Dallas, Texas

"Look doc, I know you've done some great things, I can admit that, but it's not enough. I feel like my wife is regressing and for the amount of money I've paid you and the length of time we've been seeing you that really shouldn't be happening", laying out his dissatisfaction early on Friday morning, JR looked at Doctor Williams, challenging him to work his magic to improve things.

"I disagree; I think you and Sue Ellen have made a lot of progress from where you were when you came to me", shaking his head, Doctor Williams sat down, motioning for him to do the same.

Following the unspoken direction, sitting, he listened to what the doctor was saying and then reiterated, "that was before". There was no doubt that they were in a better place than they had been before they'd started therapy together, but they'd certainly had happier times in their marriage than they were experiencing now and that's what he wished to get back to.

Nodding, indicating he was listening, Doctor Williams only spoke to ask, "what's brought this on?"

"You don't know?" highly sceptical that Sue Ellen hadn't already filled him in, he resisted answering the question for now.

"I'd like to hear it in your words", revealing that he knew something, he didn't say what that was, but it wasn't too difficult to guess, Sue Ellen was a complex lady but recently everything had led back to one thing.

"My wife is obsessed with making Bobby's problems her problems", summarising how he saw things, he didn't think the doc could disagree.

"How so?" playing naïve, Doctor Williams asked him to elaborate.

"You know. Bobby lost a wife and a son, Sue Ellen lost a sister-in-law and apparently a part of herself, it's very strange", frustrated, he laid out what he saw happening. It was only normal for Sue Ellen to grieve for Bobby, she was a kind, empathetic person, but the way she was behaving now was too much, she was spiralling hard and fast, completely out of proportion with what was expected of someone in her position.

"Is it?" listening, Doctor Williams offered only another question to their conversation.

"Yes!" exasperated, he raised his voice, causing Doctor Williams to frown and say, "JR, please".

Chuckling, he found it mildly amusing that as far as everything they'd spoken about so far went, it was him raising his voice that received the most reaction from the doctor. That was who Doctor Williams was, he stayed calm and collected regardless of the circumstances they were in, maintaining his cool while the scene in front of him escalated. He didn't know what was wrong with him, willingly telling the serene stranger all about his life and problems, it was so unlike him to trust anyone with such personal problems, but he was desperate and he knew that if anyone could help him it was Doctor Williams.

"I'm frustrated, with her, with you, with this whole damn thing", skipping over an apology, he explained himself.

Nodding, Doctor Williams listened, then asked yet another question, "have you two spoken about this?"

"We have, trust me, that's how I know she's regressing", considering how much and how often what had happened to Bobby and Pam now came up in conversation, he felt confident in thinking they were well past any point where laying out their feelings would help. Sue Ellen was acting irrationally and couldn't see it, he could though and he knew it wasn't right.

"Not so fast. If you two are communicating honestly then that's something. In the past you may have been here in my office with no idea what was bothering her, just aware that something was wrong. This is a difficult situation, yes, but you shouldn't be so hard on yourself or Sue Ellen, honest communication can be difficult when the subject matter is difficult, but you're persisting despite that difficulty", encouraging him with talk of their progress, Doctor Williams made some good points but still failed to help him deal with the present problem.

"Communicating isn't enough when she's committed to driving us both crazy", snapping, he said how he felt, not bothering to sugar-coat it.

"Are you sure your language isn't contributing to that?" straight-faced, Doctor Williams pointed out his tactlessness.

"My language is in response to hers. She's acting irrationally, it's one thing to be grieving Pam's loss and concerned about Bobby's wellbeing, it's another to start making decisions based on the off chance that her life might potentially mirror Pam's", absolutely sure Sue Ellen was the one who needed fixing, he didn't apologise for his use of language that made his position clear.

"What sort of decisions?" acting again as if he had no knowledge of the situation, Doctor Williams looked to him for his version of events.

"She seems to have drifted away from the idea of wanting another baby again, which is not the end of the world, we can wait, waiting itself doesn't bother me, however, the way she expresses why she made the decision doesn't inspire confidence that she's thinking straight. She thinks that she's going to have a difficult pregnancy and potentially die and she thinks if that happened I'd be off and married again without a second thought, which isn't even close to true. Before you ask again, I've told her exactly that and she accepts it, so we make up and I think everything is ok, then she switches again and I'm the insensitive one, the dangerous one, the one she thinks she needs to keep her distance from to protect herself. I don't know what I'm going to wake up to or come home to sometimes, one moment she feels secure and the next minute she's insecure again". Doing his best to explain how changeable he felt life with his wife was now, he hoped he was articulating himself well, because it was exhausting to constantly need to double and triple think about things in order to maintain even a little bit of normalcy.

"It sounds like you're trying hard, you've made wonderful progress and you're trying to be proactive, however, I fear perhaps you're moving too quickly for Sue Ellen. We've discussed it before, you both have valid feelings, you can think she's not grieving and recovering quick enough and she can think that her reactions are completely normal, and you can both be right. I think we can probably all agree that seeing a young woman die in such tragic circumstances has shaken her, but whether or not it makes any sense for her to fear her own demise depends on whose perspective we seek. I believe that you're right to worry, however, I also believe that what Sue Ellen might need is not just to hear you say that you understand and that you won't leave but to show her that". Complimenting him on what he'd done so far, Doctor Williams gave him a strong indication that he agreed with where he was coming from, that he thought there was something to be concerned about, but of course, he never outright said it, he rarely so clearly chose sides.

"I'm trying to show her, that's what I've been trying to tell you. I want my wife back and I'm tired of waiting for it to happen; we talk, we make up, she feels loved, and then she's insecure again, it's a cycle and not one I think is good for her or for us", explaining himself, he thought his feelings were clear. Sue Ellen couldn't sit and dwell on her feelings forever, at some point she needed to accept what happened and move on, permanently.

"You're perceptive. I presume you've told her what you see happening and what your fears are?" listening, Doctor Williams indicated again that he agreed with what he was saying, although he ruined it with his typical questioning.

"Doc, these stupid questions are starting to annoy me", standing up, he walked over to the window, feeling far too confined and antsy sitting down listening to repeated questions about whether he'd done enough. He'd done everything he knew how to do and it wasn't helping, and now he was asking for help and receiving none.

Silent for a good while, he got the feeling Doctor Williams was letting him stew, which was not particularly helpful seeing as he knew what was wrong and was looking for support, not looking for someone to pepper him with questions to help him reflect on what was wrong.

Eventually turning around, he asked what he'd come to the appointment for, "can't you tell her to calm down and start to focus on our lives?"

"I can, but it's not as simple as telling Sue Ellen something and it happening, you know that", nodding, he confirmed that he could only do so much, which wasn't really news.

"Mm, I'm going to need more than that", unimpressed, he shook his head. If the doctor couldn't help, then who could?

"Why don't you come and sit down and we'll talk about what you need from me and what Sue Ellen needs from you", making an offer to work through the problem with him, it wasn't clear what the doctor thought the point of their discussion so far had been, but finally they seemed to be getting somewhere.

"Let's do that", muttering his response, he complied with the doctor's wishes, wondering whether he was insane himself for putting so much trust in a stranger to improve his marriage.

To be continued…