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Jan. 28th, 2003 11:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamjarZoe didn't drink much. She drank, of course, but not what she considered drinking, not the drinking when you really want to get drunk because sobriety is physically painful.
It wasn't hard, not to. It was good to be the mostly sober one, when they went into bars and someone had to keep an eye on Mal, on the crew.
Simon helped her up onto the infirmary bed and she was dimly aware of him doing something with something, but more detail than that escaped her. He kept talking, in the calm, doctor voice he got when he was doing medical stuff, and she hadn't thought of it 'til now, but River had talked like that when she was laying out the plan for the Captain and Kaylee, the same soft but firm intonation, the same, you're going to have to be brave, can you just...? speech patterns.
"Huh. Okay, I'm going to do something here... Zoe, I need you to lift up your arm for me, good, now this might feel a little cold."
It felt like someone was holding an ice cube against her arm, then the feeling of cold spread and she shivered violently.
Her head felt clearer and she looked up and realised she could focus. Simon was looking at her calmly, waiting. Her mouth still tasted like last months protein rations reborn, but she could talk without her tongue sticking to her tonsils. "What was that?"
"It's an anti-intoxicant. They can be very effective."
She shook her head in amazement. "How come I haven't heard of them before?"
Simon shrugged. "Because normally, you need a qualified doctor with legal permission to give one. Police sometimes called for them for interviews. The patent is held by one company, which is notoriously ruthless when it come sto protecting it. They limit all supplies to prevent people figuring out what's in it."
"And we lifted some from the hospital?" She said, getting off the bed with careful movements.
Simon smiled. "No. One of the first thing any medical student tries to do, is figure out how to make their own. Nobody can drink alcohol like a medical student. Except pathologists, of course. Most people don't manage, of course, and improperly prepared they can be quite dangerous, but..." he shrugged again. "I'm gifted."
Zoe nodded her head. The cold feeling was already starting to fade, but she could feel the hangover looming. "Thanks, doc. I'm going to try and get some sleep before the hangover kicks in."
Simon hesitated. "All right. If I do this, you have to agree not to tell anyone. Not the captain, not Wash, especially not Jayne. No-one."
She nodded and he frowned, but there was another cold sting in her arm.
"Here." And the threatening hangover, the nausea, the aching feeling in her body, all just vanished.
"I can see why you didn't want me to tell anyone."
It wasn't hard, not to. It was good to be the mostly sober one, when they went into bars and someone had to keep an eye on Mal, on the crew.
Simon helped her up onto the infirmary bed and she was dimly aware of him doing something with something, but more detail than that escaped her. He kept talking, in the calm, doctor voice he got when he was doing medical stuff, and she hadn't thought of it 'til now, but River had talked like that when she was laying out the plan for the Captain and Kaylee, the same soft but firm intonation, the same, you're going to have to be brave, can you just...? speech patterns.
"Huh. Okay, I'm going to do something here... Zoe, I need you to lift up your arm for me, good, now this might feel a little cold."
It felt like someone was holding an ice cube against her arm, then the feeling of cold spread and she shivered violently.
Her head felt clearer and she looked up and realised she could focus. Simon was looking at her calmly, waiting. Her mouth still tasted like last months protein rations reborn, but she could talk without her tongue sticking to her tonsils. "What was that?"
"It's an anti-intoxicant. They can be very effective."
She shook her head in amazement. "How come I haven't heard of them before?"
Simon shrugged. "Because normally, you need a qualified doctor with legal permission to give one. Police sometimes called for them for interviews. The patent is held by one company, which is notoriously ruthless when it come sto protecting it. They limit all supplies to prevent people figuring out what's in it."
"And we lifted some from the hospital?" She said, getting off the bed with careful movements.
Simon smiled. "No. One of the first thing any medical student tries to do, is figure out how to make their own. Nobody can drink alcohol like a medical student. Except pathologists, of course. Most people don't manage, of course, and improperly prepared they can be quite dangerous, but..." he shrugged again. "I'm gifted."
Zoe nodded her head. The cold feeling was already starting to fade, but she could feel the hangover looming. "Thanks, doc. I'm going to try and get some sleep before the hangover kicks in."
Simon hesitated. "All right. If I do this, you have to agree not to tell anyone. Not the captain, not Wash, especially not Jayne. No-one."
She nodded and he frowned, but there was another cold sting in her arm.
"Here." And the threatening hangover, the nausea, the aching feeling in her body, all just vanished.
"I can see why you didn't want me to tell anyone."
