At moonhigh, Creamleaf returned with a mouthful of herbs and a mindful of solutions for Whiteheart. She congratulated Horsepaw for doing so good. Cavepaw finally came in to let Creamleaf get the thorn out of his paw.

Horsepaw looked at her paws when he came in. Tomorrow morning, they were to try the herbs on Whiteheart.

"Horsepaw, Whiteheart," Creamleaf began, looking at the two she-cats when Cavepaw left. "You two sleep in here tonight, because as soon as it's sunrise, we are going to try the herbs. So get a lot of sleep. Go get something to eat and go straight to your nest."

Whiteheart and Horsepaw nodded and both padded out the den and to the fresh kill pile.

"Whiteheart, you've gotta eat!" Horsepaw said mutely, exasperated. She pushed a juicy hare to the queen. "Tomorrow is the day you're kits come! You've gotta keep your energy up!" Whiteheart smiled sadly and shook her head, and pushed the hare away.

"What's wrong?" Horsepaw mouthed to her.

Whiteheart sighed and looked at the moon. "Something's not right with this litter." She meowed at last. She turned to look Horsepaw in the eyes. "Something bad is going to happen."

Horsepaw felt fear pierce her heart. But then she pushed it away. "You're just nervous. I think all queens are before birth! I'll be with you all the way through, though, okay?" Her lips moved with no sound. She laid her tail on the scared she-cat.

Whiteheart smiled and licked her ear. "Thank you, Horsepaw. You'll make a fine medicine cat." She began to eat the hare, and Horsepaw ate a rabbit. When they finished, they sank down on their nests. Horsepaw watched as the medicine cat and queen went to sleep, but she didn't go to sleep. Do I really want to give up my life and Whirlpaw just to become a medicine cat? She thought before she went to sleep.

<•>

At sunrise, Creamleaf kept her promise and woke both of them up.

"Okay, Whiteheart!" She meowed cheerfully. "This is the big day!" She was bouncing on the tips of her paws.

Whiteheart smiled wearily.

"Horsepaw, get us a good stick for her to bite on. And make sure it's not dead! Hurry back!" She told her apprentice. Horsepaw nodded and scurried out the camp.

"Horsepaw!" Bounceheart's voice called to her. "Time for battle training!"

"I can't!" She mouthed to her mentor. Bounceheart looked heartbroken. "Whiteheart's about to have her kits."

Bounceheart instantly cheered up. "Oh! Go help with that! We can train later. Good luck!" She smiled and padded into camp, tail up.

Horsepaw smiled back and went to find a stick. Soon, she picked a pretty oak piece of a branch that probably fell down during a storm. She went back into the den, where Whiteheart was laying on her side, and Creamleaf was feeling her belly.

Horsepaw held the stick up. Creamleaf nodded. "Good. Give her the stick after I give her the herbs. They're supposed to work fast." Creamleaf whispered something to Whiteheart and she nodded. Whiteheart ate the herbs that Creamleaf was giving her, and Horsepaw stuck the stick into her mouth.

They did work fast. Almost immediately, Whiteheart's muffled screams filled the medicine den.

"You're doing great!" Creamleaf soothed her sister, who responded with a grunt. A ripple passed through her stomach, and Creamleaf whispered something to her, and Whiteheart screeched. A kit fell onto the moss.

"Horsepaw, lick it!" Creamleaf lead instructed, gently shoving the kit to her. Horsepaw licked it, trying to warm it up. It was a beautiful tortoiseshell she-kit with white paws and a white chest.

"Come on, Whiteheart! You can do it, love!" Eagleeye's encouraging meow came as a surprise to Horsepaw. She didn't know when he came inside to witness his mate giving birth.

Whiteheart just turned her gaze to him, and shut them tightly as another spasm gripped her body. This screech was even louder than the others.

Creamleaf's happy gaze fell. Her face was blank. She looked at Horsepaw, her green eyes frightened. "She's losing too much blood. I don't know what to do. I can't loose her!" She wailed.

Horsepaw had never seen her mentor looked so distraught. "What do we do?" She mouthed, but Creamleaf wasn't focused on her. She was concentrating on Whiteheart.

Please, StarClan, don't let her die! Horsepaw thought wildly. It's my first birth, and I might already ruin it!

Don't let these kits be motherless.