Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, it belongs to Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. I just borrow the guys from time to time and return them a whole lot happier. I do own the plot and any other characters, especially the equines, that you will find in this fic. Please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.
Pairing: 2x1x2, 3x4, 13x6, H+C
Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, sap, angst, vet themes, AU
Rating: NC 17
Betaed by Karina *snugs*
Summary: Set 2 years after Equus and Heero is doing so well in his own business that he's taken June on as a working pupil. The qualifying shows for the International teams are well underway and it looks like it will be a good year for Heero, his pupils and horses... until Mother Nature steps in.
AN: This fic, although a complete work of fiction is based partially on fact. I will add notes at the end of chapters where necessary to clarify events and provide links where needed.
Dedication: To Leslie and Karina. Leslie for giving me the original idea for Equinity and encouraging and supporting me through the writing of all the fics thus far in the arc. And Karina for not just taking over as my much needed beta, (poor woman needs a medal!), but for also poking and prodding Fred until he went on strike, refusing to work on anything at all until I let him start this. Needless to say, we managed to come to a compromise... Fred gets to write a chapter of this one week... the next week he has to write a chapter of 'Bound'... Did I ever tell you all I hate my muse? :-)
Fic 5 in the Equine Intervention Arc.
Commenced December 2013 – ShenLong
"Rival Riders"
Chapter 32
"Well, the ultra sound was right," Duo commented as he watched Zechs fishing around in Mandy's insides.
"Certainly was," Zechs replied. "There, that's the second one." Zechs dropped the second testicle into the kidney dish Duo had waiting.
Both vets carefully explored the rest of Mandy's insides to assure themselves that what they had seen on the ultra sound was correct and that they hadn't missed anything. Sometimes – although rarely – one organ could be hidden by another. In Mandy's case though, there was no sign at all of ovaries or uterus.
Zechs double checked the urethra, noting that it did indeed pass directly from the bladder to the vulva and wasn't connected to the deformed flesh that looked like it should have been a penis. "That's good news," he said to Duo. "It shouldn't be too difficult to remove that extra bit."
"You want to remove it from the inside or the outside?" Duo asked, studying the dog's anatomy.
"I think it might be easier to remove it from the inside," Zechs replied, also studying the area.
"I agree. Once you've removed it, I'll close up for you if you want?"
"Thanks, I'd appreciate that." Zechs was starting to get a little tired, his eyes were aching a bit after the intricate surgery so to have someone else do the stitching up would be most welcome.
"No problem. I'll put these bits to one side and we can take a look at them under the microscope when we've finished."
"Good idea."
It didn't take too much longer and Zechs had managed to separate the deformed penis from Mandy. Dropping the lump of flesh into the kidney dish, he gratefully handed over the stitching up to Duo. By the time Duo had finished closing the wound, Zechs felt a bit more refreshed.
"There, all done," Duo said and stepped back for Zechs to check his stitching.
"Looks very neat."
"Thanks. I'll get a dressing to cover it and then all we have to do is wait for her to wake up." Duo fetched the required dressing and a bandage, expertly applying them to the dog whilst Zechs collected up all the used utensils and placed them in the sink to be washed before sterilizing.
A warm blanket was put on the floor of the operating room, Zechs picking the still sleeping dog up carefully and setting her down so they could keep an eye on her as she woke.
With the operating room now clean and the utensils washed and in the autoclave, the pair sat down by the microscope where Duo proceeded to place a sliver of each piece of removed tissue onto several slides. One by one the slides were put under the microscope, both vets keen to have a good look at the cell makeup of the removed tissues.
"Good thing we removed those testicles," Duo said as he finished gazing at the microscopic world.
"I agree. If they had been left for too much longer they would have posed a serious health risk to Mandy." Zechs took another look at the slice of tissue. Barely able to be seen, but there none the less, were a few cancer causing cells. They hadn't reached the stage of full development yet, but the fact that they were present was enough to convince the vets that they had done the right thing in removing them.
A soft whine alerted them to Mandy's return to consciousness.
"Hey girl," Duo crooned and stroked the dog's head. "How are you feeling?" A soft lick to his hand was his reply.
Zechs quickly took the dog's heart and breathing rates, her temperature last and heaved a sigh of relief. "Everything is as well as can be expected for major abdominal surgery," he told Duo.
"Good. I'll take her through to a kennel in a few minutes if you want to ring Mrs. Jones and give her the good news. I'm sure she's worried."
"Thanks. I'll come back to the kennels and check her again after I've made the call." Leaving Duo to sort out the dog, Zechs went to make his call.
# # #
"Something smells good," Duo said as he walked into the kitchen and toed off his shoes. Before picking them up he scratched Smokey behind the ears, the cat having come straight across to him and doing her best to rub herself against his legs.
"It's nothing fancy," Heero replied from his position at the stove. "Just a beef stir fry."
Dropping his shoes in the laundry, Duo returned to the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his husband's waist, pressing kisses to the back of Heero's neck. "Doesn't matter what it is, it still smells great."
Heero chuckled. "Anything smells good when you're hungry," he replied and dropping the spoon, he turned in his lover's arms to partake of a kiss. "Mmm, nice. Care to set the table for me?"
"Sure." Duo released his partner and fetched the cutlery and condiments, placing them on the table as Heero plated their meal. Two glasses of orange juice joined the table along with their meal and the pair sat down.
"How was your day?" Heero asked as they began to eat.
Duo filled Heero in on the operation they'd performed on Mandy and the positive result they'd had from it. "How was your day?"
This time Heero relayed his day to his partner, telling him of Jester's still hot headed ways and June's problems with Orion. "I told June that if Orion still seems to be a little off color tomorrow I'd get you to have a look at him if you don't mind?"
"Of course I'll take a look at him," Duo replied.
"Thanks." Heero continued eating for a moment before asking another question that had been on his mind. "Duo?"
"Yes?" Duo looked up from his food.
"Have you heard anything at all in regards to that horse that died at the Royal show yet?"
"No, I haven't. Have you?"
"No." Heero frowned.
"Don't worry, Heero. Autopsies can take a couple of days to do, more so when it's a large animal. It also depends on how busy the vet is at the Department of Agriculture as he would be the one to do the autopsy as the Royal show is run by the Agricultural Society."
"Ah, sorry."
"No problem. Look, if there's not been any news in another couple of days, I'll see what I can find out for you."
"Thanks."
# # #
The following morning, Heero left Duo still sleeping in their bed while he padded out to the kitchen to put the kettle on. With the water heating, Heero set out two mugs, tea bags and fetched the sugar and milk. The sun was rising steadily over the horizon, but a soft mist still lay across the landscape.
With the water now boiled, Heero poured it into the two mugs and waited for the tea to steep. His eyes wandered over the misty paddocks and then paused. A rabbit sat in the middle of the paddock closest to the cottage, its ears twitching as it foraged for food. A kookaburra sat on a stringy branch of the large, Paperbark tree and warbled its laugh to the rising sun. It was a peaceful scene and Heero felt the serenity settle over him.
Picking up the mugs, he wandered back into the bedroom where Duo was still ensconced beneath the covers. Setting the two mugs down on the bedside table, he carefully pulled the covers back enough to expose Duo's sleeping face. Leaning in close, he captured his husband's lips in a sweet kiss.
The wrinkling of Duo's nose told him his lover was starting to wake up so he leaned in again and stole another kiss. Pulling away he gave a soft chuckle when the vet's lips did their best to follow his. Sleepy, violet eyes began to blink open and Duo gave a wide yawn.
"Good morning," Heero greeted and sat up to reach for the mug. He passed it over to his husband who had managed to drag himself from under the covers and was now propped against the headboard.
"Morning, Heero. Ah, thanks," he said taking the offered mug and sipping on it. "What time is it?"
Heero glanced at the clock. "Six-forty-five," he replied.
Duo gave another yawn. "I think I'll stay here for a bit."
"I'm heading down to feed the horses in a minute, I'll make breakfast when I come back."
"No problem, I should be awake by then."
Partaking of another kiss, Heero chuckled and stood up. "I'll be back soon." A sleepy nod was his reply and still chuckling to himself, Heero left to go feed the horses and put them out into their respective paddocks.
#
Rolling the stable block door open, Heero was hit with the scent of horses and hay. It was a scent he loved and would never tire of. Several wuffles, a snort, one loud neigh and the banging of a hoof against a stable door greeted him as he entered. "Morning all," he said as he walked along the breezeway to the feed shed. Unlocking the door he went inside and began to gather up the buckets with the horses breakfasts in them and place them on a small 'trolley'. With all buckets on board, Heero pulled the small trolley behind him and back along the breezeway. Once outside, Heero fed Sandfire and Hyperion, leaving them in their stables for now. Passing down the center walkway, Heero stopped at each paddock to put the respective feeds in their bins. Once the last bucket was empty, he turned back to the stables to fetch the occupants and put them into their paddocks.
Zero and Shini went out first followed by Angel and Comet. Jester and Missy were next then Lunar and Nataku. With only Orion and Wing left, Heero went to fetch the black first. He picked up the lead rope from the hook beside the door and opened the stable door. "Come on, Orion, time to go out," Heero said. Usually the black was waiting at his door, but today he was standing at the back of his stable. Heero frowned and went inside, walking to the gelding's shoulder and clipping the lead rope to the halter. "What's up, boy?" Heero asked and patted the black neck.
Orion didn't look 'right'. Heero ran his hand along the neck which was a touch warmer than usual. Frowning again, he led the reluctant gelding to the stable door where he had better light to see. Orion's eyes seemed a little dull and there was a slight discharge coming from his nose. Combined with the gelding's listless state, Heero became a little more concerned. He checked the feed bin. Only half of Orion's dinner had been eaten and his hay net remained pretty much full.
"It's okay, boy. I'll get Duo to come down and check you over shortly," he said to the horse and patted the black neck. "I'm pretty sure you've caught a cold, but I'll be happier once Duo looks at you." With another pat, Heero unclipped the lead rope and shut the door. He went to fetch Wing who was banging impatiently on his stable door.
"Okay, okay, hold your horses, Wing. I'm coming."
Wing didn't understand what his master was saying and he really didn't care either. All the others were outside in their paddocks and eating, so why wasn't he?! Impatiently he tried to push past Heero when his master opened the door.
"Wing! That's enough!" Heero growled and managed to clip the lead rope to the young stallion's halter. "Behave yourself or it will take longer to go out to the paddock."
The gray hung his head and took a step back.
"That's better. Now, walk properly." Heero opened the stable door and led the now quiet stallion outside.
#
By the time Heero returned to the cottage, Duo was up and in the shower. Washing his hands, Heero fed Smokey who was doing her best to entwine herself around his ankles before fetching the loaf of bread, toaster and butter. With the bread in toasting, Heero set the table, fetching the jam and honey out of the pantry to go with the butter already on the table. Two glasses of orange juice joined the rest of the items just as the first lot of toast popped up. Heero was just placing the second lot of toast onto the plates when Duo stepped into the kitchen.
"Thanks, Heero," Duo said and placed a kiss to his partner's cheek before sitting down at the table. Heero joined him seconds later.
"How are the nags this morning?" Duo asked, slathering butter onto his toast.
"All fed and out in the paddocks except for Orion," Heero replied.
"Oh? He's still not looking right?" Duo asked.
"No, he's not. He only ate about half his feed last night so there's something wrong. I did notice he's slightly warmer than usual and he seems to have a bit of a discharge from his nose. I thought he might be coming down with a cold."
"It's quite possible," Duo replied. "Have you fed him at all?"
"No, I haven't. I was going to ask you if you'd mind taking a look at him after breakfast and see what you think. If it is a cold then I'll make him up a warm mash. I didn't want to go feeding him anything until you'd had the chance to check him over, just in case," Heero said.
"No problem. I'll come down with you after I've finished and see what the problem is."
"Thanks, Duo."
"No worries."
#
Once breakfast was finished, Duo followed Heero out of the cottage and detoured via the surgery stables to fetch a few items. With what he thought he'd need in his pockets and stethoscope around his neck, Duo walked between the paddocks with his husband to the stables. As they arrived in the yard they spotted June's car parked beside the horse floats.
Entering the stables, they found the woman inside Orion's stable, talking to the gelding.
"Morning, June," Heero greeted.
"Morning, Heero, Duo," June replied. "I see he didn't eat his dinner last night."
"No, he only ate about half," Heero replied.
"He looks like he's coming down with a cold," June stated as she stepped towards the stable door.
"That's what I thought too. I've asked Duo to take a look at him if that's okay with you?"
"Thanks, I'd appreciate it if you don't mind, Duo?"
"No problem at all, June," Duo replied with a smile. "Could you put the lead rope on him and bring him out here, please? It will be easier to examine him out here as there's more light."
"Okay, won't be a moment." June disappeared back inside the stable and moments later led the gelding out into the breezeway.
"Thanks. I'll need his rugs off too, please."
Heero held the black whilst June removed the rugs from her horse. With Orion now 'naked' Duo moved in to examine the animal.
He checked the heart and breathing rates, checked the color of Orion's gums and took his temperature. He paid particular attention to the discharge coming from the black's nose and listened intently to his lungs. Palpitating along the horse's throat, Duo's face was a mask of concentration, neither June nor Heero could glean anything at all from the vet's expression. Finally Duo was done with his examination and hung the stethoscope back around his neck before facing the pair.
"What's the verdict?" Heero asked, getting straight to the point.
"He's running a temperature and his throat feels slightly swollen. Given the discharge as well from his nostrils I'm inclined to agree with your suspicions, Heero. I'm pretty certain he's coming down with a cold."
June visibly relaxed and sighed. "Thank goodness for that, for a moment there I thought you were going to say he had some form of exotic disease, but it's only a cold and that can be treated quite easily, can't it?"
Duo smiled. "Yes, it can. I've got some medicine back at the surgery I'll give you to pop into his drinking water, it will help with the cough he's bound to develop. Meanwhile, the best treatment for him is soft mashes, keep him warm and rub some vicks vaporub around his throat and the outside of his nostrils."
When Duo said vicks vaporub, June's eyebrows went up.
Duo chuckled. "Yeah, I know, but believe me, colds in horses are very similar to colds in humans and the vicks vaporub will help his breathing as his lungs are going to get congested. I'd also advise trying to wipe his nose out a bit on a regular basis too, it will help him to breathe easier. Don't put the vicks vaporub on the inside of his nostrils though, that's pretty sensitive tissue in there and the stuff will burn and irritate. He's already going to be feeling miserable enough without that added to the mix."
"I see. Thanks, Duo."
"No problem, June. He'll probably be out of work for a couple of weeks. The cold will take typically seven to ten days to clear up so no riding him at all during that time. When he does come back into work you'll need to start him off slowly. You know what it's like when you have a cold yourself?"
June nodded.
"Well the horse feels exactly the same. Oh, Heero?"
"Yes?" Heero looked to his partner.
"You'll need to isolate him from the other horses. Colds are very contagious."
"Right." Heero frowned as he thought on those words. "I'll see what I can work out to isolate him." Looking around the stables there wasn't anywhere inside Heero could put the black; and he didn't fancy putting him outside in one of the stable and yards, that would be defeating the purpose of keeping the gelding warm.
"Heero?" Duo called, watching in amusement as Heero's mind was ticking over.
"Yes?"
"I'd suggest moving Orion to the surgery stables. There's nothing in at the moment and it would be easier to keep him isolated there than try to change things around here."
"Ah, good idea. Thanks."
"Yes, thank you, Duo. I'll bring his feed bin and water bucket up shortly. I guess you'd prefer it for him to continue to use his own stuff, that way he can't pass the cold onto any other horses at a later date by using yours?"
"That would be wise, June. I'll go on ahead and open up one of the stables. Just bring him up when you're ready. I'll also get that cough medicine for you and leave it out on the bench. I'm afraid I have to get going, Consults start in just under an hour and we're fully booked."
"No problem, thanks, Duo."
"You're welcome, June."
Leaving the pair to organize Orion and move him to the surgery stables, Duo left to continue with his own day.
# # #
"I'm pleased to say that the mange has just about completely gone, Mrs. Johns," Duo said with a smile as he checked the dog's coat.
"That's a relief I must say," replied the woman. "There's nothing worse than watching your pet go bald."
"Yes, I can see your point, especially in a Husky," Duo chuckled and ruffled the dog's ears. "I'll give you another two weeks course of the tablets for him and then he should be fine from there. If the mange does show any sign of returning, just give me a call and I'll arrange to have another course of the tablets prescribed for him."
"Thank you, Doctor Maxwell."
"You're welcome. Now, is there anything else?" Duo asked as he counted out two weeks supply of the pills and popped them in an envelope, writing the instructions on the front and handing the envelope over to the woman.
"No, that's all."
"If you will follow me then, Catherine will take care of you." Duo opened the door to the consulting room and allowed the client to step out ahead of him and back into the waiting room. He passed the folder with the dog's details in it over to Catherine.
"Oh, Doctor Maxwell?" Catherine said as she took the folder.
"Yes?"
"Mrs. Jones is here to pick up Mandy and Doctor Merquise asked if you would be available to assist him with his explanation to the owner in regards to the dog's condition and the resulting operation if you could?"
"Sure. I've got..." Duo looked at the files of the clients still waiting to be seen and counted quickly, "three more clients to see and then I'll be done so if he's happy to wait until I've finished I'll be happy to assist him."
"No problem, I'll let him know. He's still got another two clients himself once he's finished with his current one so he'll probably be a little while yet."
"Okay." Duo picked up the file and opened the door to the waiting room. "Mr. Barnes?" A middle aged man stood up and shuffled forward, a small dog beside him. "This way please."
Fifteen minutes later, Duo was finished and handing over the last client file to Catherine. "How's Zechs going?"
"With his last client now."
"Okay. I'll clean up my consulting room, we can go in there to talk to Mrs. Jones."
"I'll let Zechs know when he comes out."
"Thanks, Catherine."
A couple of minutes later Zechs stuck his head around the door jamb. "All ready to talk to Mrs. Jones?"
"Yup. I'll let you go fetch her in."
"Thanks, Duo, I appreciate the back up here. It will make it much easier to explain to her exactly what Mandy's condition is and what we found when we operated."
"No problem, Zechs. Happy to help out."
Zechs went out and returned moments later with the woman. Duo offered her a chair and stood back to let Zechs begin the explanation of the unusual condition they'd found in her dog. Knowing most people were not all that understanding when it came to the technical talk, Zechs made sure to keep his explanation as simple as possible. He let the woman know exactly what they'd found when they'd operated and what had been done to rectify the dog's condition. He also explained the results of the tests they'd done on the removed tissue. Mrs. Jones sat quietly and took it all in.
"I've printed off some information in regards to Mandy's condition for you to read if you wish," Zechs said and handed over several sheets of paper.
"Thank you, Doctor Merquise, I appreciate that." Mrs. Jones took the papers and quickly scanned over them. "Mandy is going to be all right, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is. The operation was a success, we removed all the extra bits and she should go on to live a happy, healthy, long life." Zechs gave the woman a warm smile.
"Thank you, both of you for what you've done. Mandy might only be a family pet, but she's special to us."
"That's quite alright, Mrs. Jones, all pets are special regardless of whether they're a show animal or just a cross breed," Duo said. "Now, I suppose you're eager to have Mandy back?"
"Oh, yes."
"I'll let Doctor Merquise explain the post operative care while I go get her for you."
"Thank you, Doctor Maxwell."
Duo left to fetch the dog, Zechs explaining the care Mandy would require once she was back home.
# # #
Doctor Benson stood back and took a long look at the body of the horse that lay on the autopsy table before him.
"What do you think?" asked the assistant vet, Doctor Cornes.
"From the outward appearance there's nothing to indicate anything amiss with the animal," Benson replied. "But, as you know, once we open it up, we could find anything."
"Too true," replied Cornes. The younger vet had been an assistant to Benson for just over a year now and had learned a lot from the older man. During his tenure he'd assisted in many cases, several of them autopsies and it was always an interesting day at the office so to speak.
"I suggest we better get started, both the society and the owner are keen to know exactly what caused a fine animal like this to suddenly collapse and die; not to mention the publicity."
"Yeah, it certainly doesn't attract good publicity when an animal suddenly dies at a major event," Cornes stated as he slipped on latex gloves.
"No, it doesn't." Benson donned his own pair of gloves and pulled a mask on. "Right, bring over the tray of instruments, the sooner we start the sooner we will have some answers."
A couple of hours passed as the two vets worked, cutting into the dead horse and learning its secrets.
"What do you think?" Cornes asked as they progressed, eliminating causes as they went.
"I'm not completely sure," Benson replied. "All I've found so far that could give us a clue is that the heart is slightly enlarged, the lungs are inflamed, the trachea is also inflamed and so is the epiglottis." Benson paused for a moment and looked to his assistant. "What would that suggest to you?"
"That the horse was suffering from a cold," replied the assistant.
"That's what I get too. Only thing is, a cold shouldn't be enough to kill a fine, fit animal like this. There's a bit of discharge still in the nasal cavity, can you take a swab of it and take a look under the microscope? Whilst you're doing that I'll get a tissue sample from the lungs and throat and do a check on those."
"Will do." The two vets returned to their work and silence reigned for a short while.
"Boss, I think you should take a look at this," Cornes said and rolled his chair back from the microscope, his face a grim mask.
Benson shuffled over and peered down the microscope. Raising his head a moment later he looked to his assistant. "Get another swab and send it straight to pathology, mark it as extremely urgent."
Cornes nodded. "I'll take it down personally and wait for the results."
"Good, thank you. If this is what I think it is, then we have a very serious and potentially devastating disease; one that could potentially wipe out the equine economy here."
tbc...