[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Umeme glanced between the den's entrance and her parents. "It might be a good idea if we go for now and come back tomorrow," she said eventually. "I don't think Lina nor Delano will be feeling like telling us anything for now." While she did want to find out what had happened, Umeme did not want to pressure Lina or Delano into talking if they did not want to.

---

Delano felt Lina raise her head and so he looked at her. At first, she didn't say anything, but when she finally managed to smile, he couldn't help but mirror the action. If she can get over this, he shouldn't have any trouble at all, o at least, he hoped.

Bringing her closer to him with another hug, Delano grinned when she touched muzzles with him. "Gee, I don't know, Lina," he replied, "guess we'll just have to wait and find out." For all his nervousness and fears of becoming a parent, he was also confident that he would figure out how to get over them before it would be too late.

[TheWhistlerify]

Once again Muroki had to do his best to ignore his undying curiosity to know what was going on as well as his desire to make sure everything was alright, but he had a hunch that simply forcing himself upon Delano and Lina might not be a very smart idea in this case. It would be best to give the two of them some time to calm down. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." he said with a few slow nods of his head. "Would you like to go, then?"

---

Lina could really feel the confidence within her rise when Delano managed to smile back at her, purring as he hugged her once again. Being with him like that always made her feel safe. She'd had a feeling that he was somehow looking forward to this, despite all of his reservations. If he could act that way, she thought, then he should have no problem coming to terms with the fact that they had cubs on the way, even if it would take him some time to do so.

"I guess so..." she said with a small giggle, licking him across his muzzle. "This is weird, you know?" she asked after a short silence. "I mean... It's kind of hard to believe that this is happening... I don't feel like anything's different..." Aside from that sickness earlier today, she couldn't think of any sign that indicated that she was pregnant. She definitely didn't look like she was pregnant yet.

[DGFone]

Umeme nodded. "Yeah. let's go home. I want to come back here early tomorrow, so that they won't be gone when we will get here." She hesitated, "Erm...yeah, if I will complain about being woken up tomorrow morning, just ignore it and wake me anyways. I will try not to shout at you." Smiling, she gave Muroki a lick across his cheek. "Come on, let's go home."

---

Still hugging Lina, Delano chuckled a little, despite still feeling quite uncertain about the whole deal. "Different? This morning you were very different, Lina. I didn't get a chance to find out how quickly I would have caught up to you." He moved himself a little away from her so that he can get a good look at her. "Listen, Lina... I know I won't... come to terms with this right away..." he let out a sigh. "But I think that I will be able to calm down soon enough. I just hope that you will be able to bare with me until then. This whole thing... it's quite a shock."

He then hugged her once more, not wanting to let go of Lina just yet. "But as far as shocks go, this is... there are many things that are much, much worse."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki chuckled as Umeme licked his cheek, grinning at his mate with a cocked eyebrow. "Yes, your promise to try not to is very reassuring." he said, gently poking her muzzle with his nose. They both knew that, once she got emotional, there was absolutely no predicting what she would do. "But I'll live through it. So far I have." Still smiling, he bid his in-laws a good evening before beginning to slowly make his way back towards his and Umeme's den. Hopefully, by tomorrow, Lina and Delano would have calmed down at least a little.

---

Lina laughed a short laugh at Delano's comment. "Yeah, but I meant other than that running incident..." She was definitely going to make sure not to run at her full speed again any time soon. "I feel like everything's completely normal now..." The lioness couldn't recall what things were like with Umeme when her sister was at such an early stage of her own pregnancy. But she did know that in a matter of a few weeks she would definitely start to feel very different.

"I know this is quite a shock..." Even though she's wanted this for a long time already, it still surprised even her to find out that there was a cub or maybe even more than just one cub growing up inside of her. "It's alright... I think you should take your time..." It really was important to her that Delano would come to terms with this whole thing, at least to a certain extent, before the cubs came around. "I just want you to remember that we're not alone in this, okay?" She gently licked his cheek once more. "And I'm sure that seeing how Muroki and Umeme will deal with their own cubs will help us both see that it's not as hard as we might think it is now..."

[DGFone]

Umeme also bid her parents a farewell before following Muroki back to their den, taking her place by his side. "I am still not sure, but I think I know what happened," she told Muroki as they walked. "I think... and I could still be very much wrong here, but I think that..." she grinned, "that you are not the only future father anymore."

---

Delano let out a small purr when Lina licked him. The last thing he wanted was to have Lina not understand how he was feeling, but it didn't look like he had to fear that. She knew that it would take him time to get used to the new information, but she wasn't angry with him for it.

Eventually, he separated himself from the hug and lay down. "You know, the news... really left me tired. I think I'll take a nap." He would like it if Lina lay down next to him, but he didn't want to force her to stay if she wasn't tired herself.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki chuckled as he saw the way Umeme was grinning at him, gently bumping into her shoulder with his own as they walked. "Yes, I kind of figured that out already..." he said, remembering how she would often make fun of him for being clueless. It was the main reason why the current turn of events had confused him so much. Surely Lina would be happy to hear such news rather than the other way around. "But hey, at least now our cubs will have somebody to play with, right?" He just hoped his brother would come around soon.

---

Lina continued to enjoy Delano's embrace for as long as it lasted, and continued to smile even after her mate had separated himself from her and lay down. She was about to join him before she suddenly remembered that her parents, sister and brother-in-law were still outside. "I'll be right back, okay?" she asked softly, slowly making her way outside. True, she wasn't really tired, but she still didn't feel like leaving Delano's side any time soon.

When she walked past the entrance of the den she discovered that Umeme and Muroki had already left but that her parents were still there. She cleared her throat in order to get their attention. "Um... If you two want to go home then you can..." she said with a small smile. "We're okay now..."

Fadhili was about to ask her daughter whether she was sure, but Lina seemed calm enough so she decided to not question her too much. "Do you want us to maybe stay with you until tomorrow or just for the time being?" she asked. She wasn't going to force their presence on the two if they wanted to be alone, but she also wanted Lina to know that they were there in case she'd need them.

"I think we'll be fine." said Lina as she came over to her parents and embraced them both. "Thanks anyway..."

[DGFone]

Umeme grinned. "I was hoping that they would, but I didn't want to pressure Lina. However, now it looks like I don't have to do so, but our cubs will have playmates, so it's the best I could have asked for!" She then realized something else. "But you do know what this means do you? Looks like you'll be helping out on hunts for longer than you expected from now on."

---

Moto returned Lina's embrace, glad to see his daughter much better now. "If you want us to go, we will," he told her, "but you know where to find us, and don't hesitate to ask for help." It was hard not to notice that Delano did not come out of the den as well, but Moto was able to see that Lina wasn't worried about it, so he wasn't either.

He also wanted to talk with Fadhili and Lina alone, but perhaps now was not the best time. Perhaps in the next day, or a little later. But for now, he was certain that Lina wanted to get back to Delano.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki also smiled. He knew it would be best if their cubs were around the same age, and one month would possibly look like a big difference for a while after the cubs would be born but not for long. "Figures." he said with a chuckle. "I'll help Delano with the hunting. It's only fair; he started helping me without my asking for it." His smile then disappeared. "Too bad this'll mean I'll have to be away from you and the cubs more often until Lina's cubs come around, though..." He then chuckled. "But I'll pull through."

---

Lina smiled and nodded her head. "I know, dad." she said, sounding like she genuinely did feel better. It felt great to know that she and Delano weren't alone in this whole ordeal, and she hoped Delano would hang on to that knowledge.

"You'll be fine, Lina." said her mother with a smlie. "Even if it takes him a while to come around. No lion can look at his newborn cubs and not fall in love with them right away." she grinned at her mate for a brief moment before looking back at their daughter. "We'll come check on you two again later, okay?"

Lina once again nodded her head with a smile. After thanking her parents and bidding them a good day, she quickly made her way back into her and Delano's den. Fadhili couldn't help but chuckle to herself. "Can you believe it, Moto?" she asked with a smile. "Who would have imagined our little girls would have their own cubs one day?"

Meanwhile, inside the den, Lina went ahead and lay down next to Delano. She once again took comfort in his presence and placed her head down next to his, feeling like they would both be alright in the end.

[DGFone]

Umeme chuckled as Muroki started to complain about being forced to hunt longer than he wanted to. "Aww, come on now! You know you're stronger than that. Not only will you pull through, but you are not even going to realize that you will because it will be so easy!" While she did find it funny how Muroki was always complaining lately, she knew it was because he was close to being taken to his limit, but she wanted to make sure that it didn't happen.

---

Moto grinned back at Fadhili, blushing when she mentioned about how no father can not love their cubs. "It's true, Lina. So you don't have to worry." He watched Lina as she vanished back inside the den, feeling proud of his daughter.

"I think at the back of my mind, I always knew this day would come eventually," he replied to Fadhili's question. "But it was always something that would happen later, so in many ways, I did not expect it. However, I am glad, for both of them." He had to be honest in that it felt rather strange knowing that soon, he and Fadhili would be turning into grandparents. "Although... if only your sister could be here. She would have wanted to see this as well."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki smiled back at Umeme. Despite how she would often point out the fact that he was complaining almost as much if not more than she was, she still put up with his whining and even did her best to reassure him from time to time. "I know, but I think that one month between the birth of our cubs and the birth of Lina and Delano's cubs are going to drive me nuts..." He didn't know how quickly Umeme would start to hunt again after the birth, but he was already preparing for continuing to both hunt for her and to help Delano hunt for Lina until Lina's cubs would come around as well. Of course, he would rather have more time to spend with his mate and their cubs, but that didn't change the fact that his brother was going to need his help and that Muroki was going to give it to him.

---

Fadhili couldn't help but smile happily to herself as she and Moto began to make their way back to their own den. "We're going to have at least two grandchildren once Lina gives birth as well..." she mused, looking at her mate. "Geez, that makes me feel a little old..." She knew that she and her mate weren't old and weren't even close to being old, but seeing both Umeme and Lina both already mated, living in their own dens and with cubs on the way certainly made her realize just how quickly time could fly. At the same time, of course, she felt happy and proud of both of her daughters.