111 Danny's POV
There was a change in Tom after that session, not a big one, by most people's standards, but a huge change to anyone who had seen him recently.
After that session, Tom really started to try again. He didn't start with big things, or even anything that lasted more than a minute, but he was starting to do things. Small things, tiny things, but they were things nonetheless, and things that were very big steps in his world.
You see, Tom started being more affectionate with Buzz after that session. He didn't play more games with the baby, or join in much with him, but he definitely made an effort into showing him more affection. As he passed, Tom would reach down and briefly ruffle Buzz's hair, or give him a quick tickle. At times, he'd pause, and bend down to give his son a hug. It was little things like that starting cropping up, not often, but on occasion, when Tom was feeling brave.
Each time he did it, I could see the tension on his body, saw him flick his eyes around the room, assessing the danger of his actions. None of us ever stopped him, we wouldn't dare stop him, didn't even dare to act surprised at his actions. Tom was doing something amazing, but the trick was to act like it was nothing at all, not draw attention to it. The only thing I personally did that could be seen as encouragement was give Tom a smile if he looked my way, to show him that I was proud of him, that he was doing well. It didn't seem to calm his nerves that much, but, I could tell he was getting used to it.
And, Buzz himself was loving the attention. The boy seemed as if he had been starved of attention for far too long, and was now drinking it all in. After one of Tom's affectionate moments, Buzz always perked up more than usual, looking up at us in wonder, as if to ask if we had seen it too. He even started his own round of encouragement, by giving Tom a kiss every time he got a hug. The look on Tom's face the first that happened had been priceless, one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.
Father and son seemed to be getting closer because of the attention, creating more of a bond than they'd ever had before. It was beautiful to watch, seeing it expand and grow so quickly, from just a few small touches. Who knew that a few small things like that could make such a difference?
"Touch makes you feel less alone in the world." Dougie commented, as we were talking about it one evening, after the Fletcher's had gone to bed.
"Always helps you, when you're upset." Harry smiled at his husband, squeezing his hand.
"Seems to help Tom too." I glanced at the monitor, seeing Buzz fast asleep in his crib, Tom leaning against it, looking at his son lovingly. He'd taken to that too, seemingly taking his son in properly, like it was for the first time he had ever seen him. I guess, in some ways, it was. Tom had never been allowed near Buzz before, and now that he was managing to spend some time with him, he was taking the chance to really take in his child.
"Maybe we should try touching him a bit more, to show him that we love him too." Dougie suggested, "He's sort of isolated with just Buzz right now, maybe he'll open up a bit if we show him affection." That sounded like a good idea, showing Tom that he wasn't isolated from us, that we were there for him too. Maybe we could gain a bit of trust from him by doing that... or at the very least comfort him and show him that he wasn't alone.
"Good plan, but we'd have to be careful with it, in case we freak him out." Harry had a point, too much, too soon, could have worse affects than not trying at all.
"We could start small, touch him in passing, like he does Buzz. Or something like that." I suggested, I wanted to reach out and hug him more than anything, but it wasn't possible. If I could give Tom some physical comfort some other way, I was all for it.