Dexter grit his teeth, struggling to remain calm. It grated on him, hearing Max talk like this, so sincere yet confused at the same time. If only he'd accept what Dexter was telling him as the truth...

"Of course you didn't intend to do it." Sounding reassuring was rather far beyond Dexter right now; it seemed the only way to get through to Max was to be as blunt as possible. That, at least, hadn't changed. "You gave him something; it was during your disappearance. Some kind of illegal drug, no doubt; I don't know the details - you were hysterical when you finally called me and told me where you were - but he had an allergic reaction to it. You nearly killed him, Max." Maybe using his given name - something Dexter only rarely did - would impress on him the truth.