A/N: I can't even begin to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I have been sick with a really horrible cold, and my poor beta's been busy with R/L stuff, and we've been trying hard to get this stuff together. I hope you all can forgive me for the lateness, and enjoy this chapter.

Ty woke up to the sound of laughter floating in from the kitchen. He rubbed his hands against his eyes, as he attempted to let his eyes adjust to the light flowing in from the window above his head. After a few moments, Ty pulled himself into a sitting position. It was one of his least favorite moments, to call for help, to feel absolutely useless. However, since he first started feeling pain in his back and legs a couple of days earlier, the ache never really subsided. His doctor informed him that it was likely from his spine trying to heal. That the nerves in his lower back and legs were probably ultra sensitive, and that the sensitivity would eventually go away. So, because of the soreness, and because his doctor explained that strenuous activity could stunt his progress, Ty had become extra helpless.

"Amy! Jack!" Though generally there were more people in the house early in the morning, Amy and Jack were the only two people that he would allow to see him so helpless. Less important things, liking reaching for something in the cabinet, or pushing his wheelchair when he got too exhausted to move forward anymore, he would let the others help him with. With one exception. Ty hasn't allowed Tim to help him with one thing, since the whole yelling at Amy situation.

"Hey, good morning." Amy whispered softly, a slight twinkle in her eyes. She moved forward, and helped Ty pull back the comforter that covered his body. "How'd you sleep?" She asked, as she pulled his legs over toward the edge of the bed, before slipping the board into place.

Ty shrugged softly, "Not too bad. I'm excited that these stupid stitches come out in a couple of days."

Amy smiled at him, before helping get him situated on the board correctly. With his arms around her neck, Amy carefully slid him across the board and lowered him slowly into his wheelchair. "Actually, I have some good news. Dr. Cartwright called this morning. He said that since your last examination went well that he sees no problem taking the stitches out early."

Ty glanced at her, one of his eyebrows cocked as he confusion showed. "Why would I need my stitches out early for? It's not like I'm allowed to actually do anything."

Amy shrugged, before chuckling. "Let's just put it this way..." she trailed off, as she walked around the back of Ty's wheelchair, and started pushing him forward. "It's all part of the plan."

Ty tried to get comfortable, as Jack's truck barreled down a bumpy, country road. With a side-ways glance, Ty eyed Amy carefully. Something was going on. Aside from the fact that everyone was acting differently, it was always Jack that took Ty to his doctor's appointment. Then there was the look of happiness the doctor gave him and the odd smile on his face before announcing that he would be removing Ty's stitches.

"Amy, where are you taking me?"

Amy bit her lip hard to keep from smiling, as she simply shrugged her shoulders. "I thought you could use a little fresh air. Get out of the house. So, I thought we'd go for a walk. First though, I have to stop by someone's farm to check out a horse, if that's alright?"

Ty smiled softly. He wanted to tell her that it would be fine. That he'd love to help her, even if he knew that he couldn't. His injuries aside, he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about being around horses. He also wasn't sure if he wanted to test his feelings when he had no viable way of running away. Yet, he also knew that this was part of Amy's job. It was part of what she does and who she is, and Ty most definitely didn't want to be the person to stand in the way of that. At least, anymore than he already had. Since his accident, Amy had only taken on one horse, and she had quickly diagnosed the horse and sent it away. She hadn't even really gone on any rides with Spartan. Ty felt like he was slowly draining the life, the things that he loved most about Amy, out of her.

"Sure. Probably best if I stay in the truck."

Amy smiled, "Actually, I'd like you to meet the guy that owns the farm. Caleb recommended me to him."

Ty's eyebrows pulled up in confusion. "So, wait. You're going to drag me out of this truck, to meet a man that owns a farm? How does that make sense, Amy?"

"I can't really say, Ty. I just think that you would benefit from it. Trust me, please." She practically begged, as she reached her hand over and squeeze his.

"I already do, Amy. With my life. You know that. I just, I guess I'm confused."

Amy chuckled lightly, "You won't be for long."

Amy pulled the truck to a slow stop just in front of a large stable area. A quick glance around showed a couple of small round pens, and a few larger training areas. Ty wasn't entirely sure why anyone would need more than one training area, but he guessed that he was just used to watching Amy do her work in the small round pen and the slightly larger training area.

His eyes grazed back over to the stable, and his face scrunched up as he took in the sight before him. The man couldn't be much older than Ty himself. He was dressed in a large, thick jacket, as he rolled his wheelchair toward their truck.

It finally dawned on Ty, why Amy had taken him to his doctor's appointment, and why she was so adamant on him talking to the owner of farm. Because, much like Ty, this guy was stuck in a wheelchair too.

Ty could feel his anger and frustration start to bubble up, as his hands clenched into tight fists. He took a deep breath, trying like hell to keep the anger out of his voice. "Amy, what the hell is this?"

Amy sighed, she hadn't been entirely sure how Ty would take to her plan. That was one reason why she had woken up at the crack of dawn, and sat alone in the empty kitchen for an hour. Just to think. Should she tell him her plan, or should she just surprise him. Ultimately, and especially after she talked to her grandfather, she came to the realization that if she told Ty the truth, he wouldn't come with her. Instead, she had gone behind his back and made these plans.

"It's not what it looks like, Ty." Amy started, before Ty threw his hand up to cut her off.

"Really, Amy? Because it looks like you dragged me out to a farm to talk to another handicapped person. What? Did you think that because we're both stuck in a damn chair, useless to anyone else, that we would just have loads of stuff to talk about?"

Amy let her eyes drift close, as she pinched the bridge of her nose. After their last talk, Amy had decided to not let Ty push her around anymore. She didn't think it was something she would ever have to commit to, not after how well they had been getting along. As his words started to set in, Amy felt herself starting to grow angry at what he was implying. "That was not my intention, Ty. Do you think so lowly of me, that you think I would just throw you together with someone with similar problems? I brought you with me, because I thought that you would benefit from meeting Bryce. He's a very optimistic guy. I thought that maybe, just maybe, you might learn something from him. I was only trying to help you."

Ty sneered at Amy for a moment, before looking back at Bryce. "Yeah, he looks like someone I'd hit it off with real good, Amy."

"You are infuriating, Ty Borden! It's not like I just called around to find someone else that was paralyzed. Caleb called me the other day, said that his friend Bryce could use some help with one of his horses. When Caleb told me that Bryce trains horse for therapeutic riding, I knew that I had to find out more about it. I had heard of doctor's using therapeutic horseback riding to help with non-permanent spinal injuries, and I thought that maybe it would help you..." Amy sighed as she let her sentence trail off. Tears filled her eyes, as she glanced up at Ty. "That's all I've ever wanted you know? To help you get better. You seem so down all the time, and grandpa told me about your conversation in the truck the other day. About how useless you feel, and I just thought that maybe if I found out more about it – if I talked to your doctor about it, maybe I could help you feel just a little less useless."

Ty pinched the bridge of his nose, and shook his head. He had swore to himself that he would never blow up at Amy like that again. That he would never make her cry again, and yet here he was, doing the exact thing he swore he wouldn't do. He felt horrible, but at the same time, he was kind of hoping that she would change her mind, because leaving the truck meant meeting Bryce. Meeting Bryce meant trying out this therapeutic horseback riding, and if Ty was being honest with himself, he was quite terrified of getting on a horse after what had happened.

"I'm sorry, Amy. For blowing up like that. I just – I guess I'm scared."

Amy stared at Ty for a long moment, before speaking. "Ty, it's perfectly normal for you to be scared. I mean, if I'm being completely honest, I'm a little scared too. I put my trust in horses every single day, I have too, it's part of my job, but I can't lie. After what happened, it's kind of hard for me to do that anymore. It's hard for me to trust an animal that hurt you so badly. I mean, that easily could have been anyone. It could have been me or Lou, hell it even could have been grandpa. It would have hurt me all the same, but to see the outcome of that accident, Ty. It's just hard, but that's why Bryce is here. He personally trained these horses himself. This isn't just his farm, Ty, it's his business. Others, just like you – just like him, come from all over to ride his horses. I talked to him for a long time, Ty. I asked him about all the risks and rewards. He put it all out there for me, every last detail, and you want to know what the last thing he said to me was?" Amy paused, while she waited for Ty to look at her. "He said that no matter the risks, every singe person that came through here told him that the risks were worth the reward."

Ty sighed again, before looking Amy directly in the eye. "You won't leave my side, right?"

Amy smiled, as she brushed her thumb softly against his cheek. "Never."

As Ty rolled himself closer to Bryce, he could tell that the man was smiling softly. He offered Amy a wave, before nodding his head at Ty.

"Took you guys awhile. Let me guess, this was a surprise visit for someone?" Bryce asked, a bit of cheeky smile on his face.

Amy stiffened slightly, halting her movement next to Ty, as she awaited his answer. "Yeah, definitely a surprise, but she means well." Ty chuckled lightly.

Amy placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed softly, before Ty's hand rose and patted her hand softly. "Ty doesn't take to help quite so easily. Sometimes, surprises are a necessary evil."

Bryce nodded, "I get that, Ty. I was the same way at first, but you get used to having help with things. Ultimately, you get to a point, and into a groove, where you know what you can and can't do."

Ty nodded, "So, if you don't mind me asking, how do you run this place on your own?"

Bryce shrugged softly, "A lot of hard work. I didn't just wake up one day and say, I want to have my own farm. In fact, that was the opposite of what I wanted to do. I mean, I had a horse and I used to do some riding in local rodeo's and stuff. That's how I met Caleb, but I realized that wasn't what I wanted with my life. I wanted to do something that meant something. So, I enlisted into the army. Got shipped off to Afghanistan. When I got back, I came in this chair."

Ty sighed, "What are your chances?"

"Of walking again?" Bryce waited, as Ty nodded in confirmation. "None. The damage done to my spinal cord is permanent. There is nothing that can be done for me." Bryce noted the look on Ty's face, as he waved his arm. "Naw, man. Don't feel sorry for me. I've come to terms with it. It wasn't easy. I ran off my girlfriend pretty quickly. I was a mean bastard for a while, but I've come to terms with the fact that I'll never walk again. That didn't mean that I had to give up everything. That I had to be some helpless lump in a chair. It just meant, I had to be willing to work for and toward something that I wanted. While running a farm wasn't exactly a top priority for me at first. Now, I've been able to do something pretty amazing. I get to help people, who like me, are stuck in these chairs. Not all of them are permanent cases, like you, Ty, but still. Just being able to be out here and work, is sometimes just what they need to feel some sense of accomplishment. For others it takes more than that. Which is why I have some of the most highly trained horses in Canada. These horses were born and bred for therapeutic riding. They know how to take care of their rider."

Ty stared at Bryce, before glancing at Amy, "Is that why I'm here? To literally get back on the horse?"

Bryce chuckled. "You're here, because Amy thought you could use some sense of accomplishment. Whether that is getting back on the horse, or just cleaning up their crap. That's completely up to you, Ty. Hell, you don't have to do anything. You don't even have to come back here if you don't want to. Just know, that if this is something you want, that I am willing to work directly with you to help you learn what your limitations are. Everyone has them, even one's like you that aren't living a permanent situation..."

Ty sighed, "Let me guess, Amy gave you my medical history too?"

Bryce laughed heartily, before shaking his head. "Listen to me on one thing, Ty. If you leave here believing just one thing I've said, believe this. You have a great girl there. I couldn't get one lick of information out of her. As soon as she told me that you both knew Caleb though, I knew I could get my answers for him. Besides, if you do decide to stick around and do some work around here, I would need to know what kind of injury you have. What your prognosis is. Stuff like that. It helps me understand just how much I can push, before we have a problem."

Ty's lips pouted out slightly, as a loud whinny shrilled from inside the stable. Ty's eyes went blank as memories flooded his conscious mind. His body started to shake, as he slowly started to remember the accident.

"Ty." Amy prodded softly, as she bent down beside his chair. She spared a small glance at Bryce, who merely shook his head and shrugged. "Ty!" Amy called louder, as she shook his shoulder. "Come on, Ty!"

Suddenly, like nothing had happened, his eye came back into focus. Amy sighed out in relief, until she saw the look his face. Fear and anger were embedded deep into his eyes, as he turned away from Amy. "I want to go home." Was all he offered, before turning his chair around, and wheeling himself back toward the truck.

Amy stood back up, and frowned, before looking at Bryce. "I am so sorry. I don't know what happened. Look, let me take him home, and I'll come back out to have a look at your horse, okay?"

Bryce nodded, "Yeah, that's fine. I'll be here all day. Just go, take care of your man."

Amy smiled softly, before turning back toward the truck. The only thing on her mind was what had caused Ty's mood to change so quickly?