Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the G Boys, I just borrow them from time to time and return them a whole lot happier. I do own the plot line and any other characters that appear here that are not in the Gundam Wing Universe; please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.

 

Warnings: Angst, sap, fluff, violence, Mpreg.

 

Rating: NC 17

 

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3, 5xS, HxOC

 

Summary: Sequel to Chimaera. Life in the Yuy-Maxwell household has undergone some big changes when Duo brings Keitaro home from the hospital. Hilde's wedding is approaching and the guys find there's more to this baby business than they thought. Struggling to raise a child, work at Preventer and keep the home happy is certainly a trial for both guys. Add an assassin's threats to prominent government officials' lives and both men find their lives are suddenly changed. Just how far will one go to protect the ones he loves?

 

Dedication: To all my lovely readers out there who enjoyed Chimaera and have since begged, threatened, pleaded, bribed and blackmailed me for a sequel. ^_^

 

 

"Family Ties"

 

January. 2007 ShenLong

 

Chapter 5

 

Nurse Brown dutifully dropped off the outline of what Heero and Duo required in a nanny at the agency. She added a few more details of her own to the request and spoke briefly with the woman behind the desk, asking the agency to contact her when they had gone through their database and come up with any matching persons. The agency agreed and Nurse Brown left them to it, heading to work herself.

 

"How goes it, Margaret?"

 

Nurse Brown turned around from where she was checking through the registry, noting what patients they had, who had been discharged and any new admittances since her last shift. She gave a small smile to the doctor. "I'm fine, Doctor Po, and yourself?"

 

"Doing just great." Sally stepped into the nurses station and leaned against the desk. "How are the parents coping?"

 

Nurse Brown gave a snort.

 

"That good, huh?" Sally couldn't help but laugh.

 

"Actually, they're not doing too bad for first timers and men at that. The child is certainly looked after and showered with love and affection. They may not always get the diaper on right or struggle with the burping or bathing, but overall they are doing okay. At least the child is still in one piece."

 

Sally raised an eyebrow in question. "Oh?"

 

"Yes. That baby still has all its limbs intact, which is more than I can say for the doll." Nurse Brown's mind wandered back to the efforts the pair had put in regarding the doll she had brought for them to practice on in readiness for their own child. It had been touch and go, the doll screaming sometimes and whimpering at others. Nurse Brown had begun to have her doubts if the baby would survive at all with the parents he had. If it wasn't Heero having to be mindful of his strength, it was Duo and making up the formula.

 

Sally continued to laugh, she was familiar with the doll Margaret had used to help the guys prepare for their own baby. She was also familiar with Margaret's teasing and stretching of the truth a little. However, seeing the doll's slightly battered state when Margaret had brought it back to the hospital, Sally began to wonder what the heck had happened. Taking one look at the nurse's face had convinced her that she really didn't want to know.

 

"How is the hunt for a nanny going?" Sally asked as she changed the subject.

 

Sighing, the nurse shook her head. "I doubt those two will ever find a nanny that's suitable. They have so many different things they require in one person that it's going to be damn near impossible to find anyone remotely like what they want," Margaret growled. "If it's not the age, it's the experience. If it's not the experience, it's Heero's glare; especially if the nanny they're interviewing tries to flirt with Duo. Why, that young man can be positively evil if he thinks someone is trying to come on to his partner. You'd think the person being interviewed would have seen the wedding bands they wear, and failing that, there's the way they look at each other. Any fool can see they're in love and together. What?" Nurse Brown brought her little tirade to a halt as she observed Sally snickering at her.

 

"Oh, Margaret. You sound just like their mother," Sally said as she tried to hold her mirth.

 

"Hmph. Well, that wouldn't be a bad idea seeing as neither of those boys ever knew their mothers. I'm surprised they turned out to be as sane and responsible as they have."

 

"Well, all I can say is good luck with the nanny hunting. It sounds to me like they need someone like you."

 

"Unfortunately, they can't have me," replied the nurse. "I'm far too fond of my job here; besides, they don't need an old biddy like me hanging over their shoulders all the time."

 

"Actually, that's exactly what they need," Sally muttered to herself.

 

"Did you say something?"

 

"I said I better get back to work," Sally was quick to reply. "I'll catch up with you later."

 

"Okay." Nurse Brown returned to her scanning of the charts on her patients, noting who needed what and when.

 

* * *

 

Several days passed with no luck from the agency. They could only come up with two possible candidates that matched the criteria that Heero and Duo had set down. Both women were duly interviewed and rejected.

 

The first, whilst well qualified, refused to travel off planet. With Hilde's wedding coming up and no doubt there would be assignments that would require them to travel to the colonies, this was not satisfactory.

 

The second...

 

Heero had only just managed to hold his husband back, if he hadn't then he shuddered at the thought of what Duo would have done to the woman. She had seemed okay, her experience was there, she had the right attitude towards Keitaro, no ties and was willing to travel. However, once Heero told her that he and Duo were married, the woman's demeanor changed. Without directly coming out and saying it, she let them know she didn't approve of their relationship, even going so far as to suggest it was harmful to Keitaro to be brought up in a home where his parents were both the same sex.

 

Duo was fuming.

 

When the woman had the audacity to ask what Keitaro's mother must have been thinking to leave him with two men to raise, she found herself staring into the eyes of death.

 

Unable to reveal that he was Keitaro's mother, Duo was livid. He reached across the desk they were sitting behind to conduct the interview, all set to grab the woman by the throat and throttle her when Heero grabbed him by the arm and prevented him from committing murder.

 

Needless to say, Duo had told the woman exactly what he thought of her and asked her to leave now or suffer the consequences. He didn't need a homophobe like her taking care of his son. Yes, they may be the same sex, but Heero and Duo were very much in love and entitled to be parents just as much as any hetro couple.

 

The woman had left so fast there were tire marks in the driveway.

 

It still left them with the problem of finding a nanny for Keitaro.

 

* * *

 

Nurse Brown hummed to herself as she walked down the corridor of the hospital. Approaching the room, she stopped her humming and rapped on the door. "Agent Thunder, are you awake?"

It didn't pay to walk in on agents, most of them were highly trained and wouldn't react in a positive way to any sudden interruption. A grunt came from the room and Margaret walked in.

 

The agent lay on his back, one leg encased in plaster from his hip to his toes, bandages were wrapped around his shoulder and left arm whilst numerous cuts and scrapes adorned the remainder of his torso.

 

"How are you feeling today, Agent Thunder?" the nurse asked as she opened the curtains wide to let in more of the morning sunshine.

 

"A lot better than yesterday, thank you, and please, call me Steve."

 

Nurse Brown smiled and reached for the chart that sat in the holder on the end of the bed. "Your stats are looking good," she commented. "Now, we need to take you down to x-ray to make sure that the bones are healing properly in that leg of yours. If all is well, I'll change your dressings and you'll be free to leave the hospital. You will need to come back though for a check up, but the doctor will give you all that information."

 

"Thanks, nurse." The agent gave a smile in return. He'd been on an assignment that hadn't ended too well. Oh, they had managed to catch the bad guys all right, shame they blew up the factory though in the process. Agent Thunder had been making a last sweep of the area when one of the gang had managed to trigger the explosives. The factory had gone up in a spectacular show of flame, noise and smoke; Agent Thunder had been caught in the detonation, just managing to get out of the doors as the roof came crashing down, debris and the force of the explosion throwing him a further fifteen feet.

 

His leg had been broken in several places, shards of glass had pierced his shoulder whilst bricks and mortar had rained down on him, severely bruising his already burnt and battered body.

 

"I'll go get a wheelchair and an orderly," said the nurse. "Be right back."

 

Nurse Brown scoured the area for an orderly and scowled to herself when she couldn't find one. "Probably all on their tea break," she muttered to herself. Orderlies were hard to find at the best of times, everyone seeming to want and need their services at the same time. Giving up on finding one, the nurse switched to locating a wheelchair instead. She was in luck.

 

“Okay, Steve. We need to get you out of that bed and into this wheelchair.”

 

“What happened to the orderly?” Steve asked. “I don't think I can manage to get off this bed and into that thing by myself.”

 

“I couldn't find an orderly,” the nurse replied. “I think they're probably all on their tea break.”

 

“Well, there's no way I can shift into that without help.”

 

“I'll help you.”

 

“You?! No offense, Nurse Brown, but you're not exactly young or built for manhandling someone like me.”

 

“I'm stronger than I look. Now, stop with the nonsense, we have an appointment to keep. Here, just pull yourself across...”

 

“Like this?”

 

“Yes. Right, put your arm here and let me...”

 

“It's not going to work.”

 

“I'll help you to… Ahhhh!”

 

“Nurse? Nurse? Are you okay?” Steve was ready to panic and pulled himself back onto the bed. Nurse Brown had tried to take most of his weight and slide him into the wheelchair when she'd suddenly screamed and grasped the wheelchair. “Shit! Nurse Brown, speak to me.”

 

“Could you please press your buzzer? I think I'm going to need some help here,” Nurse Brown replied with a grimace of pain as she tried to move.

 

“Crap.” Steve grabbed his buzzer and began to press the red button repeatedly. “Can you move to sit in the wheelchair? Damn! I knew this wouldn't work.”

 

Hearing the buzzer continuously going off, a young nurse frowned and went to see what the problem was. “These agents, always thinking the world revolves around them,” she muttered as she walked down the corridor. “Okay, okay. I hear you. Stop with the buzzer alrea…“ The nurse's words were cut off as she entered the room. “What the? Nurse Brown, are you all right?” Quickly the young nurse made her way across the room and to the older nurse who was bent over and obviously in pain.

 

“What happened?” she demanded.

 

“She was trying to help me slide off the bed and into the wheelchair. I'm not sure what happened next, she just gave a yell of pain and that was it,” Steve recounted.

 

“My back,” said Nurse Brown. “I think I've pulled some muscles. Could you please get Doctor Po for me?”

 

“Of course, right away,” the young nurse replied. “You stay right here, I'll be as quick as I can.”

 

“Where the heck am I supposed to go?” Nurse Brown muttered to herself as the nurse left the room at a fast pace in search of Doctor Po.

 

* * *

 

“Those painkillers should begin to take effect within the next fifteen minutes.” Sally dropped the used syringe into a kidney dish, the young nurse taking it away.

 

“What's the verdict?” asked Nurse Brown.

 

“Margaret, I'm not going to beat around the bush here. Just what the hell did you think you were doing trying to lift a man the size of Agent Thunder out of his bed and into a wheelchair?”

 

“He was needed down in x-ray to check on his leg,” the nurse replied.

 

“We have orderlies employed specifically for the assisting of patients from their beds to wheelchairs.”

 

“Have you ever tried to find one when you need one?”

 

“Errr...”

 

“I rest my case.”

 

“That still doesn't mean you should be trying to lift a man twice your size! You should have called for help or something.”

 

The nurse sighed. “Okay, I give in. I did the wrong thing. Now, would you kindly tell me what the damage is and how long before I can get back to work?”

 

Sighing, Sally shook her head. “You're lucky you didn't put your back out. As it is you've severely torn several of the supporting muscles in your lower back. There's not a lot medically that we can do other than offer pain relief. The muscles will heal themselves, but only if you rest.”

 

“How long?”

 

“A couple of weeks.”

 

“Damn.”

 

“And even then you will find those muscles will be a lot weaker. You need to face facts, Margaret. You're not as young as you used to be and can't do the things you think you can.”

 

“I know,” the nurse sighed.

 

“Rest. I'll stop by later and check up on you. I want to keep you in overnight for observation. I'll call Heero and let him know what's happened,” Sally said.

 

“Thanks.”

 

* * *

 

It was two and a half weeks since Nurse Brown's 'accident' and the woman was due to return to light duties at the hospital, having been given the all clear by Sally. Having been confined to bed rest for the first part of her convalescence hadn't sat too well with the usually active nurse.

 

Heero and Duo had done their best to look after the nurse, ensuring she had what she needed and didn't strain herself in any way. Duo took great delight in reminding the nurse to rest; Margaret was sure the long haired man had a sadistic streak in him.

 

Duo simply shrugged and called it payback.

 

Whilst it felt good to be back at the hospital, Nurse Brown had to admit she was finding things a little difficult. Doctor Po had warned her that those torn muscles would be weak for quite some time, just how weak she was beginning to find out. Although she was on light duties, simply being on her feet for so long was taking its toll. Her back ached and she'd only been back on the job three hours!

 

Not wanting to complain, the nurse kept her discomfort to herself and continued to do her job, ignoring the ache and spasms that passed through the recovering muscles from time to time. It was on the fourth day back at work that the nurse found herself suffering a little more than usual and had taken an early tea break. Groaning softly to herself, Margaret made a mug of tea and eased herself into one of the chairs, Doctor Po entering the room just as she'd connected with the chair.

 

Sally noticed the small grimace of pain flash briefly over the nurse's face before the usual demeanor was back in place. Sally frowned to herself and set about making a coffee.

 

Watching the doctor, Margaret did her best to find a comfortable position to sit in, trying not to give away what she was really feeling.

 

“How's the back muscles?” Sally asked as she sat opposite the nurse, mug in hand.

 

“They're healing as well as can be expected.”

 

Sally took a sip of her coffee. “Do you experience much in the way of pain from them?”

 

“No, not really.” Margaret refused to meet the doctor's eyes.

 

“Bullshit!”

 

“I beg your pardon, Doctor Po.”

 

“I said, bullshit. Don't lie to me Margaret. I can see by the way you move, how you walk, when you sit down that those muscles are still giving you a lot of trouble.”

 

The nurse turned away. “It's not that bad. It will get better, you said so yourself.”

 

“I also recall saying they won't be as strong as they used to be.” Sally gave a sigh and placed her mug on the table. “Margaret, I think you need to seriously consider your future.”

 

“What do you mean by that?” The nurse's tone was guarded.

 

“Even when those muscles have healed, and it will be some time before they are completely back to normal, or as close to normal as they ever will be, it's obvious that you're not going to be capable of doing the job you did before. You know yourself just how demanding nursing can be. Face it, Margaret, your back isn't going to recover enough for you to continue in this profession like before.” Sally hated saying the words, but it was the truth and the sooner the nurse accepted that, the sooner she could move on.

 

“But, nursing's all I know, it's all I've done, all I've ever wanted to do. I don't have any qualifications for anything else and at my age no one would consider employing me, especially once they know I have a weak back.” Margaret knew that Sally wasn't trying to be cruel, she was simply stating the truth.

 

Sally's face curved into a smile, her mind ticking over. Margaret saw the change in her friend and inwardly cringed.

 

“Whatever it is you're hatching in that mind of yours, you can forget it,” Margaret stated.

 

“Why, Margaret, you wound me to the core,” Sally said and placed a hand over her heart and mock swooned. “Why on earth would you think I was planning anything?”

 

“Maybe it has something to do with that evil smirk you have on your face.”

 

“Before you go jumping to any conclusions, just hear me out, let me speak and then when I'm done, you can have your say,” Sally said.

 

Knowing she wasn't about to get out of this, Margaret had no choice but to listen.

 

* * *

 

“Heero? Heero, can you get that?” Duo called from the nursery where he was changing Keitaro.

 

“Hai, won't be a second.” Heero replied and placed the baby singlets he was folding onto the bed. He crossed the room and grabbed the phone. “Yuy-Maxwell residence.”

 

Duo walked into the bedroom, Keitaro in his arms as Heero was replacing the receiver. “Who was it?”

 

Heero looked up, registering his partner's words. “That was Nurse Brown.”

 

“Oh? What did she want? Is she working back late or something?” Duo could see Heero's brow wrinkle a little as he thought.

 

“No, nothing like that.”

 

“Then why was she calling?” Duo was clearly becoming exasperated with his husband's lack of information.

 

“She said she's found us a nanny for Keitaro.”

 

“She has? Great! I was seriously beginning to think we were never going to get one. When do we get to meet this nanny? I hope she's not like some of the others we've interviewed; although if Nurse Brown recommended her she would have to be okay.”

 

“Duo?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Nurse Brown is bringing the nanny here for us to meet and see if we approve.”

 

“She is? When?”

 

“She's on her way now. Should be here in about fifteen minutes.”

 

“Ah, right. Better get a move on then and tidy up a bit. Can't have a prospective nanny thinking we're slobs now, can we, Heero,” Duo stated as he left the bedroom.

 

Heero rolled his eyes.

 

* * *

 

Hearing a car pulling up, Duo shifted Keitaro a little in his arms and prepared himself to meet the nanny Nurse Brown was bringing. The front door opened and then closed, the sound of footsteps echoing slightly. With Heero by his side, the pair stood up and turned expectantly to face the open doorway of the lounge room.

 

Nurse Brown stepped into the room, her features neutral.

 

Duo nodded to the nurse and then peered behind her, looking for the nanny.

 

Heero was similarly waiting for the nanny to step inside and the introductions to take place. His eyes darted back to Nurse Brown. “Would you bring the nanny in for us to meet?' he asked, a little confused.

 

Nurse Brown smiled. “She's already here.”

 

“Eh? I don't follow,” Duo said. “There's only you and us...”

 

Heero's head jerked up and his eyes darted quickly from the nurse to Duo and back again. “If she's already here and there's only Duo, Keitaro, yourself and I in the room, then - “

 

“You mean you're the nanny?” Duo asked, his eyes wide.

 

Nurse Brown nodded. “That's if you're both happy with the choice. If you want me to be Keitaro's nanny.”

 

“Of course we do! We'd like nothing more than to have you as our son's nanny. But... I don't understand. Your job at the hospital.” Duo's voice trailed off. Heero was equally confused.

 

“I thought you didn't want to be Keitaro's nanny, that you wanted to continue working at the hospital.”

 

“Let's go through to the kitchen, it's a long story and I'm going to need a strong cup of tea to help me tell it,” the nurse said with a smile.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc...