Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Going For Gold ❯ Chapter 39 ( Chapter 39 )

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 39

 

Winter arrived and with it several storms and wild weather. A few shows were canceled due to unsafe conditions, but the majority of the larger events that Heero and Treize were entered in, went ahead. Several of the large shows that held the qualifying events for the Nations Cup competition were held indoors so the outside conditions didn't affect the competition from taking place. But for as many shows that were indoors, there were equally as many held outdoors and it was a testing time for Heero's skills, Shinigami's training and Duo's nerves.

 

The work at Treize's didn't let up either. Despite the weather, horses still had to be exercised, trained and kept fit. Many a day Heero returned home soaked from head to toe despite doing his best to remain dry. The four horses Heero owned also had to be looked after and as Heero liked to keep his horses as close to how nature intended, that meant dealing with wet animals after a hard day's work at Treize's.

 

Unless the weather was severe, Heero would put all four horses out in the paddocks during the day, ensuring they had at least some exercise. To keep a horse stabled continuously resulted in boredom for the horse and that boredom usually saw the horse developing bad habits, habits that were extremely difficult to get rid of and in some cases could be damaging to the horse's health.

 

Heero had preferred to invest in several good quality, heavy duty paddock rugs, ones that would keep the horses pretty much completely dry and warm. There were a few occasions though when even the rugs couldn't stand up to the elements and Heero had found himself with a stable full of wet rugs hanging on any and every available surface to dry out.

 

On a positive side, the wet weather had allowed Heero to fine tune Shinigami's jumping skills in the wet. It was always riskier jumping in bad weather and not just if it was raining. Rain did tend to get in your face and limit visibility for both horse and rider; but the ground tended to turn into a sea of mud and that meant slippery conditions for the horse. Many times Heero referred to it as riding on a skating rink.

 

Although Shini didn't like the wet weather or the heavier going of the ground, he still listened to his master and learned to cope. Heero would never put his horse at risk and only asked for what he knew Shini was capable of giving. Shini was quick on his feet and somehow always managed to keep his footing, something Heero was grateful for during their many practice sessions. It paid off as Shini continued to place consistently in the top three spots at many of the shows they attended.

 

Angel's foaling date was getting closer and the mare was simply huge! Heero didn't think that Scythe had been that big when carrying Shini, but then it had been some time ago and Heero's memory of Scythe's pregnancy had dimmed a little.

 

Bringing Angel into the stables, Heero looked up as Duo appeared from inside the dispensary. "Anything wrong?" asked Heero as he put Angel into her stable and bolted the door.

 

"Nah. Just getting some drugs together for a horse I have coming in shortly," replied Duo as he checked the drug bottles in his hand and placed them on the bench beside the crush.

 

"Anything exciting?"

 

"Abscess on the jaw."

 

"Ah." Heero pulled his jacket collar up a little higher. "I'll just go get Scythe and finish up here. I'll give you a hand if you need it."

 

"Thanks. I'm almost done. You need help with the nags?"

 

"If you could check Zero and Shini to see if they're dry under their rugs, that would be good."

 

"Right on it."

 

Heero left to fetch Scythe, the rain having eased to a light drizzle but not ceasing yet. Heero glanced at the sky, the black, heavy rain clouds were still all around and it looked like there wouldn't be any let up from the rain until tomorrow at least. With a sigh, Heero dug his cold, wet hands deeper into his pockets and splashed his way back to the paddocks and Scythe.

 

The black mare gave a soft whinny when she spotted Heero. She was hungry, cold and a little wet. She stamped her foot and shook her head sending droplets of water scattering everywhere.

 

"Easy, girl. You'll be inside where it's warm and dry very soon." Cold fingers soon snapped the lead rope into place and led the mare from the wet paddock to her dry stable.

 

When Heero returned with Scythe, Duo was just finishing up with Shinigami. The youngster's rug was a touch wet, so Duo had removed it and replaced it with a dry one. Clipping the last of the leg straps in place, Duo exited the stable and carried the wet rug to the end of the stable block to hang up to dry.

 

Putting Scythe in her stable, Heero removed the mare's rug, noting the black coat that was a little wet underneath. He carried the rug to put with the others that were drying out and grabbed a couple of old towels from the tack room to dry the older mare off a bit. Duo came over and gave him a hand.

 

They worked in silence for a few minutes, both toweling vigorously whilst Scythe ate her dinner. Deeming the mare dry enough, Heero went to fetch her a dry rug whilst Duo checked her over. Returning, Heero raised an eyebrow in question.

 

"Nothing to worry about, Heero. I was just checking her over. With her age getting on now, I just wanted to make sure she wasn't going to start coming down with a cold or anything. She's fine."

 

"Thanks." Heero put the dry rug on and then went to Angel's stable. "Do you have time to check Angel before your patient arrives?"

 

"Sure." Duo grabbed his stethoscope and followed his lover into the gray's stable. Angel continued to eat, ignoring the nice humans that fussed over her. Duo took her temperature, checked her heart and breathing rates and listened to her abdomen. With a smile he announced that all was well.

 

"She's so big. You sure she's not carrying twins?" Heero asked as he ran his hands gently over the swollen abdomen of the mare.

 

"There's just one foal in there, Heero," Duo chuckled. "I've double checked the ultrasound on more than one occasion just to be sure."

 

"I'd say it's going to be a big foal then."

 

"Probably. We will need to keep our eye on her as she gets closer to her due date. I want to be here when she goes into labor just in case she needs a hand."

 

"She's only got another two weeks to go if the calculations Zechs gave me are accurate."

 

"I'd check her udder every night from here on. If she shows any signs of milk leaking, let me know straight away." Duo bent down and checked Angel's udder while he was standing there. It was getting bigger, but no milk was evident.

 

The sound of a car and horse float pulling up alerted Duo to the arrival of his patient and he left Heero to finish off replacing Angel's rug.

 

Duo stood in the door way to the stable block and watched through the rain as the person got out of their car and dropped the tail gate to the float. The horse was unloaded and Duo motioned for them to bring the animal inside.

 

"Lovely weather, Doctor Maxwell," the person said as they entered, the horse following beside.

 

"If it keeps up much longer I think we will all need to develop flippers," Duo replied with a grin. "How are you, Sam?"

 

"Fine. Where would you like him?"

 

"In the crush, please."

 

The man named Sam led the horse over to the crush and put him inside. Duo followed and shut the small gate behind the animal as Sam slipped out the front and closed that gate, effectively keeping the horse restrained.

 

Heero finished off with Angel and came out to join Duo and offer his assistance.

 

"Ah, Heero, meet Sam Mitchell. Sam, this is my part time vet nurse, Heero Yuy." Duo made the introductions, a smile on his face.

 

"Pleasure to meet you, Sam," said Heero as he shook the man's hand.

 

"Likewise, Heero. I've heard a lot about you and your achievements. I hear you're aiming for Olympic selection?"

 

"Yes, yes, I am. I missed out on the last games due to an injury to my horse, but I'm hoping my current horse has what it takes to impress the selectors and gain a spot in the team." Heero couldn't help the small blush that appeared on his cheeks.

 

"Well, I wish you all the best."

 

"Thank you."

 

"Right, let's get a proper look at this abscess your horse has, Sam," said Duo and moved across to the crush and the horse's head.

 

Sam and Heero followed, Sam taking the lead rope and holding the horse's head to one side so Duo could get a proper look at the abscess.

 

Eyeing the large lump on the side of the horse's jaw, Heero spoke. "How did he get it?"

 

"I'm not too sure, but I think it may have been a grass seed he's picked up from his hay or grazing," Sam replied. "Doctor Maxwell had a look at it a few days ago and we both thought it would have burst by itself by now. I've been bathing it in warm salty water, but it's not showing any signs of bursting."

 

"We can't leave it like this any longer," interrupted Duo. "If it was going to burst then it should have done so by now. It will start to affect his eating if it gets much bigger. I think the best thing to do is lance it and let it drain. Hopefully we can find the cause of it at the same time and remove it." Duo studied the lump carefully.

 

"I'd rather you opened it up, Doc, this has gone on long enough," said Sam as he petted the horse.

 

"Right. I'll give him a shot of local and clip the area then." Duo moved to the bench to fetch the anesthetic and swabs. He passed the syringe to Heero to hold while he cleaned the area with betadine. Then taking the needle back, he began to inject the anesthetic around the lump, deadening all the nerves in the immediate vicinity.

 

"What do you use him for?" asked Heero as he held the animal's jaw steady for Duo to clip away the hair whilst they waited for the anesthetic to take effect.

 

"Just rounding up the stock on the farm," Sam replied. "Sometimes I take him out to the agricultural shows and do a bit of campdrafting [1] with him and he's done alright in those competitions."

 

"He seems a pretty sensible horse," said Heero.

 

"Yes, he is."

 

"There. That's the area clipped clear and the anesthetic should be working now so I'd like to get started." Duo put the clippers away and grabbed the items he would need. Walking back to the crush, he handed Heero several items to hold.

 

Taking the bottle of betadine, Duo wet a swab with it and began to clean the area. Once done, he asked for the scalpel which Heero handed over. "Hold that bowl underneath the lump please. Once I lance it, the poison is going to come pouring out and I really don't want it going all over the floor."

 

"I've got it," Heero said and placed the bowl underneath the jaw but clear of Duo's fingers.

 

Lining up the lump, Duo quickly and carefully pushed the scalpel against the skin and began to incise. Within seconds a small trickle of pus began to escape. Heero shifted the bowl slightly as Duo dug a little deeper, lengthening the cut at the same time. Duo suddenly moved his hand back and a stream of foul liquid came rushing out of the wound.

 

"Yuk!" exclaimed Sam as he watched the pus escaping and getting caught in the bowl. It didn't look too good, or smell that good either.

 

Duo gave a small laugh. “They never smell all that nice,” he commented. “Heero, keep the bowl underneath it, I'm just going to get the forceps and have a bit of a poke around, see if I can find what's caused this.”

 

“Okay.” Heero couldn't help but scrunch his nose up as the smell invaded his nostrils. It reminded him of rotten eggs.

 

Duo was back in a minute and once the flow of pus had slowed to a trickle, he began to poke around inside the cut he'd made. He couldn't see much. “Heero, can you put that bowl over on the bench, fetch the other one, the bag of saline solution and the large syringe please?”

 

Heero was only too happy to comply. The putrid liquid in the bowl was starting to make him feel nauseous. Returning with the items in hand, Heero again held the bowl underneath as Duo filled the syringe and began to irrigate the wound.

 

The water washed out any remaining pus, leaving a rather large hole behind. Duo thoroughly investigated the area, frowning and then smiling broadly. “Got you, you little bugger," he said as he carefully closed the tip of the forceps over the foreign body and pulled it out. “You were right, Sam. It's a grass seed.” Duo held the small seed up for Sam and Heero to see.

 

“You wouldn't think something that tiny could cause such a problem,” muttered Sam

 

“It's amazing just how much trouble these things can cause. I remember once, in my early days of practice I was called to look at a horse that wasn't eating properly. When I took a look inside its mouth, there was a shit load of these seeds all embedded in the skin between the cheek and the jaw. No wonder the poor thing couldn't eat! I swear I must have removed about fifty of them.”

 

“You should feel a bit better now, Monty,” said Sam as he rubbed the horse between the eyes.

 

“I'll give this a dusting of penicillin powder, but I'm not going to stitch it up, it needs to drain. I want you to bathe it with salt water twice a day for the next three days, then once a day for another five days. By then it should be starting to close and heal. I'll give him a shot of antibiotic now and give you enough for a seven day course of shots for him. How is he with his tetanus?”

 

“Had his booster six months ago.”

 

“Good. He won't need another shot of that then. Duo busied himself getting the powder and shots ready. Once he'd finished, he handed Sam a bag with the antibiotic, needles and syringes in it that he would need to continue the treatment. Duo explained the dosage, ten ml morning and night, intramuscular.

 

With everything finished, Sam shook hands and took his horse back out to the float and loaded him up. With a wave he left, red tail lights disappearing down the driveway and into the rapidly darkening evening.

 

“I'll just clean this mess up and then I'll start dinner,” said Duo as he moved to the bench and began to pick up the used items and drop them into the trash.

 

“I'll go make up the morning feeds.” Heero disappeared into the feed shed, he really didn't want to clean up the bowl from Monty's abscess.

 

* * *

 

Each day Heero was careful to check Angel's condition, noting the increasing size of her udder and double checking for any signs of milk leaking. He'd taken to putting both Angel and Scythe together in the same paddock figuring that the older mare would be something of a comfort to the younger one. Horses were gregarious by nature and hated to be kept alone. Whilst it was necessary to keep the two stallions apart for safety reasons, and obviously they couldn't be put in with one of the mares, there was no reason why the two mares couldn't share a paddock.

 

Scythe and Angel got along very well, often grazing side by side or standing underneath one of the large trees and dozing together. Zero was in a paddock across from the mares with Shini in the paddock next to his sire. They could all see each other but there wasn't much of a chance the stallions would get in with the mares.

 

Angel's due date arrived and with it Heero's anxiety increased. The mare showed no signs of going into labor, in fact she was quite content to spend her days eating and sleeping. This seemed to bother Heero to no end. Duo couldn't help but be amused by his partner's antics and worry over the mare.

 

When Angel was three days overdue, Duo couldn't take it any more. "Heero, Angel will foal when she's good and ready. No amount of checking, double checking and worrying over it will make that foal come any quicker."

 

"I know," Heero sighed and returned to his seat at the kitchen table. He'd been about to go and check the mare again, making it the sixth time he'd visited Angel and it was only just past lunch time.

 

"Nature is a funny thing and she won't be rushed. When she's happy with everything, then that foal will be born, until then you need to relax a bit."

 

"Sorry," Heero muttered sheepishly.

 

"Look, why don't we go into Salsbury and catch a movie or something? That might help you to relax a bit. Hilde's doing evening consults and Catherine's quite capable of balancing the books for tonight so there's no reason we can't take off for the afternoon."

 

Heero had to admit he was tempted. Lately they hadn't spent a lot of time together. Duo's practice had gotten busier and Heero had been in the middle of the show season and keeping Shinigami fit had been his main priority. With the shows slowly coming towards the end of the season, Heero did have a little more time for himself.

 

"Okay. I need to do a little shopping too so we can kill two birds with one stone."

 

"Good. I'll go get changed and let Hilde know where we're going."

 

"Make sure you bring your pager with you and get Hilde to keep an eye on Angel. If anything happens she can page us," called Heero as Duo walked off towards the bedroom to get changed.

 

Duo rolled his eyes.

 

* * *

 

The cinema had been quiet, with it being a Monday most people were at work which meant the guys pretty much had the place to themselves. Once the movie was over, Heero headed for the local mall and department stores where he intended to pick up some more shirts and jeans. With the amount of wet weather they'd had poor Gertrude - the washing machine - had almost given up the ghost. It was only Duo's gentle coaxing that had kept the machine working.

 

Heero had suggested they purchase a new washing machine, Duo had flatly refused saying one wouldn't trade their grandmother in on a later model once she couldn't walk as fast any more. Heero had scratched his head and asked what the hell grandmothers had to do with washing machines? Duo had huffed and told him to figure it out.

 

Gertrude had stayed.

 

If Heero wished to have clothing to wear he needed to buy some more.

 

They were at the checkout paying for Heero's purchases when Duo's pager went off. Frowning, Duo checked the number. "It's the practice. I need to ring Hilde," Duo said. "I'll be just outside."

 

Heero nodded and watched his partner hurry out into the center part of the mall. He quickly paid for his purchases and joined his lover.

 

"Okay, no, no problem at all. We were just finishing up anyway. Okay, we should be back in the next half hour. Thanks, Hilde." Duo pocketed his cell and looked at his lover. Concerned, blue eyes gazed back at him.

 

"What's up?"

 

"That was Hilde."

 

"I gathered that," Heero said dryly.

 

"She thinks Angel may be starting to go into early labor...""What?! When?! We need to get going!" Heero almost dropped his bags in his panic.

 

"Heero, calm down."

 

"Calm down? How can you say that when Angel's about to foal? We need to get going, she needs us."

 

Knowing he wasn't going to get much sense out of Heero whilst he was in this state, Duo decided the best thing to do would be to shut up and get them home. "Come on."

 

* * *

 

Duo drove at the speed limit all the way back to the practice. Heero fidgeted in his seat, willing the car to go faster but knowing it wasn't safe to do so. Never had the drive home taken so long to him. Actually, they arrived home quicker than the trip usually took but it still felt like it took ages to Heero.

 

Once they pulled into the back of the house, Heero was out the car and heading for the paddocks. Duo shook his head and chuckled in amusement. Leaving Heero to go to his horse, Duo headed for the surgery and Hilde to get the latest update.

 

There wasn't a lot that Hilde could tell Duo. She'd gone out to check the mare when she had a few minutes spare between consults and whilst the mare looked okay, Hilde had noticed milk coming from her udder. Knowing how paranoid Heero was about his horses, she'd paged Duo with the information. Duo thanked the other vet and headed out tot he paddock where he knew Heero would be.

 

Sure enough, Heero was in the paddock with Angel, Scythe standing to the side and watching with interest at all the fuss.

 

"She's leaking milk," Heero stated as Duo walked up.

 

"I know. Hilde told me. Any other signs?"

 

"I'm not sure. I don't really know what it is I'm looking for," replied Heero.

 

"Come on, put the lead rope on her and we'll take back to the stables for a check over."

 

Heero complied, leading the heavily pregnant mare into the stables and pausing by the crush. "There's no way she's gonna fit in there with that belly on her," Heero stated.

 

Chuckling, Duo approached with his stethoscope. "I don't need her in the crush, Heero. She's quiet enough natured and what I want to check won't be invasive so she should stand quite happily here."

 

"Ah. Okay."

 

Duo commenced his examination, checking heart and breathing rates, temperature and then listening through the stethoscope. Finally he moved to Angel's rump and ran his experienced fingers over her muscles before moving her tail to the side and checking all was okay under there. A final check of the udder and Duo was satisfied with his exam.

 

"Well?" Heero asked impatiently.

 

Duo gave Angel a carrot and stroked her neck. "She's starting the early stages. The udder is fully bagged up and the milk has stopped dripping. If you look closely you can see it's starting to solidify on the ends of the teats and form what we call 'candles'."

 

Heero took a look underneath; sure enough the milk had started to solidify and give the impression of wax.

 

"Her heart rate is slightly up but her temperature and breathing rates are normal. The muscles in her rump are starting to loosen up. Look here..." Duo moved to Angel's rump and pushed lightly on the muscles. "See how they're dipping in?"

 

Heero nodded.

 

"Those muscles are beginning to relax to allow the foal to pass through."

 

"So, how long?"

 

"I'd say somewhere in the next twelve to twenty-four hours."

 

"Right."

 

"I'd suggest putting her in the stable, the weather's not all that good for her outside and if she gets into trouble it will be easier to help her in here where I have everything I might need within easy access."

 

"Okay. Can I feed her?"

 

"Of course. Look, it's pretty much close to the time you usually bring them all in and feed so why not get all the nags in now?"

 

"Good idea." Heero stood for a moment as if unsure of exactly what it was he was supposed to be doing.

 

"Here, I'll take Angel, you go start bringing the others in." Duo gave a soft snicker and took the mare's lead rope from his boyfriend.

 

* * *

 

The horses were all brought in and fed. Heero checked the rugs and on Duo's advice, left Angel's rug off. Once they were all settled and eating happily, Heero found himself with nothing more to do than worry.

 

"Come on, let's go grab some dinner. Nothing's going to happen for a while yet."

 

Reluctantly, Heero left the stables and followed his lover to the house.

 

They ate dinner, Duo caught up on some of the paperwork for the practice whilst Heero tried to watch some television. His mind was completely distracted though so he ended up just staring at the screen.

 

Duo had forbidden Heero from checking on the horses any more than once an hour. Not only was it pouring rain outside which meant Heero getting wet, but it would disturb the horses too much if Heero kept on going into the stables. Heero could see the logic and stuck to it, even if he didn't want to.

 

It was getting close to midnight and Duo was yawning. He agreed to go with Heero to check Angel before retiring to bed, mainly to settle Heero's nerves.

 

They dashed into the stable block, shaking the water from their hair. Heero headed straight for Angel's stable whilst Duo grabbed a towel and wiped the rainwater from his face.

 

"Duo? I think you should take a look at Angel."

 

Instantly, Duo was at the mare's door. He moved inside and ran his eye over Angel. She was standing to the side of the stable with her head low and resting a hind leg. He watched for a few minutes and noted a slight tremble pass through the body, then the mare shifted her weight and rested her other hind leg. Duo moved to the side and ran his hands over the swollen belly. He checked the udder which was hot to the touch and noted the sunken rump muscles.

 

"Heero, could you fetch my stethoscope and thermometer please?"

 

Heero hurried off to do as requested, returning minutes later with the items in hand.

 

"Thanks." Duo did his usual checks and found the heart and breathing rates slightly elevated. The temperature was normal. Positioning the stethoscope over Angel's abdomen, he listened intently. Satisfied, he removed the stethoscope and looked at Heero.

 

"She's certainly in labor now, Heero. Short of giving her an internal exam, which I don't want to do if I can avoid it, there's no way to guess how far along she is. I'm betting though that this is the early stages of contractions and she should progress quite quickly from here on. I'd say she should have this foal somewhere in the next couple of hours."

 

"Right. So, what can we do?"

 

"I'd suggest we go back to the house and grab a couple of blankets, for us, not Angel, and come back to the stables to wait."

 

"Okay."

 

The pair left the horses for a few minutes, heading back to the house and gathering the required items. Duo fetched them a blanket each, Heero found a couple of fold up chairs. Duo made a thermos of coffee and whipped up a couple of rounds of sandwiches. With everything packed into a waterproof duffel, they headed back to the stables to await the birth of Angel's foal.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc...

 

[1] For information on the Australian sport of Campdrafting, go here: http://www.campdrafting.com.au/