Ianto pulled his car off the road and into the abandoned car park. The area looked deserted; the abandoned buildings empty. He glanced down at his portable rift monitor, checking the coordinates. This was the place.

He had been at the Hub working while Jack and Gwen were investigating a disturbance on the other side of the city when he caught the spike that signified a possible return from the rift of someone who had been snatched before. The signs that separated it from a normal spike were subtle, but they had found that those that had those frequencies usually indicated that something or someone had been returned.

He hadn't hesitated. Whomever had been left behind was probably lost, hurt and in need of help. He couldn't wait for Jack to get back, so he grabbed some supplies and headed off in the direction indicated by the spike.

Getting out of the car he turned to get his bearings. The residual energies led off in the direction of the abandoned buildings. He took the bag out of his car and brought it along with him. Stepping over debris and dodging a burnt out car, he finally reached an open doorway. He paused for a moment, listening.

A low moaning could be heard somewhere above and to the left. He stopped when he saw the state of the stairs, but knew that there was nothing to do but be careful. Staying to the outside edges where the frame seemed strongest, he made his way up the stairs to the second floor. The sound had grown stronger, so he was close.

Cautiously walking down the hall, he peered into door frames. This looked like it had been an old tenement building. Probably one slated for demolition soon, judging by the state of it. He was getting closer. Carefully he peered around the corner of the next room. He didn't see anyone immediately, but the sounds were definitely coming from this apartment.

He stepped over the trash in the doorway, skirting a soiled mattress that had obviously been the resting place of some homeless person. Entering the central living area, he stopped, head cocked. Yes, it was definitely coming from the bedroom in the back. He made his way down the short hall and peered into the room.

Someone was crouched on the floor, shivering. They were covered in rags, and what skin he could see looked red and blistered. He closed his eyes briefly, lips moving in a silent prayer. Sighing softly, he entered the room. The person huddled whimpered at the sound of his shoes on the broken glass, trying to push themselves even further into the floor.

"Shhhh, I'm not going to hurt you. You're back home," he assured them, moving cautiously. He didn't want to startle the person any more than he had to. Sometimes, the people they recovered were damaged beyond all hope. But sometimes, they hadn't been gone so long and could recover. He could only imagine what they had experienced in their time away from Earth. None of the ones that came back ever had a good experience, but some were worse than others.

"Home?" A voice rasped. The bulk moved, and through matted hair he could see eyes peering at him, half in hope, and half in suspicion that this was some cruel trick.

"Yes, home." He said quietly. He knelt down so he could look at the other person, and so that his height wouldn't intimidate them. "I'm here to get you help." From what he could see of the other, they needed some serious medical treatment for burns. Looking at the blistered skin, he knew that they had to be in a lot of pain. "Please."

The figure moved up slightly out of its crouch. "Home?" He could see more of the face and judged that the individual was probably a man, judging by the bone structure. The skin was too damaged to show any sort of beard, if they had ever had one.

"Yes. I'm Ianto," he said, putting the bag down beside him. "I have some medicine and blankets, but I need to get you to where a doctor can look at you. Can you tell me your name?"

The person just stared at him. He looked at the clothes and saw something that appeared to be a name tag on the shirt pocket, like it was a service station uniform, or had been at one time. He tilted his head, trying to make it out. He wasn't sure, but it looked to read Dafydd. Ianto made a mental note of the name to cross reference it against the missing persons list. "Is your name Dafydd?"

Eyes widened at the name. "It's okay, I'm here to help," Ianto said softly. The pain in the other's eyes was almost unbearable to see. They looked haunted. He glanced down into the bag and reached for a can. "I'm going to spray this on you, to protect your skin from the dirt. It should soothe you, too." He pulled off the cover and slowly moved towards the man huddled before him. Dafydd flinched, even given his slow movements.

The hiss of relief though as Ianto gently sprayed his arms and legs was audible. "Can you stand?" He was afraid to touch the other man in case he did more damage than his trip had already caused. Dafydd was looking a little dazed, the relief evident in his expression. How long he had suffered was anyone's guess, but just the simple act of spraying the antibiotic on his skin had already made a difference.

"Dafydd, I need to get you to a place where someone can help you. Can you get up?" He himself stood up and made a motion with his hand for the other man to do so as well. When all he got was a stare, he knew he was going to have to touch the other man. Stifling a sigh, he reached into a pocket for some latex gloves. He didn't want to cause any sort of infection, although crouching on the dirty floor wasn't doing him much good either. Once he had the gloves on, he extended a hand. Dafydd slowly reached out one horribly blistered hand and clasped his. Slowly, he pulled the other man up, and then moved behind him to spray the back of his arms and legs.

"Dafydd, I need you to walk with me. I can't carry you, and we need to get you to my car." He put the medicine back in the bag and zipped it. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he moved a few steps away and waited to see if the poor man would follow. Shuffling through the broken glass, the other man slowly followed him, eyes wide as he looked around the place. Ianto slowly backed out of the abandoned apartment, watching Dafydd. He wanted to be able to help if something happened. Judging by the clothes he was wearing, he was once a much larger man, as the rags sagged about his thin frame as he moved along slowly.