Kiara peeked into the den just in time to watch her father get walloped in the head by Rafiki. She was glad to have a reason to giggle after being worried for so long. Then she saw her father lie down again and almost fall asleep in seconds and the worry returned. She had hoped he would wake up and everything would be normal again. At least she hoped he would get some sleep instead of just being unconscious.

And then she heard what had happened.

She quickly returned to pacing in front of the den.

Kovu? Be the bait in a trap? No. Never. He wasn't like that!

Then how did her father get attacked?

It had to have been an accident. A coincidence. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

That had to be it...Kovu would never...But then where was he? If he hadn't come back with her father, then...

She broke away from that train of thought. No. Look on the bright side. Dad is gonna be alright. He woke up for a bit, and Rafiki is working on him. He'll be fine.

It'll all be fine.

Kovu...

"Kiara." She turned, Nala stood at the mouth of the den. "You can come in now."

Kiara turned toward the other lionesses and smiled. They saw. She turned back to her mother. "Is he...?"

"He's asleep, Rafiki is just finishing up."

"Ok." She took a deep breath. "Mother, he's going to be okay...right?"

Nala's smile faded slightly. "Yes. He'll recover. But...he'll need time to rest. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if Zira will give us that."

She nodded. Nala tilted her head toward the den. "Go on. You know he'll want to see you when he wakes up."

Kiara padded into the cave. In the middle was one sleeping lion, being tended to by a baboon. Rafiki looked up when he heard her come in. He smiled.

"He'll be glad to see you when he wakes."

She smiled back at him. "That's what my mother said."

He gathered his supplies and left her alone with her father.

She wasn't used to seeing her father hurt; but she would look at him hurt all day just so long as he was there to look at. But what should she do? Talk to him? Would he even hear her?

What should she do?

"Daddy?"

"Hmm...What's the matter? You okay?"

"I...uh...I had a bad dream..."

"Oh. Well…Come're. There's plenty of room."

"Really?"

"Sure. That always helped me sleep."

"All right!"

She curled up next to her sleeping parent, as close as she could without touching his injuries. She could be there. That's what she could do.

"Hey...Dad?"

"...Hhmm?"

"I dreamt that…Well, you…You'll still be here...right?"

"Kiara, I promise, I'll be right here when you wake up."

"I'll be right here Dad. Wake up soon."

No matter how long, she would wait.

~*~

This is kinda from Lion King 1 ½ when Simba had a nightmare. There's no better cure then just being there.

Oh, and for all the people saying that these chapters are freakishly short, I know. This is a story I wrote a while back. It is/was my very first Lion King fanfiction. It was my first fanfiction period! So, yeah, it's gonna be a little short. But I'm a sentimental kind of person; I can't fiddle with it other than the big stuff like spelling and grammar. Also, trying to fit in everything I wanted to, along with having the cannon beginning, and ending, is hard for a first time writer. Don't worry, I read your reviews for the criticisms as well as the praise; and any other stories I write will have bigger chapters and anything else I do that you all think I should do better. It's a process.

Well! This little note has gotten longer than usual, but I just wanted you all to know the reasoning for my writing. Thanks for the reviews! More to come!

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