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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
- 56
- 57
- 58
“Equus”
Chapter 57
Whilst Zechs and Hilde began to treat Nataku, Treize, Trowa and Quatre did their best to settle the other horses. A hay net was put in each stable, water buckets filled and carrots handed out. With the two vets busy, Treize, with the assistance of the other two men, checked over the equines. With it being summer, none were wearing their heavy rugs. Jester, Orion and Lunar all had on light cotton rugs, as did Shini and Zero. Angel wasn't rugged at all and neither was Wing.
Treize carefully checked the rugs over for any sign of burning or damage before removing to check the horse underneath. Treize breathed a sigh of relief when he found no damage at all to Angel, Orion, Lunar or Jester. Wing hadn't suffered any damage of the physical sort either that Treize could tell, but he was showing signs of slight shock. He made a mental note to let Zechs know about that as soon as possible.
Zero's rug had a few, small burn marks on it and underneath there were several small patches of singed hair and a couple of minor burns. Shini's rug was carefully removed a it showed quite a bit of damage, mainly in the rump area where he'd suffered from falling debris. Quite a bit of hair was burnt and there was a nasty looking burn to the right side of his hindquarters. Upon closer inspection, Treize thought it looked worse than it actually was, although he was no vet and would need to see what Zechs or Hilde thought.
Knowing they would only be in the way of the vets if they were to hang around waiting and watching, Treize took charge of Trowa and Quatre. He knew it would be pointless to try and send them home so he needed to keep them both occupied.
Finding a couple of spare buckets and sponges, he dispatched Quatre to fill them with cold water. Whilst the blonde was busy doing that, he had Trowa slice up another bucketful of carrots. With buckets in hand, they descended on Shini first.
The plan of attack was to have Quatre hold the horse and feed it carrots whilst Trowa sponged the burns on the animal with the cool water. Treize would hold the bucket as his hands were bandaged from his rope burns and he wasn't supposed to get them wet. The cool water would take the sting out of the injuries and prevent any further damage from occurring. At least that was the plan.
Shini wasn't too happy with the arrangement and did his best to try and swing his burnt rump away from Trowa every chance he got. Quatre did his best to hang onto the irritated stallion, but despite his constant admonishments and offers of carrots, Shini still managed to swing his backside away from the soothing water.
Seeing they were getting nowhere fast, and that Quatre was fighting a losing battle, Treize put the bucket down and took over from Quatre. “You hold the bucket for Trowa, I'll hang onto him.”
“But what about your hands?” Quatre protested.
“I'll be fine, don't worry.”
Reluctantly, Quatre handed over the lead rope and put the bucket of carrots down near the stable door. Picking up the bucket with the water in it, He held it steady for Trowa. The sponge was dipped in again and as soon as Trowa went to squeeze it over the injury, Shini tried to sidestep. Treize wasn't having any of it though and despite his bandaged hands, he gave a sharp tug to the lead rope and brought the gray up short.
“Stand up!” Treize growled at Shini, the stallion stopping and eying off the handler. “Now stand still and let Trowa do his work, you'll feel much better afterwards,” Treize continued on in a firm tone.
Once more Trowa raised the sopping sponge, Shini went to step away again but Treize gave another hard tug and growled at the horse. Shini decided it was time to quit his game and stood perfectly still.
“See, all you need is to be firm with him,” Trowa said in his low tone to his lover, a small smirk on his lips.
Quatre snorted.
*
Zechs was restricted by his injured hands in regards to how much he could do and so it was Hilde that had to perform the majority of the treatment. Zechs gave Nataku a strong pain killer, local anesthetic and inserted an IV drip whilst waiting for the painkiller and anesthetic to kick in. Once it had the pair were able to closely examine the mare's injuries.
Aside from several small burns along her back, flanks and rump, there was the nasty one along her shoulder and ribs. The shoulder was the worst of them all, having taken the full force of the blow from the falling, burning beam. Luckily for Nataku, most of the damage was from the actual beam hitting her and gouging into her hide, the burns she'd suffered were more on the superficial side.
“It's actually looking a lot better than I'd dared to hope for,” Zechs muttered as Hilde swabbed away at the shoulder with cool water and betadine. As the female vet cleaned the injury, Zechs probed around to find the exact amount and type of damage.
“She's a very lucky girl,” Hilde agreed as she put down the bowl of water and antiseptic and joined Zechs in his inspection. “Looks to me like there's a fair amount of stitching, some minor burns and a few lacerations that should heal by themselves.”
“That's exactly what I was thinking,” Zechs replied. “Let's get the ribs cleaned up so we can see what we're working with there.”
As Hilde turned around Catherine pressed a fresh bowl into her hands. The vet smiled warmly at her lover. “Thanks.” Catherine nodded and returned the smile before picking up the used bowl and soiled swabs to take and dispose of.
Much to both vets' relief, Nataku's ribs were not as damaged as first thought. Again, the beam had appeared to have sliced along the ribcage, cutting through the hide but not too deeply. There were a few, burnt edges, but nothing too bad at all. “That's a relief I must say,” Hilde said as she swabbed away.
“I agree. Another stitching job by the look of it.” Zechs continued to probe around, fishing out the odd piece of wood here and there. “I think that's about as clean as you're going to get it,” he told Hilde who nodded and put down the bowl to take a look at the wound site.
“Come on, the sooner we get started, the sooner she will be finished and we can get onto treating the other horses,” Zechs said removing his latex gloves and turning to the bench to put on a fresh pair.
Following his lead, Hilde passed over the bowl to Catherine and changed her own gloves. She frowned when she noted Zechs moving to where the suture materials sat. “Are you going to be okay to stitch?” she asked.
“I can't see why not. Most of the damage to my hands is centered around the palms, my fingers aren't too bad at all so I shouldn't have a problem.”
“Not that I'm doubting your skills or anything...”
Zechs cut her off. “I know and I appreciate your concern. I'll give it a shot and if I find it's putting too much stress or strain on my injuries I'll stop. Or if I'm unable to stitch properly, I'll also stop, but you have to admit, if we can both stitch it will be much better overall.”
Hilde could see the logic in that statement. “Okay, I don't have a problem with it as long as you're comfortable and don't do yourself any further injury.”
With the words said, both vets picked up what they would need and set to work. Hilde took the shoulder wounds as they would require more attention, Zechs with his injured hands, took the ribs as they would be the easiest of all.
* * *
It was early hours of the morning by the time Hilde and Zechs had finally finished treating all the horses that required attention. Trowa and Quatre had left around two as there wasn't anything further they could do to help and promised they would both be back later that day to help with feeding, mucking out and anything else that needed doing.
Treize had stayed and monitored each horse for a while after Zechs and Hilde had finished treating them and moved on to treat the next one. He also gave Catherine a hand, clearing away the used items and disposing of them as required, placing soiled utensils to one side to be cleaned and autoclaved later, leaving Cathy free to assist the vets.
“Thank god that's it,” Hilde said as she bolted the door to Zero's stable, having given the stallion one last check over.
“I'm so tired,” Zechs replied, exiting Nataku's stable where he'd been checking the mare and topping up her pain relief.
“I think we could all do with several hours sleep,” Treize stated with a wide yawn.
“Something tells me we aren't going to get much though,” Catherine chuckled. “The practice opens at nine which means we'll be lucky to get three hours tops as it's already three-thirty.”
“Why don't you two come back and crash at my place?” Zechs offered. “There's loads of room.”
The thought was tempting, Hilde had to admit. By the time they'd driven home and gotten settled it would close to four-thirty which would only give them three and a half hours at best to sleep as they would need to get up by eight to get to work on time. “Thanks, Zechs, I think we'll take you up on that offer,” she replied for both her and Catherine.
“You're staying too, aren't you?” Zechs asked Treize.
The ginger haired man nodded, too tired to resist. “I still need to contact the owners of those horses though and let them know what happened.”
“Leave it until the morning, Treize,” Catherine stated and continued when she saw the man's mouth about to open in protest. “Think about it, if you go calling now they will want to come down here right away and see for themselves what the damage to the stables and their horses is. None of us is capable of keeping our eyes open right now, not to mention talking straight. If they don't come straight away they will spend the next several hours worrying and fretting which isn't good either. Plus those horses could do with some peace and quiet to rest and recover, they've all had a nasty shock and as well meaning as their owners are, they could seriously use some quiet time.”
What Catherine said made complete sense.
“I know where Heero keeps the paperwork for his clients in the cottage so what about you and I stop off there in the morning before we open the surgery up for the consults? I can point you to the paperwork and then you can make all the necessary calls.”
“Catherine, you have a great head on your shoulders,” Treize replied, the gratitude clear in his voice.
“It's just common sense,” Catherine said with a small smile.
“That's another thing I love about you,” Hilde stated and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's waist. “Now, you said something about a bedroom and sleep?” she continued, turning to face Zechs.
“Right this way.”
The four exited the stables, switched off the lights and closed the door. The moon was shining brightly now but there was still the thick scent of smoke in the air. Wearily they trudged along the raceway between the paddocks to the adjoining property. Passing the ruins of the once pristine stable block, each shuddered as memories and thoughts assailed their respective minds. There wasn't anything they could do about it but took comfort in knowing the fire chief would be back with his crew to sift through the ruins and hopefully find the cause.
Reaching the back of the farm house, Treize noted Heero's car still sitting there and walked over to it. Someone had turned the engine and lights off but the keys were still in the ignition. He removed them and locked the car up. “I'll drive it up to the practice later,” he said to Zechs and pocketed the keys.
Stepping inside the farm house, Zechs showed his guests to one of the spare bedrooms, fetching a couple of fresh towels and t-shirts for the women. “They will be a bit on the large side, but should be comfortable enough for you to sleep in,” he said as he handed the items over. “Sorry I don't have anything more suitable.”
Hilde grinned and took the offerings. “Thanks, these will be just fine. It beats the hell out of sleeping in clothes, especially ones that reek of smoke,” she said with a pointed look at the two men.
“Have to agree with you there, but the shower will have to wait until the morning.” Treize gave another wide yawn. “I'm exhausted, I'll see you all in the morning.” Without saying anything further, Treize walked away towards Zechs' bedroom.
Bidding the women good night, Zechs followed his lover and tumbled into bed beside him. They cuddled each other close and were asleep within minutes of their heads hitting the pillows.
* * *
Unfamiliar sounds dragged Heero from his sleep and he blinked tired eyes open. It took a few minutes for his brain to catch up and orientate himself; he was in a hospital, the smells and white walls confirmed the fact a second after the thought. Then the previous evening's events all flooded back.
Fire...
There had been a fire at the stables.
Groggily, Heero tried to push himself up into a sitting position and winced at the pain in his hands. He switched to using his forearms and elbows, slowly wriggling his way up the bed until he was a little more elevated. Not the ideal position he wanted to be in, but it would have to do. Glancing across the room he could see the lump under the blankets of the next bed and instinctively knew it was Duo. With his partner still sleeping soundly, Heero took the time to take stock of the situation.
It was still dark in the room and as Heero's watch had been removed earlier, he had no clue as to the time. Judging by the faint light finding its way through the chinks in the closed curtains, he surmised it must be around dawn. His mind wandered back to the previous evening and the events that had transpired. Those thoughts led him to worrying about the horses. Were they alright? He knew Nataku had been injured, but what of the others? Had they been treated? Were Zechs and Treize okay? Had Treize notified the owners of Jester, Orion, Lunar...?
Heero swallowed hard. He sincerely hoped that Carl, June and Frank would take the news okay. But what about Wufei? Nataku had started to respond favorably to Heero's patient reeducation of her and now this had to happen. What were the extent of her injuries? Would she ever be able to be ridden again... or compete? Would Wufei ever be able to forgive him for Nataku getting hurt? The thought that Heero was in no way responsible didn't even cross his mind. The constant worrying and chasing his thoughts led him to another thought.
How had the fire started in the first place?
Heero was meticulous around the stables. He didn't tolerate smoking anywhere near the buildings – not that any of his clients or friends smoked anyway. There wasn't anything along the lines of petrol or liquids that could have ignited either. The only possible thing Heero could think of was an electrical fault. His mind changed track once more, this time to his insurance policy. Just as soon as he could get to a phone he would need to contact his insurance company to arrange to have them come out and inspect the damage. He would also need a complete inventory of everything that was inside the stables to have it replaced.
“Hey, stop thinking so much.”
Heero inclined his head to the side to see a pair of violet eyes watching him. “How do you feel?” Heero asked, all other thoughts disappearing for the moment.
“Sore, aching, tired,” Duo whispered honestly. His voice was still raspy and his throat sore from the burning heat and smoke. He also remembered the doctor's words from the ED about keeping his voice to a whisper if he needed to speak. “You?”
“The same. I'll be happier once I know what the situation back at the stables is though, and when I can take this damn mask off!”
Unable to chuckle as it would cause a coughing fit, Duo opted to smile at his lover instead.
There was a light knock to the door which opened to admit a kindly looking nurse. She strode into the room and went directly to the curtains to open them and let the early morning sun enter the room. “Good morning,” she chirped. “How are you both feeling this morning?” She moved towards the end of Duo's bed to remove the chart and take a look over it.
“Sore,” Duo whispered in reply.
“Not too bad, but I'll be better when I can get rid of this thing” came Heero's raspy response as he pointed to the oxygen mask still on his face.
The nurse smiled at them both. “Doctor Devlin will be around soon to check on you both and if he's happy with how things are progressing then he will most likely allow the mask to be removed. Now, let me tidy you both up a little bit, the breakfast trolley will be around shortly.”
Both men suffered the nurse's attentions with dignity. She helped Heero out of bed and to the bathroom, but Duo wasn't so lucky; he had to pee in a bottle. He let his displeasure be known too, grumbling about the indignity of it all. Heero did his best not to chuckle at his partner's expense, knowing he would suffer for it later if he did.
With both men cleaned up and the necessities taken care of, the nurse left them to their own devices whilst she went to check on their breakfast.
Ten minutes later an orderly stepped into the room with a tray balanced on one hand. “Good morning,” he announced cheerfully and placed the tray onto of the moveable hospital tray in front of Heero. He disappeared for a moment, returning with another tray which was placed in front of Duo. “Enjoy! I'll be back soon to collect the dishes.”
Staring at the tray before him, Duo wondered just exactly how he was going to eat his breakfast. Fortunately, the tips of his fingers weren't concealed under the bandages and he was able to carefully remove the lids to the food. There was a bowl of porridge, plate of scrambled eggs on toast, orange juice and a carton of what looked like yoghurt. Duo's stomach rumbled as the scents hit his nose. Gazing at the utensils, Duo did his best to figure out the easiest way to try and eat his food; he really didn't fancy having the nurse spoon feed him!
In the other bed, Heero was facing a similar dilemma with his bandaged hands. Like Duo though, the tips of his fingers were not quite restricted so he was able to pick up a spoon and managed to grasp it well enough to transport the porridge from the bowl to his mouth. Duo soon cottoned on too and was busy getting as much of the porridge into his mouth as possible.
When it came to the scrambled eggs, both men used their forks to pick up the eggs, the toast was another story as they couldn't cut it with the restriction of the bandages. The tubs of yoghurt completely defeated them, neither man able to grasp the top tight enough to pull the foil covering back.
Having eaten as much as they could, both drifted off into a light slumber to await the doctor and his check up.
* * *
Treize followed Catherine into the cottage to locate the files of Heero's clients. Whilst Treize was occupied with that, Catherine fed a disgruntled looking Smokey. Hilde and Zechs had stopped off at the stables to check on their patients and put the feeds in for the horses. Trowa had called and promised to come over as soon as he'd finished with his own chores to help with the stables and anything else that needed doing.
“Find them okay?” Catherine asked when Treize appeared in the kitchen with a file in hand.
“Yes, thank you.”
“I'll leave you to contact the owners, I need to get up to the surgery to open for consults. You might as well use Duo's phone here to call them. When you're finished, just lock the door on your way out.”
“No problem.” Treize gave a warm smile as Catherine departed and then turned his attention back to the file. Flipping it open, he picked up the first of the papers, noting it was Frank's details. Fetching the cordless phone from the lounge room, Treize sat himself down at the kitchen table with a strong cup of coffee and dialed the first of many numbers.
Half an hour later he sat back in his chair and rubbed his temples. Frank, Carl and June had all taken the news very well. They were understandably upset and worried, but Treize reassured them that their horses were all okay and currently in Duo's surgery stables where they would remain until Heero got out of hospital and either kept them where they were or made alternate arrangements. June promised to call over as soon as she finished her chores at home and would help out until Heero was back. Carl also offered to assist in the evenings after work, both offers Treize accepted.
Frank wasn't able to help out during the week due to his work commitments, but stated firmly he would be there on the weekends. All wanted to know how the fire had started, June and Carl especially as they had been looking after the horses whilst Heero and Duo had enjoyed their weekend away. Unfortunately, Treize couldn't answer that question right now, but he did tell them the fire chief would be back that day and the fire department would be launching an investigation into the cause.
There only remained one person to call. Wufei. Treize was not looking forward to that at all but he duly picked up the phone and dialed the Chang residence. He wished he could have a stiff scotch though.
“Chang residence, Wufei speaking.”
“Ah, Mr. Chang, it's Treize Khushrenada here. I'm calling on behalf of Heero. I'm afraid I have some unsettling news for you...” Treize went on to explain about the fire, getting the horses out, Heero and Duo's dash into the burning stables to rescue Zero, Shini and Nataku and Nataku's subsequent injuries whilst saving Duo. When Treize finished there was total silence on the other end of the line. “Mr. Chang? Are you still there?”
A soft grunt came down the line followed by Wufei's voice. “I'm sorry, it's all a bit of a shock and hard to take in. Are Mr. Yuy and Doctor Maxwell going to be okay?”
“I haven't gotten an update on their condition at this point, I'll be calling the hospital shortly to see how they are.”
“Please pass on my best regards for a speedy recovery and my heartfelt gratitude for saving my horse.”
“I'll be sure to do that.”
“Mr. Khushrenada, you say Nataku dragged Doctor Maxwell out?”
“I don't know the full story, but I believe that something along those lines is what Heero said before they were taken away to the hospital.”
“I have a few things to see to here and then I will be over to see Nataku. I trust that will be alright? I'd also like to speak with Doctor Merquise and Doctor Schbeiker in regards to her injuries and the treatment they are conducting.”
“That will be fine, Mr. Chang. Both vets will be finished morning consults around noon and will be checking the horses shortly after. I'll let them know you wish to speak with them.”
“Thank you for that and thank you for calling, it wouldn't have been easy to let people know of the situation.”
Treize warmed towards the Chinese man. “No, it isn't an easy task, but everyone has been most understanding. I'll see you later today, Mr. Chang.”
“I will be there.”
Putting the phone down again, Treize let go a deep sigh. Fortunately all of Heero's clients had been calm, understanding and accepting of the events that had transpired. It reaffirmed what Treize already knew – Heero, and Duo too, were both well liked and respected men. Picking up the phone again, he was about to call the hospital when he spotted something further down the paddock raceway. Standing and moving to the kitchen window for a better look, Treize was surprised to see the small Fire department vehicle pulling into the back of Zechs' home. Leaving the call for the moment, Treize headed out to greet the fire chief.
* * *
When Treize reached the yard, the fire chief and another person were already by the remains of the stable block and looking around. “Good morning,” Treize greeted.
“Good morning, Mr?”
“Khushrenada,” Treize supplied. “Treize Khushrenada, I was here last night getting the horses out of the stables when you arrived.”
“Ah, now I remember. Fire chief O'Hallahan and this is Detective Anderson from the police arson investigations branch,” the fire chief introduced himself and the gentleman with him. “How are the other two gentlemen doing?”
“I haven't had an update on either of their conditions as yet this morning. I was just about to call the hospital when I spotted you pulling in,” Treize replied, his mind working over why the detective had been called in.
Noting the curious looks Treize was giving the detective, the fire chief decided to enlighten him. “Mr. Khushrenada, it is common practice for any fire we attend to be investigated as to the cause of that fire. Detective Anderson is here to help with our determining of where and how this fire started.”
“I quite understand and I must say I'm happy to know it will be investigated. It's a complete mystery to all of us how it started. Heero Yuy, the owner of the property, is very meticulous with his horses and the buildings so it's kind of got us all foxed.”
“Well, I'm hoping we will be able to pin point the cause for you. Do you mind if we search through the ruins?”
“Not at all, go right ahead,” Treize said. “I'll leave you to it. I'll be back up there at the cottage making a few more phone calls. If you need anything you can either call me on my cell or just walk up the raceway between the paddocks to the back door of the cottage. Here, I'll give you my number.”
“Thank you. I'll also need the contact number of the owner of the property if you have it please?”
“No problem.” Treize handed over the respective numbers and left the fire chief and detective to their work, returning to the cottage to call the hospital and get an update on Heero and Duo; and if possible speak with the pair to let Heero know what was going on.
~ * ~
tbc...
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Equus