I got off the phone, went out to the car, and started driving. I did not do anything yet; I had no supplies, and my teeth were pretty much useless unless I did not want to sleep or then make poison for that son of a bitch who shot me, but he was dead. It was just a matter of suffering and healing. The pain was all the way down the cavity where the bullet had gone through and, from that pain and throbbing and dampness of my pants, I could tell that the cavity hadn't healed.
I had to use my rage in order to be able to function and well, me and my rage in the car, driving meant that my road rage flared up, but I did nothing else than fucked out loud, pretty much everyone else and I drove as fast as possible, the drive was long and not fun at all. I was tired and sore when I finally got to the house in Florida.
I drove up to the yard. Parked my car somewhere. I was still in my work clothes, meaning I had not changed my jeans, my tee shirt, and my sneakers when I had set out to drive. I needed a long hot shower, see what was going on with that freaking bullet wound, and then make a plan. Of course, there would be a welcome committee waiting for me. But strangely enough, the house was dark, as I went inside. There was nobody here. I sat down and called Charles on the phone. The phone rang twice before someone picked it up.
" Hello, baby. " Damon answered, his voice was a little slurry, and drunken. I could hear music in the background, too.
My rage flared up, as I knew probably what had happened and I said, " Can you put Charles on the phone? Where are you?"
Damon laughed and said, "Charles can't make it. He's celebrating. We are at a party. Bran decided to have a party when Charles and Adam tried to run away caring for you. Interesting story. The vampire potion still works for those two, or some version of it, anyway—sorry, baby. Take care of yourself. We're celebrating now. This was not me, by the way, it was all Bran. He has not learned from his lesson, I see, but I am too drunk to care to teach him some more. He seems to have some issue with you, still."
Damon hung up the phone.
Oh fuck, I was cranky. How fucking dare Bran do his fucking tricks all the time now? I called Magnum and told him.
He said, " I am actually nearby. Bran called me, too. Fine, I'll go and give the boys the antidote too, and they'll be fine in no time. I am not sure that it was all Bran. It seems that Salvatore's a bit of a loose cannon, I see."
You could fucking put it that way. Magnum hung up, and I went to turn on the medbay. I turned on the scanner to warm it up, and luckily, this version had a remote control so I could take my scan. Mirella sent a message that Bran forced her and Mimosa to attend the party and that they had no choice. Fucking Bran. Someday I will give him a lesson of my own and it will hit and sink, that I can ensure.
I removed most of my clothes and gathered some supplies ready too. I had not much experience with these kinds of wounds, but I knew the bullet was more or less in pieces from impact and poison had had time to absorb. Removing those fragments would not be easy or painless, but I had my rage. Poison flared up my rage all the way through, and I had no idea if would this expose me to an infection too.
I needed to ask someone and Colin would be the one to do that too, but he might come here and start to treat me. I was not in the mood anymore to be a perfect little patient. Samuel would be a better option, but he was partying and less likely to come over and he could give some idea of what I was dealing with. Blood tests would show up some effects on poison, so they could be useful too.
I went to the scanner, took a scan of myself, and then went to see the result. The cavity the bullet had left behind was impressive. The Bullet had fragmented into at least 19 pieces and they were all the way to that cavity. A few bigger pieces were quite a good place in my thigh to get them out, too.
There was organ damage, of course. At least my large intestine had taken a hit, as well as my other kidney, too. There was one fragment embedded in there. I will come by just on kidney if that kills my kidney, but this meant that I needed to get a multiplication enzyme blocker, and again, not so easy thing. Because it was locked in a drug cabinet.
There was a hell of a lot of damage and this would not so a straightforward thing to fix up. Fine, next up is a blood test so I can see what the fucking poison is. And if it was going to expose me to infection. One more thing that I did not need. It seemed that most of my life had been being sick or injured in near times. The first up was to open the computer and print out referrals or stickers for blood tests.
I tried to take all the necessary tests, but I did not know what Damon or Samuel usually took from me, so it took some time for me to look up old results and see what was used in what sort of way. As I am unique, not all blood tests indicate for me the same as they did for others, so this took time too.
After the computer had whirred up a few sheets of paper and stickers, I set the analyzer to warm up and went to study the tubing map of what blood tubes I would need. I assumed I found at least most of the right blood tubes, took the necessary samples from myself, and put the tubes in the machine. Taking blood samples from yourself is difficult, but it is doable.
And then I just had to wait a couple of hours for the results. Fine. I took off my pants and started looking at the bullet wound on my side. There was no exit wound and next up after this, it would be time to fish a few pieces of that bullet out of my thigh and put them in an analyzer, too. I took a picture of the entry wound and sent it to Samuel.
The wound was big; it was dark red, bordering on black in a few places, swollen and bled lazily. I had cleaned it up just a bit to get decent pictures, and I had to use a lot of my rage in order to manage to do just that. It was incredibly painful. It was hot to the touch and smelled quite damn nasty, even if you can't get the smell into the picture, but after a few snaps, I had clear enough pictures with a ruler so the size of the wound was clear too.
He called me a few minutes later, " Please tell me, Mimi, that the fucking bullet wound isn't in you. That's a poison bullet, and it needs a fucking clean-out. That is a huge entry wound, so the bullet had been massive. Believe me, I've had several of them now."
His voice was clear, and I did not hear much music in the background, so he must have moved somewhere else. He was not drunk at all. Well, he had time and sometimes Samuel was not so keen to party as others were. I was too fucked up to really care if he was partying or not, at least Charles had been and I was not sure if Magnum had gotten there yet to give that antidote for boys and what that would then do, well probably trigger their rage too, meaning no caring for me. But gigs are more likely.
I laughed darkly and said, "It's in me, but you know I'll get rid of the poison eventually. I will next take out a few fragments that are near enough surface so I might get a better analysis of that poison. I took some damage to my organs so I would need some multiplication blocker too, but it is locked away. "
Samuel sighed and said, "You won't get rid of that poison so easily. Fine, where you are. I can give you some advice on the phone now to get you started. Organ damage is not a good thing, but maybe poison is blocking your multiplication enzyme too. "
I told Samuel about Bran's trick and made him curse harshly again. He recommended that I not touch my wound myself, as it can expose me to infection. My system is quite prone to have an infection in times of stress. When my metabolism is elevated more than usual, it takes so much more out of my body to cope and then the immune defense is usually the first that suffers, meaning infections can set in. He stressed to me to use a very clean procedure if I were to cut myself and try to be careful.
Then he gave me some general advice, mostly about cleanliness and how to dress the entry wound and clean it, if I could tolerate that. I told him about my scan and blood tests, too.
I promised to send the blood test results, and he said, "I can see them from here. These are in connection. I'll look at your scan results in a minute. I will call you back when I have reviewed these."
I hung up and went to get some food and drink, as Samuel had told me how hard it would be for my body to get rid of that poison and I would need my strength and energy too. He also told me to make sure to get caffeine and sugar in me as much as possible, so I tried to obey, but very little went down, as the poison was still making me feel sick.
Samuel looked at the results of the tests and sighed. As he guessed again, this satanic combination of poison which is so fucking hard to get out of the body. And it was doing damage. He tried to think about Mimi's physiology and how this poison would now affect it.
He tried not to get all the horror scenarios to take over, ranging mostly from different infections to full-blown rage attacks and other problems. He was not sure if this poison could prevent or actually destroy multiplication enzyme, some poisons did that but for this one, he was not sure and when there was not yet analysis about that poison solely, this was only highly educated speculation on his part thing was certain.
Then he went looking for Salvatore, who was in the kitchen eating. Bran's party had been cut short when Magnum had come in to give the antidote to Adam and Charles, who had gotten up in a rage and left for the gigs. Both of them had raged first at Bran and gotten rid of the girls. All within a couple of hours. He went to Damon, and he wasn't at all sure what mood he was in. He wondered if this would even help.
As Damon hated the vampire poison and Bran had managed to get him drunk enough not to get upset to use that on Adam and Charles and now the party was over. Damon was not anymore more drunk and Samuel had no idea what this one would do. He knew Damon was jealous of Charles and Mimi and he had done sessions and not always cared for her as his dark side had taken over, but Samuel knew that there was something iffy that dark side.
He was not sure if that was so much separate part that it could be isolated and controlled and one thing he had found out, what helped was that when Mimi needed Damon, and Adam, Charles was not there to help her, he would get in right mode so much easier. Samuel understood that one part why this part was so much stronger was that because Adam and Charles both being doctors and tooth vampires, Damon was not so important to save Mimi as there were now others too. But now those two others had gone, despite Mimi being injured and needing assistance, so maybe, just maybe, Damon could tell what could be done to Mimi.
"Salvatore, do you have time to answer a question about Mimi?" he kept his voice neutral, hiding his worry over her.
Damon turned around and said, "Well, what? I don't like it when you try to ask permission to fuck her. She is mine, and I am not going to let you propose to her, too." He growled. His expression was sullen.
"No, medical question, I was hoping to pick your brain on a medical matter concerning MImi." Samuel handed over the tablet and said, "The lady was playing around, making missions, and got herself a poison bullet. There's the scan and the tests. I'd have asked what to expect with that poison. She is going to dig those bits of bullets out of her thigh herself and analyze them for the poison better. You know her physiology best, though..."
Damon took the tablet and looked over the scan and the results. His expression was firm, and he frowned slightly, as that scan was not what he wanted to see. He zoomed it and looked it through very carefully.
He thought for a moment and said, " She'll probably be better in a month. I think the lady will keep her rage up so the poison won't feel so much, that is, if she digs out that bullet herself. As far as what she's currently planning. I'd say at least a month, and then that cavity will start to heal, and before that not-so-fun time, constant pain and loss of appetite, could be an infection. I am not sure what the poison is, so I have no way of knowing if the multiplication enzyme is going to rise. It was not elevated but those tests are taken less than the day after injury and sometimes it takes time to enzyme pop open, so she could start making organs and tissues too. Of course, if that poison would then compromise multiplication enzyme, or corrupt it, she could make just random cell mass, not actual organs too."
Samuel sighed and said, " Fine, what can I do to speed up the healing process? Do I need to know how extensive an operation is and what to use to bind that poison? I'm not letting her just be. If she keeps her rage open, she will shoot in the field and then get injured more. She is in no shape to work. Colin is busy. He is in Ireland, so I need to do this myself. That is, if you don't want to get involved."
Damon looked for a moment and said, "When it comes to operation, it won't be easy to knock that one out cold, as her rage is open wide. How extensive and can that poison be bound, I can't say, as I'd have to see the lady and smell her blood. And that poison makes her cranky, and I don't think I'd be welcome. It's now a month of pain for her. You can try to get her to cooperate, but it is not so easy. I am in her mind and her rage is really busted wide open so she will not be easy to subdue, I was too weak to stand to Bran, and because of that Adam and Charles are not caring for her at this minute and she is left alone to deal with this, and Adam told me about that gig too, so she had not had an easy time. She is a loaded gun. "
Samuel said, " How about we just go and fix her up and not listen to any objections? You can control her rage to the extent that we can get her down and fixed up, or keep her out cold for a month. No need for her to suffer and go play heroine when she is not fine but a liability."
Damon looked at him for a moment and said, " Yeah, but what if I again...I feel like I can't trust myself if I see her in a weak state. That session after that radiation thing was brutal and raw."
Samuel rolled his eyes and said, "You are needed, now there are no Colin, Adam, or Charles. I am not the best doctor for her. You are, and you know it. Don't get hung up on that while you grow a pair, and let's go."
They left for the pack's plane, and Samuel wondered on the way if Mimi should be put to sleep if the poison didn't go away. He thought about her state. Does she need to be put in an incubator that alone made Damon roll his eyes. There would not be long sleep for a lady in the incubator, as far as he was concerned. Flight would take a few hours and then they would see what they were up against. Damon had told Samuel not to call anymore to Mimi, but a surprise attack would be the best option for them to move on.
Fine, when Samuel didn't call again, I decided I'd at least dig those fragments of a bullet out, and then I could pack that cavity with something. Then I came up with jelly. I'll make myself a healing jelly and try to get some kind of substance that will absorb the poison.
I went and opened my car trunk, my deposit system had a very extensive first aid kit and I took many bags and boxes out of there, not sure what was in them but they were named like field surgery kit, analyzing equipment, pain management, yeah that was needed because even I had my rage fully out, almost, the pain was severe enough to make me swear quite colorfully when I walked.
After I had gotten my gear, I walked back inside and started to put the place in order. Samuel had talked long and hard about proper hygiene and my compromised immune system, because of this poison, but I was not gonna be all sterile with this. Of course, my kit was sterile, and I had the same clothes to put around the wounds, but I was not gonna use gloves or a mask.
I had my instruments on the tray and I injected a numbing agent around the wound, knowing that it would not do much good. I waited for ten minutes and I took a scalpel and made my first incision. I then put a spreader into the wound and took a little probe to try to locate the first fragment.
Nope, not gonna work, I could feel fragments, but my tool was not getting it moving. I should try to get it out with my fingers. I took out one set of sharp pliers and tried with them, but not get just that damn piece out. As my wound was an awkward place, I had no chance to look properly inside, so this had to do with touch, too.
I put those pliers on the tray and opened the spreader a little more, deepening the incision with the scalpel first. I could now see the glint of the bullet.
At the door, I heard, " Really baby, what on earth are you going to do? "
Salvatore bothered to come here. I was not sure that had been Bran's idea wholly, so I had let my fucked upness towards Salvatore get on.
I looked up and said, "I'm going to fucking take care of myself when you had to take Adam and Charles out of the game. Well, guess what? I don't need you either."
I was just about to put my fingers in my wound when a tight grip on my wrist stopped my hand.
Damon calmly walked over to me and said, "Do not put your fingers in there. No need to get it any more infected than it might be."
He took pliers and grabbed that piece of bullet swiftly from my wound, keeping one hand on my wrist. Samuel had come over too and he handed Damon a bowl where he dropped that piece of bullet. Then Damon took the wound spreader out, released my wrist, and bit into his own, draining his blood to my incision for so long it healed. Samuel had looked through my stuff and Damon started to look at them, too. He took that bowl with the bullet fragment and smelled it, trying to get a whiff of that poison.
I stood up. Cleared my stuff and looked at my phone. No need to get any medical crisis over this. I can get better and the sooner those two will notice that, the better this is for me. No need to make me patient again. I was in a very volatile mood.
Damon came to me, saying, "Now baby, you need help and that poison won't chop off so easily. It might take months, and we can do something to speed things along, but you need to be a good girl. Let me see that entrance wound. Let us take a look and see what we can do for you."
I said with venom oozing in my voice, "I don't need your help. I can handle this all by myself. Go be with Bran and continue your party."
Damon came closer and touched my side, just below my ribs, where that bullet had gone in. his touch was light as a feather but he same time ate my rage and stuffed it also in its well, so the pain was much more without my rage.
I about folded in half from the pain. He supported me by the arm and said dryly, but in his doctor's voice, "No, you don't, you probably don't, but you will get my help, anyway. You need it, you really do."
He helped me to the bed and said, " Why don't you lie on your side, and I'll have a look in that cavity and see what my teeth think, and then we'll take a look at the rest of those fragments."
He laid me on my side and took the bandage I had temporarily put on. He put the collectors in his teeth and touched the wound around the gash with a light brush. I tried not to move, even though the slightest touch hurt so much.
He said," Fine, Miss. Let's get you some pain relief first. I think Samuel's got some over there, and then we'll start to treat you a bit."
He let me lie on my back, pushed the needle into my vein, and pressed the plunger. The darkness took over right away.