Hey, Everyone! I'm sure none of you are reading this a/n because you're so anxious to see what happens! But, I need you to know that I do not own THG! Now, you may read on!


Chapter Fifty-Three

Peeta's POV

My mind is in a complete haze as one of the nurses escorts me back into the waiting room. Katniss' heart stopped beating. I've lost her. It's over.

"Hey, kid," I hear Haymitch's voice say. I feel his hand on my shoulder. "What happened?" Just thinking about how I would answer his question brings me to tears. My legs give out beneath me and I land on the floor, curled in the fetal position. Sobs wrack through my body. I feel Haymitch kneel down beside me. He helps me sit up against the wall.

"Her heart stopped," I choke out through my sobs. I watch as the shock on Haymitch's face turns into sadness. I can tell he is holding back tears that have sprung to his eyes. It feels like an eternity that we sit together on the floor. Eventually, Dr. Monroe comes out of the operating room. She comes over and pulls a chair over to where Haymitch and I are sitting on the floor.

"First of all, I want to let you know that we got her heart beating again. We had to shock her, but we got it beating again." Dr. Monroe says and I can feel tears of relief flood down my cheeks. Her heart is still beating. She is still alive.

"But, I do have some bad news." Dr. Monroe tells me. I nod for her to continue and she does: "Once we got Katniss' heart beating again, we needed to stop her blood loss. Her uterus was bleeding too much and, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop the bleeding. It was coming to the point where her heart wasn't going to be able to stand the blood loss. I had to make a decision. Peeta, I had to make the decision to remove your wife's uterus. I needed to do a full hysterectomy to stop the bleeding." I am shocked at first. This meant that Katniss and I could not have any more children. But this also meant that Katniss was still alive and, for that, I would be eternally grateful to Dr. Monroe.

"Thank you," I tell her, my voice hoarse from my sobbing, "for saving her life."

"You're welcome," Dr. Monroe replies. "Now, Katniss is still unconscious and, most likely, will be for the next day or so. Feel free to go and sit with her or you can go see your new babies at the nursery." I nod in response and then Dr. Monroe exits the waiting room.

"Where are Phoenix and Ivy?" I ask Haymitch as I start to stand up, using the wall for support because I am not sure if my legs will hold me up or not.

"They're in the family room with Effie," He tells me.

"Okay, um, why don't you and Effie take them to your place? I don't really want them here while Katniss is unconscious." I request.

"Of course," Haymitch replies. "If you need anything, call us." I nod in response. I watch Haymitch exit the waiting room. I need to contact Mrs. Everdeen and tell her what has happened; Johanna, too.

I make my way to the hallway outside the waiting room. I remember seeing a phone there earlier amongst all the chaos. I take the receiver and dial Mrs. Everdeen's number. It's early in the afternoon so I hope that she is home.

"Hello?" Mrs. Everdeen answers the phone.

"Hi, Mrs. Everdeen, it's Peeta." I say, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

"Oh, hello dear," She replies. "To what do I owe this out of the blue phone call?" She asks and I have to choke back tears at the thought of everything that just happened.

"Ah . . . um . . . Katniss . . . well . . . something bad happened." I stammer.

"Oh!" Mrs. Everdeen gasps. "What's happened?"

"Well, um . . . Katniss had a . . . ah . . . placental abruption . . . and she . . . she needed a . . . ah C-section to get the babies out. And, then, ah . . . once the babies were out . . . her . . . her heart stopped." Mrs. Everdeen gasps loudly, no doubt on the verge of tears. "But . . . the doctor got her heart going again. But . . . then the doctor had to do a hysterectomy to . . . ah . . . stop the bleeding." I stammer.

"Oh, dear," Mrs. Everdeen exclaims. "How are you holding up?"

"It's been hard, but I'm just happy that Katniss and the babies are okay."

"The babies must be pretty small; they're a couple of months early." Mrs. Everdeen says.

"Yeah," I reply. "I haven't really had a chance to get a good look at them, but they did look pretty small. Oh, guess what!" I say.

"What?" She replies.

"We got another girl and another boy," I tell her, a smile spreading across my face as I think of my two new babies.

"Oh! That's just wonderful news!" Mrs. Everdeen replies.

"Yeah, um . . . I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'll keep you updated." I tell her. We say our goodbyes and then I call Johanna. The conversation with Johanna goes about the same as the conversation I had with Mrs. Everdeen.

Once I have hung up with Johanna, I make my way to Katniss' hospital room. The curtains are pulled in the room so it is a bit dark inside. Katniss is lying in a hospital bed, tubes and monitors all around her. I pull a chair close to the bed and sit down. I take Katniss' hand in mine and kiss it lightly.

"I love you so, so, so, so, so much." I whisper to her as I lay my head on the bed. "I'm sorry."

I must have fallen asleep because, next thing I know, Haymitch is lightly shaking me awake.

"How is she doing?" He asks as he takes a seat on the empty bed next to Katniss'.

"She hasn't woken up yet. The doctor said it can take a while for her to wake up since her body is recovering from everything that happened yesterday." I reply.

"Have you gone to see the twins yet?" He asks. I shake my head in response. "You can go if you want. I can look after Katniss for a little bit." Haymitch offers.

"I don't want to leave her while she's unconscious. I want to be here for her when she wakes up." I tell him and he nods in understanding. We sit in silence for a long while before Haymitch excuses himself. I lie my head back down on the bed, my hand intertwined with Katniss'.

I must have fallen asleep again, because I am woken up by someone running their fingers through my hair and whispering my name.

"Peeta," Wait a minute! I know that voice. Instantly, my head shoots up and I am met with Katniss' beautiful grey eyes staring back at me. There are no words to describe the relief that I feel. Tears spring to my eyes as I cup Katniss' face in my hand.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see your beautiful grey eyes," I tell her.

"Peeta, what happened?" Katniss asks me and some of my happiness fades. How am I supposed to explain to her that the doctor had to do a hysterectomy?

"Well, you gave birth to another beautiful baby girl and another handsome baby boy." I tell her, avoiding telling her everything that really happened.

"I did?" She asks in shock and I nod. "Peeta, why are your eyes sad?" She asks. I sigh inwardly. Now I have to tell her. She does deserve to know.

"Well, sweetheart, I found you upstairs, unconscious and bleeding. Then Haymitch called 911 and the paramedics brought you here. Dr. Monroe had to do a C-section. Once the babies were out, your heart stopped and that when they made me leave the operating room. Dr. Monroe cameo out into the living room and told me what happened. Katniss, she had to do a full hysterectomy to stop your bleeding." I tell her, holding onto her hand tightly.

"That means we can't have any more babies," Katniss says, tears springing to her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. We have four beautiful children." I tell her.

"Is that going to be enough?" She asks me, her grey eyes pleading to me for an answer.

"It's more than enough for me," I tell her.


Did you guys really think I was going to kill of Katniss? I am not that cruel and heartless! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. The next chapter will contain the new babies! :) Get ready for some serious cuteness! Also, Please review! :)