**3 months later (early july)**
Jane POV
"Katrina, hey it's okay, it's okay- ow ow ow!" Finn complained as Katrina gripped his hand as hard as she could. Katrina's water broke four hours earlier, ever since then, she's been in contraction filled labor. I swear I saw Mrs. Mellark make a side comment to mom jokingly "pay back." Apparently Mrs. Mellark was in labor with Katrina for twelve hours.
"Aahh! Finn you and your stupid penis!" Katrina yelled. Her voice carried out of her room and down the halls of the hospital.
"I'm not the one who kept complaining about condoms." He said back to her. She gave him a death glare. Mr. Mellark and Mr. Odair both gave Finn a sympathetic look, then his dad walked over.
"Word of advice Finn, never disagree with a woman when she's in labor." He smiled and clapped his son on the back and left the room again. I sat on my bench outside the viewing room watching the scene. The baby wasn't supposed to come for another two weeks. Not that Finn and Katrina aren't prepared; they have their own house now, using one of the extra houses in the Village with permission of Mayor Undersee. They had their toasting ceremony less than a month ago. June 11th I believe. Neither Finn nor Katrina wanted an extravagant upscale capitol wedding, though they offered. So, Katrina bough a simple white dress, and Finn wore a nice dress shirt and pants. They did mix it a bit with District 4's tradition of wrapping a net woven by the parents of the couple around them during the ceremony. Mr. Mellark provided the bread. We were all there. Even Peyton made an appearance. We haven't seen much of him since we got back. When I was finally released from the hospital after 2 weeks, I couldn't find him anywhere. According to Mrs. Mellark, he's taken to living on his own in the cabin up by the lake. He doesn't come down much. Celebrations and family gatherings, but mostly, he remains isolated. Mom is telling me that I should probably move on. The problem is though, I don't know if I can.
A new boy who moved here from District 9 a couple months ago apparently finds me attractive. Having just graduated from school I have all the time in the world for boys, I'm just not that interested. He is though. He's been following me around and running into me on "accident". His name is Trey. He's one year older than me almost exactly; our birthdays are two weeks apart. This was the first thing he told me when he met me. I was about to ask how exactly he knew my birthday, but then I remembered that I was a Victor's child. Duh. Everyone knows my birthday whether I like it or not. Anyway, Trey is attractive I'll give him that; golden brown hair, just a little lighter than mine, misty green eyes he picked up from his District 1 father, he had told me with pride. Like ranking in the districts even mattered any more. He was an only child, and loved to read. Trey was just a few inches taller than me, and loved to show off his muscle he picked up from working in the fields of District 9. In a way, he reminded me of Mr. Odair, always whipping off his shirt, which by the way, Mr. Odair still does just to embarrass Finn, and I love it.
Things almost feel back to normal. Dad has cooled off, and apologized to me for the way he acted to Peyton and me being together. I told him it's fine, it doesn't really matter now anyways. He gave me a sad sympathetic look. But now that Trey has made his way into my life, dad wishes Peyton and I would get back together. I agreed to go on one date with Trey, just to see what it was like being with someone else. We went to the new movie theater put up just a few months ago and watched Titanic, a classic movie to those who knew the history. I only just learned about it this year. I cried during it. Trey looked bored. Next he took me to a restaurant where he ordered for me and did all the talking. Some kind of herb chicken and orange noodle dish. I have to admit it wasn't bad, but it wouldn't have been my first choice. After dinner he took my hand and led me through the small park in remembrance of those who died in the bombing of the district. There he sat me on a bench, our conversation went something like this:
"You are so beautiful Jane."
I blushed slightly. "Thank you." Though it felt wrong hearing his voice say it, no one had really given me a compliment like that in a very long time.
Trey looked me deep in the eyes, then, he leaned in and planted his lips on mine. I didn't react the way he wanted I suppose, because he pulled back with a sad look on his face.
"Something wrong?" I asked.
"Do you still love him?" Trey asked a little irritated.
"Peyton?"
He nods. "Yes him."
I stay quiet for a moment thinking of a good answer to give my new gentleman caller, even though I don't really know how I feel about him yet. "I… I don't know." And before he can speak I add, "That's the most honest answer I can give you right now. Things didn't end well between us and part of me is still holding onto him just in case I guess."
Trey nods. "So what about me?"
"Do I love you?" Trey just waits. "I just met you what, two weeks ago? No I don't love you. I hardly know you."
"Well I don't know you that well either." He says crossing his arms. "And I'm in love with you. I can't explain it Jane. I can only describe it as, my heart speeds up when I see you, my head spins, my palms get sweaty, and I stumble over my words. There's a feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever we're together that it just feels meant to be."
I stare at him. "How can you not know me that well though? My life is basically on camera, from the day I was born, to the day I was rescued…" My voice trails off. But this peaks Trey's interest. He leans in, in anticipation.
"Speaking of which, no one ever did find out what happened between you and your captor."
"I'm not talking about this, especially not with you." I get up to leave. But Trey grabs my arm.
"Please?"
"No! Now let me go." I demand. He backs off.
"I'm sorry Jane, I didn't mean to upset you." He looks hurt. I want to walk away from him and be done with this guy forever, but mom's words telling me to give him a chance kick in.
"It's fine." I lie. The rest of the night was silence mostly.
Trey actually said he'd meet me here at the hospital if I wanted him to. I told him only to come if he wanted to, which he promptly responded by saying "if you're there, I'm there."
Katrina's screams echoed through the halls. She refused the epidural, but I think she may be regretting it now. The doctor pushes past us and into the room and checks to see how far dilated she is. He tells her she is at 8 cm. Almost time. She whimpers slightly.
"It's okay baby, don't cry." Finn says as he wipes a tear from her cheek. "You are doing so great." He smiles sweetly at her, she tries to smile back but winces at the pain again.
"Hey Jane!" Trey yells from down the hall. I pretend not to hear him, focusing too hard on Katrina. My mom who stands right next to me just smirks and nudges my shoulder.
She then whispers, "If you're gonna let him down, do so gently." Then she walks away.
"Jane!" Trey yells closer, this time I hear him for pretend and glance up at him. A smile spreads across his face as he reaches me and embraces me in a tight hug. "I missed you." He says lovingly.
"It's been what? 36 hours?" I ask giving him a small smile. He beams back at me. Then nuzzles his face into my neck planting a kiss there, which takes me totally off guard.
"Took your breath away didn't I?" He says obviously impressed with himself.
"Yea. I guess you did." Katrina's scream breaks the awkward silence that follows. The doctor comes back in.
"Katrina, you are fully dilated. You can start pushing now." Katrina lets out a mumbled scream 'thank God'. Finn's hand has turned white. Mrs. Mellark and Mrs. Odair go into the room with their kids, shutting the door behind them, and the view glass turns white so we can no longer see her. I can understand, I wouldn't want the whole neighborhood watching me as I gave birth. Luckily it's sound proof too.
Trey takes this time to nuzzle my neck some more, and though I hate to say this, I liked it. It felt nice to get some up close and personal human contact that wasn't a hug from mom or dad. It felt nice to be adored, wanted again. I let out a small moan before I can stop myself. Trey, who obviously heard it takes it as his cue to keep going. He grabs my hand and pulls me around the corner, then presses me up against the wall and kisses me, shoving his tongue between my lips. I grant him access, because otherwise it would be awkward all over again. Our lips move together and he holds me close, and though all the physical contact feels good, it doesn't feel complete. It doesn't feel like Peyton. Peyton doesn't want you any more remember? My inner though taunts me. Go on and have some fun. Trey's hands move up my sides and brush past my breasts and I flinch, but in a good way. Trey's hands would be all over me if it wasn't for the fact that we were in a public place and my dad is just around the corner.
Someone clears their throat. I shove Trey off me and look up. Mom is standing there, hands on hips, her mouth a tight line. Trey looks absolutely terrified.
"Give us a minute Trey." She says looking back to me. He happily scampers off down the hall back to where the group was. "What are you doing Jane?" Mom asks disappointment lacing her voice.
"You were the one who told me to go and experiment. To move on."
"Yes but Jane if you're not ready don't force it. I know it's hard to move on but maybe the best thing for you is just to take some time off to yourself. Don't give him false hope. Cause, come on Jane, Trey, really?"
"He was the first guy to show interest."
"No, he was the first guy to show interest who looks like Peyton." What? Mom senses my confusion and tells me to look around the corner at Trey. "Now imagine him with blonde hair, gray eyes and a bit taller." I put my imagination to work and that's when I see it. I gasp in realization and mom chuckles. "I thought that's why you picked him." She said.
"I didn't notice…" Holy crap, it really is just like Peyton. I can't stop the smile forming on my lips. "I'm hopeless aren't I?"
Mom smiles. "Not hopeless, just a little brainless." Mom's favorite insult. "Did you go see Dr. Yaela this week?" Mom asks changing the subject. My smile drops and I shake my head now. Dr. Yaela was my assigned doctor that I was supposed to be meeting with once a week to talk about my feelings of the kidnapping. Key words in that sentence being "supposed to". Mom sighs. Dr. Yaela is the only one in the entire country who knows about what happened to me with Damon. I didn't mean to tell her, it just slipped out. She got me wound up and angry and then I told her. It was just what she planned, nothing else was working. Mom would die to know what it was happened to me, but it's in the past. I swore I'd never tell another living sole. "Why don't you take some time in the woods? Go camping for a weekend or so. You haven't been out there in quite some time." Mainly because Peyton was out there somewhere. Still, it did sound kinda nice. Trey would want to come too, but I need to break it off with him. He's got no chance.
Suddenly, we could hear a baby's cry. We rounded the corner just in time to see Finn running out with a huge smile on his face yelling "It's a boy! It's a boy!" He was jumping around like a kid on Christmas morning. "I'm a dad! I'm a dad?" Suddenly realizing he had a wife and a son back in the other room he turned on his heel and sprinted back inside. We gathered around the observation window and watched as the scene came into view. Katrina was smiling with tear stained cheeks. Her hair was messed up, but her mother was stroking her head as to calm her down even more. Both Mrs. Mellark and Mrs. Odair were crying too. There in Katrina's arms, wrapped in a soft blue blanket was a small baby. Olive skin, and a tuff of dark hair on his head. Then when he opened his eyes, they were a beautiful sea green color just like Finn's.
"What are you gonna name him?" Maggie, now five years old asks impatiently.
"Roark." Katrina says sweetly. "Roark Wayland Odair."
"We debated Finnick III, but decided against it. He needs his own name. Hi Roark." He waves at his son. Roark smiles brightly at his dad and giggles.
"What'd I miss?" Haymitch comes barreling down the hall as fast as he can, for he now uses a cane. "Did I miss the birth?" Haymitch asks cautiously. Mrs. Mellark laughs and nods her head. "Oh, thank goodness. No offense sweetheart" he motions to Katrina, "but ever since your mother gave birth to you I said that was enough birthing shots for my life.
"Not my fault you walked in on me pushing." Mrs. Mellark laughs some more. Haymitch huffs.
"They didn't have these windows in when you were giving birth. How was I supposed to know what was going on. All Peeta told me is that you went to the hospital for a checkup and wanted me there. No one bothered to phone me and tell me your water broke on the way here." Haymitch shakes his head as if that will help get rid of the memory. We all laugh. Even Trey, though I'm pretty sure he's just laughing cause everyone else is. Speaking of Trey, I tug on his shirt and nod towards the other hall way. He smiles and follows me. Mom catches my eye and nods. Everyone else is so engrossed in the new member of our giant and crazy family that no one else notices us sneak away.
Once we rounded the corner Trey slams into me again and kisses me. "I want kids." He says once he pulls away. "With you." I feel a knot tying in my stomach.
"Trey, I uh… I have to tell you something." I start. He waits patiently. "I don't think we should see each other anymore." I just say flat out. His expression changes so suddenly that it takes me by surprise when he's pushing me up against the wall.
"What?" He demands in an angry tone I've never heard him use before. "You want to break up? It's that Mellark boy isn't it? You're still in love with him. I bet you've been sneaking around behind my back with him." He almost shouts at me. I shrink back a bit. No, why should I cower? I'm Jane fucking Hawthorne, daughter of Johanna Mason and the ex-head peace keeper.
"Shut up Trey. God just shut up! You never stop talking do you!? Well for your information, no I have not been seeing Peyton! I have only been seeing you, and you know what, it sucks! You are annoying and clingy and stalkerish. Just back the fuck off and leave me to my own life. By the way, your kissing sucks." I turn to leave. But he grabs my shoulder and pins me up against the wall again. But before he can say anything, a fist connects with his head and Trey falls to the ground, unconscious. I look up expecting to see dad, but it's not. His blonde hair is longer and past his eyes now. His gray eyes that I've come to love so much. He almost looks taller than I remember. He looks stronger, dirtier, manlier, sexier.
Peyton Mellark, back from the woods.
Though I can't see his eyes, I know he's looking at me. And without saying anything, he walks around the corner to the crowd gathered around his new nephew.
If only he knew how he could make my heart pound even now. I steady my breathing, step over Trey, who now looks pathetic lying on the floor, and make my way to the others.
**Pretty please review!**