Our Life After

Recovery

*Peeta's POV*

"Mr. Mellark, we need you to go." One of the assistants says, taking Christian away from me, and another one ushers me out the door.

"Wait! What's going on?  Is she okay?" I start demanding answers.  Just as the assistant is pushing me out the door, I see a mask strapped to Katniss's face.

"Will you please tell me what's going on?"  I ask the assistant who took me outside to the waiting room.

"Mr. Mellark, your wife lost a lot of blood.  We need to get more oxygen in her body and closed back up as quickly as possible.  She should be okay.  This is not rare for first time C-Section patients.  The baby will be fine.  We will get him washed up and bring him out to you."

No more than 5 minutes later, Christian is brought out to me.  I hold him and talk to him.

“Well hello.  I'm your daddy.  Your mommy isn't well right now, but they're gonna make her better.  Yes they are."

I realize that I'm saying this more for my own comfort than anything else.  An hour later, I'm allowed to go in and see Katniss.

She looks tired, but healthy.  I am so goad she's okay.  I'm not sure what I would do without her.

“Hello beautiful." I say to Katniss and hand her Christian.  She takes him and smiles.

She looks so beautiful in that moment right there, I just want to get some paper and draw her, but I know she wouldn't like that.  So I just sit with them and smile and feel lucky to have an amazing family.

Speaking of family, an hour later Haymitch and Effie walk in with an excited Lizzie. 

I stand up.  “I am so sorry.  We weren't expecting him for another week, it was really a surprise...."  but Effie cuts me short.

“Honey, stop apologizing.  This is wonderful, I am so happy for you."

I engage in conversation with Effie and Haymitch, ask about the reception and then we turn our attention to Christian, they both hold him until Lizzie whines “But I want to hold him."

So I sit Lizzie down in one of the chairs, show her how to support him properly in all the right places, and she just looks at him, and talks to him, all of us listening.

“Hi.  I'm Lizzie.  I'm your big sister.  You were supposed to be a girl, but I guess you can have tea parties with me anyway."

She goes on for a long while before noticing us all staring.  Then she gives him to me, and I give him to Katniss to feed him.  Soon enough, Gale and his family come in.

The kids talk, and so do us adults.  Katniss is asleep.  They ask the obligatory question.

“How was the delivery?"

“A lot of surprises.  First, Katniss was told that she couldn't push.  They took her in for a C-Section, and she lost a lot of blood.  We were separated for a while.  I held Christian and talked to him, and finally we could go see her.  I'm really sorry again about the wedding."

At about 9:00, we decided to go home.  I took Lizzie home, but only after getting many promises of calls if something happened.

They better not let anything happen to the love of my life, to my light, to my reason to get up in the morning.  If something happened I would never forgive myself for leaving her.