Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Going For Gold ❯ chapter 37 ( Chapter 37 )

[ 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. I do own the plot and any other characters, especially the equines, that you will find in this fic. Please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.
 
Pairing: 2x1x2, 3x4, 13x6, H+C
 
Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, sap, angst, vet themes, AU
 
Rating: NC 17
 
Archive: www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com Anyone else please ask.
 
Betaed by Yami_tai *snugs*
 
Summary: Eighteen months have passed since Heero was advised he was short listed for the Olympic games team. With Zero going well and young Shinigami almost ready to make his showjumping debut, Heero looks set to reach his goal. Life though doesn't always play by the rules.
 
Dedication: To Leslie who gave me the original idea for Equinity.
 
Fic 3 in the Equine Intervention Arc.
 
"Going for Gold"
 
January. 2007 ShenLong
 
 
Chapter 37
 
Duo led Trowa, Quatre and Catherine along the hallway to the treatment room where Jet was lying on the table, Hilde at his head talking softly to him. Nodding to Hilde, the woman stepped away and left the three people to 'talk' to their pet. Duo and Hilde walked out of the room, Duo closed the door behind them to give the three some privacy.
 
“What happened?” asked Hilde.
 
Leaning against the wall, Duo folded his arms across his chest and lowered his head. His eyes closed as he spoke. “I told them the truth. There is no way I can repair the damage to that leg.”
 
“I see.”
 
“I also told them that amputation would be the best option.”
 
Hilde mulled that over in her mind. She'd been pretty sure that's what Duo was going to suggest. “They agreed?”
 
“After I explained what the other options were, yes, they agreed.”
 
“Duo. I'm sorry.”
 
Letting out a long sigh, Duo opened his eyes and looked at his assistant. “So am I. I just wish it could have been anything but this.”
 
Hilde rubbed Duo's arm. “Jet will be perfectly fine with just three legs.”
 
“I know. It just doesn't seem fair, though. Jet's such a lovely dog, he doesn't deserve this.”
 
“No, he doesn't, but what's done is done. Now it's up to you and your skills to give that dog a third chance. I believe in you, Duo and so do those four in there.” Hilde gave a smile.
 
“You're right, Hilde.” Duo shoved his dark thoughts aside. “Heero's getting the consent papers now, I think we should go and get scrubbed up ready to operate.”
 
“Now that's the Duo I know,” Hilde said and followed her boss into the operating room to begin scrubbing up.
 
* * *
 
Heero found the forms and grabbed a pen. He pulled up Jet's file on Nrobbuts and quickly entered the details on the dog's file. Leaving the computer running, he went back down the corridor and paused at the door to the operating room. “I have the paperwork," he said quietly.
 
Duo looked up from where he was scrubbing his hands. "Thanks. They're all in the treatment room with Jet. Hilde and I thought we'd give them a few minutes alone before we get started."
 
"Okay. I'll take the papers through and get them signed. Would you two like a hand?"
 
Duo was torn. He'd really like Heero to stay and help out, but he didn't want to leave Trowa, Quatre and Catherine by themselves either. Hilde answered for him.
 
"The help would normally be very much appreciated, it still is, but under these circumstances I think it would be best if you stayed with the other three. Duo and I should be able to manage by ourselves and if we do need an extra pair of hands, we can always call you on the intercom to come and assist. Is that okay with you, Duo?"
 
Duo nodded. "Actually, that sounds just fine. I'd appreciate your help now though in getting Jet in here and ready for surgery."
 
"No problem," Heero replied. He could clearly understand the logic there and wasn't about to argue. "I'll go through and get these papers signed. Once that's done, I'll take the other three back to the waiting room and bring Jet through. Once you're all set to go by yourselves, I'll take them up to the house with me, I'm sure I can find things to keep their minds all occupied."
 
"Thanks, Heero."
 
"How long do you think it will take?"
 
Duo cocked his head and thought for a moment. "I'd say about two hours, maybe a little more."
 
"Right." Heero walked forward and placed a kiss to Duo's cheek. "I'd love to give you a hug right now, but with you being scrubbed up and all."
 
Duo smiled. "You can still kiss me properly you know, I haven't put my mask on yet."
 
With a grin, Heero swooped in and kissed his lover tenderly. The kiss promising much more when they were able.
 
"Love you," Duo whispered.
 
"Love you too," came Heero's reply and then he left to get the papers signed.
 
* * *
 
Quatre petted the lab's head, murmuring softly. “It's all going to be okay, Jet. Duo will take good care of you and once you're out of surgery, Trowa and I will do everything we can to make you comfortable.”
 
Trowa couldn't say anything, the lump in his throat was blocking everything but air. Despite everyone telling him this wasn't his fault, he still couldn't help but feel responsible.
 
Catherine was torn between comforting the dog or reaching out to Trowa whom she could see was still having trouble coming to terms with everything.
 
The door creaked softly and the room's occupants all turned their eyes to see Heero walking in with papers in his hand. “Sorry to interrupt, but Duo's ready to operate and I need someone to sign the consent forms.”
 
Quatre held out his hand and Heero passed over the papers. Quatre quickly read them over and asked for the pen. Turning to the side, he leaned on the bench and signed. Handing back the papers, he said softly, “Take good care of him, Heero.”
 
Heero gave the blonde a squeeze. “Duo's the best there is. He'll make sure Jet's fine.”
 
Quatre nodded and returned to his petting. Heero slipped out of the room and took the papers back to the reception area where he popped them into Jet's file and then took the file through to the operating room for Duo to check.
 
“Can you fetch the patient please, Heero?” asked Duo as he tied Hilde's mask on.
 
“I'll be right back.”
 
Heero left the pair to finish getting ready. He opened the treatment room door again. “It's time,” he said quietly. “Catherine? Could you take Trowa and Quatre back to the waiting room, please? I'll take Jet through and help with the anesthetic. Once he's under I'll be back and take you all up to the house to wait. It will be more comfortable there.”
 
“Okay,” Catherine replied. She said her own few words to the dog and waited until her brother and Quatre said their farewells. Then, with her arms linked through each of the other two men's, she led them back along the hallway to the waiting room.
 
As soon as they were gone, Heero gently picked Jet up and carried the lab to the operating room and set him on the table. He washed his hands and then clipped away a patch of hair on the dog's front leg so Duo could administer the intravenous anesthetic. Seconds later, Jet was slumped on the table, totally unconscious.
 
Duo and Hilde sprang into action. Jet was fitted with an oxygen mask, the anesthetic needle taped to his leg so a top up could be administered when necessary and a green, surgical cloth was spread out over his back leg. Heero reached for the clippers again and clipped away the hair where Duo indicated. With the hair cleaned up, a fresh cloth was draped over and the operation site washed thoroughly in betadine.
 
“That's all you can do for now, Heero,” said Duo as he placed his surgical mask around his neck ready to put in place. “Look after them for me and I'll be in touch via the intercom if we need you at all.”
 
“Okay. Good luck,” Heero replied and then kissed Duo deeply.
 
“Hey! Don't I get one?” Hilde teased. “I'm part of this team too!”
 
Heero rolled his eyes and much to Hilde's shock, he planted a smooch to her cheek. “There. Satisfied?” he smirked.
 
Hilde blushed.
 
“Good luck, both of you. I'll be waiting for the results.” Heero gave them a smile and then left.Duo took a deep breath and steadied his nerves. “Here goes,” he muttered into the mask. “Scalpel.”
 
* * *
 
Heero returned to the waiting room where the other three sat in an anxious silence. “Let's go up to the house,” he said.
 
“How long will the operation take?” asked Quatre.
 
“Duo said it would be roughly two hours. He will contact us through the intercom when he's finished.”
 
“Okay.” Quatre stood, taking Trowa's hand and pulling the tall man to his feet.
 
The three followed Heero out of the practice and to the house. Once they were all inside, Heero offered tea or coffee. Quatre had a tea, Catherine coffee while Trowa declined any refreshment. Sitting around, the silence was becoming unbearable. Heero didn't know what to say to start a conversation, Quatre and Trowa were both sitting and looking miserable. In the end it was Catherine that broke the silence.
 
“How did Shinigami go?” she asked politely.
 
“Very well, thank you,” replied Heero.
 
“More than well,” said Quatre, “He blitzed them all.” With talk of his horsey 'nephew' Quatre couldn't help but join in.
 
“I wouldn't go that far,” began Heero, only to be interrupted by the blonde.
 
“He was great, Heero. You should have seen him, Catherine. He flew over everything, didn't put a foot wrong and talk about cut corners. For a moment there I thought he was going to sit down, he spun so fast!”
 
// Quatre wasn't the only one that had thought Shini was going to sit down, // Heero thought to himself. He'd had a brief moment there when he wasn't sure if Shini's feet were going to stay underneath him or not. “He was a good boy.”
 
“He was more than a good boy. He was terrific.”
 
Heero couldn't help the pleased smile and blush that spread across his face.
 
“Where is he now?” asked Quatre.
 
“I put him in the paddock,” replied Heero.
 
“Did you unpack the car?” asked Catherine. She had a pretty good idea that Heero had simply off loaded his horse and just left everything else so he could come directly to the surgery.
 
“Ah, no.”
 
“Then why are we all sitting here for? Let's go help unpack. I'm sure you must have a lot of gear to unload and put away. Plus you have the horses' feeds to see to and the animals to bring in,” said Catherine. Even though she was just as anxious to know what was happening with Jet, there wasn't anything they could do until Duo and Hilde had finished operating. This way she could distract both her brother and the inspector for a while and hopefully make the time go a bit quicker.
 
“Good idea,” said Quatre and drained his tea. “You coming, Trowa?”
 
Trowa nodded and stood up.
 
The four went out the house and towards the stable block where Heero's car sat, still attached to the float and looking like it was bursting at the seams with all the gear jammed into it. Heero unlocked it and everyone grabbed an armful of gear, carrying it into the stable block and dumping it by the tack room door for Heero to sort through and put away.
 
Once the car was unpacked and everything put back in its place, the float was given a clean out and backed up to park in its usual spot. The car was unhitched and Heero parked it next to Duo's. He remembered to leave the med kit out on the bench by the crush so Duo could top it up again.
 
Feed bins were filled with the evening feeds, water buckets filled and placed in the stables. Heero made up the morning feeds and then all that remained was to bring the horses in.
 
“You sure you all want to help?” Heero asked.
 
“Of course,” said Catherine.
 
“I'd like to bring Scythe in if that's okay,” said Quatre.
 
“As long as I don't have to lead that man eating beast, I'll help.” Trowa's words were so quiet, Heero wasn't sure he'd spoken. It was the first words Trowa had uttered for some time.
 
“You can lead Angel or Zero if you like,” offered Heero.
 
“I'll take Zero. Cathy can have Angel,” replied Trowa.
 
“Let's go then.”
 
* * *
 
Duo wiped the sweat from his brow and focused again on the operation site. He'd incised through the skin and muscle, taking care to avoid damaging nerves and blood vessels. As they came to those major blood vessels he'd been careful to tie them off. Hilde had applied a tourniquet to be safe and monitored it carefully, checking and releasing it from time to time.
 
“What a mess,” Hilde commented quietly as Duo cut further into the shattered leg.
 
“Not much left at all of the bone,” replied Duo. “Something tells me I won't be needing the bone saw.”
 
“I don't think so either,” said Hilde as she studied the leg. “There's no way you could have pinned or plated any of that. Talk about a jigsaw puzzle.”
 
“Yeah.” Duo fished around, extracting a few slivers of bone before continuing to cut. He planned on simply removing the leg about halfway up the femur bone. Jet would still have enough of his leg left to assist with balance, but the worst of the damage would be gone. Any other bone fragments that remained, Duo could remove as he went. The x-rays were on the light board so Duo could refer to them when needed and make the best decision possible when figuring out the best place to perform the amputation. The upper part of Jet's femur was pretty well intact so Duo had decided the best place to amputate would be just below where the bone had begun to fracture.
 
“Nearly there,” said Duo as he incised through the last bits of muscle and skin.
 
Hilde had a large kidney dish ready to put the removed limb in and brought it a little closer. Duo finished cutting through the last piece and then removed the useless limb completely.
 
“Now for the really tough part. There's all these blood vessels to tie off, nerves to secure, muscle to check and stabilize and the remaining bone fragments to remove.”
 
“Look, you take a break for a moment, I'll start securing the blood vessels and nerves. You can take over again shortly.” Hilde's tone was one that clearly said she wouldn't take no for an answer.
 
“Okay. Thanks.” Duo stepped back and let Hilde take over. He stretched and eased the kinks from his spine. He rolled his neck and shoulders, loosening the knotted muscles there. While Hilde continued on with the operation, Duo checked Jet's vitals. He was pleased to note they were all normal.
 
Once Hilde had finished with the blood vessels, Duo gave her a hand with the nerves. They took a while to do, but at last they were finished.
 
“Now comes the most tedious bit, removing any bone fragments that still remain inside this area,” said Duo quietly.
 
“I'll get the portable x-ray machine first,” said Hilde. “If we x-ray now, we will be able to locate all the fragments remaining accurately and know exactly where they're situated. Then we won't be chasing bits that we've already removed.”
 
“I like your thinking, Hilde.”
 
“Better to spend a few minutes taking a picture now, otherwise it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
 
“Yeah, and we can't afford to leave any bits behind just in case an infection sets in.”
 
“I'll be right back.” Hilde left to fetch the machine. Duo stroked the unconscious dog's head.
 
* * *
Heero caught Scythe, clipped the lead rope to her halter and passed her over to Quatre. “She should be fine, Quatre.”
 
The blonde nodded and took the rope. He gave the mare a soft pat and moved both of them to the side and out of the way of Heero who was clipping the lead rope to Angel's halter. With Angel secure, Heero handed the rope to Catherine.
 
“She'll be as good as gold for you,” Heero said. “You just walk along and she will walk right beside you.”
 
“Thank you, Heero,” Catherine replied as she took the rope.
 
“Now for the other two.” Heero walked further down between the paddocks to where Zero and Shini waited. Going to Zero first, Heero rubbed the gray between the eyes. “How are you, Zero?”
 
Zero responded by wuffling through his nostrils and trying to nuzzled Heero's pockets in the hope of finding carrots there.
 
“Sorry, Zero. No carrots right now.”
 
Zero looked a little miffed.
 
“Trowa's going to take you in for your dinner so you be a good boy for him.” Heero handed the lead rope to Trowa who took it in a firm grasp.
 
Trowa looked a little apprehensive, but when Zero didn't try to bite him, he calmed down.
 
Heero fetched Shini from his paddock and looked at the assembled 'troops'. “Everyone okay?”
 
Three nods in the affirmative.
 
“Okay, let's get these beasts up to the stables and fed then. “Quatre, you and Catherine lead, Trowa, you follow them and I'll bring up the rear with Shini.”
 
The group set off, Quatre leading a willing Scythe beside him. Angel followed placidly enough and Trowa couldn't believe the difference in leading Zero to Shini. The big, gray stallion followed along quite calmly and didn't try to push, nip or annoy Trowa in any way and that went a long way to restoring Trowa's confidence in horses.
 
Reaching the stables, there was no need to ask which stable belonged to which horse - they knew and promptly led their handlers to their respective stables, waiting at the doors until their handler opened the door and let them in.
 
“Do you want them rugged?” Quatre asked from inside Scythe's stable.
 
“No. It's a little warm still so I'm not bothering with the mares. I'll just pop Zero's cotton rug on him though.”
 
“I can do it,” said Trowa from inside the gray stallion's stable.
 
“Thanks,” replied Heero. He was pleased to see Trowa responding to something. He really couldn't blame the tall animal shelter owner for his distrust of horses. Shini had done nothing but try to bite the poor guy and then Jet ending up under the hoof of the big Clydesdale.
 
Jet...
 
Heero wondered how the operation was going. He glanced at his watch. An hour and a half had passed since Duo started operating. They shouldn't be too much longer if all was going well.
 
Once the horses were all settled, Heero checked that the doors to the dispensary were locked and rolled the big door to the stables closed. “I don't know about anyone else, but I could do with a drink,” he said as he clutched the blue rosette in one hand and his prize money still in its envelope in the other.
 
“That sounds like a good idea,' said Catherine. “Come on.”
 
The four headed back to the house for drinks and hopefully some news on Jet.
 
* * *
 
The updated x-rays were very beneficial to Duo and Hilde. They could compare the new ones with the earlier ones and eliminate a good deal of bone fragments. There were still quite a few left, but nothing as intimidating as before. The pair worked diligently, fine nosed tweezers and forceps were used to remove the bits of broken bone, some pieces only a centimeter long.
 
A second x-ray was taken to check they'd gotten everything. Duo heaving a sigh of relief when the picture came back clear.
 
“Now to stitch everything up,” he muttered.
 
While Duo fetched the larger suture needles and catgut, Hilde did a double check that all blood vessels were reattached or tied off. It wouldn't do for Jet to start bleeding. Satisfied, she gave the area a dusting of penicillin powder and prepared to thread needles, wield scissors and anything else her boss needed as he stitched.
 
The muscles were drawn back together and sutured, then Duo began to arduous task of pulling the flaps of skin together and securing them with neat stitches. It took a while, but finally the last stitch was tied off.
 
“Now to bandage this up,” said Duo.
 
“I'll do that,” said Hilde. “You take a break for a minute.”
 
Fetching the penicillin powder again, Hilde dusted the area thoroughly then placed several layers of gauze over the neat stitches. She wound a soft, cotton bandage over the entire upper thigh, padding and protecting the stump. To finish it off she wrapped a couple of layers of sticky, elastic bandage around it all. “There, done,” she said as she admired the neatly bandaged stump.
 
“Time to bring Jet back to the conscious world,” Duo said. “Firstly, I'll give him some pain relief and antibiotic.” The needles were inserted and the drugs administered. Duo removed the oxygen mask and slipped the anesthetic needle out of Jet's leg.
 
Hilde placed a warm blanket on the floor of the recovery room, making sure there was plenty of padding. Duo brought Jet through and set the dog down gently. While they waited for Jet to wake up, they cleaned up the operating room. By the time they had everything clean and the instruments in the autoclave, Jet was starting to wake up.
 
“Hey, buddy. Welcome back,” soothed Duo as Jet blinked his eyes.
 
The lab tried to lift his head but it seemed to be too heavy. He was persistent though and with a little help from Duo, he was soon lying on his stomach with his head resting on his front paws. He appeared to be content to stay like that for a while so Duo took advantage of the moment to check the bandages. All was well and Duo gave a sigh of relief.
 
Within fifteen minutes, Jet was looking pretty normal again. He'd regained control of his muscles and was trying to stand up. Hilde sat with him and persuaded him to remain lying down for a little while longer.
 
Duo checked the dog's blood pressure, temperature, heart and breathing rates. Satisfied that all was normal, he thought it best to let Heero know how the operation had gone and to bring Trowa, Quatre and Catherine back up to see the dog. Before he made the call though, he went through to the kennels and set one up for the lab. With Hilde's assistance, they coaxed Jet to stand. Duo wanted to see how the dog would react to the missing limb.
 
At first Jet wobbled a little bit. That was partially due to the anesthetic that still remained in his system. After a few, tentative steps, Jet seemed to get the hang of things and 'walked' to the kennels. Once he was safely inside, Duo went to put his call through the intercom; Hilde remained with Jet.
 
Heero and the others were sitting around the kitchen table chatting aimlessly about nothing in particular when the intercom crackled into life.
 
“Heero?”
 
Quickly, Heero was up and across the room, pushing the small button to talk. “Hai, Duo?”
 
“Is everyone there?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“Then let everyone know I'm pleased to announce that the operation was a success and Jet is recovering well.”
 
“Thank God for that,” said Heero softly.
 
“You can all come back up to the surgery and see him whenever you like.”
 
“Thanks, Duo. We will be there in a couple of minutes.”
 
“Okay. Come straight through the back door and to the kennels.”
 
“Okay. See you soon.” Heero cut the com and turned around. Quatre was sitting with a look of relief on his face. Catherine was grinning from ear to ear. Trowa? Well, Trowa was just sitting there staring off into space. Heero walked across the room and crouched beside the tall man. “Trowa? Are you okay?”
 
Trowa gave a sort of hitched breath, a strangled noise broke forth and then he turned to grab Heero, his arms wrapping around the rider and burying his face in Heero's shoulder where he began to sob uncontrollably.
 
At first Heero was too stunned to do or say anything, then his arms wound around the other man and he gently held him, allowing Trowa to cry out his pain.
 
Seeing his partner collapse into Heero's arms set Quatre off. The emotional roller coaster he'd been on all came rushing forth and the tears began to flow down his own cheeks. Catherine was quick to hug Quatre to her, rubbing his back in soothing circles as he let it all out. She glanced over Quatre's back to Heero and gave the rider a small smile. Heero gave her a soft smile in return.
 
When the two men had cried their tears and let all the emotion go, Heero fetched a box of tissues and wash cloth, allowing them to clean themselves up a little.
 
Quatre began to apologize for their respective breakdowns but Heero silenced him before he could get started.
 
“No need to apologize for being human. You've both gone through a traumatic experience and frankly, I'm surprised you've both held on for this long. If it had been me...” Heero stopped and thought back to when Zero had been hurt. “Let's just say you two have been a lot more controlled than I would have been.”
 
“Thank you,” said Trowa softly.
 
Heero gave them all a genuine smile. “Come on, you have a dog waiting to see you.” Still smiling, Heero took the three back to the surgery to see their pet.
 
~ * ~
 
tbc...