A/N: Allow me to take this moment to say...thank you. All of you. Whether you read this from the start or tuned in in later chapters, your reviews have really kept me going. Your praise, and the fact that you all kept reading until the very end...well, I honestly cannot express my gratitude clearly enough.

It'll take me a little while to get the first bits of the sequel up, and again...

Thank you.

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Sunfire lay in the nursery, her back to the entrance, wrapped in drowsiness and a contentment she had never known before. She was grateful that Nightwhisker had taken Granitekit over to see the elders; at two and a half moons, Granitekit was typically loud and nosy, shoving his muzzle into everything he could, and Sunfire needed the peace.

Rootpaw stood blocking the nursery entrance. She-cat instinct told her that Sunfire needed quiet for a little while, and she had assigned herself the duty of keeping other cats out after she assured Sunfire her kits were healthy.

Sunfire yawned, gaping her jaws wide, and shifted deeper into her mossy bed. She heard excited and curious voices from outside, and rolled her eyes. She tiled her head backwards to look at Rootpaw.

"Tell Icestorm he can come in now," she said. "If we don't let him in soon he'll tear through the brambles to get in."

Rootpaw purred softly. "If you want, I can ask somebody to stand guard and make sure no one disturbs you."

Sunfire nodded. "That would be great."

Rootpaw returned the respectful nod and slipped out of the nursery. Heartbeats later, Icestorm squeezed in, his tail bushed out hugely. He stepped quietly over to crouch beside Sunfire. He peered over her shoulder to see the three tiny kits nestled against her belly. He purred softly and nuzzled her, shifting position and wrapping himself around her.

"Three," he said wonderingly. "And they're all healthy?"

Sunfire returned his purr and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Rootpaw says they're fine." She paused. "They need names." She tilted her head to meet his gaze. "I was thinking of calling the tom Firekit." With a forepaw, she nudged the biggest kit, who had the same golden-red pelt as she, only slightly darker.

He nodded. "After his ancestor," he murmured, referring to Firestar. He flicked his whiskers at the two she-cats. "And his sisters?"

Sunfire regarded them. One had the same pelt as Icestorm: medium-long white fur tipped with silver. There was one difference, though: unlike her father, the kit had a dusting of dark gray fur along her flanks and forehead. The third kit was a deep black, with a golden throat, chest, and underbelly. All three kneaded Sunfire's belly hungrily, generating more milk as quickly as they could. Tiny, high-pitched purrs emanated from them.

"She's the color of a frozen stream," murmured Icestorm, reaching over Sunfire's body with one forepaw and tenderly prodding the silvery kit. "All silver and gray, like ice and snow." He pulled his paw back After a pause in which the only sounds were the kits' purring and suckling, he suggested, "Frozenkit?"

Sunfire gave a short purr and nodded. She shifted her eyes over to the third kit, who had ceased nursing and was falling asleep, resting her head on Firekit's shoulder. As she stared at her second daughter, Sunfire noted vaguely that the gold fur, when compared to the surrounding deep black, looked like flickers of light breaking through the darkness.

"Flickerkit," she said, softly but with conviction. Icestorm nodded slowly, his whiskers mingling with hers.

A short silence followed, broken only by occasional voices coming from the camp. Icestorm mewed, "Raintail and Softsteps had to go on the evening patrol, but they said they'd drop in when they got back.."

Sunfire nodded, pride at her former apprentice washing over her. Sunfire had continued mentoring as long as Treeshadow had allowed her; he did indeed watch her every day, finally telling her that she needed to move into the nursery. Icestorm had taken over her training, but after only three quarter-moons Mudstar held a warrior ceremony, naming Softpaw Softsteps and making Rustypaw Rustystripe. Dewpaw and Fogpaw had yet to gain their names, but Sunfire knew their ceremony would be soon.

Sunfire sighed, long and quiet, as she rested her chin on her forepaws, smiling at the heap of kits, now sleeping together. Icestorm breathed out a sigh of his own, resting his chin on her neck. As she fell asleep, Sunfire dimly felt the presences of Lightningstar and Firestar watching nearby. In the back of her mind, she knew reality would come back into play eventually, but right now it seemed that nothing could shatter the serenity that hung over ThunderClan.

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Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. –Anonymous

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Fin.