I'm posting this early, since I'll be gone tomorrow....

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“Simon?” Wash called out as he realized the doctor was amongst them. Watching him near he sat up straighter as he couldn’t stand due to his restraints. For hours they had been whispering ideas for plans, but had conceived nothing. He hoped though that Simon had come up with something. The doctor wasn’t too shabby at conjuring up decent plans. However the look on Simon’s face began to dampen what little spirit he had left. Something was horribly wrong.

“Simon?!” Kaylee stood up from her corner as Gambit was chained to the other side of her locker and scaring her. His berserk roaring, thrashing and clawing had stopped and he was more composed, yet the Allaince experiment was panting and letting out growls with each exhale as his predator eyes fixated on Saffron like she was deer. Everyone else looked over at the doctor and stood, wanting the same answer.

Zoe rose up as one of the men pointed a gun at her, motioned for her to stand back, and unlocked her cell, shoving Simon in and locking it. “What’s going on?” She asked quickly.

“Mal’s fine.” He told them, dropping his voice to a volume only Zoe could pick up he continued. “He’s going to live…” His shoulders sank as he heard Saffron’s gun pin click as a warning.

“Don’t fake it.” She warned him. “I’ll be counting how much you used up and I’m watching that needle. You try anything you get to watch your sister bleed out.”

“What does she mean?” Zoe asked, confused, worried as she sensed something worse was on the horizon. She watched as Simon’s head bowed and he knelt, fiddling with his injection gun, cleaning it, inserting a clean needle and extracting the right dosage. The first mate’s face sobered. “Doc,” her voice was hushed and serious. “what are you doin’.”

“I…” He took a deep breath in an attempt to steady his emotions, wetting his lips as he didn’t want to do it. “I… have to do this.” Voice wavering as his head tilted back to reveal gu