His Bright Eyes (Septiplier)

The Therapy Session

-Jack's POV-

"Mark?" I said quietly, my hand reaching out for his.

He didn't respond. His eyes looking unfocused, and almost looking through me. I touched his arm, and he jumped slightly, and then blinked.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, looking at me properly now. "Yes, my visit with Dr. Kingsley went well. He said that my latest heart readings were very good."

"Yes," I said, rubbing his arm. "Your next visit is scheduled for June 1st. You told me that about an hour ago."

He looked confused, and went back to looking at his dinner.

"Mark, do you want to talk a little about what happened this afternoon?" I asked. "I am going to call Dr. Kingsley in the morning to get a recommendation from him for a psychologist, but if you want to talk about anything at all, I am here for you, ok?"

He didn't look up at me, but he nodded slowly. His forked scraped against the plate, and his steak and potatoes looked cold.

"Would you like me to warm that up again for you?" I asked, feeling so helpless and wanting to do something vaguely useful.

He said nothing, and still stared at his plate, his eyes shadowed and unfocused again.

I didn't what to do to help him. I had reached out to Bob and Wade, but other than telling me that Mark had dealt with panic attacks in the past, they were not sure how to help him. Both of them had texted him to check in, but he texted them back that he was fine, and for them to not worry about him.

He wasn't fine, and what scared me the most was that he clearly knew it, yet wasn't talking about it at all.

"Would you like anything else to eat? I can make you whatever you want." I said, trying to talk to him again.

He glanced up at me, his face looking slightly strained. "I think that I'm going to go to bed," he said softly. "I'm really tired."

"Oh," I said, very aware that it was only 7:00pm. "All right. I'll clear up in here then."

He got up out of his chair, and then ran his fingers through his hair. He began to walk out of the kitchen, and then turned back around to face me. "Did I tell you that Dr. Kingsley said that my latest heart readings were good?"

I nodded slowly, and then getting up, I took his hand into mine.

"Come on," I said quietly. "Let's get you to bed."

***

-Mark's POV-

"So, honestly I think I'm fine. Jack just worries too much about me." I said, my lips feeling slightly dry. "Just had a bad day and panicked a bit."

Her nodded her head and wrote down something on her notepad.

That was probably a bad sign.

Her dark blonde hair was tied in a neat bun at the back of her head, and she wore narrow black glasses. Her eyes were hazel and right now darting from her notepad, and then to my face, and then back to her notepad.

"We don't have to talk about what happened a couple of days ago if you don't want to, Mark," she said, her voice soft and kind. "We can talk about whatever you want to talk about."

"Oh," I said, somewhat surprised. "Ok."

She smiled at me and sat a bit straighter in her chair. "So, what would you like to talk about today?"

"I don't really know, Dr. Barnes," I said, feeling awkward, "I really haven't ever been in this type of situation before."

"There is no need to feel nervous, " she said, moving a few strands of hair away from her eyes. "And please Mark, call me Barbara. Just not Barbie. I never could stand that ridiculous doll. "

I laughed as she adjusted her glasses.

"Maybe I can come up with a topic," she said, placing her notepad on the table beside her. "Tell me about your boyfriend, Jack."

"Sure. What would you like to know?"

"Whatever you feel comfortable telling me," she said. "He means a great deal to you. I can tell by the way your eyes light up when his name is ever mentioned."

I smiled and nodded. "He's really something."

"He's from Ireland, is that right?"

"Yes," I said, feeling a bit more comfortable now. "He lives in England now though."

"That must make it pretty special then, when he is able to visit you. England is quite a distance."

"Sure, but we are making it work," I said, looking down at my hand for the moment. "He's been able to stay longer since I almost..."

It suddenly felt like my throat was closing up, and I coughed loudly.

"Mark?" Barbara said, slightly concerned. "Are you all right? Do you need something to drink?"

I waved my hand to let her know that I was ok. "I just...that was weird. I had trouble talking about me almost drowning."

"It's not weird at all, Mark," she said kindly. "Your mind is still processing what happened. It was only a few weeks ago."

"It feels like a lot longer, for some reason."

"Would you feel ok if I gave you a couple of ideas as to what to do if you find that your mind is having trouble processing things?"

"Yes, that would be helpful."

"Try creating a routine for yourself. Sometimes when dealing with severe stress of any sort, a big part of it is the unpredictability of it. Set up times to do things and try to stick with those times, until you feel more ready to deal with more potential stressors."

This sounded like a pretty good idea, and I thanked Barbara. We spent the rest of my hour talking about my family and plans for how to move forward. Overall it was very nice to talk to someone. I made another appointment for the same time the following week, and feeling a bit better in general, I headed back home.

***

"It sounds like Barbara is really helping you," Jack said over dessert that night.

"Yes," I said, taking another bite of ice cream. "I think she is. Thank you for convincing me to see someone, Jack."

He smiled and gave me a hug. "So, are you up for watching a movie tonight?"

"Yeah," I said, "As long as we get to snuggle up together."

"Of course," he said smiling at me.

"Netflix and chill?" I asked, with a sly wink.

He laughed. "How about we just start with a movie, and we 'll see where the night takes us?"

I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Sounds like a plan to me."