Chapter 3 – in sickness and in health
The next day I decide to stay home and help Prim around the house. I cook and clean and help her move around our few furniture to make room for Posy; she is about to start walking on her own now. I play with her too, while Prim milks the goat. It feels so nice to spend time with my sister, so normal, that soon I forget all about last night's worries.
"Katniss?" she calls me quietly from the other side of the room. I look up and see her examining Posy. "I think we need to call the doctor." she says.
"Prim, what's wrong?" I ask.
"Posy has a fever. I thought she was coming down with something, yesterday, so I gave her some of that tea mom used to make for us. She seemed to be getting better, but she's warm again."
I trust Prim's judgement more than I would trust my own eyes; she's always been a natural caretaker just like my mother. If she's worried enough to ask for help, then we have a problem. Besides, I feel the baby's head myself; she's burning.
"Ok." I say, trying not to panic. "I'll go look for the doctor, alright?"
I ask around in town, but no one seems to have seen Abernathy today. I am already on my way to his house when I hear someone calling my name. Well, if it isn't the love of my life…
"What do you want, Peeta?" I ask, clearly annoyed.
"Don't tell me you're busy today, too."
"I am. Have you seen Dr. Abernathy today, by any chance?" Yes, I am desperate enough to actually make small talk with the traitor.
"I'm afraid not. Is everything alright?" he asks, casually.
"Never mind, I'll find him myself" I mutter and turn around to leave, but apparently today is not my day.
"Katniss wait!" he says.
"What, now?"
"I want you to accept my apologies, for yesterday, along with my gift."
There are so many things I want to tell him at the moment, but I am in hurry.
"Apology accepted. Can I go now?" I turn around once more and start walking as fast as I can before he has the opportunity to say more, but soon enough he's walking by my side.
"Is something wrong?" he asks.
"No, I just like running around, looking for the doctor like a crazy person." I snap.
"I was thinking maybe I can help…"
Yeah sure, you want to help, out of the goodness of your heart."I don't think so… you don't strike me as a guy that knows about sick babies… and even if you did, I wouldn't trust Posy with you."
"Well, that baby should not be your problem, anyway. You're not her sister. You're certainly not her mother…" He points out.
"Honestly, who the hell do you think you are? What do you think gives you the right to tell me what should and should not be my problem? Not that it's any of your business, but I happen to care about my friends. Where do you stand with yours?" I am yelling now.
That makes him stop walking, but I don't, eager as I am to put some distance between us. Maybe I was a little bit too harsh. Oh, well, that's what you get for being friends with the enemy.
I am knocking the door for several minutes before Abernathy opens it, and when he does, I am overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol.
"Dr. Abernathy, I need your help" I say.
"You're the nurse's daughter, aren't you?" he asks and I detect something unusual in his speech. Has he been drinking?
"Yes" I reply and he opens the door wider, so that I can go inside.
The moment I step foot in his living room I regret coming here in the first place,but Prim doesn't have my mother's experience, so I don't think I have another option. The smell is so strong now that I feel a little lightheaded. The place is a mess and there's vomit on the floor. Now that I take a good look at him, Abernathy's in no better condition.
"Are you the talented one?" he asks. "Are you here to ask for a job?"
"Prim is the one that has been following my mother's footsteps." I say proudly.
"Then I can't help you." He says and shows me the door.
"There has to be something you can do… Gale's sister is sick…"
"If your sister can't help her, no one can…" he shakes his head.
"Prim is just a child!" I am infuriated now. "And Posy is just a baby! So get it together and come see what's wrong with her."
"I can't help her." he insists. "I can't help anyone anymore. They all die in the end."
He takes a bottle from the table that I assume is his drink, but I snap it out of his hands and smash it on the floor before he has the chance to drink.
"So your solution is to just give up? People need you now more than ever! Even if all you can give them is comfort or hope!" I say.
"I tried. I can't anymore… I am useless…"
"That's a shame. I thought my mother was working by the side of a scientist. I didn't know she was wasting her time with a drunken coward." Damn, I'm good at saying hurtful things today.
It does seem to shake him up a bit, though. He looks at me a bit more carefully this time, like he's sizing me up. "Well, you may not have inherited your mother's gift, but you are certainly your father's daughter. That man did not take 'no' for an answer." He says.
"Neither do I." I say staring him in the eyes.I didn't know my father a reputation.
He disappears without another word and I'm standing like an idiot in the middle of his living room, having no idea what to do. I am determined not to go back to Prim empty-handed.
A few minutes later he comes back wearing clean clothes and I can see water dripping from his hair and face.
"Are you sober enough to do this?" I ask, raising my brow.
"I think so. The fresh air will help clear my head a lot faster than your delightful personality, so let's get going."
"Well, you'd better not think so by the time we're there, you'd better be sure." I say as he slams his door behind us.
When we finally reach my house, we find Prim trying to get some tea into Posy. Abernathy takes her from my sister's arms to examine her while he's asking questions about previous illnesses, the lack of food, even our own habits. He looks at our empty fireplace.
"We only light it up for a few hours every day, to save up wood." Prim explains before he has the chance to ask. "Gale and Katniss can't carry very much of that from the forest."
"Well, that explains the severe cold that is tormenting this infant." Abernathy says. "All you can do is keep her warm, well fed and give her a lot of water. Keep giving her that tea, too, it seems to be working."
"That's it?" I ask, raising a brow.
"Yes, that's pretty much it. Things would be much easier if I gave her medication for her fever and cough but something tells me you can't afford them anyway. At least you have the advantage of your mother's knowledge."
"Thank you, doctor" Prim says shaking his hand.
"You know where to find me if you need anything." He nods to both of us and closes the door behind him.
Well, that was fast. And very professional from a guy that was hangover twenty minutes ago.
The rest of the day goes by with me doing chores around the house while Prim spends most of her time with Posy. When Gale comes home we are relieved to see that he has filled his bag with branches from the dead zone.
"What's wrong with Posy?" he asks when he sees that the poor child has turned red from crying.
"She has a cold" Prim says as she carefully places her in his arms.
I expect him to panic, so I am very surprised when I see him trying very patiently to feed her and coax some tea into her. He even offers to take her in his bed so that Prim can rest properly.
"Prim, can you come see this?" he says just as I am about to turn off the lights. I can hear the worry in his voice.
Prim and I both walk in his room to see that Posy's eyes are red and oozing some sort of fluid. Red spots have also began to blossom on her skin. I look at Prim, not having a clue of what it is.
"I've seen it before but I don't know what it is. Mom would usually send me in the other room if they brought a kid with those symptoms here. She said I was in danger of getting infected." she explains.
"I'm going to get the doctor" I say, pulling my coat over my nightgown.
"Katniss, no, it's past curfew!" Prim says.
"I am the one who should go, Katniss." Gale adds.
"You may not convince the doctor to come here this late." I point out.
"And you will?" he says with a hint of sarcasm.
"Let's just say that he and I came to an understanding this morning."
"Ok, then." He shrugs. "But if you're gone for more than an hour I'll come looking for you."
"No, Gale, you won't. You will not leave the girls alone in the middle of the night. If I'm gone for more than an hour you'll probably find me at the school in the morning, with the other prisoners." I whisper so that Prim doesn't hear me.
"Be careful" they both tell me before I close the door behind me.
There is no light in the streets. If it weren't for the clear night sky and the full moon I'd probably keep slamming into walls. I am being careful not to run into anyone, but even then I find myself face to face with him. Again.
"Are you stalking me?" I hiss at him.
"You're a few feet away from my house but I'm the one stalking you? Nice logic." Peeta says, amused.
He sizes me up in the moonlight for a moment. "You know, a beautiful girl like you shouldn't be out alone this late."
"Well, according to the latest rules no one should be out this late but here we both are." I say, ignoring his compliment.
"I was just about to go home. What's your excuse?" he asks.
Before I have the chance to tell him that it's none of his damn business we hear footsteps. I recognize the sound of the boots the Nazi soldiers wear as I am being slammed into the wall behind me.
"Work with me" Peeta whispers before his lips find mine.
I am so stunned that I cannot push him away as he places my hands on the back of his neck, even if I want to. He does not stop kissing me until the soldier yells something in German. Peeta gives him an answer in the same language, they both laugh and the soldier leaves.
"What was that?" I ask suspiciously.
"That's what it's like to have friends in high places, Katniss. I know you think of me as a traitor, but my betrayal just saved your life." He explained.
"How?" I ask again.
"I told him you're my girlfriend."
"You what?" I almost yell. He puts a hand over my mouth.
"Are you crazy?" he hisses. "Do you want him to come back? Come on, I told him that I'm going to walk you home."
"I'm not going home."
"Well, you are now. Forget whatever kind of business you might have in town." He pulls my arm.
"I can't. I've to go to the doctor's house."
"Ok, then, I'll walk you there."
"No getting rid of you, is there?" I mutter.
"Some gratitude would be nice, you know."
"Oh, I'm sorry." I say. "Thank you for giving me a concussion and bruising my mouth in your attempt to save my life."
He chuckles and slides his hand across my waist but I push it away. I can see Abernathy's house now. Not much longer, I tell myself.
"You see, it would have been less painful and more pleasant if you had co-operated a bit more. Hasn't that Hawthorne guy taught you anything?"
My palm finds his face as my other hand is knocking on Abernathy's door.
He opens the door and his jaw drops when he sees both of us standing there.
"She's your problem now" Peeta tells him and leaves.
The doctor grabs my arm and pulls me inside. "Are you crazy?" he says once we're in his living room.
"Doctor, I think you have to take a look at Posy again. She has these red spots on her face and my sister doesn't know what to make of them."
"Ok, I'll go look at them. But you'd better stay here, young lady." he says. "I can get out after hours if it is absolutely necessary,what's your excuse if we get caught?"
"I'll take my chances. If they catch us, I'll deal with it." I say.
We manage to avoid any unpleasant surprises on our way home, although we barely avoid coming across Nazis twice. We find Prim and Gale drowning in desperation as Posy won't stop crying. And that has only made her cough worse.
"She has the measles." he said after another thorough examination. "I see that you have managed to keep her temperature under control. Good job." He nods to Prim.
I smile at my sister proudly.
"So, how do we deal with it?" Gale asks.
"Keep doing what you're doing, she'll probably fight it by herself. Treat her symptoms, keep her eyes clean and I think your mother had something for the rash? If you can make that ointment it's going to help a lot."
I try to calm Posy down as Gale and Prim ask the doctor questions. He gives them a bunch of instructions not only about the baby, but for us as well. How we should handle her in order to avoid infection and what to do in case we present with the same symptoms.
"Would you like to stay here tonight, doctor?" Prim offers.
"No, I think it's best if I go home. And, Prim… if you're ever looking for a job, come find me. Payment may not be the best in these mad times, but at least you'll be able to learn. You do have the potential."
Gale and I decide not to be away from the house at the same time until Posy gets better so I end up spending a lot more time in it than I care. This place reminds me so much of my parents that my chest begins to hurt.
"I don't know how you do it." I tell Prim when she asks me what's wrong for probably the hundredth time. "It feels like they're everywhere. I have to constantly remind myself that I'll never see them again."
"It felt like that at first. I guess I got used to it after a while. Posy helps a lot. If you have to keep an infant without toys entertained you do have to put your mind to work." Prim says.
It is only then that I notice the only toy Posy has is an old knitted rabbit Prim used to sleep with. I open my mother's old trunk and decide to destroy one of my old shirts so the rest of my day goes by with me making new dolls. They look kind of freakish, their features are drawn with carbon dust and their hair consists of strings I cut from an old ball of yarn but Posy seems intrigued and excited.
"Are they for some sort of ritual? Are you trying to scare her illness away?" Gale asks as he examines them but he laughs.
I throw the one I am holding right at his head and it is then that we hear Posy's clear laughter. Prim throws another and she has the same reaction.
"Oh, great." Gale mutters. "My sister is a sadist."
