Previously…

She shook her head, getting rid of any doubtful thoughts. She gripped the scalpel tighter in her hand, and determinedly brought it to her opposite wrist, and closed her eyes, wincing as the blade sunk into her skin, before dropping the scalpel to the floor, watching the blood flow freely down her arm.

"Rose?"

She gasped, clutching her now bleeding wrist, and turned to the door, where Jack stood, his mouth open in shock, as he saw the blood, and the scalpel on the floor.

He'd seen everything.

He stepped into the room, unsure whether to scream for the Doctor to help. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, ready to scatter should anyone consider screaming.

"Rose!" he gasped, seeing how much blood was forming on the floor in a puddle from her wrist. "What the -? Why -?" All these questions were rushing in his head that he couldn't quite form properly.

Rose couldn't help herself, she broke down. Tears fell down her face as she slid down the wall to the floor, utterly broken. Jack's heart broke, watching the young woman he considered to be his little sister, curled on the floor, an emotional wreck. He closed the door, then grabbed a towel off the railing, before crouching down beside her. He took her arm gently, grimacing as he saw the blood dripping and tricking onto the tiled floor, which coincidentally was white. He pressed the towel down onto the wound, applying pressure, trying to block out her stifling sobs.

The TARDIS did its part to help, and on the counter beside the sink, appeared a thick roll of bandage wrappings, a roll of tape and antiseptic wipes. Jack sent a silent thank you, before grabbing the necessary equipment.

"There we go," he said softly, fastening the makeshift bandage with some tape fifteen minutes later, cleaning up the wrappings. He looked up; Rose had eventually calmed down on the sobbing, and was reduced to little sniffles and shudders. "Are you OK, sweetheart?" he asked gently, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

She laughed shakily. "No. What do you think?"

"Sorry. Stupid question." He paused. "Why? Why did you do it?"

"What? Hurt myself?" Jack nodded.

Rose sighed. Did she really have to explain herself? Maybe it was time that she did.

"Truth is, I've done this before. Hurt myself. This isn't the first time. There's a lot you and the Doctor still don't know about me, Jack."

"How do you mean?" he asked softly.

Instead of answering straight away, Rose struggled to get to her feet. Seeing what she was trying to do, Jack instantly helped her up, leading her to her room, and sitting her down on the bed. He sat beside her, holding her good hand.

"After I escaped from Jimmy the first time, it took me a long time to recover, and to eventually get over him. He's scarred me for life in so many ways, Jack, I've lost count. Y'see, believe it or not, he was clever. He knew me well enough to know how my mind ticked, he knew all of my weaknesses, and used those against me, which mentally affected me, even after I got away. I quickly became depressed, I suffered from insomnia ever since, because I'm too afraid of the nightmares. To me, they were real. I stopped eating at one point, up to the point where my doctors were concerned I'd become anorexic. Luckily I wasn't anorexic, but my mind was far too broken at that point to be fixed. I couldn't be touched, if I was, I'd scrub away as though infected until my skin became red and raw. I wouldn't even let my Mum or Mickey hug me until around three months after that all happened. I was so lost, Jack. It was times like that where I wished my Dad was still alive, nothing against my Mum of course. She and Mickey were fantastic, and helped me and stayed by me all through my recovery. They took me to doctors appointments, regular check ups, counselling sessions. That's why we're so close. All three of us. Mickey's more like a brother to me. He was there for me, even in my darkest days where all I wanted to do was cry. He held me and comforted me when I didn't want Mum. I needed HIM. I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for him. He's made me who I am. He made me remember who I was before Jimmy took that all away. I got that back. The old me, the me that was raised single-handedly by my Mum. Then I got a job at Henrick's. After Jimmy was arrested, he lost the apartment, but he still owed a lot of money. Me and Mum were constantly followed by his loan sharks, that's why I needed to get a job, so we could pay off Jimmy's debt. He owed more than £500. It doesn't sound like a lot, but at the time, it was. That's how I met the Doctor, Jack, at Henricks, well, you knew the rest." She sighed, surprised at how exhausted she was after telling her story.

Jack hung onto her every word; he was proud. So, so, proud of her. She had so much strength, she was stronger than people gave her credit for, she didn't know, but he and the Doctor did. She'd managed to make something of herself, even after Jimmy the first time, but now, she seemed so broken and vulnerable. Jack vowed to help her, he would stand by her side, holding her hand, even in her darkest days, even if she just wanted a shoulder to cry on.

Rose sighed again, resting her head on his shoulder. He chuckled lightly. "You must be exhausted."

Her eyes were already half closed. "Mhm," she mumbled. "I am."

"Then you should get some sleep, come on," he helped her lay down on the bed, lowering her head onto the pillow, pulling the covers over her. Her eyes were already closed; she was barely awake.

She managed to crack them open briefly. "What about the nightmares?" she mumbled, showing Jack how truly terrified she was.

"I'll stay if you want me too," he said, laying on top of the covers beside her, letting her rest her head on his chest. He put his arm around her, rubbing soothing circles on her back, the other hand occasionally brushing her hair away from her eyes. "It's alright," he assured her. "You're safe now, Rose, nothing can get you whilst me and the Doctor are here. I promise. If you have nightmares, I'll wake you up. You don't have to fight this battle alone anymore. That's a promise."

Jack didn't receive an answer. He looked down, and saw that Rose was fast asleep, already in a deep slumber. He chuckled, and continued to stroke her hair, humming an old lullaby from his home land.

AN: Hello again! You're probably wondering why I posted this. Let me tell you. I've recently read my stories again, after getting more alerts, even though they were done a while ago, and I myself wasn't too happy with the original version of Recovery. At the time, I probably wasn't aware of how I was rushing things, given the plot line. So I've given it a go. Hopefully this'll go down well. Enjoy. Same story line/plot, I'll just be focusing more on the detail. Please review! I'm back! (;