The Meaning of Life Part 24
Hilde was at the dormitory within fifteen minutes of Heero's panicked call. Armed with all of her medical equipment, she made a thorough examination of her patient when he showed her the strange secretion he'd found when he had gone to the bathroom.
Thankfully, in this new age of technology, even an ultrasound could be conducted on a simple, specially licensed laptop. It certainly made Hilde's arrival and hasty move for the apartment easy on her. Not to mention how carrying her few items did not draw any attention.
Sure to not miss anything, the obstetrician took another ultrasound of the babies.
After questioning the neko with everything she needed to know, she looked up from the screen she was watching and announced, "As far as I can tell, everything is still moving along fine. There was no blood in that secretion, nor any other material that has me concerned."
Both Duo and Heero let out the breaths that they had been holding.
Carefully sitting up, the braided teenager waited until his partner wiped his abdomen clean and lowered his shirt. Looking at the frozen picture on the screen of his three growing babies, he asked, "About how far along are we now?"
Eagerly pointing to the defined heads, and appendages, Hilde grinned, "Based off everything I have here, we're somewhere in the thirty-second or thirty-third week of pregnancy. The development has slowed up a little bit, as if your body is trying to give the little ones some more time."
Whilst rising to her feet from the chair beside the bed, she stated, "Sometimes, in the last trimester, there is an increase in secretions. You were right to contact me, as sometimes that is a warning sign that something is wrong."
Going over the notes she had jotted down on her pad, the obstetrician continued, "Luckily, that is not the case this time around. But, knowing how close we're getting to the delivery time, I would like to make more regular visits to check up on you and the babies."
The neko did not hesitate to nod, "All right. I'd feel better knowing you'll be around a lot more these next few weeks." Hilde gave him a warm smile of understanding and squeezed her friend's arm.
Heero looked to his husband with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk. At that, Duo rolled his eyes and fought the blush on his cheeks as he said, "I do have another question."
Before Hilde had to pry the inquiry from him, he pointed to his chest. "What about these?" he got out in a rush, like tearing off a band-aid to avoid as much pain as possible.
Glad that her braided friend was the one to broach the matter, the obstetrician grinned, "Your breasts are simply developing along with the rest of your body in its change. It would only make sense that they would grow and possibly even begin secreting at this stage of the pregnancy."
Kissing the neko's temple, Heero smiled at him, "See. They're nothing to be ashamed of."
Duo looked down at his ever-changing body, blinking his violet eyes while taking in the newfound information. Over the last couple of weeks, his breasts had begun growing along with his abdomen and occasionally leaked from time-to-time. It was both an annoyance and an embarrassment.
"If you like, I can have Howard run some tests on the milk for its contents," Hilde offered politely. "Whether you decided to feed directly, or through pumping, the babies could gain quite a bit of nutrition and immunities from it."
Quickly mulling over the notion, the cat-eared boy chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment. Finally, looking to the young woman, he commented, "Honestly, I would rather not feed directly since that would be... weird for me. But I might get used to a pump. So, you can run the test."
Refraining from a chuckle, Heero leaned over the other side of the bed to kiss his lover's cheek. He knew that this whole subject was uncomfortable for Duo, and he certainly could understand why.
The artist had kept his original promise that any decisions regarding the neko's body had to be made by Duo and Duo alone. Hearing that the neko was willing to give at least the thought of pumping his own natural milk was something that Heero was quite happy with. It just showed how open-minded he was when it came to their babies and their well-being.
Hilde was a complete professional in extracting a sample from one of the breasts. With her specimen jar of milk carefully sealed away with the rest of her equipment, she told the pair, "I'll get this to Howard on my way back home. As soon as he has the results, I will get back to you to let you know what we came up with."
More than relieved over how far-less painful the experience was, Duo's tail started swishing behind him again as his ears perked up. "Thanks, Hilde," he said sincerely while pulling her down for a tight hug.
Chuckling, the girl returned the embrace with a quiet, "Anytime." She accepted another appreciative hug from Heero. Together, the trio headed from the bedroom into the living room of the apartment as soon as the equipment was packed back up and ready.
On her way towards the front door, Hilde adjusted the strap of her laptop bag on her shoulder and raised a finger in warning to her patient. "You make sure you continue to take it easy," she told him.
Focusing on the artist, she ordered, "I want to know immediately if he starts pushing himself over these next few days leading to the appeal." Her friends both saluted with amused smirks on their faces.
Satisfied with that, Hilde grinned and stepped from the room with a wave of her hand. As the door slid closed behind her, the parents-to-be sighed deeply in relief after their scare.
Another round of movement began in Duo's round abdomen. Snickering, he patted his stomach with an amused, "You all just love keeping us on our toes, don't you?" The fluttering strengthened, making him wince a bit.
Looking over to the table where their lunch was still sitting, Heero offered, "I'll go and reheat the soups while you have a seat."
The artist took a moment to wrap Duo up in his arms and kissed him soundly. "I don't want you off of your feet these next couple of days if you can help it," he commanded gently when their lips parted. "You're going to be up and about enough when it's time for the appeal."
Much as he disliked the idea of being physically restricted, the neko knew better than to push things. Nodding, he relented, "All right. Professor G's class will be starting in an hour, so I still have time to have lunch."
"Okay, but I want you sitting down first," Heero chided as he led the braided teenager to the table and pulled a chair out for him.
Waiting until his pregnant husband was sitting, the artist gathered up some of the large bowls and hurried into the kitchen to heat them up. Back at the table, Duo sighed and rubbed his protruding belly.
Now knowing how his husband was going to be fretting over him, the neko prepared himself for what was sure to be a long... however many more weeks they had to wait before the birth of their babies.
* * * * * *
Fortunately, after a couple of days following their scare, Duo was pleased when Heero finally backed down a bit on his mothering. Of course, there was the expected over-worrying from time-to-time, but nothing that threatened to drive him insane.
Nice as it was to have someone that cared about him and the little ones so much, it was also a relief to Duo to be able to walk around without Heero acting afraid he may break.
As the time neared for the appeal, there was a noticeable tension brewing around and between the couple. Flowers, teddy bears and other gifts were being sent to their dorm by their classmates and friends to wish them luck.
With a couple of days to go before the pending hearing, Duo was sitting in on his last morning class with Professor G before heading back home in preparation for his defense. Seated before his desk's large monitor, the braided teenager's ears were turned towards the speakers as the teacher gave his lesson.
At the conclusion of his class, the long-nosed professor looked to his watch and announced, "And with that riveting look into the judicial process, class is dismissed." His students chuckled and snickered at the man's sarcasm over one of the more boring lectures for the course.
Raising a hand, G told his pupils, "As we all know, thanks to the ever-intrusive media, Mister Maxwell is going to be one of the few to appeal the Supreme Justices in a couple of days."
The neko blinked in surprise as the monitor on the professor's desk was spun to look out to the smiling faces of his friends and classmates. "Let's all be sure to wish him the best," the old man said.
"Give them hell, Duo!" one of the students in the back shouted. Other shouts of the like, all offering warm wishes of 'good luck' filled the air as the young men and women waved to the cat-eared boy on the screen.
Taken aback, Duo blinked back tears that had begun to fill his violet eyes. Grinning widely, he waved with hand and tail back as he choked out a sincere, "Thanks, everyone." Another round of cheers and whistles rose up before the gathered students began filing out.
When the room was nearly emptied out, Professor G stood before the monitor and smirked, "Never before have I had a pupil going through the system as I was teaching it. I must say that it is quite exciting."
Biting his lip, the neko replied, "Well, I've learned a lot from you, Professor. A lot of what you taught me will be really helpful when I defend myself before the Justices."
"It's a bold move on your part to stand up for yourself in such a way, my boy," G sighed with a worried frown. His smirk returned as he shrugged, "But if anything that I taught here can be of assistance, I am honored by that. Hopefully, whatever this new bit of information you have will be enough to sway the Justices."
Quietly chuckling, Duo rubbed his large belly beneath his desk- well out of sight from the camera zoomed in on him. Before long, everyone was going to know just what that 'new information' was. The only thing that he was going to miss was everyone's expressions when they finally found out.
Everything was certainly going to be very different in just a couple of days.
Clearing his throat of the small lump that had formed there, the neko smiled warmly, "Thank you for all of your support in this, Professor. I promise to get caught up with anything I miss in my absence."
G waved his hand with a huffed, "I am not worried about that one bit. You're one of my best students."
Snickering, the gray-haired man leaned in towards the screen and informed, "Besides, our next class is scheduled during the hearing. I plan on taking a break from teaching that day so we can follow the media coverage and have a few debates on what is happening. Maybe I'll actually be able to keep some of your classmates' attention during that."
Duo laughed over the thought of his appeal made into a class discussion. The fact that the hearing had pulled so much national, and global interest never ceased to amaze him. "Well, I'll be sure to catch up with you as soon as I can next week when all of this is over," the braided teenager grinned.
His professor nodded firmly, "Very good. Best of luck to you, Mister Maxwell. You're as entitled to happiness as anyone else, so we're all pulling for you here." Snickering, he stated, "And to echo Mister Johnson's earlier remark; give them hell."
Laughing and offering his appreciation once more, Duo reached over to turn off his monitor camera. With a deep sigh, he sank into his chair as the realization that he had finished his lessons before having to pack up for the return home sank in.
He nearly jumped from his seat when Heero's voice unexpectedly commented, "That was nice." Letting out a sharp cry mixed with a mew, arms and tail wrapped around his abdomen protectively, Duo spun to find his husband leaning against their office doorway.
With a sheepish smile, the artist winced, "Sorry." Pushing himself from the frame, he entered the room to kiss his glaring partner's forehead and gestured to the screen. "That was nice of your classmates and Professor G to say those things."
"Yea," Duo replied with another sigh, this one of relief when he finally calmed his racing heart. "G's a pretty cool guy when you give him a chance."
Heero leaned against the desk and asked, "So... shall we get started on our packing, then?" With no way of putting the inevitable off, the neko nodded and rose to his feet with a hand from his partner.
Together, they headed for the room to gather up a couple of duffle bags. All the while the little ones moved about in Duo's abdomen. As uncomfortable as it was on his body, he still found a comfort in it.
* * * * * *
Two days later...
In the hallway just outside the closed courtroom of the Supreme Justices, the scene was very familiar to Duo and his friends as the one they made just weeks prior.
Embracing his family and friends when they broke the protective huddle they had made around him as a shield to enter the courthouse, the neko did his best to fend off his nerves.
While standing in defense in court was something he was used to with his line of work, defending himself in this situation was entirely different.
In a few moments, the world was going to find out just how unique Duo really was when he entered the room. There certainly was not going to be a question to what his condition was, dressed in a business suit that did little to hide his large abdomen.
Two of the last to wish Duo well, Danielle and Trent gave a few last minute pointers before joining the rest of their friends at the closed wooden doors. Danny, Zechs and Noin offered their son the best with tight hugs and kisses.
Last, and certainly not least, Heero moved in to wrap his arms as snugly around his husband as he could manage.
Kissing the braided teenager deeply, the artist pulled back and breathed, "Love you. Whatever happens, that won't change. You know that, right?"
"I know," Duo nodded reassuringly, a small smile on his face. "Love you, too," he managed in a small whisper before reluctantly allowing the arms around him to fall away.
Winking, Heero turned and led their support team into the courtroom to the sounds of muttered voices as those already inside watched and whispered to one another.
Left alone in the hallway, the neko rubbed a hand over his swollen abdomen with a whispered, "I guess it's now or never, huh, little ones?"
Slowly walking to the closed doors, Duo paused there to take a few deep breaths. Finally ready, he took hold of the closest door's handle when there was suddenly a piercing pain in his gut,
Crying out, the cat-tailed boy collapsed in a heap. Within seconds, the doors flew open as several people flew out into the hallway. Unable to hear or focus his vision past his pain, Duo whimpered when another attack hit him.
Over many unfamiliar voices that were yelling out words he could not make out, he heard Hilde shout, "We have to get those babies out! Now!"
Right on top of that yell, Heero's voice cried through the darkening world, "Hang on!" Pulled into the dark void, it was the last thing that the neko heard.
* * * * * *
Gasping out for air, Duo sat upright in his bed. Sweat pouring down his face, his wide violet eyes took in the nearly pitch black room around him just as Heero quickly pulled him into his arms.
"It's okay," Heero whispered soothingly, kissing the top of his partner's damp, braided head. "You were just dreaming, love. Everything's all right."
Slowly, it all came back to the startled neko that this was their first night back at their parents' estate. With the last of his tension fading, he took relief in the stirring inside of him.
Closing his eyes as he sank into his husband's arms, the neko wrapped his tail securely around his fretting babies.
He was safe. The babies were okay. Heero was with him. Everything was right in the world again.
Between his shot nerves and Heero's quiet humming, it was not long before Duo was lulled into a much more peaceful, dreamless slumber that he was most grateful for.
TBC...
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