Sorry, guys, school pounced on me, and I got busy. I wasn't completely absent thought. I wrote two one-shots, Nine Lives Lost and Hurting. If you want to know what I was writing while I was not updating, then check out those two stories.

You know what makes me fall over in shock? I got SEVEN REVIEWS! Thank you so much, everyone! I don't deserve this at all! Plushies for everyone!

Please choose from the list below:
Ivypool
Dovewing
Tigerheart
Bumblestripe
Toadstep

Review Answers:

Cherrydawn5: I know, right! That's my favorite part of the chapter!

samredlamb7: Sorry for taking a while. I hope you like this chapter. I worked hard on it.

xXAurora LightsXx: Hold onto that popcorn! I'll try to add drama, and suspense, and all that fun stuff. Let's torture these characters! I'm so glad that you're like this story.

Erin Hunteress: Wow, you reviewed every chapter! Thank you so much, for the praise, I don't deserve it! And I'm so happy that you like this story. It means so much to me! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I like your pen name, by the way!

Sinora Saphire: Yes, yes, fluffy fluffy fluff. I live on fluff! I just hope it doesn't get too fluffy. I have a plan for Ivypool, I do.

Moondust: I'm so glad you like, though I don't know why. My writing is bad. xP Longer chapters, I will try. As for the cookie, you can have a virtual one! What kind?

Guest: I love Ivypool, too!

Dovewing POV

He had already told everyone who had ears to listen. He had already claimed her as his. Claimed them as his. But the fact was, they probably weren't his.

Dovewing sighed, shifting in the crinkling moss and bracken in her stuffed nest. Bumblestripe had shoved her into this cramped place, ordered any apprentices who weren't on patrol to collect bedding, and had already come in ten times in the last five minutes to ask if she was comfortable.

The sun peeked through the tight-woven thorns that made up the nursery, splashing the silver she-cat with dappled shadows. She could hear the voices of Brightheart and Daisy gossiping softly right outside of the den.

Jayfeather had told her that she was carrying kits. He didn't say whose kits. He probably didn't know. But Dovewing had a feeling of who they belonged to. A horrific, crushing feeling. Who else could they belong to?

Not Bumblestripe, she hadn't spent enough time with him. It made sense that the kits were Tigerheart's. It just did. But the fact was, that they couldn't be his. Cats from different clans were forbidden to have kits together. But they were his. Dovewing just knew.

But she couldn't tell anyone else that. Certainly not Bumblestripe. And once Briarlight had found out that she was having kits, everyone knew. Everyone knew that she was having kits. But they just couldn't belong to Tigerheart. They had to belong to Bumblestripe, but they didn't.

Dovewing lay her head on her paws, wishing she was out hunting. But Bumblestripe had insisted that she move in to the nursery, though there was still at least a moon and a half before the kits were due.

Bumblestripe poked his black-striped head in through the slim entrance. "Are you sure you're comfortable, Dovewing?" he asked, again. Dovewing smiled. She quite liked to be fussed over, however boring it was.

"Yes, Bumblestripe. I'm fine," she assured him, and he ducked back out. Dovewing found that she was enjoying the way that Bumblestripe cared for her. It made her feel warm inside. Just like Tigerheart had...

Tigerheart! Tigerheart was the last thing that she wanted on her mind at the moment. She had many more things to worry about. For instance, Lilypaw didn't have a mentor. And Dovewing wanted to train her terribly. But she had at least another seven moons to be spent in the nursery, and by that time, Lilypaw would be a warrior.

But she was having Tigerheart's kits. Didn't he have the right to know? It was a crazy impulse, but Dovewing felt as she had to share the news of her kits with their father. But what would he think? He was still angry with her, after all. Would he tell everyone? Would he chase her away? Or would he expect them to start meeting again, continue their secret romance?

Nothing seemed clear. Dovewing thought that maybe a walk through the woods with Ivypool might make her feel better, but the white and silver tabby continued to ignore her, despite her apology. And Bumblestripe would never let her out of camp again!

"But, Mother, I'm not tired!" rang the protest of a kit to a queen. Brightheart appeared, shuffling Snowkit, Dewkit, and Amberkit into the nursery.

"Now, you know that you have to nap. If you don't, you'll be too tired to stay awake later tonight," she told her young offspring. Dewkit clawed at a bit of moss bad-temperedly.

"No I won't! I'll stay up forever!" the small gray and white tom mewed. Brightheart just shook her head, and curled up around her three squirming children. After a few seconds, Amberkit noticed Dovewing.

"What is she doing here?" she asked her mother. Brightheart rasped her tongue over a stray tuft of fur on Snowkit's back.

"That's Dovewing. She's going to have kits of her own soon," Brightheart explained. Amberkit pricked her ears, and whipped her head around wildly, scanning the nursery.

"Where are her kits?" she asked. Dovewing and Brightheart purred in amusement. Dovewing leaned over to Amberkit, flicking her tiny gray tail gently with her paw.

"My kits aren't born yet. They'll be here in about a moon," she told the little she-kit. Amberkit drew herself up in a prideful manner, sticking her nose in the air.

"I'll be an apprentice in five moons. Is one moon longer than five moons?" she asked, her eyes glinting in curiosity. Brightheart drew her tail around Amberkit, and nudged her closer to her.

"Five moons is longer than one moon. Five is longer than one," she said, using a paw to gently press Amberkit's body into a sleeping position. Amberkit scowled.

"But I've waited for a whole lot of moons to become an apprentice! How long is it going to take?!" she growled loudly.

Brightheart's brow furrowed. "Hush now, go to sleep, Amberkit," she said sternly. Amberkit protested once more, but gave in as a large yawn broke her stature, and she closed her eyes sleepily as her mother swept her against her dozing littermates.

Dovewing's muzzle curved into a smile. Brightheart gazed at her through one green eye. The other had been torn out, along with a whole half of the ginger and white she-cat's face, by a ferocious pack of dogs that had hunted the clan even before they had traveled from the old forest. The terror that she must've experienced was unimaginable. Dovewing had never done anything courageous in her life, save defeating the beavers as an apprentice.

"I don't know how you do it, Brightheart," she said, purring as Snowkit twitched in his sleep. "Raising these kits..."

Brightheart gave her chest fur a self-conscious lick. "Oh, they're a paw-ful alright. But it's worth it to watch them grow up and serve their clan! Why, look at Whitewing! She's already a warrior, and had a mate," she said, a faraway look in her single eye. She gave Dovewing an encouraging lick. "And she's raised you and Ivypool."

Dovewing had forgotten that Brightheart was Whitewing's mother. It seemed strange that the elderly she-cat should have kits at this age. "And now you're preparing another litter! It's amazing," Dovewing said, admiring Brightheart's accomplishments.

"Now, don't make me feel old, darling," Brightheart teased with a good-natured flick of her tail. Dovewing dipped her head in response, but didn't go beyond that.

Bumblestripe's yellow eyes blared from the entrance of the nursery. He opened his mouth, but Dovewing was faster. "Now, if you ask me if I'm comfortable again, I'll tear my own ears off!" she snapped, but she couldn't help smiling. Bumblestripe detected her humor, and grinned, but took the hint.

Bumblestripe's so wonderful... Dovewing thought contentedly. I'm so happy that he's mine. Maybe Dovewing could forget Tigerheart, and focus on the tom outside the den.

But, Dovewing's mind once again drifted to tom just outside her reach. Why was it that one always desired things one didn't have? Why must she yearn for Tigerheart, who was mountains away, when another stood beside her loyally?

The answer did not come. The scent of fresh-kill wafted in as Cherrypaw lugged a plump rabbit and a bushy-tailed squirrel into the nursery. She set her prey in front of the two queens, eyes gleaming with pride.

"I caught these myself!" she announced. Dovewing dipped her head in gratitude. Foxleap was teaching the little ginger she-cat well. Brightheart pawed at the squirrel.

"A lovely catch, darling," she mewed, and then began to devour the creature. Dovewing agreed curtly and watched Cherrypaw leave, wishing for her own apprentice. Her stomach didn't feel up for a huge rabbit, so she decided to share with Ivypool, hoping her sister had forgotten their arguement.

Dovewing rose to her paws, took up the rabbit in her jaws, and squeezed out of the bramble den. Bumblestripe narrowed his eyes as she exited the den.

"You can't come out! You need to be in the nursery," he protested. Dovewing gave him a come on look, and he backed down. She spotted Ivypool sunning beside Toadstep, deep in conversation.

They're perfect for each other, Dovewing thought. But as she neared the conversing pair, their expressions became clear. Ivypool had a pained look on her face, and Toadstep was staring at his black and white paws angrily.

"Hello," she said. Toadstep looked up, still scowling.

"Oh, hi. I'll leave you two to talk," he spat, and stalked away, kicking up dust as he went. Ivypool stared after him, biting her lip. Dovewing shot her a questioning look, and the tabby she-cat looked guiltily down at the ground.

"What's the matter?" Dovewing asked. Ivypool shifted on her paws, grating away some sand as she scraped her claws against the red stone of the hollow.

"Well... He asked me to come hunting with him, and I said that I had just gotten back from a patrol, and wasn't up for it yet. Then he blew up about how I kept ignoring him, and how he was trying to be friends, but I wouldn't be social," she mewed quietly, blue eyes fixed in the direction the tom had padded away.

Dovewing lay down next to Ivypool, sharing the warmth as the sun rose to its highest place in the sky. "I'm sorry," she said. "Toms can be difficult. It'll work out. It has for me, at least," Dovewing reminded her, glancing at Bumblestripe fondly, who was talking with Blossomfall.

Ivypool perked her ears. "Oh yes, you're having Bumblestripe's kits!" she said, looking at Dovewing's belly as if she expected the kits to arrive any second. "So... you've forgotten about Tigerheart?" she asked.

Dovewing was surprised by her question. She looked at Ivypool curiously. "What do you mean, have I forgotten about him?" she questioned, searching Ivypool's face for an explanation.

Ivypool rapidly turned away, not meeting her eyes. "Well, ya know, I just kinda thought you might still like him..." she said, turning back to Dovewing cautiously. Dovewing growled.

How dare she even think that? she thought angrily. "Of course not! It was just a stupid romance I made up in my head!" she snarled. "Do you have feelings for him?" she added accusingly. Ivypool bared her fangs, but didn't say anything.

"Honestly, Ivypool, when will you get over him? Don't you know he could never like you?!" Dovewing told her, voice rising. Other cats in the stone hollow began to stare at the quarreling littermates.

Ivypool looked around at the watchers, snarling, and sauntered off. I cornered her! Hah! Dovewing thought, satisfied.

But why did I go off like that? said another voice deep inside of her. How come you were trying to convince her that Tigerheart could never like her? What would it matter to you?

The other cats had gone back to their business, and the rabbit Cherrypaw had caught still lay in front of Dovewing, uneaten. But Dovewing could not possibly stomach it. She stealthily slid it back into the fresh-kill pile, and watched as another hungry cat made off with it.

Dovewing was glad to be out of the nursery, and she didn't want to return quickly. In order to maintain her freedom, she slipped out of the stone hollow, unseen by Bumblestripe, and into the woods.

What was she going to do there? Was she going to see Tigerheart?

Of course not! Dovewing said sternly. I'm just getting some fresh air! But as she walked, Dovewing paws carried her to the ShadowClan border. The all-too familiar scent tickled the scent glands on the roof of her mouth tauntingly as she drew in a breath. The scent screamed Tigerheart!

This place, it fit in with her life, it came naturally in the painting of all she had become, and all she wanted to be. The trees, the stones, the earth beneath her claws, it all made sense. This was where she used to see Tigerheart during their secret midnight meetings.

Dovewing leaned her back against the rough surface of a boulder. Maybe she was just imagining it, but she thought that she caught a trace of his scent...

There he was. Just like she remembered him. His dark tabby coat hadn't changed, and neither had his glimmering amber eyes. He had a new scar, probably from the battle, but other than that, nothing had changed.

"Who goes there?" he yowled. Dovewing remained silent. Tigerheart came closer, and when he saw her, his eyes flickered with disappointment. "Oh, I thought you might be..."

He trailed off, not finishing. You thought I might be who? Dovewing demanded inwardly. Is there someone you would rather see?

But she pushed the thoughts away. "I-I need to talk to you, Tigerheart. Please," she added, dipping her head. Tigerheart studied her, and his jaws clenched.

"I don't want to talk to you. I don't ever want to see you again!" he spat, and whipped around. Dovewing's mouth opened helplessly. He didn't turn to look at her, so she snapped onto her paws and dashed after him.

"Wait, Tigerheart! It's important. I-I..." Dovewing didn't know how to put her emotions to words. Tigerheart, still not looking at her, stopped in his tracks, and began to speak quietly.

"If you want us to be together again, then go away. You said that we couldn't be together, so get out of my territory."

Dovewing's eyes stung with tears. Was that really how he felt, or was he just masking his pain?

What am I doing here? What am I supposed to say? I have to say something... she thought, biting her lip. Tigerheart still stood, unmoving and silent, with his back facing her. Neither of them made a sound for a few endless moments.

"Tigerheart," she began, planning out her speech. "We cannot be together... but there's something you should know. Yesterday, I found out that I was having kits... and-and..." Dovewing searched for the right words.

What would he think? Would he be happy? Angry, perhaps? And if he was angry, would he blame her? Would he tell on her? There was no way to know.

"I think that the kits are... yours."

Tigerheart turned his head slowly. Their eyes met, burning amber against leafy green. His expression was unreadable, except one element. Shock. Tigerheart's eyes were as wide as moons. His lips were parted ever so slightly, as if he was afraid to let them open, but too shocked to let them close.

Dovewing wanted to press her muzzle into his fur. She wanted to let their pelts brush and collide; she wanted them to be one. But she suppressed the urge, and watched as Tigerheart stood quivering, taking in what she had said.

"Mine...?" he finally said. "What-what about that ThunderClan tom, Bumble-something?"

"They're not his. I just know. They can't be; we didn't spend enough time together. They must be yours, Tigerheart," she said, letting out a breath. Tigerheart looked down, realizing that what she said was true.

"But-but what does that mean for you? Will you get in trouble? How will your clan take that?" Tigerheart asked. If it was out of either curiosity or concern, Dovewing did not know.

"I haven't told another soul except you. Everyone thinks that the kits are Bumblestripe's," she replied, moistening her lips under Tigerheart's penetrating gaze.

"So why did you tell me?" Tigerheart asked, cocking his head like a bird. Dovewing wasn't exactly sure how to answer his question.

"I don't know. I just thought that you should know, because the kits belong to you," she said, concluding that that was the reason, and that there was no other.

But maybe you wanted to see him- the voice inside her head ventured to whisper. Dovewing ignored it.

Tigerheart sat down, thinking. "What if one looks like me? What then?" he asked. Dovewing shook her head. No cat would recognize it if their kit looked like a ShadowClan tom, would they?

But Bumblestripe might recognize it. He knew about them, just barely, from the conversation he had overheard she and Ivypool having. What would he do if he knew that her kits were Tigerheart's?

It hasn't come to that yet, Dovewing thought. Tigerheart was staring at her again, a hungry look in his eyes.

"Is that really the only reason you came?" he mewed. "Do you really believe that we can't be together?"

As much as she wanted to, Dovewing knew that she had couldn't tell him the truth. She couldn't meet him again. It was over, and Dovewing had to accept it. She had to.

"Yes, Tigerheart," she mewed. Tigerheart paused for a second, but then surged forward. Dovewing cried out in fear. Was he going to attack her?

He rasped his tongue gently across her face, burying his nose into her long silver fur, and then quickly drew back. Dovewing shrank against the boulder, breathing rapidly. Tigerheart's eyes were fixed on her.

"I had to do that," he whispered. "Just once more." And with that, he disappeared, his dark stripes melding into shadows of the pines. Gone.