The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

The Session

Session #1

She showed up in the late afternoon, a bag of Lays Potato Chips in one hand and a Mexican Coke in the other.

Peeta had just finished up with his last scheduled client, Haymitch, a man whose alcoholism had led to the loss of his house and the deterioration of his marriage. He had quite a way to go but Haymitch wasn't the first person that Peeta dealt with that had that sort of addiction and he wouldn't be the last.

"The office is closed," Peeta told the girl as she stood in his doorway.

The woman wrapped her thick, fur coat around herself. "The court sent me." She walked over, her gait graceful even in the thin heels of her knee-high boots. "I'm Katniss Everdeen."

Reaching into the pocket of her coat, she held out a piece of paper to him.

Peeta looked at the court summons, his name was on it. Going through the appointment book that his secretary Delly kept on her desk, he looked for Katniss' name before once again meeting her eyes.

"You were supposed to come this morning," he told her sternly. "I have a busy schedule, Miss Everdeen and I'm not willing to help you if you can't respect our time—"

"Please!" Katniss placed her hand on his, pulling back quickly as if his skin burned. "I need to do this. I need to get help." Her eyes were full of desperation, tears making her grey eyes shine even in the dimness of the waiting room. "I didn't come this morning…because the urge. It happened again."

He could see that she was suffering. Her hands were trembling and even now, Peeta could see the sheen of sweat on her forehead. Katniss toyed with her long, dark braid, her movements nervous as he examined her.

Sighing, Peeta went to the door of his office.

Looking at the troubled woman, he extended his hand to the now-open door.

"Come in."

Katniss removed her coat and he was surprised to see her clothing in such shambles. The camel-colored sweater she wore was practically falling apart as it hung off her tired frame. The boots she wore were also on the brink of disrepair.

He nodded toward the couch in front of his chair. "Sit."

Katniss grinned at his directness. "Bossy. I like it." Her face fell seeing the frown on his face and she sat down quickly. "I'm sorry. I can't turn it off sometimes."

"That's why you're here," Peeta responded bluntly. "You were arrested, Katniss."

"I know," she retorted. "The night in jail wasn't pleasant."

"What exactly do you want to get out of this?" he asked her as he sat down in the chair across from her.

Katniss looked around the small office for a moment. It was plain with beige walls and white borders. There were no photographs, only his doctorate on his display next to the lone bookshelf.

The room was desolate—just like her.

"I don't want to be alone," she responded after a moment. "Because of this, I can't have a stable relationship. I'm isolated from friends and family. Since I hit puberty, there has been this urge every waking moment of my life." She wrapped her arms around herself. "I was arrested for attempted prostitution."

Peeta met her eyes. "And, you weren't attempting?"

"No, it was just a misunderstanding." She shook her head. "There was someone that used to help me with this problem."

"What happened to him?" he asked curiously.

Katniss was the first case of sexual dysfunction that he had ever been given.

At twenty-five, Peeta had started his practice taking cases ranging from anxiety to PTSD. Five years in, his clientele had an even more varying array of social issues. Business was at an all-time high, especially since he started taking on cases referred by the state.

He thought that he had seen it all.

"What tends to happen to everyone eventually," Katniss said. "He fell in love and wanted more. Gale was my best friend and though I didn't love him that way, I would've said yes. But, I just don't have it in me to be monogamous. I'd get the urge and I'd find myself at some party or bar looking elsewhere for it. I couldn't do that to him. Eventually, he married a beautiful, sweet girl and now they have a son."

Peeta felt a pang of sympathy for her. Normalcy was what every client of his wanted. Why should Katniss be any different? He saw tears building up in her smoky eyes and Peeta grabbed a box of tissues to place it on the coffee table between them.

He waited for her to wipe her eyes before continuing, "So then what?"

"There were others—I met them at clubs or dive bars," she explained. "I tried to tell myself that each time was the last time. But then, it would come back. That ache…that hunger…and I was back at square one." Katniss opened the bag of chips she brought and began to eat frantically. "Then, it happened."

Peeta watched her finish off the bag before twisting off the cap of the Coke bottle.

"What happened?"

Katniss sat back, her hand going to her stomach.

He could see it then—the tell-tale bulge.

"What am I going to do about this?" Katniss looked down at the small bump and Peeta heard the tight pain in her voice. "How am I going to tell my child that I don't know who their father is?" She took in a sharp breath and met his eyes. "Because there were just too many."

Session #2

"Tell me about your early life," Peeta requested.

This week, Katniss had been on time. She was less amped as he noted to himself mentally.

Meetings once a week were his usual basis to start and it gave him enough time to make an assessment. Then as time went on, he could make a judgment call as to whether or not more time would be necessary.

"I know what you're thinking," Katniss said. She wore a loose, black t-shirt dress and burgundy stockings as well as the same thin boots from their last session. "That I had a fucked-up childhood. Father gone, mother abusive…am I right?"

"I'm not here to judge," he told her. "I just want you to talk to me."

"I'm starving," she responded instead. "Do you have anything to eat?"

"I don't usually bring food to the office." Peeta got up from his chair. "I can ask Delly—"

"Can we just go somewhere and get something to eat?" she countered. "It doesn't matter where we talk as long as I'm talking, right?"

"It's unprofessional," he responded.

"You're my therapist or whatever." Katniss put a hand to her stomach. "Aren't you supposed to make sure that I'm taken care of?"

It wasn't his usual method of doing things but Peeta could see that despite the swollen stomach, his client was a waif. So after a moment, he nodded in agreement.

"There's a diner about a block away," he told her. "Breakfast. Then, we talk." Katniss stood up, grabbed her tote bag and pulled out a knit cap to place atop her wavy hair. He caught sight of the thinness of her shirt. "Did you walk here like that?"

"I have one sweater," Katniss groused. "I couldn't wear it again."

Reaching for his coat, Peeta handed it to her. "Put this on." He made sure that she put on the olive jacket before opening his office door. "I don't care what you wear, but please dress for the weather next time."

"I'm sorry." Katniss followed him out into the waiting room where Delly sat at her desk. "I needed to catch the bus to get here."

"If it's an issue for you getting here then I'll come to your place," Peeta argued as he closed his office door. He looked to Delly. "We'll be back in an hour."

Delly looked at him warily but nodded anyway.

Walking out of the office entrance, Peeta rubbed his hands together. The sun was shining, but the remnants of winter still left the trees bare and the air frigid.

"Here." Katniss covered his clasped hands with hers. He watched as she moved her bare hands against his for a moment before slowly moving away. "Better?"

Her touch was comforting and Peeta noticed that she seemed at ease. There were no signs of her being triggered by simple human contact.

"Thank you," he told her evenly. "Though that was very inappropriate, you seem alright."

"Peeta." She met his eyes as they walked. "I have a sex addiction. Everything I do is inappropriate."

He didn't want to push the subject any further. "So, your family?"

"My parents were high school sweethearts," Katniss began. "I was raised in Connecticut. I went to school there until high school. My mom was a former flight attendant-turned-teacher. My dad was a police officer. When I was five, my mom had my sister Prim. She's at UC Santa Barbara right now."

"Do you talk a lot?" Peeta asked as they crossed the street to the diner.

"Prim and I are very close," she responded, her hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. Looking ahead, he spied a sad smile on her lips. "She has no idea about this though. I'm not about to tell her."

Walking into the empty diner, they were seated immediately. Katniss quickly ordered, pancakes with bacon and a decaf coffee. He had an orange juice and bagel.

"That's it?" she asked as the waitress walked away.

Peeta steered the questions away from himself. "How about your parents? Where are they now?"

"Both gone," Katniss informed him. "My dad had a heart attack when I was in my third year of college and my mom died about two years after that due to cancer. It's like in Harry Potter—one couldn't live without the other or something like that."

"Was that when the problem started?" he dared to ask.

"I think I always had the urge." She stopped as the waitress delivered their drinks. "I was always curious about love and sex. But, isn't every teenager? I do remember thinking that I would never live up to my parents' relationship."

Katniss stopped, her elbows resting on the table as she leaned towards him and gave him a smile.

"Are you analyzing me right now?" she asked. "Yes, my parents gave me high expectations and maybe I just kept on looking for their kind of love in everyone I came across."

"I think that you have a hard time differentiating between love and sex," Peeta told her. "Perfectly normal. However, people will usually limit in experimentation. You overindulged."

She stared at him for a long moment as he roved over her features. Her eyes were almond-shaped, deep, and dark. The color went well with her rich olive skin. Peeta didn't deny that she was beautiful but there was something else in her eyes.

"Anything else?" she asked as the waitress placed their respective plates down in front of them.

Meeting her eyes, he gave her his honest opinion:

"You have that look in your eyes, Katniss. Like you're hungry but you can never seem to get full."

Session #3

Katniss hurriedly pulled him into her apartment, closing the door with a loud slam. For some reason, she was panicked so Peeta thought it best that he let her lead him to her burgundy couch.

Taking his hand, Katniss placed it to her stomach. "Something is happening."

Peeta waited, finally feeling the small movement under his palm. Her child was moving. He couldn't help but smile to himself at the fluttering. The human body was an amazing entity. However as Peeta looked up, he noticed the pensive look on her bare face.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he reluctantly pulled his hand away from her stomach.

"There's a baby in there." Katniss sat back and gave him a smile. "I just never felt it move like that."

He nodded before moving a bit on the small couch. "Thank you for sharing that moment with me."

There was a tension in her grey eyes and Peeta noticed her chewing on her lower lip.

Her urge had returned.

"Take three deep breaths," he instructed.

Katniss closed her eyes and Peeta moved a little further to give them both the space they needed. He watched her take three slow inhales, her hands trembling before she rested them to the prominent bump. It seemed that every other week, her child would grow an inch or two.

When her eyes opened, Peeta could see the calmness in them. "Better?"

She nodded. "How did you do that?"

"You had a mild panic attack from what I gauged," he explained. "Learning to deep breathe can help you during moments like that." Peeta sat back to make sure that she was feeling better. "Whenever you feel panic or depressed, what do you do?"

"I…I…I try to distract myself," Katniss told him, her eyes staring straight ahead. "I go out and grab a drink to relax." She stopped after a moment. "I find someone to distract me."

"You have a hard time trying to emote, don't you?" Peeta asked and she nodded.

"I was never good at just explaining myself," she explained sheepishly. "As you grow up, everyone expects you to be able to guard your emotions appropriately." Katniss looked to him, her grey eyes clouded. "I think that I just got too good at being on guard."

"People have their vices," he assured her, seeing the downtrodden look on her face. "Some drink, some smoke, or eat—you have your particular way of dealing with your emotions."

Katniss looked to her stomach, a thickness in her voice. "I'm so tired, Peeta."

Peeta stood up and sat on her coffee table so he could look into her eyes. "Like all addictions, this is not going to be easy to overcome. There are no drugs that guarantee putting a stop to someone's alcoholism or overeating, or even an addiction like yours. But there are other treatments—like the cognitive ones. That's why I'm here."

She nodded shakily. "I know."

He let her calm down for a moment before continuing the session. "Do you want to continue?"

"Yes." Katniss rested back on the sofa. She considered him for a moment. "You can sit on the couch. I'm not going to try to hump your leg or anything."

Peeta snorted, attempting to hide his chuckle. He went to sit down on the sofa, a throw pillow's distance away.

"Do you want to see pictures of the little whale?" Katniss asked him after a moment.

He realized that he himself was mentally exhausted.

Baby steps. That's what they needed.

Peeta nodded, giving her a smile. "Sure." Excitedly, Katniss reached into the drawer of the coffee table. "But don't expect me to know which end is up."

"Oh, trust me." Katniss sat back, her feet folding under her bottom. "My first sonogram, I couldn't even see it. It was like searching for a pearl in the dark ocean of my uterus."

This time he couldn't help but laugh.

Katniss looked to him suddenly. "You should laugh more. It's nice to hear. I think the baby reacts when he or she hears it."

Before Peeta could respond, she went back to sort the sonogram photos in chronological order.

Session #4

"What was your first kiss like?"

Today, they were in his office. Katniss was wrapped in a fluffy blanket that she had brought with her. She had also gifted him with a painting that she had done during her college years; it depicted a field of dandelions and he reminded himself to ask her about the inspiration behind it.

For now, it was hanging next to the door of the office at her insistence. She had even brought the hammer and nails.

"My first kiss? Or the first time I enjoyed one?" she responded.

Peeta noticed that she was a lot more comfortable despite the growth of the baby. He guessed that she was at least in her fifth month of pregnancy.

Katniss definitely glowed.

She grinned crookedly at him. "If you tell me then I'll tell you."

Peeta shrugged. "Alright. I was twelve and her name was Trisha. She tasted like Bubblicious gum and she even got some in my hair."

"Sounds like a real keeper," Katniss remarked with a smirk. She toyed with the blanket before finally meeting his eyes. "I was sixteen. His name was Marvel and it was…sweet."

"Sweet?"

"Yeah," she continued. "Very vanilla. No tongue or anything like that. Marvel was my lab partner in chemistry class and one day, he came over to study. We were in my room and I sat next to him on my bed." Katniss met his eyes. "The urge was intermittent and it seemed normal enough. That night, it came full force. The air in the room got warm and my skin tingled being so close to him."

"It actually sounds very romantic," Peeta said with a smile.

Katniss shook her head. "There were no fireworks and it barely happened. I was disappointed. I wanted more." She seemed to war in her head, trying to figure out the best words to convey her feelings. "It was like I had this itch and he didn't quite know where to scratch."

"Okay, how about a kiss that you actually enjoyed?"

She met his eyes squarely. "You first."

"We shouldn't trade stories," he stated.

"It's not fair that you know so much about me," Katniss argued with a petulant pout. "If you expect me to trust you with the intimate parts of my life, then you have to give me something, too."

Peeta frowned. "This isn't a hangout, Katniss. This is a session with your therapist, nothing more."

As he spoke, Peeta could feel something inside falter seeing the despair in her face. What was it about Katniss Everdeen that made him want to forego everything that he was taught?

He wanted to comfort her and share things with her just like a boy—

Shit.

Closing the notebook on his lap, Peeta met her eyes as he rose from his chair. "I think we need to end for now."

"I'm sorry." Katniss stood up and went to him. "I'll tell you! I promise—"

Shaking his head, he mustered up the best smile that he could.

"I am not mad. I'm just tired."

She shook her head, pained tears filling her eyes. "You are mad!"

Sighing, Peeta went to the bookshelf and pulled out a stack of books that he found while he was rummaging through his garage.

"I was thinking about your little pearl," Peeta started as she sniffled in front of him. "Every kid should have a good set of bedtime stories."

She took the set of books from his hands and pressed them to her chest. "Can we continue?" Her eyes looked to his full of hope and for a moment, he considered continuing the session.

The way Katniss made his chest ache quickly changed his mind.

"Not today." Peeta led her to the door. "We'll have a longer session next time."

Opening the door, Katniss walked out listlessly and gave him one final doe-eyed stare before he closed it abruptly.

He pressed his forehead to the wooden door, still feeling the warmth of her.

Peeta liked her more than he was willing to admit.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Peeta sat up, half-asleep and shocked by the jarring sound of his ringtone. He scrambled to pick up the phone, throwing his glasses on.

"Hello?" He looked to the clock on his side table: 2:00 AM.

"Peeta?" Her voice caused a ripple to run through his spine. "It's Katniss. I need you."

He could hear the sound of the streets in the background. "Where are you?"

"I'm at this bar," she explained. "I wasn't going to drink…it just happened and I found myself over here."

Katniss told him the address; the bar was four blocks away from his house. "Wait for me."

Hanging up, Peeta quickly got dressed and rushed out the door to the room across the hall. Knocking impatiently, he waited until his bronze-haired roommate answered the door.

"Can I borrow your car?" Peeta asked quickly.

Finnick yawned and nodded. Behind him in bed, his girlfriend Annie slept soundly.

"Keys are on the hook next to the front door," the man replied. "You're taking your work home with you, Peeta. It's not right."

"Katniss is my friend," he responded simply before rushing downstairs.

Stepping out of the car, Peeta looked around the outside of the bar. There were a few stragglers, some smoking cigarettes. He surveyed the area, desperate to find Katniss. He realized that he had left his house without his wallet and couldn't get in without his ID.

"Peeta."

Turning, he found her across the street, sitting on a stoop of a brownstone. She was wearing a crop leather jacket and a burgundy empire dress that hid her stomach. Peeta had been worried; she had not contacted him during his free week. Katniss never did, but he held onto a sliver of hope that she would call.

That she would say something.

Anything, really.

Sitting next to her, Peeta waited for her to speak.

"It started in the evening," Katniss began quietly. "I tried to breathe like you told me to and that worked for a while. Then, I couldn't eat and started to feel warm…down there. My obstetrician explained that my hormones would be in overdrive especially during this trimester."

"Did you explain your situation?" he asked her.

Katniss wrapped her arms around herself. "How do I explain sex addiction to my OB?" She turned to him. "Let's be real, Peeta. Would you think that someone like me would make a good mother?"

"Don't say things about yourself like that," Peeta replied. "You're a good person."

She laughed bitterly. "My therapist thinks I'm a good person. It's what you're supposed to say."

"I'm off the clock," Peeta responded. "I, Peeta Mellark, think that you're a good person and you're going to be a good mother. You've been trying very hard to get the help you need."

Katniss nodded, remaining silent as she looked out at the people across the street.

"I knew I didn't belong there," she said to him. "I wanted to stop the sensation but every time a guy even approached me, I saw myself letting that stranger touch me…and knowing that my baby was right in-between us." Katniss crumbled in front of him. "I knew that I would rather suffer than let anyone near the one person that is precious to me."

Carefully, he put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm proud of you."

"I don't think that there is anything to be proud of."

Katniss began to sob and he knew that this was long expected. Years of repressed feelings—of anxiety and stress over her condition—had finally come to a head. Peeta let her cry against him until there was nothing left to do but guide her back to the car.

She fell asleep quickly as he drove.

At the stoplight, he turned to look at Katniss. She was obviously exhausted but the crying had caused her lips to relax in a peaceful smile.

He told himself to note in her file for the court that today was Katniss Everdeen's breakthrough.

"His name was Cato," Katniss said as she sat on his couch, her hands holding his alma mater mug. "I met him in college and his kiss was the first one that ever really made my toes curl. Even being next to him was electrically charged."

"Sounds like a fairy tale," he responded as sat down next to her.

"It was," she admitted. "I felt full of love. Then, my dad died." Katniss met his eyes. "It felt like every bit of me was drained away. I was so desperate to feel that fullness again. So a few days after the funeral, Cato and I…"

Katniss stopped to take a sip from her cup of hot chocolate.

"The first time wasn't good," Katniss said. "But of course, no one's first time ever is. Cato said that if we kept on going that it would get better and I agreed. Sex kept me distracted from the pain. Sex felt good and every time I had a bad day, it's what we would do. Some people open a beer at the end of the day…I'd shag my boyfriend till I couldn't move."

"So instead of confronting your pain after your dad died, you took all of that and put it into something else," Peeta mused thoughtfully.

"I guess," she replied. "I was in love and so I thought nothing of it. Or at least I thought I was." Katniss set down the mug on the table. "Cato was a football player and he had an overnight game. So he left for a two-day bus trip. I thought that I could take it."

Toying with her hair, she dragged her fingers through her loose waves.

"At night, I couldn't sleep and the pain returned. I started to think of my dad and that draining feeling came back. Nothing kept me satisfied," Katniss reasoned. "I went to a bar and met up with some friends. One of them was Cato's friend, Gloss. I went home with him that night."

"Then?"

"Cato came home early." Katniss' eyes filled with tears. "He missed me too much. How did I repay him? I fucked his roommate."

"I'm willing to guess that didn't go well," Peeta responded.

"No, we broke up," she said in a tight voice. "And, I was basically labeled the big college whore. I pretty much locked myself in my room at that point. My mom tried to talk to me but I pushed her away. Then she was gone, too. There was no one left to keep me in check. By then, Prim had left for Santa Barbara."

"So you were completely alone," he concluded as her head went to his shoulder.

Peeta told himself that they were not on the clock. Any pathetic reason to hold onto this moment between him and Katniss—he wanted time to stand still.

"You were right," Katniss told him. "I could never seem to get full." Her hand went to her stomach. "Until now, I think."

"I was wrong," Peeta admitted. "Yes, you feel empty but it's because you never had the chance to fill those empty spaces inside with the things that make you…" He met her eyes. "…you."

Katniss moved in closer. "I…I don't know who I am."

"Exactly. How do you heal when you don't even know what parts of you are hurt?" he responded softly, trying desperately to not press his nose into her hair.

They went silent, trying to quell the electricity in the room.

She suddenly turned to him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I didn't know you wore glasses."

"I wear them at night for reading or driving," Peeta explained, his face growing warm under the thick black frames.

"They're very hipster," Katniss told him with a grin. "I like them."

"Thank you," he responded with a smile. "And, I got these glasses before they were cool."

"That's what hipsters say," she retorted. "You're smiling again."

"I know." Peeta shrugged. "There's nothing I can do about it now."

She took his hand and placed it to her stomach. "The baby is up."

He could feel the baby's energetic movement under his palm and something inside his chest leapt at the thought that Katniss' child knew how he felt about its mother.

"I brought one of the books you gave me. It's in my bag," Katniss told him. "Will you read to us?"

Nodding, he reached into her bag and pulled out the small book. He looked at the title and gave her a smile.

"You picked my favorite," he told her. "My Dad used to read The Velveteen Rabbit to me before he left for trips."

"Where are your parents now?" she asked.

"They live in Florida." Peeta opened the book, his hands tenderly touching the worn pages. "My dad can barely remember me now—Alzheimer's." Clearing his throat, he made sure that she was comfortable before opening the book. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes…thank you for sharing a little bit of yourself," she whispered into his skin and he felt his temperature rise.

Peeta didn't respond, instead going to the first page and beginning the story.

He kept on reading even when her hand covered his and she curled against him, leaving him aching for the first time in his life.

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

Peeta stopped hearing her let out a small sniff against him.

It was then that he realized that he wanted to be real to Katniss.

He told himself that he would tell her in the morning.

However when he awoke, there was a note:

Our sessions are over. –Katniss

Three Months Later…

"Congratulations Haymitch." Peeta shook the man's hand. "Six months sober."

"I've got a long way to go," the man replied. "I also have a lot of groveling to do. Effie really is a saint."

"She loves you," he responded. "As long as you put in the work like she does, you'll both do fine. I'll have Delly give you some recommendations for marriage counselors along with your release letter."

Together, the two men went to the waiting room where Peeta gave Delly the final instructions for Haymitch.

"Peeta." Delly handed him a piece of paper. "Urgent message for you."

Opening the paper, Peeta skimmed the information before looking to his secretary.

"Cancel the rest of my day," he told her before walking out the door.

Peeta nervously held the small bouquet of dandelions in his hand. Surprisingly, the florist close to his office had what he needed and had even wrapped the delicate bunch in a silk red ribbon.

Standing outside the door to the room, he hesitated for a moment. She had left the message asking for him yet Peeta didn't want to intrude on her space. Also, there was the possibility that what Katniss had to say was not good. Their ending was not bad but it wasn't good either.

In fact, Peeta was surprised by the amount of pain he felt in her absence.

The door opened and an older woman in light blue scrubs stepped out, giving him a smile when she spotted him.

"You must be her young man," the nurse said. "I think they've both stayed up for your visit." She held the door open for him. "Go on in."

Tentatively Peeta entered, walking against the thin barrier curtain.

Peeking inside, he took in the sight in awe.

Sitting up in the hospital bed was Katniss and in her arms was the small swaddled bundle that was her child. Sunlight streamed in through the half-closed blinds, beaming onto the mother and child.

They were beautiful.

"Don't be a stranger." Katniss looked up at him with a shy smile. She looked exhausted, her hair akimbo and dark circles under her eyes. However, she looked happier than he had ever seen her. "Come meet my son."

He walked over to the head of the hospital bed. "Long time no see."

She met his eyes. "Did you miss me?"

"Yes," Peeta told her, his gaze never leaving hers except to gaze tenderly at her little boy. Katniss' looks were clearly dominant as the newborn had her dark hair and olive skin. "I missed you both."

"Come sit next to me," she demanded and Peeta lowered the bed rail so he could move onto the side of the hospital bed. Her eyes went back to the sleeping baby. "He's beautiful, isn't he?" Her fingers caressed her son's cheek. "From the moment he was in my arms, I knew nothing would ever make my life as full as being his mother."

"He's gorgeous." Peeta's finger went to the newborn's cheek. He had thick, raven hair similar to Katniss' and a pert little nose that was also from his mother. "Nothing like his father, I'm sure."

"I don't see any of ol' what's-his-face in this kid," Katniss informed him. "He is all me." She held the baby out to Peeta. "Hold him."

Peeta instinctually moved away but Katniss took hold of his forearm. "I'm not sure."

"You don't scare him," she assured him. "He recognizes you."

Carefully, Katniss placed her son in Peeta's arms. The blanketed baby squirmed for a moment before settling his head against Peeta. The feeling of the child on his chest made something inside soar; he knew that Katniss' son already had a place in his heart just like his mother.

"Congratulate me." Katniss gave him a smile. "Six months of non-sexual contact." She looked to her son. "After I posted bail and was sentenced, I found out about the baby. I knew I had to get help…for both of us. Then you saved us."

Peeta met her eyes. "You saved yourself and your son." Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, feeling her sigh against his skin. "Congratulations."

Her eyes opened as he pulled away, her grey eyes shining.

"The reason I left was because I started to feel it come up again," she explained.

"We've worked on this," he told her as he rocked her child. "You know exactly was to do in a situation like that. I'm confident in that."

Her eyes dashed downwards. "It wasn't that kind of urge."

Peeta lifted her chin to look into her eyes. He realized that it was a different kind of urge. A different kind of hunger. It was the kind of want that spoke of holding hands and long conversations, of trust and affection and hopefully one day—love.

"I like you," he told her.

She grinned through her tears. "I like you back."

The baby yowled and instinctively Peeta continued his gentle motions before kissing the little one's cheek. "What's his name?"

The baby gazed up at him, light blue eyes greeting him. Peeta felt that rush of love for the baby.

Katniss and he were his just as Peeta was theirs—if they would have him one day.

"I don't know," Katniss responded, her head going to his shoulder. "Maybe if you aren't busy later on, we can have a session on baby names." He watch her eyes flutter close. "I don't know if you realize but having a baby is exhausting."

Making sure that the baby was safe and sound asleep, Peeta kissed the top of her head.

"We'll figure it out together."

His eyes closed, the fatigue taking their little family over, and soon they slept.

FIN.

*Quote from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams