Whiskershade slunk into camp, soaking wet and looking for all the world like she'd rather not be here.
"What happened?" Beamsnow gaped at her from where he was sitting outside the nursery.
"Fell into the river," Whiskershade mumbled, and started coughing. Mintswirl bustled over and muttered for her to stay still while they pressed their ear against her chest and listened.
"You have water in your lungs," they announced after a moment. "There's not much I can do about that, you'll just have to wait it out." They patted her shoulder comfortingly, and Whiskershade looked just a little more miserable.
Parsleystar plopped down next to Frozenwhisker with a long sigh. He pressed his cheek against his mate's, closing his eyes and purring, hoping the rumble would soothe her. It seemed to do the job, Parsleystar's muscles untensing and her body relaxing.
"Algaesky's still sick," she mumbled, pressing closer to him. "Mintswirl's worried about her. They think Whiskershade might come down with a cold, too. And I'm pregnant."
Frozenwhisker's purring stuttered to a stop and he sat frozen. He slowly pulled away and stared at Parsleystar with wide eyes.
A long silence stretched out between them. Parsleystar was very carefully not looking at him, and growing tenser by the moment.
"You're pregnant!" Frozenwhisker burst out, leaping to his paws. "With my kits! Oh, Parsleystar!" He began purring again, his whole body shaking with his joy. "You'll have to take things slower now, I'll make sure your nest is as soft as possible-"
Parsleystar laughed at him, her eyes glittering with happiness as she watched the normally quiet tom babble about all the things he'll have to do to prepare. Her heart felt like it would burst. He'll be such a good father...
Mintswirl squinted at Hickorymarsh for barely a second before informing him that he had greencough.
"Are you sure? You barely looked," he probed. Mintswirl nodded, snatching herbs from their storage.
"It's definitely greencough. Which is really not what I need right now." They scowled into their storage. "I can give you some borage for your cough, but there's not a lot right now."
"Oh, it's okay. I can go without it if I need to, it's no trouble."
Mintswirl gave Hickorymarsh a sharp look. "Absolutely not. I'll just... find some more. Somewhere."
"ButterflyClan honors you and your service. I call upon StarClan to give you many, many moons of rest."
Lynxfur let out a breath. Her bones had been aching so much lately, and she'd known she was slowing down for a while. She'd fought against the idea for as long as she could, but eventually she had to give in and admit it was time for her to retire.
It was... nice, sort of, to know that she could rest now.