Chapter 8

My mind eventually pieces two and two together. Dropping the book with a surprisingly loud thud, one hand flies to my abdomen. "You mean- that I- that we- I mean-"

Then I remember Peeta beside me. Since he still has almost no idea who I am, I could imagine him being confused, though right now the confusion is mingled with sheer joy. Just in case, I want to clear everything up. Taking his hand, I slip it underneath mine. In a soft voice, I speak in the direction of our baby. "Say hi to daddy," I say with a soft smile.

I watch as those massive blue eyes of his light up. Though I never expected this, and was even very against having kids when I was younger, I can respond with genuine happiness.

No, I take that back. I'm not just happy. With the only reasons for not wanting to gone, this feels absolutely perfect.

Peeta slides his hand up to my shoulder, runs the other through my hair, and pulls me into a hug. The next thing I know, he's planting soft, gentle kisses all over my face. Then, for the first time since the accident, he tells me that he loves me.

I suppose that there wasn't really any damage to the emotional or behavioral regions of the brain, so all he really needed was a reminder of who I am.

Still in his arms, I begin to try to bring back other memories. "You have always said that you want to have children. Did you know that?"

"No," he admits. "Have you always, too?"

"Um- well-" Maybe this is the time. Maybe now, I should tell him my reason. So I don't answer the story directly.

"I have a story I need to tell you," I begin, guiding him to sit down. I know that he will be shocked, and in case that triggers another tracker jacker attack, I want to minimize the risk of him falling. I, however, can't possible stay still. Instead, I pace back and forth, unable to look him in the eyes as I recount the horrible truth that was our past.

"Okay, now. It all starts off in a place known as North America," I say, deciding it would be best to start at the beginning. "And everything seemed to be going pretty well. But then, there was chaos. North America changed from having three countries to being just one. It was known as Panem. Panem was split into fourteen areas. Thirteen were referred to as districts, identified by numbers. The fourteenth was known as The Capitol. It was in charge of everything that went on in Panem. The districts, however, weren't happy with the way that the Capitol was running the country. So they, all thirteen, rebelled. One was incorrectly thought to be destroyed forever. The other twelve were punished for their rebellion. Every year, each of the remaining twelve districts had to send two teenagers to a large outdoor arena in the Capitol. There, they would fight until one of the twenty-four remained."

This is the part I was dreading; the part about us. "Seventy-four years later, it was time to select the kids from District Twelve. They chose a twelve-year-old girl named Primrose Everdeen." I swallow back the lump that always forms in my throat when I say Prim's name. "But she also had an older sister, a sixteen-year-old. The sister chose to go in instead of letting Primrose go. That girl never wanted to have kids, because her worst fear was that someone she loved would go in to fight. She knew that if she had children one day, their names would go into the glass bowls they used to choose the competitors names out of along with all other twelve- to- eighteen year olds. So, she decided that unless the contest was stopped, she would never have children.

"Now, this girl wasn't the only one who had someone who had always loved selected. There was another sixteen-year-old in the crowd. He had a crush on the volunteer since he was only five. But he was chosen, too.

"One night, the night before the competition started, the competitor's had to give an interview so that the audience would be able to get to know them better. Now, that boy I told you about earlier? During his interview, he admitted- in front of everyone in the entire country- how exactly he felt about the girl from the district. The one who was there with him.

"Now, this became so popular with the audience that mid-way through the competition, the rules were changed. Two of the competitors, if they came from the same district, would be able to go back home. And these two kids both made it out.

"But it wasn't happily ever after. Not right then, at least. There was another rebellion. But this one got rid of the horrible way the Capitol treated the districts. The country went, more or less, to the way it was in North America. And the ones who won the competition fell in love all over again."

Allowing my words to hang in the air for a moment, I wait for Peeta to respond. "And where are they now?" he whispers.

Unable to look him in the eyes, I whisper back. "Right here, right now. But it's okay now. In fact, it's better than okay. Because not only did we, as I said, fall in love all over again." Smiling softly, I, yet again, place both of our hands on top of my stomach. "We're a family."

But I glossed over the worst details. Some things, I even left out entirely. Like our second time in the arena, or why we had to fall back in love. That would be because of the tracker jacker venom, of course. And he already knows about that, to some extent. There isn't any need to explain about two awful things in a row, right? The time simply isn't right for that. Right now, since the story recounting the past is over, we focus on the positive, on the future. And so, again, I start to talk about the past. Though all that I mention is the seemingly meaningless. Recounts of peaceful summer evenings in the Meadow, or of early mornings watching sunrises together.

And soon, we'll make new memories. All three of us.