Somehow

Chapter 33

You all can breathe now. 😂

Katniss P.O.V.

"I can't do this!" I scream as I grip the sheets. Peeta gives me a helpless look. I know he wants to comfort me, but he can't listen to what Mom's telling him, help me deliver the baby, and comfort me at the same time. Peeta situates the phone between his ear and shoulder. I relax and lay back against the pillows.

"You're doing great, Katniss," Peeta tells me. I can tell he's panicking inside, but he's trying to stay calm for my sake. "You want to sit up a little more?" I nod and Peeta helps me sit up a little straighter, propping more pillows up behind my back.

"Peeta," I say weakly as tears fall down my face.

"You're okay," he says softly. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." My legs start involuntarily shaking as the pain starts building up. "Push, Katniss," Peeta says. I take a deep breath and push, quickly stopping because of the nearly unbearable pain. Peeta shake his head. "You have to keep going, Kat," he says. 

"I can't!" I cry as my heart starts racing. "I feel like I'm going to pass out."

"You're not going to pass out, Katniss," Peeta says. I can hear Mom's voice over the phone, but I can't tell what she's saying. "Listen to me, Kat," Peeta says. "I'm going to count backwards from ten. Okay? You need to push until I stop counting, then you're going to copy my breathing. Alright?" I nod my head.

I feel the next contraction coming and I take a deep breath. "Push." I lean forward and try to focus on Peeta's soft voice in my ear. Coaching me. Counting for me. Telling me to breathe. Promising me that I can do this.

"Five… Four…Three...Two...One…" Peeta says slowly. I gasp and fall back on the bed, trying to match my breathing to Peeta's. "The baby's crowning, Katniss," Peeta tells me. "Look at me. All you have to do is get the head out, then you can rest for a minute. Okay?" I nod and try to catch my breath. When I feel the next contraction, I push as hard as I can.

"Good, Katniss," Peeta says softly. "Keep going." I can't control the cries coming out of my mouth anymore, and I can't stop the tears flowing down my face. The pressure builds up to its strongest point, and then I feel a little bit of release. 

"There's the head, Katniss," Peeta says. He smiles up at me. "Our baby has blond hair, Katniss." I start crying that much harder, but not because of the pain this time. "You can rest during the next contraction." I nod and take deep breaths. When the next round of pain hits, I don't push. But I still can't stop myself from screaming out.

"Peeta, I'm going to throw up," I warn him. He quickly grabs the trash can and holds it up for me as I begin to get sick. "Peeta."

"You're okay," he says. "You're alright, Katniss." Once I'm done getting sick, Peeta sets the trash can back down.

"I need to push," I say. Peeta nods and I take a deep breath. Peeta starts counting for me, but quickly stops.

"Katniss, stop! Stop pushing!" Peeta says quickly. I flop back against the bed and pant. Peeta's face turns pale.

"What.. What's wrong?" I ask breathlessly. Peeta looks up at me and swallows hard.

"The umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck," Peeta says quietly. My eyes widen and I start feeling sick again. I start bawling.

"Peeta, what do we do?"

"Shh. It's okay," Peeta says softly as he intently listens to what Mom is telling him to do. "Katniss, listen to me," Peeta says. "Don't push. Okay?" I nod my head and try to relax. Another contraction comes and I grip the sheet. "Katniss, don't push."

"I'm not!" I say through gritted teeth. I relax again and Peeta quickly looks up at me. I can see the fear in his eyes, even though he's trying to hide it. 

"Okay," Peeta says. "It's okay now. I got it."

"Peeta," I say. "This isn't how this was supposed to be. You're supposed to be holding my hand and telling me everything's okay. Not helping me deliver our baby."

Peeta looks up at me. "I know, Katniss," he says. "But you're doing great. Just a few more pushes. Okay?" I nod and relax until my next contraction comes baring down on me. I push as hard as I can, listening to Peeta counting softly. "Okay, relax, Katniss," Peeta says. "One more push should do it, Kat," Peeta tells me. "You ready to meet our baby?" I smile a little and nod excitedly.

"Here it comes," I say as I feel my stomach begin to tighten.

"Push, Katniss," Peeta says. I push at my strongest point and Peeta begins to count. "Ten… Nine… Eight... Seven… Six... Five… Four… Three… Two… One…" But I don't stop. I keep pushing until I feel the baby slip free and small cries echo throughout the room. I gasp and collapse against the pillows, beyond exhausted, but completely overjoyed.

Peeta quickly cradles our baby in his arms as he gently wraps him or her up in a towel. Peeta holds our baby up for me to see, and I start bawling.

"We have a baby boy, Peeta!" I cry. Peeta smiles proudly at our little boy.

"Katniss, we have a son!" Peeta says as he starts crying too. He carefully passes our baby to me. "Shh. I gotta give you to Mommy for a minute," Peeta says. He leans over and kisses me. "I love you so much, Katniss. You did amazing."

"I love you too, Peeta," I say as I look down at our little baby laying in my arms. "Thank you for staying with me. I couldn't have done this without you." Peeta quickly kisses me again before pulling away to cut the umbilical cord.

"Shh. You're okay now," I say as I gently run my thumb over our baby's cheek. "Mommy's got you." His little arms and legs are moving as fast as he can make them move, and he's still crying to the top of his lungs. "Peeta, he looks just like you," I tell him. He smiles at me.

"The doctor was right," Peeta says. "Look at how tiny he is." I hear Mom's voice over the phone and Peeta smiles. "Yeah," he tells her. "He looks fine." I look up at Peeta and we smile at each other. "Katniss, I need to take him to clean him off. Okay?" I nod and pass our baby back to Peeta.

"Peeta," I say as I reach out and touch his arm. He looks back at me. "Thank you for taking care of me and our baby boy." He kisses my forehead. 

"That's my job," he says as he holds our baby close to him. I reach up to run a hand across our baby's head and laugh a little.

"Your heart's racing," I tell Peeta as I press my hand to his chest. He laughs a little bit.

"I wonder why," he says. "I was terrified something was going to happen."

"But you kept your promise that we were going to be okay," I tell him. He smiles at me.

"I'll be right back," Peeta says. "I'll bring him right back."

"Wait a minute," I tell him. "Look at the clock." Peeta does and a huge grin spreads across his face.

"We got our Christmas baby, Katniss!" Peeta says excitedly.

I laugh and nod my head. "Best Christmas present I've ever received."

Peeta smiles at me. "Agreed."