Chapter 7:
Pumbaa got tired of pacing and laid down. "This isn't working. We're right back where we started."
"Why don't we just pick another memory instead of waiting for Timon and Zuri to come back?" Uncle Max asked as he practiced drawing straws, coming up short.
"And have them miss precious memories?" Ma asked as she watched her granddaughter Shani try to grab a passing beetle, missing.
"Some of Timon's most embarrassing moments are precious memories?" Pumbaa blinked.
"They are to some people," Max grinned.
Pumbaa tapped his front hoof on the ground, thinking. "Ooo, how do I ask a sensitive question like that?"
"Like what?"
Pumbaa gulped, realizing he said that out loud. "My inner monologue must be burned out."
"Wouldn't surprise me. Just come out and ask what you're thinking," Ma said.
"Well... since Timon and Zuri aren't back yet, and it's obvious you're not going to tell Timon about you-know-who yet--"
"Who?" a voice asked.
"Oh, you know, Timon's--" Pumbaa gulped and covered his mouth when he realized the voice was Timon's. Timon and Zuri walked over to the three.
"Oh, welcome back, Timon," Ma said.
"Thanks." Timon turned back to Pumbaa. "Who's 'you-know-who,' Pumbaa?"
Pumbaa didn't want to tell Timon about his lost brother Titus, so Pumbaa didn't know what to answer right away. He nervously sweated and gulped, "Uh... your Binkie?"
Timon blushed and then put his paws on Pumbaa's mouth, silencing him. "Not in front of the missus!"
Zuri put a paw to her mouth, stifling a giggle. "What's a Binkie?"
"A stuffed toy Timon had when he was a pup," Ma said.
Zuri walked over to Timon and grinned. "Awww, you had a Binkie? That's so cute, Timon."
Timon furrowed his brow at her, still blushing a bit. "Don't tell me you didn't have a childhood friend? Like a talking dishrag?"
Zuri growled and grabbed the front of Timon's chest fur. "Who blabbed?!" She then gulped and blushed when she realized she said that in front of people. She nervously laughed and released Timon's fur. "OK! Who's got the straws?"
"About time..." Max mumbled as he went around passing straws. The winner was Timon.
"Finally my turn! Whoo-hoo!" Timon cheered, and then tapped the straw on the side of his nose. "Hmm... memory, memory..."
"You could tell us about that 'Binkie,'" Zuri grinned as she walked over and sat next to Ma and her pups.
Timon grimaced, "Sure, if you tell us more about that dishrag. Hmm... childhood... Oh, I know! Pumbaa, remember when Simba's daughter Kiara was born?"
"Yeah. I think you were worrying more than Simba," Pumbaa grinned.
"That's besides the point..."
1 1/2 years ago...
It was late night, or early morning, whichever you prefer to call it. Point was, the sun had not risen yet. But even that fact didn't matter much to the occupants of Pride Rock. Nala, the lion queen, was in pain. Through this pain, the heir to the throne would arrive. Timon and Pumbaa, best friends to the king, intended to help in anyway they could before they officially started babysitting. They were lugging a few coconut shell halves with steaming water up to the cliff.
Timon set the two he was holding down and waved his paws. "There's gotta be an easier way to carry these without burning our paws off," he mumbled.
Pumbaa dropped the few he has carrying on his snout carefully to the ground. He rubbed his snout. "Well, look at it this way, Timon: this water will help bring the future king into the world!"
Timon smiled and rubbed his paws together. "Yeah, you're right, Pumbaa. C'mon, let's see how they're doing." He was about to lift the coconuts again, but stopped when he saw Simba walk outside of the cave, who exhaled deeply. "Simba!"
Simba lifted his face up to see the two, surprised. "You're back already?"
"Yup! Here's the boiled water!" Pumbaa announced.
Simba blinked, "How did you get boiled water?"
Timon groaned slightly, "Don't ask. So help us carry it in and--"
"Timon, I have a confession to make... we don't really need it."
"... What?"
"Your worrying was starting to get on everyone's nerves, so I asked you to get some hot water to keep you busy. I didn't actually think you'd find some!"
Timon dramatically fell backwards, catching himself against Pumbaa's snout. "Oh, Simba! You hurt me!" He put a paw over his heart. "Deep!"
"Stop being so dramatic. I did it for your own safety."
"Safety?" both Timon and Pumbaa asked.
"Well, if you get on a lion's nerves and you're below them on the food chain, then you'll be missing a head... among other things."
The meerkat and warthog both gulped and grasped onto their necks. "Thanks a lot."
Simba chuckled and then turned to go back inside. "If you think you can contain yourselves, you can come back inside and worry."
"Uh, thanks, Simba, but I don't think we'll risk losing our heads among other things by going back inside," Timon waved.
"What are we gonna do with all this hot water now?" Pumbaa asked, gesturing the coconut shells with water.
Timon looked at the water for a moment. "... Got a coffee maker on ya?"
"Nope."
"Crud. Well, I guess we'll have to find another way to stay awake."
"We could pace some more."
Timon hopped onto Pumbaa head and then shook his own. "Nah, that won't do anything. What we should do is... pace some more."
"Good idea." Pumbaa, with Timon on his head, began to pace, and not long after they began did they both begin to slump forward, the pacing slowing. They each let out a yawn and slumped forward further, Pumbaa's face against the ground. Finally the pacing stopped, and they were asleep by one of the large rocks next to the entrance to the lion's cave.
...
The wind blowing past woke Timon up from his sleep. He stood, stretched, and rubbed his eyes. He smacked his lips and scratched his lower back as he looked forward towards the Pride Lands. His eyes widened and then he pulled on Pumbaa's ears. "Hey, Pumbaa, wake up!" he whispered into Pumbaa's stretched ears.
Pumbaa mumbled, "Just five more minutes..." Timon grimaced and jumped onto Pumbaa's snout. He lifted Pumbaa's eyelids, stretched them out as far as they would go, and released them, snapping back into place. "Ow!" Pumbaa rubbed his eyes and glared at Timon with bloodshot eyes. "What was that for?"
"Look!" Timon pointed to the cliff, where the shaman Rafiki was holding a lion cub up to the crowd of animals down below. Simba and Nala were standing behind him.
"Oh..." Pumbaa rubbed his eyes again and trotted closer to them to see the cub.
Rafiki turned away from the crowd and smeared some juice onto the cub's forehead. Simba and Nala nuzzled against the cub as Timon and Pumbaa smiled.
Timon rested his elbows on Pumbaa's head and rested his chin in his paws. "Ahh, Pumbaa, look at that little guy. A real chip off the old block! And you gotta know who's gonna raise him..."
"His parents?"
Timon paused for a moment. "OK, sure, get technical. But who's gonna teach him the really important stuff? Like how to belch?" He let out a belch. "And dig for grubs?" He jumped to the ground. "I'm telling ya, buddy, it's gonna be just like old times. You, me... and the little guy."
Rafiki, Simba, and Nala were listening to the pair, grinning. Rafiki chuckled, "It is a girl."
"Girl," Timon corrected himself, not really catching onto what he said.
But it did sink it rather quickly to both meerkat and warthog as they stared at each other in shock. "GIRL?!"
"Oy..." Timon said as he and Pumbaa both collapsed in a dead faint.
Simba blinked and padded over to the two. He nudged them with his paw. "Timon, Pumbaa?"
Timon stirred, sat up, and rubbed his head. "Oh, I had the strangest dream. I dreamt your cub was a girl."
Pumbaa sat up. "I had that dream, too."
"I think we need to spend less time together then if we're dreaming the same thing."
"It wasn't a dream. My daughter is a girl," Simba said.
Timon got up and stared at Simba. "Seriously? Now it won't be like old times!" He slapped a paw over his eyes. "There goes the neighborhood."
Pumbaa padded over to Rafiki and stared at the cub in his arms. "Aww... little Nala Junior. Cutie-cutie..."
"Nala Junior, he says..." Timon mumbled. He scampered over and climbed on top of Pumbaa's head, getting a look at the cub. He smiled, "Aww..." The cub smiled as Timon bent over to her, and then took a paw and lightly smacked him over the head, knocking him off Pumbaa's head and onto the ground. Timon chuckled dryly as he rubbed his head. "Oh, yeah... I can tell she's gonna be trouble."
"And that's why I asked you two to stay here, to make sure she stays out of trouble," Simba said.
"Don't worry, Simba! We won't let little--uh, little..." Pumbaa mumbled a bit, having not been told the cub's name.
"Kiara."
"Right! We won't let little Kiara get into any trouble!"
"Scout's honor!" Timon saluted.
Present...
"Lemme guess..." Zuri grinned. "She got into trouble a lot?"
"She was worse than Simba," Timon said, twiddling his fingers together.
"Then I hope you take better care of your own pups than of Kiara," Uncle Max said.
"Hey! If she hadn't gotten into trouble all the time, the Outlanders would still be Outlanders. We helped end a long-time war!"
"Well, maybe..."
"I know Timon will take good care of his pups. I know because I'll be watching him like a hawk," Zuri said, leaning against Timon.
"That's gonna get annoying..." Zuri giggled.
"OK, time for the straws again!"
To be continued...
Pumbaa got tired of pacing and laid down. "This isn't working. We're right back where we started."
"Why don't we just pick another memory instead of waiting for Timon and Zuri to come back?" Uncle Max asked as he practiced drawing straws, coming up short.
"And have them miss precious memories?" Ma asked as she watched her granddaughter Shani try to grab a passing beetle, missing.
"Some of Timon's most embarrassing moments are precious memories?" Pumbaa blinked.
"They are to some people," Max grinned.
Pumbaa tapped his front hoof on the ground, thinking. "Ooo, how do I ask a sensitive question like that?"
"Like what?"
Pumbaa gulped, realizing he said that out loud. "My inner monologue must be burned out."
"Wouldn't surprise me. Just come out and ask what you're thinking," Ma said.
"Well... since Timon and Zuri aren't back yet, and it's obvious you're not going to tell Timon about you-know-who yet--"
"Who?" a voice asked.
"Oh, you know, Timon's--" Pumbaa gulped and covered his mouth when he realized the voice was Timon's. Timon and Zuri walked over to the three.
"Oh, welcome back, Timon," Ma said.
"Thanks." Timon turned back to Pumbaa. "Who's 'you-know-who,' Pumbaa?"
Pumbaa didn't want to tell Timon about his lost brother Titus, so Pumbaa didn't know what to answer right away. He nervously sweated and gulped, "Uh... your Binkie?"
Timon blushed and then put his paws on Pumbaa's mouth, silencing him. "Not in front of the missus!"
Zuri put a paw to her mouth, stifling a giggle. "What's a Binkie?"
"A stuffed toy Timon had when he was a pup," Ma said.
Zuri walked over to Timon and grinned. "Awww, you had a Binkie? That's so cute, Timon."
Timon furrowed his brow at her, still blushing a bit. "Don't tell me you didn't have a childhood friend? Like a talking dishrag?"
Zuri growled and grabbed the front of Timon's chest fur. "Who blabbed?!" She then gulped and blushed when she realized she said that in front of people. She nervously laughed and released Timon's fur. "OK! Who's got the straws?"
"About time..." Max mumbled as he went around passing straws. The winner was Timon.
"Finally my turn! Whoo-hoo!" Timon cheered, and then tapped the straw on the side of his nose. "Hmm... memory, memory..."
"You could tell us about that 'Binkie,'" Zuri grinned as she walked over and sat next to Ma and her pups.
Timon grimaced, "Sure, if you tell us more about that dishrag. Hmm... childhood... Oh, I know! Pumbaa, remember when Simba's daughter Kiara was born?"
"Yeah. I think you were worrying more than Simba," Pumbaa grinned.
"That's besides the point..."
1 1/2 years ago...
It was late night, or early morning, whichever you prefer to call it. Point was, the sun had not risen yet. But even that fact didn't matter much to the occupants of Pride Rock. Nala, the lion queen, was in pain. Through this pain, the heir to the throne would arrive. Timon and Pumbaa, best friends to the king, intended to help in anyway they could before they officially started babysitting. They were lugging a few coconut shell halves with steaming water up to the cliff.
Timon set the two he was holding down and waved his paws. "There's gotta be an easier way to carry these without burning our paws off," he mumbled.
Pumbaa dropped the few he has carrying on his snout carefully to the ground. He rubbed his snout. "Well, look at it this way, Timon: this water will help bring the future king into the world!"
Timon smiled and rubbed his paws together. "Yeah, you're right, Pumbaa. C'mon, let's see how they're doing." He was about to lift the coconuts again, but stopped when he saw Simba walk outside of the cave, who exhaled deeply. "Simba!"
Simba lifted his face up to see the two, surprised. "You're back already?"
"Yup! Here's the boiled water!" Pumbaa announced.
Simba blinked, "How did you get boiled water?"
Timon groaned slightly, "Don't ask. So help us carry it in and--"
"Timon, I have a confession to make... we don't really need it."
"... What?"
"Your worrying was starting to get on everyone's nerves, so I asked you to get some hot water to keep you busy. I didn't actually think you'd find some!"
Timon dramatically fell backwards, catching himself against Pumbaa's snout. "Oh, Simba! You hurt me!" He put a paw over his heart. "Deep!"
"Stop being so dramatic. I did it for your own safety."
"Safety?" both Timon and Pumbaa asked.
"Well, if you get on a lion's nerves and you're below them on the food chain, then you'll be missing a head... among other things."
The meerkat and warthog both gulped and grasped onto their necks. "Thanks a lot."
Simba chuckled and then turned to go back inside. "If you think you can contain yourselves, you can come back inside and worry."
"Uh, thanks, Simba, but I don't think we'll risk losing our heads among other things by going back inside," Timon waved.
"What are we gonna do with all this hot water now?" Pumbaa asked, gesturing the coconut shells with water.
Timon looked at the water for a moment. "... Got a coffee maker on ya?"
"Nope."
"Crud. Well, I guess we'll have to find another way to stay awake."
"We could pace some more."
Timon hopped onto Pumbaa head and then shook his own. "Nah, that won't do anything. What we should do is... pace some more."
"Good idea." Pumbaa, with Timon on his head, began to pace, and not long after they began did they both begin to slump forward, the pacing slowing. They each let out a yawn and slumped forward further, Pumbaa's face against the ground. Finally the pacing stopped, and they were asleep by one of the large rocks next to the entrance to the lion's cave.
...
The wind blowing past woke Timon up from his sleep. He stood, stretched, and rubbed his eyes. He smacked his lips and scratched his lower back as he looked forward towards the Pride Lands. His eyes widened and then he pulled on Pumbaa's ears. "Hey, Pumbaa, wake up!" he whispered into Pumbaa's stretched ears.
Pumbaa mumbled, "Just five more minutes..." Timon grimaced and jumped onto Pumbaa's snout. He lifted Pumbaa's eyelids, stretched them out as far as they would go, and released them, snapping back into place. "Ow!" Pumbaa rubbed his eyes and glared at Timon with bloodshot eyes. "What was that for?"
"Look!" Timon pointed to the cliff, where the shaman Rafiki was holding a lion cub up to the crowd of animals down below. Simba and Nala were standing behind him.
"Oh..." Pumbaa rubbed his eyes again and trotted closer to them to see the cub.
Rafiki turned away from the crowd and smeared some juice onto the cub's forehead. Simba and Nala nuzzled against the cub as Timon and Pumbaa smiled.
Timon rested his elbows on Pumbaa's head and rested his chin in his paws. "Ahh, Pumbaa, look at that little guy. A real chip off the old block! And you gotta know who's gonna raise him..."
"His parents?"
Timon paused for a moment. "OK, sure, get technical. But who's gonna teach him the really important stuff? Like how to belch?" He let out a belch. "And dig for grubs?" He jumped to the ground. "I'm telling ya, buddy, it's gonna be just like old times. You, me... and the little guy."
Rafiki, Simba, and Nala were listening to the pair, grinning. Rafiki chuckled, "It is a girl."
"Girl," Timon corrected himself, not really catching onto what he said.
But it did sink it rather quickly to both meerkat and warthog as they stared at each other in shock. "GIRL?!"
"Oy..." Timon said as he and Pumbaa both collapsed in a dead faint.
Simba blinked and padded over to the two. He nudged them with his paw. "Timon, Pumbaa?"
Timon stirred, sat up, and rubbed his head. "Oh, I had the strangest dream. I dreamt your cub was a girl."
Pumbaa sat up. "I had that dream, too."
"I think we need to spend less time together then if we're dreaming the same thing."
"It wasn't a dream. My daughter is a girl," Simba said.
Timon got up and stared at Simba. "Seriously? Now it won't be like old times!" He slapped a paw over his eyes. "There goes the neighborhood."
Pumbaa padded over to Rafiki and stared at the cub in his arms. "Aww... little Nala Junior. Cutie-cutie..."
"Nala Junior, he says..." Timon mumbled. He scampered over and climbed on top of Pumbaa's head, getting a look at the cub. He smiled, "Aww..." The cub smiled as Timon bent over to her, and then took a paw and lightly smacked him over the head, knocking him off Pumbaa's head and onto the ground. Timon chuckled dryly as he rubbed his head. "Oh, yeah... I can tell she's gonna be trouble."
"And that's why I asked you two to stay here, to make sure she stays out of trouble," Simba said.
"Don't worry, Simba! We won't let little--uh, little..." Pumbaa mumbled a bit, having not been told the cub's name.
"Kiara."
"Right! We won't let little Kiara get into any trouble!"
"Scout's honor!" Timon saluted.
Present...
"Lemme guess..." Zuri grinned. "She got into trouble a lot?"
"She was worse than Simba," Timon said, twiddling his fingers together.
"Then I hope you take better care of your own pups than of Kiara," Uncle Max said.
"Hey! If she hadn't gotten into trouble all the time, the Outlanders would still be Outlanders. We helped end a long-time war!"
"Well, maybe..."
"I know Timon will take good care of his pups. I know because I'll be watching him like a hawk," Zuri said, leaning against Timon.
"That's gonna get annoying..." Zuri giggled.
"OK, time for the straws again!"
To be continued...