Chapter Eleven

When problems arise

Peeta's mind was spinning but it was still racing with about a hundred thoughts all the same. He felt the wind knocked out of him, as if someone had just delivered a severe blow to his chest, making him unable to breathe properly.

"What's going on here?"

Katniss whipped around and hastily wiped her tears with the back of her hand before running the door to Willow's room.

"Gale! Willow! How's Willow?" she asked immediately and almost hysterically.

With one last glance in Peeta's direction- who had now collapsed onto a chair with a distant expression on his face- he looked back down at Katniss with a reassuring smile.

"She's asleep right now. I'm sorry I couldn't come out here earlier, but we had to do some tests on her as soon as we got her vitals stable. We have to resume the testing when she wakes up. She was too exhausted tonight to complete it," he informed them both although unsure if Peeta was even listening.

Katniss still wasn't convinced. "But if you didn't finished the tests…" she trailed off.

"Don't worry," Gale assured her with a reassuring squeeze on the arm. "We immediately did the most necessary tests first to see how she was. Everything is fine so far. Still a little weak compared to her usual results from all those previous times, but nothing to worry about just yet. We'll complete it tomorrow to be sure."

Nodding weakly, Katniss let out a sigh albeit still looking worried and frightened to the core.

"Can I go in and see her?" she asked.

"There are still a few doctors and specialist in there. You can as soon as they clear the room," he said before putting his hands into the pockets of his white lab gown. "I just have to ask though, just what did happen tonight?"

Katniss glanced back at the still blank looking and silent Peeta before looking back at Gale with a pleading look. "We went out for dinner, went to the mall with the kids and left them in the playground there. Peeta and I g-got into a row, and when I left him to fetch the kids so we can leave, I- I found Willow had already collapsed. That's a-about it," she summarized.

Gale nodded before gesturing for Katniss to take a seat on one of the empty lined chairs beside where Peeta was sitting.

Taking the chair a seat away from Peeta, Katniss glanced once at him yet again before looking at Gale.

"I talked to the boys," he started, running a hand through his hair. "When I left with them to the waiting room with Sae earlier, I asked them what happened. Their version of tonight's event is quiet different, or at least, it was more informative."

"What do you meant?" Katniss asked, getting confused.

"By what Luke and Rye told me, it seems to me that you two were practically screaming each other's heads off," he said, brows furrowed and a very disapproving look on his face. "Did you even know how close you two were to the playground before you started fighting so loudly?"

"I- I don't understand," Katniss said. Even though he sat a little away from Peeta, she could feel him stiffen in his seat. She looked at him and noticed that he had gotten considerably paler.

With a regretful look at Peeta, knowing he had understood what he had meant, Gale turned to Katniss. "They, and I mean all three of them, heard you and Mellark's conversation Katniss. All of it, or at least everything you shouted at each other. The boys told me you and Peeta were shouting at each other about them. They were really hesitant in telling me and some of it doesn't make sense by how they told me, but I can pretty much assume that you two were fighting over Mellark's attitude towards Willow. About how much he favors the boys and how much he dislikes Willow," he finished, and by which Katniss was looking just as pale as Peeta had been. And Peeta on the other hand, if it were even possible- had gotten even paler than ever.

"They heard… they heard us?" Katniss asked meekly.

Gale nodded, frowning. "They did. And the boys were shouting for you Katniss just when Willow collapsed but they said you two were still yelling at each other and you must've not heard them," Katniss started sobbing as he said this. Katniss didn't hear them call for her at all! "Then they said a large crowd gathered over both of you and they lost sight of you two," he added, looking pointedly at Peeta whom he knew was the reason for the crowd of people forming in the first place.

Without a word, Peeta slouched forward and let his face fall onto his palms with his elbows resting on his knees for support.

Sighing yet again for the night, Gale leaned back to the opposite wall in silence, waiting for the two to collect themselves.

"I- It's our entire fault," Katniss whispered, crying harder than ever.

XOXO

Reading the message she just received on her cell phone, Sae sighed in relief before pocketing it.

"Luke, Rye," she called to the boys who were talking across the room by the vending machines.

They both turned, hearing their names and walked over towards their nanny as she waved them over.

"What is it Sae?"

"Your mother just sent me a text message," she said, patting the pocket of her sweater she was wearing, indicating her cell. "She said your sister is fine but she has to stay with Willow for awhile."

Luke and Rye looked at each other and visibly sighed in relief at the announcement.

"Why don't you two rest now? I'll be sure to wake you up as soon as your mother says it's okay for you to go visit Willow," she assured as she handed them a pillow and a blanket each, provided by a nurse by Gale's instructions since they arrived. "Take those sofas, you'll be comfortable enough there," she said with a nod towards the large stuffed sofas at one side of the waiting area.

XOXO

After a few more minutes of crying from Katniss and total silence from Peeta, the two finally stood up and walked over towards the door Willow was brought into, following Gale's lead.

They hadn't noticed anyone at all coming out of the room or passing by them but apparently the room was now clear for them to go in.

Opening the door ajar for Katniss to go in first, Gale nodded at her reassuringly.

"Wait…"

Gale turned to Peeta who now had a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from entering after Katniss.

"Wait…"

Gale turned to Peeta who now had a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from entering after Katniss.

"What is it?" he asked Peeta who was still looking miserable and pale as ever.

"I need to ask you a few things," he replied simply.

XOXO

Katniss looked back as the door shut to a close behind her with the men still outside. Not thinking about that any further, she walked on towards the center of the room where a little girl was lying down, sound asleep.

The room was large and square shaped. There were different sorts of machines around. On one side was a counter that covered the entire wall, filled with papers, folders, several x-ray films and smaller instruments.

On another side was a door, with a large rectangular glass mirror beside it, but Katniss knew well enough by now that it was a two-way mirror where doctors observe the goings- on in the room. She was used to these kinds of rooms now from all the times Willow came for a check- up. A number of specialist will always be on the other side of that glass, observing.

"Willow," Katniss whispered, sitting down on a chair beside the bed and stroking a hand lovingly along Willow's forehead, clearing her face of honey colored hair. "I'm so sorry, I really am."

With tears filling her eyes yet again, she bent her head just beside her daughter's and sobbed silently.

Katniss didn't know just how long she had spend crying with her head bent over her crossed arms on the bed. She didn't even know that she had actually dozed off until she felt something warm and slightly heave cover her back.

Opening her eyes slightly, she saw a tall form- who can unmistakably only be Peeta- moving away from her and turn to the other side of the bed. She didn't know just how tired she was until now. And so without a word, Katniss led her lids fall, and drifted back to sleep.

XOXO

Peeta fell into silence yet again for that night, resting his back on the wall beside Gale, a hand covering his mouth, trying to conceal his own horror. Just when he thought that things wouldn't get worst, it just did.

First he finds out that Willow was his daughter. He actually had triplets! Though he still doesn't quite understand how it could be possible to have two identical children with a third fraternal at the same time. Was that even possible? For all he knew, he never thought it was. He hardly knew anyone who was a twin, let alone triplets. And sure enough, he didn't know anyone with this sort of condition either. That's what made Gale's news worst. He never even knew Willow had a condition of any sort! He always assumed she was younger by a year or so, explaining her smaller size as compared to the boys.

Second, he finds out that Willow had been a really underdeveloped baby when she was born. Again, Peeta didn't know how that was possible, but according to Gale, neither did he and the other doctors who had been monitoring her case from the start. As far as they had studied her case, she wasn't supposed to be born at all. She was like a miracle baby, an unexpected plus one from a set of twins rather than a real part of a set of triplets.

"Of course, we have handled premature births almost regularly, and we've come by the occasional twin, triplet or even a quadruplet. We know their sort of cases but Willow is a fraternal triplet from two identical ones, and she was also unusually underdeveloped at her time of birth. She was still underdeveloped physically, which explains her size even if she was only born a little after the boys who have already mature normally during their birth. It was all very complicated and new to us. We all ended up taking an interest in her unique case, and we have since monitored her. And good thing too because she's been experiencing lapses of immense fatigue from time to time according threatening since her poorly developed body can't take it."

"I can't believe this," Peeta moaned out in agony at the entire situation as he slid down to the floor.

Gale looked down at him sadly before taking a seat on the floor beside him, back against the wall as well.

"Look Mellark, I guess I can understand why you thought Willow wasn't yours. I mean, she in indeed smaller and not to mention she got Katniss's entire physical appearance. So I won't hold anything against you for suspecting that Katniss and I are, well, more that what we are now," he said unsurely, but Peeta didn't move or say anything. "Frankly, this is all between you, Katniss and both of your kids. You have to find a way to fix all this. I've already told Katniss to try and make peace with you, which pretty much explains why she willingly went out with you tonight I believe, for Willow's sake. It's like I said, Willow's condition is affected so much by her emotions right now."

"Yeah, thanks for repeating that and making me feel worse," Peeta muttered sarcastically although his voice held no contempt in any way for the doctor. Most of the anger he felt now was directed to himself. Willow had been visiting this hospital all these times with Katniss, and he didn't know. And the reason for her increase in hospital visits was because of him and his constant plot to make her jealous of everything he's done for the boys! He actually made his own and only daughter suffer immensely! He really was a heartless monster. 'Katniss was right,' He thought t himself, feeling more bitter by the second.

"I'm not saying all this to make you feel bad all over again," Gale added hastily, seeing the dejected look on Peeta's face. "I'm saying all this so you can come up with a solution. You might have started the damage but you can easily turn it all around. I don't exactly know the sort of relationship you and Katniss had or have, but you both have to try to work something out. At least try to maintain a pleasant relationship when you're with the kids, and this time, " he said, looking at Peeta pointedly, "tread Willow with the attention she deserves from her father."

That said, Gale got up and helped Peeta to his feet.

"Good luck, " and with a slight nod of his head, he headed down the corridor and rounded the next corner.

If it were any more possible, Peeta felt worst yet again. Because of his hatred for Katniss, he ended up hating two people who didn't at all deserve it, Willow and Gale.

A sigh of relief escaped him as soon as he saw the little figure on the bed covered with a pink fluffy blanket. He had half expected, and dreaded, that he would find Willow lying on a cold looking steel bed with tubes and wires connected to her in different areas with an IV running in one arm and an oxygen mask over her mouth. But the only thing that was connected to her was a Pulse Oximeter that was attached to one of her little fingers with the machine beeping in a constant pace just a little away from her head.

"Katniss?" he called out in a whisper. Hearing no response, he walked over towards her in silence.

Peeta looked down at her sleeping form. Her arms were crossed just beside Willow's head with her own head resting on her cheek on her arms. Taking notice of how thing Katniss's dress was and how cold the room is, Peeta took off this jacket and draped it over her shoulder. He couldn't help the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth at the sigh of her getting engulfed in his large black jacket, which was in total contrast to how white her dress was. She looked quite adorable and enchanting at the same time.

Catching himself short, he shook his head from his absurd thoughts and Peeta strode over across the other side of the bed and took a seat by Willow's head too.

"I'm sorry Willow. I hope you'll forgive this heartless monster of a father you have," he whispered soothingly into her ear before he began running his fingers through her smooth hair.

XOXO

"Shhh… lower your voices boys," a deeper voice said in a low voice, immediately stopping the chuckling of identical voices from one side of the room.

"Yes, you'll wake them up," and older woman scolded silently from not too far away.

"Well, they've been sleeping for a long time…"

"… even mom. Shouldn't we wake her up too?"

There was a lot of shuffling going on around her and Katniss couldn't ignore them any longer. Shifting her position, it was only now that she felt her back ache rather badly.

"I expect that would hurt," the same female voice said close to her ear. "You should do a bit of stretching dear."

Katniss's eyes fluttered open slowly and her vision was immediately attacked with a single color from everywhere she looked.

"Good morning mom!" voices greeted in yelled whispers.

Blinking and rubbing her eyes, Katniss yawned slightly and shook her head, trying to clear her vision of all the pink. As she opened them again, it was only then that Katniss realized that all the pink she was seeing couldn't be cleared out.

"W- Where am I?" she asked rather unsurely, looking around until her sight fell on Luke and Rye who were grinning madly at her before walking over to her, still trying to be as silent as possible.

"Still in the same room where you fell asleep in last night," Sae answered from beside her. "Although with a lot of alterations thanks to Peeta," she added, indication all the pink items now filling the room.

It was like waking up in a princess' playhouse. All the machines from last night were gone, instead there were long tables covered in pink table clothes with food on top. Other tables had a lot of stuffed animals in different sizes, in the color of pink or white. There were also balloons of pink and white tied to the corners of the room, and a lot of pink banner hung on the wall saying "Get Well Soon!"

Katniss stared incredulously at the large with stuffed bear with a pink nose, belly and paws that was sitting in one corner of the room. She wouldn't have given this much interest except that the bear was almost as tall as Peeta who, standing beside it, was looking fresh and nothing like how he looked last night.

"Mmm…"

Everyone turned to the figure on the bed. Willow was stirring from her sleep.

"Willow? Are you awake hon?" Katniss whispered close to her eat.

Whit a little yawn, and a rub of her eyes, Willow's eye fluttered open.

XOXO

"Looks like everything is okay, don't you agree?" Gale asked, looking over to his colleagues who were still looking through the glass at the scene unfolding before them.

"Well, with Mellark as a father, how can it not be?" one of the female doctors pointed out, nodding her head in Peeta's direction. "Willow's lucky to have such a hot actor for a father," she added in a dreamy voice.

Gale raised a brow at her. "Remember, not a word to anyone. You heard what Peeta said earlier," he reminded.

"What's the point?" another doctor piped up. "The hospital's already surrounded with the press. I still don't get how the media got word that he's here."

"That's the media for you," Gale said unfazed. "The point is, none of us must say a word to anyone that Willow is Mellark's daughter, nor should we disclose any other information about her being a tripled and about Katniss. Remember, this is a patient's right to privacy. We don't wan to further Willow's emotional stress. It's stressful enough to have a big- shot movie star for a father. Not to mention she doesn't even know that he's her father."

Everyone in the small room nodded before turning their gaze back to the family beyond the glass.

Gale watched as Willow talked to her brothers and her mother then to Sae before her gaze landed on Peeta who had kept away from the group until now.

Willow looked hesitant as Peeta approached her bed.

"I hope this goes well," Gale said under a breath.

XOXO

"Mommy?" Willow said in a questioning voice, looking slightly frightened as Peeta made a move closer to them.

Katniss smiled reassuringly at Willow before giving her a kiss on the forehead. "It'll be okay sweetie. Peeta didn't mean what he said bout you yesterday," she said before turning to Peeta and walking towards him. She could se the hurt on his features at the mention of last night's events. "What are you planning to do?" she demanded in a whisper, her brows furrowed and a distrusting look aimed at him.

"Trying to earn my daughter's trust and hopefully her affection," Peeta whispered back simply though making it clear that he had that right whether or not Katniss approved.

He owed Katniss a lot more of an explanation than just that but she didn't press it on him. This wasn't the right time or place to start having another row with him. Instead, she nodded curtly at him and turned to Luke and Rye.

"C'mon boys, let's go meet with Gale. I have a few questions to ask him," she said, holding up her hands, which the boys immediately took hold of. "Sae?" she added to the woman who nodded and crossed the room as well. "Willow, we'll be back okay? Peeta will keep you company while we're gone."

"But mommy…" Willow trailed off as Peeta walked over to take Katniss's seat beside her.

"I promise it'll be okay," Katniss reassured one last time before blowing her daughter a kiss and leaving the room. Personally, Katniss didn't feel as reassured as she sounded at all but she was praying to God that it'll be alright.

When the door clicked behind them, total silence lapsed.

"Do you like your new toy?" Peeta asked in a soft tone, nodding to the stuffed pink bunny rabbit Willow was holding with one arm. "I got that especially for you Willow."

Looking down, Willow's eyes widened at the stuffed rabbit as if she didn't even know she was holding on to it all this time. She took it with her other hand and held it out to Peeta before looking away.

"It's your," Peeta said, pushing the stuffed rabbit back to her. "It's a gift. Everything in this room is a gift from me to you. Do you like it?"

Willow lowered her hand with the rabbit and looked down at it, not saying a word and not showing any sort of emotion either.

What Peeta would give to have her flash him a smile like she did upon seeing her mother and brothers, and even to her nanny. "Willow, I'm sorry," Peeta said earnestly. " I know I said a lot of mean things last night. You and your brothers heard your mother and I fighting at the mall," Peeta waited for her reaction from her after saying this, but after hearing and seeing none, he continued. "I didn't mean what I said but I know I stull hurt your feelings. But I hope you will forgive me."

He said a silent prayer than she would forgive him. He had woken up very early just to prepare all this for her when she wakes up, and it was lucky enough that she and Katniss had woken up only a little past noon. Besides spending half of the morning to make sure all these arrived and ready in her room, he also spent the other earlier half of the morning apologizing and explaining to the boys about what happened yesterday. It took quite some convincing but after everything they've been through, both had easily forgiven him- which, in his opinion, was more that he deserved. He didn't expect the same treatment from Willow, but he hoped she would at least show some form of acceptance of him. That would be enough… for now.

The room was still in silence except for the beeping of the Pulse Oximeter, Peeta didn't make any attempt to talk again. Instead, settle to just watching Willow as she looked around the room in amazement.

Peeta almost feel hopeful that she would aim a smile at him, but she didn't. after surveying the room, she looked at Peeta, without the slightest trace of the smile she had mere seconds earlier. "Thank you," she said in a little yet unemotional voice with a face void of a smile, before looking down at her stuffed rabbit and stroking its longs ears.

He knew. Peeta knew Willow had only thanked him out of courtesy, undoubtedly taught to her by Katniss. He knew it as sure as he was of his own name. But at least she had spoken to him; at least she had recognized his presence. And that was enough. For now, that was enough.

XOXO

Before anything, I wanna say I'm so so so sorry… I know it's no excuse, but I've been working like crazy and had no time to post it. As I said, it had this chapter adapted since some time ago but just couldn't find the time to post it… but here it is! Hope you like it.

I'm already adapting the next chapter so I'll post it as soon as I have a chance. I won't promise anything, but I'll try not to take this long.

Thanks all for reading… and for those who were afraid that I was gonna drop this fanfic, don't worry, I won't… it'll just take me some time to adapt and upload.

See ya!