Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Ice Age or Lion King characters. The Ice Age characters belong to Twentieth Century Fox, and The Lion King characters belong to Disney. All lines in bold are either from any of the Ice Age movies, any of the Lion King movies, Bolt, The Wild, either Brother Bear movie, or from a song that will be specified at the beginning of the applying chapter.
Chapter 36
Pumbaa's P.O.V.
Knowing that Shira, Nala, and Kiara are all going to have cubs at around the same time, I set off in one direction to find juniper berries, while Diego goes in the other direction to gather borage leaves and raspberry leaves. Timon, being the friend that he is, decides to follow me.
"I wonder how many cubs everyone will have," I say to break the silence.
"Nala will probably have ONE. Kiara will probably have ONE. Shira, if she's lucky, will have two," Timon replies, stressing his guesses for Nala and Kiara.
"I don't know, Timon. Nala looks a lot bigger than Kiara, and Shira looks bigger than both of them combined. You might be wrong on this one," I return.
"How would YOU know? It's not like YOU have any more experience with kids than I do. Do you?"
"No, but I'm not stupid. Nala's gotten bigger than Kiara after they both found out that they are pregnant," I remind.
"Nala's always been bigger than Kiara because she's older," Timon argues.
"Just forget I said something," I snort.
"I am allowed to know stuff!" I think to myself.
A loud rumbling comes from behind us.
"Wow, excuse me," Timon says as he pats his stomach.
"I don't think that was you, Timon," I nervously reply.
The ground shakes, and I see a towering white thing standing behind me. A loud roar escapes its mighty jaws, and it begins running.
"Shall we run for our lives?" I ask.
"Oh, yes, let's," Timon anxiously replies.
Buck's P.O.V.
I hear a familiar roar echo from the surrounding woods.
"What the heck was that?" Shira demands.
"Rudy," I say with an evil smirk.
"Excuse me?" Shira yells in my face.
"Oh, Diego! Why did you have to leave ME with your wife, who is in her last week of pregnancy?" I think.
"I'm waiting for an answer, Buck," she says through gritted teeth.
"That's my dinosaur rival, Rudy. He shouldn't be up here though!" I panic.
"Jeez, this is great! My cubs are going to be born any day now, and a monster's on the loose!" Shira screams.
"I'll handle Rudy. Just stay put!"
"What? You can't leave now!" Shira protests.
"Why not? I'm trying to protect the herd," I tell her.
"What if the cubs come? Diego's not back from his hunt, and I'll need someone to get him!" the tigress panics.
At that moment, Diego comes into the clearing, dragging the carcass of an antelope in front of him.
"Speak of the devil," I smirk as Diego gives Shira a lick behind her ear.
"I'm glad you're back, Diego. If the cubs were born without you here…" Shira falters.
"I would consider myself a failure as a father," Diego replies.
"Tiger, Rudy's back," I tell my saber friend.
"Are you positive?" Diego asks in alarm.
"Almost certain."
"Help! Somebody help!" Timon yells.
"Calm down, lad. What is it?" I inquire.
"Something took Pumbaa!" Timon blurts.
Simba's P.O.V.
"It what?" I roar.
"This huge, white, scary creature took Pumbaa!" Timon cries.
"Simba, we have to go after him," Nala pleads.
"Daddy, please bring Uncle Pumbaa home," Kiara begs.
"If Rudy took him, we're going to need at least people to bring him down," Buck tells us.
"I say that Buck, Timon, and I should go," I announce.
"I'm coming too," Nala tells me.
"I can't let you, Nala. It's too dangerous. The cub could be born at any time….." I trail off.
"Friends stick together to the end," Nala reminds.
"You've twisted my paw there," I smirk.
"Let's get a move on before Rudy gets too big of a head start," Buck suggests.
Diego's P.O.V.
About an hour has passed since Simba's group left to find Pumbaa. I've been debating whether or not I should follow them. Seventy-five percent of me says I should stay here with Shira and our unborn cubs. The other twenty-five percent of me says I should follow Buck and help Pumbaa.
"Shira, I need to help them. I would want them to do the same thing if you were missing,
"Will you be back before the cubs are born?" Shira asks.
"As long as they don't come within the next few hours, I will. Just stay inside the cave until I get back. If you get hungry, there's some gazelle in the corner," I tell my mate.
"Just be careful, Diego. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my remorseless assassin."
"I will, Shira. The cubs will be born after I come back. I just know it! Stay strong, for me," I add as I lick Shira's cheek.
I put my front right paw on her stomach to feel our cubs kick one last time before I leave. Almost as soon as my paw touches Shira, one of the cubs kicks. We still don't know how many cubs we're having, and we want to keep it that way. I want to be surprised at how many little bundles of joy Shira and I bring into the world. Sid claims the hyrax doctor can tell us, but Shira and I deny every time. Pride sweeps through me as I feel one of my little ones kick from inside of Shira. I kneel down and place a kiss on Shira's stomach, right where the cub kicks.
"Diego, stop it! That tickles!" Shira laughs.
Whether out of affection, or just to see Shira try to escape my grasp, I kiss her stomach again. She playfully cuffs my ear, and I take my paw off of my mate's abdomen.
"Daddy loves you, cubs! Take it easy on your mommy while I'm gone," I whisper as I crouch down closer to Shira's bulging tummy. Before I leave, I plant four more kisses on Shira's stomach, causing her to laugh again.
"I can hear and feel you, Diego. You're not a spy or anything," Shira chuckles.
"I'll have Manny check in on you while I'm gone," I promise.
"I can look out for Shira," Kovu remarks as he enters.
"Don't you have some poor, defenseless animal to disembowel?" I harshly ask.
"I'll just leave then," Kovu sighs.
Shira's P.O.V.
"Perfect! It'll be quieter when you're gone!" I shout at Kovu as he sulks.
"Bye, Kitty," Diego breathes as he nuzzles my cheek.
"Bye, Softie," I purr as I lick behind Diego's ear.
"I'll see you soon, my precious Shira!" Diego calls.
"Even that won't be soon enough," I giggle.
Diego sprints out of the cave, because he promised to be back before the cubs are born. A movement occurs within my stomach. It is not a kick, nor is it a sign that the cubs are coming. This is just your normal, everyday hunger pain that every animal experiences on a daily basis. A noise fills the cave. Wow! My stomach is growling so loud that it echoes throughout the entire cave. Good thing Diego isn't here to hear that. Knowing my mate, he would've worried that he's not providing enough food for me. That is not the case at all.
I go over to the corner of the cave to eat some gazelle. I eat enough to satisfy my hunger, but not enough to gorge myself. I know that I'll get hungry within a few hours, so I need to ration my portion sizes. Af6ter eating, I realize there isn't much I can do in the cave. I can't talk to anyone, because none of the herd's members are around. Instead, I lie down on my stomach and begin to clean myself. I can't quite reach my back or my belly, and I wish Diego could've been here with me. Usually Diego licks my back, and I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to have another chance to tickle my stomach. I place a paw on my tummy in order to feel our precious cubs kick. I fall asleep as the rhythm of tiny paws continues kicking the sides of my stomach.
Nala's P.O.V.
I hear footsteps in the bushes behind me. I wheel around and snarl, but who I see is a friend. Diego is following us out here! Simba roars when he hears me snarl.
"Diego, what are you doing here?" Simba inquires.
"Sightseeing!" Diego sarcastically replies.
Buck laughs from the front.
"I'm looking for Pumbaa, same as you!" Diego truthfully says.
"Well, aren't you noble?" Timon sarcastically says.
"Yes, I am. I left my wife, who is a day away from having our cubs in our cave! If that's not noble, I don't know what is!" Diego defends.
"This is not the time, guys! We need all the help we can get!" I remind.
"Let's keep moving," Simba grumbles.
Timon goes back to taunting Diego.
"The big, bad Tigey-Wigey gets left behind. Poor Tigey-Wigey," Timon mocks.
"Timon, Tigey-Wigey's going to lead the way," I tell my meerkat friend.
Diego takes the lead with Buck and gets in the front. I feel an odd sensation, so I go over to a ledge to rest. There it is again!
"Nala, are you coming?" Simba asks.
"I'll be right there," I persuade.
The group of males continues into the forest. That is when a feeling I am all too familiar with comes. I'm not going to be able to follow after the guys. Something big is happening, and Simba isn't here!
"Simba!" I yell.
I begin to breathe shallowly, and hope that Simba gets here soon.
Author's Note: Nala's cub or cubs are coming! Be sure to read the next chapter to find out how many cubs Nala and Simba have. I don't know how long it will take me to post the next chapter, but it will get posted eventually. Thank you for your continued support!