Chapter 2

Still alive.

He's still alive.

Peeta…

I search his eyes for any signs of torture but he actually seems healthier then when he was in the arena. I get lost in those blue eyes, my hands reaching for his face but only find the coldness of the screen. It's enough, just seeing him alive is enough even if it is just from a television screen. My hands slide down the screen and one of them unconsciously reaches for my abdomen. No, don't let them know, don't lead them on, so I force my arm to my side and just keep staring at the screen.

Peeta is calling for a cease-fire. The word traitor is heard from the crowd behind me. In a way, maybe he is but I'm too focused on him to even acknowledge the murmurs. "Would you like to say anything to Katniss, Peeta?" ask Caesar. "Yes. Katniss, just think. Is this really what you want? Do you really trust the people you're with? If not. Find out. I just want to say that I'm okay, that I miss you so much, that I want you to take care of yourself, if not for you then do it for the baby, that is if you.. if you haven't.. if it's not already…." dead. That's all he can manage before the tears start running down his face.

Does he know? No, he couldn't. I just found out four weeks ago. It had been the first week that I'd been in 13 and I'd noticed that I was late and I kept puking my guts out every morning. I didn't need a test to confirm it, my body just knew that something was growing inside of it. It's been a month and a half since the incident at the roof of the training centre, where I gave in because I knew I was going to die anyway. No one knows about the baby but me, so how could Peeta even know. He's just trying to play with the people's sympathy again I think. People would be wondering why he hasn't talked about the baby anyway. Oh Peeta, if only you knew how true your lie was.

With his last words, the guards escort him to a place that every fibre of my being so desperately wants to know and the screen goes dark again. Before anyone has the time to react, I'm dashing out of Command as fast as I can while still being careful enough. Somehow, Peeta's request to take care of myself for the baby has influenced me a little. I find the supply closet and hide in its tiny space. I cry my eyes out while gently stroking the spot where my baby lives. Don't worry baby, daddy is still alive. Thank you Peeta, for still being alive.

Peeta might still be alive now but nothing is certain. Snow wouldn't hesitate to kill Peeta. Even if the rebels win the war, what would happen then when all the traitors are to be punished? No, I must do something to save him, anything. What is it that I need to do. I know a cease-fire is not an option. Even if we did surrender, we could count on that the 76th Hunger Games would be the most unforgettable Games ever.

There's only one thing I can do to save him. I- Katnss Everdeen, will have to be the Mockingjay. When I weigh the few options that I have, I know that it is the only way to save Peeta but there is only one problem. If I become the Mockingjay and be the face of the rebellion, how can I be positive that the life of my unborn baby will be ensured? I could easily ask for his immunity but no so much for the might as well be the hardest choice I will ever do in my life.

I think about Peeta, how he would feel knowing that our child died because of the need to save him. I think of the grief that he would feel upon the death of our child. The child inside of me has done absolutely nothing wrong to me, it's innocent. Would I really be okay with murdering my own child, taking a life away? I know I wouldn't be specifically murdering it but I would always think that it was because of the choice that I made.

Just as I am about to make up my mind, I think of how Peeta deserves more than this. There is so much in his future. Even if I die in this war, Peeta could easily get a woman far more beautiful and far more worthy of him than me. He could get the family he always wanted and live a happy life, he could even get more children. The thought of Peeta having children with someone else hurts more than I thought it would but I know this is what's right.

If I'm careful enough, our baby will still have the slim hope of surviving the war. I'm not saying that I'm not going to protect my child but if it dies or if I die killing it with me, I know one thing for sure. Peeta still doesn't know about his child, so what he doesn't know, won't hurt him, just me. My choice is final.

I will be the Mockingjay.

(Thanks sooooo much for reading. Sorry it's short -Adri)