This story was amazing. The things John went through were heart wrenching and the way you laid that out was very original. The only thing I wish for was more of an ending, but sometimes one just has to wrap things up. Thanks for sharing.

nice. poor John

This is awesome. Totally involving.

I'm really blown away by this powerful story. I love how you held back on disclosing where Sheppard was and what had happened to him, it had the effect of drawing me in to the sense of confusion and pain. The writing is balanced, genuine and clever, and you have the characters voices down perfectly. Thank you so much for sharing. I am deeply moved by this piece, and I'm sure it will haunt me for a long time to come.

wow- just wow.

i was thinking taht maybe John had been sent through to an AU but then that didn't fit... you had me guessing the whole time. Just brilliantly done. Loved it

Absolutley amazing!

I stayed up untill 4am just to finish reading this.

Would to see a seaqual!

This was amazing, absolutely amazing! I'm glad I read some of the reviews first and found out it wasn't AU since I may not have continued too far in. But wow, you are a master at giving us emotional angst. Poor John! You made us feel how much he hurt and how completely lost he was. It was so sad to see him so far gone. But it was absolutely beleivable that our strong and stoic Sheppard could have turned into that emotional wreck after so long in an institution. My only complaint is that I wanted to see more at the end. See some of those bad days and good days that you mentioned. The trait of a great writer is one that can elicit strong emotion from the reader and you definitely did that. Well done!

Wow! that was gut wrenching and heart wrenching and just plain amazingly good!

Wonderful job,I was totally pulled into the story from the start.

Oh my goodness, you killed me with one. Seriously, dead. You have no idea how many times you almost made me cry. Oh, John. What he went through hurt like a hurting thing and was hard to read but, dang it, I loved it. I loved the build up, making not only John but your readers wonder what was real and what wasn't. The big reveal - that John was raped - when I read that part it hit me like a kick, I kid you not. Totally did not see that coming and when it came - bam!

But above all I could hug you for how you handled it. Very well balanced. You didn't have our characters turn into angsty teenage girls, you kept them in character. You didn't brush Sheppard's trauma aside with a lot of quick fixes for the sake of a happy ending. You set him on the path toward recovery, far from it though he is, and left it at that because, really, that's the only way it could have ended.

And I apologize for the rambling but stories like this are few, far between but always worth the wait. Thank you so much for this. I hope the plot bunnies attack you more often.

I think I am just starting to breathe again! What an amazing story. That was heart-wrenching, excruciating and a clever plotline all rolled into one. Awesome job!

Wow. Just... wow. Heart wrenching and beautiful and bittersweet. I thought for sure that this was an AU, and then you turned it around so smoothly. Wonderful writing and a great plot! Thanks for writing!

Wow. Absolutely stunning. I was so confused in the beginning, but it was wonderful, because I practically felt like I should be in an asylum too! I didn't really know what was real, and what was up with the rest of the team, you had my guessing and grasping at straws, hoping for truths, just like poor John was. Truly amazing story telling!

And so powerful! To see a truly broken John, but still manageing to keep him in character. Wow. Just wow. Thanks for this wonderful little heartbreaking one-shot.

Painful to read, but such a good story. Let's hope that killer plot bunny attacks again!

Thanks for sharing this with us.

Aagh! Strey here. Let's see if this gets by the unfathomble workings of ff dot net. What I actually said in one word was -

Is there a chance you are also getting stuck into Feast Of The Samhain?

But all ff dot net posted was my wittle question mark! :P

Harsh. Haunting. Beautifully written. I'm now horribly behind on all my plans for the day, but - I just had to finish it. Thank you for sharing. I hope I can get through the rest of my day without tearing up, but no regrets. Poor John. The things we put him through.

*clears throat*

?

*flutters eyelashes*

There. I said it. Well? :P