Disclaimer: I own very little.

Chapter Forty-Three: A Diagnosis

It didn't even take the doctor more than a day to call me with my results and say that I was pregnant.

Pregnant.

As in, the type of medical condition in which a woman bears a child.

Any other woman in the world should have been thrilled, but me? I was absolutely terrified. When the doctor called me, I was at work and literally nearly dropped the device from my hands when he said the news. Seneca didn't even know that I had gone to the doctor, but it wouldn't have taken a genius to figure out what was going on. Goodness, nearly every morning I was waking up with an awful headache and stomach ache.

And at that moment, when the doctor called, I ran, yes, ran to the restroom. I literally felt sick all over again.

How was I supposed to raise a child?

How was I supposed to keep my job if I was raising a baby?

How was I supposed to protect an innocent child from the corrupt morals of the Capitol?

Of the three questions that came to my head, the last was what scared me the most. The idea of my and Seneca's baby growing up under the Capitol standards was…quite frankly…horrifying. Then I considered the converse to this, our child could be growing up under the districts' regulations. I could be the mother of a child, knowing they could be placed in an event in which they were expected to kill and be killed.

Then, I suddenly felt an immense amount of grace. Our child would, by no means, be completely safe, but at least he or she would never have to be admitted into a Hunger Games. The thought of this was the only positive I could draw from the situation, at the time, and was the sole reason why I ever even left the bathroom stall.

When I arrived back at my station, nearly everyone under me was asking some sort of elaborate question. I didn't have near as much patience for some reason, but I would like to think that the new employees are simply becoming less and less intelligent by the year. In my time at the security branch, I have never personally had to fire anyone, but I came the closest I ever have been when all of them were swarming me as if I were the golden source of knowledge.

After a long, grueling day at work, I remember coming home to the empty penthouse. I tossed off my coat and placed it in the closet before I started wandering around the home, for no reason, really. There was one room in our home which had always been used as a storage room; I leaned against the door frame and imagined the room turning into a room for an actual person rather than storage. Room in our apartment wasn't an issue for there were several other rooms we could transport our junk to, but it was just the idea of it turning into more than just storage.

"Hey! I didn't think you were home…I called out for you, but didn't hear you," Seneca said from behind me, causing me to jump slightly. "Are you looking for something?"

I shook my head and nearly instantly shut the light off the room as I took a step out," Oh, no I was just…thinking of how we could re-organize all of that."

"All of that?" He asked, raising a brow. "That's never going to be organized."

I smirked at this as he kissed my cheek," I can dream, you know."

"Oh, of course," He said sarcastically as we walked through the hall and into the main living area. I honestly should have been cooking or at least starting to, but it was such an eventful day that I had little desire to.

"How was your day?" I asked him, sitting down at one of the stools as he pulled a drink out of the cooler.

"It was great; I had some meetings today and have unofficially been named the newest Head Gamemaker," He said the last part tentatively.

I nodded, "They are pleased with your decision? When is the announcement going to be?"

"They're planning it for a couple weeks from today," He answered, opening the can of his beverage before dumping it into one of the oddly shaped glasses we owned in our home. I watched the drink bubble profusely.

"That's exciting," I said with a smile, trying to be enthusiastic for him.

"It is," He said, reading my reaction, as if checking for genuity. He grinned before taking a sip of his drink," President Snow spoke to me today, as well."

My heart stopped for a second at the mention of him," Oh. What did he say?"

"He's just making sure I'm prepared for this is all. He warned me not to make any stupid mistakes," He said, taking a deep breath as he did.

I tried to imagine this conversation taking place. Every way I envisioned it, it seemed much less pleasant that Seneca appeared to be about it.

After several more minutes of speaking, there was a silence.

"I'm not cooking today," I said, pulling the clip holding my hair up out from its place as I ran my fingers through it.

He chuckled at this," You want me to call something in?"

"That would be spectacular," I said shaking out my hair as he turned to leave the room to call in the dinner for the evening.


As we sat by the fire, eating the latest cuisine from one of the Crane family's friend's restaurant, I couldn't help but feel a continual sense of guilt in not officially telling Seneca what was going on. The later and later that I put it off; I couldn't help but have this feeling escalate within me. However, it wasn't until we were lying in bed that evening that I even considered mentioning it.

I was sitting atop of the covers, looking over some files on my tablet when he came in from the restaurant and shut its lights off as he did so.

I looked at him briefly and felt him holding my gaze as he sat on the bed and pulled his legs under the covers.

"Do you want something, Mr. Crane?" I asked, feeling his eyes on me as I put away my tablet.

"I can't help but feel something is wrong, Mrs. Crane," He said smoothly. "Did something happen at work today?"

I felt my stomach drop.

I tucked my hair behind my ear before looking him in the eye.

"Nothing happened at work," I answered, putting my legs under the cover. "I did, however, find out some interesting news today."

"Do tell," He said, leaning on his elbows as he looked at me.

I swallowed hard," I went to the doctor yesterday, Seneca and-"

I could see a smirk forming on his lips, like a little kid. I chuckled at this before furrowing my brows," What are you smiling at?"

"Oh, nothing. Please, do continue," He said, holding back laughs.

"Seneca!" I exclaimed, hitting him softly.

"You have to be pregnant," He said before falling on his back into the bed, laughing tremendously.

My jaw literally dropped as I glared at him. He had certainly ruined the suspense in that one and part of me wanted to know how he knew.

"How'd you know?" I asked, much less humored by him than he was.

"Have you seen yourself recently?" He asked, looking me straight in the eye. "You've nearly looked as though you could kill me at times, while the next minute you are completely enamored. Or, today, you were standing in an empty, storage room that neither of us have ever stepped foot in. You started talking about organizing. Dear, neither of us have ever dared organize that room."

"None of those things would mean that I'm pregnant, Seneca! Someone must have told you," I grumbled, looking at him like I would a child.

He was laughing hysterically by this point," I just knew, Savera. I really don't know how else to explain it. Plus, I knew that after that one night…"

I rolled my eyes," Fine. You spoiled all the fun though."

He placed a hand on my shoulder genuinely before saying," I really am excited, though. It's spectacular; I couldn't be happier, Savera."

I blinked several times, looking at him," Really?"

"Really! We're going to have a baby! It's exciting and incredible," He exclaimed, smiling widely.

"You aren't…at least a little scared?" I asked him tentatively, biting my lip hard.

He swallowed, realizing where I was going with this. Silently, he sat up straight," The baby is going to be safe here, Savera. They wouldn't do anything to it in the Capitol."

"They wouldn't?" I asked with a raise of my brow.

He exhaled slowly before setting his hands behind his head," Savera, they don't want that. The baby will be safe."

I could have gotten into an argument with him, but for the time being I smiled at him as I sunk down under the covers. He could tell from my sudden silence that I clearly wasn't satisfied with our conversation. I turned on my side, facing away from him and felt his hands slid around my waist, pulling me closer to him as he curled up under the covers, as well.

I felt his lips at my ear," Don't overthink this."

"How are we supposed to raise a child to be normal? We live a life of luxury in the wealthiest portion of the country?" I asked, placing my hand atop of his on my stomach.

"We'll make it work. We can hire someone to help with that too, Savera. You'll be able to get nearly as much time as you want off work and I'll try my best to be here. The Games don't start for a while now," He muttered in my ear as I stared off.

"How are we going to explain all of this to a child?" I asked, feeling tears burning in my eyes. "How are we supposed to explain that?"

There was a silence as I felt Seneca's hand trail to the middle of my stomach; he whispered, softly, in my ear," We will tell them exactly what we believe. They will believe what we tell them, not what the Capitol says."

"So not only do we risk our lives, but the life of our child?" I asked, looking back into his blue eyes.

"I think a better way of wording it would be to say we're risking our lives for the life of our child. If all goes as planned, perhaps one day our child will be free of all this," He said.

It was in moments like this that I never wished for Seneca to be Head Gamemaker. I wished for us to be anywhere but here being in the situation that we were in. As he pulled me closer to him, I took a deep breath in and as I closed my eyes…tried to enjoy the simple moments such as these.

A/N: Okay, I'll be honest…this was kind of a filler chapter, but I'm working on the next one as we speak. Originally, this was meant to be much longer, but I've had to split the chapters. Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think:) Next chapter will be up ASAP.