In Another's Eyes

Chapter 16

Katniss

I stand next to Peeta as he reaches into the incubator and runs his finger over Charlie's tiny fist. I wish he knew I was here, that I'm trying to come back to him. But it's so hard, so painful actually, to wake up from the deep sleep I'm under. I hear him talking to her, but it's fuzzy. Kinda like he's under water.

"I want to hold her so badly," I say softly. "She's not even breathing on her own. She needed me to keep her safe, to deliver her when she was ready and healthy." I turn to my father. "I failed her Daddy."

"You couldn't control what happened," he says. "But you wouldn't be my daughter if you didn't blame yourself for someone you love being in harms way." I look back over my shoulder at Peeta and frown.

"I'm more worried about him than I am her anymore," I say. "He's been running himself ragged over her and me. I wish I could hear what he's saying to her, but I guess if I did hear it clearly, I'd be dead, right?"

"The two worlds are blurred for you right now," my father says nodding. "You're going to hear them, clearly and sharply right before you wake. And it will call you home." I continue to look at Peeta and our tiny daughter and let a tear fall.

"I was actually happy," I say. "For the first time in as long as I can remember, I was genuinely happy." I feel his hand touch my shoulder and I look at my father again.

"I know, sweetheart," he says. "But you'll be with them very soon. You're getting stronger every day."

"But it hurts, Daddy," I say. "Every time I try, I feel like someone is ripping my stomach open."

"Because you have to feel your wounds," he says. "To feel the mortal world again and embrace what happened to you, Katniss." I look down and feel the scene around me change until I'm back in the meadow.

"He won't last if she dies," I say. "after Emily, he will just refuse to try to live anymore. He wouldn't even wait for me to wake up and they'd find him dead somewhere by his own hand."

"That boy has hope yet," he says. "He spends more time than you could ever imagine by your bed."

"I know," I say. "I feel him near me, it's almost as if I hear him clearer than I did before when he speaks to me, but is as though it's over the phone. It's not the same as though he were with me."

"Hey Darlin'," I cry out as I hear him, feeling him near me though I still don't know where to truly find his warmth. "You look better than yesterday, not so pale and ghostly. Charlie's getting bigger everyday and they said she can come out soon and maybe go home." I hear him let out a ragged breath before continuing. "I need you to wake up, Katniss. You need to come home with her. I can't sit in that big empty house of yours alone with her. Please Katniss. I love you." I feel warmth around my hand and look at my father.

"It's time," he says quietly. I hug him and he holds me for a moment. "Don't be in a rush to get back here. I want to watch you raise that little girl and see her turn into everything she was ever meant to be."

"I'm going to miss you," I tell him.

"I'm always going to be with you," he says and I feel him leave me and the warmth on my hand becomes more real as my world again becomes black.

I slowly open my eyes and blink a few times as I adjust to the lights. I squeeze Peeta's hand and he looks up at me.

"You're awake?" He asks with tears in his eyes. I just smile at him and shift a little at the dull ache of laying so long.

"Don't tell me you've been crying while I was out," I tease. He laughs and helps me sit up a little.

"I've missed you so much," he says. "We have a little girl Katniss."

"I know," I say smiling. "I heard you." He pulls me into a hug and I hold him close to me for what feels like the first time in forever.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. Peeta and I marry not long after Charlie's first birthday. Something positive to mask the hurtful memories of those times. Nothing about how we fell in love was ideal. Delly didn't deserve what we did to her. But Peeta saved me from the control I was under in my former marriage. He allowed me to follow my dreams and today, looking back, I don't regret a single thing.

Sometimes it can all change from the love in another's eyes.