Chapter Twenty-Four

The Holidays – The Best Present

A/N – That last chapter turned out a little bit longer but to be honest I could have even added more. For us true Heartland fanatics what Amy and Ty have accomplished is pretty amazing. Christmas and New Year's Eve are just a couple of weeks away and the school year is getting ready for winter break. Here come the Borden's. Mature Content. Enjoy!

It had been a few days since the lecture and reception and the impact of what happened was already affecting their businesses. Inquiries were coming from all around Canada and the Northwestern US. It seems that everyone at that lecture became salespeople and were detailing to everyone they knew what they had to offer to everyone. Although the 'Board" was not meeting until after the first of the year, Lisa and Jack thought it might be prudent to meet soon. So they decided on a day and the cover stories were put in place. The kids would be at school, and the staffs at all the companies were aware that their bosses would be out of pocket. They covertly provided a separate reason for each individual business. They felt bad about misleading everyone but it was a necessity. They met at a neutral site and were asked to come with an update of what was happening to each of them. The meeting was less formal and much more relaxed. As they started Lisa asked around the room if everyone felt that the secret was safe. Overall they did feel that way although several of them mentioned that as they were having a private conversation and someone almost caught them. Amy and Georgie stood up as Amy spoke up, "Yea, we were talking about some things regarding the new company and Lyndy and Katie stepped in. I don't think they heard anything but they had some questions that we deflected. To be honest I think they know something is going on."

Lisa stepped in, "Well to be honest Jack and I had the same issue at Fairfield with my head trainer and we would be foolish to think that people aren't beginning to suspect something is up." Jack continued, "Well I am sure we all believe we need to be a little more alert when we have our conversations but I think we also need to think about bringing key people into the loop before the announcement. Bottom line we are going to need their input eventually and can't keep them in the dark." Everyone agreed. Over the next 45 minutes everyone gave a quick overview of how they were doing and some of the uptick in business they were realizing after the lecture. Lisa smiled and said, "Companies would kill for an event like you two had to build a business and how you incorporated every part of the new company definitely is a win for everyone." After that comment they flip charted all of the new opportunities and decided to catalogue it and meet right after the first of the year to start filling in the business flow charts. This increase was going to affect what they would do moving forward. Everyone was happy with the outcome of the meeting and were excited about the future. Jack ended by saying, "Everyone take a break and have a great holiday." I expect that next Christmas will be a lot different, in a good way."

After the meeting everyone felt much better about things and refocused all of their energy. Christmas plans were underway. Similar to last year the immediately family would be at Heartland for Christmas Eve and the kids would get presents from GG and Lisa. The dinner would be casual and low key. Everyone would attend mass and then go home to get ready for Santa. Well at least Maddie would, although Amy and TY said this might be her last one. The good thing was JT was around so they had several more years of Santa fever. Christmas morning would be with just the family, the Borden's at their home and the others at Heartland where the rest of the gifts were given out. Then Christmas Day afternoon would be the large party at Heartland. All family and friends would be invited. Scott, Caleb, Cass and Ben would be there for sure. Each of the Borden kids were allowed to ask a friend as well. Of course Lyndy asked Wyatt and his Grandma and Maddie was asking Gwen and this year her parents. They didn't have any family close and were excited to be invited. Lou and Lisa did decide to invite Tim and Casey but only to the big party on Christmas Day afternoon at Heartland. Lou knew they were at Casey's family's celebration the night before. They hoped Casey would keep Tim in line.

Christmas trees had been cut and decorated. Both homes were festively decorated with lights everywhere. Jack always marveled at how his family decorated remembering how Lyndy was so involved with this holiday. At dinner one night he was sitting remembering days past, Amy came up to him setting on the arm of his chair, "Grandpa, you are thinking about Grandma Lyndy and mom aren't you." "Guilty, I look around and see them here as well – they both loved Christmas." He soberly recalled. Amy leaned into him and kissed his cheek, "Grandpa they are here. I see them in my kids and Katie every day. They are definitely here." As they hugged Lou walked over and joined them, "You guys, stop." They all chuckled. From across the room Ty caught Amy's eyes and smiled mouthing, I Love You. That night after an active dinner with the kids Amy and Ty worked hard to get them to settle down. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and they were overly excited. Only before they promised them a Christmas Story did they agree to get their PJs on and wait in the living room. Even the more involved JT was sitting waiting for them with his elf hat on. Amy and Ty got in their PJs and got a little carried away kissing each other. Although they never needed an excuse the holidays upped the romance meter for them. They were focused on their kiss until a "Come On Mom and Dad" yell came from Addie. They hugged tightly as Amy whispered in his ear, "These aren't the Christmas PJs I have for later.' Ty breathlessly answered, "Let's make the story a quick one." They sat on the love seat and prepared to give the girls a story.

Amy started, "A few days before Christmas, when we were much younger Scott called and told us about herd of horses who were trapped in a valley due to an avalanche, Maddie that is when a bunch of snow falls off a mountain." She looked at her and said matter of fact, "I know that mommy!" JT laughed at his sister as Amy carried on. "Well we packed up the big truck with a lot of hay and put the snow mobiles on a trailer with extra gas. The horses were up in the mountains and it was not drivable. We left early and expected to be back that evening." Ty took over, "When we got there the local people were not real receptive to us except for a boy about your age Lyndy who was the person who called it in. We got to the horses and they were trapped behind a huge pile of snow maybe 30 feet tall. When we got over it, we saw 9 horses alive and two buried in the snow. And one of the horses was pregnant. Needless to say it was much worse than we had expected. We got back to the local diner to call Jack and tell him we were going to have to stay the night." Addie rolled her eyes, "Here we go with the sleepover thing again." They all laughed.

Maddie had a sad look in her face and Amy touched her shoulder. "What's wrong honey." "Was the horse buried in the snow dead?" she whimpered. "Well, in the wild it is tough for animals sometimes, but we knew at that time we needed to do everything we could do to save the rest." Amy continued, "Well as you can imagine, GG and Grandpa showed up early that evening since they weren't too happy about us spending the night alone. The good thing was they were also there to help. We all went back the next day and began to dig the horses out. When we had just began there was another avalanche that almost burying the boy that was helping. We realized that we had to get help form the townspeople. At lunch we went back to the diner to see if there was anyone who would help us. No one spoke up and Adam the little boy looked at everyone and screamed, "What is wrong with all of you, my dad would have been the first one to help. We need you." We later found out that his dad had been killed in an avalanche the Christmas before. We went back and started digging again. It was an impossible job but we were determined. All of a sudden Grandpa looked over the hill and saw a lot of people heading our way. The had snowplows and tractors and more shovels than you could count."

Ty took over for his wife, "Well we got the trench dug quickly and got all of the horses out. We took them to Adam's grandpas ranch where they had plenty of food to eat and land to roam on. Adam's mom told us that his words had changed the mind of everyone. We said are goodbyes and we left for home happy and just in time for Christmas morning. After Christmas dinner mom and I went out on the porch both admitting that we hadn't had time to get each other anything. Mom said well we have 8 gifts and a new foal on the way. But then she said something that I still remember to this day. She told me she had everything she needed right here with me. It was the best Christmas ever."

The girls in happy tears headed off to bed. JT was already out and Amy took him to bed. They made their rounds and headed to their bedroom locking the door. Ty was lying in bed thinking about the story they had just told with a smile on his face. As he look up his smile got a lot bigger. Amy stood in front of him wearing a red stocking hat and nothing else. She smiled seductively, "Like my Christmas PJs?" She jumped into bed as Ty joined her dress code selection. They held each other tightly and kissed each other with a lover's passion. He whispered in her ear, "I love your PJs" She snuggled into his neck and said, "Well now for your present." The began to kiss and touch each other in ways only they shared. Their lips roamed and their hands explored. They each moaned as they joined in love. The feelings they were having were only theirs. They reach the pinnacle of their passion and intensity several times each one more amazing than the other. As they lay next to each other catching their breath content and happy the two lovers looked into each other's eyes not needing to say anything. The fell into a blissful sleep.

Christmas morning was a chaotic as always. Christmas Eve at Heartland had been amazing as always but this year everyone was really looking forward to enjoying JT's first Christmas morning. He was a little overwhelmed with the attention but loved the fact that his sisters were cuddling with him so much. Amy and Ty were the last to come out as usual and of course the girls had everything under control. They were dressed in their PJs still, had breakfast ready and JT was planning on the floor watching cartoons. As they walked out Amy and Ty held each other looking over the scene. They smiled at each other and kissed never tired of how happy they were and amazing their kids were. After breakfast they headed to the tree to open presents.

As always with the Borden family the children understood that the holidays were much more about family than gifts. As per tradition one gift was opened at a time giving it the attention it deserved. The girls had also begun giving small gifts to each other which were personal and well received. But JT was the center of attention. Maddie was assigned to be his personal assistant when it came to opening his gifts. He laughed and jumped around as he opened each gift he got. At times he was more excited with the paper but really liked his toy horse and motorbike. He held them up proclaiming "JT horsie and motor cykie." Everyone laughed at the joy in his voice and loved how happy he was. Amy smiled into Ty's ear, "Look at the four of them, they love him so much." Ty hugged and kissed her cheek.

The kids settled down cleaning up their gifts and all the paper. After they took things back to their rooms the girls brought JT back into the living room to play. Amy and Ty were going to head to their room to exchange gifts and Lyndy looked at her mom, "I'll put this guy down for his nap. We are leaving around 3 right." Amy shook her head and smiled. "Well we will be ready to go by 2:30." She smiled as she knew they would be alone together for a while to exchange gifts for each other. The rest of the kids were oblivious as they were focusing on their presents and their little brother. As they walked up to their bedroom, she smiled lovingly at her oldest daughter overwhelmed at how amazing she was. Ty whispered in her ear, "She is so much like you, that Wyatt is a lucky guy for sure." She smacked his arm as they went into their room.

Once they got into the room they immediately embraced in a passionate kiss. They heard a knock on the door and Addie and Annie announced that it was them. Ty opened the door and each of them had a cup of hot chocolate. Addie spoke up, "Sorry to bother you but we thought you may want some hot chocolate." "Don't worry mom we will limit Maddie and JTs amount," Annie added smiling. They thanked the twins, hugging them and reminding them they would be down to start getting ready to go at 2:00. The twins closed the door behind them and they continued their kiss which soon became passionate. "Merry Christmas my love," Ty whispered in her ear, "I have a gift for you." Probably not as good as the gift you gave me on the dock at the Dude Ranch ear ago but I hope you like it." Over the years Ty and Amy had never gone overboard with gifts for each other especially since the kids were the main focus. Their gifts would always focus on more personal things.

He pulled out a package about the size of a large picture frame. She excitedly opened it and immediately the tears began to flow. On one side was the picture of just them when they received their plaques at the U of C lecture. She loved it. But the other side was what got to her. It was a picture of her five kids all dressed up in a formal setting. The all had big smiles and JT looked amazingly cute. But what really caught her eyes was the engraving at the bottom. We Love You Mommy / You are the Heart of our Family and Our Hearts Belong to You. Amy burst into tears hugging her man tightly. "Ty how did you do this?" "Well, remember the Saturday you and Georgie had to drive to Okotoks to look at that horse for Scott. Well I talked to the girls and got Lou and Katie to assist. They took the kids out one day after school to get outfits for the kids and we scheduled a photo shoot in town that day. Amy the kids were so excited and were amazing. They all love you so much, and I do too." He gushed.

After another long kiss, Amy went to her dresser and pulled out a smaller box. He went to open it and laughed. "Well as always it seems we think alike. It was also a two-sided picture frame. Somehow, she had found a picture that Lou had taken when Ty was teaching her how to drive the Norton. Their looks of joy were amazing as they both had huge smiles as they stared into each other's eyes. The other side was even more special. It was a picture of them and their children taken at Georgie and Steven's wedding. They were all dressed up and looked amazing, especially Amy who was ravishing in her bridesmaid gown. JT had his arms stretched out laughing and smiling happily. The girls looked beautiful and all grown up. But his eyes focused on one thing, his beautiful wife. "Amy this is amazing but I can't keep my eyes off of you. That day you looked more beautiful than I have ever seen. Motherhood looks well on you and I am the luckiest man on earth. You are one hot momma." He giggled. The decided to rest for the remaining hour they had. They laid in bed in each other's arms with no need to do anything else.

The Borden family arrived at Heartland a little after 3:00 with gifts, several food dishes and a bag for JT. Lyndy had a gift for Wyatt and Maddie had one for Gwen. Ty and Amy also brought a small gift for Grandma June and Gwen's parents. As they came in, they were greeted by hugs and kisses. JT ran directly to his GG as he gathered him up on his lap. Amy and Lisa, hugging each other looked over noticing the bond they were forming. Jack was in his seventies now but they both seemed see new life in him when JT was in the room. "That little boy is Jack's joy and if anything keeps him ticking it will be him. Look at how JT looks at him." Lisa whispered. "I remember when Ty was younger, he looked at him the same way, Lisa I love my Grandpa so much." Amy said tearing up. Lisa consoled her, "Honey don't' tell Lou but he loves more than you know. You remind him of Lyndy and Marion so much." "That is so nice to say Lisa but trust me I see the way he looks at you, he is deeply in love with you. Whenever he talks about you, he lights up. Remember the first "Board" meeting we had. While you were talking, you should have seen the look in his eyes. Ty and I saw it." Amy answered. Lisa smiled, "We are definitely both lucky women."

Dinner was amazing and after everyone was full and helped clean up a few gifts were exchanged. Gwen and Maddie loved what they go each other and Grandma June as well as Gwen's parents loved the cookies they received from the Borden's. Lyndy, Wyatt, Katie and the Twins tended to the horses. After they were done, Lyndy and Wyatt walked up to the porch to sit and enjoy the night air and exchange gifts. Lyndy reached behind the bench and pulled out a package. Wyatt opened it and saw it was the picture they had taken at the dance at the photo booth. He smiled widely and said, "That was the best night of my life," kissing her cheek. He they reached into his pocket. Now I want to let you know I talked to your parents about this already. Lyndy's eyes opened wide as he handed her a nicely wrapped long box. She opened it slowly and found the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. As she pulled it out, she saw it had two initials attached to the gold chain, L and W. "Wyatt this is beautiful can you help me put it on." She whispered to him. He clasped it around her neck and said, "beautiful, like you." He reach over and lightly kissed her on the lips, just a light touch. Lyndy turned a deep shade of red looking around to see it they were alone. She smiled and buried her head in his shoulder as happy as she had ever been. Little did they know that Amy and Grandma Jue were looking out the window, holding each other in tears.

As the night moved on Amy And Katie had noticed that Steven and Georgie had been huddled, giggling and kissing each other. Georgie stepped away to go into Amys old room. The confronted Steve and said, "What is up with you two, you have been quiet all night." "Well there is one more present to give." He answered as Georgie walked out with a hoodie on. The immediately knew what was up giggling and hugging them. Georgie shooshed them and got everyone's attention. Steven spoke up proudly, "Georgie and I have one more gift for the family," as Georgie unzipped the hoodie exposing a t-shirt that read, "Baby on Board'. Everyone erupted in laughter and joy. Steven and Georgie never know they could be hugged and kissed so much. Lou was in tears along with Amy and Ty. Tim proclaimed, "Oh my I am going to be a GG like Jack. Maddie got everyone's attention with her next proclamation, "GG, does this make you a GGG?" everyone lost it as this had now become a Christmas to remember.