#tlhoc

She glanced at the boy sitting at the back seat, wondering if he would actually be happier here in Hudson than he was in their little apartment in Calgary.

Despite becoming more accepting of the fact that her feelings were not the only truth, Andrea still had occasionally hard time admitting to herself she was no longer Luke’s only family. For years, it had just been two of them and that was how she still mostly pictured their family, but ever since coming home from a hospital at the end of the summer this year, Andrea had had to admit Luke no longer viewed them the same way and because of that, Andrea had had to open her mind to that view as well.

The Fleming-Bordens were now Luke’s family too. 

Earlier this year, when Andrea had wanted to celebrate the fact that she was back home to her son, Luke had gone on and on about the trips he and Ty had taken that summer, how Amy had helped her learn so much about horses and how much he missed his foster sister, Lyndy. 

Andrea’s first response had been jealousy, even a little bit of possessiveness as well, but she had been able to bite her tongue and just listen to what Luke had to say. She could recall a psychologist telling her all these feelings were natural for someone going through what she was experiencing and she shouldn’t deny having them, but it would be important to have her allow Luke to have his feelings as well as he had been through a big change too. The fact that the psychologist had wanted Andrea to take away from their sessions was that she had to remember that she wanted to keep her emotions separate from Luke’s responsibilities, since Luke was just a kid, after all, and he deserved to have a childhood without having to worry about his mother’s well-being.

And that had helped her a lot, even though it was still difficult not to compare oneself to the picture perfect family that waited pass these gates. They had it all figured out and didn’t have to work on their parenting.

“Oh, look at the horses!” Andrea commented when the horses in the field near the road started galloping along the car, almost as if welcoming them to the ranch. She glanced at Luke through the rearview mirror and the boy’s eyes went from his phone to outside. “Is one of those horses the one that you’ve been riding?” she tried to make an effort even though it made her feel so poor to think that she had to work a night shift so she would afford to pay next month’s rent while these people just happened to have money laying around so that they could buy Luke a horse of his own just because he had formed a bond with one.

“No, I don’t see Boots”, Luke said. “He must be on the other field. He prefers to be there.”

“Well, you’ll see him soon”, Andrea said. 

Even though she had this internal struggle she would have to deal with by bringing Luke here, it also made Andrea feel a bit better to know that at least he wouldn’t be alone tonight and he wouldn’t be bored because he would have so much to do that he would probably not even be ready to go tomorrow when she would come and pick him up.

When they arrived to the yard, Andrea could see Amy and Ty playing outside with Lyndy as they were building a snowman together. The family immediately noticed them and hurtled up to welcome them to their home.

To Andrea, the ranch looked like something out of a Christmas card and it didn’t take much to imagine it could be basically be compared to Disneyland for kids who loved farms. The only thing that seemed out of place was a tacky looking snowman - that had black tape on its side - standing tall next to the entrance to the ranch house. Andrea found it strange, but it also made her feel a little bit better as it proved there was some level of “representation” she found here at Heartland since it seemed like not everything seemed to be cookie cutter perfect after all.

When Andrea had parked her car, Luke jumped out almost right away so he could go hug his other family. Andrea unbuckled herself and stepped out, watching as Ty, Amy and Lyndy had their little reunion. 

“Hi...” she said to Amy who glanced at her way and smiled.

“Hey. Nice to see you again”, the blonde woman said back.

“Thanks for doing this. I know it’s kind of last minute, but... I’d really like to keep my job and I can’t have Luke alone for the night. The babysitter bailing on me last minute is just my luck... Luke shouldn’t be alone. Not when everyone around him is celebrating Christmas”, Andrea explained as she went to the back of the car to pick up Luke’s things. 

“Of course, we’re happy to help. Anytime”, Ty replied enthusiastically. “Do you need help with those?”

“No, no”, Andrea hurried to say, not wanting to seem weak even though Ty was probably just being polite. “I got this. It’s just a backpack and another bag, after all.” 

Ty backed off and went back to standing next to Amy as Andrea then handed Luke his things. It was always hard to say goodbye to each other like this, but at least now she knew that they would see again the next day.

“I’ll come pick you up tomorrow”, Andrea said. “I’ll let you know what time.”

“Okay, mom”, Luke said, taking his stuff and then hugging Andrea’s midsection as he wasn’t tall enough to hug her properly. It did surprise Andrea as she had expected Luke to be so spellbound by Heartland again that she would just look like a background character compared to the things he had here. She put her hand around him and gave the top of his head few kisses. 

“I love you, munchkin”, Andrea said, giving Luke’s hair a little ruffle. “Oh, don’t forget your toque!” she was reminded and went to get him his hat when they were done hugging. “Stay warm.”

“I will”, Luke assured. 

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow”, Andrea said to him, then turning back to Ty and Amy. “If anything comes up, just call me. Anytime.”

“Hopefully it won’t, but we will if it does”, Amy promised. 

“Alright. Well... I gotta go. Bye”, Andrea said, taking one last look at Luke before she got inside the car. Luke took his things and went to stand next to Ty, Amy and Lyndy, who were all waving Andrea goodbye.

Amy kept an eye on Luke, wondering how he would feel about this, knowing he had had some problems with being apart from his mother before. But it looked like he was taking it fairly well so far. 

Amy was happy Luke had been able to go back to his mother after her release from the hospital, but the family at Heartland had also missed him terribly, so when Andrea had called her few days ago, asking for a favour, Amy had agreed to take Luke in for the night without any hesitation. Luke had been with them the last Christmas too, but back then everything had been so new to him that he had mostly spent his time sitting quietly on the side, so Amy was hoping this year would be different since Luke was now more part of the family and open to interacting.

“Where’s Remi?” Luke asked then right away when his mom had driven off.

“She’s in the loft with Georgie. You wanna go and say hi?” Ty guessed. Earlier this year Luke and the dog had become separable and it had not only been good for Luke and his confidence, but also for Remi too since Georgie had been kind of busy this past year ever since she had returned from the Euro Camp and started working at Lisa’s stables.

Luke nodded. “Yeah! I’ve missed her.”

“I’ll take these inside”, Amy offered and gently took Luke’s things from him. “Can you take Lyndy with you?” she asked from Ty, who nodded. “You’ll be sleeping in the attic again, if that’s okay”, Amy then told Luke so he would know where to find his things.

“Where’s Katie gonna be then?” Luke wondered, recalling Katie’s announcement about claiming the place for herself after he would leave.

“She’ll be staying with Georgie in the loft for the night”, Amy explained. 

“Okay”, Luke nodded, not wanting to mix things up too much.

“I’ll be right there”, Amy said and went to take Luke’s things inside the ranch house. It was going to be nice to have him sleeping above them again.

Meanwhile, Ty, Luke and Lyndy headed toward the barn. For Luke, it felt like he had never left and everything looked just like it had been when he had went home. Well, except for the snow.

“How’s Boots? Do you think we could go for a ride?” Luke wanted to know. He had been having dreams about riding a lot ever since leaving Heartland as he had been missing doing it, and even though he had been scared about it first, after Jack had showed him the ropes this spring, it had become one of his favourite things to do.

Ty held Lyndy’s hand as he made sure she wouldn’t slip on the icy yard, and then glanced at Luke, wondering what to reply. “I’m sure Amy will be happy to take you for a ride. Unfortunately, I have a night shift today. So many injuries happen to animals during this time of year, so it’ll be busy night for the clinic. We need all hands on deck.”

“Wait, you’re not gonna be here?” Luke asked, and Ty could hear the disappointment in his voice.

“Well, I’ll be here tomorrow. When you wake up, I’ll be back home”, Ty tried to comfort him, feeling a little bad for not being able to change the shift, but since he had already promised to be at work, he couldn’t just back out, especially since Luke’s visit had been so last minute. “But you’ll be fine with Amy. And Lyndy. We’ve all really missed you.”

Luke nodded, but didn’t say anything more which only made Ty feel worse.

As they walked into the barn, Georgie came downstairs with Remi and Katie. The dog rushed to Luke so she could give him kisses. It made the kid laugh as he tried to hold Remi back a little so he wouldn’t fall over.

“Good to see you too, girl!” he giggled as his face was being licked by the big King Shepherd. 

Georgie looked at them and smiled, feeling happy to witness this reunion. Over the summer months, Luke had really bonded with her dog, Remi, and it had been nice to see, especially because she could recall how much Remi had meant to her when she had first arrived to Heartland. Slowly but surely, she had gathered her own animal companions who had made her feel like home, and eventually she had gained a whole family too. Georgie could see Luke having a similar experience.

“She’s happy to have you back - as are we all”, Georgie commented.

“I’m not”, Katie exclaimed stubbornly, looking Luke with a serious face.

“Katie”, Ty scolded with a gentle tone. “That’s not nice. I thought you guys were friends.” 

Sure, Katie and Luke had had their ups and downs, as any kids their age, and they had been laughing one minute and then fighting the next, but deep down, Ty believed them to be good friends. Besides, he didn’t want Luke to immediately think he wasn’t welcomed here, and Katie had to be more understanding with the situation. Luke was family, whether she liked it or not.

“It’s because of him I have to leave my room again”, Katie said, then storming out of the barn. 

Ty sighed and looked after her. When he noticed she was going inside the ranch house, he figured it was best to just let her cool off a little bit. Maybe the adults were much more capable of adjusting to sudden changes, but they couldn’t always ask the same from the kids as their worlds were much more structured to bring them comfort. 

“Sorry about that...” Ty apologized on Katie’s behalf. “She’s just surprised, that’s all.”

“I don’t think it’s just that. I guess it’s mom and dad too”, Georgie speculated. “Things with them have been a bit tense for a while now and the holidays are kind of making it worse”, she shared, even though Ty had probably witnessed that, seeing he was living in the same house Lou was. Even though Peter was staying at the Dude Ranch, he had spent a lot of time at the Heartland ranch house so he could be close to his family for this Christmas.

“Yeah... I’ve been hearing that. But apparently they’re not fighting, it’s just them dealing with things...” Ty explained, rolling his eyes. 

Even though neither of them were yelling, it was evident the tense way they expressed themselves was just a step away from a fight. Then again, with everything that had happened these past months - Lou’s break-up from Mitch and her new position as the mayor of Hudson - it was no wonder she was possibly feeling a little overwhelmed and was unloading on Peter more than usual - which only made him feel more frustrated as well.

“Katie will be okay”, Georgie believed and heard a beep coming from her jacket’s pocket. She pulled out her cell phone and looked who it was - even though she had a pretty good idea already. 

When Ty noticed her smile, he had a pretty good idea too. “Quinn?” he guessed while Luke was giving Remi some belly rubs. Lyndy then joined him and giggled when the dog was getting more excited and squirming on the barn floor.

“Yeah. He’s back with his family in Florida for the holidays, so we’re kind of having this long distance thing again”, Georgie explained and sent him an emoji, before putting the phone away. She would write him a longer message later. “And here I thought we were done with that now that he’s been working at Hillhurst.” 

“Well, it’s just for few days”, Ty said, knowing something about long distance relationships himself. “You’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, I know. I guess I just... I know how hard it is for him to go back there, but... you know, it’s holidays, so I guess he has to. I just wish I could do more for him, you know”, Georgie replied, shrugging.

Ty nodded, understanding. “Well, at least you’re just a text away.”

“What’s that?” Luke interrupted them as he noticed something in the barn office. 

Ty followed his glance and realized the boy was looking at the gift on his desk that he had gotten for Luke. 

He now had two options; to play it off as if it was nothing or just admit that Luke was no fool and give him the gift now that he had seen it. 

“Ah, well, you were gonna get this tomorrow...” Ty said, leaving Lyndy with Georgie as he went to get the package himself, “but I guess today will be fine too”, he figured, somewhat trying to clear his own conscience by feeling so guilty about not being able to be around tonight.

“What is it?” Luke asked as Ty returned to him with the present and handed it over.

“Why don’t you open it up”, he said with a smile, just as Amy walked in. 

His wife was trying to catch up with what was happening inside the barn, and when she saw Ty handing Luke a gift, she raised her eyebrow and glared at Ty. The man didn’t need to hear the words to know what Amy was thinking.

Luke put the gift on the floor and started tearing open the wrapping paper, revealing a game console underneath. Amy looked at it and pursed her lips together, then moving her eyes toward Ty.

“A Nintendo Switch?!” Luke squealed. “Wow, so cool! Thanks!”

“Uh, Ty, can we have a word in the loft?” she asked, not wanting the kids to hear this. Ty nodded and looked tense, knowing he was about to be scolded. 

As they reached upstairs, Ty and Amy’s words were a little more muffled, but Luke could still hear their argument as he stood still and listened. Any other kid would have probably been too mesmerized by the gift he had just been given to hear anything else, but not Luke. He was too used to walking on eggshells and reading people’s moods to know what was going on and how he should act from now on.

“What was that? I thought we promised not to get the kids any big gifts like that this year”, Amy said to Ty. “I mean, how much did that cost? Aren’t those expensive?” 

“I know we promised that, but... I don’t know, I guess I just thought Luke might want something to keep him company while his mom is working. You know, when he gets back home”, Ty explained back to her. 

“I get that, but...” Amy sighed. “We said we were gonna save all the money we have so we could finally get the house ready and move in. This took us like... 300 dollars back. I know it might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but every dollar counts, you should know that.”

“Okay, I hear you, but that was my money. We are still not gonna fall too far back”, Ty tried to explain. 

“Your money...?” Amy asked. “I thought all of our money was our money. -- Besides... how do you think this is going to make Andrea feel? You know how she feels about us gifting Luke things like that. I mean, isn’t him coming here a gift enough?”

“And what happens when the holidays are over and it’s back to normal for him? He’s going to be alone a lot. Andrea might feel a little bad about the gift at first, but she’s going to thank me in the long run”, Ty believed. “I know I would have been better off playing with video games than getting into trouble, that’s for sure.”

“I just don’t think that’s the kind of decision we can make for him anymore. We are no longer his foster parents, Andrea’s his guardian. It should be up to her to decide if he’s allowed to play with games like this to begin with.”

“It’s not like it’ll have violent games--”

“That is besides the point!” Amy raised her voice a little bit because she didn’t feel like Ty was listening to her. 

“What, so you want me to take it back?” Ty asked with an annoyed tone. “I can take it back when I go to the work. If that’s what you want.”

“I didn’t say that... I’m just... You should have spoke to me first about this”, Amy explained her stance.

“Just like you spoke to me about taking Luke in for the Christmas?” Ty said, making a nod to a phone call that Amy had received from Andrea while he had been at work. 

“That’s not even the same thing...”

“Well, you’re making me look bad. And now you’re suggesting I should take the game console back”, Ty spoke.

Amy interrupted him. “I didn’t say that! Besides, you can’t buy his love, you know that!”

“I’m not trying to buy his love, I’m just trying to give him what I never had”, Ty believed. “Anyway. I gotta get to work. One of us has to earn the money for the house.”

“What’s that supposed to mean...?” Amy asked.

“Well, you haven’t done much working while you’ve been training your new horse with Spartan”, Ty said and it sounded like he was bitter. “So at least I’m bringing in some money.”

“Money that you spent on that game without talking to me about it first!” Amy pointed out.

At downstairs, Georgie listened too, then realizing maybe it was not a good thing for Luke or Lyndy to hear this. “Hey, how about we go see Boots? He’s outside with the other horses.”

“Yeah... okay”, Luke said, now looking at the game console with sadness as he set it aside, not sure if he had caused problems for Ty and Amy by coming here and then being gifted this. It felt like all he ever created was trouble.