Warnings: Altered timeline from 'Ariel', angst, hurt/comfort

Time period: Between ‘War Stories’ and ‘Trash’

Thanks to lvs2read for the great beta and thunder_nari for the great beta and spurring me on.

Firmly encased within the large steel tank, Simon lets his mind wander for a moment, wishing he could feel something all around him other than water, wishing he had the strength and energy to kick out and push himself to a side, to touch metal and reassure himself that he isn't just floating aimlessly. Isn't just lying on his back, water in his ears drowning out the ominous silence as it laps against them. The barest twitch of his fingers against the surface reminding him to think. Distracting him from sinking into the hypnotic lull of nothingness.

The fear has faded, pushed back as terror has taken over and given way to complacency. He isn’t sure how long he’s been in here, how long he’s just been floating. The water hasn’t cooled, but a part of his mind registers they could be keeping the temperature constant, they don’t want him to freeze after all. To get hypothermia. It’s been long enough for his skin to wrinkle though, crinkles he can feel on his fingers as he rubs them together, water in his ears no longer causing a pressure--just settled. He takes note of his physical response with barely a care, merely uses it to try to gauge a length of time but he can’t. Too many variables.

Simon smiles as he thinks that, because now he’s sounding like River. Can almost hear her voice saying it, in fact. If he closes his eyes, he can let his mind drift off, protect it from whatever outcome his captors think being immersed and isolated will have.

“Absence of light…”

He isn’t sure if that’s River’s voice or his own, but he doesn’t need to open his eyes to see her floating beside him, can ignore the knowledge that he’s hallucinating, that this kind of isolation promotes this. For a moment, he’s with his sister once more and he can link fingers with her before she backstrokes lazily past hi