Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Time, Fault and Out ❯ Chapter 47 ( Chapter 47 )

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?

 

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 47

 

When Duo arrived back at the practice and went to get out of his car, he found his thigh had stiffened quite a bit and it took him a few moments to extract himself from the vehicle. He managed to totter inside the house and headed straight for the bathroom. While the water heated up, Duo removed his clothing and took a good look at the injury. A deep purple bruise was forming on his creamy skin, mottling blue and red in places. He whistled through his teeth as he realized again just how close the kick had come to his groin. He stepped into the shower and began the task of washing himself off, the heat of the water taking some of the stiffness from his muscles.

 

Once clean, Duo quickly toweled off and reached for the medicine cabinet. He took a couple of strong painkillers to ease the throbbing then fished around until he found the jar of ointment he remembered being in there. Gently he applied some to his thigh. Duo had his doubts as to how much good the ointment would do; Tincture of Arnica was an age old remedy for bruises, sprains and the like, but it hadn't really been proven how effective it was. At least it wouldn't do any harm. What he really needed was to put an ice pack on it, but he didn't have the time. Fetching clean clothes out of his closet, Duo got dressed ready for consults.

 

* * *

 

Heero watched as his lover departed and then went to check on Zero. Joe was just finishing up with the gray, checking the stallion's rug was on properly and that the horse was comfortable.

 

"Thanks, Joe," Heero said as he stepped into the stable and pulled gently at Zero's ears, the gray not taking much notice, he was too busy demolishing his haynet.

 

"My pleasure, Heero. How's the brown?"

 

"He should recover well. The wound wasn't deep and missed the major blood vessels; Duo stitched him up," replied Heero absently.

 

"I heard a bit of a ruckus coming from inside the stable, everything okay?"

 

"Maestro didn't want to be stitched. He kicked and caught Duo on the thigh."

 

"Shit! Is he all right?" Joe's voice was full of concern. He'd developed quite a friendship with the long haired vet.

 

"Just bruising that we can tell. He's gone back home to the practice as he's got consults to do, I have asked him to call the doctor though and get checked out."

 

"Never rains, it bloody pours!" muttered Joe.

 

"You can say that again," Heero replied with a glance outside into the stable block courtyard where the rain was continuing to pelt down.

 

Joe shook his head. "That wasn't quite what I meant."

 

Heero snickered. "I know."

 

"You going up to the manor before leaving?"

 

"Yes. I need to let Miss Noin know what's gone on with Maestro, although Dawn's probably told her already. Also I want to see how Sandra is and check on tomorrow's schedule."

 

"I'll come up with you, I've finished off here. Goose and Duck are fed and happy so I don't need to do anything more for them until later. I'll give you a hand when you're ready to leave to put your gear in the car and load Zero on."

 

"Thanks, Joe."

 

* * *

 

Hair neatly braided and fully dressed, Duo hobbled back to the kitchen and prepared to go up to the surgery in readiness for evening consults.

 

"Damn! I almost forgot," he said to the kitchen walls and back tracked to the phone. He dialed Doctor Po's surgery number and waited for the call to connect.

 

"Doctor Po's surgery."

 

"Hi, Charmaine, it's Doctor Maxwell calling. I wonder if I would be able to get Doctor Po to make a house call when she's finished this evening?"

 

"Let me check for you, Doctor Maxwell."

 

Duo held the line and listened to the rustling of paper as Charmaine checked the appointments book.

 

"Doctor Po has a couple of scheduled house calls to make, so the earliest she would be able to see you would be around seven thirty this evening. Is that too late?"

 

"That would be perfect, Charmaine."

 

"Right. I've put you in for seven thirty."

 

"Thanks, Charmaine. How's your cat doing?"

 

"Oh, Doctor Maxwell, Cuddles is just perfect. Her coat is almost back to normal, thick and glossy again. I can't thank you enough."

 

"It was my pleasure. Thanks, Charmaine, I better get going now, consults of my own," Duo chuckled.

 

"I understand. Bye."

 

"Bye." Duo hung up the 'phone and allowed his mind to briefly wander back to when Charmaine, Doctor Po's secretary, had brought her prize Persian cat in, almost hysterical at the feline's state. The thick, glossy coat was coming out by the handful, leaving the cat almost bald in places. Duo had placated the woman, checked the cat over and diagnosed a thyroid deficiency. A course of tablets and Cuddles' coat had begun to regrow, just as thick and glossy as it had been before.

 

Glancing at the clock, Duo started. He had ten minutes before consults began. Trying to ignore the throbbing in his thigh, Duo hobbled out of the house and up the path to the surgery where he knew he would have another battle on his hands; this time with Catherine and Hilde.

 

* * *

 

Heero found the rest of the group in what had been dubbed the 'social room' in the manor. Immediately he walked into the room he was bombarded by questions from all the other riders and grooms. Holding his hands up in the air in surrender, Heero managed to silence the crowd.

 

"Doctor Maxwell has stitched up Maestro and while the cut wasn't deep and missed anything vital, Maestro will be out of action for several weeks. He is expected to make a full recovery though."

 

Various comments flew around the room: "I'm glad it isn't too serious. I hope he will jump again. Poor Sandra, I know how much she wanted to get into the team." All the people present could feel for the woman, they'd all experienced similar 'accidents' during their careers, things that happened when you least expected them and usually when you had a major competition coming up. It was just one of those things. As the saying in the equine world went; 'One minute you're up and the next you're down.'

 

It was comforting to know though that you had your fellow equestrians' support when life threw its curve balls in your direction. Heero felt warmed at the obvious concern amongst the riders and grooms. This was another reason he enjoyed the sport so much. Regardless of whether you won or lost, everyone supported each other.

 

"How is Sandra?" Heero asked, noting the absence of Noin and Dermail.

 

"The doctor is seeing her now," replied Zoe. "Noin and Dermail are with her, waiting to hear what the doc has to say."

 

"We should be getting word very soon," chipped in Alex.

 

"Yeah, the doc went through to see Sandra about twenty minutes ago so it shouldn't be too much longer before we hear something," added Alan.

 

Treize moved across to where Heero was standing. Joe had spoken to him when they came into the room and Treize wanted to know for his own reassurance that what Joe had told him of Duo's accident was true and that the vet was okay. Knowing that neither Heero nor Duo would like the kick to become common knowledge yet, although it was inevitable that it would, especially once Dawn returned from seeing how Sandra was, Treize touched Heero lightly on the arm.

 

Heero turned at the touch and his eyes alighted on Treize.

 

"I think you could do with a hot drink, Heero. Come on, I'll take you through to the kitchen where I'm sure the cook won't mind making a cup of coffee for you."

 

"Thanks, Treize. That would be nice." Heero allowed Treize to lead him from the room, stepping out into the hall and making their way to the kitchens.

 

"Joe told me that Duo got kicked. Is he really all right?"

 

Heero sighed and stopped in his tracks. Leaning against the wall he looked into Treize's eyes, his voice shaking a little as he spoke. "Yes, he did cop a kick to the thigh, a pretty nasty one too. There doesn't appear to be anything broken, just bruising from what I could tell. He's limping quite a bit and I made him promise to call the doctor when he got back and get it looked at."

 

"But you think there's more to it?" Treize smiled kindly at Heero. He could understand the young rider's concerns.

 

"I'm not sure. Duo insists that he's okay, that it's just bruising, but..."

 

"Kicks can be nasty things. I know, I've suffered a few in my time, as have you, I'm guessing. I'm sure he will be okay though, you have to trust him on this, Heero."

 

"I know. I don't like seeing him get hurt though, especially as he was only treating the horse because it would take too long for Sandra's vet to get here."

 

"Heero?"

 

"Hai?"

 

"The Duo Maxwell I know would have treated that horse regardless. He's not the sort to stand back and let an animal suffer when he knows he can help. I can speak from personal experience on that." Treize's mind wandered back to Taurus and he had to swallow the lump in his throat.

 

"No, he isn't, he'd do whatever he could," Heero replied softly.

 

"Come on, let's get you that hot drink, then you can speak with Noin and Dermail. I'm sure you're eager to get back home and check on Duo and the sooner you speak with the coaches, the sooner you can get going." Treize began to walk towards the kitchen again, Heero following.

 

* * *

 

Duo managed to enter the practice through the back door undetected. He stuck his head out into the corridor and could hear the voices of Catherine and Hilde in the reception area. Quietly he snuck along the corridor, intending to stop inside the consulting room to catch his breath and summon enough courage to walk properly before venturing into the lioness' den. The painkillers were starting to kick in and the throbbing had eased a little, but it was still hard to walk properly. Just as he was beginning to pat himself on the back for having made it this far without detection, Hilde stepped out of the reception room and caught him. Duo tried to duck inside, attempting to walk normally, but Hilde had already noticed.

 

"Duo! You're back. I was beginning to wonder if I would be doing the evening consults as well," she said and then her eyes narrowed. "Why are you limping?"

 

"Did you say Doctor Maxwell was limping?" Catherine appeared behind Hilde.

 

"I'm not limping," Duo said defensively and tried to edge into the consulting room.

 

"Yes, you are," Hilde stated.

 

"Oh, are you okay, Doctor Maxwell? What happened? Where's Heero?" Catherine added her own voice to the mix.

 

Duo sighed. He wasn't going to get out of this one any time soon. "I'm okay," he began. "There was a fall at the camp..."

 

"A fall? Heero's okay, isn't he? What about Zero? Oh no, don't tell me Heero came off and is injured again," Hilde started to rant.

 

"Heero is fine and so is Zero. They should be home soon. Heero wasn't the one that fell, one of the other riders, Sandra, took a nasty tumble over one of the fences."

 

"Is she okay? What about her horse?" Catherine interrupted this time.

 

"Ladies, if you will both kindly shut up for a moment, I'll tell you what happened," Duo said in his 'patient' voice.

 

"Sorry." Both Hilde and Catherine looked a little sheepish.

 

"I don't know what the damage to the rider is, although I'm sure it isn't serious. She did get knocked out so I'm assuming concussion is on the cards, but there weren't any broken bones that I know of. Her horse did suffer bruising to the foreleg and a nasty gash to his off hind. I was cleaning the area and injecting a local anesthetic so I could stitch him up when he objected and kicked me."

 

"Oh!" Catherine's hand flew to her mouth.

 

"Where did he get you? Have you had it looked at?" Hilde was more direct.

 

"He caught me on the thigh, it's only bruising that I can tell and I have made an appointment with Doctor Po for her to check it out after consults."

 

"Duo! You should get it looked at now, not wait. You could be seriously hurt. Come on, into the consulting room and let's have a look at it," Hilde said and grabbed Duo by the arm.

 

Before Duo could protest, Hilde had him by the arm and was pulling him into the consulting room, her hands going for his pants with the intent of checking out the wound site.

 

"Hilde!" Duo squeaked as he made a grab for his pants and swatted the other vet's hand away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

 

"I'm only checking out the injury," came the reply.

 

"Over my dead body!"

 

"Duo, you're injured, it needs to be looked at and I am a doctor, a professional."

 

"Hilde, you're an animal doctor, not a human one."

 

"Minor point."

 

"There's no way you're getting into my pants."

 

"You haven't got anything I haven't seen before."

 

"Maybe on tom cats, but I'm a little different!"

 

"Same thing."

 

"No way! You're not getting a look and that's final!" Duo grabbed the cloth of his pants possessively and glared at the other vet.

 

Catherine had watched the verbal 'tennis' match with an amused smile on her face. "I think he means it, Hilde. Better leave it be, I don't think Heero would be too impressed to know you'd been trying to feel up his boyfriend."

 

"What?!" Hilde spluttered and began to turn red. "I wasn't..."

 

"Sure, sure," Duo teased. "You just wanted to get in a quick eyeful and grope."

 

"I do not!"

 

"Pull the other leg, it plays `Jingle Bells'."

 

Hilde had been reduced to sputtering and Catherine couldn't help but laugh.

 

Duo glanced at the clock. "As much as I'd love to stay and discuss this little attempt at getting me naked, I have consults waiting." Duo moved to the back of the door and took his white coat from the peg it was hanging on.

 

Knowing there was nothing else she could do or say, and feeling a little embarrassed, Hilde followed Catherine back into the reception area and collected her things ready to go home.

 

With the white coat now in place and stethoscope around his neck, Duo was ready to start the consults. He limped back into the hall and up to the reception to collect the file for the first patient.

 

"I'll see you tomorrow, Duo," Hilde said. "Make sure you get that looked at and if there's any problems, let me know. I can work your shifts as well, if need be."

 

"Thanks, Hilde, but I'll be fine. You've already done enough, now go home and relax," Duo replied with a small smile.

 

"I mean it, Duo. You really should be resting and taking it easy. I'm not happy about you working while injured and wish you'd let me take a look at it for you."

 

"We've already had this conversation, Hilde. There's no way you're getting into my pants and I'm quite okay to work," Duo growled. He really didn't need another mother hen fussing over him, Heero was bad enough.

 

"Don't worry, Hilde, I'll keep a close eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything drastic." Catherine gave the vet a sweet, innocent smile.

 

Somehow, Duo knew he was being conspired against. He shook his head. "I will be fine, the last thing I need is Mother Theresa and Florence Nightingale on my case. Now, if you will excuse me." Duo grabbed the file and hobbled to the door that led to the waiting room, opening it he stuck his head inside. "Mrs Beldon?"

 

A portly woman stood up and carried a cat travel cage through...

 

* * *

 

When Heero and Treize returned to the 'social room', Noin and Dermail were there, along with Dawn and had just finished informing the group of the doctor's finding regarding Sandra. Noin repeated the information to Heero and Treize. The woman was lucky, she'd received a mild concussion and bruising to her shoulders and lower back. Nothing was broken and there was no muscular damage either. The doctor had recommended bed rest for twenty-four hours and no riding for another two weeks. Sandra would be allowed up the following evening but was under strict instructions to take it easy for a few days.

 

Both Heero and Treize were relieved that Sandra was going to be okay. Heero told Noin and Dermail what Duo had done to treat Maestro, giving them a little more detail than what Dawn had supplied. "Doctor Maxwell said the horse will be out of action for at least two to three weeks and then when he does resume work, it will only be light to start with," Heero finished.

 

Noin thought for a moment and then replied. "We are very grateful to Doctor Maxwell for treating the horse, I'm sure Sandra will want to thank him herself once she is able to. Thank you too, Heero, for assisting him and for waiting around to let us know what happened." Noin paused for a moment and then continued in a much lower voice. "Dawn told me that Doctor Maxwell received a kick while treating Maestro, is he all right?"

 

"As far as we can tell it's only bruising. He was going back to the practice as he has evening consults, but he did say he would contact his own doctor and get the wound checked out. I'll know more once I get back," Heero replied.

 

"Please, give him our thanks for all he's done and let him know we are all hoping the kick is nothing serious. If there is anything we can do, let us know." Noin gave the young rider a warm smile. "I'd better let you go now, you must be anxious to get home and see how he is."

 

"Thanks." Heero gave a small smile in return. "I'll see you all tomorrow morning." Heero nodded to the rest of the group and left the manor, Treize and Joe following him out to give him a hand with his gear and Zero.

 

The rain was still falling, although it had slowed from the torrent of earlier. It didn't take long to get all of Heero's gear stowed in the trunk and Zero rugged and ready to travel. Joe dropped the tail gate of the float while Heero led the gray out and into the trailer, tying Zero up and then slipping back out to help Joe with the tail gate.

 

"I'll see you tomorrow, Heero," Joe said and then ducked back into the stables to check on his charges.

 

"Thanks, Joe."

 

"I'm going to be heading off shortly too," Treize said. "Just going to see that Goose and Duck are comfortable first. Please, tell Duo that if he needs a hand with the surgery or if there's anything I can do, to let me know."

 

"Thanks, Treize." Heero got into the driver's seat.

 

"I'll give you a call later to see what the doctor had to say. Drive safely." Treize stepped back.

 

Heero started the car and slowly eased out of the stable yard and along the driveway that would take him to the road and home. The driving conditions were appalling and Heero needed all his concentration on the road to ensure he got both himself and his beloved horse home safely. He didn't have time to think about Duo until he was pulling into the drive that would take him to the stables at the practice.

 

Bringing the float and car to a stop, Heero cut the engine and climbed out. He made a beeline for the stables, deciding to leave Zero in the float until he'd gotten the feeds in the stables and everything ready for the horses. Once all was done, Heero ran back out to the float, the rain coming down a little harder again. He quickly got Zero out and into the warm stable. The stallion immediately went to his feed bin and began to eat, the weather not bothering him much. Heero removed the floating boots and checked that Zero was warm and comfortable under his rug.

 

Satisfied that his horse was okay, Heero grabbed his stockman and prepared to brave the elements to bring Scythe and Shini in. He splashed his way through puddles and the rapidly fading light to the paddocks where two horses neighed forlornly at him. Cold fingers wrestled with the gate to Scythe's paddock and finally released the catch. The mare huddled close to Heero, turning her tail to the rain and wind that was beginning to pick up. She wasn't happy at all. She tugged at the lead rope as Heero tried to do up the gate.

 

"Wait, Scythe. Stand, girl!" Heero growled through chattering teeth.

 

The mare nudged him, impatient to get out of the weather. Shini neighed his annoyance from the next paddock. Finally Heero did the latch up and then headed for Shini's paddock. He was going to lead the pair of them together; it was too cold, wet and windy to be out here for long. Heero managed to get the lead rope on Shini and the gate open. Trying to hang onto two impatient horses and do up the gate was proving to be a bit of a challenge though.

 

Scythe gave a snort and tossed her head, tugging at the lead rope again. Heero's cold fingers were rapidly turning numb and the lead rope slipped through his hand. Scythe was immediately off, Shini dancing and pulling to be free and join the mare.

 

"Ah fuck!" Heero cursed. "Shini! Stand still! Scythe, get back here," he called, but the mare didn't stop. "Dammit!" he growled and gave Shini's lead rope a hard tug. "Wait, you impatient animal," he snapped and finally got the gate to close properly. "Now we can go," Heero started to jog, Shinigami trotting along beside him but doing his best to break free and get inside the warm stable. Heero didn't know where Scythe had gone and was worried. He gave a loud sigh of relief though when he entered the stables and found the mare standing with her head over her stable door eyeing the feed bin and her dinner that were out of reach.

 

Scythe turned as she heard hooves and gave a soft whicker before pawing at her stable door. Shinigami returned the whicker with a neigh of his own and almost dragged Heero across the stable floor to get into his own, warm, dry box.

 

Having had enough of the weather, impatient animals and feeling chilled to the bone, Heero yanked the door open and unclipped Shini's lead rope, the colt eagerly heading inside. Closing the door, Heero went to let Scythe into her stable. With all the horses now happily eating their dinners, Heero went to check on their physical state. Scythe's rug was soaked almost all the way through. Heero undid the buckles and straps, removed the rug and dried the mare off before putting a dry rug on her. After seeing to Scythe, Heero moved on to Shini. His rug was also saturated and it took Heero another twenty minutes to dry the colt off and put another rug on him. The wet rugs were hung over the empty stable doors to dry and Heero wandered wearily into the feed shed to make up the morning feeds and replenish Zero's haynets for the 'morrow.

 

Once all the stable work was done and the car re-packed for the next day, Heero went into each stable and hung up a haynet. He gave each horse a couple of carrots and friendly pat before checking all doors were shut and bolted. Turning off the lights and locking the sliding door, Heero finally made his way to the house. It was almost seven, Duo would be finished with consults very shortly. Heero flipped on the lights, removed his boots and hung his stockman up in the laundry. He shivered in the cold air and padded through to the lounge room in socked feet to turn the heater on. With the warmth invading the room, Heero headed back to the kitchen to rummage around in the 'fridge and see what they had to make dinner with.

 

Settling on eggs, bacon, mushrooms and toast, Heero set all the ingredients on the side and decided to take a shower first. The dampness had penetrated through and there was a strong smell of horse radiating off him. As much as he loved the scent of his equine friends, he didn't fancy having it in his nostrils while trying to cook and eat dinner. Besides, he was feeling chilled and a shower would thaw him out. Leaving the food items on the bench, Heero headed for the shower.

 

* * *

 

"If there's no improvement within the next three or four days, bring him back, Mr Linton," Duo said to the middle aged man as he opened the consulting room door for the client to leave.

 

"Thanks, Doc."

 

"My pleasure." Duo waited until the man had passed back into the waiting room before leaving the consulting room and hobbling back to the reception area. Catherine was writing out a receipt for Mr Linton and Duo was pleased to note there weren't any more client files awaiting him. Looked like evening consults were finished. He was glad, his thigh was really painful now and he knew he needed to get his weight off it and get some rest; preferably with a large dose of morphine.

 

"Are you okay, Doctor Maxwell?" Catherine asked in concern as her boss slumped against the shelf between the hall and reception.

 

"Just sore. Is that it for tonight?"

 

"Yes. You don't look too good."

 

"I'll be okay," replied Duo. "I need to get off this leg for a bit though." He hated to admit to any weakness but his thigh really was throbbing.

 

Immediately Catherine went into mother mode. "Right. You get yourself in here now and sit down," she said in a tone that clearly said he'd better do as she said.

 

"I can't, I have to clean the consulting room and sweep the waiting room."

 

"I said sit down, Duo."

 

"But..."

 

"NOW."

 

Duo didn't know Catherine had such a loud voice or severe tone. She was usually a very gentle person. "Ah, okay." He shuffled into the reception area, doing his best not to wince as the woman forced him to sit. A cup of coffee was pressed into his hands.

 

"You stay right there and drink that. I'll go clean the consulting room, as well as the waiting room. It won't take me long and then I'll help you back to the house."

 

"You don't have to..." Duo was cut off by the look that was sent his way. "Ah, gotcha. I'll just sit here then."

 

"Good." Catherine disappeared with the broom, mop and bucket.

 

Duo sat in the chair and sipped on his coffee. He had to admit it felt better to have the weight off his leg. He listened to the soft humming coming from Catherine as she cleaned up the surgery and smiled to himself. Who would have guessed the soft spoken woman could be such a commanding person?

 

Catherine had finished in no time and put away the cleaning tools. Duo had managed to wrestle successfully with Nrobbuts and had all the day's work safely filed away. He was feeling a little smug at that. The smugness soon vanished though when he had to stand up and get himself back to the house. His thigh protested the movement. Catherine was beside him though and slung his arm over her shoulder to support him.

 

"Come on, I'll help you get back to the house. You really shouldn't be on that leg, Duo. I wish you'd let Hilde do the consults, she's going to be very annoyed with you when she finds out how sore you are."

 

Duo opted to stay quiet. He didn't need to add anything further to the woman's tirade. Besides, he was too busy trying to concentrate on walking and not falling flat on his face; his thigh really didn't want to work properly.

 

The kitchen light was on as they approached and Heero must have seen them coming down the path as he was suddenly beside them and next thing, had Duo scooped up in his arms and was carrying the vet into the house. Duo began to protest the action but was silenced by a look from his lover. Heero thanked Catherine and saw the woman out, promising to call her and let her know what the doctor said once she'd been to see Duo.

 

Duo knew better than to argue with Heero when he was in his 'protective' mode and suffered the fussing in silence. He allowed Heero to set him on the couch, tuck a blanket around him and leave him to watch television while he finished cooking their dinner. In one way it felt nice to be looked after and despite his independent streak, Duo felt warmed that his partner obviously cared so much for him.

 

Heero was just about to bring their dinner through to the lounge room to eat when there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Heero stated as he saw Duo about to get up off the couch.

 

"It's probably Doctor Po," Duo said.

 

"Good." Heero turned and went to let the doctor in.

 

"Ah, Duo. What have you been up to now?" Doctor Po asked as she came into the room.

 

"I had a little disagreement with a patient," Duo replied.

 

"More than a little one," Heero gruffed as he took the doctor's coat and hung it over the back of a chair. "How the heck you didn't break anything is beyond me."

 

Sally Po laughed and shook her head. "What happened?"

 

"I was attempting to inject a local anesthetic into an injured horse's cannon bone so I could stitch it up when he decided he didn't like what I was doing and kicked me," Duo replied.

 

"How long ago was this?"

 

Duo glanced at the clock on the wall. "About four hours ago."

 

"Where did he get you?"

 

"On the inside of my left thigh."

 

"Right. Let's take a look then." Doctor Po moved to the side so Duo could remove the blanket and his pants. She gave a low whistle when she saw the bruising.

 

Heero went a little green when saw how much the thigh had begun to swell and the myriad of colors that adorned Duo's pale flesh. That had to hurt! No wonder Duo had been hardly able to walk.

 

As Sally Po began to gently prod and poke around, she continued her questions. "Is it painful when I do this?" Sally moved the thigh in one direction.

 

"No."

 

"How about this?"

 

"Shit!"

 

"I'll take that as a yes. What have you done to treat it?" Sally wasn't silly, even though Duo was a vet, she knew he was like all other doctors and would attempt to treat the injury themselves before calling for assistance.

 

"I've put some Arnica tincture on it and taken painkillers, that's all," Duo replied.

 

"Well, that shouldn't do any harm, even if it doesn't do a lot of good."

 

"What's the verdict?" Heero asked from where he was sitting in the lounge chair opposite the couch.

 

"What it really needs is rest, but I know that's asking a lot," Sally began as she noted Duo's scowl when she mentioned 'rest'. "I'm going to prescribe some strong painkillers to start with. It will need an ice pack on it to bring the swelling down; ten minutes on and then thirty minutes off for a couple of hours. There's nothing broken, I don't need an x-ray to confirm that, if there was, you wouldn't be walking to start with." Sally smiled. "I'd like you to put a support bandage on it during the day, it will help with the swelling and also assist you when walking as I know you're not going to stay off it. I do expect you to sit and take the weight off it as much as possible though."

 

"Thanks, Sally." Duo shifted and made to reach for his pants.

 

"No, you don't. Ice pack, now," Sally said firmly.

 

Duo sighed. Heero smirked and fetched an ice pack from the freezer. He wrapped it in a tea towel to take the sharpness of the cold off it and handed it to Duo who put it on the bruising, wincing at the cold.

 

"Here's the 'script for the painkillers," Sally said as she passed a piece of paper over to Duo. "Get it filled as soon as you can, directions will be on the bottle. Call the surgery in a couple of days to make an appointment, I'd like to see you in at least 3 days time to see how it's healing. If you have any problems in the meantime, call me right away. Other than that, keep up with the ice pack, take the weight off it as much as possible and you should be fine. Here's a bandage to use for support."

 

Heero took the bandage and set it to the side. "I'll make sure he wears it and rests that leg as much as possible."

 

"Thank you, Heero. I'd better be going now, one more call to make and then it's home for a hot bath for me." Sally stood up. "I'll see you in three days, Doctor Maxwell."

 

"I'll make the appointment, Doctor Po," Duo returned.

 

"Good." Sally took her coat from Heero and allowed him to escort her back out the house.

 

Duo shifted the ice pack. Despite the cold of it, it felt good against the throbbing thigh. He looked up as Heero returned.

 

"I'll get our dinner now," Heero said and went through to the kitchen to fetch the meal he'd prepared. Handing Duo his, Heero sat on the floor next to his lover and began to eat. The television droned in the background, offering a little in the way of distraction. Then Heero spoke.

 

"I'll still kiss it better for you."

 

~ * ~

 

tbc....