Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 121 ( Chapter 121 )

Please see previous chapters for notes, disclaimer etc.

 

"Chimaera"

 

October. 2003 ShenLong

 

 

 

Chapter 121

 

[Preventer Hospital]

 

The three paused outside the doors indicating the isolation unit lay ahead, to the side blinked a scanner for the authorized pass card, a card none of them currently had.

 

"Shit! What now?" said Wufei as he looked at Quatre.

 

The blonde held his hand up in surrender. "Don't look at me, I'm just about out of morphine induced bright ideas."

 

"You used to be a good tactician," growled Wufei.

 

"I'll have you know I still am, only nowadays it's more in the business world than the battle field," huffed Quatre.

 

"Makes sense, no buttons to push," muttered Wufei as he studied the scanner.

 

"Oh, I don't know. You seem to be doing a good job of pushing my buttons," sniffed Quatre.

 

"Personally I think I would rather be punching buttons..."

 

"If it wasn't for me pushing those buttons, flipping switches and finding the lights and sirens you wouldn't have gotten through the traffic so quickly, especially given your driving skills. I'm surprised we're all in one piece," muttered Quatre.

 

"Speaking of switches, where is your off one?"

 

While Chang and Winner argued, Heero remembered Une's cell 'phone in his pocket. Quickly he pulled the object from inside the suit and pressed the speed dial for Sally's number. "Shut up, you two," he snapped as the 'phone began to ring.

 

"Po here."

 

"Sally, it's Heero."

 

"Heero? About time. Where are you? I'm just about to begin..."

 

"We're at the hospital, stuck outside the isolation unit doors. We don't have a pass card."

 

"We?"

 

"Chang and Winner are with me. Sally?"

 

"Hang on, Heero. I'll be right there to let you in."

 

The line went dead and Heero pushed the disconnect button. "Sally is on her way to let us in," he informed the other two.

 

"Duo?" questioned Quatre.

 

"Sally said she was just about to begin."

 

Wufei felt as if a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders and he sighed. If Sally was just about to begin it meant Chang Wufei had kept his promise to his friend. He'd gotten Heero to the hospital in time for his baby's birth; even if the blonde had pushed a few buttons. Wufei slumped slightly as the adrenaline began to leave his body now that his task was complete and the past few hours suddenly caught up with him.

 

"Then we made it in time?" Quatre's face lit up into a broad grin.

 

"I hope so." Heero was getting impatient. Now that he'd made it to the hospital he wanted to see his husband, needed to touch Duo, to hold his partner and convince himself that Duo really was okay. Turning his eyes to Chang, Heero locked gazes with the Chinese agent. "Arigato."

 

Wufei reached out and gave Heero's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I made a promise, Yuy. I don't like to break them."

 

Heero nodded, further words were unnecessary.

 

"Heads up, everyone. Doctor at twelve o'clock," said Quatre and all eyes turned to the isolation unit doors as Sally approached and then swiped her card through the security unit.

 

* * *

 

[Preparation Room]

 

Trowa rinsed out the razor and then checked the shaven area. "I think that should do," he said quietly and picked up the towel to wipe the remaining gel off Duo's groin.

 

"Thanks for not taking off anything important," said Duo in a low voice.

 

"Regrowth is going to be a bitch."

 

Duo arched an eyebrow.

 

"It will itch like hell when the hair starts to grow back," offered Trowa by way of explanation.

 

"Voice of experience talking?"

 

"Ah... Well..." Trowa began to turn a shade of red and Duo snickered.

 

"I guess I can play the part of the macho man then."

 

"I don't follow," replied Trowa as he wiped the rest of Duo's groin with a damp towel and then helped to pull the boxers back up.

 

"Macho man, you know? Always scratching your balls?"

 

"But I didn't shave your balls."

 

Duo rolled his eyes. "Forget it."

 

"How are we doing, gentlemen?" Nurse Brown appeared back in the room.

 

"All done," said Trowa.

 

"Good. Doctor Po is ready for you now, Duo. I'll just get rid of this lot," the nurse inclined her head in the direction of the shaving equipment, "and then I'll be back to take you through to the theater."

 

"Okay." Duo's voice sounded small and lost.

 

Trowa gave his friend a gentle pat to the arm. "I know it's not the same as having Heero here but I'll be right by your side, Duo."

 

"Thanks."

 

"Right. All set?" asked the nurse as she gave Duo a reassuring smile.

 

Duo nodded, his voice unable to make it past the lump in his throat. He wanted Heero but it looked like his husband was going to miss out on the most important event of their lives.

 

Nurse Brown moved to the head of the bed and released the brake. "I'll drive," she stated as she gave Trowa a firm look.

 

"No objections from me," stated Trowa as he stepped to the side.

 

Carefully, Nurse Brown maneuvered the bed into the operating theater and drew it expertly alongside the smaller operating table. Sally appeared from the side. "How are you doing, Duo?"

 

"Okay, I guess."

 

"Good. Any further contractions?" Sally asked as she checked the fetal monitor.

 

"No. Just a few twinges but more a feeling of pressure inside."

 

Sally frowned and then quickly replaced it with a soft smile. "You think you can help us get you off that bed and onto this one?" she asked as she indicated the operating table.

 

"Should be able to manage that," replied Duo as he eyed up the space.

 

"Nice and easy then. Nurse Brown and Trowa will help to slide you across and then we will get you comfortable." Sally turned to face Trowa, Nurse Brown was already in position by Duo's legs. "On my count as he starts to slide over I'll help with the shoulders, Margaret will assist with the legs and Trowa, I want you to ease his hips over. Got that?"

 

"Got it." Trowa took up his stance by Duo's hips.

 

"One, two, three. Slide."

 

Duo raised himself slightly and pushed off the bed, the other three assisting him to move across. The entire transfer took only a few seconds and Duo found himself trying to get comfortable on the harder 'bed'. Nurse Brown pushed the hospital bed back out of the theater and into the 'prep' room before returning and helping Duo to get as comfortable as possible.

 

"I'm going to do another quick ultrasound to determine the exact location of the baby in your womb, Duo. I also want to check on that placenta as well as the rest of your bowel. Once I've satisfied myself I'll give you something to calm you down a little and settle the pH balance in your stomach; while that is taking effect I'll finish off preparing you for the C-section." Sally thought it would be better for Duo if she was to explain each step of the procedure to him, even though she had gone through it before with both Duo and Heero. Men had a habit of forgetting such things, not that Duo's memory was faulty, they simply didn't seem to absorb things along a surgery related line; especially when it was their own bodies that were involved in that surgery. A bit like selective hearing. If it didn't register then it couldn't happen.

 

"Will I remain awake?" Duo's voice was barely above a whisper.

 

"Yes. I don't think there is any need to give you a general anesthetic. I'll give you an epidural which basically means I'll infiltrate your spinal cord from the waist down with a local anesthetic so you won't feel any pain at all. You may experience some pressure but no pain." Seeing Duo starting to turn a little green, Sally continued. "I'll also be placing a sort of 'curtain' over you so you won't be able to see anything either."

 

Duo let out a puff of air that ruffled his bangs. "Thank heavens for small mercies," he muttered.

 

Sally turned away and began to rummage through the drug cupboard, locating the tablets she wanted. "Here," she said, handing Duo two tablets and a glass of water. "Swallow those and they will help to settle the pH balance in your stomach ready for the anesthetic."

 

Duo took the tablets and assisted by Trowa, propped himself up enough to swallow them. "Now what?" he asked.

 

"Now I'm going to check your womb with the ultrasound."

 

Nurse Brown brought the machine across and smeared the gel over Duo's belly. Sally took the sound head and began to run it over the taut skin. The screen showed the life within, and Duo watched with baited breath as Sally continued her scan. There wasn't a lot of room inside Duo's womb, the fetus was scrunched up, its arms hugging its chest while the legs were bent at the knees and also drawn up. The head was firmly engaged, pressing low into the small opening that led to Duo's bowel. Sally moved the sound head again, this time searching for the placenta and when she found it, her brow furrowed. She didn't like what she saw. The placenta was slowly but surely separating from the uterine wall. Returning the sound head to the holder on the machine, Sally turned to the nurse.

 

"Fetch me some padding, please. Duo is still losing blood and we need to absorb it with something. I'm going to get ready to administer the epidural."

 

Nurse Brown nodded and fetched a large amount of gauze. Gently she lifted Duo up and removed his boxers. With Trowa's assistance the nurse packed the gauze around Duo's anus to absorb the blood that continued to ooze from inside.

 

Sally collected the items she needed for the epidural and placed them in a kidney dish on the small trolley. Pulling the trolley with her, she brought it over to the operating table. "I need you to roll over onto your side for me, Duo so I can give you the epidural."

 

"What exactly are you going to do?" asked Duo. He couldn't remember much from when Sally had explained the procedure before but then she'd not gone into a lot of depth with it. Although he'd researched it on the Internet with Heero it was easier to understand if it was explained in simple terms.

 

"I'll go through it step by step as I do it," replied Sally. "Firstly I'm going to inject a small amount of local anesthetic into the tissues surrounding the epidural space in the spine where I will need to inject and place the catheter. You will feel a certain amount of stinging but it shouldn't be too bad or last too long." Sally began to swab the area and then gently injected the local anesthetic.

 

Duo squeezed his eyes shut then opened them again as a hand took his own. He looked up to see Trowa smiling softly at him.

 

"You can squeeze mine as hard as you need to," the Latin said softly.

 

Giving Trowa a grateful smile, Duo did just that. The stinging intensified and he gripped Trowa's hand hard. Fortunately the stinging didn't last too long, the anesthetic beginning to work and numb the nerves. Gradually Duo's grip loosened and he began to relax.

 

"There, that's the worst of it over with," said Sally as she swabbed the area again. "I'll give that a couple of minutes to work and then I'll inject some more, this time into the epidural space."

 

"Okay," replied Duo as he relaxed further.

 

Sally checked the fetal monitor again, noting the slight elevation of the heart rate and then turned back to the kidney dish and the contents there. Nurse Brown handed her another needle and Sally nodded her thanks. Turning back to Duo, Sally gently pressed against the tissue she'd anesthetized. "Can you feel that, Duo?"

 

"There's just some pressure, that's all," said Duo and then he moaned again. "I think there's another contraction coming on."

 

"Damn! Okay, just take slow, even breaths."

 

Sweat broke out on Duo's forehead as the contraction began to sweep through his abdomen. He gripped Trowa's hand tightly, the pressure from his fingers increasing along with the strength of the contraction. His entire belly felt like it was being pushed from the inside, pain and pressure increasing until he thought he was going to pass out from the intensity of it all; or pop. He began to groan.

 

There wasn't anything Sally could do other than pray, watch and wait for the contraction to pass. She didn't dare try to insert the needle while Duo was having a contraction, she needed the man to remain as still as possible, one false move and the needle could do irreparable damage. She was forced to stand by helplessly and pray that Duo's body could take one more of these contractions without rupturing anything.

 

The bones in Trowa's hand began to grind together as the grip on it increased. Trowa never moved, never flinched. If Duo wanted, he could break Trowa's hand and the Latin wouldn't hold it against him. As far as Trowa was concerned, Duo was suffering way more than Trowa was.

 

Slowly the pain of the contraction began to ease and the muscles relaxed again. Duo found he was panting, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He knew deep down that if he had another of those contractions, especially at that intensity there would be no way his body could cope. He'd end up tearing inside and then it would all be over.

 

"All gone?"

 

Sally's words brought Duo's mind back from the hazy place it had gone to. "Yeah, it's easing off now."

 

"Good. I'll start on the epidural in just a moment. I need to have you completely relaxed and it's extremely important that you do not move while I'm inserting the anesthetic or the catheter."

 

"I got it. No moving." Duo released Trowa's hand from his; he'd forgotten he'd been holding it. Trowa flexed his fingers a little and looked at the abused appendage. "Sorry," whispered Duo.

 

"It's okay, Duo. I have another one." Trowa's attempt at humor didn't go unnoticed and the long haired man gave a small chuckle.

 

Sally picked up the swab and was about to clean the area before inserting the needle when her cell 'phone went off. "Shit!" she exclaimed, the noise frightening the living daylights out of her and causing her to jump.

 

"Thank god you weren't putting the needle in," muttered Duo under his breath, a sentiment that Trowa agreed with.

 

Sally set the needle and swab down then reached for her pocket underneath the green, surgical gown she was wearing. Pulling the small object free, she pushed the button. "Po here."

 

"Sally, it's Heero."

 

"Heero? About time. Where are you? I'm just about to begin..."

 

"We're at the hospital, stuck outside the isolation unit doors. We don't have a pass card."

 

"We?"

 

"Chang and Winner are with me. Sally?"

 

"Hang on, Heero. I'll be right there to let you in." Sally pressed the disconnect button and shoved the 'phone back into her pocket.

 

"Was that Heero?" asked Duo, his voice a little shaky. His hopes had begun to rise a little but he wasn't game to let them go too far, he didn't need any further disappointments.

 

"Yes." Sally beamed. "Heero is here, Duo."

 

"Thank god," said Duo.

 

"Heero, Wufei and Quatre are all here, they're on the other side of the isolation doors, they can't get in as they don't have a pass card."

 

"Quatre?" Trowa's eyes took on a hazy look. "Quatre's here too?"

 

"Yes, Trowa. All three of them are here."

 

Duo raised a hand to brush away the tears that streaked down his friend's cheek. "I told you Heero would look after him, Tro."

 

Turning his face a little, Trowa's eyes met with Duo's the relief and happiness evident within. "They're all here, Duo. They made it."

 

"Yes, Trowa. They made it." Duo's laughter filled the room and warmed the hearts of both Nurse Brown and Sally.

 

"I'm going to go down and let them in. Duo, you can roll back over for the moment, I'll continue as soon as I get back. Trowa, you stay here with him. Margaret, keep an eye on his vitals. I should only be gone a few minutes, depending of course on the state of our three heroes." With that, Sally left the operating theater.

 

Duo was carefully rolled back over and assisted to get comfortable again. Trowa couldn't stop the grin that ran from ear to ear and he constantly repeated the word 'Quatre' to himself as if he couldn't believe it. Duo was doing his best to remain calm, not wanting to set off any further contractions by getting excited that his husband had managed to get to the hospital. But it wasn't easy.

 

* * *

 

Sally almost jogged down the corridors in her haste to get to the three men. She was simply ecstatic that Heero had managed to get there before the baby's birth and yet her doctor side kicked in adding a touch of worry to her feelings, worry about the three men's conditions. Once she had let them in she would contact G and have him come down to take a look at Quatre and Wufei, Heero she would deal with herself. She didn't even try to fool herself into thinking that Heero would allow himself to be taken off to surgery, not until he'd been with Duo and seen his baby born. She hoped she could patch him up enough for that to become a reality. Rounding the last corner she could make out three shapes on the other side of the frosted glass doors that closed the isolation unit off from the rest of the hospital. Quickly she slid the pass card through the scanner and the doors released.

 

Hearing the click as the lock released, Wufei began to push the doors open to get the wheelchair and Yuy through.

 

Quatre assisted with his good arm, holding one of the doors open enough for Wufei to step inside.

 

Immediately, Heero's eyes went to Sally and his mouth opened in a barrage of questions. "Where is Duo? How is he? How far along is he? Have you stopped the contractions? When is the baby going to be born?"

 

"Slow down, Heero," said Sally. "Duo is okay, the contractions haven't stopped and I was just about to give him the epidural ready to perform the C-section and deliver the baby."

 

Heero visibly sagged in the chair. "Take me to him, please.""I will, Heero. Firstly though, how are you?" Sally's eyes had scanned over the three, recalling Une's information on their various conditions.

 

"I'm fine," replied Heero.

 

"I think not." Before Heero could protest, Sally outlined her plan. "I want all three of you to come with me to the operating room. Quatre and Wufei, you two will remain outside the theater in the prep room, I don't need any contamination in there. Heero, I will check you over in the prep room and patch you up enough that you can be with Duo for the delivery. I can't delay in delivering Duo for much longer, the placenta has started to separate and if it pulls away much more we are in danger of serious blood loss. He's okay at the moment though," she hastily added.

 

"Trowa?" asked Quatre.

 

"Trowa is with Duo right now. Once we get to the prep room I'll have him come out to you. I'm going to page G to come down and take care of you two," she said looking pointedly at Quatre and Wufei.

 

"I don't want that man anywhere near me," growled Wufei.

 

"Fine," snapped Sally. "There are a couple of other doctors in the normal section of the hospital, one of those can treat you for now. I'll have G take you through. Once you're both sorted out I'll get G to bring you back up."

 

"I don't care who looks after me," said Quatre. "As long as I can have some more of that morphine."

 

"Just keep him away from buttons and switches if you're going to give him more of that stuff," Wufei muttered.

 

Heero rolled his eyes and looked up at Sally who wore a confused expression. "Long story, I'll tell you about it later on."

 

"Okay. Come on then, this way to the theater."

 

Wufei took up residence behind the wheelchair once more and began to push, following the doctor along the corridors.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc....

 

 

Ranihexl information can be found here: http://home.intekom.com/pharm/hexal/ranihexl.html

 

Epidural information taken from here: http://www.mjbovo.com/Epidural.htm