A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and adds. I know this is a bit darker than my other works, but in the end this is about the power of love to aid in healing. Thank you to Crye-4-Me for the brainstorming and to Shadows-of-Realm for the beta work.

Chapter 4- A New Day Dawns

Jennifer looked at her husband sleeping next to her. For the moment he looked so peaceful, a far cry from when she first found him in the shower. He had whimpered and cried out several times during the night and it took rubbing his back and whispered reassurances to lull Rodney back to a calm sleep. She was not sure how much longer he was going to sleep, but she knew his body and mind needed the rest and she hoped that on some subconscious level that he realized that he was home and safe. At this moment she really had to go the bathroom and Rodney's grip on her shirt was making it an impossible task. "Rodney, you have to let my shirt go," she whispered, trying to pry his hand from her shirt one last time. The only response was a slight whimper from the sleeping form as her shirt was finally free. "I'll be right back," Jennifer lightly kissed his forehead and headed to the bathroom.

Rodney's eyes slowly open and his heart sank when he saw he was alone. He knew it was too good for his hallucination to last. "Why can't I be with my angel? Someone take me to her." An intense wave of panic washed over the physicist when he saw his left hand empty. "They took it. My last part of her is gone. Why? Why must they continue to torture me?" he felt cold metal brush against his chest and it made the confused man jump. Panic gave way to confusion when he pulled the chain with his wedding band on it from under his shirt. Panic came back when a crackle from the radio startled him and a voice on the other end called for Jennifer. "No...no," he repeated several times over until he grabbed the ear wig and crushed it. "Make it stop. Please make it stop," the fragile scientist cried as he drew his knees to his chest and began to rock back and forth.

Jennifer's blood ran cold when she exited the bathroom and saw the state of distress her husband was in. "What's wrong? What happened?" She got into bed next to Rodney and hugged him tightly.

"You came back," Rodney sounded surprised. "I thought my angel had gone for good."

"I was only gone for a few minutes," she stroked his hair. "I only went to the bathroom. I'm sorry." Jennifer tried to soothe Rodney's worry.

"Bathroom?" he asked with a measure of uncertainty. It made no sense why a hallucination would need to use the bathroom.

"Yes," Jennifer said slowly. "I should have waited until you were up, but I couldn't hold it anymore."

"I don't understand," Rodney tilted his head to gaze at the woman before him. "Why would a hallucination need to use the bathroom?"

"Oh, Rodney," the words further broke Jennifer's heart. "I'm not a hallucination. You really are home. John finally bought you back to me."

Rodney pushed himself away and shook his head violently, "No. You are not real." He punched his head several times, cursing the rational side of his brain for trying to talk itself out of letting his fantasy live on a little longer.

Jennifer did not know how much more of this she could take before she broke down. She knew she had to be strong and hold it together for Rodney, but seeing the person you love in such a broken state was soul crushing. "What did they do to you?" A couple of stray tears rolled down her cheek but the last thing she wanted to do in front of Rodney was cry.

The confused man tilted his head to the side when he saw the tears and reached out to wipe them away. Rodney flinched when he felt that they were real and then watched in wonderment as he watched the liquid roll down his finger. "How? They killed you. They told me how," he cautiously reached out to feel the warmth of her cheek. The cautious fingers lightly traced the contours of the face never thought he would feel for real again. It slowly registered that the woman in front of him was not a hallucination but the real thing.

Jennifer took a deep breath and shook her head, "They didn't do anything to me. Whatever they said they did to me were lies," she placed her hand over his. It was a step in the right direction that Rodney no longer thought her to be a figment of her imagination. The lies his captors told were the least of the injuries they inflicted upon the scientist.

"Lies?" Rodney took in a deep shaky breath. There was doubt in his voice as his hands made their way into his wife's golden hair. The soft tresses easily fell between his fingers. With the simplest of touches a surge of feelings exploded through his frail body. A warm feeling of contentment enveloped Rodney's darkened soul. His body was making him recall all the positive emotions that went along with playing with his wife's hair.

Rodney drew the hair to his nose, letting the scent of Japanese cherry blossom permeate his senses. For the first time in four months a hint of a smile found its way onto the scientist's face. It was not easily noticeable, but anyone who really knew him saw it. "My angel is real."

"Yes, I am," Jennifer's heart soared at the recognition. She saw the smallest trace of his former self starting to push its way to the surface.

The blissful calm did not last long as the doorbell in the room chimed and Rodney recoiled in horror. Any progress that was made was gone in that second. "They are here to get me," the extreme terror returned.

The chime dinged for a second time. "You tricked me," the frightened man sprung from the bed and moved with cat like agility to a corner of the room and huddled in the fetal position, rocking back and forth and whimpering as if he was in pain. The sound of the doorbell was not particularly loud, but something in its tone evoked the extreme response.

Jennifer's head spun as fast as Rodney moved. She did not know where to go first; help Rodney or answer the door. After the third time the doorbell chimed, she chose to answer it since the sound it made was the source of her husband's agitation.

Annoyed at the disturbance, Jennifer opened the door with a loud huff. "Are you crazy?" she was clearly a woman that was pissed off. "You should have radioed before you came."

"I did," John felt like he was just scolded by a teacher for misbehaving in class. He wanted to check on his best friend and didn't expect to be chastised by his wife. "Your radio shorted out like someone broke it," his finger pointed to the crushed piece on a bedside table. The Colonel's stomach twisted when he saw Rodney rocking and crying in the corner. Part of his military training took over as he had concern for Jennifer's safety. No one knew what Rodney or anyone in his situation were capable of. "Are you sure it's safe to be alone when Rodney is like this?" Asking the question was regretted as the physician had a large scowl and looked like she was about to launch into a long winded rant.

"He was perfectly fine until you rang the bell. I think he was about to open up to me," Jennifer clenched and unclenched her fists. She opened her mouth to yell when a horrific scream came from Rodney. It was the kind of scream one could imagine that could be created if someone was being operated on without anesthesia.

"You. You are the one who pressed that pillow to my face and bought me to the brink of death every week," the voice did not sound like Rodney but that of a man possessed by a demon.

To be continued...