This is one of my favourite chapters, as it introduces the rising action to the climax of the story (yes, we're only 6 chapters in, I know). Hope you guys remember and enjoy it as much as I do!

"Have fun at school!" Ty called out of his open truck window. First day of school post spring-break meant that Ty was dropping his three kids off for the first time in two weeks. Normally the kids took the bus, but Amy needed to be in a town up the road by eight and Katie was leaving to see Brick, which meant no one would be able to wait at home with the kids until the bus came. So Ty dropped them off on his way to his shift at the clinic.

"Bye Dad!" Lyndy shouted, and ran into the building. Her best friend, Emily, headed her way as soon as she spotted Lyndy.

"Hey Lyndy!" Emily said, linking arms with her best friend. They started down the hall, heading for their sixth grade class.

"Hi Emily! How was your spring break?" Lyndy asked.

"Great! My mom and I went to San Francisco. I tried to tan, but as you know, pale freckled skin doesn't tan, just burns." Emily made a face and Lyndy laughed. Lyndy's friend had red hair, green eyes, and pale freckled skin that did not do well in the beating sun.

"Can't say the same about me!" Lyndy actually tanned quite nicely, as she had light skin that matched her blonde hair and blue eyes.

There was a pause, then Emily gave Lyndy a sideways glance. "So I hear you've got an admirer," she said, with a sly smile.

Lyndy swallowed hard. Who was Emily referring to? They were only eleven; since when were boys a topic of conversation? "I do?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Don't tell me you don't know who! Didn't he ask you to the Science Show in Calgary this weekend?"

"Uh, you mean Rhett?" Lyndy was confused. How did Emily know what she was doing this weekend?

"Duh! He texted me to see if you still liked science! As much as you like him, I mean." Emily laughed as Lyndy shot her a look of disgust. "Just kidding. But he really did text me."

"Oh," Lyndy didn't know how to respond. "Rhett's pretty cool."

"Here he comes now!" Emily looked up and pointed to the blonde haired blue-eyed boy who was walking down the hall, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

"Ohmigosh," Lyndy said under her breath. Other kids in the hallway turned and stared as Rhett approached Lyndy.

"Hey," he smiled and held out a hand. "Can I escort you to class?"

"Uh, sure." Lyndy returned his smile and shot a quick "I'm sorry" glance at her best friend. There were catcalls and whistles as Rhett grabbed Lyndy's hand and they walked down the hall. Rhett smiled good-naturedly at his viewers, including when his older brother punched him on the shoulder, Rhett just laughed. Lyndy wasn't used to this spotlight but she trusted Rhett. Even though she still thought they were too young for anything to actually happen, she knew she'd enjoy the thought.

It wasn't until after school, that TJ had noticed the change in his older sister. For one thing, she used to walk out of school with just Emily and occasionally another friend if they were going to hang out later or something. Not that Lyndy wasn't popular; she was and not just because of her cute appearance. But she'd never been this popular. As Lyndy headed to the bus, random kids that TJ didn't even know were approaching his sister. Lily peered across the seat of the bus, past her brother to stare.

"Wow, I didn't think one boy could make Sissy so popular!" Lily commented.

"Neither did I." TJ frowned at Rhett, who was sticking close to Lyndy's side. Emily was on the other, and they smiled wide as they boarded the bus. Normally, TJ sat with Lyndy, but he didn't see the chance of that happening now.

But to his surprise, Lyndy slid into the seat beside her brother with a sigh. "Hey TJ," she said.

"Hey, what's with the sudden popularity?" he asked.

"I have no idea." Lyndy replied honestly, and quickly explained what had happened that morning. "It's all a little nerve-racking."

"Just tell Rhett you don't like it. If he's a true friend, he'll call them off. I'll tell him if you like." TJ offered. He was glad that Lyndy wasn't any different. He liked his sister just the way she was.

"It's okay, I'll tell him. Be right back." Lyndy stood up from her seat as the bus lurched to a stop outside someone's house. TJ saw her slide into Rhett's seat and they exchanged a few words. TJ stopped watching and thought about other things. Such as what he wanted to do when he got home. A ride on Arlo either in the ring or over the field sounded good. Maybe his mom or dad would join him.

As the bus pulled to a stop at the end of Heartland's long driveway, TJ saw Rhett smile at his sister, who returned the expression. Lily got off the bus and Lyndy followed suit, with TJ bringing up the rear. After the bus left, leaving a cloud of dust, TJ turned to Lyndy. "So what did you say?"

"I said I didn't like random people approaching me, and that if he could, call them off it. He agreed and apologized. Then we talked about the science fair." Lyndy replied.

"Oh, sounds good." The kids continued the walk to the house in silence, only the sound of their feet trudging on the gravel path ruining the quietness.

As they neared the house, Lily was the first to spot an unfamiliar car in the driveway. And no, it wasn't Lou's because ever since Lou's surprise arrival, (well at least it was a surprise for the kids,) they had remembered what her car looked like for future references.

The car, if you could even call it that, was actually a huge motor home. It was silver with grey trim and had three big windows and looked like a large living space from the outside. TJ didn't even know such large motor vehicles existed! In Hudson, people never used motor homes to camp; instead they used good old tents. The only one that TJ had ever seen, was the one "Aunt" Mallory and "Uncle" Jake owned, which they brought last time they visited. But that one was not even half the size of this huge beast.

"Let's go see who it is!" Lyndy took off running. Lily, not wanting to miss the excitement, chased after her sister. TJ sighed; his sisters would get excited about anything. But even TJ didn't want to miss this, so he shouldered his backpack higher and followed his siblings towards the house.

"Mom?" Lyndy had abandoned the sight of the unknown car, when she spotted her mother's. She thought Amy was supposed to be in town with Ty for the afternoon, or at least until dinner at six. So if their mom was home, where was Ty?

Amy wasn't in the barn, so Lyndy quickly checked the back stalls. No came to the conclusion that her mom was in the house, with whoever the van owner was.

"Lily, I think they're in the house," she called, cutting across the front yard and opening the gate. She left it unlocked so her sister could use it as well.

"Hey Lyndy, stop for a second!" Lyndy pulled up short, just shy of the top step on the porch. She turned around and saw her dad jump out of his truck. Since when did he come home this early?

"Why are you home Dad?" Lyndy questioned. She wasn't upset, but instead confused.

"I don't know. Your mom texted me about an hour ago and asked if I could come home as soon as possible. She assured me no one was hurt or anything, but to return to Heartland earlier than planned. I was going to grab you guys so you didn't have to take the bus, but Cass couldn't take over until half past three, which I knew was too late to come get you guys." Ty explained.

"Oh okay." Lyndy saw TJ and Lily nearing. "C'mon guys, Dad's here too."

"We saw, he called out of his window at us." TJ said. "Did you ask him if he knew who the car belonged to?"

Ty heard what his son had said, and took that moment to take a look at the motor van in the driveway. "Wow, that's a sight for sore eyes! Most luxurious van I've ever seen and that's just from the outside! I can't believe I didn't notice that before. Whose is it?"

"That's what we want to know." Lyndy was about to ask if her dad had any ideas as to who it belonged to, when the front door opened and Amy stepped onto the porch.

"Hey honey, what's the rush?" Ty climbed the stairs in two strides and leaned over to kiss his wife.

Amy's figure was rigid, although she kissed Ty back. "Well it wasn't so much a rush as I need help. Hey kids, how was your first day back at school?"

"It was good! I was named "student of the week!" Lily proudly stated.

"Great honey, we'll have to celebrate later. But at the moment, I need you all to enter the house, and keep quiet. There's a guest in the house, who is in a very delicate state right now. So no talking, unless it's obvious words need to be said, okay?" Amy looked sternly at her daughters, who were more the chatterboxes of the household. TJ was more reserved, and hardly got a word in when his sisters were in full speaking-mode.

"Okay Mom." Lyndy said solemnly. She wondered who in the world was in their house and why they were "delicate" so to speak.

Lily nodded and so did TJ. Ty looked at his wife with a confused glance, but Amy's face didn't give anything away.

Amy carefully opened the door and held it open for her family. The kids entered last, allowing their dad and mom to go in first. Lyndy quickly exchanged a glance with her brother. Lily grabbed her siblings' hands. Nothing this serious had ever happened in their family before, except when Jack had announced he was moving to France for good.

Since Lyndy was last to enter the house, she was the last to see who was sitting at their dinner table. But TJ and Lily had a glimpse, and their surprise was hard to hide. When Lyndy had closed the screen door and made sure it was locked, she too walked into the kitchen. Who she saw, or more appropriately what she saw, couldn't keep her from speaking. And so be it if she got in trouble later. She didn't know how else to express her surprise. So she said the first thing that came to mind.

"Georgie? What are you doing here?"

Georgie had apparently cried with Amy earlier when she just showed up at Heartland. But as soon as she saw the look on Lyndy's surprised face, a wave of emotion flooded her and more sobs broke out. Amy rushed to her niece's side and held her in an embrace. Ty didn't know what to do; for the first time in a long time he couldn't comfort the poor girl. One, he didn't know why Georgie was here, and two, where was Wyatt, Georgie's husband?

"Lily, can you please grab the box of tissues from the bathroom?" asked Amy.

Lily darted off without a word, but when she returned, she felt something needed to be said. "Here Mommy."

Some part of what Lily had just said made Georgie cry harder. TJ had never seen his cousin so upset. Sure, he had been seven when Georgie had left for the circuit with Wyatt, but anytime before then his memories of his cousin were happy. Not breaking out in tears at every sentence.

Amy shot Ty a glance, which he took as a "get the kids out of here" glance. "Lily, can you go tidy your room? You too TJ. And Lyndy, maybe start some tea and an after school snack for everyone?"

"Okay Dad." The two younger kids nodded and headed down the hall. Lyndy started towards the kitchen, but turned before disappearing from the dining room.

"Georgie, would you like anything?" asked Lyndy, being as polite as possible.

"N-n-no. Thanks th-though." Georgie looked up from staring at the table and tried to half smile at her younger cousin. But the smile didn't last long, and a fresh wave of tears was brought on.

"Okay." Lyndy for once in her lifetime didn't know how to approach her cousin. She remembered back when she was three, that Georgie and Katie taught her how to rope a cow dummy, but all she wanted to do was sit on it. Or when Lyndy was feeling upset about something at school, Georgie would talk to her about it, and by the end they'd both be laughing. That was fun, until Georgie finished school and she and Wyatt got married. Not long after that, they took off on the jumping circuit for Georgie to pursue her horse career. Now the big questions were what on earth was Georgie doing here? And where was Wyatt? Lyndy wanted answers, yet she didn't know how she was going to get them.

After assembling some cheese and crackers on a plate and apple slices in a bowl, Lyndy took them to TJ's room, where she found both her siblings talking in hushed voices.

"Oh hey Lyndy, thought you'd be coming soon. Close the door please." TJ took the plates while Lyndy shut the door behind her. "We were just discussing reasons for Georgie's surprise arrival, and no Wyatt. Lily thought they split up, but I think that's a bit crazy for them. Last time they visited, they were kissing all the time! Like even if they did break up, why would Georgie come here of all places? I mean, sure, they're young, but since when did age matter? Lyndy was already born by the time Mom was Georgie's age. So why now?" TJ grabbed an apple slice and took a bite.

Lyndy thought carefully for a moment. "Something about what Lily said made her really upset. Since when did "here mommy" bring tears? I think it's something to do with kids, because who else would call Georgie, 'Mommy'?"

TJ looked in admiration at his sister. "That's a great theory! I totally can see Wyatt and Georgie getting upset about kids. Maybe Georgie wants kids but Wyatt doesn't?"

"Nah, remember at their wedding how Georgie and Wyatt talked about future kids in their vows? Sure, things may change, but those two won't. Maybe Georgie can't have kids and is upset or stressing on how she's gonna tell Wyatt?" Lyndy guessed.

"That works. But the question is still, why come here? To Heartland? Why not video call Auntie Lou or Katie? And if she really wanted to talk to Mom or Dad, why not call?" TJ said, thinking it was so simple.

Lily, who had just been listening to her siblings exchange theories, suddenly shot up with a thought. "What if Georgie tried to call us, but couldn't get up the courage?" Lyndy and TJ looked at their sister, confused. Lily quickly started to explain her thoughts. "I mean, remember the weird phone call Lyndy picked up last night, and how the answering machine recognized the number as "family?" So what if it was Georgie calling, but she couldn't find the right words to talk to us?"

Lyndy and TJ pondered over it for a moment. "That sounds realistic. Good thinking Lily!" Lyndy slapped her sister high-five.

Suddenly, TJ's bedroom door opened. "Georgie's gonna stay in Lily's room, so if you kids could go help your Mom set it up, that would be greatly appreciated." Ty said, looking at his kids, who were still in their circle formation.

"Why my room?" Lily normally didn't mind, but she always gave up her room while there was company. "Can't Georgie stay in the loft? Or Katie?"

Ty looked sternly at Lily, disappointment shining in his green eyes that Amy used to rave about to her friends. "Lily, Georgie's had a hard past few weeks and the least you can do is give her your room for a couple nights. I know that you always share your room, but this time, we can't be flexible. Georgie needs family support and I hate to have Katie in the loft by herself. Speaking of Katie, she's going to be home soon, and I need to be on the porch to tell her a bit of what's going on. So Lily, please go grab the things you need for school tomorrow from your room so you won't have to go in there in the morning."

Lily pouted, but didn't talk back to her dad. She knew that giving Georgie her room made the most sense, yet that didn't mean she liked it. "Fine. But where am I going to sleep then?"

"In Lyndy's room. Or TJ's. It's up to your siblings." Ty left the room, still frowning upon his daughter's attitude.

"How about we all bunk upstairs? Then TJ would be giving up his room too." Speaking of Georgie, Lyndy had taken over her cousin's old room when the family moved into the main house. TJ had Lou's and Lily had Katie's. Amy's was turned into the guestroom, which left Amy and Ty with Jack's old room. They had had his room extended, so now it was much more roomy than before, as it had to accommodate two people and sometimes three kids instead of just Jack and occasionally Lisa. Now it was almost twice the size and had a bathroom too. Lyndy loved seeing the change, and it proved that their family had been there for ages!

Lily thought for a moment. "Okay, I guess that's fair. But you're not leaving your room." Lily was being incredibly difficult for once. She normally was a happy and bubbly girl who was never in trouble. Yet there was a change within her, and it worried her brother, more than he would like to admit.

"So? I'm sharing it with you two." Lyndy had had enough with Lily's selfishness. "Go do as Dad said and get your stuff. I'll be in my room, setting it up for you both." Lyndy promptly left the room, leaving TJ to follow Lily out of the room. He was two steps up to the loft when he realized he forgot his blankets and pillow. After grabbing the missing items, he trudged upstairs to Lyndy's room.

Lyndy had set up the sleeping bags on the floor of the spacious room. She had decided she would still sleep in her bed, so she only unrolled two. TJ set his stuff down on the one closest to the wall, leaving the pink and purple one for Lily. "Hey, I have a question for you," TJ said, as he helped Lyndy straighten out her bedspread.

"Go for it." Lyndy stopped moving and looked at her brother.

"Why do you think Lily's acting all weird? She's never had a problem with sharing her room before. Actually, she's normally all over it, and super excited."

"I don't know exactly. I don't think she liked being kicked out without notice, or the fact that Georgie wasn't her normal, "chatty with the youngest kid" self. I mean, so far Georgie's been no fun. Not that I don't understand, but I wish someone would tell us what was going on!" Lyndy hated not knowing things. She always wanted to be in the loop, and refused to leave a question unanswered. And normally she always found out. It was just a matter of time. That's why TJ wasn't as concerned, as he knew Lyndy would tell him the second she found anything out.

"True." TJ didn't know what else to say. Why had Georgie showed up now of all times? Where was Wyatt? And why was Georgie so emotional? She looked fine, so why wasn't she acting like it?

But sometimes what people seem on the outside isn't what people are feeling like on the inside. Or how they're damaged. And although Georgie wasn't afraid to show her emotions, she may be feeling a whole lot different on the inside, and it's just a matter of time before her secret slips out.

Thanks for reading; I hope everyone had a safe Halloween. Until next week!

find me on tumblr at thedefinitionofendgame