Ok, so maybe not deja vu, Mal thought upon further examination. This girl ain't naked for one thing. And she certainly ain't frozen. He leaned into the open crate for a closer look.

And she looks a mite older than River too, he thought. In fact the only deja about this vu is... girl in a box... why does this keep happening to me? Am I being punished? Did I do some...

"MAL!"

"Gahhh!" Apparently, the Captain's crew had been trying to get his attention for some time now. Only when Zoe leaned right into his face and barked his name, did he realize they were standing behind him.

"What!" They stared at him. "Ok, ok I get it. It's not the time to be thinking about deja vu. Although, you have to admit that me being startled while standing next to an unconscious girl in a box is kinda deja vu too."

Only Kaylee smiled absently at the Captain's odd joke, as she leaned over the crate. "Who do you suppose she is?" Kaylee whispered.

"No idea," Mal spoke as he rubbed his forehead. "But I'm pretty gorram sure she don't belong here."

"She does." Mal turned to see River coming down the stairs. She peeked her head into the crate, like the others, before turning back to the Captain. "Like me."

Frustrated and confused, Mal pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on. "What do you mean like you, little Albatross? You mean, like you as in from the Academy? Cause that is trouble I just don't need right now!"

River shook her head. "No not like me from the Academy, like me because she belongs," River stated it simply, as if that were all the explanation Mal needed. "Deja vu," she smiled at the Captain.

Mal threw his arms into the air in defeat. There was no point in arguing with River when she was like this. She would only smile sweetly, some might call it crazily, and keep repeating her point. "But that don't answer none of our questions. Where does she come from and what is she doing in this crate?" He eyed his crew searching for anyone with a possible answer.

Jayne scratched his chin. "Well this Rawley guy never did tell you exactly what he was transporting, I mean, maybe she is the cargo."

"No I don't think so Jayne," Simon spoke up quietly as he bent to examine her also. "Look at her, she's malnourished and that crate was practically air tight. If you hadn't opened it when you had, well... frankly I'm amazed she's breathing at all. Who knows how long she's been in there...and"

"What's your point Doc," Jayne interrupted haughtily.

Simon managed to look only slightly flustered at being interrupted, which Mal noted as an improvement, as he turned to face the merc. "My point," he began, "is why would Bryce Rawley ship 'cargo' that wouldn't survive the journey?"

Mal pondered this for a moment. "Makes sense Doc. But then again, Rawley could just be a cruel wang ba dan, trying to get us innocent smugglers responsible for the death of some young thing that's crossed him in the past." Mal let these words settle in his crew's mind.

It was Zoe who broke the silence. "If that be the case sir. What are we going to do?"

Mal's mouth opened to give an answer, thought twice about it, and decided to scowl at Zoe instead.

"Well, you could start by helping me out of this gorram box," a small, pained voice spoke from behind them.

This time, all six heads leaned over to get a glimpse of the now very much awake woman.

It was no great beauty that stared cautiously across the cargo bay at Malcolm Reynolds. No, the girl was best described as ordinary. Undistinguishable. Common. And yet she some how managed to hold the gaze of all five crew as well as the Captain without flinching and without embarrassment. Oh great, Mal thought as he regarded her evenly, that's all we need, another proud woman on this ship. But why is she proud he wondered. He examined her again, looking closely for where she drew her strength. Too short, too thin like she never got enough to eat, he appraised silently. Hair's all matted and a dull brown color. Clothes are torn and dirty. Much to big on her. He couldn't place it.

"Survivor." River whispered to him from his right. He looked down at her curiously. "She's proud because she survives. And yet," the young reader cocked her head slightly to the left, "she is also disappointed when she survives. Wishes it could end." Mal was taken aback to see confusion cross River's features. He hadn't observed that in some time.

But when he regarded the strange young woman again he could see it, what River saw. It was in her eyes. They were large and hazel, but there was more underneath. A determination and strength were just under the surface, waiting to be provoked into showing themselves. And just below this was the sadness River had described.

"Josephine. Jo for short." With a start, Mal realized Zoe had been questioning her this entire time with out his noticing. River saw him comprehend this and whispered to him, "Just her name, nothing else has been discussed."

"Ok," Mal said to River hurriedly, "stop distracting me." And he went to join Zoe and the others as they questioned their guest.

River stayed where she was. "Its not the Albatross," she said softly but with interest. Gracefully she sank to the ground and sat cross-legged in observance. "Story time."

Mal held up a hand as he approached Zoe who was currently speaking to the woman. "Excuse me, Josephine is it? My name is Malcolm Reynolds, I captain this ship. And you'll forgive me for not making small talk, but would you mind telling me exactly how in the diyu you wound up in my cargo?"

She eyed him coldly. "Certainly Captain. I got in and I sealed the lid."

Mal paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, I must have miss heard you, cause you did what exactly?"

Josephine repeated herself, slower this time to make sure he understood her. "I... got in and... I...sealed ... the...lid." She bit off the last syllable harshly.

Simon quickly stepped in front of Mal, partly because he was curious of this young woman himself, and partly to keep Mal from saying anything, well not unlike Mal. Perhaps the Captain couldn't see it, but Simon was a doctor, and he know physical pain when he saw it. She was trying desperately for them not to see where she was wounded.

"Miss Josephine..." Simon began.

"It's just Jo!" She spat irritably.

Simon smiled tightlipped at her. "Right Jo. Do you mind telling me why some one would willingly lock themselves in a tight space with no food and practically no air?"

Slowly, Jo sighed and started to loosen her guard. "They would if they thought it was a better alternative towards their normal life."

"I'm not sure I want to know how bad that person's 'normal life' would have to be in order for them to choose starvation and suffocation over it," the doctor spoke quietly.

Kaylee stepped close to Simon and his arm went around her out of instinct. Zoe looked a little skeptical, but sympathetic. Hell, even Jayne looked downright forlorn at the thought of some ones life being that bad.

Only Mal, who had somehow been pushed to the back of the line again still had questions he needed answered. "Ok, wait just a second. I'm the only one that's confused? Who or what are you running from and where does Rawley fit into all of this?"

She stumbled slightly at hearing the name, and looked down at her feet. "I'm his wife."

Kaylee turned her head quickly and gaped at Josephine in response. "Well one of them any way."

"What do you mean," Jayne said, "he gots more than one?"

"Nine actually," she replied. "He always has nine, even when one... well he'll just find another," she muttered to herself softly.

Mal looked her square in they eye. "He hurts them? He hurts you?" She nodded, unable finally to meet his eyes. "How?" She looked up suddenly, as if she was afraid to answer him. Slowly she backed away and began unbuttoning her stained oversized mans shirt and rolling up the sleeves. "Umm. What are you doing?" Mal asked uncomfortably.

Rolling her eyes gently, she answered him. "I'm going to show you how." First she pushed up her right sleeve and pointed out a patch of bright pink scar tissue under her elbow. "Bullet wound, I was his target practice." She pulled part of her collar down right above her left breast. "And again here." Next she pulled her collar back to expose her neck. "He broke my collar bone here." The bone was slightly curved the wrong way now. She pulled up her left sleeve next. "Stab wounds up my arm here, and towards my heart." She traced their pattern with a finger. Slowly she turned around and shrugged the garment off her shoulders so that they could get a good look at her upper back. A small portion of the skin was reddened and sunken in. "A hot iron brand of his crest here, so you know who owns you." Her voice betrayed nothing, but when she turned back to face them silent tears had formed in her eyes. Slowly she lifted her shirt over her stomach to reveal a ragged dangerous looking scar. "The surgeon who put my lower intestine back in place said there had been debris on them. Debris. From where they had been laying on the floor." One hand slowly moved her shirt to cover her stomach again. "And that's only the upper body."

They all stood in silence for a few short moments. Thinking over what had just been revealed. Kaylee looked horrified and Simon was doing his best to comfort her, but her eyes remained wide and unfocused. No doubt, Mal thought, she was remembering the late night visit of Jubal Early, and thinking about what might have been. Mal shuddered as if he were cold and drew his arms around himself. "Niska," he heard River whisper from some where behind him but when he tried to find her she was gone.

Finally some one spoke. The only unfortunate part was that it was Jayne who did the speaking. "Oh come on Mal. How much of this are we going to believe? She could be some con woman like that Saffron or whatever her name is. She might a been cutting on her own self to make it more realistic."

"Jayne," Mal warned.

"No, it's ok Captain. Jayne is it? You've got a point, I could be lying, you don't know me. I did cut myself once. Only, you see Jayne..." She turned her arms so the undersides were facing out, and on both her wrists were two vertical scars. "It didn't work. Dong ma?" Mal watched silently as she faced off with Jayne, unashamed of the tears now rolling down her face.

The mercenary nodded and sank into the back ground as River reappeared. She looked at the scarred woman carefully and then to Mal. "Help her." Mal watched River go, as confused by her as ever, but was brought quickly back to the view in front of him when Jo gave a strangled cry and stumbled forward. He caught her and held her up before she hit the ground, and she looked him in the eye briefly before bracing a hand on his shoulder and using the other to lift the lower portion of her shirt off her back.

"Oh go se."

Captain leaned around to see what she was looking at. It appeared a homemade bandage has ruptured and she was bleeding heavily through it.

"Whoops, forgot to show you my newest almost scar," she said wearily, her head resting under Mal's shoulder.

The Captain was able to scoop her up right before she passed out. "Simon." Nodding, the doctor led the way to the infirmary.