In The Blowing Ashes

Chapter 20

Peeta

When I get home, something is different. When I left Katniss just four hours ago, she was huddled in a ball on our bed, clinging to the cat for dear life. But now she's sitting at the table, eating a sandwich. When she sees me, she smiles.

"What's up with you?" I ask and she gives me a look.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"You look different," I say stating the truth. There is something different about the air around my beautiful wife. She almost looks happy, which is a total turn around from this morning. And Katniss doesn't bounce back that quickly without some persuasion.

"I took a shower," she says. "But other than that, I'm the same as I was when you left." I walk over to her and see a glint of humor in her grey eyes. She stands up and takes a step back.

"Did you get into the liquor?" I ask her and she shakes her head, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

"No," she says. "That would be very bad idea for me right now."

"Kat, you aren't making much sense right now," I say and she just puts her dish in the sink and turns back to me.

"I'll give you a few minutes to think about it," she says and then walks by me into the living room.

"Think about what?" I say and she just shrugs and picks up the cat, who purrs happily in her arms. I shake my head and start on the dishes. If she wants to tell me, she'll tell me. As I dry the last one and put it in the cupboard, I finally realize what she meant. She literally can't have alcohol for nine months. I turn around to see her standing in the doorway.

"You're, you're," I start and she just smiles at me as I stumble over the words. "You're pregnant?"

"I knew you'd figure it out," she says and I pull her into a hug, making her laugh. I pull away from her and she blinks up at me.

"But the test was negative," I say and she smiles at me.

"It was wrong," she says. "I was so scared something was wrong with me so I went to the hospital and it turns out, I'm, I'm six weeks gone." She throws up her hands and I take them in mine.

"Are you happy about this?" I ask her and she nods.

"I am," she says and she wipes away tears. "I just, today has been so confusing. I thought something was wrong with me and now I'm carrying this baby and I, I don't know what's going on anymore." I pull her into a hug and she shakes slightly.

"Shhh," I whisper. "Its okay. Everything is gonna be just fine."

"I know that," she says. "But I can't get over the fact that we've been trying for four months and I've been pregnant for nearly two. For four long months, we've been killing ourselves over this and now, it's really happening for us and I thought that I couldn't give you what you wanted. I wanted to just curl up in a ball and give up and don't lie to me and say you weren't thinking the same thing." I hold her tightly as I realize she's right. It's not that I thought it'd be instant, I just didn't think it would take so long.

"I know," I say. "But that's over now." I pull away from her enough to see her beautiful tear stained face. "Now all we have to worry about is getting everything ready for our little one. Which also means you need to take better care of yourself. I don't want you taking risks out in the woods anymore."

"Peeta, you know I'll go insane being cooped up in here all day," she says and I laugh softly.

"Maybe so," I say. "But there a lot of things out there that could hurt you and it isn't just you anymore." I hesitantly reach out and lay my hand over where our child lies. "We have to think about her too." Katniss lays her hand over mine and looks up at me.

"We don't know that is a girl yet," she says. "And really, it doesn't matter. I've already been out there with it for six weeks. I'm not a fool."

"But sometimes, you don't know your own limits," I say. "I don't need you over exerting yourself out there." She intertwines her fingers with mine.

"I promise you, I will not let anything happen to this baby," she says. "I would die before I ever let anything happen to your child Peeta. You know that don't you?"

"Yeah," I reply. "But I can't help but worry. You just seem so delicate right now." I kneel down in front of her and his her belly. She runs her fingers through my hair and laughs.

"Just wait a few months," she says. "I won't seem so delicate when I'm walking around like an overloaded hovercraft."

"I won't care," I say. "You always have been and always will be the best thing that ever happened to me. This little one us just gonna add to that." I run my fingers over her abdomen, and even though I can't feel anything, I feel tears in my eyes as I realize my dream come true is lying there growing in her mother's womb. "A beautiful little girl with your dark hair and long eyelashes and -" I'm cut off by my wife's gentle voice.

"And her father's gentle blue eyes," she says and I stand up and carefully hold her in my arms as though she's made of glass.

"I love you," I say and she gently pulls me into a kiss. I smile at her as she blinks up at me. "Thank you so much for changing your mind." She stands on tiptoe and kisses my cheek.

"I love you too," she whispers. "And thank you so much for being so patient all these years. You've waited for this for far too long." I look down to where our hands are still joined, resting over our unborn child.

"We're having a baby. Real or not real?" I ask, just needing to hear her say it again.

"Real, Dandelion," she says softly. "After nearly fifteen years, we're finally starting our family."