Bad Dreams derives from a Star Trek Voyager episode in which one of the central characters has flashbacks to events in his past. I wasn't completely paying attention. It was moving wallpaper in the background while I was writing something else, but it was the germ of the idea, anyway. Once I began applying the idea to a Theta Sigma story, it became a completely different idea. Actually, before I settled on Theta Sigma I considered the possibility of a Torchwood story on the same lines, with Jack having dreams about his colourful past. The main reason I didn’t do it was that I was ahead on Torchwood Cardiff stories and didn’t need to write one at the time. It might actually be worth exploring still in the future.

Chrístõ’s life changed dramatically from the day he met Julia, on the SS Aldous Huxley, the ship where everyone but her had already been killed by space vampyres. Dreams in which he fails to rescue her would obviously be traumatic.

Between the recurring nightmares, the story takes Chrístõ and Julia’s relationship to a new level. The fact that he spends part of the night sleeping in her bed alongside her is significant. Of course, it is completely innocent and non-sexual, but the fact is, she is in a nightie and he’s in pyjamas and there is a distinct frissance. Julia is nearly eighteen at this point. She’s making all her own decisions about how she wants her relationship with Chrístõ to go.

I do have some slight doubts about whether the reasons why all this was happening are completely clear. Chrístõ’s dreams are being manipulated in order to drag an alternative reality into being that would destroy Savang Hext. If Chrístõ’s life changed from the day he was on the SS Aldous Huxley then he would not rescue Hext from several life-threatening situations. And without him, Savang is doomed. It’s a little complex and I think too much of it was only told as exposition after the main part of the plot was resolved. It wasn’t the best handling of that aspect of the story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashback_%28Star_Trek:_Voyager%29

http://www.pearsecom.co.uk/thetasigma/33Vampyres.htm