*************************************************************************************Hello to all of my wonder readers and reviewers! I can't believe how many reviews you all have given me on my last chapter; I don't know if I've smiled so often until reading all of your wonderful reviews! I absolutely couldn't be happier with all the reviews! And a special thank you to THGpanem! I loved your idea for a Haymitch POV so much I decided to add a little bit of it into today's chapter! I hope I did it justice, I may do some more in his POV in the future! I also saw where several of you liked the Peeta POV so I added a little bit of his POV in today's chapter as well! I love you all!
"Katniss?…" "Peeta!" His gentle hand is caressing my cheek, I jump from the bed and into his arms and press my lips against his harder than I ever have. "Peeta. Do you remember me?" Our eyes wander down to my stomach, it looks much larger than last time I looked, Peeta's smile is warm and welcoming, which tells me he remembers everything. He places his hand on my stomach and it sends chills through me and I continue to happily kiss Peeta…. All of a sudden we are back in the cave from our first games. "Peeta?" I look around and I can't find him anywhere, I finally get up and take a peek around the outside of the cave, before I can realize what's happening, I am on the ground with Peeta crouching over me. But this isn't my Peeta. This isn't even the hijacked capital Peeta. But it's definitely him… "Peeta. Please! You don't want to hurt our baby!" This Peeta is the… muttation version…The only thing that shows me that it's him is the blue eyes, and blonde fur covering this mutt. The mutt Peeta lowers his mouth down, right where our baby is resting and is about to bite down on our child, I keep screaming, and my arms won't do anything but lay limply at my side.
I open my eyes and I see blonde hair so I back up in my bed letting out a couple shrieks. "Sweetheart. It's okay." Haymitch is holding my hand trying to comfort me. I can't help but question why he's been acting so nice to me recently, and thanks to the dumb pregnancy hormones running through me I blurt the question out. "Haymitch, why are you finally deciding to play nice to me?" "Because, you and Peeta are the only people I have left to care about, and it took me sobering up to realize it." Wow…There is seriously something wrong with Haymitch… I give him a skeptical look and he rolls his eyes at me, "Want to hear the truth? I didn't feel like having my face ripped off by the hormonal girl on fire." I smile and shake my head; he gives me a half smile and then quickly tries to change the subject….that was much more Haymitch like.
"Well, if you want to go meet your "fellow tribute" you best be getting ready." He points to the chair which has a plain green t-shirt and some dark cargo pants. "Haymitch, what if I show…" I point to my expanded abdomen, "You won't, it's baggy enough to hide that thing you call a baby bump." He pats my abdomen and walks out the door. I pretend to still be talking to Haymitch, You love the idea of a baby Peeta, and we all know it. I put on the clothes and take a look at myself in the bathroom mirror and agree, the baggier t-shirt does hide it well; I just look like I've been eating well. I braid my hair and become pleased by my appearance, I do look like before the first games, just a little older, Peeta does too, so I guess it doesn't really matter. I open the door and Haymitch is standing there waiting on me so we can go visit Peeta. If it weren't for the stiches, and my self image, I would be bouncing around the hospital the way Peeta did at the baby store. It's a short walk to the room they have set up; it looks exactly like the living room in the suite we stayed in, before both games.
My stomach hurts as I touch the door knob that sends me back to the horrifying days before the games. Haymitch pulls me back by the shoulder, "Try to keep in mind, he doesn't know you're married. He doesn't know you love him. He doesn't remember anything since the reaping. And he doesn't know you're pregnant. You are the same seventeen year old that volunteered for your sister, you are not in love with Peeta. You are here, and trying to win." I try to absorb all of what Haymitch is saying; I'm basically not allowed to show any type of affection to Peeta. "So you're saying we're not going to try and bring things up that have happened after the games?" "Not today, sweetheart. We need to let the boy adjust to having you in his life for a few days." I nod and open the door; my heart skips a beat as Peeta turns his head around to the door. I take a seat furthest from him, remember Katniss; you don't love him right now. You're here to kill him. And you think he wants to kill you too.
Peeta stands up and extends his hand out to me. "Hi Katniss, I'm Peeta Mellark. I'm your fellow tribute from district twelve." I hesitate for only a moment until I grasp his hand, "I'm Katniss Mella—Everdeen."He keeps his hand on mine for a few moments, and just as he did in the first reaping, he gives my hand a squeeze of reassurance, he looks a little confused why I started by saying his last name, then again who wouldn't be confused by that. We both take our seats for a minute and then he finally speaks out, "So. Have you met him?" I try to look like I'm in a daze, like I did in the first games, even though I am holding onto every single word he's saying. I have missed him so much it's impossible for me to ignore him in any way, or form. "Have you met Haymitch?" He waits for a reply just like the first time and after a few minutes he tries to speak again "I have met with him one time, yesterday actually." He pauses for a moment and tries to think of something else to say to me, and because it's Peeta, he has no trouble at all. "Katniss, he has won this thing once. He can help us." I nod and look over in the direction of where the glass observing room was and try to give Haymitch a look that means he's free to join us at any time. Preferably now…
Just as I felt like I was about to crack, Haymitch comes busting through the door with a bottle of liquor in his hand, his hair is messed up and he smells like he dumped the bottle on his body. I try to mute the gagging in my throat. I hope this doesn't hurt you; I take a second to glance down at my expanded abdomen. "When do we start training?" Peeta's voice is loud and clear as he lunges for Haymitch's liquor, this time because Haymitch is coherent, and doesn't know quite what to do, Peeta is able to snag the bottle and throws it behind him. When it shatters, and the smell is completely overwhelming; I refuse to let this hurt my baby after all he's already been through. I jump to my feet and run for the pastries that are sitting on the coffee table a few feet in front of me. I grab it and break it open and inhale that smell instead, I look over at Peeta wishing that my interest in the pastries would trigger something for him. His eyes are wide and starring not at the pastry but me, more specifically. The area inside of me, where our child rests.
I know he is just too dumbfounded, by what looks like a major weight gain, to respond with the normal grace he has in everything he says, so this time it just floods out of his mouth. "Katniss….How much capital food have you eaten so far?" I drop the pastry and cross my arms and scowl at him. "That's a nice way to treat your wif—I mean….they had a lot of cheesy buns here and I couldn't help but eat them, they are almost as good as the ones that you make at your family bakery, back home in twelve." I am trying my best to hide the hormones bubbling inside of me after his insult to my weight…You're the reason I look like this! I bite the inside of my cheek and leave it at my last comment. Haymitch shoots me a look of disappointment that I already broke the idea of when I first met Peeta. I listen to Haymitch blabber on and on about, survival he sounds drunk, rather he really is, or he's just making it up for Peeta's sake, I can't tell. When I hear the words, "let's go", I shake my head and look around. "Katniss? Are you coming?" I turn to Peeta and he is motioning towards the door.
Forget what Haymitch said, I want Peeta to know I love him. If his memory is really coming back in a few weeks, what does it matter about snapping him out of it slowly? "Peeta, I'm scared." That is the first thing I could think to say that gave me an excuse to touch him. His blue eyes change from happy to confused, it's actually more of shock I suppose… "It's okay Katniss…We're only training for now. The games are still about a week away." Instead of just smiling like the normal person would do in this situation, I march right over and grab his hand in mine. "Together?" "Together." Peeta flashes his radiant smile, and for a split second, I can see a spark of recognition in his eyes. I breathe out happily and I feel the baby move ever so slightly. You know your daddy is coming back to us. Don't you? I smile as brightly as I can, and Peeta seems to have caught on.
********************Peeta's P.O.V*******************
I can't believe this is happening! This is so unlike the Katniss I've grown up watching. Is it possible she likes me? I look down at our intertwined hands and a surge of happiness flows through my body completely. I don't want this moment to ever end. "Peeta?" I snap out of my day dream, and Katniss is trying to wiggle her hand out, I knew this would happen… I try to hide the disappointment that is probably already projected all over my face. "Boy, that means let go!" Haymitch's voice is booming right into my ears, I don't want to accept what is happening so I release Katniss' hand as slowly as possible. "Sorry." I let out a slight awkward laugh, she returns my laugh with a smile that seems like she may actually like, or maybe even… love me. This is also the first time I've seen Katniss smile twice in one day, is it because of being with me, or the idea of leading me on and then brutally killing me in the arena? I watch her as she loads her bow, as graceful as ever, Haymitch throws up something that resembles a bird and I see Katniss' arrow launch perfectly through the eye area of the target. I smile when I see that, you really don't know the effect you can have on people, do you Katniss? When she walks over to me and stands on her tiptoes I get chills of surprise and pure joy, for some reason I feel like I've known her, as I she were…mine. "Come on Peeta. Time to show Haymitch your strength, I nod and agree to whatever Katniss was asking, or saying. I pick up the hundred pound weight ball and throw it across the room without much effort. Katniss grabs my hand and stands with her whole body against mine, "Peeta. I need to tell you something…" I nod as I stay in a daydream of me and Katniss falling in love, and I keep getting the feeling she loves me too. Of course she doesn't she likes Gale. Not me. I'm just that boy who gave her burnt bread. "Peeta, I love you." Before I can say anything to her, Haymitch is pulling her by the wrist out of the room.
*****************************Haymitch's P.O.V********************************
Katniss is trying to free herself it's times like these when I'm glad I decided to get off my lazy butt and work out. Forget about playing nice because of her being pregnant! This time she deserves to be chewed out. "Katniss! What were you thinking? Are you trying to emotionally screw this boy up?" I'm so mad at her right this moment I just hold my hair by the roots and walk around in a circle, "Haymitch what are you talking about? Did you not see any of those recognition sparks, when I hinted at things?" "Of course I saw them! But Peeta can't fall in love with the childhood fantasies like the first time. Remember after his hijacking, he had to fall in love with you….again!" Katniss' face reflects the fact that she is contemplating rather I'm right or not, "But…Haymitch. You said his memory would come back in a few weeks, a couple months top. I just don't see why it matters if I try, this faster approach." Before she can even say another word I begin screaming at her, "Katniss! We think it will come back by then, we didn't want to stress you out with a child on the way, there is no guarantee his memory will come back at all! Until you can manage to get that through your thick Mockingjay head, I can't help you or Peeta!"
Hey Everybody, what did you think about today's chapter? Love it? Hate it? Let me know! Anything you'd like to see? Any characters you'd like to see being brought into the story? Did you all like Haymitch's POV? Love it? Hate it? Let me know. I love you all so much and can't thank you enough for all the reviews! I love you all so much! Talk to you all at my next update!
~Freezethemoment
