The girl nodded lightly to the man and gave a bit of a smile at his little tread... of course she'd manage a couple of hours here before going to grab anything. She wanted to stay here for a little while first, though. She didn't want him alone... he'd brushed over the fact that he'd wanted to die before, and the doctor had said that he wasn't in the best shape mentally, and she was so scared that something like this would push him over the edge... but right now he was also just sleeping, so she felt that she could relax just a little bit. She grabbed a book on the corner and sat in the chair, pulling her legs up as she tried to get comfortable. She knew the doctor said sage wouldn't mind if she go into bed with him, and she was exhausted, and right now just didn't have the energy to move a bed in there, but she also didn't want him to wake up to her just... well, being there. He might not want that. So she just settled for reading a book in the little chair in the corner as she waited for the boy to wake up.

Sage slept for quite a while, and the doctor popped in once while he was still asleep. Eventually though, he groggily opened his eyes and shifted slightly, to stretch. He noticed the girl reading and he blinked groggily over at her. "What's it about," he asked sleepily, the pill still affecting him a bit. "I started it and liked it, but I couldn't finish...I can't read very much even if I like the stories."

(Bit short)

(All good! I've been so busy over the last few days so my replies haven't been the most interesting lol)

The girl admittedly had a hard time reading... she could read, but she was slow and seemed to skip words and lose her sentence over and over again... so she just had to read slowly so that she took everything that in, and followed along with her finger so that she didn't lose where she was at... but it wasn't like that did very much. She'd gotten a basic understanding though, well enough to tell Sage about it when he asked. She did jump a little at his voice but smiled at the sound of it... it meant he was at least a little bit okay. "It's a about an inspector and a villain of sorts - somebody he thinks has committed some heinous offence. It's good but I haven't gotten very far yet," she admitted with a soft sigh. She then wandered over to the bed and crouched down so that she was at his eye lever. "How are you feeling? Not too hurt or anything?"

Sage nodded and yawned before shrugging. It was about as far as he'd gotten, maybe a bit more. Admittedly, he'd given up reading a while back... anything interesting was too much for his brain to handle, it seemed like. He looked over at the girl when she crouched over by him and thought for a moment before shrugging. "Tired. Whatever the doctor shoved down my throat worked," he noted in a rather amused tone of voice. "I don't feel much yet...he shoved pain meds in me too so I don't really know," he admitted. "But dad didn't hurt me much...it could have been a lot worse, so I'll be alright." He yawned again, settling back down in his pile of blankets sleepily. He was glad the girl was here though....he certainly hadn't wanted to wake up alone, and he hated to bug the doctor. He was a grown man, really, and he should be able to take care of himself. But he still felt like a young boy who needed help...he supposed that just went right along with how he was a failure and would never be enough. He'd only ever be a burden to people. That might hurt that most.

The girl nodded slightly, a slightly amused nicker coming from her throat. "I know... the man wouldn't even let me look you over before he drugged you up." She looked at Sage with a cocked head, a gentle smile on her face as she shook her head. It was good to see that he wasn't in so much shock anymore. And that he was okay for the most part. "He does love you, you know. Like a son," she hummed as she reached to gently ruffle his hair before giving a bit of a chuckle and going to sit back down on the chair. "He says it's going to hurt like hell when the pain meds wear off... so I've been assigned to keeping you sane," she informed him with a soft huff before picking up the book again.

Sage chuckled slightly and nodded. "Sounds like the old man," he hummed, in a rather amused tone as he thought of the doctor. He grinned at the girl when she ruffled his hair, though it was alibet a groggy one. "I know. I figured if he lets me call him dad he doesn't exactly hate me," he chuckled before yawning again. He wrinkled his nose slightly at her last comment. "Oh how wonderful," he muttered. "I just love hurting like hell," he huffed. Well, he was joking, so he couldn't be too bad off could he? He had to admit he liked using humor as a coping mechanism...but he wasn't thinking straight right about then either, so he didn't even know what it was. Well, he supposed he'd heal, and it would get better for a while, then something else would happen and he'd take two steps back, and the process would repeat until he was dead. He wished he was, then immediately felt guilty about it. He couldn't leave...he had people who loved him here. People he loved, too. But he still wanted all of this to be done and over with. It was odd.. having a war in him where he strived to live and yet at the same time just wanted to die. He couldn't figure it out.

The girl read about a line in her book before looking back at the boy. "I'll be here to top up any meds." She hummed lightly in a reassuring manner. "But that means you need to tell me if anything starts to hurt... and you can talk to me, you know? The doctor is so worried about you... if you're struggling with anything just say. I know I've already said to come and find me, but..." But what? She didn't know. She just wanted to help him in any way she could. The doctor said that he was worried the boy would do something to hurt himself... and she supposed that was the real reason that she was watching him... maybe if he was confident to talk to her then he might feel a bit better, even if she was just listening. "I was going to go home tonight but I should probably stay here... would you mind if I wheeled a bed in or would you rather me stay out in the ward?" She didn't care... she just wanted to be somewhere that she could get to him quickly.

Sage nodded and rolled his eyes slightly. "I realized that when you said you were staying here," he chuckled. Then he gave the girl a small smile and nodded. He did trust her, and she seemed to understand a bit more than Anya did....so really, he knew he could talk about really anything to her and it would be fine. "I know," he hummed, giving her a thankful look. He hated being sore, more than anything really. Pain meds were nice...but at the same time, pain meant he was healing. He supposed it was just another struggle. Then he cocked his head slightly and shrugged. "You can stay in here, I don't care." He really didn't, and he quite honestly didn't want to be alone. "I just don't want to wake you up if I have a nightmare," he admitted. "I don't sleep much."

The girl smiled with a bit of a nod. "Don't worry about me... sleep is overrated anyway. I'll wheel a bed in later on," she told him with a bit of a chuckle. She didn't care... not at all. If he woke up because of a nightmare or anything, then she could be there as a type of comfort for him... or, she could try. She didn't know if he still thought of her as a stranger or not... she thought they were friends, but he might not see it that way. Well, whatever. He'd tell her to leave if he didn't want her there... he didn't seem to care about what people thought of him, and in truth, she wouldn't be upset if he'd rather be alone. "In a few days, I'm gonna head home... the doctor said you might want to come along? I have two brothers you might get on with, and my mother is lovely. It might be nice to be in a family setting for a day or two," she told him with a soft smile. He could say no, and she wouldn't really mind... but the doctor said it could be a good idea, so she might as well ask.

Sage chuckled slightly and nodded, more than happy for the girl to wheel in a bed and stay with him. He cocked his head slightly, evidently a bit surprised, when she asked if he wanted to come along with her to her house. "You want me to come with you," he asked in surprise before cocking his head thoughtfully. "might be nice," he murmured. "I'd have to make sure the horses were cared for still, but I could work around, like you do now I suppose," he murmured. "Speaking of that...they haven't been fed or watered yet today. Could you ask someone to take care of that? I would but if I tried to leave the bed the doctor would kill me himself," he chuckled, a rather fond tone to his voice when he mentioned both the horses and the old man. Then he had another thought. "And if I come with you, I'm going to help around the house. No one there can say no," he huffed. He'd be stubborn about that. Even if it was just helping the girl cook dinner or do the dishes or something....he would be a bit of a burden, so he wanted to help out if he could.