lb_heartland | Fic: Quiet Sanctuary 9/14

Quiet Sanctuary
Chapter Nine (or Part Two, Chapter Two)
Word Count: 3,038
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Tim/Marion, eventually... Lou/Scott and Ty/Amy.
Warnings: Non-graphic discussion of child abuse.
Disclaimer: I'm never going to grow up. That means... I'm not legally responsible for anything, right?
Summary: AU. Heartland is a refuge, not just for abused and neglected horses, but for all.
Author's Note: I have had one particular scene in mind that really started the whole story... Okay, two. One was when Ty came to Heartland, and the next one is still to come, but it is interesting to me just how much of a story was built up from just two short moments.

Uninvited Guests and Neighbors

"That's him, isn't it? The damn railroad agent," Tim said angrily, looking at the edge of his property line and cursing loudly. Next to him, Ty watched the man in the dark suit with a frown. It wasn't hard to see that he didn't belong out here. He had a whole kit full of things he was working with. One of them looked like a camera, and the other was also on a tripod, but Ty wasn't sure what that was. Something to measure with, maybe. They were surveyor's tools, after all. "It doesn't look like he's going to take up Ted Grant on his offer."

"That's not necessarily true. He might have to evaluate all the land before he goes," Ty suggested, though he felt his stomach twisting anyway. He couldn't say why the agent's presence bothered him so much. He hadn't felt this uneasy about anything since... He didn't want to think about that. This man had nothing to do with his past. He was just a stranger, and strangers bothered him. Always had, always would, he supposed.

"I can shoot him from here," Jack offered, and Ty was not surprised to see he had his rifle with him. The other two men were very defensive when it came to their land. The two of them didn't even agree on which land was which, because while Tim might have put in the claim, for many years, it was Jack doing all the work. "I won't miss."

"He's not actually trespassing," Ty reminded him. He knew that Jack wasn't a bloodthirsty man. He wasn't violent. If he had been, there would have been no way that Ty would have stayed here as long as he had. Jack was defensive, that was all. No one who owned a farm trusted the railroad. There were too many stories of homesteaders forced off their land so that the railroad could go through. Something called eminent domain... He didn't know a lot about it, but he knew it worried people.

"He's pretty damn close," Tim muttered. "No one would blame us."

"Except Ted Grant," Ty pointed out pragmatically.

"Damn it, boy, don't you care anything about this land? Don't you understand what this means?" Tim demanded, grabbing Ty's arm. Ty looked at the other man's hand and swallowed hard. It wasn't that he really thought Tim would hurt him, but this kind of thing always brought back memories, and the memories were harder to cope with than what was actually happening.

"Let him go, Tim," Jack said, his voice low and full of warning just as Peyote started growling. Tim looked down at the dog, shook his head with disgust, and let go of Ty's arm. Ty rubbed his arm. He couldn't help it. It didn't hurt, but that didn't stop him. It was reflex now.

Ty took another look at the railroad agent and walked away, back towards the house. He didn't want to be out here any longer. If Tim and Jack were going to confront the man, they'd do it on their own. He wanted no part of it.

He'd just reached the barn when Amy came out, leading one of their latest rescues, a black gelding she called Spartan, out of the barn. She and Marion had rescued him after a homesteader deserted him on his claim, and they'd nearly been killed in the storm while bringing him back. Ty knew that Tim hated that horse about as much as he hated Ty, which said something. It wasn't the horse's fault, but Tim had struggled with his anger towards horses ever since Pegasus' accident. He still wasn't comfortable with that horse, and though he admired Marion's work and didn't object to it or try and stop her, he stayed clear of it most of the time.

Ty preferred it that way. He'd never gotten along with Tim Fleming, and he probably never would. The man had disliked him from the start, and he'd scared Ty back then with his yelling and violent outbursts. It hadn't mattered that Tim couldn't walk back then. He'd broken things and terrorized everyone in the house until he finally started working on walking again. Now it wasn't that Tim scared him, but it was clear that he would never have his approval. The man only saw him as a useless stable hand, and definitely not good enough for his daughter. He'd shouted that out enough in the arguments he had with Marion. Ty wasn't supposed to hear them, but he didn't have a choice sometimes.

"Hey," Amy called as Ty started to walk again. He should have spoken to her, but he didn't know what to say. Things were a bit awkward now, with everyone expecting things from him, from them. He knew that he shouldn't let how Tim felt influence him at all, but he couldn't forget that she'd be choosing him over her father's objection... if it ever came to that. Now wasn't the right time, though. "Something going on? What's with Dad and Grandpa?"

"The railroad agent's down by the property line. They're threatening to shoot him," Ty answered, and Amy sighed. She reached up to pat Spartan's neck. "And your father doesn't think I care about the land. Nothing new."

"Dad's an idiot," Amy muttered in annoyance. She always jumped to Ty's defense. He sometimes wondered if she thought, truly thought, that he could do no wrong. It wasn't true. He'd made mistakes, and he still did. "No one cares more about this place than you. Not even Grandpa. Not Dad. They see it as property. Mom sees it as a sanctuary, sees it for what it can do to save horses. You see it as something more. I love that about you."

Ty looked at her, and Amy's cheeks turned color as she blushed red. She shrugged. "I just mean you... you weren't born here. You have a different perspective. You told me once that you could walk away whenever you wanted—"

He wasn't sure he wanted her to say she didn't mean it. He wished he knew where he stood on the matter. It would make things easier for both of them. "Amy, that's not true—"

She shook her head. "It is. I mean, I know you won't, because you don't want to, but you still could leave if you want. That makes your love of this place different from all of ours. We almost have no choice about loving Heartland. You do."

Ty smiled a little. He shrugged. "How's Spartan?"

"I think I could take him across country jumping. He's got so much energy," Amy said with a smile. She looked back at her father and grandfather. "You want to take a ride with me?"

"I shouldn't. I've got a lot of work to do," Ty began, and then he caught the look on her face. He rubbed his arm again. He didn't care what Tim thought of him. "Sure, let's go."

Marion sighed and wondered again if suicide was really a sin. Sometimes it seemed like death was preferable to listening to Val Grant go on and on. She knew the feeling would pass, and she would remember all of the fine things she had to live for, but right now, she felt like she was enduring some kind of medieval torture. She rubbed her forehead. She was starting to get a headache, and it wasn't just from the obnoxious perfume that Val insisted on wearing because it was from France.

"So, as you know, Marion, we've been privileged to host the gentleman from out of town," Val went on, completely ignoring Marion's misery. She wished that she could get away, but Val had managed to corner her in the back of the store, and she'd been stuck listening to Mrs. Grant go on and on as she stood in the back, wondering if she was actually taking long enough to where her husband or father would come into town to look for her. Maybe it just seemed like an eternity.

"Yes, I had heard that."

"Well, this man is an absolute dear," Val continued. "He keeps insisting on paying for things despite our telling him he's a guest. I don't know why the railroad sent him out here because he's not a typical agent. Dozens of other men could do this job, and yet they thought it was so important that they sent him out to survey our area."

"I see," Marion said, making an appropriate nod, smiling thinly. "I don't know why our town is so important."

Val shook her head. "You know that it is, Marion. We're right in a crucial area. The railroad could go north and south or east and west from here. This is quite possibly the most major junction they've built in years. It is not a minor decision in the slightest. Of course they would send a man as important as him. He's only a vice-president with the company, after all."

"Oh, is he?" Marion asked, feeling like she was going to strangle the other woman if she didn't get out of here. She should be glad she wasn't being forced to listen to another one of Val's gushing yet condescending conversations about her daughter's upcoming wedding. It wouldn't be for at least year, but it was all that Val could talk about. Marion had been trying to avoid her every time she was in town, and she knew that Amy was doing the same with Ashley. Val seemed determined to make Marion feel inferior because neither of her daughters were engaged.

It didn't matter that Lou was spoken for, even if it was unofficial. Marion wasn't worried about her daughters. She felt that Lou was doing the right thing, pursuing her dreams before she settled down, though she knew it was frustrating Scott. She adored that boy like a son, and she was so proud of him. He had stood up for his dreams, and he was letting Lou go after hers. He accepted that he had responsibilities to fulfill first. He had to finish his schooling before he could marry, and he was very close, just one more year. That was fine with Marion. She was pleased with what both of them were doing, and she knew they were handling their situation well.

As far as she could tell, Ashley Grant had barely even met the man she was supposed to marry. No one knew anything of him except the Grants, and they could not boast more about him. Marion's ambitions for her daughters was far simpler. All she wanted was for both girls to be happy. She knew that Lou could probably turn the eye of any businessman she met, but none of them would love her more than Scott Trewin. As for Amy... Matt Trewin would ask her to marry him today, and he intended to become a doctor. He was what almost everyone would consider a better choice.

Not Marion. She knew her father thought that the bond between Ty and Amy was simply puppy love and that Ty, at least, had grown out of it, but he was wrong. Tim was against it—his dislike of Ty was irrational and the source of considerable conflict between them. Still, Marion was convinced that the best thing for Ty and Amy was for them to be together.

"... and I was saying, Ted, honey, we simply have to have some kind of party for him while he's here. So, we were thinking, and it's terribly short notice, but there is just so little time before he goes back east, but Saturday. We simply must have a party. You and everyone at your... charming little spread are welcome, even that stable hand of yours."

Marion clenched her fist. She was so sick of everyone treating Ty like he was nothing, like all he did for them was shovel manure, and that was not true. Ty was a part of their family. He was as much her son as one she had borne herself. She smiled. "Of course. Saturday. A party. Sounds lovely. I have to go now."

She finally managed to push her way free, and as soon as she was outside in the free air, as soon as she could breathe, she cursed. She had no desire to attend any party given by the Grants, and she knew her family would feel the same way.

Amy fidgeted, tugging at the gloves on her hands and spilling more of her drink onto them. She sighed. She knew her mother hadn't wanted to come to this party, and she knew Ty didn't and Grandpa didn't, and she didn't know why her father had insisted on it. Maybe he just wanted to go so he could talk to the railroad agent. He hadn't been able to shoot him when he'd been near Heartland, and he'd been spoiling for a fight ever since.

Grandpa flat out refused to come, and he didn't have to. He could say no. Amy was Tim's daughter, though, and she didn't have a choice. He insisted she go, that she got dressed all fancy, and her mother had agreed to come only because she couldn't talk Tim out of dragging Amy with him. It wasn't much help. Marion had disappeared into the crowd shortly after the party started, leaving Amy alone in the corner of the room.

A wallflower, she supposed. Sooner or later, Matt would find her and ask her to dance, and she'd probably say yes at least once even if he wasn't the one she wanted to dance with. Matt was nice. He was funny, and he was handsome. He was a good friend, but she didn't want anything else from him. Maybe it was foolish, holding onto a dream of having something more with Ty, but she was still young. She could dream. She didn't have to get married right away. Lou wasn't, and she was happy. She loved Scott, but they weren't rushing. Amy didn't have to settle for less than what she wanted, and she knew that Matt deserved better.

Sometimes she wished that she could take the blinders off Matt so that he would see more than her. She knew he'd been close to courting Ashley before she got engaged to someone else, but if he just saw Soraya for the wonderful person she was... Soraya could make him happy. Amy couldn't.

She sighed, taking another sip of her drink. She hated parties. If her father was going to confront the railroad agent, she wished he'd get it over with already.

"You look very lonely over here by yourself," a voice observed, and Amy turned, finding herself facing the railroad agent. "Sorry. I wasn't expecting to see anyone else back in this corner. It looked like a good place to hide."

Amy forced a nervous smile. She was not sure what to make of this man. He seemed a bit lost and sad, and definitely not what she'd thought when she heard about him. And his eyes...

"Mrs. Grant thought I'd like a party. I've never been very fond of them, to tell you the truth. My family isn't here, and I haven't had the heart to enjoy much of anything in a long time," he admitted. He lowered his head and spoke in a whisper she barely heard. "My son..."

Amy frowned. "I'm sorry. Did... did he... die?"

"I suppose he must have," the man answered, and Amy turned to him in shock. How could he not know if his son was alive or not? "You think that sounds wrong. I should know, shouldn't I? I guess a part of me does. When he went missing... We didn't want to believe that he was gone. He must be, but we still hope."

"I'm sorry," she repeated. She did feel sorry for the man. It must be hard for him. Losing someone and not knowing what happened to them? Terrible. She wondered sometimes if Ty's family ever worried about him and where he was, but then she remembered what they'd done to him. They would never spend their time worrying about him, not if they could do that to him. They didn't deserve to know what happened to him. Ty didn't ever have to go back to them.

"You are the first person I've said that to who I thought actually meant it," he said with a slight smile. "The first person I thought actually had some kind of understanding of what it is really like. That's strange because you are so young."

"I'm not that young, and I work with injured horses," she said, her chin sticking up a little as she got defensive. "I've seen some bad things. And not just ones that happened to horses or the other animals that we take in."

The man looked at her. "Oh, so you work out at Heartland. I heard that was a sanctuary. Do you take in everything? All animals?"

Amy smiled. "You heard about the coyote, didn't you?"

He frowned at her. There was something familiar in that look, though she couldn't say why. "You... took in a coyote?"

"My friend did. He named him Peyote. He thinks it's funny, but most of the people around here don't get it and hate Peyote just because he's a coyote," she explained. She smiled. "He's tame. He'd only ever protect us and the animals."

The man nodded. "You wouldn't want the railroad anywhere near your place, would you?"

Amy glanced at him nervously. "What would you want to keep it away from Heartland? We don't have much money, and we're just... Please, don't put the railroad by my home. I'll do anything."

"That's a dangerous thing to say, young lady. A very dangerous thing to say."