As they watched Zazu flying in the sky, the group could see that below him were Nala, Tiifu, Kiara, and Kovu.

"Kion!" Nala said as she ran to her youngest son, seeing him somewhat hurt, "Are you okay?"

"A little hurt, but I trust I'll feel better in a few days" he replied.

"I'm glad you're optimistic, Kion" Kiara told him.

"Ah, I think these are your children," she said, pointing at Dan and Shany.

"Shany!" Tiifu said hugging her daughter, "My little one... you worried me a lot, don't do that again, please"

"I'm sorry for worrying you, mom" Shany replied hugging her and crying, "I only want to help one of my friends"

(Meanwhile…)

"Dan" Kiara said, hugging him as well, "You worried us a lot too."

"I'm fine..." he replied in a low voice. He was sorry for what he had done and the danger he had faced, but he was also a little uncomfortable about going back.

"It seems so, Dan" Kovu said, moving closer as well, "At least I'm glad you all are fine"

With those words, Dan felt a little guilty: Simba had almost died, Kion was injured, and Zira had sacrificed herself for him. That last thought was the worst of all, because he didn't know how he was going to explain it, but he had to. However, as if he foresaw what he was going to do, Kion said to him:

"Don't worry about what happened, I'm going to tell Kovu what happened. Now take a little rest" then, he turned to his friends, "You can go for a walk, surely you want to meet someone in our old home"

"Really?" asked Bunga, "Nice! I want to see my uncles"

"And I want to see my dad" said Beshte.

"Are you sure you will be okay?" asked Ono.

"I'm sure" said Kion, "Go Ono, I think that your flock is going to be happy when they see you"

Leaving the rest of the Night Pride to meet their families and friends once more (Timon and Pumba were already awake and glad to see Bunga again), Kion, Fuli, Kiara, Kovu and Nala headed to Rafiki's tree. Dan also accompanied them, but not before promising Shany that, this time, they would see each other later.

Upon arrival, they saw the mandrill talking to the lion king: Simba already seemed to be better, because he was on his feet and his senses were in order since he saw them arrive. Walking towards them, it was clear that he was limping slightly.

"Your Majesty, I'm glad to see you're better" Fuli told him .

"Dad, how are you feeling?" Kion asked him.

"I'll be fine, Kion" he replied calmly. Then, he noticed that Dan was with them, "I'm glad you're back Dan, I was hoping you would"

"Thank you Simba and... I'm sorry..." he replied embarrassed that thanks to him he is like this.

Simba saw the cub's regretful face.

"I told you before: it's not your fault what happened, it just happened" he comforted him as he hugged him, "Don't worry, I'm still in the cycle of life, and I don't hold grudges. What matters to me is having my family's cubs safe."

Hearing Simba say that made him feel much safer and much more of a family than he had before on their whole adventure.

( A few minutes later… )

Rafiki took it upon himself to treat Kion's injuries with his natural arts. Dan watched in amazement at the mandrill's ability to heal, though in truth he had never seen a doctor before.

Kion's injured shoulder with some leaves , "It will hurt a little, but it will pass in a few days"

"Thank you Rafiki" Kion told him, "You will always be the best friend of the guard and the family"

"That's my duty to my royal family" he laughed, "So, will you return to the Tree of Life?"

"As soon as I'm healed..." he said while looking at the rest of his body.

"We can wait" said Fuli, "The rest of the Night Pride are enjoying the return to the Pride Lands"

"It's true. Besides, I think you'd better wait at least two days for your wounds to heal," Rafiki added, "By then, you'll have enough strength to travel."

"And I thought you wanted to come back" Kiara laughed, "I thought you must have missed Azaad"

They all laughed a little. For a moment, Dan could see that Fuli blushed at that comment, but he didn't say anything out of happiness. If there was one thing that eased their minds after being chased by maniacal hunters, it was family and friends. Then, they said goodbye to Rafiki and headed for the home of the pride: the Pride Rock.

During the short walk, Dan was able to notice that Kion was talking to their parents Simba and Nala. Then, Kovu joined the conversation. However, he couldn't hear anything as Kiara spoke to him in a calm voice:

"Dan, why did you leave without telling us? You worried me a lot"

The moment arrived in which he had to speak. Before, he had enough courage to rescue his friends and face death. Now, he had to face his own internal fear: that of not belonging to a family as wonderful as that one.

"Kiara, what you did for me…" he said, "I have no words to describe it. You're a beautiful family and I'm glad you accepted me sooner, but…I'm not like you. I…I used to be a human"

That was all: he had said it. He felt so free to say it that he would feel better if he stopped thinking about the consequences those words would give. However, he never would have guessed what happened next: Dan felt Kiara's rough tongue: it was her mother's gesture of affection

"I know... my dad told me after we argued the night before" he told her, "I'm really sorry, it was then what I said that hurt you and that's why you ran away, right?"

Dan was partly relieved to hear that, but then he flattened his ears. Now he had to confess that he had heard Kiara and Kovu's conversation.

"Yes… and... I also heard you talking the night before" he answered, "I know you will have a son. That's why I left... and you can deposit all your happiness with him"

Kiara looked at him, but then, she smiled:

"Yes, I'm going to have a cub" Kiara told her, "But it's not the first, there's another one that has already lived with us as a family"

Dan looked at her very confused.

"Other?" asked.

"I'm talking about you," Kiara explained, "Dan, since you decided be part of our family, I have always felt you like my son, it does not matter if you are adopted or not. I'm proud to have you as my first son. And now… do you want to have a little brother?"

For a moment, Dan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Although he wanted to cry with joy, he resisted.

"Oh really?" asked.

"Well, of course, little one" Kiara said as they raked him again, which Dan rarely felt nice. "We would love you equally and you would become a big brother. My father was the one who taught me that: we are one, we are all one family"

Dan couldn't take it anymore and finally began to cry. Simba, Nala, Kion, Fuli , Kovu and Zazú turned around when they heard him and they got worried when they saw him crying.

"It's nothing," the cub told them, "I'm just glad to be home."