24. Candle In The Wind.

Magnum decided to call Damon after he had walked away to his car in order to drive back to the nearest base; he was worried about her; he had seen Mimi's hand trembling ever so slightly, but still. He cared for her deeply, maybe even loved her, but he knew they wouldn't ever get together, so he kept his feelings at bay. He can't deny this connection that he had with Mimi and maybe someday, but he was trying to be there for her and that trip to Australia had been one of the best of his life. Magnum fell in love with many women, and none seriously, except for Higgins, his Mount Everest, but he was certain that one day, Higgins would be fully his own. Magnum drove to the base, took his phone out while he was still in his car, and dialed Damon's number. 

The call connected, and Salvatore's terse voice asked, "Magnum, what's the situation there? Did you see Mimi?"

Magnum replied," Mimi weighs way less than 30 kg. She's just working. The rage is on full display. She was pale, her hands were trembling, and she was almost coming at me. When I did not tell her I was coming, her rage ignited, but I am not sure how long she could manage, even with the help of her rage. I didn't dare push too hard. Maybe it's time for a little doctor's house call?"

Damon grunted in reply. " Fine, maybe it would be. I get some things in order; you try to find someone to take her off her work while she takes a nap, and how long, I have no idea until I go the lady through myself. I know we let her down badly; we haven't even honeymooned yet, and once again, I need to be just a doctor, not her husband. I'll see what I can do. Stay there, if possible. I'll get back to you soon."

Magnum said, "Fine. I am in the nearest base, getting things in order. Is Adam free? I could use him too?"

Damon said. "He is now, so let him know what needs to be done, and he will help you out." 

Magnum grunted, and the call ended. Magnum started to organize things, sending Adam all the plans and hints about Sarks' activities. He got Adam swear quite damn badly as Sark was after werewolves as well, so he took those reports, called Charles and went to Bran, yelled at him that stop focusing in heats and focus on enemy. Charles had been almost shocked as he had seen how comprehensive plan Sark had for wolves. Adam told Bran that he was busy not doing his job for him and he should focus on Sark. 

Damon cursed to himself. His fault, but then again, taking care of Bran had taken time, and it had not been until Constantine had given him a hint about breaking the curse by dipping Bran into salt water for so long until it was no longer bubbling; that things had gotten any easier. Damon thought about the possible problems Mimi could have had.

He had read about that anaphylaxis in her medical records, too, and he was not sure what plant had gotten it. So, Mimi's weight is significantly less than 30 kg. Rage on display, fine. Just working, not eating. His wife is crazy, though, but hey, never mind, let's get the supplies and get the young lady in shape once again.

He went to medbay, took out a smaller bag this time, reserved a few different sedatives and anesthetics in there, too, and told Samuel that he would leave soon. He knew that in Monaco there was excellent medbay. Samuel told him he would come as soon as he was free. There was an epidemic of uterine infections once after the heat, but the crisis was almost over. After Damon had gotten everything that he needed, he went to his car, drove to the airstrip, and a private plane owned by the pack flew him into Monaco.

Damon arrived early the next day. He took one of the SUVs in the hangar, put Mimi's Monaco house address in it, and started to drive. He had access codes so he would get to the house. Since Mimi's office was upstairs and the medbay was downstairs, he would have time to put things in order before getting the young lady in the Medbay.

Now, he would have to be strong and clinical and not let the young lady have any leeway; even as weak as Mimi was, she could still do pretty severe damage, so now was not the time to be a loving husband. Now was the time to be clinical, strong, and determined. 

I had not noticed Damon coming into the house at all. My office was upstairs. It was very nice and spacious, with enormous windows and beautiful scenery over the ocean. My desk was large. It had stacks of photos, printouts, and other stuff. My desk was chaotic at best, and I knew for a fact that, for example, on bases, I had several guys who would come and put my desk in neat order whenever I was not around, and I didn't mind at all. I was Chaos, so my desk reflected me.

But as beautiful as the scenery was, it was not relevant, as I was fully focused on my work. To find a few evil medical facilities. I was waiting for energy reports to confirm my suspicions. My hackers delivered to me whenever I needed, reports of different energy facilities, those reports were summaries, of how much energy had been spent, but no one really cared for those reports, those companies just kept them for kind bookkeeping but never looked at more carefully. Why I wanted them?

Well, first of all, very few evil or secret facilities had their own energy source, so they would take energy and buy it, but it was done by a shell company. They would use this hacked system to give out different addresses that would use energy, and they would hack into an energy grid and steal energy, and no one would notice. I looked at energy reports and tried to find irregularities, meaning what spending was recorded and then what was billed.

If there was a huge difference, it meant that someone would steal energy, but then again, energy companies might have to give free energy to certain government facilities, too. It was not so easy. Another thing was those satellite images, and with a thermal camera, trying to see if some facility was warm, meaning that one that should be abandoned and cold would have a heat signature.

Again, it was not so easy as we did not get satellite images of anything, and then those images might not be so clear. So, there were always things to analyze and ponder. I was trying to find the best possible targets for our scouts to see and maybe find some evil facility. But we would come up empty more than we would get hit. 

My focus was disturbed, and I lifted my eyes from the satellite pictures on my desk when Damon marched into my office and said, " You, medbay, right now. Or..." 

His expression was stern and clinical. He showed me the syringe. I sighed irritably. I put pictures and a magnifying glass on the table. 

I said, "Hello, you too, but really, I am in the middle of something, but that's fine. Let's get this over with so you can see for yourself that there is no need to fuss over me. Going through satellite images and finding a pharmaceutical company is difficult." 

He did not say anything; he just waited impatiently as I put my desk in some sort of order. I got up and walked to the medbay as he followed behind me. I was slightly surprised to see that there were lights on and he had gotten some things out. Scanners were on. There was an excellent collection of blood test tubes too reserved. I made a mental note for myself to get some sort of alarm if anyone came in. So, if I am working, I know that someone has come in, even if they have access codes and everything. I did not appreciate that I was ambushed quite this badly. 

Damon spoke. His voice was clinical. "First the scales, right there."

Fine, this was in a commanding mood. I went to the scales at 25 kilos. Oh well, I'll have to take some feeding fluid and get my weight back up. It is good to put in smoothies.

He spoke again as he tapped something on the tablet in his hands. "Over there on the bed. Strip naked and put on your robe. I'm going to do a thorough health check on all sides. And no buts or ifs. Remember, we always have a peaceful alternative. Then I will tell you where we are and in terms of your health and well-being."

Damon's voice was tight as if he was irritated about something. It was fine to be patient, then. I changed into my gown and went to sit down, blood tests first. I let him take a like million tubes of blood, measure my blood pressure and pulse, listen to every point and palpate, and do an internal examination, even a gastrostomy. It is not nice to swallow that damn tube that he sticks down on your gullet, but I was patient and tried to manage as long as possible so that I could get on with my work. I kept my rage on, so it helped somewhat. Then there were scans of several kinds, and he even took x-rays on my face and teeth, too; I had a dental x-ray here. 

Finally, he let out a weary sigh, and as he sifted through my scans and blood work, the crinkle of paper filled the air. He settled on the stool beside my bed, the worn leather creaking beneath his weight. I sat upright, searching for my clothes amidst the sterile, antiseptic scent that permeated the room—the hours had slipped by since he had conducted the exhaustive tests and scans.

Exhaustion clung to me, a heavy cloak after enduring so much, but I knew that my anger would fuel my recovery. His gaze met mine, flickering briefly to the tablet in his hands before placing it gently on the table. With a soft sigh, he began to speak. 

"I won't sugarcoat it," he said, his voice tinged with weariness. "You need to rest. Your body is in no condition to be awake, let alone work. Let me summarize the main issues we've discovered, but bear in mind that this is only the tip of the iceberg. You are severely dehydrated, alarmingly underweight, and plagued by numerous vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Your vampire blood levels are dangerously low, leaving you severely anemic. Metal objects litter your body, threatening the viability of half your organs unless you succumb to sheer exhaustion before that. Your blood sugar has plummeted, leaving you hypothermic. Your bloodwork paints a chaotic picture, leaving you vulnerable to infections. And you, my dear, are too weak to mount a proper defense against it."

Pausing to collect himself, he locked eyes with me, his demeanor that of a pragmatic physician.

His clinical tone persisted as he continued, "The question now is whether you can make decisions regarding your health, and I must be honest with you. You are not. So here's the plan: you will rest and receive intravenous treatment. I cannot determine the duration yet, but my dear, you will not be engaging in any further work in your current state. Magnum and Adam will handle your responsibilities; your priority is to recover and resume your life when you are well again."

With those words hanging in the air, Damon rose from the stool and swiftly injected a hidden syringe into my arm. A sharp sting pricked my skin, evoking a sense of annoyance, yet my strength waned with each passing moment. Fatigue washed over me like a relentless tide as he assisted me in shifting to my side, coaxing me to lie down.

His voice softened slightly as he spoke. "The effects will be swift, given your weakened state. Your rage is subdued, almost nonexistent, and I believe I've devoured the remainder. Just surrender to sleep, baby, and fear not. When you awaken, everyone will be here for you. Magnum will handle any lingering tasks that Adam has taken care of. Don't resist, baby, for you cannot prevail."

I tried to hold on, not to be weak. That 15 months had been a grueling experience, and it had left its marks on my body. I had scars. I could feel Damon touching my scars, murmuring something softly. I fell asleep to the feeling of Damon holding me while I lay down and stroking me. It's not a bad feeling to fall asleep at all.

When Mimi fell asleep, Damon sighed. It had been very hard for him to see Mimi in this condition, and he was feeling very guilty. If only he had not gone partying but gone to Australia to Mimi, as he had planned when those witches were killed. He had been almost leaving for the plane already when Bran had right about forcing him to party, to fuck strangers when he would have a chance to go to his wife, to have a honeymoon with her, and more importantly, he would have been there with her in this gig. 

Instead of them having a honeymoon in Australia, Mimi and Magnum had had a trip of lifetime and he had seen just how much fun they had had and he was jealous, he was bitter and he hated himself, being too weak, fucking machine, not a husband. 

But no, he was weak and unsure if Damien was real or if it was just a warping of his ancient mind. Now, it was left to him to take care of Mimi and get her well, and someday, they would have a chance to be together with her and have that honeymoon. Damon let his clinical side take over again, cannulated Mimi, and called Samuel, who had taken a peek at Mimi's results and promised to be there the next day so they could operate on her. Damon worked and put lots of stuff in her IVs to drip while waiting on Samuel.

He called Magnum, who came by to collect everything needed from Mimi's study. Magnum said nothing about their trip or Mimi's condition. Damon spied in his mind, seeing how much Magnum had enjoyed spending time. Taking Mimi into movies, joked with her. Damon did not know how Mimi had gotten free and who had helped her.

He hadn't really thought of that, but as he asked Magnum, Magnum told him how Nick and Elias had cared for Mimi for over a month and healed her. Magnum also told him how bad it had been for Mimi, but as Damon had been under the influence of that wretched potion, his memories were hazy.

What Damon did not know was that Damien was busy. He had been able to make those memories hazy and unclear so that Damon would have a hard time remembering. That had been one thing driving Damon to fuck strangers. Damien got his powers a little more back as he had continued to influence Damon's decisions, even now.

Damien had found a way to suppress Damon's feelings for Mimi, keep him in a more clinical setting, and, more importantly, he had somehow suppressed Damon's need to nest, driving them more apart. Damien waited for his time. Soon, there would come a chance for him once again to have some pleasure and continue his little medical testing. 

Samuel and Adam came the next day. Damon had put Mimi into a deep sleep and started hydrating and feeding her directly into the vein. They would operate on Mimi today after Damon had gotten her a little more stable. All the organs went again, the body cavity flushed and infused with Damon's blood to soothe and heal. All the wounds and bruises caused by the metal blades began to heal. Damon healed every scar that he found with his blood, too. 

With the new organs, Adam was now a donor. Then, Mimi would be kept asleep until her blood counts improved. She would gain a lot more weight. Then she could be allowed to wake up when her condition had improved considerably. Damon didn't put Mimi in the incubator because it would lazy Mimi's own thermoregulation. He put her in a feeding of visceral pure and put an electric blanket over her.

Adam was busy at Mimi's study, working with the fleas. Damon and Samuel took several sets of bloodwork on Mimi to monitor her improvement, and she did not get any infections. Damon also went through the entire house, taking several briefcases full of medical samples and stolen drugs that Mimi had brought for safekeeping. Samuel looked at those drugs, too, and they decided what stayed and what did not. 

Mimi was kept asleep for five weeks and now weighed 42 kilos. Then Damon left his wife in Monaco to sleep and went to America himself. Adam and Samuel had left weeks ago. Adam was once again busy by Bran, and Samuel had to go when the epidemic struck Canada.

Damon carried his sleeping wife to one bedroom, tucked her in, and walked away; he did not notice how Damien once again manipulated him, making him leave once he had his duty: save the baby and get her well. Now, he could go and do some fun stuff, too.