Decided to hold off on one of my favorite exchanges in The Lion King to use for the "Simba's Pride" part of this fic. Felt better showing Mal/Inara sleeping in the same bed over Zoe/Book (for what I hope are obvious reasons!)

Still own nothing, you get the gist.

The girl raced toward her parents' room, throwing their door open and skipping to the edge of their bed. "Daddy!" She said excitedly. "Daddy, wake up!"

Her father grunted and shifted his weight, rolling over so he was nearly nose to nose with her mother.

"Your little Kaylee is awake," she murmured.

"Mmm," he responded. "Before sunrise, she's your little Kaylee."

Kaylee pulled herself onto the bed and began to jump. "Come on, up and at 'em!"

"There's no sunrise in space," Inara said.

Mal opened his eyes and craned his neck to see the little girl. "Alright, I'm awake." He sat up and smiled at his daughter. "Early bird."

"The sun is up on the nearest world," she said. "An' Wash says we're landin' soon! You said you'd take me around."

"Did I?"Mal said. "Well, just let us get dressed and we'll…" he trailed off, looking next to him. Picking up his pillow, he gently whacked Inara on the shoulder. "Hey, if I gotta get up…"

Kaylee giggled.

Mal and Inara met their daughter near the entrance of the ship upon the all clear call from Wash. Kaylee raced out onto the ramp as soon as it began to lower. She looked down, watching the ground get closer as the incline lessened. She jumped into the air, ready to drop down onto the planet, and gave a shriek when she felt someone grab her and pull her back onto the ramp. "Daddy," she protested. She tried the jump again, but Mal's hands were too quick, catching her and, this time, holding her in the air instead of setting her down. She pumped her legs in protest. "Let go!"

"I just want you to be careful," Mal said as he lowered her to the ramp. "You haven't been on this world before. A lot could happen, you could hurt yourself, or you could get ste-"

"Stepped on. I might even get lost!" Kaylee said.

"Kaylee," Inara said. "Don't talk over your father. Mal," she said. "You'll be with her. She won't get lost."

"Sir," came a voice behind them. The trio turned to see Wash jogging toward them. "There's an issue with one of the ships. They owe for this week, and they haven't sent the credits or answered my waves. It seems they may be getting ready to take off on their own."

Mal muttered something in Chinese that Kaylee didn't understand, then switched to English. "If we do the job, we get paid, and last time I checked it's because of us they anded on this rock." He hesitated, looking at his daughter. "Kaylee, can you wait inside for a moment."

"Daddy…"

"Listen to him," Inara said, raising her eyebrows.

Kaylee sighed before moving back into the cargo bay, looking over her shoulder at her parents as she walked.

"Mal, just let her go play," Inara said. "There's never been a Reaver attack here. It's too desolate. They have no incentive to come."

"That's not the only danger," Mal said. He lowered his voice, "our son was…"

"I know." Her voice caught, like it did when either of them brought up the boy. "I know. But she's just like you. When you were young. She wants to explore, she wants to experience the world, she…"

"She is six years old."

"Don't you remember all the trouble you got us into? Even before that time the Reavers came after us, there was the quicksand, and the kittens, and Patience almost drowned you that one time, and then that snake..."

"You're going to blame all of that on me?"

"Yes!" She said firmly. "But we sure had fun, didn't we? We gotta let her be a kid, Mal."

"I…"

"Kaylee," Inara said. "Can you stay in sight of Serenity if we let you go play by yourself?"

"Yes, Mama," Kaylee said. Her eyes widened. "Can I go?"

"Just be careful," Mal said. "And if you see any strangers…"

"Don't talk to them." Kaylee said. "Come straight home. Okay. Can I go?"

Inara gave Mal an amused smile, which he countered with a slight roll of his eyes. "Yes, you can go."

Kaylee grinned, jumping at her father to give him a hug. He smiled. She let go and moved to Inara, who picked her up and cuddled her a moment before smiling as the girl skipped off the ramp.

Mal watched Kaylee go, disappearing into bushes after a butterfly. "It's hard for you too, ain't it?" He asked.

His answer came in the form of Inara taking his hand and resting her head on his shoulder, letting out a heavy sigh. "She'll be fine."

"She'll probably find less trouble to get into than you two did!"

Mal and Inara smiled over their shoulders as Nandi walked up. "There's only one brain there, less room to come up with crazy stunts. Hey," she held up a hand to stop her daughter from protesting. "You can say Mal put you up to it all you want, but the kittens, if I remember correctly, was all on you. Hell Mal's mother jokes that she's still finding those damn things."

"You see?" Mal said. "That girl has finding trouble in her blood, you know what? We should not have reproduced..."

"Oh, stop it," Inara said, laughing and grabbing his arm to stop him from following Kaylee. "You worry about the other ship. I'll ask Universe and Jayne to look after Kaylee."