Katniss and Peeta had only been married a few months when they decided they were ready to buy their first home.

They scrounged together a small down payment from a few years of savings and some of the gifts they received at their wedding. After walking through dozens of houses, they finally found the one. It was a true fixer-upper, beat up and desperately in need of a makeover, but they fell in love with it instantly. At night, Katniss loved to watch Peeta sketch ideas as they dreamed up ways they could bring it back to life. They were so excited to make it all their own, together.

The renovation proved larger than they originally anticipated. Old carpets stained from years of cigarette smoke and pet stains were torn out; every bit of wall and molding needed to be washed and coated with fresh paint; dangerous light fixtures were removed and new ones hung. Peeta tore out the kitchen layer by layer until they were at the studs, each new level revealing yet another problem underneath. The cabinets were hung improperly. The plumbing was not to code. The electrical service was insufficient. They lived for weeks using only the bathroom sink and a microwave to cook their food, but they didn't mind. They were newlyweds, and madly in love.

Sometime in the second month of the renovation, Katniss started to feel ill. At first, she brushed off the constant fatigue and weariness as side effects of the renovation. She worked full time, then came back home to paint and scrub walls and pull up staples from the floorboard until the wee hours of the night. Of course she was exhausted.

But after a few weeks of feeling off, she started to develop other symptoms. She nearly fainted one morning, racing to an early meeting. She chalked it up to missing breakfast, but was noticeably shaken by the spell. The next day, she couldn't shake the nausea that developed after she smelled a coworker's lunch warming in the microwave. She thought it would pass after the odor had faded, but for some reason, her stomach continued to roll angrily for the rest of the day.

It took a visit with Prim to finally put the idea in her head. They had gotten together to shop for paint samples when Katniss had to stop and rush to the bathroom at the back of the home improvement store. Prim leaned against the sink watching her closely as she came out of the stall, wiping her lip.

"Are you pregnant?"

Katniss froze with her hands under the cold water, meeting her sister's eye in the mirror above the sink.

"What? No. I-"

She quickly wracked her brain to remember when her last period was. Maybe she was a few days late… But with the stress and strain of the renovation looming over her, it was only natural her body would be a bit out of whack. As she tried to assure herself Prim was crazy, she suddenly realized they had closed on the house nearly six weeks ago, and she never did unpack any pads or tampons.

"I can't be…" she said unconvincingly.

She scowled as she remembered the words of Effie, the irritatingly cheerful real estate agent that had helped them purchase their house. "Oh, the two of you are so precious! Newlyweds, and now first time home owners. Well, you know what they say… new house, new baby! I just know the odds will be in your favor!"

Katniss had sent a panicked glance to Peeta. As she caught his eye, he gave her a comforting smile. He understood her fears about having children, and had assured her before they got married that they would go down that road when – and only IF – she felt ready. He put an arm around her shoulder and she curved into his side. "Thanks, Effie, but we're not going to be starting a family anytime soon. We're just going to enjoy being married and spending every possible minute we can together."

That was the plan, anyway.

Ditching the paint samples, she and Prim made an emergency trip to the closest pharmacy and picked up two different pregnancy tests, just in case. As soon as they got back to the house, she locked herself in the bathroom, staring down at the boxes with more disgust than she had given the termite damage they had found the previous week.

The first test produced two blue lines before her eyes far faster than the two minutes promised on the box. Still in denial, she ripped open the second one, a fancier more expensive stick. This time, there was no second guessing the clear "PREGNANT" looking back up at her.

"Shit."

"Katniss?" Prim began knocking on the bathroom door and jiggled the locked handle. "How's it going in there? Everything okay?"

Katniss opened the door with her left hand, her right still clutching the plastic stick. She couldn't tear her eyes off of it. She looked up after a moment to see Prim waiting expectantly for her response. Katniss tried to answer her, but for some reason her mouth wouldn't work. It didn't seem to matter; glancing back down at the stick for what had to be the tenth time was all the answer Prim needed.

"I knew it. I knew it! You're pregnant, aren't you?" Katniss had barely nodded her head when she felt herself attacked by her younger sister, wrapped in a bear hug and jostled as the blonde jumped up and down. "Eeee! I'm going to be an auntie! I can't wait! I'm so excited! Aren't you excited?!"

Excited wasn't quite the word Katniss was looking for. Shocked. Surprised. Overwhelmed. Terrified. Those were more appropriate words to describe this moment. Her head was swimming as she tried to process this life-changing piece of news. Pregnant?

She walked through the rest of the day in a fog, her brain still trying to process the shock. Prim stayed for lunch, leaving only after making Katniss promise she would call her the second she told Peeta.

For once, she was grateful that he was working his usual Saturday shift at the bakery. She needed a few hours to herself to process this information before telling him. No doubt he'd be overjoyed, ready to call the entire family and all of his friends to profess the news.

At least, that's what she thought would happen. Peeta's reaction was her second major surprise of the day.

"You're … what?" His shook his head, wide eyes trained somewhere over her shoulder. "No, that can't be."

"Peeta?"

He turned away from her, leaning on the saw horse set up in the middle of the gutted kitchen. She watched his knuckles turn white as he mumbled to himself. "We were so careful. This can't be real… it can't be."

Katniss scowled at the hunched over, muttering stranger in front of her. Where was this coming from? Why was he shutting her out? "Peeta!" He whirled to face her, eyebrows raised in a frightened expression. "What's the matter with you?" His mouth opened and closed wordlessly as he looked frantically from her eyes to her belly.

The cold realization started to hit her. He didn't want this after all. This was a mistake; a regret. "Are you …" she started in a small voice, fighting back tears. "Do you not want this baby?"

His eyes snapped up to meet hers. "No!" he breathed, and rushed forward to gather her into his arms. "No, god, no. Katniss, of course I want this baby."

"Then what's going on?" she mumbled into his flannel shirt. "I thought you'd be happy."

Pulling back, he cupped her face in his calloused hands, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "I am happy. I'm just – shocked. And…" His eyes softened as he studied her, searching for the right words. Finally he let out a groan, and waved his arms frantically around the room. "It's just - look at this place! We can't have a baby in here!"

Slightly relieved, Katniss looked around the room with a fresh set of eyes. She saw the bare walls, free of insulation and sheetrock, with cracks allowing bugs and drafts in from outside; exposed electrical wiring and stubs of plumbing leading nowhere; torn up floor boards riddled with staples and splinters. Peeta was right. This was no place for a baby.

Her face must have belied her panic, because Peeta suddenly composed himself. He grabbed her hand and walked her over to sit on the plastic tub that held their pots and pans. "Whoa, hey – It's okay. I'm sorry, I overreacted. I don't want you to worry. I'll take care of this -"

"No, you were right, Peeta! This is terrible!" She jumped up off the tub and began pacing around the boxes and crates. "How are we going to finish all of this work in time for… What the hell were we thinking taking on a project like this?! What are we gonna do?"

"Katniss, stop." A tug on her arm stopped her in her tracks. She whirled around to see Peeta had lost all traces of his earlier panic. Instead, she saw hints of sadness in the lines of his face. "This isn't really about the house, is it?"

"What are you talking about?"

He avoided her scowl, looking down to their joined hands as he swung them gently back and forth between them. "Katniss, we've been friends for a decade now. I know everything about you, and I know your feelings on having children. You don't have to pretend for me." His voice dropped to a near whisper. "You didn't want this."

Katniss couldn't deny his accusation. She hadn't wanted this; at least, not right now. But as she spent the afternoon thinking about it, she'd started to grow accustomed to the idea. She'd actually begun to wonder if maybe it was supposed to happen this way. If they had waited until she was mentally ready for a baby, they probably never would have started a family.

She squeezed his hands and drew him a little closer to her. "I know what you're saying, Peeta. Yeah, I'm scared. But it's done, and… I think I'm happy." He looked up at her, eyes bright, and wrapped her in a fierce hug.

Pulling back, he searched her face. She could see he was struggling to hold back a smile. "Are you sure about this, Katniss? You're really okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "We're just having a baby. There are worse things that could happen." She shook her head. "In fact, there's really only one thing I regret in this whole situation…"

Peeta looked concerned now. "What's that?"

She leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "Well, it's killing me to say this, but – now we have to admit that annoying Effie was right.

A/N: This first chapter was submitted for PIP Language of Flowers day 4, prompt Hyacinth / Fertility. This story will have a few more chapters before it's complete, and I feel it's only fair to warn you that things get a little angsty after this... much like real life. Thanks for reading.