Hey Dears. Sorry that I took a little longer than usual to update. Family has been over a lot during this update. So yeah, I also decided that I am probably going to name the little girl….HAHA not telling xD You all get to wait until she is born until you find out the name. I know, cruel. I guess xD But I really do want y'all to be surprised when Katniss says the little girl's name. ANYWAY! Without further ramblings that I truly doubt any of you will legit read, CHAPTER 11!
Chapter 11
"Peeta!" I call up the stairs, "Where is the damn phone?" I tap my foot, getting impatient.
"Check in the kitchen, I might have left it there, if it's not in there," he pauses, "Then I have no idea."
I sigh and walk into the kitchen. I look around the countertop, getting more ticked off each second that passes. "It's not here!" I shout.
"Then I don't know!" I hear him shout.
I take a deep breath and walk into the living room. "Come on, Katniss," I mumble to myself, "Where did you put the damn phone?"
A few days earlier, I had ordered furniture for the baby's nursery per Annie's advice and wanted to call to see how much longer it was going to take for the order to be delivered.
It suddenly dawns on me. I walk over to the study and pull open the door. There, sitting next to a Capitol catalog for baby furniture, is the phone. "Found it!" I shout and quickly dial the number from the page.
After a few rings, there is an automated voice telling me to please hold. I roll my eyes and rest my free hand against my ever-growing baby bump. I drum my fingers carefully against the side of the phone and wait.
"Hello, how may I help you?" A voice with a Capitol accent asks.
I take a deep breath, "Hello, I was wondering how long it was going to take until my order arrived at my home."
"Well, when did you order the items?" The man asks.
"On Thursday." I say.
"Alright," I hear him clanking away on a keyboard, "Last name?" He asks.
"Mellark." I say smoothly.
There is more clanking keys and then a pause, "Katniss?" He asks.
"Yes." I respond and wait patiently.
"Well," He stutters, "I mean if you want, we could have your order there by tomorrow." He says.
I furrow my eyebrows together, "Umm, alright, thank you." I say.
"It's baby furniture for a nursery correct?" He asks, as if he can't see my order on the screen in front of him.
"Yes, as in for a baby's room." I say, impatiently.
"Ju-just checking." He says.
"Thank you." I repeat and hang up.
The next day our order actually does come. Peeta directs the delivery men to the room we both agreed would work as the nursery.
Twenty minutes later, we are both sitting on the floor in the room and prying open large boxes. "First let's get the important stuff out that'll we'll need right away." I suggest.
"Good idea." He says and reaches of the largest box. "This one's the crib, important, right?"
I laugh, "Yup, pretty important." I say.
He opens the box and begins carefully removing parts.
I glance at him and begin to push a large box with a picture of a highchair on it towards the corner of the room when Peeta's voice stops me. "Katniss, I can do that, don't push yourself too hard." He says, concerned.
"I'm pregnant," I snap, "not broken."
"Alright," he says quickly backing down, now always knowing when his words or actions set me off to just back off and agree with whatever I say.
I take a deep breath and begin pushing against the box. "Come on!" I say through gritted teeth and shove it into the hallway. I clap my hands together and walk back into the nursery where Peeta has begun assembling the crib. "We can put that in the kitchen later." I say, motioning to the highchair box.
"Alright," He says and then looks up when he hears a knock on the door. "I got it." He stands and walks down the stairs.
I walk towards another box and look at the top. It says 'Changing table' in clear type. I grab the knife that Peeta had used to open the drib box and slice through the tape on the top of the box. I open the flaps and begin carefully pulling out the parts.
I hear Peeta's footsteps coming up the stairs as well as another pair. I look up just as Peeta walks into the room with Haymitch following close behind.
My eyebrows immediately go up. "Haymitch," I say, "What are you doing here?" I ask.
"Just came in to check on you two." He says and eyes the furniture. 'What's all this?"
I freeze. We haven't told Haymitch about the baby yet. "Well," I say, practically stuttering.
"Well?" He asks a little bit too gruffly.
I cough awkwardly, 'Well, I'm pregnant, and this is furniture for the nursery." I explain, slowly.
Haymitch pauses and then bursts out laughing.
I stand up and look at him, slightly annoyed, "What's so funny?"
"The boy actually got you knocked up?" He lets out an obnoxious guffaw.
I feel my face heat up when I nod, "Yes," I breathe out, "I am knocked up." I say through clenched teeth. I set my hands over my modestly protruding stomach and glare at Haymitch.
He pauses for a second and then cracks up again, "What are the odds?"
I narrow my eyes at him, "The odds are obviously pretty good!" I snap.
His eyebrows shoot up, obviously aware that I would take any chance to tear his head off, and now he is provoking it. "Well, it is just funny to think that you two will be parents." He smirks and kicks one of the large boxes.
I narrow my eyes, "Well I'm sorry that the concept of two people loving each other enough to have sex and creating a child is all new to you, but that is what happened with me and Peeta." I can hear the venom in my voice that is fully aimed at slashing Haymitch across the heart.
These words cause him to stop short. Hurt flashes across his face for a split second before anger replaces it, 'Well, sorry for my ignorance, sweetheart." He growls and spins on his heel, storming down the stairs and out the door, slamming it behind him.
I pause, and then my words come back to me. "What did I just do?" I whisper.
I hear Peeta sigh next to me, "Just let him cool down, going after him might do more damage rather than good."
I nod slowly, "Alright." I murmur and turn to face him. "Let's get this nursery done." I say.
Over six hour later, almost every piece of furniture was put together, but they were put at odd angles all around the room.
"What about the walls?" I ask.
Peeta stops screwing something into a large piece of something and then looks up at me, "You can choose the color if you want." He says and then returns to putting together something I don't even care what it is.
I sit down in the dark rocking chair that Peeta had just assembled and think for a moment, "Well, since the sheets and curtains are green and yellow, the walls should be close to those colors and at least match a little bit." I say, feeling the inner-woman in me come out.
He laughs, "Alright, what color are we doing?" He asks.
I shrug and then it comes to me. A statement that he asked me a million days ago.
"Let's start with something more basic. Isn't it strange that I know you'd risk your life to save mine…but I don't know what your favorite color is?" he says.
A smile creeps onto my lips. "Green. What's yours?"
"Orange," he says.
"Orange? Like Effie's hair?" I say.
"A bit more muted," he says, "More like…sunset."
"Orange," I say with a smile edging onto my lips.
He looks up at me, "Orange?" he asks, pausing, then his lips curve up and he laughs, "Fine, orange is perfect."
I smile, "When should we get the paint?" I ask and look around the white walls.
"Probably in a few days." He says, "I can go into town and see if the hardware store is opened yet," he says, "Last time I saw, it looked about ready to be opened, so I bet it probably is." He explains.
I nod. Peeta has been in town a lot lately because his new bakery is almost ready to be opened as well. "Well, we better paint fast, or hire someone to paint fast because I want this room perfect for our little baby." I say, patting my protruding stomach.
"Don't worry," he says with a smile, "it will be." He smiles.
There is an obnoxiously loud knock against the door. I let out an exasperated sigh and stand up, walking over to the door.
When I open it, I am immediately stunned by the explosion of flashbulbs.
"Katniss! Katniss!" I hear my name from every direction as the picture comes into focus. There are dozens of reporters with their obnoxiously huge cameras snapping dozens of pictures of me with each move I make.
"Katniss! Is it true you are pregnant?" One woman shouts over the buzz of the reporters and the clicks of their cameras.
I locate the woman immediately. She has lime green hair spiked up with blue tattoos all over her face. I narrow my eyes, "Why the hell does it matter to you?" I snarl and step onto the front steps.
Another man speaks up with a buzzed head, but the lemon yellow military cut is easily visible on his dark skin, "Who is the father?" He shouts and motions for the man next to him with a large video camera to move closer to me.
I step back, regretting having moved closer to these animals.
"Is it Peeta?" Someone shouts in the mob.
"It's Gale isn't it?" I hear a woman's voice ring out above the others.
"No, it's Haymitch!" Another voice shouts over the commotion.
I stare at them, horrified as I feel Peeta's hands grasp my arms and pull me into the house, 'You're all animals!" He snarls, the hate ringing out in his voice.
Once he slams the door in the reporter's faces he turns to me and looks into my eyes, "Katniss are you all right?" He asks, looking concerned.
I nod and swallow, "I'm fine," I say, "Really, I just want those people out of here." I whisper and look into his eyes.
He kisses my forehead and sits me down on the couch. "Watch TV, alright?" He murmurs, "I'll take care of this."
I nod and sniffle.
He walks out of the room and I flick on the TV moving through the channels. After about 15 minutes, I hear his voice.
"Everyone out!" Haymitch's gruff voice shouts so loud that I almost cover my ears. "Now!" He bellows and I hear a loud bang as if a gun was being shot.
There are gasps and some screams.
I hear another shot and then run out the front door. Haymitch is standing across the Village's circle with a rifle in hand and his eyes blazing.
"Haymitch?" I call out and look at him.
He stares at me for a moment, and then calls out, "You're welcome, sweetheart." He disappears into his house and closes the door.
"Thank you…" I murmur and turn away, clutching one hand to my child.
I watch the TV as my face walks out of the front door and the accusations and questions start flying.
I bury my face in my hands as I hear the gun shots and all the cameras turn to Haymitch. "Everyone out!" I hear his voice over the television.
"Katniss, it's not that bad." Peeta murmurs in a calm voice.
I look up at him and then at the TV where two Capitol women are analyzing what had just happened. "It is believed that Mrs. Mellark disclosed that she was pregnant to an employee of Capitol Furnishings." They go on to explain that a man leaked the story to friends and it exploded onto the news scene.
I groan and lean my head against his strong chest.
He strokes my back and kisses the top of my head, "Come on, let's get your mind off this." He murmurs.
I look up at him and nod, "Okay," I whisper and turn around, leaning my back against his body.
He rubs his strong hands into my shoulders, "Come on," He whispers, "You don't care about this," He kisses the base of by neck, "No way, Katniss Mellark doesn't care about what others think about her."
I close my eyes and mumble something along the lines of "Yeah, that's right..."
"Never has and never will," He whispers and nibbles on my ear. "She only cares about how her husband thinks of her, which is always amazing," He pauses and kisses down my neck, "beautiful, sexy, perfect…and anything along those lines."
I smile and lean my head back against his shoulder, exposing my neck.
He easily begins to kiss down my tender skin slowly, taking his time.
When he removes his lips from my skin, I let out a sound of indignation.
I hear him chuckle softly in my ear and he turns my head toward him. I look up into his eyes and tilt my head slightly and allow my eyes to flutter closed when he leans into me and presses his lips against mine.
He somehow untangles himself from me, but keeps his lips connected to mine. He straddles my legs and leans into the kiss more.
I wrap my arms loosely around his neck, pulling him lower onto me.
He pulls away from me for a moment, breathing heavily, his eyes filled with lust, "Are you sure you can do this while you're pregnant?" he breathes out heavily.
"Just fuck me," I say, my voice is husky and barely recognizable. My fingers push off the shirt that has been moving high and higher over his lean-muscled stomach.
My nimble fingers pull it over his head and toss it over the side of the large couch. His fingers move to the hem of my shirt and then pull it over the moderately-sized bump that is our child.
I gasp as his cool hands rest against my sides.
After a few seconds, he pushes the waistband of my sweatpants down and then tugs them off, along with my underwear.
I let out a soft groan when he places his hands on the insides of my thighs. My deft fingers unbutton and remove the pants that have been waiting to be torn off.
Peeta wastes no time in removing his boxers and positioning his member at my entrance. He presses his tip into me and then leans down, kissing me as he slowly pushes himself into me.
I groan against his lips and buck my hips against his.
After a few more slow pushes, his hormones must win out because he begins to pick up the pace and force of each thrust.
Our hips develop a subtle rhythm, moving smoothly against each other.
I remove my lips from his and grip the sides of the couch, letting my head fall back onto the pillows.
Peeta grunts softly with each thrust into me.
After a few more moments, he talks gruffly, "Katniss are you sure this is okay?" He groans as I clench around his member.
"Yes," I reply and use my own hands to push his hips into me.
He lets out a low moan and I feel him come inside me.
I pull his head down close to mine and press my lips against his.
Suddenly, the shrill sound of the phone fills the room and echoes through the large house.
I jump underneath Peeta and my eyes fly open.
"I got it." He grumbles and reaches over my head, grasping the phone. "Hello?" He answers; the annoyance in his voice is palpable. "Mhm," He says, glancing at me.
When I notice his eyes are traveling down my body, I playfully whack his arm and laugh softly.
He grins devilishly, but then his face becomes serious, "Alright," He says, standing and leans down to grab his boxers that somehow found their way halfway across the room.
I let out an obnoxious whistle and laugh when he turns around and stick up the middle finger at me, playfully.
I grin and then close my eyes for a few moments. When they open again, Peeta is pulling his jeans up over his hips and zipping them up. I pout and then reach over the edge of the couch grasping the fabric of my underwear. I sit up and slide them on, and then pull my sweatpants on.
"Okay, thank you," I hear Peeta say.
Just as I'm sliding my shirts over my head, he walks in and laughs, "Am I not getting lucky anymore tonight?" He asks.
I grin, "Nope, but you must remember you're the one who put his clothes back on first."
He playfully sighs and then sits down on the couch, "Well, I'll just have to live with myself." He says dramatically.
I laugh, "Yup, you will."
As the weeks pass, my stomach grows larger and larger. No matter what I do, it just keeps getting bigger. And I hate it. I used to be able to hide it when I went out with heavy coats, but now as the winter melts into spring, I am forced to wear lighter clothes.
Once day, I walk to town in a shirt that fully shows my stomach, really not caring about it because of the humidity level.
I hum as I walk through the town streets. Some people glance at me, others stare blatantly. I wave politely at those who greet me, but keep my eyes ahead of me, walking closer and closer to bakery.
"Katniss!" I hear his voice over the low chatter of the town streets.
I turn my head immediately and see his face walking through the crowd. "Gale!" I gasp as he walks up beside me, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I saw the little report on you a few weeks ago and decided to come see you," He explains and falls in step beside me, "And I couldn't get here any earlier than this."
I stop and turn to him. Even though part of me will never separate him from the death of my sister, the rest of me is genuinely happy to see my old friend.
He looks down at my baby bump and runs his hands through his hair and rests it on the back of his neck "Wow, didn't really believe that it was true."
I glance up at him then at the ground, "Yup, this is me and my little baby." I place my free hand over my stomach and feel the baby give a small kick.
He gives a small half smile and looks around the town, "Changed a lot hasn't it?" he asks.
I nod, "Yup, it's really coming together, supposedly we're going to start making medicine."
He nods, "Better than coal." I can hear the distain in his voice.
I nod slowly, feeling as though my head might fall off from nodding so much, "Yeah, a vast improvement…" my voice trails off when I notice his eyes just staring at my stomach. "Gale, you staring at it isn't going to make it go away."
He looks up, startled that I noticed him staring, "Yeah I know…" He looks at my face, "I'm just not used…"
I smile, "Don't worry, Gale, Peeta and I aren't really used to it yet either."
He gives another half smile and glances down the road towards Peeta's bakery. "Are you going to the bakery?" He asks.
I nod, "Yeah, I wanted to go see Peeta for a little while."
"I'll walk you there if you want, since you seem to be the talk of the town."
I laugh softly, "Yeah, it's like I'm not human anymore, just some animal that they think can't hear what they are saying about me."
As two younger women walk out of the door from the restaurant that Gale and I are standing next to, they do a double take when they see Gale and me standing next to each other talking, and then immediately begin whispering.
Gale's eyebrows go up and glances back at me, "So, that's what they do?" He asks, nodding his head at the girls.
I snort, "Yup, usually that and more." When they stop talking and stare at us, I finally snap, "What have you never seen two people talking about things other than gossiping?" I snarl.
The women's eyes go wide and they scurry off in the opposite directions, lugging their purses and shopping bags behind them.
Gale chuckles softly and looks up at me, "You still have that effect on people don't you?"
I glance at him, "What effect?"
He smirks, 'You make them want to flee whenever you open your mouth."
I open my mouth but then close it when he starts laughing. I playfully bat at his arm, "I do not!" I pause, "Most of the time."
When I feel the baby start kicking, hard, I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths.
Gale stops laughing and puts is hand on my arm, "Are you okay?" He asks, concerned.
I nod, "This baby likes to kick." I say and place my hand were they are kicking. When I look up I see him looking at me, curiously. I smile and hold out my hand, 'Give me your hand."
He raises his eyebrows, "Why?" He asks suspiciously.
I laugh, "Just give it to me!"
When he places his hand in mine, I pull it toward me, placing it on my stomach. I feel him arm tense up, but I ignore him until our hands land on the spot where the baby is kicking.
He keeps his hand perfectly still, but it remains tight. "What are we doing?" He whispers and looks at me.
"Just wait!" I say, laughing. I move our hands around a few times and then drum against my stomach. "Come on, baby, you were just freaking out, all you need to do is kick once." I say softly.
After a few more seconds, I begin to withdrawal our hands, but then Gale's eyes go wide as the baby gives a small kick.
I laugh and push his hand down a little bit. When there is another kick, Gale just smiles and looks up at me.
When the kicking stops and the baby goes still I laugh at the face Gale is making. "You act like you just say a unicorn or something."
He laughs, "Well, I didn't think…"
"What? Didn't think it was alive or anything like that?" I ask, giving him a wry smile.
He laughs, "Thanks, Katniss, that was nice, when are you due?" He asks.
"In two and a half months." I say smiling.
"Well, you better take care of yourself." He says and then glances at the bakery, "Let's go see the proud Dad." He winks as we begin walking down the sidewalk together.
"Peeta," I let out a soft moan as he moves his hands between my legs and kisses along my jaw line.
"Hmm?" He whispers in my ear.
I let out a shaking breath, "Just don't stop."
I feel him smirk against my skin and he places his lips right below my ear and skims the tender flesh with his tongue.
I close my eyes and relax in his grasp.
After a few moments, he removes his mouth from my skin and I feel him looking at me. "What?" I whisper.
"I want you to do something for me." He murmurs and brushes a lock of hair away from my face.
I narrow my eyes at him, 'No, I refuse to give you a blow job while I'm pregnant."
He smirks, "Well," He says, grasping my hand, "Even though that is devastating, that's not what I wanted."
I look at him, confused, "Then what do you want?" I ask.
"Sing me a song." He stares at me expectantly.
I laugh softly, "Is that all?" I lean in close to him and begin singing softly.
You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand
When it gets cold
I take a deep breath and grip Peeta's hands.
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
You know I won't give in
No I won't give in
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Peeta smiles and kisses myhands, but lets me continue.
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through
So far away
I wish you were here
Before it's too late, this could all disappear
Before the doors close
And it comes to an end
With you by my side I will fight and defend
I'll fight and defend
Yeah, yeah
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Hear me when I say, when I say I believe
Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Keep holding on
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Peeta smiles and kisses my forehead, "Beautiful."
Siiigh, sorry I ended it there xD lack of inspiration lol. Anyway, the next chapter will be MUCH more eventful if ya know what I mean ;) and I think you all do rofl. Anyway, I really did try to respond to all the comments, but couldn't because of a lot going on this week, I'll try to this time around, but no promises xD Let's try to get to 100 reviews soon my dears, the 100th reviewer will be loved lol. Like I will probably praise you xDDDD ANYWAY! I really do hope y'all lived this chapter. You will never guess how the scene with Gale started xD It started out with him like being super…nevermind xD You'd all hate me if I told you lol. Well probably not, but still, I don't feel like retyping what I did lol. But for fan reasons, I'll start doing out-takes and post them once I'm finished the entire story XD Hope you enjoy THAT. Anyway, I am fully aware that in some areas that there are apostrophes instead of quotation marks, it is just that when I type my fingers move a little faster than my head and I release the Shift key and it just comes up, and then I don't realize it. Well, I do for some of them, but others, as you can notice, I don't xD So just let that be because I am trying as hard as I can on fixing the typos, but I am an extremely fast typer and am a little bit lazy, so going back and reading something that I came up with is a little boring to me xD
Until next time ;)
Love ya,
~Amber
