DISCLAIMER: HG characters do not belong to me.
Chapter 103-Peeta II
Peeta waits over an hour before he is allowed upstairs to the President's office. He is thankful that she is willing to see him despite the fact he just showed up unannounced.
He forgoes small talk and gets to the point of his visit, asking again if he can have the memory pill to help move on from Katniss.
"It's been over a year" Peeta says to a silent Paylor.
"Is the counseling not helping?" she asks.
"Yes and no. I am dating someone now, I am trying to move on but…"
"Did you see Katniss recently?"
"Yes-today."
"So I take it you saw her….condition."
"I did."
"Peeta, don't you think you are only here because you are upset about Katniss?"
"I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for my girlfriend Delly. She deserves better."
"How do you know that by erasing your memory of Katniss that your relationship with your girlfriend will be better?"
"It has to, anything would be better than….this" and he throws his arms up in frustration.
"Peeta-you shouldn't be making such a major decision based off of your emotions from finding out about Katniss's pregnancy."
"It's not like I didn't decide this until today."
"Fair enough. But I'm still not comfortable giving you something so powerful in your possession, not now, not like this."
Paylor sees the look of anger and frustration on his face, though he does not voice his thoughts. He paces a few times then says, "Thank you for your time" and extends his hand for her to shake.
"I'm sorry. I hope you will continue seeing the counselor we have arranged, you can come here as much as you want to see him."
He nods his head in appreciation and quickly leaves. Paylor giving him a look of pity as he walks out.
Peeta stands at the train station and waits in line to buy his return ticket home. No longer wanting to spend the night in the Capitol he cancels his hotel reservation and decides to take the evening train leaving the Capitol for the two day return trip to District 12. While standing in line he hears someone come up and say, "Heading home?" and turns and sees Johanna giving him a small smile.
Relieved to see it was a friendly face he says, "Yeah, just…not in the mood to stick around, figured I'd take an evening train and head home early."
"I hear you, I am going home tonight and will be in District 7 by tomorrow afternoon. I hate being away from my daughter for so long."
"You have a daughter?" Peeta asks lighting up.
"Yeah! I….figured Haymitch would have told you."
"No-he didn't. What's her name?"
"Holly. She's four and quite the handful."
"Wow, that's great, I'm really happy for you."
"Well, she wasn't exactly planned but, she ended up being what I needed most in my life. A chance to have a family again, without the fear of Snow taking her from me."
Peeta doesn't get a chance to respond for it was his turn to buy his ticket at the booth. Once he and Johanna buy their tickets they head to a small bench away from the crowd, their small suitcases next to them.
"Did you have lunch with Katniss?" Peeta asks once they sit.
"Yes and we went to the fashion museum after. We enjoyed poking fun at some of the mannequins, I sometimes forget how ridiculous the Capitol's fashions were."
Peeta smiles but his eyes show his sadness, remembering how even during those less desirable days he had one bright spot in his life, Katniss.
Seeing the look on his face Johanna resists the urge to say something sarcastic and instead says, "Look I'm….sorry about what happened between you and Katniss."
He nods and says, "I'm glad the two of you reconnected again. She needs friends around her."
"Well, from what she says it sounds like she has some friends in 2 and some of the other Districts. But it's nice to have someone to hang out with when I come to the Capitol, though I still despise coming here."
He asks what brought her to the Capitol this time and she tells him about her symptoms, shocked that someone else has been experiencing something similar, he tells her about his seizures, both of them expressing their fears of the doctors not knowing the cause.
"I hate that not only did they fuck our minds up, but also our bodies" Johanna says in disgust.
"Do you know if Enobaria is experiencing any problems?" Peeta asks.
"No, not that she'd tell me, we don't exactly get along."
Peeta knowing that she is in the group with Haymitch and Enobaria to help get information about the Jay Killers, asks Johanna how it is going.
"Well, a good chunk of them are either imprisoned or released, the ones released are currently being monitored by the Capitol, like they have to check in and everything or else they will be imprisoned. But, we still don't know where Jasper is, if he is even in Panem now."
Peeta considered joining the group, but decided against it when Haymitch told him Katniss and Gale were heavily involved. Knowing the two of them were fighters unlike him, he told Haymitch he would help out behind the scenes if he could. Haymitch telling him to keep his eye out for anyone unknown coming into 12.
After talking more about what was happening in each other's lives, Johanna's train arrives and they say their goodbyes, Peeta walking her to the platform.
"Take care of yourself" Peeta says to her as they reach the entrance of the train.
"You too, and remember, for what it's worth, Katniss is devastated for hurting you. She reverted back to her brooding self after you left the café. It wasn't until I told her she was reminding me of why I disliked her when we first met that she pulled herself out of it. She'll never stop caring about you….never."
He chooses not to respond and instead tries to give his usual warm smile, watching her as she walks on the train. Once her train departs he heads for his platform, trying to push Katniss as far from his mind as he can.
September 12 (8 weeks later)
President Paylor walks to the podium in the mansion's large banquet room. She is hosting a ceremony for her staff and Panem's top military officials. An annual event, she hosts the dinner and dance in appreciation for all of the hard work her staff and military officials do on a regular basis. Every year she honors one individual for going above and beyond in their work. Previous winners included Beetee, Heavensbee, and Panem's military generals. Tonight however she would be giving the honor to Gale for all of his work as a government official and commander.
She is surprised to see Katniss with him when they arrive. Heavily pregnant, she notices Katniss discomfort as Gale helps her to her seat at the round table. They are seated with Haymitch, Beetee, and the government officials from District 5, 7, 9, and 10 along with their wives.
She is curious as to why Katniss still has not gone to Caesar to announce her pregnancy. It was the hot gossip of the Capitol, though the former master of ceremonies kept to his word and didn't publish anything in Panem Daily. It made her wonder if he and Katniss had come to some sort of agreement of when the confirmation would happen.
Seeing Katniss in the Capitol this far into her pregnancy showed in her opinion Katniss's commitment to Gale. She had never attended the ceremony before, in fact she realized the last time she had seen Gale bring a date to this event was back when he was engaged to the young girl from 2.
She sees how out of place and uncomfortable Katniss looks and felt slight pity for the former victor. For a lot of eyes were on her and her very visible condition.
Now at the podium, she begins speaking about Gale's continued service to Panem and talks about his commitment to maintaining peace and order in Panem despite continuing threats from its own citizens. She calls him to the stage to receive his award.
At the podium Gale thanks her and talks about his passion for his work. How it started with the rebellion and continued after. He turns to her and thanks her for the incredible opportunity to serve as a government official and commander and promises to never stop working and fighting for a new and improved Panem and what an honor it was to receive this award. He begins thanking his comrades and co-workers, and finally, he glances at his table and looks at Katniss and thanks her for continuing to be by his side and for being the kind of best friend some people can only wish for, and how lucky he is that he has that along with her love.
She sees a lot of the audience members turn and look at her and see Katniss's face become red as she averts their stares and continues looking at Gale. She watches as he gives her a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug when he sits back down at his table, loud applause in the background.
Afterwards, the dancing begins. She doesn't dance much, continuing to make small talk with all the different men and women coming up for a chance to speak with her for a brief moment.
Her eyes continue to wander to Katniss and Gale, and observes them as they slow dance. She watches as Gale whispers into her ear and sees her smile appear, full and bright and only for him. She hardly smiled during dinner but when it was just the two of them, it was almost like she was a different person. She looked genuinely happy. She watches at Katniss gets up up on her tiptoes to hug him, him in turn bending down and holding her tight before they both leave the dancefloor heading to the lounge area hand in hand.
Paylor's assistant comes up to her and says, "Romantic isn't it? I wish my husband called me his best friend. And the way he looks at her, that's love."
Paylor can't help but agree, it was obvious Gale's feelings for Katniss in his actions. She first saw it during his commitment to her safety when she first came the wild territory, never once complaining how long and tiresome that mission was.
For maybe the first time ever, she sees in Katniss's eyes her love for him.
And she finally understands the heartache Peeta must be feeling. Having to live with the fact that he couldn't bring her happiness, and that she had to leave her home and her life with him in order to achieve it.
September 14 (two days later)
Peeta returns to the Victor's Village after a long day at the bakery. He is heading home to shower and change before Delly comes over, planning to cook her dinner tonight.
He sees a small package at his doorstep and picks it up and takes it inside. Unwrapping the package, he sees a note inside and opens it and reads:
Peeta-
If you choose to use this, I hope it brings you the peace you are searching for. If you choose not to use it, please mail it back to the address enclosed.
Take care,
Paylor
Peeta sees wrapped inside a small case that holds a single pill. He also sees instructions on how to use it though he remembers what Mrs. Everdeen told him.
He can't believe that Paylor has sent this to him, thinking he had exhausted all attempts of getting her to change her mind. He figures something must have happened to cause her change of heart, but right now he doesn't care. He calls Delly and tells her something came up last minute and that he couldn't meet for dinner, promising her he'd make it up to her tomorrow. Delly being agreeable almost to a fault, cheerfully tells him she will see him tomorrow at the bakery.
Two hours later, he sits at his kitchen table, the same table he shared many meals with Katniss during their years together. He looks at her picture and tries to hold back his tears. He begins thinking about their interactions before the games, from the first moment he saw her as a little girl in school to throwing her the bread to standing beside her on stage during the reaping. How he longed to talk to her all those years but was too afraid to do so. How instead of trying to befriend her like he should have she ended up forming a deep friendship with another. Someone who came from the same situation as her, someone who he was jealous of from the moment he saw them together around town. He wonders had he befriended her, would they have been as close? If he had helped feed her and her family, would she have continued to go into the woods with him?
He realizes most likely she would have, because being in the woods was where she belonged. Where she was able to escape from the hardships of life in the seam, a hardship he never had to endure.
He has a glass of water beside him, and picks up the pill and holds it in his fingers, the tears finally starting to fall.
September 15 (the following day)
Katniss breathes heavily as she lays on her side, Gale spooning her as he gently makes love to her. With very few sexual positions left that were comfortable for her, she found this position the most pleasurable, for he could easily reach down between her legs stroke her until she climaxed. While her fatigue had returned, there were still a few moments such as tonight where she desired sex, knowing in a matter of weeks their lives would be changing forever.
She opens her eyes as she feels and sees her baby moving around, her large stomach moving up and down. She's used to this, but is still in awe every time she sees it.
Feeling his head come closer to hers, he begins kissing her face until she turns her head and kisses him deeply as he continues to stroke and move in and out of her. She continues to kiss him before she pulls away out of breath, she begins panting as her body starts to shake uncontrollably as he ejaculates inside of her. Both of them breathing hard, he rests his head against hers for a few lingering moments then kisses her before pulling out of her. He continues to spoon her as they lay on their sides, gently rubbing her stomach as they watch the baby move and kick.
"She always moves around more when you are with me" Katniss says softly, lacing her fingers in his.
He kisses her forehead in response. He is excited yet nervous about the baby's arrival in the coming month. They have been getting ready for the upcoming move, the house continuing to progress on schedule, hoping to be moved in by the first week in October.
Both of them hope the baby waits until after the move to be born.
"How was class?" he asks while continuing to hold her close to his chest.
"Great. I hope I can be there at least a couple more weeks, I want to get to know the students before I go on my leave." Today was the first day of the new school year at Silver Lake Elementary. Once the baby is born a substitute teacher sent by PES will fill in until she returns three months later. Her plan is to hopefully come back after the holiday and New Year break.
She tells him about her students when suddenly the phone rings. Gale groans and says, "Should I get it?"
She looks over and sees it is almost 10 pm. Knowing they do not receive phone calls this late unless it is important she says, "Yeah, something might be wrong."
He gives her a quick peck on the lips as he gets up, pulls on his boxers and bolts downstairs.
Suddenly feeling chilly, she pulls the covers up over her body and tries to warm up as she hears him talk though she can't make out what he is saying. With fall approaching, it was still warm during the day but it was beginning to get much cooler at night.
A few minutes later he comes back up, she sees the look on his face and knows something is wrong.
"What is it? Is it Jasper?" she asks frantically not knowing what it could be.
"No. That was Heavensbee, it's about Peeta."
Her eyes go wide, afraid to hear what he will say next, and going numb when he tells her what the phone call was about.
