[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Umeme found it really funny how Lina was completely calm about the entire thing, and yet Delano was clearly not dealing with this anywhere as calmly. "Well then, guess we can all look towards his face when he realize that nothing is wrong," she teased, "although I do have to also feel bad for him though. Mom and dad won't necessarily like it too much if he is rushing them along."

Sitting down next to Muroki, she grinned at the lion. "Looks like we'll be in for quite the show!"

---

Delano forced himself to try and calm down, but he really did not want to walk back. But with Fadhili and Moto with him, he had to go only as fast as they would let him. "Well, we wanted to run over to a waterhole that we like... about half way there, Lina suddenly stopped, complaining that she wasn't feeling well. I helped her the rest of the way back, and drinking seemed to help her. We walked back, and then I ran over to you two as quickly as I could."

Even though they were walking, he couldn't stop himself from gradually walking faster. He didn't even notice that he was doing so, but when the den finally came into view, it couldn't have come sooner. Rushing inside, Delano wanted to see his mate as soon as he could. "Lina! Lina, are in there? Are you alright?" He saw Muroki and Umeme inside as well, and immediately felt extremely embarrassed. "Oh, hey..."

[TheWhistlerify]

Fadhili followed Delano in the direction of his and Lina's den along with her mate. As their son in law explained the situation to them she looked at Moto with a somewhat questioning look, wondering whether he was thinking the same thing as she was. It might be the case, in light of what had happened, and it would be a lie to say that Lina's mother wasn't hoping that it was. But they couldn't jump to conclusions right away so she didn't say anything.

---

Lina couldn't help but chuckle at her sister's teasing. "Actually I wouldn't say I'm looking forward to that." she said with a smile. "I mean, I do want him to realize nothing's wrong, but he's really cute when he's all worried like that..." That aside, she had a feeling that her parents would be able to assure Delano that nothing was wrong.

Muroki also sat down, grinning back at his mate. "Perhaps." as far as he knew, there was no predicting what his mother in law would do. She might arrive and show concern for her daughter, and there was also a chance that the whole situation would turn into a teasing fest before anybody realized it. When Delano ran inside, Muroki smiled as he heard his sister in law giggle. This was probably what she defined as cute. "Hey." he said with a chuckle. "What's up?"

Before Delano had a chance to answer him, however, their in laws came into the den as well. They looked naturally surprised to see him and Umeme there as well, but after the four of them silently bid each other good morning the older couple's attention was soon focused on Lina. "Delano told us what happened." said her mother with some concern in her voice as she and Moto embraced their daughter. "Is everything alright?"

Lina happily returned her parents' hug, nodding her head once it was over. "Yeah. It was a little confusing, but now it feels like nothing ever happened to begin with."

[DGFone]

Delano really felt foolish now. "Lina... so you're fine?" He knew that when he had left her, she did look like nothing had happened, but considering how she was when they ran, he couldn't simply let it go and disregard it as nothing. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Moto nudged Delano and moved him over to a wall by the den, which wasn't very far considering how crowded it was inside already. "Let your mother figure it out. Until then, try to relax. You can see clearly that Lina's looking as healthy as ever, so why the worry?"

Feeling somewhat ashamed, Delano looked down at the ground. "I don't know," he mumbled, "I just can't help but worry."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki decided he might as well not interrupt Lina and her mother so he went ahead and looked at Delano and their father in law. Moto was doing his best to get Delano to realize that there was nothing to be worried about but it didn't seem like he was having that much success. "It's okay if you're worried." he said with a smile, deciding he might as well try to help his brother calm down. "It's completely understandable. But like Moto said you can see that she's feeling better now."

Fadhili meanwhile continued talking to her daughter, asking her to also give her a recap of what had happened. Lina saying that she'd run as fast as she could the entire time seemed to catch her mother's attention a little bit more than the dizziness and sick feeling that came along with the fatigue. "It might have happened just because you haven't been drinking enough lately." she said quietly and with a nod as Lina mentioned immediately feeling better after drinking some water. "Tell me, have you been eating enough as well?"

Lina smiled, nodding at her mother. "I haven't been hungry if that's what you're asking, mom." Hunger could also lead to exhaustion, although she couldn't tell why her mother was asking her about this.

"Would you say you've been eating more than usual, maybe?" asked Fadhili, once again not too loudly.

This question seemed to catch Lina by surprise. "Um..." She thought about it for a moment, despite it sounding like a completely irrelevant question. "Now that you've mentioned it... In the last 2 days, yes. Just a little bit more..." Her mother seemed to smile as she said this, much to her confusion. "What?"

"Just one more question..." she then whispered something in her daughter's ear, causing the younger lioness's cheeks to turn completely red.

"Mom!" Was now really a good time to get teased about that??

"Yes or no?" Throughout their entire conversation her mother had kept her voice low so that only her daughter would be able to hear her. Lina was about to ask her mother to just stop talking, but something about the look Fadhili gave her made her realize that her mother wasn't teasing her. With some hesitation, she slowly nodded her head in approval, her face still flushed with embarrassment. Fadhili's smile grew even bigger, once again to her daughter's confusion.

[DGFone]

Try as Muroki and Moto might, they couldn't get Delano to calm down. He nodded at their words, but didn't really listen to what he was saying as he watched what was going on between Lina and Fadhili. Lina certainly looked confused, and she was able to hear what her mother was telling her. Delano, who did not hear the exchanged words, became even more confused. What was going on? Why was Fadhili asking these random questions?

Umeme, who was watching as well, was starting to get a feeling that something bigger was going on. She might be jumping to conclusions, but some of the questions Fadhili were asking seemed rather... familiar. She got up and walked over to Muroki, nudging him to get his attention. "I think it'll be better if we wait outside," she told her mate, and lead him out of the den. If her haunch was correct, Delano and Lina wouldn't necessarily want everyone in the den to get the news at the same time.

With Umeme dragging Muroki out of the den, Delano felt even more nervous and afraid. It was very unnerving to see Fahili smiling like that. It should have told him that nothing was wrong, but if that was the case, why was she whispering to Lina? "Lina..? What's going on?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Even though he and his father in law were doing their best to calm Delano down, Muroki knew his brother well enough to be able to tell that neither one of them was having any success. Before he could try to think of another encouraging thing he could say, however, he found himself being lead outside by Umeme. Having not paid attention to Lina and Fadhili's conversation, he was naturally confused by that. "What is it?" he asked as they arrived outside, sitting down in front of his mate.

Fadhili, noticing her daughter's confusion, went ahead and whispered something else in her ear. This caused Lina's expression to change into one of surprise and maybe even shock. Yes, her mother knew how much she's been waiting for this to happen, but it was still understandable that it was quite a shock to the young lioness. After quietly telling Lina that they would give her and Delano a moment, she went ahead and silently asked Moto to walk outside with her as well, smiling the entire time.

Lina continued to sit there rather dumbstruck even after her parents, sister and brother in law had left the den. It was only when Delano came over to her out of concern and asked her once more whether everything was okay that her mother's words really did sink in. She looked at her mate, a huge smile forming on her muzzle. "I'm pregnant!" she said, embracing Delano and sending both of them to the ground. She didn't strangle him this time around, though, and simply held onto him while happily rubbing her head into his mane. "Can you believe it?" she asked, unable to conceal how excited she was. "We're going to be parents!"

[DGFone]

Umeme sat with Muroki outside the den. "I wonder what's going on, but I don't think that Lina's sick." She grinned. "I do have a hunch of what's going on, but I don't want to jump to conclusions." Her attention was taken by Moto and Fadhili who left the den as well. Her mother was smiling, which made Umeme all the more certain that there was nothing to worry about.

---

"...What?" Delano didn't even notice that Lina had knocked him down in her hug. His mind was racing as he tried to comprehend exactly what Lina had just told him. His heart raced as he felt fear rise in him. "But... but..." How can he tell Lina that he wasn't ready? What made it worse was if what Lina was telling him was true, he didn't have any say in the matter anymore.

Shaking slightly, he hugged Lina back, trying to calm himself down. There was still time, right? He would figure something out... He had to. "Lina, that's... that's great," he mumbled, not really sounding like he meant it.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki simply sat there and stared at his mate. He briefly looked at parents in law, who were smiling as well, before once again looking back at Umeme. Then, finally, he spoke. "I don't." Fadhili couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Her daughter would constantly tell her how she thought Muroki's obliviousness made him look silly in a cute way. In a way, she could see why. That confused, almost naive and innocent expression on his face really was adorable. However she chose to say nothing to her son in law, silently talking with Moto instead.

---

Meanwhile, inside, Lina kept on nuzzling her mate while purring happily. It was really hard to believe that she's wanted to become a mother for so long, to experience parenthood with the lion she loved so dearly, and now that dream was finally going to come true. Her mind was already filled with questions like how many cubs they would have or what they would look like. Would they look more like her, more like their father, or would there be some sort of a balance between the two?

It would be about 2 and a half months before she and the rest of her family would find out, and she already couldn't wait for that to happen. However, her happy train of thoughts was interrupted when she sensed Delano shake slightly as he hugged her. The tone in which he then spoke to her also worried her. It didn't sound like he thought this was great at all. On the contrary. The lioness slowly lifted her head from her mate's mane, looking at him with concern.

But it couldn't be... If it was then why, two weeks ago... Surely Delano wouldn't have if he still wasn't ready... But, as she saw the look in his eyes, she only grew to believe what she feared was true. "D-Delano?" she asked quietly, as if she was maybe having a dream and was just imagining her mate's reaction. As her happy demeanor faded away completely, though, she obviously doubted that she was just having a bad dream.

[DGFone]

Delano knew that he hurt Lina's feelings, and felt terrible for it. "Lina... please don't be mad... I... I don't..." He fell silent as he had to lie down, feeling dizzy as his head swam. "Lina... I, I still love you and-" he didn't even know what he wanted to tell her. He knew that the fault lay in him as much as anyone, but at she same time, could he really only blame himself?

However, not of that mattered anymore. What has happened in the past can't be changed, and no matter how much he didn't like it, he knew that very soon, he would be placed under a heavy burden of having to care for cubs...

It was burden Delano felt wholly unprepared for. Crawling over to a wall, he curled up, whimpering. "I don't want anything to happen..." he tried to explain, "but... I'm afraid that something will... I don't even know why... it's why I always wanted to wait longer... hoped that the fear would go away..."

He couldn't even bare to look at Lina anymore. Now if anything, he feared her, and even more, her reaction. He knew just how much she had been waiting for this moment, and here he was, just about losing his composure over the very same news. "Lina... please... forgive me."

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina silently listened to Delano as he stuttered and struggled to speak. She never once doubted that he loved her, but that didn't change the fact that they were now expecting cubs only one of them wanted... Having him crawl over to a wall and away from her seemed to make her even more uneasy. The last thing she wanted was to drive him away from her, and she feared that this could end up happening no matter how understanding she would be about his doubts and hesitations.

Not able to not have her mate by her side for even a second longer, Lina went ahead and walked over to Delano's side, once again lying down close to him and embracing him in a hug. Just what had she been thinking, continuously flirting with him like that all the time (as in more than just an occasional comment here and there)? This was all her fault. "Delano, I..." she began softly as she rested her head against his, hoping to calm him down. "I'm not mad at you, you don't have to apologize for anything..."

Her happiness about being pregnant was no longer there, having been replaced by concerned for Delano, their relationship and the future of the cubs they now had on the way. What would the cubs' lives be like if she and Delano wouldn't be able to function as proper parents because this whole thing would end up pushing them apart? "But... Try to think for a moment..." The only thing she could do now is say what she thought was reasonable and true in the hopes of making him relax.

Just watching him look so distressed made her feel really ashamed of herself. "What could possibly happen?" she asked, gently licking his cheek. "And whatever would happen, we'll be in this together, won't we?" Sometimes, when Delano voiced his doubts about becoming a father, she would get the impression that he was regarding it as if he would have to go through it all alone. "And it won't be just us... You'll have Muroki and Umeme, my parents and your aunt and uncle to help..."

When calculating it, her and Delano's cubs would be born about a month or so after the birth of Umeme and Muroki's cubs. "A-and we'll have time to see how your brother copes with his cubs..." she added, a hint of hope in her voice. "It's okay to be worried about something like this." Heck, even she had her concerns - especially now that Delano was reacting to the news so harshly. "But maybe watching our nieces and or nephews will help both of us..." She licked his cheek once more and continued to hold onto him, hoping more than anything that her words would have some effect.