A/N- Hey, well here is chapter 8 it's more of a transition chapter so I don't think it's as much of a "Did that really just happen?!" chapter, but it's important and I personally think it's pretty legit. Also I again apologize for time gap between posts. So please read it, then review it and tell me what you think.

((DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hunger Games.))

Ch. 8: "She's Not A Rose"

My mother drops the container of my blue colored urine and cries, "How did this happen!?" But I don't feel that it's necessary to answer her question, instead I turn my attention to Peeta. He says nothing to me, but I can see the anger rising rapidly inside him.

For a moment I selfishly fear that Peeta will no longer show me the forgiveness he granted me last month... I don't want him to leave me. But then I realize how unfair I'm being, if he wants to leave he can. He deserves to have someone who will love him, and him only. Not some stupid girl who still doesn't know who she wants.

My mother finally senses the tension between the two of us and whispers goodbye as she heads towards the door.

"Peeta, I'm so sorry."

"Save it! I don't care."

I'm hurt, but not as hurt as he's feeling. "I can..." I say, just reaching for something, anything, to show my regret, "I can get rid of it."

He looks at me with spiteful eyes, "Get rid of it? Get rid of it? No. This is your mistake. You have to face the consequences!" And then he adds, "And if I have to face that punishment as well, so be it."

He's going to stay! I want to hug him, a real hug, which is something I haven't done in over a month. But it would be wrong, so I don't.

It's been eight months since the day I found out; eight month since the day Peeta stayed. And now I'm lying uncomfortably in a hospital bed in District 3 after six excruciating hours that consisted of pain, screaming, heavy breathing, and Peeta nearly fainting. Personally, I would have been just fine being in 12 with my mother, since she has helped deliver over a dozen babies and has only lost one mother, but Peeta insisted we go to the best hospital available. Finally the doctor walks in holding a little pink blanket. He hands the bundle to me and inside is my newborn daughter; all seven pounds and two ounces of her.

She has a small tuft of dark wispy hair on her head, olive colored skin, and bright grey eyes. She is an exact replica of me; nothing about her has the slightest hint of Peeta. Peeta wraps an arm around me, pretending not to notice.

There is a knock on our room door that is followed by my mother entering. "Oh! She's beautiful, Katniss!"

"Thanks, mom," I say only half listening; I can't seem to pull my attention away from this little baby that's now sleeping in my arms. Before she can say anything else, there's another knock and this one wakes my baby up. She cries loudly as the witch, the baker, and Peeta's three brothers squeeze into our tiny hospital room.

"Whoa," says Ryen, who I believe is the oldest of Peeta's brothers–but I'm not sure, "she looks just like you."

"Yeah," agrees Wheaton, the youngest of Peeta's brothers, "I think Katniss has some explaining to do," he adds jokingly. Peeta gives a half laugh for a response. We haven't told them. They would hate me for what I did. And they'd hate Peeta for staying; for forgiving me; for not hating me.

My mother shifts awkwardly from one foot to the other and then checks her watch. "Oh, it's getting late. I should probably be heading back home. Sorry, you two, but I've got a patient coming in early tomorrow morning." She walks to my bed and tries to kiss my forehead, but I pull away. She flashes a red faced, embarrassed smile to the rest of the Mellark family and exits the room without saying anything else.

The witch suddenly thrusts her arms towards me, "Come to Grandma, little girl." The strange way she says it almost gives me chills. I can't stand her. And as I reluctantly hand over my child to her, I think of that day in the rain; the day Peeta became the Boy with the Bread; the day the witch hit him. She will never do that to my daughter. "What are you going to name her?" my thoughts are interrupted by the words of the witch.

"Oh, umm, I don't know." I stutter, "Peeta?" He shrugs.

"Well, she has to have a name. Oh! What about Rose? Hmm? You look like a little Rose don't you?" She pauses to look at me, "You know after that darling little sister you had, until she was blown up."

"No," I say flatly, fighting back the powerful urge to slap her.

"She looks like an Ivy," Peeta's father quietly voices. He'd been so quiet that I'd nearly forgotten he was here.

I smile at him, "I like it." Peeta nods in agreement. "Then it's settled, her name will be Ivy Mellark."

Soon the nurse comes in to fill in the name blank for Ivy's birth certificate and asks us to sign it. I fill in the mother line, but when I hand Peeta the certificate to sign, he hesitates. I eye him and he takes the hint. He hands the form back to the nurse and I see he did fill out the father line.

"Well," Peeta says, "I think it's time to go home."

"Yeah," agrees Ryen, "I'm sick of this damn hospital."

Peeta's family gathers their things and leaves the room so that I can change out of my hospital gown. When I'm finished we all walk out to the train boarding station to wait. Peeta helps me up on to the train once it arrives. I sit on the couch cradling Ivy and watching Peeta pace in his usual way. "Peeta come sit with us," I say as sweetly as I can handle. He pauses a moment to think, then comes to sit next us. "Hey, do you want to say hi to daddy?" I ask Ivy.

"Oh, I didn't know Gale was coming to visit," he says bitterly.

"Peeta!? How can you say that?"

"It's not like she understands me." He says this so coldly, it hurts.

"Are you always going to be like this? Because if you are—"

"No Katniss, I'm not. But I just want to be angry for a while, okay? Don't you think I deserve at least that?"

"Peeta."

"Don't 'Peeta' me, Katniss. I'll be fine, just give me some time."

Peeta slides off the couch and goes back to his pacing. When we get home Peeta says that he has a surprise for me, and Ivy. He leads up the stairs to the nursery and when I walk in I see that he had painted the entire room with different scenes. The wall to the left of the door is painted to look like the inside of the bakery; it even has the details of the glass table and see-through containers where the cakes are displayed. I walk into the room to take the whole thing in. The wall opposite the door has an ocean beach with seashells and little star fish. The wall next to that has a portrait of me and Peeta walking along one of the District 12 roads.

"Peeta it's beautiful," but my voice drops when I turn to hug him, because I see the wall where the door is. It's the woods; my woods. It's as if I had climbed under that low spot under the electric fence and I'm looking right at the woods I used to hunt in so many years ago. How could he do this? I look at Peeta and he has a weird, almost wicked looking, smile.

"I knew you'd like it," he says still wearing that disturbing smile. He reaches out to hug me, so reluctantly I go to him. As he holds me in his arms I study the wall with my woods. I see he has painted it with incredible detail; it even has the log where Gale and I used to hide are bow and arrows. Also, in a few of the trees I see small birds resting on the branches and in the very background I see a fawn hiding behind a tree. "Well, it's getting late," he says, releasing me. "We should sleep in shifts, you can sleep first, I'll watch over Ivy."

"Peeta, you look so tired. I'll take the first shift, you rest."

He starts walking to our room, but halfway there he turns around and comes back, kisses my forehead, and then leaves again. I rock Ivy in the wooden rocker that Peeta bought for me, until she falls asleep. I continue rocking for a few minutes to make sure. Then I tiptoe over to her crib and lay her inside. I watch her sleep as I do I start thinking about how she's not a rose. Prim was a rose. I continue studying her and it makes me think of Gale, because she looks so much like him. I feel like I should tell him he's a father, but what if he comes back to 12? I couldn't handle that. But it wouldn't be fair not to tell him...

After some debate, I decide telling him would be best.

I quietly go downstairs to get some paper, an envelope, a pen, and our camera from the office desk. I take a picture of Ivy in her sleep and a blank photo prints out the bottom of the camera. As it develops, I start to write on the paper...

Gale,

This is Ivy. She's my daughter. She is also your daughter. I thought you should know.

Please, don't try to come see her.

-Katniss

I put the letter in the envelope, along with the picture. Then I seal the envelope and address it:

Gale Hawthorne

District 2

I re-check on Ivy and then check to make sure Peeta is asleep. The stairs creak loudly as I sneak downstairs again and go out the door to put the letter in our mail box. When I get back upstairs, I start feeling tired. So I go wake up Peeta for his shift. Once he's gone I stretch out on the bed and fade into sleep.

~theeShadyLady~