This might be considered a filler, but I don't really see how any chapter is a filler.
Chapter 21
It was getting sort of late and we agreed that it was time to go. The doctors don't even know where Peeta is. We walk back to the Hospital Ward and receive some odd glances while walking through. Is it odd that we still get attention because of the Hunger Games? I ignore them and take Peeta's hand.
When we reach the room, a very disappointed looking doctor stands in the way.
"Where have you been?" he asks.
"In the Hummingbird room," I reply. He's not happy with just an answer.
"Mr. Mellark may be doing better, but he still needs certified supervision." He says. He looks to Peeta. "I'm sorry, but you can't leave the room, unless given permission to. We do not know if you are alright to leave the hospital alone."
"But he wasn't alone. My sister and I were with him, and he seems to be okay. Aren't you?" I look to Peeta.
"Yeah, sure. I'm good." He says.
The doctor is not convinced. He keeps his arms crossed. He sighs, and then looks at his watch. I can't help but notice his handle-bar mustache. I wonder if he combs it like that. Random thought.
"Well, in conclusion, you still need permission to leave the hospital room. You'll tell us where you're going and for how long. Mr. Mellark here, is still on treatment, and we liked it to keep it on schedule."
"Okay," we both answer. The doctor opens the door and motions his hand for Peeta to follow him.
"Bye, I'll see tomorrow." I say.
"Bye." He says behind him. The doctor closes the door after them and I'm left in the hallway.
I don't really have anything to do. There's no more training, because all the soldiers are gone. I can't really hang around in the hospital. I'm completely bored. The only good thing is that I got stay with Peeta today, but then I think back to when everybody left in the morning. I get that stomach turning sensation again.
I want them all to come back home. The thought of having to deal with one of my friends' deaths is unbearable. I need to distract myself. I need to keep myself busy doing something productive. I'll go find Beetee.
Beetee works at monitors along with other techs. The scene is busy with computing and screens displaying scene of war from the Capitol. I walk over to Beetee who watches a screen earnestly.
I look at the screen and make out blacken remains of tents and vehicles.
"Beetee, what's going on there?" I ask.
"Oh Katniss, you're here. Well it appears that the Capitol has set fire to one of the rebel camps at the base of the mountains."
"Any casualties?" I ask worriedly.
"It doesn't appear so. They were given news of the attack, and so most of the soldiers had escaped before the hovercrafts found them."
I relax a little. Good, nobody died. Johanna, Finnick, Gale and the team are still out there somewhere.
The screen changes to a scene in the actual city of the Capitol. A hovercraft films the streets from above. I see oval shaped posts standing in the streets.
"Beetee, what are those?"
"They're pods. They all unleash a sort of attack on the crowd that disables it. It's one of the Capitol's defenses against the rebels."
"Like traps?"
"Yes, but each no need to worry. Each commander is equipped with a Holo. It's a device that contains a complete layout of the streets and where the pods are located. Boggs has one. He's leading 451, Star Squad."
"I heard." I look at the screen beside me and see explosions going off. It reminds me of something.
"We're they able to use the traps that you and Gale designed?"
"Why yes. President Coin approved of the designs and they were set up in the Capitol." He says. He points to a screen a few feet away. "Look there. There's one of the traps." I look to the screen and see boxed in area with injured soldiers. I'm inferring a bomb just went off. I watch the screen as I see people come into the area to help the wounded. Oh no. I know what's going to happen. I can only watch in horror for anticipation. Then, boom. Another bomb goes off, killing more people.
I need to get out of here. I walk backwards and turn towards the door. Beetee is occupied in his work so he doesn't notice me leave. I walk out of there lean against the wall. Well, at least I found out that my friends are still alive.
That evening, I sit on the bed and wait for my mother and Prim to arrive. I lay back and stare at the ceiling till I hear the turning of the door knob. I sit straight up and my mother steps in with my sister behind her.
"Hello sweetie, are you feeling well?" my mother asks.
"I'm fine." I say.
"That's good. Prim has some news to share."
"Oh? What is it?" I ask. Prim puts her medical ID badge in a drawer and spins to face me.
"I've completed the basic training and they want to me to start helping right away!" she says excited.
"That's great Prim! Are you a doctor now?" I ask.
"Oh, no. Not yet. I have to take some more training to become a doctor, but with my basic training done, I can help out with more cases." She says.
"This is wonderful. Prim is actual certified healer." My mother says. "I'm so proud of you."
Prim smiles and then goes to sit next me.
"I already got a job they want me to do." She says. I notice she's not cheery anymore.
"What kind of job?" I ask suspiciously.
She looks to my mother who is still caught in her happiness and then back to me. Something is wrong. I fear the worst for what she's about to say. She finally speaks, "They want me to go help out in the Capitol."
My mother's eyes widen in surprise. I was expecting it, but that doesn't stop the shock and dread I feel.
"The Capitol?" my mother says. "Why would they ask you to go there?"
"They told me that people are constantly brought to the tents for injuries and that there are not enough medics. They're desperately trying to find volunteers." Prim talks with urgency. "After my final exam, they congratulated me on my high score and then they asked me if I was willing to go help out in the Capitol."
"No. you can't go. I'm not letting you go." says my mother.
"But mother-" My sister starts.
"No, I don't want you over there. It's too dangerous and there will be guns, and…" she begins to trail off.
"I already said I would go." She says speaking over my mother.
My mother has that look of surprise again. I wonder how my face looks. I'm completely shocked. Telling them she'll go to the Capitol without my mother's consent is so unlike her. It sounds like something I would do.
"You told them you would go?" My mother puts a hand to her chest, like she'll have a heart attack. "Primrose Everdeen, how could you agree to something like that by yourself?"
"I'm very much prudent to make my own decisions," she says. "I know you worry about me, but I want to help. I want to give my time to those wounded people that desperately need it."
My mother gets a sad expression. It's so like Prim to want to help. She's was born to be a healer and give out help to others in need. She's a good person, but that can also be a curse. She'll be in danger. This is probably what breaks my mother. Losing another person she loves. That's what will break me.
My mother wipes her eyes. She speaks more calmly. Her voice is no longer strict. "I know Prim. You want to help, but you'll be in danger. I don't like the thought of you being in the middle of battle."
"Katniss has gone to other districts." She comments. My mother gives me a look.
"Yes, I went to the other districts, but they told me they needed it for the war effort. They told me the same story, and told me I would be safe. Their words were obviously broken when I got shot." I say.
"You volunteered for it. You knew what you were getting into," Prim counters.
"Well yes, but I should have never gone, well because… I'm pregnant." The last words I say softer than the rest.
"Well, I'm perfectly fine for going. I know what I'm getting into." She says. She looks to my mother. "And mother please, you need to let me help. I will take all the precautions you tell me, and avoid being in any actual fighting." My mother looks sadly at my sister. "It's my obligation to go. I'm a healer like you, and this is what we do. I know it was wrong for me to say yes without telling you, but please understand that it's what I want to do. I comprehend what I'm agreeing to."
My mother walks to the dresser and looks to the wedding of picture of her and my father. She thinks for a moment and then turns to look at me, and then to my sister.
"You can go," she says. My sister gives a small smile of gratitude and walks over to my mother to hug her. I, on the other hand, don't really understand why she agreed to it. She's always protective of us. How did my father convince her to say yes?
Prim breaks away from my mother and goes into the bathroom to wash up. My mother takes off her hospital things and puts them in a drawer.
"Why?" I ask. "How come you're letting her go?"
My mother lets down her hair and then looks to me. "Prim acts on good reasons. She's a good person, and it's hard to believe that such a person can be taken away so abruptly. It's what she wants to do. It would be what your father would want to do. Sadly, I can't protect you girls all of the time, and in times like this it best to just trust. I trust Prim."
I understand what she's saying, but I still worry. I doubt my mother isn't still worrying too, but clearly she has set her mind. Hopefully, she'll continue to think that way.
After everyone has had their turn to shower, I offer Prim to braid her hair. She accepts. I sit behind her on the bed and begin to move her blonde waves of hair into a practical braid.
"So this might be ideal, for you know, going outside and working," I say. "Your hair down is gorgeous, but it will probably get in your face and stuff."
"Alright, Katniss," she says with a smile.
"It just a suggestion, but if you don't want to look like me, then I understand." I say jokingly.
Prim laughs. "Of course I'd like to look like my big sister." She says sarcastically.
"Alright, but you can't copy everything." I add. Then I see my mother smiling. She's probably trying to put away the thought of Prim leaving. That's what I'm doing. "There," I say. "You're beautiful now."
Prim giggles, because she remembers saying the same thing to me. My mother walks to the dresser and holds up a container. "Katniss, you haven't taken your vitamins."
"Oh, I'll do that now." I slide off the bed and swallow my vitamins. I sit on the bed and notice my mother watching me. "What?"
"I was just wondering," she says. "What plans do you have for after the baby is born?"
"Uh, well… I'm not totally sure. Peeta and I will probably talk a-"
She interrupts me. "Do your plans include marriage?"
I freeze. "Um… I don't know. I'd-"
She interrupts me again. "I think we should consider getting you two married before the baby comes. It only seems natural. Peeta is doing better, right?"
"Uh, yes. He still gets those attacks sometimes, but he's as normal as he'll ever be. We talked a little about stuff, and it was perfectly normal today. Prim was there."
"Well good, but you both must start talking about your plans. You need to start making preparations for the baby now, or then you'll find yourself not ready, and become tangled in your unpreparedness. Maybe I should speak to him." She says. "We should appoint a time where all of us can talk about what is needed and…"
She keeps talking and talking. I get how important it is, but this is all overloading in my head. This new sudden interest in planning is a distraction from the heart-ache she feels. Psychologist Katniss knows what's going on with her mother, but not in her own head. I turn to look at Prim and she shrugs. She's just as confused of what's going through my mother's head.
"… You'll need to finish that book that Dr. Odessa gave you. I'm sure you haven't read that much, have you? It's fine, because we still have time and I'll teach you how to change a diaper and how to breast feed. I'll show you-"
Ugh. "What?" I say, like I barely realized my mother was talking to me. My mother rolls her eyes.
"Yes I understand it's a lot, but better to be prepared." She says.
"Katniss is getting married!" Prim suddenly says. That's probably all she got from what my mother said in her soliloquy.
I nudge her with my elbow. "Quiet, you," I say. "Go to sleep, you duck." Prim smiles and gets into the covers. I get under the blankets and lay on my side. My mother does the same.
"Good night girls," my mother says yawning. I lay on my side and fluff my thin pillow a bit. Prim is going. She's going to the Capitol. Where I just saw people get blown up by bombs. Stop thinking about it! You're just making it harder for yourself. Yeah, I might be, but it's reality.
Oh no, not Prim. I can't say what happens in this story. It's a 50/50 chance she'll live, or... you know, die. In the book, I was pretty sad when she died, but I also thought, the story can't be all good and happy. With a war comes some heart ache. On the other hand, it would be sweet for Prim to see her niece or nephew. That would be a nice scene, but... I don't know. Thanks for reading!
-cheezebuns (^_^)(^_^)