Matt pulled away slowly, his expression suddenly becoming sad. He looked down. "Mr Shue…. I wasn't honest with you…".

"Matt, what do you mean?" Mr Shue asked

"This morning. You…. You asked me where I cut myself and…. I told you it…. It was my hand. But it wasn't and I'm sorry but I just couldn't help it and I did it and I didn't mean to and it was stupid and it's all my fault and now you probably don't want me and I…."

"Woah woah woah Matt calm down, calm down, it's alright. Firstly, no matter what it is, I do want you. I was being honest earlier and I'm being honest now. Secondly, it's not your fault, I meant it when I said that earlier to. But now I must ask you, where are you really hurt?"

Matt slowly lifted his shirt to reveal the deep cut underneath. He had to slightly tug, as the dried up blood had stuck to his shirt. He winced slightly, but did not let Mr Shue see.

Mr Shue took a deep breath in at the sight, it wasn't good. "Oh… my god. Okay, okay, it's okay, we can get through this. I think you might need stitches though, it looks pretty bad.."

"Mr Shue no! I can't go to the hospital! They'll ship me off to an insane asylum, I can't go there. Please, don't, please…." Matt pleaded

Mr Shue sighed. He did have a point. Matt really did need stitches, even more so psychological help, but for now the best thing for Matt was probably a home, not a psych ward.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to call the school, and tell them that we're not coming in today. Then, we're going to go and see one of my friends. He's a doctor, Australian, and he'll fix that up for us, but he's not one to ask questions. He'll also be able to put us in contact with a psychologist, which I think is really important for you at this point in time. Ms Pilusberry is great and all, but I think this issue has reached a bit beyond her qualifications. Got it?"

Matt nodded. That didn't sound too bad, at least he wouldn't have to go to the hospital. And as much as he hated to admit it, he needed help. He just wanted to be normal again, have the normal life that he once had. He was sick of the memories, sick of the guilt. But most importantly, sick of the pain.

20 minutes later, Mr Shue and Matt were sitting in with Mr Shue's doctor.

"Will! It's great to see you man, what's been goin' on brother?"

"Ahh not much Todd, not much"

"What brings you here today? Vocal chords again?" he asked with a wink

"No, no, actually we're here for Matt (Will gestures to Matt). He's staying with me, and I'm afraid he has quite a large cut on his chest. It looks pretty deep"

"Alright then, Matt can you lift your shirt up for a moment?"

Matt complied, and the doctor examined the cut. "That looks pretty bad, and since it's already dried over this might be complicated. But I agree with you Will – it looks like it's gonna be a deep one"

Will nodded. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Well, I don't want it to get infected, so I think stitches are the best option for now. This might be painful, but I need to reopen it up, basically recut through it. Then, I'll stitch it up for ya. And then, mate, I want to talk to you about a couple things".

Matt nodded slowly. He deserved every bit of the pain that was coming for him. Matt laid down on the hospital bed (the doctor's instruction) and the doctor grabbed a scalpel. "Alright, I'll try and get this bugger over with as quick as I can".

The doctor dug into the cut, reopening it up and causing blood to run out. It hurt, but Matt had experienced worse. Todd (the doctor) frowned slightly, he'd seen fully grown men at least whince, but Matt wasn't giving any indication of pain at all. Mr Shue noticed this too, but knew the reasons as to why. And he wasn't surprised.

After all of the stitches were done, Matt sat up. "Mate, I gotta tell you, you have the pain tolerance of a wrestler, honestly. I've seen fully grown men let out at least a hiss, and you didn't move a muscle"

Matt shrugged. He didn't know what to say. "I can tell you did that, to yourself. The location, the cut shape, says all."

Matt looked up. "I'm sorry."

"Why you apologisin'? Not your bloody fault. That's the thing about psychology – people think that if you're hurt psychologically, it's your fault. It isn't. You don't blame someone for having cancer, so why should you blame them for having depression or PTSD or bipolar? Now, I have no idea what is going through your head, but I do know it's not your fault. I must emphasise that you need some form'a help though."

Will smiled. "That's what I told him – and Matt, you really need to understand that it isn't your fault. It's not. Now, can you recommend anyone?"

"I know a guy. He knows this stuff well. Here's his number" said Todd, handing him a card.

"Thanks a million, Todd. I really need to have you and Christy over for dinner, seriously, you guys are great"

"See ya Will. Bye Matt – good luck"

And they left.

They walked out to the car, where Mr Shue started driving the opposite direction to his apartment. "Errr…. Mr Shue? I think you're going to wrong way….?"

"No I'm not Matt. I want to go to your father's apartment now. Get the rest of your stuff. Didn't have much with you when you came"

Matt felt sick. "But Mr Shue, I…."

"Matt it's alright, he's gone. They took him away. You're safe there…"

"Mr Shue, I don't ha….."

Suddenly the phone rang, and Mr Shue answered it. "Hello? Hi Mary, yep we're on our way now. I'll see you then. Yep I have the address. Yes and the forms. Okay, see you soon, bye"

Mr Shue hung up the phone. "That was Mary, one of the officer's that arrested your dad. We're going to speak to her about guardianship as well, are you sure you still want to live with me?"

"Yeah Mr Shue, I'm sure. Are you alright with it?"

"Matt, of course I am alright with it. The whole reason we're doing this is because I'm alright with it."

They rode in silence until they reached the apartment, parked the car, and went upstairs.

Just for the record, I know like nothing about medical practice or stitches or wounds so there is most likely a lot of incorrect stuff in this chapter. Psych is more my thing. Thanks everyone for the support J I really love reviews, so if you like it (or even dislike it) please review! I'm happy to listen to your ideas for the story as well if you have any.