Disclaimer: I do not own Danger Mouse or any canon characters. They are the property of Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall. I do own Dr. Moore.

Notes: Penfold's therapy is about to begin. I decided following this, seeing as Danger Mouse isn't coping too well, he would be needing some help too. There is a reason why Dr. Moore decides on giving them two types of sessions.

Same warnings apply. Still just platonic.

Please enjoy!

(Linebreaks really hate me so I will use DMEP)

DMEP

Later that afternoon, our heroes receive a call from Colonel K informing them help has been found.

"So, I spoke with Dr. Moore and he said he would be happy to see both of you as soon as possible. I've arranged for him to visit your flat as he prefers working with patients in comforting surroundings," Colonel K reported.

"That's wonderful news, Colonel. Did he say when he would arrive?"

"Hmm, should be right about now, I believe."

Just as that sentence was uttered, there was a chime of the doorbell.

Penfold stirred and woke up. "I'll get the door, shall I?"

"No, you stay right where you are, Penfold. I'll answer the door," Danger Mouse responded. He went to do exactly that.

"How are you feeling at the moment, Penfold?" Colonel K queried.

"Not too shabby right now, Sir," the hamster replied. "I just wish DM wasn't being so overbearing at the moment."

"Well, he has good reason to be."

"I don't like it, Sir. I'll put up with it, but I don't like it."

"Hm."

"Colonel, Dr. Moore has arrived," Danger Mouse reported. He was followed by a black-furred gerbil wearing a green, knitted vest, white shirt, black tie and a pair of tiny spectacles.

"Right, good show. Dr. Moore, I'll leave them to you. Over and up."

"That's over and out, Sir." He watched as the screen changed to static before going blank. He then turned to the gerbil. "Dr. Moore, welcome to our flat. I thank you for coming on such short notice."

"It is quite alright, my young mouse. This is a very dire situation. Please go and sit beside your friend, I want to explain to both of you how my sessions will work." He followed the mouse to the sofa, waited until he was seated beside the hamster, cleared his throat and began to speak. "Now then, I will be conducting two forms of therapy. There will be one-on-one with each of you to try to work through your individual concerns. There will also be partner therapy. For that, I will see both of you at the same time."

"Why the partner therapy too, Doctor?" Penfold asked.

"So you can work through this together. You have your own concerns that must be worked through, but it is also important you learn to better communicate your issues in a controlled setting." He set his bag down, unlatched it and pulled out a manilla folder. "Hm, I have both of your details here, please correct me if I am wrong. The first patient I am to see is Mr. Ernest Penfold to help him through some recent suicidal ideations, am I correct?"

"They're not really that recent. I considered acting on them last night, but they've been around for a while."

"Hm, I see. It may take a while for us to get through them. It shouldn't take too long if you agree to be open about everything. Our sessions are confidential, and since I am the agency's psychiatrist, you do not have to worry about compromising yourself."

"I understand."

"Good. The other patient I am to see is, of course, you." He looked to Danger Mouse. "Mainly for coping with this?"

"Yes. But, there's more to it." He looked to his paws. "I want to make sure my own past feelings aren't brought back in such a severe manner."

"Hm. I see." He opened the folder. "Oh yes, I understand. You have a past history with suicidal tendencies. Very well. For now, I would like to speak with Mr. Penfold alone. Is there a room we can do that?"

"His own bedroom."

Penfold nodded. "I'd be comfortable in there."

Dr. Moore also nodded. He slipped the folder back into his bag. "Then, if you would please lead the way, Mr. Penfold?"

The hamster slid off the sofa seat and made his way to his bedroom, the gerbil not far behind.

Danger Mouse watched them leave before sighing and putting his face in his paws.

DMEP

Dr. Moore noticed Penfold did appear more relaxed as soon as the hamster sat at the head of the bed. "You can recline if you'd like. No need to be formal around me. I see you have a teddy bear?"

"Yes."

"If you need to cuddle it, don't hold back. As I said, you need to be comfortable. It will allow you to be more open about what we are discussing." He pulled a folder out of his bag and opened it. "I see in your history, your means of joining the agency are different to the standard?"

"Yes. I was out shopping, but got too scared, so they planned on mailing me back home. They dropped me in here, thinking it was just an ordinary pillar-box. DM helped nurse me back to health, and during that time, he considered taking me on as his assistant."

"How did he come to make that decision?"

"Our conversation when I finally came to. I told him I wanted to be a secret agent, but I'm a coward so it was impossible for me."

"Hm, I see."

"I didn't do a good job. In fact, I was sure DM was gonna throw me out before the end of the week."

"What happened then?"

"He and Colonel K decided to ask me what I wanted to do. I decided I wanted to stay on as his assistant."

"That's surprising."

"What is?"

"They gave you the choice. It doesn't normally work like that. In ordinary circumstances, you'd just be let go."

"I know. But, they gave me the choice anyway."

He brought out a pen and made notes in the little notebook concealed by the folder. "Why did you decide to stay in this position?"

"Even my regular life was scary. In fact, without someone like DM by my side, it was worse."

"So, Mr. Mouse means a great deal to you?"

"He was my first true friend, and has been my best friend for years."

More scribing. "Now then, we need to start talking about what caused you to feel suicidal as soon as possible."

"So, you can be done with my sessions quicker?"

"The sooner you are able to work through them, the better it will be. Don't think of it as me trying to get rid of you, but more as you needing to find a way to continue living without causing more concern. So, I was told briefly by Colonel K that a lot of it comes from a feeling of uselessness."

Penfold nodded. He reached to his nightstand, picked up his teddy bear and hugged it close to his chest. "It does. See, on every mission, I am always the one caught in traps the rotters set, or I am kidnapped and used for bait, or I am just unable to do anything at all to help. I sometimes come up with ideas that seem silly, and DM laughs. I know he doesn't mean anything by it, but...well, it hurts."

"His laughing at your ideas hurts your feelings?"

"Yes. I try to do right by him. I know those times my suggestions were silly, normally I would want to laugh too. But, they were the best ideas I could come up with."

"Can you give me an example?"

"Well, one time we came to a sealed cave, so I suggested we say Open, Sesame. I know how silly that sounds. DM promised he wouldn't laugh, but did anyway. He stopped as soon as he saw it worked and praised me, but the damage was done."

More scribing. "This is something you'll need to bring up in the partner therapy sessions. What else brought about these feelings?"

"I already told you I was certain I would've been booted out by the end of the week when I first started as DM's assistant. I messed up a lot. Nearly destroyed some of his suits, messed up the simulation mission with my cowardice...only thing I could do right was make a cup of tea. I got better as time passed, but I think that was when it all started."

"Have there been other thoughts that accompany those feelings of uselessness?"

"I feel like I am a hinderance and an annoyance too."

"A hinderance?"

"I already mentioned getting caught on every mission. The time it takes for DM to rescue me, the rotters use that to get away. DM already knows how I feel about it, but he keeps telling me he would never leave me behind. It means a lot he says that, but I don't matter. He needs to be able to get the rotters before they do untold damage to the world."

"Can you give me an example of this?"

"On one of our missions, there had been an earthquake. Greenback and his group got away because we had to leave the building before it came down on us. On our way out, some debris knocked me down, then landed on my arm and leg. DM had to help me up and out of there. Because he had to take some time to rescue me, the rotters got away."

"In a situation like that, it would be understandable for him to go back and save you."

"I know! But, because he wasted time saving my life, by the time we got out, the Mark III was damaged. He could use the communications system to call for help, but he was unable to drive or fly it, so he couldn't go after Greenback."

"What were your thoughts about that?"

"It would've been better if he just left me there to be crushed. I caused a failed mission."

"Mr. Penfold, that was not you. It was the earthquake."

"DM told me the same thing. But, I still would've been okay with being crushed to death if it meant DM could succeed in his mission."

"Something tells me he would feel otherwise. It sounds like you've been carrying these feelings for a long time."

"I am happy DM rescues me, but there are too many times it means the mission is a failure because the rotters take that opportunity to get away."

"Did something happen to cause you to come to the conclusion drowning yourself would be a better solution?"

"Yes. It was another failed mission. The whole time, I just kept getting caught in traps, I was caught by Stiletto, DM had to save me more times than I can count on my paws. I could tell he was getting frustrated about it. That was when I realised that I was nothing more than an annoyance."

"Has it occured to you his annoyance wasn't concerning you, but concerning the methods Greenback and his group were using?"

"I tried thinking that, but DM would always let out a frustrated sigh after saving me."

"This is something else we will have to bring up in the partner therapy. Did you give any signs at all as to what you had planned?"

"No. In fact, DM thought I was just popping out to go to the shops. He teased me when I left."

"Teased you?"

"Oh, don't take that the wrong way, it was a friendly tease! I only brought that up because it meant DM had no idea what I had planned."

"I see. How did he find out?"

"I was trying to call Keep Fighting, I was starting to have second thoughts. But, I called here instead."

"What was his response?"

"He acted like he was someone from that helpline, then asked where I was and told me to stay there. He arrived, just as I planned on jumping in the Thames."

"Despite your second thoughts, it seems you were willing to follow through."

"Yes."

"Is the house safe for you at the moment?"

He pouted. "Maybe too safe. It wasn't enough he had to lock away everything, but he even took away my ties and belts, he won't let me out of his sight unless I am with someone else..."

"Do you understand why?"

"I do. It doesn't make it less-frustrating though. We had a big fight about it earlier too."

"A fight?"

"Mostly yelling at each other. I...I did most of the yelling, called him paranoid..."

"I see. This is yet another subject to bring up in partner therapy. Our first session is about to come to an end. Is there anything you would like to say before we wrap things up?"

"Yes. Is it true suicidal thoughts don't go away overnight? I don't feel like doing anything to myself right now."

"It's true. Just because you don't feel it now, it doesn't mean those thoughts won't return, say maybe, later this evening, if not tomorrow. That's why Mr. Mouse is being so cautious and why I wanted to try to get to the root of your issues as soon as possible. You've given me a lot I can work with. Alright, our first session has come to an end. I thank you for being such a co-operative patient."

"Thank you for listening and not judging."

"That's the best way to help you. Now, I need to speak with Mr. Mouse next, but he said he would rather you not be alone. Is there someone who can stay with you for an hour?"

"Might need to get in touch with Colonel K. Even if we don't talk or anything like that."

"Very well then. Let's go and try working that out."

The hamster nodded, slipped off his bed and placed his teddy bear on his nightstand. "See you soon, Teddy." He led the gerbil out of the room.

DMEP

To the hamster's surprise, there was someone else in the living room. It was a squirrel. "Sir, we have company?"

Danger Mouse and the squirrel looked to the hamster. "Agent 57 was informed of the situation and agreed to help supervise you during my sessions."

Dr. Moore nodded. "I was wondering if something had been worked out. I've finished seeing Mr. Penfold for now, it's your turn, Mr. Mouse. Where would you like to have your session?"

"My room, if you please. It's this way." He rose to his feet and approached the hamster and gerbil. He placed a paw on the hamster's shoulder, gave it a gentle squeeze, then led the gerbil down the passageway.

Penfold went to the sofa and sat down. He could feel Agent 57 sitting beside him. "How much do you know?"

"Just that you considered drowning yourself in the Thames and are now under watch," the squirrel responded. "I don't need to know more than that, but if you want to talk, I'll listen. You're a good chap, Penfold, I would've been saddened to hear of you leaving the world too soon."

"Thank you for caring. You're not going to lecture me?"

"Lecture?"

"About how I would be leaving DM behind, about how he isn't coping too well with all of this..."

"You already know it, you don't need a lecture. Besides, it sounds like you have enough to worry about if you were about to do that."

DMEP

We've seen Penfold is now on the road to recovery. It's a long road, but one he must travel. Hopefully, he arrives at his intended destination. There is more to come, please look forward to it.

DMEP

After-notes: So, while this may seem short, Penfold's session went for an hour. Having been through enough therapy myself, I've noticed the more you talk, the shorter it feels, but the less you talk, the longer it feels dragged out. (I'm someone who can't talk too well, so my sessions dragged.) I felt it appropriate for the sessions to be in environments they'd feel most comfortable in because the ease that comes from it does help someone feel more open. I remember being encouraged to bring in stuffed animals to my sessions in the past to give me something to help me feel more at ease.

I decided to bring in Agent 57 because he seems to be a good friend to Danger Mouse in the series, someone he can trust with his life. Even though there is no mission, Agent 57 would still want to help in anyway he could.

I don't know if a partner therapy session would really exist outside of couple's therapy for married couples going through rough patches, but I feel like it would be important for DM and Penfold to have a shared session as well so they can both be more open about everything in a controlled setting. As in, if some of what was brought up could cause a fight, there is someone to pacify the situation before it gets worse, at the same time there to offer advice and such.

The reason I am writing this is because I had been encouraged in the past to write how I feel, even in fanfiction form, if I need to. My therapists and I call these therapy fics and either come in the form of private self-inserts, or putting characters through similar situations so I can try to work through them. Penfold's feelings of uselessness, being nothing more than an annoyance and hinderance, those are feelings I often carry. But, I am not entirely framing this on my own background, otherwise there would be a lot more to it.

You may have been picking up hints to past fics of mine. Of course, there is Nightmare (when a nightmare is mentioned and DM feels more at ease with Penfold with him, knowing he's safe), Thank You (my interpretation of how Penfold became DM's assistant, based off the information in a book called The Danger Mouse Files) and Soothing Comfort (the earthquake during a mission).

Next up, we have Danger Mouse starting his therapy with Dr. Moore.

Thank you for reading. You don't have to review, but if you choose to say something, then please don't flame. Constructive criticism is okay though.