Author's Note: Hello, fanfiction readers! This is my first fanfic for…you guessed it…The Lion King! This story particularly takes place during a scene in The Lion King 1 ½ (3) in which we see Timon and Pumbaa dealing with parenthood after they adopt Simba. One thing I especially remember about this scene was that cute, little Simba comes to Timon saying that he had a bad dream. (I think we all know what that dream was about) So that was when I decided to write about it! Here is what I think happened in Simba's nightmare.

ENJOY!

PS I figured that Simba's nightmare had to have been almost similar to the one we see in The Lion King 2 (but not entirely since he was still a cub and did not know that Scar killed his dad). So I made some references to that as well.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Lion King. All rights go to Disney.

Simba's Nightmare

Young Simba ran over to the edge of the cliff that led to a very deep gorge. He came to the edge and looked down. There was a stampede down at the bottom. Wildebeests were running away from whatever frightened them clearly not caring about who or what got in their way and leaving trails of dust in their path. However, that was the least of the young prince's problems. He was only focused on what he saw on the cliff's face. It was a large lion hanging on the steep slope by his claws while struggling to climb up. Simba recognized the lion too quickly. It was his father…Mufasa, the King of the Pride lands! Simba watched in fear as Mufasa continued struggling. Suddenly, the lion king looked up directly at Simba. Simba gasped as he and his father made eye contact. The young cub was able to see the fear in Mufasa's eyes. He had never seen his father look so afraid before. He was actually struggling and afraid…just as Simba was feeling at the moment as well.

"Simba! Simba, help me!" Mufasa shouted up to his young son.

"DAD!" Simba shouted back. The prince didn't know what to do. He was helpless! There was no other lion around to help save Mufasa…not even his uncle Scar or Zazu were around. That was when he realized that it was up to him. Simba knew he would have to save his father from certain death. He then quickly leaned over the ledge reaching his paw out for his father while latching his other one onto the gorge to keep a grip on the cliff to avoid falling himself. "Come on, Dad! Give me your paw! I'll pull you up!"

Mufasa obeyed his son and reached up to grab Simba's paw. However, the lion king was just a little too far for the prince to reach, but both father and son refused to give up. Hope flickered inside of the young cub as he slowly but surely reached for Mufasa's paw.

"Hang in there, Dad! You're almost there! Just a little farther!" Simba said when he saw that their paws were only merely inches away from each other. Though he didn't show it, Simba felt even more hope rise inside of him. In just a few short moments, his father was going to be back up on the top of the cliff with him, and they would be able to go home together and forget the whole incident ever happened.

Unfortunately, his happiness didn't last long when suddenly…Mufasa began to slide down the slope farther and farther away from Simba.

"SIMBA!" the lion king shouted as he slid down…until he finally lost his grip.

"NO!" Simba shouted as he watched his father fall to his death and disappear into the stampede below.

Simba screamed as he jolted out of his sleep. He breathed heavily as he looked around taking in his surroundings. He was no longer in the middle of a stampede in the gorge. Instead he found himself in the middle of a jungle in the dark of night. The young lion cub sighed in relief realizing it was only a nightmare, but as quickly as the relief came it just left when Simba remembered that it actually happened. It had only been a week since that tragic day in the gorge…the day his father, his best friend, his hero died in the wildebeest stampede... Chills went down Simba's spine as he remembered watching his father fall to his death… He was still able to hear Mufasa's ear-piercing scream. He was still able to see him waving his paws around as if he tried to grab onto something to stop the fall. Finally, Simba cringed at the memory of seeing his father's lifeless body in the middle of the gorge. And to make matters worse, the only reason Mufasa died was because of him. Simba was the cause of his father's death. Even his uncle Scar said so.

"And if it weren't for you, he'd still be alive…"

Tears formed in Simba's eyes as he remembered his uncle's words. As much as it hurt, it was true. Simba accidently roared too loud at the silly lizard scaring the wildebeests. He caused the stampede that claimed his father's life. A mere accident killed the most important lion in his life. The tears finally fell from Simba's eyes as he rested his head in his paws sobbing.

"I'm sorry, Dad…" Simba said through his sobs. "I'm so sorry… Please forgive me…" After a minute of sobbing, he finally managed to calm himself down a little deciding that he needed someone…to comfort him especially after that horrible nightmare that he just had. Simba needed someone to tell him that everything would be okay…just to be there with him so he wouldn't be alone. That was when it hit him. When he ran away from the Pride lands after his father's death, he met a meerkat and a warthog named Timon and Pumbaa. They took him in and taught him about "Hakuna Matata" or "no worries." He had been living with them in their beautiful jungle home for the past week.

Bringing himself back to reality, Simba looked to his left and saw his two new best friends, Timon and Pumbaa sleeping in their own bed under a large tree across from his. The young cub slowly stood up and got out of his bed. As he slowly walked over to their sleeping forms he couldn't help but feel a little guilty for wanting to wake Timon up for the fourth time in a row. He had woken the meerkat up three times before to go to the bathroom, to get water, and to go to the bathroom again.

"I hope they don't mind," Simba thought to himself as he sat down in front of the sleeping duo. He took a deep breath hoping Timon wouldn't get mad at him and that maybe they could comfort him like his parents always did whenever he had a nightmare back at Pride Rock.

"Timon…" he said hesitantly.

"AHH!" the meerkat shouted suddenly sitting up making Simba cringe a little. Even though Timon had his back to Simba, the cub was able to see how annoyed he was at the moment. "What have you got against the concept of a good night sleep, HUH?" he asked as he got down from Pumbaa and turned to face Simba. Simba saw that Timon's eyes were bloodshot and felt even worse.

"Actually…I…uh…I had a bad dream…" Simba said meekly hoping that his new friend would be more understanding.

Simba thought he saw Timon's angry expression turn into a look of shock and slight embarrassment.

"Oh…well…uh…" Timon stammered nervously. He then swung his elbow into Pumbaa, who was still sleeping.

Pumbaa suddenly jolted awake from the impact. "Oh…uh…wasn't me…" he said sleepily.

"Junior had a bad dream," Timon said pointing directly at Simba. Pumbaa looked over at Simba with a concerned look.

"Aww…" Pumbaa said as Simba looked down waiting for Timon and Pumbaa to figure out what to do.

He knew that they had never taken care of a lion cub before and certainly didn't know what to do when he had a bad dream, but he couldn't help but feel alone and even more homesick as he remembered what his parents would do whenever he had a nightmare in the middle of the night. Both his father and mother would hold him close and nuzzle him while his mother would sing him a lullaby until he fell back to sleep.

"Why don't you sleep over here with us?" Pumbaa finally said bringing Simba back to reality.

Simba stared at the warthog not believing what he just heard.

"Mi Pumbaa, su Pumbaa," Timon said casually.

A wide smile splashed across Simba's face when he realized his two best friends just offered him a chance to sleep with them…so he wouldn't be alone after the nightmare he just had. "Alright!" he said running over to them. He hopped onto Pumbaa's stomach next to Timon.

"So…uh…Simba?" Timon asked as Simba tried to get himself comfortable on Pumbaa's large stomach. "You…want to tell us about your nightmare…I guess?"

Simba stared at Timon and Pumbaa for a moment before looking away. He wanted to tell them about his nightmare, but then that would mean telling them that he was responsible for his father's death. He didn't even want to think about what his new friends would say if he told them that his father died because of him.

"W-Well, actually, Timon, I'd r-rather not talk about it, right now," he finally said. "I'm sorry."

There was a quick moment of silence.

Timon shrugged. "OK, if that's how you feel," he said.

"But, Simba…you do know you can talk to us about anything, right?" Pumbaa added.

Simba stared at Timon and Pumbaa before smiling at them. They were offering to help him…to be there for him when he needs someone to talk to. "I do," the cub finally said. "Thanks, guys." He then rested his head on his paws ready to go back to sleep. "Good night."

"Sleep tight," Timon said leaning on him.

"Dream of bed bugs tonight," Pumbaa said before immediately falling back to sleep.

Simba and Timon looked at each other as he let out a little chuckle. With that, the cub and meerkat followed the warthog's lead and began to fall asleep. As Simba drifted off again, he subconsciously wrapped his arm around Timon pulling him closer. The young lion cub was able to sleep peacefully for the rest of the night knowing that even though he caused his father's death…he was no longer alone.

Well, that's that! I hoped you all liked it! Once again reviews are appreciated! Thanks again, guys!