Hi guys,

Its late at night here but I thought Id update for you all before I head to bed...

Just wanted to say that I've given Ty a slightly different backstory to the one in the series (can't remember exactly what his backstory is anyway but nevermind) and I hope you'll all give me this small liberty...

Also, this story now has OVER 10k views! Thank you guys so much! Im so happy you all are enjoying my story!

I don't know when I'll be updating again but Id love to know your thoughts on my sto r y so dont hesitate to drop me a review. I really really REALLY need to hear from you guys what you are thinking... Reviews on my updates has dropped slightly, I just hope its not something wrong with my writing...

Anyway, adios, enjoy and stay well!

Chapter 14.0

Jessie laid her head down against Warrior's shoulder as they ca to a stop atop a rise overlooking the ranch. Warrior turned his head to sniff her hands as she hugged him tight, tears soaking his mane. He knickered gently, brushing his velvet soft muzzle against her cheek. She hugged him tighter, stroking his neck firmly with her hands. 'I'm okay boy, I'm okay.'

She rested her head on his neck again, fondling his fur with her fingertips. She breathed in deep, wanting to breathe him in, the horsy smell she loved. She couldn't leave him. What would happen to him? What was she to do?

She laid on his neck as the sun rose over the horizon, chasing away the last of the stars still twinkling in the dawn light. She wanted it to last forever, his smell, his fur running under her fingers, the feel of his strong back underneath her. She wanted to remember everything, every little detail of him. The small whirl under his mane she had never noticed before, the way his eyes shone as he looked at her in the morning light. Everything. She breathed in deep again, winching slightly from the tug of the stitches in her side as she sat up again.

She bit her lip, still running her hand firmly over his warm hide. What was she going to do? The law dictated that she had to go to foster carers, but what if they were just as bad or heaven forbid even worse than the ones she had just run away from? What then? She was going to be in a strange place, in a strange city with nowhere to go too. Nowhere she could escape. She couldn't trust anyone. They were all the same. The foster carers were only in it for the money. They didn't really care about her. No one really cared about her. No one cared if she lived or died. She was worthless, just another case number in a huge system. They didn't care what was best for her. This was what was best for her. Herself, Warrior and Cougar. She didn't have to rely on anyone, the only person she had was herself. The only things she had was them, but she was going to be taken from them. What was left for her? What reason did she have to keep going forward? What reason did she have to live?

Warrior snorted, nibbling at her toes gently. He could sense something was wrong, that Jessie wasn't herself. Jessie used to cry all the time, her crying he was used to but this was something different. Something totally different. It was like she had given up, he could feel it in her touch. It sent shivers down his spine. What happened to the girl he knew? It was like she was a different person. He snorted gently, pawing the ground. What had they done to her? He could feel she was more broken and torn than she had ever been before, what had caused her to go like this? He just couldn't understand it.

Jessie wiped her eyes, patting his neck with her hands still wet from her tears. She shivered as a breeze blew through the thin pajamas she was wearing, chilling her to the bone. It was only the third month of Fall, yet it was starting to get cold. She could feel it, could smell it on the wind. What did it matter though? There was nothing left for her to live for. After they took her from Warrior and Cougar and everything she knew, what did she have to hold on to? What reason did she have for living? To be another case number that had as much meaning as a piece of garbage thrown in the trash? To be another statistic of children in foster care?

She watched Jack as he walked out of the house to the barn. It wasn't his fault, he wasn't to blame. She felt bad for snapping at him but it had been building up and building up till she couldn't contain it anymore. She had known it would only be a matter of time till the rubber band of her emotions had been stretched too far and then snapped. That time had come.

Jack glanced around the barn as he walked in, immediately noticing the open stall door and empty stable. Warrior wasn't there, neither was the girl. He checked his watch. Half an hour had passed since the girl had run off. He'd thought that she'd have stayed in the barn to let her temper cool but obviously she had other ideas. He patted Paint as he walked past on his way to where the tack was kept. Jessie's saddle and bridle were still there. She'd obviously been in such a hurry she hadn't bothered to tack her stallion up. He ran his fingers through his hair. Jessie wasn't supposed to be out riding, but yet he couldn't blame her for running off.

'Morning Jack.' Ty remarked as he walked down the stairs from the loft. 'Looking for something?'

'Jessie ran off while I was talking with her. I thought she'd have stayed in the barn but-' His voice trailed off. 'She's taken off with her horse.'

'I can go look for her if you want.' He offered. 'What got her so upset?'

'She asked about her new foster home, if she'd be able to take Warrior with her. She didn't like the answer.' Jack sighed, throwing the bridle he had been holding back over the saddle. 'She made a giant spill about her feelings regarding being put into foster care. I don't really blame her for her reaction. Being told you're moving to a city with people she doesn't know and you can't take your horse with you is just a recipe for disaster. She's already going through enough as it is.' He glanced out the open door at the landscape outside. 'Maybe you should go see if you can find her. I don't think I'm exactly her favourite person right now.'

Ty nodded as he grabbed a bridle off the rack. 'I'll see if I can get through to her. I probably can relate better to her since I was in foster care for sometime. Being shoved around from house to house whenever they tired of me wasn't a recipe to give me any self-esteem that was for sure.'

'I'd appreciate it. Thanks Ty.' Ty nodded as he walked over to the stall where a bay gelding he rode on the odd occasion was. 'I'm trying to understand her, what's going through her mind but Lisa does a way better job of that then I can. I know this is hard for her, it can't be easy being in foster care.'

'No. It's not.' He pushed the gelding back so he could get through the door, grabbing his halter as he walked into the stall. 'Every house was different, different people with different rules. If they already had children of their own, they were treated way better than the foster kids. I was always introduced as a foster kid, like I was some kind of burden on them. I didn't feel like I belonged in any of the homes I went to. Some of them were better than others, but you could tell who was in it only for the money. The group homes were a whole different kettle of fish.'

'How long were you in foster care?'

'Long enough to really hate it.' He led the gelding out of the stall and tied him to the cross-ties to grab his saddle and saddle blanket. 'I couldn't wait till I was old enough to leave.' He patted the gelding as he quickly brushed his back with the dandy brush then placed the saddle blanket on. 'I really feel for Jessie, she's been through so much already. Going into foster care isn't going to help her at all.'

'No. I know.' Jack patted the gelding as Ty went to grab the saddle. 'Lisa and I spoke about looking after her ourselves, but Lisa travels too much to give Jessie a stable environment and the time she needs. I'd look after her, but taking on a child like her is a whole lot different from letting Mallory stay here. It just wouldn't work for either of us to look after her permanently.'

'Have you two discussed looking after her together?' He asked as he did the cinch up on the saddle. 'Jessie could stay here while Lisa travels and go sleep over at Fairfield when she's here. The two of you could become her joint guardians, share the responsibility of looking after her instead of it being wholly on one person. With a guardianship, you have a lot more rights than being a foster parent. You don't have to worry about Jessie being moved on to another home either.'

'I hadn't really thought of that.' Jack mused. 'I didn't know something like that existed.'

'One of the foster kids in the group home had a couple that got guardianship of him. They weren't married at the time, but the authorities were happy that their relationship was stable and so they got a joint guardianship since only one of them was a foster carer. He eventually got adopted by them, it turned out pretty well for him.'

'I guess he was one of the lucky ones then.'

'Yeah.' Ty checked the saddle to make sure that the cinch was tight enough. 'It's just an idea Jack, I've seen the connection with her and Lisa. They get along really well, the two of them.'

'Yes, they do.' Jack agreed as he unclipped the cross-ties from the gelding's halter and handed him the reins. 'I know Lisa would take Jessie in a heartbeat if she could, maybe there is a way we could make something work that'd be better than her going into another foster home. You've given me something to think about anyway. Don't mention any of this to Jessie though, we don't want to get her hopes up.'

'Don't worry, I won't breathe a word about our conversation.' He patted the bay as he led him out of the barn and mounted. 'I'll let you know when I find her, she probably needs some time to herself.'

'Alright Ty, appreciate that. Thanks for doing this, I don't think she'd want to see me right now.'

'Anytime Jack.'

Jack stood in the doorway of the barn as Ty rode out of the ranch yard towards the forest. He had certainly given him a few things to think about. Joint guardianship. Were they really in a position in their relationship of 'whatever this is' as they put it to add a child into the mix? Neither of them had really come out and said that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, were they ready for the responsibility of looking after a child together? He pulled his phone from his pocket, contemplating ringing Lisa but the early hour stopped him. She'd probably still be asleep, Lisa wasn't really much of a morning person. He put his phone back, deciding to wait for an hour or so before he called. Joint guardianship. It certainly was a lot to think about, but there was only one way of finding out if Lisa was ready for something like that. Talking to her.

Jessie wearily slid off Warrior's back onto the stump she had stopped him beside, wincing as she touched her side. She knew that she had overdone it, knew that she shouldn't have been riding in the first place but she had just been so angry. She'd needed to get away and clear her mind. It was getting to her, all the changes and everything that came with that, then her memories of her past nagging her in the back of her mind. She just wanted it to stop. She just wanted it all to end.

A tear slipped down her cheek as she sighed. Her anger was replaced by sadness and hurt, despair and anguish. She patted Warrior as the stallion nudged her gently with his muzzle. 'What am I going to do boy? What am I going to do without you?' He snorted softly, placing his head in her lap. She rubbed his ears, trying to remember the feel of his fur under her fingertips. 'Why does everything have to change? Why does nothing stay the same?' She looked down at the ranch in the distance. 'I feel I belong here boy. You belong here. Why do they have to have to take me so far away from all this? Why do they have to take me to the city? Why do they have to take me from you? What am I to do?'

Warrior flicked his ears, hearing the worry and sadness in her voice. Something was wrong, really wrong. He nudged her gently again, trying to reassure her that it was going to be okay but he could feel something wasn't right. She had gotten upset before, he could remember times that she'd been upset but he hadn't seen her like this. Angry and shouting, then distant and crying. She was crying again now, holding onto him as her tears dripped into his forelock. Why was she so unhappy here? What had they done to her to make her upset like this? He snorted, remembering the other place they had been. She would cry whenever huge black and purple patches appeared on her body. It didn't look like she had any on her, yet she was still sad. It wasn't like her to be like this, she had her bad times but he could feel inside him that this had something to do with him, the way she was petting and touching him. He brushed her cheek gently with his lips, licking her salty tears. She giggled for a moment, then was silent again. It was this place that made her unhappy, the people here. It had to be. He couldn't think of anything else. He pricked his ears, looking intently at the snow-capped mountains in the distance. That was where they should go. Far away from what was making her unhappy.

'I know boy, I know.' She patted his cheek then brushed his long forelock through her fingers. 'You want to go back to the wild. I do too, but we can't. They know about us now. If we run, they'll only hunt us down and find us and I'd get taken away from you anyway.' She sighed, looking longingly at the mountains in the distance. 'Trust me boy, I've thought of it. I want to go back as much as you do, but I can't. I'd never survive through this winter, not when I'd have to start preparing all over again. I don't have any choice. I have to go to this new foster home. I don't want to go, I don't want to leave you or Cougar but there's nothing I can do. Nothing when I'm just an orphan halfbred nobody that no one gives two hoots about.'

'Jessie, I'm glad I found you.' Ty exclaimed as he stopped his horse not far from her and dismounted. 'Jack's pretty worried about you so I thought I'd come see if you were okay. Mind if I join you?'

Jessie shrugged as he walked over and sat down beside her. 'I don't care.' She fell silent again, looking longingly towards the mountains. 'You should have saved yourself the bother. I'm fine. No one cares about me anyway.'

'That's not true on both accounts. Your cold and shivering and if I didn't care I wouldn't be here right now, would I?' He took off the coat he was wearing and placed it around her. 'Here. Put this on. You don't want to catch a chill, not when you're still recovering.'

She sighed heavily as she placed her arms through the sleeves, wincing as she felt her side. 'Thanks. It is a tad chilly this morning.'

Her wincing when she put his coat on didn't go unnoticed by Ty. 'Jessie-'

'I'm fine. Save your breath.' She snapped. 'Its nothing I can't handle.'

'I'm sure it isn't, but Jack won't be too happy with me if you're hurt and I didn't check you over. I'm not leaving till you let me check your side. You weren't even meant to be riding till your stitches came out.'

Jessie bit her lip hard till it bled. 'No Ty. I don't want you looking. It's nothing really. I'll be fine.'

'Jessie, you don't have to be ashamed of your scars.'

She whipped her head around to look at him so fast she almost got whiplash. Her brown eyes turned cold and narrowed as she looked at him. 'How do you know about my scars? Who told you? I'm going to kill Lisa if she blabbed.'

'Jessie, Jessie. Take it easy.' He cautioned, knowing what her history was it wasn't entirely an empty threat. 'I can promise you that no one said anything to me about you having scars. I've seen the way you act Jessie, how you're always in long shirts and pants and always consciously pulling your sleeves down or tucking your shirt into your jeans. You don't need to hide them, no one here is going to pick on you for them.'

'It's not just me being afraid of what people might say and think of me. I can't look at them without remembering how I got them and how ugly I look. I hate myself, I hate the way I look. I look hideous, a cross stitch of scars that'll never fade. When Lisa saw them the first time I was so ashamed. I hate what that man did to me, the way he treated me is written all over me as plain as day. Tell me how I shouldn't be ashamed of them. Of why I shouldn't hide them.'

'It goes much deeper than just skin level, doesn't it?'

She nodded. 'I guess it's why I can't look at myself without hating the way I look.'

'It was your father that did this to you, wasn't it?'

'Yeah.' Jessie looked down at her hands. 'Even though he's dead he still torments me.'

'I know how you feel Jessie.' Ty admitted, turning to her since she had turned away from him. 'My step father used to beat me too when he had too much to drink or if he lost a bunch of money when he'd been gambling, like it was somehow my fault. Jug cords, steel rulers, coat hangers. Whatever he could get his hands on. I know what that kind of treatment does to a person. I used to hate the scars I have now too, I still do.'

'So you know what it's like then? To be abused.'

'Yes I do Jessie, so I understand what you are dealing with. You have all that to deal with, then the new foster home you have to go to. I've been there too.'

'You're a foster kid?'

'I used to be.' He saw her thinking about what he was saying. 'I know you're scared, I know what it feels like to feel like you don't belong. You just have to take it one day at a time. There's nothing else you can do.'

'I'm terrified Ty.' Jessie admitted. 'I know what being a foster kid means, I know somewhat already what it's like. I'm scared. I don't want to go to the city. I want to stay here with Jack and Lisa and all of you guys. I like it here. I feel safe. I don't want to go.'

'I know. That's how I felt whenever I learnt that I was to go to another place. Some homes I stayed in were good, some I couldn't wait to get out of but I always wanted to belong some place. I couldn't go back to my mom for reasons, but I always felt like an outsider in the foster homes. I was never treated like one of the family.'

'Till you came to Heartland that is.' She shivered as a cold breeze chilled her. She held her arms tight against her to stay warm, wincing from the pain in her side. She saw the way he looked at her and she sighed, pulling her pyjama shirt and coat up just enough so he could check her stitches. 'Lisa is going to be so mad if I've really hurt myself.'

'Well, you haven't really done yourself any wonders, but you haven't done them any real damage.' He checked her wound, placing the dressing over it again as the girl winced. 'Sorry.'

'It's okay.' She put her shirt and coat back down, shivering in her thin pyjamas. 'I think it's time for me to head back even though I don't want to. That fire back at the house is mighty tempting right now.'

Ty chuckled as he helped her stand up. 'Come on, you can ride with me. I don't think you'd be able to hold onto Warrior anyway, shivering like that.'

'Yeah, probably not.' She agreed as he placed her onto the gelding, Warrior watching cautiously as Ty mounted behind her. 'Thank you Ty for what you said. I feel better knowing that I'm not the only one to go through this.'

'It's okay Jessie, I'm glad it helped some.' He nudged the gelding with his heels. 'Now let's get you back and warmed up.'