Here I Go Again

Chapter 5: A Sleepless Night

Peeta's POV

"Why won't she stop crying? She won't go to sleep. She's not hungry and her diaper is clean. What's wrong with her?" Katniss asks when I get off the phone with her mother.

"Your mom says she might be teething," I say. "There's not much we can do. We have to try to make her comfortable but it's really painful for her."

"I wish I could do something. I hate that she's hurting," She says kissing Willow's tiny forehead.

"You could try and sing to her. It might lull her to sleep," I suggest.

"I don't think that's going to work right now. She's too restless," Katniss says walking and gently bouncing our crying daughter. I watch her pace for about ten minutes before I hear someone knock on the door.

"I'll go get it," I say getting up. Katniss only nods as I walk out of our room and down stairs to the front door. I open it to find a very cranky Haymitch.

"Can't you shut that baby up?" he asks.

"No, she's teething according to Katniss' mother. She said there's nothing we can do for her," I say.

"Oh. Well she was lying about there being nothing to help her," Haymitch says.

"And why would she lie about that?" I ask him.

"Because Katniss isn't gonna want to rub whiskey on the baby's gums," he says.

"Whiskey?" I ask him.

"Yep, just a little bit off whiskey rubbed on her gums will take away the pain. People have done it for hundreds of years. I'm surprised Katniss didn't know about that, being a healer's mother and all," he says.

"Well, do you have any?" I ask him and he laughs.

"Of course boy," he says pulling out a flask."I needed some for the trip over."

"You live right across the street," I sigh.

"I didn't know how long we'd be arguing," he says matter of factly.

"Well thanks, this will do nicely," I say taking the flask from him.

"Just good luck convincing sweetheart to let you do it!" he says laughing and walking off into the night.

I walk upstairs to find Katniss and Willow exactly as I left them. She looks at me, her tiredness evident in her eyes.

"Who was that?" she asks.

"Haymitch," I say.

"What'd he want?" she asks.

"To give some advice on how to help a teething baby," I say. "But you're not gonna like it."

"What is it?" she asks.

"Rubbing whiskey on her gums. Haymitch was actually surprised you didn't know it," I say. She looks at the crying baby and sighs.

"You're right I don't like it. I hate the thought of putting whiskey on her gums. But if I could make her feel better, I'm willing to try anything so she's not hurting so much anymore," she says. She takes the flask from me and dribbles a few drops of whiskey in her palm. She then runs her finger on her left hand through it and sticks it in Willow's mouth, gently rubbing over her tender gums.

Within about ten minutes, Willow starts to quiet down and her crying turns into tiny whimpers.

"Do you think you can get her to sleep now?" I ask Katniss yawning. She nods and lays Willow down in her cradle, gently rocking it. After a few moments she starts to sing.

"I took my love and took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Till the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm getting older too

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm getting older too
Oh, I'm getting older too

I take my love, take it down
I climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Will the landslide bring you down
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Will the landslide bring you down, oh, oh
The landslide bring you down"

When Katniss finishes, I look over to see Willow sleeping peacefully.

"She's asleep. That's good," I say. You know that we have Haymitch to thank for that."

"Yeah well thank him for me. I don't think I could stand to tell Haymitch to he was right," she says crawling into bed. I laugh as I follow her.

"Finally, we can get a few hours sleep." she says cuddling up to me.

"Until she wakes up with a dirty diaper," I say and she groans.