A/N: I don't own the Hunger Games :-)
Chapter Twenty One: Labour
Peeta: Same time: Their house
One time, when I was ten years old, I was playing baseball and someone miscalculated their swing and nailed me in the stomach with the bat. Pain had exploded up my torso and I'd ended up in A&E with two broken ribs. I was black and blue and couldn't move from my bed for weeks without suffering blistering hurt inside.
It was nothing compared to going into labour.
Cato had me pinned against the wall, pressing his knee against my crotch and kissing me fiercely when it happened. Pressure had built up in my nether regions but I'd orginally thought it was just arousal but then he bit down on the sensitive skin beneath my ear and I felt something explode and I thought I'd wet myself. Pain had branched up my stomach and squeezed my heart.
"C-cato it's happened!" I yelped. "My water's broke!"
"What?!" he exclaimed, stepping back. "That was fast!"
"I know but-" I winced and bent over-"it's coming."
Labour is hard to explain. Pressure once again built up inside me, as if the baby was pushing against my stomach, trying to get out since it had no . . . woman parts . . . . to escape out of. Cato's face was like a deer caught in headlights. He backed up a couple of steps before snapping to his senses and looking around himself.
"Where's that card Brian gave us?!" he exclaimed in a panic.
I slid down the wall, clutching my abdamon and breathing heavily. "T-t-top -d-drawer," I panted. Cato was gone like a shot, weaving out of the room. A crash rang out and I winced.
"Fuck!" Cato yelled as the crashing continued.
"Cato?" I called nervously.
"Everything's fine!" he replied. "I've got everything under control!"
"Oh good, that makes me feel so much better," I said sarcastically. More pain exploded across me and I felt like I was suckerpunched. "Because I haven't!" I yelled out as the pain only got worser and worser. "Are these fucking contractions or what?!"
"Uh, yeah, he's gone into labour!" Cato said, coming back into the room with the phone held to his ear. "He's in great pain, what is it? Contractions? Okay, okay, right. Alright. We'll be there as soon as possible." He hung up and chucked the phone onto the sofa. He slid to his knees in front of me and waved his hands around, unsure what to do with them.
"What did he say?" I groaned, sucking in a breath and holding it there as if it was going to do me any good.
"Ah, he said once the first contraction subsides, get to the hospital. Ask for Dr. Aurelius," Cato explained. Noticing my distress, he brushed his hands through my hair. "Are you okay, is it bad?"
"Baseball bat and suckerpunched," I replied, grasping at his hands and squeezing them tight. "Ah, ah, ah, oh my god, ow!" Cato pressed his lips to my forehead and shushed me softly.
"I know it hurts, just breathe deep," he whispered. "Come on, it's just the first contraction, we need to stay calm."
"Why's it so long, Katniss' were never this long!" I wailed. When Katniss went into labour her contractions were painful but short. This were painful and long. Really long.
"It must be something to do with the whole male labour thing," Cato replied.
The pressure eased and I exhaled in relief, slumping back against the wall. I was already sweating and my head was aching from tensing too much. My limbs were tensed up and I felt on the verge of bursting into tears. Cato looked freaked out, like the father figure panicking and not knowing what to do. The problem was, I wasn't a woman who had the instincts to know what to do.
When I said that I was the woman of the relationship, this was not what I had meant.
Noticing the tears gathering in my eyes, Cato's face crumpled and he pulled me into him. "Sssh," he soothed, stroking my hair. "It's going to be okay."
"That hurt so fucking much," I murmered. He hooked an arm around my back and legs, staggering to his feet and kissing my forehead. The feeling of being the woman intensified as it dawned on me that he was carrying me bridal style. I groaned in exhaustion and buried my face into Cato's neck.
"It's alright, we're going to the hospital," he murmered.
"I'm so tired and it's not even over yet," I whimpered. "It's not even over."
~xXx~
District 12 Hospital:
"Uh, Katniss," Cato said nervously into the phone. "I need you at the hospital."
"What?! Why?!" Katniss exclaimed.
"It's about Peeta . . . I'll explain when you get here."
The pressure returned to my stomach, as if a thousand bricks had been dropped ontop of me. I screamed, my hands grabbing hold of the hospital sheets desperately. The viens in my arms bulged out because of how hard I was gripping them and I leaned forward so my chest rested on the stupid baby bump. I knew immediately that Katniss had heard me down the phone as high pitched screeching suddenly emmited from the speakers of the mobile, causing Cato to hold it away from his ear to protect his ear drums.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arm around me to pull me to his body. I pressed my face against his side and screamed into his shirt. "Help me Cato!" I shrieked as the pain got more intense. Cato didn't respond, obviously knowing there was nothing he could do, and simply rubbed circles on my back.
"Just get down here now!" he demanded down the phone, interuppting Katniss' screeching. He hung up and chucked the moblie onto the bed, immediately turning his torso around and engulfing me in his arms. He kissed my head and murmered comforting words into my hair as I rode out the fifth contraction since I'd arrived at the hospital with Cato.
I was leaning over the bed ten minutes later, my hands planted on the bed and my body bent forward when Katniss burst into the room, her face flushed as if she'd ran the whole way to the hospital. The pain was killing me and the contractions were getting more frequent, and I was panting for breath. The worst of it was, I'd been hiding from Katniss for the past nine months, pretending that Cato and I were travelling around Panem together.
I hadn't told her that I was pregnant.
I didn't bother looking at her reaction to my perdicament. I heard Cato say one word, "Finnick," and Katniss immediately took the siutation into her stride. I think she knew this wasn't the time, nor the place, to ask questions.
"We need your help," Cato explained. "I don't know what to do. He's in labour, and you've been in labour before. Dr. Aurelius says that we have to wait at least another five hours before he can perform a caesarian and he can't risk giving him pain killers because we don't know whether it'd be safe for the baby or not."
"What can I do?" Katniss asked.
"How did you deal with labour?" Cato questioned. "What did you do to help relax? He's in deep pain Katniss, and I don't know what to do." The desperation in his voice made me feel on the verge of crying again. It hurt me so much to be the cause of making him so desperate and I choked on a sob of despair. Mistaking the gesture as a sob of pain, Cato's voice rose an octave. "What helped you Katniss, I don't know what to do, please tell me because I have no clue! What relaxed you?"
There's a pause and I wince in pain.
"Peeta relaxed me," Katniss said quietly.
I cried out in frustration. What help was that?! Looking back on it, I did do a lot for Katniss both times she went into labour. Fetching things, holding her hand, reassuring her and getting her ice shards to suck on as a distaction-letting her bite my hand when she was denied any more of them. I didn't know I was relaxing her.
More bricks dropped onto my stomach and I crumpled over in pain, my hands giving out on the bed and forcing me to support my weight on my elbows. I tried to bite back my scream, biting my lip until skin broke. A hand rested on my back and ran up and down in a soothing fashion while two others buried into my hair and massaged my scalp. It actually did feel good and my eyes drooped before the pain shot up me again and I moaned.
"It's going to be alright baby," Cato murmered, kissing the crown of my head softly.
"No, it's not," I groaned.
"Yes, it will," Katniss said softly. "Believe me."
When the pressure lightened again, I sighed and fell forward onto the bed. Cato lifted my legs and swung them around onto the mattress. I lay limply on my side and whimpered patheically, worn out and frustrated with the knowledge that there was still five hours before Dr. Aurelis could do anything.
Cato explained everything to Katniss in a nutshell. My ex-wife showed no fear of expressing her true feelings when it came to the news of Finnick's death. She was one exclaimation of joy away from a happy dance. But it was soon replaced with blinding rage when she discovered that the baby was his and not even Cato's.
I groaned and rolled onto my back to ease the pressure on my stomach. I shut my eyes and threw my head into the pillow. The bed dipped as Katniss sat at the bottom and placed a concerned hand on my knee. The thin hospital gown I was wearing bunched up at my thighs and I wasn't allowed to wear anything underneath. I was shivering but I don't think it was because of the cold because, in fact, I was boiling hot.
"I'm going to go find a bathroom," Katniss decided. She got up and left the room, disappearing down the corridor. Cato, who'd been already gone, slipped in a moment later and I sensed his presence by my bedside. I kept my eyes shut because I was so tired but smiled softly at him to try and ease some of his worry.
He ran his fingertips over my lips and they were surprisngly cold. Desperate to feel something other then sweltering heat, I took them into my mouth and sucked desperately. When the cold wore off, he slipped them out and I felt at a loss. They returned a moment later, running something wet and cold along my forehead. It felt so good I moaned in relief. Every few seconds, he'd top up whatever the source of the cold was, and caressed my face with ice cold fingers.
"That feel good babe?" he murmered. I nodded mutely and sought out his touch when he stopped to top the cold up. Eventually, he just pressed it against my neck. It shocked me and I gasped, immediately nestling my cheek into it.
"What is that?" I muttered.
"A glass of ice shards," Cato responded. "Does it hurt much?"
I grunted and nuzzled against the glass more. "Hmm," I replied. Cato stroked my hair-a seemingly common gesture-and rubbed the glass up and down my face. My eyes fluttered open and I smiled drowisly at him. "I love you Cato," I said drunkly.
"Wow, what's happened?" Cato asked. He examined the glass. "Did someone drug the condensation on this thing?"
I wasn't drunk, I was just trying to make him think I was okay when I was really in severe pain. Another contraction suddenly hit me and I whined, pushing my feet against the bed, my back bowing off the mattress. "Ow," I loudly cried out. Cato pressed the glass against my cheek and the reprieve in heat helped me get through the contraction.
When it passed, he eased me up into a sitting position and patted my head assuringly. The mattress dipped as he sat down behind me and I felt comforted as he rested his hands on my shoulders. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"No," I mumbled. There was a plonk as Cato dumped the glass of ice shards onto the bedside table and a splash as he dipped his hand into it. He pressed his chest against my back and trailed the blunt end of a shard across my cheek. I purred at the feeling and leaned back against him. He traced the seam of my lips with it and used his index finger to pull down my bottom lip and slide it into my mouth. The ice melted and I pressed it to the roof of my mouth greedily.
Then he pulled open the tie on my hospital gown.
"Cato-" I whispered.
"Sssh," Cato shushed, pressing a kiss to the nape of my neck.
"But, what if Katniss comes-"
"Relax," he murmered into my skin.
I knew he wasn't going to try anything drastic-even if the room was private-but I was still slightly nervous over what he was up to. When the tie was completely untangled, the top of the garment slipped down my arms until the sleeves rested around my wrists, exposing my round belly and hard nipples. Cato smiled against my neck and rubbed my shoulders, working out the tensity in them. I found myself smiling-it'd been so long since he'd done this and I'd missed it. Then again, the last time he had done it was in the shower the day Finnick knocked our car off the road. My eyes locked on the metal protestic and my smile faded. I wondered if Katniss had noticed it or not . . .
"You're not relaxing," Cato said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Do you want me to stop?"
"No, it feels good," I assured him, cracking my neck from side to side. "I just can't get my mind off other things." Climbing over the bed, Cato sat down beside me on the bed. His eyes lowered to my abnormally large stomach and he smiled.
"Just think there's a baby in there right now trying to get out," he said.
"Yeah, trying to make me explode on the way," I replied.
Cato reached out and pressed a hesitant hand on my baby bump. As soon as his skin made contact with mine, the baby socked me with either it's fist or it's foot. I jumped and Cato whipped his hand off me, thinking he'd done something to hurt me. "No, it's okay," I said, grabbing his hand and placing it back where it rested. The baby kicked again but I was ready for it this time and only flinched. "The baby likes you," I said quietly.
Cato chuckled. "Heh, yeah," he smiled.
I thought about having to put the baby up for adoption once it's born and my heart sank. The infant hadn't even been born yet, I hadn't even held it in my arms yet, and I already had a weird compassion for the thing. It was going to make it harder to give it away.
Cato seemed to be thinking about the same thing, staring into the distance and absent-mindedly running his thumb along the skin of my stomach. "I had a thought . . ." He trailed off and paused.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Maybe we don't have to . . . give . . . the baby . . . away," he continued.
"You think so?" I whispered. I thought of having to raise another child, of having to be a daddy again and-even though it'd bother most people . . . I didn't mind much. I want it again, with Cato. We could be daddies together.
"I know so," Cato replied. I smiled hopefully at him and he kissed me softly on the lips.
That's when Katniss returned.
She burst through the door quickly and Cato used the millisecond we had when she did to grab the tie on the hospital gown and tie it back up. "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "I got lost! The toilet was on like the 4th floor and I couldn't remember what floor we were on and ended up wandering aimlessly around!"
"It's okay," I shrugged.
"Nothing much happened anyway," Cato said. The ice had melted completely in my mouth and had left a cooling sensation behind which felt soothing.
Katniss rounded the bed and did a sudden double take, noticing the metal leg for the first time. She dropped to her knees and placed her hands around where metal met flesh and I flinched, the skin having chafed slightly in the panic to get here. "What happened?" she whispered.
I swallowed hard. "Car accident."
"When?!" she demanded, looking at me with tearful eyes.
I couldn't answer, thinking of how Finnick had plowed into us with his car just to try and get me back. Thinking of Finnick at all nowadays was enough to get me worked up and a belt wrapped itself around my heart and squeezed painfully at the memories even his name alone dug up. Cato took my hand and answered instead.
"When we were in 4," he explained. "We'd been running from Finnick and he rammed his car into ours, flipping it over onto the roof. I got out with barely a scratch, Clove got some damage to her spinal cord and . . . well . . ." He gestured to my leg.
A tear dripped out of her eye and Katniss sniffed. "I'm glad he's dead," she whispered, pressing her cheek against the metal knee of my prostetic. She lightly caressed the reddened skin around it with her fingertips, as if her touch alone could heal it. But it couldn't. That was the most awful part.
I was then hit by another contraction and I gripped Cato's hand tight. I clenched my jaw and grunted, trying not to show pain, and instead funnelled it into my hold on my partner's hand. "Peeta," Cato said, his voice tinged with pain. "I'm gonna need that hand, you know, so please don't break it or any-OW!" He winced and prised my fingers off his hand before I did some damage to it. "Katniss, hand me the ice shards," he said.
Katniss did as she was told and soon the cold glass was against my face again. I sighed and leaned into it, content to stay like that forever as the pain began to ease.
Cato looked at his watch as I fell backwards on the bed, exhausted. "Only four hours to go!"
Cato: Four and a half hours later:
Neither Katniss, nor I, were allowed in the surgery room as Dr. Aurelis got the baby out of Peeta's body. We had to wait in the reception area on the bottom floor. According to the surgeon, the only way he could safely remove the child from his body was to operate on his stomach, opening him open and remove the baby that way. It was dangerous, but it was the only way.
Katniss bit her nails in a panic while I paced the waiting room, unable to stay still. Katniss' knee bounced uncontrollably and irritated me to no end but I felt the urge to snap at her and tell her to stop it. I resisted though because I knew she was just as worried as I was.
When Dr. Aurelis called us up, we were both up and running like a shot. I ran up the stairs two steps at a time, unable to wait for the elevator like Katniss. Scrambling down the corridor, I burst into Peeta's room in a panic, convinced something bad had happened.
Instead, I found him lying in bed. His face was slack and peaceful, eyes closed-obviously asleep as he snored lightly-so his eyelashes cast shadows across his cheeks. His pale, porcelin skin was almost radiant in the dull hospital light. His blond hair was sweaty and plastered to his forehead, sticking up at all angles. The hospital covers were tucked up to his chest, keeping him warm.
He never looked more beautiful.
Then, I saw it.
In the incubator beside the bed, a small little baby lay wrapped up in a white blanket. It too was sleeping and I approached quietly, wanting to take a closer look. I pressed my hand against the glass of the incubator and smiled. It looked so fragile and small, almost like it would shatter into a million pieces if I touched it.
"Alex."
I turned around to find Peeta looking at me with tired eyes. His voice was rough from screaming and his eyes were bloodshot but he was smiling. "What did you say?" I asked.
"Alex," Peeta repeated. "I think he's an Alex. Short for Alexander."
I looked another look at the baby boy and smiled. Yes, Alex. It suited him perfectly.
Alex yawned and opened his eyes and my body stiffened. Staring back at me was a set of wide green eyes. Finnick's eyes. I backed up slighly but Peeta grabbed my hand and pressed it to his lips. "It's okay," he murmered. "They're different."
"How?!" I exclaimed.
"Finnick's eyes were emerald. Alex's eyes are sea green. With all the trouble his father has put me through, small details like that count. So the eyes aren't haunting. In fact, they're beautiful."
Taking another look at the baby, I noticed he was right. Finnick's eyes had been darker whereas Alex's were light. And Peeta was right.
The baby was beautiful.
The baby Peeta carried for nine months was beautiful.
Alex was beautiful.
Our baby was beautiful.
I smiled and sat down beside Peeta on the bed, smoothing my hands through his hair and watching Alex as he moved his small limbs inside the incubator. "I'm so proud of you," I finally said, tearing my eyes away from the baby and pressing a kiss to the crown of Peeta's head.
"They're keeping him in for observation," Peeta said. "Dr. Aurelis had hidden the fact that it was a male giving birth to the baby but he wants to keep Alex in just to make sure everything's okay. I'm getting discharged tomorrow morning without him."
"Meaning . . . ?"
"Meaning we've got a couple days to ourselves before we become proper daddies."
I grinned, dirty thoughts clouding my mind. "Better make the most of it then."
A/N: You get a cookie if you can guess the connection to the baby's name ;)
I hope none of you mind Alex taking his eyes off Finnick. I figured that it'd be unrealistic that he'd hog all of Peeta's genes so I gave him green eyes but made them a different shade.
Question: Does anyone know what the ice shards are really used for? I've seen people give women them when they're in labour but I just assumed they were to suck on or something . . .
Preview:
"Still . . . sensitive . . . from . . . carrying . . . baby," I panted heavily, pulling on my bound hands desperately. Cato pinched harder, smirking when I cried out in ecstasy and bowed off the bed.
"Wow, pregnancy sure has done a number on ya, huh?" he grinned, focusing more attention on the area that he'd normally just skim over, the knowledge that carrying a baby has made them more raw and sensitive. He kissed my cheek and I whimpered in pleasure as he continued to rub. Pulling back, he chuckled. "I have an idea."
I whined as he got up and left the room momentarily, despaired at the loss of his fingers on me. "What are you doing?" I whinged, tugging harder on my restraints. Damn, he tied hard knots.
"Cold water," Cato stated.
My eyes widened when he returned with a cold glass of water with ice bobbing on top. "You ass," I said. My partner grinned and resumed his position of sitting on my hips.
"And you love it," he replied, pecking my lips and pulling the first cube out of the glass.
So guys, I thought after all we've been through together, you deserve a chapter of hot, sweaty, straight out SMUT and nothing else. That's why I made sure not to make Alex go home with them immediately cuz' then it'd be weird. And believe me, this next chapter's gonna be gooooodddd and hawwtttt :D
Please R&R! :D