Katniss pulled back the string on her bow and aimed it straight at the doe's eye. She paused, holding her breath as the doe nuzzled against the wet grass. Suddenly, there was a noise in the bushes. Katniss narrowed her eyes and frowned, knowing the doe was seconds from taking off. But instead of scampering off, the doe turned her head toward the sound and stared. A baby deer emerged from the bushes and Katniss lowered her bow almost immediately. She couldn't kill the doe now, and she knew Gale would be mad, but she really didn't care.

She took a deep, quiet breath and rested her back against the tree. She watched them silently until they moved along. After a few minutes, she carefully climbed down the tree and headed back towards Gale who was checking his snares.

"Found anything?" she asked, coming up behind him. He jumped a little at her voice and turned around, grinning. His smile fell when he realized she was empty handed.

"Where's the doe?" he asked, frowning.

Katniss shrugged and adjusted the strap of her sheath.

"What does that mean?"

"She had a fawn. I didn't want to kill her."

"And when has that ever stopped you?"

Katniss scowled up at Gale, not in the mood to be fought with. "If it's that big of a deal, just go kill her yourself," she snapped.

Gale stared at her for a moment before he realized she was genuinely upset. He sighed and took a step forward. "Sorry, Katniss."

She shrugged and turned away.

"Are you okay? You've been acting kind of…weird."

"Well, I did just win the Hunger Games," she answered bitterly.

Gale ignored her tone. "No, I mean since the Victory Tour or whatever it's called. You've just been angry all the time. You weren't like this when you came back from the Games."

Katniss only answered with a shrug, knowing she definitely didn't want to tell Gale she was pregnant. Madge was still the only person who knew. Katniss couldn't find her voice to tell anyone else. She didn't know what she was going to do. She was going to start showing soon since she was just a little over four months. She couldn't keep it a secret then, and people were already suspecting something was up with her. Most people just put it off as her being "changed" in the arena, but some weren't. Prim was just on the brink of finding out because she knew Katniss better than anyone else.

"Is there something going on with Peeta? Is that why you're acting like this, because he's gone?"

Katniss rolled her eyes. She could feel a headache starting, and all she wanted to do was to crawl back into her bed and remain there for the next five months. Neither of them ever cut their Sundays short since it was the only time Katniss and Gale had to hunt, but Katniss couldn't stand even a few more hours with Gale asking her stupid questions.

Ignoring what he said, Katniss closed her eyes for a brief second. "I'm going to go home. I'm feeling sick."

"Katniss…" Gale trailed off, as if he was annoyed that she wanted to go home. Whatever, he could be annoyed all he wanted. She wasn't in the mood for him to angry or short with her.

"I'll see you later," she said. Gale didn't say anything else, and Katniss made her way back toward the fence, relieved he didn't try to make her stay.

Katniss paused in the space between her house and Haymitch's. She glanced at her windows, the lights on, smoke rising out of the chimney, and then her eyes moved to Haymitch's house, the windows dark, not a lit fire in sight. She had never gotten the chance to tell Haymitch about the baby since she stormed out of his house. That was two weeks ago.

She moved toward Haymitch's house. Katniss opened the door without knocking, something her and Peeta both did. Well, when Peeta had lived just next door. His dark and gloomy house had felt so wrong that Katniss never even looked at it.

"Yeah, well, that's good to hear."

Katniss frowned as she closed Haymitch's door and stepped inside his house. He was talking to someone, but Haymitch never had visitors.

"Right. I'll talk to you later."

As Katniss stepped into the kitchen, she saw Haymitch placing his phone back into its cradle. So he was talking to someone on the phone.

"Who was that?" Katniss asked, walking further into the kitchen. Haymitch paused as if he didn't want her to know. She raised an eyebrow, suspicious. A new girlfriend or something?

"Peeta."

Katniss frowned at the sudden burst of jealously. Peeta hadn't even tried to contact her since he left. Not that she would really talk to him anyways, but a phone call would have been nice.

"Oh," Katniss said. She pressed her lips together. "How is he?"

"Good," Haymitch answered. "He said the bakery is much nicer than the one here. But he misses his family."

Not me, she thought. He doesn't miss me.

"That's nice," she said, trying to make her voice sound bored. Haymitch gave her a look that she completely ignored. She suddenly didn't feel like talking to him anymore.

"Okay, well, see you later."

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"No, I just wanted to stop by and make sure you hadn't drowned in your alcohol yet."

"Yet," was all Haymitch said.

She turned to leave, but stopped. The Quarter Quell was just a few months away, that thought never left her mind. She turned back around.

"So it's really just us mentoring?" she asked.

"Yeah. Just us."

"None of them are going to make it out without him."

"None," Haymitch repeated, and she left.

Three weeks later, everyone knew. Katniss couldn't hide her growing belly underneath baggy shirts anymore. Gale wouldn't look her in the eyes anymore, and her mother kept scowling. No one brought up Peeta.

She ended up doing something she hadn't done in a long, long time that night. She cried. She felt stupid and weak for crying but she felt so trapped. She didn't want a baby, but she didn't exactly want to get rid of it. No one in District 12 could even perform something like that. Maybe there were herbs or something, but Katniss didn't know and she didn't want to. The only option was to raise it. She thought about Peeta and how she knew he wanted kids, but he was gone now. There was no way Katniss could visit him in the Capitol, even if she was having his baby. Visits between districts were completely forbidden, even for Victors. Peeta being moved to the Capitol was unbelievable in itself without even mentioning that it was a personal request from President Snow. Katniss hoped Snow had just moved Peeta out there to keep a closer eye on him, not to hurt him.

She knew then that he was within reach of Snow's fingers and she couldn't possibly tell him she was pregnant now. She didn't know exactly how that information could be used to hurt him, but she did know that Snow would find a way if given the chance.

Katniss's door creaked open and she pressed her covers against her face. She didn't want to talk to anyone. Someone pulled back the edge of the covers and slid into the bed. Immediately, Katniss could tell it was Prim.

"Hey," Prim said quietly. She found Katniss underneath the big, fluffy duvet, and scooted closer to her, wrapping one arm around her waist like when they shared a bed. That seemed like a long, long time ago.

Katniss barely got out of bed anymore. Her belly was too big to slide underneath the hole in the fence anymore, so she could no longer go hunting. She wasn't even sure she would want to go hunting because of the little looks Gale kept giving her.

"Does Peeta know?" Prim asked. She was the only one who didn't assume it was Gale's. Katniss didn't know why everyone kept asking her if Gale was the father. They had no romantic relationship at all, though Katniss was sure Gale wouldn't mind that.

"No," Katniss answered. "I don't want him to."

"Why? Don't you think you'd want him to know? You'll have to go to the Capitol for mentoring and you can't keep it a secret then. I think he'd rather hear it from you than from some silly magazine headline."

"The baby should come before then," Katniss explained. "I'll have to leave it here while I mentor, but I'm sure you'll do a good job of watching him or her, little duck."

Katniss reached out and tickled her sister. Prim giggled but she didn't move away.

"Are you scared?" Prim whispered.

"Yeah," Katniss breathed. She pressed her lips together to keep from crying again. Prim had never seen her cry, not when their father died, not when Prim was reaped, or Katniss took her place. Katniss had to be strong for her because no one else would.

Prim moved closer to Katniss and wrapped both arms around her. It felt strange to have her baby sister comfort her when Katniss was so used to the opposite. She accepted the comfort, pulling her sister closer to her and kissing her forehead.

"You'll do great, Katniss. I know you will."

Katniss squinted a little as she looked at the iced cookies in the bakery display. The handiwork wasn't Peeta's, she could tell right off. It was probably Mr. Mellark's work because it was just as beautiful as Peeta's. He had told her once that his brothers couldn't ice anything to save either of their lives. And Katniss knew his mother couldn't create something that beautiful.

When Peeta had lived just three doors down, the amount of cookies and bread that filled Katniss's house was ridiculous. But he was gone, and there was rarely ever bread on the table anymore. Prim loved the cookies Peeta had brought over and Katniss was sure he only brought them for her. The same cookies were sitting in the display and Katniss knew Prim would love them.

She pushed open the door to the bakery, telling herself not to think too much about it. Mr. Mellark wasn't at the counter, like she was expecting. It was Peeta's older brother, the second youngest.

"Hey, Katniss," he said, keeping his eyes level with hers. She was no longer wearing clothes three sizes too big, so her belly was much more visible. He didn't look remotely surprised, which meant someone had already told him. Which meant they all knew, and one of them had probably told Peeta already.

"Hi," Katniss said, using her hand to brush her hair away from her face.

"Need anything?" His voice didn't seem bitter or annoyed and Katniss felt a little relieved.

"Yeah, I just wanted a couple of those cookies. The flower ones," she said, pointing to the display.

"Any specific ones?" he asked as he came from behind the counter.

"The rose and the daisy," Katniss answered, her eyes following him. His hair was just like Peeta's, blonde and curly. They had the same build from lifting all those flour bags, and from behind he could almost pass at his little brother. But Katniss could tell small differences. He didn't have the slight limp Peeta had from losing his leg and he slouched a little, unlike Peeta whose shoulders were always high and straight.

"Here you go," Peeta's brother said as he handed her the little white bag.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, no problem."

Katniss handed him the money and left the store feeling a little better. She wanted to surprise Prim with the cookies since neither of them had seen even a crumb from one in over a month.

When she stepped inside her house, she knew someone other than her family was there.

"Hello?" Katniss called, shrugging off her father's hunting jacket. It was hot outside, but Katniss didn't like to leave the house without it.

Prim skipped down the stairs and threw her arms around Katniss.

"Hi," Prim said, grinning up at her. Katniss tugged on both of her little sisters' braids and smiled.

"Hey, I got you something."

She turned away to produce the bag from her pocket, and when she turned back around, she saw Gale at the top of the stairs. She stared at him, frowning. They really didn't talk a lot since Gale was either in the mines or hunting, both being things she couldn't do.

"Wait, there's something for you, too," Prim said. She grabbed Katniss's wrist just as Gale's mother, Hazelle, appeared behind Gale. Now, Katniss was even more confused. She followed Prim up the stairs and past Gale and Hazelle into her own room.

Her dresser was pushed further into her room, and in its place sat a baby crib. The wood was dark and worn, but it was still beautiful. Katniss had sold the crib she and Prim used as babies when she was thirteen to get a little extra money so she could buy Prim a birthday present.

"Posy's grown out of it, and I have no more use for it. I thought you would like it," Hazelle said, smiling. "Gale helped me bring it up."

"Oh," Katniss breathed. She turned and hugged Hazelle hard. "Thank you so much," she said.

And she hugged Gale as well, even though things between them had turned awkward. He was upset she was pregnant but she couldn't do anything about it. He would have to grow up and stop acting so personally offended if there was a chance for them to continue being friends.

"Oh, here," Katniss said when she pulled away from Gale. "I got you those flower cookies you love," she said to Prim. Prim's whole face lit up as she carefully opened up the bag. They weren't Peeta's but as Prim lifted the rose cookie and bit into it, Katniss felt a deep longing inside of her for them to be his.

Katniss gave birth on a hot, sultry day two months before the Reaping. It was the most painful thing she had ever experienced in her entire life. Forget the burns she received from those fireballs, or the tracker jacker stings. Giving birth was a thousand times more painful than that.

When it was over, and Katniss's baby was bundled in a blanket and safely in her arms, she knew it was worth it. All of it.

"It's a girl," her mother had said when she handed Katniss the bundle. Katniss smiled, for once pushing away the fear of being a mother at sixteen, and felt her heart swell. A baby girl. Her baby girl.

"Any names?" Prim asked, stepping closer.

Katniss shrugged helplessly. "I don't know yet," she whispered. Her body was aching and begging for sleep, but she didn't want to let go of her baby.

"I'll think of something," Katniss murmured, running a finger across her baby's cheek. Her hair was dark like Katniss's and there was a lot of it. Her face was round, but Katniss couldn't pick out any features, her or Peeta's. She almost wanted to cry, but she held herself together. Her baby was with her, and she was safe. Katniss couldn't have asked for anything more.

She turned seventeen one week later.

On the day of the Reaping, Katniss got one measly hour of sleep, and she nearly fell asleep during Mayor Undersee's speech. Haymitch nudged her hard and she blinked a couple of times, trying to force herself awake. She found Madge in the crowd, sectioned off with the other seventeen year olds. She offered her a smile, remembering how she visited the day after Sorrel was born and held the baby. Madge smiled back, a little uneasy.

It was the Quarter Quell, which meant a change of rules just for the special occasion. This Quarter Quell, all weapons and supplies were removed from the arena. Only the mentors could send in food, if they chose. Katniss expected it to be worse, like maybe the Victors go back in, or only parents' names are put in and they must choose one of their children to go in, no matter the age. Katniss and Haymitch could handle no food or weapons.

A fifteen year old girl named Yaz was called. Her dark hair and bony structure told she's from the Seam. She held her chin up high as she climbed up to the stage, reminding Katniss a little of herself. The boy picked was also from the Seam with the name Gan. He was eighteen. Just one more year and he would have made it.

Katniss and Haymitch are ushered off the stage as soon as the anthem ends. Just like the tributes, they get one hour to say goodbye to their family, only they will be on the train coming back.

Katniss and Haymitch parted ways at their houses, Haymitch to get even more roaring drunk, and Katniss to say goodbye to her family for a little while. She sat on the couch and waited a good five minutes for her mother and sister to arrive. When they came home, Prim was holding Sorrel in her arms. She was fussing, her face turning a little red as she fought against Prim's hold.

"I think she wants you," Prim said, handing the baby over. Sorrel shoved three fingers into her mouth and frowned up at Katniss. Katniss cradled her against her chest and pressed her lips against Sorrel's dark hair.

She waited the rest of the hour out holding Sorrel and making sure her mother and Prim knew exactly what to do while she was gone. She knew both of them had been helping her take care of Sorrel since she was born, but Katniss had never gone away before. She didn't know how she felt about the whole thing, but she had no choice. She would be arrested if she didn't go, and she had no idea what would happen to her baby if she brought her along to the Capitol.

"Okay," Katniss sighed as she saw the end of her hour approaching. She handed Sorrel to Prim and kissed both of their foreheads. She hugged her mother before she opened her front door.

"See you when this is all over."

Yaz died on the first night.

The arena was all colorful mountains, no flat land in sight. The rocks were loose and there was water streaming down each mountain, but some were poisonous and some weren't.

There was still a first bloodbath, even with no weapons. Kids used rocks or their bare hands to kill each other. Gan had listened to Katniss's and Haymitch's advice and ran straight for cover. Yaz tried to cut across the entire circle of tributes and was bludgeoned to death with a heavy rock by the massive tribute from District 2.

Katniss yawned and pulled her knees against her chest. Night had fallen and the tributes were slowly falling asleep one by one. Alliances had been made, but Gan hadn't been a part of any.

Being on Sorrel's schedule, which meant waking up every three hours, Katniss couldn't sleep peacefully. Instead, she found herself sitting next to Haymitch, watching the televisions on their floor designed specifically to show their tributes on one screen, and whatever the Capitol was showing on the other.

"I'm sending him a sword tomorrow," Haymitch said. Katniss mostly stayed out of the decisions because she knew she wouldn't make good ones. She was useless. They needed Peeta, but he was off somewhere selling cookies to Capitol citizens. She didn't want to think about him, just a few minutes away.

"Good," Katniss replied. "I hope he's not stupid enough to try and drink from the mountains," she said. "We should send him something to purify the water."

"It won't do anything. Gloss from One already tried that and his girl still died from poison. It doesn't do anything."

Katniss nodded. "So he's just going to have to figure out what's good and what's not?"

"That's all anyone can do, really."

"The citizens are going to get bored quickly," Katniss commented. That only met the Gamemakers had a few terrible tricks up their sleeves.

"Yeah," Haymitch said. They sat a few minutes in silence, Haymitch probably strategizing, Katniss thinking of the way Sorrel smelled.

"I'm seeing him tomorrow," Haymitch stated. Katniss didn't have to ask who he was. Peeta. Haymitch was going to visit Peeta in his little bakery wonderland.

"Don't tell him," Katniss ordered suddenly. "Don't tell him about her."

"I wasn't planning on it. You've kept it from him this long, I figured you had a reason."

"I do," she replied faintly.

"I hope you do."

Haymitch said Peeta asked about her. He wanted to know how she was doing. The thought of that made Katniss want to crawl under her covers and remain there until her heart stopped aching.

Just as he was telling her this, there was a scream on the television. Katniss snapped her head toward it and watched as Gan was beheaded with a large sword.

"No," Katniss said. It was only the second day in and both of their tributes had already died. Her heart lurched painfully. She had seen that Gan had three baby sisters at home. And he wasn't going to return.

Katniss returned home the day after Gan died. They didn't need the mentors once both tributes have died.

In the end, the boy from District 4 reigned victorious. He had been a part of the Career's pack, but he seemed the least bloodthirsty out of all of them.

That night, Katniss was awoken from a nightmare in which Yaz, Gan, and their families got the chance to attack Katniss in the arena. Sorrel was hungry and crying. As Katniss lifted her baby out of her crib, she reminded herself she would have to witness deaths just like Gan's and Yaz's for the rest of her life.

:)