A/N: I would like to thank all the readers/reviewers who stuck with this story from the beginning, no matter how long it took for me to update. I've enjoyed reading your comments, and they always encouraged me to write better and faster. So, here it is. The final chapter of Unexpected Events.

Epilogue

Amy stood next to the empty hospital bed, her hands brushing over the crisp, white sheets. They were cold now as if there was never anybody lying in them recently. Amy shook her, dismissing those thoughts. Ty's fine, she told herself. He's just getting some tests done. She played with the ring on her finger, smiling at the memory of Ty's creaking of the door opening startled Amy out of her thoughts. She looked up hoping that it was Ty. It wasn't.

"Hey, dad," Amy said as her father came all the way into the hospital room.

"Where's Ty?" Tim asked.

"He's having some post-op tests done," Amy answered, sitting down on the bed. "I have to keep reminding myself that he'll be right back, but I can't get the image of him after the explosion with the wood sticking out of him. His pulse was so weak and there was so much blood, and-" Tim sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around her. But Amy refused to let anymore tears come, she gently pulled away from him.

"I just want things to get back to normal," Amy continued. "I want to go home, help the horses who need me, and...get married. I want to marry Ty."

"And I'm going to make sure that happens," Tim assured his daughter. "I want you to have everything that you deserve. And Amy, you deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, dad," Amy said and gave her father a hug. The door started to open again and Amy looked over her father shoulder to see who it was. A nurse in pink scrubs wheeled in Ty, laughing at something he was saying. "Ty!" She rushed over to him. "Is everything ok?"

The nurse nodded, "No infections, and the damage seems to be healing well," After she helped Ty back into the bed, she left the room. Amy sat down on the edge of the bed, taking Ty's hand in her own. Tim stood awkwardly at the foot of the bed.

"Good to see you're alright," Tim said. "I was just telling Amy that I'm going to make sure you two get the wedding you deserve. Anything you want, it's on me."

"Dad, we couldn't-" Amy started to protest, looking down at Ty, who had the same look of disbelief on his face that she felt.

"I'm not asking," Tim told them, sternly. "I want to do this. You two deserve a spectacular wedding after everything you just went through and I'm going to make sure you get it."

"Thank you, Tim," Ty said.

"Hey, we're family now, you can call me dad," Tim replied and after seeing the look on his daughter's face he continued. "I'll leave you two alone now." He gave Amy a kiss on the cheek and headed out of the room. When the door clicked shut behind him, Amy turned to Ty.

"Alone at last," she smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

"The same," Ty answered, tugging on Amy's arm until she leaned against the pillows with him. He put his arm around her. "I just want to get out of here."

"Did the doctor tell you when you could be released?" Amy asked him, leaning up on her elbow.

Ty nodded, "Sometime tomorrow,"

"That soon?" Amy questioned, surprised at his answer.

Ty nodded again. "They don't see any reason to keep me here, when I'm healing as expected. And who am I to question them." He pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss started off slow and sensual, but it quickly turned heated, until Amy pulled back

"I don't want to hurt you," she whispered, slightly out of breath.

"Then don't stop," Ty said, leaning in to capture another kiss, but Amy, once again, stopped it. Ty let out a small groan as he laid his head back against the pillows.

"We have to talk about how things are going to be when we get back to Heartland," Amy told him. "You know, with you not being able to work, things are going to be hectic and-"

"Whoa, who said I'm not working," Ty interrupted her, but stopped when Amy gave him a look. "Ok, but we've been through tougher things. Everything will be fine."

"I hope so," Amy said, unconvinced.

"Hey," Ty whispered, tilting her chin up with his finger so that she was looking at him. Her eyes shown with the fear and relief of the past several hours. Ty pulled her to him. Amy let him, moving slowly so not to hurt him. She lay her head on his shoulder, holding on to him tightly. "We're going home...together."

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Jen walked into the two-story ranch house that she shared with Ryan. It had been built in place of the giant mansion Linc Slocum had lived in before he had been arrested and the former Gold Dust ranch was turned into Harmony ranch. She walked over to the sofa and collapsed onto it.

"I could use a hot bath, but I'm too tired to do anything that's not sleep," Jen said leaning her head against the back of the sofa. She stayed like that for a few minutes until she realized Ryan still hovered near the entrance to the living room. She looked up at him, his expression was unreadable. "What's the matter?"

Ryan hesitated for a moment and then came over to sit beside her. "I'm so sorry, Jen," he said.

Jen's brow knitted in confusion and she asked, "Sorry for what? Why are you apologizing to me?" I should be the one apologizing, Jen wanted to tell him. You've been nothing but wonderful to me and never asked for anything in return. What do I do? I cheat on you and let you think this baby is yours when its not. Jen turned away so that Ryan couldn't see the tears that she was fighting back.

"I knew she was here," Ryan continued. "She came to me, asking for a place to stay. She practically begged me not to tell anyone she was here."

"Wait. Who's here?" Jen stopped him, turning to face him. All traces of tears gone.

"Rachel," Ryan said matter-of-factly. "She's been staying in the barn loft."

Jen snorted, "I would've loved to see that,"

"She was having these secret meetings when no one else was around," Ryan continued. "I knew she was planning something, but she wouldn't tell me anything. Everyday she got more and more nervous and I could tell she wanted to tell me, but couldn't. The day before all this happened, she left suddenly. She didn't leave a note or anything. She didn't even answer her phone when I tried calling her."

"You think Flick taking the hotel hostage is your fault?" Jen asked, trying to take in everything that Ryan had just said. He hung his head, his hands entwined in his hair. "Ryan, there is no way you could have known what was going to happen. Rachel chose to take part in it, she wasn't forced to do anything."

"But she was here. On my ranch. I could've-"

"Ryan, no," Jen interrupted him. "Rachel made her decision. She's going to have to live with it. You are a much better person than she will ever be. You're honest, hardworking, a good man. I would be a fool to lose you."

Ryan looked up at her then, tears shining in his eyes. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you," Ryan said his voice low. He put his hand on her belly and looked at her. "You two mean the world to me. I love you both so much."

Jen tried to swallow past the sudden lump in her throat as her heart beat loudly in her ears. "I love you too," was all she could manage to say. Her mind was screaming at her to tell him the truth about the baby, but her mouth wouldn't form the words. Then she was in Ryan's arms, her face in his shoulder.

Telling Ryan that this baby wasn't his would destroy him. But she knew Darrell would never allow someone else to raise his own child. Though before she could say anything, Ryan pulled back.

"I'll go get that bath ready for you," Ryan smiled at her and placed a kiss on her forehead. He got up and walked out of the room. A moment later, Jen heard his shoes on the steps as he went upstairs.

Just like that her decision was made for her; she would not tell Ryan the truth tonight.

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The beeping machines was the only sound that filled the NICU as Lou Fleming-Trewin watched her newborn daughter sleep in the incubator for premature babies. The tiny newborn lay unmoving with the only exception being her small chest rising and falling with each breath, assuring Lou that her daughter was alive.

Lou slipped her hand through one of the holes in the incubator. She let her finger slide down the baby's cheek and through her fuzz of hair. Lou half-smiled when little Georgia lightly grasped her finger when she brought her hand to the baby's.

Movement through the glass window made Lou look up and see her husband, Scott, who was holding their other daughter, Holly. He gestured for her to come out in the hallway.

"Mommy will be right back," she whispered to the baby. She withdrew her hand and got up from her seat. "What did the psychiatrist say?" Lou asked when she approached Scott.

Scott adjusted his hold on Holly and said, "Well, she couldn't diagnose anything without talking to Holly in a formal setting, but she thinks it could be post-traumatic stress disorder." Scott paused and Lou put her hand on her daughter's back to let her know that her mother was here. Holly tensed up and gripped her father harder. Lou withdrew her hand and Scott continued. "She recommended a child psychologist back home. The sooner Holly is in a place she recognizes and feels safe the better she'll be."

"The doctor wants to keep Georgia here for at least a week, help her gain some weight," Lou told Scott. They both shared a look, not liking the only option they had. Lou spoke up first. "You'll take Holly home with the rest of the family and I'll stay until Georgia is released."

"I really don't like this idea of leaving you here by yourself," Scott sighed. "But we don't have any other options, so alright."

Lou wrapped her arms around her husband, unable to get as close to him as she wanted with Holly in between them. "Hey, it's only a week," Lou told him. "And then we'll be a family again. All four of us, together."

"You are amazingly optimistic, you know that?" Scott said, moving Holly so that he could bring his wife closer to him.

"I just know what I want," Lou replied, leaning in to kiss him. Scott met her halfway and their lips met in a sweet and sensual kiss. When they broke apart, Holly was looking at them both. "Everything's going to be okay," her mother soothed. Holly didn't say anything. She only buried her face into her father's shoulder again. Lou and Scott stared at each other as soft, low sobs erupted from their little girl.

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"You'll still feel some pain for a few days, so I suggest you take it easy for awhile," Dr. Erik Parker explained to Soraya, who had just woken up after her surgery. "It should only be mild, if it gets too intense, please come back to the hospital. I'll write you a referral for your doctor in Virginia to get your stitches out in 3 to 4 weeks."

"Sounds good," Soraya said, smiling at Matt who sat beside her holding her hand.

"Any questions?" Dr. Erik Parker asked.

Soraya shook her head.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow for you last checkup before you leave," Erik said as he picked up his chart and left the room.

"I cannot wait to get out of here," Soraya commented, stretching out her arms and legs the best she could, wincing only slightly when her stomach contracted in pain.

"Are sure about that?" Matt teased. "Compared to my cooking, the hospital food is a delicacy."

"Oh, come on, your cooking isn't that bad," Soraya laughed. At the look on Matt's face, she erupted in more laughter. After she was finished, Matt leaned in close to her.

"I'm really glad you didn't die in that lobby," Matt admitted.

"Me too," Soraya said, wiping the tears from her eyes as Matt gave her a sweet kiss on the lips.

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"If we just had a few more minutes, I would've jumped Flick before he knew what happened," Quinn was saying from where he sat at the foot of Sam's hospital bed.

"No, you wouldn't have," Nate contradicted his brother. "You were shaking like a leaf. There's no way you would've been able to pull it off."

"I think you have me confused with yourself," Quinn shot back. "You were shaking so bad, everything around you was rattling."

Sam halfheartedly smiled at the brothers' banter. She looked over at Jake, who stood by the window, looking out at the afternoon sky. As if he felt her watching him, knowing Jake he probably did, he turned and gave her a half-smile, not his usual lazy tomcat grin, but it made her feel a little better nonetheless.

"Okay, I think we bothered Sam long enough," Maxine Ely suddenly said, breaking Sam's eye contact with Jake. "We should let her get some rest."

"Oh, but I was getting ready to tell Sam all about how my heroic actions got me this," Nate protested, holding up his bandaged wrist.

"She doesn't want to hear about that," Quinn told his brother. "She wants to know how I saved a beautiful young woman trapped underneath a fallen beam. Right, Sam?"

Sam couldn't help but laugh when Maxine came over and grabbed her two sons by the arms and started pulling them to the door. Both boys were a good foot taller than her, not to mention well-muscled, but Maxine was still able to pull them around like little kids. That made Sam laugh harder.

"You did not," Nate was saying as he was being ushered out the door. "A girl would rather die than have you touch her."

"I did too and did I mention she was beautiful," Quinn argued as Maxine pushed him out the door. "Bye Sam! See ya tomorrow!"

When the door closed, Sam heard Quinn's muffled voice. "How come Jake doesn't have to leave?" Sam couldn't hear a reply because it sounded like they were moving off down the hallway.

"How are you feeling?" Sam jumped at how close Jake sounded. She didn't even hear him approach.

"Besides feeling like my leg is inside a cement block, I barely feel a thing," Sam answered, touching her left leg gently. "It's probably all the painkillers they have me on."

"I wasn't talking about that," Jake said quietly.

Sam ducked her head so that he couldn't see the tears forming in her eyes. She sniffed loudly and put a hand to her face. "Why did this have to happen?"

"Sam-" Jake started to put a hand on her shoulder, but he stopped when they heard a soft knock on the door. Wyatt Forster poked his head in the room.

"I just wanted to see how you're feeling," Wyatt said, coming into the room, hands in his pockets.

Sam quickly brushed a hand across her eyes. "I'm okay," Sam replied, taking a deep breath. "Relieved to be out of that hotel."

"You really had me scared, Sam," Wyatt admitted to his daughter. He bent and pulled her into a hug. Sam sighed, gratefully, and returned her father's hug, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you found me," Sam murmured into his shirt. Her gaze caught Jake's, who shifted uncomfortably. Finally, father and daughter pulled apart.

Wyatt nodded at Jake. "How's the shoulder?"

Jake touched his right arm that was in a sling, briefly. "Fine," He glanced at Sam, who was trying to her hardest not to breakdown in front of her father. Jake moved closer to her.

"I don't want to keep you up. You need your rest," Wyatt said, giving Jake a suspicious look. "I just wanted to see you."

"Thanks for coming, daddy," Sam replied, feeling like a little kid again. All she wanted was for her daddy to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. Wyatt gave Sam another hug and turned to Jake.

"Take care of her," he told the young man. Jake nodded and watched him leave the room. When he turned back to Sam, she had sank lower in the bed. Jake walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jake asked softly.

Sam shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. It was stupid," Sam answered. "We weren't speaking..." she trailed off, shrugging.

"I still had a right to know," Jake whispered almost inaudibly, but Sam still heard him.

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?" Sam said, playing with her hands. "The baby's gone. And it's my fault."

"Sam, it is not your fault," Jake told her firmly.

"Yes, it is!" Sam almost shouted, tears brimming her eyes. "I was supposed to protect her and I didn't! I shut you out of knowing you were going to be a father all because of some petty fight. She's gone because of me!" Tears streaming down her face, Sam turned on her side away from Jake. The next time he heard her voice, it was barely above a whisper. "You should hate me." Her small, frail body was shaking from her sobs.

Jake didn't know what to say, instead he crawled onto the bed behind Sam, wrapping his good arm around her. "I don't hate you," Jake whispered, his warm breath on her ear. "You don't deserve this." He stroked her hair, and kissed the spot by her ear. They lied like that for awhile. Jake just holding her while she cried. After a while, Jake remembered something Sam had said.

"She?" he asked when she was quiet.

Sam tensed and then turned in his arms as best as she could. She was caught off-guard when she saw that Jake's face was wet. He'd been crying. Sam reached up to touch his face. Jake brought his hand to hers, bringing their hands down to the space between them on the pillow, their fingers twining together.

"I had a dream when I was unconscious," Sam breathed, almost choking on a sob, but no tears came. "I saw her, Jake. She was beautiful and she was ours. She told me not to be scared, that everything would be alright."

Sam buried her face in Jake's chest, clutching his shirt. "How can everything be alright when our little girl is dead!" Jake didn't know what to say. He just held onto her and kissed the top of her head. Jake didn't know how Sam was going to get through this, how he was going through this. Because there is no pain greater than the pain of losing a child.

A/N: As I said before, thank you to all my reviewers! I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know a lot of you don't want this story to end, but don't worry I'm planning on writing two sequels. Why two? Because one will be Heartland; Moving Forward and one will be Phantom Stallion; Looking Towards the Future. Hopefully, they will be up soon. As always, please review and tell me what you think.