Together

Chapter 11

Katniss P.O.V.

I smile when I see Willow sitting in the exact same spot that she has been around this time every day this week. When it gets close to time for Peeta to come home from work, Willow plops herself down right in front of the door. I've been making her move when I hear the car pull up though. I'm scared to death that he's going to open the door and accidentally hit her with it.

"Come on, Willow," I tell her. "Let's go get you cleaned up before Daddy gets home." She shakes her head and I laugh. "Baby girl, you're still wearing your lunch. Come on." She shakes her head again.

I pick her up and sit her down on the couch. "You stay there," I tell her sternly. "I'll be right back." I go upstairs and grab a few baby wipes. I go back downstairs to see that Willow  didn't listen to me. "Willow," I say with a sigh. She looks back at me and I shake my head.

I walk over to her and wipe her mouth and hands clean. I hear the car pull into the driveway and Willow squeals out. "Get away from the door," I say as I walk into the kitchen. Willow follows me, but she keeps her attention on the door. I throw the used baby wipes away and turn back around.

Willow's not there. I hear Peeta's footsteps on the outside stairs and my heart sinks. "Willow!" I say as I go racing towards her. She looks at me. "Get away from the -" Too late.

Peeta swings the door open, and Willow's face hits the ground with a very loud thud. She immediately starts screaming.

"Willow!" I shriek as I go running towards her. Peeta stands there with a terrified look on his face. I sink to my knees and pick Willow up. She buries her head into my shoulder.

"Oh my gosh!" Peeta cries. "Willow, I'm so sorry! Is she okay? Katniss, is she okay?" Peeta asks frantically as he kneels down on the floor beside of us.

I take a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart, and I will myself to think clearly. "Willow," I say as I move her head off my shoulder. I almost pass out at the sight of all the blood that's all over my shirt and Willow's face.

"Peeta, go get some tissues," I say hurriedly. He doesn't say a word. He just gets up and rushes off. He's back within record time, and I immediately start tending to Willow's bloody nose and busted lip. It takes a few minutes, but I eventually get the bleeding to stop. I look over at Peeta to see that he has huge tears in his eyes.

"Peeta," I say as I place my hand over on his leg. He looks at me.

"I should've been more careful..."

"It wasn't your fault," I butt in.

He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. "Is she okay?" he asks.

I look at Willow. "I think so," I reply. "She's calmed down anyways."

"She hit her face pretty hard," Peeta says as he runs his thumb over Willow's cheek. "I'm so sorry, baby girl," he whispers to her. She sniffles a little bit and reaches for Peeta. He takes her from me and holds her close.

"I'll be right back," I say as I stand up. Peeta nods his head and I go upstairs. I change into a clean shirt and place my dirty shirt in the bathroom sink. I try to scrub as much of the blood out of it that I can before I throw it in the wash. I'm still shaking, so I go sit down on the edge of the bed and try to calm myself down. If Peeta sees that I'm still shook up, it'll only make him feel worse.

"Katniss?" I look up to see Peeta standing in the doorway. He still has a tight grip on Willow, and she has her head resting on Peeta's shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asks as he walks over to me. He lays Willow down on the bed before he sits down beside of me.

"Yeah," I say as I look up at him. He wraps an arm around my back, and I lean my head over on his shoulder. "Maybe Willow's learned her lesson about standing in front of the door."

Peeta chuckles a little bit. "I sure hope so. That scared me to death." I look back at Willow to see that she's almost asleep. "She'll probably have a bruise on her face, or a black eye."

"Maybe not," I say. "I don't think she hit anything besides her nose and mouth." I can tell that Peeta's still blaming himself. "Sweetie, it's not your fault."

Peeta shakes his head. "I know," he says. I kiss Peeta's cheek and he turns his head so our lips meet. Willow starts laughing and we break apart. Peeta looks at Willow and he raised an eyebrow at her. "You're supposed to turn your head away," he teases her.

"We thought you were asleep," I say. She smiles at us and giggles. She crawls over to Peeta and he picks her up and sits her down on his lap.

Peeta starts tickling Willow's sides and it startles her. She jumps and throws her head back, hitting Peeta right on the nose. I gasp and cover my mouth with my hands.

"Are you okay?" I ask Peeta while desperately trying to hold back laughter.

"Yeah," Peeta says as he makes a face and rubs his nose. "I think so. I guess that was payback."

"Yeah," I laugh. "For not only hitting her with the door, but for tickling her, too." I look at Willow. "That'll teach Daddy to tickle us, won't it?" I ask her.

Without warning, Peeta sits Willow down beside of him and tackles me, pinning me down onto the bed.

"Peeta, stop!" I squeal as he tickles me.

"No," Peeta laughs.

"I'll hit your nose," I threaten him.

"No you won't," Peeta says cockily. I quickly bring my head forward and Peeta jumps back.

"Willow, your Daddy's a scaredy cat," I say as I look over at her. "She's looking at us like we're insane," I laugh.

Peeta smiles and shakes his head. "That poor kid," he says. Willow just continues to stare at us and we both burst out laughing, causing Willow to smile a little bit. "At least she isn't acting like anything's bothering her," Peeta says.

I look over at Willow and smile. "Say 'it's okay, Daddy,'" I tell her. She laughs and leans over, giving Peeta a big, sloppy wet kiss on his cheek. I start laughing and Peeta makes a face.

"That will work too," Peeta chuckles. Peeta picks Willow up and rubs his nose against hers. Willow squeals and Peeta smiles at her.

As I watch Peeta and Willow, I wonder how it's possible to love somebody as much as I love these two.