Mari kind of shook her head... she felt like she should have been here, caring for him and the kids like she always had. She should have just come straight back, but... well, she wouldn't have made it. It was softer with the people that had picked her up. She still walked with a bit of a limp, still got headaches and things were a lot... worse. She would have ended up somewhere she didn't want to be if she just left. When she felt him get comfortable next to her, she furrowed her brows a little but pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head, though she didn't want to sleep... she was exhausted, but she just wanted to be aware of everything in her first few days back home.

Sage hadn't really meant to fall asleep ....he wanted to be with Mari. To talk and catch up and everything. She'd been hit and shot, and that was bad, but he was glad nothing else had happened. Everyone had seemed to be alright. It could have been a lot worse, he supposed....Silas and Lizzie hadn't even ever known she might not coming back. They'd stayed happy. Though, he had to admit that was because he'd taken on a lot more than he probably should have. But it was to protect his family....and he wasn't ashamed of that, nor did he regret it. But now, he was just so, so tired. And he was feeling awful again, especially now that he knew he could relax for a bit. Besides...there wasn't much use hodong that he was sick or had been scratching. Mari knew him too well for that. He didn't want to worry her....but he had a feeling that caring a little bit for the family and bringing back a bit of normalcy to her life, without making her do too much and hurt herself, would be good for her. If sitting there and playing with his hair like she normally would eased her mind a bit, then that was perfectly fine with him. He liked it. It eased his mind, too.

Mari just stroked his head for a while, everything seeming to ache but she eventually pushed through... just drifting off to sleep. She felt safe here... at home, where her family were and where the kids ran around happily. Silas didn't seem to know any different, though... and she didn't think that was a bad thing, exactly. He didn't know she was in any danger, and therefore didn't have to be worried. She slept for a while, though seemed to jerk awake at every little noise... she did manage a deep sleep towards early morning, though.

Sage was more than happy to drift off, and even happier to wake up a bit later and see Mari resting with him. Good, they'd both needed it. He'd gotten up a few times to take care of the kids, of course, but soon enough they were put to bed and he could scoop Mari up and gently move her to the bed, curling up protectively against her and sliding off again himself. He'd wake up and get breakfast ready, as he'd been doing....she was still hurt so he wanted her to rest. He could manage for a few more days.

The girl felt him shift, but soon enough, once she felt a wave of warmth surge over her, she gave a small groan and relaxed into him again. She woke up sometime in the morning, blinking around blindly as she figured out where she was. Home. Still at home. A breath of relief escaped her as she turned to look up at Sage, still sleeping comfortably. She hoped he wasn't too upset... she still felt awful about all of this. She'd left him for too long, she knew that, and while he'd been so comforting she still felt awful. He was in such a state, too... he was skinnier than when she'd left, and he'd looked sick... and when she reached a hand out to move the hair out of his face, she couldn't help but notice how hot his skin was. She was definitely worried about him... not that she could do much about it at the time being.

Sage sort of shifted groggily when he felt her run her hands over his head, though just curled up and settled down again, not really able to wake himself up right then. He woke up more a half hour later or so, and blinked up at her happily.

(Short lol)

Mari just sort of let go of him after a little while, trying to find a spot that was comfortable... though sort of struggling. Her legs were aching from the walk the day prior, and her side was hurting now too. She sort of let out a heavy breath before looking back over at Sage when she felt him move. She tried a smile to him, though seemed to struggle to keep it there. "You okay," she whispered quietly to him... he looked ill. Pale and he definitely had a fever, which she hadn't noticed before... she was just worried, she supposed.

Sage sort of hummed and nodded in response to the girl, rolling over onto his back with a sigh. He sort of just lay there for a bit, just content to be near her and be able to smell her and feel her warmth again. "Yeah," he noted with a sort of yawn. "Just tired," he added after the fact. He felt better now that she was back home, so it wasn't a complete lie. 'you hungry," he asked after a bit. He'd have to get up and make the kids breakfast anyway, so he may as well ask her if she was ready now. He could bring it to her....that wasn't an issue, not at all.

Mari sighed when she heard his voice, kind of misinterpreting how much she actually missed it. So calm, so warm and comforting... she missed his safe touch and familiar scent, too. She turned o him after a bit, sort of resting her head on his shoulder and resting her hand on his chest, fiddling with the simple cross necklace that was starting to need a polish. "No, not really," she replied to him after a short moment, then let out a heavy sigh. "You're not sick, are you?" She eventually asked, her brows slightly furrowed. "You should look after yourself a bit better..." she trailed off, not really sure what to say next.

Sage hummed lightly when she moved to curl up against him and moved so he could smell her better. He shrugged slightly when she asked if he was sick and yawned again. "I might be," he admitted. "I've been running around like crazy between the horses and the kids and working," he mused. 'i don't feel too awful though," he reassured her. "I'll get better once I can catch up on some sleep probably."