Disclaimer: I don't own the Warrior Cats series!

Title: There's Always the Exceptions

Summary: Stonepaw is a medicine cat whose mentor won't give him his name. Gooseleaf is his brother with a secret. Honeyflame may or may not be Stonepaw's mate, who also may or may not have recently helped their mutual friend Mousedapple with her desire to have kits. Reedstorm is a half-rogue in a Clan that's never forgiven her for it. They all collide.

...

Stonepaw woke with a grunt when dark ginger tabby paws hopped onto his back, startling him. "Wassat?"

"What a role model," Honeyflame teased as he stepped back, smugly curled his legs under him. Stonepaw grumpily did the same, eyeing the young warrior. "What would Whitestar say if he knew his medicine cat was sneaking naps at Sunningrocks?"

"He'd be proud of his son for working so hard that he tuckered himself out," Stonepaw meowed flatly, dismissing the concept with a twitch of his ears. "Speaking of slacking, shouldn't you be on patrol?"

"I'm hunting, aren't I?" he asked. "I'm grabbing lazy apprentices." Honeyflame nudged his shoulder with his paw, frowning. "Seriously, though, you should be more careful. Whitestar said no one was supposed to be here by themselves."

Stonepaw rolled onto his side, displaying his solid gray belly. "Aw, and what is RiverClan gonna do? I'm a peaceful medicine cat apprentice. I won't be in their way if they decide to invade."

"They could attack you," the young warrior said sensibly. "If they decide to try and take Sunningrocks back now, they aren't just gonna let you go scuttling back and tell on them."

The medicine cat laughed, shaking his head. "I have double immunity. You know that."

"Gooseleaf certainly doesn't seem to think so."

"Gooseleaf is a warrior. I'm not." Stonepaw shrugged. "If my brother wants to jump at every branch snap, there's nothing I can do to help him."

"I keep tellin' ya', Stone." Honeyflame reached out to boop his nose. "Gooseleaf's got a crush. Dunno who yet, but he totally does."

Stonepaw snorted at the thought. As much as he loved his brother, Gooseleaf was as stiff as the rocks under his paws. Even if he did have an interest in someone in ThunderClan, he'd be too embarrassed to bring it up. "Like you're such a master of romance yourself."

"I'll have you know I've had plenty of crushes in my time." Honeyflame winked. "Current gossip says you're the newest one."

The gray tom rolled over so their pelts were brushing. "I'm a medicine cat. Mates are an impossibility for me."

"Of course," he agreed, intertwining their tails. Just because they said those things, that didn't necessarily mean they meant them, and they acknowledged it with a quick, furtive look.

"So..." Stonepaw buried his muzzle in Honeyflame's scruff. "I hear Mousedapple is having your kits." He felt Honeyflame stiffen. "She's cute. Calico."

"Did she tell you that?"

"She stopped by and asked me for StarClan's permission beforehand. Very superstitious."

"She asked if it was okay for us to...?" Honeyflame's muzzle screwed up. "I'm so sorry, Stone."

He shrugged. "It's my job."

The warrior sighed. "It's not like that. Mousedapple and I are buds- you know that. She wanted a litter, so she asked me to be a donor. That's it."

Stonepaw blinked at him, surprised. "There's no need to be defensive. I wasn't mad."

"You weren't?"

"Why would I be? I mean, yeah, I was a little miffed you didn't talk to me, but we've never defined this-" he waved a paw between himself and Honeyflame- "as anything private. Besides, I'm still technically an apprentice."

"You really should've gotten your name by now, huh?"

"Tell that to Thornstripe."

"Maybe I will," he decided, standing up. "Let's go give him a piece of our collective minds, shall we?"

Stonepaw rolled his eyes. "You know he's not gonna say yes. I've begged, and begged, and eventually I got the hint and dropped it."

Honeyflame barred his teeth. "Thornstripe hasn't had a talking to from me yet."

"No," Thornstripe said as he pushed some leaves into a pile. They weren't herbs- just regular leaves he was playing with. "Stonepaw isn't fit for the position."

"Told you," meowed Stonepaw, unimpressed.

"Not fit?" Honeyflame echoed, scowling. "How could you say that? Remember when he got sick during that bout of Greencough? He kept right on tending to everyone else. Or when Gooseleaf got that bad belly wound? Stonepaw never left his side!"

"I heard my name?" another gray tom meowed as he poked his head inside, voice muffled around the feathers of a robin. Gooseleaf was technically Stonepaw's twin brother, though the warrior carried a nicked ear and a bad scar across his side, so it wasn't like it was hard to tell them apart. That, and Gooseleaf always came across as rigid and structured, while Stonepaw was far more lackadaisical. "I just stopped by to bring you some fresh-kill."

"Thanks." Stonepaw padded over to bump the warrior's shoulder with his nose, sighing. "Honeyflame's got an itch in his tail, is all."

Gooseleaf set the bird down, tail waggling. "When it comes to you, he almost always does."

"All I was saying is that Stonepaw should get his name!" Honeyflame cried in frustration, ears flat against his head. "Don't tell me you're against the idea yourself, Gooseleaf."

His brother frowned, straightening. "No, of course not." He dipped his head to Thornstripe. "I give him my blessing as well."

The brown tabby didn't look up. "He's not ready."

Stonepaw nudged Honeyflame and Gooseleaf in turn, trying not to feel hurt. The relationship between himself and his mentor had been tense since- well, longer than he cared to admit. He knew exactly why the old cat refused to give over his name, even though he also knew he could never dare tell the two warriors lest he ruin the tom's credibility. Stonepaw would never receive his name while Thornstripe drew breath. It was that simple. "C'mon, boys. Let's go eat in the clearing."

To his surprise, Gooseleaf was very resistant, trying to stand his ground against Thornstripe, but Stonepaw was insistent. A dark, contemplative look was in his eyes as he stalked off, fur bristling just slightly. "It's not fair!"

"I never said it was," replied Stonepaw mildly.

Gooseleaf reared up, flashing his fangs. "You need to be a full medicine cat!"

"For what?"

The fight left him immediately. Gooseleaf stared at his paws, embarrassed. "You've earned it, I mean. That's all." He broke into a trot. "Excuse me!"

Stonepaw watched as his brother ducked out of camp, baffled. He couldn't remember the last time Gooseleaf had decided not to eat with him willingly. He didn't know if he should be mad or concerned, so he chose a little of both.

Honeyflame leaned over close, muttering into his ear. "Told you. There's totally someone."

"We've never acted like that," Stonepaw meowed without thinking, instantly grateful no one had heard. Nice going, bird-brain. We're right outside the medicine den. He flashed a nervous glance behind himself. Thornstripe would rip my pelt off if he knew.

The warrior nodded. "Well, considering how he's acting, there's only two real options here," he said. "Either they're sick and he wants your advice, or Gooseleaf is gonna be a papa and he wants you to be at their side when they give birth."

"Dear StarClan, I hope not," Stonepaw grunted. "I'm not ready to be an Uncle."

"Excited?" Stonepaw prompted as he ran a paw over Mousedapple's side, gently testing the waters.

"Happy as a 'paw with their first catch," she purred, rolling completely onto her back. "You asked that with such displeasure."

"I'm not interested in kits myself. That probably goes back to the whole medicine cat thing."

Mousedapple reached a paw up to gently shove his cheek. "Don't front with me, Stonepaw. Everybody knows you just don't like she-cats."

"A cat can not like she-cats and still like kits," he replied promptly, pushing her onto her side. "I just happen to do both."

The calico rolled over complacently, smiling blissfully. "You know, in a way, you'll be like a second dad to these kits. We could raise them together as one big friend-trio."

"We could do that," he agreed, then switched the topic. "You going to the Gathering, or have those kits made you lethargic already?"

Mousedapple willingly stood, their pelts brushing. The calico smelled like flowers and vole blood. "And miss Whitestar announce my pregnancy? Especially with the drama with Ashstar? It'd be criminal."

They padded out of the nursery together, joining the hustle and bustle of ThunderClan cats. Stonepaw noticed that Whitestar had picked the biggest and burliest of his warriors, not counting Gooseleaf (who, as the leader's son, got to go to most Gatherings anyway) and Mousedapple (a new queen to brag about), and waved a quick goodbye to Honeyflame with his tail.

Stonepaw tried not to think about the trouble they'd been having with WindClan very often. Clan politics weren't really his business, being a healer, and it had never been easy to see his father threaten battle, no matter how many arguments had broken out over the moons. Ashstar was argumentative, and quick to prod basically anyone, and Whitestar (in spite of his best efforts) had a big temper that was hard to curb. Stonepaw found it all pretty silly.

Gooseleaf bumped into him out of nowhere, lowering his voice. "I have someone I want you to meet at Fourtrees."

Uh-oh, Stonepaw thought. It was never a good sign when Gooseleaf whispered. "Is this one of those things that I end up regretting?"

"No," he said, already padding away. "This is one of those things I'll probably end up regretting."

Stonepaw very rarely, if ever, walked alongside Thornstripe, and it was even less surprising when the old tom went to the special medicine cat spot by himself, as Stonepaw liked to mingle for a bit first, so he doubted anyone noticed him slipping through the shrubs after Gooseleaf.

"So..." his brother meowed. "I'm sure you've heard some talk about me... well..."

"Having a date?"

"Something like that. I know how Honeyflame gets when a cat acts a bit weird."

"So you're agreeing that you're acting weird?"

"Of course." Gooseleaf sent him an entreating look. "You know I'd never lie to you, right?"

Stonepaw sighed. "Oh, dear, here it comes."

"What would you say if I told you I had a mate-type situation with a she-cat from another Clan?"

"I'd tell you you're an idiot," he answered bluntly, ear flicking. "But I suspect I'm about to meet said she-cat, aren't I?"

Gooseleaf nodded and led him deeper and deeper, trailing around the back edge of Fourtrees. Stonepaw didn't think many cats came back here, aside from sneaky young whippersnappers like themselves. Thorns clung to his gray pelt as they pushed through, but he decided not to complain just yet, sensing how fidgety Gooseleaf was becoming.

"Now, be nice," his brother whispered as he gestured for him to go first. "She can be a bit... edgy."

"Bro?"

"Yeah?"

"When you have to warn your brother that your 'mate-type situation' may try to hurt him, that's not a good sign."

"Shush, you."

Together, the brothers squeezed into a small little break in the general foliage that ran wild behind the Fourtrees. Stonepaw had never been so grateful for his naturally short build in his life, his ears just barely brushing what felt like pine needles. Gooseleaf twitched with anxiety, but there was something brighter and happier in his eyes.

Alright, he thought. I can do this. For Gooseleaf.

But then he found himself on his back, and there was a muzzle pressed painfully against his, claws threateningly close to his throat. "How do I know I can trust you?" a low voice growled.

"I mean," Stonepaw wheezed. "If you let me go, I won't tell my dad about this, and he won't rip you to shreds."

"Stonepaw," Gooseleaf chided. "Relax, Reedstorm. He's my brother."

Reedstorm slowly back away, snorting derisively. "An apprentice still, at your age?" she meowed. "You must be really terrible at your job."

Stonepaw glanced up at Gooseleaf, not feeling quite safe enough to stop presenting belly. "I take it you're not the cuddles and cute nicknames type of duo, huh?"

"I wouldn't say that," his brother meowed.

Reedstorm eyed him for a long, tense few heartbeats, which gave Stonepaw the chance to eye her back. She was all-black, just as they were all-gray (and, wow, what a boring combination of colors), with a scar down the side of her muzzle. Her green eyes almost seemed to glow in the dark, and she reeked so heavily of rabbits she simply had to be WindClan.

"I thought you said we were going to someone reliable," she grunted finally.

"Stonepaw is my brother," Gooseleaf reminded her. "There's no one I rely on more."

"So, Honeyflame kind of prophesied this," Stonepaw meowed. "And he said that you're either sick or having kits."

Reedstorm lashed her tail. "What do you think?"

"Kits it is." He shut his eyes with a sigh. "I guess that means you want a medicine cat to help with the labor."

"Yes, please." Gooseleaf rolled him onto his side. "And to keep this a secret."

"Forever?"

"For now. Just until we can figure out what to do next."

What to do next? You're mates. This is common sense. Stonepaw sat up, whiskers twitching crankily. "Not to ruin the moment, but we're Whitestar's only kits. He's gonna notice if we both vanish for too long."

Reedstorm seemed to accept this, pressing her head to Gooseleaf's in a quick farewell. "We should talk more about this." She spared Stonepaw a look. "In private."

Gooseleaf chuckled. "Stormy, we both know you won't be satisfied, no matter who we chose. At least, this way, it'll be in the family."

Stormy? Suddenly, Stone doesn't seem nearly as silly.

Thornstripe shot him a berating look as Stonepaw took his seat down, face unreadable. The petty complaints of Ashstar and Whitestar seemed both more meaningless and more terrifying all at once. The warrior code has a story for this- Cloudberry and Ryewhisker. Cloudberry got pregnant with Ryewhisker's kits, prompting him to throw himself in front of her in battle, ultimately killing him. He scratched his side distractedly. Gooseleaf is so caring and kind- he'd do basically anything for someone he loved. If he's that into Reedstorm, he'll do it in a heartbeat. Does he even realize what he's getting himself into?

Author's Note: Literally just ended Berry Paint, still got Resilience to do, but you bet I'll dive into yet another random OC story. If anything, this one is only gonna be a three-parter- four at max- so no biggie there.

There's no set allegiances here because, since it's short, it's kind of like one of those stories in the warriors handbooks- no set allegiances, set in the middle, etc etc. This one is all about exceptions to the warrior code- Gooseleaf, super loyal and kind, is with a WindClan cat (Reedstorm's just really paranoid, she's a good warrior overall), Stonepaw being refused his medicine cat name (more on that later), Honeyflame being his mate, that type of thing.

-Mandaree1