Over the next several months I noticed a distinct change in Katniss after that incident with Mrs. Mayer. I'm not saying she wasn't acting different earlier, but I noticed a definite difference after that day in my bakery. I wasn't quite sure why, I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something was definitely different.

Most notably it was the way she was all over me as of late. Granted I knew I was to blame for us increasing. For quite some time now I'd started waking her up before I left for the bakery. We already nearly always did it every night before bed. And those bouts of desire that possessed my soul in the middle of the night were more and more frequent.

And then we were doing it when I got home, or in the middle of the day, when she surprised me at the bakery, or we'd sneak off to the meadow just for the hell of it.

Not that I minded. A couple of particularly delicious moments came to mind over the past few months: in front of the fireplace, while I was drawing. In the kitchen, while I was baking. In the bathroom, while I was showering. We couldn't get enough of each other.

There was just a different look in her eye as of late, but I never had time to think too hard about it because I was too busy getting hard.

However, something switched by the time November came along. I started to suspect that it had to do with the fifteen-year anniversary of the District 8 bombing, which is what I told Haymitch when he asked what was wrong with Katniss. Since the memorial was taking place in 8 this year, the bombing was getting a lot more attention than usual, and as the anniversary approached I noticed Katniss slipping farther and farther away.

After a while I unplugged the TV, but that didn't seem to be helping. She was moodier, snapping at Haymitch and I left and right, and when she wasn't snapping at us, she was sleeping. Sometimes I'd come home and either find her in the exact same spot she was when I left, or she'd have on her father's hunting jacket, her bow nearby, but she hadn't go out hunting.

"I was too tired," was all she'd say when I asked her why she didn't go.

And funnily enough she was so tired she hardly had nightmares.

And even though she was sleeping so much, she still looked tired.

I was so worried about her that there were days I wouldn't go to the bakery. I'd just lay in bed with her, holding her while she drifted in and out of sleep.

When she started crying because she dropped a glass of milk one night I was worried about her mental state.

I didn't understand why the anniversary of District 8 was affecting her so badly.

"Talk to me Katniss," I told her one night as we were lying in bed. "I'm worried about you."

"I honestly don't know what's wrong, Peeta. I'm just so tired."

"And cranky," I reminded her with a smile. She scowled and I laughed, pulling her into me. "Whatever it is, we'll get through it, okay?"

And then she burst into tears, saying she didn't deserve me and I was the best thing to ever happen to her, and she was the worst thing for me, and I should divorce her because she was useless.

I almost clicked on her for those words, but I bit down my anger and told her why those things were ridiculous.

And then, in the middle of it all, Johanna showed up one day, out of the blue, walking into our house and sitting down on the kitchen table as if she were an every day visitor.

"What are you doing here?" asked Katniss, clearly voicing what both of us were wondering.

"I'm pregnant," Johanna said, and we just stared at her as if she had three heads. We couldn't speak. She was talking to both of us but she was looking at Katniss. "It's Gale's. Is that gonna be a problem?"

Katniss' brow furrowed. "Why would it be a problem?" asked Katniss.

"Oh, gee, I don't know, maybe because he was stuck on you for like a billion years."

"Yah, like a billion years ago."

"Not exactly, Mockingjay. It wasn't that long ago at all."

"I've known you and Gale had a thing for years," Katniss argued.

"I wasn't sure if it'd bother you or not."

"Why would it? I have Peeta."

Johanna shrugged. "I always thought you liked the attention. Two guys pining for you."

Katniss stood up. "That is a horrible thing to say," she said, her voice wavering, and then she was gone. Johanna stared after her, shocked.

"What the hell? I was kidding." Johanna stood up, looking like she wanted to go after her, but then turning to me. "What's got a bow up her ass?"

"I wish I could tell you," I sighed. "Are you staying for dinner?" Johanna shook her head, saying she was only here for a couple of hours and would be taking the next train back. "Go talk to her," I said.

Johanna went into the living room and talked with Katniss while I cleaned up breakfast. True to her word Johanna left a few hours later.

"I haven't told Gale yet. Or Annie. So don't say anything," she said as she headed out.

"How far along are you?" I asked.

"Only about a month. I went in for my annual checkup and came out with extra baggage." She shook her head. "I'll see you two when I see you. I'll say hello to Haymitch and be on my way."

I walked up to Katniss and kissed her neck. She leaned into me.

"I'm gonna go hunting today," she said.

"Good," I responded. "Don't be out long, and be careful."

"You always say that."

"I have to. I'm your husband. I'll be at both bakeries today. I'll see you when I get home."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Katniss!" I called when I got home, a few weeks later.

"I'm upstairs!" she called back. I made my way upstairs and headed to our bedroom but didn't find her.

"Katniss?"

"I'm in here," said Katniss, and I left the room and saw her poking her head out of a bedroom at the end of the hallway. I walked down to her, my brow furrowed.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked her, looking around at the large bedroom. It was spacious but scarcely decorated, as nobody ever stayed here. We could invite Johanna, Annie, Gale, Beetee, Effie, and Mrs. Everdeen over and they could all have their own rooms and there would still be plenty of bedrooms to spare.

"I'm just comparing and contrasting each room," replied Katniss. I looked at her. "A part of me wants it to have the farthest room from ours, in case I have a nightmare. I don't want to wake it up. But another part of me thinks it'd be best to have it closer to us, in case anything happens, and I can get to it quicker."

I tried to follow her, but my brain was slow. "Katniss, what are you talking about?"

She looked at me and blew air out of her mouth, her bangs flying up in response. That was a telltale sign that she was about to tell me something that she felt should have been incredibly obvious. "One of these rooms needs to become a nursery, Peeta."

I just stared at her. Literally just gaped at her. I didn't move. I didn't blink. I just stayed silent, because if I was going to believe her, she would have to say the word.

She seemed to get it. Nodding, she said, "Yah, I'm pregnant."

I watched her eyes, her face, her mouth as she spoke.

"Go ahead and smile, and jump and down. I know you want to."

So I did.

A huge grin formed on my face and I ran up to her, kissing her and picking her up and spinning her around. I touched her face, her hair, her hips, all the while laughing.

"How long?" I finally asked.

"Two months," she told me.

Surprised, I said, "You kept this from me for two months?"

"It's… not that simple," said Katniss. "I… wanted to make sure. I've had a few scares over the past few years but they all turned out to be false alarms."

Suddenly my excitement was starting to dwindle. "How many false alarms?"

"At least one a year for the past four years."

"Four years?!" She looked away. "Explain. When'd you even stop taking birth control?" I wanted to know how this happened—well, I knew how it happened but… you get my point.

She took a deep breath. "I stopped taking it this year." How the hell had I not noticed that? Or maybe I did. She had been acting different lately. "A year after we got married I had my first scare. I panicked. I was freaking out. I was late, and I'd never been late before. Then it came and I was so relieved. The second time I had a scare was a year later. That time I was a week late. Again, I was relieved. Year three I didn't have any scares. My last scare was six months ago. I was a month late, only this time, when my cycle came, I had this… feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't quite place it. I just know I'd never been a whole month late before, so I'd had three weeks to pep talk myself. 'Okay, this is it, Katniss. You're pregnant.' And I thought about telling you, because I knew you'd be excited. And I kind of started to get excited. And then it was another false alarm. And I tried to tell myself that I was happy, because I still wasn't sold on the whole having a baby thing…. But I knew. Deep down I knew that I was disappointed. And what if I had told you? You'd be crushed…. But it took that scare, fifteen years after you asking me on and off, to realize I wanted a child. Your child.

"When it came to renew my subscription in January… I decided not to. I got the letter in the mail, reminding to call and renew, and I sat there, for hours and just thought and thought and thought and decided I wasn't going to. I've had a few small scares over the past few months, but I wanted to be absolutely sure before I told you.

"This time felt different from day one. I've been more tired, moody, hormonal. I mean you've seen me. I've been a wreck. Everyone's been assuming that I was reliving the bombing of District 8…. They've been talking about the memorial and they've been showing the propo's and the coverage and… it has been a lot. But I didn't feel right, in my body. After being a month late, and having my appetite increase, something kind of clicked. Especially after Johanna came a couple of weeks ago.

"I'm actually surprised you didn't pick up on it. Normally when I'm depressed I stop eating. This time I was depressed but kept eating. All I wanted was raisin bread. I haven't even requested cheese buns."

"I was just so relieved you were eating," I admitted.

"Well I was home alone the other day, looking at the flowers, wondering why I wasn't just depressed, but why I was so tired, and annoyed, and hungry, and where was my period, and why did it feel like I could smell the damn flowers through the window?

"And it clicked.

"I ordered pregnancy tests offline—using my mom's name, mind you—because I couldn't bare the thought of going into town and risking someone seeing me and then it'd get back to you. I had them shipped to Haymitch's and told him to expect a package that was for me but in his name. I told him it was a gift for you, which wasn't really a lie, because if I was pregnant…." She shrugged. "Anyway, after a week they got here and I took one. Came back positive. Took another one. Same results. Waited two more weeks, which was about three days ago, and it still came back positive. Then I went to the doctor and got it confirmed. The results came back this morning. And that's the whole story."

She stared at me as she finished, but I kept my face neutral. "So… how do you feel about it?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Several years ago you asked me why I wanted to get married and have a baby. I told you I wasn't sure, but that was a lie. I wanted to have a child so that you could have someone to pass your recipes down to." I blinked at her as she took a deep breath and continued. "Prim's been gone for a long time. Your family has too. I think of Annie, and how happy she is with Finn…. I really don't think this newfound freedom will come crashing down anytime soon. It's time. It's time for us to have a baby. You've been asking for a long time. You've never asked me for anything, Peeta, except to get married and to have kids. I think you deserve those two things. You've spent your whole life being selfless, and I think a few more Peeta's in the world is a beautiful thing. So I'm okay, Peeta. I'm excited. I want this."

And then I got excited again. I ran up to her again, showering her with more hugs and kisses and thanking her and crying and laughing and I felt like running around all of 12 and telling everybody.

"Thank you Katniss. I can't tell you how happy I am right now."

"Stop thanking me," she said with a small smile.

I noticed her clutching something dark blue in her hand. "What's that?"

"Oh. It's Haymitch's baby blanket. He gave it to us. Or… to the baby."

"Haymitch knows?"

"I…." She took a deep breath. "Don't freak out on me, okay? But when I first found out I was pregnant I kind of freaked out. I knew Haymitch would understand. He told me it was about time, and that everybody thought I'd cave. I asked him to be God-father and he gave us the blanket to give to the baby."

I grabbed the quilted blanket, already seeing how I could design the room with it. There were so many thoughts running through my head that I thought my heart would burst.

"I love you so much for this Katniss." I kissed her again, picking her up.

"I have to tell somebody. Anybody." I was bouncing on my feet. "Katniss, you're pregnant!" She snorted. "You're gonna be a mom!"

"And you're gonna be a dad," she reminded me softly. "The best dad in the world." She leaned up and kissed me. "Let's go make some calls."

I shook my head. "No. Let's just keep this between us for a while, okay?" She blinked her surprise. "You know how I get: I like to keep things to myself until I know it's real."

She squeezed my hand. "Okay."

"I'm gonna make you dinner. What are you in the mood for?"

"Honestly?" Katniss put her hands to her stomach. "I've been queasy for the past couple of days. I threw up in Haymitch's sink. Twice."

I heard her, but I wasn't staring at her. I was looking at her hands, on her stomach.

"Peeta?" I heard the worry in her voice, because usually when I get that still, I'm fighting a flashback.

"May I?" I asked softly.

"You're the only one who can," responded Katniss, so I made my way to her, bending down, and pressed my hands to her stomach.

"Hello," I said. "This is your father. I haven't met you yet, but you're amazing, and I already love you more than I love myself. You be good to your mommy for me, okay?"

When I looked up at Katniss there were tears streaming down her face.

That night I made love to Katniss softly, thanking her for sacrificing and giving me what it is I've always wanted.

"This is the best birthday, wedding anniversary, Christmas, Valentine's Day present I've ever gotten," I told her, and she laughed. "I love you." I kissed her on her lips. "And I love you." I kissed her on her stomach. Katniss settled next to me, burying her face in my chest. I wrapped my arms around her. "When do you think she was conceived?"

"Oh, she's a she now?" asked Katniss.

"Absolutely. She'll look just like you. And she'll be strong just like you. And she'll be fearless like you."

"But she'll have your way with words," Katniss put in. "And your ability to cook and bake."

"But she'll sing like you," I chimed in.

"And paint like you."

"She sounds perfect," I sighed.

"Well, she's yours, so of course she'll be."

My heart pretty much stopped right then and there.

"So when do you think she was conceived?" I asked again.

"The doctor said I was two months. What happened two months ago?"

"It's only the beginning of December, so let's think back to the beginning of October."

Lots of different sexual escapades came to mind but one in particular stood out.

"The lake," we both said together, and I could tell she was smiling.

We had gone into the woods at the beginning of October, staying at the lake. We had a picnic, as it was still relatively warm, one of the last few warm days we had. Out of nowhere, before we had really even sat down to enjoy ourselves it had started to rain. Katniss and I made our way inside the cabin, where we were stuck all night as the rain never let up.

At first we were annoyed, until we realized how both peaceful and beautiful it was. And then suddenly we were outside, playing in the rain like kids until we were soaked.

And then I captured Katniss is a kiss that knocked the wind out of the both of us.

There is something incredibly mind blowing and erotic about kissing your wife in the rain, her chest pressed against yours, and the tee shirt she's wearing is so thin you can feel her nipples brush your chest.

I took her inside where I slowly peeled off her wet clothes, and she did the same to me. The intense, primal need for her had taken me aback. It was almost like I had never tasted her, never had her. Suddenly, perhaps for the first time, I was the hunter, Katniss my prey. For many years she eluded capture, but now… in this moment, I had her.

I took my time with her, because we had all night. The rain wasn't letting up any time soon. And what the correlation was between rain and lovemaking was I'll never know, but it was certainly there. The way our moans coincided with the thunder. The way sweat dripped down our bodies like the rain dripped against the windows. The way the old bed creaked as the lightening flashed.

We were so close in that moment that I couldn't tell where she started or I ended. I do remember soft sighs, her feet brushing against my calves, her hands forcing me in deeper. The night had been perfect, from the way she said my name, to the way we stared into each other's eyes, as if we were really seeing each other for the first time.

I fell in love with her all over again that night.

And it didn't surprise me one bit that we'd created a child that night.

So I realized the timeline doesn't work for Baby Love to be a missing piece from this story, but I think it still works. The facts in that story and the facts in this story don't add up, but as I was writing this, I just couldn't make the details between the two work. I like how things happened in this story, for this story, but I'm equally proud of Baby Love too. Just a little FYI for those of you who, like me, pay attention to the little details.

And there you have it folks, pregnant Katniss! Happy Thursday. OH! Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder come on tonight! Any fans of those? I'm SO on edge!

-thamockingjayandpeeta