Chapter 2:

Two Little Miracles

Firestar was shocked. He felt frozen to the ground.

"Stay calm, Sandstorm," he forced himself to say, "I'll go get Cinderpelt."

Firestar raced through the forest and into ThunderClan's camp. Graystripe hurried up to his leader.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, worried.

"Sandstorm is kitting!" howled Firestar and he hurried to the medicine cat's den.

"Cinderpelt!" he meowed urgently. "Cinderpelt, Sandstorm is having her kits-outside of camp!"

Cinderpelt appeared at once, a bundle of herbs in a leaf in her jaws.

"Take me to her," she muttered through the bundle in her mouth.

Firestar nodded, and as he was about to leave he turned to Graystripe and said, "You're in charge while I'm gone."

Graystripe nodded urgently. "Good luck!" he called as Firestar raced out of the gorse tunnel and into the forest.

He only slowed down when he remembered about Cinderpelt's bad leg, a result of Tigerstar tricking her when she was an apprentice. It was really a trap for Bluestar, the previous leader, but Cinderpelt fell victim to it instead. But whe Firestar looked behind him, Cinderpelt was going almost as fast as Firestar.

So Firestar started up running again, wind whipping at his flame-colored fur. He stopped when he got to Sandstorm, her flanks heaving, eyes wide with fear. Cinderpelt hurried to his mate's side and examined her quickly.

"You're going to be alright, Sandstorm," she meowed.

The medicine cat hunched beside the sandy-colored she-cat, getting ready for the first kit. Firestar crouched beside his mate's head, licking it gently.

"It's going to be okay, Sandstorm," he muttered into her beautiful fur.

Sandstorm looked up into Firestar's eyes. She was about to say something back to her mate when another surge of pain coursed down her side. She pressed her eyes shut, panting heavily.

"The first kit is coming," Sandstorm heard Cinderpelt say, but the world looked and sounded fuzzy.

She felt dizzy as the pain rocketed through her again, this time worse than it had ever been. She yowled loudly in pain.

"Good," murmured Cinderpelt. "You're doing just fine."

Sandstorm looked into Firestar's loving green eyes. He licked her head.

"I love you," he muttered.

"I love you, too," she meowed as she felt another pain, and her first kit was born.

Sandstorm, still weak, bent over to lick the kit.

"A she-cat," Cinderpelt said, gazing down on the kit, looking as proud as if were her own.

Firestar hurried to see his new daughter. The tiny kit's fur was a flame color, like his own, only a bit lighter, and her eyes the same shade of green. Sandstorm stopped her licking and looked up at her mate.

"She looks just like you," she meowed, a proud look in her eyes.

Firestar nodded, his gaze still on his kit. He could barely keep back his feelings of joy, excitement, and nervousness. He was a father now.

Sandstorm stopped licking her first kit and nudged it to her warm belly, where it suckled comfortably. She then laid her head on the grassy ground, taking in a deep breath. The next, and last, kit would be coming soon. She saw Firestar pad back to sit beside her head again.

"Squirrelkit," he muttered.

Sandstorm closed her eyes and purred.

"Perfect," she murmured.

Suddenly another flash of pain coursed through her, and Cinderpelt meowed, "Another she-cat."

Sandstorm, now feeling even weaker, leaned over to lick the next kit. It was a tortoiseshell.

Firestar looked at his two kits lovingly.

Sandstorm stopped licking and nudged her other daughter to her belly, muttering,

"Leafkit." Then she fell asleep.