As the elevator doors opened and the lights of the small area peered out into the darkness of nature, the four stepped outside, immediately being greeted with the cold breeze blowing through their hair and fur respectively. The Border Collie shifted her scarf, wrapping as much of it as she could around her neck for an extra layer of warmth—wearing this thing all the time definitely had its perks.

"Well, Audrey, sooner or later we need to hang out again, but I'll see you later. Happy birthday!" Katie bent down and scratched the pup's head, knowing that if she didn't, she'd probably end up getting jumped on and tackled to the ground—and personally, she didn't want to risk that possibility. Even if she was spared from being thrown to the grass (this time, of course), Audrey still made sure to give her a few licks as she bid her goodbyes.

"We do need to have another sleepover, but yeah, see you later!" she called out as the girl stood up and walked away into the night. The black pup turned back around, facing her parents as she stepped forward and hugged them tightly—something that she refused to forget before the night ended. "Goodnight, guys, thanks for everything. Love you both."

"Of course, just make sure you take your medicine tonight. I hope you had a good birthday, I love you too, Princess," the Dalmatian whispered, mentally grinning at the small smile on her face from the nickname. Maybe it was a bit childish to still get so much joy from it, it was something she had been called for nearly as long as she could remember, but she was certainly not going to stop him from doing so.

"Y-yeah, I know Dad, I will. Goodnight." After Everest gave her the same, warm goodbye that Marshall did, she pushed the door to her house open and let herself become closed off from the rest of the world. She let out a soft, calming exhale as she walked inside—today had been fun, but there was never a day where she wasn't at least partially glad to be able to rest here in the comfort of her own personal space.

She turned back and gripped the door, taking one last look at the moon above her. With a small smile at the white. luminescent space rock above her, she closed the door as she started to go through her normal nightly routine. Closing her blinds so the sun wouldn't force her awake at the crack of dawn (truly, that was the worst way to get up, and she already wasn't a morning person) and brushing her teeth before she stepped onto her bed.

Even though she had quite literally just been reminded to do so, her mind nearly forgot to take her medicine. That would've been a tiring ending to her birthday, the ones she was supposed to take at night were supposed to help her sleep. She refused to let her special day end in a blurry, half-conscious mess trying to go to bed.

Without her medicine, she doubted even she could've stopped her head from running wild with thoughts And while that would've been a pain for anyone, it would be especially bad for her with the threat of a seizure if she didn't have proper sleep—and as backwards as it felt, trying to force herself asleep only kept her up longer.

Then again, regardless of how helpful it was, she wasn't exactly proud of the fact that she had to take medicine—even if she knew it was for her greater good. The sleeping ones weren't too bad, and the ones that helped with her epilepsy she was fully willing to give a pass since anything beat having a seizure. It was the stimulants that she didn't love taking, even if they were designed to help her. The physical embodiment of having to open up and reach out for comfort and peace of mind wasn't a reminder she wanted to have every waking day.

But with a quick sip of water, she swallowed the pills along with just a little more of her pride before she closed the capsule and laid down on her bed—the fan kept for white noise occasionally blowing against her fur. She reached up and flicked the light switch on her wall, sending her room into the darkness that finally allowed her to rest her head against her pillow.

With her blanket pulled over her, she softly grabbed onto the stuffed penguin she kept on her bed, hugging it against her as she closed her eyes. Yes, she was fully aware that sleeping with a stuffed animal at this age was a bit immature, but that one negative stereotype hardly outweighed the comfort it gave her. And plus, she was never the mature type to begin with.

The Border Collie tossed around in her bed, finding the perfect position before she could finally let herself rest and hopefully fall asleep soon. Of course, she knew it was stupid to expect herself to immediately fall asleep. And although some nights she didn't actually mind it, this was not one of those, she was undeniably tired and ready for the sweet relief of a decent night's sleep.

Yeah, sure, sometimes it was nice to daydream while she lay in bed, simply thinking about life and all of its most cherishable moments—excluding the times she would accidentally start thinking about the most embarrassing ones. Those were not fun, they were purely humiliating and there wasn't a single argument that could change her mind.

Today was the end of another day, and a pretty good one at that, one spent with family and friends. Well, by that she mostly just meant friend, that title had yet to become plural. She had to admit, as much as she loved Katie as a best friend, there would always be times that she felt a bit lonely because of it.

That was not meant to be an insult, of course, she held nothing against the ones she had around her. She loved her parents more than anything or anyone else in her life, and as far as she was concerned, there would never be anyone that could come close to that—but they were, well, her parents, they didn't really count. Her cousins were fun at times, but that age gap kind of limited their options.

But she wanted someone other than just her owner as a friend. And she had tried, it wasn't like she was just sitting here and waiting for a miracle. Every once in a while if she was down at the park, (assuming she could muster up the confidence) she would try and make small talk with those around her age.

It was always supposed to be the thought that counts, but in reality, it was always just so...weird, it would always end up the same; both she and whoever she was speaking to sitting there in awkward silence before she eventually apologized and excused herself. Eventually, she just stopped trying, finding anyone that she could actually connect with felt helpless.

But, there wasn't much she could do here just laying in bed, if she was lucky all she would get out of it was a good dream (though dreaming was never something she enjoyed given the occasional nightmares). Perhaps there would come a time when she would find an answer, but that time wasn't now.

Hopefully one of these days she wouldn't have to feel so lonely and isolated.

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Marshall opened the door to their doghouse, holding the door open with a joking bow—making sure he was out of the way to let the lady go first. The husky rolled her eyes, kissing his cheek before stepping inside. She partially wanted to make fun of him for trying to act so sophisticated—he was anything but sophisticated—and under most circumstances, she totally would have. She only didn't now because she was tired, and as much as it pained her to admit it, laying down was a higher priority than messing with him.

"T-thanks, Marshy," she praised, taking a slow, deep breath as she laid down on their bed—her paw gently resting on her stomach. The Dalmatian was quick to grab a blanket for her, get her medicine and water bowl nearby, just about everything she could ever need without actually having to get up. She really wasn't a fan of being pampered like this, she was never one to enjoy taking the spotlight. However, it wasn't just her that he was doing it for.

"There. Do you need anything else? More blankets? Food?" Everest chuckled and grabbed his leg, softly pulling him onto their bed—and even then he looked hesitant to fully give in to relaxation. And although he was suspicious at first, he let himself take her word for it and lay down, though he continued to keep his eyes on her just in case his energy was needed elsewhere.

"What I need is for you to lay down. You've worked hard today, setting up everything for Audrey's birthday and taking care of me. You've done enough, just rest, I want you here now," she insisted, hugging him as he allowed his body to sink into the cushiony surface of their bed—well, more so her fur, but it was still a combination of the two.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but it's better than you two having to overwork yourself. We wouldn't want that, would we?" he argued, softly laughing as he rested his paw on her stomach. He smiled for a moment, looking down at the two most important beings in his life—even if one of them had yet to make their grand appearance—before his smile slowly faded away. "When are we gonna tell everyone? It's only a matter of time before they noticed....well...you know."

"What? My stomach? Honey, you're fine, there's a huge difference between calling me fat and calling me pregnant." The husky giggled and nudged his neck with her muzzle, playfully flicking his shoulder as she rolled over onto her back. The Dally laughed it off, although he was far from regretful for being careful with his words—better safe than sorry, that was the rule of a rescuer.

"I know, I know, just making sure. I don't wanna have what happened to Chase happen to me." Just as he hoped, his lavender dog burst into laughter and grabbed onto him for stabilization, remembering that horrible day for their friend. Oh the poor innocence of the shepherd, he truly meant no harm, and yet his world came back to bite him on that fateful day. If only Ruby and Gus had been around to see their father then.

"M-Marshy, no, I-I couldn't do what Skye did. Trust me...I-I'm not that cruel," she breathlessly stuttered, her reaction only having the contagious effect on him that the sweet sound of her laughter usually did. His reasoning was perfectly understandable now that her memory had been jogged, her poor Dalmatian probably got second-hand trauma from that whole thing.

To an outsider, it really wouldn't have seemed like much, just a single—and very clearly not meant to be taken seriously—joke about his mate right before their pups were about to be born. All he ever wanted was to mess around, and yet it still ended with him being kicked out of their doghouse for the night. Thankfully, since he was one willing to defend Chase's innocence, Ryder took pity on him and allowed the dog to sleep on his bed in exchange for never telling her. He was simply agreeing to give his dog a place to sleep, not to face the wrath of an angry Skye.

"Trust me, Eve, Skye is basically my sister, she went easy on him. If only you had been here for all the fights they used to get into as puppies, I honestly thought the two of them were gonna get each other killed or something." The husky had to bring her paw up and wipe her eyes, she felt like she was about to cry from laughter and it was starting to make her stomach ache (though it was entirely possible that someone else was responsible for that).

"Oh jeez, y-yeah, I don't think I could ever do either of those to you. You're safe with me." The Dalmatian chuckled to himself, still comforted from hearing that promise time and time again. Originally, it felt like a hollow statement without any meaning other than her just trying to make him feel better. And yet now, even though it wasn't something he had to hear as often, it was something he could hold onto on his darkest nights as something he could usually trust.

Of course, neither of them had fully recovered, odds were small bits of what they went through would stay with them until the day they left this world. They weren't perfect, they would never be the dogs that may have been if all the bad stuff in their lives hadn't happened—like or not, the past was a part of them. But even then, they could look in the mirror and not be horrified by who they were seeing in their reflection.

Nowhere near as many panic attacks, nightmares and flashbacks were (while far from fully out of their lives) rarer than ever and not something they considered a constant threat. Everest had finally built up the courage to admit to the rest of the team about what she was going through, and that only resulted in the biggest group hug she could have ever asked for.

"Oh shoot, we go to Katie's tomorrow for your checkup tomorrow, don't we?" he suddenly asked, glancing upwards at Everest whose eyes widened at the reminder. The husky pursed her lips and she turned to the calendar they kept hanging in their room for guidance, knowing for certain that one of them had to have written down her next appointment—if not, then the whole calendar thing was really not working well for them.

"Uhm...dang, it looks like we do. Wow...that's....a lot, honestly, that means we'll know the gender tomorrow too. Huh, I guess we should really start thinking of names Do you have anything in mind?" The Dalmatian grinned and sat up, searching through the library of suggestions he had conjured up in his mind.

She could see the visible optimism on his face, but she held back any laughter and let him have his fun. In fact, that was half the reason she had asked. She would have never guessed that he was an absolute sucker for puppies, but Audrey being around had clearly shed light on that part of him that she never knew she needed.

"You bet I have name ideas! I was thinking for a girl, maybe...Winter?" The husky raised her eyebrow, looking at him with an expression that could only be asking him if he thought he was being clever (with extra emphasis on the "thought").

He was mature enough to admit that without the context, it probably didn't sound like the most...inventive name, but thankfully he had an explanation that could save him. On the downside, she spoke before he was given the chance.

"Really? 'Cause I'm a husky or 'cause we both like snow? No offense, I love you and you know that I do, but surely we can be a bit more creative," she suggested, speaking as softly as to not ruin the fatherly pride coursing through his veins—this was one of those things that she would never forgive herself for if she ruined it for him.

"Hang on, I know that sounds bad, just hear me out. It's not because of any of that, but I vaguely remember Winter being in the name of a song that my mom used to love," he explained, not loving the fact that he was pulling the parent card—but she had asked him. The husky's originally unimpressed disappeared into thin air, replaced with a much more interested face now that he had corrected himself.

"Ohh, okay, that's sweet, actually We just gotta hope that the others buy your explanation if we go with it though," she joked, sharing a small laugh with him (not that they would ever let someone else affect the name of their precious pup). Then again, it was always good to have more than just one option, and why bother stopping when he had so many more to share with the world?

"Well, if we don't wanna go with that one, what about Sadie? Or Paisley? Or Beatrice?" he quickly suggested, bringing back the foreign memories of names he could've quite literally come up with at any given point in his life. Given that this had been a dream of his since he was well, also a puppy, he could only be described as a living dictionary of names, all handcrafted for this exact occasion.

"Aw, those are all beautiful names, one of those would be amazing if she was a girl. What about if he was a boy? You got any ideas for that?" she asked again, lightly giggling at the fact that he probably had more good ideas than she could imagine—though she was glad to see that he was clearly having the time of his life. And as she expected, the Dalmatian nodded slightly and didn't waste any time listing off his suggestions.

"Hmm, what about Jason or Star?" he eagerly added, only extending the never-ending list of names to choose from. The husky chuckled and reached out once again, gently pulling him closer until he obliged and laid back down next to her, perfectly content to cuddle against her as she rolled over and pulled a blanket over them.

"I like those too, I gotta say, you're really good at this. Though I also wouldn't mind just waiting to meet them and then going from there, you know? You never know, maybe Audrey will have ideas too," she proclaimed, bringing him closer as she wrapped her forelegs around his chest from behind. Marshall nodded in agreement with her idea, and while it was by no means a negative reaction, he still sighed quietly—which didn't go unnoticed by her keen eyes. "What's wrong? If you would rather come up with a name before, I'm not stopping you."

"Oh no, I like the idea of waiting too. I'm just...worried about how Audrey might react to this." Everest frowned sympathetically, holding him tighter as she ran her paw against the fur on his cheek. She wasn't too shocked, it was far from a rare occurrence that he was nervous on her behalf, and he certainly had every right to be that way. She was usually worried even more than him.

"I...really don't know. I know she's already got a lot on her plate, I just wish she told us more about how she was feeling. I don't blame her for not wanting to, it's not like we were ever good at that. I just want her to be able to talk to someone, even if it's not us. Her second visit with Haley is tomorrow, so hopefully she can help her." The Dally nodded softly, melting in his mate's fur that engulfed him like a blanket—bringing just a little warmth to the bitter coldness of the conversation.

"Hopefully, but therapy still makes her nervous. Plus, we have to drive there, and you know how she feels about that." Everest sighed, she hadn't remembered that until now. As if the coming day didn't have to be stressful enough for their poor daughter, now they had to do the one thing a parent never wanted to do. Bringing their kids into a situation that would do nothing but scare them.

"I guess that's also true, that's gonna be horrible for her. I-I hope she can get through this, she has to be hurting right now, I-I wish we could do more for her. Jeez...I wish she was able to get out there and meet dogs her age, a friend to be close with right now would mean the world to her," she thought out loud, though she was most certainly not blaming her daughter for the lack of a social circle.

"I know, I do too. But I'm sure she'll get there, she's our daughter, after all. Either way, we'll always be there for her, that's about the best we can offer, isn't it?" he asked, holding out hope that his prediction was right. Everest lowered her head, her expression frozen before she eventually brought herself to a nod.

"Y-yeah, I hope so, just as long as she's happy," she muttered, wanting nothing more for her words to come true. Now would be a really good time to see a shooting star or anything of the sort, but unfortunately, they were bound to their chains of only being able to do as they said—be there when they were needed.

With the feeling that the conversation was nearing its end, the spotted dog yawned and turned over, softly planting a kiss on his mate's lips. The husky smiled, softly caressing his cheek as her heart turned to mush, nothing else mattering until they separated and both of them were back to their usual plain of existence. But it had certainly brightened the mood, she doubted that could be ruined until...

"Eve, you should go to sleep. You and our pup need it." The husky groaned, almost as if she was pouting (real mature for a mother), before pulling herself back under the blanket. Marshall chuckled to himself and quickly joined her, brushing against her as the two of them formed a circle with their heads on the other's back—making each of them a living pillow for the night.

"Fine, but don't think you aren't allowed to wake me up if you have trouble sleeping," she demanded, the sharpness in her tone being enough of a warning that he knew he'd be scolded if he didn't follow through. It only took one time to know not to question her when it came to his health, it was a mistake he wouldn't let himself make again. Because if he did, he probably wouldn't live to make another.

"I know, I know, and that applies to you as well. Night, Eve, and you too, pup. Love you both," he whispered before he buried his head into her fur. Everest giggled quietly and leaned her head up, kissing him on the cheek before she laid herself back down against her mate in preparation for them to enter the sweet paradise of their dreams.

"Love you too, Marshy, sleep well." It didn't take long for her to go quiet after that, excluding the usual snores that echoed out of her mouth. Marshall had grown an immunity to it, even if she still refused to admit that she would ever do such a thing. Just like how she insisted that she didn't talk in her sleep, which at times could be amusing or cute unless she was having nightmares.

But for now, all he hoped for was a peaceful sleep for both of them, as well as their daughter in her own house—hopefully a reasonable request. He knew they'd all need it for whatever battles tomorrow was going to force them through.