AN~ Sorry it's taken me so long, you guys. Things have been insane. I'm going to post as much of it as I possibly can in the next week. R&R please! :D :D :D :D

About two weeks later, I overheard Nathan in the living room at his desk and on the phone. Having poured myself a cup of coffee, I took a sip before setting it down and scooping Shilo up in my arms, propping her up on the hip that wasn't bruised. The black and blue had gone away, but it was still a bit sore. I made my way into the living room with Shilo in my arms, kissing the little girl's forehead and set her down. Approaching Nathan, I lay a hand on the back of his shoulder, running my hand gently and affectionately up and down his back. He got off the phone and shook his head with a scoff, dropping his forehead into one hand.

"So I just called and okayed them bringing both Dragon Blade and Batten over here," He said, shaking his head again. "I'm asking for it."

"No, Nathan, that's a good thing, honey," I told him with a grin, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and kissed the side of his head. Nathan laid his hand over my arms, and I could feel his thumb gently stroking along the side of my forearm. I felt his head lean back slightly against my collarbone.

"Seven horses..." He said softly. "We're going to have seven horses. What the hell was I thinking?"

"You're a good person, that's all," I said, kissing the side of his head again. Nathan grinned and stood slowly.

"Let's go get the stalls ready," Nathan said, wrapping his arm around me. I slid my arm around his waist and we headed down to the barn. Nathan went to go get a bag of shavings and I went over to Rags' stall to check on him. But almost the second I got there, my beloved gelding fell against the side of the stall with a violent crash, convulsing and thrashing as soon as he hit the floor. My stomach twisted and my heart hit the back of my throat.

"Nathan!" I gave a strangled, panic cry, immediately fumbling with the latch to try to get in there. What was I going to do? I had no idea what was wrong with Rags to begin with, but with flailing hooves, I knew it was a hazard. But instinctively I wanted to go to my horse's side. Nathan was there immediately, took one look in the stall and as soon as I pushed the stall door open reached for me.

"He's seizing," Nathan's voice was tight, taking hold of me to hold me back. "Do not go in there, Mag. He's got no control over his body, he'll kill you."

My heart pounded in my chest, but Nathan wouldn't let me go. I knew he was right. Nathan stood between me and the stall door, holding me as we both watched in helpless agony as my beloved horse thrashed spasmodically. It lasted about a minute before Rags lay still. For a moment I thought he was dead, and panic filled me. Tears welled in my eyes but Nathan held me. Rags suddenly staggered to his feet, teetering the whole way up as though he were going to fall back over. His head was low, his eyes dazed for a moment. Nathan kissed the top of my head before moving into the stall slowly. "Easy... easy... you're alright... "

"What happened? What caused that?" I murmured. I wiped my eyes, still shaking. I couldn't believe what we had just witnessed. Rags looked shaken, bewildered, and almost lethargic at the same time. Nathan lifted my gelding's upper lip to take a look at his gums, feeling along the underside of his jaw, shaking his head.

"I don't know," Nathan muttered, his focus on Rags. "He's never had a seizure before. He doesn't have a history of Epilepsy, does he?"

"No, not that I know of," I said, moving into the stall. Nathan shook his head.

"A horse doesn't just have a seizure, so something's wrong," Nathan said, digging his phone out of his pocket.

Something was wrong. Nathan called another vet out for a second opinion. Tests were done and West Nile was suspected as the cause. There's no real treatment for West Nile, just therapy of different types, and letting the virus run its course if the horse even makes it. As weeks went by, symptoms got worse. Rags had a hard time even moving. His temperament changed drastically, and he was even as much as aggressive at times. We had him quarantined from the other horses just in case, and it killed me. Nathan came in one morning at barely six o' clock to wake me. I knew the second I saw his face.

"He can't get up, Maggie," Nathan said softly, sadly, sitting at the edge of my side of the bed. "We can't let him go through this anymore,"

Tears welled in my eyes, knowing he was right, but I just couldn't bring myself to accept it yet. "There's got to be something else we can do. What about antibiotics? Anything?"

"We've tried everything, sweetheart. He's just not responding to anything." Nathan said, his voice gentle. I pushed myself up slowly, tears streaming down my face. I knew he was right. Rags couldn't suffer anymore. Nathan gently pulled me into his arms and held me.

We went down to the barn and I looked in to see Rags lying flat on his side in the stall. I went in with Nathan beside me and sat with him, cradling his head in my lap. Nathan went to help the other vet, holding Rags' lead rope, gently leaning one knee against the top of Rags' crest to keep him from trying to jump up. We both knew Rags probably couldn't if he tried, anyway. With tears streaming down my face, I murmured my goodbyes to him through quiet sobs, telling him I was sorry. Within moments I could feel Rags' breathing stop. There's something about holding a dying animal in your arms where you can just about feel their spirit leave them. And what broke my heart was that I could feel my beloved horse, my teammate, pass in my very arms. As soon as Rags died, Nathan set the lead rope down and moved to my side, kneeling beside me and wrapped his arms around me to hold me. I sank against his chest and cried, feeling Nathan rubbing my back and hearing him murmuring to me.

"I'm so sorry, Maggie," He murmured, gently rocking me back and forth. I sobbed quietly against Nathan's chest. My horse was gone. Rigoletto, the horse who was my partner in the show ring for so many years, was gone. Though no longer in pain, I knew a day wouldn't go by that I wouldn't miss him

Two days had passed since Rigoletto's death. Both Batten and Dragon Blade had arrived, and I knew they were two that we would have to work with, but I still couldn't quite wrap my mind around the fact that my horse was dead.

I sat in the living room with a box of different photos and show memorabilia. I eventually heard Nathan come in and heard his footsteps falter.

"Maggie?" He said gently. I could feel him approaching and felt him sit down beside me.

"A few weeks," I murmured, tears welling in my eyes. "A few weeks ago he was fine. How did this happen?"

"I know, sweetheart, I know... " Nathan murmured. He wrapped his arms around me and I sank against him. Nothing like this was ever easy. Losing anybody close to you was never easy. Rags was buried on the far side of the property. He was a constant presence. Sometimes, walking out with one of the horses, I could swear I could feel Rags standing behind me. It didn't bother me. It was almost a relief to know he was still there.

Two more months had gone by since everything happened. Shilo was turning two today. Cooper had just turned a year old. It had been just about a year since Marni's death, and two months since Rigoletto was put down. Riding Batten, I stood by the corner of the arena, looking from afar at what my life was now. It was definitely a huge change, but a change for the better. Despite everything, it was indeed better. I was happy.

My iPhone rang in my vest pocket and Batten just about lept out from under me. Gaining control over the young gelding, I dug it out of my pocket to find Nathan was calling. "Hi honey,"

"Hey sweetheart. Listen, can you do me a favour and get Shilo? I have some things I want to set up for her birthday and need her out of the way."

"Sure, when should I be expecting you?" I asked, and could hear a crash in the background on Nathan's end. "Nate, what was that?"

"What was what?"

Clang clang. "That."

"Oh, I just hit a pot hole, it's nothing."

"You sound like you've got the trailer with you."

"No- I mean yeah, I do, but only to transport some stuff for Shilo's birthday," He responded. Ok, something's up.

"Alright, I'll see you when you get home," I said. I got off the phone with him and dismounted Batten, leading him back to the barn. I untacked him, cooled him down, then put him away and headed up to the house for Shilo. Over an hour later, I had done over a dozen crafts with Shilo, put on movies that I had bought for her and played with her when Nathan finally called me.

"Bring Shilo down to the barn, I have something for the both of you," Nathan said. I could hear the smile in his voice. Sure enough, I obeyed and brought Shilo with me down to the barn, with Cooper at our heels. Nathan stood in the barn and from the stall he stood next to stuck the tiny little head of a liver chestnut Shetland Pony that couldn't have been more than nine-hands tall. The halter was purple, and a pair of dark, inquisitive eyes peered out from a thick mass of forelock, her fuzzy little ears pricked in complete curiosity. My jaw dropped.

"Meet Tinkerbell," Nathan said with a grin. I could see the smile spread across Shilo's face and she reached out toward the pony.

"Pony!" She squealed. I looked in Nathan's direction, near suffering from a complete cute overload.

"Oh, my God, Nathan, she's adorable," I gushed, referring to the pony. He opened the stall door and I set Shilo down so she could go into the stall. Tinkerbell turned her little head to look at Shilo, but she didn't move. I noticed that Nathan also held the pony's lead rope to be on the safe side.

"Whassername, Daddy?" Shilo said, turning her large dark eyes to her father. Nathan pushed the door behind him, kneeling down and scratched the underside of Tinkerbell's neck.

"Her name's Tinkerbell, Shi," Nathan said. Shilo's smile broadened.

"Like the fairy in Peter Pan!" She squealed.

"She's a fairy of a pony," I remarked with a smile. I couldn't get over the tiny cuteness of the pony. She had the teeniest little muzzle, teeny ears, little hooves that could have fit into teacups (Nathan had put the Twinkletoes Hoof glitter on them; purple for that matter, as well.), and enough mane and tail to fit on two ponies.

"I was debating whether or not she was still too young for a pony for awhile," Nathan told me as I knelt beside him. "But I thought it'd be good for her to learn how to bond and take care of a pony. Better than her learning to ride on Uther. Her mom would have wanted her to learn,"

I watched the flicker of sadness pass through Nathan's green eyes and I lay a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He turned to me with a thin smile, looking back at Shilo. "Shi, we have something for Mag, too. Once we give Mag her gift we'll let you get on Tinkerbell, alright?"

I stared at Nathan. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Nathan laughed, slowly standing and unhooked the lead from Tinkerbell's halter, closing the stall door after Shilo had left the stall. "Follow me."

Not even three stalls down I could hear the frantic pacing of a horse. It didn't sound like any of the other ones. It sounded totally unfamiliar. My heart leapt in my chest, and as we approached the stall, I peered in and found myself looking at the most stunning Arab I'd ever seen. He was a big, cresty chestnut with no white on him except for a little white star. His head was perfectly dipped. He was absolutely stunning.

"Oh, my God... " I breathed, unable to tear my eyes away from him.

"That's Phaeton TE," Nathan said, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. "He's a stallion. They were trying to get rid of him just because the owners didn't have enough room for him. With his lines, I couldn't let him go. I knew you'd love him."

I was speechless. I stayed in Nathan's arms, leaning gently back against him. Phaeton approached the stall door, slipping his delicate muzzle through the bars of the stall. Reaching past me, Nathan pushed the stall door open partway just enough for Phaeton to slip his head through. His perfectly fluted ears were pricked, his eyes curious but alert. He was stunning. I reached out to gently cup his dark muzzle in my hands. Unlike most stallions I've known, Phaeton was gentle. He puffed lightly against my hands, his breath warm. His forelock travelled almost past the center of his head. I smoothed it gently.

"Nathan, he's gorgeous," I murmured, moved by what he had done. I didn't know if I was ready for another horse just yet, but the fact that Nathan had bought Phaeton and was giving him to me was unbelievable.

"I know he can never replace Rags, but I think he wants to try to win that place in your heart," Nathan said. I could feel him place his chin gently on my shoulder. I turned my head and kissed the side of Nathan's own.

"He's already started, sweetheart. Thank you so much," I murmured, not quite trusting my voice. I turned in Nathan's arms and wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face against the side of his neck as well. He hugged me tightly. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, darling," Nathan murmured in response. "So much.

Shilo's birthday had been a hit. Nathan put Tinkerbell on a lungeline and let Shilo get on her, letting Shilo walk her pony around the roundpen. I stood on the other side of the gate, holding Phaeton's lead rope. The halter and lead rope he had come with had both been red and nylon, which matched his chestnut coat perfectly. I kept Rags' leather halter, knowing I could never use it on Phaeton. It was in Rags' honour, and I knew Phaeton would leave his own little imprint on me. He already had.

"Mag, go get on him," Nathan encouraged. At the moment, Phaeton stood beside me. I was a bit uneasy.

"I don't know... are you sure? I mean, it's Shilo's birthday-"

"Maggie, get on him. You're fine," Nathan said. His expression was gentle, understanding my apprehension. Drawing a breath, I brought him back into the barn to tack him up. He was a bit girthy first tacking him up, and as I tightened the girth he flattened his ears, but he stood quietly. I bridled him, and turning, I found myself looking at my new horse completely saddled. I had no idea what I was about to experience getting on him, but Phaeton was complete perfection. Leading him into the arena next to the roundpen, I could see Nathan watching me as he reeled Shilo on Tinkerbell in. Pulling the stirrups down, I exhaled shakily, taking a handful of Phaeton's red mane into my hand as I stuck my foot in the stirrup, keeping a fairly tight hold on both reins in one hand to keep him from going anywhere. But Phaeton didn't move. He stood quietly, those fluted ears tilted back toward me as though listening to what I was doing. He was awaiting my command. I had never, ever seen a stallion this calm. Carefully, I lifted myself and swung my leg over his back and slowly sat to avoid landing hard on Phaeton's back. He still didn't move a muscle, instead of bobbing his head to pull the reins a bit looser, more or less insisting I let go of his head. I did and asked him for a walk.

We bonded perfectly. He began to anticipate my next move just as I did his. His gait was fluid, forward, the smoothest I've ever ridden. He and I just seemed to mesh together. I asked him for a canter and he dropped his muzzle to his chest, abiding by my wish and leapt into a canter. Having slowed him, I looked over and saw Nathan standing with Tinkerbell and Shilo by the arena fence. A smile was broadened across his face.

"You two look incredible," He said.

That night, we celebrated Shilo's birthday. We made Shilo her favourite dinner, which consisted of cut up hot dog, mashed potatoes and a combination of peas and carrots on the side, steak was on the menu for the adults, which both Nathan and I partnered in preparing. After dinner we did the birthday cake, let Shilo stay up to watch a movie, and it was off to bed. All in all, Shilo's second birthday couldn't have gone smoother. After we put the birthday girl to bed, we went downstairs to check on the horses for the night. I couldn't quite bring myself to move Phaeton into Rags' old stall just yet, out of respect for my gelding. But I couldn't believe Nathan had bought the stunning Arab stallion for me. As I was gazing into Phaeton's stall, watching the stallion rip hay from the haynet, I felt Nathan come up behind me and wrap his arms around me.

"You like him?" He asked, kissing the side of my neck. I leaned back against him, laying my arms over his.

"I love him." I responded with a smile, turning my head to kiss the side of his. "Thank you so much, sweetheart. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, honey," He murmured, and I could feel him give me a gentle squeeze, kissing my shoulder.

The next morning was a whole different event however. I woke up and looked over at Nathan, who was curled up on his side, shifting periodically but he appeared to be still asleep. Odd, normally Nathan was up by now. I got up to go check on Shilo then headed back into the bedroom. But when I got in there, Nathan lay partially on his back, his eyes closed, not in sleep but more or less pained, with his arms pressed to his stomach.

"Nathan?" I moved toward the bed, crawling up on it to sit beside him. "Nathan, sweetheart, what is it?"

"I don't know," Nathan murmured, swallowing, "But I feel like someone just hit me in the stomach. My whole lower back hurts; I don't know what's wrong,"

He drew a sharp breath, turning his head in my direction with closed eyes and I moved nearer to him. Could it be something that's visible on the surface? Bruising? I gently pushed the hem of Nathan's t-shirt up and lay my hand on his stomach as though expecting to see bruising or something, but there was nothing. But something was definitely wrong if Nathan was in this much pain.

"Try to breathe, sweetheart," I told him, gently running my hand up and down an area of his lower stomach, and I could tell breathing wasn't easy because Nathan's was uneven and pained. It wasn't until then that I realised just how hot Nathan's skin was. He was burning up with a fever. "I'm going to call Chris. We've got to get you to the hospital."

"I can't... the horses... Shilo... " Nathan muttered. I tried to soothe him, grabbing my iPhone off the bedside table as I sat at his side.

"They'll be fine, Shilo will be fine, Chris will watch her," I assured him, dialing Nathan's co-worker and friend's number.

"Hello?"

"Chris, it's Mag. Sorry to be calling so early, but I need to get Nathan to the hospital," I said, quicklyl standing with Nathan as he stumbled out of bed and went to the bathroom. I went with him quickly, standing beside his knelt frame and rubbed his back as he got sick.

"The hospital? Is everything alright?"

"Well, Nathan woke up with severe stomach pains and a fever." I said, with my hand slipped gently up the back of Nathan's shirt to scratch his back.

"I'll be right over. Do you guys need a ride to the hospital?"

"That would be amazing, but we have Shilo... " My voice trailed off, chewing my lip, worried about Nathan and about the all around situation.

"Don't worry. I can watch Shilo. I'll be right over to pick you guys up. It sounds like he has appendicitis. Just try to keep him as still as possible, have him lie down or something. Movement could make his appendix burst, if it hasn't already."

"Alright. Thank you so much, Chris," I said. I hung up the phone with Chris and coaxed Nathan to his feet, my arm around his waist as I led him back over to bed until Chris got there.

"You've got to lie as still as you can, Nate," I murmured to him, gently caressing his forehead with the backs of my fingers. He lay still, clearly pained, having trouble breathing without any kind of pain. I sat beside him, watching out the window, with my hand partially up Nathan's shirt and gently rubbed his stomach as though trying to cease some of the pain he was in until we could get him to the hospital. Nathan groaned softly, turning his head to the side. Chris finally got there. I handed him Shilo and he helped me coax Nathan up and get him down to Chris's Tahoe. With Shilo's car seat in the front seat, I sat in back with Nathan and his head resting in my lap. I ran my hand gently up and down his chest to soothe him. Even the slightest bump in the road caused a grimace of pain to flare up in Nathan's features. It killed me to see him in such pain, and the other part of me was praying that he would be alright. We pulled up to the hospital and I lay a hand on Nathan's back as he slowly sat up to steady him, getting out of the car with an arm around his waist to help him into the ER.

We wound up waiting about twenty minutes before they got Nathan into a hospital gown and on one of the hospital beds. I stayed at his side throughout the whole thing as they ran tests, rubbing his arm, running a hand through his hair, rubbing his chest, anything I could do to comfort him at that point. A nurse came back in with one of the doctors.

"Dr. Wallace, Ms. DeFoe, I'm Dr. Vargas," The doctor's introductory were rather quick. "Dr. Wallace, it seems your appendix is extremely inflamed, if not already burst. It's turned into very acute appendicitis."

"Did something cause it?" Nathan asked, his voice an exhausted murmur. They had him on morphine for the pain, so he was rather exhausted and didn't quite seem as there as he normally would have been. But he still managed to get through it. I sat at his bedside, my hand on his arm.

"Nothing really causes appendicitis, it just sort of flares up, if you will," Dr. Vargas said. "We're going to have to do an appendectomy and remove your appendix."

"How long is the recovery period?" Nathan asked. I could hear the worried tension in his voice.

"And how long is he going to be in the hospital for?" I asked. I felt Nathan take my hand in his and squeeze it gently.

"He can go home tonight, and recovery period will be about two weeks, but this is assuming the surgery goes well."

"There's a chance it might now?" I asked, a cold chill of worry passing through me.

"With surgical procedures, there's always a risk, but it's more than likely everything should go fine," The doctor said. I looked at Nathan, but he looked relatively calm and understanding.

"I'll be fine, sweetheart, don't worry," He said softly. "Any kind of surgery can be risky."

I gently squeezed his hand, exhaling slowly. I hoped to God he was right.

They prepped Nathan for surgery and I waited in the living room, an untouched Styrofoam cup of coffee in my hand. The surgery had gone for about sixty-five minutes and I was a wreck. I couldn't imagine how I could possibly handle it if something happened to Nathan during surgery.

The surgeon came out of the doors and I immediately stood up, setting the coffee cup down, or more so almost spilled it in my nervous anticipation. But the surgeon's features were calm, almost relieved.

"Ms. DeFoe?"

"Yes?" I searched his face, trying to read if there was anything behind it. He wouldn't be relieved if Nathan had died or anything on the table, would he?

"Everything went smoothly. Nathan's in recovery now. The appendix did rupture so we had to clean out the abdominal cavity, so he may be in a bit more pain than he normally would have been, but he's going to be fine." Dr. Vargas said. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God. Thank you so much," I said. "Can I see him?"

They took me to Nathan's hospital room. He was asleep, or at least trying to, it looked like. I went to his bedside and pulled up a chair to sit down, leaning forward to kiss his forward. Nathan opened his eyes slowly. He was groggy, somewhat disoriented, and attached to about three different IVs, but relief seemed to pass over his features when he saw me.

"Hi, sweetheart," He murmured, turning his head in my direction. I gently brushed a bit of his hair off his forehead.

"Hi love, how are you doing?" I asked him gently.

"I feel a bit like I just got hit by a truck," He deadpanned weakly. "But I'm not dead, so I'm alright."

"Oh, don't say that," I groaned lightly. But I couldn't have been more relieved that he was alright. A nurse came in at that point, and both Nathan and I looked up.

"Hi Dr. Wallace. I'm just here to check your stitches and see how they're holding up, and then I'll be out of your way," She said. I watched as she folded the hospital bed blanket back a bit but merely to cover Nathan's hips and down, sliding his hospital gown upward. Near the left side of his lower stomach was a three inch line of sutures. She dabbed what looked like some kind of clear ointment on the line with a long q-tip. Once she finished, she lowered his gown and left. I leaned forward, laying a hand on his hip.

"Can I see?"

"Sure," Nathan carefully gathered the bottom of the gown back up to where I could see the incision line once more. I gently ran two fingers along the area, but felt that side of his stomach twitch in response.

"Am I hurting you?" I looked up at him, worried.

"No, you're fine," He responded softly. "Involuntary muscle reaction. You couldn't hurt me,"

I had part of my hand against his side, still apprehensive. He lay his hand over mine, gently stroking the top of it with his thumb.

"Thank you. For being here," He murmured. "I don't know what I would have done without you,"

"Well, Chris was the one who drove us over here," I said softly with a half smile, "There's no way I would have left your side, though,"

Nathan searched my face and a thin smile crossed his own, seeming almost touched that I had indeed stayed. But it was replaced by what appeared to be momentary panic. "Wait... where's Shilo... ?"

"She's fine, Chris is with her," I assured him. Nathan exhaled slowly, almost in relief, and turned his head toward me.

"Lie down with me? For a little bit?"

There was a moment of wondering whether or not I was allowed to by the hospital. But I didn't care. Here was Nathan, the man I love, just come out of surgery, hurting and probably still a bit scared. Nobody goes into surgery totally unafraid. With a gentle smile, I crawled up onto the hospital bed and curled up beside him, laying an arm over the upper part of his torso to avoid the incision. Nathan wrapped his arms around me, kissing my forehead and drew me closer. I lay my head against his chest, gently tightening my hold on him.

I took Nathan home that night. The doctor had told me that Nathan would be fine, but would probably be experiencing some discomfort after tonight, if even tonight. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. We got home, I fed the horses and put Shilo to bed and Nathan and I both went to bed. Hours later I woke up hearing someone in the bathroom getting sick. I got up and went to the bathroom to where Nathan stood, hands on his knees, bent over getting sick in the toilet. I went in, laying a hand on Nathan's back and reached for a glass off the sink, filling it with water and knelt beside Nathan as he slowly sank to a kneeling position on the floor by the toilet, coughing and trying to catch his breath. Holding the water glass in front of him, I gently rubbed his bare back. He shakily took the glass and took a sip, spitting what remained from in his mouth into the toilet as well to rinse his mouth out. I kept a hand near to help keep the glass steady. But Nathan wretched and got sick again. I continued to gently scratch and rub his back.

"You're ok... you're ok, sweetheart," I murmured to him, trying to soothe him once he finished. Nathan didn't say anything, but he was clearly exhausted. Wrapping an arm around his waist and setting the glass down on the counter, I carefully helped him to his feet, turning and flushed the toilet with my foot before guiding him out of the bathroom and to bed. Nathan hit the bed with a thud, lying on his back on the bed. I went back into the bathroom, almost gagging, myself at how heavy the odor of vomit hung in the air. I pulled a can of Lysol out of the cabinet under the sink and sprayed the bathroom heavily before putting the aerosol can away, rummaging through the medicine cabinet and found a pack of Rolaids. Figuring it would help settle Nathan's stomach a bit, I took out two and brought it to him with the same glass of water. I crawled in and sat beside him, grazing my nails gently up and down his back as he slowly chewed the Rolaids and took a sip of the water.

"How do you feel, Nate?" I asked him gently. He shook his head, swallowing.

"Horrible," He murmured, his voice thick with exhaustion. He bent over forward with a groan, his forehead on his knees. "I think it's a reaction to the anesthetic."

"See if the Rolaids settle your stomach a bit," I said. He straightened slowly, setting the glass of water down on the bedside table. I shifted to lie back a bit, "Come here, sweetheart,"

Reminding me of a sick child, Nathan listlessly turned and lay on his side in my lap, his head lying against my stomach and he wrapped his arms around me. I stroked his hair, running a hand gently up and down his arm. He couldn't fall asleep soundly, that was obvious. But I was willing to hold him until he felt like he could at least try to.

The next morning Nathan was still miserable. I brought him up tea and a bit of oatmeal, thinking maybe he'd be able to keep it down. He needed to eat a little bit, and I figured give him something that wasn't going to be too hard on his stomach. He ate a bit of it, which I was happy with, then slept for another hour or so. I went down to feed the horses. It was a bit chilly out, and we had more sun than we'd had in awhile, even if it was still slightly overcast. Out of the three pastures the property had, I separated the mares and geldings from the stallions. The two stallions were Phaeton and Uther. Those two were separated and turned out separately. The rest; which included Batten, Dragonada, Bank on Silver; who, as cliché as it was, had been nicknamed Silver, Kilkenny Creek and Tinkerbell, were turned out in one pasture while I let Phaeton and Uther into their own pastures. I was about to put Dragon Blade out, since I had assumed he was a gelding, until he literally charged out of his stall after me on his hind legs. The colt was about two years old; I had to give him that, if not younger, but when I narrowly missed getting knocked in the head by one of his front feet he decided to strike out at me with, something seemed different.

"What are you on about?" I muttered, annoyed. I smacked Blade's flank, checking the lead sharply to get his attention back, but the colt was so wired. It took me whacking him with the end of the lead a couple times for him to realise his behaviour was not okay with me. Finally, having gotten him standing still, I tentatively bent to check between his legs, ready to yank my head up if need be. I'd already been kicked in the hip; I didn't need to get it in the head. Sure enough, when I checked to see what he was equipped with, two little bulbs had formed around his sheath. It dawned on me that Blade's testicles had just very recently dropped. A sudden wave of very shallow horror surged through me when I realised that I was almost positive ninety percent of the mares that were on the property now had at one point been turned out with him.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap... " I muttered, shaking my head, and then straightened with a heavy sigh. If any of the mares turned up pregnant, Nathan would have a heart attack. I slipped the lead rope through the rings of his halter to loop over his nose in a form of a temporary stud chain; I led him over to the roundpen. Blade fought me every step of the way, and I had to beat him over the head a couple times with the folded end of the lead rope to get his attention back on me and not on his libido or testosterone. I wanted to get him gelded fast. But for the time being he would have to be separated. It was heartbreaking watching Blade pace the fence, stretching his head over the top of it, screaming to the others who had once been his turnout mates. What was worse was that they barely acknowledged him. Out of sight out of mind, but I knew exactly what was going through his mind. He was out of the herd. His life was in danger. The poor guy. But I knew I would have to bring this up to Nathan and possibly have the two mares tested to make sure they weren't pregnant. If one of them was, what then?

I headed back up to check on Nathan. He was asleep on his back, his body turned almost diagonally across part of the bed, one hand draped over his stomach, the other settled beside him. I crawled onto the bed with him, moving my arm around his midsection, kissing the center of his sternum. Nathan rolled his head my way, almost curling against me, slowly opening his eyes groggily and blinked at me a few times. "Hi, sweetheart,"

"Hey you," I murmured, running my hand along his side. "How are you feeling?"

"About the same," He responded, his voice so muffled it was barely coherent. I lovingly traced a few fingers along his stomach, feeling him wrap his arm around me. My eyes moved to his right side where the bandage resided. It was getting a bit gross-looking with dried blood seeping through to the other side and whatever other discharge was coming from the incision.

"We need to change your bandage," I said softly, gently touching the area but keeping my fingers away from the exact location of the surgical wound.

"I know, we'll do that later," He murmured, tilting his head so it lay against my shoulder. I gently stroked his hair. "I'm so tired,"

"I can imagine," I responded gently. "This probably the first time you've actually slept in ages."

Nathan nodded slowly, his eyes closing for a moment before opening; heavy lidded, once more. "How're the horses? What's going on down there?"

I paused. "I'm not going there."

"What? What's going on?"

"Well, turns out one of our little foster children isn't a gelding." I said.

Pause. "You're kidding."

"I wish that were so."

"Which one?"

"Dragon Blade."

"Shit."

Nathan groaned. "I told him no stallions."

"His testicles just dropped. I don't think anyone would have suspected he was a stallion still." I said. Nathan exhaled heavily.

"How old is he?"

"I think just under two."

"How could they assume he was a gelding that young?" He said, shaking his head in disbelief. I shrugged.

"I don't know. but I think we might have to get a vet from the clinic out here to test the two mares."

"What about Tinkerbell?"

"Tinkerbell's been out with him once, and in a matter of two days? I doubt it. He never tried to cover her."

Nathan nodded in response. "Alright. No need to call another vet out, I can do it. I've got a number of equine pregnancy test kits.

"Honey, you don't need to-why in the world do you have equine pregnancy test kits? You've only ever had Uther and Rags on the property; none of which were mares."

"I get them from work all the time, God only knows why."

"Nathan, you just had surgery yesterday. You're not doing a pregnancy test on either of the three year old Thoroughbred mares we have. You'll rip the stitches out in a second."

"They're only valid after eighty days, anyway, Maggie. I'll be fine. If I'm not healed by then I ought to be shot." He said, pulling me nearer to him and kissed the top of my head. He pulled me close enough to where I was lying with my head on his chest, and I could feel him gently stroking my hair. Though I was worried I was leaning on the stitches.

"Are you okay? I mean, I'm not leaning on anything, am I?" I asked. Nathan chuckled.

"No, Maggie, you're fine. You're not hurting me," He assured me. Relieved, I settled against him.