Disclaimer: I don't own Being Human, and I don't wish I did because it wouldn't be anywhere near as good as it is, and it would get cancelled when I made sure Damien Molony was in every scene!

I was going to take a break from writing after finishing Know Your Enemy, and wasn't going to even think about starting anything new until Series 5 was over. Well that lasted all of five days! This is actually one that I started months ago but never got round to finishing, but as it fits neatly into the gap between Series' 4 and 5, I thought it was the perfect thing for me to write while the programme was on.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and please review to let me know what you think! x

Spoilers: Series 4, and potentially from Series 5 as the programme airs.

Warnings: Bad language, adult themes every now and then.

Prologue - Withdrawal

Tom stared at the ceiling and sighed. This was the third night in a row that he had been woken by Hal's screams. The first time it had happened he'd run downstairs thinking he could help, that he could do something to help. All he had done was anger him more and his cries of pain had turned to threats and vile language Tom had never even imagined Hal was capable of. Last night he had hesitated, not knowing whether to go or not, but eventually he had, and again he had made Hal worse. This time he was ready to stay in bed, to ignore the screams as best he could and to leave his friend be. Hal would just have to sit it out on his own.

The last few days had been terrible. Tom's wounds were still healing from his fight with Milo, but that was nothing compared to the loss of Annie and little Eve. He felt fresh tears start to build behind his eyelids and angrily scrubbed them away with the back of his hand. He had been almost grateful for the distraction of looking after Hal, and of the company Alex had brought. He hardly knew her, but at least there was someone there with him. Someone to share the responsibility. She seemed nice, not at all like Annie, but nice.

"Tom! Tom!" The werewolf sighed as he heard Hal shouting for him. He sat up. This was different. He threw the covers off and stood up, rubbing his eyes again just in case he looked liked he'd been crying.

In the living room, Hal was panting hard, shaking and groaning in pain. His teeth chattered loudly. The vampire had warned him briefly what would happen to him while he went through detox, but Tom hadn't been prepared for this in the slightest. Hal had been violently ill for two days now, not able to keep anything down, not even water, and he was dehydrated and weak. He had finally stopped being sick, but Tom wasn't sure whether that was because the withdrawal was getting better or because he had nothing left in his stomach to bring up.

"What's up mate?" he asked warily. Hal seemed not to have noticed him come in, and looked up relieved.

"Tom. I need... a drink... please." Hal said quietly through gritted teeth. Tom went to the kitchen and fetched a glass, returning and holding it to the vampire's lips so he could drink. He drank the whole glass, and it took three more before his thirst was sated. Well this particular thirst anyway.

"Thank you. Thank you Tom." He repeated over and over, taking advantage of this lucid moment to apologise for his behaviour over the last few days.

"That's alright mate, we're going to get you through this." Tom said reassuringly, trying to sound confident.

"Well then why don't you fucking let me out hound! I need blood! I'll fucking tear this shit hole apart if I have to!" he shouted, straining at his restraints and growling like a caged animal. Tom sighed again.

"Night mate. Try and get some sleep." He left the livid vampire still shouting insults, and climbed the stairs back towards his room. He stopped at his door and frowned, hearing a strange noise coming from the bathroom. As he opened the door and peered in, he found Alex sat on the floor hugging her knees. She hurriedly wiped her eyes, trying and failing to conceal that she had been crying. She smiled at him sadly as he came to sit beside her.

"Sorry." She said simply. "You've got enough to deal with without me making things worse."

"Don't be silly. This week hasn't been easy for any of us. We need to stick together." He said putting his arm around her shoulder and giving her a squeeze. He felt almost selfish, needing the contact as much as she seemed to. They sat together in silence for a while before going their separate ways, Tom to his bedroom and Alex back downstairs to deal with a now thankfully silent Hal.

So once again, Tom found himself staring at the ceiling unable to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw them, Annie, Eve, McNair, Allison, Cutler, Mr Snow, Milo. He couldn't stop thinking about them. Eventually he managed to sleep, and didn't wake until mid morning, when Hal began his next torrent of insults from the living room. He heard Alex shout and something smash, and decided it was time to take over from the ghost, feeling guilty for leaving her with him for so long.

Downstairs, Alex was sat with her head in her hands on the sofa. A china mug lay smashed at the bottom of the wall next to the window, and Hal had fallen silent again, perhaps sensing for once that he'd gone too far. Tom gave her shoulder a squeeze and told her to get some rest. She obliged without a word, rising and walking towards the door.

"I'm sorry Alex." Hal said quietly.

"You always are." She mumbled gloomily, walking up the stairs as if she'd forgotten she could rentaghost.

"What did you say to her?" Tom asked as he picked up the shards of smashed china from the floor.

"That her family are better off without her." Hal answered sadly. Tom stared at him for a moment, then turned away as he noticed the tears on his friend's cheeks. Hal had lost a lot of his dignity recently, and it felt wrong to take this away too. He waited in the kitchen for a few minutes, giving the vampire time to collect himself.

He entered the living room ready for abuse. Hal's outbursts were usually followed by a short period of guilt and remorse, then more insults and fits of rage. Today was no different. Tom went about preparing his breakfast, tidying the living room and bringing Hal drinks, ignoring his friend as best he could until his next short period of apologies.

And so the days went on the same, a cycle of abuse and remorse, burning rage and heart-felt apologies that lasted another week. He struggled until his wrists were raw, screamed until his voice was hoarse, and shook until he passed out with the exertion.

And so followed four days of silence. Tom and Alex were relieved at first. But on the second day they began to worry. Hal had slept for twenty hours straight, and when he had woken, he had been disorientated and confused. And then the sweats and shivering began again. They forced him to drink water when they could, and tried to get him to talk to them, but his silent stupor continued.

Finally, two weeks after they had first strapped him into the chair, and four days since he had last been fully conscience, Hal woke up. He was groggy at first, asking only for water.

"How long have I been here?" he asked weakly.

"Two weeks." Alex answered warily, looking as though she expected him to shout abuse again at any second. Tom couldn't blame her. He wasn't exactly sure what to expect himself.

"That's less than I thought. I usually don't get to this stage for a good four. But then I suppose I only drank two..." he fell silent, shaking for a minute, trying to gain control of himself again after his accidental mention of blood. He took some deep breaths. "Well you get the idea." He finished simply. Tom and Alex looked at each other and smiled. Hal was finally getting better.