In Another's Eyes

Chapter 15

Peeta

I pace back and forth in the waiting room, waiting for news, any news, about Katniss and the baby. I knew I shouldn't have let her go. I should have just taken her home. I don't know what's wrong exactly. I just know that I saw blood.

"Peeta?" I hear Delly say gently from the doorway. I look at her and she walks over to me.

"Please tell me they're okay," I say and she nods.

"We had to take the baby," she says. "She's really small, but she's in the NICU and should be fine."

"It's a girl?" I choke out and she nods.

"She's just a little over three pounds," she says. "Like I said, she's tiny."

"And Katniss?" I ask.

"She lost a lot of blood," she says. "She coded twice. I actually donated for her since I'm the same type. But she really isn't looking good. We put her into a medically induced coma so she can recover a little and if need be, we can get a blood transfusion started." She looks down then.

"Can I see her?" I ask.

"Not for am hour or so," Delly replies. "She's recovering, but I needed to tell you something else."

"What?" I ask.

"We had to giver her a complete hysterectomy to stop the bleeding." she says. "She can't have anymore kids." I look down and run my fingers through my hair.

"How did this happen twice?" I ask. "First you and now her and, why is this happening?"

"I don't know," she says. "But I do know you have a daughter now who needs you to be strong for her and her mother." I nod and feel a tear run down my cheek.

"Can I see the baby?" I ask. She nods quickly.

"Of course you can," she says. "Follow me." She starts walking down the hallway that leads to the maternity ward and we pass a bunch of very healthy looking babies and I feel a lump in my throat as we get to the door. She has me wash my hands and we both put on sterile disposable gowns.

"How bad is it?" I ask.

"She's going to look a lot worse than she is because of the respirator," she says. "But you should brace yourself. She's hooked up to a lot of stuff." I nod and she opens the door. I see a few couples sitting beside incubators, but none of them are saying a word as they gaze at their sick children. I see Dr. Montgomery standing near one in the corner writing on a chart. Delly leads me over to her and she looks up to see me.

"She's good considering her size," she says as I walk up. "If we keep her on steroids, she might be able to go to the nursery in a month."

"A month?" I say, finding her curtness not reassuring in the slightest.

"She ten weeks early," she says. "She needs to stay in an incubator for at least a month for her to have a chance." She notices my frown and steps aside so she's no longer hiding the incubator behind her. "I'm not going to give you false hope. Your daughter has a less than 50% chance at this point. If she makes it through the night, I be able to give you more hope. But for now, what you see is what you get."

I look in the the glass box behind her mand see my daughter. She's even smaller than I thought, only about as big as a  bottle of water. She hooked up to multiple machines and the respirator, as Delly warned me, makes her look even tinier.

"I'm going to go check on her mother now," she says. "Excuse me." I don't even acknowledge her as she walks away.

"They're both going to be okay, Peeta," Delly says.

"How can I believe that?" I ask. "Katniss is in a coma. Our daughter barely looks like a human being. Neither of them might be here in the morning."

"But Katniss will wake up," she says. "Within the next few days we'll try to see if she's stable enough. And yeah, your baby is a preme, but she's strong. She'll pull through." I glance back at my daughter and Delly moves beside me.

"I can't even pick her up," I whisper.

"Maybe not, but you can hold her hand if you want," she says. I glance at her and she opens a little door on the side of the box. I carefully reach my hand in and touch her tiny fist. It's only about the size of my thumbnail. I feel like it's the most delicate, perfect little hand in the world.

"Do you want to know her name?" I ask Delly. She glances at me.

"Shouldn't Katniss have a say?" She asks.

"She decided months ago," I say. "She only told me about two months ago. She's been calling the baby Charlie since a little after she started showing. So obviously, since she's not a Charles, her name is Charlotte." I pause and glance at Delly nervously. "She told me I could decide the middle name if she couldn't be here to do so. And with your permission, I'd like her middle name to be Emily." A tear runs down her cheek and she nods.

"I, I'd like that, Peeta," she says. We both look at Charlotte and she moves a little and her toes flex. I feel Delly touch my arm gently. "It's a little early, but I can see if I can sneak you in to see Katniss, if you want to that is?" I nod and pull my hand away from Charlie. She closes the door quietly and I follow her down the hall.

"I'll keep a special eye on Charlie for you tonight," she says. "I'm stationed at the NICU tonight." I nod.

"Thank you," I say. "I know you never asked for any of this."

"The divorce was final two months ago," she says. "It wasn't messy and I know you care about her. I'm over it. I'm just ready for all this suffering to stop."  I pull her into a hug and she returns it.

"Come on," she says. "Someone else needs you now."