Chapter 19
Katniss P.O.V.
"Katniss?" Peeta says as he comes through the door. I look up at him and smile as I bounce Wyatt on my knee.
"Yeah?" He takes a deep breath and sits down beside of me.
"Tomorrow will be our last day of training."
I give him a look. "What are you talking about?"
"We leave for the Capitol in two days."
My heart drops and I immediately feel sick. "What?"
"I'm going to be okay."
I shake my head. "Did Coin just walk in there today and tell you?"
"No." Peeta swallows hard. "I knew about it since I've started training."
My eyes widen. "You what?"
"I'm sorry," he says. "I... I wanted so bad to tell you the other day, Katniss, but I couldn't because I knew you be upset."
"And I'm not upset now?" I say as unwanted tears fall down my face.
"Katniss, even Haymitch thought that I shouldn't tell you right away."
"And you listened to him?" I ask Peeta as I shake my head at him.
"I'm sorry," Peeta says as he pulls me close to him. "I should've told you. I should have. But I thought that if I didn't tell you, then Coin might possibly change her mind about it."
"How long will you be away from us?"
"As long as it takes to get the job done," he says. "You listen to me," Peeta says as he gently grabs my face with both of his hands. "This is my promise to you and the baby. I will get Snow."
"Don't do anything dumb. I know you want to get rid of Snow as much as I do, but I'm more worried about you staying alive and safe."
"I know," Peeta says. "I have a question to ask you about the baby, though."
"Okay," I say.
"If, for some reason, I'm not here when the baby is born, could we find out the gender before I leave?"
"Okay," I say as I nod my head at him.
"You don't have to know if you don't want to," Peeta tells me. "But I want to know."
Wyatt starts fussing, and I look at him to see him reaching out for Peeta.
"Are you wanting me to take you for a while?" Peeta asks Wyatt. Wyatt lets out a raspy giggle and points to Peeta.
"Dada."
"I'm not Daddy," Peeta tells Wyatt softly as he shakes his head. Peeta gently places a hand on my stomach. "I'm this baby's Daddy."
"Be-be."
"Yeah," Peeta says.
"If you want to watch him for a few minutes, I'll go find Mom to ask her if we can see the baby today."
Peeta smiles at me and nods his head. I lean over and kiss his lips before walking out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Don't do that," I tell Wyatt as he pulls my hair. Peeta chuckles and lifts Wyatt up off the bed.
"You want to see the baby today too?"
What gasps and looks down at my stomach. "Be-be."
"Yeah," Peeta laughs.
Mom walks into the room and smiles at us. "I take it you want to know the gender."
"I want to know," Peeta says as he smiles down at me.
Mom looks at me, and I shake my head.
"I still want to wait."
"Okay," Mom says as she walks over to me. "Let's get started then."
Even though this is the second time we've seen the baby, I still can't stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks.
"Look," Peeta tells Wyatt quietly. "There's the baby." Wyatt watches the screen with his wide and curious eyes.
"You sure you don't want to know just yet?" Mom asks me. I nod my head and smile at her.
"I'm sure."
"Alright," Mom says. She walks over to Peeta and whispers in his ear. Peeta smiles widely as tears form in his eyes.
He lets out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a holler before he leans down to kiss my lips.
"Now you have to keep it from me for about three months," I tell Peeta. He laughs at me and nods his head.
"I'll try to."
Wyatt lets out a loud laugh and points to the screen again. He begins to wave at the baby and we all laugh at him.
"Say 'hi baby,'" Peeta says.
"Be-be."
"Yeah," Peeta says softly. Wyatt looks back at me and smiles as he reaches out for me.
"Mama."
"No," I say as I take Wyatt from Peeta. "See that baby?" I ask Wyatt as I point to the image on the screen. "That's my baby."
"Mama."
"I'm that baby's Momma."
Wyatt giggles and snuggles up close to me.
"Alright," Peeta says as he offers me a hand. "As much as I love seeing our little baby, you need your rest."
I laugh at Peeta and roll my eyes. "I'm fine, Peeta." He pulls me up off the bed and onto my feet as Wyatt wraps his little arms tightly around my neck.
"I'm not gonna drop you," I tell Wyatt as I smile at him.
"You need to have another ultrasound done in a couple weeks," Mom says. I turn to give her a worried look.
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"No," Mom says quickly. "It's just safe to check in on the baby more often the farther you get into your pregnancy."
"Oh," I say as I breathe out in relief. I turn to look at Peeta with tears in my eyes, but he doesn't mention them.
"Come on," Peeta says softly as he wraps an arm around my waist.
I look back at Mom before we walk out of the room.
"Thank you."
Mom nods her head, and we leave the room.
"What's wrong?" Peeta asks me once we're out in the hallway.
"You might not be here for the next one," I tell him.
"Katniss, that doesn't matter. I know you want me here just like I want to be here. But that's not what matters. All that matters is that I'm going to be here for all the important moments in this baby's life."
"You promise?"
"I promise. When this is over, we're going to rebuild. We'll make a new life for ourselves without having to worry about Snow."
"Sounds too good to be true or for me to get my hopes up."
"You trust me?"
"Of course," I tell Peeta.
"Then it's gonna be okay."
"What if something…"
"Shh," Peeta says as he places a finger to my lips. "I'll be okay."
I nod my head and take a deep breath.
"I know you will be."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Katniss, wake up," Peeta says as he softly shakes my shoulder. I yawn and open my eyes to see Peeta knelt beside of me.
"How long was I alseep?" I ask Peeta as I sit up on the bed.
"A couple hours," he says.
"Is something wrong?"
"No," Peeta says as he shakes his head at me. "But we need to get Wyatt's things together."
"Why?" I ask Peeta as I give him a look.
"They've found his parents."
"Oh," I say quietly.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I say as I slowly nod my head.
"Just remember that this is what we were hoping for."
"I know," I say.
"Hey. We're going to have our own baby in a few months," Peeta tells me as he lays his hands on my stomach.
"Yeah. But now I'm not going to have anybody to keep me company while you're off in the Capitol."
Peeta gives me a sad smile as he pulls me up of the bed.
"Are you sure that's all that is bothering you?"
I take a deep breath and shake my head.
"I was starting to get attatched to Wyatt."
"I know," Peeta says softly. "Me too. But we're not his parents."
"I know that."
"Look. If this is going to be too hard for you, you don't have to go. I can take him by myself and you can say bye to him here."
"Okay." I swallow hard and look over to see Wyatt sleeping soundly in his cot. I reach over and carefully take Wyatt into my arms. He opens his eyes, but then relaxes again when he sees that he's safe.
"I'm going to miss you," I tell Wyatt softly. "We both will."
"Alright," Peeta says as he walks over to us. "He's all packed up." I nod my head, and Peeta takes Wyatt from me as I reluctantly let go of him.
Wyatt wakes back up and reaches out for me.
"Mama."
"No, Wyatt," I tell him as I shake my head at him. "But you're going to see your real Momma in a few minutes."
"Mama."
"Go ahead," I tell Peeta. He nods and begins to walk off with Wyatt in his arms.
"Mama!" Wyatt squalls just as Peeta shuts the door behind him. I sit down on the bed and take a deep breath as I fight back the tears. This is what I wanted, so why is it so hard to give Wyatt to his actual parents?
When the door opens and Peeta walks in, I immediately stand up and walk over to him.
"You okay?" Peeta asks me as he wraps me up in his arms.
"I think so. I just can't understand why I'm feeling like this."
"Wyatt needed somebody to act as a parent for a while, and you stepped into that role and became like a temporary mother to him."
"You've helped."
"But you took care of him by yourself while I was still in the hospital and while I've been going back and forth for training. You cared for him just like I know you will for our baby. You should know that you have nothing to worry about when the baby gets here."
"Peeta…"
"Listen to me," Peeta says. "You took care of a baby who wasn't even ours and yet, you treated him like he is our own. If you treated a starnger's baby that well, then imagine how well your are going to do with our own baby," Peeta says. I smile at him and nod my head.
"Thank you."
"I hope this has made you realize that you don't have to be afraid of wether or not you're going to be a good mother," Peeta tells me. I laugh a little bit.
"I'd be lying if I said that it hasn't helped ease my mind."
"Good," Peeta says as he presses his lips to my forehead.
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro