"Trent, where's Jess, did she go home" Jason asked curious as to why the medic had turned up in the team room without her
"She's in the head doing her business, you haven't missed her, she'll be staying here till we leave for Williamsburg as Luca's already left with Laura and Zah, something about checking out the arena, she'll kill you if you mess those up" Trent said glaring at the pile of blue folders that had been removed from Jess's locker and placed on the centre table
"These notes go back to 1982, when Jay first started his career, no wonder she knows her stuff" Clay said surprised
"Well Bookworm had to learn it from somewhere Clay pigeon, who better than the master himself" Sonny said
"You want her hammock up" Jason asked putting down the file he was reading and getting up to help Trent with whatever he needed
"Yeah" Trent said as he started rummaging through the team bags to grab her hammock and handed it to Jason to put up while he searched for a pillow and spare blanket to help keep Jess comfortable as she was really struggling with the cold at the moment
"Why they headed of early, I assume a horse riding arena is a horse riding arena" Ray asked confused
"Last time Bailey was in an arena surrounded by people would have been when he was at the auction he was rescued from, Laura is wanting to give him a run so he's nice and calm for tonight, auctions are extremely stressful for horses Laura said" Brock said answering his question
"So what is this event actually" Trent asked curious
"Freestyle reining, the horses perform a series of moves to music to entertain the crowd and show the horse and riders skill" Brock said producing his phone and bringing up a video to show Trent
"That's what we're going to see tonight" Trent asked as he watched the events happening on the screen as Brock flicked to another one, the horse appeared to be dancing to music and the rider was dressed up in costume
"These are some of Laura's old routines from when she lived in Australia" Brock said drawing the attention of the rest of the team as they came over to watch
"That's awesome" Clay said not really knowing the exact words to describe what was happening on the screen
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"How's your stomach feeling now you've been to the toilet" Trent asked when he went to pick Jess up from the head, Luca had suggested referring to it as Jess using the toilet when she actually went and done her business in the bathroom, he said it was to help Jess feel comfortable with this being her toilet routine now, and it would help the rest of them feel more comfortable about it as well
"A lot better, no where near as tight" Jess said, the urologist did say to her that she would eventually learn to judge when the indiana pouch needed to be emptied in the same way a person could tell if there bladder was full and needed to go to the toilet. The indiana pouch was basically a whole new organ that had been created during the surgery, it would take time for it to stretch and for her body to adapt to it, while that happened Jess could expect her body to experience multiple different sensations, same with her bowels, she'd eventually learn to tell when she needed to empty them because they're full, it would just take time
"How long had it been since you had drained" Trent asked curiously, up until now Jess was sticking religiously to every 4 hours or just under, he'd read it in her medical diary
"Nearly 5 hours" Jess said sheepishly, she would have done it earlier if she could have taken the break, but she couldn't
"Right that's pushing it at the moment, I know this was a unplanned situation, but you were briefed on the dangers of allowing the urine to back up, I assumed you'd drained at the infirmary, if you hit the 4 hour mark again and are stuck somewhere you let me know, your tops are baggy enough to hide what you're doing, and you have those catheters that have the drainage bag attached already like you used that night we came home, I'll discreetly remove the bag and dispose of it if you can't for whatever reason while we look at other options, it won't do you any good if you get an infection and that's all I'll say on the matter, looks like you're ready to hit the hammock, they've promised to keep the noise down, they've found your extremely extensive supply of notes on different mechanisms and your other stuff, so they're studying" Trent said, he knew Jess wasn't at fault really, she had been caught of guard by the situation and had become so focused on her task she lost track of time and didn't feel comfortable cathing herself in front of random technicians she didn't know
"Hmm, real test will be if they can understand it, dad and I have a particular shorthand, I'm not doing any translations today" Jess said as they stopped outside the team room door
"Noted, think they're more in aww of what they found, and they've pulled all your blue folders out from your cage, but I've warned them they will need to put them back like you had them" Trent said assuring her that they'd been warned to put them back properly
"Fair enough, wait till they see the models that go along with those notes however" Jess said with a grin
"There's more" Trent asked surprised
"Each mechanism has a scale model sitting in my office at home that I've constructed using my 3d printer, helpful when you're dealing with only fragments of a mechanism, it allows you to see the whole thing" Jess said with a small laugh as she walked into the team room with Trent
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"Hey Pitt Bull, got a parcel for you, special delivery" Metal said as he walked up behind Luca who was busy talking to a couple of Tahlia's volunteers who had come to watch Laura compete, Jess had slept the entire drive to Williamsburg and was still a little groggy as she hadn't fully woken up yet, she was leaning on Metal for a bit of extra support and Trent was a few steps behind, Metal had decided to tag along and was in a particular good mood after successfully talking the Echo team member through disarming the last part of that mechanism
"Is it sealed with a kiss" Luca asked turning to speak to his old pal
"Definitely" Jess said with a smile as Luca hooked his arms around her and pulled her away from Metal to give her a kiss
"Had fun on your suprise field trip I take it" Luca asked Jess
"Tiring but it felt good, you got the program" Jess said not really wanting to go into to many details
"She's running 19th out of the 20 riders" Luca said handing Jess the program to look at as the rest of Bravo and the operators from the other teams Brock had convinced to come along slowly trickled their way in
"Small field" Metal commented
"Not really for a invitational, it's pretty standard, you have to nominate and the field is selected from there, Laura earned some impressive titles back in Australia, and got scores to match as well as representing Australia on the international level, that's what secured her invite" Luca said explaining the reason for the field size
"Fair enough" Trent said not really understanding what Luca had just said
"Where's the kids" Jess asked looking around for Zalie
"Concession stands with Naima, Stella and your dad, and Alie is scouting the food stands, looking for food that meets her standards" Luca said with a smile
"Impressive feat if they can" said Jess
"Wouldn't have taken Alie for a food snob" Eric said walking over to join in the conversation with Brock, Ray and Jason, Clay and Sonny were getting drinks from the bar Sonny spotted on their way in
"Ah she's Italian, why she was never as strict as Nonna is with her quality" Jess said starting to explain the situation
"Like her telling Doctor Masterson you weren't eating any hospital food, and would bring dishes in all the time" Jason said remembering the conversation when they walked in and found Jess eating home made gelato instead of having ice chips because her Nonna said that gelato was better
"Let's just say the only difference is that Alie will at least ask before she brought anything in, but she's just as insistent on eating proper nutritious food over what she calls junk" Jess said
"The nurses actually say anything" Ray asked curious
"Gastro ward, as long as she brings in extra for them and provides the nutritional information so it can be recorded they don't care" Jess said grinning
"Mummy" came Zah's voice from behind Jess and Luca as she came running over to see her mum with Meelah and RJ
"Hey my super Zah, find anything good" Jess asked, she looked behind Zah and noticed her dad was carrying a few bags, Jay had a hard time saying no to Zalie, but these shows often had companies come in as well and they'd have freebies to give away to their customers and children, Jess quickly noticed Naima carrying a few bags as well that had different brand names on them, hopefully the kids had found some freebies as it could seem hard to some kids as to why their friends are getting everything they ask adults for and they didn't because they didn't have the money
"Mhmm, and aunty Laura took us backstage where the horses are waiting and let us help get Bailey all pretty" Zalie said excitedly
"He looks just like all the other horses back there, why is aunty Laura saying that he needs to show everyone he's just like the other horses that's there aunty Jess" Meelah asked Jess
"Ah Ray, how much do you want them to know" Jess asked Ray before answering the question, Zalie had an early education in animal welfare and had seen the abuse that could be sustained first hand, she was desensitised to a certain degree, an abused animal was not an unusual sight for Zalie these days, she just set about helping Laura help the animal feel better, Meelah and RJ hadn't had that background so Jess wasn't sure how much they were comfortable knowing
"What do you mean daddy" Meelah asked looking at Ray, he'd seen abuse first hand and helped with an auction rescue, to Meelah animals were these happy healthy creatures, he wasn't sure if he was ready to disclose the full details of what some animals go through, thankfully Zalie stepped in to explain the difference to Meelah
"Bailey is a different horse because he has come from a animal shelter, that's where some animals go to find new homes because their owners don't take care of them or can't keep them anymore, these other horses their owners have always loved them and paid lots of money to look after them, but till aunty Laura and her friends Tahlia and Lewis brought Bailey from the auction he never had that. Some people think that because of that that horses like Bailey and Donovan will never be as good a horses as what their horses are that they have paid all that money for" Zalie said explaining the difference in a way Meelah was able to understand
"But that's not very nice to think like that, Bailey is such a nice horse" Meelah said looking at the adults
"He is, he just needed someone to show him some love" Jess said looking at her
"Whose Donovan, I thought Laura only had the one horse she rode" Jason asked
"He's Bailey's best friend, they were at the auction together in the same pen" Zalie said to him
"He's a miniature horse, Laura didn't have the heart to separate them so when she adopted Bailey she took Donovan as well, think of them as swim buddies" Jess said knowing the term swim buddy would help explain how close the two horses were
"Gotcha" Jason said
"Daddy, why does Zah know so much about animals" RJ asked his dad
"Because she gets to help her aunty Laura out all the time" Ray said to his son picking him up
"I usually go and help Aunty Laura when she goes out to Tahlia and Lewis's place to help look after the horses when they're sick" Zalie told RJ
"Cause she's a animal doctor" Meelah said to her little brother as Sonny and Clay joined the group fully loaded with beers and started handing them out
"I won't get to go and help as much once I start going to school in September, it will only be on weekends and holidays" Zalie said looking down at the ground
"You looking forward to starting school Zah, bet you're a straight A student like your mum" Eric asked her
"Not really uncle Eric, I like being home schooled, but I promised mummy and daddy I would give it a go, they said this school is not like school back in Australia" Zah said raising her eyes to look him in the face, she'd hated school back in Australia, some of her teachers had been mean to her and didn't understand how sick she was as Jess had found out when Zalie had first come over and ignored her asthma, no wonder Zalie had developed anxiety towards school by the age of 8
"It's not, and you'll get to take Cerbs with you everyday remember, he'll be there to help you and keep you safe, and the teachers understand that you get sick and there will be some things you're not going to be able to do like the other students and they won't force you, like when your class is playing team sports which you can't do yet, another teacher will take you to the swimming pool that they have at the school so you can go swimming instead, or find you another activity to do so you're not missing out" Jess said trying to give Zalie some comfort about how this school was different than other schools she'd been to previously
"You'll be safe there Zah, and Cerbs is going to love it, now come on, let's go find our seats, the competition is ready to start" Luca said joining in Jess's efforts with trying to soothe their daughters anxiety towards returning too school as they all went to sit down
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"Score for Brad Kirkman is 237 and one half, that's 237 and one half" came the announcers voice over the PA
"He was really good" Stella said
"He should be, this is his livelihood, training horses for shows" Luca said jotting the score down in the program, for some reason he could never relax fully at events when Laura was competing
"He always puts on a good show when he steps into the ring" Jess said
"You've seen him compete before" Tahlia asked now interested in the conversation, her and Lewis had taken the evening off with some of their volunteers to come and see Bailey make his debut in freestyle reigning
"He still sometimes makes an appearance on the Australian Pro circuit, and he was on the Australian reigning team with Laura at the last 2 equestrian games" Jess said to her
"He also has a brand new ranch and training facility in Virginia Beach worth over 12 million" Luca said
"That's that new facility near us, something like 25 acres isn't it" Lewis asked curiously
"Yeah" said Luca as he turned his focus to the arena
"Next up in the ring is Laura Anderson from Virginia Beach, Laura is originally from Australia where she has competed and championed in multiple reigning and rodeo events, as well as representing Australia at the last 2 World Equestrian Games in reigning, she recently moved to Virginia Beach to be with her family. Interesting fact about Laura is that all of her horses she's ever competed on have come from various animal rescues and tonight is no different. Bailey is a unregistered quarter horse who was purchased from auction by Happy Tails Equine Rescue just 3 months ago, if they hadn't been there then he would have ended up in Mexico where horsemeat is regularly eaten. He was skinny, abused and fearful of humans when he arrived at the shelter and Laura is part of the hard-working team there that helps provide medical care and training to help rehabilitate the horses so they can find new homes. Laura said it didn't take long for Bailey's personality to show once he felt safe and was given a chance to show who he is and what he's capable of, and tonight he wants to show all of us as well as they dedicate this performance to not just his journey but to everyone human or animal who has been through tough times and might be feeling that they don't belong in mainstream society. Ladies and Gentlemen, Laura and Bailey" the announcer said as the gate to the arena opened and Laura walked in with Bailey following her a few feet behind, no lead rope in sight he just followed her obediently as they set up ready to begin the routine
"Yay, let's go Bailey" one of the volunteers called out as the routine started and Bailey started doing his tricks he'd been taught to the song this is me from the movie the greatest showman, he started of pretending to be sad like he was at the auction and didn't want anyone to touch him
"He looks so calm, like this is where he belongs" Tahlia commented as the mood in the routine changed as Laura and Bailey changed the routine to show how they started interacting with each other, till they got to the point where Laura mounted Bailey signifying the first ride they took together and the crowd started cheering
"Oh look, there's Donovan getting to watch Bailey perform" RJ said pointing towards the gate, Brad Kirkman from the previous ride had the little horse on a lead rope and had brought him to the gate, Brock looked a little disgusted at the sight
"Relax Brock, he's happily married with 2 kids to another man, they're just friends, she still only has eyes for you" Jess whispered to him, this knowledge made Brock relax a bit, he didn't have a rival for Laura's affection
"Her music is great" Eric commented oblivious to Brock's reaction
"The crowd is loving it, I can't believe how much they're getting behind this performance" Lewis said
"That's what they want, who knows you might score some more supporters after this, and some donations" Luca said to him
"It would be nice if we could" Tahlia added
"Why is she taking the bridal off" Naima asked looking to Jess and Luca for an answer
"Oh wow" Trent commented, causing Naima to turn back to the arena, Laura was now riding Bailey without his bridal as he was turning on the spot, Laura using her legs as her only support staying on to finish her routine
"Go Bailey, I can't believe how happy he looks" another volunteer called out
"She's going to be challenging Brad with this performance based on the crowds response, you can see people recording it, no doubt it will end up on social media" Luca said pointing to various parts of the crowd where people had their phones out
"Let's give it up for Laura and Bailey ladies and gentlemen, now it's score time" the announcer said as the crowd gave a thunderous applause in response to what they'd just seen
"I hope she does well" Ray said, the applause the loudest they'd heard all night
"Bailey is taking one last chance to show off" Tahlia commented as Laura had Bailey turning in circles again while she held her hands in the air
"Enjoying his time in the limelight" Alie said leaning over to comment
"You're a star Bailey" another volunteer called out as Laura finally rode the horse out of the arena
"And we have a new leader with that performance, 243 and a half, that's 243 and a half for Laura and her new horse Bailey" the announcer said, the crowd obviously approving of the high score
"That's what 6 points ahead of that Brad Kirkman isn't it" Brock asked turning to Luca
"And 11 points ahead of third place, which is amazing for a debut performer" Jess said to him
"Lowest they can finish is second, but scores tonight are averaging at 213, they will have to put in an extremely impressive ride and get a score of 244 to beat them" Luca said quickly doing the calculations
