Here I Go Again

Chapter 2: Her Guardian

Katniss' POV

I yawn as I sit at the table. Peeta walks over and tries to sit a mug of coffee in front of me.

"You don't want to do that," I say pushing it away.

"Why? It'll help you wake up," he says.

"She already kept us up half the night. Do you really want me to feed her breast milk laced with caffeine?" I ask him.

"Yeah, didn't think that one through," he says.

"No you didn't," I say. I hear I little gurgle and smile down at Willow, who's laying at my feet in her cradle that Peeta carried downstairs. She's staring up at me, with her big blue eyes. I use my foot to rock her back and forth while Peeta sets a glass of apple juice and scrambled eggs in front of me.

"So how you feeling?" he asks me.

"Sore," I say," but it was all worth it for this little cutie," I say reaching down and carefully lifting Willow into my arms. I lay her on my chest, being careful of her tiny little head. She lets out a tiny cry and I carefully get up rocking her back and forth to calm her down. She still fusses so I walk around with her and Peeta comes up behind me and gently takes her away. She calms down almost instantly in his arms.

"She adores you," I say. He shakes his head.

"Nah, she just likes a change of scenery," he says.

"Whatever," I say rolling my eyes and going to get Luca his food. My mother comes down the stairs and I hand her the coffee mug Peeta offered me earlier. We watch him walking around with Willow, gently kissing her head as he rocks her to keep her calm and she smiles.

"He reminds me of how your father acted with you," she sighs."That man would not let you go for anything. He would hold you for hours and hours and you almost never cried while he held you."

"He's a very good father. He's extremely happy to finally get to hold her in his arms. Every night before we fell asleep, he would rub my stomach and talk to her, tell her how much he loved her," I tell her.

"He is good for you. I'm happy you married him. I can see how happy he makes. I can see how much he loves you and the baby. By the way, what did you name her?" she asks.

"Willow, her name is Willow," I say.

"After the lullaby your father used to sing to you?" she asks. I nod.

"I sang it to her last night and she fell asleep in my arms. Peeta suggested it when he came in and it just felt right. Like it was meant to be her name," I say."its almost like giving her a piece of Daddy. So she'll know who he was."

"Thank you," she says.

"For what?" I ask her.

"For allowing me to be in Willow's life. For naming her for your father. For putting up with me shutting you out," she says.

"It's how you coped. I did the same thing when we lost Prim. I understand now," I say as Peeta walks over to us.

"What are you talking about?" Peeta asks.

"Nothing sweetie," I say. I gently take Willow from him and lay her back in the cradle. Luca walks over to it and places himself above her head, as though he is standing guard.

"I don't know why you two let him around her. He could pick her up in his jaws and chomp her in a second," my mother says.

"He slept beside her last night. He knows that his job is to protect Katniss, especially in the woods. Willow smells like Katniss so he must know its his job to protect her too," Peeta says. I knock on the door interrupts our conversation and I make my way to the door. I open it and find Haymitch standing there.

"Sweetheart, you've gotten skinner," he comments.

"What do you want Haymitch?" I ask him leaning on the doorframe.

"Well about sunset last night I heard some very colorful language coming from this house and then I heard a baby crying half the night, so I came over to see if I could check the Baby Mockingjay out," he says in his usually cocky attitude.

"Are you sober?" I ask him.

"Unfortunately," he says. I step aside and allow him in. He walks over to the cradle, and Luca lets out a low growl. "What's with the mutt?" he asks.

"He has decided he's Willow's protector. Evidently, he doesn't like you getting close to her," I say, satisfied my dog is just as annoyed with Haymitch as I am.

"Well are you going to let me see this little one or aren't you?" he says and I sigh and gently pick Willow out of her cradle and lay her in Haymitch's arms. Peeta walks up behind me and watches Haymitch like a hawk. It's obvious neither of us are very comfortable with having Willow in Haymitch's arms. It's not that we don't trust him, he's just not the most stable person and when he's sober, his hands tend to shake and that scares me. What if she falls from his shaky grasp.

"She's a cutie. You both did a good job on this one. What did you say her name was?" he asks.

"Willow, our daughter's name is Willow," Peeta says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and beaming down at me.

"I see your pretty proud boy," Haymitch says looking over at us.

"Why wouldn't I be? I became a dad last night," Peeta says smiling. Haymitch walks over to us and gently lays my sleeping daughter back in my arms.

"Well she's pretty lucky to have you two as parents," he says.

"Thank you, Haymitch," I say and I watch as he shows himself out.

"He was slightly pleasant," I say as I lay Willow back into her cradle, "but he was wrong about one thing."

"What's that?" Peeta asks.

"She's not the lucky one to have us. We're the lucky ones to have her," I say leaning back into him. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my temple.

"I couldn't agree with you more," he says.
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Hey! You guys like it. I liked it. How Luca acted was actually based on a real thing that occurred with me and my Grandma's dog, Bo, when I was a baby. I was in the carrier on the floor to the shop at my Grandma's house and Bo, a blue healer mix, liked to stay close to me. Long story short, he only ever let my parents or grandparents near me and even growled at my great uncle when he tried to bend down to see me. This was my way of paying tribute to Bo, my protector who I never really got to meet formally because he was hit on the road before I was a year old. I always wished I could have met him, but maybe someday I will.

Anyway, resume with your lives. See ya later.

Love y'all!
Rock on!
-Kayla