A/N: Thank you again for all the lovely reviews. I'm really sorry this chapter is so late, I really don't know what happened. As I promised, here is the next chapter and it's all about Tamy! :)

Chapter Twenty-Three

A Princely Gesture

The metal gate clanged open as Ty reached into the cage and picked up its' occupant, a young, slight Labrador retriever. He set her down carefully on top of the exam table and she sank down onto her belly, unable to stand on her feet. She'd been with her family, having a bonfire when she'd accidentally stepped on some burning embers. It nearly burned through the pads on her front feet. The whole family had felt guilty and were completely relieved when Ty had told them the dog would be just fine.

The dog whined softly and Ty stroked her sleek, black coat. "You're ok, Misha," Ty soothed her. He started to unwrap the bandages on her paws, and the dog started licking his hands as he did. Ty smiled, and ruffled her fur as he reached for some antiseptic. Her wounds were almost healed, she would be able to go home in a day or so. After re-bandaging her paws, Ty put Misha back in her cage, wrote something down on the dog's chart and hung it on the front of the cage.

"Whoa, whoa!" came a frantic voice and a moment later, a young man appeared in the exam room being pulled by a feisty Yorkshire terrier. "Slow down, it's ok!"

Ty grinned at his assistant, a young, fresh out of high school, who had needed a job to pay his way through University. He didn't have a prior vet experience, but he loved animals and he was eager to learn. Ty had hired him because he got the feeling the recently-turned nineteen-year-old had a pretty tough life so far and had to work for everything he had. Ty wanted to give him a break and a chance to prove himself, just like the chance he was given.

"What's the matter, Sam?" Ty asked, teasingly. "That little dog getting the best of you?"

"I thought dogs learned not to like the vet," Sam said as he lifted the little terrier onto the exam table. "As soon as his owner took him out of the car, he couldn't wait to get in here." He pushed his hand through his shaggy blonde hair and sighed.

"Well, so far all of Oliver's experiences here have been good, but I suspect that's going to change this time." Ty explained, watching as the little dog sniffed around the exam table. When Sam raised his eyebrow, questioningly, Ty added, "Tooth extraction."

"Ouch," Sam replied.

"Ok, put him in a cage and fill out a chart for him," Ty instructed him, pushing a blank chart toward him. Oliver saw the movement and quickly tried to grab the clipboard. "If you need any help, just ask."

Sam picked up Oliver and put him in an empty cage. Then, he pulled up a stool to the exam table and started filling in the terrier's information on the sheet. Ty moved around him, putting things away and straightening up. He was just leaving the exam room when he nearly collided with someone else coming in. The first thing Ty saw was his daughter, whimpering with tears in her eyes.

"What happened?" Ty asked, looking over at Jessica, who was holding and trying to console the toddler.

"Lily took a little tumble down the stairs," Jessica explained, bouncing the little girl on her hip a little bit. "She's fine, just a little scrape on her elbow, but I think it really scared her. She was crying for Amy, but she's still out on a trail ride with a client. I'm really sorry to bother you, I didn't know what else to do."

"It's fine, I was just finishing up, anyway," Ty said, taking Lily from Jessica. He sat her down on the exam table, so he could look at her straight on. "Now, what's wrong, pony?"

"I...fall...down...get...booboo..." Lily cried, between hiccuping sobs. Ty brushed his daughter's hair out of her face and wiped away her tears. Behind him, he heard Jessica tell Jackson not to touch something and then Sam asked the toddler if he liked animals. Focusing on his daughter, Ty pushed up the sleeve of Lily's shirt to inspect her wound. The skin of her elbow was only rubbed slightly pink, nothing serious at all.

"Hey, you're ok," Ty soothed her, wrapping his arms around in a hug. Lily wrapped her own arms around her daddy's neck, burying her face in his shirt.

"I want mommy," Lily whined, slightly calmer now.

"Okay," Ty said, lifting her up off the table. He looked up and saw that Jessica had lifted Jackson up so that he could see into one of the top cages at Misha. The two-year-old had his face almost pressed to cage, even though Jessica kept pulling him back, smiling as the dog tried to lick him. "Jack, you wanna come?"

Jackson nodded and immediately started squirming out of Jessica's arms until she put him down. He ran over to Ty and took his daddy's outstretched hand. "Sam, can you handle everything in here?" Ty asked his assistant.

"Sure can," Sam assured him. He scooped up Oliver's paperwork he'd been filling out a little too quickly and the papers slipped from his hands, fluttering to the floor. "You don't have a thing to worry about." Sam added as he bent to retrieve the flyaway papers. Ty grinned as walked out of the clinic with the twins.

By the time they got outside, Lily had calmed down significantly, her red, puffy eyes and tear-streaked face the only evidence that she'd been crying. Ty didn't see any sign of Amy and concluded that Jessica had been right; Amy was still out on the trails with Cassidy. She'd left over an hour ago though, so she should be back soon. Ty decided to just wait for her.

"How about we go see Harley?" Ty asked Lily. "I bet he misses you."

Lily didn't say anything, but Jackson did. "Yeah!" he exclaimed.

Ty smiled as the toddler started jogging, pulling on his hand. Harley was in the front pasture, grazing by the gate. The gelding picked his head up immediately and nickered to them as they approached. Harley put his head over the fence and started nuzzling Lily, his lips fluttering across her hair. Lily giggled and touched his nose with her hand. Jackson started whining that he couldn't reach until Jessica picked him up and he was all smiles again. The bay gelding took turns switching between both twins, though Ty suspected the horse was only looking for treats. Ty managed to find a couple peppermints in his pocket and both twins enjoyed feeding them to Harley one by one.

A few minutes later, when both Lily and Jackson were on the ground ripping up bits of grass and throwing them through the fence for Harley, a yellow Lamborghini sped past them into the ranch yard. Ty sighed. He'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to see the guy he knew was behind the wheel again. Ty rounded up the twins, asking if Jessica would take them into the house so he could talk to Ahmed. As always, Jessica did it with a smile and neither twin gave any problems about going inside.

Ahmed was just stepping out of his car when Ty got back to the barn and he noted that the prince did not bring a horse trailer with him. Though, they'd been expecting him to pick up his horse any day. The other man turned with a pleasant expression on his face.

"Hello," Ahmed greeted, cordially. "I was looking for Amy."

"I know," Ty said, curtly. "She's not here. She's out on a ride."

"I see," Ahmed nodded. "Do you know when she will be back? There is something I would like to discuss with her."

"Soon," Ty replied, vaguely. "But you can feel free to discuss it with me first. After all, I am her husband and every decision she makes affects me and our family."

"I'm sorry, Ty, but this is something between Amy and I," Ahmed said. "I would like to discuss it with her."

Ty took a step forward, giving him a once-over. Finally, he nodded, "Like I said, she'll be back soon."

It was nearly ten minutes later before Amy arrived back at the ranch. Ty was waiting in the barn when first Cassidy walked in leading Lana and then Amy followed with Spartan. He greeted the older woman and politely asked how the ride went. Cassidy was all smiles as she told him just how amazing and relaxing the trail ride actually was.

"Hey," Amy said, when she walked over to him. They shared a brief kiss on the lips. "What are you doing here?"

"You have a visitor," Ty whispered to her, gesturing outside, his hand around her waist. Amy peered out the barn and saw his royal highness leaning up against one of the pastures, watching the horses graze. Amy sighed quietly.

"I guess I should go get Autumn then. Could you take over here?" she asked him. When Ty nodded, Amy turned to Cassidy. "Ok, Cass, there's something I have to take care of, but I'll see you next week?"

Cassidy nodded as she ran a brush over Lana's bay coat. "Yes, see you then,"

"If you need any help, just ask Ty," Amy told her as she hurried off to collect Autumn.

The chestnut mare was dozing in her stall when Amy got there. Her coat was freshly groomed, so all she had to do was put on the mare's travel boots and blanket. The mare perked up when Amy buckled the black and yellow sheet on, knowing she was going somewhere. The whole time Amy soothed the mare, telling her that everything was going to be okay and how sorry she was that she couldn't help her. By the time, Amy buckled the mare's leather halter on and led her out of the stall, Autumn was alert and ready to go.

As soon as Amy stepped outside, she noticed that Ahmed didn't bring a horse trailer. Her pace slowed as she approached the prince, now unsure of why he was here. Ahmed smiled at her and walked away from the fence to meet her.

"Hello, Amy, I trust you are doing well?" Ahmed greeted in that cordial and formal way of his.

"I am," Amy said as she looked around confusedly. "I thought you were picking up Autumn?"

"That is what I would like to talk to you about," Ahmed explained. "I've been doing a lot of thinking since you've decided not to work for me. I've come to the realization that I was being selfish. I was so focused on having you on my team that I wasn't thinking of the horse's best interest. A part of me has always known that Autumn wasn't cut out to be a part of the world of showjumping, but I just didn't want to see it because she was worth so much. I would like to rectify that now."

Ahmed paused and reached inside his jacket. He pulled out a yellow envelope and Amy glanced down at her, then back up at him. "I am transferring Autumn's ownership over to you," Ahmed said, handing her the envelope.

Amy was stunned for a moment before finally taking the envelope. She opened it and pulled the papers slightly out. It was true, they were ownership papers. Amy looked up at him, a question on her lips.

"I want you to find Autumn a good home," Ahmed said, before she could say anything. "A place where she will be happy and live a good life."

"Ahmed, this..." she couldn't find the words to describe what she was feeling right now. Happiness. Elation. Relief. All didn't seem adequate enough. Finally, Amy just said, "Thank you."

"I know you are very busy, so I won't keep you away," Ahmed said, clapping his hands together. "I know you will do your best to find Autumn a well-suited owner. I look forward to working with you again."

"Of course, anything you need, just let me know," Amy replied with a grateful smile.

They said their good-byes and Amy watched as Ahmed got in his car and drove off. Autumn tossed her head and snorted, seeming to share in Amy's relief and excitement. She patted the mare's neck, looking down at the ownership papers. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't hear Ty approach until he spoke.

"What was that all about?" Ty asked, his hands in his pockets. "Is he coming back for Autumn?"

"No, Autumn is mine now," Amy answered, looking at him. Ty raised an eyebrow and Amy held up the official papers. "Ahmed gave her to me. He wants me to find her a new home."

"Wow," Ty said in disbelief as he came closer. "I can't believe he actually gave her up. He was so adamant on keeping her a few days ago."

"I guess he thought about what I said and had a change of heart," Amy replied, the smile still on her face.

"Well, you do have that affect on people," Ty said, with a note of seriousness to his voice. Amy blushed and looked down, but Ty stepped closer to her and lifted her chin with his finger. He leaned down and captured her lips with his. The kiss was sweet and loving as Amy wrapped her arms around Ty's neck. His hands slid around to her back, locking her body to his. The kiss was increasing intensity, their passion reaching its' climax.

Autumn tugged at the lead rope still in Amy's hand, bringing her back to her senses. It was then, she heard two little voices calling her and Ty. They pulled apart and saw Lily and Jackson straining against Jessica's hands, calling out to both of them. Ty walked forward to meet them, nodding to Jessica, letting her know that it was okay to let go. Both toddlers ran to him and Ty scooped them up into his arms.

"What are you two doing out here?" Amy asked the twins when Ty walked back over to her.

"Come see you," Lily said, sweetly. Then, she pointed at Autumn. "Horsie 'eavin?"

Amy shook her head. "No, she's staying with us for now," she told her daughter.

"Yay!" Lily cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. Amy and Ty laughed. Jackson laughed too, only because everybody else was doing it. As Autumn dropped her head to graze, Amy slipped her arms around the twins turning it into a family hug. She smiled, feeling surrounded by the warmth and love of her family.

A/N: I know this chapter wasn't that long, but I promise the next chapter will be really long. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, please review! :)