Tom yawned and scratched his head as he strolled down the stairs from his third floor room. It was seven in the morning, a time, Tom reckoned, which shouldn't exist. The only reason he was up was because of a muffled whining noise that had been keeping him up all night- probably a neighbours dog. He passed Dougie's poster- covered door, then hesitated. He knew Dougie had been ill last night- it seemed like food poisoning- but Dougie had refused help, saying he just wanted to sleep and that he wasn't a baby.
Tom pushed open the door slightly, meaning to check on his younger band mate. All he could see when he looked in was a tuft of sandy hair on the pillow, and a clenched fist firmly holding Chick. Chick was his teddy. It was a large, squishy chicken, with felt legs, and it could also be used as a pillow. Tom had never seen Dougie sleep without that Chick- at first Harry and Danny had teased him, but after Tom explained he was homesick, they let it go.
Realising that Dougie's head was buried in the pillow, Tom frowned. Should he be concerned that Dougie was suffocating? Deciding that safe was better than sorry, he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling the covers down to reveal Dougie. He reached an arm under Dougie's stomach and carefully turned him over, then started freaking out internally at the tear tracks down Dougie's face and the dried blood on his lips. The blood, of course, meant that he'd been biting his lip again- but tears? Tom cursed quietly. He thought that they were past the stage where Dougie was too shy to talk to him if he had a problem.
Dougie started mumbling under his breath; at first, the words were random nonsense, then he said three words, and Tom knew why he'd been crying.
"I'm sorry, Dad..."
Recalling the day Dougie had received the phone call from his mum, telling him that his dad was gone, Tom knew that Dougie still thought it was his fault. Nightmares? Probably- which would explain the whining that he'd heard all night; it must have been Dougie, crying.
Tom licked the corner of Dougie's blanket slightly, and wiped it over his face, removing the tear tracks and the blood. He then laid down next to the younger boy, pulling up the covers and allowing Dougie to snuggle up to him.
"Dad?" The quiet murmur made Tom smile slightly. He ran a hand through Dougie's hair.
"I'm here."