Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it.

Chapter 18- Birth in the Arena

"Wh-what?!" Peeta exclaims.

"My water just broke!" I repeat.

"But…you're only 30 weeks! This can't happen now!" Peeta exclaims.

I give Peeta a glare that would terrify most people on this planet. "You don't think I know that?! I did not plan nor want to give birth to my first child in the middle of the Hunger Games!" I scream at him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He says quickly.

Right then, I feel a sharp pain in my stomach, which I know realize is a contraction. As I bend over and clutch my stomach in pain, Peeta grabs me and scoops me up in his arms. He hurries me towards the beach, with Wiress following behind us.

Finnick and Seeder look at me very worried. "What's happening?" Finnick asks worriedly.

"What does it look like?!" I scream at him, and he recoils a bit.

Seeder reacts quickly. "We need to find a spot for her to lie," she says.

"Here!" Beete says from just inside the treeline and pointing further into the jungle. Sure enough, there is a nice little spot among the roots of a tree a few yards beyond the treeline, just the right size for me to lie in, and there's moss covering the trunk of the tree that looks thick enough to make it more comfortable for me.

Peeta carries me over and gently lays me down in the gap between the roots. Seeder comes up to me and says, "Katniss, we're going to need to remove your jumpsuit."

I feel a little bit embarrassed. However, it quickly passes, and I just nod.

As Peeta helps me sit up so that he can unzip my jumpsuit, we suddenly hear something. We all look up, and see a parachute attached to a large container.

Johanna retrieves the sponsor gift and brings it over to us. As Peeta opens the container, we see it contains several clamps, a pair of scissors, some towels, some diapers, and a sheet, as well as some other things I don't recognize. On top of it all is a simple note that says, "Good luck, sweetheart."

I feel a wave of gratitude for Haymitch. But, only a few seconds later, I feel another contraction, and I clutch my stomach again.

Peeta unzips my jumpsuit, and he and Seeder help me out of the jumpsuit, as well as the undershorts that are also part of the outfit, while leaving the undershirt on. Seeder spreads the sheet over me so that I'm at least a little bit covered up.

Seeder then looks up at me and says, "I need to see how dilated you are, Katniss."

"How do you check that?" I ask, still fairly clueless about a lot of the anatomy behind pregnancy and birth.

Seeder looks down between my legs. I realize what she means and simply say, "Oh." I lay back a little and part my legs to allow Seeder to check me.

It takes Seeder only a few seconds before she sits back up and looks at me gravely. "Katniss, you're already 5 centimeters dilated. Once you reach 10, you'll be able to push. You're progressing quickly," she says.

I look up at Peeta in despair. Right then, the worst contraction yet, and I squeeze Peeta's hand as I cry out with pain.

For the next few hours, I lie there, crying or screaming with every contraction. It doesn't take too long after Seeder first checked me before Peeta says I'm on the verge of breaking his hand. After that, I switch between Peeta, Finnick, and Johanna's hands about every five minutes.

I have no idea how fast time has passing. The seconds seem to lengthen out into minutes.

Finally, I see the fog rolling out of its section, and I realize it's been over two hours since my water broke. Then, I start to feel a pressure, and a great urge to push. At the same time, a particularly painful contraction makes me scream. I clutch Finnick's hand, as he's the one on hand duty right now, and scream in pain.

"Seeder! I feel like I have to push!" I scream.

Seeder crouches down to check me again. A few seconds later, she straightens up and says, "Katniss…you're fully dilated. It's time to push."

As Seeder says that, it hits me. It finally hits me that I'm about to bring a child into this world. I look over at Peeta, pure terror in my eyes.

"Peeta, I'm scared," I say in a voice full of fear.

Peeta immediately takes my hand and looks me directly in my eyes. "Katniss. You can do this. I believe in you. You are the strongest person in all of Panem. You've survived so much. I know you can do this," he says firmly. He pauses for a second, then says, "Just think. You're bringing our child into the child. You're going through this so we can see our son or daughter." He then smiles and kisses me on the forehead before saying, "I love you."

"I love you," I say with tears in my eyes before another contraction makes me scream and squeeze Finnick's hand.

"Alright. Finnick, I need you and Wiress to hold Katniss' legs apart. Johanna, you stand guard," Seeder says. I feel embarrassed for a moment, but realize I don't have time to be embarrassed.

Finnick and Wiress each take one of my legs and pull them apart, while Johanna remains standing, continually scanning our surroundings, axes at the ready. I really wish this was a more private moment right now, knowing that everyone is Panem is watching me prepare to give birth, and will be watching the whole thing.

"Alright, Katniss. The next time you feel a contraction, I need you to push as hard as you can," Seeder says. I just nod once and clutch Peeta's hand. When I feel the next contraction begin, I push down as hard as I can.

I scream with pain, feeling like my body is being torn apart. I've never felt so much pain in my life, but I keep pushing.

With every contraction, I push, bearing down as hard as I can, while screaming and squeezing Peeta's hand as hard as I can. I feel like my body is being torn apart, but I keep pushing.

Finally, Seeder looks up at me and says, "Katniss, I can see the baby's head. You're almost there."

"You've got this, Katniss," Finnick says encouragingly.

I push again, screaming as push as hard as I can. However, by now, I'm so tired by what feels an hour of pushing that it's not as strong as I was pushing at the beginning.

I push several more times before I collapse back against Peeta's chest, gasping. Seeder looks up at me and says, "Katniss, just one more push, and your baby will be here."

"I can't. I can't do it," I say in a very tired voice, tears running down my face.

"Katniss, you can do it. I believe in you! You can do it, Katniss! For our child!" Peeta says.

I look back at Peeta, and see his encouraging look. I look back at my stomach, and steel myself, knowing that my child is only a push away from entering the world. I summon every ounce of strength that I can, and push as hard I possibly can, screaming at the top of my lungs.

After several moments of pushing, I suddenly feel something slide free of my body, and I let myself fall back against Peeta, breathing heavily.

Instantly, I realize there's no sound. No crying. Then, I hear Beetee say, "OMG, so small."

My heart starts to freeze with fear. "Peeta?"I say, tears streaming down my face.

Then, no sooner do I get the words out of my mouth then I hear the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. An infant's squalling cry. It starts off soft and almost gargled at first, but soon grows into a loud scream.

The tears running down my face increase, but now from joy. I look at Seeder, who looks up at me as she says, "It's a girl," before reaching forward and placing something on my chest.

I look down and see a tiny baby girl lying on my chest, wrapped in a towel, screaming as loud as her little lungs will allow her. She's covered in blood and other fluids, and so tiny and fragile looking. But she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.

I stare down at her for several seconds before I begin to sob. I gently reach up and hold her close to me, sobbing as I realize this beautiful little baby is my daughter. I feel Finnick and Wiress set my legs back down, but I don't really think about it. All I can think about is the squalling baby on my chest.

After several more moments, I hear Peeta say, "Katniss." I manage to open my eyes and look up, and see Peeta looking down at me with tears in his eyes.

"Katniss…we have a daughter," he says through his tears.

I look at him through my tears before looking back down at my daughter. As I look at her, I realize just how small she is. After all, she is 10 weeks premature.

I look back at Peeta, tears still streaming down my face. "Peeta, these Games have to end soon. She won't survive in the arena. I can't lose her. I love her!" I sob.

"I know, baby. I know," Peeta says. He then looks down at our daughter and rests a hand on the side of her head and says, "She is so beautiful."

Suddenly, there's a crashing in the brush. Instantly, Finnick is on his feet, trident in hand. We all turn to the side and see, to our horror, Cashmere and Gloss emerging through the trees to my right.

They freeze several yards away, staring at us. Finnick and Johanna are ready to attack, but they don't when Cashmere and Gloss don't move. Instead, the two Careers just stare at us. Gloss looks ready to attack, but Cashmere just stares at me and the baby.

Then, a few seconds later, Cashmere places a hand on her brother's arm and says, "Come on, Gloss. Let's go."

Everybody, including Gloss, looks at Chasmere in surprise and shock. Finally, I manage to blurt out, "What? You're not going to kill us?"

Cashmere looks at me. "You two have been through so much. And she's so little. You never know what might happen…and after everything, you deserve to have some time to be a family," she says. She then turns and starts walking away. A moment later, Gloss follows her.

We all stare after the two for several moments before it registers to me. Cashmere just spared my life.

"Why did she do that?" Johanna says.

"I guess she had more compassion in her than we thought," Finnick says.

I look back down at my daughter, who has begun to quiet down. I look at her and say, "Hello, little one. I'm your mother. You are so beautiful, and I love you so much. I've loved you from the moment I knew you existed. And I promise I will always love you."

At my words, she actually quiets down and stops screaming, instead letting out soft cooing sounds. My tears increase.

"Katniss, we need to cut the cord," Seeder says. Peeta rests a hand on my arm, and I relinquish my daughter back to Seeder. Peeta then cuts the umbilical cord.

Finnick takes our daughter off to clean her up, while Seeder helps me through the afterbirth. It's much easier than the actual birth, and once it's over, I can finally rest.

As I lean back against Peeta, eager to get some rest, Finnick returns with my daughter and hands her to me. I take her gently and hold her close.

Peeta leans in over my shoulder to look at her. The whole group is silent before Finnick asks, "So, what are you going to name her?"

I look up at Peeta and say, "I think I have a perfect name for her."

Peeta smiles at me. "Well, what is it?" he asks.

I whisper into his ear, and he smiles. "Perfect," he whispers back. He then looks up at the group and says, "Everyone…meet Willow Rue Mellark."

And, I'll end there. Hope you liked this chapter.

I hope you like the name I chose, and that it's a girl. I thought Katniss might want to keep the plant naming system of her and her sister the same, and I liked the name Willow. And of course, I thought Rue would make a good middle name.

I also hope you like how I had Cashmere and Gloss spare their lives. I always thought they were much nicer than Brutus and Enobaria, and would have it in them to be merciful like that. Their actions will have a small impact later.

Next chapter will be up soon. Until it's up, leave a review, and stay tuned!