This is what happens when you're child becomes obsessed with finding nemo…you write ficlets stealing lines from it.
Obviously, I don't own these characters.
This is un-beta'd so all errors are mine, feel free to point them out.
Simon paced outside the infirmary with his hands swinging wildly. How did this happen? Whether she was made to be a weapon or not, she shouldn't be out on jobs. Things happened on jobs, usually bad things; that ended here, in the infirmary.
"Simon, sweetie," Kaylee's voice cut through Simon's inner ramblings. "She's gonna be fine. Cap't and Jayne and Zoë'll keep her safe."
"Because they do such a good job keeping themselves safe," Simon could see his sarcasm made Kaylee falter. "I'm sorry, I just," he couldn't verbalize his worries.
"You're worried," Kaylee finished for him. "It's okay to be worried."
"I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to her," Simon explained. "And now, she's out there, probably getting shot as we speak, or stabbed, or punched."
"That's a funny thing to promise," Kaylee raised her eyebrows. "What use is it to break her outta some purple belly run school and then not let anything happen ta her?"
Simon was confused; he wasn't getting Kaylee's point. "I don't want her hurt."
"None of us do," she replied. "It's just…you can't really want nothin' to happen to her. You broke her out so she could live a normal life. We ain't core-normal out here, but she's bein' normal. She's got a job, a purpose. Can't keep her locked in a box or hid away from the world. She needs to experience normal things."
Simon pulled at his ear; he still didn't get the gist of what Kaylee was saying. "Kaylee, I don't think I understand."
"'Course you don't," Kaylee sighed and rolled her head from shoulder to shoulder looking for the best way to explain it. "River needs to have things happen to her. She needs a little freedom to have her first kiss, to have her heart broken, to get hurt, to laugh at a joke, or play games. It's what normal people do."
"Kiss? Is she kissing someone?" Simon's eyes widened and Kaylee just shook her head.
"Boys," Kaylee huffed. "You just don't get it."