Hi, everyone! First let me say thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review this story, it really means a lot and I read every single one. I know that it has been way too long since I last updated this story, but life was crazy there for a while and I also wrote two submissions for s2sl.

Thank you to my wonderful betas, Court81981 and kismet4891. They also contributed some steamy stories to s2sl. So go check them out if you want something great to read, it's not too late to donate if you haven't already.

Always a Blessing

Chapter 9

July 1955

"Where are you taking me?" Katniss asked when Peeta turned down a street that they usually didn't go down.

"Oh, I thought that I would change our routine of going to the Hob and necking and instead I would take you to my house to meet someone very special."Katniss froze and stared at him. He grinned. "I thought that you wanted to see my house."

"I wish that you would have let me know," she scolded lightly. "I would have dressed nicer."

"Believe me the person that you're about to meet won't care a bit about how you dress," Peeta promised.

She tried to get details about who they were going to see, but he wouldn't divulge a single clue, other than it wasn't his mother.

Peeta pulled into his drive and then opened Katniss's door. The house was even more intimidating up close—no detail was missed, the flowerbed was meticulously kept and the house was newly painted, even the yard jockey looked as if it had been done by a professional artist.

Peeta led her around to a side door and knocked persistently and loudly. Katniss looked at him in confusion; he gave her an impish grin and continued.

Soon the door opened and an elderly lady in a maid's uniform and a blank face poked her head out. When the old lady made eye contact with Peeta, she smiled wide and shook her head, "You ornery little thing, you!"

"Hey, Mrs. Sae," Peeta smiled and kissed the woman on the forehead. "I brought my girl over to meet you just like I promised."

"So you did," the elder woman said as she held her hand out to Katniss. "I thought that the name was familiar. Katniss. What a lovely name for a lovely girl! You're an Everdeen aren't you?"

Katniss nodded.

The older woman smiled and informed Katniss, "My mother was an Everdeen, I'm sure that were cousins of some sort."

"More than likely," Katniss agreed.

"No wonder I am so smitten with her," Peeta teased and led them into the kitchen where he poured them all some sweet tea.

Mrs. Sae happily chatted with Katniss; the conversation was easy, as they knew many of the same people. The older woman also doted on Peeta and couldn't resist telling an embarrassing story or two about him. Katniss found herself laughing. Peeta sat quietly at the little kitchen table and watched the women interact with a subtle smile; he seemed pleased that they were getting along so well.

After an hour and some BLT sandwiches, Peeta asked Katniss if she would like a tour of the house. She nodded and he took her by the hand and pushed through the kitchen door. Katniss was a bit taken aback by the grandeur of the paneled dining room, then only to be awed by the ultra modern den. Everything was so formal. She found it hard to believe Peeta preferred her family's dingy little rental house to this.

About halfway through the formal sitting room he asked, "Katniss, you're awfully quiet. Is everything alright?"

She nodded as she looked at the massive mirror above the marble fireplace, "Everything is just so," she searched for a polite word, "- different. I couldn't imagine living like this."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's not great. Personally I think that most of it is ugly. I'm convinced that the interior designer was able to trick Mom into thinking that all his leftovers were fashionable." He put his hands on her shoulders and whispered. "This is my parents' house, not mine, I don't want to live like this forever. Don't get me wrong; I plan on having a nice home to raise my family, but nothing like this. I want to live in my home, not just reside in it."

The words struck Katniss as odd and she didn't really understand what he was trying to tell her.

"Come with me," he said with a lopsided grin and pulled her to the stairs. "There is one more room that I would like to show you."

Once they reached the landing, he opened the first door on right. The room was far simpler than the rest of the house. There was a twin bed, a dresser and a desk. Ohio State, Reds, and Panem High pennants decorated the walls of the tidy little room, and she knew instantly that it was Peeta's.

"What do you think?"

"It's very you," she grinned.

"This is the only place in this house that I feel comfortable," Peeta shared. "I spend most of my time here."

"What do you do in here?"

"Think about you mostly," he replied and wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her ear. "I think about you more than is probably healthy."

"What do you think about?" she asked naively.

"About times like this," he whispered and began to knead her breasts. "But I never thought that I actually have you in here."

"Peeta," she sighed as he massaged her flesh.

"You have been with me in that bed at least a thousand times in my imagination." A single hand descended down her body to the hem of her skirt, and he slowly dragged it up. "Ever since I knew what it was that people in love did in bed I have only ever thought of you." His hand slipped into her panties and he found the spot that drove her into a frenzy.

Katniss clenched her jaw to resist moaning.

"I thought that once we started being together that I wouldn't think about it so much, but I was wrong," he rasped. His fingers were lubricated with her arousal and he made small circles over her sensitive nub; his words were as intoxicating as his actions. "Now all I want to do is be with you every second of everyday. Sometimes even after we've been in the backseat of the car, I have come back here and take care of myself again. Just the thought of you drives me crazy, Katniss."

She moaned and rocked against his hand. He squeezed her breast and pressed his hardened member into her back; soon she came. Peeta swallowed her scream with a kiss and held her steady while her knees trembled. When she recovered, he turned her around and began kiss her passionately and back her towards the bed.

Katniss suddenly woke from her haze and insisted, "Peeta, we can't here!"

"Why?" he posed and popped the first button of her blouse?.

"Because," she scolded him half-heartedly. She had reasons for stopping although she really didn't want to either. "We have no condoms and this is your parents' home and Mrs. Sae is downstairs."

Peeta stopped regretfully. "I guess that you're right."He let go of her and stepped back, but he looked so crestfallen.

She put her arms around his neck and consoled him, "Why don't we go for a drive?"

He nodded. "We can…I'm getting tired of sneaking around. I can't wait for the day that we can be together all the time."

"I know," she said honestly. While she was enjoying her summer with Peeta, it was nerve wracking to be constantly at risk of being caught. All of the world thought that their relationship was wholesome while it was really illicit—or was it? She was always so confused when she tried to analyze what exactly they were doing, so she didn't do it too often.

They straightened themselves up and went back down to the kitchen to tell Mrs. Sae goodbye and it wasn't a moment too soon. They all heard the front door open, and Peeta froze and visibly tensed up. Katniss could hear a woman's voice and judging by the tone she was not happy. "That Marion Gloss has got some nerve! Insinuating that my diamonds are fake. You couldn't expect me to spend another second with her!" The woman burst through the kitchen swinging door and called angrily to her maid. "Sae, where is the Grey Goose?I need a martini!"

The tall blonde woman noticed her son and his guest for the first time, "Peeta" she acknowledged him and then looked Katniss up and down. "Who are you? Are you one of Sae's granddaughters? You'd better not break anything like the other one."

Katniss felt her eyes go wide and her jaw drop. No one had ever spoken so rudely to her and that was saying a lot. Peeta had once told her that Sae had a granddaughter that was touched in the head and sometimes she had to bring her to work with her.

Mr. Mellark came through the door and gave everyone a bright smile. "Hi Peeta, who do we have here? Katniss, dear, how are you?"

"You know her?" Mrs. Mellark as her husband coldly.

"Well, of course," the large man smiled, "she works at the factory. She's quite the little worker."

"Oh," Peeta's mother sneered.

Mr. Mellark engaged the young couple in pleasant conversation. Peeta eyed his mother nervously and Katniss took notice. Even she had to admit that his mother was very intimating; she seethed a superior attitude and literally looked down her nose at Katniss.

"So what are you doing here with a girl, alone, son?" Mrs. Mellark broke in.

"I forgot my wallet so I came back to get it and we ended up spending the evening talking to Mrs. Sae. She made us some sandwiches," Peeta lied so flawlessly that Katniss bought the story although she knew that it was a fabrication.

Mrs. Mellark looked to the maid for confirmation. The old servant replied without batting an eye, "The girlie was in here with me the whole time."

"You must be how Peeta has been spending all his time lately," Mrs. Mellark commented, with contempt very obvious on in her voice.

"Katniss is my girlfriend, Mother," Peeta said as if he were standing his ground. Katniss had a feeling that this must have been a topic between them.

"So it seems," his mother said and set her jaw, a wicked grin crept onto her face. "Why don't you bring her to dinner next Saturday? Albert is bringing his new girlfriend to the house, you know, the surgeon's daughter? I was also going to ask Jon and Madge to come along, too."

"Alright, Mother," Peeta said evenly. "It will be a wonderful way for Katniss to get acquainted with everyone."

Katniss was very uncomfortable being spoken about as if she weren't there.

Peeta looked at his watch. "Well, we'd better get going; the movie will be starting soon."

Katniss nodded in agreement, eager to get out of the tense kitchen. They made their farewells and Peeta led Katniss out by the hand.

As soon as they got into the car and he pulled out of the drive, he said, "I am so sorry, Katniss, they weren't supposed to be back until much later."

"It's fine Peeta," she consoled him. "Now I'm really happy that I made us stop in your room."

He laughed nervously. "Me too, that could have been very bad…I'm sorry that I put you into that position. If you don't want to go next week, we'll come up with an excuse to get out of it."

"No, it's fine, I'll go." Then a thought occurred to her. "Unless you don't want me there."

"Oh my gosh, I didn't mean it like that," he corrected himself. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, and that's what my mother will do all night."

"There is one upside to being teased as a child. It gives you some pretty thick skin."

"I'm going to do everything I can to keep her from hurting you," he promised.

"I know you will," she replied and snuggled her head on his shoulder. She then ran her hand over his fly—she just wanted to forget all the heavy issues weighing on her and indulge in the comfort of being with him physically."Now how about we find a place to park, I have a favor to repay."

She was in his lap the second the car was put into park; her hand was in his pants and she stroked him to completion. They switched to the backseat and where they made out until he was ready again. Their lovemaking lasted longer than it ever had; it was as if they were pledging themselves to each other without saying the words.

When they were both finally sated, the moon was high in the sky and it was nearly time for Katniss's curfew. Saying goodnight was getting harder and harder, and it made Katniss wonder how in the world they were going to be able to say it for good in a few weeks.

November 1955

Katniss was bent over the ringer washer trying to get a stain out of Peeta's khakis. Haymitch had given them his washing machine, since Effie had his laundry sent out. It had been huge help, but the clunky machine was still hard to use and it made Katniss's back ache.

She angrily scrubbed the spot; she was being much more forceful than she had to be, but she was upset and it made her feel slightly better. The night before, she and Peeta had officially had their first fight.

He had actually come home before eight o'clock for the first time in weeks and she knew that he had something on his mind. Peeta was silent all through dinner and hardly spoke afterwards. Katniss finally asked him what the matter was.

He told her that Johanna had mentioned Gale Hawthorne's visit a few days prior.

Katniss felt as if the floor had been pulled from underneath her. It had been three days since the unexpected visit from Gale. She had been trying to find the right moment to tell Peeta about it, but there never seemed to be the right moment. Either Peeta was too tired to talk or she didn't want to ruin their only time together with talking about Gale and then it simply didn't matter to her.

She even knew that the fight was silly while they were fighting. She'd never thought of Peeta as a pouter, but he was. She tried to explain what had happened (without telling Peeta about how Gale had criticized him, because would have only made things worse) and that he was there alone with her for all of maybe ten minutes before Annie and Johanna showed up.

He was expecting an apology and she didn't feel as if she had anything to apologize for. Peeta was a sulker and Katniss was stubborn.

She replayed the fight in her head.

"You have to tell me these things Katniss!" he said through gritted teeth. "I shouldn't have to find out from someone else!"

"When was there time to tell you?!" she hissed. "I didn't think that you wanted to hear about it when were in bed. You left in a hurry the next morning and I've hardly seen you since. The last thing I want to do in the few minutes a day I get to see you is talk about Gale Hawthorne."

"I am working, Katniss! This is all for us," he reminded her for the thousandth time.

They went back and forth like that for nearly an hour until Katniss got flustered and went to bed. She felt him come to bed well after midnight. They both stayed on their side, even though she wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around her. Yet she was determined to stand her ground.

She never really slept and felt guilty. Peeta left early without so much as a goodbye. That upset Katniss, and her guilt was replaced by annoyance with her husband.

She had always put him on a pedestal, thinking that he was so superior and that he would be the first to make peace. It was a little disappointing to find out that he was human, too. He made it easy to forget that he could be insecure as anybody, if not more so.

Katniss reversed the situation in her head and realized that he would have been much more sympathetic to her feelings. Just as he was starting to soften to the idea of apologizing to Peeta, the phone began to ring. She picked it up and answered, "Hello, Mellark residence."

"Katniss?" a male voice replied.

"Finnick?" she guessed. The first thought in her head was a bad one. "Is there something wrong with Peeta?"

"No, Peeta's fine," he promised. "No, it's Annie…she didn't come to work today and Jo said that she has these 'phases' sometimes. I want to go check on her, but I thought that I shouldn't do it alone and Jo can't miss anymore work. I was wondering if you could go with me? Peeta said that you would."

He sounded so worried that she couldn't say no, "Alright, you'll have to come get me."

"I'll be there in ten minutes," Finnick said and hung up the phone.

Katniss blinked a couple of times to make sense of what just happened. She then hung up the receiver and went to the bedroom to change her clothes. Just as she buttoned up her blouse, there was a frantic knocking on her front door before Finnick let himself in.

He helped her to the car and they sped out of the driveway.

"Are you afraid that she's hurt?" she asked, hinting that he was driving recklessly.

"I don't like her being alone when she is feeling low," Finnick answered. "Bad things happen when someone is depressed and alone."

"She has done this several times before. Annie has never hurt herself; she just lays around."

"What if this time is different?" he posed. Katniss could not argue with his reasoning.

They soon were at the door of the tiny apartment that Jo and Annie shared. Finnick rapped on the door several times and Annie called out in rough voice, "Come in."

Finnick pushed Katniss ahead of him, and she took the hint. She walked further in to the apartment and saw Annie lying on the couch curled up in a ball, wrapped in a quilt.

"Hi, Annie, how are you doing today?" Katniss asked.

Annie looked up and her eyes went wide when she saw that Finnick was there too. She sat up and hastily ran her fingers through her hair. The brunette forced a smile. "Um, I'm fine I'm just not feeling well today."

"You were fine last night," Finnick said softly and approached the couch and gingerly took Annie's hand. "Why the sudden change? It-it wasn't because I kissed you, was it?"

Katniss suddenly felt uncomfortable but had a better understanding now as to why Finnick didn't want to come alone. She watched Annie for her reaction.

Annie hid her turned her head from the two of them and whispered, "I don't know."

"Why don't I go make us all some coffee?" Katniss said to no one in particular, but she wanted an excuse to leave the vicinity, although the kitchenette was not exactly out of sight out of mind.

She looked through the cupboards for the coffee and could not help but to overhear the conversation that was being had just a few feet away.

Finnick said, "Look Annie, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Finnick," Annie stopped him. "You didn't know. I should have told you long before. I can't be in a romantic relationship again."

Katniss looked away from the percolator to see his reaction; he looked slightly wounded. "I just want you to be you, Annie," he insisted.

"I can't be in that sort of relationship again…It isn't fair that I am here enjoying life when," she paused and wiped away a tear, "when Mitchell isn't here at all."

"Do you think he wants you to live like this?"

Annie took a deep breath and her chin quivered.

"I know that you loved him and that you were engaged but even marriage is 'until death do us part.' You survived that accident because you were meant to live, not to simply exist."

"It's not fair," she whimpered.

"Shh, I know, life isn't fair," Finnick commiserated. "I'm an orphan. My dad was a naval officer. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor, and he died when it was attacked by the Japanese. I was ten. My mom went into melancholy and we had to move back stateside. I watched her wither away…nothing I did could bring her back. She died when I was twelve. The doctor said that it was an accidental overdose, but I think that she did it on purpose."

Both Annie and Katniss looked at Finnick slack-jawed; this sure wasn't the biography of a playboy that they had expected.

He continued, "I was supposed to go live with my Grandma Mags, but my mom's family used all their wealth and influence to get me. My Grandpa Coin wasn't so bad. He was nice to me and would have let me stayed wherever I wanted, but Alma insisted that as the heir to their empire that I had to be raised by their standards. I was sent to boarding schools. I purposefully did everything I could to get thrown out and as soon as I did I got sent to another school.

"My grandfather died when I was twenty…I was supposed to inherit everything when I was 21, but my Grandma Coin has been able to convince her board of directors that I am unstable and that she needs to continue to be in charge. So you see, life hasn't been fair to me either…but that doesn't mean that I don't want to try and be happy."

Katniss could not believe what she'd just heard; she just always thought that Finnick was some spoiled brat. She never imagined that he would have had such a dreadful past. Maybe he and Annie made more sense together than she ever thought. She watched him stroke Annie's hair and assure her.

"Look, Annie," he said and lifted her chin with his finger, "I don't know where this is going, but all I know that I am happier just sitting with you than I have been in ages. It's not a betrayal of our loved ones to be happy again. In fact, I think that they want us to be."

Annie was quiet for a long time, as if she were mulling over what Finnick had said. Katniss took the opportunity to bring out cups of coffee. They all sipped from their cups of coffee; Finnick filled up the awkward silence with small talk with Katniss.

Annie surprised them both when she excused herself to go change her clothes.

"I'm so sorry about your parents, Finnick," Katniss told him when they were alone.

"Thank you," he nodded. "I haven't really ever talked about it before."

"I think it helped her," Katniss said softly.

Annie came out a little while later. She was not her typical, immaculate-looking self, but at least she was out of her pajamas and her hair had been brushed and pulled back.

"Do you want to get out for a little while?" Finnick asked Annie.

She answered in a hoarse whisper, "That would be nice."

Katniss felt as if she were intruding. Actually she had felt that way the entire time, but she felt it more acutely now. She thought about Peeta. What she'd heard made her silly fight with him seem even pettier.

They all loaded up in the car, sitting in the front bench seat of Finnick's Mercury.

"Finnick could you drop me off at the factory, please," Katniss requested. "That is, if you don't mind, Annie, I haven't gotten to see Peeta much and I thought that maybe I could see him for a while."

Finnick gave her an understanding look and offered, "I'll walk you in."

The drive to the factory was short and Finnick was good to his word. He walked her to the door and whispered in her ear, "I was hoping that you were going to do this."

Katniss smirked, "So you could be alone with Annie?"

"No, although that is a bonus," he said with a little humor in his voice. "The poor guy, he has been has not been able to catch a break lately."

"How so?" she asked shocked.

Finnick stopped and caught her eye. "He hasn't told you?"

"Told me what?"

"Heavensbee Incorporated has offered to buy Mellarks'," Finnick informed her. "Your charming mother-in-law is pressuring Henk to sell."

"Of course," Katniss said and rolled her eyes. This all made Peeta's mood lately more explainable.

"We have to prove that it would be more profitable to expand than sell," he explained. "That is why Peeta is putting so much work into this place. His future and mine are riding on this."

"How does this affect you?"

"If I can prove to the board of directors that I'm not the spoiled, worthless idiot that my grandma has made me out to be, then I'll get control of my own destiny and be out from under her thumb."

Katniss pursed her lips and thought about what Finnick had said. Then she asked, "How was Peeta this morning?"

"He looks like hell. He's still smiling like he always does, but I could tell that something more was bothering him. It must have been some fight."

"Did he tell you about the fight?"

"No, but Johanna told me about what she'd said and how he reacted yesterday. I just put two and two together." He patted her on the back the way she imagined a big brother would before he opened the door for her. "It will be alright," he whispered and turned to leave.

Katniss stepped into the business office, and Effie was in her usual place with a phone to her ear. She waved and motioned Katniss forward. Effie quickly finished her conversation and then gave Katniss one of her bright smiles. "Katniss dear, how are you? I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"I'm fine, Effie," Katniss said and tried to sound as enthusiastic as the secretary. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought that I'd see Peeta."

"He is in his new office, you can go on in, dear," Effie smiled and motioned to the door.

Katniss thanked her and moved towards the office, which was really a glorified broom closet, and took a deep breath before she opened the door. Peeta was sitting at his small desk bent over some paper work.

"Effie, could you get me the quarterly report after lunch, please?" he asked without looking up from his work.

She walked up closer to the desk and stood right next to him and replied, "I'm not Effie."

Peeta's head popped up and he had an uncertain look on his face; it was as if he was trying to judge if he was in trouble or not. Katniss would have been insulted if she'd not known how he was treated as a child. He finally asked, "So how was Annie?"

"Finnick got her up and is taking her for a drive," she answered and leaned against the desk.

"That's good." He nodded his head, and they both were silent for a long while, neither knowing what to say to the other.

"Peeta," Katniss said and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry about last night. I honestly simply forgot to tell you about Gale stopping by."

"I'm sorry, too," he said and took her hand and looked her in the eye. "I was a jerk."

"Yeah, you were," she agreed then quickly added, "and I was stubborn. You did deserve to know," she said and squeezed his hand. "I know that you have been under a lot of pressure…But I wish you could have let me know exactly what was going on here. I need to know what is going on, too."

Peeta gave her a blank look.

Katniss gave him a wry smile and touched his cheek with her hand. "Finnick has loose lips. He told me a about the Heavensbee offer."

"I didn't want you to worry," he admitted sheepishly.

"And finding out this way was so much better?" she said with a bit of sarcasm.

"I guess we both could get better at communication," he smiled and pulled her into his lap and kissed her sweetly. He held her close, sighing as he wondered aloud, "What happens if I lose this job?"

"Well, there are a lot squirrels behind the house," she shrugged her shoulders, "we could always eat those. I'm good with a rifle." They both chuckled and then Katniss pulled back and said in all seriousness, "You'll find another. You may not start off in management like you did here, but you'd do well no matter what you did." She assured him, "Haymitch isn't going to throw us out in the streets…we'd be fine."

He grinned and shook his head, "Everything would be that easy?"

"I didn't say it would be easy, but doable. Look what happed to my family just a year ago. Prim nearly died and Dad lost his job and we had two days to find a new house and move all our things. We managed. It was hard, but we did it. We're healthy and we have each other. We'll make it through."

"You're really something special, you know that, right?" he said sincerely. "For most wives, this is their biggest fear."

"No, my biggest fear was getting pregnant and you leaving me," she admitted, "But so far everything has worked out."

"I guess that I am pretty lucky," he grinned and then gave her a mischievous look.

"What?" she asked.

"I just remember something we talked about long ago," he said, as he lifted her onto the desk before striding over to the door and locking it. He came back to where she sat and do you mean, situated himself between her legs and whispered in her ear, "Remember once I told you that if I ran things that I would keep you sitting at my desk all day."

She felt her cheeks burn. "You had better not be thinking of doing anything unprofessional."

"What are they going to do? Fire me?" he questioned and pressed his lips to hers. "Anyhow if you're quiet nobody will be none any the wiser."

Katniss smiled against his mouth and leaned into him. His hands brought up her skirt and deftly pulled down her panties. She giggled as his fingertips tickled her thighs. "Shh, you have to be quiet, remember?" he playfully warned.

He pushed two fingers inside her and worked them in and out of her slowly.

She bit her lip to remind herself not to make a sound and ran one of her hands through his hair. "God, you're so good at this," she moaned and began to gyrate her hips. She wanted more, so she found his belt and made quick work of it and soon the buckle clinked against the floor when his pants dropped.

Katniss guided him into her. He moved his grip from her hips to the backs of her knees moving her legs wider and allowing him deeper. Peeta started off slowly. She couldn't help but to feel that familiar feeling of fear and exhilaration that they were going to be caught at any moment, just like when they went parking. His movements got bold and faster. This wasn't going to last long and they both knew it. That was all right with Katniss; she just needed reassurance that everything was going to be alright between them.

She released a breathy cry when she came and Peeta covered her mouth with his hand to muffle her sounds, but then let out his own groan when he spilled himself inside her.

They made eye contact and began to laugh and they straightened their clothes and Peeta's desk.

He led her out into the lobby and said, "Hang on a second," then went to his father's office. Katniss sat in a chair while she waited for him and hoped that Effie didn't suspect anything.

Haymitch walked out his door and gave her a lopsided grin and a wink. "Come to give the boy a pick-me-up visit?"

She was too shocked to reply and her face must have shown it. Effie gave the pair of them a confused look. Haymitch simply chuckled and leaned over Effie's desk to look through her calendar.

Peeta came back out and announced, "Good news, Dad told me to take the rest of the day off."

Haymitch stood straight, took the wallet out of his pocket, and handed Peeta a few bills, "Here, kiddo, take her somewhere nice for dinner." He then leaned in to the younger man and said just loud enough for her to hear, "If you're going to use the office for your personal business at least wait until work hours are over."

Thanks for reading!

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