so first off, thank you for the awesome reviews! I am loving the reactions and I am really enjoying writing this.

That being said, I have had a couple of messages expressing opinions that this surely wouldn't be happening at this point in their lives right now-yes, Peeta just came home from the Capitol and yes, Katniss is still suffering from depression. But I said from chapter 1 that this doesn't follow the book exactly. Peeta and Katniss need each other and they deal with their grief and the after-math of their terror in different ways but they deal with it together. And that's what's important. I admit, it's a lot 'happier' than you'd expect but after all of the terror they went through, i think they deserve some happiness. End rant ;)

Here's a longer one so please review! If I get a good amount, I'll post again this weekend! ;) Love and pixie dust to you all!

XXXV

Katniss awoke, feeling empty space beside her. She jolted up and looked around.

"Peeta?" Silence greeted her and her heart started to race. "Peeta!" He appeared around the corner, his face pale and worried.

"What is it?"

"I just…you weren't here." He groaned to himself and climbed into bed beside her, kissing her hair.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd wake up…I was making breakfast."

"Don't DO that," she said crossly and he squeezed her hands.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "Will cheese buns help?"

"They might." He suppressed a chuckle and left the room for a moment, returning with a tray in his hands. He gently set it down in front of her and kissed her forehead. Her eye scanned the tray, taking in the plate of eggs and cheese, cheesebuns, fruit, and cup of cold milk. Next to the food was a small vase of dandelions. She leaned over and kissed him and her hands squeezed his arms lightly.

"Go ahead and eat and I'll get a shower. We need to get ready to go into town."

"You're not going to eat with me?"

"I'm not too hungry." But the glare she gave him made him take a cheesebun and he grinned.

"Ok. Thank you for sharing your cheesebuns with me."

"I guess I had better slow down," she said with her mouth full of cheese. "I don't want you to have to make these every day."

"Whatever my fiancé is craving, that's what she'll have. I'll go to District 4 if I have to, to bring you back that special fish you like."

"I won't go to any extremes. The cheesebuns are enough." He grinned as he popped a grape into his mouth and he watched her eat, leaning over to place his hand on her belly.

"I can't believe today we will know what we're having."

"Thought you were so sure it was a girl," she teased.

"At least we'll know for sure." They were quiet as they finished the food, and Peeta whisked the tray away, leaving the dandelions on the table. Katniss started to get dressed and groaned in frustration when she discovered her clothes really didn't fit. Peeta came back in as she was struggling to button a shirt and she flung it aside in anger. She caught him looking at her in the mirror and with a gasp, she grabbed the T-shirt she had slept in and yanked it back on. Peeta frowned as he moved closer.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what," she asked as she continued to rifle through her clothes for something that fit.

"Hide yourself from me." She heard the sadness in his eyes and found that she could not look at him.

"I'm not pretty," she said softly. She didn't notice he had approached her until she felt his breath on her neck.

"No. You're not." He cupped her chin and forced her to look up. "You're beautiful."

"I'm not," she said, pushing herself from his arms. "I'm ugly…I'm a fire mutt. They tried to remake my skin and even the Capitol failed. I can't…I don't want you to see me like this."

"Katniss-" he tried to grip her chin again but she shook her head and sidestepped him, disappearing into the bathroom. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, wondering what on earth he could do to show her how he saw her: as the most perfect being in creation.

Katniss waited by the door, wearing her jacket and a floppy hat that hid her face. It had grown quite warm and Peeta raised a brow at her choice of wardrobe but said nothing as he took her hand and exited the house.

Katniss kept her head lowered as they walked into town. Peeta noticed some stares and he waved to some who called out to him but Katniss seemed to hide herself against him and he draped an arm around her, further burying her in his side. When they came to the doctor's office, Katniss froze and he glanced sideways at her. She started to tremble and he reached for her hand, bringing it to his lips.

"Baby, I'm right here. You can do this. You're not alone in this."

"She would have…she would have worked here…she wanted to become one…"

"It's ok, Katniss. It's ok." He lead her inside and the smiling nurse welcomed them and asked them to sign in. Peeta signed both their names and lead her to the chairs. The office had been completely rebuilt and seemed to be thriving with business. A smiling woman with olive skin and Seam eyes looked up and called Katniss's name. Peeta and Katniss stood and shook the doctor's hand.

"I'm Doctor Verrity. How are you doing, Miss Everdeen?"

"F-fine," Katniss stammered.

"No need to be nervous. Why don't you come with me? Would your…er, would Mr. Mellark like to be present?" Katniss grabbed his hand quickly before he could answer and Dr. Verrity nodded. Peeta squeezed her hand, telling her he had no intention on leaving her alone.

They followed her to one of the back rooms and Dr. Verrity invited them both to sit down. Katniss immediately liked the woman, who spoke kindly and with sparkling eyes. Peeta let Katniss do the talking and only spoke when he answered a question directed at him. After some questions, Dr. Verrity handed Katniss a gown and asked her to undress.

"I'm going to just do a quick examinaton to see how everything looks. Then we'll go ahead and do an ultrasound. You said you had not had one done yet?"

"Well, I had one in District 13," she said quietly. Peeta shot her a look, his brow furrowed. Katniss glanced sideways at him and bit her lip.

"You didn't want to be there," she said in the quietest of voices. Peeta swallowed and closed his eyes. Of course she meant when he had been hijacked. But he still would have liked to know.

"How early in the pregnancy was it?"

"I was only, maybe, six weeks along."

"Alright. Well this one will determine the sex and we will be able to see the baby more clearly, and make sure everything looks normal and healthy. I'll be back in a moment." She left and Katniss lifted the gown, frowning.

"It's like the one they gave me after I killed Coin. There's nothing to it. The thinnest of paper."

"Katniss, just put it on." She looked over at him and frowned.

"Now you're upset? Why, because I didn't tell you about the first ultrasound?" He was silent and she huffed.

"You hated me, Peeta. You were cursing my name. I didn't think you would have cared to know anything about your child."

"I might have. You didn't give me the chance."

"Look, I'm sorry. I've already admitted I made a lot of mistakes during the war. Can we just…start over? With this pregnancy? Can we try to forget and…move on?" Peeta closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to remain calm. He loved this woman. He reminded himself of it over and over. He loved her and he would forgive her for giving up. They had been through too much to let this get to him.

"Can you leave?" His eyes shot open and he saw her starting to unbutton her pants, staring at him.

"No Katniss. I told you I'm not leaving your side."

"Peeta-"

"I'll close my eyes." He turned away and covered his face and he heard her huff but also heard the sound of a zipper and clothes dropping. When he heard her climbing onto the examining table, he lowered his hands and glanced to the side where there was a blanket draped on the chair. He grabbed the edge and approached her warily. She watched him and her face softened when he spread the blanket over her. His hands trembled as he adjusted the corner to cover her and she caught his hand in hers as he started to turn away. Meeting her eyes, he pulled her hand to his lips again. The door opened and Dr. Verrity entered with an assistant.

"Alright Katniss, lie back and we'll make this quick. Peeta, would you like to stand beside her and hold her hand?" He moved up toward her head and took her hand. He noticed hers was shaking and he squeezed.

"I love you, Katniss, " he whispered as he kissed her hand again. Dr. Verrity lifted the blanket and did a quick examination. She muttered to her assistant to bring the machine and she patted Katniss's knees.

"Alright dear, that's over with. I know it's not comfortable but everything looks fine. Now what do you say we take a look at your little one?" Peeta's hand was starting to grow damp as they wheeled the machine in and Dr. Verrity spread gel over Katniss's stomach. She lifted the device and moved it over her skin, her eyes locked on the screen.

"Ah, there we are." Peeta's eyes flew to the screen and they widened. His throat felt dry and Katniss's hand was squeezing his. He glanced at her and saw her eyes were locked on the screen as well.

"Well you two. Your daughter looks perfectly healthy." She moved the device around and Peeta could clearly see the outline of his baby. Katniss leaned up a little and she gaped at the screen.

"A little girl," she said softly. Peeta swept down and kissed her forehead.

"Our little girl." Dr. Verrity smiled at them as she pulled the device away.

"Congratulations. I'll have Nurse Garth mark this video for you to take home. Do you have any questions?"

"A daughter," Peeta said, still dazed. Dr. Verrity chuckled.

"Yes, Peeta. You'll be outnumbered in your house. Katniss, you can go ahead and get dressed. Peeta, if you'll follow me? I just need you to sign some forms before you leave." He tore his eyes away from the screen and nodded, rising to his feet. He squeezed Katniss's hand once more before he followed the doctor out of the room.

Peeta quickly signed the forms and nodded his thanks when the nurse handed him a bag of pamplets and their video.

"You didn't give us a date when to expect her."

"That's somewhat difficult since we don't know lot about her pregnancy. She's approaching her third trimester, which some say, means the worst is over. But you still need to keep an eye on her. Keep her healthy. I'm a bit alarmed at how thin she is. But I…sort of expected that." Peeta nodded, sensing the doctor's understanding. After all, Katniss was well known to all of Panem. Everyone knew what she had suffered, what she had endured. Everyone witnessed her trial (except Peeta, of course, who had been kept in isolation during the time) and everyone knew that she had been banished to District 12. Not everyone, however, knew that she was pregnant. He bit his lip and shuffled his feet.

"Doctor Verrity…I would ask that you keep this to yourself. That is, not many people know…and we're not quite ready to-"

"Peeta. We owe so much to you and to the Mockingjay. Your secret is safe with me," she assured him. He smiled and nodded.

"Your baby looks perfectly healthy and it seems you can expect her at the end of the summer. We can't know an exact date but I would say around late July, early August." Peeta swallowed. That was barely four months away. He had a lot of planning to do.

"Thank you," he said again as Katniss came out the door. He wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a loving smile, which she returned.

"Please call me if you have any questions or concerns, Katniss. I'll help in any way I can."

"Thank you," she said gratefully, before putting her hat back on and leading Peeta out of the office.

"Doctor Verrity says we can't know an exact date but she thinks it will be around late July or early August," Peeta explained as they walked through town. Katniss kept her jacket wrapped around her and attempted to shield her stomach. Peeta assisted by keeping his arms around her and staying close. To outsiders, it looked like the star-crossed lovers just couldn't get enough of each other.

"I should call Cressida when we get home," she said quietly. Peeta raised a brow and she shrugged.

"I made her a deal. I promised her she could reveal the story. People will know soon enough. I doubt anyone in that doctor's office can keep a secret."

"They respect you, Katniss. They owe you. They won't go blabbing."

"You see too much good in people, Peeta. And I'm not the only one they owe. Someone else had far more lost in the war than I did." He swallowed and his arm tightened around her waist.

"We all lost a lot. Now let's focus on our future and not the past. I kind of want to buy a baby book. You know, for name ideas."

"You don't think we can be creative ourselves?"

"That's not what I…" he trailed off, his eyes widening and his jaw slack. Katniss turned to face what had stolen his words and she gasped. They stood in front of what used to be the bakery. It had not been reconstructed yet and so it was piles of brick with glass all over the ground, torn pages from recipe books, and small wooden signs with 'Mellark Bakery' painted on them. Peeta released her and walked, almost in a trance, toward the rubble. She watched him warily, biting her lip. Peeta's prosthetic crunched the glass underneath him and he bent down to pick up one of the torn pieces of paper. Katniss took a step forward, unsure if she should go to him or not.

"Peeta?" He was silent as he stared straight ahead.

"I did this," he finally spoke in a deadly whisper. She rushed to him at once, grabbing his hand but he flung it away and shook his head.

"No, you didn't. This was the Capitol. None of it was your fault. Look at me. It wasn't your fault!"

"It was yours," he said viciously, snapping his head to the side. Katniss grabbed his face with both hands and pulled him around. He snarled, trying to wrestle from her grip but she shook her head.

"Peeta, LISTEN to me. This isn't real. Look at me. I'm real. I'm a victor and a survivor and the mockingjay and carrying your child. I'm not a mutt, I'm real. I love you. That's real. Do you hear me? I LOVE YOU." His breathing grew heavy as he squeezed his eyes shut. He slammed to his knees and she followed him down, caressing his face and his hands went to her arms.

"Katniss."

"I'm here, Peeta. I'll always be right here."

"Katniss." He broke down in sobs and she pulled him into her, cradling his head. His arms wrapped around her waist as his sobs shook them both. She knelt in the rubble as she held him close, soothing him with her loving words. She winced as broken glass dug into her leg but she did not move. She allowed him to cry until all his tears had been released. When he finally pulled away, she kissed his forehead and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Come on. Let's go home," she said softly, trying to pull him up. He stumbled to his feet and pulled her up with him. They did not look back at the town as they walked towards Victor's Village.

Peeta took notice of Katniss limping as they approached his house. He watched her walk up the steps, frowning after her.

"Katniss," he said as he closed the door behind him. "What happened?"

"Nothing, I just scratched my leg."

"Really? Cause you're limping worse than me. Let me see." Reluctantly, she hiked up her pants leg and his eyes widened at the deep gash and the blood trailing down.

"Katniss! Why didn't you say something?"

"You were more important," she said dismissively. With a heavy sigh, Peeta helped her into the chair in the living room and he hurried up to get medical supplies from the bathroom. When he returned, she had her legs stretched out on the ottoman.

"Ok, take your pants off so I can clean it."

"Um, no thanks." He rolled his eyes.

"Katniss, it's nothing I haven't seen before." She still didn't move and he crossed his arms.

"I'll rip them off you if I need."

"Why can't you just clean it while they're on?"

"Because I can't get to the full wound. You slept in a T-shirt last night. What's the problem now?"

"You can't see me at night," she said in a quiet voice. He let out a deep sigh and lowered his head. He rose to his knees and disappeared up the stairs for a moment. When he returned, he held a pair of his shorts out for her.

"Then put these on. I'll be right back." While he went to the kitchen to start on lunch, she shimmied out of her pants with a wince and slid Peeta's shorts on. Though he was slender, they were much too big on her and she had to tie them around her waist and her shirt dropped low over them. He returned and had to smile.

"I told you, you look perfect in my clothes." She rolled her eyes at him but smiled. He lowered to his knees beside the ottoman and proceeded to clean the wound gently before applying a generous amount of ointment and antibiotic. She hissed as the wound stung and he glanced up at her.

"Sort of dejavu, huh?"

"Except I had nothing to work with. You're a much better doctor than I am."

"You saved my life, Katniss." She said nothing as he went back to work, wrapping the bandage around her leg and keeping it propped on the ottoman. He closed the first-aid kit and climbed up beside her, kissing her softly.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"If I ever hurt you during a flashback…I'll never forgive myself, Katniss."

"You didn't hurt me! And you didn't have a flashback you just…had a bad memory. I pulled you out of it. Stop blaming yourself." He kissed her forehead before he hurried back into the kitchen, scooping some stew onto a plate and setting a few cheesebuns beside it.

"Here's some lunch. I kind of need to go back into town to get some things for the kitchen and maybe look for a baby book. Do you want to come?"

"I think I've had enough of town for one day," she said tiredly, biting into a cheesebun. He nodded in understanding.

"Rest then and I'll be back in a little while. If you have anything you need me to get from the store, write it down." She shook her head and he gave her head a quick kiss before he closed the door behind him. Katniss finished her lunch and settled into the comfortable chair, closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Katniss's eyes snapped open at the sound of the door closing and she glanced at the clock. Gasping at how late it was, she lowered her injured leg to the floor and made to stand up. Wincing, she limped to the doorway and saw Peeta setting bags and bags on the counters in the kitchen.

"Did you go on a shopping spree?" she asked, making him jump and whirl around.

"Hey, I thought you were still asleep."

"No, I slept all day! I won't be able to go to sleep tonight. What in the world did you buy?"

"More baking supplies. Got to keep you supplied with cheese buns," he said with a wink. "I got some necessities for the house. And I might have, um, bought you a few things." He nudged one of the bags closer to her and watched her cautiously.

"I guessed on your size. And don't feel obligated to keep any of it, I just thought…I thought they would be nice." Curiously, she peered into the bag and pulled out the contents. There were several dresses, one that reached the floor and some shorter than the others. There were several large shirts and two pairs of comfortable looking pants. Maternity clothes. She glanced up at him and he bit his lip.

"You can't wear my clothes forever."

"It's very sweet of you, Peeta…but I'm not…I don't want…" she couldn't seem to finsh and she quietly folded the clothes again and lay them on the table. He moved from the counter and his hands went to her waist, pulling her closer.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"I'm terrified," she finally looked up at him, her eyes glassy.

"So tell me why." He pushed a curl behind her ear and she sniffled.

"I've gone back and forth, back and forth, about wanting this baby, the whole pregnancy. From day one, I have been so scared. I don't want people to know yet, because I don't want people trying to come into our lives. All they care about is seeing the star-crossed lovers together at last. I don't want our child exploited. And I don't feel like myself anymore. I mean, I haven't felt like myself in a long time but when I look down and see this…bump, I'm just reminded, it's not just my body anymore. I'm just…scared." She found herself crushed against his chest, with his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"Katniss," he sighed. "You're not alone in this. I've told you, I will never leave you. And people respect you. They respect us. We helped end the war. I'm not saying people won't pry into our lives but they will celebrate our baby, her birth is going to be big news. We won't let her be exploted and I will protect both of you from anything and everything. But this about you and your body…you're still you, baby. There's just…more of you. More for me to love." She looked up into his eyes and saw all the love had had for her swirling in those depths of blue, and she had to smile. He cupped her chin and leaned down to kiss her and felt her press herself against him. His heart started to race as he felt her arms wrap around his neck and one of her hands bury itself in his hair. He leaned them against the counter, holding her close.

"Peeta," she whimpered against his lips.

"God Katniss. I want you so bad."

"I-I…" but she stopped and glanced down at her stomach as it emitted a low growl. Peeta chuckled and released her.

"You just can't let mommy and daddy have any time, can you baby," he muttered, lowering to his knees and placing a kiss on her stomach. Her hands went back to his curls and she stroked his head as he leaned into her, his ear against her belly. He gave the baby bump another kiss before he stood and kissed her lips again.

"I bought ingredients to make lamb stew," he smiled when her eyes lit up. "Want to help me?" She nodded and he moved all of the bags into the living room. She helped him and peered into another bag.

"What's all this?"

"I want to start painting again," he said, showing her the easel and paints he had bought. "I realized how much I missed it."

"What do you plan to paint?"

"I don't know yet. But I would really love to paint you, if you would let me." Her eyes widened and she fell silent and he did not press the matter. They transferred all the bags into the living room, then set to work on dinner.

Katniss loved the demestic feel of it all. Something as simple as making dinner together gave them both such joy that both of them had on broad, genuine smiles. They talked as they worked, about things they liked, things they didn't like. Things from their childhood. They avoided talking about the war and the games. They both realized there was still so much they did not know about each other. Katniss still had trouble talking about Prim but Peeta worked around it, asking about stories when she was younger, not mentioning her sister's name directly. Like Katniss, Peeta had trouble talking about his family and seemed to go quiet when she asked if they had baked a lot as a family. They both learned which subjects to avoid and which ones made them smile. Peeta was overjoyed to see her smiling so much. It had been a long time since those smiles stayed glued on their faces and Peeta loved the normalcy of just being with the woman he loved. When dinner was ready, they sat across from each other and ate quietly, occasionally making small comments about their childhood or something that Peeta remembered from one of his baking lessons. It was rather difficult, Katniss realized, to find topics that did not cause them pain. Katniss's childhood had been more than rough and the two people she had been with the most, Prim and Gale, were the two names she could not say. Though Peeta had been in love with her from an early age, they had belonged to different social groups in school and Katniss did not particularly like to hear how other girls brought him gifts or tried to bake him cookies. So after awhile, they fell silent, enjoying the feel of each other's hands. After dinner, they cleaned the dishes together and went to sit on the couch for a few minutes before they both decided to just go on up to bed. Peeta grabbed one of the bags and wrapped his other arm around Katniss's shoulder as he lead her up to their room. After changing for bed, he slid under the covers and propped her head up on his chest. He pulled out a book and he smiled.

"Want to try to come up with some names for our little angel in there?"

"As long as there aren't any horrible Capitol names in there." She remembered Cashmere, Gloss, and Glimmer from the Games and she shuddered. He grinned and flipped through the book.

"Oh, what about Daisy? It goes with Katniss, a pretty flower."

"Katniss flowers aren't particularly pretty," she said tiredly. "And Daisy sounds like an old lady's name." Peeta rolled his eyes but flipped the page. He read off several names, all of which made Katniss screw up her nose. He gave her a bewildered look.

"Do you have any ideas?"

"I was sort of thinking of Finley. Or Skye. Those names lingered with me for some reason."

"I like Skye. Let's just keep looking." He flipped the page and noticed she had closed her eyes, her breathing had gotten steadier which meant she had fallen asleep. Giving her a loving smile and a gentle kiss, he lay the book on the table and turned the light off. He settled deeper into the covers and slipped his arm underneath her, bringing her closer into his embrace, before nuzzling up closer and quickly finding sleep.