Well, I almost forgot about this story! Gonna try completing this! Here we go! Been a couple of years!
"So, we have an announcement to make." Haymitch held Effie's hand as they sat across the table from Katniss and Peeta. "What kind of announcement, Effie?" Peeta said with a knowing smile. "Well, we went to the doctor today and it looks like we are going to be having a baby." Katniss smiled at Haymitch as he turned beet red. "You sly dog!" Peeta got up and slapped him on the back. Katniss gave Effie a hug. "How are you feeling, Effs? Did the doctor say how far along you are?" Effie sat back down. "Well, it looks like I'm about 8 weeks along. I didn't think I could get pregnant, but this one must have super semen." Haymitch spit his drink out and they all started laughing. "Now, I am considered high risk so I will be needing to take it easy and go to the doctor more than a normal pregnancy, but other than that, the doctor says everything is going well so far."
Peeta decided to bake up some sweet bread to celebrate. "Sure you don't want to toast it in your fireplace, Haymitch?" Peeta laughed. "No. We're good, ya little shit. Toast the damn bread. What the Hell, boy." Haymitch sat on the couch sulking. "Peeta, go apologize." Katniss whispered in his ear. He walked over with a slice on a plate for Haymitch. "Hey, here. Untoasted. You know I was just kidding around, right?" Haymitch looked to see where Effie was. Seeing she was in the kitchen making herself a tea, he leaned to Peera and whispered, "Listen. It's not that I don't want to, well, you know. But she's against the idea. I told her on the way back from the doc and she flat out said no to me. Says she thinks it'll be too much stress to think about it. Fuck if I know." Haymitch took a bite of the bread and nodded to Peeta.
Effie sat at the kitchen table with Katniss. "I think he may be upset with me. Haymitch." she whispered to Katniss. "Why? Because you're pregnant?" Katniss whispered back. Effie shook her head, "No. He asked if I thought we should get married. I told him no." Katniss couldn't believe her ears. Effie saying no to having her own wedding? "Is it him you don't want or marriage in general? I just thought you'd be all for it." Effie closed her eyes and took a calming breath. "I love him. He loves me. Do we really need marriage?" Katniss held her friend's hand. "What's the real reason, Effie?" Effie looked at her with tears in her eyes.
"My mother became pregnant with me when she was 17 and her parents forced her to marry my father. They had the worst marriage, and my father left when I was two years old. I never saw him alive again. He died of fever 4 years later. I swore I would never marry." Katniss nodded. "I see. And did you ever think you would find a partner like him?" She asked pointing over her shoulder toward Haymitch. "Someone who is your best friend? A man that loves you. He's not running. He's actually smiling and happy. It's a bit unsettling." The two women began to laugh.
Later that night as Peeta and Katniss settled in for the night...
"You ever think you'll want one? I mean, we could just have one, couldn't we? It's not like it was when we were born. Not anymore." Katniss really didn't want to have this discussion again. "Peeta. Let's not right now, please. I'm very tired, and the bakery's Grand Opening is tomorrow. Can we just focus on that for now? We're still very young and we haven't even been married for 5 minutes it seems." She walked into the bathroom to take her shower as he watched her walk away. Peeta ran his hands through his hands in frustration. He would love to have a little carbon copy of Katniss running around, but he knew how bad it was for her growing up. 'She just needs time,' he said yo himself not knowing if he believed it or if he was just trying to make himself feel better. He let himself drift off to sleep. Katniss let the hot water wash over her. She cried softly to herself so that he wouldn't hear her. It broke her heart knowing her husband wanted a child so bad, and she didn't know if she'd ever be open to the idea. Tomorrow's a new day. The bakery will be opening and she'll finally know what Peeta named it.
The day had finally arrived. The Mellark's walked hand in hand to town. It was still dark, but dawn was fast approaching. As they approached the shop, they saw Delly, Thom, and Randy waiting for them. "Good morning bosses! We're ready to help!" Delly was already too awake for Katniss. "Turn down the volume, Del. I think you're scaring my wife." Peeta flashed her his best smile. "Ready to take this tarp down yet? I wanna see." Katniss was eager to know. He'd kept it a secret for so long. "Not yet! During the ceremony, silly!" Delly squealed.
The bakery looked and smelled amazing! Peeta really did a fantastic job. There were murals all over the walls signifying each item made. He had done a beautiful 4-tier cake with beautiful detailing of the meadow by their home. Katniss got a bit overcome with emotion. Thankfully no customers were there yet. As the clock got closer to 6:30am, her nerves started. "Katniss, come here." Peeta called her over. "You okay?" He pulled her into a tight hug. She breathed in his scent. "Nervous." she simply said. Delly interrupted their moment by yelling, "Alright folks! 6:30! Time to greet our customers!"
It looked like everyone from Twelve were waiting outside. As they opened the door, the crowd began to cheer. "Thank you so much for coming everyone!" Peeta began, "It gives me a great thrill to see everyone and finally open after our rebuild. This is a day of happiness, but we cannot let it pass without having a moment of silence for my family and all the lives lost during the rebellion." It was so quiet, except for the breeze and some birds tweeting in the distance. "Okay, now, my beautiful wife has been impatiently waiting for the reveal of our bakery's name, so, Katniss, will you do the honor of pulling the rope?" She blushed as all eyes were on her and turned to pull the rope. The crowd gasped in excitement as Katniss looked.
"Everlark Family Bakery Cafe"
She looked at Peeta, "Everlark? Did you mash our last names up?" He smiled and hugged her to his side, "Well, I was gonna mashup our first names but, um, Kat-Pee or Peet-Niss did not sound very welcoming." Katniss laughed and playfully smack her husband's arm. "My god, I love you!" And uncharacteristically, she grabbed his face in her hands and gave him a deep, lingering kiss much to the crowds amusement. "Sorry, folks! Newlyweds remember! Come on in everyone!" Everlark Family Bakery Cafe had a great opening day. Even Haymitch and Effie showed up at lunch for a quick bite before heading out to The Capital for the rest of Effie's belongings. Randy's sister, Mayra, stopped by to walk him home after closing and Peeta gave her some of the remaining cookies and two loaves of rye bread after many cries of 'Oh let me give you money for it, please!' Everyone had gone and Thom was finishing up mopping the floors as they left for the night.
"Great first day, and thank God for the apartment above the bakery. We both got to take naps today. Sure, mine was interrupted after 30 minutes by a certain someone, but at least I got a little rest." Katniss didn't know what came over her today, but she found herself sneaking up to the apartment when she found out he was up there and just had to have him. "I didn't hear you complaining." She said to him with a smile that he quickly returned. After a quick stop at Haymitch and Effie's to feed his geese, the couple went home to settle in for the night. After a long day, they both fell asleep in front of the fire downstairs.
Three months had gone by and Effie was half way through her pregnancy. Haymitch was, surprisingly, very attentive to her needs, and her needs were a lot. Her feet had begun swelling if she was on them for too long so the doctor ordered her to stay off of them as much as she could. Thankfully, Haymitch had Greasy Sae helping him with housekeeping, and he learned to cook in the last few months. He hadn't been sober since before his Games, but as soon as he heard the baby's heartbeat, he vowed to never touch another drop. "Haymitch? Can you come here please?" He heard Effie call him from the couch where she had her feet up. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" Effie held her hand out and pulled his to her stomach. "What the Hell are you doing, Efs?" Effie held his hand there, "Wait, just feel." He let her press his hand to her belly. Suddenly he felt movement. "Whoa! Holy shit! Is that it? The kid?" She smiled up at him. "Yes, isn't it wonderful." He kissed her belly and laid his head against her stomach and then another kick. "It's freaky, but really cool at the same time. Oh, sweetheart. Thank you." He got up and gave her a sweet kiss. "How you feeling? Want me to rub your feet again?" Effie sighed contentedly, "Mmm. Yes please."
"Hey, bitches! I'm back!" Katniss and Peeta turned around and saw no other than Joanna Mason. "Hey! Language!" Peeta yelled. There were only a handful of people in the bakery area, but the cafe was full of families enjoying Sunday brunch. Delly gave everyone a free dessert to smooth things over. "God, Joanna. What is wrong with you? I mean you do see children, right?" Peeta walked over and gave her a quick hug before going back to filling the apricot sandwich cookies he was working on. Katniss took her up to the apartment above the bakery. "Nice. Am I staying here? Oh my! What is this?" She held up a pair of silky panties. Katniss turned bright red, "Gimme those, you asshole." Joanna stuck her tongue out at her and threw her the panties. "You guys can't wait til you get home, huh?" Katniss smiled. "I mean. You've seen mmy husband. So, yeah. Shut up. Have you seen Thom?" It was her turn to turn red. "No. Not yet. He actually hasn't returned my last few phone calls. Have you noticed anything?"
Thom had been around a lot lately helping with the bakery, but Katniss hadn't noticed anything different except...oh shit. He had been walking Delly home lately. Could they be? No, not Delly and Thom. They were total opposites. Delly had been acting calmer these days though. That was different from her normally hyper-self. "Um, no. Not really." is all Katniss could think to say. She helped Joanna get settled into the apartment. "So, I hear Effie's starting to show. Are they gonna get married before the kid arrives or just raise it as a bastard?" Katniss smacked her arm, "Hey, come on Joanna. You can't say shit like that in front of her. She doesn't want to get married. At least, not right now. Sucks because I know Haymitch wants to make it official. Weird. I would have never thought they'd be together, but it works. They really are great together. He's sober you know? Three months now."
Joanna was distracted looking out the window. She could see Thom across the road. He was working one of his many jobs around Twelve. She contemplated confronting him about not calling her ,but in the end, decided against it. "Think I'm going to lie down for a bit. Long train ride and all. See ya chick." Katniss nodded and then headed back to the bakery. "She all settled in, babe?" Peeta inquired. "Yeah. Hey. Delly and Thom? Are they a thing? Joanna sasays he has not been returning her calls." Peeta shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure. I mean, it's possible. They spend a lot of time together." Katniss would need to find out, and she knew just how to do it.
Well, I am going attempt to keep up with this til I complete the arch. Enjoy!