I'm not underestimating his sense of protectiveness over Jack. No, I think that when he's around Jack I think he's super protective. I'm sure his whole thing about living apart has a lot to do with his sense of protectiveness. He thinks he's sparing Jack and himself from homophobic violence. It's just that in that instance on the phone, thinking about Jack's death, he feels guilty for not being there. The lamb on the mountain top died when Ennis wasn't there looking after it... just like Jack died when Ennis wasn't around to help out. So, yes, definitely Jack is the "nuturing" one while Ennis is the protecitve on.