Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Time, Fault and Out ❯ Chapter 13 ( Chapter 13 )

"Time, Fault and Out"

 

November. 2005 ShenLong

 

Chapter 13

 

The question that came from his boss' mouth was something Heero would never have expected. His mind was in turmoil and he felt sick to the stomach. Several thoughts raced through his brain as he scrambled to find the best way to react to the question. Treize had said his answer wouldn't affect his employment or the relationship he currently shared with the other rider and so far Treize had been nothing but open and honest with him; why would he lie now?

 

The sudden paleness of Heero's skin was enough to confirm the answer to the question for Treize, but he wanted to hear what Heero had to say.

 

"It's probably very inappropriate for me to be asking such a personal question of you and in reality, it's really none of my business. However, I can see you both share a unique bond and the only time I've ever seen that sort of bond before is between two people that care deeply about each other." Treize gave a soft smile and kept his body language non-threatening in an attempt to aid the other rider to relax a little.

 

Heero had always been raised to be honest. You told a lie you had to tell another to cover that one, and then another and another until eventually you were caught in your own web of deceit. Heero took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

 

"Yes. I am gay, Treize. Duo Maxwell is my partner and my lover and I would die to keep him safe and protect him from ridicule." Heero added the last bit, not only because it was true, but he wanted Treize to know that Duo meant the world to Heero and he wouldn't see his partner hurt because Treize didn't like homosexuals.

 

It wasn't hard to pick up on the underlying threat, but Treize wasn't worried. He'd detected more than that in the way Heero had answered him.

 

"Thank you for answering my question honestly. Heero, I don't care if you're gay, it makes no difference to me. You've never given me anything other than one hundred percent in your work here with the horses and the staff. I can't see that confirming your orientation is going to affect that in any way, is it?"

 

"No. I enjoy my work here, I love riding and gaining experience and I hope to continue."

 

"Good. I have no intentions of letting you go. You're one of the better riders I've had through this stable and I hope to see you achieve your dream. If it's any consolation to you, I'm bisexual."

 

Heero's head jerked up at that bit of information and Treize laughed.

 

"Yes, Heero. I like both sexes and believe me when I say I know exactly what sort of prejudice you suffer at the hands of society. Your secret is safe with me. I will not breathe a word regarding you or Doctor Maxwell and the relationship you share."

 

"Thank you, Treize."

 

"No problem. You two just make sure to keep your lines of communication open. A love that is obviously so right should be nurtured and encouraged to grow, not shot down and cursed by narrow minded bigots."

 

"Just when did you go from 'riding instructor' to 'relationship councilor'?" Heero asked, the amusement evident in his voice. He was deeply grateful that Treize understood and warmed that the older man thought the love he and Duo shared was special. Heero already knew it was, but it was nice to have someone else think so too.

 

"I'm a man of many talents," Treize replied with a smirk. "Although what some of those talents are you're not going to find out. The last thing I need is for a jealous lover, and vet at that, to be hunting me down with a scalpel."

 

Heero couldn't help but laugh. "Now that would be a sight to see."

 

Treize shook his head. "Will not happen, no way." They sat in silence for a few minutes, Treize pleased that his employee trusted him enough to have answered his question and Heero thinking about the turn of events in his life.

 

"Come on, work waits for no man. I've got Goose to ride and Sandrock needs some exercise."

 

Heero got up and rinsed out his mug before following Treize back out to the stable block to get the horses ready.

 

***

 

Hilde arrived at the practice just as Catherine was settling up the last account with a client. She waited until the client had left and closed the door behind her for Catherine. "How was the morning?" Hilde asked as she turned the sign around to 'closed'.

 

"Steady," replied the receptionist.

 

"We still only have the two surgeries booked for this afternoon?"

 

"Yes. Both arrived this morning and they're in the kennels. Hilde?"

 

The female vet paused on her way to the kennels and back tracked to the reception area. "Yes?"

 

"Has something happened to Doctor Maxwell?"

 

Hilde stopped dead in her tracks. "Pardon?" Immediately all sorts of things began to run through Hilde's mind; none of them good. "What do you mean? Is he hurt or something?"

 

"No. No, not hurt. It's kind of hard to explain."

 

"Try starting at the beginning." Hilde moved into the small reception area and leaned against the desk.

 

"I can't exactly put my finger on it." Catherine frowned as she tried to find the words she wanted to explain Doctor Maxwell's behavior. "He seems, sort of dreamy. Like he's not really all there. Oh, I know that sounds stupid. He's still the same vet, chatting with the clients and treating the patients, but when there's no one around he seems to float off into his own world. I guess that doesn't make sense."

 

Hilde laughed. "Sounds like the Duo I know every day."

 

Turning to smile at the female vet, Catherine spoke again. "No, something's different. Go take a look for yourself, he's cleaning the consulting room."

 

Hilde turned and went down the hall to the consulting room where she stopped and peeked inside, keeping herself out of Duo's range of vision. After observing her boss for a minute or two, Hilde went back to the reception area.

 

"Well?" Catherine said as she leaned back in her chair.

 

Rubbing the side of her nose, Hilde thought about the sight she'd just witnessed. "Yeah, he does seem a little more 'off the planet' than usual. If I didn't know him any better I'd swear he'd been in the drugs cabinet."

 

Catherine snorted. "I thought the same thing at first. You know, he reminds me of Trowa."

 

"Huh? What has your brother got to do with Duo? They're both complete opposites."

 

"I know that! No, what I meant was," Catherine motioned for Hilde to come a little closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. "He reminds me of Trowa when he's been out with Quatre. All dreamy and in love type stuff."

 

"Well, he is in love with Heero."

 

Catherine rolled her eyes in frustration, deciding she obviously needed to spell it out for the other woman. "He looks like he just got laid."

 

"Ewww! That is so an image I didn't need," retorted Hilde. "Look, I know they are together and lovers and I'm quite okay with that. I just don't need the mental pictures to go with it."

 

"Oh, I don't know. Two people so much in love, sharing that love. I think it's romantic." Catherine's face took on a dreamy look of its own.

 

"What's romantic?" Both women jumped as Duo stepped into the reception area.

 

"Ahh," stammered Hilde.

 

"Errr. I was just saying to Hilde that Trowa gets this really dreamy look on his face when he's been out with Quatre and how romantic it is." Catherine had to think fast, she didn't want her boss to think she had been spying on him.

 

Duo chuckled. "Women. All they ever see is the romance, never the quarrels, the blanket hogs, leaving the lid off the toothpaste or forgetting to replace the toilet roll."

 

"Are you the one that leaves the lid off the toothpaste?"

 

Duo began to turn a little red.

 

"Or are you a blanket hog, Duo?" Hilde teased. "I didn't think you would need a blanket with Heero to snuggle up to."

 

With the mention of Heero's name, Duo turned an even darker shade of red and his eyes took on a dreamy look, his mind supplying details of the previous evening.

 

"It looks to me like someone got laid last night," Catherine said slyly.

 

Duo froze, his heart almost stopping.

 

"You did, didn't you?" Hilde stated, an evil grin on her face.

 

"Ah." Duo fidgeted for a moment. "Don't you two have work to do?" he said, changing the subject.

 

"I've only got to put the last of the client files onto the computer," said Catherine with a grin.

 

"Don't you think you should be getting the patients prepped and ready for surgery?" Duo asked Hilde when the other woman didn't respond.

 

"Yup, I suppose I should," she replied with a cheeky smile. "Heero must be one hell of a lover to leave you all starry eyed," she quipped before taking off down the hallway towards the kennels.

 

"Hilde!" Duo spun around. Behind him Catherine laughed.

 

"Better quite while you're behind," she said and then went back to her work.

 

Duo sighed and ran a hand through his bangs. "Since when did my love life become the topic of office gossip?" he muttered as he opened up the drug 'fridge to get the drugs needed for the surgery.

 

"You should know better than that, Doctor Maxwell. We're women, we were born to gossip," replied Catherine.

 

"How true," Duo said with a roll of his eyes.

 

"Don't worry, the gossip stays inside these four walls."

 

"I should hope so."

 

"Doctor Maxwell?"

 

Duo paused as he was leaving the reception area. "Yes?"

 

"Despite the teasing, it's good to see you happy and in love. Not many people are fortunate enough to find their one, true mate."

 

"Thank you, Catherine." Duo gave the receptionist a smile of gratitude and then continued on his way to the small operating room and the other vet.

 

Catherine watched him go, the smile on her face genuine.

 

***

 

Duo looked up as the vehicle came to a stop. Immediately he recognized the car as being Quatre's, a fact confirmed moments later as the blonde inspector got out of the car and approached Duo. Standing up, Duo wiped his greasy hands on a rag and smiled. "Hey, Quatre. This a social call or business?"

 

"Business, Duo." Quatre shook the vet's hand and looked at the scattering of parts on the lawn. "What the hell are you doing?"

 

"I was going to mow the lawn but Jaws wouldn't go."

 

"Jaws?"

 

"The lawnmower."

 

"Oh."

 

"I thought it might be the spark plug so I decided to pull it apart and clean it. Then I noticed that the blades need replacing so I'm doing those as well. Damn thing still won't start though."

 

"Ah. Does it have petrol in it?"

 

Duo scratched his head. "You know, I never thought to check."

 

"Duo! You idiot."

 

Duo gave a sheepish grin. "I'll check that just as soon as I've finished replacing the blades. Now, what can I do for you?"

 

Quatre's eyes hardened a little as he spoke. "If you can spare the time I'd like you to come with me to a case of neglect. It's a dog. Someone just 'phoned the office to report that their neighbor had a dog and they haven't seen the neighbor or the animal for a while. The neighbor became concerned about the owner and the dog so they went over to the house. There wasn't any reply to their knocking so they tried around the back. They still didn't have any luck, but they heard a whine come from the garden shed. They went to investigate and called us. I don't know what the state of the dog is but the contact said it wasn't pretty. I think you'd better bring the Lethabarb with you, we may need to euthanase the dog."

 

Duo frowned. "Does Trowa know?"

 

"Yes. I'm going to pick him up on the way."

 

"Okay. Bear with me for a couple of minutes while I go wash up and grab my bag."

 

Quatre went over to the paddock and 'talked' to Scythe while Duo got cleaned up and fetched the supplies he thought he might need. He let Catherine and Hilde know where he was going and checked he had his pager on him just in case.

 

"All ready," Duo said as he walked over to Quatre and the mare.

 

'Let's get going then."

 

On the way to picking up Trowa, Quatre gave Duo all the information he had on the case, which wasn't much. Once they had picked Trowa up, the information was repeated again.

 

"Anyone know where the owner is or what's happened to them?" Trowa asked as they drove along the road.

 

"Not at this stage. Headquarters was getting as much information from the neighbor as they could before contacting the police and seeing if they can help," replied Quatre. "I haven't heard anything else so I presume they are still trying to find out."

 

Duo didn't say anything, his mind was too preoccupied with the dog and what sort of condition it was in.

 

"Here we are,” said Quatre as he pulled up outside a modest looking house.

 

The three climbed out of the car as a person from the house on the left came out to meet them. Quatre walked over. "Mr Lewis?" The man nodded and took Quatre's offered hand. "I'm Inspector Winner from the R.S.P.C.A. You called about a neglected dog?"

 

"Aye. I haven't seen anyone around for several days and wondered what was going on. I came over and knocked but no one answered. When I went around the back, that's when I heard the whine." Mr Lewis paused for a second, taking a deep breath before he continued. "Dog's in the shed. It's not a nice sight." Mr. Lewis began to lead the way down the side of the house to the back garden.

 

"I see. You don't have any idea where the owner is?"

 

"No. I've told all I know to your office and they said they were going to contact the police. I've not heard anything more." Mr. Lewis stopped as they reached the shed. "I'll wait out here if you don't mind."

 

"That's fine, Mr. Lewis. Thank you." Quatre turned to Duo. "You ready?"

 

"Lead on." Duo gripped his bag tighter. You didn't know how an animal would react after being neglected. They could be excited, jumping around, or attempting to depending on their condition; or they could be cold and vicious.

 

"Oh my god."

 

The stench hit the pair as soon as they opened the door. Quatre placed his hand over his mouth as did Duo and both did their best not to breathe too deeply. Sitting at the back of the shed was the dog. At least that's what Duo thought it was. The poor animal was so thin that pretty much all of its bones were visible jutting through the skin.

 

"Open a couple of windows," Duo said as he slowly approached the dog.

 

Quatre moved to the sides and opened every window he could find. Immediately the cool, outside air began to filter through bringing much welcome relief from the smell and adding sunlight to the darkened interior.

 

A patch of hollowed out dirt sat at the back of the shed, obviously where the dog had lived for the past however many days. Duo guessed it was roughly one to two weeks since the animal had been attended to; the amount of excrement bore testimony to that along with the large water dispenser that contained a healthy growth of slime and not much of anything liquid. Slowly he approached the dog, the animal sitting up and watching him, making no attempt to move. From what Duo could tell, the dog was a Labrador retriever, male, black and roughly a year old.

 

"Hey there, fella. How you doing?" Duo spoke low and soft, not wanting to startle the animal as he drew closer. The dog's eyes watched him impassively, no sign of animosity evident in his posture. Duo eased a hand forward and the dog stretched out to sniff. A pink tongue came out and licked Duo's hand. Growing in his confidence, Duo shifted closer until he was beside the dog. His hand traveled up over the almost fleshless skull and gently caressed the dog's ears. The dog gave a soft whine and offered a paw.

 

"You poor thing," mumbled Duo as he took in the dog's condition.

 

"What do you think, Duo?" Quatre had moved a little closer seeing as how the dog didn't bark, growl or bite.

 

"From what I can tell, it looks like he hasn't been fed in a while. I'd need to get him outside to have a good look and make a proper diagnosis."

 

"Has he got a collar on?"

 

Duo slipped his hand down the dog's neck. "Yeah."

 

"I'll go get a lead out of the car. Be right back." Quatre disappeared to fetch the lead.

 

While the Inspector was gone, Duo continued his checking of the animal. It wasn't easy in the dark but he could tell enough to know that despite its ordeal, the dog was nice natured. Quatre returned and handed Duo the lead which was clipped onto the dog's collar. Duo stood up and gently pulled on the lead. "Come on, up you get."

 

The dog began to rise, moving stiffly as he brought his legs under himself and stood. He wobbled a bit and tried to walk forwards. The progress out of the shed was slow, the dog, being so undernourished didn't have any energy and it was taking all he had just to place one paw in front of the other. Eventually they made it to the outside where Duo could get a proper look at the animal.

 

Trowa came over and assisted Duo to get the dog onto the lawn under a shady tree, the animal's eyes had been blinking rapidly and watering with the sudden sunlight after being cooped up in the dark for so long. The dog collapsed gratefully onto its side and lay there panting lightly as Trowa assisted Duo in his inspection of the dog.

 

Gentle hands explored the body of the dog, working from the head and neck, down over shoulders, legs and rib cage to the back legs. Duo took the dog's temperature and listened to his heart, Trowa calmly petted the animal while Duo worked. Finally having finished, Duo stood up and Quatre approached from where he'd been chatting with Mr Lewis.

 

"What's the verdict?" Quatre asked.

 

"He's severely undernourished, dehydrated and he had some sores on the pads of his feet. Other than that his temperature is normal, heart rate good and strong.""You're not going to put him to sleep, are you?" Trowa asked from where he was sitting, still petting the dog.

 

"That's up to Quatre," replied Duo. "It's the Inspector's call, not mine."

 

"What do you think it would take to get him well again?" Quatre eyed the dog. "And is it worth putting him through that treatment or would it be better for the poor thing to be put out of his misery now?"

 

"The sores on his pads should clear up after minor surgery and a good course of antibiotics. As for the rest of him - a drip will take care of the immediate dehydration and then all he needs is some loving care and lots of good food. He's a nice natured dog, it would be a shame to put him down." Duo's eyes were on Trowa as he spoke, watching the man interact with the dog. Deep inside he knew Trowa and the animal shelter he ran could nurse the dog back to health, the R.S.P.C.A. would cover Duo's veterinary costs and Trowa shouldn't have any problems in finding the dog a good home once he'd recovered.

 

Trowa generally dealt with animals that had been abandoned, strays or those whose owner's couldn't keep them any more for whatever reason. Occasionally he took in rescued cases for the R.S.P.C.A. mainly when their kennels were over crowded. "I'll take him, Quatre."

 

The Inspector knew his lover was more than capable of taking care of the dog and was quite happy for his partner to have the animal, but Quatre only had jurisdiction to say whether the dog was to be treated or put down. If he decided the animal could be treated it was up to Headquarters to decide if Trowa could take the dog or not.

 

"I'll call through to base and give them the run down, I'll also see if they have anything on the owner yet. Duo? Would you be able to give me a rough estimate of your costs to treat the dog?"

 

Duo did a few quick mental calculations and gave Quatre a figure. Quatre argued it wasn't enough, but Duo was adamant that it would cover the costs of the drugs and he'd donate his time. The R.S.P.C.A. was a non profit organization and Duo figured if donating his time would help the charity out then he was more than happy to do it.

 

Putting through the call, Quatre moved off a little to stand under a tree. Trowa continued to pet the dog that had now been given a bowl of fresh water and had lapped eagerly at it, splashing a lot of the water over Trowa in the process. Trowa looked up as Duo crouched next to him.

 

"He's a nice dog, Trowa."

 

"Yes, he is. It's a shame he's come to this. I'd really like to know the reason behind starving an animal into this state. Considering what this dog's gone through I'm surprised he's as sweet tempered as he is."

 

"Poor puppy," Duo murmured as he stroked the bumps of the spine. The dog's tail wagged a little and Duo smiled.

 

Quatre flipped his cell 'phone shut and walked back over to the expectant pair.

 

"Well?" Trowa all but demanded.

 

"Headquarters has given the okay. If Duo doesn't mind treating the dog and sorting out the problem with his feet, the society is happy for him to stay with you at the shelter until he's well enough to be re-homed. The society will naturally have the final say on the home he goes to."

 

"I'll be happy to treat him, Quatre. If you want to take him back to the surgery now I will sort those pads out this afternoon. Depending on the surgery and how he recovers from it, I'd say he will only need to stay with me for a couple of days.""That's great!" grinned Trowa and turned back to the dog. "You hear that, Jet? You're coming home with us."

 

"Jet?" Quatre questioned.

 

"He needs a name and I thought that given his coat color, Jet, as in jet black, would suit him."

 

Considering that the coat was dull, stiff and had bald patches here and there, Duo thought the dog looked anything but jet black at the moment, but he held his tongue. The animal wasn't going to be put down and Duo was happy about that.

 

Trowa picked the dog up and carried him over to Quatre's vehicle, placing him on the back seat and climbing in next to him. Quatre thanked Mr Lewis for his trouble and took the man's 'phone number, promising to let him know how the dog got on and if they found out anything regarding the owner. Duo wandered back to the car, noticing that Trowa was already trapped by the dog's soulful, brown eyes.

 

"Looks like you're going to have a bit of competition, Quat," Duo teased and nodded in the direction of the car where Trowa was fussing over Jet. "Better watch out, first thing is, the dog will be in the house, before you know it, he'll be sleeping in the bedroom, then he'll claim your spot on the bed."

 

"Not likely," replied Quatre.

 

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

 

"The dog will not be sleeping in the bedroom, nor will it be sleeping on the bed, not unless Trowa plans on becoming a monk."

 

Duo burst out into laughter and gave his friend a friendly slap to the shoulder. "We will see."

 

Getting back into the car, Quatre started the vehicle up and drove off towards Duo's practice so that Jet could be treated as soon as possible.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc....

 

Note: The name 'Jaws' for the lawnmower came from Karina who happened to state in feed back to a previous chapter something along the lines of 'Gertrude the washing machine?! What the hell does he call the lawnmower - Jaws?!' Thanks for the lawnmower's name Karina! *grin*