A/N:

Here's the new Jack and Kam… updates will be slow, I've got a bunch of other projects going and some pretty tough personal deadlines, but this has been in my head for a while and needed to come out (mostly so I could work on those other projects without Jack and Kam badgering at me all the time! They have been monumentally annoying the last week! Of course the upside is we get a new story, so I guess even I shouldn't complain too hard. I love writing them.)

Definitely rated M. The world Jack and Kam live in can be incredibly, heart-breakingly, harsh.

In this one we will definitely have the Doctor (not telling which one… ok, I've got two scenarios going through my head, when the time comes we'll see which one fits.)

In case anyone's wondering, the alien device referred to in the beginning section is from one of Sidlerocks' fantastic Jack and Kam stories.

(And yeah, I've still got some Jack and Ianto stuff going through my head and I want to play around a little more with Kae and Wynn… but there are only 24 hours in a day, so… I beg your patience… reviews don't hurt either! :-)

All the usual disclaimers apply. It should be pretty obvious what I do and don't legally own ;-)

Last order of business, I haven't updated the timeline in forever, so in case anyone missed it, WickedWitchoftheSE wrote a truly fantastic story about Jack and Ianto, their daughter Seren and a call from the headmaster of her school. It's called To Tell a Lie .net/s/6104510/1/.

Chapter One

"Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."

Kahlil Gibran

Kam rolled over and found the other half of the bed cold, empty. Not that he'd expected otherwise. Three months…it had been three long months since he'd last seen Jack Harkness.

His lover.

His partner.

His friend.

My best friend.

A hollow feeling overtook his insides and he pulled the pillow from the empty side of the bed to his chest hugging it tightly, burying his nose into it, inhaling deeply of the sweet scent of cinnamon and musk.

Jack's smell was fading, almost gone. He missed him so much it hurt. It hurt so much more than he'd thought it would. It made him realize how much it must have hurt the immortal when he lost his husband, his bonny Welshman—their daughter… his children and his grandchildren… people who had lived and died five hundred years ago on a planet so far away, Kam had never been anywhere near it. He couldn't imagine five long centuries of feeling as empty and alone as he felt without the Captain, couldn't imagine what it must be like for Jack knowing he could never die… it seemed a miracle he was willing to love anybody any more. It would be so much easier for him if he just…just shut himself off… Kam snuggled into the pillow. He was so very grateful that Jack was strong enough to still be able to love. That he was willing to love me… He couldn't imagine living forever, not the way Jack and Henry did it, anyway.

The young man closed his eyes and pictured his lover's face… his blue eyes… the curve of his lips… that smile… the smirk. His laugh. He missed the strong arms that held him tight and kept him safe.

Other memories drifted in too, memories that weren't really his but felt like his nonetheless. A heavy blue coat over his shoulders warming him… he'd been so cold for so long… he remembered the things he'd seen when he was under the influence of that alien thing… the thing that was the very reason Jack was a wanted man. He remembered how scared he'd been… Ianto Jones… he'd betrayed Jack, but Jack loved him anyway. They'd loved each other.

He grasped hold of the ring on the chain around his neck and slid his finger into it. It was too big for his small hands, but sometimes putting it on like that was the only way he could fall asleep now that Jack was gone.

….

"Roll over, Boy!" a rough voice roused the sleeping man to wakefulness almost instantly. "Move it!" the other barked, anyway, even though the younger man was already rolling over onto his stomach.

He positioned himself… braced himself. He told himself again that the Captain wasn't rough on purpose. Besides, he's only one man. I only have to Service one man. And really, the Captain wasn't a cruel man, he was just careless. Why should he care?

He sucked in air as he was penetrated; the Captain groaned in pleasure, seemingly oblivious to how much he was hurting the man under him.

"That's it," he growled softly into his ear. "Damn, I love your hips… that ass… damn that ass…" he murmured as he grasped the younger man's hips pulling him back hard, skewering him deeper, making him gasp.

Still, the young man made a good show of making it sound like a gasp of pleasure rather than pain. His whole life belonged to this man and if he displeased him… but surely after six years he was safe… there is no safe, he reminded himself. He had nothing…he was nothing. He was only what the Captain allowed him to be… two holes to be used whenever, however, he wanted… So he ground back into the old man harder, ignoring the pain, telling him how much he loved him, how much he loved to please him, how good he felt inside him, begging him to take him harder, because he knew it was what the Captain wanted to hear. Sometimes he even thought the old man might mean it when he said he loved him, too…

He let out a last, well-timed, groan of what passed for well-satisfied pleasure when he felt the Captain's orgasm deep inside him.

It made the old man chuckle; he slapped his ass so hard that he left a bright red handprint. By tomorrow it would be a dull brown bruise, just like the one on the other cheek. "God, I love you. You are so fucking beautiful," he muttered as he grabbed a handful of the black hair he insisted the younger man keep long. He yanked him backwards into a deep, forceful kiss. "Now that's what I call a good way to wake up, ey, Kase?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," he agreed readily, not struggling or even trying to get his balance; it was easier to just let the Captain pull him where he wanted him.

The Captain leered at him a long moment before giving him another brutal kiss, his tongue roaming carelessly around the younger man's mouth, poking and prodding at him; he kept a tight hold of his hair. But still, Kase returned the kiss eagerly, honestly. Hopefully. Even clumsy kisses were welcome and felt good.

He knew that someday soon his looks would begin to fade; he'd just turned twenty five. By thirty… by thirty he wouldn't be so pleasing to the eye. His only hope of not ending up in a labour camp or mining colony…worse… was the affection of the man who owned his contract. The Captain didn't have to sell him when he was through with him, he could let him quietly out of his contract, he could let him settle somewhere… anywhere… anything was better than ending up at an Auction House because once he hit thirty, he knew that nobody would want him for anything but hard labour. What else would he be good for? He only knew how to do one thing.

The older man sat back and admired him a little longer before finally letting go and getting himself out of bed.

Kase rose gracefully from the sheets after him; he made every movement careful and deliberate. He reached for the Captain's shirt, helped him into it, even though that wasn't one of the things the older man had ever told him was expected of him. When he'd first purchased his contract, Captain Arons had outlined his 'duties'. It was pretty simple. He wanted easy access to a beautiful young body… but maybe the little things will add up, Kase told himself, noting the look of pleasure that came into the old man's eyes as he buttoned up his shirt for him, lingering just a moment after he was done, inviting another kiss. When the Captain gave it to him, Kase returned it as ardently as ever. He flashed a coy smile at the older man and turned to get his trousers for him. "Shall I assist you, Sir?" he asked in a sultry purr.

"Do that, and I'll be late for my shift," he took the pants from him. His tone was gruff, it was always gruff, but he was smiling. He always smiled at him. "But you can help me take 'em off, later, if you like."

Kase returned his smile. "Later, then, Sir," he promised softly.

He waited until the other had gone before going into the bathroom to clean himself up. Being the Captain's pet had some advantages, at least. He didn't have to share a shower with the rest of the crew and he could stay in it as long as he liked. In fact, he often had huge chunks of time to himself, because he belonged to the Captain and only the Captain. After so many years—more than he could count—of serving anybody who could pay for it, it was nice to only have to worry about one man's needs, one man's tastes. And really, as tastes when, his Captain was pretty bland. He liked it first thing in the morning (what man didn't?) and sometimes during the day—after all, he was the Captain, he could slip off for a long lunch or an afternoon 'break', if he wanted to.

When he got off his shift, he liked Kase to be waiting for him, to pour him a glass of wine and rub his shoulders… to listen to him talk about his day without interrupting him. To pay attention and seem as if he was genuinely interested in things he only barely understood. None of that had been a part of his original duties, but a smart Server was quick to figure out the little things the client wanted, even if they hadn't mentioned them. It wasn't that clients were inherently cruel—at least not most—it was just that most of the time they didn't quite know themselves what they wanted, so the Server had to figure it out. Men like Captain Arons were easy. All he wanted was to feel like he was important to somebody, to be the centre of one person's attention. He wanted to feel special, to be pampered without having to give anything back. In that, he was hardly remarkable.

At last Kase turned off the water and dried himself, examining his body carefully in the full length mirror on the back wall of the cramped bathroom. It wasn't vanity so much the desire to survive, to stay where he was as long as possible. He knew how good he still looked. He was lean, lightly muscular. His natural skin tone was darker than most… he had slanted almond shaped eyes the colour of midnight, and long straight black hair… most considered him beautiful. Exotic. His looks had served in well when he'd Served; he was difficult to forget. It wasn't just his looks... he'd been sold to the Red House at an early age, learned to please others long before he was allowed to Service the customers. Looking at himself now, he reckoned he had at least a few more years before his appearance began to fade in any noticeable way. If he played it right, the Captain might keep him at least until he was thirty and then… then he would have to pray that the old man cared about him as much as he said he did. Because surely if he cares, he won't want to see me auctioned off to the highest bidder… his gut churned, but he refused to let himself worry about it. He still had time.

He selected his attire for the day with care. A tight black t-shirt that left little to the imagination; snugly fitted black jeans that laced up the sides and up both the front and the back. They were the Captain's favourites. The side lacings were for show, the front and back lacings for convenience. He made sure to tie both the back and front so that they would be easy for the Captain to untie later.

He shaved his face carefully—morning scruff was acceptable, but the Captain wouldn't tolerate anything shy of perfection once he'd had a chance to clean himself up. Likewise, he braided his hair carefully, neatly. The first time he'd braided his hair, the Captain had scowled, until he'd discovered how much easier the long made his hair to grab.

Before heading down to the mess to get a bite to eat, he took a few moments to tidy up the Captain's cabin. He made the bed, collected the older man's dirty clothing and put it into the laundry. After breakfast, he would fetch his clean uniforms and hang them up neatly. There were crewmen who could do that, of course, but really, it wasn't as if he had any official duties on board, his only job was to Serve the Captain. Cleaning up after him was just one more thing he could do to make himself useful, in the hopes that the Captain would keep him around just a little longer. In the hopes that he would be just a little kinder when he finally did decide to get rid of him.

…..

Kase was just finishing his meal when his comm beeped for attention; he smiled to himself. The Captain hadn't even made it through the morning… "Yes, Sir?" he said cordially after slipping the earpiece into place.

"I need you in my office. Now."

Kase blinked as a flutter of panic shot through him. Being summoned to the Captain's office wasn't the least bit unusual, but his tone… the curtness of his summons… "Is… is anything the matter, Sir?"

"Now," he repeated; his voice sounded cold and flat.

"Yes, Sir." He was sure that whatever the Captain wanted, it didn't bode well for him. His fears grew when he arrived at the Captain's office to find two strange men waiting there with him…