"Do you need anything right now?" the nurse asked, as she finished checking Amy's vitals.
"No, I'm okay," Amy told her, forcing herself to smile.
"Alright, well if you do need anything, just use the call button. I'll be back to check on you again, later."
Amy nodded, still forcing herself to smile. As soon as the nurse left, her smile did too. She looked at all the monitors and machines in the room, listening to them click and beep. Most were specifically for her, but she was also hooked up to an electronic fetal monitor, for the baby. Turning her attention to her stomach, she rubbed it and said, "I'm so sorry I put you in danger. I promise, I'll be more careful from now on." She felt a jab, near her ribs, then another one slightly lower. "I hope that means you forgive me."
Amy hated hospitals and she hated lying around, not being able to do anything. Thankfully, Lou (who was always thinking ahead and taking care of everyone) had brought her computer to her, just so she wouldn't be so bored.
She adjusted her bed, to sit up more, and pulled her overbed table closer. Opening her laptop, she was greeted by a photo of Spartan, that she used as her background. Her eyes stung as she thought about how she had put him in danger, too. She should have listened to her dad and not gone to that clinic. Why did she have to be so stubborn? He was only thinking of her and the baby.
Now, even he was injured.
Suddenly, her screen changed, as a familiar sound played. She felt her heart jump and was surprised it didn't set off some alarm.
It only took one click and she was looking at her husband, who was half way around the world in Mongolia. It was always a bit of a surprise to see him with longer hair, a dirty face, and a bandanna. Their Skype calls meant the world to her, while he was away, but she still couldn't wait until the day she'd be able to kiss his face or run her fingers through his hair.
"Hey, Amy!" Ty said cheerfully, from the screen, but then his face and tone changed, almost instantly. "Wait, are you... in a hospital?"
Amy had been so focused on what had happened, she hadn't prepared herself for Ty's call. She knew she had to tell him the truth. She cleared her throat and looked through the screen, into her husband's concerned eyes.
"Yeah... I am..."
"Why? Are you okay? Is the baby ok?"
"Yes, we're both okay," she assured him, watching as he sat down on a nearby rock.
"Well, then why are you in a hospital?"
Amy took a deep breath and explained all about the clinic, the mysterious woman who abandoned her crazy horse, and the rockslide that left her, Georgie, her dad, and two horses stranded in the mountains. Lastly, she told him about the cramps she'd had and how bad they had gotten after the accident and how she had to stay overnight at the hospital and be monitored, just to be to safe.
As Ty listened, she saw the expressions on his face change with the story, from confusion to frustration, then to shock and fear, and finally to look a helplessness. The last one made her heart ache. She knew Ty would feel guilty for not being here with her and that he'd hate not being able to take care of her and the baby. That's why she had hoped to spare him and wait until he was home to tell him all this.
"I'm sorry, Amy, I should have been there..." he said.
"No, Ty, don't blame yourself for this. I'm the one who screwed up. You can be mad at me, but don't be mad at yourself."
"If I had been there-"
"I still would've gone. My dad was here and he kept telling me not to go, but I didn't listen. I just hate feeling like I can't do anything, because I'm pregnant."
"I know, but you do have limitations now. It's not just yourself that you risk hurting if something goes wrong, like it did it today."
"I know," Amy replied, looking at the keyboard, instead of the screen, "I'm sorry."
"I know you are," Ty said, softening his tone, "Working with that horse wasn't a good idea, but you couldn't have expected a rockslide, that was an accident. I'm not mad you, I just worry about you... and about our baby." Ty stared, thoughtfully, at his wife. Standing up again, he said, "I should come home. I need to be there with you."
"No, that's not necessary," she protested.
"Yes, it is-"
"No...I promise, I'm going to be a lot more careful and I'll let the others help me more. I love you and I told you I would support you, okay? I don't want to be the reason you have to cut your trip short."
Ty paused to gather his thoughts, and said, "Amy, I know you love me and support me. I can't even put into words how much it means to me, that you even let me come here at all. But, I love you too and I love our baby. As important as it is for me to protect these bears, it's even more important for me to protect both of you. This is why I wasn't going to come- I knew I'd miss you and that I'd want to be there, helping you."
Amy forced another smile, resisting the urge to break down in tears. She had to put up a strong front or Ty would never believe that she could be okay for another couple of months.
"I get that, but we really will be okay," she tried to convince him, and herself, "its only two more months. If you come home now, I'm afraid we'll both regret it."
Ty shook his head, "No, I think I'll regret it more if I don't come home... I miss you. You miss me too, right?"
"Of course I do." she answered, wondering if he could see the tears forming in her eyes.
"Be honest, wouldn't you rather have me there with you?"
Amy's lip quivered as her guard began to come down. Without even thinking, she began to nod.
"Okay," he said, holding back tears of his own, "then, that's what I'll do."
"Are you sure?" She asked, still giving him a chance to stay.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Honestly, I've been missing you like crazy and I've considered coming home early a few times before. At least now, I'll have a solid excuse so Bob won't think I'm just abandoning him." Ty chuckled to himself, but quickly became serious again, "I can't wait to see you, without a screen in between us, and just...hold you again."
"Me either," she said, her voice cracking, "I've missed you so much."
"Well, we'll only have to miss each other a little longer, then."
"You're really sure about this?"
"Yes, I'm really sure."
"Because, you went over there to help the Gobi bears, and if you have to come back without even seeing one..."
"You know, it's funny you should mention that," Ty said, smiling and pointing at the screen, "Believe it or not, I actually did save a Gobi Bear."
"What? Really?" Amy asked, wiping her eyes.
"Yeah, and not just any Gobi bear... a cub."
"Wow!" Amy said with a genuine smile, "So, when you say you saved him..."
"I literally saved his life...well, Bob and I both did. A poacher killed his mother-"
"Oh, that's awful," Amy said, placing her hands over her stomach.
"Yeah, it is," Ty agreed, "The cub was wounded, but thankfully he got away."
Now Amy listened, as her husband told her about the guys with guns; finding the dead mother bear; then, tracking blood and footprints through the desert, and running out of water, until they finally found the cub.
"We were about to give up, when we finally saw him," he explained, "After Bob tranquilized him, we had to move fast to get him back to the camp. Once there, we were able to stitch his wound and get him on antibiotics. We also put a tracker on him, so he will hopefully lead us to more bears. But first, we'll make sure his wound heals and he's well nourished."
"That's great, I'm really proud of you, Ty," Amy told her husband, "I'm glad you helped the bear and that you're safe, but now I'm really happy you're planning to come home. It sounds dangerous there... more than I realized."
"Well, yesterday was more exciting than normal," he assured her, "and today, I'm just hanging back to take care of Teddy."
"Teddy?"
"Yeah... you know, like Teddy Bear."
Amy laughed. "You're a big teddy bear, you know that?"
"Yeah, I guess I am," he laughed, "Well, hey, I gotta get going. Teddy needs his meds and I need to talk to Gavin about going home. I'll see you soon, I love you!"
"I love you, too," she said, ending the call. She dried her eyes and laid her head on her pillow.
"Was that Ty?" a familiar voice asked, startling Amy.
"Grandpa!" she said, noticing who had just walked in, "yes, that was Ty."
Jack took a seat next his granddaughter's bed. "So, did you tell him what happened?"
"Yeah, I did. I mean, I couldn't exactly hide the fact that I'm in a hospital."
"No, I suppose not. So, what did he say?"
"He said... he's coming home."
"Really?" Jack asked, as he sat up a little straighter, "because of what happened today?"
She nodded.
"Well... at least something good is coming out of all this."
Amy smiled, knowing that her grandfather had been missing Ty, too.
"I'm just glad it wasn't any worse," Jack added.
"Me too. How's Georgie?"
"She's good. Still a little shaken up and a little sore, but no injuries. They've already let her go home."
"Good," she said, relieved that her niece was fine, "and dad?"
"He has concussion, like we thought, so he's stuck here for the night, too. Casey's with him now, making sure he doesn't try to escape. Of course, he's still having trouble keeping his balance, so he wouldn't get too far anyway."
"He's going to be okay, though, right?" She'd never forgive herself if he wasn't.
"Yeah, unfortunately, they're saying he'll be back to his old self in no time."
Amy laughed at Jack's subtle jab.
"Spartan?" she continued asking how everyone was.
"He's good, Scott gave him the all clear and he's resting in his stall."
"Good. I'll probably have to work with him on being trailered, though."
"Don't worry about that, right now. You need to get your rest and take care of yourself and the baby, first."
"I know," she said, gently massaging her belly. "What about the mystery horse?" she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"He had some cuts, and a few needed stitched up. I don't know if he's crazier from the accident, or if he was already this crazy, but Scott's keeping him at the clinic and he gave him sedatives to keep him calm." Jack saw a familiar look on his granddaughter's face and added, "He'll be okay, but I don't want you working with him, not while you're pregnant."
Amy looked at her grandpa. She wanted to argue with him, but exhaustion was overtaking her and she decided to let it go... for now.
Yawning, she said, "Thank you...for finding us..."
Jack patted her arm and smiled, "I'm just glad I did."
Knowing that everyone was going to be okay and that Ty would be home soon, she was able to relax. Drifting off to sleep, she pictured Ty coming home and imagined themselves hugging each other tightly and probably crying tears of joy. She couldn't wait to have him back home, where he belonged.