Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Time, Fault and Out ❯ Chapter 35 ( Chapter 35 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the G'boys, I just borrow them from time to time to play with and return them a whole lot happier, ne? Written for pleasure not profit.

 

Rating: NC 17

 

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4

 

Warnings: AU, OOC, Lemon, Yaoi, Angst, Fluff, Sap, Vet themes.

 

Summary: Set 2 years after Equinity. Heero is now riding for the Kushrenada stable as well as attempting to qualify Zero for the Nations Cup team and ultimately his dream of riding at the Olympic games. But life is never an easy ride.

 

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.

 

Fic 2 in the "Equine Intervention" Arc.

 

Dedication: To Klingonpoodle who gave me the plot bunny for the first fic and has since supplied my muse with its own plot bunny farm, and to 'Teddy Bear' my own courageous little showjumper whom Zero is based upon.

 

 

"Time, Fault and Out"

 

November. 2005 ShenLong

 

Chapter 35

 

Treize sped towards the township of Salsbury, his mind going a mile a minute as he tried to think where Relena would have gone after her visit to the hospital. Her foot would most likely be sore still so he didn't think she would have gone too far. He guessed she had probably gone shopping which didn't help all that much as there were a multitude of shops located in the Salsbury township.

 

Treize passed by the hospital, mentally recalling what shops were around that area and beginning to cruise the various streets. Trying to keep one eye on the traffic and another on scanning the sidewalks and shop fronts, Treize knew he was facing an impossible task.

 

It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

 

But he had to try.

 

He turned down yet another street and continued his search.

 

* * *

 

With Peacemillion now stretched out on his side on the operating table, Duo secured the horse's hind legs together before moving to the front limbs and repeating the process. Zechs was busy checking the heart and breathing rates, hooking up Duo's monitor and securing the small electrodes to the horse's chest. Duo fitted the oxygen mask over the horse's muzzle and checked the feed of the gas. Given the state the stallion was in when he arrived at the surgery, Duo thought it wouldn't hurt to have that added oxygen while operating.

 

"All set?" Duo asked as he picked up the clippers.

 

"Yeah."

 

Duo began to clip away the hair from a large section on Peacemillion's flank, Zechs swept the hair up and disposed of it into the trash can. Once the area was clipped clean of hair, Duo fetched the betadine and began to swab the skin, thoroughly soaking it in readiness for the operation. With everything now set to go, Duo pulled the tray with the instruments closer to them and with one final check of the horse's vitals, he pulled his surgical mask up, donned a fresh pair of gloves and looked at Zechs.

 

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Zechs looked from Duo to the smooth, exposed flank of the horse before him. "Here goes nothing," he muttered to himself. "Scalpel."

 

Duo placed the scalpel in Zechs' hand and stood back to watch. Zechs took the sharp instrument, poised his hand above the flank for a moment and then made a swift incision.

 

* * *

 

Walker shut the cell phone again, a snort of frustration passing his lips. "Still can't get the woman. Why the hell bother to have a cell phone if no-one can call you?" he grumbled.

 

"That's women for you," replied Heero.

 

Walker rolled his eyes. "My missus is the same. Turns her damn cell off and then goes all hissy on me because I didn't call her to let her know I'd be late for dinner or something. Beats me why they have them if they don't answer them or keep them switched on."

 

"I hope Treize is having more luck," said Heero as he glanced at the clock. Treize had been gone almost an hour and no word as yet. Duo and Zechs had been operating for at least an hour after you discounted prep time. Heero wondered how it was all going. Walker echoed his thoughts.

 

"I wonder how they're getting on..." Walker shifted slightly in his seat.

 

"They must be doing okay so far," replied Heero. "Like they say, no news is good news."

 

"I hope so. That horse..."

 

"I know, Walker. It's not just their value. They're more than dollar signs, they're friends."

 

"Yeah. They do kinda have a habit of getting under your skin."

 

Heero knew exactly what the groom meant. He couldn't imagine life without Zero; or Scythe or Shini for that matter. You tended to develop a bond with the animal, something that couldn't be explained and when they hurt, you hurt.

 

Glancing at the clock again, Heero noted that Hilde would be coming in soon for the evening consults. He was supposed to be taking care of the reception area as it was Catherine's day off. He wondered how many clients they had booked in and if Hilde would be able to handle it all herself if he were to remain here with Walker and be ready to assist Duo and Zechs if they needed him?

 

"Walker?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"I have to go up to the surgery for a few minutes. Hilde, the other vet, is due in for evening consults shortly and I'm supposed to be handling the reception area."

 

"Oh, I'm sorry, Heero. I'm stopping you from doing your work. I can go back down to the stables and wait there, I don't want to keep you from your work."

 

"That's okay, Walker. I'm not about to leave you alone. You need company. I was going to see if Hilde can handle the clients and reception by herself. I don't know how many we have booked in for this evening but it shouldn't cause any problems."

 

"Are you sure?" While Walker was quite prepared to wait by himself the thought of having company was much more appealing.

 

"I'm sure. Would you like to come up to the surgery as well or would you rather wait here?"

 

"I'll come with you, if you don't mind."

 

"Come on then." Heero stood up and led the way from the house to the small building that housed the practice.

 

* * *

 

"Any idea exactly where the twist is?" Duo asked as he looked at the pile of intestines welling up from inside the incision Zechs had made.

 

"No. Not a clue."

 

"In my experience the blockage and resulting twist is usually in the small intestine. I'd suggest we try starting at the stomach and working our way back."

 

"I've found the same thing," replied Zechs. "Most of the ones I've come across have been in the small intestine too. Geeze, why do they have to have such a large digestive tract?" he added as several pink loops tried to tangle him up.

 

Duo chuckled. "I think I'd better get a couple of large bowls, we're gonna need something to put this lot in as we search through it and I don't particularly fancy having the patient's guts spilling out over the floor."

 

Zechs agreed and checked the monitors while Duo fetched two large, stainless steel bowls and placed them close at hand. Once more they began the task of searching through Peacemillion's innards for the twist.

 

"I can feel something hard down here," said Duo as he fished around inside the stallion's belly.

 

"Can you bring it up a bit?"

 

"Hang on." Duo reached deeper into the abdominal cavity and gingerly drew the slippery intestine out. "There," he said as he lay the loop on a green surgical cloth on the horse's flank.

 

Zechs immediately began to inspect the section of intestine. "I'd say that's it all right. That has to be the blockage." Gently Zechs felt around the hardened mass. "Feels like a great wad of grass and mud."

 

"Wouldn't surprise me. The way the new grass is coming through at the moment, a lot of horses are taking in the sand and roots as they try to graze on the stuff," replied Duo as he studied the mass.

 

It was a known fact that the new grass, when it made its appearance was likely to cause colic in horses as its root system wasn't well established and when the horse went to bite the blades off, the plant tended to just pull out of the ground.

 

"I'd say this is where the bowel was twisted," Zechs stated as he examined the intestine closer. Part of the intestine appeared to be darker in color than the rest of the pink loop. "Looks like you've straightened it as you've lifted it out."

 

"What's the tissue like?"

 

"Not too good."

 

"Damn! We may still have to remove that section and reattach the intestine." Duo had been hoping that when the twist had occurred that it hadn't been severe enough to cut off the blood supply and damage the intestinal tissue. If the damage was minimal they could surgically remove the blockage and leave the intestine intact. But if the tissues were damaged to the point of dying off then they would have no choice but to remove that section of bowel and reattach. That would be riskier in the long run

 

"Let's get rid of this blockage first and then see what condition the tissues are in." Zechs turned to look at the other vet for confirmation.

 

"Right with you, Zechs. I'll grab a few more cloths and another bowl. Whatever that crap in there is we sure as hell don't want it getting into anything else.

 

Zechs smiled beneath his mask. Duo did have a point. He looked at the horse, prone on its side with a gaping hole in the flank and pink loops hanging out. Not the best advertisement for equine surgery, he thought to himself. Duo returned with the items and set them up. Once they were ready, Zechs pushed all the rest of the intestine back inside the abdominal cavity, leaving only the section they were working on out of the horse's body. Picking up the scalpel he began to make the careful incision.

 

* * *

 

Walker followed Heero along the path and into the small practice. Walking along the corridor he couldn't help but admire how clean, fresh and well set up everything was. Heero continued along until he came to the reception area, Walker right behind him.

 

"Looks like Hilde isn't here just yet. I'll check the diary and see how many clients we have booked in." Heero picked up the large, black book and scanned down the page. "It doesn't look like there's too many. Hilde should be able to cope with it by herself. If I get all the files out ready for her and ask her to leave them on the desk for me to log into the computer tomorrow she should be fine."

 

"Who should be fine?" came a voice from behind them.

 

"Hilde," Heero said as he spotted the woman.

 

"Hey, Heero. Where's Duo and who's this?" Hilde wasn't one to mince words but her tone was friendly.

 

"Ah, Hilde. This is Walker, he's the head groom at Miss Peacecraft's stud."

 

Walker offered his hand and then paused, puzzled as to the woman's reaction.

 

Hilde's eyes narrowed when she heard the introduction and she ignored the groom's hand. "You've got a nerve," she snapped and was about to continue when Heero brought her up short.

 

"Hilde! Please. Let me explain what's going on. Walker here is nothing to do with the other case." Heero began to explain the reason for Walker's presence. When he got to the bit where Zechs and Duo were currently operating he almost had to grab the woman to stop her from charging off and joining in.

 

Hilde remained where she was while Heero finished. Turning to the groom she gave a smile and extended her hand. "Sorry, I should be a little less hot-headed and not condemn people before I have the facts."

 

"It's okay," replied Walker. He had a pretty good idea of what was going on. He hadn't been told anything but you did get fairly reliable feedback from the grapevine.

 

"I was wondering if you would be able to cope with the evening's consults and the reception by yourself tonight, Hilde. I'll get all the client files out and put them ready. There aren't too many this evening and you can leave them all on the desk and I'll log them in tomorrow. I don't know how long Duo will be in surgery for and if they need a hand I'd like to be available. Also, Walker here shouldn't be left alone."

 

Hilde nodded. "I'll be okay, Heero. I've handled worse before and you really should be around if Duo or Zechs needs you. If I get stuck I can always call you."

 

"Thanks, Hilde."

 

"No problem, Heero. I hope they manage to save the horse. I'll warn you, once consults are finished and I'm all done here, I'll be coming down to see how it all went."

 

Heero laughed. "As if I'd expect you not to."

 

Hilde grinned. "Can I help it if I have a fetish for blood and gore? Errr... sorry." Hilde noticed Walker starting to turn a little green. "Go on, you two, get out of here. I can find the client files myself."

 

Heero gave the vet a warm smile and went to leave. Walker paused at the doorway and turned back to the female vet.

 

"Thank you," he said quietly.

 

"My pleasure to help in any way I can. I hope your horse is okay."

 

Walker nodded and followed Heero back out.

 

***

 

Treize was ready to tear his hair out. He felt like he'd scoured every street in Salsbury and still no sign of Relena. He pulled over and grabbed his cell, punching in Relena's number and waiting to see if it would connect.

 

It didn't.

 

Quelling the urge to scream and throw the cell out the window, Treize drew in a deep breath and called Heero's number.

 

"Yuy."

 

"Heero, it's Treize. Have you managed to contact Relena yet?"

 

"No. Have you had any luck?"

 

"Nothing. How's the horse?"

 

"No news yet. Zechs and Duo are still operating."

 

"I see." Treize paused for a moment. "I'll keep looking then. Meanwhile, you hear anything and you let me know, okay?"

 

"Will do, Treize."

 

"Thanks, Heero."

 

"Bye."

 

Treize put the cell back onto the passenger seat and resumed his search of the township.

 

***

 

Relena stepped out of the boutique and onto the sidewalk. "I'm hungry, Dorothy. How about we grab some lunch now?"

 

"Lunch sounds like a good idea," replied Dorothy. "Anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

 

"There was a quaint cafe back a couple of blocks."

 

"Then let's head for there."

 

Relena smiled and began to walk down the street, Dorothy beside her.

 

They found the cafe and walked inside, sliding into a booth and picking up the menu from the center of the table. They discussed a few things on the menu before settling on their choices. The waitress came over and took their order; smoked salmon salad for Relena, the quiche Lorraine for Dorothy and flat whites for them both. The coffees arrived and the two women sipped them whilst awaiting their food. It didn't take long for the lunch to arrive and the pair were soon eating away.

 

While they ate they discussed Relena's purchases. She'd bought herself two complete new outfits, three new blouses, two skirts, four pairs of shoes and a new purse. Dorothy had bought one new dress and a hat to go with it.

 

"I'd like to call at that small lingerie shop a couple of blocks over before we head home," said Relena as she finished off her salad. "They have the most exquisite stockings there and I could really do with some more."

 

Dorothy glanced at her watch. "We have the time."

 

"Good." With their lunch finished, Relena motioned for the waitress to bring the check. Leaving several dollars on the table, the pair exited the cafe and began the walk to the lingerie store.

 

It didn't take long for Relena to select what she wanted and with the purchases paid for, they stepped out of the small shop. Dorothy looked up and around the street to get her bearings and determine which way they needed to go to get back to the car when a familiar vehicle drove past. She squinted through the afternoon sun. "Isn't that Treize?" Dorothy said as the car slowed to a stop at the traffic lights.

 

Relena looked in the direction Dorothy pointed. "It is! I wonder what he's doing in Salsbury?" Relena began to wave and call out. "Treize! Treize!"

 

Treize thought he heard someone calling his name and looked around. He couldn't see anyone on either side or up ahead. He gazed into his rear vision mirror and spotted someone waving. "Relena?! Shit! It is Relena," he said to himself. Quickly he looked around to see where he could pull over. The lights went to green and Treize managed to turn the corner and pull to the side. He shut off the engine and jumped out of the car, pushing the central locking as he did and then sprinted back around the corner to where he last saw the woman he'd been trying to find.

 

"He's pulling over," said Dorothy as her eyes tracked the movement of the car and noticed it indicating as it went around the corner. Moments later Treize came running around the corner. "He doesn't look too happy about something," Dorothy muttered as she took in the harassed expression on Treize's face.

 

With a quick glance right and left, Treize bolted across the street to where the two women stood. "Relena, where the hell have you been?"

 

"Treize?"

 

"We've been trying to call you for the past few of hours."

 

"Oh? Are you sure? I haven't had any calls." Relena dived into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She gave a sheepish grin. "Looks like I forgot to turn it back on when I left the hospital."

 

"What's wrong, Treize?" Dorothy interrupted, ignoring her mistress for the moment.

 

"It's Peacemillion. He's got colic, bad. Walker called the vet but the usual treatment didn't work. Doctor Merquise is certain he's twisted a bowel and he's operating now."

 

"What? Peacemillion... Colic?" Relena's skin visibly paled as she took in the news.

 

"Yes, colic. Relena, we've been trying to call you. Walker gave consent for the surgery when he couldn't get hold of you, he couldn't wait any longer."

 

"Is he?"

 

"I don't know what the status is at the moment. They're still in surgery. Relena, I think you should come back."

 

"Yes, yes, of course." Relena was looking a little shell shocked, Dorothy took charge.

 

"Come on, Treize. We'll come with you, I can pick my car up later." Dorothy took Relena by the elbow and began to guide her across the street to where Treize's car was parked.

 

"Peacemillion," muttered Relena. "Oh, god. I hope Doctor Merquise can help him." Relena didn't notice the way Treize's eyes lowered when she mentioned the vet's name. Dorothy though was a little more perceptive. She decided not to say anything for the moment. There was more going on here and she was sure that Treize would tell them soon enough.

 

With everyone in the car and buckled up, Treize began the drive back to the Maxwell practice. Once they were on the road, Treize pulled out his cell and called Walker.

 

"Walker."

 

"Walker, it's Treize. I've found Relena and I'm on my way back with her now."

 

"Thank god for that. Is she okay?"

 

"Upset, but that's to be expected."

 

"How long until you get here?"

 

Treize did a quick calculation in his head. "I'd say about half an hour."

 

"I'll keep an eye out for you."

 

"Any news on the horse?"

 

"Not yet. They're still operating."

 

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

 

"Right."

 

Treize disconnected the call and tossed the cell to the dash board.

 

"What happened?" Relena asked. "Peacemillion was fine this morning."

 

"From what I know, Walker got back from the feed store just before lunch and went to check on the horses. He found Peacemillion sweating and rolling. He called the vet who came out immediately and drenched him but it didn't work. Given the rapid decline in the horse's condition, Ze - Doctor Merquise suspected a twisted bowel and the best course of action is to operate."

 

"Oh dear. Do you know what's happening? Is Peacemillion going to be okay?"

 

"I don't know, Relena. The operation is still going," replied Treize

 

Listening in to the conversation while keeping an eye on the road, Dorothy noticed they weren't heading in the direction of Oakford. "Treize?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"This isn't the way to Oakford, unless you know a short cut," Dorothy said.

 

"The horse isn't at Oakford."

 

Relena's ears perked up and she turned to look at the man. "What do you mean, Peacemillion isn't at Oakford? That's where Doctor Merquise is from."

 

"Relena, I don't know the full story behind the change of operating venue. Walker does and I'm sure he will be able to tell you why once we get there. Once I learnt of what was happening I didn't wait to find out all the smaller details. I was more intent on finding you." Treize didn't say where the horse was, Relena hadn't asked yet and he really didn't want to be the one to tell her that Peacemillion was in Duo Maxwell's operating room and that Duo was also operating on her horse. He'd prefer to have a little more distance between him and the woman when that happened; or a good pair of ear plugs.

 

* * *

 

"No wonder he was in such pain," remarked Zechs as he carefully removed the mass of dirt and grass from inside Peacemillion's gut.

 

"Looks like it's been there for a little while," Duo said as he passed the bowl over for Zechs to drop the mass into. It was shiny and slippery, covered in the paraffin oil Zechs had administered.

 

"He probably picked this little lot up when out grazing in the paddock yesterday, I'd say." Zechs checked the bowel area to make sure he'd gotten all the offending matter from inside and then proceeded to remove the other feed that was clogged up in the intestine, unable to pass through because of the blockage.

 

Duo passed over a large syringe of saline for Zechs to flush out the site, careful to have the suction ready and remove all he could.

 

Having thoroughly irrigated the intestine, Zechs began to inspect the area where the twist had occurred. "What do you think?" he asked Duo.

 

Duo peered closely at the pink section. There was a slightly darker section where the tissues had been starved of oxygen and blood flow. "I think that part is pretty much dying off."

 

"I agree. I think the best thing to do would be to cut out a section from here to here and then reattach." Zechs indicated with his finger what he proposed.

 

"I'd be inclined to do the same. I think it would be his best shot at survival. If we leave it as it is the tissue will continue to die and then he's going to have a ruptured bowel within days. Not a good outcome. The section isn't all that large so his chances of making a full recovery are better than most."

 

"Thanks, Duo. I appreciate the input."

 

"No problem, Zechs. Often it's better to figure out the solution when there's two of you."

 

"Right. I'll remove this section then and we can begin to reattach the bowel."

 

"Right with you, Zechs." Duo removed all the instruments and other bits and pieces they didn't need and returned with a fresh set of surgical instruments. Better to have fresh equipment than risk infection. Checking the horse's vitals, Duo was pleased to see they remained steady.

 

Zechs began to cut away the dying section of tissue. They would only need to remove a piece about five centimeters long, but even that was five centimeters too much in Zechs' opinion. He'd have preferred not to have removed any.

 

The pair worked in silence, the clink of metal as an instrument was dropped into a dish or a soft work asking for scalpel or the like the only form of noise other than the beep of the monitors. With a sigh, Zechs finished cutting away the dying section and dropped it into the kidney dish.

 

"Now for the hard part," he muttered. "Stitching this back together." A drop of sweat rolled down his forehead and hung on the end of his nose. He wiped it away on the sleeve of his scrubs.

 

"I don't know about you, Zechs, but I could sure go a coffee right now," Duo mumbled as he threaded the fine, dissolving surgical silk through the eye of a needle.

 

"A long, cold beer would hit the spot for me," replied Zechs. Duo chuckled and handed over the needle.

 

Several more minutes passed with Duo passing over needles while Zechs stitched away. With a soft moan, Zechs stood up and eased the kinks from his back.

 

"Well, that's the intestine reattached. I can't see any possible leaks so he should be okay with that."

 

Duo checked over the site and gave a low whistle. "Neat job," he stated.

 

"Thanks. Guess we'd better get this mass all back inside properly and then close the wound."

 

"Here, I'll just give it a light dusting of Penicillin powder as an added precaution." Duo lightly dusted the area in the white powder and then assisted Zechs to replace Peacemillion's innards.

 

Zechs rubbed a weary hand over his face and closed his tired eyes for a moment.

 

"I can stitch up the rest if you like," Duo offered.

 

"You wouldn't mind?"

 

"Nah. I don't mind stitching. You want to see some of the animals I've had to sew up in the past."

 

Zechs had no doubt that Duo's stitching skills would be finely tuned given how he worked on some very small animals. "Then feel free to sew away. Right now my vision is getting a little blurry."

 

Duo took up the needle, forceps and placed the scissors close by. Lifting an edge of the abdominal cavity lining he began to stitch the cavity closed.

 

Another hour had passed by the time Duo was inserting the last stitch into the skin and his eyes were feeling heavy. A headache was tugging at the fringes of his mind and he longed for a hot shower, cup of coffee and to be held in Heero's strong embrace. With a weary sigh he dropped the needle into the kidney dish and straightened up slowly to admire his work. A neat row of stitches looked back at him and he smiled.

 

"All done," he said to Zechs.

 

"That looks great, Duo," Zechs replied as he took in the neat line. "I'll give him a shot of penicillin and a pain killer before taking him off the oxygen and then it's just a case of waiting for him to come round." Zechs did just that while Duo collected up all the used instruments and deposited them into a tray to be cleaned and then sterilized.

 

While they waited for the horse to come round, both vets began to clean up the operating theater, dumping all the used swabs and rubbish into the bin, bowls and surgical cloths to one side to be cleaned and then placing the removed piece of intestine into a sealed container. Zechs wanted to take it back to Oakford and have a look at it under the microscope. The mass that had been the blockage was sealed into plastic bag as Zechs also wanted to analyze that. Just as they were finishing off so Peacemillion began to stir.

 

Quickly the two vets were beside the horse, Duo untying the animal's legs and bringing the slings round ready. As Peacemillion returned to the conscious plane he began to struggle a little.

 

"Whoa there, boy," Zechs soothed and stroked the horse's neck. The stallion began to calm a bit.

 

"Might pay to give him a shot of mild tranquilizer as well," Duo said softly. "Just enough to keep him calm, we don't need him opening anything up."

 

"I agree," replied Zechs and quickly fetched the required drug, dosing the horse and preventing any further damage to any of them.

 

Gradually Peacemillion came around, he wasn't too steady at first and as they slid him gently off the operating table, the slings took up the strain of supporting his weakened legs. He swayed for a moment, his sense of balance slowly returning. After a few minutes Peacemillion was able to support his own weight comfortably and Duo let the slings go lax. He removed them from around the horse while Zechs held on to the halter.

 

"I think he can go out into one of the boxes now," said Duo as he watched the animal carefully.

 

Zechs agreed and Duo opened the operating theater doors. Slowly they led the recovering horse from inside and along the short breezeway to the box Duo said to use. It was thickly bedded with straw as opposed to sawdust that could stick to the healing wound. Zechs kept an eye on the horse while Duo filled a water bucket and set it within easy reach. Once everything was in place there was nothing left to do other than wait for the stallion to recover.

 

"He's got a good heart rate and his temperature isn't too high. His color's good too so I'd say he has a pretty good chance of making a full recovery," Duo said softly as he leaned over the door.

 

"And it wouldn't have been possible without your help, Duo. I'm deeply indebted to you. I can't thank you enough."

 

Duo waved his hand, dismissing the gratitude. "The best thanks I can get is to see the horse recover."

 

"You'll certainly be paid for your services as well as the use of the theater and reimbursed for the drugs."

 

"I know," Duo replied. "I'm just hoping all goes well."

 

The sounds of approaching voices drew them from their thoughts and they turned to walk out to meet the approaching people. Just as they were about to exit the building, Duo stopped. His feet were suddenly glued to the ground as he listened to the words.

 

"Why the hell did you bring him here?! That no good, two bit fairy assed excuse for a vet has probably killed him. I'll have his hide for this!"

 

Relena's voice carried the venomous words directly to Duo's ears. Beside him Zechs paled and then began to seethe. For a moment Duo was completely dumbfounded, then his anger surged forth.

 

Composing himself and barely keeping his rage in check, Duo began to stalk outside to where the owner of that voice waited.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc.....

 

 

To see a picture of what the basic Equine operating table and slings look like visit here:

http://www.equinehospital.com.au/athospitalsurgery.htm< /font>