Chapter 5: Arrival of the Miracles

When the two lionesses arrived back at Pride Rock, they were greeted by the rest of their pride, who was settling down for their mid-day naps before they had to wake up in a few hours to hunt.

Niru and Suvo were off to the side talking about something that seemed to be important.

Suvo had a nervous expression on his face until Niru nudged his friend in the shoulder, and gave him a reassuring smile. Suvo came back to reality as he looked at the rest of the pride greeting his mate and sister.

"Come on, we should show you guys now before mid-day nap," Niru said as he trotted over to his mate and Nahara.

"Hey guys, we missed you," Siva greeted the two lions cheerfully, and nuzzled her mate and brother.

"We missed you too," Suvo replied, embracing his sister and then Nahara.

The couples nuzzled for a moment before Niru cleared his throat. "Hey Nahara, Suvo, Siva and I have something we want to show you, especially you, Nahara," Niru smiled at them.

Nahara looked at Suvo with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Suvo nodded nervously and embraced his mate again.

"Don't worry, it's not that scary, it's a good place," Siva winked at her brother and best friend.

"Place? Where is it?" Nahara's face brightened with curiosity. "Come on, we'll show you," Niru said as he led them around the back of Pride Rock to a small cave adjacent to it, hidden by bushes and shrubs.

"Hey, where'd that cave come from?" Suvo gasped.

"It's always been here, it's near where we used to play all the time in the fields, like when we found Nahara, remember?" Siva asked.

"Oh...I never noticed this before," Suvo replied, dumbstruck at the fact he'd never discovered the existence of the small cave.

"Well it is kind of tucked away," Nahara commented.

"Yes, and for good reason, Nahara," Siva said, motioning her friend to the entrance. The two lionesses peered inside first and then sniffed the air. Nahara's ears went up and she cocked her head.

"Siva, all I smell is your scent," she sniffed again, and then she gasped. "Wait! I smell Kiara's and Nala's scents as well," she looked to Siva, puzzled.

"Yes, we were here plenty of time these past months, you know why?" Siva smiled, waiting for Nahara to figure it out.

Nahara looked around the cave, then back at Siva and noticed her protruding belly again. Then her eyes went wide and her ears shot up as the answer suddenly hit her! She gasped as she looked up at Siva, who was still smiling at her. "Siva! Is this the—

"Birthing den, you got it," Kiara's voice answered from behind them. The small group turned and faced the Queen of Pride Rock.

"Kiara—I mean your highness," Nahara stammered, surprised at her presence.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Niru asked, nuzzling his mom.

Kiara smiled at the group. "I noticed you weren't in the den napping, so I thought I'd come see if everything was alright," she explained, nodding at Siva.

"Oh of course, everything's fine. Niru and I were just showing Nahara and Suvo the den," Siva smiled.

"Ah, I see," Kiara nodded understandingly.

Suvo stepped up to the mouth of the den and peered through the inky darkness. He cautiously sniffed the air before walking over to his mate's side.

"Well thanks for showing us that," Suvo nodded to his sister and Niru.

"No problem," Niru gently head-butted his brother-in-law.

Kiara beamed at the four young lions. "So, who's up for an afternoon nap now?" she suggested.

Niru inhaled and emitted a loud yawn that echoed in the cave. "I'll take that as a yes from Niru," Kiara chuckled.

"Yeah, let's go guys," Niru stretched before leading the way back to Pride Rock, followed by Siva, Suvo, Nahara, and Kiara at the end. Nahara and Suvo were both still taking in all they had just seen and smelled at the birthing den.

Once they all arrived at Pride Rock, they crept quietly to their sleeping spots in the den, making sure not to disturb anyone. Kiara went to the "royal rock bed" and curled up next to Kovu, while the two young couples retreated to opposite sides at the very back of the cave.

Suvo and Nahara curled up together and smiled at each other. Then they began to whisper, as not to wake any of the other lions or lionesses.

"So, what did you think of the den?" Suvo asked grooming her head.

"I really like it," she sighed happily.

"Really? Me too, and to think it was there all this time and I never noticed," Suvo blinked; still amazed he'd never discovered the den before.

Nahara stifled a laugh at the comment and then playfully cuffed him.

"Ah, hey!" the golden lion exclaimed.

A few scolding "shh's" from lionesses followed the lion's outburst, causing him to smack a paw over his mouth in embarrassment. Nahara and Suvo gazed at each other for a moment before snickering to each other. After a few more moments of snickering and sharing passionate kisses, the two settled down and drifted into a peaceful sleep.

About half an hour before the hunting hour began, a figure crept quickly yet quietly out of the pride's cave. It lumbered down the steps of Pride Rock and padded as fast as it could behind the giant rock and into a small opening in the back. Back in the cave, one particular lioness, who was a light sleeper, fluttered her eyelids open and found herself looking towards where the prince and princess slept. However, the princess was not in her usual spot. The lioness gasped softly to herself and frantically looked around the cave, unable to find the princess. Then it hit her—she knew exactly where Siva had gone. The lioness stood up and quickly yet carefully snuck out a secret opening in the back of the cave. She raced around to the back of Pride Rock until she reached the infamous birthing den, where she quietly stepped up to the mouth of the cave and peered it. The heavy scent of a lioness in labor hung in the air.

"Siva, are you in there?" the lioness whispered.

There came a quick reply of gasps and sobs, "Queen Kiara, is that you?" Siva panted.

"Yes, it's me, Siva," Kiara replied worriedly.

Siva gasped for air and growled in pain. "Oh Kiara, I'm so scared, please can you help me?" Siva sobbed.

Kiara rushed into the cave, and found the princess sprawled out on the floor of the cave, shaking and sobbing. She lay down in front of her and nuzzled her. "Oh you poor thing, Siva, why didn't you wake me, you remember your mother asked if I could help you through your birth, you know?" Kiara affectionately licked Siva's tears away.

Siva continued panting and smiled at her. "Yeah, because she's away at the border of the Pride lands visiting my dad and telling him of the news," Siva nodded, remembering. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you, I just got so scared and something told me to run here," Siva whimpered as the cub pains increased.

"Don't worry about it, Siva, everything's going to be alright," Kiara assured her, as she took the younger lioness's paw and squeezed it.

"Thank you so much for being here, Kiara," Siva sniffed and let out a huge sigh as the pains ceased for a few moments. Siva smiled, relieved. "Glad that's over," she relaxed again.

Kiara smiled sympathetically at her daughter-in-law. "Sorry to break it to you, but that was just the beginning," she nuzzled Siva and rubbed her back, trying to keep her calm.

Siva furrowed her brow and let out a small whimper of disappointment. "How much longer will it be before the cubs arrive?"

"Oh a good while, probably before dawn," Kiara smiled weakly.

"WHAT?" Siva shouted, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.

"Siva, sweetheart, don't worry, you'll get through this, I believe in you, and so does the rest of the pride and the Great Kings. I promise I won't leave you, ok, hmm?" Kiara spoke calmly.

Siva took a deep breath and sighed, feeling stronger. "Ok, thank you, Kiara; I don't know how I can ever repay you!" Siva said, choking back more tears.

"The only thing I want is for you to give life to you and Niru's cubs, and to raise them according to what's in your heart, Siva, and to always love them with all your heart," the queen replied sentimentally, reflecting on how she raised Niru.

"I will, Kiara, I promise," Siva nodded sincerely.

"I know," she smiled and nuzzled her once more. Then Siva's eyes went wide and she drew in a sharp breath as the second round of cub pains began.

Meanwhile, back at Pride Rock, the rest of the lionesses were waking up for the evening hunt. The three males, Kovu, Niru, and Suvo came also woke up to see the lionesses off into the hunting fields. Niru blinked his eyes to clear the sleep from them, and gave a loud yawn. Then smiling, he rolled over to look at his beloved mate, but found she wasn't next to him. He gasped and frantically looked around the cave and noticed his mother was gone also.

"Oh no," he whispered. "DAD!" Niru roared and leapt half-way across the cave, over half a dozen lionesses, and landed on the royal bed, which was in fact, a smooth slab of rock slightly higher up than the rest of the cave floor.

Kovu gasped and rolled out of the way just before his son pounced on him. "Niru! What's the matter with you?" Kovu growled sharply, startled by his son's actions.

"Dad," Niru panted. "Siva and Mom are gone! Oh Dad, is Siva having the—

"Yes Niru, she is, and your mother is helping her," Kovu spoke in a low voice as to not alarm the other lionesses, especially the few others that were expectant and due any day now.

Niru stood gaping at his father.

Kovu sighed and turned to the rest of the pride. "Ok, it's hunting hour, let's go everyone!" the king spoke in an encouraging tone.

The rest of the pride yawned simultaneously and made their way out of the cave, except for the few expectant lionesses that were too large and heavy to hunt. Suvo and Nahara hurried over to Niru, worriedly.

"Niru, what's wrong, what happened?" Nahara asked.

Kovu interjected to calm the situation. "Nothing is wrong, Siva has apparently gone to give birth now and my mate is helping her, so don't panic, everything's under control," Kovu gave them all a reassuring smile.

Now it was Suvo and Nahara's turn to stare back at the King, wide-eyed and mouths agape.

Kovu dug his claws into the ground; a bit nervous himself that his reassuring reply only made them alarmed. The King of Pride Rock cleared his throat, and spoke in a stern voice.

"Nahara, I believe you have some hunting to do," he raised his eyebrows at her, hinting for her to go hunt and not worry about the situation.

She nodded and bowed in apology and obediently ran out of the cave to catch up with the other lionesses.

"Suvo, I believe you should go see Nahara off. Niru and I will be along momentarily," Kovu nodded seriously to Suvo, who in response, padded out of the cave quickly.

He then turned to his son. "Niru," his expression and voice softened. "I know exactly how you're feeling now, believe me. So here's what we're going to do," Kovu began just as Simba approached him.

"Kovu, your majesty," Simba began in a playful tone to lighten the mood. "Would you like me to see the lionesses off this time?" he winked, knowing what was going on.

"Please, Simba? I would really appreciate it," Kovu nodded with a small smile.

"Not a problem," Simba chuckled and padded out of the cave.

Kovu smiled after the ex-king and then turned back to his son. "I want you to go tell Rafiki that Siva is having the cubs now, and that they should arrive before dawn," Kovu said slowly and clearly so his son would get every word he said.

"Ok, will do, Dad," Niru nodded as he turned toward the direction of Rafiki's tree and bolted from the cave, nearly knocking Simba over as he made his way back up Pride Rock.

"Great Kings, he sure can run! Probably could outrun his own mother," Simba chuckled making his way over to Kovu, who was seated at the edge of Pride Rock, watching his son race to Rafiki's tree.

Simba gave Kovu a fatherly nuzzle. "I asked Nala if she would check up on Siva's condition after her hunt, and update the three of us," Simba smiled.

"Three of us?" Kovu asked confused. "You, me, and Niru. Very personal, we just want to keep that information between the three of us, including Nala. I thought it would calm Niru down if he heard updates on his mate's condition," Simba said, seriously.

"What if, something goes wrong?" Kovu pondered, beginning to have doubts.

The powerful ex-king, gave a small gasp, and then softened his expression. "Kovu, remember when Kiara gave birth to Niru?"

"How could I ever forget?" Kovu chuckled, reminiscing.

"Do you remember how worried I was?" Simba prompted.

"Yes, of course, but what about me?" Kovu spoke up.

"Oh! The two of us were a sight for sore eyes! Pacing back and forth, ranting and raving about I don't remember what," Simba chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess we were," Kovu added, with a small chuckle.

"Kovu, the point is, everything went perfectly for Kiara, and Niru was perfect as well. He grew from an infant into a strong, healthy young cub, to an equally healthy and normal adolescent, and now he's a strong, smart, and kind-hearted lion. I couldn't have been blessed with a better grandson, I've always been and always will be proud of him, nor could I have been blessed with a better daughter and son-in-law, who both passed on their wonderful traits to him. And now, Niru and Siva have passed on their traits to their two cubs, which we will see soon enough," Simba concluded.

Kovu's face was filled with amazement as he took in everything his father- in-law had just told him. "I, I don't know what to say, but thank you, Simba. You're right, I feel relieved, and I know now that everything will be alright. I will trust in the Great Kings, to watch over Siva," Kovu smiled, and inhaled deeply as a majestic, strong wind swirled around him, ruffling his mane.

Just then Niru appeared from the steps on the side of Pride Rock, followed by Nala. "Dad, Grandpa Simba! Grandma has news about Siva!" Niru shouted happily, panting as he ran over to them, and was greeted with nuzzles and licks.

"Did you tell Rafiki?" Kovu asked.

"Yes, he said he'll come when the cubs arrive," Niru replied with a hint of doubt in his voice.

Simba sensed this and put a paw on his grandson's shoulder. "Don't worry, Niru, Rafiki knows. He'll know when they'll arrive," Simba said reassuringly, and added a wink.

Niru nodded, feeling a little less doubtful. "So, what about Siva?" he burst out.

Nala smiled. "Siva's doing just fine; she's coming along wonderfully, thanks to the help of your mother," Nala replied.

The three males breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Don't worry Niru, we're here for you. We went through the same thing with your father and grandfather, so we'll stick it out here with you," Timon's voice rang out from behind them.

Niru gasped and whirled around to find Timon and Pumbaa standing in the cave entrance, smiling humbly at him. "Where'd you guys come from?" Niru asked, cocking his head startled.

"We were always here, you just didn't notice," Timon retorted, gesturing towards the inside of the cave.

Niru nodded, dumbstruck. "Oh, sorry. Thanks for your support, it really means a lot to me," he went over to the duo and gave them a small hug.

"Aww, I love these moments! They're just too much," Pumbaa sniffed, his eyes tearing up.

"Don't worry about it, Niru, we're here for you and your wife and cubs," Timon ruffled the young lion's mane affectionately.

And so they did wait in each other's company the rest of the long night for Siva to give birth to the royal heirs.

Finally, it was a little after midnight in the savannah. After a long evening and night of cub pains, tears, sweat, and exhausting effort, Siva was ready to bring the first new life into the world. She let out a huge roar of pain as she knew what was about to happen.

"Kiara, The first cub is coming!" she cried as she dug her claws into the ground, and panted heavily.

"I thought so. It's ok, Siva, just keep breathing and push when you need to. You'll know," Kiara said in a calm voice, and squeezed Siva's paw as she monitored her condition.

Siva inhaled deeply and her eyes widened as she let out a groan. Kiara's golden orange eyes widened as well as she watched her daughter-in- law's large stomach begin to decrease in size as her first grand cub was half-way into the world.

"Siva, you're doing great! It's almost out!" she squealed, amazed.

"Really?" Siva gasped before giving one last push and her first cub came into the world. Time seemed to stop as she panted and gazed upon her first born cub.

Happy tears fell from Kiara and Siva's eyes as Siva took her first look at her beautiful new daughter and cleaned her off quickly.

"She's beautiful, Siva," Kiara gasped.

"She is...I can't believe I'm a mother!" Siva cried overjoyed. "I'll call you Hidaya," Siva whispered as she nuzzled her newborn daughter and gave her one last lick before she lay down again to begin to bring her second cub into the world.

Kiara squeezed her paw again as she panted and pushed until she finally brought forth her second cub into the world. Siva beamed at her new son and took him in her paws and cleaned him off.

"Oh, my precious son, now you have a sister to play with," she whispered joyfully. "I'll name you Harimu," she whispered as she gave her new son one final lick before placing him next to his sister to nurse. Siva gazed upon her newborn cubs and turned to Kiara, who was watching the whole scene, teary eyed. The new mother gave a tired smile to Kiara.

"Oh Kiara," she began but was too tired and weak from giving birth all night to finish her sentence. Kiara rushed forward as Siva's head fell to the floor and caught it against her neck. Smiling, she gently lay Siva's head down on the cavern floor and crept quietly out of the cave to tell the rest of the now sleeping pride the news.