Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Cowboy ❯ Chapter 23 ( Chapter 23 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

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 don't own the song 'Rodeo' either. It belongs to Garth Brooks and as such all rights remain his. This fic is based loosely on the lyrics. Written for pleasure not profit.

Pairing: 2x1x2, past 1xR (sorry!) 3x4

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Angst, fluff, sap, yaoi, Lemons, Lime, AU

Summary: Heero is a rodeo rider, the best on the circuit and looks set to remain there until an up and coming young cowboy appears on the scene.

AN: This fic is based loosely on the lyrics of 'Rodeo' by Garth Brooks - although it is not a song fic.

Dedication: To my lovely beta; Sakura for giving me the plot bunny and for all her hard work in editing my stuff. (No easy feat!) Thanks hun! You're the best!

“Cowboy”

October 2010 ShenLong

Chapter 23

[Itfs the ropes and the reinsAnd the joy and the painAnd they call the thing, Rodeo
Rodeo ? Garth Brooks]  


Duo could feel his eyelids getting heavy and despite his best attempts to keep his eyes open, they continued to droop and close on him. Noticing his partner was having difficulty in staying awake, Heero reluctantly decided he'd better be going back to the rodeo. Standing up, he stretched his limbs, feeling his spine pop as he eased the kinks. He'd stiffened up quite a bit since sitting down and now his sore muscles and bruises were letting him know of their presence.

Duo's eyes watched Heero's body as the cowboy stretched and he really wished he wasn't injured and could be heading back to his rig to spend the night with Heero curled up together in his bed.

“I'd best be going, the horses still need to be fed and I've no doubt the others will be wanting news on your state of health,” Heero told his partner.

“Yeah, knowing Quatre he's probably got his panties in a twist with worry,” Duo snickered.

“I'll call later to see how you're doing.”

“Thanks, Heero, not just for coming with me, but for watching out for me and taking care of Scythe. I appreciate it.” Duo's words were soft but full of sincerity.

“No thanks needed, Duo. It's my pleasure to help you out. I wouldn't be much of a boyfriend if I couldn't do these little things for you,” Heero replied shyly.

“Are you my boyfriend?” Duo asked in a low whisper.

“I'd like to be, if you'll have me.” The words were hesitant.

“After all that's happened, with Relena and the press, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to leave.” Duo's voice held a hitch to it.

“No, I don't want to leave. Relena and her underhanded ways have only made me more determined to get away from her. I can see her now for what she really is and I don't like that at all. No, Duo, I want to stay with you; if anything, Relena has only cemented my desire to know you better, to share a relationship with you.” Heero leaned down and brushed his lips across Duo's.

Duo's eyes fluttered shut as he savored the kiss. When Heero's lips left, he tried to follow them and scored a soft chuckle from his partner. “Hey! I was enjoying that,” he protested.

“I promise to lavish you with kisses once you're out of here,” Heero teased. Feeling a little bolder, he lowered his voice to a husky purr. “I'll kiss you from head to toe, every inch of your gorgeous body and especially the places that hurt.”

Duo moaned softly as his nether regions began to stir. “I hope you'll kiss all my hurts,” he whispered. “Cause there's one place that's really hurting and could do with some attention.” He nodded towards his groin where a tent was beginning to appear under the blanket.

“I'll pay extra attention to that hurt,” Heero moaned. Whilst he'd never done anything like this in his life before, he was looking forward to exploring Duo's body.

“I think you'd better get going before I molest you here and now,” Duo muttered. “Shit! Why did all this have to happen now, just when we were really starting to get to know each other? Life is so not fair,” he grumbled.

“Look at it this way, you'll have something to look forward to when you get out of here, an incentive to get better quickly,” Heero teased.

“Yeah, and I fully intend to do that,” Duo replied with a grin. “Now, go, shoo. Those horses need to be fed and Quatre appeased.”

“I'll be back first thing in the morning for you.” Heero partook of another kiss, one that Duo deepened. When they pulled apart, both men were flushed and panting a little, Heero's jeans shrinking quite a bit too.

“Be careful and stay safe.”

“I will. You rest and recover.” Heero turned and with one last look at his partner, exited the ward room. He made his way quickly through the corridors and into the elevator. Stepping outside the hospital, he suddenly realized he didn't have any transport. “Fuck!” Looking around, he spotted a cab stand and immediately felt his back pocket for his wallet. Fortunately it was there. Pulling it out, he checked what he had on him in the way of cash and figured there were enough notes in there to get him back to the rodeo grounds. Feeling a little better, he trudged along the sidewalk to the first cab in the rank.

* * *

Officer French waited patiently with the 'prisoner' whilst his partner, Barnes was busy speaking with the psychiatrist. The woman sat there quietly enough, although there was a hint of a scowl on her face.

“How much longer?” Dorothy asked.

“I don't know,” replied French.

”I wish he would hurry up already, I'm hungry and I need to see that Relena is okay. Poor woman has been through hell these past few weeks,” muttered Dorothy.

French raised an eyebrow. This woman was seriously giving him the creeps. She seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that she could be charged with attempted murder; and if she was and found guilty, that could mean anything up to fifteen years in the slammer.

After another ten minutes, Barnes appeared, a folder in his hand and the psychiatrist behind him. “Thank you, Doctor Une for seeing the patient at such short notice. Your report will be taken into consideration when charges are laid and the case goes to court.”

“My pleasure, officer,” replied Une and shook the officer's hand. “If you need anything further, feel free to call me. Likewise, if this case goes to court and you need me, just let me know.”
“I will. Good evening.” With a nod to the doctor, Barnes turned to French. “Let's go.”

More than happy to comply, French put his hand on Dorothy's arm and tugged the woman to her feet.

The ride back to the station was completed in silence. French knew better than to ask what the doctor had found whilst their suspect was still in the car and would obviously overhear. Once they were back at the station, Dorothy was escorted back to the cells and despite her protests and demands she be placed with Relena, she found herself in a cell alone.

The two officers met up in their office, French dropping into his seat and dry washing his face. “What a day,' he muttered.

“Yeah, I agree with you there,” replied Barnes.

“What are we going to do with those two?”

“The one called Relena we need to speak with and let her know what charges have been laid, then she can be released on bail if she can get someone to stand bail for her. We also need to find a judge to present the case to and have bail and a court date set.”

“Good luck on that then, it's nearly eight and all the judges I know will be home and retired for the evening.”

Barnes shrugged. “Her bad luck if we can't find a judge still working tonight, she'll have to stay overnight.”

French snickered. “What about the other one?”

“Now that is a very interesting case and she won't be going anywhere anytime soon.” Barnes opened the file he'd brought back with him. “This is one hell of a report from that psych lady.”

“Really?” French rubbed his hands together, clearly wanting to know what was in that report.

“We will get to her shortly. First we need to deal with the other one. Care to fetch her from the holding cell?”

“Okay. I'll get one of the junior officers to ring around and see if we can get a judge to set bail too.” French was clearly disappointed he wouldn't be getting to know what was in the report just yet, but left to complete his tasks.

A few minutes later, French reentered the office with Relena, pulling out a chair for the woman to sit on. Barnes shuffled a few papers around on his desk and brought up the statements he'd taken from the various cowboys. He'd rescanned quickly through them whilst French had been fetching Relena. He'd also received the statements from Treize and Charlie, the two men having come to the station as promised, but both officers had been at the hospital at the time so another officer had filled in for them and taken their statements.

Having read them all and compared between them, he'd reread Relena's statement and that of Dorothy too. He'd also contacted the two papers involved and had a transcript of the 'interview' sent through earlier and briefly listened to it. The newspapers had both been warned they were not to publish anything at all until the case was dealt with, and only then if the judge allowed it; failure to comply would result in the papers also being charged.

“I am sorry to keep you waiting so long, Miss Peacecraft, but as you can appreciate, we have to do our job thoroughly so that innocent people do not end up being charged for offenses they did not commit.”

“That's quite alright, officer,” Relena replied with a smile. She was quite confident, even more so after the officer's words, that she would be cleared of any and all wrong doings here.

Barnes gave the woman a wary look, French shook his head and rolled his eyes, clearly saying 'dumb blonde' without using words.

“My partner and I have taken statements from all parties concerned and witnesses. We have also listened to a transcript of the 'interview' involving yourself, Mr Maxwell and Mr Yuy. After studying all the evidence and conferring with our Captain, you are hereby charged with the following: The Instigation of Attempted Murder and  Defamation, specifically public disclosure of private facts. Should the papers print what was spoken during your altercation with Mr Yuy and Mr Maxwell, you will find yourself facing a further charge of libel along with the newspapers.”

Relena paled, her hand shot to her mouth. “But, this is preposterous! I can't be charged with that! I haven't done anything!”

“I assure you, ma'am, you have and you are. We have several sworn statements by witnesses along with the transcripts from the newspapers as evidence and clearly you slandered Mr Maxwell. As for the Instigation of Attempted Murder charge, we have further statements that clearly state you wishing to remove the threat of Mr Maxwell. Now, we need to see if we can find a judge to hear these charges tonight and set bail and a court date for you. If we can't then you will be our guest for the evening.”

Relena's mouth opened and closed, words eluding her. Shock was written into every line of her face and she felt angry and humiliated. How dare they! She would fight this, fight it with everything she had. She wasn't going to sit back and let that Maxwell pansy get away with this.

There was a knock on the door and both officers turned to see who it was. A younger officer stood in the doorway. “What is it, Fairfield?”

“Excuse me for interrupting, sir, but I've tried every judge in town and none are available this evening. The first appointment I could get is with Judge Marks at ten in the morning.”

“Thanks, Fairfield, that will have to do,” replied Barnes. Fairfield nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

Barnes turned back to Relena. “I'm afraid you will be staying here tonight, ma'am. We will see the judge tomorrow at ten.”

“But, but... You can't keep me here! I know my rights!”

“Trust me, ma'am, I can and I will. I also know your rights and if you wish to make a phone call, let me know the number and we will arrange it for you. For now, I suggest you make yourself comfortable in the cell. I'll have someone bring you something to eat shortly.” Barnes turned away, clearly dismissing the woman.

French did his best to keep the smirk from his face. “If you will come with me, ma'am?”

Reluctantly, Relena rose and barely managing to keep her temper in check, followed the officer back to the cells. “Where is Dorothy?” she asked. “I want to see her.”

“Your friend Dorothy is in another cell awaiting charges. I'm afraid you cannot visit her at all.”

“But why? She's my friend and I want to know she's all right,” Relena snapped.

“Ma'am, I'm afraid it is out of the question. The law is the law and the two of you are facing similar charges over similar incidents and therefore are not allowed to associate with each other,” French replied in his 'patient' voice.

“Well, we will soon see about that!” Relena snapped. “I'm entitled to a phone call. Could you please bring me the telephone directory as I need to look up my lawyer's number.” she stated.

“I'll bring one to you shortly,” replied French, his patience beginning to wear a little thin. He opened the cell door and ushered the woman inside. Before she could say anything further, he quickly closed the door. “Silence is golden,” he muttered to himself as he locked the cell.

Barnes looked up when French returned, having taken the promised phone directory to Relena and leaving her with it to peruse the pages. Flopping into a chair, French eyed his partner. “Okay, before we bring the other one out, what does the psychiatrist have to say?”

“Here, read for yourself,” Barnes replied and passed over the report.

French took it and began to read, as he did so, his eyes widened. He let go a soft whistle. “Well shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Sounds like she's one seriously disturbed female.”

“Disturbed and delusional enough to try to commit murder,” Barnes said softly.

“Maybe we should have put her in a padded cell.”

Barnes snorted. “I hope you've got your handcuffs ready, when we interview her and lay charges she just might need to be restrained.”

“After reading that, I'm inclined to think a straight jacket might be more appropriate. I guess this psychiatrist should know though, she does deal with this sort of thing every day.”

“Yeah. You wanna go get her?”

“Okay. If I'm not back in ten, send out the search party and come armed,” snickered French as he stood.

Barnes ignored his partner and picked up the report again, eyes scanning over the information there. The psychiatrist had done a thorough job and diagnosed Dorothy as being a borderline Schizophrenic, although she mainly suffered with Psychosis, which the psychiatrist had explained made the woman delusional when it came to her friend. She had an unhealthy obsession with the woman known as Relena, to the point where she would do anything, absolutely anything to see her friend happy. According to Une's report, Dorothy was, in fact, completely committed to Relena and anything the woman wanted or did. Although she appeared quite normal to everyone around her, underneath that mask, lay a person that was ruthless, calculating and cold. The psychiatrist stated that in her professional opinion, Dorothy, once she was fully aware of Relena's problem regarding her boyfriend leaving her for another man, had made it her sole purpose to remove the threat and reunite Relena with her lover. The delusion was so strong that Dorothy completely believed that what she was doing was right.

Barnes shuddered as he put the report down. This was one dangerous woman, he thought to himself. The sooner she got the help she needed and was taken out of society, the better it would be for the general public; not to mention a certain couple of cowboys. His thoughts were interrupted as French returned, escorting the woman inside the office and towards a chair.

“When are you going to release me?!” Dorothy demanded. “I haven't done anything wrong. You can't keep me here against my will.”

Barnes rubbed his eyes. It was going to be a long night. “Miss Catalonia, I hereby inform you that you are to be held in custody pending further investigations.”

“On what grounds?” snarled Dorothy.

Picking up the official piece of paper, Barnes read from it. “Miss Catalonia, you are hereby charged with the following offenses: Attempted murder. Tampering with private property with the intent to cause harm or death. Defamation.”

Dorothy's eyebrows knitted together as she listened, then she snorted and tossed her head back. “That's all bullshit and you know it. Those charges won't stick, you have no proof.”

“That is where you're wrong. I have all the proof I need,” Barnes snapped back.

“It will be laughed out of court. Officer, do you have any idea who I am?”

“I already know who you are, and believe me, it wouldn't matter if you were the Queen of England, those are the charges, I have the evidence and you will face court and be judged for the crimes you have committed.”

Dorothy smirked and folded her arms across her chest. “I’ll have your badge for this.”

“French?”

“Yes?”

“I think we'd better add Delusions of Grandeur to that list from the psychiatrist lady.”

French almost choked on his laughter.

“Take her back to the cells and lock her up. Find out if she has a lawyer or not and if not, appoint one for her. If she does, then contact him.” Barnes turned his cold, brown eyes back to Dorothy. “You're going to need all the help you can get, lady.”

“How dare you! I'll see you stripped of your badge for this! Once my father finds out...”

“Lady, can it,” French stated as he hauled her none too gently from the seat. Keeping one hand firmly on Dorothy's arm, he took her from the office and back to the cells.

Barnes let his head thump to the desk top. “Why me? Why do I always get the psycho cases?”

* * *

The cab dropped Heero off at the entry to the rodeo grounds. During his trip back the dusk had turned into evening and the light rain from earlier had ceased leaving a fresh tang in the air. As he walked across the paddock to where the trailers of those cowboys still remaining sat, he could see a few campfires burning. His eyes had quickly adjusted to the dark and now he could pick out Duo's rig from amongst the few remaining ones scattered about. Wing and Scythe were both still in their yards and appeared to be dozing.

As he drew closer, Wing scented his master and pricked his ears. Turning his head, he spotted the figure walking slowly towards him and let fly with a loud neigh. The neigh also alerted Quatre, Trowa and Wufei to Heero's returning presence and the three cowboys left their campfire to meet him.

“Heero? How is Duo? Is he staying in the hospital or coming back?” Quatre asked as soon as Heero was within earshot.

Heero couldn't help the small smile. Duo had been right, Quatre was in a bit of a tizzy. “Hi guys,” he greeted, “Yes, Duo is staying overnight at the hospital and I’ll tell you all I know once I've seen to the horses if that's okay?”

“We will assist you,” Wufei stated calmly.

“Thanks.” Heero went to the side of the rig where the feed stuffs were kept and located two feeds. He also pulled out two heavier rugs, one for Scythe and the other for Wing.

“I'll do Scythe if you like?” Quatre offered.

“I'll help you,” stated Trowa and picked up the feed bucket.

“Thank you,” Heero replied and handed over the rug to Quatre. He bent to pick up Wing's rug only to have Wufei take it from him.

“I'll change his rug whilst you feed him and check him over,” Wufei said softly.

Heero nodded and with the feed bucket in hand, went to the side of the rig to feed his horse.

Between the four of them it didn't take long to change the rugs and feed the equines. Scythe was a little upset that his master wasn't there, but Quatre's soothing tone soon settled the appaloosa and Scythe decided his stomach needed satisfying and buried his muzzle into the feed bin.

Once the horses were taken care of, Heero was escorted to the campfire and pushed into a seat. A hot cup of coffee found its way into his hands and a plate of chicken and noodles sat beside him. “Thanks,” he whispered and began to eat, taking sips of the coffee from time to time. He hadn't realized just how hungry he was.

The other three waited patiently until Heero had finished and after topping up his coffee,  they all gazed at him expectantly.

“The doctor wanted to keep Duo in overnight for observation as he took a pretty nasty knock to the head and has a concussion,” he began. “He's very lucky though not to have been more seriously injured or even...” Heero's voice hitched, “or even killed,” he whispered out.

“What are his injuries?” Wufei asked and rested a warm hand on Heero's shoulder.

Thankful for the support, Heero stared into his coffee as he related Duo's injuries. ”He has the concussion, a bite to the upper arm, sprained shoulder with some tendon and ligament tearing, a couple of cracked ribs and a bruised lung.”

“Shit!” Quatre whistled through his teeth.

“Have the police contacted you yet?” Trowa said softly

Blue eyes stared deep into the fire. “Yes, they have. They came to the hospital and took statements from both Duo and myself.”

“They were here too and took statements from all of us, Charlie, Treize and a few others too,” Trowa informed.

“I hope they throw the book at her, at both of them,” Quatre growled. “They deserve to be locked up and left to rot for what they've done.”

Trowa wrapped his uninjured arm around his blonde lover. “Easy there, Quat. I'm sure the justice system will prevail; and if it doesn't, you can always slap some sense into both of them.”

Quatre blushed. “Will you forget about that!?”

“Am I missing something here?” Heero asked.

Trowa proceeded to fill Heero in on Quatre's 'attack' on Dorothy, Heero's eyes widening further as he listened. Never would he have dreamed the little blonde would do something like that! Quatre was such a quiet and peaceful man.

“You slapped her?” he asked, shaking his head.

“Yeah, well...” Quatre turned an even deeper shade of red.

“Thank you, I'm sure Duo would appreciate it too,” Heero said.

“You're not going to tell him, are you?”

Heero nodded.

“No, don't do that. I'll never hear the end of it once Duo knows,” Quatre wailed.

“Speaking of bitches, does anyone know where they are?” Heero questioned with a glint in his eye.

Spotting the glint, Trowa swallowed. “The last we saw of them, they were being taken away by the police for questioning.”

“Then I sincerely hope the police still have them in custody,” Heero growled. “If I ever get my hands on either one of them, especially Dorothy I'll wring her scrawny neck.”

“And I will hold her for you,” Wufei promised.

His blue eyes softening, Heero turned to look at his three friends, closer friends now since he'd met Duo. “I want to thank you all for what you did out there today for Duo. If you hadn't done what you did then the outcome may have been completely different. I am indebted to you all.”

“It was our pleasure, Heero. Duo is our friend too and we never want to see him, or you for that matter, hurt,” Quatre said softly and sincerely.

“Thank you, I'm proud to have you as my friends.”

The silence fell over the group for a few minutes as each man lost himself to his thoughts. Finally Wufei broke the silence.

“I think we should all retire for the evening. It will be a long day tomorrow with packing up to go home and finding out from the police what is going on with those two women.”

Quatre yawned. “That sounds like a good idea, Wufei.”

“I will bid you all good night then.”

“Good night, Wufei,” came the three replies.

Wufei left to retire to his own rig, the other three standing and preparing to head for their respective rigs too.

“Would you like a hand to check Wing and Scythe?” asked Trowa.

“I'll be fine, but thanks,” Heero said.

“Then we will bid you good night too.”

Heero walked back to Duo's rig and checked the horses. He made a bit  of a fuss over Scythe, letting the appy know his master would be back with him the following day. Wing was a little put out by the extra attention that spotted pony was getting and grunted his disapproval. Scythe gave the other horse a smug wuffle.

Inside the rig, Heero stripped down to his boxers and climbed into the bed. His heart was heavy; he missed Duo so much but knew his boyfriend was in the best place possible and would be getting excellent care. Pulling Duo's pillow across, he wrapped his arms around it, cuddled it close to his chest and buried his face into the softness. He could smell Duo's scent and it eased his saddened heart a touch. With thoughts of fetching Duo home in the morning, Heero drifted off into a restless sleep.

~ * ~

tbc...

AN: All the information regarding Dorothy's condition was researched from the following site: http://users.ipfw.edu/abbott/120/PsychDisorders.html

I tell you, you start to read this stuff and it soon draws you in - fascinating stuff.
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