Your response to the first part of "One" was overwhelming. Thank you so much!

The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

Thank you once again to darling Chelzie, who has to read through my mess of writing—she's an angel.

Warning: Scenes of drug use

And here we go…

One

By JLaLa

Part Two: Eight Weeks

He didn't expect to hear from her.

But that didn't stop Peeta from looking over at the rotary phone as he sat in the living room with his roommates.

"You okay, man?" Finnick asked as he hollowed out the top of an apple with a small knife. "Thinking about that chick?"

"No," he replied. "It was weeks ago."

"Bullshit," Cato responded from where he sat on the lounger. "You need to be a little quieter when you jerk off—kinda disrupts the rest of us when you're calling out her name in the middle of the night."

"I think it's kind of sweet," Annie said as she blew into a bubble wand from where she sat on the floor, a bowl of soapy water next to her. A spray of bubbles spread through the living room. "She must have been a good lay."

Thresh poked one of the bubbles from his seat next to Finnick on the couch. "Good fuck or not—the point of the story is that it's over and done with."

"Kind of hard not to think about it, especially since Cato took that video of you and your future wifey on his phone," Finnick joked as he took the knife and carved out a hole into the side of the apple.

Peeta stood up and went to his friend. "What video?"

Cato dug into his pocket and handed Peeta his cell. "Second video in my photo file—the other video is that drunk chick puking on Thresh's shoes."

Peeta went to the folder and he felt his stomach jump when her face filled the screen.

"Look Peeta! We're on camera!"

Katniss hugged his waist as he threw an arm around her. She smiled up at him and their drunken eyes met.

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Peeta looked into the camera. "I'm going to marry this woman!"

"You probably want to be sober when you do, bro," Cato said from behind the phone.

The video ended and he handed the phone back to Cato before sitting back down in his chair, his insides twisting unpleasantly.

From where she on the floor, Annie took her wand and blew up at him.

"So I heard that Rory took you out to dinner?" Katniss asked as she and Prim entered Johanna's store.

Johanna owned a small boutique a few blocks away from the Hawthorne house. Business was thriving; most of the pieces were designed by her friend and Johanna had an established clientele in the neighborhood.

"We went to In-N-Out burger. Rory paid—it was no big deal."

"What the fuck?" Johanna walked over to them from the counter, kissing them both on the cheeks. "Get it together, Rory! He could've shelled out for a decent meal—a steak or something."

"It was fine," Prim replied easily. "I love In-N-Out. Nothing is better than biting into a good piece of meat."

She gave them a wicked grin.

"Gross." Katniss walked over to a mannequin with a red dress—and Peeta Mellark's face flashed briefly in her mind.

She still had his card in her wallet.

"You okay there?" Johanna walked over to her. "You seem a little off."

"Just tired, that's all." She turned and smiled at her friend. "I have this thing that I can't seem to fight off."

"Like what?"

"A stomachache," Katniss said as she placed her hand on her abdomen. "It's nothing. I just stay away from the foods that make me feel gross."

"Sounds like you're pregnant," Prim informed her as she looked through a nearby rack. She pulled out a white shift dress. "Johanna, do you have this in black?"

Katniss snorted. "You have to have sex to get pregnant."

The room went silent.

"Katniss," Johanna began slowly. "What was the date of your last period?"

She thought back over the last two months. Most of that time had been preparing for her future move—looking over the neighborhoods near her school, as well as taking care of Jenna while Gale and Johanna were at work. In-between those times, she was volunteering at the local hospital. Her friend, Cinna, was a nurse and let her follow him around sometimes.

However, she couldn't think of a time when she had needed a tampon.

Shit.

"I don't know," she managed to whisper.

Her stomach started to lurch.

"Holy crap!" Prim went up to her. "Mom and Dad are going to kill you."

"Shut up, Prim!" Johanna scolded and went to the register.

Pulling out a stack of bills, she closed the register and walked over to the sisters. "Prim—go across the street to the pharmacy. Get as many tests as you can and something for Katniss to drink."

"You're taking money from your own register?" Prim asked as she took the cash.

"It's petty cash—Gale does the books," Johanna informed her. "Best that he doesn't know." She looked over at the ashen Katniss. "In case it's just a fluke."

There was something, however, that told her it wasn't.

"Just keep drinking," Johanna told her from behind the bathroom door.

They had closed the store for lunch when Prim had returned from the pharmacy with ten pregnancy tests and three bottles of apple juice.

Katniss looked down at the counter where the ten tests sat, mocking her.

Tests one and two were both plus signs. Test three, four, and five were double pink lines. Tests six and seven were double blue lines.

Tests eight and nine just said, 'PREGNANT'.

The last test was unopened. She couldn't do it.

Her life was over.

Putting the toilet seat cover down, Katniss sat down.

"Don't cry," she told herself.

The tears came anyway.

A soft knock came through the door. "Katniss? You okay?" It was Prim.

Opening the door, her sister quickly slipped in, along with Johanna. Katniss looked up at them, no longer hiding her tears. The wet streaks lined her cheeks and her usually tamed hair was now undone, her bangs sticking to her forehead.

Johanna looked over the tests and then turned to her. "You're going to be okay."

"Am I?"

"Why didn't you take the last test?" Prim asked after she looked over the others.

"I couldn't handle the thought of having another test tell me what I already know," Katniss replied and stood up. "That I'm fucked."

"Let me take one," Johanna offered. "It'll be like the test one—just to make sure that these aren't bogus." She unwrapped it and glared at them. "You bitches turn around. I don't want you staring at this magnificent vagina—it might be too much for you to handle."

Katniss and Prim obliged, turning to look at the door. Prim took her sister's hand.

"Are you going to call him?" she asked Katniss as they listened to Johanna mutter to herself.

"I guess I should." Katniss sighed. "I really liked him, too."

"He's a bartender, you're going to medical school," her sister reasoned. "How is this going to work?"

Katniss met her eyes somberly. "I haven't gotten that far yet."

"It's NEGATIVE!" Johanna said. "Oh, thank God!" Her eyes met Katniss'. "Sorry."

"Where does the name Katniss come from?"

Peeta stopped in his tracks. Walking to the living room, he found Annie holding the phone to her ear.

"A plant, huh?" Her glazed eyes met his. "We've heard a lot about you—especially at night. You should come over and keep him company." Annie paused. "Where is he now? Right in front of me, looks like he wants to choke me out—"

"May I have the phone?" he asked and held out his hand.

Annie giggled. "What will you give me?"

"In my room, under the bed, there's a bag of Tootsie pops—"

She threw the phone at him and ran down the hallway to his room.

Peeta took a breath before putting the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Peeta? It's me—Katniss. From the club—and my pool house?"

"How are you?" he asked her. "I've thought about you—"

"At night, I heard," Katniss replied and he could tell that she was trying not to laugh over the phone. "Listen—can you meet me tonight? There's this restaurant near my place..."

She told him the address.

"I know where that is." Cato and Thresh walked through the front door. "How's seven work for you?"

"Seven is good," Katniss replied breathlessly. "See you then."

"Hey, Katniss?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't wait to see you," he told her.

She paused for a moment and he could hear the definite smile in her voice when she responded.

"Me, too—see you at seven."

Peeta waited for her to hang up before placing the receiver back on the phone. He turned to see Cato and Thresh grinning at him.

"What was that?" Cato asked. "Missed a little bit of Peeta Mellark in her, right?"

He shook his head. "We're having dinner tonight."

"FINALLY!" Thresh slapped him on the back.

"Now I need a favor," he told them.

"Name it, dude," Cato said.

"I need some cash," he told them. Bartending gigs had slowed down this month. "I should at least pay for dinner, right?"

Katniss fiddled with the napkin on her lap.

What the hell was she doing?

In the back of her mind, she knew that didn't have to do this. She could get this taken care of.

As someone in medicine, she still felt that she owed it to herself to look over all options when making a decision like this.

Maybe talking to Peeta would help her make the decision easier.

"You look beautiful."

She looked up to see Peeta staring at her in the peach dress that Johanna forced her into. Apparently, it made her boobs look bigger which, according to her friend, couldn't hurt when she had to tell him the news.

He wore a grey blazer with black button down shirt underneath and a pair of dark wash jeans.

Damn—he was cute. This was going to suck.

She stood up quickly and Peeta opened his arms to her. Katniss found herself easily rushing to him, her head resting against his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat against his chest. Her own arms wrapped around his waist.

Looking up at him, Katniss smiled. "It's been a while."

"A few weeks or so," he replied. "Come on, let's sit down." Peeta went to her chair, holding it out for her.

Katniss sat down and he helped her adjust before going to his own seat.

This would've been easier if he was an asshole.

"So Annie is your roommate?" she asked.

"My roommate Finnick's girlfriend," Peeta replied. "But she pretty much lives there, too."

"So you live with just the two of them?"

"Cato and Thresh live there as well."

"That's a lot of people," she remarked, taking a sip of water from her glass. "Before we have dinner, I need to tell you something."

Katniss felt the urge to vomit; other than the stomachache, this would've been the first pregnancy symptom that she noticed.

"You look nervous," he said to her and gave her an assuring smile. "Nothing you say could be that bad."

She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

Peeta stared for a moment. "With emotion?"

"With a baby."

"Wow, a lot has changed in a few weeks," Peeta told her, suddenly disheartened. "Congratulations?"

"It's yours."

"No, it's not." It came out of his mouth without thinking. "Weren't you on anything? Some sort of shot or pill? A cap?"

"I wasn't," she responded. "You were supposed to put on a condom!"

"You told me not to!"

"I DID NOT!" The restaurant noise suddenly decreased.

"You told me 'to get over here already', which I took as you not needing me to put anything on," Peeta replied through gritted teeth.

"What kind of idiot comes up with that conclusion?" Katniss' eyes were blazing.

"The one that got you pregnant, obviously."

The two stilled in their seats. Peeta looked over as she wiped her eyes and felt the fire in his belly fade.

"Don't cry," he told her softly. "I'm sorry. This wasn't what I was expecting."

"And you think I was? I'm supposed to be going to Johns Hopkins in a few months!" Katniss felt the tears forming and took the napkin from her lap to wipe them away. Damn hormones. "How am I going to tell my parents?"

"Why don't we wait on that?" he suggested after a moment. "You've taken a pregnancy test?"

Katniss nodded. "Nine of them."

"Nine. Ambitious of you." He was rewarded with a glare.

"Wanted to make sure that it was real."

"Did you make an appointment with your doctor?"

"I made one with Johanna's doctor," she told him. "For tomorrow."

"Then I'm coming along," Peeta said. "We're going to figure this out, okay?"

"How?"

He wasn't sure yet.

"You knocked her up?" Cato said as they sat on the couch. Using a coin to remove the foil lining of the gum wrapper, he began to make crease in it as he talked to his friend. "That's crazy."

"And you're sure it's yours?" Thresh asked on his other side, halfway through his blunt.

"We're going tomorrow to find out how long it's been," Peeta informed them. "Something tells me it is mine."

"Have you two considered other options?" Cato asked carefully. "It's not too late…"

"No!" Finnick looked up from the carpet. Annie laid next to him sucking on a red Tootsie pop. "Don't do that—it's wrong."

"It's not wrong, you big baby," their friend argued. "What's wrong is not to consider it."

Annie pulled the lollipop from her mouth and flipped onto her stomach. She looked at them, her eyes glassy.

"What's wrong is that none of you dicks will ever understand what goes on inside a woman's body, so you can't tell them what to do," she said, her usual timid voice suddenly hard. "Tomorrow, you're going to see a baby inside her. Just be there for her." Her eyes met Peeta's. "Because both of you won't know what hit you."

Annie flipped onto her back and put the Tootsie pop back in her mouth.

Finnick kissed her forehead and then looked up at them with a smug grin. "Magna cum laude at Sarah Lawrence, this one."

Sometimes Peeta didn't think he knew his friends at all.

Peeta arrived at the front door of the Hawthorne house an hour before their appointment.

Katniss opened the door in a pair of skinny jeans and a loose top. She looked tired but she managed to smile at him.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Rough morning," she told him. "Thank God you're here. We had to tell Gale and he is not happy. I'm lucky that he didn't call my Mom and Dad. He is such a tattler—always has been since we were kids."

Taking his hand, Katniss led him into the house, closing the door behind them. The inside was full of beautiful cream-colored walls filled with photos and a hardwood floor.

He was in the Technicolor version of the 'Leave It to Beaver' house.

He tugged her hand softly. "Come here."

Peeta pulled her close and she laid her head against his shoulder. When did the need to feel her against him become something so special to him? He tightened his hold.

Nothing would ever hurt them.

A cough interrupted them and he looked up to see Gale's menacing glare. The other man walked down the staircase towards the two, his eyes staring solely at Peeta.

The two pulled away slowly and Katniss gave him a small smile.

"Gale, this is Peeta Mellark," she introduced them as her hand firmly held his.

Peeta held out his hand to Gale. "It's nice to meet you."

Gale stared at him for a moment. His eyes, though the same color as Katniss', held a cold anger when he looked at Peeta. It was obvious that Gale wasn't happy about him or the situation and he wasn't trying to hide it.

"Johanna is waiting for us," he told them, then walked down the hallway.

Peeta put his hand down. "Nice guy."

Katniss turned to him. "He's disappointed. Gale always believed that I was the one that was set in life."

"Then I fucked it up," he replied.

She felt the beginning of a headache. "Let's get this breakfast over with."

The two walked into the kitchen. Jenna looked up from her chair and her eyes immediately went to Peeta.

"Who's that?" she asked Katniss.

Peeta sat in the chair next to Jenna. "I'm Peeta," he told her while holding out his hand.

Jenna eyed him and Peeta could see how her stare was an intermingling of Johanna and Gale—suspicious yet analytical. He could tell she was trying to determine whether he was good or bad.

Finally, she shook his hand once. "Do you like Lucky Charms?"

"The cereal? Who doesn't?" He smiled at the little girl.

Katniss watched them before sitting next to Peeta and across from Jenna. Would this be their life if she had a baby? She hadn't slept the entire night, instead thinking of the possibility of raising a baby. She knew she could do it, but did she want to?

She met Johanna's eyes. Johanna went to Jenna and placed a bowl of cereal in front of her, then one in front of Peeta before giving him a quick smile and nod.

"What's your favorite marshmallow shape?" Jenna asked, her eyes serious. "I like the rainbows."

"I like the clovers," Peeta replied. He took his spoon and began to scoop the rainbow marshmallows into Jenna's bowl.

Gale sat next to Katniss, a cup of coffee in his hand. "What does he do for a living—other than bartending?"

She turned to him. "I think he just does that."

"And where does he live?"

"About twenty minutes away with four of his roommates."

"Geez, Katniss—really?" Gale whispered in her ear. "Of all people—a bartender who doesn't even have his own place?"

Katniss turned to look at Peeta. Jenna was scooping the clovers into his bowl for him. She felt her mouth draw up into a smile.

She looked at Gale again—and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Please give him a chance."

Gale looked over at Peeta and his daughter, who was explaining the meaning of each marshmallow to him.

He turned back to Katniss and ruffled the top of her head. "Okay, Catnip."

It looked like a floral explosion in the examination room. Pink wallpaper with white tea roses, and a white wicker table in the corner with pamphlets about childbirth. There was also a vase near the window filled with bright pink tulips.

"This room is making me sick," Katniss said as she sat on the padded exam table. Her white gown hung from her body.

Peeta sat in a nearby wicker chair trying not to stare at the pictures of the smiling babies across from him.

He adjusted the floral cushion under him. "So this doctor—is Johanna's, too?"

"Yeah, I didn't really have a lady parts doctor," she explained. "I wasn't having sex regularly and I've been busy, so I never really thought about going until now. Trust me, I cringe thinking that this woman has seen Johanna's vagina and now she's going to be looking at mine."

"It'll be a nice bonding moment for you two."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. The door opened to reveal a petite woman in bright pink scrubs with light blond hair and an ivory face, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello, I'm Effie," she introduced herself, shaking Peeta's hand first, then Katniss'.

Peeta introduced himself to the woman—she looked young. "You're a doctor, right?" he asked.

"Of course, sweetheart," she told him with a giggle.

Opening Katniss' chart, she handed him a piece of paper. "Credentials and contact information for you. Graduated from UCSF, my residency was at Cedars-Sinai before I opened my own practice. I just prefer my patients to call me Effie—you know, white coat syndrome and all."

Effie looked over Katniss' chart and then turned to her.

"So we're doing a double check?" She went to the sink and began to wash her hands. "Any other symptoms besides your missed cycle and nausea?"

"I threw up this morning," Katniss replied. "And I've been tired."

"Well, let's just take a look," Effie told her as she put on some gloves, then looked over at Peeta. "Why don't you go over to this side? You'll get a better view."

Peeta jumped from his chair and went to Katniss' side. She gave a grateful smile.

"Now scoot down, love, and put your feet in the stirrups," Effie instructed. "The usual probe won't be used until later, so we're going have to use this one." She went to the ultrasound machine next to the exam table.

Taking out a long wand from its holder, she rolled a plastic covering onto it.

"That's going to fit into her?"

Effie chuckled. "You'll find, Peeta, that a woman's body can accommodate a lot of things." She met Katniss' eyes. "Deep breath."

Suddenly, Peeta felt sick. He steadied himself when Katniss grabbed his hand.

Effie looked at the screen and adjusted the probe. "So everything looks good!" She adjusted the volume and a sound similar to galloping filled the room. "Heart rate is perfect."

Katniss sat up on her elbows and looked at the screen. "So there's an actual baby in there?"

Effie nodded. "A tiny one, but it's there." She pointed at an oval space on the screen and inside laid a tiny bean against the wall of it. "You see, right there? That movement—there's the heart. It takes up most of the body for now. Let me take some pictures."

Peeta stood watching the quick fluttering of the little jellybean.

Holy shit.

Effie took the probe out of Katniss as the pictures printed. When she was finished up with Katniss, she handed the photos to Peeta.

Katniss sat up slowly and began to sob. She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as a strangled sound arose from her throat.

It was the sound of someone who knew that their lives had completely changed.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

Katniss laid in bed, one hand on her abdomen and the other holding up the sonogram photo.

After she had dropped off a shell-shocked Peeta, she drove straight home and threw up in the driveway—right as Gale and Johanna arrived home.

"It's cute," Johanna remarked from where she laid on Katniss' right.

"Yeah," Gale added from her left. "It looks like it's waving—like it's saying 'Hi, Mommy…'" His voice cracked as he tried to raise it. "Sorry, I'm no good with fetus impersonations."

"Before he got out of the car, I told him that I was going to keep it," Katniss told them.

The couple looked at their friend just in time to see the tears roll down the side of her face.

"What did he say?" Johanna asked.

"He just sort of nodded…then got of the car," she replied in a tight voice. "I don't blame him. This is real. There is a real live baby in there—with a heartbeat and everything!"

"No matter what," Johanna said. "We'll be here—we'll help you raise the baby!" She grinned at her friend.

After a moment, Gale sat up and turned to his wife. "Wait—what?"

Johanna sat up and glared at him for a moment. "We. Will. Help. Her."

She was talking through clenched teeth, which was never a good sign.

The couple communicated through their eyes before Johanna nodded and laid back down.

Gale looked down at both of them. "Well—fuck."

Peeta sat in the backyard, a beer in one hand and the sonogram photo in the other.

"So that's it, huh?" Thresh sat next to him on the lawn. Peeta handed him the photo and he looked over it before handing it back. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," he replied. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly father material."

"I'll admit you're not at that point-but who really is when it comes to something like this?"

"Just tell me," Peeta asked his friend. "Do you think I can do this?"

Thresh sat silent before answering. "I think this is something that you just have to roll with."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that I know you want to give this a go. If you didn't, that picture would've been in the trash and you would've been in there—"

He pointed at the clear sliding door where Annie, Finnick and Cato sat, passing a smoking apple to one another.

"You just have to hope that you're lucky enough to get into something good."

Peeta turned to him. "What did you say?"

"You just have to be lucky—where are you going?" Thresh watched him shoot up from his spot.

"Out."

"Out where?"

Peeta turned to him. "Tell me congratulations."

Thresh nodded and gave him a smile. "Congratulations."

When Peeta knocked on the door, Gale answered. He stared at Peeta for a moment before opening the door for him.

"She went out to dinner with Johanna and Prim. Girls night or something like that," he told Peeta. "Why are you here?"

"To grovel."

"I'll make some coffee."

Together, the two went into the kitchen where Jenna sat coloring at the table. She looked up and gave Peeta a toothy smile.

"Hi, Peeta," she greeted. "Are you here for dinner?"

Peeta looked over at Gale who shrugged. "Hope you like hot dogs."

"I love hot dogs!" Jenna told him. "Mommy never lets me have them but Daddy does—when she's not here."

Peeta looked over at Gale who shrugged. "Makes dinner time a little easier for me."

"Have you ever had a hot dog roll?" Peeta asked the girl.

She shook her head. "No, can you make me one?"

He looked over at Gale. "You have any yeast and flour?"

"Top cabinet, next to the fridge."

Peeta nodded then looked over at Jenna. "Come on now—every baker needs an assistant."

Jenna jumped from her seat. "Yay!" Then she turned to Gale, her eyes serious.

"Daddy, finish coloring for me, okay?"

Gale wondered when Jenna learned to master her mother's stare.

"You did well tonight," Gale said after he brought Jenna to bed.

Peeta looked up from the picture that he was coloring. "Thanks." He folded the paper and put it in his pocket. "Does it get easier?"

"What?"

"Having a kid."

Gale sat in the chair across from him. "No, it doesn't. Kids just show you that all the petty grown up shit won't make you happy—it's all about the simple things. Like you baking some rolls with Jenna—she had the time of her life."

"Really?" Peeta smiled at the thought.

"I work a nine hour day as a business manager for four different companies; one of them is Johanna's, which I do for free," he informed Peeta. "If I could be as excited about one of those companies as much as Jenna did baking with you—then it would all be worth it. You spend a majority of your life trying to grow up, thinking it'll make you happy. In the end, you wish that you were still a kid."

"Interesting—there must be a way to combine the two."

"If you figure out how—let me know." Gale slid a key across the table. "Katniss will be home soon."

Peeta stood up and put the key in his pocket. "Thanks."

Gale nodded. "Check your jacket pocket—they're a present from Jenna."

Opening the back door, Peeta walked out of the kitchen towards Katniss' place.

As he walked, he reached into his jacket pocket. Inside was a sandwich bag full of clover marshmallows.

He took it as a good sign.

Katniss walked tiredly to her home. She had fun with Johanna and Prim, but this pregnancy was wearing her down already. She just wanted to get into her sweats and go to bed.

Finally reaching her door, Katniss found a folded piece of paper taped to it. She pulled it off and unfolded it, revealing a picture of a large green clover.

"What the fuck?" she stared at it as she opened the door.

"I was wondering when you would get home."

She looked up to find Peeta standing a few feet away from her.

"What are you doing here?"

Peeta walked towards her. "I just wanted to say that I'm in. I'm ALL in—if you want me here. If I'm lucky enough to have you—both of you—in my life."

Katniss looked up at him and she was scared—she could admit that. But with Peeta, she found that she didn't mind it.

So she took his hand and placed it on her barely there bump. "We're in, too."

Lifting her chin with his finger, Peeta kissed her softly. The feeling of his lips against hers brought back memories of that first night and she found herself pressing her body against his.

"Now that we have this all settled—will you take me to bed?" she asked.

"You might want to close the door first," Peeta replied, his lips still against hers.

So she did.

As you've noticed—there are similarities to the movie but differences too. I hope you're enjoying so far!

According to Wikipedia, the clovers in Lucky Charms cereal mean, "luck, but you will never know what kind of luck you'll get." This will mean something later.

There's a line or two and some scenes similar to the movie. Did you catch them?

The whole apple smoking thing—well—my husband had to tell me about that, as well as how to make a zigzag from a gum wrapper. Don't ask how he knows.

Annie's character is a combination of Charlene Yi and Jonah Hill's characters (his character was the one who graduated from college—I believe), as well as few other people not from this movie—part stoner/part genius, that one.

Thank you for reviews and the love—always appreciated!

Next: Part Three: Ten weeks—we tell the parents.

-JLaLa