20. Niin Kaunis On Hiljaisuus. (So Beautiful is silence.)

Colin scrambled to catch Mimi as the Magnum just stood there with his hands in his fists and his knuckles white.

Higgins said, " Hey, let's put this place in order a bit. Let's let Colin look Mimi over."

Higgins recognized her boyfriend's rage; although he was human, Magnum was no slouch. Magnum had been regularly drinking the blood drinks Mimi gave him, making himself pretty fucking much more powerful than the average man. Magnum was tough; he was unforgiving, and Mimi's story had hit and sunk them both.

Over the years, they had both gotten to know Mimi, this pack, and what Mimi had been through. Higgins herself knew how demanding the fucking world saving mission had been for Mimi and this pack clearly didn't trust Mimi. Higgins didn't trust Damon completely and didn't know why, and this incident seemed to speak for itself. She wouldn't want any of them taking care of Mimi, either. Higgins noticed the slight tension in Colin's body language and then distracted Magnum. 

Magnum was furious. Mimi was one of the most important people in his life, and there wasn't really anything he wouldn't do for her. Vengeance was taking over his mind, his hands were still in his fists and he was already thinking about how he would beat up everyone, even Bran.

He'd like to see the look on the faces of the entire pack when he revealed the truth. He saw nothing wrong with Mimi killing demons and even though she was prone to fear demons he had to remember that Mimi was immortal, resilient and had gone through a fucking year where there had been far worse demons than the ones she had gone up against in that warehouse. And no one in the pack had been there for Mimi. No one had put Mimi in shape after that year when all they'd done was fuck and drink.

Magnum swallowed and then hissed, " Oh, how I wish I could tell Salvatore the entire story."

Higgins sighed. "Maybe a little later, okay? Let's start by picking up all this rubbish and cleaning up and airing out the place."

Higgins finally got Magnum moving. They put all the dirty bedding in the wash. Magnum took a knife and cut the stained bits off the carpet. It could then be replaced. Higgins ordered new bedding and put the bed in order. However, the mattress was also dirty.

Higgins closed the bedroom door, where Colin helped Mimi and called room service to remove the dirty mattress. The smell was finally dissipating; the bed now had a new mattress and had been made up. Magnum had vented some of his frustration at cleaning up with Higgins, but his sense of justice and the idea of revenge still smoldered in his mind.

Meanwhile, Colin had dug Mimi out of her blanket stash and changed into another bed. He had taken Mimi into another bedroom, put plenty of clean sheets on the bed, and laid her down on them. He listened to her heart, her lungs, and felt her. He kept her naked to lower her body temperature just a little. He also went through Mimosa. The wolf was asleep for now.

Once again, Mimi's straps were cranky, making Colin curse as he used more leprechaun stuff to stabilize them. His leprechaun used his magic and put the Mimosa back into Mimi's mind. That too would help keep Mimi's condition more stable. 

He felt around, Mimi's abdominal cavity was full of soft mass, so everything was liquefying and then he didn't know how to stop it, maybe surgery but if Mimi had been in for four days, then infection would be more likely and surgery a higher risk.

He then looked at Higgins and Magnum. He would not tell them every single thing he had noticed. He didn't want to worry the two of them anymore.

So he spoke in a calm voice, saying what he had to say. "Her body is not ready for pregnancy, hence this violent reaction. This should not happen again. She should find a permanent contraceptive. Now, her blood is teeming with toxins and several opportunistic pathogens that have invaded, as this reaction has driven her immune defenses wild. She has a dangerously high fever, almost morbidly underweight, dehydrated. Do I need to continue? Then what can I do? I can try to hydrate, bring down the fever, and maybe help with the infection, but I still don't know her physiology well enough to do anything about this rejection reaction. Her reaction is violent. She is destroying her own internal organs, and I don't know when it will stop. I put Mimosa back in Mimi's mind. It's good for both of them, and I can care for them. Then when that mass will stop coming out, I don't know. I've flushed out as much as I can."

Higgins thought for a moment. "Do you think we should call Damon? After all, it's been months since Damon left for the gigs. If he should know what Mimi went through."

Colin was quiet for a moment and said, " No, because then Damon is a wolf with a sick female. Damon might help, but I feel this might trigger a nesting frenzy. Well, when the female is weak or sick we males sometimes get the need to build a den, I mean just pile up bedding and pillows into a big den and hide the female in there, keep her anesthetized or sedated, feed and hydrate her and keep watch. Mimi doesn't benefit from that now. And what Samuel has said, Damon has a damn strong nesting instinct. He's already nested with Mimi twice. I've put her on fluids now and tried those dentifrices of hers but with pretty modest success. Now we just have to wait and see. If Mimi's condition goes down, then maybe then, but for now I say no."

Magnum said, "Oh, I hate to be so powerless. But would Salvatore's blood help? Hugh is on his way here and there are a couple of good bases on the way where we even have some centrifuged bumps and Salvatore's blood. I can ask Hugh to grab them with him."

Colin thought for a moment and said, " Good idea, do that. Salvatore is Mimi's biological half, so it might help calm things down. For now, I will do nothing about these infections just yet, and I'll try to help where I can."

Magnum nodded, pulled out his phone, and went to make a call. 

Higgins made sure Magnum was far enough away before asking Colin, "How bad is it?"

Colin sighed, gesturing for Higgins to come closer. He put his hand on Mimi's stomach, motioning Higgins to do the same.

" As you can feel, this girl is nothing but a pulp. There is nothing anatomically recognizable here. The infection has had four days to fester, and this reaction is causing her organs to be destroyed. She probably had the amplification enzyme on at some point. She wasn't in peak condition to begin with, and Mimi's organs are damn sensitive to stress." 

Higgins paled and said, " Well, Hugh is coming and he'll bring what he finds when he comes."

Colin nodded and said, "We, me, Hugh, and you will now treat Mimi for the time being because her pack doesn't care about her, that's obvious. If things get much worse than we can look into it, but I'm going to write everything down, every detail and then only when Mimi is well will I put the information in her file so that the pack doctors can read it. I know one abortion led to a nesting, but not now. Now they have no right."

 Magnum came closer and said, " Hugh will be here tomorrow. He's bringing suction, antibiotics, fever medicine, and Salvatore blood."

Colin nodded. He heard the noise and turned around. Mimi was moving in the bed. 

I woke up once again to the cold, but it hadn't hurt too much yet.

Colin came over to me and said, "Miss, this is going to take a little work, but I'll get you fixed up. Don't you worry about it?"

I nodded. I was no longer nauseous and felt at least a little cleaner. Colin seemed to do something with his bag, and I opened my eyes.

Higgins and Magnum both looked at me with concern and I said, "No pack, no way. I'm so fucking cranky to everyone. Bran was an opportunist and at first, Adam and Samuel were defending me from Bran. They kept me safe, but after that fucking demon dimension, Bran has somehow gotten a hold of them, and now he's trying to be some fucking pack leader. I guess you knew those demons attacked us because of Bran's actions, not mine, and Bran threatened me with some pretty fucking nasty shit if I ever revealed the truth, but I have the evidence."

This brief statement made Magnum swear even more, and I saw Higgins trying to calm him down.

Colin came over to me and said, " Miss, you go back to sleep now and get some rest. I will not let you stay awake."

I didn't have time to say anything when I felt him put the syringe into the cannula and press the plunger. I fell asleep right away.

Colin sighed. This would again require the tenacity to keep her unconscious until the infection subsided. Higgins and Magnum retreated to the kitchen to make dinner while Colin put more fluids in the drip.

A day later, Hugh came in. The doctors retreated to talk and help Mimi. Magnum and Higgins weren't going anywhere. They wanted to be there to help Mimi. Magnum knew the outline of Mimi's diet, and he prepared food so that when Mimi woke up, she would have something to eat.

The doctors looked at each other, and after Hugh had gone through Mimi and Colin was putting her meds in place, Hugh said, "I see no alternative but surgery, get that mass out, fill her with a bump, pour Salvatore blood, and hope for the best."

Colin nodded. He went to talk to Higgins and Magnum, who called and supplies would be delivered in a couple of hours so the men could make some operating theatre. Magnum asked downstairs for the keys to the other apartments, and he and Higgins would be together while the men made themselves a medbay, or something like that. 

Hugh had put a suction catheter inside Mimi, and they were sucking the mass out before the operation. Mimi deflated like a balloon. Then, when the men came carrying supplies, Magnum and Higgins had cleared out one apartment, almost empty, and they started putting in everything that was needed for the emergency surgery.

A portable disinfector had been brought in, and a bedroom that had been converted into an operating theatre was being cleaned. The men carried the sleeping Mimi to the medbay and then, six hours later; they were ready to operate on her. 

They opened Mimi up, flushed out, this now empty body cavity, then drained a lot of Damon's blood and slowly new organs grew. But not yet a uterus. After sixteen hours of surgery, Mimi had organs. Her incision wound was healing, and the doctors kept her asleep, on an antibiotic drip, and gave her as much nutrient concentrate as they could.

It wasn't until a week later that the infection had calmed down enough for Colin to let Mimi wake up. Hugh had left when Mimi was stable, but Magnum and Higgins had gone nowhere.

Colin sat and watched. He had moved Mimi back to her bed, and she looked exhausted even as she slept. He knew that medically induced sleep didn't really help in the same way that normal sleep did, but as Mimi's pack didn't remember this, when was the last time she'd slept properly?

Colin couldn't help but think how fucking unfair Mimi's life was. But Mimi was resilient, and he knew Mimi, well, she might even try to understand what the pack had done and forgive them at some point. But not to Bran.

 I woke up in my bed, in my hotel room, or apartment, and Colin was sitting next to the bed. Soon the door opened and Magnum and Higgins came in, carrying a large tray. I smelled the coffee and oh; the smell was lovely.

Colin said, "You were asleep again for a week. Hugh and I operated on you. One flat has now been converted into a medbay and there is an operating theatre. The infection has now been beaten once again, but we need to find a solution to this. You are far too vulnerable." 

I told Colin about the pills Samuel had developed and how Bran confiscated them and gave Samuel a marrok order not to make any more. I hadn't understood why then, but now, men lose their brains now and then when there's a woman in the pack.

A woman has a womb, and a woman can get pregnant. It would be nice to do that. Now, I learned in the next few years that Bran actually goes in packs and tries to get women pregnant. And it never really works. Well, that's his obsession and his problem.

Colin promised to get back to me and said his leprechaun stuff might even help. Any help would do because I didn't want to go through that again. 

I eagerly accepted the tray and went to eat and drink coffee. Although I wasn't hungry, the food was lovely, and I smelled and tasted very well, so everything was perfect. Higgins and Magnum had cooked, and when Colin had to leave when another emergency arose, Magnum and Higgins weren't going anywhere.

Magnum was rehabilitating me, as best he could, and he had studied my nutrition so I didn't get to eat what I wanted. But it was good to have company. Mimosa jumped loose and chatted long and hard with Higgins about anything and everything, and my wolf was a very talkative type. 

 I recovered at the hotel for another week or so and then did some flea work while I was there. And I was rehabilitated. Magnum and Higgins were with me all week, and Magnum did the work while I was there. Mimosa gave me six kill lists, and Higgins organized them.

I got a tip about a good kill list from Reddington that I was actually thinking about doing. I didn't know when I was going to tell the pack about my miscarriage. I so wanted to tell Damon in detail how awful the whole jelling thing had been, but then again, I would just hand over the weapon for next time if I admitted it was awful.

Thank goodness at least Magnum and Higgins knew about it, because I didn't feel comfortable keeping all the horrors to myself all the time and being so damn strong all the time. But fine.

Let's take care of a few pharmaceutical bosses out of the day. Magnum went off to take care of the more demanding items on Mimosa's list, as did Higgins, and then I went to the Reddington gigs for a change.

I was just in passing I thought I haven't had a good time in well over a year, probably two years, and when was the last time I had sex with Damon, well it was before the World Salvation gig, and even then, it was a fucking nest; he had to get to fill me up, so it wasn't our usual frenetic goings on. 

But this was my life, and God was right to warn me that my life would not be easy, but I wasn't alone. This, if anything, taught me how important friends I had. Even if the pack was full of assholes, I had very important friends who would not really abandon me.