"You are," he replies, heart sinking in his chest as he returns the hug for all he's worth. Strong. For him. "You're stronger than I think you know, and that's good. You'll surprise yourself one day. Thing is, you don't have to be, not right now. I can't let this get to me right now, I don't know if I could cope."

When he inevitably breaks down for some trivial reason or other, he would prefer to be alone. He has a feeling Az won't leave him, and what's more, he has a feeling he's gonna ask her to stay in the guest bedroom as long as she wants to. It's the only right thing to do.

"I'll eat something, don't worry. I'll go make something right now, okay?"