Birdpaw had a pretty good sleep that night, considering she had gotten back to camp at around midnight. Towards dawn however, her peaceful sleep was interrupted by loud yowling. At first, she wondered if she had just imagined the noise, but when it came again, she stood up in her nest. Fear pulsed through her as she pushed through the exit of the apprentice den, wondering if Maplestar had come to attack. Half of the Clan warriors were running around out of their den, their fur standing on end and sleepy eyes wide. A blur of movement caught everyone's attention and they turned to see Dewpaw streaking out of the nursery, skidding to a halt in the middle of the camp clearing.

"Someone get the medicine cats!" he yowled, "Silversong is having her kits!" Birdpaw was the quickest to react and spun around to the medicine cat den and burst inside, almost running into a very sleepy Flowerstem.

"What is happening?" she asked, yawning, "It is not even dawn yet!"

"It is Silversong," panted Birdpaw, "she is having her kits!" Another yowl echoed through camp and Flowerstem raced to the herb store, before racing past the apprentice and out of the den, looking wide awake. Birdpaw ran out of the den as well, skidding to a halt next to Dewpaw, who was looking at the nursery, concerned.

"Will she be okay?" asked the tortoiseshell and white apprentice, looking at the still moving ivy from when Flowerstem had pushed through.

"I don't know," replied the tom, "I don't remember Moonflower being this loud when she had you and your littermates. Though, I was pretty young, so..." He didn't finish his sentence as the queen inside the nursery gave another loud wail. Dewpaw dug his claws into the ground before pacing around the clearing. As Birdpaw look around, she didn't see any of the other warriors looking very concerned. At least one the toms should be, since the Silversong had to be one of their mates.

"Who is going to be the father of the kits?" she asked Dewpaw when he walked past her.

"Maplestar," he said, not looking at her, focusing more on not having a nervous breakdown. Birdpaw felt a chill go down her spine as she heard him say the name. She hoped that none of the kit's looked like their father.

"Why are you so worried?" asked the she-cat, watching the tom pacing around the camp clearing.

"She is my mentor," replied Dewpaw, not looking anywhere but the ground. After a few more yowls from the kitting queen, Flowerstem emerged from the den, looking very frazzled. The warriors in the clearing looked up and Dewpaw stopped pacing.

"She has had two toms and a she-cat," said the medicine cat, purring. The clearing of cats burst out in happy meows and purrs. Dewpaw rushed into the den and Birdpaw followed, her eyes slowly adjusting to the semi-darkness of the nursery. On the left side of the den was a nest with a tired, fluffy silver she-cat curled up in it. Dewpaw beckoned with his tail and they both moved over to the nest, crouching down. At the queen's belly was a fluffy silver she-kit, a pure white tom and a dark ginger tom. When her gaze fell on the last kit, Birdpaw felt her muscles stiffen, the kit looked so much like his father, a little too much.

"They are adorable," breathed Dewpaw, looking at the little squirming kits.

"You have gone all soft," Birdpaw teased quietly, not wanting to disturb the kits and distracting her thoughts from the dark ginger kit. The silver she-kit let out a tiny little meow and Dewpaw's eyes sparkled. Silversong nudged the dark ginger tom, who was trying to get to reach Birdpaw, back into the nest.

"What are you going to call them?" asked Birdpaw.

"The she-cat will be Mistykit, the white tom will be Icekit and the dark ginger kit will be Firekit." Dewpaw nodded, gently nudging Mistykit with his nose when she tried to crawl away from her mother. The two apprentices murmured their congratulations before quietly backing out of the den and into the clearing with Whiskerstar and Stagleap going in. Birdpaw retreated back to her nest and looked out of the den exit at the starry sky.

"New life in the Clan is always good," she told herself firmly, trying to push out her thoughts about Firekit and how much he resembled his father. But as she curled up, a flash of Maplestar's cruel face flashed before her eyes, unsettling her once more.