Welcome Johanna's baby!

The characters of The Hunger Games Trilogy do not belong to me.

Trigger warning: Premature labor and delivery—I know some readers might question this warning, but I know a lot of you were premature babies or have had experiences dealing with a premature birth.

Fated to Love

Part Two, Part Nineteen

"Johanna Mason…brought in after her water broke…fetus is at 29 weeks," the medic reported as they rushed down the hallway.

"We're going to need a fetal monitor," a nurse called out. "Also, page obstetrics and let them know that we're on our way up! Let them know that we'll be needing the NICU team!"

Peeta felt the chilling déjà vu wash over him as they headed down the hospital hallway.

Four years ago, he had held a young woman's hand…four years ago, he had also rushed down this same hallway…four years ago, he had watched them take Katniss and Toad away through those double doors.

"Are you the father?"

He looked up at the nurse wearing the face mask staring at him and shook his head. "No, I'm her cousin."

The nurse then turned to Katniss, holding Johanna's other hand. "And, you?"

"The same," Katniss replied, her grey eyes focused on Johanna. "Her obstetrician is Doctor Paylor. Page her."

"Katniss…Peeta…" Johanna looked between them. "I'm fine, really." She breathed heavily, but gave them a smile. "Just make sure everyone else is okay!"

"The death grip on my hand tells me otherwise," Katniss responded with a smile. She met his eyes across the stretcher. "You okay?"

"Perfectly alright," he assured Katniss and Johanna. "Seriously."

"Your death grip tells me otherwise," Johanna told him with an easy grin.

Peeta let out a shaky breath. "Sorry. Just feel like I've done this before."

His gaze went to his girlfriend, who grimaced at his words.

"It will be different," Katniss said as they headed through the double doors.

Johanna's dark eyes were anxious. "Promise?"

Now was not the time for fear. They had come full circle to the spot where they had lost everything. Where their family had been torn and his marriage had fallen to pieces. Peeta had held his son in this hospital, pressing sobbing farewells into a hospital-issued baby blanket.

They were not going to lose again.

Not on his watch.

His eyes went to Katniss once more and he gave her a single nod of assurance. She responded in kind, her stare understanding, before focusing back on Johanna.

Peeta leaned down to kiss his cousin's forehead. "I promise."

"Did you have any indication of labor?" Dr. Paylor asked as she finished her exam on Johanna. Throwing her gloves away and washing her hands, the woman pulled up the stool next to Johanna's bed. "Discomfort? Back pain?"

"I had some back pain," Johanna said. She was in a hospital gown, looking a little less grey, now that she was settled. "Nothing that felt any different…maybe there was a sharper pain during the baby shower, but I'm not really sure."

"I was talking to her moments before," Katniss added. "She seemed alright though we were both a little emotional." She straightened in her seat, her gaze moving to her cousin. "Is Johanna having the baby?"

Dr. Paylor seemed hesitant to respond. She stilled, thinking for a moment, before nodding at the two women.

"Yes." The obstetrician took Johanna's hand. "You're halfway there, my dear. In a few hours, you will be a mother."

"But, it's too soon…I haven't been to any of those classes…or decided on a birth plan…" Johanna reasoned, her eyes filling with tears. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Katniss intoned. "You did nothing wrong. These things happen for no rhyme or reason, okay?" She took Johanna's other hand, giving it a squeeze. "You're going to stay calm and have this baby…then the real fun can begin."

Johanna wiped her eyes, letting out a watery chuckle. "You're such a liar!"

"Well, that's why you love me," she responded.

There was a knock at the door and Peeta peeked his head into the room. "Is it safe?"

"Yes, my vagina is no longer exposed," Johanna told him. "But, it will be eventually."

Peeta walked into the room. "Everyone is in the waiting room. Rue is seeing to the remaining guests at Arena. Brutus and Enobaria will help with settling the decorating fees and such." He smiled at everyone. "So, what's going on?"

"I'm going to have a baby soon," Johanna informed him. "Your nephew just couldn't wait."

Katniss felt the ground beneath her sway.

A boy. There would be a little boy. She wanted to smile and sob all at once.

"With all the presents he's going to get from Uncle Snow, I can understand why he'd want to come out," Peeta told his cousin, a tense smile on his lips. His eyes quickly went to Katniss and she knew that he was trying to check on her.

"Speaking of Uncle Snow and everyone else, I'm going to let them know what's going on," Katniss found herself saying. She could hear the numbness in her tone and could only hope that everyone was distracted enough to notice. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

She turned and walked out.

Outside the room, the air didn't feel any lighter. Katniss headed down the hall, feeling her throat constrict and her eyes burn. She searched the hospital for a space to be alone, her stare locating a singular hallway to her right.

Veering quickly, Katniss pressed herself to the wall and closed her eyes. What the hell was wrong with her? Why could she not think of anything but herself and this encircling pain? She covered her mouth, forbidding herself from crying out.

"I'm surprised that this didn't happen sooner." Her eyes opened to see Dr. Paylor standing in front of her. "This place is never going to be a good place for you. A hospital, in general, isn't a good place for anyone."

"Johanna needs me," she said, the weakness in her voice betraying her.

"She does need you, Katniss," the doctor responded, her tone calm but also sharply blunt. "But, she doesn't need you if you can't keep it together. You lost your son here—and if we're being honest, we don't know what will happen to Johanna's boy before, during, and after delivery. At the moment, he is my biggest priority. If you can't handle it, my dear, then you need to let Johanna and Peeta know. No one is going to blame you for feeling this way."

Katniss was humbled by Dr. Paylor's words. It was true; her mind had been focused solely on herself that she didn't realize that they could lose Johanna's son, as well. She couldn't stand to have anyone, especially Johanna, go through what Peeta and her had gone through.

And, Katniss already loved her nephew, just as she loved Toad.

"You're right," she finally said. "I'm really okay. Believe it or not, I love this baby as if he were my own. I love Johanna as if she and I shared the same blood."

"Blood doesn't make family," the doctor responded warmly. "Love does." She squeezed Katniss' shoulder. "We're going to fight for him, Katniss. I promise." The woman's eyes were wet. "I still think of Toad everyday…and I see him in every one of my patients since the day we lost him. He's why I work so goddamn hard—why I fight to the very end."

"Thank you." Katniss embraced the woman. "You don't know how much that means to Peeta and me."

Dr. Paylor nodded, wiping her eyes quickly. "We better get back. I told Peeta and Johanna that I had to check on a patient." She put an arm around Katniss' shoulder and they headed back down the hallway. "It's kind of true."

"One day," Katniss told her. "One day, I'll be your patient again."

"What did the Doctor say?" Uncle Snow asked nervously.

It had been obvious that Katniss wasn't going to talk to the family when she had escaped. So after leaving Johanna in the capable hands of one of the nurses and his red-eyed girlfriend, he come back to the waiting room to make the big announcement.

"Johanna is in labor," Peeta informed everyone.

Behind his Uncle stood Hani, Haymitch, Cato, and Prim, Peeta was relieved that Uncle Snow wasn't there alone to worry about the state of his only daughter…and grandson. He was overwhelmed himself by the news that he would be having a nephew—like time had paid it forward, giving him and Katniss the little boy that they had lost before.

However, Johanna's pregnancy was a different story; just as drama-filled, but exponentially unlike he and Katniss' situation.

"So what's going to happen?" Hani asked.

"The contractions are getting closer," Peeta explained. "The NICU team will be in the room and ready to take care of Johanna's son once he's out—"

"A boy?" The question came from Haymitch, slightly dazed and unusually somber at the news. "Johanna is having a son?"

Peeta let the smile grow on his face. "Yes, we're adding a boy to the family."

"I'll have to call Enobaria and have her add some blue to the nursery!" Uncle Snow rejoiced. "I'm having a grandson!" He beamed at everyone before looking to Peeta. "And, Johanna is taking this all in?"

"Yes, she's fine so far." Peeta took a rushed breath. "There was some crying when she realized that this was an actual labor, but she and Katniss are in there right now having a talk."

"How about you, Peeta?" Prim asked, her eyes full of worry. "You handling this okay?"

"I won't lie," he responded. "The building felt like it was closing in on me."

"We don't blame you," Cato added, clapping Peeta's shoulder.

"Peeta?" He turned to see Haymitch, a seriousness in his slate stare. "Johanna wouldn't lie about how much pain she was in, would she?"

"I don't think so," he replied as he thought for a moment. "Did you notice anything during the shower?"

"Maybe a grimace about an hour before her water broke," the man told Peeta, his gaze deep in thought as he continued. "But, it was just a quick observation…it may have been nothing."

"Mr. Mellark?" A nurse approached him, giving everyone a smile. "Ms. Mason and your…wife are looking for you. Dr. Paylor says we're getting close."

"Go on, Peeta," his Uncle urge. "If I wasn't such a stress case, I would be there with you, but it seems I'd do more harm than good in there."

Peeta nodded, hugging his Uncle quickly. "Don't worry, I'll take care of your girl."

He gave the group a final wave, his eyes suddenly focusing on a browbeaten expression, before following the nurse.

The room was packed.

Peeta was to Johanna's left and Katniss on her right with Dr. Paylor at the foot of the hospital bed, between the stirrups holding the laboring mother's feet. The NICU team was on standby ready with the incubator for the little one as well as the equipment that might be needed once the baby was delivered.

Johanna remained silent, her mouth pursed in pain as a contraction rippled through her body. Katniss could feel her agonizing shivers since Johanna had decided to forego drugs for the labor. The mother-to-be insisted that she didn't want any drugs running through the baby during delivery.

"It's okay to scream," Peeta told his cousin. "We won't say anything."

"It doesn't hurt that much," Johanna insisted.

Katniss reached to wipe Johanna's forehead with the small cloth she held. "You're a liar."

"Well, do I get points for trying to be a good liar while in labor?" Johanna let out a heavy gasp. "Oh…that was a hard one."

"We're at the home stretch, Johanna," Dr. Paylor reported. "I would say that at the next contraction, we're going to work on getting his head out. Rest for now."

Katniss pressed the washcloth to the woman's temple. "Johanna, do you need anything?"

Johanna met her eyes, before taking in a shaky breath and responding, "I need…the father."

Katniss nodded and turned to exit the room, ignoring Peeta who was calling out for her. She was nervous and dizzy. However, Katniss gathered herself before rounding the wall to enter the waiting room.

"Is the baby here?" Uncle Snow asked, standing from his seat.

Katniss shook her head. "No, not yet."

"Then what's going on?" her mother asked.

"Johanna wants the father," she managed to sputter out, her eyes casting down to the floor.

"A little late, don't you think?" Cato remarked in disbelief.

Prim went to her. "Did she give you a phone number?"

Katniss shook her head. "No."

Around her, the group began to discuss ways of fulfilling Johanna's request. Prim suggested calling Rue to search Johanna's office while Uncle Snow pulled out his phone to call the compound, deliberating whether or not Enobaria or Brutus would find any evidence of the father in Johanna's room.

Uncle Haymitch stepped forward suddenly, taking off his jacket, and folding it in his arms. "Excuse me."

Marching around Katniss' frozen body, he abruptly left the waiting room.

The room went silent.

"What the damn hell?" Cato exclaimed, breaking the stunned stillness. "When did that happen?"

Prim let out a chuckle. "About seven-ish months ago, I reckon."

Her mother was sitting a shell-shocked Uncle Snow in a nearby chair.

"I should go," Katniss told them before turning to quickly leave the room.

Stepping around the corner, she found her Uncle waiting for her.

Katniss growled at him. "Thanks for leaving me in the lurch!"

"It's not going to get any better once we get into the delivery room," he told her. "Peeta is not going to be happy."

"I don't think that he has much say," Katniss replied as they continued down the hallway. "Honestly, I didn't think you had any say!"

"I tried, Katniss," her Uncle reasoned. "When I found out, we had a fig…talk and she told me that she wanted to do it herself…that I didn't need to be in the picture…and that I should respect her wishes." He looked to her, anguish in his eyes. "Johanna can't seem to understand that I want to be here—for her and our son."

"Obviously, she understands now." They stopped in front of the room. "Ready?"

The man before her shook his head. "No."

But he walked in, anyway.

Katniss gulped uneasily and followed her Uncle, watching as he went to Johanna's free side and took her hand.

Johanna let out a relieved chuckle. "Is it too late to apologize?"

"There's no need to," Haymitch replied easily. "But, we are going to talk about this…" His eyes went to where Dr. Paylor sat at the front of Johanna's splayed legs. "…after."

"What the hell?" Peeta barked, a glare darkening his face.

Katniss joined him, putting her hand over his. "Please, Peeta. Let's get through this delivery, okay?"

They stared at one another for a moment, neither willing to back down. Finally, Peeta's eyes calmed and he focused back on his cousin.

"Johanna…get ready to bear down," Dr. Paylor called out.

Putting her chin to her chest, Johanna closed her eyes, pressing her lips together and pushing.

"One…two…three…" The doctor counted. There was a suction and Dr. Paylor looked up at them. "Head is out."

"He's too quiet," Johanna said worriedly. "Why isn't he crying?"

Katniss moved away, going to where Dr. Paylor sat, to see the little boy. He was incredible; his complexion was grey though she could see that his mouth was moving in an obvious struggle.

But, he was alive and breathing.

"He's moving, Johanna," Katniss told her as she went back to her place. "Just keep going."

Johanna nodded, before taking another breath, and grunting between her clenched teeth.

There was a rushing release throughout the room and Dr. Paylor suddenly stood up with the tiny being in her arms.

"Look at your son." The doctor smiled, presenting the little boy to his mother and father.

Johanna burst into tears at the sight of him. "He's perfect."

Her Uncle Haymitch beamed, watching the NICU team take over. He squeezed Johanna's hand before walking over to the incubator.

"He has your dark hair…your nose…" The new father turned to Johanna proudly. "…he's you."

"Let's hope that his eyes are grey, then," Johanna concluded, her stare focused on the baby who was currently having a cuff placed around his tiny ankle. "What are they doing?"

"We're placing a blood pressure cuff on him, ma'am," one of the nurses reported. "Then, we'll put a probe under his foot to monitor his heart rate and an IV since he's not quite ready to be breastfed. He seems to be breathing on his own, but we'll continue to monitor."

"Oh." She wiped her eyes. "That's a lot."

"Johanna, he's strong," Katniss told her. "We're going to be here for him and it will turn out fine."

"Katniss is right." Peeta took her hand in solidarity and Katniss squeezed back in assurance. "Your son is part of our family. Of course, he's going to be a warrior!"

Johanna grinned through her tears. "Mason."

Haymitch went to her, his gaze warm. "His name?"

She nodded. "I was thinking Mason Abernathy—if that's alright with you."

"I love it," Haymitch replied gruffly. "Thank you."

"We should give them some time," Katniss told her boyfriend, watching the new parents bond. "Let's go."

"Katniss…Peeta…" Johanna turn to them, tired but exuberant. "Thank you."

"Of course," her cousin responded. "Congratulations." Peeta's eyes met Haymitch's sternly. "We'll talk later."

"I don't doubt it," Haymitch replied.

Walking out of the room, the couple turned to one another.

"I can't believe that happened," Katniss said.

"We have a nephew," Peeta continued, letting out a laugh.

They embraced one another, Katniss burying her face into his shoulder and letting out a shuddering breath.

"Why are you crying?" he whispered into her ear.

They pulled apart and he reached to brush her tears away with his thumbs.

"I don't know," Katniss told him, a trembling smile on her face. She reached to wipe a tear off his own face. "Why are you?"

Peeta shrugged, cradling her face tenderly. "I don't know either."

They embraced each other once more.

"Mason Abernathy—what a name," Prim said as they watched Uncle Snow in the NICU nursery gazing at his grandson in the incubator. Dr. Paylor stood by his side, talking to the grandfather and new parents. "And, Uncle Haymitch is a dad."

"He's pretty much been like a dad to us, right?" Katniss replied.

Cato put an arm around Prim's shoulders. "So what is Mason to you two then?"

"Interesting question," Peeta said, his own arms wrapping around Katniss' waist.

Katniss thought for a moment. "I suppose Mason would be Peeta's nephew and our…cousin?"

"Then what would Mason be to Jace?" Cato continued.

"Crap—what would he be?" Prim mused. "Supposing Johanna and Uncle Haymitch are sort of together."

"He would be Jace's Uncle and technically if we're supposing that they're together, he would also be his…cousin," Peeta concluded. "Once removed?"

"So Mason is Jace's Uncle-Cousin," Cato sounded. "God, let's hope Uncle Haymitch and Johanna don't get married, because then she would become our Aunt and fuck this family tree up even more."

Peeta looked to Haymitch and Johanna currently sitting by their son's incubator, watching Mason sleep.

"Wasn't that a one-time thing?" he asked, perplexed at the sight.

Prim rolled her eyes. "Oh Peeta, your head has been so far up your butt that you haven't seen what's been in front of you."

"Neither did you," he retorted.

"I noticed something was odd about two years ago," Prim retorted. "Mom would invite Johanna to Seam Island to hang out, but Uncle Haymitch would be the one taking her on tours around the island. He's stone-cold dedicated to the plantation, but he would take days off for her."

"So Mom helped this happen?" Katniss asked.

"I didn't help something that was already happening." Hani appeared behind them with Jace in her arms. "Do you want to see your…?" She looked to the four adults. "Help me out here."

"We came up with Uncle-Cousin," Cato informed his mother-in-law. "And, what do you mean 'already happening'?"

"Four years ago…something started," Hani said, watching her brother through the nursery window.

"Mommy, where is my Uncle-Cousin?" Jace asked Prim.

Cato picked his son up. "Do you see where your Grandpa Haymitch and Aunt Johanna are? Inside the clear box is Mason…your Uncle-Cousin." He turned to the group. "This is going to get complicated very quickly."

"Just call him Mason," Katniss said to her nephew. "He's your responsibility now. You're going to have to show him the Seam Island ways." She whipped around to her mother. "And, what do you mean 'four years ago'?"

"They were both worried about you two," her mother explained looking between Katniss and Peeta. "I mean we all were, but Johanna was kind of alone when it came to dealing with Peeta—so your Uncle Haymitch was there for her. They got…close."

Peeta looked through the window, examining the new parents. He could see how they worked, how it could've happened. Uncle Snow and Hani had work, Prim and Cato had Jace and Arena—and Johanna had…no one, since he had decided to disappear into himself. Haymitch was a good guy and he could see the man making an effort to help Johanna cope.

"So they've been…consoling…each other all this time?" he sounded to his former mother-in-law.

"Until maybe seven-or-eight months ago," Hani said. "For now, we just have to let this all play out. They are a family now and once again, so are we."

Peeta kissed Hani's cheek before meeting Katniss' eyes. "Weren't we always family?"

"Mason gained weight." Katniss beamed at the baby on the radiant warmer bed. Her gloved hand reached to caress the dowdy locks of the baby. Mason squirmed slightly, just barely opening his dark eyes. "He's made so much progress in two weeks."

"It's a miracle, really," Johanna said from where she stood across from Katniss. "I mean, he's still on an IV but, in another two weeks, who knows?" Her eyes went to her son with an adoring gaze. "How is it possible to love someone this much?"

"You push him out of you," Katniss told her. "Your bond is sacred."

Her eyes went to the baby, who day by day began to look like a mixture of her Uncle and her friend. Mason's nose was definitely an Abernathy one—pert like hers—but his sharp chin was from his mother.

The round cheeks, due to the constant IV feed, were adorably his.

"How's the real world?" Johanna asked. "Time stands still in the NICU."

"The 'Happily Ever After' ad has come out and is a rousing success," she recalled. "Gale and Caesar are practically flying at the numbers. I, however, cannot stand seeing my face on a billboard."

Johanna sat down, resting back against her chair. "And, how is my dear cousin taking it?"

"You know Peeta," Katniss responded. "He knows how to ignore the stares during our dates. I've taken to having us spend our nights in my studio eating take out." Katniss felt her face warm up. "Not like we mind."

"Just don't forget to use protection…properly," Johanna warned. "You might end up like me."

Her eyes went to Mason, bundled protectively and now sleeping peacefully. "You mean deliriously happy?"

"Yeah, don't take my warnings seriously," her cousin responded, her hands folded over her still plump abdomen. "They're kind of bullshit."

"Should you be cursing around all these babies?" Her Uncle Haymitch approached them in the standard cloth covering and gloves, holding out a cup to Johanna. "I found a decent cup of decaf coffee." He went to the bed where Mason lay, checking on the baby. "He looks bigger, doesn't he?"

"I just told Johanna that he looks like he's gained weight," Katniss replied. "Is Peeta out there?"

"Yes, he's still a bit angry with me," her Uncle told her. "The staff is giving him the uniform and mask before he can come in. Hopefully, he'll soften up in front of Mason."

"He's just being the protective brother," Johanna said. "It's always been like that between us."

"But, you liked me right away," Katniss pointed out with a grin.

"You were like a breath of fresh air," the new mother declared gently. "Exactly what we needed."

Katniss reached to hug her. "Motherhood has softened you."

"I know," Johanna groaned at her words. "But for Mason, I'll gladly soften."

"I missed a moment," Peeta greeted, smiling behind his face mask. He immediately went to the warming bed to say hello to his nephew. "Hey Mason, it's Uncle Peeta. I just bought another toy for your nursery that we'll need to play with together!" He looked to Johanna and Haymitch. "Do you think that it's too much to have given him a bike?"

"He doesn't even know where his nose is," Johanna told him. "I think you're getting ambitious."

"It's a good thing that I didn't get the bike then." Johanna and Haymitch sighed in relief at Peeta's statement. "But, Uncle Snow did."

Katniss chuckled, standing and going to Peeta's side. "They're going to have a hell of a time sorting through that nursery." He took her hand, looking at Mason. "He's absolutely amazing."

"It's a miracle," Peeta replied. "It's like we just found out Johanna was pregnant." He took a deep breath. "Just goes to show that there are always ends and beginnings."

"I agree," she told him. "Like everything is new and we can start over."

Peeta lifted her hand, pressing a kiss to each of her knuckles. "Can I take you out?"

"Of course." Her eyes went to Johanna and Haymitch. "I think they're holding it down."

Peeta looked to his slumbering nephew whose gloved hand was moving along the bit of exposed newborn skin, and giving him a covered smile.

"I still want to kick your Dad's ass though."

"I think we're going to be okay."

Katniss looked over her shoulder at Peeta from where they lay on her bed. "And, why do you think that?"

"When we were there in that hospital wheeling Johanna down that hallway, it brought me back to that moment…with you," he told her, his breath warm against her hair. "That was a bad time…a bad, bad time…and I was scared that same feeling would take over—almost like the same thing would happen."

"Then what changed?" she asked him.

"The situation…time…us. This time, it's different, Katniss," he said to her. "We're different. We've grown together."

Katniss shifted, turning to him. "I like that. Together." She took a deep breath. "There were so many times, those first few months of marriage, when I felt like I was in it alone—because I didn't know you. I didn't really know myself." She moved closer, her gaze deep. "Now it can be different, because we're brand new—like Mason."

Peeta kissed the tip of her nose. "So we're like a baby?"

"I guess," she replied, smiling shyly. "We can be reborn into the kind of couple that we want to be—the kind of people we want to be. I don't want to be sad, because I've been sad. So sad that I didn't know if I could get out of it. But if there can be extreme sadness, then there can be extreme happiness too." Katniss met his eyes. "I have to hope for that."

"We can hope for that." Peeta moved a tendril of her hair so he could gaze at her pretty face, bared for him in many ways. "God, Katniss. Sometimes I just want to keep you all to myself. That has to mean something, right?"

"That you're obsessed with me?" she suggested with a grin.

"You're very full of yourself," he responded. "For the sake of avoiding an argument, I'll agree with you."

"I'll agree, too." Katniss looked up at him. "We're going to take care of each other, right?"

Peeta pressed his mouth to hers. "Always."

"And, we'll always be honest with each other," she continued.

"Katniss—" There was a tightness in his voice. "We ne—"

Her cellphone suddenly rang and Katniss picked it up on her side table, groaning when she saw her partner's number.

A call from Gale at midnight couldn't be good news.

She picked up quickly. "Hey. What's going on?"

"I've lost the numbers for tomorrow's finance meeting," her partner explained in a rush. "I wanted to bring up the packing and transfer fees to our lawyers for negotiating with the Manhattan gallery. Would you happen to have a copy of the contract as well?"

"Yes." Katniss sat up, looking over at Peeta. "I'll be right back."

"We have to talk," he insisted, his exhausted eyes pleading. "It's important."

"I won't take long," she assured him before getting up and opening her laptop at the kitchen table.

"Am I interrupting something?" Gale asked over the phone.

"It's midnight on a Friday and the first evening that we haven't spent at the hospital," Katniss replied. "What do you think?"

"My bad," the man retorted. "Just send what you have. I have no life, so I'll make edits." Gale sighed over the phone. "Madge still isn't talking to me."

"We really shouldn't be discussing this," she said. Her eyes went to her boyfriend, arm over his face in her bed. "Especially with our connections."

"I know," Gale muttered. "I just don't know what to do."

"Space and time is what's needed," she finally told him with a sigh. "When she's ready, she'll talk."

"I guess."

"There." Katniss closed her laptop. "All sent."

"Awesome," Gale replied. "Happy…sleep."

With a chuckle, she hung up. "Peeta?"

Walking to the bed, Katniss found Peeta fast asleep. Even now, she remembered how he slept—curled into himself.

It was only until Katniss slept next to him that he straightened, wrapping his arms around her waist.

The talk could wait, she supposed.

"Mason is really cute," Gale told Katniss as they walked down the street. "He's…one month old now?"

"Well, Mase is about 33 weeks now," she informed him. "And, thankfully sporting less tubage."

Katniss explained that the baby needed a bit of help breathing during that first week, occasionally sporting a breathing mask to receive oxygen. However, as the weeks progressed, Mason relied solely on his growing lungs.

Today had been the first time that he actually let out a cry—as Gale looked to him.

This pleased Peeta, who was there, immensely.

"And, Johanna and your Uncle? What's happening there?"

"Uncle Snow has begrudgingly accepted their moment together," Katniss said with an amused grin. "Now, he has dedicated himself to getting them married. They're not ready for that though and admitted that a lot of their time was spent…touring Seam Island. I think that they're fine with co-parenting for now."

"'Touring Seam Island'? Is that what they call it now?" Gale retorted.

"Better than Cato's 'Climbing Panem's Tower'." Katniss stopped in front of his building, looking up at the tall complex, her eyes clouded. "I better go."

"She's not going to be there." Gale turned to her. "Madge has a noon class and it's a five-minute walk before she actually gets to our floor."

Katniss barked in laughter. "Stalking much?" She sobered up at his expression. "But, seriously—I don't know if I can look at her—not right now. I don't know what I'd do. I respect your thing with her…but I just can."

Gale nodded in understanding. "Maybe one day it will be different."

"Time can be a good thing," Katniss replied, giving him a grim smile. "I better go. I have some work to do."

Parting ways, Gale entered the building, greeting the doorman before heading to the elevator. Inside the lift, he pressed back against the wall and wondered if there would ever be a time that Madge would speak to him.

There was no rhyme or reason as to why he liked her. She could be taciturn and closed-off.

However, when Madge managed to grace him with a smile, it was like the world brightened to him.

Man, he really was hard up.

The doors opened and Gale stepped out, heading towards his door.

However, he froze at the sight before him.

Madge was curled up against his door.

At his approach, she looked up, her eyes bloodshot. "I think I'm ready to talk now."

Gale knelt before her. "What happened?"

"My Dad…he's gone." Madge held up her phone. "My mom left a message an hour ago. He had another attack…and that was it. I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"We'll talk later." He pulled her close, pressing his lips to her hair and letting her sniffle into his shoulder. "Just cry now."

So she did.

I don't know if you wanted more Madge, but she'll get more time next chapter as everyone deals with her father's death.

This chapter is all for Mason.

I'm no expert on premature births, knowing only a little from my former manager's experience—her daughter was born at five months, and I'm happy to say that she is doing great. However, I remember counseling her when she came back to work since it was so difficult, balancing her time between the hospital and our office.

This will be Johanna's life, for now.

Also, the whole discussion with Mason's relation to Prim and Katniss as well as to Peeta was pretty much a discussion that I had with Hubbs.

And, I know that you're wondering when the painting will be revealed…but I think the revelation of Mason's father is enough for the time being.

Feedback is love. I hope you're enjoying so far.

Next, Part 20—Katniss and Peeta confront a piece of their past and Gale and Madge finally resolve…whatever is between them.

Until then, JLaLa