Rising Storm

Chapter 16

Katniss

"Im fine," Peeta says as he stands up. He groans a little as moves, the tender wounds on his back obviously bothering him a little as he pulls on a shirt. He has his entire upper body wrapped in bandages to protect him from getting anything in the many, many wounds over his back and shoulders. "You don't need to worry so much Katniss."

"You got up for the first time in three days yesterday," I reply. "You need to be careful." He sticks his tongue out at me and I playfully hit him. "Come on, my mother will have supper done soon."

"Good," he says. "I'm hungry after the last few days." He lays his arm over my shoulders and kisses my temple. We walk into the kitchen and I straighten up when my mother sees us and gives me a curious look. I kind of hold my head down and walk over to the table and sit down. Peeta sits next to me and he cheerfully smiles at my mother.

"Everything looks delicious, Ms. Everdeen," he says and she nods as she sits down.

"Thank you, Peeta," she says. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

"All thanks to you and Primrose," he replies, winking at Prim and she laughs.

"And I suppose I've been doing nothing changeing those stinking bandages morning and night," I joke and he just queezes my hand gently.

"No, I haven't forgotten," he says. "But I get to thank you all the time." I feel his hand on my thigh and I lay my hand over his as we begin to eat. It takes a while, as it has since a few weeks before I found out about my pregnancy, for me to even feel the start of filling my belly.

"So, Peeta," my mother says eventually. "Katniss tells me you want children." I nearly choke on my food but am able to stifle the shock at my mother's nerve at bringing this up when she knows very well that I haven't told Peeta anything yet. He glances uneasily at me but then holds my mother's gaze.

"Someday, yeah," he says. "But I know Katniss has her reservations about it. We're both too young right now anyway. But maybe someday I can talk her into it." He glances at me and I just look back at my food. I squeeze his hand under the table and his face lightens a little from my lack of acknowledgement in front of my mother.

"Well, lets hope its not too long a wait," she says and I shoot her a look. It breaks off all conversation for the rest of the meal and I excuse myself early to go on up to my room and hide back in my bathroom. I wipe my face with a cool cloth and sigh as I look at the mess in front of me. I carefully let down my hair and start to brush through it when I hear someone open the door to my room.

"Who's there?" I ask.

"Just me," Peeta says and I turn to see him in the doorway to the bathroom. "So that is probably in our top five most awkward dinners we've eaten with someone."

"Welcome to my life," I reply turning back to the mirror. Peeta attempts to lean on the doorway but winces and just stands with his arms crossed. I turn back around and head into my bedroom. He follows and just watches me curiously as I pull out my bed clothes.

"What was with all that talk about children?" He asks. I laugh to myself and turn back to him.

"She's weird Peeta," I say. "Ever since my dad died, she does shit like that."

"She acted like she knew something," he says sitting on the edge of my bed and sliding his shirt over his head, wincing. I walk over and pick up the pair of sewing shears laying on my end table and start to caeefully cut away the soiled bandages from Peeta's back. I gently peel them away so I don't tear of any fresh scabs and throw them away in the bathroom trash.

"She thinks she does," I reply. "That's all." I find a clean cloth and fill a bowl with warm water. I have Peeta lay face down and gently start to clean the wounds all over his back. He groans softly, a welcome response after the near screams the first days. "How much do you remember after the miners brought you here?"

"Why?" Peeta asks. I take his arm and help him sit up on the bed and start to wrap him back up, not saying anything. "I know you were there. You said something about needing to talk, but thats really it." I pause for a moment, sighing in relief as he says that, glad no other things that might intrigue more intrest in the topic I want to keep a secret for right now. "Did you say something else?"

"No, I just, there is something we're gonna have to talk about before too long, but I don't want to worry about that right now," I say.

"Is it a good thing?" He asks.

"I don't know yet," I say laying my head on his shoulder. "I'm not even sure if anything will change. Thats why I think its not something that needs said right now."

"Is everything okay?" He asks and I just nod.

"Everything is fine," I say. "I'm feeling better knowing you're getting bet-" I'm cut off by a knock on the door. I get up and open it to see Prim. "What is it?"

"They're announcing the rule for the quarter quell," she says.

"That shouldn't happen for another month," Peeta says as he gets up to stand behind me. We glance nervously at one another before following Prim down the stairs. The announcement is begining just as we enter the den.

"This year, in honor of the third quarter quell, to remind the districts that even the strongest among us are not above the law, the tributes will be reaped from the existing pool of victors," the president says. I hear the cries of my sister and mother and feel a tear run down my own cheek as the terror sets in.

"Oh god no," I hear Peeta say and I hear myself scream and Peeta holds me to his chest as I begin to slide down to the ground. He sits there with me and holds me tight to him as I cry, his own tears falling in my hair.

I'm going back to the hunger games, the nightmares that haunt me nearly every night. And to make matters worse, Peeta's baby is going in there with me.

I can only hope he doesn't foolishly follow me.