This was really fun to write, definitely one of my fav chapters. Please enjoy!


For a moment everything in his vision was a blur. Simba ran blindly trying to clear the haze in his eyes, but when the loud clash of thunder behind him resounded, its light came and gave Simba a brief moment of visibility, and it was enough so he could finally distinguish several figures ahead of him.

As he approached them everything became clearer. The raindrops stung his body like cold darts and his wet mane stuck to the side of his face, but nothing was enough to slow him down.

Simba gasped mortified as he realized the figures were unconscious lionesses from his pride, all hurt and defeated at the base of Pride Rock. He searched frantically for Nala, dreading the worse, but clinging onto the hope that she was still alright.

Several ideas and scenarios ran through his mind as Simba tried to imagine what could have possibly left his pride so injured. There was no mistake there had been an attack and fierce battles had ensued, but at the top of his mind there was no one that would go so far to cause this damage, and for what purpose?

Simba felt his heart skip a beat when he finally spotted the unmistakable form of Nala lying motionless on the ground. He hurried to her side and gasped horrified at the state he found her in.

"Nala!"

Large spots of blood had stained her usual light fur, bite marks and fresh scratches were all over her body, but most noticeable of all was the deep scratch that covered half of her face.

Upon hearing Simba's voice Nala's eyes struggled to open, and though it relieved him to see she was still conscious the fact that she didn't have the strength to move was terribly concerning.

"Nala what happened to you?" Simba stuttered as he leaned down to nuzzle her and lick her wound.

Nala breathed heavily and groaned in pain when her body ached as she tried to stand up.

"S-Sim…"

"Don't move you're injured! We need to get you to Rafiki as quickly as possible."

Nala was able to shake her head, earning Simba's attention.

Unable to say anything Nala looked up worriedly towards Pride Rock and Simba followed her gaze.

Standing at the top of Pride Rock was Zira, laughing wholeheartedly with Kovu by her side and holding Kiara hostage beneath her paw.

"Kiara!" Simba cried in horror.

Kiara tried to squirm away from Zira's hold but the lioness pressed down harder on her, amused by the cub's useless struggle. Noticing Simba down below Zira grinned triumphant.

"You're too late Simba!" Zira mocked with a devious smirk. "The Pridelands will finally have their rightful king!"

Zira finally let go of Kiara, but before the cub could run for it Zira leaned down to capture her by the scruff and lifted her so Simba could see her clearly.

"Daddy!" Kiara cried in terror.

Simba felt his body burn with anger.

"You let my daughter go!" Simba growled baring his fangs threateningly.

Driven by rage Simba ran to climb Pride Rock as quickly as his legs could take him, all the while having his eyes fixed on Kiara.

Zira's smile widened as she slowly approached the edge of Pride Rock, holding Kiara right above it.

Simba widened his eyes in horror as he realized what Zira was planning to do.

"No!"

The world around him suddenly shattered as Simba watched horrified how Kiara cried and fell to her death.


With a quiet gasp Simba was brought back to reality. He looked around him anxiously still disoriented, but when he finally realized it had been a bad dream and he saw Kiara sleeping soundly against Nala Simba sighed relieved. He looked at them both for a moment to let the adrenaline and the scare slowly vanish.

This wasn't the first time Simba had a nightmare, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last either, but this was the first time it had been about Zira. Usually his nightmares with Scar would shock him awake and it didn't take him long to fall back asleep, but the genuine terror that had invaded him wasn't something Simba would be able to shake off that easily.

Carefully standing up to not wake anyone up Simba made his way outside. He needed some fresh air.

Simba refrained from getting even close to that same edge of Pride Rock that he had seen in his nightmare, so instead he sat down right outside the den to have a quiet moment by himself.

It had been only a few days since his encounter with Zira, and though things seemed quiet in the Outlands there had been a growing fear inside him that Simba hadn't been able to shake off. There was no mistake that Zira had her eyes on Kiara.

The thought brought shivers down his spine. He had fought Zira before and defeated her easily, he was also confident that if it came to it Nala would be just as capable to fight, but the idea of Kiara getting involved was frightening. No matter how he thought around it every scenario was bad; she could get kidnapped, used as hostage, tortured or even killed.

Simba shook his head anxiously to keep those thoughts away. Right now Kiara was safe, he had made sure to keep her as away from the Outlands as possible, and he was certain that if any outlander tried to enter the Pridelands they wouldn't be able to get so far. So why was he still so scared?

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Simba suddenly jolted out of his thoughts to see Nala sitting beside him. He hadn't even noticed when she arrived.

Though some time in the past Simba would have lied to hide his insecurities he eventually learned there was no point in doing so, Nala was very good at reading him and she only wanted to help.

Turning to look at Nala Simba's gaze lingered on her as he contemplated her face devoid of scratches. The images of his dream had been awfully vivid, and though it hadn't been real Simba was still grateful to see she was doing alright.

"Yeah." Simba nodded solemnly.

"I don't remember the last time you came outside after having a nightmare." Nala mused intrigued. "Was it that bad?"

Simba shook his head. "It wasn't about father or Scar. It was about Zira."

Nala frowned confused. "Zira?"

"I just can't stop thinking about it." Simba sighed exasperated. "The thought of what Zira might be planning to do to Kiara won't leave my mind. It's driving me nuts."

Simba was ready to let his pent-up feelings outburst in a rush just so they could finally leave his chest, but when he met Nala's empathetic gaze he refrained from doing so. They stared at each other quietly, thinking the exact same thing.

"I don't want to lose her. I wouldn't be able to handle it."

Nala softened her eyes, scooting closer to Simba and settling her head against his mane.

"Aren't you scared too?" Simba added.

Nala nodded.

"Of course I am." She murmured. "But you need to stop thinking about it all the time. It won't do you any good."

Simba scoffed ironically. "Easier said than done."

"Please Simba…" Nala insisted concerned. "You can't keep going on like this. Even if something is going to happen there is no point in worrying about it now, we'll face it when the time comes."

For a moment Simba was terribly close to berating Nala. How could she suggest not worrying about it at all? Was he supposed to pretend nothing happened and wait for the inevitable to eventually come one day? However as he let the idea settle in Simba allowed himself to breathe and think it over.

Now that he gave it more thought it didn't sound that appealing to live with constant fear and paranoia expecting the worse. What if every night he jerked awake with nightmares? That period of his life had ended a long time ago, he didn't want to go through it all over again.

Just because Nala wasn't worrying like he was it didn't mean she didn't care.

Simba looked down to meet Nala's gaze. Behind that worried frown over him her eyes glistened with the faintest glimpse of fear.

She cared immensely.

Simba grimaced, still at a loss. "I'm not sure I could do it even if I wanted to."

Dong his best to clear his mind from his rampaging thoughts and the still lingering images of his dream Simba looked up at the night sky, almost hoping that maybe Mufasa would somehow appear before him and reassure him everything was going to turn out alright.

Nala stared at Simba's face closely as she pondered on what to do. The only way to make Simba stop thinking about it was to somehow change his focus into something else, something more important.

Nala grinned to herself as she suddenly thought of the perfect solution. She had been intending in telling Simba a bit later on, but perhaps this really was the best time to do it.

"Simba."

Snapping out of his own thoughts Simba turned to Nala to let her know he was paying her attention, his eyes looking visibly tired from both the lack of sleep and from the constant internal struggle.

"I'm pregnant."

Simba's eyes widened in surprise and he shook his head from side to side thinking perhaps his ears were deceiving him. Maybe the lack of peace within himself was finally affecting him.

"W-What?"

"I'm pregnant." Nala repeated with an amused grin.

If anyone knew that Nala went always straight to the point it was Simba, but this, this was too sudden and it came out of nowhere.

Nala remembered Simba's reaction when she told him she was pregnant with Kiara. He immediately started beaming with happiness, and adding that with the good recovery the Pridelands was going through at the time Simba remained in a very good mood for weeks. Sure he had times when he wasn't sure he'd be a good father, but his doubts were short lived with Nala's constant reassurance.

However in that moment Simba's reaction never came, he seemed to be too in shock to say anything. Nala waited patiently for Simba to break from his quiet stupor to the point she was awfully close to burst out laughing.

"Simba?" Nala chuckled.

Upon hearing his name everything seemed to finally make sense. A wide toothy grin slowly formed on Simba's face and out of glee jumped forward pushing Nala on the ground to nuzzle her affectionately.

"Took you long enough." Nala laughed against his mane.

"Nala that's- that's great!" Simba exclaimed happily.

Simba abruptly stopped nuzzling Nala and suddenly scowled in realization, still towering over her.

"You're not joining the hunts anymore." Simba added with sudden serious tone.

"I'm not that far in you know." Nala pointed out, hoping it would change his mind.

Simba's scowl turned into an insistent pout.

Nala decided there was no point in arguing and just rolled her eyes in defeat, expecting as much from him. "Fine, fine." She conceded.

Simba's smile returned to his face and he softly pressed his forehead against Nala's, purring contently.

"Should we tell Kiara?" Simba mumbled lazily, too comfortable right where he was.

"It's a bit too early, we should probably wait a little more."

Simba finally pulled away to smile at Nala, his eyes sparkling lovingly with the light of the moon. She returned the gesture, happy to see him back to his usual cheerful self.

"I love you."

Nala's eyes softened.

"I love you too."


Thank you for reading! Reviews are immensely appreciated!