I could feel the strong muscles of his chest flexing underneath my head as Peeta yawned and stretched when he woke up. I looked up to see a satisfied grin on his face, no longer the tired expression he wore at breakfast.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," I joked, leaning up to gently kiss him, "sleep well?"

"Yes." He said back simply, his eyes twinkling blue. "You look gorgeous today, as usual."

A slight blush rose in my cheeks at his compliment. He had no idea the effect his words have on me…although, given the grin he is giving me now, maybe he does. I smirk back and give him another kiss. Longer than the last one, but still soft and sweet.

I can feel his lips smiling beneath mine and pull away, allowing our foreheads to rest together as we lay there in the light of the midday sun coming through the curtains.

"Well you sure seem to be in a good mood today." He said, his smile widening as one eyebrow twitching up amusedly at my not-so-typical physical display of affection.

"I actually wanted to tell you something." I said, a smile on my own lips.

"Good news I hope," he replied pleasantly, turning onto his side, his arm now folded beneath his head, propping it up so he can see me. "What is it?"

Suddenly the words leave me and I'm left staring dumbly at him. It had taken me weeks just to think such a thing but now to voice it to him…I find that I am nervous. I've never dreamed of being able to say something like this to anyone.

To be honest, when I was younger I had always wanted a family of my own. I remember when Prim was born. We didn't have much in the Seam, but my parents were so happy. And when I got to hold Prim for the first time… Mom had set me down on our bed and laid her on my lap. I was only four years old, so Prim had seemed huge on my small lap wrapped up in a dingy off-white blanket. I recall little tidbits, memories of a past that was dim, but pleasant. I remember watching Prim growing up. Watching her learn to sit up, to eat with a spoon, to crawl, to walk… I remember when I took her with me to school and having to send her off to her own preschool classroom while I went to my third grade class.

A thought tickles me in the back of my mind, reminding me that Peeta was in that class with me, and now he was laying in front of me, waiting to hear what I had to tell him. But still I didn't say anything, nervously holding back the words that I wanted to tell him.

I had banished all thoughts of ever having children of my own when I was eleven. When my father died in that mine explosion. My own mother retreated into herself. She left me to take care of Prim, and suddenly I was the one taking care of her all on my own. And I got to thinking about the Games. I realized what the damage of losing someone could do to a person after my dad died. It was after he died that I really thought about the parents of the kids that go into the Games. What about them? If a parent's love for their child was anything like the love I had for Prim…I couldn't bear it if I'd ever lost Prim.

Of course, she is gone now. And it's hard. It's very hard. Every day I wish that I could see her smiling face and every day I face the realization that she isn't with me anymore.

I didn't think back then I would be able to grow up and have to face the possibility of watching my own children through year after year of Reapings. And then after Peeta and I won the first time...if I ever had any children their names would be guaranteed to be chosen because of what I did.

But there are no Games anymore. I don't need to protect my children from suffering that kind of fate anymore.

My eyes are glassy as I'm lost in my thought, and Peeta's hand gently takes my own, giving it a slight squeeze, "Katniss?"

I shake my head and smile at him, "I wanted to tell you that…" I take a breath before I can say it. The words are harder to say that I realized, "to say that I…"

I bite my lip in frustration at myself. Just say it…

I blurted the words out in one quick jumble of words, "I'mreadytohaveababy."