Brookshadow woke the next morning, her stomach under siege. She sat up, Dewfur groaning in his sleep as she swiftly shook herself free of his paws and trotted out through the ivy curtain, and then out of camp. She swallowed hard as she felt her stomach rebuking its contents, and she sat down not too far from camp, wretching. She took a few breaths and coughed a couple of times, covering her vomit up and feeling her body return to normal.

"How long have you been vomiting?" A voice meowed.

Brookshadow jumped, hissing to herself as Jayfeather stalked towards her with some herbs clamped in his jaws. "Not too long... Why?"

"'Not too long' doesn't help me," Jayfeather mewed, setting down the herbs so he could talk better. He twitched his ears, showing he was slightly annoyed. "How long?"

Brookshadow's ears twitched as she thought. "Ah, about five days, I think?"

Jayfeather wrinkled his brow, then smiled a little, nodding. "You're fine." He mewed, picking up his herbs.

Brookshadow shook her head in confusion, then sighed a bit and started walking back towards the lake. The lake... Had that really happened last night? After thinking about it for a few moments, she sighed. It was real, she couldn't deny it. But all those scenes... Brookshadow hadn't really thought about them. Those kits... Brookshadow looked down at her paws. Life is cruel, She thought. It doesn't care about us. It only knows how to bring us into this world, and take us out of it.

Brookshadow continued on towards the lake. What had Bluestar meant her to see? Whatever it was, Brookshadow was sure that all those death scenes wasn't it. She got to the lakeshore and felt the sun warming her pelt. Putting a paw onto the wet sand, she lowered herself down, closer to the water. She peered into it, again seeing her reflection, this time of just her face. Her green eyes blinked slowly as she tried to figure it out. Brookshadow stood and waded into the water, feeling it soak her pelt and cool her. She was no RiverClan cat, but she knew she'd be okay if she stood in the water. Brookshadow sighed, still not seeing what Bluestar had wanted her to see. She bent her head and gently lapped at the water, feeling the coolness of it trickle down her throat. She heard a set of pawsteps up on the shore, and blinked up as Cinderheart and Lionblaze came into view. Lionblaze looked down at the lake and cocked his head, staring at her and coming to a stop.

Cinderheart was smiling, but she turned around and looked at Lionblaze, confused, as she realized her mate wasn't walking with her. "Lionblaze? What are you looking at...?"

Lionblaze pointed with his muzzle towards Brookshadow, who stood in the water, which reached up to her belly. "Her."

Cinderheart followed his gaze, then chuckled as she saw Brookshadow. She trotted down the slight incline and to the edge of the water. "What are you doing in there?" She asked, smiling.

Brookshadow moved her paw, feeling the coolness of the water against her skin. "Ah... Thinking, I think."

Cinderheart stifled another giggle, then started to head into the water as well.

Lionblaze, who had followed her down the slope, pulled back his ears. "Cinderheart! What are you doing?"

Cinderheart reached Brookshadow, then turned to her mate. "I'll be fine, don't worry. I think I'm just going to help Brookshadow loosen up. Have some fun."

Lionblaze let out a small smile at her. "Alright. I'm just going to go hunting before you invite me in there, as well. Just don't hurt yourself, okay?" He mewed, heading off into the forest.

Brookshadow looked at Cinderheart, smiling a little at her. "You don't have to do this. I know you probably don't like water."

Cinderheart was looking down through the clear water at the sandy bottom with a slightly uncomfortable expression, but chuckled at Brookshadow. "I'm fine. You do need to have some fun, though."

"I do?"

"Mhmm." Cinderheart nodded, flicking her wet tail at Brookshadow's face, causing a few droplets to land on her muzzle. Brookshadow shook her head once, giving a small laugh.

Cinderheart smiled widely, then gently pushed her, splashing some water at her.

Brookshadow winced as the water fell on her, then returned the favor to Cinderheart through an even bigger splash.

Cinderheart shook off her pelt, then touched Brookshadow and started to swim off. "Catch me if you can!" She mewed, letting out a laugh.

"Hey!" Brookshadow exclaimed, splashing into the deeper waters and churning her paws instinctively, following her friend through the ripples. She saw Cinderheart slowing slightly, and churned her paws more forcefully, sending her gliding forward through the water. She got to Cinderheart, touched her lightly with her muzzle, and turned, starting to swim away.

Cinderheart followed with a laugh, mewing in a rush, "Hold your breath!"

Brookshadow did so, and Cinderheart wrapped her playful paws around Brookshadow, pulling them both underwater. Brookshadow's eyes widened as she saw all the way to the other side of the lake. It's so clear! She thought, amazed. She'd lived next to this lake her entire life and had never known this. Cinderheart let go of Brookshadow, moving her paws to go down towards the bottom of the lake. However, Brookshadow could feel herself running out of breath, and Cinderheart must have known too, because she quickly abandoned her idea and began to swim up towards the surface with Brookshadow. They broke surface, and Brookshadow gulped in air. Cinderheart shook her head, sending water spraying everywhere.

Brookshadow laughed and splashed Cinderheart.

Cinderheart laughed as well, then let them both catch their breath. Then she mewed, "Wanna see if we can touch the bottom?"

A grin grew on Brookshadow's face. "Yeah!"

Cinderheart nodded. "Alright. Let's go!" She took a breath and dived back under water.

Brookshadow watched Cinderheart's head disappear, then took a breath and followed herself. Cinderheart was fervently churning her paws, moving swiftly down. Brookshadow followed, somehow catching up. Cinderheart's head turned, and she smiled, letting out a few bubbles as she exhaled a tiny bit.

Brookshadow smiled back, then headed down, moving her paws faster. Cinderheart was just on her tail as Brookshadow touched the floor, pushing her hind paws against the ground to give her an extra boost towards the surface. She felt herself beginning to run out of air, but she knew she'd make it. She glanced behind her and saw Cinderheart gaining on her.

Brookshadow surfaced, taking in a great breath. Cinderheart's head followed, her eyes happy.

"Hey, we did it!" She exclaimed, breathless.

Brookshadow nodded. "Back to shore?" She asked, feeling the need for a rest.

Cinderheart chuckled. "Yeah."

Brookshadow gave her a small push towards the ThunderClan shoreline, and kept pace with her as they finally were able to touch the ground once more. They climbed out to the bank, and Brookshadow lay down so that her pelt was still in the water, but she could relax comfortably and not have to worry about breathing in water. Cinderheart sat down beside her and began to lick her upper body dry. Brookshadow smiled, watching Cinderheart.

"What?" Cinderheart asked with a laugh. "Just because we both swam for a while doesn't mean I want to be wet any longer."

"It's gonna take awhile to do that. Why don't you sun-dry with me instead?"

Cinderheart gave her sodden pelt a few more licks, then nodded. "Less work for me." She lay down next to Brookshadow, stretching her paws out.

Brookshadow gasped. "Cinderheart!"

Cinderheart twitched an ear, looking at her. "What is it?"

"You're expecting kits!" Brookshadow couldn't believe she hadn't noticed before; the gray she-cat had quite the stomach, extended with the promise of new life.

Cinderheart chuckled, pulling her ears back bashfully. "Oh, yeah. Have been for a few weeks now."

Brookshadow chuckled. "That's great! Does Lionblaze know?"

"He does. But we wanted to keep it quiet for now, you know."

Brookshadow nodded. "I can understand that. Are you looking forward to it?"

Cinderheart let out a sigh. "You bet. But I mean, kits are... wow." She chuckled.

Brookshadow nodded. "I don't know how Aldershade managed to keep up with all six of me and my siblings."

"He's crazy," Cinderheart whispered, teasing. "He didn't keep up well at all."

Brooksahdow chuckled and they lay in silence, letting the sun soak into their fur. Brookshadow actually even dozed for awhile, laying her head down on the warm sand. The sun was beginning to dip low when Lionblaze came back to collect his mate.

"Cinderheart," He mewed, his voice muffled by prey he held in his mouth. "Come on."

Cinderheart had looked up from her nap, blinking a few times. "Oh, alright. Go ahead, Lionblaze. I'll be right there." As Lionblaze started to head towards camp, Cinderheart stretched her muscles out and smiled at Brookshadow. "Thanks. I really had fun."

Brookshadow nodded. "Anytime."

"Are you gonna walk with us?" Cinderheart invited.

Brookshadow shook her head. "No, thanks. I think I'm gonna stay out for awhile longer."

Cinderheart nodded and gave her a friendly nuzzle before following her mate with a flick of her tail.

Brookshadow stood and stretched a short while after she left. She got off of the sand beach and onto the knoll that she'd talked to Bluestar on, peering into the water from different angles. She hadn't noticed Cinderheart's belly swelling with kits... What other things had she missed?

The sun was fading from view. Brookshadow didn't want to be out after dark, so she sighed and turned around. Something caught her eye. She turned back to the water, curious. Then she furrowed her brow and turned half way back to the forest, still looking into the water. Her eyes widened slightly.

Forget Cinderheart's belly, She thought. I should be worrying about my own!