A/N: edited 17/01/15

Y'all can probably guess what this chapter's going to be about.

Chapter 38: Arrival

Katniss

"I swear, I thought I was going to pass out this morning," Delly gasps, flapping her arms about. "I'm really anxious."

"Don't be, Delly. You've revised the entire textbook cover-to-cover, and you always do well in exams," Madge says encouragingly. I stay silent.

"How about you, Katniss?" Delly asks me. "Are you nervous?"

"A little," I shrug my shoulders. "But I'm a little distracted."

"What's wrong?"

"Just stuff... about the baby," I say. Delly's eyes bug out. "He keeps moving around... and I keep having hicks. I hurts a lot, and I'm just hoping that I don't have one in the middle of the exam."

"Why don't you ask to have the exam in another room?" Madge suggests. "That way, if you did have another you wouldn't be thrown out for distracting people," she says, squeezing my arm consolingly.

"This is weird," I say, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

"What is?"

"All this. I'm walking into my exam talking about my baby," I say, causing both Madge and Delly to laugh. They provide topics to chat about and distract me until everyone is called into the hall for the test and they fall silent. Once we've found out assigned seats and have been given the thick paper booklets, we're instructed by the official examiners to write our name into the boxes provided.

"As I'm sure you've already been told, but cheating will not be tolerated," one of the examiners croaks from the front of the hall. He looks like he's about to keel over he's so old. He continues to rattle on about rules and regulations, about what to do if our pen runs out or if we don't understand something, and by the time he finally says we may start the test, I'm almost half asleep. Flipping open the first page, I sigh at the first question, wishing that I could just bang my head on the desk repetitively until I pass out.

I don't get any super-painful hicks throughout the two-hour duration of the exam. Several times I can feel what feels like millions of butterflies in my stomach trying to fight their way out, but it's nothing that I can't just grit my teeth through.

"Miss, do I need to remind you that this is a very important exam, and we do not take kindly to those who are intent on disturbing others?" One of the examiners scowls, looming over me.

"I'm sorry," I say through gritted teeth, rubbing my stomach, trying to massage away the pain. The examiner's eyes widen as she notices my stomach, and she straightens up, her cheeks reddening.

"No matter," she sniffs. "Continue."

The test ends after two hours of silence, ridiculous questions, and stupid answers. We file out through the girl's locker room as the boys enter the exam hall, and as much as I crane my neck to spot him, I don't see Peeta. Madge, Delly and I sit outside for lunch, under an apple tree. Prim comes and talks to me about the exam, and for the next hour I actually have a nice time. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there's a whole weight off my chest now that I've done the exam. All this time spent in class, learning useless information, all this time spent revising. It's all over now. I can finally relax.

"I'll see you later, Katniss," my sister says, hugging me tight when her lunch period is over.

"Peeta and I will try to visit over the weekend," I tell her. She nods and smiles, before leaving for the rest of her lessons.

"Peeta and I?" Madge asks. Delly sighs longingly beside her.

"What?"

"It's adorable. He's loved you for years, Katniss. And you make him so happy," Delly says. "After everything he's been through, it's good that he's got someone like you."

My cheeks flush involuntarily and I look down, smiling slightly, ignoring the tugging at the base of my stomach. I always get embarrassed over these kind of things. Overly emotional girl talk is not something I excel at. "Thanks," I force out, because what else can I say?

Delly gasps suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. She flaps her arms around again in excitement. "Madge, can you remember when we were about thirteen, and Peeta came over to mine all upset because he was convinced that Katniss was going to marry Gale?!" Madge starts giggling, nodding her head at the memory.

"I don't believe you," I scowl, rubbing my belly for what feels like the hundredth time in the last few hours.

"It's true, believe me," Madge says enthusiastically, her eyes shining. "He ranted for a good hour about how unfair everything was. It was the most adorable thing."

"We didn't help the matter, did we?" Delly laughs. "All we did was laugh at him."

"True, we were shitty friends, but he really cared about you," Madge continues, laying a hand on my arm. "Come to think of it, he painted you as an entry to the talent show we had several years back."

"Shut up. He did not."

"He did!"

"Then how come I didn't see it?" I retort.

"Because he never actually entered it, Katniss. He kept it locked away and entered the painting of the Lomenzo twins their mother commissioned."

"Seriously?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Delly smiles at me. I shake my head and pull at the grass beside me. Madge and Delly both begin to laugh, and I find myself laughing along with them, the happy feeling bubbling through me.

"Don't make me laugh, guys. I'm an emotional, unstable wreck right now. You don't want my water to break," I joke. Delly snorts slightly, clapping her hand over her nose in mortification. This only makes us laugh harder.

And then it happens.

My joke becomes a reality, and I feel liquid run down my legs.

My smile disappears and my hands grasp at my stomach in shock. No. Not now. Please not now. It's too early. "Fuck." I whisper, looking up at Madge with wide eyes.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," she says, her laughter slowing when she notices my expression. "What's wrong?"

"My water actually broke." I whisper, not believing it myself.

"What?!" she cries, leaping up from the ground. Delly looks about ready to pass out.

"Oh my God! The baby's coming!" I exclaim, using the tree behind me to help myself up. Delly squeals, pointing at the dark patch on the skirt of my dress and being very unhelpful. "What do we do?" I ask, my heart racing. If this wasn't so serious, I would laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. We've just come out of a test about pregnancy and children, and we're freaking out over what to do when an actual real-life baby decides to make its arrival a whole week and a half early.

"Are you in any pain?" Madge asks, becoming calmer when she sees how I'm freaking the fuck out.

"Not yet!"

"You should go home. Let's take you home," she says, grabbing my bag and walking me forward.

"No, wait, I need Peeta!" I say, my words taking on a panicky tone.

"Don't worry," Delly says. "I'll get Peeta and tell him what's happening!"

"But he's in an exam!" I say, and she stares at me like I've just said the most stupid thing ever.

"Fuck the exam! You're having his baby!" she cries. Madge gives me an amused look as Delly turns and hurries towards the school steps, her brassy hair swinging behind her. I take deep breaths to calm myself as we walk out of the school gates, ignoring the stares of various townies that we pass, and telling Madge that I can walk by myself.

I'm having Peeta Mellark's baby.

It's finally happening, and I'm terrified.

Peeta

Everything is silent in the hall, except for the sound of pens and pencils against paper, and people cursing under their breath as they try to think of an answer. I'm just over halfway through the test, finishing a long-winded explanation of the importance of giving a child basic education, when the door leading to the girl's locker room slams open, disrupting the silence and causing half the students in the room to jump. It's Delly, looking slightly panicky, but at the same time very excited. I wonder what's going on, and watch along with the rest of the people around me as she runs down the length of the hall to the examiners who look about ready to hit the roof.

"Miss, what the hell are you doing?" one of them asks Delly, putting their hands on their hips. Delly says something to them, moving her hands wildly, and the person freezes.

"Are you being serious?"

"Yes!" Delly exclaims loudly, her cheeks tinged red.

"Okay, thank you," the examiner says, grabbing a clipboard of our names and desk numbers. Delly is practically bouncing on her heels beside him. "Where is Peeta Mellark?" he asks, looking up. I blink.

What?

"I'm Peeta Mellark," I offer, waving my hand in the air.

"Mr Mellark, you need to come with us. Everyone else, continue with the test please," he says, stepping forward with Delly close behind. I stand from my seat in bewilderment. What the fuck is going on?

"What's going on?" I ask. The examiner shakes his head.

"I'll tell you outside," he says, looking about at the other students staring at us. Delly throws her hands into the air and rolls her eyes.

"Jesus Christ!" she snaps, causing the examiner to glare at her. "Peeta, get the hell out of here! Katniss has gone into labour!"

"What?!" I exclaim, my eyes widening. Katniss isn't due for another week and a half. This can't be happening. Not now.

"She's on her way to your place right now!" Delly says, yanking me by the arm to the locker rooms.

"Go Mellark!" Mitch shouts out from his place at the front of the hall. Several other people hoot and laugh as I'm dragged from the room, looking undoubtedly like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Delly practically shoves me through the door the girl's locker room, rushing in after me.

"When did this happen?" I ask as we run, our shoes squeaking over the newly cleaned hallway floors. The janitor shouts at us as we skid over the still-wet tiles that he's just cleaned, and we yell our apologies as we round the corner.

Katniss is having the baby. Oh my God.

"About ten minutes ago! We were sitting outside laughing and then she freaked out and said that her water had broken," Delly gasps for breath as she runs alongside me. Delly Cartwright is one of the fastest girls in the school, coming second probably only to Katniss. It surprised everyone, I think, when the girl who always wore pretty dresses and shiny patent shoes and had (as Denny Small likes to put it) 'more junk in the trunk that those Capitol chicks', could outrun the vast majority of the male students at the school.

"How much pain is she in?" I ask, my pulse spiking at the thought of her being alone during the moment she's been dreading.

"She said she was fine when I left."

"Who's with her?"

"Madge."

"Holy shit. I'm going to be a father." I exclaim. Delly laughs despite herself.

"You knew that months ago, idiot." Our feet slap almost painfully against the cobbles underfoot as we race through town, dodging people and stalls, almost crashing into buildings as we careen around corners. By the time I reach our house, I'm out of breath and my head is pounding.

"Katniss?" I yell, flying up the stairs and bursting into our bedroom. Katniss glances up at me and smiles serenely, looking one hundred times calmer than I am right now. Madge lets out a sigh of relief as she continues stripping the bed of its sheets.

"Hey," Katniss says as she paces up and down the end of the bed. Why is she so calm? I stare at her, gasping for breath. Her eyes tell a different story and are wide and scared. "Sorry about disturbing your exam."

"I've just run through town to get here because you've gone into labour, and the only thing you say to me is 'hey'?" I ask incredulously, bracing my hands on my knees.

"I figured it was better than screaming at you."

I laugh in disbelief. "How are you feeling?" I ask, stepping forward and rubbing her shoulders.

"Just peachy, really," she says, scrunching her face up in evident pain. "But I need Mom."

"I'll go and get your mother." Madge says. Katniss nods, tilting her head back and gritting her teeth.

"Delly? Can you get my Dad? And Prim?" I ask. Delly nods, squeezes my arm, and ducks out of the room, followed by Madge, leaving Katniss and I alone.

"When did you get here?" I ask her, running my hands through my hair.

"About five minutes ago," she says, turning and resting her forehead on my chest. "Shit, Peeta. This is actually happening."

"And you said that it was safe to go to school," I chuckle, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. I can feel the anxiety rolling off her in waves. "You should've listened to me."

"Shut up," she mutters.

"Do you want to change into something more comfortable?" I ask, wrapping my arms around her consolingly.

"In a minute, let me just stand still for a minute. This helps," she says, her hands fisting my shirt. I rub her lower back and she groans, causing me to remove my hands, fearful that I'm doing nothing but hurting her more.

"Sorry." I mumble. She looks up at me and shakes her head, her hair falling into her eyes.

"No, it felt good. Keep going," she puts her arms around my neck and shifts her weight from one foot to the other as I massage at her lower back. We're quiet for a long time, and I try to organize my head, putting everything into lists. I need to get Katniss into comfy clothes. Maybe a wet rag for her head? Or something to eat? To drink? I swallow and try to stay calm. Of course, any ideas of keeping a clear mind disappear when a pained cry escapes Katniss' throat, and she yanks on my hair, pulling what feels like most of it out. My hands still on her lower back. I can feel her muscles tensing beneath her skin, and I let her pull on my hair until the pain is gone. She's going through much more than I am. She can hurt me if she wants.

"I'm sorry Kat," I say softly. "This is my fault that you're going through this."

"Well, this was inevitable, really, wasn't it?" she says, straightening up and pacing again.

"I know... but..."

"Just get me out of this dress. It's gross and soaked," she grumbles. I move to the wardrobe and pull out one of my soft shirts, the material worn from years of use, and a pair of Katniss' beloved sweat pants.

"These okay?" I ask her. She nods, unbuttoning the clasp at the top of her dress and pulling it over her head. I help her into the shirt and the pants, and she tugs the shirt back up to reveal her stomach.

"Feel it," she instructs, grabbing my hands and pressing them against my stomach harder than I ever would, her eyes wide. "It's gone all hard."

"Gross," I say. Katniss clear her throat. I look up. "Oh, I mean, beautiful. Lovely." I amend.

"No, you're right, it is gross."

"You're remarkably calm," I observe with narrowed eyes. "You can hit me and scream at me if you want. We already agreed on this." She chuckles, returning to pacing.

"Don't think that I'm going to be happy throughout this whole thing. I'm going to kill you in a few hours, and then you're gonna wish you never agreed to anything."

Mrs Everdeen arrives ten minutes later, carrying a different medical bag and an excited yet reserved expression. Prim is next to arrive, and she squeals at the sight of Katniss. Her older sister just scowls at the noise. I think she's had enough of Delly's squealing. Delly and Madge say that they'll be back later tonight and leave promptly, and Mrs Everdeen effectively banishes me from the room, claiming that my worrying is driving the both of us crazy. Prim joins me in the kitchen, making me a cup of tea and forcing me to sit down and calm down.

"She's okay, Peeta. Stop panicking."

"I can't stop panicking. She's having my baby," I say, staring at the cup in front me, my leg bouncing under the table.

"Women have babies all the time. It's like a sixth sense to us, really. And Mom's been through more deliveries than she can count on both hands and feet. She knows what she's doing."

"What about Katniss?" I ask. "The textbooks said that there was a risk of a whole tonne of things going wrong the younger the person was."

"And the textbook was right," Prim says calmly, sitting opposite me. I can't help but stare in wonder at the twelve-year-old, who is wiser beyond her years. How can she be so calm? Why is everyone so calm? Is this an Everdeen thing? "The younger or older the woman is, the more risks there are. But Katniss is healthy and strong. She hasn't had any problems with the pregnancy, has she?"

"No... but-"

"But nothing! She's going to be okay. You're going to be okay. And at the end of all this, you'll have a little human being to hold and call your son or daughter," I pause, sipping my drink slowly, letting this information sink in. It isn't like I don't know this. I've imagined what it's going to be like to hold my child in my arms, but it hasn't really sunk in until now.

"Can we talk about something else? Get my mind off this for a little while?" I ask. Prim nods.

"Of course. Where is your father?"

"Delly went to get him."

"That explains why she ran off after yanking me out of class."

"He's going to have an aneurysm," I mutter. "Both my parents are."

"Are they ready to be grandparents?" Prim asks, taking a sip of her tea.

"I don't know," I reply. "To be honest, I haven't really talked about it with them."

"Okay... what about Fenton and Rye? I bet you're thrilled to have such outstanding role models as the uncles of your child."

"Oh, God," I groan, holding my head in my hands. "They're going to be awful." Prim laughs, but the sound is cut off at the sound of Katniss yelling upstairs. I tense, ready to jump out of my chair.

"Stay where you are, Mellark," Prim warns, her eyes fiery.

"She needs me."

"She'll need you in the next few hours," the youngest Everdeen advises. "Not right now, I'm sure."

"Prim..."

"Peeta..." she mimics my tone. The door crashes open and I hear the sound of Dad's uneven steps thudding down the hallway.

"Peet?" He calls.

"In here!" I replies and half a second later he bursts into the kitchen looking flustered, and envelopes me in a bear-hug, patting my back. It's nice to see someone looking at panicky as I do.

"How is she?" he asks, pulling away and placing his hands on my shoulders.

"She's fine," Prim interjects, shooting me a look. "I had to drag Peeta down here before his head was ripped off, though."

"By who?"

"Mom and Katniss," she rolls her eyes and Dad laughs, smiling reassuringly at me.

"Your mother is coming later on, when she closes the bakery. Fen and Rye will get here eventually," he says. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrified," I say shakily. "I wasn't expecting this."

"None of us were, son. Trust me."

Five hours later, Katniss is crushing my hand, her toes curling on the mattress as another contraction rips through her. I've been rushing around the last two hours, fetching cold water, rags, towels, pillows- anything and everything she asks for.

"I fucking hate you!" she screams at me, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I know you do." I say, smoothing her hair from her sweaty forehead. She groans, letting out a pained sob.

"Mom, I can't do this," she sighs, looking down the bed at her mother, who's sitting calmly in a chair I bought up half an hour ago. Prim is downstairs, trying to help my brothers remove my father from the building. Us Mellarks don't cope well under pressure like this.

"Yes, you can." Mrs Everdeen says.

"No I can't!" Katniss wails, shifting upwards, gasping in pain. "It shouldn't be hurting this much! Why is hurting so much?!"

"It's not much longer, dear. The contractions are getting closer together now," she pauses, standing from the chair. "Let me just check..." She says, moving down to the end of the bed. I avert my gaze as Mrs Everdeen instructs her daughter on what to do, where to place her legs, and barely masks her surprised expression.

"What is it?" I ask frantically.

"I can see the head," she announces. "You've been pushing all this time, Katniss! That's why it's been hurting."

"What?!" Katniss screeches, gritting her teeth.

"Okay, take deep breaths," Mrs Everdeen instructs. "Peeta, help her to breath slowly." I nod and turn to Katniss, taking her hand in mine and telling her to breathe in and out, in and out.

"You can do this," I promise her, but I have a feeling it's more for myself than anyone else.

"I can't, Peeta. I can't. I'm so tired," she says, shaking her head lazily.

"I know you're tired, but you've got to push now, honey," her mother says sympathetically.

"I can't."

"Yes you can," I say determinedly. "Hold onto my hand, shout at me all you like." Katniss grits her teeth and another pained cry escapes her lips. It takes fifteen minutes of Katniss cursing like a sailor and squeezing my hand so tightly that my fingers turn blue, Mrs Everdeen's encouragement and me freaking out before Katniss inhales sharply and pushes, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Well done." Mrs Everdeen says, working vigilantly.

"You did it," I say, wiping at the tears on my wife's cheeks with shaking hands. "You did it Katniss."

"I did it," she breathes, laughing shakily. A warbling cry fills the room and my head snaps up as Mrs Everdeen moves forward to lay a swaddled, tiny, bright-pink, squirming baby onto her daughter's chest.

"Congratulations, you have a daughter," she says softly, patting me on the back with a smile, before moving back to the end of the bed. I'm pretty sure I can see tears swimming in her eyes.

"Peeta, look at her," Katniss sobs, unable to look away from the baby. Our baby. "Isn't she beautiful?"

"She's amazing," I breathe, touching the tips of my fingers to the baby's head. "You're amazing."

"What shall we call her?" Katniss asks, still crying.

"I don't mind. What do you think?"

"Melanie... I like Melanie."

"Hello, Melanie Mellark. We love you," I say. Melanie coos softly, opening her eyes and blinking, staring first at Katniss and then at me. Her eyes are shockingly blue, though the fine dusting of hair on her head is just like Katniss'. I can feel my heart already devoting itself to her. I've never going to be able to let her go now. She's just like Katniss. Locked away in my heart.

"You want to hold her?" Katniss asks a short time later, looking up at me.

"I'll hurt her," I whisper, looking down at the fragile human in comparison to my calloused, scarred hands that are pretty much the size of her body.

"No you won't," Katniss reassures me. She reaches up to hand the child to me, and I tuck her into the crook of my arm, watching in wonder as she stares at me with wide eyes, curling her chubby little hand around my pinky finger with surprising strength.

"You're perfect," I murmur, kissing her soft skin.

"She's so small," Katniss says. I look down at my wife and smile, leaning down to kiss her, feeling her tears of joy against my face. I move away again and just stare at Melanie as she stares at me. I can hardly believe this is real. It feels like some surreal dream. She blinks slowly, her dark eyelashes framing eyes that mirror mine. They have a slight silver tone to them, however, and it's the most beautiful colour I've ever seen.

"Welcome to the world, Melanie," I say, cradling her as close to me as I dare. She wriggles slightly in the blanket she's wrapped in, wrinkling her nose, and I laugh in disbelief and relief. "I'm your Daddy." She doesn't understand me, but her eyes close again. I feel a weight being lifted from my chest. Daddy. I'm a father.

Katniss is cleaned up by her mother and laden down with blankets before Prim is allowed to bring up my parents. Dad bursts into tears at the sight of his grandchild- his granddaughter- and I even see Mom wiping fiercely at her eyes before I step forward and hug her. She actually hugs me back, albeit lightly, patting my back.

"You did a good job, Peeta," she mumbles into my ear.

"Thanks, Mom," I say, pulling away and smiling. "Though it was really all Katniss." She sniffs and nods, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Fen and Rye come up next, and they tackle me the minute they're through the door. Prim has a massive smile that stretches from ear-to-ear as she gazes at her sister's daughter. Mitch, Madge and Delly arrive with flowers and toys, and I have to pass Delly tissue after tissue to mop up the waterfall of tears. Madge holds Melanie gently, laughing quietly with Katniss, and Mitch claps me on the shoulder.

"You did good bro," he says.

"Thanks, I needed your approval," I say with a Iaugh. He rolls his eyes and punches my shoulder, but the sentiment is still there.

Hours later, when everyone has left and everything has calmed down a little, I lock the front door and lay with Katniss and my daughter. Katniss hesitantly feeds her, crying out in joy when she finally latches on and begins to drink without much difficulty. It's a small reassurance with her own mother gone, that she can do it by herself. She falls asleep, exhausted, twenty minutes later, so I pull the covers over her shoulder and sit with Melanie by the fire downstairs, staring at her sleeping form, revelling at just how tiny and perfect she is. How I'm actually holding her in my arms. How this is the start of a whole new chapter of my life. I can't wait to start it.

For tonight, I can forget about school, money, and a possible rebellion.

All I want to think about it Katniss and Melanie, the two most important people in my life.