The Salvatores were already awake and loading their cars in the early morning. Number One's group would take a slightly smaller car, as they only had four people to bring home. Damon, number one, insisted Adam drive, believing they would need to focus entirely on the patients, as he was incredibly worried.
Wulfe had informed them he was already en route to the hospital, his flight having just landed. This news made the rest of the Salvatores quite edgy, for they knew the bond between Wulfe and Mimi was strong enough for him to use his own life force to heal her. They also knew that an old creature like Wulfe was as stubborn as ever when it came to saving Mimi or the children.
Therefore, they fervently hoped they would arrive as soon as possible, as Wulfe would be paramount in the coming days. Mimi's skull injury alone might once again shatter her willpower, allowing her less pleasant aspects to take over, and for that, Wulfe was needed. The Salvatores could devise explanation after explanation and identify problem after problem, but the solutions were not readily apparent. It was simply another agonizing waiting game.
The first group left the house around 5 a.m., as it took over four hours to drive to the hospital. that included Adam, Charles, Number One, and Number Six. The second group, however, displayed a bit more foresight. They began packing their bags and listing the necessary items for the long drive back. Since they had an idea of what kind of injuries to expect, one thing they did was spend time in the car, flooding it with their calming and protective pheromones.
Previously, Damon, number one, hadn't received proper education about these pheromones, and Mariella didn't react to them very strongly, or at least it seemed that way, so it hadn't been a priority for him. However, traveling in a car filled with worry and anxiety could still seep into Mariella's mind, potentially triggering another bout of preeclampsia or some other complication. At least they had warned number one; it was up to him whether or not he would listen.
For Mimi and the children most precious to them, however, everything had to be perfect. The men had changed, their feline sides becoming much more prominent as they protected their alpha female. According to one book, a true alpha female like Mimi might have several alpha males with genuine feelings solely for her, forming the strongest bond.
In such cases, their protection would be fierce, potentially preventing Number One or Charles from coming anywhere near the baby, their beloved, or the children. If Damon number one were to regain his senses, he would find it incredibly delicate to try and interfere and would soon notice the ferocity of their protection.
Despite Wulfe not overtly displaying feline traits, he possessed them. Combining the powers of a wizard, a vampire, a man in love with a fierce, protective mate, and an alpha male, Wulfe's strength meant he wouldn't let anyone near Mimi anytime soon. Number Two hoped to reason with Wulfe, but it was possible they would all be focused on protecting and sheltering their family.
They were in medbay with numbers four, ten, and nine, while others were making the softest, safest beds in the car with monitoring and support measures on board.
They were discussing the future, and number four said, "I believe we need to make a few minor changes when Mimi wakes up. Now, this may sound harsh, but let us use that handy mute spell. I mean, as we enter, turn on the mute, and do what is necessary; there is no need for us to get riled up, and then unmute so she can tell if she needs anything. Kids will be sleeping the majority of the time; I will not traumatize them by forcing them to hobble around with crutches and bulky supports on their limbs; it is easier and safer for them to sleep and less stress for the baby."
Number two grunted, "I agree, not too harsh, but you are correct; she will be sore and cranky trying to get up, and from what I could tell, she has very little hipbone or pelvis left, so some restraint is required. The young lady will soon learn what kind of treatment Dr. Damon is offering, not asking."
They were prepared to do this, and according to the book, now was not the time for Mimi to be strong and let her insecurity bloom all over the place, as well as her unique but nasty syndrome. Now she was beginning to realize that they had her and would not let her go no matter what.
As this thought occurred to number two, he told number four, "Now, let's do one more 1-0 for the young lady. I know number one has pretty much forgotten the music title competition, but let's do it, so now, we have time, and let's make such a long song title filled with love confessions that she is not going to win it; it is one more thing that keeps her mind elsewhere than her own state. She is too frail to fuck in shape yet, but once we get her skeleton a little better, it will be one type of physical therapy. We must also keep an eye on her few sides; I can imagine that her nastier sides will not be pleased with that guy because her children were injured, so there is no way of knowing what she is planning; we must bring our A-game with her and stay sharp. She is cunning when she is planning something bad, so Wulfe, I hope you catch it if we don't, but we need to keep her under control and let us handle it."
Number Ten grunted, his brow furrowed into a deep V as he pondered ways to help, heal, and deal with their current predicament. In the past, when faced with a problem of this magnitude, Mariella would typically take charge, exhausting their efforts. However, this was one of the first times they truly needed to initiate action rather than find resolution in intimacy. This left him feeling uncertain; had they overlooked something? Could they truly manage this? He knew he wasn't the only one with ideas, but now they simply had to act, repeatedly.
He sighed, shaking off those irritating thoughts, and a realization dawned as he began to reminisce.
"Did you know what I just realized?" he asked, lifting his gaze from a case filled with ampoules, drugs, sedatives, and muscle relaxants.
The others looked at him, and Number Two, his voice clipped, responded, "Well, spit it out."
Number Ten straightened himself and posed a question: "Now, tell me, think back six or seven years. What would have happened if Mimi had been injured and we had to care for her? What stopped us?"
Number Two's expression turned thunderous as he spat out, "Well, Mariella would have made herself a martyr, keeping us busy while Adam and the others dealt with Mimi. She would have tried to keep us occupied. I'm so fucking tired of her. I mean, she can take seven dicks at the same time with no problem, making her quite elastic. Two in her ass, two in her cunt, one in each hand, and one in her mouth. She truly is a set of holes, and then she coos and croons, waiting for us to praise her, preferably so Mimi would hear. It had been her all along; she took the choice out of our hands."
He was not happy with this realization and now understood Mariella's modus operandi. He believed she would be placed downstairs, minimizing their interaction. However, life can truly surprise everyone, and not always for the better.
Well, it depends on who you ask, but let's just say that once again, a significant change was coming, one that would have long-lasting effects, and not everyone would welcome it.
Number four was listing in his mind all kinds of medical products that would be needed, and he knew that since it would take time to get back, he might have time to do something minor already in the car, so the car had to be somewhat clean and not entirely sterile; it was impossible, but he was striving to be as clean as possible in case he might have to do some minor surgeries or even place new cannulas.
Children were as vulnerable to infections as Mimi, and as they had studied immune systems, especially kids', they were still immature, and now it was not the time to get infections. He had no idea how long it had taken them to warm kids or Mimi up, but he had a lot of equipment meant to keep them warm.
They also had an incubator preserved for Mimi as well as for kids, as they needed rest and not to use extra calories. Mimi was still pregnant, and that itself would make her body give everything, and being in an incubator might ease her somewhat.
They had each lain in the incubator during the night, releasing their love and security pheromones, trying to make the incubator as safe and stress-free a place for Mimi as possible.
It was optimized on all accounts, so she would have good rest and she would start to heal, and then at some point she might be woken up once her healing was well on the way and there would be no bigger complications.
Each of Salvatore's were focused on Mimi and her kids; Mariella and her trio did not even come to mind, and they knew that upcoming weeks would be stressful as they would have to do so much, be with babies, take care of patients, and do chores, so once Mimi woke up, there would be nothing for her to stress about.
It would take some doing, and it would make them once more grow as husbands and build a foundation that would have a big impact in the future on all of their relationships with the rest of the pack.
And it would also give them time to see what kind of manipulator Mariella actually was; she truly was the top student of number one. Ruthless when it came to getting what she wanted, no matter the consequences, but then again when she got her senses back, she was as confused as a sheep in a new field.
Now the car was retrofitted with smart shelving and lots of instruments; there were special spells in place that would keep it as still as possible. Number two also suspected that Mimi might need brain surgery, as they did not give consent to it; burr holes were permitted if needed, but not an open-skull operation.
And if needed, during the drive, which would take a bit more than four hours, they might be able to do it in the car; no need for her brain to suffer anymore than it already had. They had a lot of bumps as well as all kinds of tissues taken from them so they could imbue them into kids' broken bones and such, helping to heal.
The big question mark was Wulfe; it would take some firm but delicate handling to get him on board so he would not be just wrapped up around Mimi, giving her his life force, as it was not actually the best for him. or her as he was not her biological half. Sure, they were also jealous, but there were medical reasons as well.
Number four knew that number one was all over the place; Charles might be a bit wiser, but if number one was still kind of in shock, unable to get himself into medical mode, well, Mariella was less frail and not so injured as Mimi had been.
So far, what they had complied with, an accident had happened like that. Mimi and Mariella had been driving in their lane while this druggie decided to pass them. He had accelerated and hit a slippery part, which had caused his trailer to start lurching. He had been inexperienced; he had not noticed the last trailer to gain momentum, and it had slammed against Mimi's car.
On the back door's back part, Mariella's side, slamming the car across the road, spinning, and ending up backend dropping into the ravine, it had then slammed on the side. Now Mimi's side had hit the large boulders, slamming her against the door and window; the children's seats had been dislodged due to the initial impact, and they had rolled in the car, resulting in piles of seats hitting each other and the toddlers like eight wrecking balls in motion.
Mariella was secured by her seatbelt, and she had instinctively put up an energy shield, which had lessened the impact, but when she was slammed out cold, the energy shield dropped, though it had made a significant impact. Of course, they had been in the dark ravine for hours, during a cold night, and were severely hypothermic.
But now it was time to go and bring those precious ones home to recover. The accident had been nasty, killing so many and injuring even more, and it would take some time for everyone to get over this, not to mention the whole community, as a few locals were killed and even more were injured, maybe getting life-changing injuries so their lives would never be the same.