NOVEL NEXT Chapter 339: 19. Vulnerable.
It wasn't easy for the men to assemble the cribs, and I was eating when they came to eat, grumbling quietly about how hard it was to get them set up. But now they were perfect, with mattresses and padding in place. I thought about going to see them somewhere. I remembered I had three big boxes of toys, activity mats, and sitters in a hamster storage. I still had a cabinet where I could keep them for later use.
Damon looked at me and said, "Thank you, baby. We will handle those supplies and make sure everyone has them, or wants them, and we will make sure they are safe so you don't have to worry. You need to start taking it easy. We'll check you properly at some point to see if you need to have an earlier operation because you are really huge, and you need to limit what you do."
He spoke in a tone that brooked no arguments.
"Fine, let's see what I can do then, maybe knit some," I replied.
But number two interjected, "No knitting, the dust from the yarns isn't good for you. Watch movies, watch TV, lounge in bed. You have my permission to laze around. It won't affect anything postpartum as we will feed you well enough."
Rolling my eyes, it seemed that I was also put on bedrest, but at least not drugged. I could do this and who knows, maybe it would be fun to laze around in bed all the time and not have to do anything, just lie there like a whale on the beach.
After eating, I retreated to one of the bedrooms. It wasn't ours since we would only be there together, but I chose a different bedroom. The boys, Adam, and Charles made it perfect as I directed them, with a rocking chair meant for two but wide enough for my belly. There wasn't much room for others.
The room was complete with tufted off-white rugs, a sky-blue comforter on a huge water gel bed with an adjustable mattress, soft pillows, and an enormous TV mounted on the wall. A fridge full of drinks and snacks nearby made it pretty perfect. The dark heavy green velvet curtains added their atmosphere to the room.
And fine, I was ready to lounge off. Of course, I needed good clothes for it. I had a huge collection of oversized tee shirts reserved, but as Damon noticed them, he brought me some of my maternity nightgowns, and a few of his shirts, and he took all of my big tee shirts. He just smirked arrogantly, and I showed him my tongue. But he was soon off to Mariella as he sensed her being awake.
My bedroom was now on the third floor, so it was not near my nursery. But this was just for a while. Of course, as the medbay was on the third floor, I couldn't help but think that it might not be just a happy accident that I found my room on the same floor as the medbay.
It was time for me to learn to just be, and I was just getting into a nice position. I had changed into one of Damon's tee shirts after a warm shower, and I went to bed just to enjoy myself, not bothering to adjust it but just lay on my back. Oh, I was not tired actually. As this bed felt like sleeping on a cloud, I was just thinking of taking a nap. I let my eyes close off, and sleep took me with it.
As Mimi fell asleep on her back, her heavy womb was pressing into the back of her abdominal cavity, putting pressure on her aorta and vena cava. She did not realize that her tiredness was a result of less blood getting to her brain. As she lost consciousness, her body slumped even more.
The babies were slowly starting to suffer as compromised blood circulation affected them too. They felt lightheaded, had pains, and something was wrong. They had no way of understanding sensations that weren't so pleasant for them, and it made them panic more or less as they felt that their existence was threatened. It took eight minutes until they could not take it anymore, but they alerted Damon.
Mimi's lower body was white, cooling down as blood did not get to her tissues. Tissues started to suffer, releasing all kinds of wrong metabolites into her blood, affecting her muscles and nerves. Increased pressure in her upper body caused her heart to pump more, raising her blood pressure and nastily pressuring her tiny vessels. Soon, tiny bruises were forming as those vessels leaked and burst.
Damon was sitting near Mariella, who was still sleeping, when the radar suddenly activated indicating an emergency. Startled, Damon got up and hurried to Mimi's bedroom, accidentally bumping into Wulfe on the way. Mariella was on the sixth floor, while Mimi was three floors below, and time was of the essence.
Damon urgently told Wulfe, "Mimi is in trouble. The babies are distressed. Let's go."
Both men sprinted down the hallway, their footsteps echoing, and soon a few others joined them in Mimi's room.
Damon sensed the babies' distress, urging him to run cautiously, as using vampire speed indoors could lead to accidents. After reaching Mimi's room and removing the door from its hinges, Damon found Mimi lying on her back. He quickly rolled her onto her side, positioned himself behind her, and bit into her throat to extract the harmful metabolites while boosting the babies' vitality.
Telepathically, he instructed, "Start massaging her legs. I'll handle the metabolites. Check her blood pressure and run blood tests. Wulfe, keep the babies calm. I need to focus."
Wulfe nodded in agreement, saying, "I'm on it."
Number four mentioned, "I'll monitor her blood pressure. Let me grab the bag."
He rushed to the medbay, followed by the others. Numbers nine and ten began massaging Mimi's legs, while Adam and Charles adjusted her position to relieve pressure on her aorta and vena cava.
Upon returning, number four quickly got the blood pressure cuff in place and started to take readings.
Cussing under his breath, monitoring her blood pressure reported a reading of 200/160, "damn it is way too high!"
Damon acknowledged, advising to continue monitoring and reassuring that it would stabilize. He was focusing on chopping metabolites, hoping like hell that her blood pressure would even out because forced sedation was not really an option for her.
Damon said, "Keep on taking readings, every few minutes."
As time passed, the blood pressure readings gradually decreased to 180/150 and then 160/140.
Damon communicated telepathically, "It's improving. Keep massaging her. Wulfe, how are the babies?"
Wulfe responded, "They're fine now, no need to worry."
The following blood pressure reading of 120/80 brought relief to everyone, prompting Damon to emphasize the importance of continuous monitoring to prevent any sudden spikes.
He noted, "Her circulation seems to stabilize. But keep an eye on her, she might still spike her pressure or something."
However, a few minutes later, Number Four's voice tightened. "100/50 she is dropping her pressure, fuck!"
Number Three and Two cannulated her, administering fluids to boost her system.
Damon said, "Reserve vasopressors, also magnesium. Her electrolytes are imbalanced. I can sense it. I'm trying to boost her, but it's a slow process."
Number Seven brought a large bag of electrolyte concentrate and handed it over to drip.
Number Four cursed. "Freaking hell, 60/40, her pulse is weak."
Adam squeezed the bag harder to push electrolytes and fluids into her system.
The next reading showed 70/50, slightly better, but Damon insisted, "More. She is severely lacking due to the demands of the babies. We need to keep her on bed rest, increase feeding, and ensure she's never alone."
He continued to infuse electrolytes and chop off metabolites into Mimi's system.
Number Four revealed, "Blood tests indicate a severe deficiency in major electrolytes, vitamins, and nutrients. Missy will require intense feeding for the rest of her pregnancy."
Lepard and Damon went to the medbay to fetch more nutrient bags, while the others brainstormed ways to support her and ensure she was never left alone. Wulfe volunteered, spending as much time as possible, but his duties with potions also required attention. Elena and Katherine were suggested as good options to assist, and the Salvatores were busy planning strategies to encourage her to eat.
Damon stayed by Mimi's side for three hours, velveting her instinctively to help her relax and rest. It was his teeth's reaction to this crisis and he just could not help it. Meanwhile, others worked on stabilizing her to prevent any long-term damage to her legs, muscles, and heart.
The primary concern was avoiding preeclampsia and the need for full anesthesia due to Mimi's sensitivity to sedation and drugging. Her past trauma made it impossible. It was crucial for her to fully recover without any complications that could affect the babies. Full anesthesia was not really an option as babies might interfere with medication when they would notice mommy just sleeping.
Mimi was closely monitored with IV drips and had blood tests taken five times to ensure her condition was improving. Her blood pressure and other vital signs were constantly checked on the screen. Damon was vigilant, leaving nothing to chance.
It was expected that in a day or two, they might remove the telemetry and let Mimi rest, depending on her vitals and blood levels.
I woke up, or rather came to, from discomfort. I was in a bad position and starting to shift to get more comfortable. My back ached as I was somehow semi-sitting, and my backside was sore from the weight pressing on it.
I felt utterly sedated and had no idea what the hell had happened. My neck was slightly sore, as if someone had been biting it for some time. I finally managed to open my eyes and noticed that Damon's ice-blue eyes were looking at me while he lay next to me.
His expression was worried, and I noticed the steady beeping nearby. Oh, I must have had some kind of medical issue then.
Damon spoke, his voice soft and calm, but still worried. "From now on, you're not alone. You had a nasty case of compression of the aorta and vena cava when you lay flat on your back. Your womb is too heavy for that, not to mention your big spleen pressing down on your guts, so from now on, you can't lie flat on your back for too long while pregnant. Your blood pressure was alarmingly high, and there were all kinds of nasties in your blood. The babies were in distress."
I blinked and tried to get my very dry mouth to work.
Damon said dryly, "Yeah, I did velveted you for a while since I had to bite your neck, so you might have a bit of a hangover for now."
I managed to say, "I can handle this, alright."
I pulled the blanket over my head as the light hurt my eyes. I was experiencing a nasty bout of a velvet hangover. My body had reacted poorly to the sedative that Damon had used in his fangs; it resulted in light sensitivity, nausea, a headache, and a hangover. Sure, there were velvet derivatives that wouldn't cause a hangover, but this one did because it was pure velvet. It was called a velvet sedative because it felt like velvet in the veins.
I felt him moving away from the bed, but there was rustling all around me. I tried to shift, but my body wasn't cooperating as it should. Pain and discomfort made me groan. Suddenly, someone took the blanket off me and I felt an injection in my arm.
In a calm voice, he said, "It's a painkiller. It seems you have some pains and aches, but this will help. Sleep for a while. You smell like velvet, so you must have a hangover. Try to sleep it off; the painkiller will help."
I thought to myself sarcastically, "Sure it does. Probably a sedative painkiller."
As my mind started to feel tired and foggy, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, hoping that when I woke up next, I would feel a bit more alert and less drugged.
Number four sat in the darkness, keeping a watchful eye on Mimi as she slept. He was looking after her while number two, nine, ten, and others were in the kitchen cooking for her. Number one and a few others went to check on Mariella, and Damon ensured that Mimi's bed remained with the headboard up to prevent her from lying on her back.
They had plenty of painkillers on hand for her if needed. Now, it was time for the young lady to be strong and accept the care she was receiving. She would be fed regularly, and monitored closely, and Damon wasn't certain when the best time for surgery would be, but it seemed it would be within the next five weeks, or possibly just over four weeks.
Her babies were growing rapidly, and complications could arise if things progressed too far. Therefore, it was crucial to take it one day at a time, keeping everything under control.