And We're All Falling

A Like Twin

"So you have to go to the stallion barn at ten to meet the Aussie horse they just shipped in. Then at eleven, you need to go to the mare barn to meet with the vet--"

"Lylla, her name is CT."

"Fine. You need to go to the mare barn to meet with CT. After that it's just catching up on phone calls and reviewing foals with pairings. Got it?" 

"Yeah, I got it. I just don't wanna do it."

Sighing, Lylla set the files she was holding onto Della's desk.

"Spill," she demanded.

"What?" Della asked, confused.

"What's on your mind?"

"Why do you assume something is on my mind?"

"Delilah Ware not wanting to work? Something is up."

"I just...sorta kinda....collapsed yesterday."

"WHAT?!"

"And then I stayed at the house of the guy I've been seeing."

"DELILAH!"

"So yeah, I'm a bit off because I've been thinking about a lot of things. He's been making me think about a lot of things."

"Uh oh. What kind of things?"

"Personal stuff. Feelings and such. I don't like it but it's etched in my mind now."

"You? Feelings and such? Wow, this guy must be something."

"Yeah, something like that. Just leave me be."

        Sighing, Lylla walked toward the window of the office. Della's hair was in a bun and her outfit wasn't as well put together as it typically was. She'd also been about five minutes late to work, something not typical as well. Make-up was smudged a bit. Eyes didn't sparkle with fire or fight.

"You sure?" Lylla asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No," Della admitted, staring down at her desk. "But I'm going to go with yes just because."

Lylla bit her lip.

"You know, I may just be your intern, but you can talk to me, you know that, right?"

"Shut up, Lylla. I'm perfectly fine. Go organize files, please."

"But, Della, you really--"

"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, Ms. Wenchwood. Go organize the files, now."

Lylla jerked back like she'd been burned.

"Of course, Ms. Ware," she snapped, storming off.

        Sighing deeply, Della rubbed her head and looked at the clock. It was about ten so she needed to get to the stallion barn. The meeting with the new stallion went fairly quickly and before she knew it, she was in the mares barn listening to the sound of foals and nuturing mothers.

"Long time no see, dear Delilah," CT teased, walking in with Wash on her heels.

"Hey! Oh and hey to you too, Wash," Della greeted, smiling.

"Is that a baby?" Wash asked, drawn to one of the stalls that indeed contain a foal.

"Wash is a bit obsessed with baby animals," CT explained.

"I think I have the thing for you to do, Wash. Come with me," Della suggested, walking toward the arena that connected to the barn.

        Inside, a few mares stood eating hay, but the real attraction was the foals. There were about ten and they were playing, rolling, sleeping and even kicking throughout the ring. Wash's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Can I?" he asked.

"Sure. Just don't get kicked or bitten and don't hurt them, please," Della laughed, opening the gate and gently pushing a big colt to the side.

        While Wash slipped in to play with the babies, Della led CT to a stall not far away. Inside, a mare was eating grain while her not one, but two foals laid in the straw. Twins were bad in the horse industry; one almost always wouldn't make it.

"Which is the strongest one?" CT asked, opening the stall.

"They're about equal in strength. The colt's a touch bigger, but the filly's not far behind. This isn't really my department, but with the main foaling director on maternity leave, I took on a few projects. And by a few, I mean I took on genetic defects. Exhibit A and Exhibit B," Della explained, leaning on the wall while CT examined the horses.

"Why aren't they with the others?" the vet asked, frowning.

"When he runs, he has a breathing issue. I thought I had that gene bred out, but it came back," the geneticist replied.

"Mistakes were made. They should be fine after a while, maybe some lung surgery or something with him once I can do a more thourough exam. For now, we'll let mom do the work," CT said, stepping out of the stall. "And hey, are you okay? I heard what happened at North's last night."

"I'm fine," Della assured, teeth gritted together. "Why does everyone assume I'm not?"

"You collapsed for really no reason. That's not a normal thing."

"But I'm fine now."

"Really, you aren't."

"Don't accuse me of things!"

"I'm not. I'm just trying to help you as a friend."

"I don't need help. I'm fine on my own."

"Keep telling yourself that and let me know how it goes. You only seem to tolerate Carolina."

"And is that a bad thing?"

"Yes, you know why?"

"Why?"

"She's. Just. Like. You."

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(Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Red VS Blue, they are owned by the lovely people at RoosterTeeth :))