Katniss

I lay awake late one night, pains from the false contractions that had been regularly bothering me this last month making me unable to sleep. I watch the clouds moving outside, covering the moon occasionally to reveal breif flashes of the bright light reflected there. Such a peaceful and quiet night to be up throughout it.

I turn my head, envious of the fact that Peeta gets to sleep through the nights like he does, his soft snore falling evenly against my back as he holds me. I grit my teeth and turn back around as I feel another of the small spasms cause me to tense.

I know it won't be long now. Until this is all real. The pains more intense and gripping. And the baby, the baby will no longer be ignored, resting inside me. It will scream and cry and keep me from getting what little sleep I do get. I do believe with the birth of this child, my life will be over.

I'm broken from my thoughts as I'm raked with the feeling of my stomach tightening again, much stronger than the others. I gasp and grip onto the sheets trying to hold in any scream I might make. What results is a whimper that still makes Peeta stir a little, gripping me a little tighter.

"Its just a dream," he mumbles and I let out a deep sigh as my stomach relaxs. But then I feel pure panic as I realize my water broke, the clear, cloudy fluid running down my legs. I imediately sit up and kick the sheets off, waking Peeta fully. He sees the terror in my eyes and must understand something else is wrong. "What is it?"

I just shake my head, too in shock to speak. I just stare at the soaked sheets underneath me and breathe heavily. I look at him and he nods, understanding and getting up.

"I'll grab your things and then we'll get you ready to go to the hospital, okay?" Peeta says and I just nod. He gets up and goes to grab the bag I had prepared a little while back, knowing sometimes the baby does come early.

"I thought I had more time," I whisper. "Another week at least." Peeta shakes his head and helps me get up out of the bed.

"A week isn't that long, sweetheart," he says. "You're strong and both of you are healthy. Its going to be okay." I look at him and he just brushes my hair from my face.

"How are you so calm?" I ask.

"Because I have to be," he says. "You need me to. Trust me. I want nothing more than to go run and hide, same as you. But neither of us can do that right now. We have to get you to the hospital." He slowly tries to pull me into a standing position, but another strong contraction rakes through my body and I fall back onto the bed crying out as I do. "You alright?" I nod, a tear running down my cheek. He sits down next to me and I groan as he wipes sweat from my forehead.

"I'm fine," I say as it passes. "But lets go before I can't stand up anymore." Peeta nods and helps me stand back up after calling the hospital service to come pick us up. They set my up on a gurney and they imediately hook me up to some fluids. But they do nothing for the pains. Pain medications are not given for births. They think it taints the ability for us to naturally deliver our children.

"You aren't going to give her anything?" Peeta asks them and they shake their heads.

"Opiods are bad for both mommy and baby," the technichian says. "Maybe a touch of something once she has delivered, but until then, she will just have to deal with it." I lay my head back as another spasm rakes my body and I groan.

"I'll be okay," Peeta says quietly. "It just a few hours, right." I roll my eyes as I am pushed into the hospital and then into one off the many, many delivery rooms. I hear the screams of countless girls, all in the same situation as I am. They quickly and efficiantly put my feet up in stirups and check me over. The doctor looks up at me and then to the technichian.

"15 minutes apart?" he asks and I nod.

"Yes," they all say at once and I whimper slightly as the doctor touches me. Measuring me no doubt.

"Three centimeters," I all he says as he gets up and slides my feet down. "You've got a while and I'm a busy man. See you in an hour or two. You should not have come so early." I lay back down and Peeta sits next to me as the room suddenly becomes quiet and the people all leave.

"Great," I groan, folding my hands over my middle. "Now what do we do seeing as I'm stuck here?" Peeta smiles at me as he strokes my hair and I lean back into the uncomfortable bed.

"You could get some rest," He says and I shake my head.

"I am in excruciating pain each time one of these damn contractions hit," I say. "I'm not getting any sleep until this thing decides to come out of me."

"I'm sorry," Peeta say. "You know if I had a choice, you wouldn't be here." I turn to him and take his hand in mine.

"I know," I say. "But I'm glad you decided to stay. Most men wait in the bar outside." He shakes his head and kisses my knuckles.

"You know me, Kitty," he says. "I'm not much of a drinker. Besides, I want to be here. For you and our little one." I look at my swollen stomach and run my hand across where it would usually be kicking. But with him being repeatedly shoved lower and lower, I doubt he has the room to kick around anymore.

"We never talked about a name for it," I say and Peeta laughs.

"We never talked about that baby unless we had to," Peeta says softly. "For your sake, I nevet brought it up."

"Is there something you want to call it?" I ask. "Surely you thought a little about it." He nods and looks at my hand.

"If its a boy, I'd like to name him Shelby, after my grandfather," he says. "A girl, well I always like Daphne." I smile and grip his hand a little tighter.

"I like either of those," I say. "We'll see what sticks once its born, but I think I can live with that being their name." He leans over and kisses me lightly but I break it as another contraction comes over me.

18 hours later, my baby is finally starting to crown. I feel as though I may nearly break Peeta's hand as I repeatedly attempt to dislodge the baby from my birth canal. But eventually, after all these hours of pain and blood and humiliation, a relief of the pressure I'd felt on my lower regions is suddenly found. I feel terrorized when I hear no crying coming from the tiny person that had just been removed from my body.

"Is something wrong?" Peeta asks but the doctors say nothing as they surround the infant between my legs. I look up at the ceiling, sure all this pain over the months were for nothing, that the child I'd delivered had been born dead and I will be replaced with someone new for hopes of a different outcome.

Then I hear the cry and I lift my head to see them bundling up the screaming red stranger who had formed in my womb. Peeta smiles at me and kisses my forehead before going over to hold his child. I watch, curious in a way as he cuts the cord to seperate me from my baby and gathers up the bundle in his arms. He holds it close to his chest and they quickly force the afterbirth out of my body. And clean me up as I lay there in the bed. Peeta eventually comes over holding the baby he had been able to calm out to me.

"Do you want to hold her?" He asks gently, seeing the state of what must be shock written on my face. I slowly turn to him and look at the baby in his arms a moment.

"Its a girl?" I ask and he nods. I reach out my hand and touch the edge of the blanket and the tiny arm of my daughter comes out and I touch her tiny fist. I gently take her into my arms, careful of her tiny head. She looks at me and a tear runs down my cheek as I watch her stir slightly. Somehow, someway, I had made this tiny person.

"She's beautiful, just like her Mom," Peeta says and I look back up at him.

"We're parents," I say softly and he nods, pushing away my sweaty hair.

"We are, Sweetheart," he says still watching the baby on my chest. I tentatively, kiss her head and hold her closer to me. I'm so protective of this little one. In this big world that means to destroy everything that is good inside her.

Eventually, as the night falls once more, Peeta watches as I finish feeding Daphne and lay her back in the basenet next to my bed. I lay my hand on her chest as I watch her tiny breaths come out in puffs, so scared it will go silent as it was when she was born just mere hours ago.

"Katniss, theres been something I've wanted to tell you for a little while and I feel like I have to say it now," Peeta says and I turn away from the baby to look at him.

"What is it?" I ask. He looks at his hands a moment, covered in scars from the bakery then back up at me, looking more nervous than I'd ever seen him.

"I love you, Katniss," he says. "I have for a long time now. And you don't need to say anything back, but I just, I need you to know I love you with all my heart and this felt like the right time." I smile at him and reach for his hand and pull him up onto the bed next to me.

"How long is a long time?" I ask and he smiles at me.

"The first night," Peeta says. "After all the terror was over and we were laying there next to each other. Two strangers so afraid of everything and yet I felt this need, this longing to be there with you. To protect you from the torture this world had put you in." I look at him and pull him closer to my sore body.

"I knew," I say. "Deep down I always knew I saw something there. And I wish I could return it the way you do, but I do not love you that way. I love you, but not the way you would want." He shakes his head and just holds me there.

"I know its hard," he says. "But I am going to get you out of here. You and Daphne. You won't be subjected to this world any longer. As soon as you've recovered, we'll be gone." I kiss him and hold him against me.

"You are going to change me, Peeta," I say. "Lets hope its for the better. If we leave, for the first time in my life, I'll be freeto choose. And I haven't any doubts I'll choose to stay by your side." He kisses me again, and again until I finally surcome to my exhaustion, my hand still resting over the new life Peeta and I created.