Pregnant?!?! (Hunger Games Story)

The Arena

Peeta holds me through the night, terror consuming us both. The Quarter Quell was tomorrow. Mere hours stood between us and another round in the Hunger Games. The silence between us is not broken until our stylists arrive. I kiss him quickly before Cinna arrives, and I am once again held hostage to my fears as Cinna explains the suit I am wearing. Before I know it, they call for the sixty second warning. I hug Cinna tightly. When I pull away, he pins on my mockingjay pin.

"Remember girl on fire, I'm still betting on you."

"Ten seconds." I enter the pod, and the door shuts.

Suddenly, peacekeepers rush in and begin beating Cinna. I am screaming as his blood is spilt all over the floor. But before I know it, I'm rising up and above ground. The sun is in my eyes and I look away before blinking several times. It's an ocean with spokes of sand. The rest of the arena is covered in thick and lush jungle. I barely have enough time to wonder where Peeta is when I hear the countdown.

The countdown always seemed so ominous to me.

Every second counted was a second closer to death. The air always stills and everything gets quiet. Everyone, no matter how young or old, knew that for some, this was the last taste of life they would get.

The Announcer comes on, and the games commence. I dive into the saltwater below my pedestal and begin to swim to the sandy shore where the cornucopia was. I reach it quickly enough and bolt for a Golden Bow and Arrow set, and take my aim for anyone who would try and come near me. Finnick comes by me, and I nearly decide to shoot an arrow into his heart before I see the gold bracelet on his wrist. It was a sign from Haymitch. To trust him. As Finnick gathers weapons, I keep my Arrow aimed for anyone who dared to come near me. I see Enobaria swimming slowly toward the shore, and make an attempt to shoot her, but she dodges easily. Finnick offers to get Peeta for me, and I cautiously accept, consistently reminding myself that Haymitch said to trust him. Finnick comes back with Peeta rather quickly, and Mags swims up to us. The others gather their weapons while I stand guard, and soon we begin our descent into the jungle. Peeta goes ahead of us, slashing through vines with his knife.

Then, I see it. The wavering.

I'm about to warn everyone when Peeta's knife hits it and sends him flying back into Mags and Finnick. I let out a frightened squeak and rush over to him. I put my ear to his chest, where I know I will always hear the strong, steady beating of his heart.

Instead, I find silence.

"Peeta!" I shake him, and even resort to slapping him, but it's no use. I am slapping emptiness. Finnick goes to him, and I am sure he is going to make sure Peeta is dead. I shriek and make a break for him, but Finnick hits me so squarely in the chest that I am sent flying backward. I go to attack him again, but I see Finnick Kissing Peeta. It's so bizarre that I stare at him a minute before I realize what he's doing. I'd seen my mother do it once in a blue moon, but she didn't have the set rhythm that Finnick did. Suddenly, Peeta's eyes flutter open. Relief cracks my heart open, and I now see that I've been crying.

"You were dead! You're heart just stopped." I blurt out, my voice breaking on the word "dead".

"It's okay, it's working now." He says calmly. I kiss him. I want to laugh, but it comes out as a sob.

"Katniss?" He's worried about me- it's madness. I get off of him and help him up. He moves to stand behind me and puts his hands on my shoulder.

"It's okay, it's just her hormones from the baby." Finnick remarks. Peeta's arm snakes around me and his hand lingers on my stomach as he kisses my cheek.

"It's alright, Katniss." Peeta says, quietly. I nod, trying to pull myself together. It's been much harder to keep stone faced lately, a side effect of the pregnancy no doubt.

The nausea hit me like a Mac truck.

I wriggle my way out of Peeta's arms and bolt for a brush nearby to vomit in. I hit my knees on the ground just in time to throw up. Peeta immediately comes rushing up behind me, rubbing slow circles on my back as I continue to vomit and retch. I'm gasping for breath in between retches, but the moist, balmy air gives me nothing but more air to choke on. After a few minutes, I'm panting, trying to bring my breathing back to normal. Peeta is whispering something in my ear, but I am too weak to hear him. I lean against the stronghold of his chest, placing one hand on my stomach and entwining my fingers with his with the other. My Vision is becoming spotty, and I can hear the sound of twigs cracking and brush moving. Finnick and Mags are there, looking at us like we're nuts.

I lose the weak grip I have on consciousness, and I collapse to the ground.

I wake what must be several hours later. Peeta, despite having died earlier in the day, is carrying me in his arms. For him, it was some testosterone-adrenaline fueled act of love, and I'm certain President Snow is watching this sweet moment between Peeta and I. When I open my eyes, the first thing I see is Peeta's face against a rosy sky.

There was a secret we'd shared together that no one knew about. While Peeta mentioned to Caesar about the toasting and how we were already married, nobody knew that we actually gotten legally married.

When I had figured out I was pregnant, I ran the twenty five feet to Peeta's home. Greeting me with a loaf of hot bread, I quietly told him the news as we sat together near his fireplace. I can still recall the look of total shock on his face. A dozen emotions flickered through his eyes at one time, beginning with surprise and ending with love. He kissed me so sweetly and tenderly, and then asked me if I would do the traditional toasting with him. Of course, I said yes.

When we found out about the Quarter Quell, we knew the time had come for drastic action. We had spoken to Effie about our little nuptial endeavor, and she had joyfully agreed to help us. She came down to district twelve bearing the forms and marriage license we needed to fill out. We had an officiant wed us in the deepest of night, with Prim, Effie, and Haymitch as our only guests. When I had kissed Peeta that night, I was no longer Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire. I was Katniss Mellark- Peeta's wife. It was a position I didn't take lightly.

Now, looking at my husband and locking eyes with him, I saw the spark there. It was the same spark I'd found when we'd first made love- the night that our blessed child was conceived. I kissed him chastely before sitting up.

"Good evening, Mrs. Mellark." He said with a grin. He loved calling me that. I just rolled my eyes and cuddled against him.

"Good evening to you, Mr. Mellark." I grinned. I looked around and saw that the area around us was different from earlier. "What did I miss?"

"Eight are gone. We moved here to make camp for the night, and we have yet to find any fresh water."

Just as he says it, a silver parachute lands near us. I crawl over to open it, and then retreat back into Peeta's waiting arms. It's a small cylindrical thing that I recognize instantly.

"It's a spile!" I say, before jamming it into the nearest tree. Moments passed with nothing happening, but then, at last! A small stream of water. We all take turns drinking the water and splashing it on our sweat-drenched faces.

Soon, night comes. I volunteer to take the first watch, seeing as I slept all day. Peeta sleeps soundly, and I'm at peace for a moment.

Until I see a rolling fog coming toward us.

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