It had been a long time since the grass of the Pride Lands stood still, undisturbed by the winds of panic and fear. A long time since the river had run fresh with water not stained by the evil of blood and death. The rein of Scar had become a fleeting memory, seen only in nightmares or whispered in conversation of how the land was a happier place now. And with the final threat of Zira lost to time, and peace made with the Outsiders, the Pride Lands finally had the chance to breath in the calm air and mend itself after two generations of evil.

King Simba finally had his chance to prove that he could rule a land without threat, and after proving himself twice in the threat of evil, he had the pride, and the kingdoms full support. He finally had the chance to follow in his fathers paw prints and leave this world as one of the Great Kings. The aging Simba had little to worry about and so much to be thankful for. He had his beloved Nala, and his dear daughter Kiara. Even the possible threat of being overthrown was turned away when Kiara won over the heart of the once threatening Kovu, and in return Kovu had won the heart of the pride; including Simba.

Simba wasn't the only one who finally received the peace and rest she deserved. Sarabi, queen to Mofasa and mother to Simba, had lived through several horrible generations. She lost her friend Taka, otherwise known as Scar, to evil and hatred. She lost her husband to his tainted claws. She had suffered through the rein of Scar, and watched as hyenas tore apart her hated, but child hood, friend. When things finally got better, and she had a brand new grand daughter to brighten her days, her land was once again threatened by hate. She fought in the war against Zira, and suffered battle wounds along with the rest of the pride. And now, in her old years, she finally had the chance to rest her old bones and get some well-deserved rest.

The new-found peace wasn't the only positive thing brought to the Pride Lands. Kiara, soon to be queen along with her wonderful mate, Kovu, was expecting. Simba was proud and excited for them. It had been a long time since a king had seen his grandson. Simba's grandfather had died before Simba's birth, Mofasa had been murdered before meeting Kiara. But finally; a king could rest in peace knowing, for certain, that his child had found happiness and that the family line would be passed down. The same could be said for Sarabi. It was unusual for a lioness to live long enough to meet her great grand daughter.

Kiara was a young mother, that was certain, but no one seemed to mind. The thought of cubs was getting everyone excited. Kovu was a nervous wreck, however, despite the joy. Of course he looked forward to having cubs of his own, but he had hoped that he would have time to prepare and mature first. He was expected to be the next King of the Pride Lands, and that was enough pressure on its own. Now he was to raise children during the training that Simba was giving him to be king. Regardless, he got himself around that stress and supported Kiara during the pregnancy. He treated every day like a blessing. Even the day that he first found out. He remembered it well.

Kovu had been out on a training session with Simba. Simba had been teaching him everything that his mother could not; helping him to forget all the hate he had drilled into his skull. Simba had taken him to the elephant grave yard. It was out of their boundaries, but it was important for a king to know where dangers still remained. Yes, the hyenas had gone, but this area would need to be patrolled regardless.

"So this is where Scar met the hyenas?" Kovu had asked curiously. Scar was scarcely talked about, but Kovu and Simba talked of him often.

Simba didn't mind, though the mention of his demonic uncle still brought back bad memories. He knew it was important that Kovu understood Scar and his mistakes. That way, Kovu would know the wrong way to rule a kingdom, and in knowing so he could be the king Scar never could be. "Yes. I do not know how he met them, my father never told me anything. But my mother says that Scar lived a lonely cub-hood. My guess would be the hyena's filled that void. He could finally be considered the best, the leader of someone."

Kovu nodded and approached the giant elephant skull that still stood guard over the grave yard… A haunting guardian that served as a constant reminded of the hyenas, and Scar's madness. "I wonder who corrupted who…."

Simba was about to answer when the flapping of wings disturbed the lesson. Zazu flew in swiftly, landing on the peek of the skulls right tusk. "Forgive me, Sire, but Queen Nala sent for you. Rifiki has just been summoned to Pride Rock. Kiara seems ill."

Simba's eyes widened with concern. "Thank you, Zazu." He said in a hurried tone. "Kovu lets--" he didn't finish his sentence. He turned to look at Kovu but he had already darted out of the graveyard. Simba couldn't help but smile, despite the concern for his daughter; that cub loved Kiara so much. Putting away his thoughts, he rushed back to the pride.

Kovu had already arrived, out of breath, but far too concerned to care. He sat near Sarabi, who was giving Rifiki and Kiara their space. All but Nala stood back. As Simba walked in he frowned at Rifiki.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked, looking into the eyes of his daughter who weakly smiled at him. "Rifiki?"

Rifiki smiled and looked at Simba. "Ah, Simba. It was just a stomachache. I think she will be fine." He said, stroking Kiara's fur gently.

Nala looked at Rifiki; unsure of his diagnosis. "Are you sure? She was awfully sick a half hour or so ago."

"Betta' start getting use to it, my queen." Rifiki said with a smile before turning to Kovu. "This will be a regular thing. At least until she delivers."

Kovu's jaw dropped a little, and Simba looked at Rifiki with surprised eyes. "She is pregnant." Rifiki said with a big smile.

The cave broke out into happy cheers. Simba and Nala nuzzled their daughter, whispering words of praise and encouragement. Sarabi smiled at Kovu, nudging him slightly with her shoulder.

"Congratulations, Kovu." She said with a smile, chuckling as she noted that the expression of surprise had not left his face. She gestured her head to the smiling Kiara. "Well, go on then, Silly."

Kovu snapped out of his trance and shook his head, as if to come back to reality. Slowly he stood up and walked over to Kiara. "Hey there." He said with a smile, unsure of what to say as he nuzzled the nose of his wife.

"Hey there, Daddy." She said with bright eyes and a chuckle as she returned the gesture of love.

Simba smiled fondly at his daughter and then looked to Kovu. "Well, you lucky lion. Seems like your going to be a father." He said with smile.

"A father?" Kovu said, almost like it was a question as he looked to Simba with concerned eyes. Kovu wondered if he would make a good father. He never really had one of his own, and the only real fatherly influence he has was from a mad-lion who smoke through the madness of his mother. But, as if he had read Kovu's mind, Simba gave him a smile. A smile that told Kovu that everything would be ok. Turning back to Kiara he smiled lovingly. "A father…"

That day had been three months ago and since then, Kiara's stomach had grown larger. This far into the pregnancy meant that life for her was a bit boring. She was no longer fast enough to keep up in the hung; not that Simba or Kovu would approve of such activities with her in her current condition. She was tired a lot of the time, many hours were spent resting. Kovu spent as much time with her as possible. Every hour not spent during lessons was spent with Kiara, grooming her, running his nose gently over her enlarged stomach.

"How many do you think we will have?" Kovu asked her with a smile, playfully nipping at her before moving closer with her to snuggle.

Rolling onto her back she gently swatted him for the love bite, nuzzling her nose happily into his mane. "I don't know." She said with a sigh. "Apart from Grandfather and Scar, there have only been single births. At least that is was Daddy says."

"Yeah, I was a single cub as well. Vatani and Nuka were both older." He said, shrugging it off slightly. "One would be nice."

Kiara shook her head. "I was a single cub and it was really boring. Maybe two." She said with a smile.

Thinking about it, it did not seem like a good thing. The last time twins were born in the Pride Lands the sibling rivalry lead to death and destruction. But he wouldn't say this to Kiara. He didn't want to worry his heavily pregnant wife. "What ever the number may be, I'm sure it'll be great." He said with a smile.

Kiara smiled and fell asleep against her mate, appreciating his words. He brought her such comfort, even when things seemed uncertain. She knew all would be well, so long as he was with her.

A week later Kiara woke from her sleep with a short yelp. She sat upright and looked around. Kovu yawned and looked up at her. "Bad dream, Hun?" He asked sleepily, glancing over to Nala, who had also been woken up by Kiara.

Kiara shook her head and curled around, licking at her enlarged stomach. "No, it hurts." She said, wincing as her legs trembled slightly. She let out another small cry, this time waking Simba. "Kovu, I think it's time."

Kovu's eyes widened as he listened to her breathing pick up. "Oh!" He said, getting right up onto his feet. He looked to Nala, who would know the best in this situation. "What do we do?"

Nala stood and went to her daughter. "You and Simba must go summon Rifiki." She said as the lionesses slowly woke and went to Kiara. "We can help her until then."

Kovu thought it odd that he, the father of these cubs, was being sent away. But Simba nudged him and gestured his head for Kovu to follow him. Once outside, he turned to look at Kovu. "That's lioness speak for leave. They know what is best for Kiara. We would just be in the way." He said with a worried chuckle. He then looked around. "Where is Zazu when you need him?" He walked to the head of Pride Rock and let out a loud roar, brown mane shining in the soft light offered by the moon.

It wasn't long after that that the horn bill flew down to meet his king. "What can I do for you, Sire?" He asked with curiosity. It was unusual for him to be summoned at such an hour.

"Zazu, go get Rifiki, Kiara is in labor." He said in a rushed tone, his tail twitching from the nerves.

His blue feathers practically molted off of him at that moment. Such surprise, such urgency. As far as he was concerned, he was the right bird for the job. "Right away, Sire!" He squawked before flying off to Rifiki's tree.

Kovu paced around the ledge of Pride Rock; feet from the den when the lionesses comforted the uncomfortable Kiara. Rifiki had arrived quickly, but it had been a while and the cries had not stopped. Simba knew that each lioness was different when it came to delivering cubs, so he sat on the ledge. But even he grew concerned as time passed.

Sarabi would eventually come out and approach Kovu. "Congratulations, Kovu." She said with a smile, though it was faint.

Simba approached Sarabi and grinned. But his smile faded slightly when he saw the look in Sarabi's eyes. "What is it, mother?" He asked, now feeling very concerned. He knew his mother, he knew how to tell that something was wrong by looking in her eyes.

Sarabi addressed Kovu, as they were his cubs, but talked to both. "Kiara birthed three cubs." She said, but frowned slightly.

"Well, that's good right?" Kovu asked. He felt like this should be happy news. But why was Sarabi acting so strange.

Sarabi let out a sad sigh. "We lost one." She said, looking at Kovu with apologetic eyes.

Simba looked at Kovu with just as much sympathy, but Kovu didn't care about that right now. He darted into the den without permission and ran up to the group. Kiara was crying, and Rifiki was cradling the lifeless cub. Kovu's eyes fell upon the small male cub. The little creature had orange-red fur, with beige patches where his stomach, paws and jaw was. With sadness in his eyes he turned to Rifiki.

"What happened?!" He demanded, his sadness turning to anger. He panted hard. This was meant to be a happy evening, but he lost a cub. This wasn't suppose to happen.

Rifiki was not upset with Kovu's burst of anger. He understood it. Calmly, and sadly, he rubbed the cubs back. "I am not sure. He was the first-born… It is unusual that the first-born dies in childbirth. I believe that he must have had a birth defect." He was cautious how he used his words, listening to the tears coming from the heart broken mother.

Kovu looked at the cub, then walked to Kiara, head hung sadly. His eyes rest upon the two survivors. One female, a light beige with the same mark on her forehead his mother had. And a little male, a yellow color like Simba, but features with that of Kiara. Turning back to the shaman he looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Can't you do anything?" He asked sadly. Even though he had not met this cub, even though he had not witnessed his birth he felt that his family was no longer whole.

Rifiki shook his head and placed the cub near Kiara. "I am sorry, I have done all that I can do. Something's just happen. No one knows what the circle of life has planned." He said with regret.

Kiara was unable to look at the cub, she sobbed into her mothers fur as her father went to comfort Kovu. Simba was sad, he had lost a grandson, but he understood that he could not possibly feel as much grief as his son-in-law. "I'm sorry." Was all he could say.

Kovu nodded and lay down, using his paws to gently scoop the lifeless cub to his chest. The little creatures head rest against his mane, his eyes closed. Leaning down, Kovu nuzzled the little chest; the cub was still wet from the birth. Even though it was pointless, Kovu began to lick the cub clean.

Then, just as Kovu had begun to accept the cubs fate, a small choking noise came from the cub. His ears perked and he instantly looked to Rifiki. "Did you hear that?!" He demanded. He would then begin to lick more rapidly at the cub. It worked before, why not a second time. "Come on, little cub."

A second noise came from the cub, as life slowly came into the cub one twitch at a time. The Pride, and Rifiki, heard it this time. "He is alive." The baboon said with amazement.

Kiara stopped crying, watching with every ounce of hope in her body as Kovu continued to lick at the cub. Slowly, the cub was moving about, squealing for his mother as all cubs did at birth. Cheers came from around the cave as Rifiki stepped forward.

"Alright Kovu, enough." He said with a happy laugh. "He needs to nurse." With that he scooped up the small cub and brought it to a now tearful, happy Kiara.

Kovu watched with a grin on his face as Kiara tenderly licked the cub as it nursed. Simba approached Kovu and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Good job, Kovu." He said with a smile. "A few minutes into it, and you're already a great father."

Kovu smiled at him and chuckled. "I don't know what happened, but I'm not going to question it." He said with a smile. He let out a long sigh and walked to Kiara, who nuzzled against him happily.

"I'm so happy." She told him, crying from happiness now rather than sorrow.

Kovu's eyes rest upon the three nursing cubs. Wow… Three cubs. He was going to have his paws full. But he smiled at her and snuggled against her. "So am I."