Alan presented the lipstick with a shaking hand to his father. There was an unnatural hush in the room, even the beeping of the machines seemed muted.

Jeff took the proffered lipstick and examined it again. There was a new crack running down one side, and he grimaced to himself. He was pretty sure it hadn't been there yesterday, and he remembered that he had been holding it when he fell asleep last night.

He looked up to see his mother looking at him, her face asking what the lipstick was all about, but Jeff shrugged minutely and Sally nodded. But then Jeff noticed the faces of his other children, and there was unmistakeable guilt written all over each one.

Glancing at Scott, and seeing that he was still asleep, he looked to his mom. Sally nodded again. She'd picked up the unease at home, but Sally had left it for the moment – they would need time to come to terms with everything. Now, however, it seemed the right time.

'I'll sit with Scott, Jeff, if you want to.' Jeff smiled and nodded, swapping places with his mom. He was about to leave, when he was struck by a thought. He handed the lipstick to Sally.

'Just in case he wakes up while we are gone.' Sally agreed it was a good move. If Scott had been so upset by the lipstick being missing enough to get out of bed, they would need to ensure that that didn't happen again. 'Well, boys? Let's go grab something to drink.' The 'and chat' was not said but they all heard it. Virgil and John exchanged a glance. This was not going to be pretty.

Jeff was a relatively laid-back father, but there was one thing in particular he did not abide, and that was breaking house rules. And the rule of Gordon not entering Scott's room was a rigid rule since the day that Scott had been dropped from the baseball captaincy when he had turned up with bright blue hair. Jeff didn't mind the pranks as long as they did no damage, and that had been a huge blow to Scott, it was the only black mark on an otherwise unblemished record. It had taken some sorting out, not just stopping fratricide but getting the blemish removed from Scott's record.

Gordon was pooping his pants. Alan wasn't that far behind. Both knew what they were in for, and they were both very relieved not to be at home for this, although they were both well aware that it didn't mean they would be let off the hook for this one. And, really, they both knew that they deserved it.

Jeff ushered his children down to the café, where he steered them into the Starbucks. Ordering iced chocolate drinks for everyone, and a coffee for himself. And he sat there, waiting. There was no way to rush his children, they would clam up if forced. But he had long known that if he stayed quiet, his children would fill the void.

So he sat and drank and waited.

Sure enough, Alan broke the silence first.

'It's all my fault! I did it!'

'Did what, Alan?'

'I stole the lipstick from Scott's room.'

'I see.'

'No! It was my fault!'

'Oh, Gordon?'

'I dared Alan to go into Scott's room and grab something.'

'Oh you did, did you?'

'Yes, Father.'

'Despite knowing that you were not allowed into Scott's bedroom?'

'Yes, Father.'

Jeff took a swig, using it as a means of getting his head around what his two youngest had told him. It explained a lot about the dinner last night, Scott's mood and his rush to leave the house. It also partly explained the lipstick. Now, he just needed to know where John and Virgil featured in all this…and right on cue…

'Virgil and I didn't exactly help, Father. We were all sitting around the table, trying to guess what the lipstick was all about when Scott came home and found us.'

'Yeah, John's right. We both said about putting the lipstick back before Scott got home, but we got involved in discussing where the lipstick came from. Scott was livid, he snatched the tube up and stormed off to his room and only came out when you called for dinner.'

Right. So now he knew why all four of his children were feeling guilty. Now he had to decide what to do about it. While he might not understand the full reason for the lipstick being in Scott's possession, he now knew the reason for Scott leaving. The fact that he still had the lipstick on him when he was out meant that it was important to Scott, and that was something to address later.

'Thank you all for being honest with me. I hope you realise that this will require some punishment. However, that is not for now. Now, I want you all to be on your best behaviour and you are all to apologise to Scott once he is lucid.' Jeff was gratified with four vigorous nods.

Scott woke up feeling much better. He was still in pain, but it was dulled somewhat, and he was thinking much clearer. There was a pat to his hand, and he smiled as he looked over to see his grandmother, smiling softly at him. Only his grandmother patted his hand.

'Grandma,' he breathed, and Sally's heart was lifted that Scott sounded clear. She patted his hand again and held up the lipstick for him to see. The relief on his face was evident. The grin he flashed her was pure Scott, and she placed it in his uninjured hand. She watched as he rolled it in his hand, and she sighed.

'You're going to be fine, Scotty,' she said and pretended she didn't notice as a tear fell. Scott wiped it away using his bandaged hand, and she tutted quietly. 'Anybody would think I raised you to be a heathen. Here,' Sally passed her eldest grandson a tissue from the box on the table. Scott smiled at the familiarity of being chided by her.

'Wasn't Dad here?' he asked, looking around. There was evidence that somewhere were his brothers – there was a pile of backpacks just in his eyesight, and he found he was looking forward to seeing them again. He must have scared them when he didn't come home last night, and he needed to reassure them that he was ok.

Just as he was asking, the door opened with a resounding bang, and a corresponding 'Gordon!' from both his Dad and his Grandma, followed by a very not sorry-sounding 'sorry!' And Scott smiled. Just like his Fish brother.

'It's ok, Dad. I'm awake.' Sure, the noise wasn't great for his head, but he could manage the pain now that his entire family was here. Hearing his voice only caused more noise, as all four brothers seemed to shout 'I'm sorry, Scott' at the same time. This time he did wince, and Jeff caught it, shushing his boys and telling them to talk one at a time.

Gordon, as the ultimate perpetrator of the offence went first. Soulful amber eyes asked for forgiveness for daring Alan.

Alan, in an absolute copy of Gordon's pose, and flashing sky-blue puppy-dog eyes, asked for the same.

John, rolling his eyes at his younger brother's antics, nonetheless earnestly asked forgiveness for not insisting that they put the lipstick back and participating in the speculation as to the purpose of said lipstick.

Virgil, rolling his eyes at John's verbiage, apologised for much the same reason.

Scott listened to each one of them in turn, then true to his nature, he apologised for getting so annoyed at them when they were only curious, and for worrying them when he didn't come home.

There was a plethora of comforting half-hugs, ever mindful of Scott's ribs and other injuries, and they spent the day quietly chatting or playing video games while Scott drifted in and out of sleep.

Sally finally took them home at eight that evening when visitors hours were over, with promises to bring them all again tomorrow.

And then it was just Jeff and Scott.

Jeff wanted to ask, but he was partly afraid of the answer. He'd seen the shade, he knew it was Lucy's, but why Scott was hanging on to it with such ferocity that he saved it while being mugged actually scared him a little. He knew Scott would tell him if he wanted. So he contented himself with just sitting next to Scott's bed, both watching whatever it was on the tv without actually watching it.

'I – I'm sorry, Dad.' Jeff frowned. Softly spoken, with Scott resolutely fixing his eyes on the tv, it appeared that apologies were not over yet. He ran his hand over his face and turned in the chair to face his son, switching the tv to mute.

'What for, Scott?'

'For getting so worked up about the lipstick.'

'That's ok, Son. I can tell it means a lot to you.'

'Yeah, it does.'

And that was it. Scott lapsed into silence, and Jeff let him. They sat in companiable silence for quite a while before Scott spoke again.

'I guess I should tell you why it is important to me.'

'You don't have to, Son, but I would like to know. Only if you want to tell me.'

'I want to.' It was whispered. Jeff gently squeezed Scott's hand, and was gratified with a small squeeze back.

'It's all I have left of Mom.'

If Jeff thought that Scott was whispering, then this came through the quiet as if his son had shouted at him.

'What do you mean, Scott?' Jeff was genuinely puzzled.

'When I got out of the hospital, you'd got rid of everything. I – I had nothing to hold on to, to remind me of Mom. It was all gone. The pictures, her clothes, her jewellery, everything.'

Jeff closed his eyes against the memory. The second day that they had been back, he had torn through the house, bagging up and binning everything that reminded him of his dead wife. His frenzy had been so bad that his mom had taken the three boys out and away from his grief.

It had never occurred to him that his boys might want something of their Mom's stuff, and now he felt hollow with grief anew. No wonder Scott had been so protective of the lipstick. He should have talked with his boys before now about this.

'I'm so sorry, Scott. I had no idea.'

'I – I didn't know how to ask you, you were so upset. And then I found this on the floor under one of the cabinets and I had to have it.'

'I should have talked to you all about that, about getting rid of your Mom's stuff. I – I never gave it a thought that you would want something, and for that I am truly sorry. When you come home, the seven of us are going to sit down and discuss this properly, I promise, Scott.'

Scott gave his father a wan smile. Telling his Dad about the lipstick had been hard, but now he knew, Scott felt like a secret he was carrying was out in the open, was less of a burden. He relaxed back into the bed and closed his eyes. His Dad had yet to talk about their Mom since the accident, it would be good for all of them.

Jeff watched as Scott relaxed, sleep overtaking him quickly. He had some organising to do for when Scott was released, in preparation for this long-overdue chat, but for tonight, it was just him and Scott and that was all that mattered.

The lipstick remained on the cabinet. Not forgotten, still important, but not quite as important as it had been.