85 Dougie's POV

I didn't know if I was completely right, but it made sense to me that Tom was feeling the way I had explained, or at least something similar to it. He had been brought down and treated like a slave for years, his personality crushed until he was this terrified person, filled with anxiety over every move he made. He'd have to relearn who he was, discover that he could do the things he loved, and break the 'rules' his wife had imposed on him, that much was obvious. And, it was also so obvious that he was depressed too, even while on his own medication, he was depressed. It wasn't surprising really, considering his current situation.

And, hell, that wasn't even thinking about the fact that my own therapist had once said that depression was like an abusive relationship with myself. They had explained that depression had beaten me down, forced me to change my behaviour, made me lose who I was as a person. So, of course it had to be similar, surely they were slightly similar situations. Or, at least had similar healing processes.

"Thank you, for the insight, either way. It's helpful to have a little explanation." Harry squeezed me tight, pressing a kiss to my hair.

"Yeah, it's worrying, trying to figure out what's going on by yourself." Which was why I always tried to air my problems and concerns with Harry, as soon as I was able. Sometimes I was too scared to, and took some time to gather courage to say it, but I always tried my best to say it. Being silent didn't help anybody, talking helped, it allowed people to understand what you were going through, so they could offer help. Or, at the least, stop worrying so hard about what was going on.

"Maybe you should try to talk to Tom, he could find it useful, talking to someone who partially understands what it's like." Harry suggested, turning us both onto our sides, so we were spooning.

"Could do, though whether he takes the opportunity is another matter." I doubted Tom would, he was struggling to have normal conversations with us, let along one as deep as one about his mental health. Seeing him today had shown he was getting better with talking with Buzz, but with everyone else? Not so much. Watching his stop himself from talking to us so often had been heartbreaking, and I wanted desperately to have a proper conversation with him, but it was so difficult. Tom just wasn't good with conversation anymore, he wasn't used to it. He escaped any conversation as soon as he could, and it was going to take a long while to get him to gain his confidence back in that respect.

"Good point... maybe when he's feeling a bit better. At least offer the invitation out to him, just in case." Harry agreed, "Or maybe some offer some help, when he's struggling with something."

"I could do." I considered it, "Think it's a good idea to strike up the conversation myself? You know, just start talking to him about how hard I found adjusting to normal life again, after rehab? Or would that just freak him out?"

"That would probably freak the living daylights out of him straight away. I wouldn't recommend doing that without any sort of warning, or without preparing him in some way for that conversation." Harry answered, good point really.

"Yeah, considering Danny scared him just by suggesting he stopped cleaning to play with Buzz, talking about taking your life back after a few years of struggle would cause some sort of massive freak out." To say the least it would, dear God I didn't even want to consider the aftermath of even trying that conversation. It made me shudder just thinking about it.

"I'd wait for something like that, like when he's better able to express himself." Harry suggested, "It's a good idea though, I'd definitely consider talking to him about that, so he knows that he's not alone on that front."

"Alright. I'll consider it, once he's more used to going out of his comfort zone. Possibly when he starts really taking back some control." I would do it, I would definitely do it, without a doubt. It was all about timing right now, picking the right time to talk about things, suggesting ideas, and generally offering support. It had to be at the right time, in the right mood, or everything fell to pieces.