Disclaimer: This is not beta-ed. All names, places, and characters belong to their respective owners. I only own the original concept and idea.

If you read the original Chapter 29, you should probably roll back and re-read the updated version.

Peeta is propped up straight when I walk in. His body is mostly bare aside from loose breeches, his back covered in white cloth. The stench of herbs and medicine lingers through the room, the smell evident of the previous hours' affair.

"How do you feel?" I ask, starting with the safe question, "You look awful."

"Well thanks for the encouragement," he laughs, "I'm fine, I was out of it for the worst part. Now my back is mostly numb with all of the tonics the doctors applied."

The conversation is so normal, so casual, it almost feels out of touch for the two of us.

His eyes drift towards my stomach, "What about you?"

"I'm fine," I shrug, feeling uncomfortable, "You shouldn't have done that, you know?"

"You didn't have to save me," he retorts. "I never asked you to."

I wrinkle my nose. How dare he point the finger at me when he was the one acting like an imbecile. I shake my head, hands curling around the bed coverings in anger,, "Me? Me, Peeta? I feel like slapping you, what kind of idiotic, bull hearted move was that?"

His shoulders raise with a bite of pain, "It worked," he remarks, "public support has shifted. It will go down in the history books, that's for sure."

"I don't care in the slightest if it worked, and even less if it put you in the history books," I sit down on the bed and he winces a little at the movement. "If you had gotten infected, if you had died? I swear, Peeta."

His eyes drift towards mine, "I did it for you, for the baby…"

I scoff. "Oh please," I say, "this has nothing to do with me. This is about you - your honor, your worthiness as a King. You like being the sacrificial lamb, don't pretend otherwise."

"You know what," he says, "I don't have the energy in me to fight with you. So let me lay my cards on the table. I know about Prim, I know you are protecting her - I know about Johanna's little conspiracy," he looks up at me, expectantly.

My heart quivers a little, "You won't touch her," I say, "it wouldn't be good for you."

"What do you think," he raises his voice, "that I'm going to take your child sister up to the chopping block? What is it about me, even now, that makes you believe I would do such a thing. Do you not know that I love you? Isn't the fact that you are here today evidence of that? You are the one that didn't have the courtesy to come to me, to tell me that my people were conspiring against my wishes, against me. You're the one who betrayed my trust. And you know what, Katniss, I screwed up. I touched Johanna against my vows, but I'm not the only one at fault," he squints his eyes shut in what I can only assume to be pain from his back, "Why are you so intent on painting me as this...this demonic bastard?"

"Because," I tell him,"if you're not...that, if I trust you or love you, then what? I fall into your arms, I can't...be that for you Peeta."

"Why is that, Katniss? What are you so afraid of?" Peeta drags his teeth against his bottom lip, "I can sympathize with loyalty tied to your country, but now that the rebellion has been crushed you have no responsibilities to those...those people. What excuse will you give now for pushing me away?"

I turn slightly away from him on the bed, because what can I say to that?

"Is it because you don't love me, don't feel for me that way?" he leans forward a little, wincing. "Because I can accept that, I'm just tired of being in this half way, here and there place with you."

"It's not…" I shake my head, hoping that is answer enough, "I'm sorry," I tell him, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry for doubting you. I'm sorry I didn't come to you. But she's my sister, I had to do whatever I could to protect her."

He runs his hand along his forehead, "What are we going to do, Katniss?"

The question is so vague, I have no idea how to answer. Is he making a reference to the country or something greater, us, perhaps?

"I don't know," I shrug. "What are you going to do," I deflect, hoping to change the subject, "about the traitors?"

He grimaces a little when he moves, "I am going to issue pardons of controlled exile. Ten years under my thumb at the border of Panem."

I scoff, "That's a little easy, don't you think? What Peeta, can't give your mistress the axe?"

"Don't act like that, Katniss," he sighs, almost resigned, "not when I am giving you Gale."

"Gale?" I say, perking up, "You're going to give Gale a pardon?"

"Not a pardon," he clears, shaking his head, "House arrest, confinement to a certain radius and complete forfeiture of all his land and titles. I know that if I kill him, you will never forgive me. And besides, it isn't a good look for my 'era of reconstruction.'"

My heart tightens. Gale isn't going to die.

"Thank you," I say, "truly, genuinely. But Peeta, my people - they will never serve under your rule, even if I am your wife. Perhaps even more so because I am."

It is true, the people of Seam would rather die than live under Peeta. Enforcing Panemian rule in Seam would be near impossible without brutal show of force.

A golden curl falls from its place, "His brother is old enough, though, I thought I might put him on the throne. Enforce a cabinet of my men for a few years, and when your sister is older perhaps we can discuss a marriage?"

I laugh, "I'd like to see that...Prim and Rory."

Peeta smiles ever so lightly, "You'll see, Katniss, things will come together, not just for Seam and Panem, for us as well."

And that's when I feel the first contraction.

Author's Note: This is a little short, but I felt the need to cut it off right here. Sorry for the wait guys, it took me a little while to get the courage to decide how to settle this story off. As you can probably imagine, there will be another chapter. I decided upon further inspection to split the story up and give myself a chance to write more about the ending and tie everything up.

Hope you are looking forward to the next chapter! I'm also going through the older chapters and re-editing. If anybody out there is particularly good with grammar/etc. please contact me. And yes, the Johanna issue will be dealt with in the next chapter - Peeta will explain what happened between them.

As always, you can find me on tumblr at starveinsafety and everlarkfanfictionclub.