Page 2 of Rough Night

He flexed his muscles, ignoring the pain. He bent his body this way and that way until he felt a little more mobile and able to walk. The nurse informed him that someone named Grier had been in to visit him while he was sleeping. He left a message for Sage letting him know he was in Florida, staying at the house using one of the studies while he was here and wished to see him when he was discharged. Sage headed straight for the house. There was no better place to be other than home, he thought. He was excited to get home. He just wanted to be comfortable in his own bed. Even after sleeping most of the day away, he was exhausted from moving already. He also wanted to have a shower and he wanted to see Mia but he knew he would have to talk to Grier before he did anything else.

Climbing into a cab outside the hospital Sage made his way to Grier. He made his way home with a sense of happiness at the thought. He didn't expect much from Grier, other than him just wanting to make sure he was okay. He soon arrived home and relief ran through his body as he looked at the place he called home in Florida. He climbed out of the cab and once he had paid the driver, he slowly made his way into the house. It wasn't hard to find the study Grier had claimed. He reached the door where he stood and knocked, waiting for permission to enter.

"Come in!" Grier shouted from the other side of the door. Sage opened the door and slowly walked in, trying not to wobble as he did so. Grier looked up from his computer and looked at Sage, a smile forming across his face. It was clear he was glad to see him.

"And so he lives!" he exclaimed as he got up and made his way over to him. "How are you feeling?" Grier asked as he gently laid a hand on his shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. He didn't seem upset about what had happened. Hopefully because it was over now Sage wouldn't get a lecture about his actions.

"As good as I could be under the circumstances,” Sage replied with a smile. Grier indicated to one of the seats in the study and Sage gratefully took it. His body needed to rest again.

"I'm sure, I'm sure! You're very fortunate,” Grier said. Sage knew he was right. He had almost died and he only had one person to thank for making sure that hadn't happened. He just hadn't seen her yet.

"I'm truly grateful. I have a few people to thank, that's for sure,” he replied. Grier nodded his head in agreement. Clearly not bothered about anything else but Sage’s wellbeing.

"We're all happy that you're back and in one piece. It was a close call," Grier said. "We're still trying to figure out what is left of the Omens and how much of a threat they still have here but nothing is confirmed yet.”

"Hopefully we can get rid of them once and for all. Their existence is causing a lot of trouble,” Sage replied.

Just as Sage had finished his sentence the door swung open and both men turned to face who had interrupted their conversation. Mia stood frozen in the doorway looking at the two of them, holding a cup of what smelt like coffee as it wafted through the air. She clearly didn't expect Sage to be home already as she looked him over.

"Oh, I didn't realize you had company. I just came to bring you some coffee,” she said as she entered the study, placing the coffee on the desk Grier had been using. Sage watched Mia as she walked into the small space. He wanted to thank her in private so he just smiled at her, hoping she could see the gratitude written on his face.

"I'm actually glad you're here, Mia. Please join us and take a seat,” Grier said as he too smiled at her. Mia took a seat and looked from one man to the other as silence filled the room. She didn't know what to say to Sage especially in front of Grier. She wanted to ask him how he was but thought it better to wait until they were alone.

"Well," Grier said to them, breaking the silence at the same time, "I've been talking to Fiona a lot today and she is thoroughly impressed with how you managed to get our man back.” Grier looked pointedly at Mia. "It showed a lot of strength and fire. You should be proud,” he continued to say as she blushed at the compliment.

"Oh, thank you. Honestly, it wasn't anything really,” she said trying to downplay all the effort she had put into getting Sage back. She knew she wouldn't have stopped trying to find him if she hadn't found him yesterday but they didn't need to know that. She would've searched the entire planet to get him back.

"Don't be so modest, Mia. Adam and I had a chat at length about exactly what you did, and the fact that you went with every lead not waiting to get told what to do was just great. You showed how just how powerful you can be,” Grier said.

"Yes, it was amazing. I have you to thank for being alive,” Sage said to her, looking her straight in the eye. After a few seconds of holding each other's gaze, Mia had to look away. She couldn't risk Grier seeing the connection to Sage that she was sure was written all over her face.

"You're welcome. We're a team and I knew I couldn't just sit around and do nothing so honestly, I'm happy I could help,” she replied.

"And it's because of that that after some discussion with Fiona we have come to the agreement that you will be made Screaming Demons,” Grier said with a triumphant smile. There hadn't been many female Screaming Demons before but Mia had earned it. Sage and Mia couldn't believe it. She stared at Grier in shock as did Sage. After everything that had gone wrong because of her, she hadn’t thought anything would make her worthy of being a Screaming Demon but she was chuffed.

"Wow, I'm speechless. That's such an honor. Thank you so much," Mia said as the words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush of excitement.

"I agree. That is amazing,” Sage said. He didn't believe he deserved it like Mia did.

"You've both shown a lot of fight and so you deserve it. Just don't let us down,” Grier joked but they both knew he was serious.

"Now that that's done, I need to finish up some work before I head back home." His hint getting across to both Sage and Mia as they got to their feet and left the study.