Chapter Two

"Oh my god, Amy you're crying. Are you okay?"

Ty gave Mallory a hard stare that said shut up or else!

The teenage girl took no notice of his death threat, "Where's Pinocchio? You didn't fall off, did you?"

Silently deciding to ignore Mallory's thoughtless blabber, Amy dismounted from her position behind Ty and with the intense, knife-like pain torturing her; she made her way up to the barn.

Automatically, Amy led herself to the stall door of the poor, grey horse she had just killed. Those traumatizing words rang through her head repetitively I have just killed Pinocchio. A river of tears began to stream down her face once again as she let herself into the stall and curled up in the corner with the homely warmth of the straw beneath her. I have just killed Pinocchio…Amy was suddenly bombarded with a shipload of horrific thoughts. How could I have been so careless? How could I have killed a client's horse? How would Pinocchio's owners react? How would other clients react for that matter? Just as the most nerve-racking ideas began to enter her mind, she became aware of the fact that she was shaking excessively. Although it was the last thing she wanted to do, Amy knew she had to go into the house and get changed. Getting hypothermia was right at the end of her to-do list. Just as Amy was about to go, Ty appeared at the stable door.

"May I come in?" he asked warily.

"Sure"

Ty let himself into the stall and sat next to Amy, placing the towel and clothes he had brought from the house next to him, wrapping his arm around her and drawing her close to his body.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her gently.

"Fine" Amy lied.

Ty motioned to the small pile sitting on the straw "I've brought you some dry clothes…"

"Thanks"

"And I've told jack and Lou…you know…what happened"

"Ok"

"And Lou is going to call Pinocchio's owners'…"

Amy closed her eyes, forcing the gathering tears to stay where they were. Slowly managing to get to her feet she managed to say "OK" then, indicating to the clothes added, "Thanks Ty."

Ty smiled encouragingly at her, standing up from his position on the ground, "Now, are you alright getting changed?"

Amy fumbled with her freezing, numb fingers, trying to get a hold of he jacket zip. Noticing her excessive shaking, Ty quickly unzipped the jacket for her and eased it off over her shoulders.

"You can do the rest." Ty waited for Amy's nod in reply, "I'm going to go get changed myself" then he added in a slightly awkward tone, "Just give me a shout if you need any…you know, help."

"Ok"

When Ty returned, Amy was just forcing on her dry jacket.

Ty pulled up the zip for her then said, "Let's get you inside into the warmth…"

Huddling under Ty's large umbrella, the two of them made their way over to the house. Jack was drinking his coffee when Amy and Ty walked in; Lou was on the phone. Everything appeared so normal, as if nothing had happened, until Amy took notice of what Lou was saying.

"…No, tomorrow's not a good time. You see, my mother died on that day four years ago…I am sorry, but…" There was a long pause. Lou looked completely exhausted, "Fine!" she sighed, "How about three?"

Amy subconsciously let Ty lead her past Lou into the lounge where they both sat down on the couch. Jack followed, not far behind. Then, looking deep into her eyes, he gently asked, "Now, are you ok?"

Amy nodded in reply.

"You don't have a headache?"

"No."

"And are you warm enough?"

Amy smiled gratefully at Ty, "Yeah, I am now."

Jack seemed to relax a little, "Ok. So you had better get some rest…"

Suddenly aware of the heavy weight of tiredness present in her eyes, Amy laid down, her head on Ty's lap. As Amy dozed off, Ty's attention turned from her to Jack, who had begun to pace the room nervously.

"You right, Jack?" he questioned.

"Maybe Amy should go to the hospital…just to be sure."

Ty nodded in reply, "Yeah. I'll take her if you want?"

Amy, half asleep let Ty lead her to his truck and they began the 45 minute drive to the Hudson General Hospital, leaving Jack at home to complete the night check.

When they returned it was nearing 12. long last, with Amy having been given the all clear by the doctor, the four could relax a little. While Ty and Amy had been on the road, Jack had prepared some hot chocolates.

"Thanks Grandpa." Amy said gratefully taking the hot chocolate from him and sitting next to Ty on the couch.

"Do you need anything else, Amy?" Lou asked gently

"No thanks, I'm fine." Amy replied, taking another sip of the warm drink.

"I'll hit the hay then." Lou smiled, heading off to her room.

"I didn't realize you were the violent type, Lou." Ty Joked, attempting to break the icy atmosphere.

"Very funny." Lou muttered sleepily as she left the room.

"Well, goodnight then," Jack said, grinning at Ty's poor attempt at a joke, "Don't stay up too late," Then, Giving him a meaningful look, added, "Both of you…"

Once they had finished their drinks, Amy leant back into the soft couch and closed her eyes.

"Do you want some company for a while?" Ty asked, taking the two empty cups up to the sink.

When he returned Amy smiled at him and nodded as he sat down next to her. She gazed at Ty. She knew that she still loved him, despite what had happened in the past few months, so why was it so difficult to say that to his face?

Suddenly she realized that Ty was looking deep into her eyes as he had done before their fight. Maybe he still loved her too. She smiled at him, laid her head on his lap and closed her eyes once again, soon drifting off into a deep, dreamless sleep.