Ok I know I'm late getting this posted, but I promise I have a good reason…which I'll tell you at the end because I'm sure you just want to read the story!

This is officially the first time since our first hunger games that I have literally wanted to kill Peeta. He knows I can't stand Johanna. He knows she can't stand me. So why on earth would he do this to me?

"Yeah whatever brainless, I'm only here because your sweet little husband called in a favor." Yeah because I totally thought she was here for me. "Any chance of that hot cousin of yours hanging around?"

"I don't think so." Peeta cuts in. I'm too busy glaring at him to answer. If only looks could kill…well I guess then she would have been dead at the quarter quell and we wouldn't be having this little problem now would we?

Finally Johanna's question sinks in. She asked about him. I know she's always had a creepy little infatuation with him, but surely she knows that I haven't spoken to him in over 15 years. Then again she probably just asked because she knew it would bother me, which is exactly why I can't let it bother me. Which isn't going to be easy…I haven't thought about him in a long time. I haven't remembered everything we went through together. All the times he was there for me. The way we used to be able to move as one in the woods together. It all comes rushing back in that one moment…

Gale…he was my best friend and, for a brief period, I guess you could say he was my lover. Still, in all honesty, I know the love I had for him never held a candle to the way I feel about Peeta. But it still hurts. It hurts to think about how I lost him. The games took him from me. Snow took him from me. Coin took him from me. That god-forsaken war took him from me.

He was right though. I never would have been able to be with him and not think of that bomb…the one that killed my sister…the one that he made.

I force these thoughts from my head and turn back to the conversation Peeta is having with our new house guest.

"What are we talking about?" I ask.

"We weren't talking about anything." Johanna says motioning to the three of us. "We were just talking about the nursery Peeta did for your offspring." She says motioning to herself and Peeta.

"Oh, you have to see it in person!" I say. I have to brag on the beautiful room my husband's talented hands created, even if I'm bragging to someone I don't like. I drag her upstairs and show her the nursery, and even Johanna Mason, the hardest woman I've ever met, is in awe of its beauty.

Peeta shows Johanna her room and, thankfully, she disappears for the remainder of the night. He and I wash the dinner dishes then spend our night relaxing in our bedroom together. He carefully runs his fingertips over the ever-growing bump protruding on my stomach, and stares off into space. I can tell by the look on his face that he has something on his mind, but the last time he had something on his mind we had a fight…still I must ask.

I lean up and press my lips to his; bringing him out of the little trance he was in.

"What's on your mind?" I ask carefully. I don't want to press him for fear he'll get angry with me. But no, he doesn't get angry, instead he shocks me.

"Do you ever regret marrying me?"

"What?"I ask.

"I mean do you ever wish you'd married Gale instead of me?"

"Of course not! Peeta why would you even ask that?"

"I was just thinking about the look on your face after Johanna asked about him. You looked sad and regretful."

"Peeta I promise you that I am have never ever regretted marrying you. I love you more than anything."

"I just don't want you to have any regrets about us."

"Well then you get your wish, I have none."

"Are you sure?"

"Very. Now will you please let it go? I don't want to talk about the past or him right now." I say. I can't let my mind wander to things like that right now, not when I have so many other things to worry about.

"Okay, okay subject dropped."

"Thank you."

"I love you."

"I love you too." And with that I curl myself into his side, and we fall asleep.

I spend the next couple of days cooped up in the house with Johanna. Much to both of our dislike. Finally I just can't take it anymore; I put on my boots and drag her out to the woods. I show her the way to the lake. We find a good resting pace, and for a minute I think I might be able to enjoy an afternoon of silence in the woods. I'm wrong…

"So just how worried are you about the kid?" Johanna asks. I can hear the disdain in her voice.

"Am I that easy to read?"

"Duh brainless. I can tell by the way you act. You barely touch your stomach and every time you feel the kid move you jump. It scares you."

"Yeah, it does. It terrifies me. I have a living human being growing inside me and in a few months I'm going to have to protect and raise it. It scares me. I mean how would you feel?"

"Well first of all, I have no feelings; to get pregnant I'd have to let myself feel something for someone. Second of all, I don't have a guy like Peeta around to help me out. You have both."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're worried you aren't going to love the kid right?"

"Yeah."

"Well you shouldn't. You won't have that problem."

"And why is that?" I ask. Oddly enough, I'm actually kind of interested in what she has to say.

"You love fervently, with passion. It's the only thing I admire about you. You love so deeply that I can't imagine you ever not loving a kid you pop out of your lady parts."

"Wow, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Or anyone for that matter." I say a bit mockingly.

"Yeah well if you ever repeat this, I'll kill you." she says giving me the fakest smile I've ever seen.

We spend another couple hours at the lake before heading back. Peeta makes dinner and we stay up late talking that night. The next day Johanna gets a call from someone she works with in 7 saying she was needed for some kind of work emergency.

I have to admit, I'm kind of sorry to see her go. I was enjoying the company, even her company. So I eventually begin spending time with Haymitch. Yes, I'm that desperate. It puts Peeta at ease, knowing that I'm not alone all day while he's at the bakery. Ever since I had that false alarm he'd been extremely over-protective. He would hover over me whenever we were home together. I didn't have the heart to tell him to back off, I know it's just because he cares so much.

My days with Haymitch are really more boring than anything. He drinks and sleeps all day, but at least he's there if I need anything. Plus I'm really glad for the company. I've spent so much of this pregnancy alone that I miss human interaction.

What I really miss is Peeta. I still see him all the time obviously, but we haven't made love since I entered my second trimester. Honestly it's really my fault. I haven't really felt good enough to let him make love to me. I haven't felt really pretty since the last time Cinna made me over, but somehow Peeta had always made me feel beautiful when he made love to me. Even though I felt like a patchwork doll from the burn scars.

It took me all of another five seconds to decide what I wanted tonight. And I was going to get it if it killed me.

Peeta comes home that night to find me waiting for him in the living room, clad only in one of his t-shirts and my underwear.

"Um, hi." He says looking a bit shocked. I almost never dress so skimpily.

"Hi." I reply with a grin.

"What's all this about?"

"I wanted to surprise you. I miss you."

"Katniss you see me every day, how can-"

"That's not what I mean Peeta. I miss being with you. I miss the way we used to be together." I say hoping he gets what I'm trying to say. I can tell by the look on his face he doesn't.

"What are you saying?" I roll my eyes.

"Peeta I want you to make love to me." I say bluntly. His eyes widen.

"You're serious? You haven't wanted that in a long time."

"Serious as a heart attack." I say, giving him the best seductive smile I can manage. He doesn't hesitate for a second before moving forward and crushing his lips against mine. I kiss him back eagerly. It feels so good to let the passion I fell for him explode into this kiss, I can tell he's excited too.

He doesn't break the kiss until we reach the bedroom, and even then he only pulls away long enough to breathe and pull his shirt over my head. I return the favor, as well as rid him of his pants. We move to the bed. I love the feeling of his bare chest against mine. I love the way he moves expertly above me. He knows just where to touch me to drive me insane.

I wake up the next day and for just a brief second I fear that the perfect night we experienced was nothing more than a dream. But I see my husband laying next to me, still naked and wrapped in the tangled sheet, and I know it wasn't.

He looks so beautiful when he sleeps, like the perfect angel he is. I love him so much. And now, though I'm still not sure how I'm going to feel about the baby, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am glad to do this for him. Allowing this baby to take over my body for a few months and bearing the pain of child birth will all be worth it when I see him with his son, or daughter. I still do not understand why he is so sure the baby is going to be a girl.

"Good morning." His voice interrupts my thoughts.

"Morning." I say looking over at him with a grin. I can't help but remember the events of the previous night. We'd made love once, and then Peeta went downstairs and got the dinner I made. We ate together in bed. Then we made love again, and on into the night. Eventually falling asleep in each other's arms, sweaty and full of love for each other. It had been a little awkward at first, what with my rather large baby bump in the way, but still it was the perfect night. And I have a feeling that if I wasn't already pregnant, I would have been when the night was over.

"You want some breakfast?" he asks. I shake my head.

"I just want to take a shower right now."

"I could join you." he said with a wink. I playfully swat his arm as I get up, wrap myself in a sheet, and head to the bathroom. He's following me, but I close the door in his face and lock it. He got enough last night.

After my shower I head downstairs and find Peeta in the kitchen making breakfast, wearing only a pair of baggy flannel pajama pants. I stop and take in the look of his lean frame, toned back, and muscular arms. All from lifting the heavy shipments of ingredients that come in to the bakery. I haven't really paid much attention to his physique over the last few months,

and I'm really starting to regret that.

"Shouldn't you be getting to work?" I ask. He jumps a bit and I can tell he hadn't known I was there.

"Geez! You gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry." I say with a chuckle. He sighs.

"To answer your question, no I'm not working today. I'd rather spend the day with you, plus its Sunday."

I smile and lean in for a kiss. We eat breakfast and relax. Spending the whole day either curled up on the couch or in our bed. Towards the middle of the afternoon I decide I want to take a bath. Peeta runs the water for me, but just as he's about to leave I grab his arm. He seems to be able to read my mind. We sink into the warm water together and soak there for a couple of hours.

This is the best day I've had in a long time. Just spending time together made the day perfect. Peeta makes my favorite dinner, lamb stew with freshly baked bread, and mashed potatoes. After dinner I decide I want to go to bed early. We head upstairs, but I don't really have sleep on my mind. We make love again. I honestly don't know how I was able to hold out on him this long.

"What should we name her?" Peeta asks as we lay in each other's arms later that night.

"I haven't really thought about what we should name him." I say, really just to mess with him.

"Don't say that Katniss, we're having a girl."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I just know." I just laugh at him, I don't know where he gets his reasoning from but it makes no sense to me. "I'm serious! The very first time I ever considered having kids with you I always thought of a girl. A pretty little girl who looks just like you."

"I don't think I'll argue that point with you." I say how he can call me beautiful when I look like a fat patchwork doll is beyond me. "I still think it'll be a boy."

"Yeah well we'll see about that. You know we still need a name."

"Hmm…what about Basil?

"For a girl? I think something like Magnolia would be better." I give him a look

"No, we can't give our son a girl's name you idiot!" I say sticking my tongue out at him.

"So you're saying we should give my baby girl a boy's name?"

"Okay how about we just pick a name for both and agree to disagree?"

"I think that would probably be best, and for the record I think Beech or Aster would be better for a boy."

"Oh! I like both of those! And what about Acacia for a girl?"

"I was thinking maybe Rose or Prue."

"Prue?"

"Prim and Rue."

"I don't know…I don't think I want to name it after anyone. I think the name should be individual."

"So I guess that leaves Finn out too?"

"Yes, besides Annie already named their son after Finnick."

"Well we wouldn't name him Finnick; we would just cal him Finn."

"Eh…I still don't think I want to name the baby after anyone."

"Luka."

"What?"

"If it's a boy we should name him Luka."

"Where did that come from?"

"It means light. That's what my mom was planning on naming my younger brother."

"You didn't have a younger brother."

"I did, for 3 weeks, my mom miscarried 3 weeks after she found out she was pregnant. So technically we wouldn't be naming him after anybody." I can tell this means a lot to him. He's never mentioned this to me before. And I do like the name.

"Okay, on one condition, if it's a girl we name her Amaryllis."

"Why? What is that?"

"Amaryllis is a flower. My mom was going to name Prim that, until the day she was born and my dad brought her a big bouquet of evening primrose."

"I think that that is the perfect name for our baby." He says leaning in to give me a kiss. It's weird, I haven't really thought of the baby as ours before. Sure I've called it 'our baby' before, but I've never really thought of it as ours. Or mine. I seem to have forgotten that part of me went into making this baby just as much as it did Peeta.

This is the first time I've ever felt like a mother, the first time I've ever really felt the little person growing inside me. I've always know it was there and I've felt it moving, but it hasn't really been mine until now. Maybe it's that we gave a name to this child that is coming into this world in just a few short months. I just hope we can handle this…

Alright, I'm soooooo sorry I didn't get this posted Thursday, but I had a government paper that I had to have done, plus I had a bit of writer's block. I promise I'll update again ASAP. Also I'm thinking of writing a sort of continuation of this story once I'm done with it. It would be more about Peeta and Katniss' daughter and how she learns about the games, stuff like that, anyway if that sounds good let me know and I'll work on it. Thank you for your patience, please read & review! :)