Just saying, I've been looking over the earlier chapters of this story and they suck so thanks so much for sticking with this story.
Be sure to read the Author's Note at the bottom!
So, this chapter is a week late, so I'm sorry, but I think it's pretty good and it's a semi-important chapter, so here we go:
Katniss's POV
The knocking is what wakes me up. Sometimes, being a light sleeper is a bitch. I groan and pull myself downstairs to open the door. I blink a few times before recognizing Annie's parents.
"Beatrice and Ron." I give them a half smile. "It's good to see you. Please, come in."
"Did we wake you up?" Beatrice asks. "I know we're a bit early."
"Yeah, you did, but don't worry about it. My alarm would've gone off in less than an hour, anyway. Everyone else is still asleep, except for Peeta, who's working. I can go wake the rest of them up if you want-"
"Oh, no," Ron says. "We don't want to be a burden. We'll just cook everyone some breakfast."
I nod, braiding my hair. "I'll give you a hand."
"Oh, that's not necessary," Beatrice tells me.
"Please, I insist," I say. "It's not like I have anything better to do."
"Well, okay then." Ron grins at me. "Do you have any eggs?"
We go on to make omelets, and as it turns out, the three of us make a good team. Until, I light myself on fire.
"Oh my God, Katniss! Your braid is on fire!" Beatrice exclaims.
"What?!" I yelp, running over to the sink, attempting to put my hair out. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"
"Woah, it's okay," Ron tells me. "It's out. You only seared it."
At that moment, Finnick and Gale burst into the kitchen - Gale in a pair of sweatpants and a white T-shirt and Finnick clad only in his Calvin Klein boxer briefs.
"We heard screaming; is everyone okay?" Finnick asks, quickly.
"And what in the name of God is that smell?" Gale adds, plugging his nose.
"Poor Katniss caught her braid on fire while we were making omelettes," Ron exclaims.
A light pink suddenly appears on Finnick's cheeks. "Beatrice! Ron! You're early!"
"We had the opportunity to bump up our flight a couple of hours, and we just couldn't wait to see our darling daughter! Do you know where she is?" Beatrice asks him.
"Oh, um . . . yeah. She's upstairs. I'll go get her . . . and get dressed," Finnick replies.
"Not a bad idea," I tell him, chopping off the end of my braid with a pair of scissors.
He leaves and Gale and I both let out a little chuckle. I doubt either of us ever thought we'd see an embarrassed Finnick.
Finnick's POV
"Annie," I whisper, rubbing her back as she pukes up her dinner from last night. "Your parents are here early."
She retches one more time before looking up at me. "What time is it?"
"About nine," I reply. She sighs, leaning into me. I flush the toilet behind her.
"Finnick, I'm scared," she murmurs.
"I know, sweetie (A/N: Not sure what I think about the nickname), but your parents are extraordinary people. Nothing's going to change how much they love you."
"I know," she says, "but they're very religious. What are they going to think of you?"
"That's for me to worry about, not you," I tell her. "Now, how about you brush your teeth and get dressed, then go talk to the people that have loved you since the day you were born. Maybe even conceived."
She nods shakily and walks over to the sink. I leave the bathroom and look through my closet for something decent to wear. I eventually decide on a pair of new jeans and a simple white V-neck.
When Annie comes out of them bathroom, she swaps the two-big T-shirt of mine that she's wearing for a sleeveless, white sundress with lots of lace.
I give her a reassuring smile as we walk downstairs.
"Mom! Dad!" She grins and hugs both of them.
"Annie, darling," he father greets her.
"Sweetheart, are you upset about something? You look a little anxious," Beatrice tells her.
"I'm fine, just a little under-the-weather," Annie informs her.
"Are you positive?" Ron asks. She only nods.
A few hours later...
I immediately tense when I hear the pounding on the door. Annie, who's sitting next to me on the couch, gives my hand a squeeze and pecks my cheek. As I get up, her parents give her a questioning look. She just shrugs.
I swing the door open to see the two faces that disowned me a little over four months ago. "Mom. Dad. I'm glad you came."
"Yes, well, your sister said it was important," my father says to me.
I nod. "It is. Please, come in."
I lead them into the living room, where Annie's sitting on one couch, her parents on the other, and Johanna's on the floor with her laptop and a pillow.
I give Johanna a look that reads get out. She glares at me, but leaves anyway.
"Oh," Beatrice begins as she sees my parents enter the room, "who's this?"
"Beatrice, Ron, Annie, these are my parents, Olivia and Jaymes. Mom, Dad, meet Beatrice, Ron, and Annie Cresta."
Annie smiles and goes to shake both of my parents hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister and Missus Odair."
"Yes, hello, dear," my mother says. "As happy as we are to meet you, we're still unsure as to why we were invited out."
"Right, about that," I begin, "please, have a seat." I gesture the couch that Annie's parents are sharing. Annie and I both sit on the couch opposite them.
"So," Annie starts, "I know this whole thing might seem a bit strange, especially because I understand that you and Finnick aren't on the best terms right now, but this is really big news."
"Annie and I started dating a few months ago," I continue, grabbing her hand. "And before we say anything else, I'd just like you all to know that despite the fact we haven't been dating for two long, Annie and I are very serious about each other.
"Anyway, some things happened and now-" I look at Annie and give her a reassuring smile.
Her free hand slides over to her belly. "I'm pregnant."
Johanna's POV
The silence on the other side of the wall is pregnant (A/N: Haha, see what i did there). Then all at once, the silence stops and is filled with different exclamations from the four parents.
Ron: "But you're still practically a child!"
Beatrice: "But you told me you weren't sleeping together!"
Finnick's mom: "Oh . . . Congratulations, dear."
Finnick's dad: "You know you can sue for custody, right?"
Beside me, Katniss sucks in a breath. "That's just cold."
"It makes it worse that we don't know who he's addressing," Gale chimes in.
"Shut up! They'll hear us!" I scold in the form of a whisper. From behind us, Peeta walks in. I shush him two.
He raises his hands in defeat and settles into a spot next to Katniss.
"What are we doing?" he asks.
"Finnick and Annie just told their parents that she's pregnant," Katniss replies.
"We really shouldn't-" Peeta begins but I interrupt him.
"Shut up! They're talking again."
Annie goes to answer all of the parents. "Dad, I'm not a child anymore, no matter what you think. I'm twenty-four years old. I've been out of the house for six years. Mom, I wasn't at that point. Mrs. Odair, thank you. That's very sweet. Mr. Odair, shame on you. This is just as much Finnick's baby as it is mine."
"We understand that this comes as a shock, but can we please just be reasonable about this. I'll go make some coffee, so we all can calm down."
We all realize too late that he's coming this way. He takes one look at us, says "You are despicable people," and continues to the kitchen.
Annie's POV
After Finnick leaves, there's an awkward silence. Thankfully, his mother breaks it by asking, "So, what are you planning to name the baby?"
"Oh, well, we haven't talked too much about it, and we don't know the gender, but we're thinking if it's a girl we'd name her Sylvia after Finnick's sister, because without her you and your husband wouldn't be here, and if it's a boy, we'd name him Jaymes, after you, Mr. Odair. We haven't discussed middle names yet."
"Oh, well, that's sweet," Mom says.
"Yeah, I agree," I tell my mom before addressing Finnick's dad. "Mr. Odair, I know that you're not happy about Finnick's career choice, but I want my child to have a complete family. So, if you could put aside your differences, I would really appreciate that. Now, I'm going to help Finnick with the coffee, if you don't mind."
So, will everyone suggest some gender-neutral middle names in the reviews, so I can put them in a poll without revealing the gender of the baby! Thanks!