A/N: Not as long as I wanted, but the rest of the stuff I've written has been pushed off to the next chapter just for better flow (which will hopefully be posted in the next two weeks!). Thank you to all still following/favorited my story, I hope you enjoy and I always appreciate constructive commentary!

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Simon woke to the feeling of air forcefully leaving his lungs as his body landed with a heavy thud into the dirt. Gruff laughter chorused around him, and he opened his eyes to reveal the cause: the back end of a mule loomed above him, and the same man who accosted him in the infirmary came into view, clearly the reason for his fall off of the mule. The henchman hopped over him and off the vehicle himself before reaching down and grabbing the poor doctor by the front of his shirt. Simon was really getting tired of being dragged around by this behemoth. The thug reminded him of an even uglier, stupider Jayne. His head throbbed where he'd been struck, and his body ached all over.

Before he knew it, he was stumbling through an entryway down a dark passage. The inside of Badger's den was as grungy as the area that surrounded it. His feet scraped along the dirt floor, and exposed pipes along the walls occasionally dripped or gave off misty steam as they continued down further and deeper. Simon wondered absent mindedly if Badger intentionally played on his moniker when he'd built this place or if it had just been random happen-stance.

Badger's den was a dizzying maze of passages. Even if he hadn't had what he suspected was a mild concussion, Simon knew that he wouldn't be able to trace his way back to the surface. Finally the large man shoving him forward slowed as they reached a large doorway. A ham sized fist lifted up to rap against the metal sharply.

"Open up man, we've got the doc." he all but growled.

An unkempt looking man opened the door, eyebrows lifting at Simon but letting the two men pass through. The room was clearly a makeshift infirmary, cots laid out and supplies spread across a table along the far wall. It was nothing like Serenity's small but well kept infirmary; the stained and dirty concrete floors made the germophobe in Simon cringe.

His attention turned to the three other men in the room. Two were lying down, unconscious. The third was propped up in a chair, arm in a sling and a bandage around his head. Simon frowned. Was that bone poking out of the man's arm?

"Got plenty of work for ya here doc. Barney over here's the worst of it. Raf and Dan got broken bones that need tending to."

"And what if I refuse to help?" he responded grumpily, although the doctor in him knew he would at least try, regardless of how he felt about their leader. It wasn't in his nature to leave any injured unattended.

"Boss'll shoot you where you stand." the behemoth rumbled.

Simon scowled. He was aware of the fact. Thinking of Serenity, he tried not to worry about all the potential things that could go wrong. Or the possibility he may not return. God, he hoped the crew was looking after his sister...Shepherd had been instructed on the dosages and general regime for River, but he had no way of knowing for sure if they'd been left alive after Badger had taken him. It was unlikely; Badger had no need to kill anyone, but he trusted the short man as far as he could throw him. Weasel would've been a better name. And speaking of...

The door opened with a groan of rusted metal. Simon grew pale, wanting to step back but unable to due to the large form behind him.

It wasn't Badger, as he'd anticipated. It was the drunk from the brothel. The one who had grabbed him.

"Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng..." Simon thought to himself.

The man grinned. "wellll...if it isn't the doll from the parlour."

"He's the doc Badger brought in, Lou." The smaller man spoke up, glancing nervously between the new man and Simon.

A raised brow and a smile. "Wouldn't have pegged you for a doctor, boy. Companion in training, maybe..." Lou stalked up to Simon slowly, like a fox creeping up on an unsuspecting rabbit, all grins and anticipation. Simon tried to take a step back but only bumped into his large escort.

Lou lifted a hand to brush a lock of Simon's mussed up hair off his forehead. The doctor shuddered, and suddenly the hand went from a caress down his cheek to grip him tightly at the jaw and under his chin, pressing painfully against his windpipe.

Simon had barely lifted hands up to shove at the larger man in protest when a voice interrupted them.

"Put the doctor down, Barnes, or he'll be cauterizing the stump which once held your hand."

Today was just full of surprises, thought Simon to himself as he gently rubbed his neck, soothing the skin. Badger was the last person he would've expected to come to his rescue, and yet the man, or Lou Barnes apparently, had let go and taken a step back immediately, face transforming into an innocent expression as he faced Badger.

To be fair, Simon reasoned, the whole reason he'd been kidnapped was to utilize his skills, so mistreatment wouldn't help him treat these men any faster.

Badger stared the other man down for a minute in silence, brow raised. Sensing he had retaken control of the room, he gestured to another man behind him who Simon guessed was probably his second in command. The tall, thin man seemed to have a permanent position gracing Badger's left shoulder. He stepped forward at the head gesture and a lean arm shoved a surprisingly heavy medibag into his chest. He grabbed it instinctively.

"Old doc's kit." the man explained in a monotone voice.

Badger fiddled with the lapels on his jacket, stepping forward and around Simon slowly.

"Mal may be a stubborn, thick headed idiot of a man, but for some reason he seems to have all the luck when it comes to talent on his crew." Badger drawled as he came back around to stand right in front of the doctor.

That stung. The short man was clearly delusional if he thought Mal considered Simon as part of his crew. Badger continued, noting Simon's expressions as he spoke.

"You'll care for my men until one of two things happens. The first scenario is where Mal manages not to get his head blown off by the many Alliance guards searching for him and delivers my goods, upon which I return you in trade for keeping my men alive. The second is the unfortunate scenario in which you fail to patch them up, and I kill you to even the score against our dear captain Reynolds. Eye for an eye and all that. He should be grateful I didn't kill one of you outright, but I'm feeling generous."

Simon resisted a snort. "And if he doesn't come back with the goods?" he asked flatly, looking slightly down at Badger with all the Core breeding he could muster despite the fear looming in the back of his mind.

Badger shrugged. "Then you better hope you're worth keeping as a doctor or...whatever other talents you possess." and he looked between Lou and Simon, his insinuation clear. Lou grinned, but Badger frowned and snapped at him. "Get out of this room, Barnes. I don't want to see you in here again until this is all over."

But Lou didn't look concerned as he turned to quickly stride out of the room. Simon's stomach twisted with relief as the crawling sensation on his skin faded with the disappearance of the perverse man.

"You'll be locked in to...keep you from being tempted to cause any trouble. Tanker here will help fetch anything you need that's not in our supplies. Enjoy your stay, doctor." Badger said in a mocking tone, turning himself to walk out with the rest of the men sans his large, silent babysitter.

Simon looked down at the medibag and sighed. He really hoped that Mal was alive and didn't hate him enough to simply cut his losses and abandon the young man to the cruel and uncaring smuggler. Because he really hadn't the first clue of how to get himself out of this mess...out of the frying pan and into the fire.