Oh my gosh, you guys are awesome! The reviews were great and very encouraging! I know sometimes my grammar isn't the best, but I try to catch all my mistakes! Please enjoy chapter 28! Remember Katniss is four months pregnant and its Christmas!
I feel the bed dip and then something cuddle up against me. I open my arms and they wiggle their way in. I slowly open my eyes to find a smiling Willow peering up at me. I hear Peeta calling her name down the hall. She must have run away from him when he was getting her ready. I pull the blankets up to my chin so Peeta won't see her. "Be quiet sweetie," I whisper and she giggles.
I hear Peeta's footsteps getting closer so I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. When he walks in our room I pull Willow as close as possible. He walks into the bathroom and flicks on the light, and then does the same thing in the closet. He sighs and then sits down on the bed.
He crawls up next to me on the bed and lays flush against my back. He still doesn't know Willow is in bed with me. I slowly open my eyes and meet his clear blue ones. "Are you missing something?" I ask.
He sighs, "I'm just missing a little girl named Willow," he says and Willow giggles. Peeta throws back the blankets and gives me a fake glare. Willow climbs over me and into his arms. He starts tickling her and her laughter fills the whole house. Once he has gotten his "revenge" by tickling her and he gets out of bed and takes Willow with him. "Do I have to get up," I moan.
He rolls his eyes, "Yes you have to get up. Their train will be here very soon," Peeta says.
Johanna and Annie and coming here for Christmas which is tomorrow, and I don't feel like going to the train station in the cold. I would much rather spend the whole day in bed. I moan again and pull the blankets up over my head. "Can't you just get them while Willow and I stay in bed," I suggest.
I hear some dresser doors open and close and then feel clothes hit the pillow next to my head. "How about I go, but you have to be ready by the time I get back," he says and I open the blankets and pat the empty space next to me.
"Come on Willow lets relax," I say and she climbs up next to me.
"Now try not to fall asleep Katniss. You have to be ready by the time I get back," he scolds and I wave my hand at him. "Fine, Willow make sure mommy gets up soon."
"Ok, daddy," she chirps and he gives her a kiss on the forehead and then gives me a kiss on the lips. Peeta leaves and I wrap my arms around Willow. She cuddles up against me and fiddles with the end of my braid. Before I know it my eye lids slide shut and I fall into a deep sleep.
I wake up suddenly and then I feel that Willow is still in my arms I relax and lay my head back down on the pillow. Then I hear a muffled laugh and look over at the other side of the bed. There sits Jo trying to hide her laughter. "Really? I was sleeping so well," I mumble and sit up in bed.
Willow gets up and sees Jo and climbs across the bed to her. "Hey, Willow you got so big," she says and gives Willow a tight hug. I smile and at them and get out of bed. Then I hear a gasp and look at the puzzled Johanna. "What?" I say.
She points at me, "You didn't tell me… you were," she stops and I laugh. I'm wearing a loose shirt, but you can still see my stomach.
"That I'm pregnant again," I say. "If you wouldn't have come up here I would have told you at dinner, but whatever," I say and go into the bathroom and change into the clothes Peeta picked out for me. I come back out and Jo and Willow are gone. I walk downstairs to the living room where the sounds of different voices are coming from. Annie and Jo are sitting on the couch talking to Peeta who is sitting across from them. Nick and Willow are playing on the floor. Nick sees me firsts and runs up to me. "Katniss!" I crouch down and give him a hug.
"Hey, Nick." I say and we break apart. I straighten back up and walk over to Annie. "So good to see you Annie," I say giving her a hug.
"Good to see you to Katniss. Is there anything you wanted to tell me?" She says with a smile. I scowl at Jo.
"Really you told her," I say and she crosses her arms.
"Well, you didn't tell me. So why should she hear it from you," she says.
"Well Annie I'm pregnant," I say putting both hands on my stomach. She smiles brightly and pulls me in for another hug.
"Congratulations! How far along are you?" she asks excitedly. I sit down the couch and she sits next to me. Peeta goes out to the kitchen and Jo sits across from us.
"Well, I'm a little over four months. I only found out a month ago. I just didn't have the normal signs that I had with Willow. So I never thought about it." I say and then Annie starts to ramble on about how great this is for us. Jo doesn't show how excited she is, but I know she will be thrilled with another baby to play with. We talk for the rest of the afternoon. We all catch up on things that have been going on. Annie says that Nick has really picked up on fishing and now with her help they make fishing nets as a hobby. I remember when Finnick would tie knots because it reminded him of her. The way his hands could perfectly make those complicated knots. I just remember everything about Finnick and how he died because of me. I don't realize that I'm crying until Annie shakes my shoulder and ask if I'm alright. I wipe the tears from my eyes, "Yeah, I'm fine just hormones." I say and walk to the kitchen to find Peeta. He isn't in there so I go to his studio. The only other place he would be.
The door is slightly cracked and I see him sitting at the small desk sketching. I push open the door and he looks up from his work. Before I get words out the tears pour out and I can't seem to stop them. He gets up and wraps his arms around me. I cry into his chest until I'm all dried up. He leads me to a chair and he sits next to me. Rubbing circles on the back of my hand he looks at me with concern, "What's wrong," he asks.
I take a deep breath, "I just remembered too much at once," I whisper and feel more tears fall. He wipes them off my face and brings me to my feet. I lean heavily on him and he guides me to our room.
"Just stay in here as long as you need too. Come back down when you're ready," he says giving me a kiss on the temple and leaves me alone. I lay down the bed and try to clear my head. It seems impossible because every time I close my eyes I see Finnick with his beautiful eyes and golden hair.
I hear Peeta down stairs talking Annie and Jo. They are saying something like, "what is wrong. Why is she crying?" I don't hear Peeta's answers, but it doesn't really matter.
At some point I just start to rub my belly and talk to the baby. After a couple of minutes I feel it. The same internal poke I felt with Willow. Then I feel it again. I am instantly frozen with fear. I remind myself that this is a good thing. This should happen. When the baby moves the third time I jump up from the bed and run down the stairs and into the kitchen where Peeta is still cooking dinner alone. "Peeta, the baby moved!" I say and he drops whatever he was doing and comes over places his hands on belly. The baby moves on my right side so I move his hand right over the spot, but nothing. I frown and after another minute I guess the baby's all done for today.
"Well, some other time then," Peeta chuckles and I smile at him. "Why don't you go sit with everybody else? Your mom and Haymitch are here."
"Yes, because Haymitch just brightens my day," I scoff and shuffle to the living room. My mother quietly says hi to me and moves over to make room on the couch for me. Willow is asleep in Haymitch's lap, but Nick is still sitting on the floor. Jo is telling a story about one day at work and her boss made her make him coffee. I don't feel like figuring out the story so I just zone out by looking out the window.
Peeta finally says it's time for dinner and I wake up Willow and take her from Haymitch. On one side of the table is Annie, Nick, Jo, and Haymitch. The other side is Peeta, my mother, and I. Peeta is holding Willow in his lap. With the extra people there isn't any room for her high chair.
Everyone digs in and compliments Peeta on the great food. I chime in here and there, but over all I'm quiet. After dinner I put Willow to bed and not to much longer Haymitch leaves. Peeta talks with Annie, my mother, and Jo for awhile, but then leaves it so it's just us girls.
Annie and I make jokes at Jo about when she is going to get a boyfriend, and that she has to get married. Jo doesn't have any god come backs so she just sits and glares at me. At around nine my mother says that she should be getting home, and Annie finally gets Nick to go to bed too.
When she comes back down Jo goes to the bathroom and as soon Jo is out of the room Annie gives me a serious look. "Are you alright and don't lie to me Katniss. I want to really know how you are."
I look down at my hands in my lap, "I think that I'm fine one minute and then the next I am scared, and this morning I just broke down for no reason," I say.
Annie seems to be thinking something over, "I have done it too. Don't worry." She reassures me. I want to tell her why I broke down. I just don't want to upset her. I highly doubt that she could handle listening to me talk about crying about Finnick. I wasn't the love of his life.
"It's just like sometimes I remember too much and I lose it. Some days it's Prim and others its people that I barely knew," I say and she nods her head in understanding. I feel better talking about it with someone other than Peeta. He is always there telling me everything is alright. It's just refreshing to hear it from someone else too.
When Jo comes back in we stop talking about that and pick up some random chit chat. I start to feel drowsy so I excuse myself and head up to bed. I get to our room, and see that Peeta is asleep next to Willow. I sigh and slide in next to her. With Willow lying in between us I slowly drift off.
I wake up to the sound of my name. I roll over and see Willow sitting up in bed. "What is it baby," I whisper hoping that Peeta won't wake up. It's only four in the morning and we have a long day today. I pick her up and take her to the nursery. Willow is almost potty trained, but she still has accidents at night. I change her diaper and get her into some clean clothes.
Willow is now wide awake and rambling on making funny noises and playing with the end of my braid. I sit down in the rocking chair to try and get her to calm down, but she says, "No", and wiggles free from my lap and runs into the hall.
"Willow," I call softly and follow the sound of her uneven foot steps. I get to my bedroom door and there she is sitting on top of Peeta poking his face.
"Willow stop poking daddy," I scold and she gets off of him. Peeta slowly wakes up smiles at Willow. I swear she can never make him mad. "Hello daddy," she says and wraps her arms around his neck. He wraps her up in a big hug and then lets her under the covers. I get back in bed too.
"Peeta we can't keep letting her sleep in here," I sigh. I know he loves when she stays with us, but I really don't want this to continue as she gets older.
"I know, but she came in here while I was getting ready for bed. Then I read her a book and she fell asleep. I didn't want to move her. It won't happen again," he says.
I don't care if she sleeps in here again, but this is the third time this week. I don't want it to become habit. Besides the later into my pregnancy I get the more I move around at night and I don't want to hurt her while I'm sleeping. I sigh and roll on my side. "Its okay if she sleeps in here again. I just don't want it to become a daily thing. In a couple months I'm not going to sleep well, and I don't want to wreck her sleeping pattern. However, if she needs to stay in here she can," I admit and he smiles. "Now can we try to go back to sleep," I say.
"Sure, Katniss."
I wake up again to someone jumping on the bed. I open my eyes to Peeta and Willow jumping up and down on the foot of the bed. "What are you two doing?" I say sitting up and smiling at Willow who is beaming with excitement. "Mommy its Christmas!" Willow says bouncing over to me. I bring her in for a hug and kiss her forehead. "Willow, want to go wake up Nick and then get Aunt Jo up?" I say grinning at Peeta and he just shakes his head.
"Just don't get in a fist fight when you do wake her up," Peeta says getting off the bed and walking out the door.
I pull back the covers and take Willow's hand and head down to Nick's room. He is already sitting up in bed. "Hey Nick do you want to wake up Jo," I say and he jumps out of bed.
"Okay, can we jump on her bed?" Nick ask and I nod my head yes and he runs down to her door.
"Mommy, is Aunt Jo going to like it?" Willow asks me.
"Probably not," I say and slowly open her door. "Go get her!"
Nick and Willow run over to her bed and both of them climb up and start jumping right next to her sleeping form. It only takes a few seconds until Jo whips back the covers and falls on the floor. I try to stifle my laughter, but I can't. Willow and Nick are rolling on the bed laughing at Jo sitting on the floor glaring at me. "Really brainless you can't just nicely wake me up?" Jo says getting up off the floor.
I put my hands up in defense, "I didn't do it Jo. They did it not me," I say. "Alright kids lets leave her alone to get ready."
They both climb down and Nick pulls Willow down the hall. I head downstairs to find Annie and Peeta making breakfast in the kitchen and Nick and Willow are drawing at the table which is Willow's favorite thing to do right now.
Jo comes down to the kitchen and they serve us all large helpings of eggs, bacon, and toast. Nick inhales all of his food and sits impatiently at the table waiting for us to finish so we can open the gifts. They aren't many gifts to open, but they are still presents. Eventually we all finish and head to the living room. Haymitch comes over just as Nick rips open the first gift from Johanna. My mother had to work a shift at the hospital this morning because they were under staffed. She will be here later so we will wait to open the gifts she brought later.
Nick opens all of his gifts in under three minutes. As he excitedly plays with all his new toys; I hand Willow her first gift from Haymitch. Peeta has Willow sitting in his lap and he makes a small rip and then she does the rest. Peeta opens the box and pulls out a pink shirt that says, "Big Sister".
I smile at Haymitch, "Thank you Haymitch. I'm sure she will love to get it all dirty the first time she wears it," I tease and he just sighs.
"Your welcome sweetheart," he says.
Peeta neatly folds the shirt and places it back in the box. "Willow go give Haymitch a hug and say thank you," Peeta whispers in her ear. Willow climbs out his lap and runs right over to Haymitch climbing into his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thak you Haymit," she chirps and he hugs her too.
"Welcome sweetheart," he says and I smile at the fact that Haymitch loves Willow much more than he will ever admit.
Willow opens the rest of her gifts and ends up with another doll, and some more clothing. My mother shows up a little bit before noon and gives Nick and Willow their gifts. Willow's box is small in size and very light. I sit down on the couch and Willow sits next to me. I allow her to take all the paper off and throw it in the big pile that is lying on the floor next to the couch. I open the small red box to find a necklace with a purple heart charm, and a sliver chain. "What is it," Willow asks examining the purple charm.
"It's a necklace that you can wear once you get a little bit older." I say and take the necklace out of the box. I show it to her in my hands and then place it back in the box. "Say thank you to Grandma, Willow," I say and she gives my mom a big hug.
The rest of the day we just relax and enjoy each others company. Annie and Jo are leaving tomorrow morning so we all talk and play with the kids. At one point I doze off in the middle of a conversation and to wake me up Jo gently tickles the bottom of my foot. I almost kick her in the face from my reaction, but once she sits back down everyone is laughing at me. Especially Haymitch who is snorting and holding his side from all the laughing I just glare at him and ignore his comments that follow.
Peeta starts a hot debate over something that I have no interest in, so I go to the kitchen for some quiet time. I make myself some tea and sit at the counter. I start to feel the baby move, and worry for a second that something is wrong, but then relax once I reassure myself that it's normal. I sip my tea and rub my belly. When we have this many people over I get stressed and this helps me relax. The last thing I need is stress. I empty my tea cup and just stare out the window to watch the snow fall. I start to think about how much has changed in my life, and how right now I really am happy. Happy that I have a perfect and healthy daughter now and soon I will have another baby. Sure it scares me that I will be responsible for two people now. However, Peeta is the best father in the world, and with him here to help. I don't have to worry.
I am brought back to reality with a light tap on my shoulder. I turn my head and see that it's just my mom. "May I join you," she asks gesturing to the stool next to mine. I nod my head yes and she takes a seat.
"So, how have you been with everything going on lately?" she asks pouring herself some tea.
"I'm alright. Just worried about the baby, but I felt it move this morning for the first time," I say.
"That's good to hear," she says and sips some of her tea. "You know you are a great mother Katniss, and your kids are very lucky to have you. I knew you would be great mother since you were a child. The way you would care for Prim and always put yourself before others, and be strong when there was no one else to be the strong one. I'm just so proud of you." She says.
I feel the tears gathering in my eyes. Damn hormones. She never told me that she was proud of me though. I did care for Prim like she was my own child for half her life, and never once did my mother really show me she appreciated it. I get off my stool and pull my mom into a hug, "Thank you mom. I love you," I whisper. She gently rubs my back.
"I love you too honey, and please always remember that."
Alright there is chapter 28! Please don't forget to review and sorry for the wait I had a family emergency and probably won't have another chapter until next week! Sorry for the wait, but I will be back very soon! This story still has a couple more chapters to go! Don't forget to review to let me know what you all think!
