The New Hand, Part Ninety-Two

by J. Rosemary Moss

Genre: Slash Fan-Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: PG-13

LINK TO PART ONE

~

As David watched him intently, Adam felt himself start to blush. In truth, he had no idea where to begin with Kane. Looking back, it really did seem to him that Kane had tormented ‘some stranger,’ as David put it—not Adam. There was some part of Adam, at least, that Kane had never touched. Or so Adam liked to tell himself.

David seemed to recognize Adam’s difficulty in finding a place to start. "Do you still hate him?" he asked him softly.

Adam considered that. "I don’t know," he answered honestly. "I didn’t even hate him when he kept me captive—not at first. He nearly killed me with mine work, but it wasn’t until after I tried to escape that I began to hate him. That was when he kept a gun on me while he ordered me to bind my feet—and then tied my hands behind my back as well. And that’s when he began to treat me even more like an animal."

David took Adam’s hand in his own. "Was that when Kane raped you?" he asked.

"Not that night—a little while passed before I had to suffer that," Adam answered. "By then I was half dead and I—well, it doesn’t matter now."

"It does matter," David insisted. "Your face is red with shame, did you know that? But you didn’t do anything wrong—you have nothing to be ashamed of."

Adam felt his face harden at that. "I’m ashamed that I didn’t fight him back," he said in a voice that was almost a hoarse whisper. "I was dehydrated and near starved and so tired that I didn’t care what he did to me. I didn’t think it was likely that I’d survive anyway, so I just took it. I let him rape me without even resisting him."

He glanced at David, expecting to see disgust in his eyes. But to his astonishment, there was none. There was only sympathy—and a hint of admiration.

"Don’t look at me like that," Adam said flatly. "I don’t deserve any applause."

"Yes you do," David argued. "You survived, Adam. Not only did you survive—you’re not even sure if you hate the monster who put you through that. Come’ere."

David used his good arm to pull Adam toward him. Adam managed a half-hearted smile and decided not to resist. If he hadn’t bothered to fight off Kane’s brutal violations, why should he bother to fight off David’s embrace?

He shifted himself so that he was lying next to David and settled his head on David’s good shoulder. Then he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of David stroking his hair.

But he knew that their conversation had only just started—there was plenty left to discuss.

LINK TO PART NINETY-THREE