Here is the chapter everybody has been waiting for! Yipee! I hope you enjoy it! Thank you to all my reviewers! You have made this story the one with the most reviews: 61, over half-way to 100! Whoa!
Review Answers:
Erin Hunteress: Yeah! You're still here! Thank you so much for reviewing! Yeah, I know the plot is messed up. And I luv ToadxIvy! They're related? Oh, yeah, they are, aren't they? Well, I am pretending that they aren't. xD Yeah, Ivypool is being kind of a jerk, but the it is the drama that we are aiming for, right?
Amber Luvs Her Pinecone Larry: Yes, at last I updated. Stupid laziness! I'm glad that you liked the chapter! I would like to inform that you every right to forget about this crazy story! The writing is bad, the plot is weird, and I don't update enough. T.T I'm so sorry, again, and I'm glad that you are still reading this stuff!
Dovewing POV
The last moon had gone without any major events. ShadowClan had left them alone for the most part, Ivypool had promised to stay in ThunderClan until the kits were born, and Bumblestripe had gone on pretending to be the father of her soon-to-be-born kits.
Dovewing lay in the shade of the stone wall, breathing in the fragrance of the honey-suckle that flowed down the red rock, in a thick, leafy cascade. Her breath stirred a patch of nettles in the late sun-high sunshine.
"Oh, no," the silver she-cat heard Brightheart say from inside the nursery. A high-pitched cough rang in Dovewing's ears. "Snowkit, not you too. C'mon, let's get to the medicine den with you."
Of course, in the heart of leaf-bare, the clan was battling many cases of white-cough. No cat had developed green-cough yet, but it couldn't be too much longer before catmint would be needed. Dovewing had been lucky enough to escape the first wave of sickness, but she wouldn't bet that she wasn't going to catch it in the next few days.
Also, Dovewing's kits were coming. Leafpool had just that morning declared that the young ones were due any day now. This put even more stress on the shoulders of the young pregnant she-cat. One wrong move, and the lives of her kits could be in danger.
Dovewing was also confined to camp. Jayfeather had scolded her for "taking a tad too many little outings", so she was no longer aloud to leave from the haven, where the two medicine cats' watchful gazes were constantly upon her. Being the size that she was, it was incredibly hard to maneuver around, so the punishment barely made a difference in what she would have done in today's curricular.
Bumblestripe was so kind to her. Though she had snapped his heart it two, he still publicly displayed that he cared for, making sure that she was comfortable, and fetching food and water when she was in need of it. But he did not ask her to go on any more walks, he did not check on her in the middle of the night in the nursery, and avoided talking to her at all costs when no one else was around. Dovewing had attempted several times to break the barrier and tell him how sorry she was, but the striped tom would not allow it.
Ivypool had also been waiting on her in a manner to feed the quilt that was gnawing on her. She fetched anything Dovewing could possibly need or desire, and made a show of it. But Dovewing still felt betrayed by her sister, and reminded the tabby she-cat frequently.
So the silver she-cat sat, bathed in the sun's ray, the golden light contrasting in a sparkling way with her fur. In her mind she processed this all, but one would not have guessed it by her appearance. With her paws tucked beneath her, and her green eyes closed, she looked to be hazily enjoying herself.
The sun was just beginning it's journey from the peak of the sky down to the horizon, and the shadows that darkened the hidden parts of the stone hollow gradually lengthened.
An hour went by without any activity that disturbed the peace. Just an hour, and that was all before the pain started.
The first spasm startled Dovewing, and she let out a surprised hiss. Purdy, who was lazing on a red stone near to her, twisted his head backward to look at her. "Now what could be the-" he started, but was cut off my a sharp mew from Jayfeather.
"Leafpool! Dovewing is going into labor!" he called as he raced to she-cat's side. Leafpool followed quickly after.
The pain intensified, growing from a spark into a full-out fire of agony. She cried out, but then bit down hard. Jayfeather grabbed a near-by twig and placed it between her jaws. "Here, bite down on this."
Dovewing did as she was told. Her body rippled as it tried to remove the small creatures it had nourished for two long moons. Cats began to crowd around, but Jayfeather shooed them away. "Give her some air!" he yelled over the chorus of the gathered cats.
Dovewing began drowning in a sea of pain and loud voices. Her vision became obscured and the pain began to fade. Through the blur, she could see a gray tom with thick dark stripes crying in front of her.
"Dovewing!" he sobbed. "Please stay with me, Dovewing, please!" The toms amber eyes were leaking tears down his cheeks. "Please, Dovewing!" he begged.
None of this she understood. Her mind was beginning to recede from her body, to drift up into the stars. Darkness consumed her, and the pain disappeared all together.
When Dovewing awoke, her whole body ached, and she felt as if she hadn't moved her muscles in seasons. She was no longer in the bowl of the camp, but nestled inside a soft mess of moss, bracken, and feathers. The first thing she saw was Dewkit and Amberkit playing beside her.
"You're awake!" Brightheart exclaimed, leaping to her feet. Dovewing cringed as the loud tone of her voice rang in her ears. "Oh, sorry, Dovewing. We were just worried about you," the ginger and white she-cat mewed, more quietly than before.
Leafpool peaked into the nursery. "Did I hear that our patient has awoken?" she asked, scanning the nursery for a risen Dovewing. When she found her, she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank StarClan you're okay."
Ivypool rushed into the nursery after the pale brown medicine cat. "Oh, I was so worried about you Dovewing!" she said in a voice barely above a whisper, and eased her muscles as if she had been holding her breath.
Dovewing was thoroughly confused. She blinked her emerald eyes in bewilderment. "What... what happened?" she said with a puzzled expression. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Well, Dovewing," Leafpool began. "You went into labor, and there were some birthing complications. The took too long to exit the uterus, and your body became to exhausted by the contractions. You passed out, and, miraculously, we saved all three kits!" she explained, a triumphant smile spreading over her white muzzle.
Dovewing abruptly noticed another presence. Nestled into the curve of her belly, were a trio of damp bundles of fur. Dovewing nearly choked in astonishment. Her kits! They were the most gorgeous kits that she had ever seen.
One of her tiny children sneezed delicately, and then buried it's body deeper into her thick fur. A tear of pure joy trickled down Dovewing's cheek, and she purred. At that moment, she knew that she had never loved anyone else more than the tiny beings suckling hungrily beside her. She wanted nothing else then to be with them forever, guiding them and protecting them for the rest of eternity.
"Dovewing?!" a familiar voice called. The walls of the nursery shook slightly as Bumblestripe nearly forced his way through the small entrance. Dovewing looked up at him, and saw the happiness in his eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but then he seemed to remember that the kits were not his, and wilted. "I-I'm glad that you're okay," he mumbled, his form drooping.
Dovewing swallowed painfully. Would things ever be the same between them again? Would he ever forgive her? How would she survive with Bumblestripe's soothing purr, his warm flank brushing against hers. She would make it up to him. With StarClan as her witness, she would somehow win back the tabby tom's heart.
"Well?" Daisy's prompt ripped Dovewing from her thoughts. "Aren't you going to name them, dear?" she meowed. Dovewing nodded, glancing at Bumblestripe out of the corner of her eye.
"Um... how about Beekit, for the white and silver tabby tom?" she said after a few seconds. Ivypool smiled at her. "He has you're looks, Ivypool," she added.
"Why don't you name one, Bumblestripe?" Daisy murmured, nudging the gray tom. Bumblestripe looked sideways at Dovewing, as if to ask permission to name one of the kits. Dovewing dipped her head slightly.
Bumblestripe gazed at the three kits. "How about Applekit?" he suggested, gesturing to Dovewing's only daughter, a gray she-kit with darker mottled markings and distinctively soft, fluffy kit fur. Brightheart chuckled.
"That's a pretty name," she complimented, looking down warmly at her three great-grandchildren. Dovewing liked the name as well. It suited the smallest of the litter well.
The nursery remained silent for several moments as those in the crowded nursery sized up the latter of the kits. It was a large tom-kit, with dark brown tabby fur and white paws. Jagged bands of a brown shade that was almost black striped his small body. He had tail that was long and slender, unlike either Bumblestripe's or Dovewing's. Like Brambleclaw, Hawkfrost, and Tigerheart before him, the kit looked ironically like Tigerstar.
"Where did he get his pelt from?" Leafpool asked, staring down at the tiny tom. Her eyes widened as she recognized his likeness, and Dovewing set her jaw nervously as she watched a slight crease form on Leafpool's forehead as suspicion developed through her expression.
A glance passed between Dovewing, Bumblestripe, and Ivypool. All three opened their mouths to defend to young kit but Brightheart spoke before them.
"Dustpelt of course. He looks a lot like his great-grandfather, doesn't he?" she said. Leafpool seemed satisfied with this answer, and she nodded in comprehension. Dovewing unclenched her teeth as the threat departed.
"How about, um, Stripekit?" Bumblestripe said, when no one else spoke. The name referred to his striking stripes, obviously. Dovewing appreciated that name as well, but gazing over the kit brought Tigerheart's face to her mind.
"Actually," she mewed. "I-I would like to wait a little to name him... um, later?" Dovewing hoped that that didn't sound too absurd.
A few pairs of eyes widened in confusion, but everyone seemed to accept the queen's odd request. The cats that had gathered in the nursery promptly left, all except for Ivypool, leaving Brightheart, Daisy, and too sisters alone in the cozy briar den.
"Why did you not want to name the brown tabby kit?" Ivypool asked Dovewing in a hushed whisper.
"I-I want Tigerheart to name him. I think that... well, since he's the father, he should name one of the kits, right?" Dovewing uttered quietly back.
"How is he going to name one?"
"Well... I'm going to show him the kits. He needs to see them, at least, too."
"But how?"
"Well... I need you to help me."
"Help you do what?"
Dovewing wondered if Ivypool would thick it was a silly idea. But Dovewing believed that it was important that Tigerheart had a at least minor contact with his kits. "I'm going to meet him with the kits at the border."
"What?!" Ivypool exclaimed, a bit too loudly. Daisy glanced in their direction. Dovewing hushed her sister. "So... how is that going to work? How are you going to sneak three newborn kits to the ShadowClan border?" Ivypool asked.
Dovewng looked at her paws. "There's a gathering in a few days, isn't there?" she asked. Ivypool nodded. "When you're there, tell him to meet me at our old meeting place. Then you and I can bring the three kits there, and he can see them, and name the brown tabby kit."
Ivypool kneaded the earthen floor of the nursery. "There's a lot of areas where that can mess up, you know," she pointed out, listing in her head the number of catastrophic events that could result from this sloppy plot.
"I know," Dovewing said. "But I... I just feel as if I have to do this."
Ivypool lay down beside Dovewing, so that the three kits, who by now where fast asleep, lay curled up between them. Ivypool gave each one a gentle, affectionate lick. "Goodnight, my nephews and niece," she whispered. "Sweet dreams, little ones."
I would like to give credit to samredlamb7 for designing and naming Dovewing's three kits, Beekit, Applekit, and Stripekit (whom I altered a bit).