Together

Chapter 23

Katniss P.O.V.

I'm usually excited around this time of day. Willow's waiting on the couch, our food is cooking on the stove, and Peeta will be home from work any minute now. But today is an exception.

Peeta knows I had a doctor's appointment today, and I know what he'll want me to tell him as soon as he steps in the door. I don't want to see the look on his face when I tell him, but there's no way to escape it.

"Daddy!" I hear Willow scream from the living room. I walk out of the kitchen to see Willow jump up into Peeta's arms.

"Hi, Willow," Peeta says as he kisses her cheek. I walk over to them and Peeta wraps an arm around my waist. "Willow, were you good for Mommy today?" Peeta asks her.

"Yep," Willow says with a nod.

Peeta looks at me and I fake a smile. "Yeah, she was good," I say.

"Willow, why don't you go upstairs to play for a while," Peeta says as he puts Willow down on the floor.

"I'm hungry," Willow complains.

"We'll eat in a few minutes," I tell her. "Go on and play." Willow nods and starts up the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Peeta asks as he turns towards me with a concerned look on his face.

"Nothing," I say as I shake my head.

"Well, what did you find out today?"

I sigh and look away from him. "Same result as the last two times."

"Is that what's bothering you?" he asks. I don't respond. "Kat, I've told you to just give it some time."

"Peeta, we've been trying for almost five months," I say as I finally look at him again.

"Hey," Peeta says as he places his hands on both of my arms. "It will happen when it's supposed to happen."

"That's not what I'm worried about anyways," I say quietly.

"Then what are you worried about?" Peeta asks me as he looks directly into my eyes.

"I'm worried that you'll be disappointed in me."

"Disappointed in you for what?" Peeta asks. "Honey, why on earth would I be disappointed in you?"

"I don't know," I lie. "Maybe.." I take a deep breath and decide to get this over with. "Maybe, for some reason, something happened that made me not be able to have any more kids."

Peeta's expression falls. "Is that what the doctor told you?" he asks quietly.

"Yes," I say as I finally burst into tears. Peeta wraps me up in his arms and I cry into his chest. He lets me cry myself out and when I finally pull back, I can see tears in his eyes too. "I knew you'd be disappointed."

"I'm not disappointed in you," Peeta says sincerely. "I just can't stand to see you like this. Did they..." He stops to clear his throat. "Did they say why?"

"I don't know," I tell him. "I sort of tuned everything else out after they told me." I wipe away a few tears. "They did say that there's a slim chance that I could get pregnant again. But it's a very, very slim chance."

"You should have let me go with you," Peeta says. 

I shake my head. "That doesn't matter now," I say. "You know, this isn't hardly the same thing, but it's almost as hard as when we lost our first baby."

"I know," Peeta says softly as he rubs circles into my back.

"I don't want to give up," I tell him. "I want to keep trying."