Liam paused, giving that moment the gravity it deserved. He had never married or had a child of his own, but he had counseled hundreds who had. Sometimes parents ran mad with guilt, real or imagined, and he could only imagine how the practical Dr. Linus faced something like that. He considered his next words carefully.
“I’m finding these dreams are going to darker places than I originally believed. I’m sorry you’re on that end of the spectrum. I have to ask; while you were in the dream, did you feel the way you do about it now? Or was it only on waking that the view changed?” It was a more polite way of asking if the torture and death seemed normal, and he hoped that Linus wouldn’t take offense.