We Didn't Start The Fire
by FanficAllergy & RoseFyre

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Chapter Eighteen: I Haven't Even Heard You Cry

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Last Time in We Didn't Start The Fire:

She strokes her fingers through my hair. "You should've talked to us. I would've gone to the doctors. Or my mother. Because I want to have sex with you." She holds one hand out to Gale. "Both of you."

"Yeah, Peet," my husband says, punching me lightly in the shoulder. "Stop being a martyr. Haven't you learned by now? We're a team. All three of us."

"I know that now."

oOo

The following day, Katniss goes to the Thirteen doctors to ask them for some form of birth control. She thinks she's got the best chance out of all of us, considering she's still nursing. Besides, Thirteen needs more soldiers, and she can't fight if she's pregnant.

What she doesn't count on is Thirteen's commitment to repopulation.

"Those idiots!" she exclaims, stomping out into the woods to meet with Gale and me. "They told me no! No! They said if I was so concerned about not getting pregnant, I should just not have sex! What kind of idiot says that to a married person?"

"I mean, they are kind of right, we could just not," I point out.

"Damn it, Peeta, no! I like having sex! I like having sex with you, with both of you. Just because Thirteen's as bad as the Capitol when it comes to this doesn't mean we're gonna let them stop us."

I shrug. "Then I guess that means it's back to the rhythm method."

"Because that worked so well last time," Katniss replies, rolling her eyes. "Besides, it's not like I know when my cycle's gonna be. I haven't had my period since I gave birth."

"That could be a problem," Gale admits.

"That's the chance we have to take if we want to have sex," I say. "But at this point, until you're pregnant or the revolution finally happens and Thirteen lets us have birth control, only Gale can come inside you."

"I'm probably not gonna get pregnant," Katniss argues. "At least not for a while. I'm breastfeeding. Everybody knows you can't get pregnant while breastfeeding."

I shake my head. "Actually, you can. There's a reason Rye's only eleven months older than me."

I see both Gale and Katniss doing the math in their heads, much like I did when I first realized the truth. I hate having to be the killjoy, and there's nothing I'd like more than to make love to my wife, but I've got history on my side.

"Are you sure, Peet?" Gale asks. "It's not like I care who the biologic father is. There's no need to play the martyr because of me. Rain's just as much mine as he is yours. Heck, kid even likes me better than you."

"That's gonna change, you know."

"Maybe…" There's a challenge in his voice. "I plan on being the cool dad. That means you get to be the uncool dad." He smirks at me.

I'm not about to take that lying down. "Yeah, but I'm gonna be the dad with sweets. Sweets win."

"Do not."

"Do too."

We both turn to Katniss to be the deciding vote.

"No way," she says, holding up her hands to ward us off, "keep me out of this."

"Nice try. The distraction almost worked," I say, looking back at Gale. "But as much as we don't care, Thirteen will. And does. Snow tried to use Rain against us too, remember?" I pause, glancing down at my hands. "Besides, I kind of want the next kid to be yours. We're about to start a revolution. We're training to go off to war. If something were to happen to you," I reach out to cup Gale's cheek, "I'm selfish enough to admit I'd like to have a little part of you live on."

Gale grabs my arm and pulls me to his chest. "Damn it, Peet. You're too good for this world."

"So are you," I say, wrapping my arms around him.

I feel Katniss come up and enfold us both. "I gotta say, Peeta's got a point. I don't want to lose you, either of you, but if I do, I'd like to know some part of you'd live on."

Gale kisses me lightly on the top of my head. "Then I guess we're doing it your way."

"I guess we are."

oOo

The next month settles into a fairly regular routine. We have military training with Thirteen's army, propos with Cressida, presentation and decorum lessons from Effie and Haymitch, and quiet time with our family including celebrating Gale's twentieth birthday.

Sometime in mid-August, Rain is able to sleep through the night enough that Thirteen will let him come home with us. That's when we run into the problem all parents have: what to do with the baby during the day.

I suppose we could leave him in the nursery under Violet's care. Except Violet announced that, now that Rain's old enough to be with us, she wants to train to be a combat medic. For a long time, she was the only physician people had in Twelve. She's seen some horrific injuries come out of the mines. She wants to know how to save people to make up for the ones she couldn't.

Her changing positions leaves us in a bit of a pickle until Castor's wife, Lavinia, steps in. She's been helping in the nursery and medical center, and apparently she'd gone to school in the Capitol for medicine before she and her then boyfriend decided to try to flee. With Thirteen's paranoia over transients, especially those from the Capitol, no one's been willing to let her have much responsibility in such a sensitive area like the hospital.

But she's willing to help us.

We seize on it gratefully. Lavinia's sweet, and Rain likes her. She can't sing to him, but she does hum, and that's good enough for him.

Out of gratitude and a desire to actually communicate with our son's nanny without an interpreter, all three of us have started learning Avox sign. We have to be careful about it, considering Thirteen might think we're spies trying to communicate secretly. They're not entirely wrong, since we do want to be able to communicate secretly, but also as a matter of decency. Lavinia and Pollux deserve friends who can communicate with them directly rather than through interpreters. But since none of us want to be caught up in Coin's hunt for spies, Castor comes up with the idea of using the ruse of filming practice propos, when in reality, he and his wife are giving us Avox lessons.

In general, things are moving along. In fact, today's the day Katniss should be cleared for military duty. Assuming she passes the physical. With the shape she's in, there's no way that won't happen.

While we wait for our third, Gale and I sit down with Lavinia. She starts to show us some of the more complex words. We've already learned the basics: hello, goodbye, stop, where is, I'm hungry. Simple things. It's not easy and it's not intuitive. It's like learning to talk all over again except with our whole bodies instead of our voices.

While we're working on the signs for more abstract concepts, the door to our quarters opens and Katniss stumbles in. There's a look of shocked disbelief on her face which immediately brings us to our feet.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" I ask, crossing to take her in my arms, Gale close at my heels.

"I'm pregnant."

"What?" both Gale and I exclaim at the same time.

She turns and smacks Gale on the chest. "Damn it, Gale!"

"You're pregnant?" He gapes at her, opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"Yes, and it's all your fault!"

"You're pregnant." A wide smile spreads across my husband's face. "I'm sorry? Except… yay?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Lavinia placing Rain in his crib. Then, she and Castor sneak out of the room.

"I wasn't supposed to get pregnant now! I was supposed to become a soldier! Like you!" She sits down on the sofa dejectedly. "Now I've got another eleven months of baby baking and milk dispensing until the doctors are willing to even consider clearing me for active duty! The war will be over by then and I'll have spent the whole thing sitting here on the sidelines!"

"I'm not so sure about that," I tell her, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "I mean, it's not like we've actually managed to break through, and while there's some unrest in the districts, none of them are in open revolt yet."

"And you know what the worst thing is?" she continues, sounding like she hasn't even heard me. "I have to stop hunting now! I could fall or get injured by a wild animal or who knows what these idiots are thinking! Don't they know who I am? Don't they know what I've been through? I didn't stop hunting until the day we left the cave!"

"I'm sorry," Gale says, this time with actual regret. He takes a seat on her other side. It's a tight fit, but we manage to make it work. "How are you otherwise?"

"Just fine! Perfectly healthy! It's yours, not that we didn't know that already. But Thirteen confirmed it." She looks over at our husband, her features softening. "Congratulations, Gale, you're gonna have a son."

"I'm gonna have a son? They can tell that already?" he asks incredulously. "You're not even starting to show!"

"Apparently. And who knew you could get pregnant without ever having your period?"

I raise my hand slowly. "I did."

"Shut up, Peeta!" She smacks me across the chest. "I mean, part of me's happy, really happy, about this. I love being a mom. I even like being pregnant. But this is some damned inconvenient timing."

"Is the baby healthy?" I ask.

"Yeah. Nothing wrong, everything seems to be going well. I'm gonna have a crapton of doctors' visits in my future, but at least Nurse Stephens and Dr. Andrews aren't that bad. And there's one other silver lining to all this."

"What's that?"

"You get to finally put your dick in me."

oOo

A few days later, James comes to the three of us. "You're needed out in the field," he says with no preamble.

"What?" Gale asks, looking confused, especially since James is including Katniss in that statement. The doctors have told her outright that she won't be in the field until she's given birth and passed a physical, so his confusion is justified.

"If you'll come with me."

We share a look, knowing we aren't going to get any more from Coin's aide. He leads us to a hovercraft, which flies us a short distance away from Thirteen to a place with a beautiful view of a giant horseshoe shaped waterfall. When we get out, we see row upon row of canvas tents.

"What is this place?" Katniss asks, looking around.

"Welcome to Transient Camp Six. There's some arrivals whose identity we need you to confirm."

I can't think of who it might be. My mother will never leave Twelve, not for any reason, and everyone else I really know is here or dead.

James takes us to one of the tents, where my spouses get a bit of a surprise. There's a group of people there and one of them is instantly recognizable.

"Ripper?" Katniss asks.

"Hello, dearie," the one armed moonshiner says with a smile. "You're lookin' well. Nice to see you and your man made it. Gave hope to the rest of us."

"It's not just Gale and me," Katniss says. "You remember Peeta."

One of the girls, a merchant with her hair tied in pigtails, nods her head. "You were in the year behind me."

I nod my head. I can't think of her name. It doesn't really matter.

"So can you confirm these people's identity?" James asks, staring at us.

I step forward. "While I may not remember everyone's name, I can verify that they all came from District Twelve."

James frowns.

"We'll do our best?" I try.

"Those transients for whom you cannot provide concrete identity information will remain here and undergo the transient transitioning process. Those whom you are able to identify will undergo a less rigorous testing process."

His words worry me. This transitioning process sounds suspiciously close to torture.

The three of us do the best we can, trying to identify as many people as possible. Violet, Prim, Rory, Madge, Rye, and Haymitch join us a little bit later. Between all of us, we're able to recognize most of the newcomers, with only a few remaining not fully identified.

I feel bad for the remaining people and turn to James. "How many newcomers have there been from Twelve?"

"Quite a few, with more arriving every day. There's been maybe two hundred all told. Most of them say that they were inspired to leave when Miss Undersee's father urged them to. Seems his sacrifice was worth it. You should be proud of him, ma'am," he says, turning to Madge.

Madge lifts her chin. "I am."

Two hundred people out of a pre-flu population of ten thousand. It's a start. I wonder how many more will leave once we finally manage to make our long-awaited announcement.

oOo

A few days after the arrival of Ripper and the rest, President Coin calls us to her office.

"I wish to say congratulations to you both, Ms. Everdeen and Mr. Hawthorne, on your upcoming parenthood."

"I see you've heard already."

"Very little escapes my attention in my district," she says with a tight smile. "After all, it is a leader's responsibility to watch out and guide her people. In light of your wonderful news, we have decided to expand your quarters. I've had Mr. James make all the arrangements for the room adjoining yours to be made available to you. I believe you will appreciate the extra space."

She's not wrong. We could use more space. It's amazing how much room an infant takes up, considering Rain isn't even mobile yet. The thought of the three of us plus all the cats plus two children in our one small room makes me long for the spaciousness of the cave. Even then, I'm not sure there'd be enough room for all of us. We're probably going to have to look into expanding when we go back.

If we go back...

"Thank you," Katniss says. "It'll be nice to have a room to ourselves again."

Coin nods, then changes the subject. "As I'm sure you've realized, this revolution has stalled." The president frowns. "Nobody anticipated all of the technical difficulties we've encountered, and unfortunately, we're running into a bit of a deadline."

"Oh?" I ask.

She gives me a look. "As you may or may not have heard, District Thirteen has elections coming up, and the result of those elections could determine the outcome of the war."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure if you've gotten to it in your history classes, but no war has ever been won with a change of leadership at such a critical time," she explains, her voice filled with fervor. "It's important that we stay the course and continue with our preparations."

"What are you asking us to do?" Gale asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Your voices carry a lot of weight here in Thirteen, especially among the transient population."

"Transients are allowed to vote?" Katniss seems surprised and frankly so am I.

"All residents of Thirteen over the age of fourteen are allowed to vote in our elections. We wish to contrast the Capitol, for whom enfranchisement is a Capitol-only privilege."

"Enfranchisement?"

"Voting. In District Thirteen, unlike the Capitol, every adult resident has a say in their own lives."

That floors me. With all of the paranoia running rampant in Thirteen, I thought for sure the only people allowed to vote would be those people born in Thirteen. Her reason makes sense, but I'm still shocked.

"Thank you?" Gale says, sounding confused.

Coin smiles. It doesn't quite reach her eyes. "It's good of you to see Thirteen isn't all bad. I know we've gotten off on the wrong foot, and we've butted heads several times, but that doesn't mean your value is any less. I apologize on behalf of myself and all of Thirteen for the challenges you've experienced here."

It sounds sincere. Her tone doesn't raise any red flags. Even her eyes seem genuinely apologetic.

I don't know what to think.

Thankfully, Katniss steps in. "Thank you, President Coin. We appreciate it."

Coin folds her hands on her desk. "There's one other thing I wish to talk to you about. It seems silly to have you wasting your talents waiting around for an opportunity which may or may not happen. While I approve of your willingness to join our military, even if circumstances have prevented one of you from following through, all members of Thirteen have a secondary occupation."

"You mean being the Mockingjays isn't enough?" I protest.

"Once we finally break through and the revolution starts in earnest, being the Mockingjays will be all three of your full-time jobs. But until then, we need to find something else for you to do. As I believe someone once said, idle hands are the devil's work."

"What's the devil?" Gale asks.

"An archaic concept of the personification of evil."

I suppose that makes sense. Evil is part of the name.

"But I've found the maxim to be true. Work makes men free, and in this revolution, we'll need all men, and women, to work in order to be free."

"So what did you have in mind?" I ask, my stomach sinking.

"As you've pointed out, Peeta, you're quite adroit with words. I'd like to have you work with our Department of Propaganda to figure out ways to spread our message. You'd be working with Ms. Cardew and her team, in addition to the artists, writers, and filmmakers she employs. They'd be teaching you their craft. And I understand that you're something of an artist yourself."

I nod my head.

"Perhaps you could work on some flyers or other materials to distribute among the districts."

That doesn't sound so bad. I wouldn't mind having a chance to do art again.

She turns to Katniss. "While I'd like for you and Ms. Undersee to continue your broadcasts, as they have been most effective, I think it's time to take it up a notch. A few of my technicians have told me that you seem to have an innate understanding for technology, and a surprisingly helpful talent for non-lateral thinking, a very important skill when hacking Capitol feeds and thinking through Capitol traps. Eventually, we will have to face the Capitol, and I'd like you to be on the team that starts to figure out how."

Katniss nods.

"As for you," Coin says, turning to Gale. "I'm not really sure what to do with you. Do you have any additional skills that might help our war effort?"

Gale shrugs. "I'm good with snares."

"He's more than that," Katniss pipes up. "He's a genius when it comes to traps and snares. Why, he comes up with new ideas all the time."

"And you picked up that bow really easily," I add. "Pretty much any new kind of weapon or equipment, you figure out with ease."

Coin taps her lips as if she's thinking. "I think I'll assign you to our weapons development team. They seem to get hung up on stealing Capitol ideas. We could use some innovation down there, since we don't possess the Capitol's resources." She smiles at the three of us. "That is all." It's a dismissal.

"So now what do we do?" Katniss asks after we leave the office, looking at me.

"I have no idea."

oOo

AN:
Written: 9/26/15
Revised: 10/22/15
Revised 2: 11/1/15

The title of this chapter comes from the song of the same name by Aaron Lines. We find it highly amusing that Katniss keeps insisting she won't get pregnant when she's already pregnant.

Yes, quoting "work makes men free" was intentional.

Things We Randomized:

- Katniss's pregnancy. Yes, really. We figured out when it was the first time it would be possible for her to get pregnant, and we rolled with a tiny chance (because breastfeeding is birth control, though not 100% effective), and she rolled 100. So she's pregnant. Again. This was not planned.
- Other details about the pregnancy, including the father and the gender of the baby. We then made the plot fit it. So yes, everything with Peeta insisting on Gale being the father was us going "how do we make this work…" Frankly we like the randomizer.
- Who from Twelve actually made it. Ripper is the big one, but Bristel, Thom, and Leevy are all there as well. If you see them show up later, this is when they actually arrived.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!