Sorry, my dear, spoiled readers ;-) that this took longer than usual. Wednesday is my full day… school and "work." Hope this one was worth waiting for!

Chapter Eleven

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"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul."

-- Judy Garland

……………….

The sound of Jack's laugh brought Kam out of his dreamless sleep. He smiled without having to open his eyes. He knew where he was. He was surrounded by his Captain's scent, his soft sheets. The bed was only a little bigger than his own, but there were two pillows. One was under his head, the other was held tight against his chest. He buried his nose into it, taking in even more of the older man's cinnamon-musk scent. He could almost feel those arms around him, those lips pressed against his…

Then he heard the laugh of a second man coming from the other room… rich… warm. Velvet. Definitely not Mr. Smeed. In fact, he was certain he didn't recognize the other man's voice at all. He couldn't make out what they were saying when the voices lapsed back into conversation.

Kam swallowed back the lump in throat.

Of course who the Captain entertained was his own business. He knew the sudden ache in his chest was stupid. He was nothing to the Captain… fuck toy… but the Captain had put him into his bed and told him to sleep. He'd pulled the sheets up around him and kissed his forehead… he made me feel like I mattered.

Another peal of laughter rang out from the Captain's sitting room. Kam shut his eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come.

Finally there was quiet in the next room. He wasn't even sure if the Captain was still there or if he'd gone. He wasn't sure which possibility hurt more.

If Jack was here, he had to face the possibility that he had completely misread the Captain to the point of making a fool out of himself… after all, he hadn't joined Kam in bed. He hadn't done more than kiss him…Even if he had, what would it prove?

But if he wasn't there it would mean he'd gone off with whoever he'd been entertaining. Which was certainly his right, Kam reminded himself.

There was only one way to find out.

It wasn't until he opened the door that he heard the soft, strange music and saw the Captain sitting there with his feet – grimy boots still on them – on the coffee table. The older man seemed deeply engrossed in whatever he was reading on the electronic pad he had propped on his knees.

Kam cleared his throat to draw the Captain's attention away from the pad; it was almost amusing how quickly he pulled his feet off the table, looking honestly guilty for having been caught with them there in the first place. It was his table, he could do anything he wanted.

But then he smiled. Kam had one of his shirts draped on over his shoulders.

"I… hope you don't mind, Sir," he fidgeted with one of the buttons on the Captain's shirt; none of them were done up, he'd just wanted something to throw on over his shoulders. He couldn't seem to force himself to meet the older man's gaze.

Jack shook his head, "Not at all," he answered. The sight brought back a flurry of half-forgotten memories…

A handsome, naked, slender young man curled up against him on the narrow bed…

"You should stay over, it's late."

"And show up for work in the same suit I wore yesterday?" That look… Jack could still see it in the back of his mind. His Welshman, the pinnacle of decorum.

"You can borrow one of my shirts, you know. It might even look good on you." Jack was quite the opposite of the pinnacle of decorum.

"I would swim in your shirt, Jack. It would look even more obvious than wearing the same clothing two days in a row. At least that we could blame on a late night Weevil hunt."

He remembered laughing. The others, he was sure in retrospect, were well aware that there weren't nearly as many late night 'Weevil retrievals' as he and Ianto seemed to want them to believe there were.

But even after they moved in together, he was sure he'd never seen Ianto in any of his clothes.

He remembered Estelle wearing his shirt on several occasions. She would slip it on and go get them a cup of tea… he remembered loving the way she 'swam' in it. Even Laura had worn a shirt of his a couple of times, although he seemed to remember that had more to do with her wanting something 'old and ratty' to paint in than anything else…

He returned his mind to the present and to the attractive blond crewman standing there in his unbuttoned shirt, looking very unsure of himself. "It looks good on you," Jack told him as he set down the pad, giving the younger man an enigmatic smile he couldn't hope to understand.

There was something about his lover wearing his shirt…

Jack crossed the distance between them, unable to help the way the sight of the younger man made him feel. He did up a couple of the buttons using it as an excuse to pull Kam into another sweet kiss. He surrendered without hesitation, his body hugging in close, his arms tight around Jack's waist almost like he was afraid to let go.

"Feeling any better?" the Captain asked when they finally pulled away from each other.

"I think so," his expression was difficult to read; he managed a smile, though. "What is this?"

"Glen Miller."

"I've never heard anything like it."

Jack chuckled. "It's way before your time. Do you dance, Mr. Anders?"

"Sir?"

He held out his hands.

Kam hesitated, looking like he didn't know what to do. "I…"

"Just follow my lead," Jack winked, taking the young crewman into his arms and easing them into the gentle rhythm of Miller's Moonlight Serenade. "I used to be pretty good at this, you know," he added. Your dance card is full even by fifty-first century standards… the Doctor.

He missed him… but someday I'm sure I'll see you again, Jack thought in the absent Time Lord's direction. "You're pretty good," he observed as Kam fell into step with him.

"I… I've never done anything like this."

He grinned, "The real test is coming up in a minute."

"Sir?"

"The next piece is faster. But I promise to take it easy on, seeing it's your first time," he shot a lascivious little smirk that made the younger man blush. "Maybe we ought to keep it slow," he shifted his hands so he could tap at the controls of his wrist strap to select a different set of songs.

"What is that?"

"Hmmm…" he shrugged, "Fifty first century technology at it's best."

"Sir?"

"It's nothing," he lied. Time travel wasn't something to be flippant about in this century. Mainstream science was only just beginning to understand the principals that would some day allow time travel to be, if not common place, certainly broadly accepted. Like all new sciences, however, there was a great deal of controversy over whether or not it was ethical or whether or not Man had finally crossed the line – that line that got pushed a little further back with each new discover – and was trying to become too much like God.

But those were the debates for scholars, scientists and theologians, and Jack was none of those things. He was just a man out of his own time trying to get by in an era that would have made even Charles Dickens cringe.

He tapped another button on the wrist strap to dim the lights before easing his arm snugly back around the young man's waist. He held Kam's other hand close to his chest and smiled when the other man laid his head against his shoulder. In moments like this he could forget what was happening in the rest of the galaxy and just… be.

"This is nice," Kam said softly.

The smiled deepened; Jack closed his eyes a moment and took in the younger man's scent. Of course at the moment, he smelled a bit like him, wearing his shirt, having just been sleeping in his bed. But his hair smelled like… like antibacterial shampoo. He bit back his grimace and opened up his eyes to find Kam looking up at him. He gave a questioning look, but the younger man just shook his head.

"You didn't eat much, are you hungry?" Jack asked as the Glen Miller faded and the Andrew Sisters took his place.

"I guess… but… this is really nice," he gave a hopeful look.

Jack took the hint, changing his step to match the music.

"What are they saying?" Kam asked as he settled into the new rhythm. It was a little faster, but with Jack holding him close it was easy.

"Bei mir bist du schon – to me you are beautiful," Jack raised his eyebrows suggestively, even though his tone had been sincere.

Kam felt his cheeks burning again, and wondered what it was about this man that made him blush at every word. All he had to do was walk into a room and Kam felt like he was walking on air… but I know I'll never really be anything to him… he told himself. Just something to pass the time…

Only he wasn't sure he could make himself believe it, not when he looked into those blue eyes again. I wonder if you realize that you make me feel like I'm the centre of the Universe… he thought in Jack's direction. It was such a good feeling. He could almost forget that he woke up to the sound of Jack and some other man laughing…

The next song was another slow one. He laid his head against his Captain's shoulder again, taking in that amazing scent of his, letting it be his whole world. His eyes slipped shut and he let himself get lost in the moment, in the feeling of being held and the sound of Jack's heartbeat, and in the music. In the way their bodies moved together.

Nothing had ever felt so natural. So perfect. So right.

………………………………………………………………….

"Let it go, Fletch," Alexi Reives urged the disgruntled man.

Six of them sat on the in the shadow of the Bonny Welshman, which was still on Omega Station, a good six hours after she – or he as Harkness insisted his ship be called – was scheduled to depart.

"It's not worth it," Ruegar Hannix agreed, getting up to leave.

"That little klute cost you your contract!" Fletcher hissed angrily at the two men… at the other two as well, who seemed undecided about what he was suggesting. "All I'm proposing is a little payback. Just doing what any upstanding citizen would do. Think about it. If we let this go, he'll get those tats removed… get a real job. A job one of us or some other decent man might've gotten! Just think about something like that cheating a good man out of a job, just 'cause he's pretty to look at. Next he'll settle in somewhere, in some decent neighbourhood. You've got a son, right?" he looked to Hannix. "Would you want something like that moving into the same building as your kid? We have a responsibility here, boys. If Harkness has been swayed by that little klute's cock…"

Hannix and Reivers walked away.

Jaff Ekoneous, who had been involved in the incident that had apparently set the Captain off, was right behind him, leaving only Maecus Leese, and Sion O'Marra, who had also been involved in the incident aboard the Station.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" O'Marra queried…

………………………………………………………………

Jack finally convinced Kam to take a shower and get dressed, they were going to get something to eat.

When the young crewman emerged from his shower, the lights were back to full and the music as gone.

Mr. Smeed was sitting with the Captain.

Smeed shot a single dark look up at the younger man before returning to the discussion the two men had been engaged in.

In the instant that their eyes met, however, Kam felt his insides burning up with shame. He could see the words Smeed was thinking, the distain etched on his face. Cyprian. Courtesan. Fuck toy… that's all Smeed saw when he looked at him now. And Smeed had been his only hope, especially if word got out that he'd shared the Captain's bed. No one would believe he'd just slept there…

"Relax already," Jack was saying to his first officer; he glanced briefly up at Kam, flashing a tight little smile that Kam managed to somehow return.

"Six, Jackie," Smeed went on, seeming to prefer to ignore the younger man after his initial glower. "We lost six crewmen," he sounded angry.

Kam felt his gut knot up. He grabbed his clothes and scurried into the bedroom. The discussion they were having wasn't for the likes of him. The Captain's business had nothing to do with him.

He was a bed warmer.

A bed warmer who cost the Captain six men… how could he possibly be worth that? They couldn't leave Omega with a crew of only six or seven… a dozen was cutting it short as it was, but less than that…?

And what were the remaining crew saying, he wondered. He pressed his ear to the bedroom door…

"They were six men that I didn't want," Jack's tone was dark, and loud enough to carry into the bedroom.

"Jackie, I realize you're infatuated and I'll grant he's easy on the eyes. But I'm asking ya t'remember the last time you did this. And while you're at it, do not pretend for one second that the ones left are saints and angels. They ain't. No one we hire is."

"I'm not looking for saints and angels. Just a decent crew."

"Then maybe it's time you considered hiring a real crew instead of these beggars, scavengers and bottom feeders you always end up with."

Kam swallowed… was that all he really was…? A beggar? A scavenger...?

"One job, one crew," Jack's tone made it clear that there was no room for argument or negotiation. "My ship, my rules," he added just as firmly.

The grizzled, older looking man let out a soft whistle between the gap in his teeth. "And what about Mr. Anders, Jackie," he asked in a low tone, unaware that the young crewmen was standing at the bedroom door, straining to hear every word. "What are you going to do with him in six months when his contract is up and his reputation – such as it was to begin with – is ruined beyond repair? Don't you give me that look, Harkness, you know how word spreads, even in a galaxy this big. You need to ask yourself what he's supposed to do when you get tired of playing knight in shining armour.

"You're a good man. One of the best I've ever known, but you have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to bed partners and that kid is in a tough enough spot as it is without you adding to it."