A/N: I apologize in advance for the birth scene, I uh. I'm not very fond of them, but I felt Bluefur's struggle was important. Anyways. I really appreciate all of the name suggestions I got, and with the help of all of you darling reviewers (I love you guys so much, you don't even know) I decided to leave Stonekit and Mistykit as is, and added a fourth kit. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and let me know what you think of the kit names, pretty please!

"I'll go get Brambleberry right away!" Whitepaw yowled, racing from the den like his tail had caught fire.

"Great… idea…" Bluefur growled, sinking her claws into the ground to steady herself as another pain consumed her. By the time the pain had passed, Brambleberry was at her side.

"Alright Bluefur, it's time. Are you ready?"

The queen couldn't restrain the pained yowl that came with the next wave of pain.

"I'll take that as a yes," Brambleberry's tone softened. "Lie down in your nest, Bluefur. Nice and slowly, try not to disturb your stomach." The pretty medicine cat helped the queen settle on her side, resting one soft paw on her flank. "They won't come for a while yet, I'm afraid."

"That's just perfect," Bluefur hissed.

Brambleberry blinked sympathetically at the queen. "I'm sorry, Bluefur, I know the pain must be great."

"Bluefur!" Oakheart exploded into the den as he might burst into battle, his claws unsheathed and his fur bristling. "Is everything okay?"

Brambleberry whirled on the warrior with a hiss. "What do you think you're doing bursting in like that?"

Oakheart ducked low to the ground, flattening his ears apologetically. "I'm sorry, Brambleberry, but Whitepaw just told me…"

"If you're not going to be useful then get out," Bluefur spat, clenching her eyes shut. Snowfur, how did you do this?

As she thought of her sister, she felt a warm breath against her ear. "You can do it, Bluefur. Take deep breaths, have Brambleberry send that arrogant mate of yours to fetch wet moss or something."

Oakheart's warm amber eyes softened with concern as he saw Bluefur lying in her nest. "I'm sorry," he scooted forward around Brambleberry on his stomach. "What can I do?" He touched his nose gently to her flank.

"I'm… thirsty," Bluefur growled.

"You heard her, go get some moss and soak it with water."

Oakheart jumped to his paws. "Okay!" The warrior shouldered his way out. Moments later, Mudfur slipped into the den, shaking his head.

"I told Oakheart that the moss had to be soaked in the river, so that it would be fresher." The brown tom set a bundle of herbs beside Brambleberry, who blinked gratefully at her apprentice.

It felt like moons passed with Brambleberry's soft pad on her flank before the medicine cat gasped softly. "Alright Bluefur, it's time. I know you're already tired from the pain, but I need you to push now!"

Bluefur didn't think she could lift a paw, much less finish her kitting, but as the next wave of pain crashed over her, she pushed with all of her might. A cry of pain parted her jaws, ripping from her throat.

"You're almost there, Bluefur!" Snowfur's spirit meowed encouragingly.

"The first kit's been born!" Brambleberry cheered, passing the tiny scrap of damp fur to Mudfur. "You're doing great, Bluefur. Keep pushing!"

StarClan, help me!

"The second kit has been born," Mudfur placed the first kit gently in Bluefur's nest and turned to tend to the second.

"Are they… are they okay?" Bluefur rasped, straining to lift her head.

"They'll be fine, Bluefur, focus on pushing, there's another kit," Brambleberry pushed some herbs towards her. "These will help."

"Bluefur, don't close your eyes, keep pushing. Your kits need you."

Bluefur groaned, too tired to yowl anymore. She could barely push, breathing heavily as she tried.

"There's the third," Brambleberry's meow seemed to grow fainter by the moment. "Hang in there, Bluefur! I think there's one more."

"Bluefur, don't give up. You need to keep pushing, there's one more kit!" Snowfur's starry spirit pressed more closely against her. With sudden clarity, Goosefeather's ominous words flashed through her mind.

"You are fire, and you will blaze through the forest."

"Water…" Bluefur whispered.

"Bring her some water, Mudfur, quickly!" Brambleberry's urgent mew died into a nearly silent whisper, "StarClan please don't let me lose her…"

"Water will destroy you, Bluefur," Goosefeather's prophecy was louder in her ears than even Snowfur's voice.

"Bluefur!" Brambleberry cried out, cutting through the fog. Then, "Mudfur, hurry."

Bluefur was vaguely aware of a ball of wet moss being pressed to her mouth. The water was icy and fresh as it trickled down her throat.

"What's taking so long?"

Oakheart…

"Oakheart, now's not the time for you to be acting rash," Mudfur was growling.

"I won't leave her!" She felt her nest shift as Oakheart lie down beside her. "Bluefur, listen to me, you've got to hold on." His breath ghosted across her ear. "Our kits need you, Bluefur," he insisted, pressing his muzzle against her cheek. "I need you."

Another drop of icy water trickled down her throat, and the queen forced her eyes open.

"That's it, Bluefur," Brambleberry meowed desperately. "There's just one more kit, you can do it!"'

"You can do it." Snowfur's scent wreathed around her, touched by their mother's sweet, lingering scent.

With one final burst of energy, Bluefur pushed with all of her might.

"You've done it, Bluefur! You were great." Brambleberry let out a heavy sigh.

"She's right, Bluefur," Oakheart rumbled warmly. "You were amazing."

"The kits," Bluefur rasped. "How are they?"

Brambleberry pushed more herbs towards her. "Eat these, you need all of your strength."

"But the kits…"

"Hush," Oakheart swept his tail down her flank, which was still heaving with every breath. "Eat your herbs." He pulled them closer to her with his paw. "I'll tell you about our kits as you eat them."

The blue-gray queen flicked her tail in slight agitation, but feebly raised her head to lap at the leaves. Mudfur had already torn them into tiny pieces to make them easier for her to eat. She chewed them slowly, for once not caring about their bitter taste,

"There are four," Oakheart began quietly, his voice rich with pride.

"Two toms," Brambleberry added. "And two she-cats."

As she finished the herbs, Oakheart shifted, thrusting his shoulder under Bluefur's head as she tried to turn to see the tiny bundles kneading her stomach. "Can you them better now?"

Bluefur nodded weakly. "They're beautiful…"

"The first one, a tom, has gray fur like yours, but a little bit darker. And the second, a she-cat, looks just…" He paused, seeming choked up. "Just like you, Bluefur. Then the third, he's the second tom, he's got red fur, like me. And the last one…" He trailed off, his eyes softening as they fell to rest on the tiniest kit. "She's pale gray and white."

"They're all so small…" Bluefur murmured. She couldn't take her eyes off of them. Thank-you, Snowfur… I couldn't have done it without you…

"Now," Brambleberry meowed, adopting a more business-like tone. "You need to rest, Bluefur." She turned her eyes to Oakheart. "Tell me as soon as she wakes so I can bring her more herbs. We're not out of the dark yet."

"I will," Oakheart promised, gently easing back so Bluefur's head could rest on his paws. Bluefur sighed as the medicine cats left.

"How late is it?" She whispered quietly.

Oakheart narrowed his eyes, peering out the entrance. "It was far past moonhigh when I couldn't take it anymore and came in… So I'd say it's either nearly dawn or dawn already." He shook his head. "Don't worry about how late or early it is right now, you need to rest, you're exhausted."

The blue-gray queen only mumbled something incoherent as she slipped into a deep slumber.

A pitiful mewling reached Bluefur through the sweet, swirling depths of sleep. Faintly, she could hear Oakheart murmuring.

"Hush, little ones, don't cry," he whispered urgently. "Your mother needs to rest now…"

"Oakheart," Bluefur croaked, her throat dry.

The reddish-brown warrior started. "You're awake, are you alright? Have you rested enough? You sound parched, I'll get you some water. Oh, and I'll send Brambleberry with some herbs!"

Bluefur didn't object as her mate stood stiffly and stepped carefully around her to slip out of the nursery. Feeling much stronger than she had before falling asleep, she lifted her head, blinking warmly down at her kits. They kneaded her belly weakly, and the biggest of the four mewled in complaint when his suckling was in vain. Am I not producing enough milk? Panic flared in Bluefur's chest.

"I've come with herbs," Mudfur announced his entrance around a bundle of leaves, which he placed at Bluefur's paws. He tilted his head as observed the kits. "Looks like Brambleberry was right. You're producing milk, but nursing four kits is a challenge for a queen in green-leaf." He fixed her with a concerned gaze. "They're going to be alright, but you'll have to take plenty of borage every day and keep eating well to keep them healthy."

"I will," Bluefur rasped. Mudfur's ears flattened.

"Hasn't Oakheart brought you any water yet? The camp is surrounded…" His sentence trailed into an exasperated sigh. "He must have gone all the way to the river again. And to think Crookedstar thinks Oakheart will be his successor." The older tom rolled his eyes before meowing more gently to Bluefur, "I'll be right back."

He was back in moments with a ball of wet moss, and Bluefur lapped at the precious water eagerly. "Thank-you," she purred. The medicine cat hesitated, and the queen obediently chewed on the borage he had brought her.

Mudfur gave her a small nod of approval. He turned to leave before looking back warmly over his shoulder. "Oh, and congratulations, Bluefur. Your kits are beautiful."

"Thank-you, Mudfur." Bluefur purred, letting her eyes fall back to her kits as the medicine cat apprentice slipped out of the nursery. He was absolutely right. She and Oakheart's kits were more perfect than any litter she had ever seen.

The entrance of the nursery trembled again, and Bluefur glanced up, a pleased purr rising in her throat as she saw Willowbreeze.

"Oh, Bluefur," the silver tabby exhaled softly, coming to her friend's side. "They're so precious…"

"Thank-you, Willowbreeze." Bluefur nudged the red-furred tom closer to her stomach as he began to squirm away.

"A little adventurer already," Willowbreeze's whiskers twitched in amusement. "I heard there were two toms and two she-cats. I told you it would be a big litter."

Bluefur rolled her eyes. "Just wait until your litter comes, maybe there will be five."

"No thanks," the silver tabby meowed. "I've hardly grown at all, I'm sure my litter will be small." An easy silence fell between them until Willowbreeze spoke again, her voice barely more than a whisper as she realized the smallest kit was falling asleep. "Have you named them yet?"

"Not yet," Bluefur murmured, leaning down to lick the little pale gray-and-white she-cat as she trembled. "I suppose I should wait for Oakheart to get back."

"Willowbreeze nodded. "I'll go see what he's doing."

"Thanks," the blue-gray queen didn't look up from her kits as her friend left, relieved to see that borage seemed to be working as the darker, bluish gray tom began suckling contently. The smell of fish wafted to the queen's nose, and she felt her mouth instantly begin watering. Have a really developed such a taste for fish that a favor it now? Bluefur suddenly didn't care as Oakheart placed the fresh-kill in front of her.

"Don't you have duties today?" Bluefur tilted her head, but gave her mate a grateful flick of her ears as she tore into the fish.

"When Brambleberry reported to Crookedstar about your kitting and how they'd have to watch you closely for a while, he excused me from warrior duties so that I could help." He settled down behind her again, his pelt cool from being out in the snow.

"I'm glad," Bluefur sighed, leaning back against him as she finished eating. She remembered Willowbreeze's question, and glanced up at the reddish brown warrior. "Would you like to help me name them?"

Oakheart's lit up. "Of course!" He leaned over her, watching the kits closely. "What about…" He rested his tail-tip on the blue-gray tom. "Stonekit?"

"It's perfect," Bluefur nodded approvingly. "And this will be…" She gazed at her blue-gray daughter for a long moment before speaking again. "Mistykit." She didn't wait for Oakheart's approval before turning her gaze on her second son. His already rich, red-brown fur reminded her of something, and as it came back to her, she licked the little kit. "And this will be Sorrelkit."

Oakheart's amber gaze found their smallest daughter, who was trembling in her sleep. "Shiverkit," he purred warmly, leaning down and rasping his tongue across the little she-kit's head. "For the cold night they were born on."

"They're all so perfect…" Bluefur licked each of their kits in turn, patiently nudging Sorrelkit closer as he squirmed to the side again.

"You're absolutely right," Oakheart was purring louder than a monster on the Thunderpath as he watched his family.

Bluefur remembered how exciting kittings had been in ThunderClan—how the warriors would pace furiously, unable to help their comrade in the hardest battle of all, and how the entire Clan would come in one by one as they got the chance to see the latest addition to the Clan. Bluefur wasn't surprised to see that it wasn't the same for her in RiverClan. They had never fought alongside each other, so she was certain the only warrior that had even been up as she kitted was Oakheart. Crookedstar came by briefly, congratulating the two warmly and welcoming RiverClan's newest little warriors. But Bluefur didn't allow herself to expect any other visitors, trying to save herself the disappointment.

I don't need their approval. My kits will be the best RiverClan warriors they've ever seen.

When the nursery entrance rustled again as Bluefur was taking her latest dose of herbs, she was beyond surprised to see Whitepaw, closely followed by Loudbelly.

"Loudbelly," Oakheart greeted his former apprentice warmly, inviting him closer with a sweep of his tail. "And Whitepaw. Come to see RiverClan's newest warriors?"

"Yep!" Whitepaw bounced over, peering curiously into the nest. "Wow," he exhaled. "Loudbelly, look! There's really four of them."

"That's a big litter," Loudbelly blinked, seeming slightly surprised as he looked at Bluefur.

"It must be hard to feed all of them at once," Whitepaw observed, lying down on his belly and resting his chin on the edge of her nest, his green eyes bright as he looked at the kits. "They're so tiny…"

"Don't worry," Bluefur purred. "They'll grow."

"If you'd like," Oakheart glanced slyly at Loudbelly. "I can recommend you to mentor one of them, Loudbelly."

The brown warrior backpedaled, his eyes flashing in a mixture of panic and guilt. "I…"

Bluefur shook her head, amused. "It's okay; it's only natural to want to see the kits you might have a chance at mentoring."

"It's just… I know I haven't been the most friendly since you've come to RiverClan, and… Well, Whitepaw said that if I want a chance at mentoring one of your kits I should apologize for how I've been acting… The advice you gave him a while back was brilliant, but I was too busy trying to think of you as an enemy that I didn't realize how valuable you could be to the Clan…"

Bluefur blinked, surprised by the warrior's sudden apology. Her eyes softened as she watched Whitepaw give him an encouraging nod. "Thank-you, Loudbelly. I forgive you. I can't guarantee that you'll mentor one of them, but I would be glad if you did."

"I…" Loudbelly bowed his head, and Oakheart purred.

"You've grown into a fine warrior, Loudbelly. I couldn't be more proud of you."

Whitepaw broke the touching silence that followed. "Have you named them yet?"

"We have," Bluefur purred. She touched her tail-tip to each kit in turn as she told Whitepaw their names. "Stonekit, Mistykit, Sorrelkit, and Shiverkit."

"Wow," the apprentice exhaled, his eyes wide with wonder as he continued watching the kits. "Hurry up and grow," he whispered. "There's so much for you to see!"

A/N 2: A very close friend of mine recommended the name Shiverkit, because it sounded cute, and I immediately fell in love with it. I was hesitant at first, but then I remembered that there was a Sneezekit in the actual series, sooo... Yeah. Thanks for reading!