by KatiKat
The lifebearer watched Heero rinse the cloth through half lidded, feverish eyes. He knew that something was wrong. The heat he felt, the all consuming pain radiating from his lower abdomen... it couldnīt mean anything good. His baby was in danger. His sweet little baby for whose safety he would have sacrifized anything, even his own life. With the last bits of his strength he lay his left hand on his cramping abdomen, silently praying to all deities he knew to keep the little flame of life in their safe.
The touch of the cold
piece of cloth on his forehead brought him out of his dark thoughts. He blinked
sluggishly and leaned his head into the welcoming cold. He felt so hot, so
incredibly hot. He tried to lick his dry lips, but he had no saliva to spend. His
throat was dry and it was burning, making swallowing almost impossible. He
tried to speak but the words seemed to stuck to his tongue.
"Thirsty..." he
managed to croak out in the end.
Heero looked at the
beautiful face that burned red with fever. The lifebearer wasnīt sweating
anymore. He needed to replenish the fluids he had lost but no matter what brew
he tried the longhaired young man couldnīt keep it down. His body was too spent
already and couldnīt take another round of throwing up.
Not knowing what else to
do, he rinsed the cloth again and carefully wet the cracked lips. Some time ago
Duo had almost bitten through his lower lip when a violent cramp caught him off
guard. Now there were small dropplets of blood drying on the parched skin. Heero
watched the lifebearer welcome the wettness greedily, but the desperate look
made it obvious to him that it was not enough, that he needed more to win the
battle against the fever. Heero clenched his teeth in impotent helplessness.
A silent moan and whiteknuckled
fists gripping the bedsheets indicated another violent cramp tearing through
the exhausted body. Heero got up and moved between the lifebearersī bent and
spread legs. The right one was propped against the wall, the left one resting
on a pile of pillows. Another piece of cloth soaked through with blood joined
the others on the floor next to the bed. It was replaced by a clean one but
immediatelly small splashes of red appeared on the white linen. Heero clenched
his teeth again. Hhe glanced towards the window, his fists curling from the
frustration of waiting."
The thought didnīt even
came to an end in his mind when there was a bark outside the hut. Heero exhaled
in relief.
Duo could swear that he
heard the barking of a dog, but he wasnīt sure since his panting was so loud.
He had the feeling as if he wasnīt getting enough oxygen into his lungs. It
hurt to breathe and with every thump of his heart there was an odd stich in his
chest. He heard voices outside the hut and he tried to turn his head to see
what was going on. He was too exhausted, though. Everything hurt and he was
scared for his child. If he could have summoned the strength, he would have
cried.
Heero watched his friend
run through the woods, getting closer with every step. Usually Trowa moved
silently though the forrest. He was a true child of the nature, living in
harmony with it. Shinigami coming for him must have allerted him though that
something really bad was going on here and that speed was more important now
than stealth.
When the Healer halted,
he was breathing heavily. Whereever he had been it mustīve been quite a
distance. Heero had never seen his friend so out of breath. In other
circumstances he might have teased his friend about it, but now the only thing
on his mind was his sick lifebearer.
"Heero, whatīs going
on? When I saw Shinigami I thought the worst, but you seem to be
alright..."
"Come quickly,"
he interrupted his friend. "Your help is needed here." He grabbed
Trowaīs arm and dragged him inside. Shinigami sat by the bed, his head lying on
the pillow next to the lifebearerīs head, whining silently.
"What the
hell..." Trowa stopped short at the sight of the naked figure on the bed,
the bloody rags on the floor. "Whatīs going on here?" he asked, but
Heero already moved to the bed and sat down on it carefully.
Trowa laid his bag with
herbs and other suplies on the floor and moved closer in time to see his friend
catch the flushed boyīs face in his arms. "Duo, the Healer is here.
Everything will alright now," he whispered, but there was a strength
behind the silent words, strength he was trying to force upon the exhausted
lifebearer.
Trowaīs eyes widened.
"Is this Duo Maxwell?" he asked his friend, his voice resonating with
shock. If he awaited an answer, he was mistaken. Heero just turned to him and
glared.
"Whatīs going
on?" the Healer asked moving around his friend and laying his cool hand on
the heated forehead of his patient. He frowned. The fever was dangerously high,
and the fact that the boy was not sweating wasnīt good at all. He pushed his
friend aside and Heero followed his lead without protest.
"Duo is pregnant but
got beaten pretty badly yesterday. He felt warm but overnight it turned to a
full blown fever. He canīt keep anything down and he is bleeding
profusely," Heero explained watching the Healer move his skillfull hands
to Duoīs neck to check the pulse. He didnīt like the frown that settled on his
friendīs forehead. He didnīt like it at all and he felt useless just standing
there and not being able to help in any way.
"Why didnīt you
fetch the village Healer when you didnīt find me? I know you dislike the
villagers but..."
"He wouldnīt
come," Heero said, his voice grave and promising retribution.
Trowaīs hands stopped at
the cramping abdomen and he looked at Heero, his eyes deadly serious.
"What?" he asked. There was such an iciness in his voice that it made
even Heero shudder. If there was one thing that angered the otherwise peaceful Healer,
it was Healers who refused to help people in need, callously breaking the oath
every Healer made when starting this path.
Heero watched Duoīs eyes
close then blink open slowly. The violet depths were glazed and Heero wasnīt
sure if he was even registering what was going on around him. Seeing the
lifebearer move, he dropped his voice before continuing: "He was unclaimed
when he got pregnant. And you know what that means."
Trowa watched Heero a
second longer, then returned to his task. They could talk about it when his
patient was out of danger. Shutting off any indications of anger or hate that
would only cloud his mind, he proceeded with his examination. He really didnīt
like the cramping of muscles under his palms.
Duo tried to hold his
eyes open, but his eye lids slid shut again. He was so tired and even the
damaging pain that wracked his body felt distant. He suspected that the
numbness that was taking over his body wasnīt good at all. He tried to hold on,
to stay awake for the sake of his child. Somehow he knew that if he fell
asleep, if he succumbed to the darkness that beckoned him, everything would be
over. He fought with all his might, the thought of his child the only ray of
light in the darkness. But it was so hard, so terribly, terribly hard and he
was so tired. So tired...
Trowa moved between the
lifebearerīs spread legs. The breath caught in his throat. Only once in his
life had he seen a lifebearer miscarry but he would never forget it. Trowa knew
what the amount of blood meant and he was sure his friend knew it too. He
pulled away the soaked piece of cloths. One quick look was enough, and the
Healer knew what he needed to know. He took the white linen the Enforcer was
offering him and pressed it against the lifebearerīs rectum. He then stood up and
moved to where his bag with supplies lay.
"Well?" Heero
asked him impatiently.
Trowa shot him a glance,
then returned to his work. He pulled small bundles of herbs, took a leaf of
this and a piece of that, then grabbed a mortar and pestle from the shelf and
started to crush the herbs together.
"I will need hot
water," he said.
Heero watched Trowa a
second longer but when his friend didnīt say anything else he moved to the
fireplace and took a small metal pot from the hook over the flames and set it
on the table next to Trowa. The Healer nodded not even taking his eyes from his
task.
"Will you be able
to... save him?" Heero asked finally when his friend kept silent.
Trowaīs hand faltered for
a moment. "I donīt know," he answered truthfully. "Heīs fully
open which means that the baby is dead and the body is trying to get rid of it.
Thatīs why heīs bleeding," he explained.
Heeroīs breath caught in
his troath and his eyes slid to the feverish lifebearer on the bed. He knew
that it would damage Duo, if not destroy him completely. No matter what he had
to endure for his child, he loved the little being. That much did he understood
over the short time he spent in his company. He noticed the small touches he
was giving his abdomen as if he was talking to the little thing inside of him.
And now this...
"And Duo? What about
him?" Heero asked when he managed to get his feelings under control again.
Trowa didnīt look up from
his task. "I donīt know," he admitted. "Iīve seen a miscarriage
before but the blood... This amount of blood is not normal, Heero," he
said softly. "Something is wrong. Either the body canīt get rid of the
baby or the person who beat him up damaged something inside him. If itīs the
first thing this-" he lifted the bowl a little "-will help. If itīs
the second..." he paused for a moment. "I donīt know enough to heal
internal injuries, Heero..."
Heero was quiet for a
minute, his eyes still on the sick young man on the bed. Strange feelings warred
in him, but his expression remained impassive.
"How can I
help?" he asked finally.
Trowa looked him in the
eyes and seeing the determined look in them, the healer nodded to himself.
"Here," he said reaching into his bag. He pulled out a small jar.
"Rub this into the skin of his lower abdomen. The ointment has a strong
numbing effect. It should ease some of the pain the cramps are causing."
Heero took the small
ceramic jar and without further questioning he moved to the bed. He sat down
next to the feverish figure and laid the jar on the ground. He touched the
cloth on Duoīs forehead. It was almost dry.
Duoīs eyes opened to follow
his movement as he rinsed the cloth. Heero touched the lifebearerīs dry lips
and let a couple of droplets fall into the slightly open mouth. Heero then ran
the cloth down Duoīs cheeks and his neck, before rinsing the cloth again and
laying it on the burning forhead.
Duo licked his lips and
tried to say something, but a quiet moan was the only thing that passed his
cracked lips.
"Donīt try to
talk," Heero admonished him. The Enforcer bent down and picked the jar
from the floor. He opened it and the air filled with a strange smell of various
mixed herbs. Heero covered his fingers with the jarīs yellow mixture then
turned to the naked figure on the bed. Gently he started to rub the ointment on
Duoīs abdomen. The lifebearer tensed at first, the gentle pressure of his
fingers causing a violent cramp that shook the lithe body. Slowly though,
almost one muscle at a time, Duo relaxed as the numbing quality of the ointment
took effect.
Heero heard the Healer approach
and smelled the hot brew Trowa was carrying but he didnīt cease his
administration, nor did he look away from the peaceful expression finally
appearing on Duoīs face.
Trowa knelt on the ground
next to the bed and touched the lifebearerīs neck to check the pulse again. The
quick and irregular pace of Duoīs heart worried him but there was nothing he
could do about right away; first he had to stop the bleeding. The Healer turned
his head and looked at his friend.
"He needs to drink
it, Heero," Trowa explained lifting the ceramic cup. "I need you to
lift him up."
Heero nodded and placed
the open jar back on the floor again, then took a hold of Duoīs shoulders and raised
him carefully. The hot body in the Enforcerīs arms was pliant and unresisting.
Trowa and Shinigami moved out of the way so that Heero could slide behind Duo
and let the lifebearer rest against his chest. Trowa then moved back to kneel
by the bed while Shinigami sat by his side, whining unhappily.
"Duo?" Trowa
said touching the lifebearerīs cheek with his left hand. "Duo, do you hear
me?" he asked again when he got no response.
This time the heavy eyes
opened just a little and the longhaired head lolled to one side on Heeroīs
chest.
"Duo, I need you to
do something for me, okay?" Trowa bent his head a little to look Duo in
the eyes and to make sure he was listening to him or at least registering him.
"You have to drink this, okay?" He tried to make the sentences as
simple as possible, knowing, that Duo wouldnīt understand much in his state
anyway. "Okay?"
Heero helped Duo
straighten up, then held him as the lifebearer blinked tiredly.
Trowa held the cup with
the brew to the sick young manīs lips, making sure that he didnīt didnīt take
too much at once. A coughing fit was the last thing they needed now. One sip at
a time the liquid disappeared. Thankfully the herbs helped Duo to keep it down.
"Good," Trowa smiled
at his patient reassuringly and caressed Duoīs face in a comforting manner.
"What now?"
Heero asked quietly, still holding Duo in his arms as the lifebearerīs eyes
slowly closed. Soon they both could tell he was fast asleep.
Trowa set the cup on the
floor and rinsed the cloth again. "We wait. The brew should help with the
fever and the cramps. As I said before, the body has to clean itself before it
can start to heal. Iīll make another brew in a bit, but itīs up to him
now."
Together the Enforcer and
the Healer watched over the restless sleep of the sick lifebearer.
TBC