"I think it's time you learn to swim, don't you?" I ask Peeta and he glances my way with a questioning look.
"I do believe it is," he replies following along with my scheme.
Taking his hand, I lead him into waist deep water away from the others.
"Peeta, I think we need to leave everyone. Once the careers are gone, it'll be us against all of them. I don't want to be the one that shoots first." I tell him, while showing him how to move his arms just in case the others are watching.
"I think Beete's plan will work. How about we stay until then. If the careers go down, then we will leave." I nod my head and kiss his cheek.
"If we were home, I would show you how to swim in the lake my father taught me in." I mention to him and he smiles, his warm smile that fills my heart.
"I would have liked that."
"We still can, you know. We can still go home. It worked last year, and I'm sure we could figure out another way to win together. We could leave and the Capitol would never have to hear from us again." I feel the tears run down my cheek, but his thumb brushes them away just as quickly as they fell.
"Katniss," he whispers with a pained voice.
"Peeta, I just want to go home. I want to raise our baby and grow old with you, you're my everything."
He shakes his head. "I want that just as much as you, but they'll never let that happen. Katniss, do you remember what I told you after the reaping last year?"
I nod my head and smile. "You promised me that you would try and get me home. I thought you were crazy."
He laughs at my statement and smiles. "I was. I was crazy in love. But what I told you, it still stands. I will get you home, and you will grow old, Katniss. I may not be there to watch our child take his or her's first step. And I might not be there for their first day of school or last day. But you will. And you are the only thing our child will ever need in life." He tells me and I can't tell if the wetness on my cheeks is from the ocean waves or my tears.
"Lean back." He tells me and I follow his command as he holds me on my back in the water. His head moves down and kisses me softly, before trailing down and landing a kiss on my tummy.
"Hi sweetie, I'm your daddy. You don't know me yet and I suppose you probably never will. But there are a few things I thought you should know." He whispers to my stomach. It takes all I have not to already start crying. "I'm not sure how the whole parenting things works and I know that I'll probably mess up, but if I'm not there then you should know something. Your mommy is someone that could change an entire nation with one arrow, and she's stronger than anyone I've ever known. If you ever get in trouble all you need to do is pick some flowers for her." He pauses and looks into my eyes. "She likes dandelions."
I run my hands through his hair as he continues to whisper to our child. "She might seem all big and bad, but deep down she has a big heart. On the outside she is strong but on the inside she is fragile just like you and me. She will teach you how to hunt and how to use a bow and arrow. She'll even show you how to spot the difference between the good plants and the bad plants. And if your Grandpa Mellark teaches you to bake, then you'll make her the happiest woman alive. She likes cheesebuns, so make sure to remember that." He runs his hand along my stomach and draws little shapes above my belly button. "Even though I'm not there, you will have so many people that love you in your life. You have your uncle Wheat and uncle Rye, who are the most mischievous people. Don't worry, Uncle Rye won't play pranks on you until you're older."
"And your Aunt Prim will teach you to heal others and show you the beautiful parts of life. Life really is an amazing things. But your Uncle Gale is the one you really need to look out for. He will make you smile, just like he causes your mommy to smile. He will show you how to survive and what life is all about." His tears drop on to my stomach and I wipe them away. "He will love you like you're his own." He whispers and I choke on a sob.
"But the one thing you must keep in mind, is that you should never be afraid to fall in love. Mellark's are fighters and we don't stop until we win over the one that caught our heart. Your mother and I have a love story that changed the nation, everyone's story is beautiful. But your Mommy's and mine is my favorite. One day your mother will tell you all about how we fell in love, but until then keep in mind that I love you. And that I'll always be there. I might be in the distance or in your dreams, but you have my most treasured possession." He kisses my tummy and smiles while whispering his answer.
"Your mom."
He moves his head to lay against my forehead and we cry together as he puts me back on my feet. "I have something for you." He whispers to me.
"What more could you give me, you've already given me a piece of you?"
He pulls the token off his neck and runs his hand over over the jabberjay, revealing pictures inside. On the left rests three pictures; Rye, Wheat, and Peeta. On the right lies three more pictures; Prim, Gale, and my mother. But in the middle, there is an empty slot. A space that is made for someone that hasn't been born yet, but rests inside of me.
"I can't loose you," I tell him throwing my arms around his neck and crushing him against me.
"You'll never loose me, I'm always around."
As we leave the water and walk on to the sandy beach, I put the locket around my neck. It rests on top of my heart, the heart that beats for him.
"Hey Katniss, do you want to come tap a tree with me? I could use the extra help." Finnick asks me.
"Yeah, let me grab my bow."
"Katniss, you don't have to go. I could go instead, or you and me can go." Peeta tells me as he helps me up.
"Can't you people spend five minutes apart from each other?" Joanna tells us with a disgusted voice.
"I think I should go, you can stay here with Joanna and Beetee." I kiss his cheek softly and follow Finnick into the jungle.
"How are you and Peeta holding up?" He asks me as he begins to create a hole in the rubbery bark of the tree.
I shrug my shoulders and sigh. "Okay, considering everything that has happened. I don't think anyone is okay when they are in the arena, but having Peeta by my side makes me feel safe. It makes it a little easier to swallow."
He nods his head and continues to back at the tree but stops. And that's when I hear it. A girl's scream erupts throughout the jungle and fills my ears with the terrifying sound.
"Did you hear that?" Finnick asks raising his trident.
The scream erupts again and I know that scream. That scream is too familiar. "Prim!" I scream back, running into the jungle trying to find her. "Prim!" Another screen fills my ears. "Prim, I'm coming!"
The screen becomes closer and closer, until I'm practically underneath it. But where is she! "Prim!" I yell for her, hoping for her to respond. Above me the screens continue, but the sight of a wing flying by causes me to pause. Sitting in the tree above my head, a jabberjay responds by screaming. Just like Prim. I raise my bow, aiming for the eye and whisper quietly. "Nice try." The arrow sinks into his left eye and falls to the ground, and the screams come to a stop.
"Katniss!" Finnick crashes trough the trees and bushes trying to reach me. "Katniss ar-" Finnick stops his question mid-sentence and his eyes widen. Another girl's scream fills the arena and Finnick chases after the sound.
"Annie! Annie, I'm coming!" I try to catch him by the arm, but he shoves me off and continues to run. I have no choice but to follow him.
"Annie!" He yells as he turns in a circle, looking at the sky. "Where are you?" He whispers.
I shoot the jabberjay down and stand next to Finnick. "It's not real, it's not them."
His red rimmed eyes stare into mine and he shakes his head. "Jabberjays copy. How do you think they got that sound?" He replies. Dread fills my stomach and I shake my head.
"No, no, no." I mumble.
A mans voice cries out, followed by another. And then a woman's voice. The arena fills with the sound of our loved ones in pain and Finnick and I run to get away. When we are twenty feet away from our camp, I see Peeta and others standing wait if for us. They all shake their heads screaming something. Anger fills me at the thought of Peeta not coming in to help me, but relief fills me knowing he doesn't have to listen to the cries of his family.
Finnick hits it first, the transparent wall. His nose begins to pour blood and he drops to the ground holding it. I hit my shoulder, trying to shield my stomach. At first, I shoot the mutts. I shoot them all through the eye, but double the amount comes back. After running out of arrows, I succumb to the tortue and curl into a ball next to Finnick. Trying to block out the screams.
"It's not real! I'm here, Prim is safe. Katniss, it's not real. It's not real!" The muffled sound of Peeta's voice pulls me from my state of no emotion.
"Prim!" I shoot up asking him. He lays me back down on the beach and rubs my head.
"Prim is safe, she's okay." I nod my head along with him trying to convince myself.
"They played your screams." I confess. "I thought I had lost you."
He shakes his head and pulls me into his lap, kissing my forehead. "I told you I'd always be around."
"I love you," I whisper, knowing I don't say it enough.
"I love you too." He replies. "I'm going to get some water for you, just relax."
As Peeta walks into the jungle, Joanna takes a seat next to me. "Who's Annie?" I ask her.
"Annie Cresta?" I nod my head. "She one four, five years ago." She says correcting herself.
"Is she the one that went a little.." I trail off and hope she gets the point.
She nods her head and watches as Finnick sits in the shallow water. "Love is weird." She replies.
"Are you ready?" Beete ask us as he plays with the wire. I look to Peeta and he nods his head, I follow his lead.
The walk to the Lightning tree is long, hard, and strenuous. If I didn't have an extra 10 pounds on my stomach, I wouldn't already be out of breath. But of course the baby slows me down, and as much as I hate it, I'm the first to ask for a break.
"Do you think we could stop for a second?" I ask the group and they turn to look at me.
Peeta takes my hand and sits on a rock next to me. "Are you okay? I can carry you on my back if you need me to." He mentions and I shake my head.
"I'm just not use to being pregnant, it really slows me down. I feel so different than last year." I pause. "I feel weak, like I'm not strong enough to do this. I don't feel like myself."
"Katniss, you are not weak. If anything you are the strongest person I know. And you are different that last year, you're carrying a baby. Being pregnant is a big job, you're making a baby in there." He says poking my stomach and I smile at him. "Even if the baby makes you slower or more tired, don't you think it will all be worth it when you get to hold her?" He asks me with a smile.
"You mean hold him, it's a boy." I reply.
He shakes his head and laughs, while helping me up. "My bet is still on a girl."
"Let's go," he tells me, but I stop him.
I look him in the eyes and smile, kissing his lips. "Together?" I ask him.
"Together." He replies so easily.
A.N. I know this chapter was SO MUCH FLUFF but who cares! I had so much fun witting it and I even cried a little...okay a lot. Anyways if you didn't notice, in the first book before the battle between Cato, Peeta and Katniss they said "together." (Chapter ten) And so I brought it in here as well. Hope you liked it!