"She's mean" Xhemin said flatly when Dr. Piper left.
"I know" The doctor agreed nodding his head to her. He had known Piper Xu since college and he was aware how the woman could be a pain in the ass. "How many minutes will it take you to check one horse?"
"Two minutes. Approximately how many horses are in here?" She asked back as she went further to the barn. The first thing she noticed was the breed of the horses they were attending to. She went closer to a pen where one thoroughbred was breathing shakily, eyes red and was lying weakly on the bed of hay.
"More than twenty" Dr. Cyan calculated. He saw how Xhemin's eyes lost some sparks as she went to one of the wooden stalls.
"Let's start with you buddy…" He heard the Little Missus talk tenderly as she glided herself in the stall. As soon as he saw the girl starting out on her task, he examined the whole place and saw no one except the laborers outside the barn. As he turned back to the girl, he saw her already on her knees, plastic hand gloves on her hands and was about to put on a face mask.
"Dr. Cyan, these horses are used for sports? Aren't they?" She managed to talk with her mouth covered with the mask. She started on checking the redness of the horse's eye.
"Yes, that's why the owner is very keen in maintaining them" He answered while he was observing the girl "This farm is the main source for equestrian horses around the country and some nearby countries"
"So, some of these horses are exported abroad?" She continued without glancing on him. Her eyes were scrutinizing every corner of the horse's eye. Then she shifted to the horse legs and looked for something the doctor couldn't figure out.
"Yes"
"I never thought that Woodbridge has this kind of facility"
"The lady boss took over this place three years ago and so the business is just starting to boom. They haven't opened this one yet to the public because of the renovations" he explained to her. Truth was the Staw disease was the one delaying their operations.
"This one had the same stage like of Summer. We can use the same serum for him" She said finally after she was done with the thoroughbred.
"Okay" he noted and scribbled something on the notebook he was holding. He was the one taking notes for her.
"Dr. Piper said that only competent doctors are assigned here. Is that true?" She asked the moment she went out the stall.
"Nope. It doesn't work that way here. It's just that since the horses that Dr. Piper cater here are those in the acute stage, she's somehow feeling proud"
"I'm afraid Doctor Piper would be a problem for us"
"She will be if we are not careful" He cautioned. "But don't worry, I am tasked to make the rounds each night when Dr. Piper and the rest are already resting"
"Didn't Dr. Piper say you are assigned to the west barn?"
"She just assumed that fact. Probably because she is not seeing me here all the time"
"Then that's great news. Night time is best time to let the horses drink the serum, apart from the fact that no one else would probably see us" She said in relief. The girl fixed her slightly loose gloves before she turned to the next stall.
For the next few days, Xhemin and Dr. Cyan treated the horses smoothly. Dr. Cyan was very careful not to look suspicious because he had the Little Missus with him. Their nights were spent on the east barn and the rest of the day in the lab. The first few days were rough as the horses in the east barn needed more attention that exhausted most of the duo's time, but eventually everything turned out well.
After a week, the horses in the east barn showed signs of improvement and the employees in the mansion were appalled of the sudden turned of events.
One morning in Dr. Cyan's Lab, Xhemin was awakened by the chiming of the clock. She looked at it while yawning from the table where she fell asleep.
Eleven o' clock.
The sandwich in the same table was half eaten, the dregs in her chocolate mug were stone cold, outside it was raining and the cold weather was the culprit why the Little Missus fell asleep in the middle of work.
Instantly Xhemin was assailed by the usual small panic of one who has lost the trace of time, all thoughts of her 'to do list' made her sprang to her feet and did a number of things in quick succession. In the middle of her chaos, Dr. Cyan flew in almost banging the door- hard. His face was in full mess.
Xhemin sucked a breath before she asked "What's wrong?"
"That Xu woman was getting into my nerves" He answered as his pulse rose up in anger. "How dare she take credit of our labor!"
"Calm down Dr. Cye" She said to him while reaching toward him a bottle of water she took from the lab's fridge.
She already had an idea of what could have possibly happened. It had already been few days when Dr. Cyan complained about Piper Xu telling people around how the horses in the east barn improved under her care. Since the woman was the vet assigned at that barn, it was easy for people to believe her words.
Xhemin and Dr. Cyan prioritized working on the east barn, so the horses there were healed faster from the horses in other barns. In just few days, the horses in that barn already showed obvious signs of improvement while the rest was still getting by.
"They had now confirmed the horses in the east barn had fully recovered and they thought it was the only barn improving because the west barn's horses are still weak" He tallied further.
Xhemin just watched the doctor as he tore the seal, cracked the cap open and drank almost half of the water in the bottle. She patiently watched the tension ease out of his shoulders as the water filled his mouth.
"I'm sorry you had to keep your efforts in secret because of me" She said as her face went dry.
She had seen how the doctor worked hard the last few days attending to the horses and to her. Even though it was she who had made the cure, it was the doctor who made sure everything went well. He slept fewer hours than her as he shifted from attending to her needs while making the serum and trying to learn as much as he can. For a short span of time, he managed to learn and accomplished a lot.
"Little Miss I am already in debt to you for helping me" He said. "But I just couldn't stand that woman claiming something that belongs to you"
"I don't' really mind" she answered "Don't you think it's a good thing? At least they won't wonder how the horses were healed. Just let Dr. Piper continue her act so no one will suspect us"
Dr. Cyan thought about it and agreed with the Little Missus "I think you're right. Forgive my tension earlier Little Miss, I haven't thought about it well, really"
"It was not a problem at all" She gave him a smile and was ready to forget the matter.
"By the way, I heard the bosses were rushing their way back here in the mansion to see the horses in the east barn" He said to her "You wanted to meet the lady boss right? Now is your chance"