Kade watched Alex closely for a few moment, ready to spring out of the way if he was going to throw up again but it seemed like the worst of it was hopefully starting to pass. "Do you need me to go get you something for it? There'll be a chemist nearby somewhere, this close to a hospital. It's cool, I don't mind. Just say the word if you need it, babe. I know you didn't want me hurting, Al. Despite the fact we were shit at navigating a relationship, I didn't think any choices you made were for the purpose of hurting me. That much, despite how hard it was, I'm glad of. We didn't actually do anything hurtful to each other. I doubt we even said anything hurtful about each other. I know I didn't. I still bloody loved you, for fuck's sake. And I know you, that's not what you're about. Which I guess is why we can be here in a room together to try to sort out shit out - thanks, Sam - without tearing strips off each other. But in a lot of ways, maybe the split would've been easier if we had. For what's it's worth, I never actively made a decision not to communicate with you. I was just trying to give you the space you needed to deal with your family stuff. Which we keep coming back to, so let me also say that, I adore your family like they're my own and even through the hard stuff, I still love them all like crazy too. Hell, I even thought for a bit there, I'd officially be part of your family one day. Nothing else was wrong with us. That frustrated the fuck out of me. If we can fix the logistical shit, I think we need to make some sort of promise to stop and smell the roses together more, too. So, it's not all work and no play. And before you let your head run with that too far, it was your nephew that told me that sucking at that meant you would suck everything else too... and he was right, wasn't he?" He still remembered that particular conversation with Justin. Just jokingly, Kade asked him what his secret was to making a relationship work when he had so much else infiltrating his life and Justin hadn't hesitated in saying it was because he and Sash did something every single day just for them, that only included them. Even the days either of them were sick, they still made the space and time for something together. It truly stuck with Kade, especially after he and Alec split. "Whatever happens, I want to be there to help. Hell, if they think my skills with aquatic therapy might help either of them, I'm there, no questions asked. I know Justin has an affinity with the water, he equates it with peace. Something else I asked him about too, why he chose to take his life like that. He said that in the moment, it made more sense to him than anything in his life, to end his torment with peace. I aspire to be as wise as that kid when I'm maybe, oh, in my 90s on my death bed, if I'm lucky."