Warnings: Altered timeline from 'Ariel', angst, dark themes

Time period: Around ‘Trash’

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

~

Simon can’t ever remember being this thirsty; so much so he can ignore the hunger pangs, ignore the cramps which keep catching at his belly. He’s not sure how long he’s been without food and water. They’re still messing with his body clock, he’s sure of it, though he’s unsure how much of the lethargy is from their experimenting or from his own reaction to a lack of water. And food.

Dehydration and starvation. Two terms Simon never liked to hear. He’s seen cases of one or the other working at the hospital, has treated a few more out on the Rim, but never were the two seen together--it was one or the other. At least he hadn’t seen the two together. He’d heard stories from some of the older consultants, from his Med Acad lecturers, those who had treated patients during the war. None giving a damn which side the patient was on when they treated them, though they’d made it clear to their students that the more severe cases hadn’t been Alliance. And some hadn’t been just the repercussions of war, but force, a form of interrogation much as Simon is experiencing now.

They never said what their other injuries were, makes me wonder…

But that is something Simon doesn’t want to wonder, feels annoyance at his own thought and its tone of clinical detachment. Because he feels anything but detached. Surrounded by water, trying to keep his mind from wandering lest he start talking about River, about Serenity, about anything really. It’s lonelier, more tiring, not being able to let his mind wander, but he’s glad for it. He hasn’t the energy to stop himself if he starts so it's easier to keep alert.

“Tibia, fibula, scapula.” He murmurs the words, focusing on bones for the moment. Nice neutral subject, he may sound insane to those listening but it keeps his mind active. Next he plans to enlighten them on the best wa