AN: Wow, you guys work fast! And here I thought I was getting a break. Good work! ^_^

35

Tigerpaw gasped. "Hurry!" he exclaimed, not pausing to wonder how Gingerpaw had met up with Lionpaw. They all raced back to Sunningrocks, looking at the water with intensity.

StarClan, let Whitepaw be alright, Tigerpaw thought, and then as an afterthought, and Viperfang too, I guess.

Lionpaw's eyes were wide as he gazed into the water. His mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. Is he praying? Tigerpaw wondered. Then, there was a flash of hope as a dark gray head burst through the water, carrying a white body in its mouth. Viperfang bobbed in the water, a slave to the current. Without hesitation, Birchpelt sprang into the water and grabbed Whitepaw's back end, tugging both her and Viperfang back towards the shore. Viperfang collapsed on the ground gasping for breath. Whitepaw laid limp. Lionpaw seemed frozen, staring down at his sister. Birchpelt began licking Whitepaw's fur the wrong way, trying to get the water out of her lungs while he kneaded her chest.

"G…get…Batpaw," Viperfang gasped. Tigerpaw turned tail and ran as quickly as he could back to camp. StarClan, don't let me be too late! He begged. Let Whitepaw hold on! Let her pull through!

He burst into the camp. "Batpaw, hurry!" he yowled. Batpaw poked his head out of the medicine cat.

"What now, furball? Pulled a claw?" Batpaw asked crossly.

"Whitepaw nearly drowned. Hurry, she needs your help!" Tigerpaw exclaimed. Batpaw's eyes widened and he sprang forward.

"Take me to her," he ordered. The two of them made a mad dash into the forest, with Tigerpaw thinking all the while that he was too late.

When they arrived, the cats were all huddled around Whitepaw anxiously. She was breathing, but appeared to be unconscious.

"Is she going to be okay?" Tigerpaw asked anxiously.

"Let me work," Batpaw said, but without the usual snap in his voice. He appeared to study Whitepaw for a moment and give her a thorough look-over.

"Is there water in her lungs?" he demanded.

"We got her breathing again and she coughed it all out," Viperfang said, sitting up. His dark fur was plastered to his body.

"Yes…." Batpaw mused, nosing Whitepaw's side. "She should be okay, if she didn't ingest too much water. Birchpelt, take her to my den. She needs to stay there for awhile. She'll be weak and I don't want her getting sick."

Birchpelt nodded, and picked up Whitepaw by her scruff. He began carrying her towards the camp, with the other cats trailing behind him.

"I hope she'll be okay," Foxpaw whispered, pressing her pelt against Tigerpaw's.

"Me too," Tigerpaw said, unable to find the words to describe his feelings. If Whitepaw had died, she would have taken a chunk of his life with her. Tigerpaw glanced at Viperfang. He was padding along steadily, but he limped when he walked, probably banged up from the boulders. It was a miracle he wasn't dead. He's a hero, for once, Tigerpaw realized. A rough cat, but loyal to his Clanmates….How did Whitepaw fall in?

Birchpelt set Whitepaw down gently on a bed of soft moss.

"Thank you," Batpaw said, and flicked his tail. "Get out, now, please. Whitepaw needs space."

"Can you tell me when she wakes up?" Tigerpaw asked. Batpaw blinked at him for a moment, and then nodded.

"I'll make sure to," he said. The other cats left the den quickly, but Tigerpaw paused for a moment, glancing at Whitepaw over his shoulder. As he left, he thought he saw Batpaw give Whitepaw's cheek a gentle lick.

Tigerpaw stood still as he left Batpaw's den, unsure of what he should do. He found his paws leading him to Silvermist's den. He hadn't visited her in awhile.

"Tigerpaw!" Silvermist greeted him. "Where have you been? Here I was thinking you were dead." She blinked at him warmly. "The kits are half-way to being apprentices now."

Tigerpaw sat down by Silvermist, watching the kits tumble and play. Now that Minnowkit and Swiftkit were older, he had hoped he could tell them apart easier. However, their markings were nearly identical; it was only because he noticed that Swiftkit's blue eyes had a touch of green in them that he could tell her apart from Minnowkit. Out of the four kits, only Stormkit had amber eyes; she-cats all shared their mother's blue gaze.

"Unke Tiggypaw!" Minnowkit exclaimed with delight, seeing her friend. She padded over to him and sprang at him, trying to bat at his whiskers. She fell a little short but didn't give up, jumping up at him several more times before stopping to rest.

"Unke Tiggypaw!" the other three kits chorused, crowding towards their most frequent visitor.

"Did you bwing us pwey?" Swiftkit asked eagerly.

"A yummy mouse?" Minnowkit prodded Tigerpaw's leg with her nose.

"A biwd?" Creek-kit asked. Only Stormkit said nothing, observing Tigerpaw with his dark amber eyes.

"I came to talk with your mother," Tigerpaw said. Silvermist must have seen something in his eyes, for she flicked her tail to the kits. "Why don't you all ask Blindeye for a story about LeopardClan?" she asked. Stormkit's eyes lit up at the idea. He stood and flicked his tail at his sister, before padding away. Minnowkit and Swiftkit instantly stood to join him. Only Creek-kit remained aloof, wanting to appear independent, before following them at a safe distance.

"Yes, Tigerpaw?" Silvermist asked. Tigerpaw sat down, and sighed quietly.

"I haven't told Whitepaw about how I feel," he said miserably. Silvermist blinked in surprise.

"I thought you did that a moon ago!" she scolded. Tigerpaw shrugged feebly.

"It's just with Cinderfur's death and everything, it's been complicated, and it is only getting worse….Whitepaw fell into the rapids today, and nearly died."

Silvermist's eyes widened. "What? Tell me everything!"

Tigerpaw explained and felt like he was getting rid of a bit of the weight on his chest. However, the berries and his thoughts of Lionpaws' guilt still rang in his mind. He couldn't tell anyone of those. Not yet.

Silvermist reflected on his news for a moment. "You were really scared you would lose her, huh?" she asked. Tigerpaw hesitated, and then nodded.

"Yeah, she's one of my best friends, next to Foxpaw," he said. Silvermist nodded slowly.

"Wait until Whitepaw is feeling better, and then tell her your true feelings, whatever they may be," Silvermist said. "That is the best thing you can do for her. If you don't love her back, don't string her along."

Tigerpaw nodded, and got to his paws, thinking of Batpaw. "Hopefully she can love someone else," he said, before padding out of the den.

He stared at the fresh-kill pile for a moment, feeling lost without anything to do.

"Tigerpaw?" Batpaw called. "Whitepaw wants to see you."

Tigerpaw's head snapped up and he padded into the medicine den.

"She's not feeling very good, so don't upset her, or I'll claw your pelt off," Batpaw ordered in a hushed voice. Tigerpaw nodded quickly, and padded to Whitepaw's side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and Whitepaw smiled weakly.

"A little bruised and battered, but Batpaw says I'll be fine soon enough. I'll have to stay in here for a few days, though…."

"What happened?" Tigerpaw asked.

"I don't remember, exactly," Whitepaw admitted. "Viperfang scented a vole, I think….He left. The falls were cool looking, so I was at the edge. Then someone pushed me, and I fell in. I struggled, but couldn't breathe…there was nothing I could do, the water was too strong. I hit a rock and blacked out. The next thing I saw was Birchpelt blinking down at me as I coughed up water. Then I went out again, and woke up here."

"Who pushed you? Could it have been Lionpaw? He was the only one there."

"I don't know," Whitepaw said, shaking her head feebly. "The roar of the falls made it impossible to hear, and with the mist everywhere, I couldn't scent a thing….He wouldn't do that, though. He's my brother."

"But—"

"Tigerpaw, I think you should go," Batpaw said evenly. "Whitepaw needs rest, and she can worry about this mess later."

Tigerpaw hesitated, and then nodded. He nuzzled Whitepaw's cheek. "Hope you feel better," he said.

"When she's feeling better, we'll check out everyone's stories and see what happened," Batpaw said, following Tigerpaw to the den entrance. "Until then, she just needs to sleep. Bring her a mouse or something later if you like."

"I will," Tigerpaw promised, before padding away, feeling slightly relieved that she was okay. Thoughts buzzed in his mind. Lionpaw was the only one there, he thought. It had to be him. Who else could it have been?

AN: So Whitepaw is fine, Viperfang's a hero, and keen little Warriors06 might be the first to see a little White x Bat romance. Interesting~

Cinderpaw11: You're just a bundle of fun, you know that? ILY. Sososo much. And I'll let you know that Viperfang is more definitely not the killer, as of now. xD Yeah, I try to write as much as I can each day, but it depends on my schedule. I looove writing this story; it has been ages since I've actually liked a story enough to finish, and this could be "the one". It's got a loooong way to go, though. Lionpaw might like someone, but of course he's a master of disguise and refuses to show it. And he really isn't very good friends with Gingerpaw, mostly because of his drive to be a great warrior. He just doesn't understand how she can be so lazy and such and still call herself a ThunderClan cat.