AN: Hi there! This is my first Hunger Games fanfiction I hope you all enjoy and feedback is much appreciated! This story is about Peeta and Katniss' first pregnancy and I'm hoping to include some other characters in the story as well such as Gale, Haymitch, Effie, Delly, Johanna and some others. Oh and by the way, I know that Peeta and Katniss have been married for over 15 years before they have children in the books but I didn't want them to wait that long so they've been married for 9 years in this story and they got married when they were 20. Enjoy!
I open my eyes to stare into Peeta's eyes. They are as blue as the ocean and glisten as the sun creeps in from the curtains and reflects off them. His lips curve into a smile.
"Good morning" he smiles as he kisses me.
"Good morning" I return with a smile. I sit up in bed before I notice what he's holding; a bouquet of dandelions. There must be about 15 there, secured with a piece of green ribbon. I smile even more.
"Happy anniversary" he beams as he holds the flowers out for me to take, which I do.
I never really care at all for flowers since Prim's death but dandelions remind me so much of him, so I adore them.
"They are beautiful, Peeta. Thank you...But I didn't get anything for you, its only our 9th anniversary" surely he remembers that we've been married for 9 years and not 10 years, right?
"I know but I was baking this morning and I saw them from the window and they reminded me of you...but everything that's beautiful reminds me of you" He replies, automatically making me blush.
"Oh Peeta" he leaves the room and I hear his feet pad through the household, down the stairs and back up a few moments later with a vase of fresh water.
"Here" he takes the flowers from my hand and puts them into the vase before setting the vase down on my nightstand. "That's better"
"I feel bad now, I didn't get you anything" I reply. He comes to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Don't feel bad. I don't want anything from you, except for us to spend forever like this" he leans in and kisses me. "Breakfast is almost done, do you want to eat in bed?" He asks. I shake my head no.
"I'll be down in a moment" I assure him and he takes off to go back downstairs. His prosthetic leg making more noise than his other one.
I jump out of bed and make my way over to our full length mirror and smooth out my hair which has been pulled free of the plait it was originally in. I take the bobble out and completely re-do the style before going into the bathroom and splashing water onto my face to wake me up some more. I then go to the wardrobe and select an orange dress. I barely ever wear dresses, especially in the daytime but it is my 9th wedding anniversary and orange is Peeta's favourite colour.
When I come down the stairs my smile widens even more. The dining table in the kitchen has been laid out perfectly, clean plates and polished cutlery along with unlit candles, polished knives and forks and a beautiful bouquet of hydrangeas sitting in a vase of water.
"Oh Peeta" I gasp for the second time this morning. He turns around from his spot at the stove and smiles shyly.
"Do you like it?"
"It's lovely" I answer and that's when he produces my breakfast, toast and a fried egg. The bread is in the shape of a heart. I walk over to him and kiss him like I did on the beach in the Quarter Quell arena all those years ago. It must take him by surprise because he backs into the counter behind him slightly. When we finally break away, we sit and eat our breakfast.
"Let's do something today" I announce as we finish our breakfast.
"Like what?" Peeta asks. Today is a Sunday and we don't normally leave the house on Sunday's as its our only full day together as Peeta has to work at the bakery the other six days of the week. We normally spend our Sundays in bed together until late afternoon or Peeta cooks or paints or he teaches me how to bake. "I don't think many shops will be open"
"So we'll go to the forest. We haven't been there together for such a long time" I reply. Its been months since we've ventured there together. Peeta doesn't accompany me on my hunting trips because he's too loud. I never tell him this, but he fully understands.
"That sounds like a good idea" he replies.
While Peeta showers, I make a picnic basket filled with cheese, paté, bread, two red apples and two cupcakes that Peeta brought home from the bakery yesterday.
We walk through down the pathway leading from the Victor's Village and over the meadow which is what used to be the seam. I hate walking over it. All those bodies underneath our feet, but its the only way to be able to get to the forest. I hold Peeta's hand tighter and take deeper and longer breathes as we make it halfway over. Peeta picks up the pace and soon he is practically dragging me along with him. That's when I notice that I've stopped.
"It's okay, Katniss. We're almost there now just a few more steps" Peeta encourages but I can't move. My eyes travel down to the green grass as my breath hitches in my throat. I close my eyes and all I can see is fire. Burning people as they try to escape. Smoke filling their lungs and blinding their vision of an escape route. "Katniss" Peeta's voice forces my eyes open again. He's standing in front of me now with his hands grasping my shoulders.
"I-I" I stutter as I stare into his eyes.
"It's okay. I'm here. It's okay I won't let anything bad happen to ever. I promise" he assures me. I nod my head but he's unconvinced.
"Come on. Let's head home" Peeta announces.
"No...It's not much further. I want to go" I don't know why today of all days this has happened to me. I walk across the meadow almost every day to get to the forest and I haven't had a panic attack like this in years.
"Katniss-" he begins to object but I fake a smile that forces him to give into what I want. "Here then" he removes his arms from my shoulders, picks up the picnic basket and pulls me into him as he wraps his free arm around me, kissing my temple.
Just before we leave the meadow, we pass a family. It takes me a moment to recognise the woman but then I do. Delly Cartwright and her husband whose name I can never remember. Luckily, Peeta can.
"Delly, Atlas. Hi" Peeta greets as I smile. "How are you? And who is this?" Peeta looks down at the smiling toddler in the pushchair. "This is never little Wade?!"
The child lets out a hysterical high pitched giggle as Peeta tickles the little boys tummy. Wade looks strikingly like Delly with exactly the same facial features as she has, even down to the same yellowish coloured hair. He stares at me when Peeta stops tickling him.
"Hello" I smile at Wade whilst silently praying that he doesn't burst into tears. I've never been a huge fan of small children and so I try to avoid them as much as I possibly can.
"How old is he now?" Peeta asks.
"15 months" Delly smiles. Peeta gasps.
"I remember when he was just a newborn"
"Yes, he seems to grow more and more everyday" Atlas replies. Wade suddenly tosses his soft blue toy mouse from his pushchair and it lands on the grass. Peeta picks it up almost immediately and brushes it off before handing it back to the excited toddler.
"There you go little man" Peeta smiles and the toddler giggles again. Peeta looks over at me. "Well, we best be going but it was nice seeing you again Delly, Atlas we'll have to all have dinner one night" Peeta announces.
"Yes that would be wonderful" Delly beams. "See you soon. Have a wonderful afternoon, Peeta, Katniss" she says as they begin to walk away.
"Bye" Peeta and I call in almost-unison.
It's only after they have disappeared from view and Peeta and I are walking into the forest that I realise how quiet I was during the whole encounter and suddenly I feel guilty. I left Peeta to do all the interaction basically by himself, but then again, Peeta does love interacting with people. As we walk further and further into the forest something else also dawns on me; Peeta was incredibly good with Wade. Tickling him and talking to him whereas I just stood there and watched with a big smile on my face. Atlas and Delly must have thought I was a right nut case. We walk for what feels like hours until we are in the heart of the forest and when we find a clearing, Peeta sets down the basket.
"Here okay?" He asks with a smile. I nod my head and he pulls a baby blue blanket from the picnic basket and sets it down on the floor before we both sit on it. I hear the mockingjays chirping in the trees that surround us. Peeta smiles at me.
"I think they want you to sing for them" Peeta almost whispers as if he doesn't want to disturb the birds.
"What should I sing?" I ask him.
"Whatever your mood wants you to sing"
I look around at the trees before I slowly get to my feet and walk over to one with two visible mockingjays perched on the branch, brushing my hand delicately over the rough bark I take in a deep breath and open my mouth to sing.
"Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it seem
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."
The birds fall silent and I can sense the smile creeping across my husbands lips.
"Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it seem
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it seem
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."
Peeta stands up and comes over to me but I don't pay him any attention.
"Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me..." I play around with my plait and then trace my fingers up to my neck.
"Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it seem
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."
I turn around to Peeta and he takes my hand and lightly kisses it.
"That song gives me chills everytime you sing it. It's enchanting"
The Mockingjays start to mimic the song and Peeta chuckles slightly.
"It's Pollux's favourite song" I smile at the thought of our dear friend Pollux who often writes to us. "Do you not find the song creepy?" I ask and Peeta nods.
"Yes. But its such an amazing song. How the man would rather his lover be dead than to have to suffer the cruel fate that would await her if she stayed alive. I know that when I was captured you'd rather I was dead than being tortured" Peeta's voice goes much softer at the end of this statement.
"I wouldn't want that now though otherwise you wouldn't be here with me at this moment" I reply as I press a kiss to his lips. "I wouldn't be here. I'd be dead along with you. I need you to survive, Peeta" I tell him. He smiles softly and kisses my lips.
"I love you, Katniss. Nothing will ever change that. Ever again" I know that he's referring to when he was hijacked and I know that he would never intentionally harm me but I do always wonder about him. I always fear that the tracker jacker venom may still be hidden in an artery somewhere. Just waiting to attack. But I love Peeta more than life itself so its easy to look past that ridiculous thought.
"And I love you" I reply with a smile followed by a kiss.
We sit and continue to eat whilst enjoying each others company. When our food is finished we lie back and cloud watch as I cuddle up to Peeta and he puts his arm out for me to rest my head on. His other arm lies across his chest so that I can entwine my fingers with his. One cloud vaguely resembles a mouse and it makes me think of Wade again. Before I open my mouth to speak, Peeta beats me to it.
"That cloud looks like a mouse" he smiles and I turn on my side to face him.
"Wade is a cute kid" I reply and Peeta smiles.
"Yeah he's lovely. Looks just like Delly"
"He does" I agree.
"Funny how quickly he's grown. The last time I saw him he was tiny-"
"Peeta" I interrupt him. If I don't say it now I never will.
"Yes?" He's still smiling at me.
"You really are wonderful with children, aren't you?" I ask.
"Well...I mean I guess I do love kids if that's what you mean?" He asks cautiously.
"Yes. That is what I mean. I'm sorry I was so quiet before when we saw Delly and Atlas and Wade...I didn't mean to be I was just thinking" I reply.
Peeta turns on his side as well now, still watching me intently.
"I'm the one who should be apologising, I shouldn't have stayed that long chatting to them. I knew how badly you wanted to get out of that meadow" He apologises.
"No you shouldn't be apologising. I should be. I'm sorry that its taken me this long"
"What has, Katniss? You aren't making the most sense right now" Peeta tells me and I realise what nonsense I must be talking to him right now. He doesn't understand where this conversation is going and quite frankly, I don't either.
"I...I've been racking my brain all day trying to think of what I can give you for your anniversary gift and now I know" I smile slightly.
"Katniss, we've been through this. I don't want you to give me anything" he tells me again. I suck in a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment while I prepare myself for what I'm about to say.
"But what if I could give you a baby?" I ask in a voice that isn't much higher than a whisper.
Peeta's smile vanishes as he stares at me with a puzzled expression. After what feels like forever, he finally speaks.
"What?" he clears his throat. "Katniss are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"I'm saying" I stare directly into his eyes. "That I want us to have a baby"
I watch as the colour drains from his face and for a moment I think he's going to faint before he blinks and the colour returns.
"R-really?" He asks. I know how much of a shock this must be for him. At the age of eighteen, before he even proposed he was already suggesting children. Then again when we were twenty just after our wedding and then every year since then he has asked me and yet the answer has always been a very firm no. The countless fights and sleeping on the couch evenings that we've had and now here I am agreeing to the thing I assume he wants most in the world. It's understandable he's speechless.
"Yes" I confirm with a smile.
"A baby?"
"Yes, Peeta a baby"
"W-why?" He asks.
"Because I love you and I know just how much you would love your son or daughter so its only fair that I can give you one" I answer. I see his eyes fill with tears of happiness and I feel mine do the same.
"Are we really doing this?" He asks and I nod allowing a few tears to roll down my face. He smiles at me and wipes them away with his soft hand.
He leans in and kisses me with everything inside him. I kiss him back as more tears roll down my face. His hands come up to cup my face as I roll backwards and onto the ground. He climbs on top of me and continues kissing me moving softly on top of me and before I even realise, our clothes are lying on the ground next to us and we are lying naked in the meadow and before my mind even registers it, we are making love.