Disclaimer: All characters and things associated with The Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins and Lionsgate. This writing is for pure entertainment only.

Summary: Peeta's lie about Katniss' pregnancy is tested by the Capitol, leaving the Lethal Lovers only one option going into the Quarter Quell.

CHAPTER 13

PEETA POV

I keep an eye on Katniss as Johanna attempts an apology with her. I trust Johanna because Haymitch does, but I still know she and Katniss are a ticking time bomb together. When Johanna finally joins us back on the beach I relax a little.

"I apologized. Happy?" Johanna asks, taking a seat next to Finnick and I as Beetee is drawing something in the sand.

"Very," I give a small grin because I know Johanna did not enjoy giving the apology at all and any humor under the present circumstances is welcome.

But as quickly as I smile, it fades. I watch as Katniss is nearly sprinting out of the water with Wiress right behind her.

I stand instantly, machete in hand, my eyes scanning what Katniss could be running from. I only relax when I see that she is smiling.

"It's a clock!" Katnsis says when she reaches us.

The rest of us look around, confused.

"Did her crazy rub off on you?" Johanna asks, using her axe to point between Katniss and Wiress.

"No. No…Wiress figured it out. The arena is set up like a clock…in sections, with the Cornucopia being the dial. Disasters happen in each section on their designated hour. The fog, the monkeys…" Katniss is pointing around the Cornucopia.

"The blood rain," Johanna adds, seeming to quickly grasp what Katniss is saying.

It takes me and Finnick a little longer to follow Katniss' train of thought and by the time we do, Beetee is trying to figure out a way to use it to our advantage and Katniss has calmed down enough to sit down next to me.

We all settle in onto the sand, excited about what Katniss and Wiress have figured out.

"How did you know?" I ask Katniss softly as she sits next to me.

Katniss shrugs. "I just listened to Wiress…no one else wanted to."

"I saw. You were good with her. No one else had the patience," I tell her.

Katniss blushes and gives a little shrug. "I'm used to it. I had Prim—"

"I know. I remember you with her too. That's why I know…you are going to be a good mom," I glance down at her still flat stomach, knowing I probably crossed a line but I felt like she needed to hear it.

"Thanks," Katniss surprises me with a simple smile.

And then, suddenly, the smile fades, as a familiar scream fills the air. It's Prim, or rather her voice, screaming for Katniss.

I freeze, but within seconds, Katniss is on her feet.

"PRIM?!" Katniss' stare is wild.

Prim's voice is heard again and Katniss takes off after it, back into the forest.

Its only after Katniss is far enough in that I can't stop her, that I see the Jabberjay overhead, shrieking Katiniss' name. Gale's voice is mixed in now too. It's the Jabberjays. It's a trick by the Capitol, and it's working. It got Katniss running away from me, from the safety of the beach.

Within seconds, I am on my feet, chasing after Katniss.

"Katniss! Stop!" I scream ahead of me.

Finnick is by my side, following me to help, until a new female voice is introduced to the birds, and Finnick falls off my flank. I don't recognize the voice, but he must.

I continue on after Katniss who is still screaming ahead of me. Finally, I manage to catch up with her as she slows down because her breathing is too heavy. The Jabberjays are circling over her head now, Prim's voice everywhere.

When I see Kantiss I nearly break. She is on her knees, holding her eyes and sobbing into the ground. I move ask quickly as I can and wrap my arms tightly around her, forcing her to look at me.

"Katniss, they aren't real! It's jabberjays! Just jabberjays!" I tell her, pointing to the birds.

Katniss looks up and sees them, her cries a little more under control. "They copy, Peeta!"

"Its just to get to you! It's not real! No one would ever hurt Prim!" I remind her how important her sister is to the Capitol. Everyone loves her because Katniss loves her. I don't think Snow would dream of hurting Prim in the middle of the Games. It's just to get to Katniss, to break her.

Katniss seems to calm down in my arms and I realize the jabberjays have stopped now. I smiley softly at her. "See?"

Katniss nods and wipes her nose. She looks a little sick and I am certain the baby is not happy about her near panic attack.

I go to stand and help Katniss up, when I hear it. Katniss' cries rip through the air. I turn in a panic to see she is on her feet, not crying at all. Still her cries fill the air, ripping me apart. She is yelling my name, desperately, and I suddenly feel the weight of the scream on me. I know they aren't real, or at least not right now. I know she has screamed my name before, this desperately, when she thought I had died when I hit the electric current earlier in the Game. It's the same desperate cry in the air now, and I break.

I step away from Katniss, covering my own ears, trying to block the cries out. It is her turn to calm me.

"Peeta! No it's not real!" Katniss staggers toward me, but it must be a minute too late because suddenly a thin sheet comes between us, its clear, but she can't pass through it. I am trapped in my slice of the arena, for my hour, with Katniss' screams circling over me, the Jabberyjay's never resting for a minute.

It doesn't take any time for me to fall to my knees. Even though I can see my Katniss on the other side of the film, safe and sound, crying for me, but safe, I can't shake the noise from my ears. Those cries are the worst thing I have ever heard; it is a cry I never want to hear.

And the cry is eating away at me.

I can hear the real Katniss through the shield the Capitol has put up between us and she is screaming my name too. Her voice is blending with the Jabberjays and I just want it end.

I can't tell what is real and what isn't. I cover my ears, drag my face across the ground, letting the pebbles scratch my forehead until I see blood mixed in with the dirt; anything to distract me from Katniss' cries.

KATNISS POV

The shield is up before I can get to Peeta. I can hear the Jabberjay's screaming Peeta's name in my own voice. It is eerie, the sound so real, but they aren't. I am okay. I am right here. In a weird way this is comforting because I know Peeta is right; Prim is safe somewhere and the Jabberjays were mocking something that isn't recent.

But as I watch Peeta fall to the ground I do the same. I put my head against the glass and watch my rock crumble. It is sickening to watch him and not be able to help him.

I get sick twice while he is trapped on his side of the shield. It's a mixture of nerves, dehydration, and hormones from the baby I am sure.

"Peeta…please…please! I am okay!" I yell through the shield until I realize I sound just as desperate as the Jabberjays and am probably only making things worse. So I fall silent, one hand on the shield, waiting for the hour to be up so I can comfort Peeta.

As I watch him now, my feelings for him seem to unfold. Things I have not allowed myself to feel come to the surface. I can't lose him; Peeta is such an integral part of me, not just because he is my fellow Victor, or the father of my child; it is because he is Peeta. He is the ray of hope, the blanket of calm that I need. If something ever happened to him I don't know what I would do. I need him.

The warm feeling I have not allowed myself to feel since the cave in the first arena fills my heart. I just want to pull Peeta in my arms and kiss him and tell him we are okay. I want to comfort the way he comforts me when I have my nightmares.

Finally, after an hour, the shield falls down and I nearly fall on top of Peeta. I had been leaning on it without even realizing it.

"Peeta!" I crawl toward him and gather him in my arms, his head in my lap, his head right next to my womb which holds the child he already loves more then I do.

He is still closing his eyes, his hands over his ears tightly.

"Peeta, please, look at me," I pull on his hands and eventually he releases his ears, looking up at him as if in shock. His hands are still shaking.

"Katniss…" His voice sounds dry.

"He needs water," I yell to Johanna, Finnick, anyone.

Surprisingly Johanna is taking care of Finnick the same way I am with Peeta and Beetee actually goes to gather the water.

"Peeta, are you okay?" I ask, but the second I do I realize my question is stupid. How could he be okay?

"It was you…" Peeta whispers, reaching up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear, as if to make sure I am really here.

"It wasn't me. It was the Jabberjays," I remind him.

"I know but…it was your voice…I couldn't do it, Katniss. I couldn't listen to it," Peeta whispers to me.

"Peeta, I am okay," I repeat myself because I am not good with words and I don't know what else to say to him.

Peeta slowly sits up with a little encouragement but he is shaking his head. "But I heard you, Katniss. I just…if something happened to you, I don't know what I would do. I can't…I can't get the sound of your voice out of my head. I just…I—"

I don't know what to do, but I don't want to listen to Peeta speak anymore. It's too dangerous; if the Capitol can see how easily he breaks they will use me against. They already have in so many ways, so I do the only thing I can think of to shut him up. I kiss him.

But the second out lips collide the feelings I allowed to fill my heart early runs through my entire body. A spark. This kiss is different; it may be desperate but it is well received, and I don't stop. I don't want to. I feel safe here with my lips attached to Peeta's as if the rest of the world isn't still going on.

And then we do pull apart because Beetee has arrived with the water I requested for Peeta and I want him to drink. His lips are so dry and he is still not his complete self since the electric fence incident.

PEETA POV

I sit on the beach, halfway in the water next to Finnick. He seems just as in shock from the Jabberjay attack as I feel, and the water is refreshing. I look over my shoulder a few times to see Katniss keeping a careful eye on me from her spot next to Johanna on the beach. Beetee and Wiress are down the beach a little further. He is playing with the cable he found and she is just laying in the sand. My eyes twitch back to Katniss.

It was her suggestion that I sit with Finnick for a second after I fluffed off my own Jabberjay attack, though I am still shaking from it and cannot get Katniss' screams out my head. Real or not, they were still beyond frightening.

I think its funny Katniss sent me to keep an eye on Finnick, especially because she seemed like she did not like him much. Still, she does have that motherly instinct that she likes to pretend she doesn't have and I think that's what has come out now. She wants to make sure Finnick is okay.

Finnick and I don't say much for a long time. I don't really know what to say. We are allies because Haymitch trusts Finnick, and I trust Haymitch to get Katniss and I out of here.

"You heard Katniss screaming, didn't you?" Finnick finally asks.

I nod. "Yeah."

Finnick just nods slowly. "So you really love her?"

"Of course," I say without taking a second to think about it. The answer is so simple to me. Of course I love her.

Finnick nods. "I thought so. I mean…and not just because you two are having a baby. I can tell…when you look at her. She loves you too. I know the look of a woman in love…"

I want to take a jab, because we all know how the woman of the Capitol adore Finnick, but for some reason I don't think he is talking about that love. I think Finnick knows real love.

"Who was your voice? I mean, who were the birds imitating for you?" I ask Finnick.

Finnick just bites the inside of his cheek. "A woman I care deeply about."

I narrow my eyes at Finnick. I don't want to push him but the Capitol used those birds to torture him. They already know how to get to him just like they used Prim to get to Katniss and Katniss to get to me.

"Her name is Annie," Finnick says simply.

I remember Annie. She won the Hunger Games years ago and she is from District 4, though she lost it a little at some point along the way. I had no idea Finnick cared for her.

"Its silly…even when we try to protect them, the Capitol knows how to get to us, don't they?" Finnick glances back at Katniss.

I follow his gaze and nod. Katniss looks beautiful, even if her hair is matted to her head, she is the most amazing creature I have ever seen.

"That baby will be lucky to have such parents," Finnick says to me.

"At least one of us," I say back. I know the plan is to get us all out alive, but if it can't happen, Katniss has to live. Even if it does happen, speaking in such a manner would only cause the Capitol to become suspicious. We have to speak as if only one of us is making it.

Finnick seems to realize his error and turns back to the ocean, nodding quickly. "Right…if Katniss makes it out."

I nod back.

"Did you two talk about names?" Finnick asks.

I wonder if he genuinely cares or is just making a show; making more people fall for Katniss and I and the tragedy that is our supposed love story.

"No. Haven't had time" I tell him.

"You should. A baby should have a strong name…something you both pick," Finnick tells me.

I nod, humoring Finnick. "I will have to talk to Katniss about it."

"Would you name it after you, if it's a boy?" Finnick presses further and now I am certain he is only doing so to make us more lovable and remind the people watching that an innocent child's life is at stake.

"No," I say truthfully. I have never been fond of my name; there are so many stronger ones out there.

"What if it's a girl?" Finnick asks.

I think for a moment, and again, answer honestly. "Katniss is named after a flower. So is her sister…sort of runs in her family. I would imagine we would stay along those lines."

Finnick nods, glancing back at Katniss. "She wasn't named after the most beautiful plant, was she?"

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?" I say back.

Finnick nods and laughs; it is not the boisterous flirtatious laugh he gives to the Capitol, but it is still a laugh and it makes him sound more human then anything I have heard from him yet.

KATNISS POV

I sit silently next to Johanna who has seemed to calm down once she managed to calm Finnick down. Both of us are watching Peeta and Finnick as they sit in the water, though our reasons are probably not the same.

"Love is weird," Johanna breaks the silence.

"What?" I am thrown off by the sound of her voice suddenly.

"Love is weird," Johanna repeats herself, her eyes never leaving Finnick.

"What do you mean?" I ask her.

"The way Peeta reacted to your voice…how Finnick reacted to Annie's…all because of love. It weakens people," Johanna continues.

I have to agree with her. Love does weaken people, and the Capitol used it against us. Part of me feels guilty. My love is for my sister and it was clear when I heard Prim's voice in the Jabberjays. I know I love Prim deeply, and would do anything for her, but I can't help but feel terrible that Peeta has that same love for me. He must, otherwise the Capitol wouldn't have used my voice against him.

I know, I have for a while, that Peeta loves me, but until now I didn't realize how much he loved me. I have been too busy worry about everything else, and even though my feelings for Peeta are confusing, I have brushed them aside. I know some part of me loves him, needs him to survive, and it has nothing to do with the baby in my womb and everything to do with how dependent I have become on Peeta's company.

I have no idea how, if I survive the Games and he doesn't, I will manage without him.

"I guess it does," I say as I look down at my still flat stomach.

"Do you love it?" Johanna asks.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"The…the baby," Johanna motions to my stomach.

I know she is seriously asking me the question. Maybe my desperate girl in love act really wasn't good at all. I knew Snow said many of the Districts saw through it; maybe all of the Victor's did too. Maybe I really wasn't fooling everyone.

I hesitate, because my answer, for the cameras should be yes but the truth is I don't know. I am scared of the baby inside of me. Scared I will fail it, lose it; not be able to love it.

"Its okay to be scared. I imagine someone in your shoes has every right to be scared. You make it out of this and that means the kids doesn't have a dad, if you don't it means the kids doesn't have a chance," Johanna says.

I nod; knowing that every word Johanna says is true.

"You will be lucky though. If you make it, that baby will always be a piece of someone you love. Every time you look at it you can see Peeta," Johanna says.

I am certain she is saying it for the cameras, but part of me agrees with her. Every time I see this baby, if I live, it will be a part of Peeta. Something that even the Capitol can't take from me. In fact, hearing that scenario out loud, I am certain the Capitol will see to it that Peeta doesn't survive. What a tragedy it would be if I did and he didn't, what a sad story that the Capitol will love to tell.

"I don't want to have it without Peeta. He…he will just be so much better with it. I think he just has more love to give it," I say honestly. Maybe some sponsor will feel sorry for us.

"You don't think you will love it?" Johanna says.

"Not as much as Peeta. I am scared I don't have that kind of love in me," I say.

"You love your sister that much. Everyone can see that," Johanna says and I can tell she actually means it.

I think for a minute about what Johanna is saying. I do love Prim unconditionally, but it is different then this baby. As much as this baby is a part of Peeta and I, it is also a creation of the Capitol, something they forced on me. No one forced me to love Prim, I just always have.

"You'll be okay. You will love it," Johanna tells me.

"How do you know?" I ask her softly.

"I see how you are already protecting it," Johanna motions to the hand I have laid across my abdomen without even realizing it. I quickly blush.

"But do yourself a favor…don't protect it to much. If you love it like hell you can lose everything," Johanna says and sighs. "Trust me, I know."

"You lost someone?" I ask, curious. I remember Johanna winning and coming to visit District 12 but I hardly remember anything personal about her.

"There's no one left that I love," Johanna says looking straight ahead.

I feel sorry for her, for an instant, but I don't have time to say anything Beetee is now calling for us all to get together.

"I have been thinking, if it is a clock…we need to sort it out. Shall we go back to the Cornucopia?" Beetee asks.

I glance around and all are nodding. It does seem like the best idea. It will help us sort out the different sections of the clock.