40. Coco Jamboo.

I woke up in a normal bed, and I was fine; I mean, my stomach was closed, and I didn't have a cold. And the bedside table was empty. There was no phone or wallet, but I didn't even dare hope for anything. I wasn't in our main bedroom. I was still skinny as hell, probably under 40 kilos long, but alive, not sick.

Samuel came into the room and said, " Good morning, miss. You can be a handful, then. Adam's getting better. He somehow picked up an infection from you, and Damon got him well, too. You've been sleeping here for a total of six weeks now. "

Oh, so I'd been asleep for another month when Adam took care of me. No wonder I'm okay, then. Samuel brought the tray to the table, and I wriggled into a better position to eat. And I ate. I also noticed that Mimosa was asleep in my head. Poor thing must have been pretty tired.

Samuel said, "Mimosa is fine. She's just resting. Damon is still checking on Adam, but Adam is fine. He'll wake up soon too. Your bug was terrible. Really. Damon wanted so badly to put his teeth in your neck, but since Adam was worse than you, we had to prioritize. Adam got Damon's teeth in his neck. Colin then came to help me with your treatment, and I had to make sure Mimosa didn't get the bug. She can be a very determined wolf when she's worked up. But when it was a collection of bacteria that were pretty much resistant to a hell of a lot of antibiotics, and Adam's condition was collapsing, Damon couldn't give you a dental antibiotic, at least not at first. "

Oh, interesting, I thought, well fine. After I'd eaten, I was pretty weak. I wasn't that medicated anymore, so I thought I'd go into the main bedroom, shower, and change. I walked in there, and I was in terrible shape. I had no muscles, and I didn't have my usual strength, at least muscle strength, and I knew it was going to take time to recover. 

I went into the main bedroom. It was dark, and I didn't bother to turn on the lights, as I could see perfectly well even though it was still a bit dim outside. I took a shower and enjoyed myself. The hot water seemed to help my muscles, and I was still so confused about the whole damn thing.

I knew that this, the whole thing, my death and then the two weeks that Bran took care of and the recovery from that took two months more or less, no one had probably dealt with my death or my resurrection properly yet and I wondered in my mind about Damon's reactions, whether he would start watching me, not letting go, being very jealous. 

I got out of the shower, grabbed a big towel, and sat on the wicker to dry my hair when I heard the bedroom door open. Well, I was waiting for whoever it was to notice that there were lights on in the bathroom, so I didn't get up now. Then I heard a few bangs and Damon's voice.

He seemed to be engrossed in a conversation on the phone, the muffled sound of his voice reaching my ears. Well, at least now I knew where we were headed. "Jo Jo, it's Damon," he spoke affectionately, the warmth clear in his tone. "Listen, sweetheart, are you free?"

A chuckle escaped him as he continued, "No, no, I really need to unload. My wife has been sick for a while, and one of our pack members took it upon himself to handle the same problem. But of course, I had to step in and save the day. Now that I need to unload, I can't be a nursing husband or a pack doctor. I just need to let it all out."

Listening, a mischievous smile played on his lips as he added, "Yeah, the wife is doing fine now that she's rehabilitated. But I'm no damn physiotherapist. It's been a rough time, and I haven't decompressed at all."

Another moment of silence followed before his voice carried a hint of excitement. "Remember to be naked when I arrive. I won't waste any time tearing off your clothes and kissing every inch of your skin. Let the jealous onlookers stare."

Damon listened intently, then agreed. "Fine, I'll bring flowers, chocolates, and wine, like always. I'll start making my way now. Don't worry, sweetheart, I'll leave this phone and my wallet behind so we don't have to worry about my wife calling me."

The call ended, and I heard the door open as Damon exited the room. 

I sat in silence, tears trickling down my cheeks. The room felt heavy with emotions, swirling within the depths of my being. Simultaneously, a deep sense of inadequacy washed over me, like a weight dragging me down. I tightly clenched the ties that bound us together, as if trying to hold on to something slipping through my fingers.

The words stung, echoing in my mind - a constant reminder of how he saw me. A nuisance, a burden. It wasn't easy to hear, to be reduced to someone who no longer mattered. Anger flared up within me, fueled by the injustice of not being given the chance to be a wife, but being treated as a mere patient.

And yet, in the midst of my fury, a bitter realization settled in. How quickly he had moved on from the trauma of losing me. The path ahead seemed clear, leaving me behind. But I refused to succumb to victimhood, to be weak in the face of rejection. If he no longer wanted to be with me, then I would seek companionship elsewhere. We shall see what happens when he gets back whenever it may be then. 

Perhaps there were others in this world, in this pack, who truly desired my presence and were startled by the news of my departure. 

What if I had chosen differently? If I had chosen peace, rainbow islands, and died permanently, well, it wouldn't have taken Damon that long, and I wondered bitterly as I sat there, drying my stupid, weak body, if JoJo would have been at my funeral. Would Damon have buried me as Mimi Salvatore or Springcove?

I finally got myself dried off. First things first, I bit my wrist and grew myself straight, shiny, and almost white hair, platinum blonde and not too long. Then, I walked out of the bathroom. I put the phone and wallet in the desk's drawer so that the gentleman, if after he had unpacked, would want to be with me someday, could once again take his possessions. 

Now, I was at peace to be Mimi. But I wasn't well enough to continue my medical studies, and I didn't know how well Adam would be, how protective he would be if I could even do the flea work. But I was determined to get well.

It now took time to feel myself, and while I might go to the gym now and then, comfort was what I was looking for. In California, it was warm; we had a huge soft outdoor swing, and the thought of sitting on it, reading about medicine, was almost too juicy. Besides, I did not need to get fit quickly. I was now truly immortal. Nothing could kill me or make my sparks go out, so time was something I had and plenty of it.

I went downstairs to the kitchen. I wasn't hungry; it was just a habit and now I would have anything I wanted, regardless if it was good for me. I opened the fridge and walked in. I examined what we had. Damon had been busy taking care of us, so there wasn't so much ready food here now.

But I heard voices while I was thinking. I was surprised to hear three men talking to each other. Adam, Samuel, and Magnum. Well, there was nothing new about it; maybe Magnum had come to talk about fleas or kill lists, and the men would offer him a coffee. I came out of the fridge for a moment. I already knew what I was going to do. 

Adam watched as I came out of the fridge, his keen eyes on my hair and obviously my expression as he came up to me and hugged me.

He squeezed me very hard against him and said, "I'm not going anywhere, honey, not anywhere at all."

I replied, "I was in the shower when Damon brought the phone and wallet, he was talking to JoJo on the phone about how he can't be a physiotherapist or pack doctor now, and he needs to get unloaded, kissing every square inch of JoJo's body, he also promised her chocolates, flowers and wine."

Adam grunted and said, "Salvatore is a fool. But this is our victory. We will have you to ourselves."

I looked at Adam as he relaxed his grip just a little.

I said, "The fool he is. If I'm not enough for him, then there's no point in him coming into my eyes about the wedding vows. For better and for worse, he just can't take the worse. "

Adam let me go.

Samuel smiled and said, " I'm sorry about Salvatore too. But he is what he is. My lady, your rehabilitation begins, and we have a physiotherapist for you, Magnum. He'll have you up and running in no time. Now, we'll see how this goes and how this helps you. As you may know, your body is built to move, but after all this work, you're very comfort-orientated. But if Magnum gets you in shape, then you can enjoy it. But now you're a muscle-less skeleton who doesn't keep warm as well as she should and plans to eat whatever happens. Me and Adam will cook and see that you eat what you should when Magnum gets you in shape."

Oh well, we'll see where this goes from here, I thought to myself.

Magnum came up to me, and I didn't expect such a hard feeling from him when he came, scooped me up in a hug, and whispered in my ear, " Don't you ever, ever do that to me. You have to be the fucking immortal one, and the fact that you could be dead for a week, sacrificing yourself for others, is something that completely freaked me out. "

He didn't let go right away, and I said, "Yeah, yeah, I've learned my lesson, but you know what, Brutus and the others are fine, they're at peace, and nobody blames me. That was their purpose, to die there to get evidence to the authorities and bring the whole fucking establishment down. I saw them."

Magnum growled. He hugged me for another minute and then let go; he looked at me professionally now and said, "You're quite a challenge. I know what you're capable of, and I'm going to fix you up, my lady."

Adam and Samuel were already cooking by then. Fine.

Magnum asked Adam, "How long will it take to prepare the food?"

Adam grunted and said, "45 minutes to an hour."

Magnum nodded, grabbed my hand, and said, "Well, we have time to work. Come on down, let's go for a walk." 

It was a bitch. Magnum was relentless. I was weak. We walked every fucking staircase in the house, and by the time the food was ready, I was exhausted. I ate and ate well. But on top of the food, we kept going. He always lets me rest 12 hours a day. I slept in Adam's arms. I couldn't bear to sleep alone. And for 12 hours, I was awake. Well, I ate several enormous meals a day and exercised.

It wasn't long before he brought me to the gym. Jake had shared his expertise in managing my rage, but Magnum took it to another level. He relentlessly dug into my anger, making me oblivious to the throbbing pain and my weakness. Every twitch and ache went unnoticed as I grew stronger with each passing day.

I gave Magnum the nickname "Sergeant Major" for his unwavering discipline. In the gym, my performance was lackluster and sloppy. But when we ventured outside, our house had a sandy beach and a serene lake. Although he didn't let me swim, Magnum would guide me through the bloody sand, which surprisingly offered resistance. I would clumsily waddle in the water, devoid of any joy in swimming.

Magnum's approach was unyielding, forcing me to fight, run, and kick. It was anger management in action. He expected the eruption of my rage and prepared me accordingly. He taught me new techniques, refining my kicks, punches, and strikes. His guidance was firm, akin to that of a true master sergeant. But his methods yielded rapid results, channeling my rage into controlled tantrums at the satanic gym.

In those moments, I didn't have to dwell on Damon or what he was doing with Jojo. Although I longed to spend time with him, now was not the opportune moment for such blissful memories. My focus was on transforming myself physically and then moving forward with my life. I was unsure of what lay ahead, but my fitness improved daily. And as Magnum noticed the progress, he demanded even more from me. Over the course of two weeks, Magnum rehabilitated me, and I was already at 54 kilos. It would be beneficial to continue this journey from here. Adam and Samuel had nourished me, while Magnum sculpted my body.

Mentally, I found myself in an acceptable state. I had consumed copious amounts of blood, using the blood room within the house. Memories of Damon and me concocting mixtures in England inspired me to do the same here. I drank potent mixtures to curb my bloodlust. Mirella assured me that my bloodlust would eventually stabilize. But as I acknowledged its connection to my emotions, I wasn't so sure. Remembering Damon's rigorous work with my bloodlust in England, I had learned to control myself. Now, I was prepared to confront any challenges that life would throw at me next.