Chapter Fourteen
Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or Catching Fire
Rated M for language and violence in later chapters, to quote Saw II, Oh yes, there will be blood
Thank you all for reading and being so supportive of the story and of me. Please continue to review, the reviews are what keep me writing every week. *SPOILER ALERT* This chapter contains the much anticipated birthing scene! All I know about birth is from what I've seen on TV so my knowledge is 100% accurate, JK.
Immediately after the party ended Effie had us back onto the train to head back to District 12. I plop onto my bed, feeling exhausted. The Victory Tour has drained me of nearly all my energy. I barely have to energy to pull myself out of my dress and wash all the makeup off my body.
Clothed in only a t-shirt, I curl myself up in my sheets and fall asleep. I sleep for hours upon hours. I don't dream. For what feels like the first time in my life I am finally at peace. It might be short lived, but in those hours I don't worry.
The nest morning I wake up and see the familiar sight of the snowy District 12 woods. The frosted trees greet me when I look out the window. I damn near cry at the sight. Now, after all the hell I've been through, it is finally over. I won't have to be exploited by the Capitol ever again.
We pull into the train station, and Katniss, Peeta, and I, clad in soft winter coats, step out into the freezing air. They cheering of District 12's citizens greet us. Unlike in so many other Districts, these cheers are genuine. In the front of the screaming crowd stand Logan and Loretta. They hold hands and beam up at me.
About a month after I returned from the Games they revealed to me that they were together. I was so happy for them. Loretta told me how Logan had reacted to watching me almost die in the Games. She said he was distraught, because he had truly considered me family, like I had him. She helped him get through it, and really just kept him sane.
After the roaring stops we leave the stage and the Harvest Festival begins. The festival is usually just held by District 12's people, but this year the Capitol is taking over. The have decorated the streets in festive streamers and other decorations. Tables upon tables of food lie in wait for the starving people to devour them. This is the first time I feel that good has come from winning the Games. With Katniss, Peeta, and I returning, District 12 is finally fed.
The Harvest Festival goes on until dawn. Amazingly, I stay up for the entire thing. I dance, eat, and laugh. Logan and Loretta pressure me into singing some of District 12's classic folk songs. Singing for these people was much easier than singing for the Capitol. These people knew all the meaning behind the songs and appreciated every word. It wasn't me that they were interested in, it was the music.
In a few days all the hype from the Harvest Festival and the Victory Tour died down. I now spend my time reading old books, talking with Logan and Loretta, and calling Finnick. For once I'm actually happy. I'm not really bound by any restrictions. Nobody is judging my every move of every minute of every day. I have time to just relax and finally think of myself for a change.
Just as I sit on my bed to start a new book, a sharp agonizing pain shoots through my abdomen. Immediately I am filled with horror. Did I just have a contraction? A few minutes later an equally painful stab goes through me.
"Logan!" I scream for him. "I need help!"
The second the word help leaves my lips I can hear Logan's feet pounding up the stairs. He flings open the door and bursts into my room.
"What's wrong?" he inquires worriedly.
"I think I might be going into labor," I answer as steadily as possible.
"Holy shit, um…what do you want me to do?"
"Get Katniss' mom," I demand as the pain shoots through me again. I groan and writhe in the pain. Without another word Logan leaves for help. He has been just as nervous about this baby as I am. Throughout the pregnancy he was always asking me how I was doing, or demanding that I take it easy. At first it annoyed the hell out of me, but I understood why he was doing it.
He was worried that with how weak and fragile I was that I wouldn't be able to carry the baby. He knew just how much this baby meant to me, that she is the only part of Thresh that I still have.
Shortly after I called for him, Logan comes back in with Mrs. Everdeen and Prim at bay. The two immediately get down to business, preparing everything and trying to calm me down. Their attempts prove unsuccessful. The entire time Logan stands next to me and allows me to squeeze his hand until it's broken.
Hours of excruciating pain pass until my baby is finally born. The pain subsides almost immediately, and I lay my head down in exhaustion. Logan is still holding my hand, more gently than before, and talking to me, "You did it."
Soon I am holding Iris in my arms. Prim wrapped her in a soft white blanket. Her soft, tan face peaks out at me. She smiles up at me and wiggles in the confines of the fabric. I laugh and smile back. She is beautiful, and looks so much like her father. She has Thresh's kind, brown eyes. The tiniest wisps of dark brown hair lie on her head.
Seeing her, for the first time, is bittersweet. I'm happy beyond compare, but the fact that Thresh does not get to be here for this moment of pure and utter joy breaks my heart. The thought of this and of Iris' future give me a new resolve to fight in the rebellion. I will not let her go through the tortures of Reaping Day and-God Forbid-the Hunger Games themselves. No, I will fight for her more than anyone.