Mortified

As Rick waits quietly, he's surprised, seeing movement from Katie. It really had worked to have Jason try and wake her up. Moving over to her side, he watches her closely, letting her wake up slowly.

It's okay, just take it slow... we've been here a while. I can't see much right now, so we'll make a nice pair.
"Rick... she wants some water."

Rick nods and leaves to bring back a small paper cup with water. Sitting down on the edge of Katie's bed, he lifts her head a little and helps her take a drink. "Easy does it, Hero."

Jason tries to open his eyes again, still having difficulty as he blinks in the lights that just seemed way too bright.
I'm sorry, Katie... I don't know what happened... It's all foggy... something happened and I just lost complete control.

Rick gives Katie's arm a gentle pat before taking her vitals. "How do you feel? Anything especially uncomfortable or hurting?"

Jeff leans on the open doorway, having just been gone for a short walk. His hands in his pockets he just watches, not wanting to get in the way. But relief was spreading over him, just seeing that his daughter was awake... finally awake.


Hearing someone at the door, Gage gets up again, wandering across the floor in his bare feet. He was a little drowsy, but having someone come was a nice distraction.

Opening all the locks and finally looking out, he sees Sapphire and smiles. He had known she'd come sometime in the next few days, but hadn't known when. "Hey." He opens the door wider so she can come in, eying her bags curiously. "I... was gonna start on the tree but..." He rubs the back of his neck and looks over to the bare tree. "I didn't know where to start."


Jim sees Annie coming, but says nothing to Sparky, barely letting a smile show. Once spoken to, Sparky gives a jump and turns his head in time to see Annie and receive the kiss on the cheek and a hug. "Annie!" He hugs her arms around him. "What on earth... I didn't know you were coming!"

The excitement in his voice was one of a brother who had missed seeing his sister around. Having a familiar face show up unexpectedly was a nice addition to the dismal day. Scooting around in his chair a little, he looks up at her with a wide smile. "You're looking as beautiful as ever. You should know better than to scare an old man like that though." He gives her a teasing backhanded whack to the arm. "You coulda given me a heart attack then there'd be no one to pick on you

Jim, seeing that Annie had the company of another woman, stands up from the table, offering her a welcoming smile and nod.

Sparky sees Jim stand and is confused for a moment. "What..." Tilting his head forward, he looks around Annie and realizes there was someone else there. Catching sight of the attractive woman, he falters for a moment - he probably wouldn't have been quite so affectionate with his sister, had he known a stranger was present.

Remembering his manners, he stands, but Annie hadn't moved back yet, so there wasn't very much room. Teetering as his foot catches the leg of the chair, he puts a hand down fast on the table to catch himself. Unfortunately, he still had his eyes on the woman and his hand goes right where he'd put his coffee mug.

The mug is thrown off balance and goes sprawling, coffee spilling all over. Whirling around, Sparky tries to get a hold on the mug before it falls off the table, but it's slippery and hot. As he fumbles, it slides through his fingers spinning towards him like a torpedo. Still trying to catch it, it's just no use and it goes right off the edge for a long ride with gravity. Ceramic pieces shoot in all directions, clattering across the hard floor.

Jim grabs a fistful of napkins to try and help, but already Sparky is so flustered that he'd rather just be left to the mess. "No, no.... I got it, I'm fine, just..." He doesn't even finish his statement as he squats down to start picking up some of the sharp pieces of the broken mug. Muttering under his breath, he keeps his face down, extremely embarrassed.

Jim clears his throat, deciding it best just to stay out of Sparky's way, so he lifts his eyebrows and looks to Annie, then to her friend. "Welcome to the R/M Ranch..." He purses his lips, trying not to laugh. "My brother doesn't usually give quite this kind of greeting to our guests, but he hasn't seen any female outsiders in so long that it probably just threw him for a loop."

Mad at Jim's teasing, Sparky's head flies, up, but he'd forgotten that it was ducked under the table. Bam! The whole table shakes as his head hits the hard rim.

Jim's eyes widen, his silliness ceasing. "Oh, man, you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay," Sparky grumbles. Finally getting to his feet, his hands are full of dripping broken pieces. His glance catches the woman, his face growing even redder as he sees a set of beautifully soft eyes staring back at him. "Excuse me," is all he can manage before turning to walk to the kitchen to clean up.