Hey, Sorry for not updating for ages! It's easter holidays soon, which means more updates, yay :) With out further ado, I present to you Chapter 10! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, sadly.
Chapter 10
Katniss P.O.V.
*5 Months Pregnant*
Bed rest was boring. 7 days of lying in bed doing nothing. Some peoples idea of heaven, but not mine. Peeta came and saw me as often as he could, but he had meetings with Coin and Haymitch. I didn't inquire as to what the meetings were about, it would only worry me and I'm not supposed to stress. My main visitors were Prim, Mother, Johanna, Finnick and Annie. It sounds a lot, but when you see each other every day you really don't have much to talk about and chat becomes tedious. Mother and Prim especially like to talk about the baby. Finnick and Annie tell me stories from when they were younger in District 4 and Johanna likes to make fun of my size.
Of course my favourite visits were the ones from Peeta. We would talk about the baby; names were a big topic at the moment. We talked about everything and anything apart from the obvious staring us right in the face. Coin. It has become very clear to Peeta, Haymitch and I that she has a vendetta against me and Peeta. We are the only things standing between her and ultimate power. In many ways she is just as bad as Snow, all she wants is power and will do anything to get it. That is what scares me most about her. Whilst I'm pregnant she can't do anything though, it's one thing to have me die in a terrible accident, but for the baby to die, she's too smart for that. The People love me and my baby, if my baby were to die their moral would not just be low, it would cease to exist. However that only gives us a few months to come up with a plan for what to do after the Baby comes.
I'm out of the Hospital now. I much prefer mine and Peeta's compartment. I'm not allowed to do anything to do with the war, well anything that causes me stress and the war certainly causes me stress. I've started not following my schedule again. Peeta's back, so I have no reason too. I still eat at the designated food times, but other than that I do what I want which is mainly nap.
Being pregnant has changed me in many ways, for one I am hungry all of the time, two I'm tired all of the time, three I no longer want to do exercise like I used to, and four I am as big as a whale. And on top of all those things my ankles kill if I'm on my feet too much. So I nap all day and only come out of my room if I'm needed in command which is not very often now days as I'm no help to anyone. I have made a routine for myself which I think is a thousand times better than the one that 13 would've given me.
I go to bed with Peeta every night at 8. He gets up at 6, but I stay in bed for a bit longer, I shower and dress, but not in the 13 uniform. The uniform got too small for me and although they wanted me to wear a bigger size I choose to wear some plain maternity clothes that some of the rebels managed to pick up on undercover missions in the Capitol. We eat breakfast together, then he goes off and I go to see Prim at the hospital. At lunch I eat with Prim and after I go back to my compartment to take a nap. I meet up with Peeta again for dinner and then we go back to our compartment. We then have an hour or two to spend with each other before we settle down for the night.
After eating lunch with Prim today, I go back to my compartment like always and get ready to take my nap when there is a knock on the door. I think about leaving it, but then Haymitch calls to me through the door.
"I know you're in there sweetheart." He says, "Now I know you want to nap, but can you please open the door." So I do, because it's Haymitch. If it was anyone else, except Peeta I would have left it and hope they would go away. I slowly get off the bed and walk over to the door. I yank it open, angry that my nap time has been interrupted and I'm greeted by Haymitch's stressed face. I give him my best scowl.
"I know, I know!" He says, "I interrupted nap time, but this is more important."
"Nothing is more important than nap time!" I growl, my pregnancy hormones enhance any emotion I experience so right now, a little ticked off becomes raging with anger. Haymitch just rolls his eyes and gestures for me to follow him. So I slam the door shut and stomp, as well as I can, after him.
We arrive at the hospital and I begin to panic.
"Haymitch why are we here, is Peeta okay?" I say, icy fear penetrating into my veins. Haymitch shakes his head,
"No, the kid is fine, we're here for Gale." He replies. Gale? The fear is replaced with guilt as I think of Gale. I feel terrible for the situation that technically I put Gale in. Unfortunately, he was rendered mentally unstable after being accidentally hijacked whilst on a rescue mission to save my husband and other remaining victors. I feel bad that I have not come to see him at all in the months he has been back, but really it wasn't safe for me to see him. Does this meeting mean he has made progress? Are the doctors who were at first clueless to his situation finally able to find a cure. My train of thought is cut off when Haymitch begins to speak,
"The Docs want to try a new technique with him and for that they need you." He explains, "You know I would never let you go near him if it wasn't safe and the doc has convinced me that it is safe, so you have nothing to worry about." He tells me reassuringly. "The Docs will be watching your interaction through a one way glass, so they can see if he becomes any danger to you. You will be wearing an earpiece, so I and the doctors can give you instructions, and if at any time you feel in any danger, you bolt. You got that sweetheart?" He asks, and I nod. He nods in return and leads me into a room with Gale's Doctors. I can see Gale through the Glass. The Doctors repeat Haymitch's instructions to me. They suggest a few questions I should ask him, but I disregard them.
After hooking me up to the earpiece, they let me into Gale's room. He looks up when I walk in, but he makes no advance towards me. I sit in the hard, plastic chair next to his bed and wait in an awkward silence for him to say something. When the silence becomes unbearable, I whisper a barely audible hi.
"You're huge," is what he says in return, "That spawn will be massive." Although, that sounds like a normal Gale thing to say, I can tell by the tone of his voice that he isn't the way he was, he isn't the same Gale I grew up with.
"I still have a way to go." I reply. His eyes move up and down me and land back on my stomach. I hear him repeat the word huge under his breath, and resist the urge to hit him. The doctors are in my ear, asking me to tell him about his family and so I do, because I'm at a loss for anything else to say.
"Your Mom asks after you a lot." I say, and his lips twitch up a little.
"I'd like it if she'd come by sometime." He says, "How are the kids?" He asks.
"Rory and Vick are okay, Posy misses you, and she doesn't understand why you're not around anymore." I choose my words carefully I don't mention the hijacking in case it sets him off. He nods and looks down at his hands. I notice a tear drop treacle down his face and land on his lap.
"It's hard Katniss." He whispers, "I can't remember what's real and what's not. I can't even remember Posy's last Birthday, or the first time I took Vick into the woods."
"Hey, hey it's okay," I soothe, "Look I'm here now I can help you remember those things okay?" I ask and he nods. So I tell him about the times we took Vick into the woods, how he disturbed a hornet's nest and we got chased around the woods. I tell him about our meeting place and where we would store our arrows. I tell him about the boys' birthdays and Posy's.
"Posy's last Birthday was a great one, she was so happy. Prim and I got here some ribbon for her hair, and you managed to trade enough at the hob to afford to buy her a new dress. Then Peeta turned up and gave her a cake he had made for her, and she became even cuter and excite able because…" I trail off, because gale's eyes have glazed over and the light in them has gone. Replaced with an eerie, glassy hardness that scares me. He clenches his hands into fists and his breathing speeds up.
"What was that mutt doing at MY little sisters Birthday?" He roars. I begin to feel terror, like I've never felt it before. It's a different kind of terror from the one I've experienced in the Games. This terror is worse because it's someone you love trying to hurt you. So, I take Haymitch's advice and I bolt. I run, as well as I can to the door and I pass a crowd of doctors on my way out.
I run into the room next door, and straight into Haymitch's arms.
"I'm sorry!" I wail, "I messed it all up!"
"sshh, no, you didn't" He soothes. "You helped, they now know, another trigger of his flashbacks."
"Flashbacks?" I question.
"The Doctors have been doing some procedures on Gale, to try to reverse the hijacking. They inject him with a different drug and show him actual footage of your games and of you with the people in District 12. So far it's had a positive effect he isn't crazed anymore, he is sometimes, almost normal, but he still has violent flashbacks, where he sees the altered images and wants to hurt you and Peeta again." Haymitch utters,
"Oh." Is all I can say.
"So now, the doctors know that a big flashback trigger is Peeta, so you did not mess it all up, you did good sweetheart." Haymitch soothes. I try my best not to cry, I really do, but my emotions get the better of me and I begin to sob into Haymitch's chest.
At some point I am transferred from Haymitch's arms to Peeta's. Someone must have gone to fetch him when they saw the state I was in. I cry into his chest for a while and when I am calm enough, he places me down on a chair whilst a kind nurse fetches me a cup of water. I am emotionally drained and extremely tired and so I zone out of things. I hear the odd word. I'm aware of Haymitch and Peeta having a heated discussion.
"He could have killed her!" Peeta exclaims.
"He didn't, we had it all under control." Haymitch retorts.
"Then why is she hysterical?" Peeta asks exasperated.
"I don't know, she's your wife ask her." Haymitch states. After that I zone out again, consumed in my thoughts. The main thought being will I ever be able to have a good friendship with Gale again. If Peeta is what triggers his flashbacks, then the answer is no. I love Peeta more than anything and I love our baby more than anything, I could never leave him. But could I live without Gale being my best friend? We've been friends so long, it seems wrong to not have him in my life. On the other hand, I've coped pretty well without him the last few months. Although it pains me to say it, I haven't really thought about him that much either. Eventually my row with myself becomes too much and I drift into unconsciousness.
The next thing I know, I'm lying in my bed with Peeta's protective arm around me. I can tell he's awake without even looking. The first thought that pops into my head is, will he be mad at me. I risked, mine and our baby's life to help Gale. No, I don't think he's mad. I think he's frustrated. He doesn't understand, what's going on in my head right now and that frustrates him; he always used to know what I was thinking. It's not his fault, with all these pregnancy hormones raging through me half the time I don't even know what I'm thinking or feeling.
"Katniss," He whispers in the darkness, "What are you thinking about?" he asks, which proves my point about him not being able to tell what I'm think nowadays.
"You." I answer honestly. "I know it must be frustrating for you not being able to know what I'm thinking anymore, but trust me, it's even more frustrating for me not being in control of my emotions." I say and he laughs.
"You have no idea how annoying it is that I don't know what you're thinking anymore. But I know how hard it is for you. You were always in control and now you have no control over anything." he says as he kisses the top of my head.
"And look, about Gale, I know I set off his flash backs, so if you want to give up some of your time with me to help him, I understand that." He says sheepishly. I struggle and finally manage to push myself up so that I can look him in the eyes,
"I would never give up any of my time with you. I love you with all my being and I can't bear how little we see each other these days, I treasure every minute we have together and if that means I have to give up some of my nap time to help Gale, so be it." I say.
"Wow, you love me more than nap time." He laughs.
"Yes, although when I miss my naps I tend to get a little grouchy, so watch it Mellark!" I warn him. And then I kiss him, and suddenly I don't even feel the remotest bit tired anymore.
I'm wide awake, electricity running through my veins. That hunger in my heart that doesn't feel like it will ever be fed. Every part of me yearns for Peeta, I pull him close with one hand whilst the other, runs through his hair. Without breaking the kiss he pulls me onto his lap and he gently pulls me as close as he can to him without crushing my baby bump. His fingers trace patterns on my back, while mine roam the muscles in his arms. Everywhere his skin meets mine, it leaves a fiery sensation that I can't get enough of. My heart is beating so fast I think it's going to burst, but then I feel something else that feels like it's going to burst, my bladder. I groan and get up,
"What's wrong?" Peeta asks.
"Nothing," I sigh, "It's just that little lady is pressing on my bladder." He laughs; I scowl and walk over to the bathroom.
"It's not funny, you try peeing 10 times a day." I shout from the bathroom. He laughs again. I waddle back into our bed and he hugs me close,
"I love you, both of you." He tells me as my eye lids become heavy again.
"I love you too." I mumble as sleep pulls me under, to sweet dreams, of Peeta, me and our baby girl.
I hope you enjoyed that! I really enjoyed writing it, espcially the fluffy ending :) So yeah, I know most of you probably hate me because of the lack of updates, but school has been really hectic and I have had no time to write which really depresses me. However it is the easter holidays soon, which means updates, yay!
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