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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
- 59
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“Equus”

Chapter 60

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Doctor Devlin greeted as he entered the room and went directly for the chart at the end of Heero's bed.

“Morning, doctor,” Heero replied, Duo repeating those words.

After checking Heero's chart, Devlin moved towards his patient and unraveled the bandages on Heero's hands. He seemed pleased with the way the burns were looking and left the nurse to apply the burn ointment and re-bandage the hands. “Everything is looking really well,” Devlin stated. “If you have someone at home to help you out then I'm more than happy to release you once the nurse has finished with your dressings.”

“Thanks, doc,” Heero grinned. “Arrangements have already been made to have someone at home to assist us both when we're released.”

“No problem. I'll talk to you a little more in a moment in regards to looking after those hands. Now, Doctor Maxwell...”

Duo did his best to keep an optimistic smile on his face whilst Devlin looked over the chart. His hands were checked along with his calves, Devlin seeming happy with the way the injuries were healing.

“We should be able to put a pressure sleeve over those calves in about another week,” Devlin said. “The hands are doing fine too and I expect they will be beginning to granulate new, healthy tissue in another day or two.”

“That's good news,” Duo said. “So, I can go home today as well once the nurse has finished dressing my burns. Thanks.” Duo wasn't taking any chances, he was determined to be released today and the doctor had better agree or Duo would be bringing out the big guns.

Heero already knew what his partner was capable of when he was determined to get his own way, so he lay back into the pillows and decided to remain silent for now and simply watch the fireworks.

Devlin paused in his writing on Duo's chart and looked up at the vet. “Doctor Maxwell, I didn't say anything about you being released today. Those calves will need a bit more attention and I want you to remain here in the hospital for another couple of days.”

“Sorry, doc, no can do,” Duo said, the determination thick in his voice. “I have a practice to run and I can't do it from here.” Devlin started to open his mouth but Duo was quicker. “I have someone at home to help me out, not just with the general cooking and stuff, but in the other day to day things as well. I won't be left by myself and I have a trained nurse to assist with changing the dressings.” Duo opted not to add that the nurse would be Catherine who was a vet nurse not a human one, but the basics were the same as far as dressings went, be they human or animal so Duo figured it was a moot point. “So you can see, everything is covered, no need to worry.”

“No, I won't be releasing you today, Doctor Maxwell, I want to keep an eye on those burns for another two days, then if everything is going okay I will look at releasing you.”

“I need to leave today, doc, you don't understand. I have a practice to run and I need to be on the premises to do that.” Duo's tone was low with an air of finality.

“I'm sorry, but you will be staying here.”

Duo changed tactics. He put on the soft, soulful eyes, placed the pout firmly on the lips and added a bit of a quiver to those lips for good measure. He let his eyes start to tear up a touch. “I have to go home, doc, I have people relying on me. I won't be doing anything physical, but I do need to be back at the practice to ensure everything is running properly. I also need to help Heero with sorting out the insurance to get the stables rebuilt, and I have the police wanting to come and take statements. Sitting in here doing nothing is driving me up the wall. If I have to remain in here I warn you, my sanity will suffer and so will yours; I won't be responsible for my actions.”

Devlin raised an eyebrow in question and glanced at Heero who shrugged his shoulders.

“Trust me, you don't want to be sitting through non stop renditions of 'My Heart Will Go On' played on the bed pans,” Heero warned, keeping his face as straight as he could.

Devlin shook his head. “Surely he wouldn't do something like that?”

“It's your funeral,” Heero replied. “Playing that is only the beginning, wait until he moves onto the more practical jokes like pressing the call button non stop, putting dye in the specimen bottles, changing all the name cards above the patients' beds...”

“You forgot making the charts disappear,” Duo piped up.

“I was getting to that,” Heero replied.

“Sorry.”

“You're forgiven.” Heero turned his attention back to the doctor. “I believe it would be in the hospital's best interests to release him if he so wants it.”

Frowning, Devlin looked at Heero who gave him a, 'It will be on your head,' look back before turning to look at Duo who wore a completely innocent expression. “You wouldn't...?” Duo nodded with an evil grin. Devlin looked back at Heero. “You're both joking...?” Heero shook his head.

Seeing the doctor's resolve wavering, Duo went in for the kill and picked up the urine bottle sitting on his bedside cabinet. He grabbed his hairbrush as well and settled himself. Humming softly he began to belt out a rather loud excuse for a tune on the bottle, joining in with the lyrics a moment later, deliberately singing off key.

“Every night in my dreams, I see you, I feel you... That is how I know you go on...”

“Titanic is one of his favorite movies,” Heero offered helpfully.

“Far across the distance, and spaces between us. You have come to show you go on...” Duo continued to wail.

A passing nurse stuck her head inside the ward room to see what the hell was going on and beat a hasty retreat.

“Near, far, wherever you are. I believe that the heart does go on. Once, more, you open the door. And you're here in my heart and my heart will go on...”

Heero had no doubts that if a cat were around it would have joined in with Duo, his deliberate off key singing sounding more like caterwauling.

“Okay, okay!” Devlin shouted above the din.

Grinning, Duo stopped his actions and looked expectantly at the doctor.

“Fine! I'll release you today with Mr. Yuy. I trust you both have someone at home that can take care of you?” When Duo nodded, the doctor continued. “Good. I'll get together your medications and dressings and a list of what needs to be done regarding the dressing changes and so on each day. I'll also need you both to come back to the outpatients ward in three days for a check up. I'll be able to give you a date for your compression sleeves and also physiotherapy when you come back in, Doctor Maxwell.”

“Thank you,” Duo replied politely and smiled as the doctor left muttering about ungrateful patients and hearing loss. Turning to his partner, Duo gave a smug grin. “See, I told you I'd be coming home today as well.”

Heero simply shook his head and snickered.

* * *

“Comfortable?” Treize asked.

“Yes, thank you,” Duo replied as he settled himself into the back seat of Treize's car. Heero was sitting in the front seat, still amused at Duo's antics for getting himself released.

Treize finished putting the wheelchair in the trunk of the car and got into the driver's seat.

“Thanks for picking us up, Treize,” Heero said.

“No problem at all.”

“Yeah, thanks, Treize. I think I would have gone stark raving bonkers if I had to stay in there much longer, especially if they wanted me to stay another couple of days without Heero there to keep me amused.”

“Just what was it you did to persuade the doctor to release you? He didn't look too happy when I spoke to him and collected all your medications and stuff.” The doctor had worn a look of complete annoyance and when he'd finished giving Treize the medications and dressings, he'd muttered something along the lines of 'good luck and don't let him loose near bed pans.'

“Ah, trade secret,” Duo smirked.

“Something tells me I really don't want to know,” Treize muttered.

“Trust me, you don't,” Heero added, then he changed the topic. “Are you sure Zechs doesn't mind keeping an eye on us?”

“Of course not. I put Duo's suggestion to him and he was more than happy to help out. His hands are recovering well and he's only got a light bandage on them now; he's not as bad as you two and does have a lot more movement now given the lighter dressing. Mine are healing well too and I hope to have the bandages completely off by the weekend.”

“That's good news. I'm sorry you and Zechs got injured,” Heero said quietly.

“Not your fault, Heero. Anyway, let's put all that behind us now and concentrate on getting well. We also need to find out who the hell is responsible for this fire in the first place, they are the ones who need to take the blame,” Treize replied.

“Amen to that,” Duo said from the back seat.

“One of the first things I'll be doing when I get home is checking the computer hard drive. The more I've thought about it, the more I'm certain the cameras were still operating.”

“You need to call that detective too,” Duo added.

“Hai, I will. How are the horses?”

Treize gave both men the update on the condition of the horses, how the practice was coping and answered any questions to the best of his ability. By the time he'd finished they were pulling into the driveway of Duo's cottage. “Here we are, home again,” Treize announced.

“Thank goodness for that,” Duo muttered.

*

Treize assisted both men out of the car, lifting Duo carefully and setting him into the wheelchair they'd hired from the hospital. It was a motorized one; considering the burnt state of Duo's hands there was no way he would be able to wheel himself in a normal one. Once Heero was sure his partner was secure in the wheelchair, he turned and instead of walking towards the cottage, he aimed for the surgery stables. Duo chuckled, having already known exactly where his lover would be heading first.

Treize stood with his mouth open and blinked. “Shouldn't we go into the cottage first and put your medications and stuff away?”

“Nope,” Duo replied with a grin. “You should know by now that you have to get your priorities right, Treize.”

With a bark of laughter, Treize nodded. “Guess you're right. Come on, I'll help you to the stables.”

“Thanks.” Duo was still figuring out the workings of the wheelchair and was finding it a little frustrating. He'd much rather be walking, but with the state of his legs right now that wasn't an option. Grasping the joystick as best he could in his hand, he eased the lever forward, the chair moving at a slow but steady pace.

Heero reached the stables and walked inside, immediately he was assaulted with the small of horses and hay and took a deep breath. Zero heard the familiar sound of his master's footsteps and hung his head over his stable door, wuffling deep in his chest.

“Zero,” Heero breathed and headed directly for the stallion's stable. Shini, hearing the footsteps and his sire's greeting, also stuck his head over the stable door to see what was going on. Spotting Heero, Shini let fly with a loud neigh. “Okay, okay, I'll get to you in just a minute, Shini,” Heero chuckled. He ran his eye over the stallion's body, noting the healing burns and felt the relief wash over him that it wasn't any worse. Satisfied that Zero was okay, Heero patted his horse as best he could and then moved to Shini's stable to see how he was faring. His eyes once again roved over the equine body, noting the burns, particularly the one on Shini's rump. Treize had been correct in saying it wasn't as bad as it could have been. “Thank god you're okay too, Shini,” Heero said, the moisture in his eyes starting to get a little overwhelming.

Treize and Duo entered the stables then, Shini giving a rather loud snort when he spied the contraption Duo was sitting in. He promptly reversed deep into his stable and stood in the corner still snorting. Zero watched curiously from over his stable door. He couldn't sense any danger from the thing and could smell the nice human sitting in it so Zero figured it must be okay.

“How are they?” Duo asked, eager to see for himself the extent of the horses' injuries.

“Just as Treize said, not too bad and healing well. I can bring Zero out for you to see if you want. I'm not sure about Shini though, he seems to distrust the wheelchair,” Heero replied.

“That's okay, I'll take a proper look at them with Zechs and Hilde when they treat them a little later. Shini's just going to have to get used to the chair though.”

“I'm sure he will be fine with it once he's had the chance to get a good look and sniff at it,” Treize stated.

“I'd like to see Nataku,” Duo said in a quiet tone.

“Here, I'll bring you across to her,” Treize offered and pushed the wheelchair in the direction of the mare's stable. Heero joined them, also wanting to see the brave mare for himself.

Nataku stood at the side of the partition, ears pricked forward as she scented the two nice humans and the other one who had been kind to her. She shuffled across to the stable door, moving slowly as her healing body was still very sore. She spotted both men and gave a soft whinny.

While the two men watched the mare for a moment, Treize slipped into the feed room and grabbed a handful of carrots. Returning, he handed them over to Heero and Duo. “I'll bring her out if you want?”

“No, don't put any stress on her, Treize. If you could open the door though and maybe hold her, I'd like to be able to get a little closer to her but I'm not sure how she will react to this chair,” Duo asked quietly.

“No problem.” Treize picked up the lead rope and entered the stable. He clipped it to the mare's halter and spoke softly to her. Once she was secure, Treize pushed the door open a little more and eased Nataku forward a couple of steps.

With the humans close in front of her, Nataku stretched her muzzle out to sniff at the contraption the nice human was sitting in. She could sense he was hurt and somehow needed this thing to help him. She wasn't frightened by it, more curious. Duo sat quietly as Nataku sniffed at the chair. Seeing she wasn't frightened by it, Duo reached out and offered Nataku a carrot. Smelling the carrot, Nataku changed direction and located the treat, lipping it up gently and crunching happily on it. She lowered her head towards Duo for another carrot. Duo gave the mare another of the orange treats and raised a bandaged hand to rub gently against her forehead. Nataku's eyes closed as she savored the gentle petting.

Watching from the side, Heero's heart gave a lurch in his chest, the gentleness shown by the mare something he never thought he would ever see. Who would have ever thought that the scared, terrified animal of only six months ago would be this calm, trusting animal before them now? Feeling his breath hitch when he looked the mare over, Heero realized exactly just how close he'd come to losing his partner. The injuries that Nataku bore were far worse than anything either he or Duo had suffered in Heero's opinion, and the mare had gotten them trying to protect the man he loved.

Slowly, Heero walked forward and placed a bandaged hand upon Nataku's neck. Stroking that hand along her neck, Heero took a close look at the wound on the mare's shoulder and ribs. He could see the neat line of stitches, the burned skin and raw patches where no hair grew for the moment. Along the back and over the flanks lay other scattered burns, not as bad as the shoulder or ribs though. The lump in his throat lodged even more firmly.

Nataku had her muzzle resting in the crook of Duo's arm, the vet gently petting her and rubbing her ears, all the time he was talking softly to her. “You were such a brave girl, Nataku. You saved my life, I owe you one, girl.”

“I think you could call it even,” came a soft voice from behind. “You and Heero rescued her from a fate far worse. I think this is her way of returning that gesture and saying thank you.”

Duo turned to look to see who had spoken, Heero also turning.

Wufei stepped forward and rested a hand on Duo's shoulder. “It's good to see you back home. You too, Heero.”

“Thank you, Wufei, it's good to be home,” Duo replied with a smile.

“Hai, thank you, it is good to be back and I am so sorry your horse was injured, Wufei,” Heero began, but before he could get any further, Wufei cut him off.

“This was not your fault. Neither Meiran or myself hold you responsible for what happened. I am very proud of my horse for doing what she did, she was exceptionally brave and courageous. I am also very grateful to you both for all you did to get my horse out of that fire. What the two of you did went beyond the norm, you risked your lives to save those horses, as did Mr. Khushrenada and Doctor Merquise. No, none of you have anything to apologize for. The one that lit this fire is the one who should be held accountable, and I sincerely hope that the police are able to find who did this and charge them to the full extent of the law. Having said that, I wouldn't mind five minutes alone with them myself either,” Wufei added with a dark look in his eyes.

Duo couldn't help but snicker. “I think you should get in line, Wufei. There's quite a few of us that would enjoy having a few minutes alone with whomever is responsible for starting the fire.”

“I have heard many rumors going around, none of which I take any notice of as they are just idle gossip,” Wufei stated. Being in the restaurant business many different people came and ate at Wufei's Chinese Restaurant and although Wufei was in the kitchens busy cooking, Meiran spent her time on the floor and as such couldn't help but overhear many of the customers' chatter. The latest topic it seemed was the fire at Heero's stables.

“What sort of rumors?” Heero asked.

“I haven't really taken much notice, I only know what Meiran has heard when working on the floor. There has been speculation on just who is responsible, some saying it's a jealous competitor, some seem to think you set it yourself to claim on the insurance, others say it's an act of vandalism. There are stories going around that range from both yourself and Doctor Maxwell having been killed in the fire to seriously injured. Then there's the speculation on the horses. Many are convinced that several of the horses died in the fire or were severely injured.”

“Sounds like the rumor mill has been working overtime,” Heero muttered. “I don't believe how people could even contemplate that I would set the stables on fire myself just to claim the insurance.”

“Well, you know how people love to gossip in small towns, and anyone that knows us and more so you, would know that there is no way on earth you would ever set fire to your own stables, aside from the fact that we weren't even here,” Duo agreed. “I wonder how long it will be before we have reporters from the Salsbury Times on our doorstep looking for a story?”

“Surely the press wouldn't be interested in something this insignificant?” Heero questioned with a frown.

“You forget this is a small town, Heero. Anything like this is big news. I'm betting the reporters will be calling by anywhere in the next twenty-four hours once they get wind that we've been released from the hospital and we're back home.”

Heero groaned. “That's the last thing I want, or need,” he growled.

“Simply tell them that at this stage you are unable to make any comment as the matter is under investigation by the police. For you to do so, or for them to print anything at all at this stage could be a hindrance to the investigation and cause charges to be brought against them. That should hold them at bay,” Wufei offered.

“Not a bad idea, Wufei. Thank you,” Heero said with a smile.

“If you have finished here I suggest we go up to the cottage and put away your medications and things,” Treize said, breaking into the conversation. “There's still a lot to do.”

“I'm holding you up so I will take my leave. Again, it is good to see you both home, safe and as well as can be given the circumstances. I will return later this evening with Meiran to speak with Doctor Merquise in regards to Nataku's recovery. For now I will bid you both good day.” Wufei gave a small bow, one that Heero reciprocated. Duo smiled and waved. Treize nodded in response and the Chinese man left.

“All set?” Treize asked after he'd closed Nataku's stable door.

“Yup. I think it's high time we had a look at that laptop of yours, Heero. See if those cameras were still recording.” Duo pushed against the joy stick, maneuvering the wheelchair back and around to head up to the cottage. Heero and Treize fell into step beside him.

*

It took a little grunt work from Heero and Treize to get Duo and the wheelchair into the cottage as it wasn't built for such a contraption. Treize ended up finding a piece of sturdy board that he managed to rig up as a ramp to the back door so Duo could drive the wheelchair up and inside. Once he was inside there wasn't a problem as there weren't any further 'step ups', the floor all being on the one level and the door frames wide enough for the chair to pass through easily.

Smokey was overjoyed to have her masters back. When Heero stepped inside she immediately rushed at him and began a series of meows, winding herself around his ankles and head butting his legs. Heero bent to pet the cat as best he could with his bandaged hands. When Duo entered in the wheelchair, Smokey took one look at the machine, gave a startled 'yowl' and took off running to hide under the bed.

Duo looked stunned by the cat's reaction; Heero thought it was hilarious and burst out laughing. Treize also had a hard time holding his mirth. Once they had calmed down and soothed Duo's hurt feelings, Heero went in search of the cat, coaxing her out from under their bed. Picking her up, Heero brought Smokey back out to the kitchen where a disappointed Duo still sat.

Holding tightly to Smokey, Heero slowly brought her forward to Duo who talked in a soothing voice to the cat. Still a little unsure, Smokey tried to hide in Heero's arms. Eventually Heero got her to sit on Duo's lap, the vet gently petting her and reassuring her that all was well. Hesitantly, Smokey sniffed around Duo and then her curiosity got the better of her and she jumped down from his lap to investigate the chair better. The three men all watched in amusement as the chair was given a complete look over. Duo accidentally knocked the joy stick and the chair moved, Smokey jumped a good two feet into the air, came down hissing and spitting and hid under the kitchen table.

Seconds later she was back and checking the chair out again.

“Now I know where the saying 'Curiosity killed the cat' came from,” Treize snickered, watching the cat's antics.

“At least she seems a bit more accepting now,” Duo mused when Smokey, having had enough of sniffing around the chair for now, jumped up into Duo's lap and began to make herself comfortable.

With Smokey seemingly happy enough for now, Heero took their things to put away whilst Treize made them all a welcome cup of coffee.

The medications and dressings were placed in the bathroom cabinet, the remainder of their personal belongings that they'd brought home from the hospital were deposited into the bedroom for the moment to be sorted out later. Heero fetched his laptop, bringing it out to the kitchen and booted it up.

Whilst he waited for it to load up, he couldn't help but smile at his partner and the cat. Smokey, it seemed, had gotten over her fear of the wheelchair and was now quite happy to remain in Duo's lap as the vet moved around the room. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying the free ride.

Finally the laptop finished booting up. Duo brought his chair right next to Heero, Treize stood behind and looked over Heero's shoulder. With a twisting feeling in his gut, Heero sent a silent prayer that the cameras had still been recording. Bringing up the program, his fingers moved stiffly over the keyboard.

“Were they still recording?” Duo breathed.

Scanning quickly through the files, Heero entered a few more commands into the machine. A smile lit up his face. “Yes, they were,” he replied.

“Dare we hope they caught anything?” Duo craned his neck closer as Heero brought up the day in question's recording and scanned through the times indicated.

“I hope so. We will know in a minute.” Heero typed another command and the picture appeared. “I thought we'd start checking from around seven, which is just before you said Zechs checked the horses, right, Treize.”

Treize hummed in the affirmative.

The picture appeared on the screen, two small boxes, one for each camera. The one that was positioned inside the stables just showed the horses all inside their stables and busy eating their dinners. The one affixed to the outside showed the raceway between the paddocks towards Duo's cottage. Pushing the fast forward, the three watched carefully. Soon enough Zechs appeared on the camera walking down between the paddocks. He disappeared from the camera view only to reappear moments later on the inside camera.

Although the picture was a little grainy, one could still clearly make out Zechs as he checked the horses and stable doors. After a couple of minutes, Zechs left the camera sights and all went quiet. The horses finished eating and were in various stages of dozing, pulling at their haynets or 'talking' to each other. Heero hit the fast forward again.

“Stop! Stop it there,” Duo said, Heero complying and rewinding a little way.

“What? What did you see?” Heero asked. He hadn't spotted anything.

“Watch the horses. One minute they're all quiet, next their ears are pricked and they're showing signs of listening and looking for something. I think this is where our perpetrator must be trying to get in.”

Sure enough, the horses' attentions had been piqued by something. Gradually they all moved towards their stable doors and hung over, looking towards the main door.

“There.” Duo moved even closer.

Heero slowed the recording down. A shadow fell across the interior of the stable block floor, followed by a figure moving through the stables. From the positioning of the camera they were unable to get a clear view of the person's face, just their back for the moment.

“Turn around will you?” muttered the vet. There was something very familiar about the person, their build, the way they moved.

The perpetrator disappeared off camera. “That must be when they went into the feed room,” Heero grunted. He was also aware that the person was familiar to him, but for the life of him he couldn't think where he'd seen them before.

Several minutes passed on the recording, Heero unwilling to speed it up in case they missed anything. The horses moving around again alerted them that the person must be leaving the feed room. With the recording still at a slow speed, the figure reappeared in the camera's range.

Then they got a good look at the person's face as the perpetrator happened to look up. Both Heero and Duo let out a loud gasp followed by one growl and one snarl.

“Stefan...”

~ * ~

tbc...
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Equus