A/N: Hey dearies. Hope you're loving this series, and by the responses I'm getting, you are. YAY. So anyways, I really don't like adding Author's Note's to my chapters because I believe that it takes away from the story and I'd rather you focus on the story and not what I have to say. But I wanted to add one real quick just to say thank you for reading, following and reviewing. It means the world to me, and as a gift I've added three chapters this weekend. It may be a while until my next update, but I'll try and do another one as soon as I find time. Katniss & Peeta's story doesn't end here, nor will it if she has the baby. Enjoy.
The next morning, Peeta is adamant about scheduling an appointment with my doctor to confirm if I really am the P word. He's pacing the hallway, running his fingers through his hair with a phone to his ear looking like an absolute maniac. I can't help but laugh at his disheveled attempt at taking care of me. I'm appreciative, but know that he cannot do what I need him to. I gesture for him to hand me the phone. He gratefully hands it over.
"Katniss?" The woman on the other end, says my name and I immediately recognize who it is.
"Hey, Doctor Swiftly," I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that I'll be in good hands. "How are you?"
"I'm good, Katniss, but let's not worry about me. Let's deal with the situation you're in." She begins of what I know is going to be a long lecture. I intend not to let it go too far, "I'd like to see you in my office. From what Peeta's told me, you aren't positive you're pregnant, and we'd like to either confirm or deny it, to give you some kind of peace of mind."
"Okay, great. So, when's the earliest you can get me in?" I ask.
I hear her shuffling through paperwork and mumbling a few things to the nurses around her, "How about in an hour?"
Of course I told her yes. The sooner the better. But as I sit in the waiting room, white knuckling Peeta's hand, I'm beginning to regret my decision to pee in that damn cup. The room smells of something strong, and every person in the room looks like their dying. How on God's green earth could someone do this job? I tap my foot to try and relieve some of the tension I'm feeling through my body, plus those two cups of even more water they made me drink is begging to be released.
"Peeta, I don't know how much more of this I can take."
He places his other hand over mine, "Only a little longer, I promise." He kisses my temple, and rubs my leg.
And as if on cue, I hear my name, "Katniss Mellark, the doctor's ready for you." Peeta and I stand up, and he places a hand on the small of my back, giving me the extra push I need to enter the hallway to the room.
She leads us to a door, and opens it, revealing a stuffy, grey and white room. "The doctor will be with you shortly." Peeta thanks the woman, and she closes the door behind us. I sit on the bed, and hear the crackle of the paper that is beneath me. Peeta makes his way towards me, I grasp his hand for something to take my mind off of the events that could proceed within the next few minutes.
"Katniss," Peeta speaks, "Whatever happens happens, alright?" I look at him, hoping for more than that for consoling words. "If it's meant to be it will happen. Just breathe." I obey, and breathe in and out. I close my eyes and sigh. What if I'm really not preg-no, no I am. Even Haymitch said it looked like I was. My free hand absentmindedly makes its way to my stomach, hoping to find something there. I feel as if I do, but am uncertain.
The knob of the door handle wiggles and my heart stops. Doctor Swiftly walks in with her clipboard in hand and her glasses on. I see the side of her lip twitch. What does that mean?
"Katniss, Peeta," After all we've been through together, Doctor Swiftly calls us by our first names. She looks at both of us, and her lips curl up into a smile, something very rare for her, "I'm happy to announce to you that Katniss, you are indeed pregnant." I breathe out a sigh of relief I didn't know I've been holding for the past twenty four hours.
I stand up from the bed, and hold my arms out to hug her, "Thank you so much. Thank you so much."
"No need to thank me. It's my job," she smiles at me. She looks to Peeta and holds out her hand, but he declines, instead bringing her in for a hug, "Thank you for all you've done."
"You guys really need to stop giving me credit for this," she looks to the both of us and chuckles. "I had absolutely nothing to do with this. Thank each other." I see a slight blush form through Peeta's cheeks and I'm sure mine are doing the same. "So, would you guys like to hear the heartbeat?"
We both look at one another and nod. She waves for us to follow her into a different room.
This room is much different than the last. It's much darker, and only a small contraption and a bed is set up.
"Lie down, Katniss," Doctor Swiftly instructs and I do as she says. I watch as she sits to turn on the contraption. I reach for Peeta's hand and he immediately holds it. She asks me to pull my shirt up and rubs a clear liquid on my stomach. It's colder than I expected and I jump. "Sorry," she chuckles, "Don't worry, everyone does that the first time. You'll get used to it." I realized that this really is the first time I've done this. Even if I'd been pregnant before, we hadn't done this. Doctor Swiftly takes something from the contraption and places it on my stomach, rubbing it around. And that when I hear it: his heartbeat.
"Its strong," she smiles. I laugh and rub my eyes of the tears I didn't know I had running down my cheeks. She turns off the machine, and wipes of my stomach.
Doctor Swiftly clicks her pen, and begins writing on a piece of paper, "Now, Katniss, these are the vitamins I'd like you to take. Just to protect the baby, and yourself. It'll also just cleanse your body and help you prepare for childbirth in eight or so months. We'll keep checking you and the baby out on later dates just to make sure you're both doing ok."
We thank her again and exit the office. The warm spring wind calms my excitement and allows me to just enjoy the moment. Peeta reaches for my hand and I gladly accept. Together we walk with intertwined hands down the street, watching the hustle and bustle of people trying to get where they need to be. I find a contentment I haven't felt in a while.
"Let's stop somewhere first before we head home." Peeta chimes in.
I nod and he leads me to the bakery. While the rest of this part of town has been fixed up and almost everything demolished over the last 10 years, the bakery still stands, although in bad shape. Peeta opens the door and leads me inside. The extent of the damage is more than I believed. Almost everything has turned to ash, and what used to be a cheerful bakery had turned into a gloomy store.
"Peeta," I begin, covering my mouth, "I didn't realize it was in this bad of shape."
He nods, "Yeah, it is. I came down here last week to really see how much I'd need to fix." He sighs and runs his fingers through his ashy blonde hair, "And it's a lot. Believe it or not, I actually swept up a bit." I notice the black sweep propped up by the door.
"I can't believe how bad this is." My heart breaks for Peeta. His family's legend was turned to almost entirely ash. Nothing but a memory.
"Come on," he places a hand on the small of my back, "Let's go. You breathing this air can't be good for the baby." I reluctantly obey and we turn to step out of the bakery.
I place my hands in the pockets of my coat. Peeta wears a somber expression the entire walk home. I decide not to speak, just allowing him to think quietly alone in his head.
I know we'll make it through this. We'll re-open the bakery and have this baby, and continue on with our lives. We're victors of The Hunger Games. If we can't make it through this, we never should have survived those games. But we did. And we'll make it through this too.