Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is so short again...maybe some more reviews would make for longer chapters?:) So review, and spread the word, get more people to read!I will post the next chapter when there are 10 reviews...do you guys like where the story is going so far? What do you think? Any suggestions?And REVIEW!(Pretty please!)
I stood there, momentarily stunned. Pregnant? I couldn't deal with this, not without Peeta. I barely made it through the first pregnancy! When I felt Rue in my stomach, moving and kicking, it frightened me more than anything, more than the Games even. I owed it to this child to protect it, and what if I couldn't? What if I failed? As much as I've tried, I haven't been able to protect anyone I love, not enough to save them. Fate always finds a way to tear tear them away from me, and with each person, my heart breaks a littile more. It breaks my heart to think that Peeta, only dead for a month, will never get to know his second child, or even that he has one. Tears threaten to spill onto my cheeks but I save them for when I'm alone.
The next morning the nausea is back, and I barely make it to the trash can in time. Mother guesses I am about 3 or 4 months pregnant, though I haven't gained much weight. The nausea seems to be the only thing affecting me, although yesterday I did get a craving for cheese buns with strawberry jam. I figure I should start telling people, so I figure I'll begin with Rue.
I walk into Rue's room, where she is palying with a threadbare doll. I sit down on the floor next to her. Rue is only 6, so she didn't understand what pregnant meant when I was talking to my Mother yesterday. "Rue, honey, there is something I want to tell you," I begin. She looks up at my sweetly with those pretty blue eyes, clutching her doll to her chest. "Yes?" she answers. "I'm going to have a baby, so you will have a little brother or sister to play with." At this, she was all smiles, and I sighed with relief. "You're happy about this?" I ask, hopeful. "Yes, because Daddy will come back to see the baby, won't he?" My heart broke at her innocence, thinking her Daddy will come back from death, and believing he is choosing not to be with her. "Honey, we talked about this. Daddy isn't coming back, he's gone, he died. He can't come back." At this, her lip began to tremble, and tears began running down her face. "B-but I want him to come back," she sobbed, crying into her doll. She ran outside, still crying to go sit under her favorite apple tree. My Mother, having witnessed most of this, put her hand on my shoulder. "Let her go," she said, "she'll be fine."