Nightmare

Roddy's fever was gone by the time the sun rose in the morning. They stopped using the cooling packs and Owen removed the IV. They waited for Roddy to wake up.

'You're wrong William, I do own you and I'll prove it,' Stanton said.

'Stop it! Get your hands off me!' Roddy shouted.

'I will do whatever I want to do to you William,' Stanton whispered. He felt Stanton's mouth and hands touching his body, invading him.

Stanton thrust into him burying himself fully inside him, excruciating pain radiating throughout Roddy's entire body. 'Stop, you're hurting me!' Roddy yelled. He fought back only to feel Stanton retaliate by choking him while he raped him.

'You're mine now and forever William,' Stanton said.

Roddy was overwhelmed by the pain and struggled to breathe.

Tosh watched as Roddy moved restlessly in his sleep. He started shaking his head and seemed to have trouble breathing. "Owen, Roddy is having a nightmare," she said.

"No!" Roddy screamed and sat up abruptly in bed. His eyes were open and he kept screaming.

Tosh did the most natural thing in the world; she reached out and touched him. It was the wrong thing to do; Roddy fell out of the bed and cowered in a corner and continued to scream.

"Roddy wake up you're having a nightmare," Tosh said.

"Stay away from him Tosh," Owen said as he pulled Tosh away. "He's still in his nightmare and panicking. Touching him will make it worse."

Ianto, Jack and Gwen came running into the room. Seeing Roddy cowering in the corner Jack said, "Everyone, leave the room quietly. I'll take care of Roddy."

They reluctantly left the room; Owen stopped at the doorway though and asked, "Do you know what you're doing?"

Jack nodded. "I know what he's going through; I've been there myself," he replied. Satisfied with his answer, Owen left Jack and Roddy alone.

They headed over to Tosh's workstation. Carleton and Jay had run upstairs from the cells. "What's going on, who's screaming?" Carleton asked.

"It's Roddy," Owen said. "Tosh, turn on the CCTV in there," Owen asked. He needed to see what was happening in case Roddy needed medical attention. Tosh turned on the CCTV.

Jack sat down on the floor near Roddy but not too close. "Roddy, it's Jack, you're in the Hub," he said quietly.

Roddy was crouched in the corner shouting, "Don't do this please; you're hurting me please stop!" trapped in his nightmare. His arms held in front of him to fend off his phantom attacker.

Jack just kept talking, his voice calm and soothing. "You're safe now Roddy. Stanton's dead do you remember? Come back to us Roddy.

You can even call me Jackie Boy if you want," he said smiling a little. "I remember the first time you called me Jackie boy. We were sent to investigate a pub fight and it turned out to be this beautiful, purple bipedal alien fighting with the police. They really shouldn't have used the taser on him it only made him angrier.

I tried to protect you when he chased us into a dead-end alley. You shoved me out of the way and said, 'I'm not a child, Jackie boy, I can protect myself.'

So I said, 'Then stop acting like a child, Roddy darling.' We started arguing about who was acting more childish and totally forgot about the alien. Turned out the poor bloke was just trying to get some alone time and a drink because he had an argument with his partner and the last thing he wanted to hear was another argument. First and only time we got an alien to leave Earth by bickering at each other."

Roddy had slowly stopped screaming, but was shaking and his breathing was ragged. Jack moved a little closer and placed his hand on the floor near him. "I'm right here Roddy. Please look at me," he asked. Roddy finally made eye contact with Jack. "You're not alone Roddy; just take my hand and let me help you please?" Jack asked. Keeping his eyes on Jack Roddy reached out, grasped Jack's hand and then moved into Jack's arms. "I've got you," Jack said and held Roddy as he cried.

**********************************************************

Recovery – The Beginning

"You can turn it off now Tosh, the immediate crisis is over," Owen said.

Tosh turned off the monitor her own eyes filled with tears. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked Owen.

"It's too early to tell Tosh," Owen answered honestly. "It will take time and lots of support from his friends for him to recover and he may never be the same Roddy we knew before all this happened to him."

"Why didn't he respond to me when I tried to calm him down?" Tosh asked feeling inadequate.

"I think it's simply a matter of Roddy knowing Jack over a longer period of time and the experiences they shared," Owen replied. "We just have to be patient."

He lost track of how long he'd sat there comforting Roddy, but finally Roddy's sobs subsided. Roddy mumbled something. "What did you say Roddy?" Jack asked.

"I want to shower; I can still smell him on me," Roddy replied.

"Okay let's start by getting you off this cold floor; we don't want your fever coming back," Jack replied. He helped Roddy up and wrapped a blanket around him. Roddy took a few wobbly steps before Jack put his arm around him to keep him from falling down. "I think a bath would be safer than a shower for you," Jack said. He helped Roddy to the bathroom and sat him down on a bench while he started running his bath. Jack added some bath salts. Once the bath was ready Jack asked, "Can you get into the bath by yourself?"

"Yeah, thanks," Roddy replied. Jack got up and started to leave the room. "You're leaving?" Roddy asked nervously.

"I'm just going to get you some fresh clothes to wear; I'll be right back," Jack replied. He stepped into the hallway and found Ianto waiting for him.

"Thought he might need these Jack," Ianto said handing over jeans, t-shirt, boxers, socks, a hoodie, and trainers.

"Thanks," Jack said taking the clothes from Ianto and giving him a quick kiss.

"Call me if Roddy or you need anything Jack," Ianto said.

"I will," Jack replied heading back to Roddy.

When he walked in he found Roddy furiously scrubbing his body raw. Jack managed to keep himself from running over and grabbing Roddy's hands to stop him. Instead he put the clothes down on the bench and kneeled down by the bath. "Roddy, scrubbing your skin until it bleeds is not going to help you get rid of what Stanton did to you," he said softly.

Roddy dropped the loofah on the floor. He drew his knees up to his chest and rested his head on his knees. "How do I get over this Jack?" Roddy asked.

"It's not going to get better in a couple of days; you need to give yourself time Roddy," Jack began. "Do you remember when you first came through the rift? You barely talked, you flinched anytime anyone came near you and you attacked the Torchwood staff doctor when he tried to examine you. Until you started talking to me when I'd visit you in your cell, I didn't know what Stanton had put you through before you arrived here. Once I understood your background with Stanton I was able to work with you and you improved to the point where Torchwood agreed to team us together and we were able to get you out of the cell.

"But this time was worse Jack. Stanton brutally murdered Jeremy, kidnapped Tosh and then what he did to me. . ." Roddy choked back a sob. "I fought back Jack, but it wasn't enough."

"Roddy do not blame yourself; it isn't your fault what happened to Jeremy, Tosh or yourself. In fact, you saved Tosh even though you knew what might happen to you," Jack said. "I'm so sorry we couldn't get to you before Stanton hurt you, but we will help you and it will get better," Jack said. "Just don't give up on yourself alright?"

"Alright," Roddy agreed.