A rare day off, a rare night to sleep fully and she hadn't even been able to. Both she and Maggie were suffering from a nasty little head cold and it had kept both of them up for most of the night between the congestion and coughing. She'd treated her daughter's symptoms the best she could, some hot steam, a little lavender, some eucalyptus oil and the little one seemed to have finally slept. Sage on the other hand, using the same treatments, seemed to have missed the window and felt worse than she had last night.

It was her own fault of course. Running herself ragged, sleeping barely four or five hours a night, working any overtime she could when Mia or Amber were available to spend time with Maggie. It wasn't ideal, but it was all she could do. Once exposed to whatever it was Maggie had caught and subsequently needed snuggles for, Sage was a goner. It was miserable.

Amber was off with Maggie at the park, the fresh air good for her and Sage was curled up in an armchair in the living room, buried under a blanket despite the summer warmth, shaking her way through a fever that just wouldn't quit. She needed to kick it and fast, but was having little to no luck. Tea, maybe tea would help. So she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and shuffled her way to the kitchen, only to find it was already occupied. "Are you making tea?" Sneeze. "Can I have some?" Cough. Sage lowered herself into the nearest kitchen chair unsteadily, feeling a little woozy from the walk, head swimming. She was well aware that she'd been childish in avoiding Declan for these past few months, since she'd blubbered all over him and they'd had a tête-à-tête.

Today she was too tired and too ill to care and if he was already making tea, it saved her the effort.