93 Harry's POV
Tom looked fragile as he walked into the room, face drawn and paler than usual. His hands were mildly shaking too, like aftershocks from his panic attack. I was quite glad that Dougie was walking next to him, I would have been scared that he'd collapse without anyone to hold him up.
"Dada!" Buzz immediately reached out for his dad, Tom automatically picked him up, I had to stop the urge to support his hands, he didn't look strong enough to hold the baby.
"Sorry Buzz," Tom kissed his hair, before looking up at me, "Sorry, I... I wasn't feeling well." He cringed as he said it, like he was still expecting me to lash out.
"Nothing to say sorry for, you feeling better now?" I squeezed the shoulder Buzz wasn't leaning on, Tom nodded weakly, leaning his head against his son's. I wasn't sure if he was rocking from side to side to comfort Buzz or himself.
"I'm glad." I smiled, "Want to finish some dinner now, or shall we put it in the fridge for later?"
"I," Tom didn't look sure, biting at his lip.
"Whatever you want Tom, there's no wrong answer." Dougie encouraged, rubbing Tom's back. A look passed between them, Tom's questioning, Dougie's encouraging. Probably to do with their conversation from just now.
"I, I'm going to phone Natasha. She... I think, I think I need to talk to her." Tom answered eventually, letting out a shaky breath.
"Alright, I'll keep your plate in the fridge, you do whatever you need. Want us to take Buzz for a bit, he's finished dinner, and Peppa Pig is starting soon." I deliberately didn't hold out my hands, giving Tom the choice, not forcing anything from him.
"Thank you, I'll... I'll be able to take him to bed though." Tom handed Buzz over, who made a small sound of protest, but didn't kick up too much of a fuss.
"Take your time, we can put him to bed if you need to talk for a while, it's not problem." I waved him off, it wouldn't have been a problem in the slightest. I'd never actually put Buzz to bed, but I was sure we could handle it, I had looked after my nephew and niece enough times to know what to do. And if Tom needed breathing space, or at least time to talk in depth, then I wasn't about to deny him it.
"Do what you need to do Tom, don't worry about anything else." Dougie encouraged, "We can look after him if you need us to."
"T-Thank you." Tom still didn't look like he had any idea on how to deal with our words, but at least he accepted them this time, "I, I'm going to phone Natasha now." he edged out of the room, like he wasn't sure that this was actually alright.
When he was safely out of earshot, Dougie let out a harsh breath, posture slumping. "That was not fun in the slightest." He sighed.
"Looks like you did good though. Like you calmed him down reasonably well, and got him to phone Natasha for help, which is more than what we could do." I put my free arm around him, bringing him in close.
"It was hard, I've never... I just said what I would have liked to hear, back when things were bad, right from the beginning." Dougie sighed again, burying his face in my shirt.
"If I'd known, I would have told you." I hadn't had any idea on what to say at first, when Dougie came home. I felt like I had been walking on egg shells, so unsure of what exactly I was supposed to be doing with him. Those first few weeks had been tough to say the least.
"I know, and I know that you were trying your best, and I appreciate it. I just don't want that to happen to Tom too, I'd rather he didn't have to go through that, without being told that what he's feeling and how he's acting is fine, is actually normal. He needed to know that we weren't going to get angry, or leave him, for anything he reacted badly to." Dougie whispered, "And even though we have been saying it, I think he needed to hear it at a time of stress. Like, he needed to hear it at the right time."
At that point, Buzz decided to shout out "Peppa!" very loudly, interrupting the moment.
"Alright, alright, we'll watch Peppa Pig." I laughed, despite being kicked in the ribs by a tiny, yet powerful, foot, "You take him to the front room, I'll check up on Danny." Someone had to at least tell him that Tom was okay, before he kicked himself too hard for all of this.