Ryder, Jake and the pups had gotten things ready for raising the roof. Using large straps from the pack of Rubble's digger, they wrapped them around in an X formation of the roof. The team fastened them in nice and tight and kept a metal loop on the top to be lifted by a hook. 

"Okay, here's what we're going to do." Ryder began, tugging at the straps to make sure they were secure. "Skye, you're going to use your helicopter to lift the roof and position it on the top of the shed. Marshall, I'll need you to use your ladder and climb up to help hold the roof down. Rubble and Rocky, you can do the same thing on the other side, just slightly different. Rubble will park beside and raise his bucket, and Rocky will be in it to hold the roof down from his side.  Zuma, Chase and Jake, I'll need you three to use the drills and screws to attach the roof once it's up top. Be careful up there, but with all three of you the job should go quick. And Everest, I don't have anything specific for you, but you can help me spot and make sure the roof lines up on all sides."

Everyone acknowledged the commands and got to their positions. Skye started up her helicopter and hovered in the air above the roof, lowering a hook down from the underside. Marshall and Rubble drove their vehicles to opposite sides of the shed; Marshall raising his ladder and Rubble waiting for Rocky, before raising the bucket with recycling pup in it. Chase, Zuma and Jake stood at the bottom of Marshall's ladder, drills ready with screws in their tool belts. Everest and Ryder stood by the roof and guided Skye as she attached the hook.

"Steady. Steady." guided Ryder through his head set as the hook lowered from the helicopter above them. Once it was at the right level, he quickly secured the hook on the loop of the straps around the roof and jumped to the side. "Got it! Alright, raise it up Skye. Nice and slow."

"Up we go!" said Skye through her Pup Tag as the helicopter slowly ascended, the roof lifting off the ground as she made altitude. Carefully, she hovered over to the shed and very slowly began to lower it down.

Chase looked up and let out a small whine. "Please be careful, Skye."

Zuma gave his friend some reassurance and placed a paw on the German Shepherd's shoulder. "Don't fwet, dude. Skye's the best pilot we know. She's got this." This seemed to help as Chase's face lit up a little and a smile returned to his face.

As the pilot pup lowered the roof down, she was guided through her pup tag by Ryder and Everest, with each one watching a side. 

"My side's good, how about your's?" asked Everest, keeping keen eyes on the descending roof.

"All swell." said Ryder both to Everest and through Skye's Pup Tag. "You're almost there, keep it going."

Marshall and Rocky watched closely as the roof was mere inches from the top of the shed. Both pups got prepared to hold their sections down once the roof connected.

Ryder watched and guided with intent concentration. "Steady....a little more." The roof gently made contact with shed and lay flat against the studs in the frames.  "STOP! Hold it right there, Skye. Alright boys, you're up."   

Once the roof made contact, Marshall and Rocky quickly held it down to keep it from moving. Rocky used his claw from his Pup Pack to help hold his side, while Marshall just used his paws. As they held it down, Chase climbed up the firetruck ladder behind Marshall and, very awkwardly, climbed over the Dalmatian onto the roof.

"Sorry, buddy." Chase apologized as he stepped on the fire pup's back to get to the roof. 

"It's - oof - okay." responded Marshall as he felt the the police pup's weight briefly on top of him, but kept his hold on the side of the roof.

Luckily for the team, the roof of the shed was only positioned at a slight one way angle; not quite flat but not too steep either. This made it easy for both the pups holding the roof and the pups who were about to screw it in. 

With all four paws on the roof, Chase carefully made his way to the top right corner and tediously shot in a few screws. With the corner in, the pup made his way to the middle and prepared to detach the straps.

"Marshall, Rocky. Got it held tight?" Chase asked as the two pups strengthened their grips and nodded. "Alright, releasing the straps in three....two...one...."

*CLICK*

The straps came apart as Chase lay down flat on the roof. He slowly crawled to each side and slipped them through the cracks that weren't screwed down. When the last strap fell from the edges, Skye flew her helicopter away from the top and made her way to land by Ryder and Everest.

Chase then crawled his way up to the left corner and shot in a few screws in that corner as well. With both top corners secure, Chase lay still and called the other two helpers up. "Zuma. Jake. Come up now and get to the bottom lower corners and secure them."

"And do it fast." added in Marshall as his front paws began to shake a little. "This is getting difficult to hold."

Not wanting to waste time, Zuma climbed up the ladder with Jake right behind him. The Chocolate Lab did his best to not distract or hurt Marshall as he climbed over him. Jake stayed on the ladder and waited as the pup made his way over to the bottom right corner. Zuma quickly but effectively shot in three screws, securing his corner to the frame. He gave Jake a holler to let him know his success. "My cownew's in. You'we up, dude."

"On it." said Jake, placing his drill up on the edge of the roof. Using his strength and height, he pulled himself up the side and onto the lower left corner; Marshall overjoyed that he didn't have yet another member climb over him. Once on the roof, Jake picked up the drill and spun some screws down into the left corner. With his side complete, all corners were secure in place and kept the roof from moving. Rocky and Marshall let out a sigh of relief as they let go of each side.  

"Whew!" let out Rocky, slumping down in the digger's bucket out of strength. "I don't know how much longer I could've held that."

Marshall panted as he lay on his ladder. "Speak for yourself. At least you didn't have anyone crawling over you." The two pups laughed as they caught their breath.

On the roof, Jake, Chase and Zuma walked around and finished screwing in the roof on all the beams underneath. They circled around the edges, then went up and down the middle until they finally came to the end. As the last screw was tightened, Chase and Zuma let out a happy howl, shortly followed by Rocky and Marshall.

Rubble lowered Rocky down to the ground as Marshall descended his ladder, followed in tow by Jake, Zuma, and finally Chase. Task complete, the five pups and Jake ran over to Ryder and the two female pups. Happiness filled everyone's faces.

"We did it! We did it!" barked Rubble with glee. The group met by Ryder and exchanged congratulations and applause.

"Good job everyone!" cheered Ryder, high fiving Jake and scratching behind Rocky's ears.

"Yay everyone!" chirped Everest, going by and giving Zuma then Rubble some high paws of her own. She approached Marshall and gave him a quick lick on the cheek and rubbed his back. "You did good holding up that roof, Marshall.

The fire pup laughed shyly, cheeks turning a little pink at the lick and compliment he received, "Well t-thanks Everest. Y-you did good as well."

As Chase approached his favorite pilot, the Cockapoo ran over to him and jumped, tackling him to the ground. Regaining his train of thought, he saw that Skye was on of him, wrapping a tight hug around his neck and chest.

"You were soooo good up there, Chase. Thanks for taking the lead up there in getting the roof attached. You're the bravest, strongest pup I know." Skye squeezed his neck a little as she buried her head in his fluffy chest. The pilot pup was a little bit embarrassed by her over-affectionate gestures, but she didn't care. She just wanted to enjoy the moment - as well as Chase's fluffy, warm chest she was currently nuzzling.  

Chase was also equally over joyed by the affection he was receiving. Getting a hug and chest nuzzles from his crush; boy was he lucky! The police pup returned a hug of his own, wrapping his paws around Skye's neck and rubbing her back gently. "You were just as brave up there too, Skye. You held that roof up steady and made it fit like a glove. You're the best."

"Dudes and dudettes. How about we all head back to the lodge and whip up some hot cocoa to celebrate?" Jake asked the group.

"Sounds like an excellent plan. You pups deserve it after that rescue." Ryder answered as the seven pups barked and wagged their tales in joy. Loading back up their equipment in the appropriate vehicles, the pups, Ryder and Jake made the journey back to the lodge and parked their vehicles in front of the door. When they entered, the pups and Ryder went over to the dining area of the lodge while Jake went into the kitchen to prepare the drinks. 

"I'm going to go help Jake and catch up in the kitchen." Ryder stated as he pulled some tables and chairs together to fit all nine occupants. "Sound good?"

"It's all good, Ryder sir." responded Chase as the other pups nodded and 'uhm-hmmed' at their leader. "Do you need any help?" 

"No. Jake and I have got it handled. You pups can just relax and catch up while you wait." said Ryder as he walked to the kitchen to join Jake. 

The pups each took a seat and began talking with each other; discussing things like hobbies, downtime, rescues and adventures. A little bit later Chase excused himself to use the restroom and walked towards the facilities. This gave Marshall an idea to ask some questions to the German Shepherd by striking up a casual conversation at the sink. The fire pup then "coincidently" excused himself about twenty seconds after the previous pup, and took the same path towards the bathroom. When he arrived he cracked the door slightly and peeked an eye in to spot his friend. With a click from the lock on a stall, the Dalmatian saw Chase emerge from a stall and walked towards the sinks, getting up on his hind paws and turning on a faucet. The flowing water gave Marshall the signal to enter and start up a conversation. 

"Hey Chase. Got something on my paws and just needed to wash them off." greeted Marshall as he walked up to a sink beside his friend. 

"All good, man." retorted Chase, rubbing soap all over his paws. "By the way, nice work out there on the roof."

The fire pup ran his front paws under the running water of his sink. "Thanks buddy. You did well too." A brief silence fell between the two before Marshall spoke up again. "Guess what? Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Hard to believe it's just about here, eh?"

"I know, all those hearts around town are making me love-sick as it approaches." Chase laughed before a cheeky grin appeared on his muzzle. "Soooooo. You going to finally take a certain husky out on a lovely date?"

Marshall choked up a little; caught off guard by Chase's question and looking up in embarrassment. "I....w-w-well I'm, um. I'm working on t-that as we speak." Although he wasn't expecting his friends inquiry, he used it to segway into his own question he had planned from the start, "What about you, Chase? You got yourself a pretty little pup to spoil tomorrow?"

The police pups lowered his head in sadness ever so slightly, but kept up his regular voice as he spoke. "Haha, I wish."

"Oh, come on." quipped Marshall as Chase walked to the paper towel dispenser, pulling some out to wipe his paw. "I'm sure you out all of us would get some ladies Chase-ing you around. Get it? Hehe! With you being a strong police officer and second-in-command, if you know what I mean."

"Funny pun, but unfortunately no girls are chasing after me, sorry." said Chase as he wiped his paws dry. "Zuma's got a better chance at that happening, you know. He's got all that charm in him.

Marshall took in the answer as he pressed the soap lever and started rubbing his paw together. "Definitely know what you mean bro; Zuma is truly a natural. Since no one has taken you, do YOU have your eyes on any girls? Better not be Everest,"

Chase's eyes widened as he waved his paws in dismissal. "Oh no, no, no, no, no. It's definitely NOT Everest! She's all your's after all. As for other girls? Hmmm. I....don't thiiiink I do....?"

Happy that he wasn't stealing his husky from him, Marshall went in for the killer question; eyes laser focused on his friends facial reaction. "No one? Really? What about Skye? Got any lovey-dovey feelings for HER?"

Chase got very fidgety and began to sweat a little; eyes darting around the room as his cheeks heated up and turned a light shade of pink. He didn't want to reveal his secret to his best friend -  at least not yet. The German Shepherd circled his front right paw around the ground nervously as he searched for an answer. "I....umm....I t-t-thi-ink....uh, I...."

Marshall got it. He got his answer without Chase having to say a word. The actions. The eye darting. His loss of words. The fire pup could tell that his friend had a crush on their pilot teammate, perhaps bigger than he initially thought. Not wanting to make things more awkward than they already were, Marshall decided to change the situation by "accidently" slipping a soapy paw on the counter and losing his balance, falling to the floor on his side.

"Oh Marshall! You alright buddy?" Chase snapped out of his shy state and rushed over to his friend's side with concern.

"Oops," chuckled Marshall. "I slipped."

Chase let out a sigh of relief that there were no injuries and chuckled as Marshall got back up and finished washing his paws. When he finished he turned off the sink and walked to the side and dried his paws on some paper towels. 

"Ready to get back out there and see if the drinks are ready?" Marshall asked, turning towards his friend.

"Yup." replied Chase happily, nearly forgetting the awkward questioned asked a minute earlier. "I could really go for some hot cocoa right now."

The police pup exited the bathroom with Marshall right behind him; the two making their way down the hall and back to the rest of the pups in the dining area. 

Chase wore a big, happy smile. We was looking forward to sipping some hot cocoa and spending more time with the team. Maybe even get to spend some extra time with Skye.

Marshall had a slight grin adorning his face as he followed behind his friend. He was happy to spend more time with everyone, but his mind was also racing with ideas now that he knew what was going on with Chase and Skye - at least from the police pup's end. He started fabricating an idea in his mind to get the two pups together by tomorrow, but didn't know exactly how. Perhaps the other pups on the team could help him.