A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys. I had some issues getting this chapter started, but once I did it just flowed perfectly! With that said, 1 more chapter and an epilogue remaining for this one, and I hope you've all enjoyed it!

Ty sighed, as he rolled out of bed. His feet hit the hard, wooden floor of the loft. Something felt off, but Ty couldn't quite put his finger on it. Shrugging his shoulders, Ty grimaced as something pulled at his stomach. Lifting his thin t-shirt up, he noticed the newly healed scar that cut across his abdomen. Ty's eyes scrunched up at the edges as he tried to dredge up the memory that went with the scar, but found nothing to explain it.

Instead of dwelling on it, he pulled on his shoes before grabbing a change of clothes. He strided carefully toward the stairs and took them two at a time. As he came to the last step, he started to hear voices whispering in the stable.

Curiosity won out, as he edged toward the voices and peered around the corner. His lips puckered out slightly, as anger started to boil in Ty's blood.

"Caleb, someone could walk in!" Amy chuckled, as she playfully smacked at Caleb's chest.

"I won't apologize, Amy. When I see something I want, I take it." Caleb whispered huskily, as he leaned in and pressed his lips to Amy's harshly.

"Caleb, stop!" Amy spoke, her voice louder, as she pushed Caleb away.

"Can't." Was all Caleb said, as he made a move to lean again.

Ty forgot about the clothes in his arms, as he stalked forward. "I think she said to stop, Caleb. So just back off."

Caleb turned around as he glared at Ty. "Shouldn't you be with Kit? Remember our deal, lover boy?" Caleb spat, as he turned back toward Amy.

"I broke up with Kit!" Ty spat back, as he made a move to grab Caleb's arm. He wasn't entirely sure where that came from, since he didn't actually remember breaking up with Kit, but as the words had slipped from his lips, they had a ring of truth to them.

"You what?" Caleb asked, as he took a step closer to Ty.

"I broke up with her." Ty stated with more confidence than he had before. Though he knew his eyes should be on the angry cowboy in front of him, Ty couldn't take his eyes off of Amy, who was now crying. "Now, leave before I have you forcibly removed." Ty said, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Not yet. We have business to attend to. I told you not to break her heart, and you just had to do just that. You know what this means, right?"

Ty sighed, "Do your worse, Caleb. It wasn't fair to stay in a relationship with Kit in the fear that you might punch me. Not when I'm in love with Amy."

At the mention of her name, Amy's head snapped up as she stared at Ty. "Caleb, leave him alone."

"Shut up, Amy. The man promise me that he wouldn't hurt Kit, and he did. If Ty's a real man, he'll take his punishment in stride. You a real man, Ty? Huh?" Caleb asked, as he poked Ty hard in the chest.

"Just hit me already, Caleb. This is getting old."

Caleb smirked, "With pleasure." Caleb's arm snapped backward before floating forward quickly. Ty didn't even have a chance to brace for the attack, as Caleb's fist connected hard with Ty's cheek.

Ty stumbled backward, falling hard to the stable's floor. Crying out in pain, Ty's eyes jerked around wildly. He didn't understand. He was fine. Ty knew that he had taken worse falls than this before, but suddenly he couldn't feel his legs. With furrowed brows, Ty glared at Caleb. "What did you do!? I can't feel my legs, what did you do?"

Ty jerked awake, his breathing hitching in his throat as sweat coated his face and chest. He barely registered as the door swung open quickly, or the fact that someone was talking to him in a very soothing voice.

"Ty. It was just a bad dream, come on. Come back to me." Amy spoke soothingly, as her fingers brushed his cheeks softly.

Ty blinked a couple of times, as he started to register Amy's gentle touch. "Amy?" He rasped out, as his eyes sought her out.

"Sssh. It's alright. Come on, lie back. I won't leave." Amy promised, as she helped Ty lay back against the pillows. Slowly, she walked around to the other side of the bed. She knew if her grandfather … or worse, her own father, found her in Ty's bed, that all hell would break loose. At the moment though, she didn't care. Ty needed her, and she wasn't about to leave him when he needed her the most.

"Amy." Ty whimpered, as his fingers sought out her hand.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, Ty, I swear." Amy whispered, as she ran her fingers through Ty's hair, before placing a kiss on his forehead. "I've got you. You're okay." She continued soothing Ty, until finally his eyes drifted close again.

After a moment, Amy finally snugged down into the blankets, and laid her head against Ty's chest.

The sun had risen high in the sky by the time Ty's green eyes popped open. A small smile crept on his as memories from the night before flooded back. The nightmare he had, hadn't been fun, but getting to snuggle with his girlfriend because of it, had been perfect.

Sighing softly, Ty noticed that Amy had forgotten to set his wheelchair next to his bed so that he could just slide into it once he woke up. Groaning, Ty hated the thought of calling for someone, when his chair was literally only a few steps away. Shrugging his shoulders, Ty pulled the blankets off himself, before maneuvering his legs to dangle off the edge of the bed. He was getting better … he wasn't in great shape. In fact, he still hadn't made it all the way down the set of bars on his own yet, but he was better. Ty figured with as much work as he had put into himself, he could stumble himself five steps forward without a falling.

Holding onto the night stand beside him, Ty hoisted himself up into a wobbly, standing position. He cringed at how weak his legs were, but felt proud that he could feel his legs at all. With a soft nod, insuring himself that he was ready, Ty let go of the night stand and started his very wobbly and choppy move forward. He made it three steps, when the bedroom door opened. Ty heard a gasp, just as his legs gave out on him.

Looking up as he started to tumble to the ground, he saw Amy drop the tray of breakfast items to the floor, as she ran forward to try to stop him from crashing to the floor.

"Ty." Amy chastised him, as she caught him just under his shoulders.

He could feel her exhaustion as she tried to pull his rather limb body over toward his wheelchair on her own. Never in his right mind would Ty had ever assumed that Amy was strong enough to hold up his body weight … let alone drag him along with herself.

"Sorry." Ty answered, a sheepish smile on his face. "I thought for sure I could make it."

Amy sighed, as she knelt down in front of him. "Ty, the only reason that you are able to walk as well as you can in rehab, is because of the bars. You're able to rest most of your body weight on the bars. You cannot expect to put every ounce of your body weight onto your legs like that. Not yet. Not when you're not fully recovered. Why didn't you just call for me?"

Ty looked down at the floor, unable to meet Amy's eyes. He could hear the worry and concern creeping into her voice, and he hated the fact that he put it there. Not to mention the fact that he was embarrassed beyond words at what had just happened. He offered her a tiny shrug, before speaking, "I'm just tired of having people help me, Amy. I just want to be able to do something for myself. Even if it's as simple as walking to my wheelchair."

Amy couldn't help the tears that crept into her eyes at his words. She knew he was frustrated, hell she would be too if she were in Ty's position. That was why she always tried to be as calm and kind as she could to him. Amy knew that he didn't need someone constantly on his case. "I understand, Ty. I really do, but it would kill me if you fell and hurt yourself again." Amy bit her lip to keep from crying, as her fingers tightening into a ball before releasing. "You have to realize how much of an impact your accident had on me … and I swear, Ty, I am not trying to make this about me. I just need you to understand how I felt … and what I did while you were unconscious. I mean, I didn't even know if you were going to wake up."

Ty's insides quaked at the emotion in Amy's voice. He looked up to meet her eyes, and felt his insides turn to stone at the tears that were welled in her eyes. Ty felt like an idiot in that moment. He was always thinking about himself, and how his accident affected him. Yet, he never once stopped to think of how his accident impacted the lives of those around him. Especially Amy. "I am so sorry."

Amy held up her hand to stop him. She knew if she didn't get the words out now, she never would. "I was scared to death, Ty. I was afraid that I would never get to see your smile or hear your voice ever again. When the doctor told us that you would wake up, I was so afraid that you would hate me for doing this to you. I barely slept, Ty, and when I did, I had nightmares. Terrible nightmares, that if I'm being honest about … still plague me. I barely ate. If Grandpa or Lou hadn't forced the food down my throat, I probably wouldn't have eaten what I did. I barely left the hospital. Only when I was forcibly removed by the nursing staff when visiting hours were over. I didn't have time for anyone or anything else."

Ty let out a soft, whimpering sigh, before clutching Amy's hand. "I am so sorry, Amy. I swear, I didn't even once stop to think about how all of this had affected you. How it hurt you. Even when I saw it in your eyes, I didn't believe it. I have been so selfish this entire time, and that isn't fair to you. Please forgive me."

Amy swiped her free hand against her wet cheeks, before letting out an exasperated chuckle. "Of course I forgive you, Ty. I didn't tell you that so that you'd feel bad. I told you that so that maybe next time you think about taking a walk to retrieve your wheelchair, you'll think twice."

Ty chuckled softly in return. "Definitely. I will definitely think twice. Can't promise it'll make me change my mind."

Amy rolled her eyes, before standing up and placing a kiss on Ty's forehead. "Seeing as how the floor is apparently eating your breakfast. How about we go to Maggie's and grab a bite to eat. I have to drive Midnight Lightning back to Bryce's."

"Have you made much progress?"

Amy shrugged her shoulders, "I think I've made enough to make Bryce change his mind."

Ty sat back in his wheelchair, as Amy demonstrated her progress with Midnight Lightning to Bryce. He nodded his head, as his fingers curled around his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"You've done amazing work, Amy, I won't lie. It's just … it's different to have someone like me get on a horse that is lying down, then it is for someone like you to get on him. You're not dead weight at the bottom, plus you're nowhere near as heavy as most of the people that would be trying to ride him. I need to know for sure that he won't try to buck off someone like me."

Amy nodded, his words making absolute sense. Of course it would be different with someone who was paralyzed, and if she had to venture a guess, she would say that Midnight Lightning might not be strong enough to hoist up all that weight. Amy didn't even think that he wanted to buck, she had found there was always a resistance to it. Amy hated the thought of the horse getting sold to someone else, just because he wasn't strong enough to do what he wanted to do.

Bryce continued when Amy didn't say anything, "I guess I could try to get on him. See if he could hold me up."

Amy looked up at Ty, and frowned. There was no way that Midnight Lightning was strong enough to hoist up a man of Bryce's weight, at least not yet. If she could prove that the horse could in face lift someone paralyzed, even if it was someone smaller, then Amy figured she could get some more time with Midnight Lightning, to work on his strength management.

"Wait, Bryce-" Amy sighed, as she let her sentence hang in the air. What she was about to say could either end well … or end horribly. "That horse, he isn't going to be able to hoist you up. Not from a lying down position. He's just not strong enough … at least not yet. I can work with him though, I know I can. I can get his strength management up, where it needs to be. He wants to do what you want him to … he doesn't like to buck. There is a resistance when he does it. If you give me more time-"

Bryce held up a hand. "How do you know it's a strength thing, and not just a mental thing? How do you know that he is able to lift up any paraplegic?"

Amy sighed, "I don't for sure, and I would never ask someone to get on him unless I knew for sure. It's just … I know that if you sell this horse, Bryce, it's just going to depress him. All he wants is to impress you. To do what you want him to. He's been trained for this, it's what he wants to do. I can just feel it."

Bryce shook his head, "Unless you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his issue is strength related, then there is nothing I can do, Amy. I run a business here. I'm trying to help people that need it, and I can't do that if I have an unreliable horse that keeps bucking people off of him. I'm sorry, Amy. I have no other choice-"

"Wait." Ty yelled out. "What if she can prove that it's just strength related?"

Bryce shrugged his shoulders, "Then I'd be willing to allow her to continue working with him until he was in optimal shape."

Ty glanced at Amy, who was staring at him. Ty shrugged, and offered her a smile before speaking, "Then I'll get on him."

Amy rushed forward, "Ty, no." She had meant what she said. There was no way she was letting anyone on that horse until she knew for sure that it was definitely a strength issue. That went double for Ty. Especially considering he was making progress. If Midnight Lightning bucked him off, and he hurt his back again... She couldn't even ponder how badly that would hurt her.

"Amy, it'll be fine. I trust you. If you say that horse's problem is strength, then I believe you. If you're right, then he should be able to hoist me up just fine. I'm much lighter than Bryce."

"Ty, you still have issues with horses. You think I don't know that? You think I don't notice how you keep a safe distance between you and every horse I work with? That horse will pick up on your hesitance-"

"Amy, I trust you. Now, it's your turn to trust me. Let me help you with this."

Amy stared at Ty, before giving him a small, weak smile. "I knew there was a reason why I loved you."

Ty's heart fluttered in his chest at her words, and her smile. As corny as it sounded, he honestly was completely helpless when it came to Amy's smile. He knew that she had far too much power over him, and there was nothing he could do about it. "I thought it was my dashing good looks and fabulous personality?"

Amy shrugged, "Oh those are fine, but it's that adorable way that you'd do anything for me that really makes me weak in the knees." Amy grinned, as she pretended to fan herself.

Ty rolled his eyes softly, before moving toward the horse. He waited while Amy got Midnight Lightning into position. As he wait, he shoved himself, wobbly, from his wheelchair and stumbled over toward the horse. He could feel his heart starting to race, but shoved the thought aside. The words Amy said were ringing his ear. He couldn't show the horse that he was terrified of it. He had to man up, and do what needed to be done.

With Amy's help, Ty settled down onto the saddle. He waited for Amy to give him some instruction on how to get the horse to stand up.

"Okay, Ty. What you're going to do is gently lift up on the reins, while softly digging the heel of your boot into the horses side. Don't dig hard, otherwise the horse will get upset and possibly buck you off. Just a slight dig into his side will get the job done. He'll know what to do next. If you feel his legs locking up on the way off, let me know so that I can stop him from trying to buck you off. Do you understand?"

Ty nodded his head, before taking a breath. As he let the breath out, he gently lifted up on the reins before digging the heel of his boot into Midnight's side. He felt the horse pull himself up off the ground. With bated breath, Ty watched as he went from the ground to a full standing position. In that moment Ty knew that Amy was right. Midnight Lightning's issue wasn't that he didn't want to do his job, it was that he wasn't fully capable of doing his job. Slowly, Ty felt the terror and panic that he had tried to hide from the horse slowly start to disappear.

He glanced down at Amy, who nodded her head. Ty pulled gently on the reins before speaking to the horse, "Come on, boy. Let's go for a ride." Ty grinned brightly, as Midnight Lightning took off.