knowingly smirking at her.

"Does being tired include worrying about a certain pup." He teased, which now earned a surprised look from the female Dalmatian. Edan sighed as he walked up next to his wife.

"Hey, you're not the only one worried about Chase. So, let's look after him together." Edan grinned and earned a slight gasp from Kushina, but then she warmly smiled.

"Thanks, honey." She thanked and licked Edans cheek and he returned with a nuzzle to hers. The married couple then went inside the Lookout, away from the coldness outside and glanced over and were surprised just to see Katie, sitting by the breathing shepherd.

"Uh, where's Ryder?" Edan asked, thinking that the boy would be here with the police pup. He now got the attention from Katie and she seemed a little perplexed by their appearance.

"He's up at the Lookout. Have you both decided to stay here?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, we're just a bit worried about him." Kushina answered and sat beside the sick pup. Chase shifted his position again, trying to get comfortable, but no matter how he moved, it would stop the pain in his stomach and his headache. A few coughs came from him and he groaned weakly. Kushina sadly stared at him and placed her paw on his back, now even more worried. She hated seeing her son like this, the same case would go with Marshall, she never wants to see either of them in pain like this ever.

Having felt the placement on his back, Chase squinted his eyes open to see Kushina staring right back in his eyes. Having noticed his eyes were slightly opened, Kushina gave him a cheerful smile, letting him know that she was here and that she wasn't leaving him.

"M...M...M...Mo...Mom?" He uttered, surprising Katie a little bit by what the German Shepherd had said.

"Yeah, I'm here. Don't worry, me and Edan will be looking after you with Katie." Kushina commented and Chase's squinted eyes opened a tiny bit more and moved his eyes to look at Edan, who was worried, but also smiled at Chase, trying to lift his spirits.

"Hey, buddy. I'm here too, we're gonna help you get through this." Edan said as he walked up, speaking in his soft, confident voice. But it did crack a little bit, showing his concern for the pup. Suddenly, Edan and Kushina saw Chase slightly wagging his tail a little bit, and a weak smile came onto his lips. They were surprised to see him moving his tail, with all of the pain he's going through right now.

"T-T-Thank...y...y..you." Chase stuttered.

"Don't talk right now, just focus on resting." Edan commented and the sick shepherd slightly nodded as he rested his head back, and the adult Dalmatian saw him grit his teeth, knowing that the pain was still there. Chase moaned as he held his stomach and curled into a ball.

"'Mom'?" Katie repeated with a giggle, making Kushina giggle too.

"He started calling me that a few days ago. But, I don't mind. I'm glad to accept him as my son." Kushina happily said, and smiled at the now sleeping pup.

"Awww." Katie voiced, making the three of them softly laugh. But then, the laughter died down as Katie then frowned a little bit as she noticed something ever since she had to arrive at the Lookout to take care of Chase.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, where are his parents? Because I don't think I've seen them ever since I came here." Katie pointed out, now making Kushina and Edan look at each other.

A couple hours later

While everyone was out in Adventure Bay, Kushina and Katie were in the kitchen, preparing some fresh foods and water for Chase while Edan was looking after him. Chase slowly woke up a little bit while Kushina and Katie were still in the kitchen.

Edan then pulled the blanket up to Chase's neck a little more, fully wrapping him in warmth. Edan then warmly smiled at the shepherd whose eyes had no emotion to them, his face was still sweating, even though he had an ice pack on his head.

"Don't worry, Kushina and Katie will be back soon." Edan reassured, and Chase heard him and with his horse voice, he tried to speak.

"W...W...Why did...did...yo-you...st...stay?" He asked. Edan seemed a little caught off guard with that question, but it wasn't a hard question for him to answer.

"Well, it's obvious. Kushina sees you as one of our own, and I was surprised. But I'm glad she sees you as a son, and you see her like a mother. Plus, I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried." Edan shrugged at the last part, making Chase weakly widen his eyes a little bit. But before he could talk back, sharp pain filled his whole body again, this time even worse. He grunted as the pup held onto himself.

Edan quickly saw this and knew he couldn't do anything right now but wait for Katie and Kushina. So he kneeled down and nuzzled next to Chase, trying to comfort him, knowing that even lying down on the bean bag was uncomfortable for the pup.

"You're doing great, just hold on a little bit longer, they'll be here soon." Edan spoke in his most comforting, soft voice which Chase soothed into. Edan let Chase rest upon his chest, giving him more comfort which made the German Shepherd smile. Then, he said a sentence that Edan did not expect to hear.

"T...T...Thanks...D...D...Dad."

Edan's eyes widened and his mouth dropped, he moved his eyes to look down at Chase who silently went back to sleep. He stared at the sleeping shepherd with a surprised look for a few minutes, but then that shocked look turned into a warm smile, and nuzzled the top of Chase's head.

It felt like he was nuzzling Marshall when he was a smaller puppy. Edan remembered that he and him would do this a lot, especially when the small Dalmatian would be upset or even happy. The love of a father always comforted him and made him feel special, not he's bringing that same fatherly love to Chase.

He did not expect him to call him, "Dad", but nonetheless, he didn't complain about it. And just kept Chase in comfort until Kushina and Katie came back.

"Anytime, son."