Chapter 14: I Was Right
"Mr. and Mrs. Mellark, the doctor will see you now." Said a nurse. We were led down a short hallway into a check up room.
"Mrs. Mellark, if you could put that paper gown on, the doctor will be in with you in a minute." Said the nurse as she left the room.
"You can wait outside if you want Peeta." I say but Peeta doesn't do anything except take a seat in the chair opposite the examination table.
"I'll stay." He says, picking up a magazine to distract himself as I begin to change into the paper dress.
"Could you imagine what this would look like if Cinna had made it?" I joke, tying the back of the dress closed.
Peeta laughs and comes to sit beside me until the doctor comes in. He squeezes my hand, showing his nervousness, and pushes a stray strand of hair out of my face, calming my nerves.
"It's okay Peeta, I promise." I tell him, squeezing his hand back and leaning my face into his other. He smiles, jumping when the doctor enters.
Its moments like these when I remember just how frail and human Peeta really is. I still have trouble thinking about how he really made it through the Games when something like a door opening can make him jump, though I understand why all at the same time.
"Good morning Mrs. Mellark, Mr. Mellark. So what do I owe the pleasure?" says the Doctor.
"Well, we just wanted to run some of the basic tests for a pregnancy." I say.
"And we wanted to know what her limitations would be with the baby." Peeta adds, standing and moving back to his chair.
"Okay. Well, you're about a month along correct?" asks the doctor.
"Yes. A month, month and a half or so."
"Okay. And everything's been feeling normal? There hasn't been any bouts of pain or anything? Have you been experiencing the normal parts of early pregnancy?"
"Nope. And I've just been really tired lately but no cravings or anything."
"Alright. Well every pregnancy is different. Not everyone has cravings or mood swings." Says the doctor.
"Oh, she gets mood swings." Peeta says. The doctor writes this down.
"Alright, well then, let's do an ultrasound and then we'll discuss what you should do to stay healthy and what you should avoid."
We move into another room to do the ultrasound. The doctor rubs a cold gel onto my lower abdomen.
I shake a little bit. "Oh, that's cold." I joke lightly. Peeta squeezes my hand. And then, we hear it. The erratic thumping.
"What's that?" asks Peeta, sounding extremely nervous.
"That," says the doctor with a smile. "is your baby's heartbeat. And that," he points at the screen. "is your baby."
Peeta and I couldn't believe the screen. There, in a hazy black, white and gray screen, was a little alien looking thing that was our baby.
"Now, we still have to wait a little while but do you want to wait to know its sex or do you want to find out as soon as possible?"
We looked to each other, not really knowing. We hadn't discussed it before.
"Um, we'll we haven't discussed it yet. Can we let you know at the next appointment." Peeta says. I still can't talk.
"Of course. Now, Mrs. Mellark, you can go and get dresses and then we'll discuss what you need to do to stay healthy and best protect your baby."
"So, Mr. Mellark, you seem to be very concerned with your wife's health. Is there any reason for that? Beside love, of course." Began the doctor as we all settled in his office.
Peeta looked at his hands for a moment, picturing something. I grab his hand, distracting him and hopefully preventing a lapse.
"Well, Katniss comes and helps me at the bakery. I think that she should stay home and rest." Peeta tells the doctor.
"Peeta, I'm fine. There isn't a reason that I need to be helpless for nine months." I nearly hiss.
"Well," says the doctor, grabbing our attention and breaking the tension growing between Peeta and me. "You both have valid points."
"I don't understand." Says Peeta.
"Well, looking over both of your health records and such, we'll need to keep an eye on your pregnancy. Katniss, I don't think that you need to remain bedridden for the next nine months." The doctor says. I look to Peeta and smile slyly. "However, there are several things that could happen that I could order you to stay in bed and rest. If you aren't careful. Peeta, what does Katniss usually do around the bakery?"
"Well, she helps me lift things sometimes. She moves the full racks and replaces them. She sets the display cases and works the register when I can't." Peeta tells. He's leaving out, with good reason, what I do for him when we're closing or when business is slow like on a rainy day.
"Okay. Katniss, you can still keep helping at the bakery. Starting today though, I don't want you lifting anything or moving the racks. You can work the register and, until you think that bending over or something is either dangerous or uncomfortable, you can continue to do the displays. There's nothing harmful about those."
"Thank you doctor." I say. Peeta and I were both right with the doctor's words, just in different ways.
"You can schedule your next meeting with Mrs. Pond at the reception desk. Call if you have any questions or concerns and I'll see you in about two weeks or so."
"Goodbye doctor." Peeta and I say. And then, we go and make the other appointments and then leave for the bakery.