A/N: Hello people! I'm sorry I've been away for so long, I can't keep doing this to you! I know that I can't keep making excuses but if you want to know the real reason it was because I got RSI and was banned from the computer for two and a half weeks!!! But anyways, I'm really sorry.

I want to thank all of you that emailed me or reviewed my story- even if I don't reply or answer your questions it's usually because I forget- I get so caught up wanting to read other fics! But I do appreciate your feedback and so for all of you who do give me feedback a HUGE THANKYOU!!! LOTS OF HUGS AND PLENTY OF CHOCOLATE!!!hehehe- the best prize of all!

I would also like to say a HUGE THANKYOU to Lauzie- my new beta reader. Thanx so much for helping me and no, you're not a bitch (although I was a little shocked at first to see that you really had given me your truthful opinion- most people don't when I ask them). So thanx again and have a pile of chocolate!

Bye bye for now peeps!

Chapter 13

Dom reached out his hand. 'Kel…trust me, I love you.'

Kel smiled and put her hand in his. 'I know. I love you too.'

Smiling, Dom pulled her closer to him. He lent in to kiss her, closing his eyes… Something thudded into his side. Excruciating pain leapt through his side and his shoulder as he thunked (A/N: Dunno if this is real word but is in mine & Kerm's world and that's all that really counts!) into a wall.

When his blue eyes snapped open, they met Kel's. She had an evil grin on her face and it didn't take him long to realise Kel had punched him in the side, shoving him into the wall shoulder first.

'Wake up, army boy. Soldiers don't sleep on the job.'

What? What in the name of the God's did Kel mean by that?

Suddenly, the real world bloomed into activity as Dom opened his eyes. He groaned. He had only been dreaming… but both his side and his shoulder still burned painfully and he could still hear that leering voice that had been Kel in his dream.

Dom rolled onto his back and looked up. A man was leaning over him. The stranger was bald but had the beginnings of a grisly black beard on his chin. His right eye was missing, a scar running down where it should have been met his grim-set mouth. He had a thick neck, big biceps and an overall sturdy build. He had heavy, extremely thick boots that came up to his knees and a tattoo all the way down his hairy left arm. Stuck in the hardwearing belt that went all the way round his beefy middle were one knife and a long, sharp dagger.

Dom groaned and shut his eyes again, trying not to vomit at the oppressing smell coming from the sailor standing over him.

'Oi!' yelled the gruff voice. 'Don't ignore me!' Again the sailor's heavy boot collided with Dom's side and, although not with as much force as before, it still sent jolts of extreme pain through his shoulder.

Hearing the guffaws of other men, Dom peeled back his eyelids. Leaning against the opposite wall in the deeper shadows of the dark room, were a number of more sailors. They were all very similar in appearance but none were as large and muscular as the sailor standing over him.

Great, he thought. There's absolutely no way I'm gonna get out of this one.  His defiant mind told his eyes to shut, not to succumb to the demands of the sailor. But his body had other ideas and when the sailor ordered him to stand up, Dom automatically struggled to his feet. But at least he could be conciliated by the anger and hate he knew filled his eyes.

'Come 'ere,' drawled the chunky sailor. Dom stood where he was, chest heaving. 'Oooh- naughty boy, are we?' cooed the man. 'Well, we'll see about that.' He grabbed a fistful of Dom's shirt and pulled him close. Then he punched him in the face. Hard. The other men laughed. One of them came up behind Dom and yanked Dom's arms behind his back. This caused him to cry out in pain. The next thing Dom knew, he was being led out of the hull of the ship, his arms tied firmly behind him, pulling painfully on his sore shoulder.

On deck, Dom didn't have a chance to study the ship that had brought him here because he was dragged to the gangplank and off into the crowds in the docks. For a moment, he blanked out, giving over to fear. He soon realised he was in the Copper Isles. That only increased his fear two-fold but almost immediately after the realisation and strike of fear, he made himself calm down. It would be absolutely no good at all to get himself in a state.

So, Dom took a deep breath and sought a calm, serene blank within himself. His eyes instinctively closed, but it didn't matter: the men off the boat shoved him where they wanted him to go with no consideration for his wound.

In his mind, he sought blankness- a void empty of any emotion, any feeling. For a moment the nothingness he craved to rid him of his fear was there in his mind,the only thing in his mind.

But quicker than it had come, the moment was gone. Instead, a face filled his head. A face that, to him, was beautiful. Kel's face. Seeing Kel as perfect in his mind's eye as in real life, grieved him at first. But presently, remembering the calmness he fought to seek, he punched the grief away and found that really, deep down inside, he was glad to see Kel, even if it was only a memory.

An especially hard thump between his shoulder blades sent Dom reeling to the ground. The hard cobbles were covered with slime and mud, seaweed and fish guts, bits of netting and broken fishing hooks. Dom wrinkled his face up in disgust, his anger flaring again when he heard loud, rough laughter above him. He struggled to his feet but only reached his knees. He glared defiantly up at the ugly faces around him, then blacked out as he was hit around the head.

~*~

A/N: Thanks again people! By the way, don't you think it's bad that they got rid of the NC-17 fics? I do and I know lots of people that agree with me. Oh, and Kezza- I'm sorry my a/n wasn't very interesting this time I'll try and make up for it next chapter! Bye sugah!