Everlasting

Chapter 10

Peeta P.O.V.

"PEETA!" Katniss screams. I gasp and quickly sit up. My heart starts racing as Katniss brings Rye over into our room.

"What's wrong?" I ask her as I rush over to them.

"We have to get Rye to the hospital!"she cries. "His fever spiked really high all of a sudden and he's not breathing right!" I take Rye from Katniss and place a hand on her shoulder.

"Call the hospital and let them know we're on our way," I tell her. Katniss nods before quickly going downstairs to find the phone. I hold Rye close to me as he struggles to breathe. I feel so helpless, but there's nothing I can do to help him. All we can do is get him to the hospital and pray that he's going to be okay.

"Daddy?" Willow says quietly from the corner. I look over at her and frown.

"Willow, sweetie, I didn't know you were in here," I tell her. "Go get your shoes on. Okay?" Willow nods and runs over to her room. I take Rye downstairs and Katniss looks up at me.

"They're waiting for us," she says shakily. I nod and look back upstairs.

"Willow, come on! We have to go!" I holler. She comes down the steps as fast as she can and Katniss picks her up. We quickly go out to the car and Katniss takes Rye from me. I get Willow into her car seat before sitting in the driver's seat.

I take off as fast as I dare. I keep glancing over to see that Kaniss is trying her best to keep it together. She's in Mommy mode right now. Focussing on nothing other than making sure our baby is okay.

Katniss suddenly lets out a scream, and I nervously look over at her.

"Peeta! He's convulsing!" Rye's little body is shaking uncontrollably in Katniss's arms, and I honestly have no clue how I'm driving at this point.

"Oh my gosh," I breathe as I focus back on the road. I know that Katniss and I are both about sick with worry by the time we pull up to the hospital. Katniss takes Rye inside, and I quickly get Willow out of the car. We go inside the hospital just in time to see them take Rye away.

Katniss tries to follow them, but I quickly wrap an arm around her waist to hold her back.

"No!" Katniss screams as she struggles to get free. "Peeta, please! I need to go be with our son!"

"Katniss, you know that they won't let us back there anyways," I tell her. She finally stops fighting me and starts beating her fists against my chest as she cries into my shoulder. I take my free arm and pull Willow in close.

I know she's just as terrified as Katniss and I are, so we have to be strong for her.

I eventually coax Katniss into the waiting room after calling Ellen and Haymitch to let them know what's going on. Katniss sits sideways with her head resting on my shoulder, and Willow sits curled up in my lap. I hold them both close to me, trying to keep us all calm.

Katniss suddenly starts breathing hard and I look over at her. "Peeta," she says breathlessly. "Please take Willow out of here for a while."

"Are you okay?" Katniss shakes her head and runs a hand through her hair. "Then I'm not leaving you."

"Please," she begs. "I don't want Willow to see me break down right now," she says quietly. "Please." I slowly nod my head.

"Willow," I say reluctantly. She looks up at me. "Let's go take a walk." Willow nods her head and we walk out of the room. She's really quiet, and I know she's thinking the same thing Katniss and I are.

Why do bad things keep happening to us? Why can't we just be happy?

"Daddy?" Willow says quietly. I look down at her to see she has tears in her blue eyes. I kneel down in front of her and hold her close to me. "Is my brudder gonna be okay?" I take a deep breath and nod my head.

"Yeah, Willow," I tell her. "Rye will be okay."

"And Mommy?"

"Mommy's fine," I say. "She's just upset."

Willow sighs and nods her head. "Me too," she says quietly. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

I pull her back and give her a look. "What are you sorry for, Willow?" I ask her. She looks up at me.

"'Cause I was 'apposed to be sleeping," she says. "But I got up to say goodnight to Rye." I shake my head at her.

"Willow, don't be sorry for that," I tell her. "You probably saved Rye's life."

She sniffles. "Really?" I nod my head.

"If you hadn't went into the nursery to tell Rye goodnight, then you wouldn't have known that something was wrong. You did the right thing by getting me and Mommy right away," I tell her. Willow looks down at the ground and some of her tears hit the floor.

"Willow, did you know that me and Mommy almost lost you when you were a baby?"

Her little eyes widen. "You did?" I nod my head. "What happened?"

"The doctors told us that you forgot to breathe in you sleep," I tell her. "But mommy was there with you and she took care of you until they got you to the hospital."

"Her did?"

"Yeah," I tell her. "Just like how you were there with Rye and you let us know that something was wrong." I hold Willow closer to me and kiss the top of her head. "You're our brave, little girl."

Daddy?"

"Yes, Willow?"

"Can we go back to Mommy now?" she asks softly.

"Why don't we walk around a little more?"

She sighs. "Why doesn't Mommy want us to be around her?"

"It's not that, Willow," I tell her. "Mommy just doesn't want you to see her upset."

"But why?"

"You'll understand when you're older, baby girl," I tell her.

She frowns at me. "But we can make her feel better."

I give her a sad smile. "Mommy doesn't want you worrying about her right now," I tell Willow. She nods her head and I stand up. "Tell you what," I say. "We'll go check on Mommy, okay?" Willow nods her head and I pick her up. I walk back towards the waiting room, and Willow quickly falls asleep in my arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry it took me forever to update. I've had Chapter 9 ready since Saturday, and I finished this Chapter today but my phone service ran out so I had to wait to update.

ALSO. I have an update on this big opportunity that has come up for me that I mentioned at the end of Chapter 7. My Mom told me that even though I graduate in a few weeks, I can take the summer off to focus on my writing and college and stuff so updates may slow down in a few weeks. Just please keep praying for me. I'm hoping to get some information about the program in a few days and hopefully it all works out.