Chapter 3: Christmas Surprises

"Mommy! Mommy! Wake up, its Christmas!" Katie shouted excitedly while jumping vigorously on mine and Peeta's bed.

"Alright. Alright. Be right down," I laughed. I couldn't believe it was Christmas already. It seemed like yesterday when I was all wrapped up with worry about the mysterious person spying on us from our back yard. When in all reality, it was a month and a half ago. Nothing else has happened since then. I have been trying to tell myself that they were just checking on us. Not hunting us. I believed that for a while, but now . . . now the feeling is back. I've been cheerful for the kids' sake. Peeta can tell that something is off. But then again, when can't Peeta tell when something is wrong with me?

"We better get down there before they start getting impatient and open up their presents. I want to be there when Carter opens his "General Panem" action figure," Peeta said, wearing a smirk on his annoyingly handsome face that you just can't stay mad at no matter how hard you try.

"Shut up! I'm not as knowledgeable in the action figure world as you are," I said, the same smirk on my face.

Peeta smiled and kissed me on the nose. I could have just stayed in his arms forever, but I had other obligations.

"Come on Mommy! I wanna open my presents!" yelled Katie up the stairs, desperation and impatience laced in her voice.

I sigh. "I guess we better get down there," I say sadly. Peeta and I get out of bed and walk down the stairs to the living room where the kids are sitting with the selected gift in front of them.

"Alright. You can open them now," Peeta says with a proud smile.

I watched with a small smile on my face as they ripped off the glittering red and green wrapping paper that had hidden the identity of their gifts. Katie squealed with delight when she saw the doll house she had been begging us for many months before Christmas. Carter let out a "Whoopie!" when he saw his Captain America action figure.

As they opened gift after gift, I started thinking about how quickly this could be ripped away from me. This . . . peacefulness. The security that wraps around you like a warm blanket. I don't know what's wrong with me. I should be enjoying this moment instead of contemplating the seemingly undeniable fate of my family. Peeta is laughing at a comment Katie made when he looks over at me. His jovial smile vanishes like a flame when you blow it out. He immediately comes and puts a reassuring arm around me.

"It'll be ok," Peeta murmured against my ear. I wanted to believe him, but it's a nagging feeling I can't get rid of. I smiled reassuringly up at him and continued to watch Katie and Carter open their presents.

. . . . .

"Katniss, I don't think we are safe here anymore," Peeta confessed. That sentence sent a chill up my spine like I had just jumped into a pool full of ice.

"What are you talking about?" I asked Peeta not trying to hide the fear that was in my voice.

"I didn't tell you at the time, but remember when we were sitting by the fire and we heard that scratching near the window?" Peeta asked. "I lied to you when I said it was a stray dog looking for food. It was actually someone looking in the window." He was staring straight into my eyes, looking for any sign of anger on my face. He wouldn't find any. I already knew it was a person looking in the window. I just didn't want him to know it. He worries about me enough; I didn't want to give him something else to lose sleep over.

"I already knew that," I admitted calmly. I looked at him and, as usual, I couldn't read his facial expressions, so I didn't know if he would be angry with me for keeping this from him or if he really didn't care and wanted to discuss how we should handle it.

"Probably should've figured that you'd see right through me." Peeta looked down at his shoes as if hoping they would somehow give him the answers about what he should do.

"Do we have to leave?" I asked, hoping the answer would be no, but deep down inside I knew I would be denied my wish.

"Yes, I'm afraid we do. Ever since that night, there have been five more incidents. Those are the number of times I've caught the person. Who knows how many times he has been here and I didn't see him?" Peeta looked at me, evident stress on his face.

I knew we would have to tell the kids sooner or later. I was planning on later. When we left, I would tell them we were going on a vacation. I didn't want to take away their innocence sooner than I had to. I suddenly had the perfect plan on how we could escape from the eye of our stalker.

"We will live in the woods," I said with sureness in my voice. Peeta looked at me like I had just sprouted an extra head.

"That's crazy Katniss, they'd find us. We would be more vulnerable out there than we would in our house."

I knew he would shoot down my idea faster than I could shoot a deer. "Peeta, you didn't let me finish. We would live in the woods while we moved south," I told him.

He looked at me, raising a questioning eyebrow as he did so, and suddenly knew where I planned on going.

"Why didn't I think of that? That's perfect! We could live in their underground world and we wouldn't be able to be detected by enemy sonar." Peeta was positively beaming. "Did I ever tell you I love you?"

"Yes," I replied. "Many, many times," I said, returning the smile. It was settled. We were moving to District 13.