My first Heartland fic, and I wrote it for an assignment!! I hope you enjoy it. My name is not now, nor has it ever been or ever will be, Lauren Brooke.
Ten Years Later….
Amy groaned as the sunlight streamed through her bedroom window. Rolling over, she pulled the blanket over her head, but she then seemed to realize something. She sat straight up and glanced at the clock; 8:45. She had overslept by more than two hours! Flinging the bedspread off her body haphazardly, she crawled out the bed and ran to the closet as fast as her six-and-a-half-month pregnant body would allow. However, the baby didn't seem to like the sudden movement and gave its mother a sharp kick in return. Amy smiled and rubbed her stomach.
"Sorry, baby, but Mommy's running late this morning," she murmured, about to turn back to the closet, but something caught her eye; a piece of paper was taped to the small mirror on her desk. Curiosity overcoming her, she ambled over and had to grin when she found a note from her husband.
'Happy birthday, love!' it read, 'Hope you don't mind I let you sleep in this morning. Take your time getting out to work today. And don't worry, I've got Jamie down here with me. Love from, Ty. PS: Don't forget to eat breakfast! Both you and Junior need it, and you know it.'
Amy shook her head, smirking. Ty was so sure this baby was going to be a boy, especially after their daughter, Jamie, had been born almost four years ago. He seemed almost desperate for a little Baldwin heir.
Placing the note back on the desk, she decided to take her husband's advice and take it slow this morning, as she resumed getting ready for the day.
Stopping in the kitchen to grab a muffin off the pile, Amy headed out to the yard, taking in the smell of a crisp early-autumn morning. Stopping at the nearest pasture, she leaned against the fence and watched the three horses grazing nonchalantly. Well, two of them were grazing. Laughing, Amy watched Star, a little four-day-old black and white filly, trot around the paddock, ears pricking at every new sound, nostrils quivering at every new smell. However, after only a few more seconds, Star suddenly turned on her haunches and cantered back to her mother, Moon. Thrusting her muzzle underneath Moon, Star nursed as though it had been days since she'd had her last meal.
"Cute, isn't she?" said a voice behind Amy. Startled, she whipped around, only to find her husband.
"God, Ty, you scared me," she panted, her hand over her chest, "Don't do that."
"Sorry," he said, before he bent down to kiss her.
"Where's Jamie?" Amy asked when they broke apart.
"In the tack room cleaning Phantom's saddle," Ty responded. Amy raised an eyebrow.
"You have our three-year-old daughter scrubbing tack?"
"Hey, she wanted to," he defended, holding his hands up in surrender, "You can even ask her."
Amy was about to respond, but she felt a tugging at the shoulder of her jacket. Turning around, she saw Indian Chief, a sorrel Hanoverian gelding, standing at the fence. Reaching up, she rubbed his forehead as he reached his head down and gently butted her with his muzzle, asking for treats. Holding her hand flat, Amy fed him the last bit of her muffin. Ty shook his head in mock disbelief.
"Isn't that supposed to be your breakfast?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her. She just gave him a mischievous grin, before reaching up and playfully kissing him again.
"Eeeewww."
Turning around, they found Jamie had come out of the barn, and currently had her little nose wrinkled in disgust. Ty laughed and picked her up.
"Hey, sweetie," Amy crooned, running her fingers through her daughter's dark brown hair. Jamie laughed, her green eyes sparkling, as Ty shifted her so he could start tickling her sides. Amy watched, a smile on her face. No matter how much he may want a son, Ty loved their little girl.
"Daddy!" Jamie squeaked. Ty stopped tickling her and settled her in the crook of his arm.
"What?"
Amy watched, curious, as Jamie leaned forward to whisper in her dad's ear. Her interest rose when she caught Ty glance in her direction, a playful smirk on his face.
"All right," he said, and put Jamie down. She immediately ran back to the barn. Amy crossed her arms and gave Ty what could only be called a look of accusation.
"Dare I ask?" she said.
"Nope," he said simply, "Just know you're banned from the tack room until everyone gets here, but I guess here they come now."
Amy turned around as an old Cherokee Jeep pulled up the driveway. It stopped and Amy's older sister, Lou, stepped out of the passenger seat and gave Amy and Ty a short wave before turning her attention to the back seat, where her four-and-a-half-year-old son, Anthony, sat, waiting in his car-seat. Scott, Lou's husband, turned the engine off and stepped out of the vehicle. He leaned on the top of the car and said something to Lou that Amy and Ty couldn't hear, but Lou answered and Scott opened the back door. He was about to pull something out, but before Amy could see what it was, Ty put his hand over her eyes.
"Sorry, sweetie," he whispered in her ear, "but no peeking. Jamie may have accidentally snitched about the surprise party, but that's all you're gonna know."
Amy giggled, but just leaned against her husband, slightly eager to get off her feet. Ty sensed this and allowed her to put most of her weight on him, wrapping his arm around her to help support her.
After a few minutes, Ty finally removed his hand from her eyes. She blinked in the bright sunlight, but soon her eyes had readjusted, and she was able to see that they had gotten all the party stuff presumably in the tack room.
"Now, all we have to do is wait for Ben, Soraya, and Matt to show up, and we're good," Ty said, gently easing back, forcing Amy to put all the weight on her feet again. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by his cell phone ringing, "You go sit down," he told Amy, giving her a quick kiss on her temple before answering his phone and walking away.
Wondering where her child had gotten to, Amy ambled toward the barn. She was greeted with a soft nicker as an Appaloosa mare stuck her head over her half door. Amy reached out and rubbed Milky Way's forehead, when Lou came out of the adjoining stall, a grooming kit in hand.
"Hey, Amy," she said, walking over and giving her sister a hug, "Happy twenty-fifth."
"Thanks," Amy answered, "Have you seen Jamie?"
"She and Anthony are helping Scott groom M.C." Lou said, nodding toward the other end of the row of stalls, where the black gelding was housed, "You should sit down. I'm sure that's why Ty sent you in here in the first place," she added, noticing that Amy was shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Amy rolled her eyes at the mention of Ty.
"He's too overprotective of me," she mumbled.
"But you love me for it," a voice behind them said. Amy didn't even turn around, but soon felt the strong arms of her husband wrap themselves around her, "Aren't you supposed to be sitting down?" he whispered in her ear before pressing his lips to her neck.
"Who was on the phone?" Amy asked, sitting down on a bale of hay outside Milky Way's stall.
"Matt. Him and Soraya aren't going to be able to make it. Soraya's not feeling well; they think she has the flu."
"Oh," Amy said, "Well, I'll have to call her later. Have you heard from Ben?"
"He should be here soon. I know he had to stop somewhere before he came, but he said he'll be here around eleven," Ty answered, glancing at his watch, "which is now."
"So he's right on time," Lou said, as the sound of Ben's truck driving up the gravel driveway cut through their conversation. Amy stood up and took a step forward to follow Lou, but Ty put a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. She looked up at him.
"He's got another surprise," he explained, "The biggest one of all, so no peeking."
She looked up at him in annoyance, "But everyone's here. You said the party started when everyone got here."
"Impatient, are we?" he joked, nuzzling her hair, "I knew I shouldn't have relied on Jamie to keep this quiet."
"She's three," Amy said, "You expect her to keep a secret from me? Where is she, anyway?"
"She's here," came a voice from behind them. They turned around to find Scott coming out of M.C.'s stall, Anthony in his arms and Jamie following close behind, carrying the grooming kit. She ran ahead of her uncle when she caught sight of her parents, and Ty scooped her up in his arms again, handing the grooming kit to Amy.
"So I'm allowed in the tack room now?" she said, her eyebrows raised.
"Nope," Ty said, shifting Jamie around to take the kit back. This time he handed it to Scott, "You can go ahead and start bringing the stuff out. I think you know what to leave in there, though."
Scott just laughed, and entered the tack room. Amy caught sight of a few gifts wrapped in horse-printed paper, but then a shrill whinny caught her attention. It was coming from the front yard, but she knew it wouldn't be any of the horses out there. There could only be one explanation. She turned to Ty.
"You bought me a horse?" she asked in sheer disbelief. He laughed and gently turned her around, so she was facing the stable door.
"I guess you caught me," he said, "Go see her. I think you'll recognize her."
Now slightly confused, Amy walked outside. She watched as Lou lowered the ramp on the horse trailer that was attached to Ben's truck. The horse inside stamped a hoof impatiently, but as Amy watched, she knew the horse didn't seem frightened, just eager to be out. As she walked closer, Ben led out a gorgeous chestnut mare with a white blaze streaking down her forehead. Amy wondered why Ty had said that she would recognize the horse, but as the mare gave a soft nicker, something clicked in Amy's brain.
"Daybreak," she whispered, moving closer to the horse. As she laid a hand on the chestnut's neck, there was no doubt. This was the little filly Amy had grown so attached to eleven years ago, all grown up. This was the first foal to ever be born at Heartland, and the horse that had touched Amy the most.
Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Amy didn't say anything, but merely took the lead rope from Ben and stroked Daybreak's neck. Daybreak reached over and put her muzzle to Amy's face, taking in her smell. Amy smiled when the mare blew down her nose, indicating that she recognized Amy's smell and wanted to be friends.
Amy didn't know how much time had passed before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Ty standing there.
"So?" he asked, reaching over to stroke Daybreak himself.
"I don't know what to say," Amy whispered truthfully, looking back at her horse. Daybreak, getting restless, swung her haunches around, forcing Amy to let go of the halter.
"Here, why don't I take her? She's probably a bit agitated from the trip," Ty suggested, so Amy reluctantly handed him the lead rope. They walked around, calming Daybreak down. Amy, not wanting to be away, walked along with Ty.
"I can't believe you bought her back for me," she said softly after a while. Ty smiled.
"You're just lucky I was able to find Jess's phone number back."
"Did she still have her?" Amy asked. Jess Morgan was the person who had bought Daybreak and her mother, Melody, from Heartland when Daybreak was only four months old.
"Yep," Ty answered, "Still had Melody, too."
"How is she doing?"
"Melody? She's had a few more foals, but, by now, the youngest one is a yearling. I saw him. He was a looker; beautiful black colt with a good build. Why don't we put Daybreak out in the pasture and get back to your party? Lou and Scott have probably gotten everything set up by now," Ty suggested.
"What pasture? They're all taken."
"We could put her in with Phantom and Gypsy. I'm sure they'd get along."
They headed up to the back pasture, where a dapple grey Quarter gelding and a blue roan snowflake-pattern Pony of America mare were grazing casually. They looked up as Amy and Ty approached with Daybreak, who whinnied at the two horses. Phantom returned her call, but Gypsy just dropped her head back down and continued grazing.
Ty slipped Daybreak's halter off as Amy opened the gate to the pasture. As soon as she was free, the mare immediately broke into a canter and ran into the paddock, bucking excitedly. Phantom trotted over to meet her, and the two Quarter Horses touched noses. Amy smiled as Daybreak started cantering around the perimeter of the paddock, clearly happy to be in the place she was born at, with Phantom following close behind.
As she watched, Amy's mind was immediately filled with visions of Daybreak as a filly, cantering around in this very same pasture with her mother. Now that little foal was all grown up. Amy felt a lump grow in her throat, when she thought of how this mature horse once depended on her just to survive. Seeing Daybreak so happy, so strong, was the best thing Amy could ever ask for, and was the best gift anyone could ever give her.
"Happy birthday, Amy," Ty whispered, wrapping his arms around his wife as they both watched the three horses graze, the air peaceful around them, the party temporarily forgotten. This was the perfect birthday.
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I really hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. R and R please!!