"Have you taken something for your headache?" Sam pulled a strip of Panadol out of his robe pocket and offered it to Mark. "Sparky, Sash might've died if that accident hadn't happened. I know it's such a pointless observation to make but he had a brain aneurysm that was leaking. It's likely he would've just thought it was another bad migraine and it would've killed him before we knew what was happening. It's not going to be a comfort now but now he has a shot of surviving. You said Jus knew something was wrong. I think it might give him some comfort. He was there, we weren't. We're going to have to take his lead. One of the doctors I went to med school with, her father was Sash's surgeon. I've had a chat with him and he's happy to come talk with Justin when he wakes up, let him ask any questions he needs about Sash's condition. I told him Justin's a pretty cluey kid, despite all his challenges. If he's holding up okay, he's going to want to know what happened. He's not going to want Sash out of his sight. There's always a chance he can come out okay, with time and rehab. But critical means... it means we have to be patient and give his body time to recover from the trauma and shock."

He shook his head. "You really think Jus would think that? He knows what depression is first-hand. He knows nothing 'makes' someone depressed. Situations can exacerbate a person's depression but have you thought about the fact that maybe you're just not well right now and that is amplifying everything? There's no way in hell your son is going to blame you for being unwell, Sparky. He loves you. You're his hero. But he knows you're not perfect. I think you should just keep it real with him and let him respond however he needs to. But take some time to rest while he is. I don't care if you only got home for a couple of hours kip on the lounge. Anything is better than nothing. You're not going to get better not taking care of yourself."