Their bedroom door slammed behind him, and she could hear the dishes rattling in the cupboards downstairs. "Finnick, you really need to calm down."

Her husband frowned at her. "You think I'm the one being unreasonable here? Hell, Annie, he was gone four hours past curfew, didn't answer our calls, wouldn't tell us where he was going or who he was with, and you think I'm the one who needs to calm down?" If he kept this up, he was going to wake up Maggie and Dylan, and those two usually slept like the dead.

"No, Ronan was completely out of line, but you and I have been up since –" she glanced at the clock and groaned "- about this time yesterday. None of us are at a point where we can be reasonable about this whole thing, so let's go to bed and talk about this some more tomorrow." Even to her own ears, she sounded tired. Could she really go through all of this again? Well, she supposed, she didn't have much of a choice now.

Finnick dragged his hand down his face, temporarily smoothing the fine wrinkles that had crept up on him these last few years. Annie knew that gesture, and she wrapped her arms around his waist and tucked her head against his chest. "I do think you need to get some rest, Finn, even if it's only for an hour or two."

"Annie, he had you worried sick. Does he understand what it does to us when he pulls shit like this?"

She felt another pang in her stomach just thinking about the wild, shaking mess she had become earlier that evening. Annie forced herself to stop before she could slip further down the rabbit hole. "No, he's seventeen, and I think we've done a good job of sheltering him from how bad the world really can be. I don't think he understands at all, and I don't want him to."

"I'm so scared for him." Finnick nuzzled against her hair as he gave his whispered admission. "When I look at him, I know he's almost grown, but sometimes, all I can see is my baby."

Annie nodded. "I feel the same way. I think most parents do."

"He could have been dead for hours without us knowing. Hell, I didn't even get worried until after one, and he left at, what, eight or so? I still don't know where we was all that time, and –"

"He's seventeen, handsome, and doesn't want to admit to his father where he's been or who he's been with. It doesn't take too much thought to realize he was probably out with a girl he's not ready for us to meet."

She could feel his smile. "Are you calling me stupid, Cresta?"

"Maybe a little bit." She tilted her head back to see him feigning surprise. "Don't worry, I still like you."

"Like?"

"Fine, I still love you." Halfway through her sentence, Annie had to stifle a yawn. Maybe it meant she was getting old, or perhaps it was just her delicate condition acting up again, but staying up late was nowhere near as easy as it had once been.

Finnick smiled down at her. "Sleepy?"

"It's six AM. I'm past sleepy and somewhere in the about to drop dead range. Come on, it's far past our bedtime." She didn't care that she was still fully clothed and hadn't brushed her teeth since she first got up yesterday morning. Anything that kept her away from her bed for another minute was a waste of her precious sleep time.

Annie corrected herself; there was one very important exception. She waited for Finnick to climb into bed beside her before speaking. "Finnick, I have news."

He turned off the lamp, but with the first rays of sunshine peeking through, she could still make out his features. "Yes?"

"We're having a baby."

His jaw dropped just as hers had when she saw the positive test. "Annie, that's… that's great."

She wiggled closer to him. "You're happy about this?"

"Absolutely." He kissed her, soft and gentle and just the way she liked, before meeting her eyes. "I'm just surprised. I didn't think that was going to happen again."

"Trust me, I'm as surprised as you are. Forty-one and forty-two is old to be having another." And I'm not sure it isn't too old, she mentally added. "It'll be another big responsibility, having a baby with a houseful of teenagers."

Finnick's grip on her tightened. "We've got practice this time around."

"I suppose."

"You're happy?"

"Very much."

"Good." Now, Finnick was grinning from ear to ear. "How am I supposed to be mad at Ronan now? I'm going to end up going easy on him because I'm so damn excited."

"I really hope that, unlike our other children, this one doesn't inherit your love of profanities."

Finnick kissed her cheek. "I can't help it that I'm fucking thrilled."

"Oh, be quiet, you. The pregnant lady needs her beauty sleep." Already, she could feel the tug of sleep claiming her, and her eyelids drooped.

"I love you so, so much." She wanted to respond, tell him that she loved him to, but she was asleep before she could form the necessary words.

A/N: Written for the Quest of a Hero challenge on Caesar's Palace using the prompt 'a heavy responsibility.'