Chapter 10:

Ty smiled as he parked his truck and unbuckled. It had been an emotional few days, but he felt like he and Amy were in a good place now. They had agreed to put the discussion of children on hold and focus on their marriage. He picked up the bouquet of flowers, that were next to him, and climbed out of the truck. He didn't see Amy outside, working with any horses, so he figured she must be in the barn.

"Amy?" he called, peaking into the barn office. She wasn't there, so he decided to check the loft.

"Amy, are you up here?" Ty asked. No answer came, but he heard a quiet sniffling, then saw his wife lying on their bed.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked, entering the room. He sat the bouquet on the nightstand and cleaned some crumpled tissues off the bed, so he could sit with his wife. "Are you feeling okay?"

Amy looked at Ty, who noticed her eyes were puffy and red, and she shook her head.

"What's wrong?" he asked, helping her to sit up next to him and putting his arm around her.

Amy blinked back more tears and played with her wedding ring. "I, um..." she started to say, wiping her face, "I was working with a horse, this morning...just running him around in the round pen, like usual..." Amy grabbed a fresh tissue and dabbed her eyes.

Ty gave her a gentle squeeze, "It's okay," he assured her.

"And... I passed out," she said.

"What?" Ty asked, imagining the worst. Maybe Amy really was sick, what else could be going on? Ty tried to focus, as Amy continued explaining what happened.

"I got dizzy and the next thing I knew, I was lying outside of the round pen and Grandpa was leaning over me, saying my name."

"When did this happen? Why didn't you or Jack call me?"

"It was this morning and I made Grandpa promise that he'd let me tell you."

"Well, you didn't have to wait until I got home, you should've called me at work. You need to see a doctor, Amy."

"I did. Grandpa took me to see Dr. Virani."

"Oh, okay...well, good. So, what did she say?"

Amy returned her focus to her wedding ring and didn't answer.

"Amy," Ty said, taking her hand, "what's going on? What did Dr. Virani say?"

"She said that..." Amy's voice caught in her throat, and it was as if her body was physically trying to stop her, from saying it out loud.

"It's okay, Amy. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I need to know."

Amy took a deep breath, and told him, "I'm...pregnant."

Ty stared at his wife, as it took a moment for her words to sink in. She's not sick. She's pregnant. A smile crept over Ty's face and his whole body relaxed.

"Wait," he said, as he remembered the negative result of the pregnancy test, "So, the first test was wrong?"

"Apparently," she answered, "I guess you were right all along."

Ty felt relief and excitement, as he realized he was going to be a dad, but the look on Amy's face brought him back to reality.

"You're not happy about this, are you?" he asked, his excitement fading.

Amy shook her head, and told him, "My feelings haven't changed."

Ty hugged her and, wanting to be optimistic, he said, "Just give it time. I have a feeling you'll change your mind."

"And if I don't?"

Ty didn't even want to think about that. He knew Amy, and once the baby became more real to her and she started seeing herself as a mom, she would definitely change her mind. "You will" he said, hoping to convince her and himself.

"I don't know," she said, "I really don't think I can do this."

"Yes, you can, Amy. Remember, you're not doing this alone, we're in this together."

Amy nodded.

"Here," Ty said, reaching over to the nightstand, "these are for you."

"What, why?" Amy asked, taking the bouquet of flowers.

"Because, I love you."

Amy smiled, tears still running down her cheeks, and said, "They're beautiful, thank you."

"You're welcome," Ty said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Amy admired the flowers, then said, "I don't want anyone to know yet, okay?"

"Why not?"

"Because... they'll be excited about it and I don't want to have to tell them that I'm not excited. I don't want to fake it, either."

"Okay," Ty said, "but what about Jack? Doesn't he know?"

"No," she said, "Dr. Virani agreed not tell him, so she just assured him that I was fine, but needed rest, which is true."

Ty nodded, thinking of another question, "Did Dr. Virani say if we should be concerned, about you passing out?"

"She really did say that I'm fine and I just need to be careful. No more skipping breakfast, then running around in the hot sun."

"You skipped breakfast?"

"I was feeling a little nauseous, which I figured was stress."

"Okay, well you need make sure you're eating and taking care of yourself. You're pregnant, so you need to think about the baby now, too."

A wave of nausea hit Amy, when she heard Ty's words. She was pregnant. She had a baby to think about. Everything was going to change, wether she liked or not, and that terrified her. Life had taken this sudden turn, and she felt trapped going down the very path she had wanted to avoid.

Ty could see the fear in Amy's eyes, so he held her close and told her, "It's okay, I'm here. We're going to get through this, together."

Amy laid her head on Ty's shoulder and let herself cry. She had been afraid that her feelings would create distance between her and Ty, that he wouldn't understand and wouldn't try to. Yet, here he was, comforting her and assuring her that he wasn't going anywhere. The whole idea of being pregnant and having a baby, still scared her, but she did feel better knowing that Ty would be by her side through all of it.