Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 90 ( Chapter 90 )

Please see previous chapters for notes, disclaimers etc.

 

"Chimaera"

 

By ShenLong.

 

 

Chapter 90

 

The next few days passed in a blur to Duo. Things were happening so fast around him that he found it hard to keep up. Nurse Brown had settled in and adapted to the routine that Duo and Heero followed, not interfering with them as Duo had feared she might. In fact, quite the opposite had happened. Nurse Brown had accepted how they ran their lives and refrained from getting in their way. She was more than happy to go along with their everyday routine, only stepping in when it was obvious to her that Duo was experiencing some form of difficulty with his body and the pregnancy. Even this she managed to do in such a way that Duo was never made to feel inadequate or belittled.

 

Duo found himself turning to the nurse more and more. Slowly he was beginning to learn to trust the woman and began to open up to her a little, although he was still reluctant to discuss any of his fears relating to the pregnancy with her as yet. Miracle had accepted Barney and the Weiro could often be found riding around the house on the dog's back; that was when he wasn't perched on Duo's head or shoulder. If Nurse Brown was put out by her pet's obvious adoration of the braided man, she never said, accepting the bird's choice to spend time with Duo. Miracle on the other hand had developed an affinity with the nurse and the two took daily walks together around the grounds, something Duo was grateful for as he couldn't walk the dog himself or play games with her as much as he would have liked. He did feel a little guilty though about the nurse spending her free time with the dog when she could be doing other things.

 

Nurse Brown had been quick to reassure Duo that she quite enjoyed the walks with the dog, it helped to keep her figure in trim, or so she said. Duo didn't think there was anything wrong with the nurse's figure, for a woman of middle age she was trim and fit, and Duo had told her as much. Nurse Brown had blushed at the compliment and scolded him for trying to 'butter her up'. Duo had only laughed, knowing that the nurse didn't mean it and was in fact quite flattered by his words. Heero had teased him mercilessly about using the 'Maxwell charm' to try and keep the nurse on his good side and avoid anything unpleasant on the medical front.

 

The final arrangements for the wedding had been completed, the RSVP's were all in, the flowers ordered, Heero had collected their suits and Quatre had organized for a mini army of gardeners and groundsmen to come to the mansion and prepare the gardens for the ceremony. The wedding would take place in the gazebo, a favorite spot of Duo's. The gazebo itself stood in the center of a rich lawn, five lawned pathways flanked by rose beds leading into it. It was the intention for the guests to be seated just outside the gazebo on either side of the main entrance to it. The wedding party would then walk down the pathway between the roses and up the step into the gazebo where Howard would be waiting for them. Quatre would be standing just to the side with his violin.

 

Siska had ordered all the necessary food stuffs and arranged for them to be delivered two days before the wedding itself. A lot of the proposed buffet could be prepared in advance and then kept frozen or chilled until the day. Trowa and Quatre would arrive in three days time and the wedding would take place four days later. That would give Trowa enough time to collaborate with Siska in regards to the final preparations for the feast, not to mention make the wedding cake. They would also have enough time to figure out the music to be played for the ceremony itself and afterwards.

 

Duo and Heero had both left it up to Quatre to select what music he thought would be appropriate, trusting in the blonde's judgment. Quatre had been flattered to have such an important decision left to him and had diligently scoured through sheets of music, listened to countless tracks until he'd put together a list of tunes he thought would be appropriate. Trowa had gone over it with him and agreed with most of his choices, offering an occasional alternative. From there it had been a case of practicing like crazy.

 

Howard had sent his e-mail through with the promised ceremony for Heero and Duo to peruse and give their input. The pair had spent the best part of an evening going over it and making any adjustments they thought would make the ceremony that little bit more personal. On the whole though, Howard had done a good job and there were minimal changes. The final draft had been sent back to Howard and the reply had been positive. All that remained now was for Howard to arrive back on Earth and the wedding itself to take place.

 

Howard had assured Duo that he would be there despite the ship running a little late due to a shift in an asteroid field which had caused them to take a slightly different course and thereby add an extra day's travel to their schedule. Duo couldn't help but be on edge, this wedding was important to him, not just because it was his wedding but it meant so much to Heero; and for Heero, Duo would do anything. Heero hadn't said much but Duo knew just how important getting married, providing Duo and the baby with a partner and a father was to the Japanese man.

 

Duo was determined that nothing was going to spoil their day.

 

***

 

Sally dropped by five days before the wedding for Duo's next check up and the American found himself once again on the now familiar examination table. His blood pressure, breathing and heart rates were recorded, his weight taken and then the ultra sound.

 

"How's everything looking, Sally?" Duo asked a little nervously.

 

Heero stood beside the bed in his usual place, holding his partner's hand and doing his best to offer support for his lover whilst his own inner turmoil raged, hoping and praying that all was well with the baby and his partner. As Duo's pregnancy progressed into these final months he couldn't help but worry. He knew that Duo held fears as well, even if his lover wouldn't confide in him as yet. Heero had never been more grateful to have Nurse Brown living with them as he was now. He knew that Duo was developing a special bond with the nurse and could only hope that his partner would open up to the nurse and confide in her, at least then Heero could talk to the nurse and hopefully find out what concerns his lover had and how best to help.

 

"So far all is looking well with the child," Sally said as she scanned the sound head over Duo's abdomen. The screen showed the images in a measure of gray and black, Sally able to interpret the images with practiced ease.

 

Both men were becoming more skilled with being able to make out the images on the screen and with delight Duo picked out a hand that seemed to be waving to them. "Look, Heero. Sunshine is waving."

 

Heero's eyes followed the movements on the small monitor and a smile graced his lips as he watched his child's hand moving lazily. It did look like the child was waving. "It looks more like a baby now," he commented as he watched a foot kick out.

 

Sally smiled. "Yes, the baby is fully formed now. There are still a few minor developments to take place, but overall the outward appearance is of a fully developed child."

 

"What's left to develop then?" Duo asked as he studied the picture and waved back to the child.

 

"The bone centers will begin to harden and the basis for fingerprints and the lines on the baby's hands should be developing. The brain cells that are used for conscious thought should also be maturing and the child can start to learn and remember things."

 

"Better watch your language then, Duo," chuckled Heero and copped a glare in return.

 

Ignoring Heero and the look from Duo, Sally continued. "The air sacs in the lungs are forming and this is a vital stage to the baby. If the fetus was to be born now it would only have a very slim chance of survival due to the underdeveloped lungs and this is why it becomes extremely important that you look after yourself now more than ever, Duo."

 

"I've been a good boy," growled Duo. He was fed up with having to take it easy and despite his animosity towards having to rest and relax, he forced himself to do so.

 

"There is one thing of extreme importance I need to discuss with you, Duo," began Sally as she wiped the sound head and replaced it on the side of the machine before turning off the machine.

 

"Uh oh, something tells me I'm not going to like this," said Duo softly as Nurse Brown wiped the gel from his stomach and pulled the blanket over him to keep him warm whilst Sally had her little chat.

 

Taking a seat, Sally looked seriously at the pair and then began to speak. "This stage of the pregnancy is one where the main growth and weight gain takes place. There are two things I'm concerned about. The first is what we call Braxton Hicks contractions..."

 

"Braxton who?"

 

"Braxton Hicks. It's the name given to these contractions, after the man who discovered and researched them."

 

"Ohhkayy." Duo looked rather confused.

 

"Put simply, these are contractions of the uterus in preparation for the birth."

 

"But...?"

 

Sally sighed. "It's the body's way of preparing for the birth of the baby. The contractions shouldn't be painful, maybe uncomfortable and in females they don't usually do anything other than prepare the uterine and abdominal muscles for the birth. In your case though, Duo, being a male and with your female parts the way they are, we don't know how your body is going to react if you do experience anything like this. You may not have any type of contraction; then again you may experience these Braxton Hicks ones..."

 

"Are they likely to be harmful in any way to Duo or the child?" asked Heero in concern.

 

"That's a question I really can't answer. In females they don't do anything other than prepare the muscles as I said. In Duo's case I really don't know what they could do. What concerns me is that Duo being male and obviously not built to accommodate a growing baby, things are rather tight inside. His organs are being squeezed and squashed and although his skin and abdomen are enlarging to cope with the extra 'organ', unlike a female he wasn't designed for this. Therefore the stress to his body is already at a maximum and should he suffer these contractions then... Who knows what will happen. My guess is that he will suffer some pain as his insides will be even more squeezed and squashed than before."

 

Duo suddenly had a mental image of himself being squeezed to the point where his guts burst. It wasn't a nice picture and he shuddered.

 

Guessing what was going through his lover's mind, Heero was quick to reassure his partner. "I don't think you're going to pop from the pressure, little mother."

 

Sally raised a hand to her mouth in horror. "Oh no, Duo. Nothing like that will happen. I'll make sure of it. With Nurse Brown here should you start anything at all that looks like it's going to put stress and strain on you she will be able to ease it and take care of you until I get here."

 

Duo looked only marginally relieved.

 

"I can only hope that your body doesn't decide to go into normal labor," Sally said, "That's my second concern."

 

Duo swallowed and paled. The birth was something he'd been trying to put off facing up to given all the 'if's and buts' of the situation.

 

"I thought we had decided on Duo having a caesarian birth," Heero stated calmly. He could feel Duo's nervousness from the sweaty palm that suddenly clasped inside his a little tighter.

 

"That's correct. We have decided that the baby will be delivered by caesarian section, despite Duo's unique make-up there is no way he can deliver the child naturally without serious risk to the baby's health and his own life."

 

"Then there's no need to worry about labor," Heero said confidently.

 

"It's not that simple, Heero." Nurse Brown decided it was time to give the pair a few home truths. "The body reacts to hormones and when Duo's body decides that the baby is developed enough to survive outside the womb, that it has done all its developing, then it will release a hormone into Duo's blood stream to initiate the onset of labor. Duo will have no say in it. That's how it works with females and I'm assuming that it will be pretty much the same in Duo's case."

 

"But you don't know for certain, do you?" Duo whispered, his anxiety rising by the minute.

 

"No, Duo. We don't. To be honest, we have no idea if it will work that way with you given that this is a completely new area, nothing like this has ever happened before; at least, not that we know of. We are working in the dark here and so assuming that things will go along the same path as a female pregnancy does is about the best we can do." Sally looked thoughtful as she explained this line of reasoning to Duo and Heero.

 

"It's vitally important that if you should feel anything at all that you might suspect is a contraction that you let us know immediately," said Nurse Brown.

 

"And if it turns out to be a false alarm? Indigestion or something?"

 

"I'd rather come out and check you over for dozens of false alarms than have you actually go into labor and risk both your life and that of the child."

 

"Understood," replied Duo. He filed the information away with the intent of possibly talking to Nurse Brown about it later on; along with a few other concerns.

 

"What are the signs to look for?" asked Heero as he stroked his thumb over the back of Duo's hand.

 

"Okay, there are several things that could be a warning sign that premature labor is about to start or that there is something wrong. Cramps or contractions, blood discharge, especially bright blood, swelling or puffiness of your face or hands which is usually a sign of preeclampsia, pain during urination, sharp or sudden pain in your stomach, acute or continuous vomiting, a sudden rush of clear, watery fluid from your... errr... rear end, a low, dull back ache or intensive pelvic pressure."

 

Heero looked stunned, Duo gave a low whistle. "Shit!"

 

"You may not go into early labor, Duo. On the other hand you may experience some of these things, or you may not. It is extremely important though that you do tell someone immediately should you experience any of those things I just mentioned."

 

Duo thought about Sally's words and the implications. Looked like he wouldn't be able to scratch his balls without having someone think he was suffering from something judging by the way Heero was gazing at him. He made a mental note to hide his boxers in the laundry hamper; no doubt Heero would be checking them daily if he could find them.

 

"And what happens if Duo does experience any of those symptoms?" asked Heero in a slightly hoarse voice.

 

"Then you let myself and Nurse Brown know immediately. The sooner we know, the sooner we can act. If it is a false alarm then there's no harm done. If it's not..." Sally swallowed and lowered her eyes. "The sooner we can treat the problem the better for everyone."

 

The four people were silent for a moment, each thinking their own thoughts before Nurse Brown broke the tension.

 

"Here," she said handing the two men some pictures she'd printed out from the ultra sound scan. "You can pop those in your baby scrap book for posterity."

 

Duo gave the nurse a warm smile and took the pictures from her offered hand. "Thank you," he whispered.

 

"You're welcome. I've printed out the baby's weight and length as near as the machine can determine on the bottom of the scans."

 

Heero looked over at the pictures Duo held. "Wow! Five hundred grams and thirty centimeters."

 

"No wonder I'm feeling like a stuffed turkey," chuckled Duo.

 

"By the time this child is born, Duo, it should be anywhere around thirty five to thirty seven centimeters from crown to rump and weigh between two and three kilos," smiled the nurse.

 

"Well, fu... errr... bugger me. Looks like my insides are going to be a little more cramped. I just hope that everything will settle back into its proper place afterwards," exclaimed Duo.

 

Nurse Brown ignored the near slip up. "There's no reason why they shouldn't," she remarked. "Although you will need to do some form of exercise afterwards in order to tighten up your tummy muscles again."

 

"And get rid of the excess flabby skin there will be from all that stretching," teased Heero.

 

"You saying I'm fat, Heero?" growled Duo dangerously.

 

"No, little mother, not fat. Cuddly, adorable, glowing, well rounded..."

 

"Okay, Yuy. You can quit with the endearments, you've already dug your grave."

 

Heero laughed. "I love you any way you come, Duo."

 

"I think that coming was what got me into this situation in the first place," snapped Duo.

 

Sally gave a discreet cough. "If you two have quite finished?"

 

Both men gave the doctor an embarrassed look.

 

"Nurse Brown is right though, Duo. Your abdominal muscles and skin will have stretched to accommodate the baby so once it's born you will have some loose skin there. We will show you some exercises that are specially designed for women after they have given birth to tighten those muscles and get you back into shape without putting undue stress or strain on your body. You have to remember that pregnancy and birth are a large shock to the body system and in your case an even bigger one."

 

"You got that right," sighed Duo.

 

"It's for your own good health and safety that these exercises should be done, and done correctly. I promise you that if you do them the way we teach you then you will have your trim, taut and terrific body back within weeks."

 

"Yeah, I suppose you would know and all."

 

"That's right, we do know," smiled Nurse Brown. "Now, let's get you off that table and dressed again."

 

***

 

That night, lying in their warm bed, snuggled safely in Heero's arms, Duo let his mind wander over the talk he'd had earlier with the nurse and Sally. All the information they had given him in regards to what could happen did nothing to reassure him of his status. Put simply; he was terrified. A small sob escaped his throat.

 

"Duo?" Heero shifted as his lover's distress woke him from the slumber he'd only just fallen into.

 

"I'm okay," sniffled Duo.

 

"What's wrong? Don't tell me that it's nothing, I know you, Duo. Something is eating at you, has been for a while but you won't talk to me. I can't help if I don't know what's wrong."

 

Duo bit his lower lip, debating whether or not to let his partner know what was troubling him. Deciding that he really didn't have much choice, he took a deep breath. "Heero?"

 

"Hai? I'm here for you, Duo."

 

"I... I'm scared."

 

"Oh, Duo." Heero drew his lover close, stroking the trembling back and nuzzling the thick hair. "I'm scared too," he admitted.

 

"No, you don't understand. I'm scared, scared of the future, scared of what's happening to me, scared of all the things that could and possibly will go wrong. Heero, I survived the church massacre, I survived on the streets of L2, I survived G's training and the war... I don't know if... if I will survive this..." Duo's voice began to break as he poured out his fears to Heero, sobs choked in his throat and he cursed himself for being so weak.

 

Heero didn't know what to do. He began to feather kisses over every part of Duo's face, his hands stroked, caressed and tried to reassure through touch. Finally Heero spoke, letting the emotions he'd rediscovered through Duo's love come forth and guide him. He didn't know if what he was saying would have any benefit, but he trusted his heart to guide him. "Duo, I'm scared too, not for myself but for you. I can't begin to imagine how hard this is for you and I admire your courage and your honesty. This gift..." Heero ran a hand lightly over the growing swell of the baby in Duo's abdomen. "This gift of our child that you carry within shows me how strong and loving you are. Duo, you're a unique person and a survivor. I'm worried sick about the things that can go wrong, I don't want to lose you or the baby, Duo, and that is why I am determined to make sure that both of you will be all right. Anything and everything that it is in my power to do to keep you both safe and well, I will do; because I love you, Duo Maxwell. I know it isn't going to be easy but I am here for you. Don't shut me out, tell me what frightens you so I can chase it away, tell me what scares you so I can stand beside you and fight it off, tell me what pains you so I can heal you. Let me love you, Duo, the way you deserve to be loved."

 

"I don't want to die, Heero. My life has finally turned itself around, I'm someone, not a no good street rat anymore but someone with a purpose, with a reason to enjoy this peace and live life to the full. I always expected to die in battle, not to survive the war; but I did and now when everything is looking good for me there is a chance I could lose it all. As much as I want this baby, Heero, I can't help but fear and resent it as well for it might take from me the one thing I want more than anything; to live... to live with you for the rest of my days. Is it wrong for me to think like that? Tell me, Heero. Does a woman carry a child for nine months and regret having fallen pregnant? Resent her child the way I resent this one at times?"

 

Thinking carefully before speaking, Heero couldn't help but remember the conversation he'd had with Trowa not all that long ago about his own feelings of resentment towards the baby. Trying to recall the wise words that Trowa had spoken, Heero did his best to let Duo know that it was quite normal for him to feel and think these things. "Duo, you're not alone. Many women have similar feelings towards their unborn baby as you're experiencing. It's quite natural to feel some sort of resentment but ask yourself this. If you had the choice again to carry the child or terminate it, what would you do?"

 

Duo thought about Heero's words for a moment. "I'd still carry it," he whispered.

 

"That's what I thought. Duo, you're not a bad or evil person for thinking along those lines; you're simply being human. Promise me that you will talk to me when you're worried about something, if you can't talk to me then talk to Sally or Nurse Brown for they would know better than me how to help you. They've both dealt with things like this before, I haven't but I'm willing to try."

 

Snuggling closer, Duo let himself relax, Heero's words offering him some comfort.

 

"Will you talk to Nurse Brown about these fears of yours?"

 

Feeling better already for having shared some of his worries with Heero, Duo agreed. Heero was right, he needed someone to talk to, confide in and the nurse seemed the obvious choice. She had the experience and wouldn't judge him. "Okay, Heero. I'll talk to Nurse Brown tomorrow," he sighed.

 

"Good. Now come here and let me kiss you to sleep."

 

Happily Duo surrendered to Heero's gentle kisses and touches of reassurance. He felt a little more confident after Heero's words of support and not condemnation as he'd feared. Despite the fact that he was the one carrying the child, Heero understood what mental anguish he was suffering and that endeared him to Heero even more.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc.......

 

Information taken from the book: 'Conception, Pregnancy and Birth by Dr Miriam Stoppard.' and the following web site: http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/laborbasics/a/bhctx.htm