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 41
"I'm afraid the foal has already passed away, Heero." Duo's words echoed in Heero's mind for a moment, the truth of the situation taking a while to set in. When he could finally locate his voice he raised his eyes to meet Duo's that were still shimmering. "The foal is dead?"
Duo nodded, unable to speak at the moment.
"Are you sure? You could be wrong; vets have been wrong before." Heero's voice began to rise a little in pitch and volume.
Seeing the distress mounting in the rider, Zechs moved closer. "Heero, I'm so sorry, but there is no doubt in this case. The foal has passed away," he said quietly and placed a hand on the rider's arm.
Heero shook the hand off. "No. You could be wrong. What proof do you have?" he demanded.
"Heero," Duo began, keeping his voice soft and steady. It was tearing him apart to see his lover so upset; not to mention how hard it was for him to be the breaker of such terrible news. "The ultra sound showed no heartbeat coming from the foal at all. The placenta is already starting to separate from the uterine wall and you can see for yourself that Angel is a lot sicker than the other horses."
"But-"
"Take a look at the pictures, Heero," Zechs coaxed.
Numbly Heero turned and allowed the vet to lead him to the machine monitor. Patiently, Zechs went through the series of pictures he'd saved when Duo had done the ultra sound. "Comparing them to the ones we took a couple of days ago, you can see that the placenta has separated further. Also, as Duo said before, there's no heartbeat from the foal either. Heero, I'm sorry."
Gazing at the pictures, Heero knew his husband and Zechs spoke the truth. "I apologize to you both," Heero said quietly. "I had no right to take out my anger on you two."
"No apology needed, Heero," Zechs replied.
"Heero, it's okay, we understand how difficult this is for you to accept and it has come as a shock. It's perfectly normal for you to have reacted that way. I just wish we could have done more-"
"No, both of you have done everything you possibly could to try and save the foal. It's nature's way I suppose." Heero cast his eyes down, ashamed of his reaction and words to the two vets.
Heero?" Duo began tentatively.
"Hai?" Heero raised his saddened eyes to his husband.
"I know this has been a shock to you and whilst I really don't want to put anything more on you right now, I'm afraid I have to."
"What is it, Duo?"
"With the foal being deceased, we really need to remove it from Angel as soon as possible. If we leave it then Angel is going to get very sick and she's already suffered enough." Duo said the words softly and placed a hand on Heero's arm.
"Shit." Heero scrubbed at his face with his hands. Somewhere in his mind he knew they would have to do something about the foal, but with the shock of it all, he'd completely blanked out in that area. "What-"
"We will need to induce labor, Angel will need to deliver the foal herself. Heero, as cruel as this sounds, I assure you it is necessary and Zechs and myself will do everything possible to ensure Angel is well taken care of." Duo removed his hand and watched his husband carefully for his reaction to his words.
"Is there any other way?" Heero whispered. He really didn't like the thought of Angel going through labor with nothing to show for it at the end.
"We could operate and perform a C-section, but that is a very risky operation in a normal, full term healthy pregnancy. With Angel suffering from EI and given we're not exactly sure on how long it has been since the foal passed away, the kindest and safest way would be to let Angel deliver the foal herself.
Chewing the words over, Heero noted that Zechs had quietly moved from within the stable and taken the ultra sound machine with him. He waited just outside the stable door, giving the pair of them some measure of privacy. Heero felt grateful for that small kindness. Turning back to his lover, Heero had a question. "What will happen?"
"We will give her an injection to start the contractions. Given that the foal is only seven months into gestation it will still be fairly small and shouldn't pose a problem for Angel to deliver. The contractions will start, Zechs and I will stay with her for the duration and monitor her closely. Once the foal and placenta are delivered, we will give Angel a short time to come to terms with the loss of her baby before removing it. I'd also like your permission to do an autopsy on the foal," Duo informed him.
"I see. When would you want to do this?"
"It would be best for Angel if we can do it as soon as possible, preferably now," Duo replied.
Heero looked from his lover to his horse. Angel was standing in the corner of the stable, not having moved since the examination. Her head hung low, flanks moving with labored breaths, nose constantly running and an air of misery around her. He knew then what he had to do. His feelings were not what mattered, what mattered was doing what was best and right for his horse. "Duo?"
"Yes?" Duo stepped closer.
"I give you my permission to do whatever it is you need to do to help Angel."
Wrapping his arms around his husband's waist, Duo pulled the rider closer to him. "I promise I will do everything in my power to make this as quick and painless as possible for her."
"Just look after her, Duo." Heero fell silent, not trusting his voice anymore.
"I will, Heero. I will."
With Heero having given his consent for Duo to induce the mare, the vet wasted no time in arranging things. It was dangerous to leave the dead foal inside the mare for too long; decomposition was the biggest enemy and that could spell disaster for Angel.
Leaving his husband speaking softly to Angel and keeping the mare settled, Duo stepped out of the stable and located Zechs. Spotting his boss, Zechs raised an eyebrow in question.
"Heero has given his permission for us to go ahead and induce labor," Duo told his colleague quietly.
"Okay. I take it we're doing the delivery here and not in the surgery stables?"
"Yes. It would be much easier to do it at the surgery, but with the EI the way it is and the ban on horse movement, we can't run the risk of moving her to the surgery. Aside from that, she's very weak from the virus and I wouldn't want to put her at risk by asking her to walk to the surgery stables."
"I completely understand and agree with you, Duo. What would you like me to do?"
"Well, you've had more experience in this department than I have so I'd really appreciate it if you'd share the procedure with me. I need to get some experience myself in this field so any assistance would be greatly appreciated," Duo replied.
"No problem. I can talk you through the entire thing if that would be acceptable?" Zechs knew exactly what Duo was saying. The only way to further one's skills was to perform the task required, but with the guidance of a vet who was experienced in the field.
"Thank you, Zechs. You're not just a good friend, but an exceptional vet too." Duo placed a hand on Zechs' arm and gave it a squeeze.
"You're more than welcome, Duo; anytime." Zechs gave a smile. "Come on, we'd better head up to the surgery stables and fetch the things we will need."
Having let Heero know they would be back shortly, Duo accompanied Zechs to the surgery stables to fetch what they would need.
# # #
"That's all we have for now," Ron stated as he placed the last of the foam containers into a box and sealed it up.
"How long before we have more?" Eric asked as he looked up from his clipboard.
"With Benson and Cornes helping out, the next lot should be ready in a couple of days," Ron replied.
"Good. I've got a list here of the surgeries for this lot to be sent to. All we need to do is contact the courier company, address this lot and send them on their way."
"I'll get Wayne onto the courier company right away," Ron replied as he stood up and ran a hand across his face. "It doesn't look like a whole lot when you stand here and see how many packages there are," he mused.
"No, it doesn't, but this is just the first batch and will be dispatched to those areas that need it most," Eric stated.
"I just hope it does some good. I'll go speak with Wayne now and get this ball rolling." Ron exited the small lab to hunt down the Head of Resources.
"I just hope we're not too late," Eric muttered to himself as he began to peel off labels from the sheet he held and affix them to the various boxes of vaccine.
Within the hour the couriers had arrived and the boxes of vaccine were on their way to the first of many veterinary surgeries; along with the hope and prayers for a positive result.
# # #
Stepping back into Heero's stables, Duo and Zechs paused at Angel's stable door. Heero was still inside, still talking to the mare. Leaving Zechs outside for a moment to sort through the things they needed, Duo cautiously opened the stable door and stepped inside.
"Heero?" The dark haired rider turned to look at his lover. "It's time for us to start."
"Okay," Heero whispered in reply.
Closing the distance between them, Duo wrapped his arms around Heero's waist and placed a gentle kiss to his husband's neck. "I'm so sorry it's come to this, Heero."
Heero released a deep sigh and closed his eyes. "It's not your fault, it's not anybody's fault. It's just one of those things, Duo." He turned in his partner's arms and opened his sad, blue eyes. "I really do appreciate all that you and Zechs have done for her so far, even if I may not sound like it."
"I just wish there had been more we could have done," Duo replied and pressed a soft kiss to Heero's lips.
"You've done everything you possibly could have, and for that, I'm grateful." Heero returned the kiss with one of his own. "Would it be okay for me to stay here with her whilst you and Zechs do whatever it is you have to?"
"If you want to, Heero, I have no problem with that. Actually, it might help Angel too having you here to reassure her," Duo replied softly.
"Thank you."
"I'll go get Zechs and our things." Duo placed another, tender kiss to those lips before slipping out of his husband's arms and back to Zechs.
"Everything okay?" Zechs asked.
"Yeah, as okay as it can be under the circumstances. Come on, let's get this over and done with as quickly as we can for both Angel and Heero's sakes."
Zechs nodded and picked up their things, following Duo back into the stable.
Noting the two vets entering the stable, Heero shifted slightly but continued to pet and speak softly to the mare.
Having discussed things between them, Duo took the syringe and swab from Zechs and moved to Angel's side. "I'll need you to keep talking to her, Heero."
"What is it you're doing?" Heero asked.
"I'm going to give her an injection of Oxytocin. It's a drug that will induce labor," Duo replied. "The contractions will start, just as they would if she were to go into labor by herself. I would expect her to deliver the foal somewhere in the next hour and the labor should be relatively easy compared to a normal, full term labor."
"Okay." Heero bit his bottom lip in an effort to hold the tears at bay. He consoled himself with the thought that they were doing what was best for Angel.
Duo swabbed a section on the mare's neck and dug his thumb into the groove. The vein rose and once it had, Duo slipped the needle in, drawing back slightly to double check he was in the blood vessel. The blood flowed into the syringe, Duo depressing the plunger and sending the contents into the mare's blood stream. Pulling the needle free, he capped it and swabbed the area again. "Now we wait," he said softly.
Zechs took the empty syringe and disposed of it in the sharps container Heero kept in the tack room. When he returned, he picked up the bucket he'd brought with him from the surgery stables and entered the stable once more.
Heero glanced across and gave a small frown before returning his attention to the mare. Duo came over and the pair moved to a corner of the stable. A towel and large sheet of plastic were removed from the bucket and set to the side. Leaving Zechs with the bucket and items, Duo crossed back to Heero.
"Heero?" he said softly, the rider turning to look at him. "I think it might be an idea to set one of the other stables up for Angel." Noting the confused look on his husband's face, Duo explained. "Once she delivers the foal there will be quite a bit of fluid and stuff settling into the bedding. I think it would be better to relocate her to one of the other stables after she's foaled. This one can be cleaned up after and she can return to it later."
The vet's words made sense to Heero and he nodded. "I'll go check Wing's stable, she should be okay in that for a few hours." With Heero having moved Wing and Zero out into the walk-in walk-out stable and yards outside as they were the only horses that hadn't caught the virus, both their stables were free.
"Would you like a hand?" Duo asked.
Heero looked from the vet to the mare and back again. "Will she be okay without you here?"
"She should be fine, besides, Zechs is here, he will keep an eye on her and it shouldn't take us long to make the other stable ready for her."
"Okay." Heero turned back to his horse and petted the gray neck. "I'll be back in a few minutes, Angel."
"Zechs?"
The blonde vet looked up from where he as checking over the items they'd brought with them.
"I'm just going with Heero to get another stable ready for Angel for after she foals. Will you be okay to keep an eye on her for a few minutes?"
"Of course. I'll take good care of her," Zechs replied and moved away from the items to approach the mare.
"Thanks." Duo went back to Heero who had stepped aside for Zechs to slip in and talk softly to the mare.
"We'll be back in a few minutes," Duo reiterated as the pair stepped out and left Zechs alone with the miserable equine.
Whilst Heero filled a water bucket, Duo grabbed a rake and freshened the bedding up a bit. A haynet was hung up and Heero quickly made up a bran mash for the mare, leaving it dry in the feed bin for now. He'd add some warm molasses to it afterwards when he was ready to move Angel into the temporary residence. With everything set, the pair headed back to Angel's stable.
Stepping back inside the mare's stable, Heero immediately noticed a difference in his horse – as did Duo. The Oxytocin had started to work. Zechs stood slightly to the side of the mare, his eyes constantly watching but not interfering in any way.
"How is she doing?" Duo asked quietly so as not to upset the mare.
"The drug is working and she's in the early stages of labor," Zechs replied.
As if to agree with the blonde vet, Angel gave a soft grunt and shifted her weight from one hind leg to the other.
Moving quietly, Duo approached the mare and ran his skilled eyes over her form. He noted the soft trembles from time to time of her belly, the steady shift of weight from one hind leg to the other. He gently ran his hands over her rump, feeling carefully for the muscles that had begun to relax in preparation for the foal to be delivered. Having finished his examination, he turned to Heero who was a few feet away from the mare's head.
"She's certainly in labor, contractions are steadily increasing and the rump muscles are beginning to soften."
"How long?" Heero asked.
"I'd say somewhere in the next thirty to forty-five minutes." Duo gave a soft smile and moved back to the corner to join Zechs and wait.
Heero continued to stand just a few feet away from Angel, eyes watching carefully, mind lost in thought. This should have been a joyous occasion, the birth of the foal something to look forward to. Unfortunately, nature had dictated otherwise in this case. Heero consoled himself with the thought that he still at least had Comet's foal to look forward to and there would be more breeding seasons for Angel.
Comet – shit!
The thought of the other mare came flooding back into Heero's mind and it immediately began to swirl with thoughts along the lines of would Comet also abort her foal? Needing to know, Heero turned to look at the two vets. "Duo?' he called quietly.
Hearing his name, Duo looked across and noted the pale skin of his lover. "Heero? What's wrong?" he asked, eyes flicking from the mare to his partner and back again. He couldn't detect anything other than the expected labor going on with the mare so he was concerned as to what was up with Heero.
"What about Comet?' Heero asked.
"Comet?" It was clear that Duo wasn't quite following. Behind the braided vet, Zechs had also overheard and was looking equally as confused.
"Comet is also in foal, she also has the EI virus. Is her foal also going to die?" Heero choked the last words out and dropped his eyes.
Duo was beside his lover before he was aware of moving. "Oh, Heero," Duo said softly and wrapped his lover in his arms. His mind was whirling with thoughts. It was Zechs who stepped in and answered Heero's questions.
"The last check we did on Comet showed that everything was still perfectly fine and progressing normally with her foal. There is always the chance that she could abort her foal too given she has the Virus, but at this stage she's not showing any signs of that happening. We will continue to monitor her very closely though and if it would make your mind settle, Duo and I can do an ultra sound and blood tests on her too," Zechs said.
"What Zechs says is correct, Heero. Neither one of us has noticed anything different with Comet, other than the fact that she's sick with the EI. We will do some blood tests and ultra sounds though as I'd feel much more settled in myself if we were to monitor her a lot more closely too." Duo looked up into his lover's eyes to see if he could read what was going on inside that head.
Heero nodded. "I'd feel much more comfortable too if you would monitor her closely. I'm sorry to ask this when I know you're both already flat out with not just my horses, but all the other ones that are sick too."
"Heero, never apologize for caring about your horses and asking us to treat them. That's what we're here for," Duo scolded lightly.
When Heero's eyes fell on him, Zechs shrugged. "It's why I became a vet; to help those that can't help themselves."
"Thank you, thank you both," Heero whispered.
Angel gave a loud grunt followed by a cough and shifted position. All three men turned their attention back to the mare, Comet and their other worries forgotten for the moment.
The contractions were beginning to increase in their length and severity. Angel shuffled around her stable and did her best to find a position that was comfortable. Her nose was still running and she coughed from time to time, but the nice human that was her master continuously made sure to try and wipe her nose and make her a little more settled.
The rump muscles dropped even further, Zechs moving up to take a look, along with Duo, under the mare's tail.
"Won't be long now, Heero," Duo murmured.
Heero wasn't sure how to react to the news. He was devastated over losing the foal, but he knew this was also the best thing for Angel's health and well being.
The contractions changed slightly and Angel shuffled around her stable again. She began to paw at the shavings, deciding whether or not she wanted to lie down. She turned around, began to buckle at the knees and then changed her mind. She circled the stable again.
"What is she doing?" Heero asked, the concern thick in his tone.
"Don't worry, it's all perfectly natural. She's deciding whether or not she wants to lie down," Zechs replied.
Lowering her head, Angel snuffled around the shavings, snorted a couple of times and coughed. She pawed once more at the bedding, turned in a tight circle and let herself buckle once again at the knees and hocks. With a soft grunt, she flopped to the ground.
Duo moved quietly around her, checking what he could with his eyes. So far, so good.
Another grunt from Angel and she strained a little. Both Duo and Zechs spotted the strain and immediately moved to the mare's rump area. Cautiously, Zechs moved the gray tail to the side and peeked at the mare's rear end.
"Should be all over in the next five or so minutes," he said softly. "The feet are here."
Moving towards the mare's head, Heero removed several wipes from his pocket and gave the mare's nose a quick clean up. He patted the gray neck and whispered softly to the equine. "It will all be over soon, Angel."
Angel gave another grunt and strained once more. Her eyes took on a glassy look as she focused on the contractions only she could feel. The contraction eased a little and Angel threw out her forelegs, pushed her hocks underneath and stood up. She shook herself and grunted again. The three men all moved to the edges of the stable so as not to get in her way as she began to circle once more.
Mind made up, Angel sank again to her knees, hind end following until she was lying in the shavings. This time she flopped over onto her side and closed her eyes.
"Is she okay?" Heero asked in alarm.
"She's fine, Heero," Zechs stated and quickly checked the mare's pulse and breathing rates. "All her vitals are well within the normal range."
"I'd say she's about to deliver this foal," Duo informed them all from where he was positioned at the mare's rump and taking a look under the tail.
That announcement sent a twist of pain through Heero's heart. He really felt for his horse. She'd have to endure this labor and all for nothing. Oh sure she would deliver the foal, but it would be dead and Angel would know and feel that. Heero had no clue what he could possibly do to ease the pain he knew his horse would suffer. At least he thought she would suffer; he knew human women felt the pain of loss when they gave birth to a stillborn child so he assumed a horse would be just as capable of feeling that loss.
Angel snorted, raised herself up to a lying position and began to strain. At the mare's rump, Duo could see the tiny feet as they came further into view. He was pretty sure that neither himself or Zechs would need to interfere and assist the horse with the birth, the foal would still be very small and shouldn't pose any problem to the mare to give birth to.
Another grunt and strain and the foal's head and shoulders came into view.
"Foal is almost born," Duo alerted the others.
"Okay," Zechs responded. "Heero? Could you come and stay by her head, please? I need to assist Duo."
Nodding, Heero moved to Angel's head and began to murmur to the mare; he knew he was speaking nonsense, but Angel didn't know that. It was the tone he used that she focused on.
Back at the tail end, Zechs and Duo waited patiently for the mare to give another push. The head and shoulders were in view and one more push should see the rest of the body and hind legs follow.
"What shall we do once it's delivered?" Duo asked. It was the one thing he'd completely forgotten to ask Zechs.
"Once it's born we remove the amniotic sac from around the head. I know the foal is dead, but in my past experience I've found it less stressful to the mare if you allow them to snuffle over the foal and come to that realization for themselves. If allowed to check their foal and when the foal doesn't respond they do get a little upset, but they also accept the fact that it's gone a bit easier. They still grieve and mourn the loss, but they accept it quicker and move on. In some cases where the foal has been removed directly following birth without the mare having the chance to see or check the foal herself I have noted that the mares do get a lot more upset. They didn't know the foal was dead, all they knew was that someone took it away and they get very upset about that. Each mare reacts differently, but that's the basic outline of what I've seen and experienced during my years as a vet."
"I can understand that," Duo replied and lowered his head. "It would make more sense to leave the foal with the mare for a short while, let her come to terms with her loss in her own time and way."
"Either way, it looks like we're about to have that foal delivered now."
Duo moved slightly to the side as Angel gave another, huge push. The foal slipped out and into the shavings, the umbilical cord still sitting inside Angel. Zechs reached forward and carefully tore the amniotic sac away from the foal's head. There was no sign of life at all from the small body.
Duo looked over the foal carefully, noting that it was roughly half the size of a normal, full term foal. Although there was some hair present, it was difficult to determine what color it would be. Neither vet got the chance to check the foal further as Angel gave a low whinny and began to turn her head.
Heero, Duo and Zechs all moved away to the side to allow the mare her space, but they remained closely watching in case their intervention should be needed.
When no answer was forthcoming from her baby, Angel gave another, rumbling whinny and started to get to her feet. The cord snapped as she stood – all perfectly normal Duo assured Heero - and Angel turned around, her head lowered as she began to sniff at the unresponsive bundle. She nudged at the foal, rumbling noises coming from inside her chest as she did her best to coax the baby to answer. Instinct told her something was wrong and her vocalizations increased, as did her nuzzling of the foal.
The foal remained lying on its side, body completely still. Angel nudged it, licked along the side of the head and nudged it again. The foal made no response. Another lick and nudge followed by two more and still no response.
Angel felt her heart drop as she sought to get some form of life from her baby. After a few more attempts she raised her head and gave a heart wrenching neigh, a neigh so full of despair it tore Heero's heart in two.
tbc...
[1] All information on induction of labor in the mare was researched from the following site: advances/reproduction_ball/parturition_