Yes, a good chapter. I think so. sry 4 gram. ers. So happy reading!
Chapter 20
I stand between Hazelle and Prim. Hazelle is trying not to cry. I'm trying not to keep myself from changing my mind and running onto a hovercraft.
Today they go to the Capitol. Soldiers give good-byes to their families and friends. As much as I want to think that they'll come back, I know there's no guarantee that they'll all make it out. That's the thought I try to ignore when I see Gale, Finnick, and Johanna.
"Be careful out there." says Hazelle to Gale. "Don't go looking for a fight, okay? You just keep your guard and make it out of there."
"Okay." He says. That doesn't seem at all like what Gale would want to do, but I'm sure he'll listen to his mother. Hazelle hugs him tightly, then she forces herself to let go. Gale then starts his good-byes with Rory and Vick. When he reaches Posy she grabs tightly to him, just like Hazelle.
"I'll see you when I get back, okay?" He says. Posy nods. She gives a little encouraging smile. Her grey eyes watering a little. Gale walks to me.
"I'll see you when you get back, then." I say.
"Count on it," He hugs me and then breaks away. "Seems like there's something between us." He says. He glances at my small baby bump. I let out a little nervous laugh. I mean, it's not that big. I hope it's not totally noticeable with this jacket.
"Take care of yourself." He says.
"You too." I add. He walks to Prim and my mother.
"Good luck, Gale." Prim says.
"Till you come back." My mother says.
A voice from the intercom tells everyone in the Hangar that it is time for the soldiers to board the hovercrafts. Gale walks off and waves back at us when he's just about to enter the hovercraft.
"Bye Gale!" shouts Posy.
I look over to where Finnick is. Annie is crying. Not sobbing, but she's sad to see him go. Finnick is comforting her, and then I see someone behind them, next to the hovercraft, alone.
I walk over to her. She's repeatedly cutting a piece of rope. She turns her attention and sees me.
"Tying knots was getting boring," says Johanna.
"Yeah, it gets pretty mundane." I add.
"Are you upset you're not going?" she asks.
"Truthfully, I was, but not anymore." I say.
"Huh, I guess Mockingjays retire too."
"More like maternity leave."
"Yeah, sure. People change when they start having kids. I don't think you'll still be up to it when you're an actual mother." She pretends to shiver with the thought.
"Changing for the better."I remark. "You just make sure Snow is dead."
"Gladly," she says. Another announcement from the intercom informs the departure of the soldiers and tells the families to leave the Hangar. "Better get going." She says.
"Yeah." I walk a few feet away from the hovercraft. I turn around and see Johanna boarding. "Good luck!"I shout.
She glances sideways. "Oh please, I won't need it!" she says behind her. I can't help but smile. Classic Johanna.
The hallways seem a little emptier. The citizens are given the morning off because of the departure to the Capitol. The doctors still have to attend to the patients, so my mother is working, but my sister and I go visit Peeta.
I open the door halfway and see Peeta in a chair.
"I brought someone with me, if you don't mind." I say.
"Umm, no, who is it?" he asks.
"Hi Peeta." Says Prim.
"Uh, hi Prim." He says.
I walk over to where he sits. I see a paper with instructions on how to properly wash your hands. He clearly isn't studying this and with the lighting I can see a little through the paper. "You've been drawing?" I ask.
"Yes, it gets boring being in this room all day." He replies.
Prim looks over my shoulder. She takes the instructions from my hand and turns it over. "Wow it's really good." She says.
"What is it?" I ask. Prim looks to Peeta and then to me, smiling. "What?" I ask eagerly.
"It's not finished yet." Prim says.
"You'll see it when it's done." Peeta adds.
"Really? I can't see it?" I sit down, like I've given up on pestering. I suddenly try to grab the paper, but Prim spins and I miss it. She laughs at me. She hands it back to Peeta and he puts it away.
"We'll since you're not busy drawing, then we should get out of here." I say.
"I don't know if I can leave without supervision." He says.
"You'll be with us." I add. "We'll take care of you. We won't go far." Peeta considers this for a moment. Prim stands up and so do I. I hold out my hand to help him up. He takes it and then we leave the room. The three of us walk in the Hummingbird Room. I guess that's one of the places I like to go the most, because it reminds me so much of home.
"I guess you've never been here before." I say.
"Uh nope, but it looks like outside of the fence in 12." Peeta says.
"Pretty much, it's supposed to be a replica of the Meadow back in our district." A hummingbird hovers over us. Prim reaches her hand in the air, but she's nowhere close to the bird. It speeds away.
"I just remembered something." Peeta says.
"Hmm?"
"I saw some footage of you in the Meadow in 12. You were singing, and all the birds became silent. I had a sense of deja vu. That happened to someone else also."
I know who he's talking about. "Yes, when my father sang. I remember you saying that the birds went silent."
"I recognized the song too."
"Really?" I ask. I've never sang it in front of Peeta. I never really sang the Hanging Tree out loud since my mother told me not to.
"Your father was singing it one day, when he came into the bakery to trade."
Prim gives a sad smile in my direction. She probably remembers when he used to sing it too. She was still very young. Prim walks off toward some tall grasses then begins to pick the small flowerings. She faces away. Peeta and I sit down on the ground.
"She'll be okay?" Peeta asks.
"Yeah, she'll be fine." I say. Then I remember that Peeta has lost his parents too. He lost his whole family.
"You know it's hard losing ones you love. I can't imagine what it's like for you." I say softly.
He shrugs. "I was upset when I found out. Delly was the one who told me." He says looking at the ground. "I guess always be sad about it, but it's one of those things you slowly have to get over."
I nod and put my knees to my chest. I look over to Prim who continues to pick the small flowers from the grass. I think it hurt her a lot. The only thing is, she didn't let it stop her like my mother. Prim is strong. She might be stronger than me.
Peeta takes a long blade of grass and begins turning it into knots. I guess tying knots has become a second nature to us. I sit there and just listen to my surroundings. It keeps me from thinking about what's going on in the Capitol right now. Prim walks over and sits close to us. She gives a small smile to me and then she gathers the flowers in her lap. She picks one and then sticks it my hair. I turn my head in her direction.
"Don't move," she whispers loudly. She places multiple flowers in and then sits back. "There, you're beautiful now." Says Prim.
I give her a look. "Now?" Peeta smiles and continues with his knots.
"It renews your beauty." She says in a Capitol accent. She places one in hers and sits back, leaning on her hands. I take a flower and put it on her ear. We continue to sit there in silence, tying knots and watching birds. Then Prim speaks up.
"Katniss, have you thought about any names?"
"For the baby?" I ask. She nods. "Haven't really thought about it." I reply.
"What about you, Peeta?" she asks.
He looks a little surprised. "Can't say I thought about it." he answers.
"Huh, well I guess you still got awhile till then," she says. "Do you know the gender yet?" Peeta looks up in notice.
"Uh, no. I think I'll keep it a surprise." I say. Prim shrugs her shoulders and then picks herself up from the ground.
"I guess I better get going. I have doctor training soon."
"Okay then," I say. "You'll be a great doctor."
"Thanks, I'll see later." She says. Prim walks out through the glass door.
"I guess we need to talk about some things." Peeta says.
"I guess we do." I say.
Peeta tosses a blade of grass and sits closer. I really don't know how to start this kind of conversation. Luckily, Peeta starts it off.
"How long till the date. When are you due?" he asks.
"Ummm, well from what Dr. O said, I'm due in April."
"Oh," he says. Peeta is usually the one good with talking and words. He always sounds confident when he speaks about certain things, but I can kind of tell he's not as steady. That's okay. I'm nervous about it all too.
"So… what-are-we-going-to-do?" I say. Peeta gives a shrug.
"This what we got to talk about." He says. "First, what about living arrangements? I mean, hopefully I'm not still in the hospital by then."
"You won't be." I assure him. "I guess we get our own boarding cell. I'll move out from my mother's and Prim's."
"I guess so. What about stuff?"
"Stuff? You mean baby stuff?" He nods. "I don't think we'll have to worry about it. District 13 makes sure that infants have what they need." I say.
"Oh," he says. "I've got a lot to learn about this stuff." He says scratching the back of his head with a hand.
"Me too," I say softly. "But we'll figure it out. We can do this." I say letting the last words slip. I failed at my attempt to sound confident.
Peeta takes my hand and gives it an encouraging squeeze. "Hopefully this war is all over before the baby comes." He says solemnly. I put my chin on my knees. That's one of things I worry about the most. I guess he notices my expression. He knows that's the main reason I don't want kids. "We'll be okay." He says. I exhale to relax. At least he didn't say "safe".
After a minute of just sitting there Peeta asks me something.
"So, you don't know if it's a boy or girl?"
"No, I told the doctor I wanted to keep it a surprise." I say. "Which one would you hope for?" I ask.
"Uh, I don't know. A boy… or maybe a girl. Either one." He says. "What about you?"
"Um, maybe a boy. I guess they have a better chance at protecting themselves." I say.
"Or it could be a girl, and act just like you." He adds. "Then she'll be brave and be able to protect herself. You could teach her how to use a bow, then she wouldn't need anybody's protection."
"Oh?"
"Yup, and she'll be beautiful, just like her mother." He says smiling at me. I feel a blush taint my cheeks. "but then you'll have to teach me how use a bow, so we can keep boys away." He says jokingly.
"I don't even want to think that far ahead!" I say laughing.
"Me neither." He says. Then he laughs. I laugh too and then it dies down till he's smiling. I realized how much I really missed him. His smile, eyes, that love that I thought would always be there. I appreciated it more.
He notices me looking at him. "What?" he asks.
"It's nice to have you back." I say. He stops laughing. I move over closer and hug him putting my head to his chest. This is the first real hug in a long time. No cameras, no uncertainty from my part. He puts his arms around me.
I speak softly, "We may be young, but we could be good parents. You'll definitely be a good father." He moves a hair behind my ear.
"I know you're worried about it, but you'll be a good mother too. You love them." I smile in return. I want to believe him. I may not be perfect, but I'll do my absolute best. That's what counts, right?
"Oh! I have something to show you." I break away from his hug and dig into the pocket of my jacket.
"What is it?" he asks.
"Be patient." I say teasingly. I look in my other pocket and I find it. The picture Dr. Odessa gave me. I've kept it in my pocket this whole time. I take it out and hand it to him. He tilts his head then realizes what it is.
"Whoa, that's…" he starts.
"Our baby." I say looking over his shoulder. His expression is solemn. He traces the outline of it with a finger.
"That's definitely a tiny person." He says.
"I thought it looked like an alien." I say. Peeta looks at me strangely. "It looks like one doesn't it?"
He laughs. "Yeah, I guess so, but it's beautiful."
"Our beautiful alien." I add.
Ha, beautiful alien. What was Peeta drawing? I'd actually like to ask you. What do you think? I have an idea, but you guys might come up with a better one. Don't put "Katniss" because that's so predictable. So I'm still writing, so a chapter may not come up daily. I'll TRY, but no promises :( Well, gracias for reading and leave a suggestion!
-cheezebuns