Mkay, so I know I said I'd update yesterday, but I forgot. I do apologise, but here is chapter 9. :) Hope you like it. :)
KATNISS POV
Sitting with Peeta, bars between us, was uncomfortable and slightly awkward, yet it had not been the first time I had had to watch him change without being able to do anything about it. He had apparently woken up a lot earlier than everyone else. Very early in the morning according to Ariadne and I had been sitting with him for a day and a half, passing the time by talking about anything and everything, occasionally passing him the animal blood that had somehow been retrieved. It seemed to do the job so I didn't question it.
Peeta, in himself, seemed a little more reserved than usual and had positioned himself in the dead centre of the cage, cross legged, as he talked to me. It was difficult for me to see him like this as it had been years since I hadn't been able to touch him for fear of him hurting me, though I knew he would never intentionally hurt me...
"Peeta." He looked up at me from his hands that he had been staring at. "I have something to show you." I looked him in the eyes and saw his curiosity, clear, and I smiled a little at it, showing that he was still in there, no matter how much he may have changed physically. "I learned this, as you know, years ago, but I've only recently learned how to control it well enough to show what I want."
I closed my eyes and cupped my hands in front of me, remembering the memory I wanted to show him. I felt the power slowly burn through my fingers and I opened my eyes to see the figures moving in the fire I had created, and I knew Peeta could see them too as he smiled at the picture I was creating. I watched Peeta's eyes as he continued watching my memory play out.
The miniature Katniss and Peeta sat on the balcony at the back of our beachside house in Naples, Italy, Katniss leaning on the fence surrounding it, watching the waves of the ocean lap at the golden sand. Peeta watching her as she sighed.
"I've never seen anything more beautiful." She said as she sat straight in her chair, eyes still fixed on the water. A very short moment went past in silence.
"I have." Peeta said, still looking at Katniss, as she turned to him.
"What?" She asked, curious, before noticing that he was looking directly at her, deadly serious, before he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, fiercely and passionately.
Eventually, he pulled back, leaning his head against hers, whispering the words he'd longed to say for such a long time. "You. I love you Katniss."
As the flames flickered out at the end of my little show, I saw pain and regret flash across Peeta's face, though, as quickly as it came, it disappeared and he smiled at me.
"Thank you." Was all he said, before he stood, stretched and sat back down again.
I smiled at him again. "That is one of the best moments of my life." I stood from my chair and moved over to the bars, wrapping my hands around the thick metal, resting my head on one of the higher bars. "It always will be." In less than a second, hands wrapped around my own, and Peeta stood on the other side of the bars, smiling, but as Peeta, not as a vampire would, causing my smile to widen considerably.
SARAH POV
Days passed and things changed with each one. Helen and Jason had started talking with others again, mostly Amy, Johanna and Finnick, but had vague conversations with the rest of us as well.
A few days after everything went to shit, I sat in mine and Finnick's bedroom, reading one of the books from my personal library I had collected in our room, when Finnick popped his head around the corner, his usual smile somehow missing, as he entered and sat on the edge of the bed, facing my chair, an uncharacteristicly serious expression on his handsome face and his elbows resting on his knees as he waited a moment for me to finish my paragraph, which I did in seconds and pressed my bookmark into the page, placing it on the table by the chair, and dropping my legs, which were previously underneath me, in front of me as I leaned towards my husband.
"What's wrong?" I asked, wondering whether I should just leave him to it, or stay and help. I went to stand.
"Stay..." He paused as I sat back in my chair, incredibly worried now. "Sarah, I'm leaving. A few of us are going to be away for a while, and i'm not sure when we'll be back. Now not everyone knows, and I came here to ask whether you'll come with us." I listened, eyes widening as he spoke, thinking on his words. Leaving. I stood from the chair, pacing easily for a minute, taking in every word. It felt like forever before I made my decision.
"No." I said curtly, turning to see Finnick looking at me, his eyes already saddened. "I can't leave now Finnick. I'm sorry. No matter where you're going, or how far away, I trust you to come back to me anyway." I watched as he stood from his seat, closed the distance between us, and pressed his forehead to mine. "The beginning of forever.." I recited as I had done a thousand times before.
He smiled. "... Until my forever ends." He said, pressing his lips against mine, softly, sweetly, before turning and leaving the room.
I felt the tears well up in my eyes quickly and quietly as I sat on the bed, in the seat that Finn had just vacated, and let the pain out quietly, feeling my tears fall on my hands, tucked together in my lap, before I dropped my head into my hands and bawled my heart out, not noticing the presence in my room until a hand fell on my back.
I looked up to find Hector, my best friend for years now, looking down on me. "There are five of them leaving. I just had the same conversation you did." He pulled me to him, letting me cry into his shirt. "I know. I don't think anyone else actually knows. I know Helen and Jason are going, and I think Amy is going with them aswell as Jo and Finn." He rubbed my back in that classic movement that is meant to make someone feel better but only served in making me feel a whole lot worse.
After a couple of minutes I pulled away from the embrace and we sat in a comfortable silence for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably maybe five minutes. "I needed Finn now more than ever." I said, quietly, not caring who heard anymore.
"Hm?" Hector sat beside me as he had numerous times when I had needed him, or when he had needed me. "Why? Is something wrong?" He turned in his place to face me and I looked up at him, nodding slightly.
Breathing through my words, I told him. "I'm pregnant Hector. Me and Finnick, we're having a baby." I said, turning in my seat to face my best friend.
Hector seemed shocked, to say the least. Face impassive, as usual, he did not move for a few moments, before he looked me dead in the eye. "Does Finnick know?" I shook my head immediately. "Then why did you let him leave Sarah? He has to know."
I stood, leaving Hector sat on the bed. "I know. Goodness knows I know. But I could just tell he was set on leaving, and I knew that telling him would just make him worry about everything." I began pacing again as I spoke. "We've been planning this for months and didn't tell you guys because of the fuss it would bring and we didn't know how well any of you would take it. You're our family after all. And now, with everything that's going on, this baby could not have come at a more inconvenient time." I turned to look at Hector, who was just smiling at me and didn't say a word. "What?" I asked.
"Sarah, you know this is the best news ever. Screw the convenience. You've created a new life!" Hector stood, grinning, even through what was going on. "Between you and Finnick, this baby is going to be beautiful and graceful and lovely, and could not have two better parents. Besides, with this family, your child will grow to be a truly amazing person. But you really do need to tell him."
I smiled at my best friend, accepting the words, knowing it would be futile to argue. "Thank you. I'll tell him when it's the right time." He nodded at that, clearly accepting my decision. "Now, what are we going to do about the guys leaving?"
Woop. :D
