Adult-FanFiction.org : Gundam, Beyblade, DBZ, FMA

Equus	By : Deb Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2855 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, it belongs to Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. I do own the equines though, please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.

Chapter List
- 25
- 26
- 27
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

Archive: www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com Anyone else please ask.

Betaed by Sakura *snugs*

Summary: Having achieved his goal of riding at the Olympics, success has opened many new doors for Heero. Having left Treize's employ, Heero is now his own boss and with Duo's support Heero sets out to make his own mark in the equine business world.

Dedication: to all my lovely readers who have asked for a continuation of this 'Universe'.

Fic 4 in the Equine Intervention Arc.

Commenced December 2011 - ShenLong

“Equus”

Chapter 26

Duo scowled when he spotted Stefan, Heero nodded to the rider.

“I didn't hear you pull in,” Heero said as he busied himself with getting the water buckets ready to scrub out.

“I got here about ten minutes ago. I wasn't sure if anyone was around, but I didn’t bother to look either, just went ahead and caught Comet up,” Stefan replied, omitting a lot of the truth. He gave the pair a look over, a satisfied smirk on his face when he noticed the slightly flushed features and hair a touch askew.

Feeling the gaze rake over his body, Duo couldn’t repress the shudder of revulsion. A jolt of fear shot through him. Had Stefan figured out what they had been doing? He dismissed that thought though, neither one of them had heard anything until Stefan and his horse had approached. “I'm heading back up to the practice, it will be evening consults soon and I want to treat Nataku before I have to start on them.”

“I'll come and catch her for you if you like?” Heero said, unaware of Duo's discomfort but feeling a little on edge himself in regards to Stefan's sudden appearance.

“Thanks, that would make it a lot easier for me.” Duo turned on his heel and left the stables, aiming for his practice ones to get things ready for Nataku.

Heero rinsed out the buckets and left them to the side ready to be filled. He cast a glance over at Stefan, the man busy with getting his horse saddled up. Heero's eyes narrowed as he did his best to scrutinize Stefan without the other man knowing. Had Stefan been telling the truth? Heero had no way of knowing when the other man had arrived or if he'd noticed anything. He appeared to be completely ignorant of what Heero and Duo had been up to in the tack room and Heero had to accept that. “I'm going to give Duo a hand with Nataku, I'll be back soon,” Heero said to Stefan as he left the stables.

“Okay. Good luck with her,” came the voice from under Comet's belly where Stefan was busy brushing.

Still wondering to himself, Heero went to catch the bay mare.

* * *

Zechs tucked his cell phone back in his pocket and joined Quatre who had moved to greet the police and bring them up to speed with what was going on. Saunders was starting to return to the world of consciousness just in time to see the presence of the law. He tried to clear the fog from his mind, recalling what had transpired and feeling his anger rise again.

He knew he could be in serious trouble here and needed to try and come up with some sort of viable story to explain his actions. Right now though he wasn't having much luck as all he really wanted to do was wipe the smile off that blonde Inspector's face.

“Thanks, Mr. Winner,” the younger Constable said once Quatre had finished explaining all that had happened and shown the police officer the paperwork from the Society. He added a couple of notes to his book and turned to Zechs. “Did you witness everything that went on, sir?”

“Yes, yes I did. Doctor Zechs Merquise from the Maxwell Veterinary Practice,” Zechs introduced himself to the Constable and his superior. “I was asked by Inspector Winner here to accompany him on this case as the consulting vet to check any and all animals we found on the premises.”

“Inspector Winner, Doctor Merquise, I know you are both busy men so I would suggest we continue to assist you in gaining access to any further animals. Once that is taken care of I would appreciate it if you could both call in at the police station and give full statements. Once we are concluded here, Constable Verity and myself will take the offender back to the station and charge him,” the Sergeant informed the pair.

“As you wish, Sergeant. We would both be happy to stop by and give our statements,” Quatre replied. “For now though, I would appreciate any help in getting inside the house. There is a dog in there that I need Doctor Merquise to check on.”

“No problem,” the Sergeant replied and nodded to his Constable.

Verity moved across to where Saunders was propped up against a tree. “May I have your house keys, sir?” It was always best to try the polite approach first.

Saunders gave the officer a sullen look.

“Trust me, it will be far easier if we use the keys, avoids a damage bill if we have to break a window or door. Rest assured, we will be entering the house with or without your assistance,” the Constable tried again.

Seeing how he was defeated, Saunders gave a grunt. “Left pocket.”

Verity searched the pocket and located the keys. “Thank you, sir. Now, is that dog likely to attack anyone?”

Saunders shrugged. “She might, she might not. I can't say for sure.”

Feeling a little frustrated with the lack of cooperation, but knowing it was a part of every police officers life, Verity just shook his head, gave a sigh and with the keys in hand, walked back to his Sergeant and the other two men.

“Thank you, Verity,” the Sergeant said and took the keys. “Did he say anything about the dog?”

“Not really. He wouldn't give a straight answer, just said the dog might or might not attack.”

“That's fine, officer,” Quatre piped up. “Both Doctor Merquise and myself are used to dealing with dangerous animals. If you wouldn't mind unlocking the door I'm sure we can handle the dog from there and secure it.”

The Sergeant nodded. “Okay, as long as you're sure.”

“Just let me grab a couple of things from my land-cruiser first.” Quatre turned and jogged back to his car, returning a minute later carrying a pole with a rope attached that Zechs recognized as one used to restrain difficult and vicious dogs. The fire extinguisher he also carried was what had him foxed though.

Seemed the police were equally as stumped.

“If you don't mind me asking, what the hell do you want with a fire extinguisher?” the Sergeant said, voicing the question for everyone.

Quatre grinned. “It's quite simple. This pole and rope are often used to restrain a vicious or dangerous dog, giving us leverage and distance but complete control over the animal without putting ourselves at risk. The problem here is when that door opens, we don't know if the dog is going to attack or not and we need a little room to lever the pole around to catch the dog. There won't be that much room given by the door. That is where the fire extinguisher comes into play. As soon as the door opens a fraction I will set the extinguisher off at the dog. The foam will cover and confuse it, also causing it to back off. That will give us the leverage we need to catch it with the pole leash. Don't worry, the foam will not harm the dog at all.”

The Constable scratched his head. “Well I'll be, I've not heard of that trick before.”

“The society has been using it for years with no ill effects to either animal or human.”

“I think we will have to remember that trick. Sometimes we do get called out to a situation involving a dangerous dog. It could be the thing we need to bring the situation back under control,” said the Sergeant.

“Just remember to use the right one,” Quatre chuckled. “I'll give you the details after, for now I need to see that dog. You okay to handle the pole leash, Zechs?”

“I'm fine,” Zechs replied and took the offered item from the inspector. Truth be told, he'd not heard of the fire extinguisher trick either and was just as curious to see how it worked as the police were.

As soon as their footsteps approached the house, the dog began to bark again. Quatre took a moment to position everybody where he wanted them. The officer just in front and to the side to open the door, Quatre ready to aim the extinguisher and Zechs right behind him with the pole leash. The Constable waited behind Zechs as a back up if needed.

“On my count,” Quatre said. “One, two, three...”

The Sergeant opened the door, Quatre turning the fire extinguisher on and aiming it in the direction of the dog. The sudden barking stopped immediately and was followed by a loud whine. Quatre moved to the side so Zechs could come in and secure the dog with the pole leash.

It was all over in a matter of seconds.

Zechs pulled the dog from within the house and across the garden to a hose pipe. Quatre followed along and turned the water on, gently hosing the foam from the dog. The dog was medium sized as both men had thought judging by the bark on it. It appeared to be a staffordshire cross, brindle in color and female. Once the foam was gone, the dog seemed to settle down. The tail went between its legs and it cowered when Quatre tried to approach it.

“It doesn't look like it's vicious,” Zechs said, “more like terrified.”

“I agree with you there,” Quatre replied. “Come on, girl, I'm not going to hurt you,” Quatre wheedled as he carefully approached.

The dog eyed him warily, dropping her ears and then her entire body to the ground, rolling over and offering her belly in a sign of submission. Still erring on the side of caution, Quatre reached out and let the dog sniff his hand. When no aggression was forthcoming, Quatre gently rubbed the dog's belly.

“Like I said, I think she's more frightened than nasty,” Zechs repeated in an amused tone as he watched the Inspector make friends with the dog.

“It looks like it.” Quatre removed his hand only to have the dog jump up and wriggle her way towards him, tentatively licking at his hand. Quatre chuckled. “You just want a bit of attention, don't you?” he said and ruffled the dog's ears. “Do you think you could take a look at her, Zechs?”

Zechs removed the pole leash and took the normal one offered to him by the Sergeant. The Constable held his bag and handed that over once Zechs had clipped the leash to the collar and handed it to Quatre. All through it the dog simply continued to rest her head on Quatre's thigh, licking at his hand whenever she got the chance.

Being as gentle as he could, Zechs examined the dog, checking her temperature, heart and breathing rates, looking over her pads and palpitating her abdomen. He looked in her mouth and checked her eyes and ears, all the time remaining silent. The dog suffered through the examination without making a sound, although she did move from time to time. Once he was finished, Zechs sat back on his heels with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Zechs?” Quatre asked, bringing the vet from his thoughts. “Care to share?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“I noticed,” replied the Inspector with a tilt of his head. “What is your opinion of the dog?”

“The dog isn't malnourished or dehydrated so adequate care on that front has been provided. There is however a couple of areas that concern me and I'd like to do a further examination to confirm or reject my suspicions.”

“May I ask what those suspicions are?”

“I couldn't help but note there were a couple of unusual lumps or bumps; one on the left back leg, the other on two of the ribs. They indicate to me that there have been fractures sustained in those areas. If I can take an x-ray and ultra sound of the areas I will have a much better idea of how they could have been inflicted and what sort of treatment they received.”

“I see.” It made sense to the Inspector. One couldn't just jump in and accuse Saunders of being cruel to his dog when the fractures could have been sustained by a car or even a kick from a horse. Zechs would know more once he had the 'pictures' he needed. “In that case, I will take the dog into temporary care of the Society until the injuries, causes and treatment they received has been determined.”

“Would you like me to inform the defendant of this latest development?” asked the Constable, the look of satisfaction in his eyes that this miserable excuse for a human would be getting all his animals taken from him. The Constable was a soft hearted man by nature and could sympathize with the Inspector.

“If you wish, I have no objection. Actually, Sergeant?” The Sergeant looked up. “I need to check the rest of the house to make sure there aren't any other animals in there. Would you mind accompanying me, please?”

“Of course, Inspector.”

“Zechs, I'll leave the dog here with you whilst I'm inside. If I find anything else I'll call for you, okay?”

“Sure.” Zechs gently took the dog's collar and pulled her across to him where he began to pet her and make a fuss of her. “I'll see if I can find out her name.”

“Thanks.” Quatre and the Sergeant disappeared into the house.

*

No further animals were found in the house, something that Quatre and Zechs were both relieved at. The horse float and promised assistance arrived from Headquarters and now all they had to do was try to get the horses into the float so they could transport them to Trowa's shelter.

During Quatre's inspection of the house, Zechs and Constable Verity had managed to get the dog's name from Leroy. She was called, Mutt.

Zechs decided that was something that had to change, and now. He renamed her Lucky.

The police had locked Saunders into the back of the police wagon ready to take to the station and charge him. Knowing the others might have trouble with the horses, they offered to stay and help if they could. Quatre gratefully accepted the offer, unsure of how much trouble they could or would have. Heero had explained the problems he'd had with Nataku and what he'd ended up doing; trying hard to remember that information, Quatre thought he'd try the easy way first.

The float was opened up, tail gate lowered and the inviting scent of fresh hay wafted out on the light breeze.

“I suppose we should get started,” Quatre said and began to walk back towards the stables, Zechs following.

“Have you had much experience with horses, Quatre?” asked the vet as they approached the two stables and their occupants.

“No, not a lot,” Quatre confessed.

“Would you like me to try and get them to load? I've had quite a bit of experience with them on the ground, although not nearly as much as Heero or Treize.”

“I think that would be a really good idea, Zechs. Thank you.”

“No problem. First up, we have to catch them again.”

It took several minutes, but eventually the two horses were caught. Zechs decided to leave the rugs on them as he wasn't sure if Trowa had any and the weather was turning a little cool for them to be without when they were used to being rugged. The society could always return them once they'd purchased new ones.

“Could someone hang onto this one for me for a second?” Zechs asked when they led the pair out into the yard. “I'll go take a look in the stables for some floating boots for them, unless one of you thought to bring a couple of sets with you?” A shake of the head and sheepish smile were his answer. A quick check of the tack shed produced one set of floating boots and a set of bandages that would have to do for the second horse. Noting the other two assistants and the police looking a little lost, Zechs thought he'd better put them on the horses himself.

Ten minutes later, the two horses were set to travel.

“Now for the fun part,” Zechs muttered and took hold of the chestnut's lead rope. “Come on, fellow. Let's take a walk into the nice float and get you both to somewhere you will be looked after and treated right.”

~ An hour later ~

“I think we should call either Heero or Treize to come and give us a hand. There's just no way either of these two are going in there without expert help.” Zechs didn't want to admit defeat, but it looked like the horses had won this round.

Quatre wasn't sure what to do. Zechs was looking a little worse for wear, covered in dust and dirt. Both horses were getting upset and had broken out in a sweat. Zechs had tried everything he could think of, all to no avail. The horses shied away from the float, danced from side to side, pulled back and had even gone so far as to throw in a couple of rears as well. No amount of soothing, cajoling or bribery had gotten the horses within five foot of the tail gate.

No one wanted to admit the horses had won, but something had to be done. It would be dark in another three hours.

“Do you think Treize would come out?” Quatre asked. “I'd ask Heero but I know Duo will most likely be in consults and Heero in the middle of bringing his own horses in for the night and he doesn't have anyone else to help him with that. I know Treize does have stable hands so it might not be as hard for him to get away.”

“I'll call him for you,” Zechs said with a smile. The thought of seeing his lover warmed him and he knew Treize would come and help if Zechs asked.

The call was made, Zechs informing Quatre that Treize would be with them in about half an hour. The police decided to leave, taking their 'prisoner' with them to be interviewed and charged. They promised not to release him until Quatre called to let them know they had left the property. The horses were tied up and left to settle down, Quatre, Zechs and the other two assistants from the Society sat around and discussed the case amongst themselves.

Twenty-five minutes later, Treize arrived with Otto. Zechs greeted his lover and gave him the run down on both horses, their mistreatment and what had transpired so far with trying to get them onto the float. Treize had Zechs lead one of the horses to the float to show him exactly what the problem was, the chestnut obliging by digging his hooves in and flatly refusing to move.

Treize was also aware of Heero's rescuing of Nataku and given what he knew of the bay mare, he had a pretty good idea of what Heero had done to get her into the float. It was something he'd used himself in the past. “Okay, just take him back for a moment, Zechs,” Treize said when he'd seen enough. The chestnut was returned to the stables and tied up once more.

“Firstly we need to move the float,” Treize said as he looked around to find a suitable place. “Over there looks like it will do. Back the float in so the fence is down the one side. That will act as a barrier and stop the horses from moving off to that side.”

With Treize doing the guiding, one of the assistants moved the car and float around, carefully backing it up where Treize wanted it.

“What about the other side?” asked the Inspector.

“Quite simple, Quatre.” Treize produced a long rope, one end of which he tied off on the side of the float. Handing the other end to Otto, he had the groom walk away a little. “Now it is like a corridor and the only way the horse can go is forward. I will have a tail rope on the horse as well and as we get closer to the float, Otto will bring the rope across. Most horses usually aren't quite smart enough to figure out that it's only a rope. They think it's a solid barrier – or at least I'm hoping these two haven't figured that out yet.”

“Well, I'm game to try anything if it means we can get them back to Trowa's shelter soon. It's getting late and it's not fair to Zechs here either.”

“I'm fine, Quatre. It's not your fault, these things happen. I'm still off tomorrow so I can have a lie in and recover if need be,” Zechs said with a grin.

“Okay, I'm ready so shall we try again?” Treize said with an amused smile.

“Why not,” Quatre stated.

The chestnut was once again led towards the float, only this time he also wore a tail rope. He tried to move away from the float, but Otto was there with the rope and blocked any attempt to move to the side. The rails along the other side were a similar deterrent. Grudgingly the chestnut gave in after ten minutes and walked into the float. Zechs put the tail guard across whilst Treize petted and made a big fuss of the horse.

“Now for the other one,” Zechs said and accompanied his lover back into the stables to fetch the bay.

With the chestnut already in the float, the bay only tried twice to shy away. Feeling the tail rope and spotting the other rope along the side, he quickly gave in and walked into the float to stand beside his stable mate.

“There, piece of cake,” Treize said as he helped to put up the tail gate once the rope had been removed.

It had taken all of fifteen minutes to load the two horses in.

“I can't thank you enough, Treize,” Quatre said and shook hands with the tall man. “Please let me know how much I owe you and I’ll have the Society send you out payment for your assistance.”

Treize snorted. “It has been my pleasure, Quatre, I don’t require any reimbursement at all.”

“But...”

“No. I do not want paying for my help. If you do I will only donate it back to the Society so if you would prefer, tell the Society that I've donated my time.”

“That is very kind of you, Treize. I'll be sure to let them know. Now, I really need to get these two and the dog back to Trowa's shelter so Zechs can treat them and then get himself off home. Oh, we've got to stop at the police station too and give statements. Damn!” Quatre was looking a little flustered by now.

“Quatre, why don't you and Zechs stop at the police station on your way back to Trowa's and give your statements. By the time you've finished and continue on to Trowa's the float won't have arrived much ahead of you. I'll go along and give Trowa a hand to get the horses off and settled if it will help any? And before you say it, no, I do not mind in the least.”

Quatre thought on those words for a moment; they did make sense. “Okay, we'll do it your way. Thanks, Treize.”

“You're welcome.”

The float and horses were soon on their way to Trowa's, the animal shelter having been contacted and notified of the incoming residents. Treize and Otto followed along behind the float, taking the dog with them too. Once everyone was on the road, Quatre and Zechs climbed into the Inspector's land-cruiser and headed for the police station to give their statements.

* * *

“That's the last one, Duo,” Catherine advised as Duo stepped out of the consulting room.

“Thanks. Hilde done yet?”

“She's with her last client now.” Catherine turned to speak with the client Duo had just finished with.

A moment later the door to the second consulting room opened and Hilde stepped out. “Just continue with the course of antibiotics and Puss should be fine. If you have any concerns or if he takes a turn for the worse, bring him straight back.”

The woman holding a cat carrier nodded and thanked Hilde. She stepped out to pay her bill, Hilde returning to her consulting room to clean up. Duo followed her in and gave her a hand.

“Have you heard any more from Zechs or Quatre?” asked the female vet as she swept the floor.

“No, nothing,” Duo replied. “I'm getting a little worried as Zechs did say he'd let me know what was going on and I last heard from him early afternoon.”

“I'm sure he will contact you as soon as he can, Duo. Look, why don't you go on back to the house, Catherine and I can finish up here and who knows, maybe Heero has heard something.”

Duo gave the woman a grateful look. “Thanks, Hilde, I think I will. I know I'm probably just fussing over nothing, especially after what Zechs said about Quatre's self defense moves; but that guy was one mean bastard. I sincerely hope that Quatre managed to seize any other animals he has on his property without any bloodshed.”

“I'm sure he will,” Hilde replied in a soothing tone, although she couldn't help but chuckle with the thought of Quatre flattening the other guy. Duo had brought her up to speed earlier when she'd arrived for consults. “Now, go, scat. I'll find out what's going on from Catherine. No doubt we will be stopping at Trowa's on the way home tonight.”

“Okay. I'll see you in the morning. Thanks again.” Duo took his white coat off and hung it on the back of the consulting room door. He dropped his stethoscope to the top of the cabinet and prepared to leave. Moments later he was striding up the path to the back door of the cottage, something delicious teasing his nostrils on the light breeze.

“Hi honey, I'm home,” Duo sang out as he entered the kitchen.

Heero stood at the stove and hearing the call, turned his blue eyes to his lover and shook his head at the choice of words. “How were consults?”

“Busy,” Duo replied and wound his arms around Heero's waist, nuzzling the rider's neck. “Mmm, something smells delicious.”

“It's just a stir fry. It's almost ready.” Heero tuned his head slightly to capture Duo's lips in an awkward kiss.

“You heard anything from Zechs or Quatre?” Duo asked.

“No, nothing. Have you?”

“Nope. I'm getting a bit worried, it's been a while since we heard anything.”

“I'm sure if there was anything wrong they would have contacted us by now.”

“Yeah, You're right. Zechs might be having a problem treating the horses, especially if they are as skittish as Nataku,” Duo conceded and took a seat at the kitchen table, leaving Heero to plate their dinner.

“And I'm sure if he needed any help he would have been right on the phone to you,” Heero said as he set their dinner down on the table and took his own seat.

“I know.” Duo picked up his silverware and began to eat. Just then his cell phone rang.

“Doctor Maxwell speaking.”

“Duo, it's Zechs. Sorry I haven't been in touch earlier, but I've been a bit busy. I thought I'd better bring you up to speed though as I know you'd be starting to worry.”

“Nah, I've not been worried at all.”

Heero almost choked on his food.

~ * ~

tbc...

AN: The trick with the fire extinguisher is sometimes used here in West Aussie by council rangers who have to deal with a difficult dog. I'm not sure exactly of the effects it has on the dog, although they appear to be perfectly fine once the foam is washed off them. I wouldn't recommend trying out yourself though.
- 25
- 26
- 27
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Equus