Chap 7

"Cinna!" I cry. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you! Have a seat, we have some news." I take Peetas' hand. We sit on the couch.

"I may have already heard." Says Cinna sadly. "But go ahead and tell me, just to be sure."

I smile excitedly. "I'm pregnant!"

His eyes go wide. "Oh, Katniss, congratulations! I'm so excited for you! How far along are you?"

"About a month. Not really all that far along at all…" I say.

"Then I guess you wouldn't know the gender, would you?" he asks.

"No, not yet. My first appointment is in two weeks."

He smiles. "Congratulations, kids. I truly hope you enjoy being parents. Peeta!" he smiles widely at him. "You have scored yourself a wonderful woman, haven't you?"

Peeta grins. "She's my whole reason for existing. Without her I'd surely die." He wraps his arms around me. "I love you."

I beam. "I love you too."

Cinna checks his watch. "Mellark's, I'm truly sorry for rushing out on you, but I have an appointment to keep. It was great seeing the both of you."

I'm about to hug him when I say, "Cinna, what did you think had happened?"

He shifts uncomfortably. "I… well… see, I had heard about what happened with your 'cousin', and well I thought maybe something had happened."

I have to laugh as I say this. "Which time did you hear about?"

He looks stunned. "It's happened more than once?"

"Hmm. Yeah, actually, he came and put two bullets in the walls. Just earlier this morning. It was still dark out."

Cinna takes my hand. "Katniss, I'm sorry. I was referring to when you left for the honeymoon. But to hear that he brought a weapon into your home is positively horrendous. Why would he do such a thing?"

I laugh. "He's in a lot of pain. And unfortunately, he doesn't know how to deal with his pain, so he lashes out at me and Peeta."

Peeta looks annoyed. "He will never step foot into my home again. I won't jeopardize my family. They're worth too much to risk over some idiot who has clouded judgment."

It hurts to hear Peeta saying these things about my best friend, until I remember what Gale did to me, and it doesn't bother me anymore.

"Anyway, I have to go, but again, it was great seeing the both of you!" he hugs me, then Peeta. "I will see you soon. Goodbye, kids!"

I wave Cinna as he speeds away in his Maserati. Then I turn around and shut the door behind me. I walk into the kitchen, where Peeta has prepared an exquisite breakfast for the two of us. I sit down at the table and eye the array of food presented before me. Fruit smoothies, poached eggs, fresh strawberries, whip cream, and cantaloupe. "Yummy." I say.

"I thought maybe you could cut out sugars and unhealthy additives and chemicals from your diet. I read that those can be harmful to babies, and I want ours to be the healthiest baby of all. Do you think you could do that for me?" he gives me that Peeta-y smile that gets me every time. "Okay, baby. For you and the baby." I kiss him. "But only because I love you."

He smiles. "Eat up!"

I eat more than my fair share of food, but I was extremely hungry. I drink a glass of milk and sit back. Peeta comes over and kisses me. I'm having a good time, until I turn to reach his face and become nauseated. I pull away, and put a hand over my mouth. I quickly jump up and run upstairs to the bathroom. As soon as I reach the toilet, I vomit noisily and violently into it. "Ugh!" I moan. I start to cough as Peeta reaches me. When he pulls my hair out of my face, I throw up the rest of my meal. "Oh Peeta, this sucks."

He looks worriedly at me. "Katniss are you alright? What happened?"

I cough. "I'm throwing up, that's what happened!" I snap at him. Then I look at his terrified expression. "Oh, baby, I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from. I just felt so sick, and then I felt irritated…" I start crying. "And now I feel so sad!" I'm getting tears all over his favorite shirt. "I'm sorry about your shirt."

"Katniss, I think I read about this. It's just morning sickness. I'm not mad at you; it's just your hormones being all out of whack. It's perfectly normal."

I smile. "What did I do to deserve you?"

He frowns. "You didn't do anything. You deserve much better than me."

"But there is no one better than you. Don't you know that?" I stare at him. "Let me brush my teeth." I get up off the bathroom floor. "Can I have some privacy?"

He smiles. "Of course. I'll see you in a minute."

I brush my teeth meticulously. I chew a breath mint. Spray some perfume. Then make my way downstairs.