We get off the elevator on our floor and I walk as quickly as possible in the opposite direction as Peeta and Haymitch. I hear them talking behind me and then hear Peeta approaching me. He catches up to me and walks beside me, matching my pace, not saying anything, and just reaching for my hand. I let him grab it, but make sure to squeeze harder than usual. I'm not happy with him, but he should know this. We make it into my room, and I walk into the bathroom, fumbling to get my dress off to shower. I feel Peeta's hands on my back as he unzips my dress, kissing my neck as he does so.

"I like taking your dress off a lot more than anyone else's dress," He smiles and kisses my neck more.

"You think this is funny?"

"Katniss... it wasn't a big deal."

"It wasn't a big deal? You undressed her, in front of me!" Peeta laughs at my response, "What the hell is funny about this?"

"Don't you get it?"

"Get what?"

"All of the tributes are acting like this because they think you're innocent."

"Innocent? I've been practically ripping your clothes off in every interview, actually ripping them off when the cameras aren't around, and I'm pregnant with your kid. What the hell do you mean I'm innocent?"

"I know that, but none of them know that. They're just trying to get a reaction out of you."

What he says make sense, Finnick with the sugar cube and Johanna in the elevator, but Finnick knew about the baby, so this can't be the right reason. I start to feel dizzy and decide that I don't care enough to argue about this right now. At this point, all I want to do is take a shower and go to bed. I shrug my dress the rest of the way off and remove the rest of my clothes, making sure to look directly at Peeta as I do so, taking in how he reacts to seeing my body in front of him. I lean in close to him, trailing kissing from his lips to his ear, and down his neck, my hand finding its way down his stomach to his waistline. I can hear his breath catch as he presses closer to me. I lean up to him and whisper in his ear.

"Don't even think about it tonight." I pull away from him and get into the shower.

As I shower, I try to scrub the memories of Johanna's body and the scent of the capital off of my skin with the makeup. I wash my hair out, the scent making me feel nauseous. I make a note not to use the strawberry scented soaps here anymore. I cup my stomach, letting the water pool around the bottom of it. I can feel my baby kick against the water, they must like it. I stay like this for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of my baby kicking against me. When I start getting too tired, I turn off the water and reach for a towel, drying off and exiting the bathroom. I don't bother to look at the bed to see if Peeta is still here. I reach into the dresser and pull out a loose top and shorts, pulling them on quickly and walking over to the bed. Peeta is laying on his side, I notice some uneven movement of his arm and once I get closer, realize what he is doing. His eyes are closed so he must not have realized I'd walked out yet. I slowly and carefully slide into the bed beside him, startling him without meaning to.

"Shit. Katniss, I didn't know you... I wasn't..." I just my press my lips to his to make him stop talking and reach around him, grasping him in my hand to finish what he had been doing.

"Did I make you need me? Or were you lusting over Johanna?"

"You. Definitely you."

I kiss him deeply, letting myself fall into the kiss and giving him what he needs. Afterwards, we lay on the bed, nothing but the blanket covering our bodies. He runs his fingers through my hair as he kisses my cheek. I lay against him, he is the one thing that makes me feel safe in the capital. He raises his head to look at me, making direct eye contact. This is not something he does often, I push up on my elbows, looking at him.

"I want to talk about names... I have some I like but I know you probably have your own picked out. I want to know."

"Peeta, we still have a while to think about this. I don't think we need to discuss it right now."

"Katniss, we might not have a while. We go into the arena in just a couple of weeks and from there, anything could happen to me." He doesn't know how wrong he is as he says this. Nothing is going to happen to him, but I decide to play along anyway.

"Okay... if it's a girl, Rue. Rue Primrose Mellark." Peeta laughs lightheartedly. I look at him trying to figure out if he hates the name, "What?"

"Nothing. I just figured that Rue would be included somehow... and I didn't know if you'd want to use my last name."

"Yes. I want our baby to have your last name."

"Have you thought about a name for a boy?" I bite down on my lip; I have thought about this name a lot. But I know Peeta won't be happy with it. I want to name our baby after people that are special to us... to me.

Cinna Gale Mellark" I glance down, not meeting Peeta's eyes, already knowing he won't approve this name.

"No. We are not naming our baby after him."

"Okay."

"The fact that you even would consider naming MY son after him, after everything he has done, after everything you've done.." Peeta stands up, dressing quickly and shaking his head, "Do you want everyone in Panem to think this baby isn't mine? Do you want everyone to think you got pregnant with Gale? Snow to think you got pregnant with Gale? Your cousin as far as they know?! Because that will do it. Name the baby after Gale, name MY SON after Gale. My answer is no. I will NOT name my son after him." He walks toward the door.

"Peeta, where are you going? I'm sorry, I knew you wouldn't like the name."

"For a walk and if you knew that, you shouldn't have suggested it." With that he walks out the door, shutting it harder than necessary.

I get out of the bed and pull my clothes on, walking to the balcony, overlooking the rest of the capital. The sky is light brightly with all the party lights from the street below, all the capital citizens celebrating the start of what the refer to as festivities for the Hunger Games. I wish I could be back home in twelve, where I could see the stars outside. I cradle my stomach, this isn't a world I want my baby to know, but this is the world I am bringing them into. I can only hope after these games, after I die, that this baby can live. That Snow will leave this baby and Peeta alone if I'm no longer attached to them. I feel a mild pain in my stomach, I know my baby doesn't like the idea anymore than I do. I assume the baby is kicking me in rejection to my ideas, just like their daddy. I turn around to head back to bed, feeling better after getting some fresh air, but Peeta is standing at the doorway.

"I'm sorry. I was just leaving."

"No. You need to hear me out for once Katniss." I don't respond to him, instead I just stand back by the railing. He walks over to me and stands beside me, neither of us looking at each other.

"Katniss, you know that I love you. I have loved you ever since school when you sang the entire valley song in class. As much as you might have thought I regretted it, I never regretted throwing that bread to you, even though my mom put me through hell for it. When they called my name last year, the only thing I could think of is how I never got to tell you how I felt, and how I could help you get home. Ever since that day, my every thought has been how to keep you safe, and for the last few months, how to keep our baby safe. I was so happy when you decided to keep the baby and that night on the train, it was one of the best nights of my life. I'm sorry that I reacted the way I did to the name, but I don't want his name to be associated with our baby. He has been associated with your life as long as I have known you and I just want something that is completely mine, I want our baby to be completely mine. As selfish as it sounds, I'm tired of sharing you Katniss. I love you, I love our baby, and I want us to be a family."

"Peeta... I love you too and I love our baby, but Gale is my best friend."

"He is allowed to be that, but no more kissing. I don't want him kissing you or trying to win you over anymore. Please."

"Okay," My voice sounds more sure and more confident in this answer than I feel.

"Thank you. Would you like to go back to bed now? It's late."

"Please?"

The pain in my stomach has become worse, I think maybe I ate something funny. I follow Peeta back to my room, he lays down on the bed. I walk past the bed and into the bathroom, shutting the door. I feel something between my legs, I quickly pull my pants down and sit on the toilet, fearing that I'm at the point in pregnancy where I have no control over my bladder. I notice something on the floor, a bright red spot, then glance down and notice it on my thighs too. I'm bleeding. I yell for Peeta instinctively, he's in the room and in front of me in seconds. His eyes wide with shock. He helps me up and pulls my pants up, helping me out of the room and down the hallway to the elevator, yelling for Haymitch as we pass his room. As we approach the elevator, Haymitch catches up to us.

"What's all the yelling for? You didn't go into labor this early did you sweetheart?"

"I'm bleeding."

"Okay," I see the understanding register on his face as he gets on the elevator with us, pressing the button to take us to the medical center within the building. "It will be okay."

"Snow is going to find out."

"No, they won't be able to tell him. There are laws about this type of stuff." Peeta tries to reassure me and rubs my back. The elevator seems to slow down every time we pass a floor.

"He will find out eventually sweetheart. It will be okay if he does."

The elevator finally stops and Haymitch ushers us out, leading the way. He motions us to the corner of the room as we enter a brightly lit area and goes to talk to someone he must know. Someone comes over to us with him and asks us to follow her. We follow her down a hallway and into a room, the curtain closing behind her. She turns on a machine in the room and removes a type of probe from it, squirting a liquid over my stomach and placing the probe on my stomach. I see something on her screen, some type of figure.

"This is your baby," She points to the screen, continuing to show us different parts of our baby. She flips a button and heartbeat fills the room, "This is your baby's heartbeat. It's fast and strong, which is a good thing. Your baby is moving too."

Peeta grabs my hand, looking down at me. His eyes are wet and I can tell he is trying not to cry, I notice Haymitch has left the room, probably giving us some privacy which I am thankful for. The woman excuses herself to go find the doctor. Peeta places his hand on my bump, feeling for our baby. As if on cue, the baby kicks against his hand. I am thankful that our baby is okay, at least right now. But I still don't know why I started bleeding. The doctor walks into the room and Peeta moves his hand off of me quickly, blushing slightly at being interrupted.

"Hello, I'm going to assume that you are Miss Everdeen?" He reaches out his hand to me, which I shake politely. He then turns to Peeta and nods, "Mr. Mellark, you are the father correct?"

"Yes," Peeta nods. The doctor looks over the chart he has in his hands before speaking again.

"So there are a couple things I'd like for us to discuss. Firstly, I would like to know when you believe you got pregnant and when your last period was?"

"I don't know the exact dates, but my last period was around the middle of December, the tour left the beginning of January and returned around the second week of January, I think? I got pregnant on the tour so sometime during January."

"How far along do you believe you are?"

"I'm not sure. I think about eight months or so."

"Okay. Well based on your ultrasound, you're actually about 30 weeks, which is about seven and half months. We generally base the start of pregnancy on your last period so this type of prediction can always be a couple weeks off. But today is July 6th and I'm going to call you 30 weeks and 4 days. This puts your due date around September 10th, give or take just a little bit. Also, we looked into the source of your bleeding, and it seems to have been caused by intercourse, which is normal at this point in the pregnancy. So, I would recommend a gentler interaction or different positions. But now, we have some good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

"Bad," I say at the same time Peeta say's good. He looks at me and then just nods. His face is red, assuming from being told that us having sex caused the bleeding and trying to process what we have been told.

"At this point, I don't feel comfortable doing an induction before the games. Your baby seems healthy and is growing right on track. I will provide you with some medication to speed up your baby's lung development, so in the event of an emergency delivery before the games, there will be less complications. If my calculations are correct, you will be 32 weeks, almost 33 weeks when you enter the games. They're set to begin two weeks from tomorrow. So, the best thing for you and the baby right now is too rest, get as much nutrition and hydration as you can. Take this medication, and I will reassess the situation a couple of days before the games. But Katniss, if you have this baby before the games, you need to think about who is going to watch it and what the plan is if something happens to you. Also, think about your recovery, you won't be able to fight."

"What do you mean induction?" Peeta asks the doctor, a question I was wondering too.

"In the event that Miss Everdeen decides she would like to deliver the baby before entering the games, if we believe there would be little risk to the baby, we will medically start the labor and delivery process."

"But you said she can't fight, so she would be in more danger?"

"No more danger than entering the arena pregnant," I look up at Peeta. Either way I'm in danger and will be a liability. But there is one thing I don't like about this plan, "When you say I will have to decide who will take my baby, am I able to send my baby home to twelve?"

"Eventually you will be able to send the baby home to whoever you decide in twelve, but initially it will have to remain in the capital."

"So, I have to pick someone here to keep the baby?"

"Yes, and then someone back home to return the baby to permanently if neither of you make it out of the arena."

"We don't have to decide this right now Katniss," Peeta takes my hand again, "Do we have any other options?"

"Of course. You can always choose to terminate the pregnancy still at any point; however Katniss will still have to deliver."

"No. We will not do that. Do we have any other options besides termination and induction?" Peeta has taken over asking the questions now, I am thankful for that. I don't trust my voice to be as strong as I would like it to be.

"You could always enter the arena pregnant, however there is a high risk of delivering in the games due to the stress on your body. Hopefully with the medication, there will be no complications if that would be the case, however we will be unable to provide medical care in the event there is."

"How likely is it to deliver during the games?"

"I would say with how far along you will be, there will be about a fifty percent chance of delivery."

"And this medication should help our baby's lungs grow?"

"Yes. We have successfully delivered premature babies as young as twenty some weeks in emergency situations with this medication. Very unfortunate that Snow didn't cancel the games when he found out or provide you with the medication sooner. I never knew him to be wasteful. Odd that he considers this the best solution." He doesn't know that Snow isn't aware of the baby.

"We need some time to think about theses options. Thank you." Peeta finishes the conversation.

"Can we have the good news now?" I find my voice again and ask as the doctor begins to walk out of the room.

"Of course. It's a girl. You're going to have a baby girl. Congratulations, and I am sorry it is in such circumstances. Anything else before I go get the medication and let you leave?"

"Just one thing, can you not tell Snow I was here?"

"Of course, Miss Everdeen," With that he walks out of the room.

Peeta and I sit there in silence, the doctor finally returns with the medication and has me sign a form, allowing us to leave afterwards. Haymitch is pacing in the hallway by the elevator. He presses the button, and the doors open. We are on the way back to our floor, no one speaks in the elevator. The ride up seems much quicker than the ride down. I'm trying to process all of the information. I'm not as far along as I thought, but I also only have two options, both of which put my baby and myself in danger. At least in the arena, the baby will be with me and away from Snow. The chances of delivery in the games are just as likely as the chances that I won't deliver during them. I know Peeta won't like these odds, or this decision. But I refuse to leave my baby anywhere that Snow can get to her. The elevator stops on our floor, and we exit. Effie is waiting for us, looking distraught. She rushes over to us, pulling me into her arms.

"Oh Katniss, are you okay? Do you need anything? What did they say?"

"Everything is okay. Nothing is wrong. The baby is right on track, but I'm only 30 weeks and 4 days, so about seven and half months, not eight."

"Okay, well that isn't a bad thing. I'm just glad you both are okay."

"What did they say caused the bleeding sweetheart?" Haymitch speaks for the first time. I notice Peeta turning red, this is obviously not a question he wants to answer.

"They just said that certain actions can cause bleeding at this point in pregnancy. She mostly needs to rest, eat, drink, and take the medication to help our baby's lungs grow," Peeta brushes over the question.

"They gave you medication?" Effie looks at me concerned.

"Yeah, they want her lungs to be fully mature if we would decide to deliver her before the games, or if I would go into labor during them," I try my best to explain, glad that the topic of bleeding has now been passed over.

"Her?" Haymitch asks us, I realize we didn't tell them yet.

"Yeah, the doctor told us we are having a girl."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Effie gushes and hugs me again, moving on to hug Peeta next.

"Congratulations you two," Haymitch follows her lead, hugging me and then shaking Peeta's hand.

"If you don't mind, it's late and we have had a long day... can we go to bed and finish this discussion in the morning?" Peeta asks them, interrupting the moment but I know he wants to discuss some things with me and I'm tired anyway. Everyone agrees and we all head to bed. Once in the room, I change clothes and lay on the bed, Peeta coming to lay beside me.

"You don't have to make any decisions tonight, but I was just wondering where your mind is right now? Which decision you are thinking about?" He places his hand on my stomach, feeling for our daughter to kick, "What do you think is best for Rue?" He smiles at me as she kicks against him again.

"I don't trust leaving her in the capital without us. I don't want to deliver before the games. We will be worried about her, and it will make us more vulnerable. I think the best thing for us to do is go into the games pregnant and get as far away from the other tributes as possible. We can just wait it out and hopefully they will take each other out before we have to."

"Okay, but if this plan doesn't work Katniss," I press my lips to his.

"It has to. If not, get her out of me and you two get out of the arena. Keep her safe."

"You have to be the one that leaves with her Katniss."

"Promise me Peeta."

"I promise to do whatever it takes to keep you two safe. Is that good enough?"

"No, but it can be for tonight. I'm tired."

"Sleep. You need all the rest you can get."

He kisses my forehead and I fall asleep against him quickly. I can't stop thinking about how I'm going to have a baby girl. I dream about what she will look like, what color her hair will be, what color her eyes are. But I honestly hope she looks like Peeta.

A/N:

I know this isn't the best chapter. I mostly wanted to clear some things up, so I hope this helped, especially with how far along she in the pregnancy! I know the medication for lung maturation is usually given IV, but for the story purposes it is in pill form. Just graduated college this past week so will try to update more frequently now! Thank all of you for your support, reviews, and feedback of this story!