Katniss

"Get up!" Prim says. "It's nearly noon." I roll away from her as she yanks open my curtains.

"It can't be," I say. "Peeta usually stops by around eight with breakfast."

"He did," she says pulling my blanket off me. "But with you being so tired and queasy lately, he wanted to let you sleep so maybe you can get over this cold." I sit up and pull my hair out of last nights braid.

"Did he leave anything?" I ask.

"Cinnamon rolls," she says gesturing towards the table by my bed. I lean over and begin to eat one of the icing covered rolls, basically inhailing it and sucking the sugar off my fingers. I do the same to another and am reaching for a third as Prim grabs the plate away.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"You already ate two and you vomited three times yesterday," she says. " Lets see if you can keep down what youve eaten for an hour or so before you eat anymore of this."

"But I feel fine right now," I say.

"Katniss," she says. "Just listen for once. Besides, you'll spoil supper with these sweets." I roll my eyes and pull on my leg before walking towards my bathroom.

"I'm going to go take a shower," I say. "Can you get me some clothes out for me?" She nods and I slip through the door and shut it. I strip out of my sweaty night clothes and hold onto the shower bar as I remove my leg and start the shower. I've gotten quite used to this routine since I've been injured. Its awkward, having only the use of one arm as well as one leg trying to bathe myself, but I've figured out how to balance pretty well to get the job done.

As I get myself dried off and begin to brush out my hair, I notice something I hadn't before. I tentatively touch the subtle roundness of my cheeks as I brush my hair away from my face. I shake it off to my new diet of Peeta's sweets and the other foods that are now so readily available. I just hadn't thought I'd eaten much to actually build up fat in my face.

As I finish getting myself dressed, I hear a knock on my door at turn to see my mother standing there.

"Are you feeling better after that extra rest?" She asks. I nod.

"Yeah, I guess I just needed to sleep it off," I say walking to the side of my bed and pulling up the disarrayed covers.

"I'd still like to look you over and see if there's anything I could give you to make you feel a little better," she says. I stare at her for a moment, knowing she's up to something. But after a moment I sit down on my bed and she has me lay back and presses on my stomach tentatively, focusing on my lower abdomen. After a while she sighs and walks away from me and looks out the window.

"Primerose said you had quite the appatite when you woke up," she says softly.

"Yeah, after not being able to keep anything down for a few days, of course I was hungry," I say.

"You'll have that," she says, still looking outside,"As soon as the nausea passes, you clean out the cupboards. An endless cycle for the first season or so." She looks down. "It was like that for me at least."

I get up and walk over to her. "What are you talking about?" I ask. "I'm just sick right now. Its a cold. I'll get over it."

"Katniss," she says gently. "You aren't sick. You're far from it. And I've let you down so much in your upbringing that you dont even know whats going on with your own body."

"What is going on Mother?" I ask. "You've been looking at me weird all week. What do you think you know?"

"I know about you sneaking out at night," she says. "To see Peeta. It was only a matter of time really. But I'd hopped you'd have waited. You told me you'd never make my mistakes yet here you are."

"Mother, I'm not pregnant," I say. "I can't be pregnant. I can't have a baby in a world like this."

"Well, considering you cant just declare when you are and are not pregnant and have it be true, I think your morning sickness and the fact that I felt a slightly enlarged womb in your belly, I'd say you are," she says simply. I just look at her and she stares me down making me turn away from her gaze.

"How long do I have?" I ask.

"Its not a death sentence Katniss," she says. "Its just a child. Your life isn't over. You're getting married before the end of the fall. Your baby will be born after that so no one can really know."

"I mean until you can see it," I say. "How long before that?" She shruggs.

"Hard to say," she says. "It all depends on how far alomg you are, how you carry the weight. A few months at lea-" shes interupted by Prim bursting through the door.

"The miners just brought in a flogging victim," she says hurriedly. "Its bad."

"I'll take care off it," my mother says. "You stay here with your sister." Prim looks down.

"Katniss better come too," she says nervously.

"Why?" I ask. She just looks at me and I see in her eyes my answer.

I get up and hurry down the stairs and when I get to the bottom I hear him before I see him.

"What happened!?" I ask as I push through the people to Peeta's side as he lays on his stomach on the kitchen table, his back resembling a shredded hunk of meat than human skin. "Who did this to him?"

"There was a raid on the Hob," Gale says. "He was there handing out bread and I guess the new head peacekeeper wanted to make an example out of him. Next thing we knew, he was tied in the square." I kneel down so I'm at his level and tentatively touch his cheek. He groans and turns his head.

"What on earth were you doing down there?" I ask through tears.

"They were hungry," he says weakly.

"That doesn't mean you risk your life going down there without me, especially with the new peacekeepers hanging around," I say. I look up as my mother and Prim walk over with their various home remedies. I stand up and watch as they mix together a poltice, one of my hands laying on one of his withthe other resting on the side of his neck, rubbing slow circles with my thumb. His hand comes up and grips onto my shirt as they begin to apply the terrible smelling mixture to his back and lets out a stiffled scream. I wrap my arms around his head and shush him, trying my best to soothe him.

"Do you have anything for the pain?" I ask. My mother and Prim glance at each other. The others who I have just noticed have milled out offer no help. I pull over a chair and sit where I had been standing, holding tighter to Peeta's hand each time he squeezes it and cries out.

"You don't have to watch this," he says eventually. I shake my head and brush his sweaty hair away from his face.

"You've done the same for me before," I reply. "I'm not going anywhere." He tries to say something else but I just shush him and kiss his temple. The room enters complete silent except for Peeta's occassional groans which have started to become weaker as time goes on as my heart repeatedly clenches at the sound before I gently try to soothe him.

Theres a knock on the door and Prim runs to get it. She comes back a moment later with a box of clear bottles and a syringe.

"Whats that?" I ask.

"Morphling," my mother replies. "Its a very expensive, very addictive pain killer." She turns to Prim asshe fills the syringe. "Who brought it?"

"I dont know," Prim says. "There was no one there. Just the box." Mother turns to me.

"Brace him," she says. "He probably wont even notive the needle as much pain as he's in, but he can't move while I do this." I hold his head and shoulders down best I can with my trembling hands as my mother injects the previous medicine. Peeta lets out a soft groan but after a few moments, I can already see the muscles in his shoulders and back start relaxing. His hand no longer grips mine as hard and I sit back down and kiss him gently as he finally fades into a peaceful sleepcompared to what he feels in the waking world.

"I'll go get snow to pack the wounds with," Prim says slipping on her coat. I don't even watch her leave. My mother comes to my side after gently covering Peeta in a blanket.

"You should go rest," she says. "He'll be out for a while. I'll watch over him." I shake my head.

"He watched over me for days while I lay dieing in that cave," I say. "I can return the favor."

"Katniss, we can prevent an infection enough to say he's in the clear as long as we're careful," she says. "And the worse he dealt with in that arena during that time was a concussion. You are pregnant. It isn't just you to think about." I shake my head and lay my head down next to his.

"Just for a few hours, Mother," I say. "I can't stand to be away from him right now. I'm all he has. I should be here if he wakes up." My mother grabs my arm and stands me up.

"Its going to be a long few days for you two," she says, "You go get rest and I'll wake you if anything changes or he wakes up." I glance at Peeta sleeping soundly and lean over, kissing his cheek softly.

"I live you, Dandelion," I whisper. "I'll be here when you wake up and when you get better, theres some things we are going to have to talk about." I kiss him again before turning and walking towards the couch.

I lay down and cover myself in a warm blanket. As I start to drift off from the pure emotional exhaustion of the few hours I was awake, I find my hand over my flat abdomen and sigh as I close my eyes, confused how I feel about the life forming inside me. Her father will be more than pleased. Everything will be okay, I decide eventually as I start to drift away. It'll take some getting used to, but like Peeta says, everything will work out in the end.

If I had known how slim the chances were that Peeta would ever meet his child, I don't think I would have fallen asleep so easily.