A few weeks after the Fall Finale Amy recieved a phone call that she never expected to get.

"Hello Heartland Ranch."

"Hello. I'm looking for Mrs. Amy Fleming Borden?"

"This is Amy."

"Hello my name is Sean Wheaton. I'm Olivia Wheaton's dad."

"Oh right. How is Olivia doing?"

"She just got out of the hospital and is so far recovering well. But I am calling in regards to Buster. He had surgery and his leg has been repaired however he has been crazed and unpredictable ever since the accident. We are trying to sell him but we need him to be fixed first. We are willing to pay top dollar if it means he is fixed."

"Mr. Wheaton is rehoming what Olivia wants?"

"It doesn't matter what my daughter wants. The animal is not performing we need a champion is Olivia is going to compete again. So can you work with him?"

"Yes I just don't know how long it will take."

"I don't care as long as I can sell the beast."

Amy sighed, "Can you drop him off tomorrow?"

"Yes 9 o'clock work for you?"

"9 is perfect. I'll see you then Mr. Wheaton."

Amy hung up and walked out of the office and into the house. Maddie met her at the door. She had started walking a few days earlier.

"Hi Maddie girl!" She swung her up into her arms. "Lou?!"

Lou came into the kitchen with Katie and Lisa behind her.

"What's up?"

"You guys are never going to guess who just called me."

Lisa took Maddie from Amy. "Who?"

"Sean Wheaton, Olivia's dad. He wants me to look at Buster so that he can sell him."

Lou looked shocked, "Wow they're selling him?"

"Yup because he not advanced enough for Olivia."

Lisa looked upset. "Olivia couldn't even stay on him. I saw Buster before the Wheaton's bought him. They easily paid $100,000.00 for that horse. It was a champion."

Amy sat down and took Maddie back. "Well now he is having behavior issues since the accident."

Lou handed Lisa a cup of coffee. "Well go talk to Ty and Scott. They treated him."

Amy nodded. "I'm gonna go talk to them right now." She had Maddie stand on her legs. "Do you want to go for a ride Mad?"

Maddie grinned. "Ya!"

Lou smiled at her niece. "You might want to change her first Amy."

Amy looked her daughter had food all over her shirt. So after schanging Maddie into a brown long sleeve shirt that says "My Horse is Better Then Yours" in gold writting, a pair of jeans, a plain brown hoodie, brown cowboy boots and a brown bow headband. She let Maddie walk into the animal clinic by herself. She was so cute with her thumb in her mouth, carrying a teddy bear. Amy held the door to the back room open for her. Ty had turned his head when he heard the door open. He smiled and bent down so he could pull Maddie in for a hug.

"How's my girl?"

Maddie kissed his cheek and then asked to be picked up. He did and she rested her little head on his shoulder.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you and Scott."

Scott emerged from the stable area. "Well you found both of us. What can we do for you?"

"You guys treated Budget Buster right?"

Ty nodded. "Yeah but we sent him home about a month ago."

"How was he when he left?"

Scott took Maddie from Ty and handed her a lollipop. "He was fine. Perfect behavior. Why?"

"Mr. Wheaton called me today and said that Buster had turned into a terror. They want to sell him and they want me to "fix him"."

Ty looked shocked. "They're selling him?"

"Yup."

Scott however didn't look surprised. "Let me guess he thinks that his daughter is too advanced for the horse?"

"How did you know?"

"I see it all the time people blame the horse for the rider's mistakes."

Amy sighed. "I know it happens but if Buster was fine here i'm wondering what they did to him."

Scott shook his head. "I guess you'll find out."

Maddie reached for her daddy. Ty picked her up and kissed her cheek.

"Are you going to help Mommy today?"

Maddie scrunched up her nose. "No!"

Amy laughed and reached for Maddie. "At least she's honest."

Ty laughed too and kissed Amy and Maddie's foreheads.

"Thank you guys."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The next day Amy made sure to be outside at 8:45am. Scott and Ty were doing vaccinations and Jack and Caleb were in the barn with them. Mr. Wheaten pulled in at 9 o'clock sharp. He got out of his truck and shook Amy's hand.

"Amy Fleming I presume?"

"Actually Amy Borden."

"Oh sorry. Would you like to take a look at Budget Buster?"

"Of course. So what seems to be the problem?"

"Well no one can get to close to him let alone ride him. He is completely insane we have to setate him before we can go near him."

Amy could hear the horse kicking at the trailer. Mr. Wheaten did too.

"Ahh the setation has worn off. I would recomend getting at least 2 strong men to get him out."

Amy was already walking towards the back of the trailer. "I've handled some crazy horses before."

Amy opened the trailer and was shocked to see not fear but rage in his eyes. he darted out of the trailer luckily Amy held onto the lead rope. He drug her down to the ground and he darted into the barn. Amy heard Jack yell her name and then she felt someone pull her to her feet. She opened her eyes, not remebering when she closed them and seeing Caleb and Scott holding Buster and Ty holding her. He looked terrified.

"What happened?!"

"I've never seen a horse do that before! He didn't give any warning he just darted."

Ty set her down and hugged her while Caleb and Scott got Buster into a stall. Mr. Wheaten came into the barn with a grim look on his face closely followed by Lou and Lisa.

"I did try to warn you." He then turned and saw Phoenix. "Ahh this is Phoenix correct?"

Lou walked over. "Yes he won the Fall Finale this year."

"So I saw." He turned away from Phoenix and looked at Amy. "How much would you like for him? I was thinking $120,000.00."

Lou looked livid. "Phoenix is my daughter's horse and he is not for sale."

"Oh I assumed that you were selling. Most owners sell after a big win."

Lou was shaking at this point. "We are not most owners. So if you would like to leave Amy can call you with updates on Buster."

"Fine. I will pay you $500 for each day he is here."

Amy's jaw dropped. "It's usually only $200 a day for a horse like Buster."

"Like I said I want him cured and he is use to first class treatment."

With that said he walked out of the barn. Everyone was too stuned to speak. They all decided to bother Buster for a few days.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

After about a week Amy decided to start working with Buster. He was extremly explosive. Amy decided to take him out to the round pen and work with. Him once she got him in there she tried to get him to join up but Buster wasn't having that. Amy didn't know how long she drove him around the pen until Ty pulled in and Jack, Tim, Caleb, and Peter showed up at the gate. Ty quickly joined them and they all noticed how she was panting and pale. Jack decided to reason with her.

"Amy why don't you give that horse a break."

Amy didn't turn around she was determined. But Jack wasn't giving up either.

"Amy Linda Fleming Borden! You need to get out of that pen and take a break!"

This time Amy stopped and looked Buster in the eye. She saw pure rage. Then she noticed something else, he had a limp and he looked like he was in pain. Amy walked towards him carefully.

"Whoa."

She quickly snapped the lead rope onto him and tied him to the fence. She was trying to be as quick yet as gentle as possible. He kicked a little and threw his head back. Jack was growing impatient.

"Damn it Amy get out of that pen!"

She turned and looked at all of them. "He's in pain."

They all looked confused. Amy looked at Caleb.

"Caleb can you bring me some vervain and Devil's claw root?"

Caleb went off into the barn and Ty tried to come into the pen. Amy motioned for him not to move as she approached Buster.

"Easy Boy. We're here to help you."

Caleb came back out and Amy walked over to get the herbs. She took the Devil's claw and mashed it in with some oat and fed him a handful. He looked at her for a second but she stared at him.

"I promise I won't hurt you. Let me help you."

He then ate the handful of oats. Then she unscrewed the lid on the vervain and held it under his nose. He breathed it in and Amy noticed his muscles relaxed. Amy flagged Ty over and he approached with caution. He picked up Buster's back leg and started examining it. He sighed and looked up at her.

"They were giving him steroids."

Amy was shocked. "Why they were just going to sell him anyways?"

Ty had her look with him. He pointed to an area on Buster's leg. "You see this small mark? That is were they had pretty much a IV in him to pump him full of drugs. Which caused all of this swelling. They were trying to block the nerves to his leg themselves. I guess when they realized that it was making the leg worse they decided to sell him. But my guess is they started jumping him again the second Scott released him."

Amy had tears in her eyes. "So he will never jump again?"

Ty shook his head. "It will be a miracle if he will ever be ridden again."

Amy let a tear fall and patted his head. "No wonder he was so angry. I was making it worse."

Ty stood up and kissed her head. "You had no way of knowing Amy."

"The problem is as soon as his temper is under control I have to give him back."

Ty sighed. "I know Babe."

Amy couldn't let him go back.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

After a couple of weeks Buster was back to his old self. She had Scott look at him again and he confirmed what Ty said. he can never jump again but he can be a companion or leisure horse. Amy was working with him and he was doing great with being saddled again. Today Amy decided to do something really differnet. She went into the main house and found Mallory, Katie and Maddie playing on the living room floor. Maddie was in a pink long sleeve shirt with a snowman on it and jeans with her pink socks. Amy walked over to them and looked at Maddie.

"Hey Maddie Girl!"

Maddie got off the floor and tottered over to her mommy. "Momma!"

Amy picked her up and kissed her forehead. "Do you want to come outside and help me?"

Maddie nodded.

"Ok let's get your jacket on."

Amy grabbed Maddie's pink puff coat with faux fur on the hood and helped her put it on. Then she put on her brown yard boots and her pink hat. Maddie looked up at her mommy.

"Too hot."

Amy laughed. "You won't be when we go outside."

She picked her daughter up and carried her outside. She walked over to Buster and set Maddie down next to him. She immediatly tried to pet him but Amy caught her hand.

"We need him to trust you first baby."

Maddie looked up confused. Amy handed her a carrot.

"Can you give it to the horsie?"

Maddie nodded and held the carrot towards Buster. He accepted it and allowed Maddie to pet him. Amy smiled and picked Maddie up and set her in the saddle.

"Ok Mad sit up straight. Maddie did and grabbed the reins. Amy placed a hand behind her back to keep her upright and lead Buster with the other. She had Buster walk around the round pen a few times. Maddie seemed to love it. She smiled the whole time and was very patient. When Maddie pulled her off she was frowning.

"No Momma my horsie."

Amy giggled. "We need to give Buster a break Mad."

She sighed and kissed Buster's head. "I love you horsie."

Amy smiled and asked Caleb to put Buster away. Before they went into the house Lisa pulled in. Maddie squealed when she hopped out of her car.

"Hello Beautiful. Can you give Mimi a hug?"

Maddie gave her a big hug and Lisa kept her in her arms.

"How are you Amy?"

Amy hugged her. "Good I just don't want to give Buster back. He's almost ready to go but Maddie just loves him."

Lisa smiled. "I know."

"I actually need to call them with an update. Would you mind taking her inside so I can?"

"Of course."

Amy walked into Lou's office and sighed. She quickly dialed Mr. Wheaten's number. It rang twice before he answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello Mr. Wheaton this is Amy calling from Heartland."

"Oh hi Amy. So is Buster ready?"

"He should be ready to go next week. I want to work with him putting weight on his bad leg."

"Alright so I can arrange a time with Lou to pick him up? I already have 2 buyers interested."

"Mr. Wheaten we have come out and assess every horse that comes in here for diseases and when he looked at Buster he became concerned."

"What do you mean?"

"Buster will never be able to be jumped again. He can only be sold as a pleasure or companion horse."

"Well then... you need to keep him. I will continue paying for all of his boarding and medical bills but he is no use to me if I can not sell him for top dollar. So you find him a home and whatever someone will pay is fine. Goodbye Mrs. Borden."

Amy was shocked but decided something. Later that night Amy brought it up to Lisa while they were doing dishes.

"Lisa I was wondering...how much is Buster worth now that he has been gelded and he can no longer jump?"

Lisa thought for a moment. "Maybe $5,000.00. If he can't be jumped or used for breeding then there is not a lot of value left in him. Why?"

Amy glanced around making sure no one else was around. "I want to buy him and give him to Maddie for her first birthday."

Lisa smiled. "I think she would love that and he would be the perfect horse to learn how to ride on."

"Exactly and she loves him."

"Now you just have to get Ty and Mr. Wheaton on board."

Amy sighed and nodded.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Amy waited a week before bringing Buster up to Ty. Maddie's birthday was in 2 weeks and Amy wanted to have his ownership papers before then. So before they went to bed tonight she decided to talk to him.

"Hey Babe, can we talk about something?"

He turned off their TV and turned to her. "What's up?"

"I've been thinking about Maddie's birthday and I think I found the perfect gift."

"What?"

"Budget Buster."

He stared at her for a minute. "But he is way to expensive for us."

"No he isn't Lisa told me that since he can never jump again and can not be used for breeding they can't sell him for more then $5000.00."

Ty nodded. "But why do you want him?"

"He would be the perfect first horse for Maddie. He can't go too fast and he is really calm."

Ty thought for a minute. "Lets put in an offer."

Amy grinned and kissed him. The next day Amy called Mr. Wheaten.

"Hello Mrs. Borden."

"Hello Mr. Wheaten. I just wanted to let you know that I have a buyer interested in Buster."

"Excellent how much are they offering?"

"$4,000.00. Very reasonable for a horse in Buster's condition. Plus they are willing to pay for all of his boarding fees for the time he has been here."

Mr. Wheaten didn't speak for a minute and then he cleared his throat. "Alright that sounds reasonable. I will have his paperwork and a check faxed over immedietly,"

Amy was shocked. "Ok I will have them drop a check to you in the mail."

"Thank you Mrs. Borden for everything."

"You're welcome Mr. Wheaten. Also if you need another jumper I recomend Fairfeild. Lisa has some excellent jumpers."

"Really? I will have to look into that. And again thank you for all of your hard work."

With that he hung up. Amy grinned and ran to find Ty. She found him in the kitchen with Lou, peter and Lisa. She ran up and kissed him.

He laughed. "Did you miss me or something?"

"We got the horse!"

He looked shocked. "He accepted our offer?"

"Yes! he is faxing over his papers as we speak!"

Ty picked her up and swung her around. Everyone else looked confused so Amy decided to elaborate.

"We decided to buy Buster for Maddie's first horse."

Lou smiled. "Aww he will be perfect for her. How much did you guys offer?"

"$4,000.00"

Lisa nodded. "That was very reasonable. He is a sweet little horse."

Amy grinned at her. "I also recomended Fairfeild to Mr. Wheaten to find a new jumper."

"Oh thank you."

Amy went back out to the barn with Ty and found that not only the paperwork had been faxed but so had a check for $3,000.00. Ty filled out a check and faxed it over to the Wheaten's. They shared another kiss.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000