A/N: Thank you again to everybody who read and reviewed the last chapter. I'm so sorry for LONG wait. I kind of had to take a small break so that I could back more focused on the story. I'm back now. I'm so happy that I didn't lose a lot of readers from the long wait. Here's the next chapter as promised. Enjoy :)

~ Chapter Thirteen ~

~~ Arraignment ~~

The Hudson County Courthouse was a small brick building in the middle of town. The lobby was quiet, but a few people were moving here and there, shoes tapping on the wood floor. Amy shifted her feet, clad in a pair of high heels, which felt strange; she hadn't worn a pair of heels since her wedding. She smoothed her hands down over the blue dress she wore. It was a simple dress with short sleeves and a v-neck neckline, and the dress ended at her knees. Amy crossed her arms and did a half turn, her stomach was a fluttery nervous wreck. Her nerves had actually caused her to throw up this morning.

"Amy, sweetheart, come sit down," Tim said from his seat next to Jack on a bench against the wall. His cowboy hat sat on his other side on the bench. "That's the third person you've nearly walked into."

Amy looked up just in time to see a woman who obviously worked here, wearing a pantsuit, skirt around her with an almost annoyed expression on her face. "Sorry," Amy muttered, though the woman had already passed. She sighed and took the couple steps over to her father and grandfather. "I just can't stop obsessing over Ty's arraignment," she admitted, "This decides whether Ty goes to trial or not. Either way, our life together will change."

"You can't dwell on that stuff," Tim told her, calmly. He reached out to her, his hand touching her elbow, pulling her toward the bench. He and Jack both slid over on the bench, and Amy sat down slowly between them, her eyes cast downward. "Think about the positives. Mr. Dowell is a very good lawyer and he is confident that he can get Ty out on bail." He patted Amy's leg. "Don't worry another minute about it."

"It's definitely a time for family to come together if I'm agreeing with your father," Jack agreed, giving Tim a sidelong glance behind Amy's back. "but he is right. Deep breaths and stay calm. No sense in getting worked up over something we don't know yet."

Amy nodded, releasing a deep breath. "You're right. I need to stay calm, at least for Ty's sake." She rubbed her hands together, as if shaking off the worry. "Let's talk about something else," Amy looked up and turned toward Jack. "How is Georgie doing, Grandpa?"

It was Jack's turn to sigh, as he leaned back against the wall, his hands on his hips. "The doctor took her into surgery late last night. She had severe head trauma," he explained. "She was still in surgery when I left. Peter said that he would call when she was out of surgery and how she was doing." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and studied it. "As far I can I tell, that hasn't happened yet."

Smirking, Amy bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Jack's ever present cluelessness over technology made Amy feel giddy. She realized that this feeling felt good after hours of feeling distraught, desperate, and sorrowful. But it was a fleeting moment as she regained the seriousness of it all. "I can't believe this is happening to Georgie," Amy said, shaking her head. "You have to believe me, grandpa, Ty and I did everything we could to try to protect her. We told her to stay in the truck, but you know Georgie..."

"I know you did," Jack nodded, reaching his hand out slowly and patting her leg. "And I know Georgie, too. I know nothing could have stopped that girl from trying to rescue that horse. So, don't you think any more about it."

"Yeah," Amy murmured, facing forward and leaning on her knees, clasping her hands together. "I feel so bad for Lou. Her child is badly hurt and I wasn't there for her." She turned her head to look at Jack. "Was I being selfish, grandpa?"

"No," Jack reassured, drawing the word out, putting his arm around Amy. "Lou understands. You are both being faced with some tremendous challenges right now. No one is going to hold anything against you."

Amy nodded quietly and laid her head down on Jack's shoulder. Tim rubbed his daughter's back, too. "We're going to get him out of this," he told her, confidently. "It's an easy win."

Suddenly, the main doors of the courthouse opened, an officer holding each door. Amy, Jack, and Tim jumped to their feet, watching. A third officer led Ty inside, surprisingly with no handcuffs on; the officer just kept his hand firmly on Ty's shoulder, pushing him forward. His green eyes were fixed on the floor, and he wore the clothes that Amy had brought to the police station for him for this occasion; black slacks, a light blue dress shirt, and a blue and white striped tie.

"Ty!" Amy couldn't stop herself from calling out. It was if her heart was calling, reaching, out for him. His head jerked up and he found her almost immediately. Their eyes locked and held. Ty whispered her name, conscious of the police officers by his side. Amy didn't let the cops stop her; she sprinted forward all the way to Ty.

Ty forgot about the police as he caught Amy in his arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist, his face burrowing in her shoulder. Amy had her arms wrapped almost tightly around Ty's neck, afraid to let him go again. "I was so scared that I wasn't going to see you again," she cried, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

"Shhhh, it's okay," Ty soothed, shushing her cries. He held her tightly. "Everything is going to be okay."

Impulsively, Amy let out burst of laughter. She pulled back in his arms a little bit to look at him. "I should be telling you that," she said to his confused expression. Her hands remained locked on his waist. "Everybody have been telling me that same thing, but how come when you say it, I actually believe it."

Ty smiled at her warmly, his hands moving up and down on her arms reassuringly. "It's all I can allow myself to believe right now," he admitted to her. "And looking at you makes it a little bit easier to do so." Amy looked at him, almost ready to start crying. He pulled her against him again, wanting to feel her solid, calming presence. Ty kissed her cheek, and Amy held onto him.

All too soon, one of the police officers took Ty's arm to pull him away from his short-lived reunion with his wife. "It's time to go in," he said, curtly.

A small glimpse of panic flashed in Amy's eyes. She kissed his lips fast, almost desperately. "I love you," she whispered to him after the kiss, her forehead touching his. Ty mouthed it back to her, and then they were pulled apart. Ty was escorted into the courtroom by an officer on either side of him.

Amy stood there watching him.

"Well, I guess it's now or never," Tim replied, as he and Jack came up from behind her. Amy swallowed nervously and nodded. Jack put an arm around his granddaughter, and they walked towards the courtroom.

The courtroom was filling up slowly with spectators, finding their seats and murmuring low conversations. The spacious room was meticulous, spotless, and plainly boring. All of the wood in the room was mahogany, from the bench seats to the judge's bench and the wood paneling. The lighting was sharp and bright. This was one of the biggest things to happen in Hudson, and everybody was curious and interested to know what will happen. It was late April, a beautiful spring day. Though the sky was blue and there was a warm breeze, all of that was the furthest from some people's mind.

Ty sat at the defendant's table, hands folded on top of the table and eyes cast downward. His lawyer sat beside him, looking through his papers and preparing to make his case on his client's behalf. Ty could feel everybody's criticizing gazes on him. They were surely trying to determine just by his posture and such whether he was guilty or innocent. He tried to ignore it and put it out of his mind, but everything that had happened in the past couple of days weighed heavily on him.

The bailiff was a broad, tall man in uniform, standing guard over the room. He stepped forward and cleared his throat to get the room's attention. "All rise!" the man announced, in a steady booming voice. "The honorable Judge Victoria Winthrop is presiding."

Everybody stood in unison as the side door opened. An older woman, about in her fifties, with graying blonde hair and a tan, weathered face, dressed in black robes entered the room. She walked confidently to her judge's bench, all eyes trained on her silently. She climbed up, and sat down in her chair, nodding to the audience in her court. "You may be seated," she instructed everybody. Once again, all of the people sat down in unison. The judge studied the papers in front of her, after having slid on her glasses, then she banged her gavel two short times to call everybody to attention again.

"This is case number 7934, the commonwealth vs. Ty Borden," Judge Winthrop announced. She glanced up from the file, peering over her glasses. "Will the defendant please rise?"

Ty stood up from his chair a little too quickly, the legs of the chair squeaking on the wood floor. He smoothed down his blue and white striped tie and his light blue shirt. Ty started to place his hands on the table in front of him, but then thought that that would present him in a negative light. He just clasped his hands together in front of him. He wet his lips, swallowing, as he waited for the judge to continue.

"Mr. Borden, you have been charged with the murder of Hank Caldwell," Judge Winthrop stated. "How do you plead?"

Ty stood quietly, keeping his eyes level on the judge. He allowed his lawyer to speak for him, as he was instructed to do. His lawyer was only an inch shorter than him and was dressed completely in a suit. He had russet brown hair and was a little chunky. "Not guilty, you honor," Ty's lawyer, Joseph Dowell, answered.

"I see," Judge Winthrop replied, raising her eyebrows, looking back down at the papers in front of her. "I see here that bail has been proposed at $100,000 dollars." She glanced back up, expectantly.

"Yes, your honor." This time, the prosecutor stood up. She was a prim and proper woman, her dark hair pulled back on top of her head, and was dressed in a navy blue knee length pencil skirt, a navy blue blazer, and red orange blouse underneath. "The defendant's lawyer and I have come to an agreement that Mr. Borden does not present a threat to the public as of now. We propose that he be placed on house arrest until the date of his trial."

Judge Winthrop sighed, taking off her glasses. She looked out at the two lawyers and Ty. "Well, I disagree. I'm denying bail," the judge said.

Ty felt his heart sink down to his stomach as his breath caught in his throat. He heard muffled gasps of protest from behind him, and he had to forcibly tell himself not to turn around. If Ty looked at his family and friends, he would for sure lose his strength and resolve.

Judge Winthrop continued, "This is not some fight in the school yard, counselors. This is murder. From what I see here, Mr. Borden has a record and a past of trying to evade the police. I deem Mr. Borden a flight risk, and order that he be transported to the Hudson Penitentiary to await trial on May 6th." Judge Winthrop banged her gavel once. "Court is adjourned." She gathered her papers together, and climbed down from the bench, departing the courtroom.

Ty remained standing as two guards approached him. He kept his chin up, while the guards handcuffed his hands behind his back a little roughly. Ty stared straight ahead, at an unknown and bleak future.

"No, no, Ty!"

Ty didn't, couldn't, turn around. Surely if he turned around and saw Amy reaching for him, he'd lose it big time. So, he kept his mask on, staring straight ahead. The guards started to lead him away. Each step he took was agonizing, because he knew each step he took was breaking the love of his life's heart. Just keep walking.

Step.

"TY!"

Step.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Across town, Georgie was facing an unknown future in a different kind of way. In Hudson Memorial, on the fifth floor in the Intensive Care Unit, the young girl lay completely still in a hospital bed. She was attached to many screens and machines, monitoring all of her vitals and nearly everything her body was doing. She was in a coma from a bad head injury she sustained a couple weeks ago. Her family stood around her bed, along with the doctor.

"So, what exactly are we looking at?" Lou asked. Her voice was quiet and strained, from all the crying she'd done and like more tears were on the horizon.

Dr. Seymour looked upon the family with compassion and sympathy. "I'm not going to sugarcoat things. You all need to know what you're facing," the doctor told them, truthfully. "The surgery was successful, yes, but things are far from over. You're in for a long and hard road. She sustained a very bad injury to the back of her skull. There was bleeding on the brain, but we fixed that with surgery. However, that could happen again. We're keeping a close eye on her, she's in the best care possible, and we'll get her out of the critical phase."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Peter asked, this time. He had been facing the window, and now turned to face the doctor.

"The best thing you can do is just to be here with her," Dr. Seymour explained. "Show her that you're here. It's been said that comatose patients can feel when someone is talking to them or holding their hand. They've may not have been able to respond right away, but it's something for them to hold on to. Good news is that she is young and she has a good chance of waking up from this. This is just her body's way of healing what's been broken."

Peter put his arm around his wife when she made a soft, whimpering sound. They both nodded understandingly at Dr. Seymour's words. She leaned her head against his chest and he rubbed his hand up and down her arm soothingly. They stared down at the girl on the bed. She was completely still, her hair fanned out on the pillow under her head and her arms lying by her side. She had a breathing tube down her throat helping her breathe, her chest rising and falling softly.

A machine counted off her heartbeats. One...Two...Three...

The doctor quietly left after that, leaving them to have some time alone with their daughter. Lou pulled out the chair next to the bed and sat down in it. She sighed softly and picked up Georgie's hand, maybe a little hesitantly, afraid that she was a little breakable. "Ok, Georgie, it's all up to you now," she told her daughter, "This is your turn to fight."

One ...

"We love you."

… Two ...

"Come back to us."

… … Three … …

A/N: Well, there's the new chapter. I kind of surprised myself by finishing it tonight. I hope you liked it, and, again, I'm so sorry for the long wait. I don't plan on giving up on this story, please know that. Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought. I love hearing from all of you; it makes me feel good that you all love this story so much.