The next morning I get up slowly, having fallen asleep on the bathroom floor. I observe myself in the mirror for a moment before muttering, "I look like hell." And you know what? I feel like hell too.

I hesitate while washing up and dressing. I'm going to have to spend my entire day with people who hate me. Wait, correction, I'll have to spend all day with people who are pretending not to hate me.

Isn't that better?

I get into the viewing area and take a seat. Only Haymitch is there so I speak up, "How is everything?" I ask.

"The Game makers want everyone well rested before the finally." He sighs, "In other news you're a bitch."

"Shut up." I say. "You don't know anything."

He chuckles, "Don't I? I am you Sweetheart, get a good look. This is your future."

"I said. Shut. Up. I'm not dealing with your crap."

"You broke that boy's heart."

"No I believe you did that for me." I say looking at him dead on. "I never said that I wasn't in love with him. I never said any of those things. You put words into my mouth."

"You didn't have to, there's this thing called facial expressions. I can read them."

"Not well." I say.

"It'd just be easier to not argue with me Sweetheart. I'll win."

"This isn't a matter of winning or losing."

"Well what is it then?"

"It's me defending myself with all that I know."

"And what do you know?"

"That I do love him. And that I'm not ready for the baby I'm having."

He's laughing even harder now, "That's a good one Sweetheart, try that one out on him. See how he takes it."

"Leave me alone." I say turning back to the screen.

"Yet another good one. That'll work wonders on the boy too."

"Haymitch! I swear to god if you don't shut up I'll castrate you right here right now!"

"Easy there Sweetheart, keep your temper to a minimum. They're starting."

"What do you mean they're start?"

"Look at the screen," He says and so I do. All three remaining tributes, running to what? I don't know. The woman from District One is tripping over herself and the male from District Two looks deeply frightened.

"Should I get them?" I ask Haymitch.

"No. Wait." He says. We watch the three tributes meet in the middle. They stare at one another at first bewildered and then they know. They're the last ones.

Mom seems to know the two of them will kill her first without hesitation. One final act of team work before they turn on each other.

Mom allows them to charge her first before sprinting out of their reach. How mom will even have a chance against these two I don't know.

The man jumps after her just as the man from District One did. Mom turns around and slits his throat vertically, cutting exactly on his vein. His cannon sounds not a few seconds later.

The woman from District One stands in awe of my mother before beginning a proper fight.

The District One tribute lashes at my mom swinging her weapon sloppily at her gashing my mother's right arm open.

In less than a moment mom has turned against the woman and has her pinned. She's suddenly stabbing her right where she'd stabbed the man from Two. My mom... She did it. She actually did it. She won. Holy crap.


The Games are over now, my mom's got one more day before her crowning ceremony and her last interviews before we go home, and did I forget to mention that my husband still hates me?

Mom was in recovery for a while. The doctors say it was her age or something. The time she spent in the hospital had to be the worst week I've lived. My husband avoided me like the plague, Haymitch called me a bitch at every encounter I'd had with him. Effie wouldn't leave me alone about the freaking baby.

I thought I was going to do something drastic. Each night I laid in bed and cried. Now that Peeta refuses to sleep in the same room as me, the nightmares have returned. Only now my little one is in the Games, not me or Peeta.

We're back at the top floor of the training center. The other mentors have already gone home, as there's no need for them to stick around anymore.

I must admit I miss Annie, Finnick, and yes even Johanna. I'm walking into my mom's bedroom to tell her about the baby now.

"Mom?" I ask knocking on the door. I walk in and see her crying on the bed. It must have sunk in, what's happened in the week-long Quell. I don't say anything, but I slowly wrap my arms around her and hold her tight.

"It's okay mom, I know how it feels." I whisper.

"I'm sorry Precious. You've seen me cry so much already." She says softly. I don't respond and I don't let go. I let her cry until she decides to stop. She wipes her eyes and looks at me, "I've missed you Precious. You and Prim too."

"I missed you to mom." I say with a smile, "Mom. I have to talk to you about something."

"Alright, what is it?" She asks.

"I'm pregnant. But the thing is, Peeta doesn't think I am."

She looks puzzled, "I don't think I follow Precious." I begin to explain all that's happened since the Games began, about Snow's threat, about the baby, about what Peeta told me, even my argument with Haymitch. I tell her how terrible it was when she was in recovery.

She listens patiently and then speaks up when I'm done, "But you are pregnant." She says.

"Yes." I answer. Mom hugs me rather suddenly. "Mom?"

"My baby's having a baby." She says and then gasps, "You're having a baby."

"Yeah mom I am."

"We've got so much to plan. You aren't even eighteen yet... I have to kick your husbands ass for getting you pregnant." I laugh and nuzzle deeper into her hug.

"I missed you mom." She runs her fingers through my hair. Like I knew she would, she makes me feel like everything will be okay. She makes me feel like something will start going right. And that's all I can hope for. "Prim is safe mom."

She takes my face in her hands, "I'm becoming a grandmother, and now both of my babies are safe." She pulls me back into a hug, "I couldn't ask for better children."

That's when everything goes dark. Literally in the entire city all of the lights go off.

"Mom?" I ask though I can still feel her.

"I'm here Precious." She says clutching me tighter.

"You two come on!" Someone yells into our room. "Let's go we don't have much time!"

I take mom's hand and lead her through the door, "Hello? What's happening?" I call out.

"No time to explain." Is that Finnick's voice? A hand grabs my free hand and yanks me along. Apparently up some stairs (Which first of all I didn't even know there were stairs in this building.) And I recognize that we're on the roof.

There's wind blowing violently all around, I find the weather odd, until I see a large figure that I can now make out as a hover craft.

"What is this?" Mom asks.

"Just trust us and hurry!" He says pushing us forward onto the hover craft. Mom and I are shoved to the floor the moment we get in and the doors shut behind us. "That's everyone." It's just light enough I can make out Finnick's features.

"Finnick what's going on?" I ask.

He looks down at me briefly, "Just stay down tiger."

"What does that mean?" I ask but the hover craft appears to take off. Mom clutches at my waist as the lights flicker off again. "Mom!" I shout over the roar of the engines.

"I'm right here Precious." She says right up to my ear.

Suddenly we're tossed around the cabin, alarms are beeping someone yells that we're being shot.

All I can do is fear for my baby, and my mother. The only two people I have left. I cling to her for dear life as we swerve again.

I have no time to contemplate what's happening as we're thrust around every which way. I feel the pang of my spine hitting a wall.

My stomach cramps up. No, I start thinking, I can't lose you too. I can't bear to lose anyone else. Especially not my baby. Not in this terrifying and insane scenario.

The hover craft balances out and soon the lights come on. Peeta, Johanna, Finnick, Haymitch, and Annie are all standing up now.

"Well that went wonderfully." Finnick rolls his eyes.

"I'll say, who's driving this damned thing?" Johanna shouts.

"Keep your trap shut. Let's just finish what we were doing please." Haymitch says directing the other Victors out of the room. A stabbing sort of pain rises in my stomach. I know what happened. I've lost my baby. Mom stands up watching them as they go.

"Mommy" I whisper once everyone has gone.

"Precious?" I look down at my pants that are steadily staining with blood.

"Mommy." I cry softly.

"Oh Precious." Mom bites her lips together, "I'll be right back, I promise." and she doesn't take long to come back for me.

"Come on baby." Mom takes my arm and lifts me. My stomach cramps sending my hand to grip the skin. "You're alright." She assures me kissing my head. Blood runs down my pants seeping through the material. My inner legs are drenched in blood already.

"The room I asked about isn't that far. You can make it."

I walk with my legs inverted as if I'm still trying to keep a baby inside of me. I limp along with my mother through the door. I look up briefly to see the group of Victors discussing some matter I'm, again, uninformed about.

I don't care though, I can't manage a care at the moment, I just lost my pregnancy. My husband probably still hates me, and will hate me more for this. My friends weren't even convinced I was having this baby. I only have my mom now, who's guiding me to a room where I can hide from the world to grieve.

We're about to turn the corner when I catch Haymitch's eye.

I look at him then down at my soaked pants. I see his mouth gape open. I guess my uterus is too hostile for a baby.

Johanna and Finnick glance my way and have to do a double take. Annie stares sadly at my crippled figure.

Peeta's the last to look, but the fastest to react. He sees me, then blood, in a flash he's there. He places his hands on my shoulders to get a better look at my pale face.

"Kat what happened?!" He asks without breath.

"Don't touch her!" Mom hisses shoving his arm away.

"Kat-"

"I said to get away from my baby." Mom says again sharply.

"This is my wife." He practically begs my mother with his eyes, "Kat what happened?" He asks me. For the first time in weeks his eyes are sincere. He's so frightened and just wants to hold me.

"I-... I-... I lost my baby." I say with a shake of my head. I try not to think about those words I've just said, but it's no use. Now I fully realize what's happened, "Mommy, " I whimper helplessly.

"We're almost there Precious. You're doing well." She leads me away from all the concerned looks.

When we get into the room she told me about she strips me of my clothes. I'm still bleeding as she washes me in the tub. She gets me in a hospital robe and slips me into the bed on the far side of the room.

"Does it still hurt?" She asks pushing my hair back.

"Yes" I whimper unintentionally.

"I'll go see if I can get you something, I'll be back quickly." Mom walks away.

I just lost my baby, my innocent little baby... Why? My baby didn't do anything to deserve death before life.

I feel a hand slip into mine. I don't have to look to know who it is. I rip my hand away from his.

"Kat-" I look at him, he's crying so heavily his face blotches with tears.

"Can you please leave me alone? I've just lost my child."

"That's why I'm here. Our baby-"

"No, it was my baby. You may have been the father, but the moment you told me you wanted nothing to do with me. You decided you wanted nothing to do with the baby."

"Kat, I'm sorry I hurt you, I should have believed you."

"Yeah, you should have but you didn't." I turn away from him but he walks around to the other side of the bed.

"Kat, please listen to me."

"You left when I needed you most." I snarl at him, finally angry for all the hell he's caused me, "You stop talking to me, stopped looking at me. While my mother was fighting for her life Peeta. I was pregnant I needed someone. The whole week and a half she was in recovery, you were avoiding me and running away. Now I have my mom, and I'm not pregnant. I'm fine with just that." That's when I start to cry again.

"Precious!" Mom runs to my side, "Shh, calm down Precious. Calm down you're okay, I'm here."

"Mommy" I cry into her chest as I grip her neck. "Mommy,"

"Shh, Katniss calm down for me." She strokes my cheek with her thumb, "Here take this." She hands me pills which I take in one swift gulp. "You're okay."

But I'm really not.

She looks up and glares at Peeta, "Get out! I don't care if you're her husband. Get out, you're a hazard to her health and I will not tolerate your presence while she's recovering."

Peeta sounds so defeated when he says, "I'm so sorry, I-... I don't know what I was doing."

"I don't need an excuse from you. Your child, my grand baby, is dead. No excuses need to be made up, just GET OUT!" He's gone now as I can feel my world fading away, giving into the drugs.

"Mommy?"

"I'm here, I promise, just sleep." So I do.

(Here's a little POV change really quick so we can watch mama bear defend her baby.)

Once her own little girl was asleep, Mrs. Everdeen angrily stormed through the hall and into the room the Victors had assembled in.

Peeta stood up, "How is she? Is everything okay?" Mrs. Everdeen put her hand up to silence him, "Please I have to know." He begged her again and the other Victors stood up to hear about their friend.

"No I'll be asking questions. Sit." She commanded and everyone did so, "One of you is going to tell me exactly what's going on, where we're going, and why my daughter was not allowed to know about any of it." She spoke swiftly and firmly, "I'm not kidding around with you."

Finnick stood up, "Mrs. Everdeen we can't just-"

"Sit." She commanded, "I'm old enough to be your mother, you will not be telling me what I can and cannot know." Finnick sat down in full shock.

Haymitch spoke up, "Look it's not that simple,"

"Don't you dare make me pull the, you-slept-with-my-best-friend card." She threatened, and the oldest present Victor took a seat.

"District Thirteen." Annie said, "We're heading to District Thirteen, because as of right now, Twelve is under fire."

"Under fire?"

"War, ma'am."

"The rebels." Mrs. Everdeen said under her breath in realization.

"You know about the rebels?" Johanna asked.

"My husband was a very active rebel before his death." Mrs. Everdeen said, "I haven't been involved with recent rebel activity in years. Are they really strong enough for war now?"

"Well, now that they have a symbol." Finnick said.

Mrs. Everdeen understood, "My daughter."

"Yes. She's the face of the rebellion." Haymitch said.

"But she doesn't know."

"Well we were going to tell her eventually. We just needed her ignorant which is why we had lover boy over there tell her they should have a baby."

"She was never supposed to conceive." Peeta says.

"Well she was just doing what she was forced to do."

"What?" Haymitch asked.

"She doesn't want you to know. It's not relevant anymore anyway." Mrs. Everdeen suddenly became very angry. "I hope you all realize that each of you played a part in killing that baby.

"Each of you put her through hell. And each of you should feel guilty. She needed you, because I wasn't there for her. And you all abandon and scorn her for nothing at all." She began to leave when she turned around. She stared down her son-in-law, "Even if she forgives you, I don't think I ever will."

With that she walked out of the room, having thoroughly chewed out each of the Victors.

"Can she be my new mom?" Finnick asked when she was gone.

"You're such an asshole." Johanna swatted at him.

"What? She get s shit done."

"Peeta?" Annie asked softly placing a hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"My mother-in-law hates me, my wife hates me, and they have every right to." He didn't have to say more, Annie rubbed his shoulder for comfort.

"I'm sorry about the baby." She said, "I hope Katniss's alright."

"Me too." He said with tears in his eyes, "Me too."