As I once awoke, I woke up a bit, just a bit, and tried to adjust my position, as I was in the most awkward position possible. I was so freaking tired that I did not have the energy to even open my eyes. I could feel my body being strapped and locked in a certain position, and now there was something pressing on my right arm, which was slightly under me, and my left ankle itched like shit. My neck felt strained and ached, and my muscles did not want to cooperate.
"Mimi, please, stay put. I alerted the Salvatores; they are coming. They will help. Stop wiggling; you need to stay put." Mariella's concerned voice said.
I had vague memories of this happening again; she was always stopping or talking to me, and then Salvatore, several of them, came and made sure nothing pressed or itched, and then nothing.
I had no memories about the accident, only Damon, number one, telling me in his doctor's voice, ordering me not to move too much, as I had plenty of bones broken. I groaned and managed to shift slightly, only to wake up my fetuses, who started to wiggle and kick inside me, and it was getting pretty cramped in there.
Mariella said, "Stop, they are coming; they will help. No, no, do not try to pull your lines." Her voice was strained, and I just could not understand why she just talked, not acted.
As said, I was too doped up, too tired to even open my eyes, but I moved my arm, which felt kind of heavy and stiff, and my fingers seemed numb.
I heard footsteps approaching, and Mariella said almost anxiously, "She is trying to pull her lines; her babies woke up, and she is moving. She just twisted her hips too much. And see, now she is trying to adjust her head and neck. Should she?"
A warm murmur from someone silenced Mariella.
Her anxious talk stopped, and someone was near me. "Baby, shh, take it easy. Your arm is in a plaster cast, and your fingers are fixed with rods. Now, let's put you on your other side, shall we? Keep your eyes closed. Would you like a sip of juice or something?"
I grunted; something ice-cold and refreshing seemed like a godsend. I tried to smell the air to identify this individual, but soon there were others.
They took the heavy, warm blanket off me; the cool air made me almost whimper and shiver. Soon multiple hands were sliding under me, or rather, the sheet under me. I felt it when I was lifted in the air and then turned to my other side; my arm was very carefully positioned with its plaster cast to lean on the pillow, and my nightgown or whatever I was wearing was lifted, and my skin was carefully checked.
Someone was spreading something cool on my ankle, which took the itch away, and those places that had been pressed were gently massaged and made sure there was nothing wrong with them. Finally blissful warmth returned as my blanket was draped again over me, and I could smell it had been changed, a new fresh casing, so it was clean and fresh.
My neck and back were adjusted, and I was too groggy to really understand how they knew exactly what was wrong with me. I mean, what bugged me. Someone was wiping my face with something cooling, refreshing, and citrusy-scented and cleaning my eyes.
I struggled to open them, but I got them slightly slitted, and only this wiper wiped some more. It was Wulfe; I saw that much, and he carefully cleaned each nook and cranny of my eyes.
One of the Salvatores, number one, as my vision worked somewhat, brought a little cup with a straw and said, "Here, sip and moisten your mouth; it is good for digestion to start slowly waking up."
I was now on my back to Mariella, but I could see my children in the next bed; they too had casts and lines and whatnot. I took the straw and sipped; the cup was chilled so much so that condensation had made small droplets on the surface, and the liquid was perfectly icy. I let it swirl in my mouth before swallowing greedily some more.
Damon said, as I had drunk it all, "Good, now take a nap. Let's see if you get some more when you wake up, baby. It has been seven weeks since the accident, meaning you are approaching your 30th week, and it is soon time to have a C-section once we get you guys a bit more stable."
Mariella said behind me, "I got myself and my three kids energy shields, but it did not save me so much as my kids, which in turn became wrecking balls when they hit yours. Sorry. There are a hell of a lot of broken bones in each of us."
I just grunted. Someone went to Mariella and said to her, "You too, darling. Naptime. Your blood pressure is threatening to rise; no preeclampsia."
Someone adjusted something near me, and my exhaustion just got deeper and deeper until I passed out like a light.
The next time I woke up, it was dark; I had been moved again, as I was facing Mariella, who was sleeping. She too had several casts, and lines snuck into her as well. Hmm, seven weeks? Well, we were pregnant, and it must have been one damn accident for me to end up so banged up, as well as the kids.
I did not move, as I did not have to; my position was just fine, and I was warm, but damn, lines—I knew there were some I wanted them out, but once again, my arms were positioned and in casts and dressings, so moving them was pretty hard. My fingers did not really move as they were pinned in a certain position, and I rolled my eyes for expiration.
My mouth was quite dry again, and I tried to move my tongue to get my saliva flowing. I blinked in darkness, and as if by magic, I heard several footsteps coming, a door opening, and someone coming to me, crouching down so his ice blue eyes met mine.
"Oh, you are awake. Do you have a dry mouth? Well, number two is fetching something for you. Let those lines be, shall we? You need them. Now, you must be wondering what the hell that accident was and how bad shape you are in. Let me try to explain this simply."
This was number one; he kept his voice soft so Mariella or the kids would not wake up, and there was actual caring and love in his gaze.
I, despite my grogginess, knew on some level that it almost burned him not to be able to just take me in his arms and keep me safe.
He glanced down and said, "Simply put, a semi with a heavy load and an inexperienced, inebriated driver started to pass you, not noticing that its last trailer was swinging. The trailer hit your car, sweeping you across the road and ending near the edge of the ravine, back end first, and then it fell down back end first and finally landed on its side. Because this trailer kept on going and killed many and injured even more, your car was first, and there was not so much light and heavy snow, and it took hours to find you. We found you when you did not come home. We used that new drone to locate you."
He was trying to keep himself composed, but it was obvious he was still, after 7 weeks, shaken up by this, and I did not really, or could not, blame him.
He said, "Well, let's see what we can get you to drink and then do a few adjustments on your position. We have ideas, and since your skin is thin, you might rub it open just trying to shift. We have an idea for that too."
He took a breath before continuing, "I am not going to list your injuries or our kids' injuries, but they are healing too; it takes time, as we don't want to stress them, and we want them to be pretty well healed once they wake up, with no sore spots or plaster casts. They are growing, so it is delicate work to make sure everything heals exactly as it should."
I heard soon more footsteps, soft ones, and the slight creak of a wheel; someone was pushing some kind of cart in. Number two came to me as number one got up and went to wake Mariella up too.
Number two looked at me; his love shone like a blazing sun, and he was shaking, but he crouched and let me first have a sip again, something fruity and cold, so my mouth was no longer so dry.
He said then, "Now, let's try some savory food. Here, try this; it is good for you to give your gut something to work with."
I took a slightly thicker straw and sipped. The liquid was thick, warm, tasty, and rich without being too greasy or covering my mouth with a film of fat. I had no idea what it was made from, but I drank a whole cupful of what was reserved for me.
Number two said, "Number three is a nutrition manager." He continued to explain, "You see, my love, each of us has our own responsibility. Number four is a pharmacist; number one deals with tests and labs; Adam and Charles will be physiotherapists, and so on. Now, I have something for you."
He reached behind him and grabbed something; it was a tubular pillow, but it was covered with fur. Oh, those fur scraps!
"See, my love, these will keep you in a comfy position, protect your skin, and in here there are stone chips, loaded and ready to seep into you. Mariella has her own, and you have yours; we have these for kids as well. Fur is a nice, soft material and warm too, and there is no more chafing of your skin."
Mariella seemed to mutter something sleepily.
Number two said, "Yeah, Mariella was mobile when number one was not yet on point, but once he got in right gear, well, let's say Mariella is not going to move from that bed anytime soon. You, my love, have a pretty smashed pelvis. We have kept you on strong medication as well as partially numbed it, but you should not wiggle. Your skeleton took a tremendous hit, and since you are pregnant, all healing goes to the fetuses, which are just fine, same with Mariella."
His voice was calm and explanatory, but there was such love behind it that I could not help but feel it, and I tried to respond, only to get a nasty, painful hit in my brain.
Wulfe came to the other side. "My love, don't try to use your powers yet; you had a nasty brain injury, meaning your brains were leaking out of your skull, so there is still healing to be done."
He too wanted to touch me, be close to me, and care for me.
Number two said, "Just wait, chat with Mariella or something; we'll go through kids first, put these pillows on them, and then fix you guys right up."
He got up and moved with Wulfe to start going through the kids one by one. Thank God none of them were on a ventilator or such; otherwise I might have just lost it.
They were gentle but efficient, and it seemed this was kind of rounds as Damon and others muttered something and wrote down things on each child, and then they lifted. They had made these pillows by measure, so they supported just the right way, limb, or whatever was needed, and then positioned my babies so gently, and Damon murmured to them and stroked them.
"He loves you, you know, the core of him. Truly, and from my point of view, I am not jealous, as I am just starting to understand this whole balanced energy. I have so many plans for your energies; I need to map your energies and how you use them. Then work my way up there to see what the optimal balance is for you and adjust your tanks. It isn't fast or easy, and it will require alpha power cleansing, all three of them, combining the pack's alpha power, and then we are getting somewhere." Mariella said, looking at me, pondering and kind of seeing me in a whole new light.
I said groggily, "I am not really there yet. I am a bit like Humpty Dumpty, who fell off the wall right now."
Mariella rolled her eyes and said, "Welcome to the club. My shoulder has been operated on several times, as well as my spine and hip. You recall we had brittle bones; well, add that to trauma and lacking healing, and this is not fast for me either."
She continued her rant, "According to Adam and Charles, I am nowhere near bearing weight on my skeleton. I am infused with Charles's bone tissue, different boosters, calcium, and phosphorus, and I hope I can use some of it myself, but my babies seem to love them. I was walking earlier, but then as they got Damon back to his senses, he explained to me my shoulders' situation as well as my other injuries, so it is bedrest for me too."
I was still pretty out of it, trying to get my mind cleared, but since I could not use my powers, it was slow going.
Mariella said, "I don't recall much, only that the truck was about to pass us, and then I threw my energy shield on, and then nothing. Well, I guess we started our maternity leave then. But in that accident, over 45 people died, 12 of them locals; that trucking company and driver will face some serious consequences, and we will get some compensation, but I'm not sure when or what."
Charles walked to Mariela and adjusted her drip. "Now, little one, shush; that is not your concern. Remember your blood pressure."
His tone was chiding, and I noticed Mariela's blood pressure was 140/95, whereas mine was 86/60.
My saturation seemed lowish, only 93%, so I tried to really pull air in, only to have number five come to me and say, "Stop. Don't. Your saturation is lowish, but you get by with it; your ribs are too unstable for you to expand them like that. Now, relax, we will come to you soon."
He smiled at me warmly and went back to check on Dash, whom they were positioning right now. My poor babies and my slightly younger ones, and now this lot inside me. Well, I should try to heal so I could be one caring for my little ones, but I knew time was one thing that was needed and patience another. I had both, but how much could my nerves take?
When I am a bit more awake, my mouth might make men once again a bit nervous. But it was for the future as Number Five tinkered with something with my IV, so I was out like a light well before they had gotten kids into their new positions. What kind of recovery would we all have, and how nasty could I be, and could men take it?