Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 64 ( Chapter 64 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the G'boys, I just borrow them from time to time to play with and return them a whole lot happier, ne?

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Yaoi, Lemon, sap, angst, Male Pregnancy, medical themes, WAFF, humor.

Pairings: 1x2x1

Archive: http://gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com

http://sweetlysour.net.

http://adultfanfiction.net

http://www.theforsakenwk.com

Many thanks to Ryouga and Yami_Tai for the beta. Also thanks to Yami_Tai for the title of this fic.

Notes: Set partially during the series but main bulk after the war. EW didn't take place. The Eve wars are finished and the peace retained. The pilots have all gone their own ways, Heero and Duo have made a life together both working for Preventer when Duo's world is turned upside down as his unknown past comes back to haunt him.

Dedication: To Velena who gave me the plot bunny for this little gem.

Status: In progress.

~ Indicates flashbacks ~

/ thoughts /

"Chimaera"

October. 2003 ShenLong

Chapter 64

Heero clung to the warmth and safety that the nurse's arms offered, all his fear, all his anxiety had come to the fore. With Duo now lying on the examination bed, the doctors doing all they could for him and his assistance no longer needed, his emotional turmoil came bubbling forth. He hadn't been aware just how much he'd kept bottled up inside himself. Once he realized that he didn't need to be strong for his lover, that someone else had taken that role out of his hands for the moment, he literally collapsed into an emotional heap. The tears had come forth and he was powerless to stop them. The dam had burst and the flood would not abate. He cursed himself for being so weak but couldn't slow the outpouring. His fragile psyche knew what he needed, even if his stubborn ego didn't want to recognize the fact.

He simply clung to the nurse and let the tears flow, sobbing out all his distress against the chest of the one person whom it seemed could understand.

Nurse Brown held the young man in her arms, stroking his back, his hair and gently petting his shoulder as he cried himself out. She'd witnessed similar emotional breakdowns before during her nursing and knew that all this young man needed was to be held, to have soothing comfort offered and a sympathetic ear. She let him cry, neither condemning nor chastising; content to let him give way to the overwhelming pain that engulfed his soul. Once the tears started to slow and his breathing hitched she reached into her pocket and pulled out a few clean tissues, pressing them into his hand.

Heero took the tissues and began to dry his eyes and blow his nose. "Thank you," he hiccupped softly and moved slightly back from the nurse.

Nurse Brown gave him his space, understanding that he was probably feeling a little embarrassed by his loss of control. Secretly she was pleased that he had given in to the tears, it wasn't healthy for him to hold it all in. From the amount of time she had spent with the pair it was obvious to her that they shared a close bond, cared deeply for each other and not just because of the long haired man's unusual physical make up. No, there was more to these two; much more. She turned back to the bench where she'd placed the mugs of tea and once more picked them up, handing one to Heero and noting that this time he could hold it without shaking. She pulled out two chairs from the small table and motioned for Heero to sit down while she sat opposite.

Nursing the mug of cooling tea, Heero sat and stared into the brown depths of the liquid, feeling a little uncomfortable with his loss of control. Wearily he raised his eyes to meet those of the nurse, expecting to find scorn there; instead he found compassion. "I... I'm sorry about that," he began as he eyed the wet patch he'd created on the nurse's spotless uniform.

"Don't worry yourself about it, Mr. Yuy. It's only water," Nurse Brown smiled at him.

"I'll pay for the cleaning bill, and call me Heero, please."

"You will do no such thing, young man. It will wash quite easily."

"I'd still like to pay for it."

"Now, if you had thrown up on me I'd consider it," replied the nurse with a twinkle in her eye.

Heero couldn't help but smile at that.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Heero. This is a very stressful and emotional time, not only for your partner but for you too. If you must know something though, I'm pleased that you did let it all out; you needed too. Keeping everything locked away inside isn't healthy for you, sooner or later it would all come out and then you wouldn't be of much help to your partner. In the meantime, you wouldn't be doing yourself any favors either."

Heero sighed and scrubbed at his eyes again. "I guess you're right."

"I know I am," the nurse chuckled.

Heero gave her a *look*.

"Word of advice here, Heero. Never argue with a nurse, she's always right and always on the painless end of the needle." Nurse Brown added a wink to the comment.

"Then rest assured, I won't forget that in a hurry." Heero drank his tea and stared at the base of the empty mug. "I wish I had a crystal ball or was clairvoyant or something, then I could see what was going to happen... maybe prevent something like this... " he trailed off.

"Trying to read the tea leaves isn't going to help, Heero."

"Huh?"

"I used tea bags."

Heero laughed and shook his head. He was really beginning to like this nurse.

Nurse Brown stood up and took their empty mugs to the sink and rinsed them through. Drying off her hands she returned to the table and looked at the man still sitting there. "Come on, son. Let's go and see how your partner is doing."

Standing up, Heero followed the nurse out of the staff room and back to the treatment room. // Son... He liked the sound of that. //

***

Doctor G left Sally to complete her examination by herself; he was intent on getting back to his quarters and studying the new information, not to mention making sure that the separation wasn't going to affect Duo's chances of delivering a healthy baby.

Sally gave Duo another mild shot of morphine before commencing her rectal exam. It was going to be uncomfortable for him as it was, she didn't want to cause him anymore pain than he'd already experienced. The American was still unconscious but she wasn't overly concerned. His blood pressure had lowered a little and his temperature was holding steady, heart and breathing rates were slightly above average but nothing to warrant concern.

With G's assistance before he left she'd rolled Duo back onto his left side and raised his right leg a little, moving the small green surgical cloth to keep his groin covered. Picking up the bottle of betadine solution she soaked some gauze in it then removed the used gauze currently acting as padding around Duo's anus. Carefully she swabbed the area, cleaning away the drying blood, semen and lube. Hopefully Duo's anus would still be stretched a little from his earlier lovemaking and thus the procedure shouldn't be as traumatic. Fetching a 'duck billed clamp', [1] she spread some gel over the metal and around Duo's sphincter before gently inserting the clamp into his anus.

Duo chose that moment to return to the real world... and wished he hadn't. "Ahhh..." he moaned softly as he felt the slide of cool metal inside his back passage.

"Sorry, Duo," apologized Sally.

"Shit! Isn't enough that I'm already in pain without having more added?" he growled.

"I won't be long, I promise, but I need to check the mucus 'plug' and make sure that there isn't any damage to either it or your insides and unfortunately this device, whilst uncomfortable for you, makes it much easier for me," Sally said as she began to wind the contraption open, effectively opening Duo's passage as well.

"Ow! Fuck!" groaned Duo as he was stretched. He made a mental note never to complain about Heero's size ever again, not to mention his sympathy went out to the countless women out there who had to endure similar procedures. He found his admiration for the female species climbing several notches.

With the clamp now extended enough, Sally brought her small flashlight into play, shining it carefully into the opened passage.

Duo opted to remain as still as possible and blush frantically. Given what they had been up to prior to his admission to the hospital he had some sort of idea what Sally would be seeing inside his rear end and it did nothing to make him feel any less embarrassed, even if she was a doctor and the exam was purely clinical. Personally he wished he could curl up and die, if he got any hotter he would self combust, he was sure of it.

Sally wasn't stupid; she knew this was making Duo uncomfortable and not just physically so she tried to be as quick as possible. It wasn't easy though as the small tube that connected Duo's uterus to the lower bowel section was tiny and she had to rely on previous ultra sound pictures and her memory of his physical make up to try to detect it. Using a small instrument that magnified the area considerably she was at last able to locate it and studied the area intently. Two things sprang into her mind as she scoured the area. The first was that there was no way in hell that this baby would ever have any chance of being born through such a small space, not without tearing Duo apart; and secondly that to her relief the 'plug' appeared to be pretty well intact. "Thank god," she murmured under her breath and withdrew the small gadget.

"Is everything okay?" Duo asked in a small voice.

"Yes, Duo. You will be happy to know that there is no damage to your insides and that the 'plug' is still secure," she replied and began to wind the clamp in the opposite direction, closing it and then gently removing it. She picked up the bottle of betadine again and quickly cleaned Duo off. "I'm going to put a pad on you for now, Duo. That way if any more blood leaks out we can keep a check on it," she said as she dropped the clamp into a kidney dish and placed it with the other 'used' utensils to be sterilized.

"A what?" asked Duo.

"A pad. You know, sanitary napkin. It would be the best thing to use; clean and hygienic as well as letting me keep an eye on what's happening with you."

Duo felt like saying why not use a tampon and make him feel completely like a female and be done with it, but his sarcasm was sadly lacking. Besides, he didn't think that Sally would appreciate it. He decided to let it go, at the moment he had far more pressing issues to deal with, such as trying to find out what was going on with himself and the baby instead. The morphine Sally had given him was running through his body and the pain in his abdomen had ceased, or at least he couldn't feel it anymore; he was also beginning to feel a little 'high'.

"I take it I was out for the count whilst you were examining me before," he began tentatively.

"Yes, you were, Duo, which was probably a good thing."

"Wish I'd stayed that way for the rest of it," he muttered.

Sally returned to his side, pad in hand and began to place it against his anus. "I'm just going to fit this to you now and put your underwear back on, okay?"

He blushed again. "O... okay."

Sally carefully pressed the pad in-between his cheeks then pulled his underwear back up over his feet, calves and thighs, pausing at the top of his buttocks to remove the covering from the sticky backing of the pad. Pulling the briefs up over his backside she carefully pressed the fabric against the adhesive, making sure it stuck to the briefs and would therefore stay in place. When she'd finished she removed the green surgical cloth and pulled the cellular blanket back up over him. "Warmer now?"

"Yes, thanks."

Heero and Nurse Brown returned at that point and Duo's eyes warmed when he saw his lover enter the room. Immediately seeing that his partner was awake, Heero headed across the room and gave Duo a soft kiss. "How are you feeling, Duo?"

"A bit sore and uncomfortable but otherwise not too bad. The drugs Sally gave me have helped a lot. Feel like I'm with the fairies though."

The relief that washed through Heero was indescribable. He turned to face the doctor, one hand resting possessively on Duo's shoulder. "What did the examination show?" he asked.

Sally walked back over, another needle in her hand. "I'll sit down with both of you in just a moment and explain all our findings to you, firstly though I need to give Duo a shot of penicillin." Sally stood behind Duo and lifted the blanket enough to allow access to his rear end where she pulled the briefs down a little then swabbed and injected the antibiotic into his system.

"Ow! Shit!" Duo yelped. "Hasn't my ass suffered enough torture for one day?"

Heero ran his fingers idly through Duo's bangs, a gesture that seemed to appease the pregnant man. "I'll kiss it better for you later if you want," he whispered into Duo's ear.

"Thanks but no thanks, Heero. I don't want anything near my ass for a while," Duo returned.

Understanding what his lover meant, Heero declined to press the issue. He pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed his lover lay upon, taking Duo's hand in his and clasping it tightly. He felt Duo's fingers squeeze his own and reciprocated, letting his partner know he was there for Duo just as Duo was for him. Whatever the results they would face them together.

Sally also pulled up a chair and thanked Nurse Brown when she passed the clipboard over that contained all Duo's results and notes from the examination. She quickly glanced at it then cleared her throat. "I'll try to explain this in a simple manner so that you can both understand. Firstly though I need to ask a couple of questions."

Heero nodded, Duo grunted. He was having a hard time staying focused with the morphine in his body. Now he remembered why he hated drugs, but he had to admit, it had certainly eased his abdominal pain.

"Duo, when exactly did you first begin to experience the pain in your belly?"

// Fuck! Sprung! // Duo couldn't lie, but he also knew he was going to be in deep shit once Sally and Heero knew the truth. "I, ummm..."

"Heero told me that you had an argument and that you ran from the house in a rather angry mood. I am assuming that you didn't have any pain when you left. According to Heero you only mentioned the pain just after you had finished... making love."

"Yeah, I left the house in a very angry mood, you'd be pissed too if your lover came home and informed you he'd organized for a baby-sitter for you whilst he was gone away on an assignment. I mean, where is the trust here?" Duo stated.

"Duo, that is an issue that you and Heero need to work out between yourselves, now, please answer my question. When did you first start to feel any pain? I need to know as it could be vitally important to your condition." Sally sensed that Duo was a little reluctant to tell her but she was determined to get the answer from him.

Sighing to himself and knowing there was no way he could get out of this one, Duo prepared himself for the worst. "When I ran out of the mansion I wasn't thinking too clearly. I just wanted to get away by myself and think and I couldn't do that with Heero around. I ran through the gardens and out into the fields beyond. It wasn't until I was in the field that I first noticed an ache starting in my lower abdomen. I thought it was the stitch so I stopped running and sat underneath a tree. The pain eased off to barely a twinge and I didn't think any more of it. Then Heero found me and we talked, sorted some shit out and then walked back to the mansion. When we were walking back the pain returned, only it was a little stronger. It seemed to ease a bit again while we sat and ate dinner, then I went to take a shower and it came back but not too bad. I honestly thought I'd probably just pulled a muscle or something. Then after we had..… you know, and Heero went to get a cloth to clean us up with, I went to move into a more comfortable position and suddenly it felt like someone shoved a red hot sword through my gut and I noticed the blood. The rest you know." Duo closed his eyes, unwilling to look at Heero, afraid of what he would see in those cobalt depths.

"Duo?" Heero's voice was a little shaky and he reached forth to brush aside the chestnut bangs that covered Duo's face. "Why didn't you say something? If you were in pain you should have told me, I could have helped."

Duo opened his eyes and stared at his lover. "And done what, Heero? Like I said, I thought it was a pulled muscle and the pain wasn't that bad, more of an ache than anything..… If I had told you then you would have immediately started to worry and fuss and I'm sick of that."

"Excuse me for interrupting, guys, but fussing or not is irrelevant at the moment, right now we have to deal with this and make sure it doesn't happen again." Sally fixed them both with her steely gaze. "Okay, so we have established that you first felt the pain after running from the house. You didn't notice any blood loss at all until after you had made love?"

"No," Duo replied. "There wasn't any blood when I took my shower, I would have noticed."

"Pain?"

"Just the dull sort of throbbing. Sally, what is wrong with me? Is the baby going to be all right or..."

"At the moment the baby is fine as far as we know. That contraption you have on your abdomen is called a fetal monitor. It's keeping an eye on the baby's heart rate and other signs. From the information you've given me plus what we discovered in the tests, you have what I first told you I suspected; a placental abruption, Duo. This is where the placenta begins to come away from the uterine wall. Depending on the amount of separation, if it has stopped or still continuing will affect the baby and your health. From the ultra sound scan we can tell that about an eighth of the placenta has separated and for the moment has stopped. I would hesitate to say that the running you did was the total cause for the separation, I'd be more inclined to think that your slightly deformed uterus coupled with the stress of running all contributed to this. The mucus 'plug' is still in place and there is no damage to your insides so that rules out any other cause." Sally paused to take a breath and looked steadily at the pair to try and gauge their reactions to the news. There was something that resembled a little look of relief in Heero's eyes telling her that at least she had reassured him that his lovemaking wasn't to blame.

Duo though was harder to read. He'd turned his head so that neither she nor Heero could see his eyes.

Noticing the slight tremble of his lover's form, Heero knew that Duo was taking this badly. He managed to detach his fingers from Duo's hand and gently draped his arm over Duo's shoulder, rubbing in a soothing manner. "Duo? Are you okay?"

A slightly muffled sob greeted his ears.

"Duo, these things happen," Sally began. "Usually at this stage of pregnancy running wouldn't do a lot of damage; sure it would make you uncomfortable, but generally wouldn't affect either the baby or the mother. What you have to remember though, Duo, is that you are not made the same way, you're unique and as such extra care needs to be taken."

"I could have killed our child," sobbed Duo softly. "My own stupid, stubborn pride could have lost this baby its life... maybe it still can..."

"Oh, Duo," murmured Heero as he nuzzled against his partner's neck. "It isn't your fault, if you want to blame anyone then blame me. I was the one that called Trowa and Quatre without consulting you first, if anything, this is all my fault, not yours."

Sally couldn't stand to see the pair each as determined as the other to take the blame for what had happened. "Look, guys. No one is to blame, okay? What has happened, happened. The main thing is that we have managed to get to the problem before it got any worse. Now we need to focus on keeping you healthy for the rest of this pregnancy, Duo, and prevent the abruption from starting again."

Realizing that what Sally was saying was true, the pair turned once more to the doctor. "What do you suggest we do, Sally?" Heero asked as he continued to comfort his sniffling lover.

"I've given you a shot of penicillin, Duo, to make sure no infection sets in. Now the usual treatment for these cases is rest. Bed rest." Sally looked firmly at Duo. "That means staying completely and totally in bed. No getting up other than to shower and visit the toilet." Seeing the protest about to work free from Duo's throat, she quickly continued. "I intend to admit you to the hospital for a few days so I can keep an eye on both you and the baby. Depending on the next round of tests I may let you go home. If I do and the tests show that everything has settled down then I will allow you to move around a little, nothing strenuous and mostly sitting or lying down. Is that understood?"

"Hai," replied Heero.

When nothing came from Duo, Sally asked again. "Is that clear to you, Duo?"

"Crystal," came the soft reply. He didn't like it, not being the sort of person to remain inactive he knew he would find it very hard to follow Sally's orders, but he would, despite not wanting to. The life of his child depended on him and he would be damned if he was going to risk the baby.

"Good. I'm going to leave the pair of you alone for a little while; I need to organize a hospital room for you, Duo. I'll be back shortly with Nurse Brown and then we will move you and make you more comfortable. Is there anything I can get either of you before I go?"

"No, thank you. You've already done enough, Sally."

"Yeah, I'm fine, Sal. Thanks."

Sally left the two to discuss the information she had given them, knowing they had a lot to work out between them.

***

The little fetus stretched its limbs, an unusual feeling passing through its system. Its usually calm, serene world was different, sensations came to it through the attachment to its mother, sensations it didn't like. The world it was surrounded by became slightly *hazy*, distorted even and the tiny, frail body couldn't understand what was happening. Movement became harder, sluggish and less defined, the small brain worked overtime to stabilize the growing body whilst developing cells fought for the necessary components with which to continue their evolution.

The small heart began to beat faster, determined to provide the life sustaining oxygen to the needy body. The fetus turned its head, eyes blinking, although sight was denied at this stage and rolled into a slightly more curled up position. The thumb sought out the mouth where it was sucked upon as a measure of comfort, the jaw tilted into a *defiant* pose while the as yet unknown sensation of fear worked through its system.

The heart continued to beat erratically for a while, driving the blood through the small body and keeping it stable. Gradually the pace began to slow as the system began to stabilize and return to something akin to its 'normal' state. Oxygen was again abundant enough for the cells to continue their growth and development and along with the returning balance came something else.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason the little fetus began to feel incredibly happy. The feeling grew and with it so did the fetus' urge to *play*. Arms and legs began to unfurl and stretch, muscles awakened and the tiny baby began to kick out, enjoying the movement of its limbs. A foot connected with something solid and the fetus found it interesting, so it kicked again... several times before tiring of the game and curling up to sleep, happy and contented once again.

***

Duo lay on his side waiting for Heero to speak, to tell him what an idiot he'd been and how disappointed in him he was when he felt something inside. Immediately he went as still as possible, unsure of what it was he'd felt. It wasn't pain, the morphine had dulled that. No, this was something different. It happened again and Duo held his breath as his mind told him what it was but his logic didn't accept it. When it happened a third time his face lit up in a smile and tears formed in his eyes.

Heero desperately wanted to say something to his lover but he could feel how much Duo was hurting over this incident and decided to hold his tongue. Now was not the time nor the place to discuss their future, it could wait until Duo was feeling better. His lover had had a really bad scare and didn't need anything other than reassurance at this stage, Duo wasn't stupid, Heero knew that his partner would never do anything like this again. He turned his eyes towards his lover and his breath caught. Duo was smiling, a broad smile that Heero hadn't seen in a while but there were also tears. To say he was confused would be an understatement. Tentatively he reached out and brushed away the errant bangs from his lover's sweet face. "Duo?" he questioned.

Duo looked at Heero through misted eyes, the grin on his face growing even larger.

Heero mentally began to question how much morphine Sally had given the American when Duo spoke.

"The baby... It kicked. Heero, I felt the baby kick..."

~*~

tbc.....

[1] Duck billed clamp: This is a stainless steel instrument shaped like a duck's bill which is usually used on women when doing cervical swabs and such. Any female out there who has had pap smears will be familiar with this surgical instrument. *shudders*

AN: It may be a short while before the next chapter appears as RL has taken over all my time for the moment. My apologies in advance.