The Salvatore Saga, Part Four: My new Life

I was seated behind my desk, fully prepared for my upcoming consultation. Once again, I found myself in the role of a doctor, a position I had held for over six months now. The hospital I worked at was the largest in Maine, and during my time there, I had successfully performed a few remarkable surgeries.

I had developed a new technique for treating certain types of cancers and venous malformations, although I must admit that it was not an easy procedure. There were no guarantees of success, as each case I encountered was completely unique. I had to think on my feet and adapt accordingly.

To complicate matters further, I discovered my pregnancy about two months ago. However, I chose not to share this news with my colleagues, Pack, Wulfe, or even Damon, at least not initially. I didn't want them to fuss over me. I wanted to continue working for as long as I could. Considering that my pregnancy was only four months along and I was already more than halfway through, I believed I still had some time before I needed to take it easy. 

I resided in a grand mansion in Maine. It was a magnificent, off-white structure with wood-colored trimmings and well-maintained lawns surrounding it. The interior of the mansion was tastefully decorated, although admittedly a bit plain.

I had been too occupied to focus on decorating, and now, with my pregnancy, it didn't seem like the best time to start. Perhaps in the future, but not just yet. I still had work to do before my pregnancy, which involved carrying five babies, required me to slow down even further.

My technique, which I considered to be quite extraordinary, involved utilizing dental substances. It was an incredibly delicate procedure. The aim was to constrict the tumor or malformed veins by scarring the arteries with my dental substance.

In theory, it was a simple process. I would inject a tiny amount of my substance into the artery that supplied the tumor or malformation. Over the course of several days, the tumor would gradually scar, minimizing swelling and trauma.

However, there was a catch. The tumors I targeted were typically located in precarious areas such as the spinal cord or brain, leaving no room for any kind of swelling. Moreover, the artery I needed to target was deep within the brain and had a smaller diameter than a strand of hair. Talk about a challenging task. 

 And I had to remove a wedge of her brain in order to get it in the right spot. Well, I had created a dental substance to keep that wedge of her brain alive during the week that my operation would take.

It was not going to be easy and it would require a steady hand, long hours standing in the OR before injecting a tiny amount of my substance. I hoped I would get it in the right spot and there would be no swelling, and the scarring would be minimal. So, the tumor would shrink as it would not receive blood, but lose blood as I was not tampering with the veins, only the arteries that supplied blood to it.

Since I used my dental substances, this would be classified as a supernatural cure. It was not something everyone wanted, but it was what it was. If someone chose not to have it, it was their choice. I was not pushing my cure on anyone, as it was not a surefire thing. 

As my secretary informed me that someone wanted to see me, I assumed it was my next client, a married couple. The man was an army general, and a high-ranking officer, and my patient was his wife, who was also a soldier.

However, when her brain tumor was discovered, doctors told her that she would die, and there was no telling when. We didn't know how many cells it would take for the tumor in her brainstem to grow big enough for her to die.

When they heard about my miracle cure, they became desperate to seek me out. I was supposed to meet them today to discuss the operation, which I planned to do as soon as possible, preferably tomorrow or the day after, as time was working against us here. 

I told my secretary to let my guests in, and I was surprised when she opened the door and Damon, Mariella, and the rest of the pack walked in. Thankfully, my office was big enough to seat most of them, and my secretary had arranged for a few maintenance guys to bring in another sofa and a few chairs, as over 20 people were walking in.

I looked at Damon with surprise written on my face and I just said, "I thought you were my next consultation. I have one special case coming up. You guys can go if you want to. I have been to the mansion before, and I will come in the evening after work."

Damon coolly replied, "Nope, I want to see this fucking case you have. Color me surprised, but when our contacts told us about your miracle cure and mentioned that one of my oldest friends' wife, General Hammond's wife, would be your next client, I had to see this. So, we are staying and maybe even helping."

I let out a sigh and tried to be polite as I spoke. "My approach is highly experimental, and in surgery, there is no room for a whole damn pack. It's a delicate and nasty operation, so I need to focus fully on it. I'll be operating one of the latest surgical robots, and there's really no margin for errors."

Number two chimed in, saying, "We're telepaths. We can learn everything just like that, so count us in, baby. No need to ask if you like it."

Mariella spoke up too, apologizing for being a bitch before the holiday and making my recovery harder than it should have been. But her "savior radar" wanted her to be involved. I rolled my eyes, not bothering to get up since there was no need for them to see my current state.

Damon said to me, "We have a lot to discuss, but first, let's see this case and figure out how we can help you. He's a very dear friend of mine, so I'm in. You just need to wrap your head around it and maybe bring us up to speed."

Just as I was about to respond, my intercom buzzed, and my secretary informed me that my clients had arrived. I told her to let them in. I was ready to be a top-notch surgeon, and I hoped that Damon wouldn't argue with me this time. I knew he would stay silent for most of it. I noticed Wulfe looking at me, and then he pressed his head, a slight smile forming on his lips.

His voice echoed in my mind, "Oh my unicorn, I can feel it. You're expecting. But how? Why? How long should you strain yourself?"

I replied, "I'm a little over halfway there. I have time, and this is just how my life goes. I spontaneously get pregnant when my babies want to be born. Five babies this time, and the nursery is already being prepared. And I have to perform this operation. It will be my last."

 The door opened and my patients walked in. A tall, white-haired, handsome man entered first and smiled when he saw Damon.

Damon stood up, smiled, hugged the man, and said, "Damn, it's good to see you. But of course, not like this. Now, let's see if we can help you out with whatever my devious wife has in mind."

The general raised his bushy brows and replied, "Yeah, of course. I heard you were divorced ages ago, and I thought..."

Damon interrupted, saying, "That was a mistake that I corrected. We are married again, and this time I won't make that kind of mistake."

My patient, Miranda Hammond, was also tall and thin. Her gaunt face looked worried as she glanced around my very full office.

I smiled at her and said, "Please sit down. Let me explain what I am going to do."

She sat down, her husband coming to sit next to her. He looked at me and said, "I had no idea that you had gotten back with Damon, but let's hear it. I know this is a Hail Mary at its best, but we are desperate."

I nodded and replied, "Let me show you what tomorrow is all about. Now, this is to scale, so I am not enlarging it for you to get an idea of the scale I am operating on."

I activated the holographic display on my desk, and a projection of Miranda's head appeared.

I explained, "So, you are going to be out of it for a whole week, sitting in this kind of chair. Now, I have to get in the right spot, so I will go in from the back of your head."

I pointed to the spot and showed it. "Next, I will open your skull here and very carefully make my way into the depths of your brain. The target area is located inside your brain, and I need to access a certain point. This is the route."

The holographic display showed a route on the right side, at the back of her head, leading to the depths of her midbrain. "Now, this is the wedge of brain tissue that I will remove and place in my solution. It should keep it alive all week long, and afterward, your brain should heal rather nicely."

General Hammond expressed his doubts, "If you can successfully accomplish this, what comes next? You have identified the route, but what is the issue here?"

I adjusted my display so that the midbrain was visible.

I explained, "Once again, the green area here represents the tumor. It is relatively small, only a few millimeters in diameter, but there is no room for any additional pressure in this area."

A small green dot indicated the tumor.

Damon reacted with surprise, saying, "Now, how in the world are you going to handle that? There will inevitably be swelling, regardless of what you do."

I smiled faintly and responded, "Not if we're lucky. We have already mapped the vasculature of the tumor and identified three arteries and three veins. Our plan is to constrict the tumor's blood supply."

Number two interjected, "But won't there be trauma? Tissue swelling and bleeding are inevitable, and you don't have any room for error."

I colored the veins and arteries with a gentle tap of my finger and explained, "These three faint red lines represent the arteries, which are my targets. Once I have cleared this route, it will be time to bring in SAR, the Surgical Assistant Robot. With SAR's help, I will be able to target the arteries. I will inject a small amount of my special solution into the arteries, just before the tumor, which will scar and shrink them gradually, limiting blood flow to the tumor and suffocating it. I won't target the veins because we need the blood to drain out of the tumor more than it gets in."

Damon remained silent, his thoughts racing as he went through my previous operation. He was busy being in my mind, studying with his telepathy what I had done. I could sense his determination to figure out how he could assist me.

I tapped my console, bringing up holographic images of incredibly delicate and small instruments, and continued, "Again, this is shown at an actual scale. I will operate the robot and use these tools. This syringe is what I will use. On the first day, I will target as high up in the artery as possible to ensure there is enough room to continue shrinking it in the following days. This process may take anywhere from five to seven days, with each day involving injecting my solution and gradually strangling the tumor further. We should start to see a noticeable difference in a few days as the tumor begins to shrink and wither away."

Damon stood up and moved towards my patient.

He said, "I'm sorry, let me try something."

He scraped his nail against her hand, causing a scratch to form. She winced, but then a warm glow emanated from Damon's palm, and the scratch disappeared.

Damon said confidently, "Good. Your body accepts my magic. I am a healer, so I will also be involved in this process, using my magic to keep you as stable as possible. It's always better to have multiple surgeons working on cases like this. Together, we will get this done."

She nodded as Damon spoke, "But no guarantees, not until we've done it a few times. Now, I'll examine those solutions. I'm more skilled as a teeth vampire than Mimi, and I might be able to improve them even further. I just need to understand what she's aiming for. Sometimes, she tends to make things too complex when simplicity is better."

General Hammond smiled slightly and remarked, "Women, they make life harder than it needs to be."

I maintained a neutral expression. Of course, Salvatore had to come and disrupt my surgery, but I couldn't deny that he made a valid point. He was more skilled, and I had a tendency to make things overly complicated.

It might not matter in everyday use, but in situations like this, we needed to achieve a specific reaction and nothing else. I hadn't tested my own creations extensively, only a few tissue samples, not actual patients.

So, I had to accept the situation and work with Damon, even though I had no idea how many Salvatores would be involved in this operation. I suspected at least Salvatore numbers one, two, and four would participate.

However, since this was primarily my solo operation, I needed to focus on the task at hand rather than teaching the Salvatores. It seemed like things could become excessively challenging. 

I proceeded with my demonstration to show how I would inject my treatment closer to the tumor each day, gradually shrinking it.

I explained, "Of course, I can't guarantee that it will disappear completely. It might stimulate the growth of more vessels in the future, but we will continue to monitor the situation. However, if this treatment works, the tumor will die off during this time and not regrow."

Hammond nodded, and my patient said, "I am ready. It's a good plan, even though it's risky. I understand that I don't have many options. Other doctors have told me to prepare for the worst, as I could die at any moment."

I nodded and replied, "Well, see you tomorrow, and let's eliminate this damn thing."

Damon reassured, "Don't worry, we've got you. This will work, and you'll be back to normal in no time."

The general chimed in, "If you two succeed, I'll make sure you receive the recognition you deserve. You'll be hailed as heroes."

Damon smiled, but I remained silent. I didn't need another celebration for this. I had already managed to avoid such events for two previous cases, but now... well, let's see what this brings.

As Hammond stood up, I rose as well and escorted them to the door, shaking their hands once more.

Mrs. Hammond glanced at my not-so-slender waistline and asked, "Oh, how far along are you? Shouldn't you be taking it easy in your condition?"

I smiled and reassured her, "I'm a little over halfway through my pregnancy. I'm perfectly fine and more than capable of making this happen."

As I released them and shut the door, Damon looked at me with a mix of concern and happiness and said, "Well, this changes things. You shouldn't be operating while pregnant. I won't let you be on your feet for hours. How did this happen?"

I rolled my eyes and walked back to sit down. There were murmurs all around me as Mariella talked with number two, and Mimosa asked number one if they could be pregnant too, so we could have babies at the same time.

I replied, "My babies didn't want to sleep, so they woke themselves up and got to it. Who am I to stop them? I can still do this operation. It's my last one, but I still have time."

Colin asked, "Are your feet swollen? Have you been eating enough?"

Number four muttered, "You're not operating. We'll do it, and you, missy, will get a good once-over when we get back to the mansion."

I sat behind my desk, unsure if it would be of any use to argue about this now or later. Everyone was talking about this and that, and then there was a polite knock on my door.

I said, "Come in."

It was my secretary, who brought a pile of files and said, "Accounting sent these. They need your signature and an estimate for your fee for these cases."

I nodded and replied, "Thank you. I'll try to look through these right away."

She also brought me a big pot of coffee and a few sandwiches. Internally, I rolled my eyes, knowing that someone might have a comment about my lunch, but I still had work to do.

Damon didn't say anything as he pulled out his phone and tapped on it for a while.

Mariella turned to me and said, "Mimi, you're really allowing people to have free surgeries again? Your plan is absolutely brilliant, but also crazy. It's magnificent."

I rolled my eyes and replied, "I'm just stating my fee here. Insurance companies require it so they can determine what they'll cover. I have the money."

Before I could do anything, there was a knock on the door. Damon got up to answer it, and three men walked in and took my files.

Damon informed me, "These are our lawyers. They'll be making decisions about your fees from now on. They know just what is current rate is and with a reputation like yours, too, money will be deposited into an account for our children. The Magic House will use it to buy things for them in other realms. As you know, things can be expensive, and we have a lot of kids and cubs, so we need the money. No more free surgeries."

I raised my hands in the air and said, "Fine, everything is good then. I still have paperwork to finish, and it's soon time for rounds. I'll be free in the evening, not before."

Damon smiled and said, "We have rounds. I made sure we have the right to be here too, so my baby, you'll have plenty of colleagues with you. Let's see who we have."

I sat behind my desk as the pack took my laptop and began reading about my patients, discussing what was needed for each person and who was ready to be discharged. Mimosa and Shadow started organizing discharges, while Damon and the others ordered tests and studies to be done.

My life had taken yet another unexpected turn, and only time would reveal its meaning. Right now, I had little decision-making power, and I wasn't going to start a war. If they wanted to be doctors, so be it. Let's see how this plays out.