"Mum left when I was ten." Chase looked down at his fists; this was the third of his mandatory counseling sessions. "Then it was just me and Dean. Lachie was about to go off doing stuff with the Army. The SAS."

"How was that?" Emma asked probingly. Thinking to herself that it made Dean ten or twelve years older than Chase.

"Mum cheated on dad; and then she left. And then it was me and Dean." Chase was still smarting over the fact he'd only figured this out recently.

"Hmm…"

"Dean was just starting at Rescue. Dad was working all the time, picking up jobs where he could."

"So it was you and Dean."

"Me and Dean. Yep, Dean and me." Chase clenched and unclenched his fists, he thought about those years. It had been him and Dean. Dean had moved back home; Dean had made sure he had breakfast before school, since dad had usually already left before he got up; Dean made sure he did his homework; Dean kicked his ass when he'd gotten picked up by the cops that one time out at the point; Dean had driven him and Naomi to the dance in year nine; Dean had spent hours hours drilling him for exams, first his school exams, then his National Paramedicine Boards. "Christ, how many shifts did Dean show up late for or leave early from because I had something?"

"Yes?" the psychologist asked, family relationships played a big role in reconciling trauma.

"Dean, he was always there." Chase slouched lower in his chair, wishing Emma wasn't so damned pretty. "I mean he was always there. He picked me up from school stuff, made sure I had breakfast and dinner. Christ, he moved home when mom left. He's always been there."