Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Equinity ❯ Chapter 18 ( Chapter 18 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Duo helps Heero to move out from the cottage and into his place. Duo gets a call from Quatre, the local R.S.P.C.A. Inspector, to assist him on a case of neglect.

Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.27.2005 | Pages: 8 | Words: 8.9K | Visits: 1.3K | Status: Completed

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

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Sap, angst, yaoi, Lemon, AU, OOC

Pairing: 2x1

Summary: Heero is a successful up and coming Showjumping rider with his promising new horse Zero. A fall at a show renders the animal injured and it is up to Duo Maxwell the new vet to treat the horse.

Dedication: To Klingonpoodle who gave me the plot bunny for this fic. *huggles* This one's for you hun!

Many thanks to my beta Yami_Tai.

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

http://sweetlysour.net.

http://adultfanfiction.net

http://www.theforsakenwk.com

http://www.templeofthegoddess.com/files/gwyaoi.html

Notes: All the information on showjumping, horses, etc is taken from my own knowledge of the sport having been a competitor and now judge for many years and is written from an Australian perspective. The rules and regulations are courtesy of the E.F.A Handbook. (Equestrian Federation of Australia) Should you have any questions just e-mail me.

Many thanks to Yami_tai for the title! *hugs*

" Equinity "

October 2004 ShenLong

Chapter 18

It didn't take Duo long to get Heero and his packing organized. Once the decision had been made and the new routine was worked out; Heero had exactly twelve days left from the date of the serving of the notice to vacate the premises, not a great deal of time but enough. Having a rough idea of the amount of furniture and possessions that Heero had, Duo suggested that each day after work at Fairbrothers, Heero go back to the cottage and pack as much as he could into boxes. On the days when Duo didn't have anything booked in for afternoon surgery, he would meet Heero at the cottage and give him a hand. The boxes were then loaded into the car and driven to Duo's where Heero would unpack what he could after evening consults.

There wasn't a great deal in the way of household items and clothing and Heero had most of it at Duo's within four days. They had agreed to leave the furniture until the weekend and then to save on costs they would use the horse float of Heero's to transport the furniture over. Rather than clutter Duo's house unnecessarily, Heero decided to put most of his furniture into storage and had rented a large storage unit in the village from a company that specialized in hiring out units for that purpose. It was cheap enough and meant peace of mind as the place was under twenty four hour security as well.

Most of Heero's packing entailed Zero's things.

"Fuck, Heero. This horse of yours has more shit than you and I put together," stated Duo as he stood inside the tack shed with Heero.

"Umm..… You do tend to gather a bit of stuff over the years," replied Heero sheepishly as he surveyed the gear he had. Besides the jumping saddle, bridle, grooming kit, rugs and bandages that were already at Duo's from his accident at the show, the tack shed still looked like it could rival a well stocked saddlers.

There were three bridles hanging up, another two saddles on the saddle rack, several rugs hanging over a low beam and when Duo opened up the cupboard he nearly had a heart attack. "Exactly how much shit have you got here, Heero?" he asked as his eyes roved over the spare pieces of leather, lead ropes, bandages, jumping boots, brushes and numerous other items.

"Too much by the look of it," said Heero as he peered over Duo's shoulder. "Think I need to have a bit of a spring clean."

"No shit!"

"I'll sort through it and anything that I don't really need I'll put to one side; there's usually a trash and treasure [1] each month in the village, I can take it down there, set up a stall and sell a lot of it."

"Makes sense." Duo turned around. "I'll let you sort that lot out then," he said with a smile and gave Heero a kiss. "I'll go load up the other gear."

Heero shook his head in amusement but let his boyfriend go and concentrated on sorting through years of accumulated gear.

***

Eight days later they had all of Heero's things out and either at Duo's or the storage facility. They went back once more to give the cottage a clean through, check that they hadn't left anything behind and hand over the keys. They also picked up the bond money that Heero had paid and Heero took Duo out for dinner to thank the vet for all his help.

Once Heero was settled in at Duo's on a permanent basis so life began to take on a routine. Each morning they would rise, Duo would make breakfast while Heero fed his horse and cleaned out the stable. Once breakfast was done, they would attend to Zero's leg and then Heero would leave for his job at Fairbrothers. Duo would potter around the house performing his usual morning clean up before heading to the surgery for morning consults.

Lunch would be waiting when Heero got back and afterwards Heero would either assist Duo with any afternoon surgery or help out with household chores. Zero was attended to again in the evening before the pair of them would open the surgery for the evening consults, Heero working the reception area and assisting Duo if he needed help. They took it in turns to cook dinner and Duo was surprised by Heero's culinary skills. Whilst Duo tended to keep the meals he cooked simple but still nutritious and enjoyable, Heero would branch out a little and try different things. Duo didn't mind being a guinea pig for these little experiments, he loved Heero's cooking.

Once the dishes were done they usually sat and watched some television, snuggling on the couch, making out from time to time. Sometimes Heero would bring work home from the office with him and boot up his lap top, finishing off what he had to do whilst Duo watched a movie.

The clients had all accepted Heero and warmed to the young, quiet man. He was efficient and yet compassionate in his dealings with the clients, something they appeared to appreciate. Several engaged him in conversation and he learnt a little more about the wide and varied population of Salsbury and surrounding villages. As many of the clients discovered Heero's true vocation so he found himself with requests for his expertise. Duo was delighted when Heero informed him that he'd had a couple of requests for his services on peoples' books. Duo had told him to go for it, but to make sure he charged for his work. So Heero did.

After living with Duo for two months he was beginning to get himself out of his financial down slide, working at Fairbrothers in the morning and freelancing in the afternoons, evenings and weekends. He'd started to build up quite a nice little following for himself and the money all helped to bring his bank balance to a healthier level.

Zero had improved in leaps and bounds and Heero had started to take the horse for walks around the country lanes to start to exercise the leg a little. He didn't ride him yet, opting to begin by leading Zero and slowly build the muscles back up.

Yes, life was certainly beginning to look up and Heero had never been happier.

Duo was also content with his lot. Heero's help in the surgery of an evening was a godsend to him. The practice was growing steadily, most consulting hours were full and they had started to take appointments to help with the flow of things. All was working fine, with the new system being accepted and welcomed by the clients. Afternoon surgeries were also getting busier and Duo found that most days he had a patient booked in for some type of procedure. He didn't mind, he loved his work and having Heero with him made it even more enjoyable.

When Heero had been approached by several people to audit their books for them he'd been pleased and told Heero to go for it. It helped the man's finances and gave him a sense of self worth, something Duo had decided that Heero was lacking in after his disappointment over the various jobs due to his injury.

Heero's shoulder had completely healed now and whilst there was still a little stiffness there, it was improving daily. They had just closed the surgery one evening when there was a pounding on the door and yells for help. Heero immediately opened the door as he was closest to it, sweeping the waiting room floor, Duo hot on his heels. A young man staggered through the doorway a dog wrapped in a blanket in his arms.

"Are you the vet?" the man asked in a panicked tone.

"I'm Doctor Maxwell," replied Duo as he stepped forward. "What happened?" Already Duo's eyes were raking over the form of the dog, or what he could see of it; the blood seeping through the blanket indicating that there was more to the dog's condition than he could currently see.

"It's Goldie..."

Duo began to steer the man in the direction of the consulting room, motioning for Heero to follow them. "What happened to Goldie?" Duo asked as he helped the man to place the dog on the table and carefully peeled the blanket back to expose the dog.

"He... I was taking him for a run when he chased a rabbit out onto the road... A car came..." The man was clearly choked with emotion.

Heero had to look away briefly as Duo revealed a golden Labrador, a majestic dog under normal circumstances, but there was nothing majestic about Goldie at the moment. The poor dog's fur was matted with blood and even Heero could tell that there was severe damage to the hind limb.

"Easy, Goldie," murmured Duo as he probed around for a better look at the injuries. He checked the dog all over, finding only a badly fractured hind leg and lacerations; but it was the fracture that looked grotesque and was responsible for all the blood. When the femur had broken it had torn through muscle and skin, the jagged piece of bone poking out and glinting under the surgery lights.

"Can you help him?" the man asked as he averted his eyes.

"It's a very nasty break, Mr..."

"Morton."

"You can see that the bone fracture is exposed. I can fix it but he will require an extensive operation to repair the damage..."

"I don't care what it costs, if you can help him, please... do it. He's a family pet, means the world to the wife and son," Mr. Morton said softly as he stroked the dog's head.

A tail wagged briefly.

"I'll do everything I can, Mr. Morton," replied Duo. Already his mind was racing through the procedure he would need to follow to fix the leg. He returned his gaze to the dog's owner. "If you would go back out with Heero here and give him all your details, I'll take Goldie through to the operating theater now and get started. It will take a while so I suggest you go home and I will ring you after the surgery is complete and let you know the result."

Mr Morton nodded and gently stroked the dog's head again before turning to face Duo. "Thank you."

Duo gave the man a warm smile. "I'll call you as soon as I'm finished. I'm certain we can fix this and have Goldie as good as new for you."

"This way please, Mr. Morton," said Heero as he gestured towards the door.

With one last look at the dog, Mr. Morton followed Heero out of the consulting room and back to the reception area.

Heero dealt with the formalities as efficiently as he could, knowing that the man was obviously worried about his dog. Name, address, telephone number and the dog's details were quickly logged into the computer and once he'd finished Heero gave Mr. Morton one of Duo's business cards. "Rest assured, Mr. Morton, Doctor Maxwell is an excellent vet and will make sure that Goldie is treated in the best possible way. The operation will probably take a couple of hours so go home and try to keep yourself occupied, Doctor Maxwell will call you as soon as Goldie is out of surgery and let you know how he's doing."

"Thank you," replied Mr. Morton. He was obviously dazed by the turn of events but duly took the offered card and slipped it into his wallet. "I'll wait to hear from you." He turned and headed for the door, a slump to his shoulders. Heero followed him.

Locking the surgery door behind the man, Heero quickly turned off the lights and headed for the operating room, Duo would need his help.

Duo had succeeded in transferring Goldie to the operating room and fetched a set of sterilized instruments from the cabinet. Picking up the bottle of anesthetic, he quickly clipped away the hair on the foreleg and inserted the needle. As the drug flowed into the dog's blood stream so the animal began to relax and slumped, asleep and free from pain on the table. Duo looked up as Heero walked in. "Get all the details?"

"Hai. How's the dog? You think you can repair the damage?" Heero washed his hands and grabbed another of the white coats from the back of the door before fetching a pair of latex gloves and slipping them on.

Now that the dog was anaesthetized, Duo could inspect the injury without worrying about causing the dog any pain. "It's going to be tricky but I'm sure we can fix Goldie up." Duo gently probed around the exposed bone, seeking out the torn flesh and determining his best strategy. "Firstly we need to clip away the hair so I can see the damage to the skin and muscles; hopefully there aren't any bone fragments in there..."

Heero prepared himself for a long, messy operation.

***

Two hours and ten minutes later Duo inserted the last stitch and dropped the needle into the kidney dish. He straightened up slowly, his back aching, bangs stuck to his face with sweat but at least the break was fixed and the torn skin and muscles neatly stitched back together. "Just need to pop on a cast now and Goldie can go into the kennels," said Duo in a tired voice.

Heero was equally as tired and rubbed his eyes before picking up the kidney dish with the used instruments in it and taking it to the sink to wash before putting into the autoclave. His mind was still focused on the amazing skills that Duo had displayed when repairing the damage. The vet truly was wonderful, in his opinion anyway. Duo had x-rayed the leg and then carefully cut through the torn flesh, tidying the wound up as he went, to locate the other end of the broken femur. Bringing the two ends back together he'd had to pin and plate the bone to ensure that it stayed in place to heal. Heero had been stunned at the tiny size of the screws and the dexterity with which Duo's fingers worked. He'd patiently assisted Duo, passing him the requested instruments, swabbing when necessary and flushing the wound site with saline, all the time keeping an eye on the dog's breathing and heart rate. Watching Duo perform such intricate surgery only re-enforced his knowledge that Duo truly did care for animals.

Duo fetched the plaster of paris bandages whilst Heero collected the water. With the bandages soaking, Duo applied betadine to the stitches and covered the wound site with a thick layer of gauze. A soft, cotton bandage followed and then a slightly coarser one. Once the protective bandages were in place, Duo removed the first of the plaster bandages and began to wrap them around the leg. It didn't take long for him to completely encase the area and thus immobilize the leg. Heero washed out the container whilst Duo tapped gently at the cast from time to time, checking on the hardening process. As the plaster solidified so Goldie began to come out of the anesthetic. Once Duo was satisfied that the cast was hard enough and the dog alert enough, they carried the animal between them to the kennels and made the dog comfortable, then Duo went to phone Mr. Morton whilst Heero finished cleaning up the operating room.

"All done," said Heero as a weary Duo stopped in the doorway. "The owner okay?"

"Yeah. I told him about the pinning and plating and that it will be roughly six weeks before the cast can come off. He seemed... relieved."

"You look dead on your feet, Duo. Come on, I'm taking you back to the house and putting you to bed after you've had a shower, dinner and a hot drink."

"Yes, mother," chuckled Duo. "Hey, you look exhausted yourself."

"I'm not quite as tired as you so no more arguing, just do as you're told and everything will be fine." Heero wrapped an arm around Duo's waist and they walked slowly back to the house.

True to his word, Heero made a quick dinner of spaghetti on toast, nothing fancy but at least it was hot and filled the stomach. Duo took his ordered shower and eagerly devoured the food and waiting cup of tea. He yawned and looked at the clock. "Fuck! It's eleven thirty, no wonder I'm falling asleep."

"It's been a busy evening, Duo. Why don't you go to bed? I'll finish up the dishes."

Duo stood and walked over to where Heero still sat. He bent down and kissed Heero soundly. "You're a life saver, Heero. Thanks for all your help with the operation and for cooking me dinner."

"You're most welcome, Duo, and I didn't do much in regards to the operation, you did all the work. How the hell you knew what to do is beyond me."

Duo smiled at his boyfriend. "That's what I spent all those years at university for; but, you know something, Heero?"

"No. What?"

"All the theory, text books and practice on deceased animals, whilst good enough in itself will never amount to anything other than an ordinary vet. To be truly good at what you do, vet science, doctor, gardener, doesn't matter what vocation you choose, you need to have a love for it. That's where the difference lies between average and good. Now, that bout of philosophical thinking has drained the last of my mental reserves so I'm going to bed." Duo pressed another kiss to Heero's lips. "Thanks again for the help and I'll see you in the morning."

Heero watched as his boyfriend disappeared down the hallway to his bedroom and then shook his head softly, a smile playing on his lips. "Then you are an excellent vet, Duo; you don't have a love for it and the animals, you have a passion."

***

Two days later Mr. Morton called to pick up Goldie. The dog was healing nicely and Duo had x-rayed the leg again the day after, the two ends of the bone were lying neatly in place once again, held in position by the screws and plate. The cast was holding firm and Goldie had started to put a little weight on the paw, touching it briefly to the ground from time to time. Duo said that was a good sign and indicated that all should heal up well. Mr. Morton was over the moon. He'd honestly thought that the dog would need to have the leg amputated when he'd seen the damage and the bone sticking out. He couldn't thank Duo enough.

Mr. Morton brought his son with him to collect the dog, a lively three year old that immediately had the dog in a bear hug when Heero brought him out from the kennels. Heero kept the little boy occupied with the dog whilst Duo explained about the care Goldie would need to Mr. Morton.

"Main thing is to keep the plaster cast dry. Check his foot a couple of times a day to make sure that it's warm, that way we know that the circulation is still flowing to the paw. If you notice any redness, irritation or rubbing around the ends of the cast, bring him back straight away and I'll sort it out for you. Other than that, restrict his movement; keep it to simple walking around the house, no runs in the park or anything for a while. Unless you have any questions or any concerns I'll see you in six weeks to remove the plaster cast and check on the bone healing." Duo said and shook the owner's hand.

"Just one question, Doctor Maxwell."

"Yes?"

"You said the wound is stitched, what about the stitches? Surely they can't stay in for six weeks?"

"Technically speaking, no, they can't; but.... I used dissolving stitches. Usually we only use the dissolving stitches for internal stitching but with the necessity of a plaster cast I also used them to close the wound. The stitches will break down naturally over the next few days and should be completely dissolved in fourteen days."

"Ahh. Thank you, Doctor Maxwell, for everything you've done. I really do appreciate it." Mr. Morton smiled warmly at Duo and then followed the vet's line of sight to where his son sat on the floor with Heero and Goldie gently petting the dog.

"You know something, Mr. Morton?" began Duo as his smile widened. "That right there is the best thanks I could ever have."

Understanding exactly what Duo was saying, Mr. Morton had to agree.

***

Another week had passed and Duo had announced that Heero could begin to put Zero back into proper work. They sat down together one evening and Duo helped Heero work out a fitness program for the horse, one that would slowly build up the horse's muscle tone whilst not putting any undue strain on the leg. Heero was happy for the assistance, knowing himself from experience what sort of work program best suited Zero to get him fit enough to jump but pleased to have Duo's input and find out that all in all his program wasn't too bad. Duo had only suggested a couple of minor changes and Heero had readily agreed.

The sun was warm on his back as Duo sat on the fence watching Heero. Today was the first time that Heero had been back on Zero's back since the fall and despite being a little stiff, Duo could see the ease in which Heero sat his horse. They truly were united.

Zero seemed pleased to have his master riding him again. He sniffed at the air, snorted and tossed his head when Heero led him out of the stable block, saddled and bridled, thick support bandages on his legs. The bit jingled in his mouth as he chewed restlessly on it and he pawed the ground as he stood for Heero to mount.

"Only walking today, boy," said Heero as he settled into the saddle and ran a soothing hand down the gray neck. Picking up his reins he pressed his legs to Zero's sides and the horse walked forwards. Heero kept the exercise simple, just walking Zero around on a loose rein to begin with, allowing both Zero to get used to his weight on his back again and Heero to adjust to being in the saddle once more. As Zero began to relax so Heero took up more contact with his reins.

They had decided to stick with walking exercise for the first week, varying it from loose rein work to gradually increasing until they were at a collected walk. Whilst a lot of people thought that the walk was a boring pace, Heero knew it was one of the most important gaits on the horse and he could do a lot to tone muscle simply by varying the speed and collection of the walk. When Zero was on the loose rein he could stretch his head and neck down, relax through his back and keep his muscles soft. Once Heero took up the reins and increased the contact, so Zero's stride would shorten up, he would take smaller steps but they would be a lot more energetic and therefore engage more muscular activity. It would be a slow process but a thorough one and by the time they were ready to move onto the next phase, Zero's muscles would have built up enough to cope with the effort.

Still sitting on the fence, Duo watched as the pair varied the walk and he was in awe of the sheer beauty of the two. He felt a little envious of Heero, but it wasn't a jealous type of envy. He'd love to be able to ride like that and even though Heero had said he would teach Duo, Duo knew it took years to get to Heero's level. Still, he would be content enough if he could learn enough to ensure that he could stay in the saddle, control the horse and be able to ride without disgracing himself.

So locked in his thoughts was Duo that when his cell 'phone rang it scared the living daylights out of him and he lost his balance and fell off the fence. Zero who happened to be walking past at that particular point in time, shied away but Heero sat the sudden jump with ease and reined the horse in as he tried not to laugh too loud at Duo who was sprawled, undignified on the grass.

Scowling at his boyfriend and dusting his pants off, Duo scrambled to his feet and yanked the cell 'phone from the waist band of his jeans. "Maxwell."

Heero continued to walk Zero around in a circle by Duo, he could hear the occasional word that Duo spoke and his curiosity was roused. He looked at the vet and noted the serious expression fall over the handsome features. He brought Zero to a halt and waited for Duo to finish his call.

"Yes, I understand.... No, that's not a problem, I can come out as soon as you like. Errr... I'm outside in the paddock at the moment so I don't have a pen and paper, any chance you could call around and I'll follow you? Yup, that sounds fine. Okay, see you in about twenty. Bye, Quatre." With the call finished, Duo flipped the 'phone shut and turned to face Heero.

"Work?" asked Heero. It was a Sunday and Duo was closed on Sundays except for emergencies.

"Sort of," replied Duo. "That was Quatre. He's the local inspector for the R.S.P.C.A. He's been called out to a case of neglect, a horse. He wants me to go along with him and give him my veterinary opinion on the animal."

"Aa."

"Want to come along?"

"If you don't mind."

"I'd like to have you there, Heero. Actually it would be a help. Horses as you know are funny animals and if this one has been mistreated then I have no idea how it's going to react. Quatre, whilst he's good with animals, is only small and not all that experienced with horses. I think it would be a good idea to have you there as you know more about the handling side."

Heero felt himself warm with Duo's kind words. "I don't know how much help I can be but I'm willing to do anything I can."

"Thanks. I'll go get a bag organized while you unsaddle. Quatre will be here in about twenty minutes to pick us up."

"Okay. I'll meet you back at the house," replied Heero and turned Zero towards the paddock gate.

Duo left to get whatever medical supplies he thought he might need.

***

A white, four wheel drive land cruiser with the blue letters; `R.S.P.C.A. Inspector' embellished on the side drew to a halt around the back of the vet hospital. Duo immediately walked forwards to meet the man getting out from the driver's side, Heero behind him.

"Quatre," said Duo as he shook hands with a small blonde man.

"Good to see you again, Duo. I just wish we could meet under better circumstances," replied the blonde. "You remember Trowa?"

Duo turned to face the tall man with green eyes and a mess of hair that seemed to perpetually hang over his face. "Of course I do. How are you, Trowa? Keeping busy?"

Trowa shook the offered hand. "I'm always busy, Duo. What about you?"

"Yeah, flat out. Business is really taking off. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm forgetting my manners." Duo turned around to where Heero was standing behind him and pulled the man forward. "Guys, this is Heero Yuy, he's my part time assistant in the surgery now and also my house mate. Heero, this is Quatre Winner, the Inspector and Trowa Barton who runs an animal shelter."

Heero nodded to the pair and shook the offered hands. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," replied Quatre.

"Nice to meet you too, Heero," said Trowa.

"Look, I hate to rush everyone but we can talk in the car on the way if that's okay," said Quatre as he moved back to the vehicle and climbed in.

"No problem, Quatre," replied Duo and picked up his bag.

Moments later they were driving down the road.

"What exactly is the case, Quatre?" asked Duo as they sped along the country lane.

"Neglect, as far as I know. Someone rang the office yesterday and reported that they'd seen a horse in a paddock, looked like it hadn't been fed for ages. They said they went to check out the conditions but couldn't tell a whole lot. From the information they gave us the paddock is only small with no ground cover, just a large sand pit with a couple of trees. They said they weren't sure about water either and it didn't look like the animal had seen a good feed in quite some time."

"Shit, poor thing. Any idea how long it's been there?"

"No, Duo. I don't have a time frame on it; still don't have an owner name either. We need to assess the situation and then work from there as to the best course of action."

"Right."

With one ear on Duo and Quatre's conversation, Heero turned to the other man and engaged him in light conversation. "You run an animal shelter?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, I do. I take in sick, injured and unwanted animals. I look after them and try to find new homes for them," replied Trowa.

"Must be interesting and hard work."

"It is, but it can be very rewarding too."

Further conversation was halted as Quatre slowed the car down and pulled over to the side of the road. "We're here," he said softly.

The four got out of the car and looked around. Heero's jaw fell open as he looked ahead at the sandy paddock. There was no vegetation whatsoever save two gum trees and those were almost devoid of any foliage. Thick, dry black sand was everywhere, no trace of a feed bin or a water trough that he could see. Then his eyes found the horse and he felt tears prickle behind his eyes as a lump lodged in his chest and throat. "Oh my god!" he whispered.

~ * ~

tbc......

[1] Trash and Treasure: These are markets held here in West Aussie at several locations throughout the state. People come and pay a fee to set up a stall and sell all their unwanted goods, new and secondhand. Buyers are admitted for a smaller fee with all money raised from the cost of stalls and entry going to charity. You can make a lot of money selling unwanted stuff and quite often pick up a bargain as well.