Ashes | Paw Patrol

Brother's Keeper

A/N- To any readers who forgot the events of the last chapter, I'd go back and refresh yourself so you aren't super confused~

~Flashback~

“Catch me if you can, ha-ha!” giggled a young Rocky at the other dog chasing him around the sunny backyard. The five month old puppy was in an intense game of tag and was about to be caught. Suddenly, Rocky’s paws tripped over a stray toy lying in the yard. A short tumble later, the dizzy mix was slumped in the cool grass waiting for the world around him to stop spinning. “Aww, did you trip just to give me a chance to catch you?,” chuckled a voice from behind. Rocky rolled his eyes as he flipped over to face the bigger pup. 

“Well you’re old so I was just going easy on you, Axel,” he exclaimed.

 “Hey! I’m only a few months older than you, little bro! I’m not THAT old yet” Rocky’s brother said defensively as he helped the smaller pup back onto his paws. “C’mon,” Axel smiled. “Let’s go get some food, I’m starving.”

After being abandoned at only six weeks old, Rocky and his older brother Axel had taken to the streets alone for four months. While scrounging for food where they could find it, they stumbled upon a small town. They never got much to eat and were always thin, but the people in this particular town seemed to have much more sympathy towards animals. Only a few days after arrival, a young couple, whose names were Jessica and Ben, had taken them in. The blonde female had beautiful deep blue eyes and a smile that could light up the room. Her boyfriend Ben had recently found a house for them near Jessica’s work location that they moved into. The young woman had opened her own dog clinic and saw the two brothers digging through a dumpster while on the way home from work one day. Although skittish at first, their trust was easily earned due to their empty stomachs. The couple had welcomed the homeless brothers into their new home two months ago with open arms and had cared for them ever since.

As Rocky passed into the kitchen, he caught sight of Jessica kneeling down to greet Axel. “Hey, you two,” she beamed, “how was tag?” Both pups smiled up at the owner before Rocky piped up. 

"It was good, Axel couldn't keep up! I had to trip over a toy just to give him a chance!" He boasted, puffing out his chest in pride before getting a playful shove and eye roll from his brother. 

Jessica laughed at the two pups before standing up to grab two food dishes off the countertop. "Here you go guys, eat up," she smiled before turning to see Ben entering the room with a cell phone up to his ear in conversation.

"That sounds great! We can definitely be there. Thank you so much for this opportunity for Jess, I know it means a lot to her. I'll break the news now, see you soon!" His girlfriend flashed him a curious look as Ben hung up and pocketed his phone. "So who was that? And is there some big secret you've been keeping from me, Ben?" 

Her boyfriend chuckled as he crossed the room to embrace her in a warm hug. "Well...Jess, I may or may not have talked to an old contact of mine a few cities away. It's about your pet clinic business. I think I found a new location for you to open your second store. I-"

Before Ben could finish his statement, a harsh squeal rang in his ears as the blonde pulled away from the hug, staring in awe and disbelief. “Y-you actually found me a place? Baby, I- I can’t believe this. I...I love you so so much, Ben. You know how huge this has been for me, thank you so so much.” The shorter blonde-haired woman stepped up on her tippy toes to give Ben a peck on the lips before stooping back down to the two pups who were now wagging their tails in excitement at the great news. 

“This is so amazing! Now I’ll be able to help out even more homeless pups like you two,” said Jessica, gushing with pure happiness. “We’re your family now and as we expand the business and location spread, we’ll help so many pups get adopted into happy families like you two did. You’ve brought so much mischief and joy to this family and now, I’ll help more and more strays get a new chance at a happy life.”