Peeta lets the arrow fly, and I watch it sail through the air towards the target. Headshot. Between the eyes.
"Good shot, honey," I praise.
"Well I was taught by the best," he points out. I smile.
For the last month or so, ever since we got back from the Capitol, Peeta and I have come out back of our house every night after the sun goes down. I insisted teaching him archery, and at first he was a little resistant, but now he loves it almost as much as I do. He picked it up quicker than I thought he would. I taught him everything my father taught me. He uses my wooden bow that was my father's, and I love to watch his muscles flex as he brings the string back, and how his eyes slightly narrow as he aims down the arrow. I've been practicing with the new bow Beetee made for me, but eventually, I had to stop. It just got too hard with my belly. We agreed that when we go to the Capitol for the Quell, we'll bring the wooden bow with us. We had Beetee send us a ton of more arrows of every kind he designed, and our quivers are filled to the brim now.
We also have been practicing feverishly with our handguns. Beetee sent us a number of different targets, stationary and moving. A few of them have point systems devised, where you shoot ten bullets, and a hundred is a perfect score. At the beginning, neither of us could score above fifty. Now, we score a hundred every single time. We practice our quick draws, and speed reloading. It's a little tough for me with my giant stomach, but I realize that when the Rebellion does start, I'll already have had the twins. Hopefully I have some time after the birth to practice.
Every few nights, we put on our goggles, and practice getting used to them. It was a little weird at first trying to adjust to the heads up display, but now it's second nature. I thanked Beetee profusely after we put them on for the first time, because I will always know where Peeta is, and I can always see his vital signs. There's a little readout on the left side of the display that has the following information:
Peeta Vitals
HR: 76 bpm
BP: 118 sys / 76 dia
O2 Level: 99%
Blood Sugar: 98
Stress Level: Low
Energy Level: High
Overall Health: Excellent
Peeta's goggles have the same readout for me, with an added category that tells him about the twins. Obviously once they're born that will disappear. We also have learned how to use the throat microphones to speak with each other. They're so sensitive you almost don't even have to talk. The mere movement of your throat is enough.
"I can't believe how good you've gotten with a bow," I say in mild awe.
"I know," he agrees as he knocks another arrow, "I never thought I'd be any good at this. That's why I didn't want to learn when you suggested it. Plus, this has always been your thing. I didn't want to take away from that."
He lets the arrow fly, and it hits the target directly in the heart. One shot, one kill.
"Peeta, don't be ridiculous. You started trying to teach me how to bake almost as soon as we got married. Besides, this isn't about you or me. This is about keeping our family safe."
He nods somberly. We've both become almost obsessive about learning how to keep each other safe. We got Haymitch to teach us some self-defense also, and Peeta taught us some basic wrestling moves to take down enemies in close combat.
"Do you think they realize we're not really doing this for the Rebellion?" He asks.
I shrug.
"I don't know. I don't really care. We're doing this for our children. It just so happens that our priorities align with the Rebellion's. We're using them to get what we want, and they're using us to get what they want. It works for everyone."
"We still need to keep our guard up though," he reminds me. "As much as I trust all the Victors, we still haven't met any of these mysterious District 13 people."
"Yeah. I'm not too sure about all of that. I still am having trouble believing it actually exists. I guess I won't until we have physical proof. But, if Plutarch is telling the truth, we stand a great chance at overthrowing Snow and banning the Games."
"If anyone can do it, it's us," he says confidently.
I lean up and peck him on the lips, and whisper against them.
"I'll follow you anywhere, Peeta." He beams at me.
"Let's call it a night. I need to wrap myself around my husband," I say seductively. Without a word, he starts frantically cleaning everything up, leaving me standing there. I chuckle at his giddiness.
We end up in our bed a short time later. Because of my stomach, it's become almost impossible for us to make love face to face, but that hasn't slowed us down one bit. I think Peeta enjoys it because he uses my boobs as an anchor. I certainly don't mind. I am adamant that we'll keep having sex until either the delivery or until the doctors tell us we can't. Peeta just smiles at that and nods enthusiastically.
I wake up the next morning well rested. Peeta's still sleeping next to me, and I can hear his soft breaths. I sigh. Every morning brings us one day closer to the Quell and the Rebellion, and we know that our lives will never be the same. But, we've made a commitment to the Rebels, to each other, and most importantly, to our children. It has to be done.
"Morning, beautiful," Peeta whispers with a grin.
"Morning, honey," I whisper back, leaning up for my kiss.
"Mmm," he moans, then our lips break apart. "You ready for today?"
"Ugh. Don't remind me," I complain, burying my face into his chest.
"Come on, Kat, it won't be that bad. They just want to throw you a baby shower," he tries to appease.
"I know. I just would rather stay in bed with you all day than sit around with a bunch of women gossiping."
"My wife, the furthest thing from a normal women you will ever see," he says proudly. I laugh.
Effie insisted on throwing me a baby shower. When we left the Capitol, Peeta and I gave her a short statement to release to the public, informing them of the twins. Shortly after, she started calling a few times a week, trying to convince me to let her throw me a shower. Finally, I caved, when she reminded me that we kept our wedding a secret from her, and I had promised her I'd let her plan something. So, today, a bunch of women will crowd into our living room. Effie invited just about every female I know. Her, my mom, Prim, Madge, Delly, Johanna, Annie, Wiress, Mags, even Greasy Sae and Hazelle, are all coming. We invited my doctors, but they couldn't make it. Neither could my prep team. I actually was a bit relieved at that, I'm not in the mood to get all done up.
"Finnick and Annie should be here soon," Peeta reminds me.
"It's nice of Finnick to come and help you," I say. Peeta is taking care of all the food, so Finnick traveled to 12 with Annie to visit and help out.
"Yeah. I think he just doesn't want to be apart from Annie," he smirks. "Kind of like how I feel about you."
"Good answer," I smile.
"I still can't believe you invited my mom to this thing," Peeta says in disbelief. "And that you insisted on hand delivering the invitation."
I laugh. "She was not too happy about that. I think she's still in denial that we're having children. Peeta, I'm sorry, but I don't know if I'll be comfortable letting her be around the twins…," I say unsurely.
"Oh, I was already planning on keeping them away from her," Peeta assures me. "I don't want our children to ever have to experience anything like what I went through growing up."
"You're such a good Daddy," I grin.
"And you're an amazing Mommy," he grins back. "Okay, up we go," he coaxes, picking me up bridal style and hauling me to the shower. We shower together daily, no matter what. It's a tradition we started the morning of our wedding. If I don't hurry him along sometimes, Peeta will spend an hour washing and massaging my hair. Sometimes, I don't mind, but today I know I'm on a tight schedule.
Showered and teeth brushed, I debate what to wear. If it were up to me, I'd just put on a pair of sweats and one of Peeta's large t-shirts.
"Unh uh," Peeta wraps his arms around me from behind. "I know that look, Mrs. Mellark. You cannot wear sweatpants to your own baby shower. Cinna designed all these wonderful dresses for you. Wear one of those."
"Fine," I relent. "But I'm not happy about it."
"I'd be scared if you were," he jokes.
I pick a simple black dress and put it on. It actually makes my stomach look smaller than it really is, but I think I still look like a fat cow. No matter how many times I complain to Peeta, he always tells me I'm beautiful. Sometimes it gets on my nerves, because I know he's the only person in the world who sees me that way when I'm almost eight months pregnant.
Annie and Finnick arrive, and Annie is again gushing over how I look.
"Katniss, you look so beautiful," Annie smiles wide. "I can't wait to have children," she says fairly loudly, making sure Finnick hears from where he's talking with Peeta.
"I heard that," Finnick says without turning around.
"So do something about it," Annie teases.
"We're guests in this home Annie," he reminds her.
"Hey, it's alright with us if you guys need some alone time," Peeta throws his hands up innocently. "The bedroom you stayed in last time is all made up."
We all laugh heartily, and they politely decline. It kind of saddens me, because maybe if they went into the bedroom, I might be able to coax my husband to take me into ours. Well, I guess I'll have to wait. Peeta always tells me good things come to those who wait and that patience is a virtue. I always scoff.
"What time is everyone coming?" Annie asks as we walk into the living room and take a seat on the couch.
"They should be here in an hour," I sigh.
"Great!" She says bubbly. "I'll just put up some decorations. You sit here and relax, okay Katniss?"
"Fine by me," I grumble.
An hour goes by, and Annie has transformed our living room into a girly, frilly, pink and blue cavern. I don't mind as much as I thought I would. This pregnancy is doing weird things to my psyche. Effie showed up thirty minutes ago and helped Annie finish.
The first people who show up are my mom, Prim, Greasy Sae, and Hazelle. They all must touch my belly before even coming in the door, and Prim refuses to leave my side as usual. I'm glad I'll have her next to me all day.
Madge and Delly show up next, and they're in good spirits as always. I've gotten to know Delly better in the last few months, and the three of us have become good friends. They come over a lot and help out during the days when Peeta is at the bakery.
Next are the Victors, who all took the same train somehow. Johanna, Wiress, and Mags appear at the front door smiling. Well, maybe that's a smile on Johanna's face. I don't really know.
"Hey brainless," Johanna says. That's my nickname from her. I hate it.
"Don't call me that," I say for the thousandth time.
"Whatever, brainless," she waves me off. "Let's get this party started!"
I greet Wiress and Mags. Wiress looks about as uncomfortable as me.
I sigh and shut the door. Now everyone's here, so I guess we'll get started.
"Welcome everyone!" Effie gushes excitedly. "Thank you all for coming to the baby shower of Katniss Mellark!" They all clap. I snort. "We're all friend of Katniss', and this is an opportunity to show her what she means to us, and give her some gifts for her babies. So, let's get started, shall we?"
The first thing we do is play a few silly games. I find myself actually having fun and laughing, Prim teasing me constantly.
"Drinks!" I hear Peeta announce as he and Finnick enter the room. They both have trays, Peeta's filled with lemonade and Finnick's with iced tea. They're both jokingly wearing bow ties and acting like fancy waiters.
"For the honoree," Peeta hands me a glass of half lemonade and half iced tea, one of my favorites.
"Thanks, honey," I smile and give him a peck on the lips.
"Aww!" Almost all the women say at the same time. Peeta and I both blush deeply.
"If you lovely ladies require anything else before we start serving the food, please do not hesitate to call for us," Finnick says properly with a grin. He and Peeta exit the room stiffly.
"I hate you two," Johanna says to Annie and me.
"Why?" I ask, still happy from my kiss.
"You have perfect men," she points out. Everyone else agrees. "All the men in 7 care about is their chainsaws and flannel shirts," she jokes.
"Seriously though," Delly butts in, "Peeta is perfect. You get that, right Katniss? That you lucked out in the husband lottery? That he's one in a million?" Everyone else nods enthusiastically.
"Yeah," I sheepishly answer. "I know. I feel inadequate sometimes," I admit.
"What!?" Most of them exclaim.
"That's ridiculous," Prim says, "look at you. You're eight months pregnant with his twins. Besides, haven't you learned by now that for Peeta, you just being with him is more than enough?"
"Yeah, I guess," I shrug. "But he always does so much for me. Like yesterday, he walked in the door and came up to me and handed me a single dandelion. He said, "this is the only thing I could find who's beauty even remotely rivals yours'."
"Oh my god," they put their hands on their chests.
"That's just Peeta," I tell them honestly. "And I know he doesn't expect anything in return, but I do try. Last week, I tried making him his favorite dessert. It didn't really work out, but he was so happy he ate the entire thing."
Everyone laughs. I smile. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea.
"Let's move on to the gifts," Effie announces after a few more minutes of random gossip.
"Let me go first!" Prim demands. "Katniss, I hope you and Peeta like it. It's from me and mom and Haymitch." She hands me a box wrapped in simple paper.
I open it and gasp. It contains two onesies. The pink one says, "My Daddy is a baker!" and the blue one says, "My Mommy is a hunter!".
"Oh, Prim, mom, they're perfect! Thank you!" I hug her tightly. She beams.
We go around the circle, and I receive a ton of baby clothes, pacifiers, blankets, and even a giant case of diapers from Wiress and Beetee. We finally get to Johanna and she smirks widely.
"Here you go, brainless. Make sure Peeta knows it was from me," she grins. She hands me a box without any wrapping. I take it unsurely.
I open it and lift up the silky garment inside. It looks like the lingerie I designed with Cinna, but this one is pink.
"It's called a negliee," Johanna explains.
"Why?" I ask quietly.
"Really? You have to ask brainless?" She teases. "It's so that husband of yours stays interested after you have his babies, duh."
"Peeta doesn't care what I wear," I point out.
"Well obviously," she retorts, "any man wants their wife to be naked."
"No, that's not what I mean," I can't help but smile. "Like a couple weeks ago, when he got home from his interview in the Capitol, he told me how sexy I looked." I eye Prim and my mom nervously, but they're just smiling. "I was wearing sweats, an old t-shirt of his that didn't even cover my belly, my hair was all over the place, and I was bawling my eyes out."
Johanna scoffs while all the other women swoon.
"Typical baker boy," Johanna grunts.
"Don't call my husband that," I say angrily. She backs off with a grin. "Good," I tease.
Annie is the last one to give me her gift, and it's amazing. It's a box full of stuff for the babies. A bunch of onesies, regular clothes that they can wear up to a year old, a few pairs of incredibly cute baby shoes including tiny leather boots, two tiny play bows and quivers, some maternity blankets, a specially designed blanket I can wear while I breastfeed, and monogrammed personalized blankets for both of them, one pink and one blue.
"Oh, Annie, this is great! Thank you! Look at these blankets, they have their initials and their names!"
"What are you naming the babies, Katniss?" Effie asks. Peeta and I haven't made any official announcement, and Prim, my mom and Annie are the only ones here who know their full names. All the Victors know their first names from my little introduction in the Capitol.
"Eve Rue Mellark and Joshua Haymitch Mellark," I say proudly while rubbing my belly. When I say each of their names, I feel a little kick. I think they understand.
"Wow!" "Perfect names!" "Beautiful!" "That's so sweet to name her after Rue!"
"Really, Haymitch?" Johanna asks in disbelief.
"Yes," I nod. "He means a lot to me and Peeta. We wouldn't be alive without him. Plus, he's the twins' godfather. Prim is their godmother."
"Just make sure he's sober around them," Johanna warns somberly.
"He hasn't had a drink since we told him he was the godfather, actually," I reveal.
Everyone gasps, some of them murmuring how they don't believe it.
"It's true," I confirm. "We didn't even ask him to. When we told him, he got up and was halfway to the door before he turned and said, 'I'm truly honored. I'm going to go flush all my alcohol down the drain.' I think he knew we wouldn't want him drinking around the babies. But he also did it for himself. The first few weeks were tough, but we got him through it."
"That's great," A few of them say.
"I wish I could have made him do that years ago," Effie complains. We laugh.
"I'm not sure if it would make him a better mentor or a worse one," I joke.
Finnick and Peeta come back in with our lunch, which Peeta spent a while making. There's lamb stew of course, cheese buns, squirrel stew, rolls, ice cream, a pink and blue cake, and three different flavored pies.
After they set everything down, Peeta turns to the group.
"Okay, so that's all for Kat. We'll bring the rest of your food out now," he teases.
I punch him in the upper arm. "Peeta!"
He just laughs and sneaks in a kiss on my lips. I can't stay mad at him, not when he's kissing me like this, even if we are in front of all the women in my life. He rests his forehead against mine momentarily when we break apart. I notice the entire room is silent, watching us with rapt attention.
"I love you, Katniss Mellark," he whispers, "and I love our children."
"I love you too, Peeta Mellark," I whisper, "and I love our children."
I hear various "awws" and "wows" and "that's so sweet"s. Prim makes everyone laugh when she announces that Peeta and I are always acting like that.
"He's turned you soft, brainless," Johanna snorts.
"Don't make me go get my bow and prove you wrong," I retort. She smirks.
For the next few hours we just relax, eat, talk, and gossip. I find myself having a great time, contrary to what I thought before. All the women love Prim, and fawn over my belly. The older women give me helpful tips, and the younger ones look on in mild envy. I know Annie wants kids soon, but I assume she and Finnick are waiting until after the Rebellion.
Finally, it's time for everyone to leave. Mags, Wiress, and Johanna have to catch their train, so I say goodbye to them. Johanna actually gives me a hug and whispers 'congratulations' in my ear. Wiress also gives me a hug, and it's not too awkward this time. I tell her to send our love to Beetee.
Delly and Madge stay a little longer and then make their way home. They'll both be over tomorrow anyways.
My mom and Prim help Effie, Annie, Greasy Sae and I clean up the living room, while the boys are cleaning up the kitchen and taking care of the leftovers. Soon, it's just me, Annie, Finnick and Peeta. Peeta and I are on the couch, while Annie and Finnick are on the floor, Annie backed up against his chest.
"Well, how was it?" Peeta asks gently.
"Actually, it was fun," I say to his surprise. "We got some great gifts."
I show him all the gifts, except the one from Johanna, which I had Annie run upstairs and hide in one of my drawers. He laughs at the personalized onesies from my mom, Prim and Haymitch, and tear comes to his eyes when he sees the monogrammed blankets from Annie and Finnick.
"This is too much you guys," he tells them looking at their huge box of gifts.
"Don't be silly," Annie waves him off. "You're letting us have our wedding in your backyard, and you're our best friends. It's the least we could do."
"Well, thank you," I tell them honestly. "You guys mean a lot to us."
"Just promise us if you have more kids, we get to be the godparents," Annie pleads. Finnick nods his agreement.
"Deal," I say and jokingly shake her hand.
"You're really going to let him knock you up again?" Finnick teases.
I shrug. "Why not? It wasn't that bad. Plus, it gets him to wait on me hand and foot."
We all laugh.
"I'd do that anyways, honey," Peeta whispers as he kisses my cheek. I turn to face him.
"I'm well aware," I whisper and give him a peck on the lips.
"So what are we doing for dinner?" Finnick loudly interrupts our moment.
"We're cooking some game we have. Squirrel and rabbit, I think," I inform.
"You're still hunting?" Annie asks.
"No, Peeta shot them," I say proudly.
"No way," Finnick says disbelievingly.
I nod. "I taught him how to shoot. He's almost as good as me now."
"Nobody will ever be as good as you," Peeta says seriously. I roll my eyes.
Later, after we've eaten dinner and Finnick and Annie are settled the guest room, Peeta and I get ready for bed. I lay on my side and he spoons into me from behind, wrapping his arms around me tightly and burying his face into my hair.
"Can I take your braid out?" He asks quietly.
"Sure," I nod.
I feel him gently removing the elastic and smoothing my hair out, then running his fingers down the length.
"You have such beautiful hair," he says in awe.
"So do you," I tell him.
"I hope Eve gets your hair," he declares.
"I hope Josh gets yours," I retort.
"Hopefully all our wishes come true," he jokes.
"Hey, I did get to marry you," I joke back.
"That was my wish," he pouts.
"Who said it wasn't mine too?" I tease.
"Mrs. Mellark, you never cease to amaze me," he grins.
"Mr. Mellark, when are you going to stop talking and start making love to your wife?" I demand.
"Um, uh," he stutters.
"Still talking," I point out.
He gets my hints, and I can only hope that we don't keep Finnick and Annie up. We'd never hear the end of it.
"Just wait until I show you what Johanna gave me," I smirk before we fall asleep.
A/N: There's the baby shower. I tried to make it fun, and I hope you laughed a few times. I also wanted to show that they're preparing diligently for the Rebellion, kind of like how Peeta made them train like Careers for the Quell in the books. I'm running out of ideas fast for pregnant Katniss, though. And once we get to the delivery, we'll be moving fast, to the O'Dair wedding, the Quell, and the Rebellion. The story is going to have a lot of action, but I'll still find the time to get some good Everlark fluff in there, so don't worry. Besides, what's war without love, anyways? That doesn't make any sense, oops.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. If someone gives me a good enough idea in the reviews, I'll sit down tonight and write another one.
Keep reviewing and reading. Ta Ta For Now.
