As usual, Katniss Mellark woke to the sound of her daughter's soft cried. They weren't sad cries, or hungry cries. They were lonely, longing cries-cries that were reserved for the few times that she awoke from her slumber and saw neither her mother nor father's face.
"I've got her," Katniss murmured to her husband, who woke with her. Peeta Mellark smiled and pulled his wife closer to him. She kissed him languidly before slipping out of bed.
"Bring her in here," Peeta requested. Katniss smiled as she slipped one of her husband's shirts over her nude form. It fell halfway down her thighs.
"You'd better put these on," Katniss said, tossing him his boxers with a smirk. "Don't want to scar her early." It was a usual occurrence for the couple, waking up sans clothing. Despite the fact that they had a five-month old daughter, their lovemaking habits had not suffered.
"Hi, baby," Katniss cooed to her daughter when she opened the door to the nursery. She was lying on her back in her crib, fussing and waving her tiny fists.
"I've missed you," Katniss said as she scooped her up. "Oof! Did you get bigger since you fell asleep last night?"
She was quite a chubby baby. Katniss didn't mind, and neither did Peeta. Katniss's arms were toned from She was quite a chubby baby. Katniss didn't mind, and neither did Peeta. Katniss's arms were toned from years of hunting, and Peeta's arms rippling with strength as he carried tremendous sacks of flour into the bakery never ceased to make Katniss tremble.
They didn't mind that their daughter grew bigger and chubbier each day- she was healthy, and well-fed, and that was more than her parents could say for themselves as children.
"Let's go see Daddy," Katniss said, and her daughter gave her a toothless grin and gurgled.
They crossed the hallway to Katniss and Peeta's bedroom, where they found Peeta sitting up against the headboard, shirtless, his prosthetic clicked into place.
An idea sparked in Katniss's mind as Peeta stretched his arms out for his daughter.
"Do you want to show Daddy what we did yesterday?" Katniss whispered to her conspiringly. Peeta's brow furrowed.
"What did you guys do?"
Katniss settled herself on the bed and placed their baby in her lap. She didn't have any hair yet, but her eyes were the exact same shade as her father's.
"Well, after you went to the bakery, we were hanging out in bed," Katniss tickled her daughter's belly as she explained, and she shrieked with laughter. "And someone decided to try and climb Mommy."
Katniss placed their daughter on her stomach as Peeta's chest. His hands immediately went to grip her back, but Katniss stopped him.
"No, do this." She moved his hands so they cupped the baby's feet.
Olivia Mellark fidgeted on her daddy's chest. She was talking more and more now- or rather, forcing out loud syllables frequently. Katniss found it the most adorable thing in the world.
Peeta watched in awe as Olivia tried to maneuver her chubby body up his chest. She squirmed and drooled a bit on Peeta's chest, but it didn't bother him in the slightest.
"Give her a little push," Katniss urged softly. Peeta getnly moved his hands up, causing Olivia's legs to squish up before her torso elongated. Olivia let out a cry of triumph when she was finally able to smack her daddy's face.
"Yay, Olivia!" Katniss cheered, clapping. Olivia gave her mommy a toothless grin and cried out again, then smacked Peeta's chin.
"Ow!" Peeta said with a laugh. "You guys practiced hitting Daddy, huh?"
Katniss chuckled. "This is helping her learn to crawl," she explained to her husband. "We did it all morning yesterday."
Peeta grabbed Olivia under her arms and lifted her above his head. She squealed and kicked her legs.
"She'll be crawling any day now," Peeta commented.
Katniss's face fell for a moment, but she smiled quickly. "Yeah, she will be," she murmured.
Peeta frowned. He placed Olivia on her back on the bed between them, and reached over to cup Katniss's face.
"Hey."
Katniss offered up a small smile.
"Hey."
"She'll be just fine," Peeta vowed. "We'll protect her from everything we can, you know that."
It was a conversation they have had thousands of times- before, during, and after Katniss's pregnancy. Katniss was petrified of anything happening to her daughter.
"I know," Katniss whispered. "But after crawling comes walking, and then school, and then there's all of those nasty kids to deal with-"
"I know you're worried," Peeta soothed, "but you can't let that ruin your time with her now."
Katniss sighed. "You're right."
Peeta grinned cockily. "Of course I am."
His wife shoved his shoulder with a scowl. Olivia gurgled, and Peeta held her up in front of his face.
"Daddy's right," he said in a baby voice. "Please don't hurt him."
Katniss couldn't help but laugh. She took her daughter from Peeta and snuggled her against her chest. Olivia nestled into Katniss's shoulder and she kissed the fuzz on the top of her head.
"I love you, baby," Katniss whispered. Olivia gurgled a response.
"Come here." Peeta opened his arms and Katniss relaxed into them. He wrapped his arms around her and Olivia, and they laid there in peace...
For about three minutes until Olivia decided it would be a good idea to let Mommy and Daddy know she was hungry by screaming at the top of her lungs.