[THANKS for all the reviews! I love reviews. I hope you like this chapter too.]
(Point of View: Peeta)
Lying there on the ground with my wife and unborn baby, I was reminded of waking up to find Katniss unconscious in the cave during the Hunger Games. The fear that Katniss would never wake up was palpable. I tried not to think negatively, but Katniss looked almost lifeless laying there on the ground. It was…beyond words…for me to see her like that. Thoughts of our baby trying to survive inside her also filled my mind. Unimaginable. I thought. It's unimaginable to lose them. I had imagined it though. In fact, I'd predicted it. What have I done? I thought. How could I let this happen? I didn't mean to do it, but I really have killed her. It was irrational, but it was how I felt.
The others prepared to be in the woods for some time. The midwife put a blanket over Katniss, and the doctor built a fire as the temperature started to drop. They improvised a holder for the IV bottle so Delly didn't have to keep holding it. Then I heard Katniss make a noise. It was soft at first. It almost sounded like the noises she made when she was trying to wake up from a nightmare.
"Katniss! Katniss!" I said. I squeezed her hands and shook her shoulder.
The midwife and doctor approached, having heard the sound of me calling her name.
I kept calling her name, but Katniss didn't respond to me. She only made a few more noises and then became quiet again. The midwife cut her eyes over toward Delly. She was signaling something, but I didn't know what. I felt Delly touch my shoulder.
"Peeta," she said, "why don't you come with me for a few minutes?"
Looking up at Delly, I saw a sense of urgency in her eyes. I let go of Katniss and walked away. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the doctor and midwife examining Katniss as best they could in the twilight of the woods.
"Delly, I'm not going to be able to handle this." I confided. "This is too much for me." My hands trembled. Delly stilled my hands.
"Peeta." She said. "The strength? It comes." Her voice was gentle and confident. She lowered her eyes and gave my hands a squeeze of reassurance. "I promise you; it does."
I heard another series of sounds escape from Katniss. They sounded muffled, but they were somewhat like moans.
The midwife motioned for us to come back over to where Katniss was. She took my open hand and rested it on Katniss' belly. Katniss' belly felt rigid but gradually relaxed.
"Peeta, Katniss is not really waking up right now." The midwife said, "She's reacting to the labor pains. That was a contraction. They are getting stronger, so she's reacting to them in a way she didn't before. The labor is progressing. She's 6 centimeters now which is over halfway to the point where the baby can be born."
"Everything else is the same Peeta. We still don't know what's going to happen to Katniss. Her labor is unlikely to stop though. I'd say the baby will be born overnight or tomorrow." The doctor continued.
I kept my hand on Katniss' belly so I could feel her belly tighten and then relax. My hopes that Katniss was waking up were shattered. I never thought I'd wish to hear Katniss call out to me in pain, but that night I did. It would have meant for certain that she was coming back to me.
(Point of View: Haymitch)
Everybody knows I have connections in District 13. If somebody wants something from them, they usually come to me. The midwife called saying she needed me to call District 13 to ask for more snake anti-venom. The stuff was expensive, she said. District 12 didn't have that much, she continued and continued. I had no idea why she needed the anti-venom. Then she mentioned Katniss! I demanded that she tell me what was happening. She relayed the story of Katniss being bitten by a copperhead, and how they might need more anti-venom than they had. Suddenly I was once again in the position of negotiating for items to rescue Katniss, just like in the games. When I warned the midwife that I might not be able to persuade District 13 to agree; she snapped at me. She told me to tell them that it was for Katniss! She said that District 13 should be willing to do anything to help Katniss and reminded me that Katniss was the Mockingjay. Clearly, she was unaware of the complexities of politics and culture in District 13! After all, Katniss had killed their president. She was both loved and hated, depending on who you asked. The midwife was right that the Mockingjay angle was my best shot at getting anti-venom quickly though. I spent the next few hours trying to find the right person: a person who did love the Mockingjay and who also had access to anti-venom! Having had no luck, I was racking my brain trying to think of who else I could call when Rory ran through my front door.
"Mr. Abernathy," he said. "They don't need any anti-venom. They said it won't help her now."
My eyes grew wide. My mouth dropped open. I prepared for the boy to give me the worst of news.
"They said they need you to get someone in district 13 to send a hovercraft instead…to take her to 13." He continued.
To get a Hovercraft, I knew exactly who to call. I fumbled through a drawer and found a book of phone numbers. Then I quickly dialed.
"Beetee," I said, "This is Haymitch. Katniss is in trouble."
(Point of View: Delly)
The hovercraft that appeared over us to take Katniss to District 13 wasn't a medical one. It was military. Beetee himself was on-board. Beetee , the doctor, and the hovercraft pilot carefully carried Katniss on-board while I tried to stay out of the way.
"Come on, Delly." The midwife said. "You have to take care of Peeta while I take care of Katniss."
I obeyed. I took a perplexed Peeta's arm and lead him onto the hovercraft. He was becoming increasingly confused. I was hoping that the incredible stress of the situation wasn't triggering some kind of episode. Peeta kept saying something about Katniss not wanting to go back to District 13. Finally, as I clicked a seatbelt around his waist before take-off, Peeta told me that Katniss wouldn't want to die in District 13.
"Katniss isn't going to die, Peeta. We are going to try to make sure of that."
When we made it to the hospital, Beetee sent me ahead with a small hand-held computer. He told me to give it to the nurse at the front desk while he and the others got Katniss off the hovercraft. I did as he told me. The nurse immediately went into another room and came back with two young-looking doctors. One had red hair and seemed to be in charge.
Weary, I slid back against a nearby wall. The red headed doctor read aloud from the hand-held device, "'20 year old female, 31 weeks pregnant, bitten by a muttation copperhead, and she's in pre-term labor.' That's a train wreck! That's the kind of case you only get from District 12! Ha!" He slapped his hand on the table and grinned at his colleague.
"Yeah, yeah. And she'll probably be wearing a blue cotton dress and have her hair braided in pigtails." The other young doctor replied, laughing.
The nurse glared at them, "It's Katniss Everdeen; you might want to show a little respect." She said. "Actually, you might want to show a little respect anyway." She continued, cutting her eyes over toward me.
I looked down at my torn dress and dirty hands. Yes, I'd been trying to save my friend's life for a day, but these doctors probably didn't know that. They probably saw only a filthy girl from a backward place.
"Oh, really?" The red-headed doctor said raising an eyebrow, "Huh. Katniss Everdeen."
Just then Katniss was brought in on a stretcher. The young doctors sprang into action, examining Katniss in a nearby room. I wondered if they would have done that anyway or if the sudden enthusiasm was due to the fact that they now knew that their patient was famous.
An attendant dressed in white appeared and quickly squirted a clear liquid onto Katniss's belly. She began moving a plastic device all over it. A very clear image of the baby appeared on the nearby screen. I moved closer to see the baby.
"This baby is breech." She said. "And 30-31 weeks based on growth."
"Ok." the red-haired doctor said turning towards me. "Are you the next of kin for Miss Everdeen here?"
Just then Beetee lead Peeta into the room.
"No, he is." I said pointing to Peeta, "This is her husband."
"Aren't you?" The doctor started to ask with a befuddled expression. Then he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.
"Never mind." He continued. "Here's the deal. There's no stopping this labor, and the baby is upside down. It's supposed to come out head first, and it's turned such that it will come out rump first. That can be very bad for the baby's head and neck. I am a little worried about your baby in particular because it's more fragile, being premature. Plus we don't know what condition this baby will be in because we don't know anything about its wellbeing since the snake-bite except that it's had a stable heart rate. The baby simply doesn't need any more stress. So, for multiple reasons, I think the baby needs to be born by c-section. I have to have your consent as Miss Everdeen's husband since she can't give consent herself. Do I have your consent?"
The doctor sounded urgent about the matter. Peeta looked unsure.
"Well, what about Katniss?" Peeta asked quietly, "Is it best for her?"
"It's surgery for her." The doctor admitted.
Peeta gave me a puzzled look.
Realizing he was asking for my help, I said, "I think she'd agree to the c-section, Peeta."
I hoped I wasn't interfering too much, but I felt certain that Katniss would want to give the baby the best chance to survive. The protective instincts of a mother were not something Peeta could be expected to understand, especially in his current state of mind.
Peeta, who had apparently been holding his breath, exhaled deeply.
"OK." He said. "Just take good care of them."
"We will." The doctor said as he hurried down the hall.
Several other people dressed in white quickly took Katniss down the hall in the same direction the doctor had gone. Peeta looked at me, his teeth pushed deeply into his lower lip.
The attendant who had projected the image of the baby on the screen walked over to Peeta.
"You know it's a girl, don't you?" She asked.
"No, I didn't." He said.
And for the first time since this nightmare began, I saw Peeta smile.