California Love

Chapter 42: It's Time

Four and a half months later

It's four weeks until the baby is finally due to come. Everyone was shocked when we returned to California with wedding rings on our fingers, but eventually they got over it and held a massive party on the beach in celebration for us. A big picture of Peeta and I on our wedding day now hangs above our bed. Peeta's arms are around my waist and he's holding me closely. We are gazing into each other's eyes with our foreheads pressed together. My arms are wrapped around his neck.

Peeta and I are so exhausted and tired. The baby hasn't even arrived yet and we are both mentally and emotionally drained. We've been shopping and have filled our guest bedroom with all of the things we need. We have yet to set the bed up for our baby and we also have to set up the other furniture. We still have four weeks until the baby is due. I have been constantly worrying because the doctors said the baby had a high chance of being born premature. Peeta keeps telling me not to worry but O can't stop.

I look over to Peeta's side of the bed where he is deeply asleep. He, like me, is so tired it's insane. I can't even imagine what's going to happen when the baby actually does arrive. I reach over and brush some of the curls from his face. I curl up against his side and slowly drift off into sleep, hoping and praying that I won't wake up. I am desperate for a good night's sleep. I just can't ever get comfortable.

My wishes are ignored when I wake up a few hours later and the room is still dark. I groan and look at the digital clock; the glowing red numbers tell me it's just past 2am. I go to curl back up against Peeta but then I realise his side of the bed is cold and the covers have been flipped back.

I sit up grudgingly and glance around the darkened room. Slowly, I heave my body off the bed and I pad across the room, trying not to walk into anything in the dark. "Peeta?" I call softly and that's when I see a faint glow coming from around the corner and hear the clanking of dishes.

I glance around the corner and sigh heavily. "Peeta," I say softly but he doesn't look up. Peeta is in front of the stove. He has about 10 plates of pancakes stacked up high and towering. There must be over 300 pancakes there. He has a spatula and a lifter in each hand as he flips pancakes out of the pan and onto the plates, pouring more mixture into the pan. There is flour everywhere and the kitchen is a mess. "Peeta." I say again and his head snaps up.

He has bags under his eyes and he looks dead, that's how tired he is. "What are you doing?" I ask as I walk up to him. He mumbles a bit before I am able to understand a coherent sentence. "You wanted pancakes?" He mumbles and I slowly pry the spatula out of his hand. "Come to bed." I say as I wrap my arms around his waist. "Come on." I say and reluctantly he turns off the pan and follows me into the bedroom.

We climb back into bed and I curl up against his side. "You're tired, let's go to sleep." I whisper and he pulls me tightly against him. "Love you." He mumbles before we both fall into a deep sleep.

We wake up in the morning to the light seeping through the curtain. "Hey." I hear Peeta say and I rest my chin on his chest as I kiss the bottom of his neck. "Hey, are you okay?" I ask, remembering last night. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. God, the baby isn't even here yet."

"I can't wait to find out what gender the baby is." I say and he smiles down at me. "Me too." He says.

"We better get up and clean the kitchen," I say. "We have a lot of pancakes to eat. We should invite some people over." He nods. "Yeah, we can invite Johanna and Annie and Finnick, maybe Prim. There were a lot of pancakes." He says and I laugh.

"What about Cato and Delly?" I ask and he shakes his head. "Delly was working this morning and Cato had a party last night so he's probably passed out somewhere." He says and I giggle as I roll over and get out of bed.