As the pack walked into base, they were quiet.
The base was full of people; there was talking, chatter, and computer beeping, and many men and women were rushing around, fetching this and that, dressed in scrubs, and coming and going from medbay.
This was the fullest base as ever, and Number One led them straight into medbay, which was utter chaos.
Normally, medbay had about 15 to 20 beds and plenty of room and a quiet, calm atmosphere, but not now.
There were about 45 people, not including their pack members, who were in a separate part, and these were mostly humans rescued from that place, and none of them were physically in good condition.
Even though over 20 people were working, it was still busy, as someone’s alarms beeped as their saturation tanked, and one of the nurses went to check on him, a 30s male with blond hair and severe gashes in his arms and legs and bluish lips, so the alarm was justified.
Number four sighed; he wanted to butt in, but their pack came first.
However, they would soon have time to call in favors and places that could take these.
There were many hospitals where Mimi had worked and where she had given free surgeries, so it was time to remind them about those.
Colin came from a new set of double doors from their left, and he was pale, haggard, and tired; there was blood splatter in his scrubs, and it was Elena’s, as Damon could smell it, and he went to wash his hands.
“Good for you to come; let me show you your worksite, but prepare yourself, this is not pretty.” His voice was dark and tired, and there was a warning of shock to come.
As he had once more washed his hands, he took a few pumps from one bottle from his pocket and squirted it and rubbed it so his skin would not dry out too much from constant washing.
He then went to the supply cart and picked up a few sizes of cannulas and everything else that was needed, like corks and tape to secure the cannulas just in case.
He then said to pack.
“Well, come on; I have scrubs here as well, so you can change later.”
His tone was impatient, and he was tense all over.
Mariella was already trying to plan ways to get him to relax or even ease off a bit, but first, they had to see what was going on.
What it would entail to get the whole pack up and running and deal with all of this.
Well, everything that had happened since the time in the pocket universe ended: it would be time to face their mistakes, admit their weaknesses, and then see where the pack was.
And what it would take to deal with the whole Wulfe situation, Mimi’s darkness, her rage influencing them, and this new bond that had formed between the rest of the pack.
Mariella, nor were the Salvatores part of it, not yet.
As they entered what seemed like an additional part of the base, an additional part of the medbay meant for the pack, there was a private room for Mimi.
Damon’s clinical mind saw that this was not a wonderful situation at all; there was only a handful of people, the most trusted ones, dealing with pack members, 18 of them, and then there was Mimi.
His feline side had its plan, and he was going to let it do this.
He knew that this would be best for her.
He walked quietly to one of the supply rooms, took a canvas bag, and started to pick a few things from the shelves that he would need.
He did not explain himself to anyone, and he kept his bonds tightly closed.
It was only as he returned to pack that he saw there were more supplies reserved, and he went to get those.
The tall, golden-haired man walked up to him and pressed his head down with respect, acknowledging his feline side.
Curran, the lion shifter, had been very important to Colin.
He could tell what each pack member might need, as he was very good at smelling pheromones, even from sickness.
Now he saw right on the spot just how much Damon’s feline side was on the surface, and it was natural for him to show his respect for his elders.
Damon nodded briefly, and Curran said, “It is an honor to have you here; let me give you my wisdom about pheromones. You are free to take it from my mind.”
Damon tilted his head, closed his eyes, and gently copied Curran’s knowledge about pheromones.
Male shifters did this from time to time, offering their knowledge to their elders as a sign of respect and mutual well-being of species and pack.
Damon said, “Thank you for everything; you are a loyal friend of our pack. We are blessed to have you.”
He then continued to collect bits and pieces, some drugs, dressings, needles, etc., but he explained nothing to anyone; he had a plan, and it was his only one—no need for others to worry over it or mess with it.
He then proceeded to the bedding storage and piled bedding on one empty bed.
He was making sure his mate was covered enough, and he had everything he needed for starting; he could then later on find more.
He had not even seen her yet, but he was prepared.
No one in the pack had ever seen him like this, and they did not interfere.
Instead, numbers two and four started to go through pack members one by one.
Colin was giving them reports on each of them, and then decisions were made, like who was responsible for whom.
There were not even ten of them, plus Colin and a few others and 17 patients, so each pack had one or two as their main patients.
Mariella got Magnum and Wulfe; it was her job to make them well enough, get rid of drugs, try to get Wulfe back, and then the hard part: make them deal with the whole situation.
In Mariella’s mind, it was going to be even worse than this mere physical treatment, as there would be so many emotions, and if Wulfe snapped out of it, he would be devastated about how he treated Mimi.
As Damon had gotten everything he needed, he was working much within his instincts.
He took a breath and walked into the room where Mimi was.
She was covered in thick blankets, many lines were running in her veins, and Damon could still smell metals in her; his head was throbbing, and his body was shifting gears as he prepared to care for and mend her.
He carefully unhooked most of the lines, closed them so they would not be wasted, and let the cannulas remain in place; they were clean enough for now, and they were needed.
She was skeleton-skinny, not much over 25 kilos if even that, and there were bruises and wounds all over her.
Colin had operated on her, taking out most of the bullets, but a few lesser ones had remained, as surgery was such an ordeal for her in this state.
Damon was silent as he wrapped her in a sheet; she was naked, so he protected her modesty.
She was his right now, and he very gently picked her up in his arms and walked out to the room where his supplies were, and he laid her in bed.
Then he wrapped her even warmer and softer and made sure she was as comfortable as possible, and now he was purring, a deep, raspy purr, keeping his mate asleep, as the frequency of his purr would actually heal as well.
After he had gotten her wrapped, he said nothing to anyone but just teleported away; no one knew what he was planning and how long this would take.
And to be honest, it was the last thing on their minds as they were busy.
Others had not been in any better shape, and all of them would need more surgeries in the upcoming days and weeks.
As they were riddled with bullets and drugs, metabolites, and organ function was iffy at best.
Teams would have to make sure as many organs on pack members would survive as possible, but then again, if there was no hope of proper healing, it was better to remove damaged ones and transplant new ones if needed.
Mariella was one of the best donors; her savior side made it so that even though her organs were slightly smaller than males’, they were in good condition and worked just fine.
Number two, who was now pack leader, addressed everyone about their assignments and who was working with whom as they went through each patient.
“Now, let’s start. We will have nine teams; each team will have two patients or one, as there are 17 patients. Mariella. You have Wulfe and Magnum as your patients, and your work pair is Johnny. Your nurses are Jill, Hilary, and Betty.” Visit novelping dot com for the full chapter.
He pointed out a few medics hanging nearby.
And he continued to give out teams.
“Your team, number three.
Your patients are Tim and Taylor; you have Fred as your partner.
Nurses are Diana, Cecile, and Wendy.
Number four, you have Jarod; Miss Parker, Bran, and Diandra are your nurses.
You focus on Dresden and Dexter.
Number five, you have Constantine and Alaric; your work pair is Bill; nurses are Giselle, Fiona, and Petra.
Number six, you have Elena and Murdock; your work pair is Timothy; the nurses are Gwen, Amberline, and George.
Number seven, you have Mimosa and Shadow; your work pair is Callum; the nurses are Heidi, Nadia, and Anne.
Number eight, you have Katherine; your work pair is Jacob; the nurses are Mark, Ruth, and Janet.
Number nine, you have Adam and Charles.
Your work partner is Will.
The nurses are Jennifer, Sam, and Susan.
Number ten, you have Leopard and Demon.
You work with Colin.
Nurses are Mike, Jules, and Vivian.”
He took a brief pause before continuing, “I have no patients, but I will organize getting people to move as well. I am available if needed; you have a work pair for that reason, as you might need to do a lot of dental work, and it is straining, so work together. Let’s review daily, see what is needed, and see who will go under the knife. I am clearing these humans into hospitals with Samuel; he has contacts as well, and you will get on with your team and make plans for everyone- not any long-term ones, but say, a week or a few days or a few problems at a time. Is that clear?”
Everyone nodded and started to gather around tables and workstations, going through their patients and making initial plans while Number Two walked into the bigger side and evaluated everyone there while speaking almost constantly on the phone.
He was not taking “no” lightly; they had a good reason not to take these, as they were humans, not supernaturals, and very few hospitals refused, as they had an obligation to humans as well.
It was not just this base; they had so many bases full, and it took most of Number Two’s time to shuffle patients in and out from one base to another before placement from the hospital was ready.
And they had to care for them, trying to make sure they would heal as well as possible while also dealing with everything else that had been sent by the pack.
There were drugs, information, machines, substances, plans, all kinds of things, and number two was pretty much the leader of this whole damn organization, as he was trying to organize one thing and ten more were brought to his attention, and he had no choice but to press on.
Each morning they had a medical meeting concerning the pack, making sure there were no bigger issues, and each team was presenting their patients’ status, upcoming plans, and what had been done to them and if it had helped; they rested rarely, ate whenever they could, and worked almost 18 hours a day.
The operation room was constantly used, and there was an operation list of who was getting next and for what reason.
If there was some misunderstanding, it was up to number two to decide one more thing for him to decide.
Days went by, and business did not ease at all at the start, as most of the humans had been moved from other bases and a few only from Chicago; they were still waiting for placements for those, and now NSA and other Alphabet officials were demanding to meet him and discuss many things with him.
His stress levels were high, but then again, this made him once more truly feel alive, not just being some meaningless gigolo with no purpose, but now he had a job and responsibilities, and he was truly making a difference here, and he was not alone.
He could feel others were sharing this same thing, even Mariella.
And it was not such a bad thing at all, not at all.
It was actually a damn good thing to feel, and Number Two swore to himself he would remember this.
It was only the start, but maybe this was exactly the start they needed; no one even thought about what Damon and Mimi were doing or where they even were.