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Erika grinned, also. Soon, their waiter came up. "Here you go, you two!" he said. "Have a lovely dinner!" With that, he left. Erika took a bite out of her cheeseburger. "Yum!" she said with a mouthful in her mouth. "This is great!"

Ryan grinned at her and nodded before taking a bite of his sandwich. It felt so good to have a bit of natural cooked burgers for once instead of all this other greesy mess that the other restaurants sold. Ryan liked it here so much. He felt at home. Just as he was finishing off his burger Ryan's cellphone began to ring, looking down to see that it was Felicity. "I have to get this, I'm sorry." She had arrived back at the ranch and found something wrong with Titanic. "What's wrong?" Concern grew in his voice as he sat up straight." Felicity explained all that she saw, telling Ryan how she is trying to calm him down and get him up again. "I'll be right there." He said hastily, "Erika I'm so sorry. There's something wrong with Titanic, we've got to get back." He said before standing up and nearing the door, there he waited for her.

Erika's expression looked worried. "Okay," she said. She had loved the dinner with Ryan, but she, too, wanted to find out what's wrong with Titanic. "I hope he's okay," she said, getting in the passenger seat. Erika had seen the strong, gentle horse before, but she'd hate to see what was wrong with him. She hoped it wasn't anything bad.

"I hope so too." Ryan said before starting the engine and drove all the way back to the ranch. As he put the truck in park and turned the key off he jumped out, walking hastily up to Felicity who was kneeling at Titanic's side stroking and cooing to him. Ryan plopped down next to her, "What happened? Titanic, what's wrong boy?" He asked, lifting his horse's head off the ground and onto his lap.
"He's got colic and a wounded front right leg, the vet's on his way now." Felicity said, a beautiful German accent

Erika watched in horror as Titanic whinnied in pain. "The poor babe," she said soothingly. "You'll be fine." She reached over to him, and gently stroked his tangled mane. It was full of burrs and grass bits from rolling on the ground so much. "I hope the vet arrives soon."

Ryan nodded slightly, petting Titanic on his cheek over and over again. Titanic lifted his head and tried to stand but failed, kicking his legs out again and again before whinnying. It was hard to breath on his side. Ryan understood and pushed him forward so he'd be laying on his stomach and legs, petting him gently. "Easy boy. Be still." Ryan said quietly, his shirt getting messy with mud.

Erika stroked the stallion's long smooth body, trying to calm him down, also. "It's okay, boy," she said. "You'll be fine." Erika wondered what had happened, though. What happened to Titanic's leg, and how had he gotten his colic so fast? Erika wasn't that good with horses. But she wondered...

Ryan glanced over at Erika again as the vet pulled up. By that time Titnaic had had lay back down on his side and was taking slow breaths. "Okay boy, sit up for the doctor now." He urged, lifting Titanic upright again. The vet could tell right away something was wrong.
"More wrong with that boy than a wee colic." He said in a scottish accent. Ryan's eyes widened, "W-What."

Erika bit her lip. She hoped it wasn't something he could die of. Poor Titanic! This sounded really bad. "What is it?" Erika asked the vet, worried.

The vet looked over at the two before giving a closer examination to Titanic, wanting to be certain of what he may have thought it was. Titanic's eyes were red and he wasn't responding much to sounds or movements. "It looks like he has Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis." The vet glanced at Ryan, who questioned further. "EPM, or Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis is a disease found in horses. Caused by the protozoa Sarcocystis neurona, this disease affects the central nervous system. Though treatable, horses that are severely affected may not stand a chance at surviving. The disease is transmitted by the opossum through various hosts, or carriers. This hosts include animals such as birds and cats..." Ryan's heart sank as tears began to brew, "Will he live?"
"Yes but, he'll be useless as a work horse for a few months till he can make a full recovery, and even then he may have a bit of trouble."
"Please save him. I don't care that he'll never be able to work anymore, but he's my bestfriend and I'm not ready for him to go." Ryan sniffled.

Erika thought she felt own tears coming to her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. She sighed. "I'm so sorry, Ryan," she said. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "At least he will live." She smiled, hoping to cheer him up.

Ryan nodded, not noticing the kiss until he finally came back from his thoughts. The vet smiled at him, "I'll be back with my supplies. He'll need to be kept Quarantine and away from the other horses for a while. It'll just take 2 shots and some vitamin E pills to get him at least up and walking again."
"What about his leg injury?"
"It looks like he may have gotten bitten by something. Maybe like a dog, possum or fox. Hard to say. I have some ointment to place on that with a bandage. Just remember to change the bandage every 4 hours and keep the wound clean. He'll also need a shot for rabies, just incase." Ryan nodded and looked at the vet, not caring how much it cost to keep his friend alive and well.
"Will he ever be able to barrel race again?"
"Eventually, yes.. But he'll need tons and tons of work and therapy. It'll take a while, to get his speed back. Since the races are coming up really soon, I suggest going and buying a horse if you wish to take part in that event." Ryan nodded and shook the doctor's hand as he left to go get the supplies.