Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Equinity ❯ Chapter 22 ( Chapter 22 )

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

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.
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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 22
 
Bob simply stood and stared at the black horse. "That the new one?" he asked.
 
"Hai, that's Scythe."
 
"Bit on the skinny side, isn't she?"
 
"She's an R.S.P.C.A. case of neglect," began Duo. "I'm sometimes asked to be the consulting vet on such cases. She was reported by someone as being left to fend for herself in a bare paddock."
 
"Shit!"
 
"Heero convinced me to give her a chance and not to put her down so that's why she's here. Heero's hoping to take over ownership of her," added Duo.
 
"It's appalling what some people do to dumb creatures," stated Bob. "I hope they're going to throw the book at whoever was responsible for this."
 
"Remains to be seen. Apparently the guy that owns her is suffering from senility or something. He bought her for his granddaughter but from the report that the inspector got, no one has been near the mare or the paddock for weeks," Heero said as he caught Zero and brought him out of the paddock.
 
"Damn shame," muttered Bob as he put on his leather apron and collected the tools he needed from the large steel box on the back of the ute. "I certainly hope that the horse gets to stay with you then, Heero. Lord knows she will have an excellent home and not want for anything."
 
Behind them both, Duo snickered softly. He was beginning to like Bob the farrier even more.
 
Heero shot him a glare.
 
"What?" Duo held up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm only agreeing with Bob. Even you have to admit that you spoil your horse."
 
"I don't."
 
"You do."
 
"I'd quit now, Heero, everyone that knows you knows how you molly coddle Zero here," said Bob.
 
"I do not molly coddle him."
 
"Then what would you call it?" asked Duo with his hands on his hips.
 
"Taking care of him," huffed Heero and turned to pet Zero's muzzle.
 
Bob grunted. "Call it what you will but it's still molly coddling to me."
 
Heero shook his head and shot a look at Duo that clearly said, 'Don't you dare open your mouth!'.
 
Duo opted to lean against the fence and keep his comments to himself.
 
"How's he been since the fall?" asked Bob as he began the task of removing Zero's shoes.
 
"He's doing well now, thanks to Duo's expert care," answered Heero. "He strained the tendons and ligaments pretty badly but Duo's treatment has worked and now he's pretty much recovered completely. I've started to put him back into slow work but as you can see, he needs re-shoeing."
 
Having finished removing the four shoes, Bob began the task of filing the first hoof in readiness for the new shoe. His rasp slipped easily over the hard wall of the hoof, leveling it up. "I'll take a touch more than I usually would off the heels for you, Heero," said Bob. "That way there won't be too much strain on his tendons as you begin to work him again. I'll also put on lighter shoes than usual to help a bit. Once he's coming back into stronger work and he's due for new shoes again, I'll return to the usual ones you have him shod with for jumping and return the hoof to its usual slope."
 
"That's a good idea," stated Duo. "Anything that will help to ease the pressure on those ligaments and tendons will be good, they need time to strengthen."
 
"Thanks, Bob." Heero was quite happy to let Bob work his miracles; after all he wasn't only a good farrier, he was an excellent farrier especially when it came to horses with problems with their feet and legs. The old saying 'No foot, no horse' sprang to Heero's mind. Never had truer words been spoken. Bob had an uncanny knack when it came to corrective shoeing so Heero was certain to let him do as he thought best for Zero. The fact that Duo agreed with the farrier only cemented Heero's faith in the man and his abilities even more.
 
Bob continued to work away; having gotten the hoof filed to his liking, he fetched a set of ready made shoes from the back of the ute and took them out of the plastic wrapping. He returned to Zero and lifted his hoof again, measuring the shoe against the wall of the hoof and then strolling back to the anvil where he hammered the shoe to fit Zero's foot. Once the shoe was to Bob's liking, he placed it against the hoof and taking a nail out of his mouth where he'd stuck several, he began to hammer the nail through the hole in the shoe and then the wall of the foot until it protruded out from the other side. Taking the hammer, he fitted the claw end over the tip of the protruding nail, twisted and snapped the end off. Another nail followed and Bob continued the procedure until there were eight nails holding the shoe to Zero's foot. Shifting his position, Bob brought Zero's hoof forwards, over his hip to rest on his thigh and began to hammer down the nail ends. The process was repeated to the remaining three feet and after forty five minutes, Bob was finished.
 
"There you go, big fellow," said Bob as he straightened up and gave Zero a pat. "All finished."
 
"Thanks, Bob," said Heero and turned to take Zero back to the paddock.
 
"Now, what about this mare?" asked Bob as he took a few moments to ease the kinks from his back and wipe the sweat from his eyes. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a packet of cigarettes and lit one up.
 
"I'll let Duo explain about Scythe whilst I fetch her," Heero said as he returned from putting Zero back.
 
Bob turned to look expectantly at the vet. "I take it she has some problems with her feet?"
 
"Yes, yes, she does. She's got a touch of laminitis in the off fore and all her hooves are badly neglected. I don't think they've been trimmed for ages judging by the growth, and lord knows if or when she was last shod. I can't do the farrier work she needs, I'm only trained in the very basics; she needs more expert care. I think it would be best to simply keep her trimmed for now and once the laminitis is gone and the hooves begin to return to something resembling normal, maybe then look at getting her shod. I'd appreciate your thoughts on her though once you've had the chance to assess her feet."
 
"Happy to help," replied Bob and ground his cigarette out under his boot. He looked again at the mare as she approached with Heero, especially the way she was walking. Bob could learn a lot about the horse's hoof condition and problems associated with them simply by observing the animal moving. He summed up Scythe's predicament pretty quickly.
 
"Here she is," said Heero as he brought Scythe to a halt in front of Bob and Duo.
 
With the mare now standing in front of him, Bob could get a more in-depth look at her feet. He whistled softly. "They are in bad shape, aren't they?"
 
"Yeah," replied Duo.
 
"The rest of her is in pretty bad nick too. Poor thing," murmured Bob as he walked over to Scythe and introduced himself. He let the mare sniff his outstretched hand and then his sweaty shirt before moving to run his hand along her hollow neck. "People who let animals get to this state should be starved themselves," he muttered under his breath. "Criminal, that's what it is, criminal. Shit, I've never seen such a skinny animal. Never mind, you'll soon put weight on with Heero." Bob continued his little monologue as he ran his hands over the mare's bony hide. "Let's have a look at those feet of yours," he said softly and ran his hand down Scythe's foreleg to grasp at her fetlock joint and raise the hoof.
 
Scythe wobbled for a moment an then re-balanced herself on three legs, turning her head to sniff at the farrier's back as he cradled her foot.
 
"She's lucky," said Bob after he'd examined all four feet.
 
"Lucky?" asked Heero.
 
"Doesn't look like there's any permanent damage to the hooves," replied Bob as he fetched his rasp and pincers.
 
"I couldn't see anything much wrong with her feet myself when I examined them," said Duo. "I was concerned about the off fore though, the one with the laminitis in it. I'm hoping that she doesn't drop in the sole." [1]
 
"Far as I can tell, it hasn't got to that stage yet, seems like you've got to her before the disease could take a good hold." Bob picked up Scythe's off fore. "Sole is still concave and the frog is in reasonable condition too. They look a little dry to me if anything, but the good tucker should help them to recover."
 
"How long do you think before her feet come good?" asked Heero as Bob began the task of trimming off the excess hoof with his pincers.
 
"Hard to say. Given her condition her feet will improve as her body condition does. Trimming them every six to eight weeks is going to be necessary to encourage them to grow back correctly. I'd say you're looking at roughly six months before she's going to have feet worth shoeing. I agree with you, Doc, I wouldn't put shoes on her for sometime yet."
 
"I didn't think it would be a good idea. Better to let them return to health and proper shape first." Duo moved to scratch Scythe behind the ears, something she seemed to love.
 
"What you going to do with her once she has recovered?" asked Bob as he worked his way laboriously over the hooves one by one.
 
"I'm hoping she'll be a reasonable riding horse for Duo here."
 
"Ah."
 
"I'm hoping to have Zero back on the circuit in another three to six months, depending on how his leg holds up. Duo likes horses and as you know it can get boring riding by yourself all the time so I was going to teach Duo how to ride and then I'll have someone to ride with..."
 
"And I'll have a form of relaxation and a way of letting go of all the stress from the practice," added Duo with a grin.
 
"Good idea," said Bob as he straightened up and after wiping the sweat from his eyes, bent to pick up the last foot. "Horses and going for a ride out in the bush is a great way to relax."
 
"You have horses, Bob?" asked Duo politely.
 
"Used to, not anymore though, don't have the time."
 
"What sort did you have?"
 
"Standardbreds. [2] I only kept a couple though, used to race them and did okay with one of them."
 
"Sounds like a lot of hard work," said Duo as he watched the file sweeping across Scythe's hoof.
 
"It was. I only did it mainly as a hobby. It can be quite expensive as well, not only are there the usual costs such as the feeding, shoeing and stuff, but then there's all the harness; and the cost of the entry fees into some of the races..."
 
"I can imagine," chuckled Duo. "Have any luck with them?"
 
"Won a few country races but they weren't good enough for the big city meets and that's where the good money is. Gave it away after a while, the farrier business began to get larger so I didn't have the time to train the nags and if you ain't got the time to put into the animal then it's time to quit."
 
"True," replied Duo.
 
"There you go." Bob lowered the hoof to the ground and stood back to survey his handiwork. "She should feel a lot more comfortable now and manage to walk a bit better."
 
"Thanks, Bob. You've done a marvelous job on her," smiled Duo.
 
"She's starting to look halfway decent now," added Heero. "Now all we have to do is get the weight back on her and she'll be a completely different horse."
 
"You know," began Bob. "I agree with Heero, Doc. She's got some nice lines to her and even if she doesn't recover enough to be a riding animal, she's a mare and it might be worth mating her and Zero. Could get a nice foal out of it." Bob ran his eye over Scythe again as he lit up another cigarette.
 
"That's something worth considering," pondered Duo. "That's providing of course that she's fertile."
 
"I think we should take each step as it comes," stated Heero. "I'll just pop her back in the paddock, Bob, and then sort you out with some money."
 
"No rush, Heero," replied the farrier as he removed his apron and began to put his tools away in the ute.
 
Scythe found it much easier to walk now that her feet had been trimmed and shaped, she pricked her ears and began to show the first signs of interest in her new home as the human led her back to the nice green paddock. Immediately she was back inside she lowered her head and began to eat.
 
"What do I owe you, Bob?" asked Heero as he returned to where Duo and the farrier were trading stories of the various equines they had met in their careers.
 
"Eighty for Zero and thirty for the mare."
 
Heero took out his wallet and counted out the bills, handing them over to Bob. "Thanks, Bob. When do you think it best for Scythe's next trim?"
 
"Give me a call in roughly six weeks and I'll book her in. Shouldn't be as much to do next time around so it will be cheaper too."
 
"That doesn't bother me," replied Heero. "Just as long as she gets the best treatment I can afford and begins to recover."
 
"She will. I'll see you again in about six weeks then." Bob reached out and shook hands with Heero before turning to Duo. "Nice to meet you, Doc."
 
"You too, Bob." Duo returned the offered handshake.
 
Bob got back into his ute and with a wave set off for his next appointment.
 
Once the ute had disappeared from view, Heero wrapped his arms around Duo and partook of a sweet kiss. "I've been aching to do that all afternoon," he murmured as he buried his nose in Duo's thick hair.
 
"Know what you mean," replied Duo as he nuzzled Heero's neck.
 
"Want to go back up to the house where we can kiss and cuddle for a bit before it's time to start dinner and bring in the beasts?"
 
"Love to, Heero," Duo sighed.
 
Hand in hand they headed back to the house to share a little 'quality' time together before the evening consults, horses and dinner demanded their attention.
 
***
 
"What seems to be the problem with Tess today, Mrs. Simpson?" Duo asked the middle aged woman as he ruffled the Dalmatian's ears.
 
"Well, it's a little bit embarrassing," began Mrs. Simpson.
 
"That's okay, just take your time and try to tell me what's going on, Tess seems sprightly enough." Duo turned his attention to the dog so as to put Mrs. Simpson a little more at ease.
 
"Yes, she is. I'm afraid though she's developed a bit of a problem with her bladder."
 
"Oh?"
 
"Putting it bluntly, she wets herself a lot."
 
"Ah."
 
"I'm afraid I have to keep her outside now, she doesn't seem to know she's doing it and it's ruining the carpets."
 
Duo gave the woman a smile. He could see by the coloring of her cheeks she was uncomfortable with discussing Tess' problem. "She's had a couple of litters, hasn't she?" Duo fetched his thermometer and took the dog's temperature.
 
"Yes, she's had two litters and then we had her 'fixed' last summer."
 
"And she's only just started this... Incontinence problem?" Duo checked the temperature - normal.
 
"It's been going on for about four weeks now and getting worse. You can see the yellow staining on the rear end of her coat."
 
"Hmmm." Duo looked at the back of the dog where the white hair was patched with a yellowish stain.
 
"I've tried scolding her, putting her outside, but she doesn't seem to know she's doing it and she was perfectly house trained before. I've tried to wash her as best I can too but as you can see..."
 
"Okay. I need to feel her abdomen," said Duo as he crouched down by the dog and placed his hands upon her belly. "I think I'll turn her around though, don't need anything bathing me," he added with a chuckle and turned the dog so as he could palpitate the abdomen without the risk of the dog 'leaking' on him. Examination complete, he stood up again. "I'll see if I can get a urine sample from her." Duo turned and took a kidney dish off the shelf. "Bring her through and we'll go out the back, hopefully she'll want to squat and I can get a sample."
 
Mrs. Simpson led Tess along the hall behind the vet and through the back door to the rear of the building. As soon as Tess saw the lawn she nosed around and sure enough, squatted.
 
Duo was quick with the kidney dish and got his sample. "Okay, let's go back inside now and I can check this and eliminate any other cause for her problem."
 
The pair went back inside and into the consulting room once more. Duo rummaged in the cupboard and brought out a packet. He removed a strip of colored paper from the box and dipped it into the urine sample. Waiting a couple of minutes for the paper to do its job and react, he placed it against the scale on the back of the box to check the results. Smiling he turned to face Mrs. Simpson.
 
"Everything is normal with the sample, no excess protein in the urine which was what I was concerned about."
 
"So what's wrong with her then?"
 
"Let's see. She's six years old now?"
 
"Yes."
 
"Was sterilized last year and had a couple of litters before that."
 
"That's right."
 
"Mrs. Simpson, have you heard of HRT? Hormone Replacement Therapy for women?"
 
Mrs. Simpson blushed. "Yes, I have, but what does that have to do with Tess?"
 
"I'm certain that she's undergoing a similar thing to menopause in women. She's not getting the hormones in her system any more like she used to and consequently the small sphincter muscle that's responsible for closing the neck of the bladder has weakened and is letting the urine escape. That muscle relies on hormones to keep it thick and muscular and do its job. Tess isn't producing that hormone anymore so the muscle has weakened."
 
"Can you do anything for it?"
 
"Yes, yes, I can. What I want to do is give her a hormone shot now, if it is what I said, you should start to see a difference in her and her wetting habits within a week."
 
Mrs. Simpson looked relieved. "If it is what you say, how often will she need these shots?"
 
"Once every six months should be enough. There are tablets, but personally, I don't think they're as reliable as the shots," replied Duo as he fetched a needle and syringe. "I'll just go through to the drug cabinet and get a dose for her."
 
Heero looked up from where he was sitting behind the reception desk as Duo walked out of the consulting room and headed for the small 'fridge at the back of the reception area. "What's up?"
 
"Need a hormone injection."
 
"For you? I thought your hormones were fine," Heero said with a snicker.
 
"Not me you idiot, for Tess. Ah, there you are." Duo removed a small bottle and plunged the needle through the rubber stopper on the top. He pulled the plunger back on the syringe and the cloudy fluid rolled in. "That should do it," he muttered and replaced the bottle in the 'fridge. "Any more after this one?"
 
"No. That's the last client tonight."
 
"Good. Want to turn the sign around on the door for me?"
 
"My pleasure," replied Heero and got up to do as the vet asked whilst Duo headed back into the consulting room.
 
"Now this shouldn't hurt, Tess," murmured Duo as he took the ruff of the dog's neck and swabbed before inserting the needle in and depressing the plunger. "There you go, all done." Duo rubbed the area and then tossed the used needle into the 'sharps' container and the syringe into the bin.
 
"That's it? All finished?" asked Mrs. Simpson who was looking a little pale. She didn't like needles.
 
"Yup, all finished. Let me know how she goes along and if the problem stops. If it doesn't then I'll need to do further tests; if it does, then you will need to bring her back in six months for the next injection."
 
"Thank you, Doctor Maxwell."
 
"You're welcome. You be a good girl, Tess, and no more wetting on the carpets," said Duo to the dog and gave her a friendly pat.
 
Tess licked his hand.
 
Duo opened the door and escorted Mrs. Simpson and Tess out to where Heero was waiting for them. "My assistant, Mr. Yuy will look after you, Mrs. Simpson."
 
"Thank you again, Doctor Maxwell." Mrs. Simpson turned her attention to Heero who had taken the file from Duo and was busy logging the information onto the computer.
 
"Will you be paying the account tonight?" he asked politely.
 
"Yes, please."
 
Leaving Heero to sort out Mrs. Simpson, Duo went back into the consulting room to clean up, moments later Heero joined him. They discussed a few of the evening's cases whilst cleaning up and in no time everything was done.
 
"Don't know about you, Heero, but I'm starving."
 
"Good job then that I made a shepherd's pie," replied Heero as they walked hand in hand from the surgery to the house.
 
"Shepherd's pie?" questioned Duo. "I don't think I've tried anything like that before. What is it?"
 
"Ahh. Put simply its minced meat, carrots, peas, onions and gravy topped with mashed potatoes."
 
"Sounds great."
 
***
 
Zero finished his dinner and left his feed bin to take a drink of water. He raised his muzzle from the bucket and stared through the bars at the mare in the stable next to him. She puzzled Zero, he'd tried to be polite, pranced a bit to show off his fine physique but she continued to completely ignore him. Since that first whicker of greeting she'd paid him no heed at all. Zero didn't like it when she ignored him. He knew he was handsome, well colored with neat legs and a charming face, after all, the mares and fillies he'd seen at the many shows he'd attended with his master all stopped to stare at him and whinny to him.
 
He couldn't figure out why this mare wanted to ignore him. He'd tried to be polite, wanted to greet her and make her welcome, but all his advances had been rebuffed. He knew she'd heard him, he'd seen her pretty ears twitch. Sure, she wasn't looking all that good at the moment but Zero could sense a sweetness to her and he really wanted to get to know her. He dropped his head again and took another drink from the bucket.
 
Scythe had finished her feed in record time and was busy making short work of the haynet. She'd enjoyed her day out in the lush, green paddock and hoped she would be able to go out there again. The food she was receiving was plentiful and tasted divine; the addition of those orange things had her mouth watering too. The only thing she didn't like was those heavy things the human had put into her feed bin. She had the devil of a time getting the feed down her throat quickly when she had to try and dodge those things that seemed determined to try and hide the food from her. She'd come to the conclusion that this wasn't a bad place at all, rather nice actually, despite some of the things that had been done to her so far. Whilst some had been unpleasant, none had actually hurt or caused her any pain. She did feel a bit better now after having had her feet trimmed and that horrible thing removed from her mouth. Yes, she could get to really like this place and the two humans that seemed to want to look after her.
 
Now if only she could figure out what this other horse wanted.
 
She knew the gray was trying to be polite and friendly; well, other than the attempt to bite her yesterday, but she didn't have the strength to pay him much attention at the moment. Oh, he was handsome enough and she was flattered that he wanted to take an interest in her, but with all her body systems so out of whack she really didn't feel all that sure of herself. She cocked her ears back, feeling the penetrating gaze of the gray. She knew he was watching her, she'd spotted him glancing at her all day but all she was really interested in for the moment was food.
 
Water dribbled slowly out of Zero's mouth as he stood and stared at the mare again. He was determined to get her attention, make her notice and acknowledge him... Eventually. Swallowing the last of the water he held in his mouth, Zero shifted and stood alongside the stable partition. He rested a hind leg and let his head and ears droop, locking his knees so he wouldn't fall and began to doze. [3]
 
Scythe ignored the stallion, still pulling at her hay net until all the hay was gone. She sniffed around the sawdust, lipping up any escaped wisps and then went back to her feed bin. She found a few scattered pieces of chaff and eagerly picked them up with her sensitive muzzle. Licking around the feed bin she made certain she'd gotten every scrap of food possible before mimicking the gray and taking a nap.
 
***
 
A sharp pain lanced through her gut and Scythe woke from her doze with a groan. She shifted her feet, changing her weight from one hind leg to the other and tried to doze off again. Another pain tore through her and she gave a grunt, shifting once more. The pain didn't stop though. Slowly it began to increase a little in intensity and frequency. Scythe hunched her back and drew her legs underneath her body trying to ease the cramps from her gut but it didn't work. She turned to look at her belly but couldn't see anything to be causing her pain. She moved a little, walking over to her feed bin and nuzzling around. Another cramping pain shot through her and irritated, she kicked at her belly.
 
The pain began to build; Scythe was sweating now and moving restlessly around the stable. She stopped a couple of times and cocked her tail but nothing happened. She felt as if she wanted to pass manure but when she tried, nothing happened. The irritation continued and she began to paw at the ground as well as kick at her belly. Another groan forced its way from her throat and she heard a concerned whinny from the gray.
 
Zero woke from his sleep to hear the mare pacing around. He wondered what she was up to but didn't bother to investigate, she would only ignore him. He closed his eyes again, attempting to go back to sleep but keeping an ear on the mare anyway. Her restless movements continued and Zero could hear the soft groans coming from her stable. He listened as she paused, he heard the stomp of her hoof as it connected with the ground again and then the sound of her moving once more. Zero raised his head a little and opened his eyes. He glanced through the bars to see the mare pacing, occasionally she would stop and kick at her belly or paw the ground. Then Zero smelt something.
 
Fear.
 
The mare was sweating and fear was clearly in the scent.
 
Zero was wide awake now and shifted his position so he could raise his muzzle and push it between the bars to try and talk to the mare. Something was wrong. He gave a low whinny.
 
Scythe returned the whinny with a low one of her own. It was laced with pain and fear. Another wave of pain passed through her and she sank to her knees, rolling a little to try and ease it.
 
Sensing that something was terribly wrong with the mare, Zero gave a loud neigh; a distressed grunt was all he got in return. Zero began to pace in his own stable, watching the mare as she tried to roll again. Fear began to touch Zero and he let fly with a scream. He tore over to the stable door and raised his hoof, bringing it down against the wood. Time and time again he banged the door, his loud neighs adding to the noise.
 
Scythe didn't care what the stallion was doing, her eyes were glazed with pain, her belly felt on fire and she didn't know what to do to ease it.
 
Zero pounded away, neighing his anxiety as loud as he could and hoping his master would hear him.
 
***
 
Duo rolled over in his bed, slowly surfacing from the lovely dream he was having. Somewhere he could hear a banging but his dream was too nice to give up just yet. Suddenly he found himself wide awake with Heero shaking his shoulder.
 
"Duo! Wake up, something's wrong in the stables."
 
Duo blinked his eyes and then heard the banging again, this time he also heard the shrill neigh as well. "What the fuck?"
 
"Something's wrong in the stables," repeated Heero as he turned to leave Duo's bedroom. "I'm going to see what's up."
 
"I'll be right with you." Duo scrambled from his bed and grabbed his jeans from the floor. Quickly he pulled them on and met Heero in the hall way. "Hang on a sec." Duo dived back inside his bedroom and reappeared seconds later with a baseball bat in his hand. Seeing Heero's wide eyes, he took a moment to explain. "If it's burglars then I don't want to be facing them unarmed," he said softly.
 
Heero nodded. "Come on."
 
Quickly they ran through the house and outside towards the stables. As they got closer so they could hear Zero's frantic neighs and banging. Heero pulled the sliding door open and Duo entered, bat in hand. It was dark inside and Duo immediately headed for the door to the drug room. It was locked still. Heero aimed straight for Zero's stable.
 
Having found no sigh of an intruder so far, Duo turned away from the drug room and headed for the light switch. He flipped it on.
 
Heero had managed to get to Zero and as his eyes adjusted to the dark he could see the distressed state of the stallion. He placed a hand on Zero's neck. "What is it, boy? What's wrong?" The lights came on then and Heero heard the groan and sounds of thrashing coming from Scythe's stable. He left Zero and immediately went to Scythe's door. What he saw made his blood run cold and his mouth went dry. "DUO!" he screamed as he unbolted the stable door.
 
"What is it?" shouted Duo as he ran across the breezeway to Scythe's stable.
 
"It's Scythe. She's got colic."
 
Duo's eyes swiftly took in the scene and he paled. "Oh fuck!" he whispered.
 
~ * ~
 
tbc......
 
 
[1] The sole on a horse's hoof should remain slightly concave, with a disease such as laminitis the sole can 'drop'; in other words - become convex and this then comes into contact with the ground surface and as it is a sensitive area, the horse becomes distressed, lame and very uncomfortable.
 
[2] Standardbred; These are a recognized breed here in Australia and are a race horse of sorts. They pull what's known as a 'spider' a light type of cart with a driver, similar to the trotting races but a Standardbred does not trot, it paces. When a horse trots it moves diagonal pairs of legs together; when a horse paces it moves the pair of legs on the same side together. E.g.: Trot; left hind leg and right front leg together. Pace; left hind leg and left front leg together. More information on the Standardbred can be found here: http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/2004/archives/2004/roadtests/horse_breeds/ standardbred_horses
http://www.standardbred.org.au/sppha/index.html
 
[3] Horses have the ability to 'lock' their knee joints so they can sleep standing up without falling down once they relax and drift into slumber.
 
The ailment with Tess is taken from an episode of 'Harry's Practice', a vet show here in Australia.
 
I've had a couple of people asked me what a 'ute' is. The word 'ute' is short for utility, a type of car we have here in Aussie. It has the front of a car with a bench seat that usually seats 2 or 3 people. The back is an open tray with sides roughly 18 inches high around and a tailgate that drops down. I'd guess it's similar to what Americans call a pick up.