Mal didn't know what to say, but he was saved from that by that all too familiar voice saying, "You are bound by law and ordered to stand down and prepare to be boarded."

The screen went blank. Zoe raced in, "What is it Sir?"

"I have no idea. Get the crew all assembled in the cargo bay now."

Zoe scrambled to fulfil his command while he stalked towards the infirmary. Simon was in there with Kaylee.

"Doc?"

"Yes sir?"

"For the next few minutes I am going to need you to trust me completely, dong ma?"

"Yes sir, but..."

"Get your sister to the cargo bay."

Mal left and Simon was deeply confused and his stomach clenched in fear. River glided in the room and hugged her brother deeply with a smile on her face, "Everything will once again be shiny, Simon. The angel will fly in on broken wings and rid us of the magician. We will finally be glued again."

River led a slightly less nervous Simon to the cargo bay with Kaylee trailing behind.

They all stood in a group facing the door. Mal, Zoe and Jayne up-front, with Jayne leaning against a crate. River, Simon and Kaylee behind them, with Kaylee holding on to Simon's arm and River holding his other hand. Jia was behind them all. River was the only one with a smile on her face. Everyone else's expressions were a mix of fear, anger, disbelief and anxiousness.

The bay doors opened slowly and Alliance came flooding in. Behind them all, clad in black, was the Operative. Alliance surrounded them, but surprisingly, did not go off to search the ship. The Operative was expressionless. He did n't face anyone in particular when he stated. "Operative, front and center."

Mal heard a gasp behind him and he felt someone come up from behind him. He didn't want to believe it. He turned slightly to see Jia Li going past him, and standing in front of the Operative. "Your services are no longer necessary. Return."

She walked behind the Operative and turned to face the crew. She gave a small smile and lifted her shirt to reveal her stomach. A small flat panel with three buttons could be seen. She pushed one of the buttons, and became someone else. Jia's familiar form became that of a taller, black haired woman with a face that Mal did not recognize. He stood in awe, disbelief, and rage. But it was not over yet.

The Operative motioned behind him, and two soldiers came from behind them all with a small form being carried between them. They tossed the form on the floor in front of Mal. It took a minute to recognize Jia. She was badly beaten. Kaylee started to cry. Jayne put his hand on his sidearm he had hidden. Simon started calculating what he had to do first. River still smiled. Zoe glared at the Operative. Mal just stood there. He was beyond any emotion. He just looked at the little woman on the floor in front of him. None of them were capable of speech.

"Good day."

He turned and led all his troops out. Mal fell to the floor by Jia. It was then he noticed she was awake. He gently picked her up. He barely heard that she was talking. He bent down to hear her better.

She whispered lightly, "Pick up the trash."

He thought he had misheard when she grabbed him with more force than he thought her capable of. She whispered, "Promise me!"

"I promise."

She passed out.

Mal reacted instantly. He ran her to the infirmary with Simon behind him. He put her gently on the chair. He backed off, he never realized he had her blood all over him. He backed out of the infirmary and Zoe came up to him. "The ship has left sir."

"Did they drop their trash before they left?"

Zoe looked at him in utter horror, "I have no idea."

"Jayne, come with me."

Zoe looked at him as he left and cursed to the day she met him.

Mal took Jayne to a shuttle and did what Jia had asked, they picked up the trash.

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Several hours later when Simon had finally stabilized Jia enough to say he couldn't do any more, Zoe made her way to the cargo bay. While her, River and Kaylee had been watching Simon to see if he could save Jia's life, her captain had taken several trips to collect the Alliance's trash. Now she wanted answers.

She found Mal and Jayne surveying their find. She went up to her captain with barely controlled fury, "What are you doing?"

He didn't notice her dropping the sir, "What she asked me to."

That gave Zoe pause, "Who?"

"Jia, before she passed out, she made me promise."

Now she took a look around. It was nothing special. The only thing of any irregularity were five shipping containers of various sizes.

Jayne spoke up, "Why would she want this gosa Cap'n?"

"I don't know, but it was important enough for her to expend maybe her last words to say it."

The three co-workers stood in confusion for a few minutes when Jayne went to one of the shipping containers and opened it. It was empty. Mal went to a second one, nothing. Zoe went to a third one. Again, nothing. Mal went to the fourth one, one of the two large ones. He opened it, and almost had a heart attack. It was the Shepard. He watched in disbelief as the holy man started to breath. Jayne let loose a string of words no one should know, when Mal and Jayne suddenly turned to Zoe, and the fifth container.

She slowly approached it. With hesitation, she opened it, and for the first time in years, felt tears on her cheeks. It was him. The only man she had ever loved. Hoban Washburn.

Mal screamed for the doc to get in there. Simon entered and almost passed out himself.

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They had moved the unconscious forms to the infirmary floor. Zoe had her husband's head in her lap. Everyone else stood around. Simon was preparing an injection to counter the agent he had discovered was keeping them unconscious. He approached Wash first. He ignored the pleading look from Zoe and injected her husband. Nothing happened for a full ten seconds. Then Wash sat up with a scream and clutched his chest. Zoe grabbed him.

"What happened to me?"

No one knew what to say. Simon was the first to speak, "What is the last thing you remember?"

"We had just landed on Miranda, ands I thought I felt a something go though my chest."

Zoe spoke, "Wash, baby, that was almost three months ago."

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After waking the Shepard and explaining as much as they knew to them, they didn't know what else to say. They all sat in the room outside the infirmary with silence between them.

Mal broke it, "Doc, can you wake Jia? Like you did them?"

"I wouldn't recommend it sir. Her unconscious state is an attempt by her body to correct itself. There is no telling what the consequences..."

"I didn't ask what you thought about it, I asked if it was possible."

"Yes."

"Then do it."

Kaylee was not happy, "Sir, you could kill her."

"I will not sit here and guess what happened here. If she dies it is not my doing." with that said he turned to Simon, "Will it kill her?"

"No, I don't believe so."

"Then do it."

Simon went back into the infirmary with Mal close behind him. The rest of the crew crowded around the windows to see. Simon injected Jia. She slowly raised her eyelids halfway, "Captain?"

Mal went up to her and held her hand, "It's me Jia."

"Did you pick them up?"

"Yes meimei, we did."

"Good," she went to go back to sleep.

Mal got her attention again, "Jia, honey what happened?"

She came back to consciousness and looked at him and slowly began to speak, "He took me on Savage. I fought, but they got me aboard their ship. He locked me in a room and made me listen. It took him three days to get a word in edgewise." She slightly smiled. Mal smirked back. "He told me that the Alliance had technology that he could use to repay you. He said he owed you a really big favor."

"He does."

"Ok, he said it would take him a few days and he needed a reason to get aboard your ship and leave. He said he couldn't be caught, or nothing would be repaid. He said he replaced me with an impersonator."

"He did."

"Told me he would change us back in a few days. I thought he was lying when he didn't come see me for a week and a half. But he said he couldn't move them without a big distraction, so I volunteered."

A chill went up Mal's spine, "For what?"

"I would try to escape. I got pretty far before I was caught."

"This is your punishment isn't it?"

She smiled, "It's nothing compared to what they did to my father."

"You didn't need to do this."

"Yes I did. I needed to try. Zoe was so unhappy, and they were needed here."

"So are you."

She scoffed lightly and then winced, "I knew I'd make it back. I am an angel after all."

She then lapsed back to unconsciousness. Mal turned to Simon.

"I stopped all her internal bleeding. She has two breaks in her left arm and one in her right leg, several broken ribs and a bruised jaw bone. The rest is superficial, as long as I can keep her from developing an infection."

Mal turned to his crew, "We take turns watching her. I'll take first watch, then Jayne, then Kaylee. Simon can fill in wherever. She is never to be alone. Everyone get that?"

They all nodded.

"Now, all of you go to sleep, especially you two." He pointed to Wash and the Shepherd, "They are not to be alone either. Zoe I think you can take Wash." She moved even closer into Wash's embrace, "River, can you watch the Shepherd?"

She nodded.

"Shiny, off with you then."

They all turned to leave, except Simon, "I have a feeling you wish to discuss something with me?"

He ushered Simon into a corner away from the infirmary and away from the guest bunks, "Is what you said in there all they did to her?"

"If you mean rape, no she was not. But what I didn't say is I have no idea how much brain damage they inflicted. From how she spoke I'm thinking it was minimal, but I have no way of knowing until she wakes up."

"Do the best you can Doc, we owe her everything."

Simon nodded and went back to the infirmary to do some more tests and monitor Jia's condition. Mal sat down on the couch outside and, for the first time since Serenity, he prayed.