"What was that? I didn't hurt you that day", Ty got defensive right away, and Amy gestured him to calm down with her hand. She noticed from the corner of her eye that the guards got alerted, ready to cut in, if needed. They were listening, picking up any signs that Ty would jump over the table and attack Amy.

"I know. It was an accident", Amy said before Ty thought she was going for that angle. "We both know that to be the truth."

"That doesn't seem to stop you from making them think that I'm some kind of... wife beater", Ty said with an angry look on his face. "Which is pretty low blow from you as you know how it was like for me growing up. I would never do that."

It didn't seem like Ty was about to listen, so Amy had to interrupt him. "Yeah, that would be easy, wouldn't it, but I didn't know that it's what she was going to bring up."

"Then why have you told her that?!" Ty demanded to know.

"I told her everything she needed to know, but I didn't tell it to her like that. I just said that we had more arguments and fights nearing the end of our relationship and it just came up. I said it was kind of the final straw and from that moment on, we were on our own paths", Amy explained calmly. "She must've interpreted it like that. But I didn't lie about it, I wasn't trying to make you look guilty of anything."

"Why would I trust you? You know if she keeps going forward with that, I can kiss my chances of ever seeing Lyndy again goodbye", Ty pointed out, wanting to let her know he wasn't going to just deal with it.

"Because so far I'm the only one here that has actually told the truth in every step of the way", Amy said with a firm tone. "Can't say the same for you."

Ty bit his tongue and his jaw clenched the same way it had in the barn office weeks ago. He knew that to be true somewhere deep inside, but didn't want to admit it, and was trying to find a way to fight it.

"Look... I can make her drop it, but you have to work with me here", Amy explained. "I don't want to take Lyndy away from you, I never have, but I have to think what's best for her. If you still don't understand the consequences of your actions or aren't willing to accept that what you've done is wrong, then I will fight for her. You can't keep digging yourself into a hole and expect me to allow you to drag Lyndy down there with you. I won't do it. If we want this to work, I need to be able to trust you. And whether you like it or not, the system favors the mothers, especially the ones who are stable and not in jail, so that's why I have some say in here."

Ty looked down at his hands.

"Just... tell me one thing", Amy requested. "All this time, it seems like you've been running from this... fatherhood, this family... home... And yet, you seem to want to fight for her this passionately. Why? Is it just about winning?"

Ty replied after a beat. "Because she needs to know that she was wanted..."

Amy looked at him, sensing there was more to this story.

"I've been here before. Not as a father, but as the child", Ty explained. "Yeah, dad had his difficulties and maybe he went away because he wanted to protect me - I doubt it, but at the same time I don't know because he never told me. He just left and never came back. Not really. But if he did all that for me, I never felt that. I never felt that he wanted me or wanted to keep me safe or tried to make me proud. He was... just this loser who abandoned his family and did everything for selfish reasons... And the more I try not to be like him, the more I become like him. But I can't let go of Lyndy. That's the only thing I have going for me anymore. I need her to know that she was not a nuisance. That I love her, that I wanted to give her everything I could, even when I didn't have much to give."

"Okay... I get that, but in order for that to happen, you can't fight me - or fight for me - or I will have to protect myself - and her", Amy explained. "You need to trust me. I will make this work, for all of us."

"I don't know if I can trust you..." Ty admitted. "There's just too much baggage."

"From what exactly?" Amy wanted to know, even though she had couple of guesses.

"From the prince thing..."

Amy put all her personal feelings aside for a minute in order to try to understand what had happened inside Ty's head at the time and after it.

"If that's true, then why did you marry me?" Amy asked. "Just so you could punish me for years to come?"

"Because I thought it would hurt less as years went on", Ty said. "That's what you said once. That you will keep bringing the hurt up until it stops hurting..."

Amy recalled the moment and thought back to it.

"Just like the Chase thing?" she guessed. Ty looked at her. "You never did get over it either. But I had to get over the Blair thing. And I had to deal with all the other stuff you put me through after that, because I wanted to trust that it would get better. I know it's twisted to say this, but yeah, it almost would be easier to be in bruises physically than to have to deal with the emotional burden I've had to. At the least the bruises get better on their own. But the thing I've learned over the years is that if I don't deal with whatever issue I have, no one's going to deal it for me. So, you have to learn to deal with all of this stuff that you keep inside you and have allowed to fester so much that you can't trust me anymore. Because I've proved my loyalty to you, you just never decided it was enough. And with the way you're going, it never will be. I get hanging onto the hurt; it's easy, it gives you a scapegoat to everything life throws at you - but that's not healthy. That's not the best life you can have. You have to let it go and take that first leap of faith. We won't be married soon, so you don't have to trust me as your wife, but we will still have Lyndy - and you have to be able to trust me as her mother, just like I want to be able to trust you as her father."

Ty sighed and looked down again. It was obvious this was not going to be easy for him.

"So, what do you say? Are we going to show Lyndy that she was wanted by both of us or not?" Amy asked. "That we both wanted to make her proud?"

"Yeah... I guess I have to think about some things..." Ty agreed eventually.

"Good. You can't change the past, but you can change the future", Amy felt relief. She wanted more than anything that Ty would hold onto those words. "One more thing before I call them back in... I need to ask you something because it's been driving me crazy. - I was at Maggie's with Lyndy and Cassandra some time ago, and Ashley walked in. This was when she was taking care of your assault case. Ashley walked over, to talk to us, and I swear it was like she had seen Lyndy before from the way Lyndy reacted to her. But... she hasn't, has she...?"

Ty looked at Amy, and immediately she saw guilt in his eyes. It suddenly made her feel like her weird speculations were being validated.

"They've met... when Lyndy was in Vancouver", Ty admitted.

Amy nodded. "I see... And you and Ashley...? I didn't know you even kept in touch before this."

Ty let out air through his nose in a way that sounded almost like a laugh. As Amy studied him, it looked like Ty had expected to get caught at some point - almost wished for it - to feel some relief.

"It wasn't like a big deal... Couple of drinks and..." Ty shrugged. "We didn't plan for it to happen, but it just... we had an understanding. Anyway. It's over now. It was over before I asked her to be my lawyer", he wanted to add so it wouldn't look weird that they had been a team. It probably wouldn't have been acceptable anyway.

Amy wasn't sure how she felt about it. Was it weird? Unexpected? Hell yes, but at the same time she didn't feel jealous or grossed out by it. Maybe it was a good sign. A sign of maturity.

"I'm not mad, I just... wish you would have told me about it", Amy said, making a nod to the conversation they had had about the possibility of dating other people and introducing them to Lyndy.

"But it's Ashley", Ty said. "I mean, she's our friend. Or was. You know her already. And I mean, you haven't had a problem introducing Lyndy to Mitch."

Amy sighed a little. "But that's different. She's already known him all his life - and besides, we are not dating or... involved. Never have been, no matter what you believe."

"Is that so?" Ty asked, cocking his eyebrow in a challenging manner. It was as if he wanted to say that it was only fair for her to tell the truth now that he had.

"Yes. I'm telling the truth. And you just have to trust me on that for things to work, remember?" Amy reminded. "I mean, what would I have to lose anymore?"

"Okay", Ty finally agreed.

Amy then got up and walked toward the door. The guards kept a close eye on Ty while she asked the others to come back in. When Ty's team and her assistant were inside, Amy asked Lara to stay outside so they could have a chat.

"Are you okay?" Lara worried as soon as they were alone.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed to clear some air with him", Amy said. The conversation had gone better than she had expected. "Listen... we need to drop the whole domestic abuse angle. It's not the truth. It was an accident."

"Are you sure about that...?" Lara checked with concern. "Because the things you told me... not just that, but... everything. It just had a very alarming tone with the way he's been treating you. It hasn't been very healthy, so I just thought-"

"I know, but I'm divorcing him now and I'm ready to leave it in the past", Amy said. "I asked him to tell the truth, so I have to lead by an example. I have to show him that telling the truth rewards him. The truth might not be what we always want to hear, but it's the right thing. We are sticking with the it, no matter how dirty they will play. It's my principal and I'm not willing to let go of that. It's not easy, but I don't want to have any regrets about the way I handled this."

Lara looked at Amy and tilted her head. She sighed. "Well, we weren't gonna get that far with that anyway, without there being actual charges against him, so... Okay... we'll do it. We'll drop it, if that's what you want. I'm representing you, anyway. That is my job."

"Thank you", Amy said with a relief. "And I want him to be able to see Lyndy after this. Not during the jail thing, because no kid wants to see that, and I don't want her to think her father like that."

Lara looked surprised. "What? But what about the-"

"I know. But I also know what it was like living without a father and what it was like living thinking he didn't care about you. Ty might not be perfect, but he loves Lyndy. I'm willing to give him a chance. I've seen he can be a good father, he just needs to... get his act together", Amy explained. After Lyndy's birth, things had been good with them and that was the potential she was holding onto. If she could somehow summon that Ty back then Lyndy would be okay.

"You can't just put all your faith on potential", Lara pointed out.

"Of course not, but there was something about what his attorney said", Amy wanted to back-pedal a little, "which I think could be a proof for us of the fact that he's willing to change for Lyndy. He's monitored now and he's dealing with the law. I don't want him to come out of this with bitterness, I want him to want the change. Can't we suggest something that allows him some right to Lyndy when he's successfully dealt with his sentence and has not committed new offences?"

Lara thought about it for a while. "I guess we could ask monitored visitation when he's been released from jail for starters and see where that takes us."

"Okay. That's a start", Amy was hopeful that would give Lyndy a better chance of getting to know her father and motivate Ty to change his behavior, so they could all adjust the arrangement after he had proved himself to be a good father and better, healthier influence.

If her father, the man who had once been out of control and abusing drugs, could redeem himself, Amy thought, she wanted Ty to be able to have the same chance.

As they walked back inside the room, Ty's eyes followed Amy and Lara. He was holding his breath, wondering if Amy was keeping her word.

"Okay, there's been a change of plans", Lara explained as they sat down. "We need to review this whole thing over again so that Mr. Borden has more access to his daughter than what we proposed before. I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear what we have to suggest."

Ty's attorney glanced at his client, taken by the surprise. "We most certainly are eager to hear about it."

Amy smiled at Ty as she saw the relief wash over him.