guest - :D
59 Harry's POV
Danny paced obsessively while we waited for Natasha to come out, while Dougie barely breathed. I tried to stop him from passing out, and Danny to stop pacing, pushing all my emotions to the back of my mind. One of us had to be calm, one of us had to have to a level head, if not just to make sure Tom didn't react badly to us. He needed a calm environment, without us freaking him out more, he was going to be fragile, and in need of help. We needed to help him, and freaking out right now was not going to help him. Freak out later, right now focus on what we had to do to help him.
But it was hard work, all of us getting more and more worked up for what felt like hours while we waited for Tom to get out of his session, or for Natasha to get Tom in a state where she could leave him. What was taking so long?! How traumatised was he exactly?!
Eventually though, Natasha came to our room, looking worse for wear herself.
"Where's Tom, what happened, is he okay?!" Danny shouted as soon as he saw her, running to stand directly in front of her, practically vibrating with the need for answers.
"Tom is currently in my office, taking a few minutes to collect himself on his own, my assistant will be checking up on him periodically while I talk to you, and once he is ready, I'll take you to him." Natasha sighed, that... that didn't sound too good.
"What happened?" I repeated Danny's question, scared to know the answer, but needing to find out.
"Well, for the last few weeks, I have been trying to bring Tom round to the idea that his marriage was not what it seemed, and that he was in fact abused by his wife." Well that explained his pre-occupation recently, "Today was the day that he fully realised it. Or at least, has started to realise it."
"And he didn't take it so well?" judging by all of this, I would say he really did not take this news well.
"I'm afraid not, but if it's any comfort, he's reacted very similarly to others in similar situations, so we knew what to do to help him." Natasha explained, "At first, he was in denial, and refused to believe it, and then he became fearful of what I was telling him. It's a perfectly natural reaction, and that is what has taken all this time."
"How afraid was he?" I didn't like the sound of that, not one bit.
"I wouldn't say he was afraid, but the realisation does cause a lot of fear in a lot of people, because their whole world view is being turned upside down. To them, they've been in a loving relationship, one that could quite possibly have started out just like every other normal relationship, that evolved into something terrible. In Tom's case, he's thought for years that he's been in a relationship with a loving wife who was trying to make him a 'better' person, but he's just realised that in fact she was lying to him the whole time, using him and beating him down for no clear reason. It's an incredibly hard thing to process, and generally comes out as fear." Natasha made it sound so simple, but it made my stomach twist so much I felt sick.
"Is, is he going to be okay?" Danny looked slightly pale, hugging himself tight.
"He will be, in time. At the moment, he's in a bit of shock, and will probably be for a while. All I can recommend you do is to support him in whatever way you can. Don't force him to talk, because he will most likely not be up for talking right now, but let him know you're there. Sit with him, make sure he eats and sleeps, things like that. If he asks questions, try your best to answer them, and make sure that you tell him that it was in no way his fault." Natasha explained, "He's incredibly fragile right now, and he desperately needs to know he has people in his corner, even if it's just subconsciously."
"If he's that fragile, shouldn't you be monitoring him?" It wasn't that I didn't want to look after Tom, I did, but if he was that fragile, shouldn't Natasha be looking after him? She was the psychiatrist, trained in these things, shouldn't she be monitoring him?
"Only if he desperately needs it, what Tom really needs right now, is familiar surroundings, and love from people he knows and trusts. He'll do much better at home, but if he does get worse, or doesn't seem to be coming back to himself, then please do bring him back in again, in case there is something very wrong happening. He should be fine in a few days though, most people are." Most people weren't bipolar though, "His bipolar shouldn't affect this if he's still on his medications, but I'd keep an eye out for that too. He'll be down for a while, but he shouldn't be in a down swing, as long as the medication is still being taken."
"Can we see him now?" Dougie asked, the poor boy shaking in my arms, his skin looking a bit green, as if he was about to throw up... or pass out.
"Of course, come with this way." I wasn't sure if I wanted to see the state Tom was in or not.