(no subject)

"You are a failure as a son. I never want to see you again. You broke my heart Gurpreet."
The door slams in his face.
He stands there for a few moments, just willing her to come back.
There is a terrifying scream. Running around the side of the house, he looks through the window and sees...
"Shit!"
Nina and Abs look at one another and swear simultaneously. Abs passes Nina the remote.
"That was a pretty loud yell. Better see if he's okay."
He goes upstairs and pushes open the bedroom door.
"Guppy? You awake mate?"
He sees blood and makes his way rapidly to the bed. Grabbing Guppy's swiss army knife off the bedside table, he cuts through the string that the young doctor had used to bind his right hand to the bed to stop himself from hurting the other.
"See what you've driven him to! This is your fault!"
"Let me in, I can help him. Please let me help him."
Abs gets a flannel and presses it onto Guppy's bleeding wrist.
"What's happened to him mate? What's he doing?"
Guppy's forehead creases but his eyes remain shut.
"I'm sorry dad. I never meant to drive you to that. Please mum, let me in, I can help him. Please! You can't lift him on your own."
Tears run down his cheeks. Holding Guppy's wrist in the air, Abs leans down and speaks gently.
"It's made of paper. It's just a paper noose. Watch it tear, it won't hold his weight. It's ripping and he's falling. He's not dying, he's opened his eyes and he's breathing."
He watches as Guppy's brain digests the information. The tensed muscles begin to relax, although he's shaking like a leaf.
His mother hugs his father tightly. He holds her close as Guppy watches.
"I'm sorry, I have nothing to live for..."
Guppy opens his eyes and runs past Abs into the bathroom. Abs follows and stands next to him, rubbing his back with one hand and holding his bleeding wrist with the other. Being a nurse makes vomit seem less disgusting somehow.
"Come and sit down." he says at last when Guppy has finished. "You've gone all pale. Hold this while I find something more suitable."
He goes out of the room and returns with a glass of water and some bandages. Guppy's quietness is almost unnerving. He sits down on the bed and starts to clean Guppy's hand up.
"Hate to say it mate, but you're getting worse. At night anyway. You seem better in the day."
Guppy won't give him eye contact, and this is unnerving as well. He's just staring at his wrist, not saying anything, no tears, nothing. Abs doesn't tell him what he thought before he saw the string. As he finishes bandaging the wrist he gently examines the nail marks in Guppy's palm.
"I was asleep. You can ask Aeryn if you don't believe me."
Abs can't help but feel a little relieved that he's talking.
"I believe you mate, don't worry. You've got enough will power to have nipped that one in the bud. And if you hadn't you would tell me wouldn't you? The others don't need to know. I don't think you've got anything you'd lose your career over, you're just showing signs of understandable grief and stress. Please Guppy, talk to me here. Or at least talk to somebody. Peter knows what he's doing, talk to him if it makes you happier. But please, let someone help you."
"I don't want to be a nuisance."
"You ain't a nuisance."
Abs puts a supporting hand on Guppy's shoulder as he breaks.
"Then please help me."