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Chapter 10

Katniss P.O.V.

"How?" I ask. Gale, who up to this point has apparently been unaware of our presence, now turns around.

"Katniss," he says so softly that I'm almost positive he whispered it.

"How did you end up back there?" My voice is more hostile than I meant for it to be, but I need answers and I'm going to get them.

"I don't know," Gale replies as as he looks at the ground. Anger rushes through me. Anger because either he's lying to me, or he's locked up for no reason.

"You don't know?" I ask, my voice rising in anger the more I talk. Don't you dare stand there and tell me the you somehow wound up I jail without knowing how it happened!"

"Katniss!" Peeta says sternly. I look over at him and he shakes his head at me. I know what he's doing. He's warning me to calm down. Not just for my sake, but for the baby's sake also. I take a deep breath and turn my attention back to Gale.

"Why?" I ask Gale.

"Why what?"

"Why did you break I to our house? Why did you send me threatening letters? Why have you been harassing us?"

"I never did any of those things," Gale replies.

"Then why did you end up here?"

"I told you! I don't know!" I look over at Peeta who is standing against the wall opposite the cell, watching me intently.

"What is going on here?" I ask Peeta as I walk over to him. He shrugs his shoulders.

"I've been trying to get answers all afternoon," Peeta replies. "I'm just as confused as you are." I turn back around to face Gale one more time.

"This is your last chance," I warn him. "What did you do that put you behind those bars?" He looks me in the eyes and slowly gives me his answer.

"I don't know." It's the look in his eyes. The look that tells me he's being truthful. That look sends me walking away from the confusion and towards the steps.

I go up one flight and hide behind the steps of the next one. I sit on the floor and lean back against the wall, staring off into space. Trying to process what just happened. The only thing that brings I me back to reality is the baby kicking. I place both hands on my stomach and smile. I get so distracted by our little miracle that I wouldn't have noticed my husband standing in front of me if he hadn't have spoken.

"Are you okay, Katniss?" I look up at him and nod my head. He crosses over and sits down next to me.

"I just needed to get away for a moment." I lay my head on Peeta's shoulder as he wraps an arm around mine. "He's telling the truth, Peeta," I say as I turn my head to look at him.

"How can you tell?" Peeta asks as he pushes a stray piece of hair from my face.

"By the look in his eyes."

"Katniss..."

"You don't believe me, do you?" Tears prick the back of my eyes.

"Of course I do, Kat," Peeta says as he wipes a stray tear from my cheek. "I was just going to say that that's not going to help Gale's case any."

"I know," I sigh.

"Why don't we go home?" Peeta asks. "It's been a rough day, and you need to rest." I nod my head. Peeta stands up, and then offers me a hand.

The second we go home, I head upstairs and go straight to bed. Between the baby and the stress of today, I'm exhausted. But my head barely has time to hit the pillow before the phone starts ringing. I decide to just let Peeta pick it up and I try to doze off. Not five minutes later, Peeta comes I to the bedroom.

"Who called?" I ask, struggling to keep my eyes open.

"I'll give you one good guess," replies Peeta.

"Mom." Peeta nods his head.

"I'll told her you were asleep, but you'll try to call her back tomorrow."

"We'll see," I reply. I can tell by the way he sighs that I better get prepared for a long talk. "You can lecture me in the morning. Right now, I just want to sleep." I close my eyes and it's not long until Peeta lays down next to me. He drapes his arm protectively over my stomach, and the baby starts kicking. "She must really lover her daddy," I say sleepily.

"She?" Peeta asks. I nod my head. "So you want a girl?"

I don't care what the gender is," I say truthfully. "I just think that we're going to have a girl."

"I don't think it's a girl," Peeta says.

"You don't?" I ask, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep right now, but, at the same time, enjoying this conversation too much to do so.

"No," Peeta replies. "I know that we're having a girl."

"That's what you said the last time."

"I was right, wasn't I?" I nod my head. Tears threaten to fall. I don't like to think about that awful day that Peeta and I lost our daughter. I push that thought aside and focus on our child currently growing inside me. I eventually fall asleep with my mind on our unborn child.

I wake up gasping for air. My heart pounds against my chest. At first, I wonder how I didn't wake Peeta up, but when I look over, I see why. He's not there. I must've not been screaming because I don't hear his footsteps. I walk downstairs to find Peeta sitting on a couch in the living room with his head in his hands.

"Peeta," I say softly. He turns his head to look at me. Even in the dim glow of the lamp I can tell he's been crying.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asks me. I nod my head as I go sit down next to him.

"Nightmare," I sigh as Peeta wraps his arms around me and I lean my head back to rest on his chest.

"Me too." I look up to see that Peeta's bright, blue eyes are clouded with tears. I take his hand and place it on my stomach. It takes a while before the baby finally kicks. Peeta smiles at me.

"I told you she loves her daddy."

"What are we going to do if she turns out to be a boy?" Peeta teases. I laugh at him. I look up at Peeta to see that his happy expression has returned. It's amazing how our baby's not even born yet and it's already bringing us this much happiness.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I ask Peeta.

"You need as much rest as you can get," he replies. "Speaking of, why don't we go back to bed? We still have a couple hours to sleep." I nod my head. We both go back up to bed. When we lay down, Peeta wraps his arm around me, his hand resting on my stomach.

When I wake back up, the sun is pouring in through the open window. Peeta's arm is still wrapped tightly around me, but when I turn my head to see if he's still alseep, I fins his head is propped up on his free arm and he's smiling down at me.

"Good morning, love," Peeta says as he kisses me.

"Good morning," I reply. "How long have you been awake?"

"Just a few minutes," he replies. "Do you want any breakfats?" I shake my head.

"Not today," I reply, my stomach churning at the thought of food.

"Are you feeling sick?" Peeta asks. I nod my head.

"Just a little bit." He gives me a worried look.

"Do you want me to stay home with you?"

"No," I say laughing. "Peeta, you should be used to this by now."

"I know," he sighs. "But that doesn't mean I can't worry about you, does it?" I smile at him.

"I guess not." Peeta leans his head down and kisses me again. His hands quickly go to my sides and I freeze. "Don't...you...dare," I slowly whisper against his lips. My eyes are still closed, but I can feel him smile against my lips.

"Whose gonna stop me?" he asks sheepishly. His fingers start to move along my side. I bite my lip to stop a giggle and open my eyes.

"I am," I say as intimidating as I can. Peeta starts to tickle me again. I try to stop him, but to no avail.

"Thought you were going to stop me," Peeta says as I continue to laugh.

"I'm trying! Peeta! Stop!" I squeal. He wears a huge smile on his face as he watches me try to fight back. "I surrender."

"Too bad, I have don't believe you," he laughs. I continue to struggle with getting him to stop tickling me until my stomach begins to churn. I go completely still.

"Let me up, Peeta! Let me up!" Why he hears the urgency in my voice this time, he lets go of me. Peeta grabs my hand, lifts me up off the bed, and follows me into the bathroom. He holds my hair back for me the entire time, whispering into my ear that he loves me and everything's okay. The same words he whispers to me every time I get sick.

He knows how scared I am. Questions keep popping up all over the place. Will our baby make it this time? Will he or she be healthy? Will Peeta and I be able to raise this child right in the world we live in? Peeta always tries his best to ensure me everything will be okay, especially in my weakest moments.

When my stomach finally finishes emptying itself, I stand up to head back to the bedroom. The second I'm standing all the way up, the room starts to spin and I lose my balance.

"Whoa!" Peeta says as he barely catches me right before I hit the ground. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," I reply as I close my eyes, trying to make the world stop spinning. I feel Peeta pick me up, carry me out of the bathroom, and gently lay me down on our bed. Peeta pulls the covers around me.

"You're pale," he says as he places a hand on my forhead. "You don't feel warm."

"It's just from the baby," I say as I push the covers back. I go to stand up, but immediately regret it. The room starts spinning again and I Stat grasping for something to hold on to.

"Katniss!" Peeta says as he stands up and gently grabs the sides of my arms. He lays me back down on the bed. "Lay down and rest." He pushes the hair from my eyes and wraps the blankets around me again.

Peeta look up at the clock. "I'm going to stay home with you today."

"Peta..." I start to protest, but he puts a hand over my mouth.

"Don't waste your breath," he says smiling at me. "See, I can be just as stubborn as you." I sigh and decide to give up.

"It's not that I don't want you to stay here with me," I explain. "It's just... I don't want to feel helpless and I don't want you to think that you have to look after me twenty-four seven."

"But I do have to look after you twenty-four seven," Peeta says.

"No you dont."

"Yes I do," he insists. "If I didn't, you'd constantly be in trouble." I scowl at him, trying to hide my smile. "I'll leave you alone for a few minutes though so you can rest." Peeta starts to get up, but I grab his arm.

"Don't leave me," I say. "All you have to do is be quiet. But please, stay." He smiles at me and lays down beside me.

"Always," he whispers in my ear. I settle into his arms and drift off to sleep.

I wake up to the muffled sound of Peeta talking. Curious as to who, or what, he's talking to, I get up out of bed. The sound of his voice leads me to his artroom. The door is opened, so I walk on in. I find Peeta sitting in In a chair with the phone pressed up to his right ear. He looks up at me when I walk in.

"Are you okay?" he whispers.

"Yeah," I reply softly. "Who are you talking to?" I try to keep my voice low so the person on the other end can't hear me.

"I'll tell you in a minute," he whispers. "Why don't you go on back to bed and try to rest for a little while longer?" I nod my head and walk back to our bedroom. I sit on the edge of the bed and wait until Peeta comes back in. I stand up and walk over to Peeta.

"Who were you on the phone with?" I ask. He smiles at me.

"That's a surprise," he answers. "Listen, I have to go somewhere for about an hour. I should be back around one."

"Okay," I reply. "Where are you going?"

"That's also a suprise." I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Can't you at least tell me what you're up to?"

"Nope," he chuckles. "If I did, then the suprise would be ruined." He turns and walks downstairs with me following him close behind."

"I don't like it when you're being so secretive," I say as we walk down the steps.

"I know," Peeta replies when he reaches the last step. He walks over to the bench by the door, sits down, and starts putting his shoes on.

"Can't I go with you?" I ask. He looks up at me and laughs.

"Katniaa, listen to me," Peeta says as he gets up and walks over to me. "I have a suprise for you. You need to quit trying to ruin it. Now, I promise I'll be back by one. Okay?"

"Okay," I sigh.

"Good," Peeta says as he wraps his arms around me. His hands rest on my back and he pulls me into a long, loving kiss. "I'll be back in an hour."

"You'd better be," I tease before he turns around and leaves. I go back upstairs and lay down, but my thoughts are running too wild for me to be able to go back to sleep.

Somehow, my thoughts wind up with Gale and how awful he must feel to be locked up for no reason. I think about the look in his eyes when he told me he doesn't know how he ended up in jail. I then realize that I never told him I believe him before I stormed off.

I look up at the clock and notice that I have at least fit minutes before Peeta comes back home. I go downstairs, sit down on the same bench that Peeta sat on just a few minutes ago, and put my shoes on. As I'm walking out the door, I debate on whether or not to to leave a note telling Peeta that I went for a short walk. I decide that I have plenty of time before he returns and I take off walking.

By the time I reach the jail, I'm feeling light-headed again. I go I side the doors and lean up against the wall until I start feeling better. I then decide to tackle the steps and eventually reach the floor I need to be on without any problems at all. I start down the cell-lined hallway and have almost reached my destination when Gale's voice stops me.

"Come to yell at me?" he asks when I'm still five feet away.

"No," I say as I walk over to his cell. "I've actually come to do the opposite." He looks at me and raises his eyebrows. "I've wanted to let you know that I believe you."

"Is that why you stormed off yesterday?" he asks.

"No," I reply. "I just needed to get away for a while." He smiles and shakes his head at me.

"I don't believe it," he mumbles. "The last time you saw me, I left because I got mad at Peeta for something he couldn't even help. Now, years later, I get arrested for supposedly threatening you or something and you say that you believe me when I say I didn't do it." I nod my head. "Why?"

"You haven't given me a reason not to believe you." I reply.

"Well, if you have that much trust in me, then why am I still back here?" After all, you are married to the president of Panem." I give my head a small shake.

"It's not that simple, Gale. No matter how much authority Peeta has now doesn't mean that he can just walk in here and start letting people go free."

"If he can put us in here, then why can't he let us out of here too?" I look at him in shock.

"He's not responsible for putting you behind those bars!" My harsh voice echoes off the walls. To say I am angry is an understatement. How can Gale possibly think that Peeta had anything at all to do with this?

I take a small deep breath and allow myself a few seconds to calm down. This is not what I came here to do. "Listen," I say as calmly as I can. "I just came here because I thought you'd like to know at least one person believes you." I turn around and start walking off.

"Wait!" Gale hollers. I stop walking and turn back around to face Gale. "I'm sorry," he says as he looks at the floor.

"It's okay," I reply. I wait for a few more minutes, but Gale doesn't seem to have any thing else to say. I start walking off again and this time I make it outside.

I take off walking towards home.. As I'm walking up the driveway, I notice that the car is back. Peeta has made it back before me. I step inside and Peeta's arms wrap around me like I knew they would.

"Where were you?" The worry in his voice is unmistakable. I know that now's probably not the best time to tell him that I walked all the way to the jail by myself. I decide to tell him part of the truth.

"I went for a walk," I reply. "I thought I'd make it back before you did. So where's my suprise that you was being all secretive about this morning?"

"Upstairs," he replies. "I'd better go ahead and ruin it for you though so you don't get too mad." I look at him and cross my arms.

"Peeta, I'm not liking the sound of this." He sighs.

"Yeah, and it only gets worse," he mumbles. Before I even have the chance to ask why, I start hearing what sounds like someone walking down the stairs. I walk over to the steps and barely get a glimpse of her before she speaks.

"Katniss." I barely choke my next words out.

"Mom?"

"Did you not know I was coming?" she asks. I look over at Peeta who turns his head completely away from me.

"No," I reply as I look back at her. "He was wanting to suprise me."

"Well, I'll be right back. I left something in the car." She walks past us and then out the door. I look back at Peeta once the door closes. He's trying to avoid making eye contact with me.

"You should have told me," I say softly.

"I know," he replies as he finally looks at me. "I thought you'd be happy. After all, she is your mother." I nod my head. "Are you mad at me?" he asks. I don't know how to honestly answer that. I'm aggravated, yes. But am I actually mad? I hear Mom's footsteps on the front porch.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow after she leaves," I say.

"Katniss, that's another thing I didn't get to talk to you about. She's staying with us for a few weeks."

"Weeks?" I ask just before the front door opens. Mom comes in carrying a small suitcase.

"Let me help you with that," Peeta says as he walks over to her, wanting nothing more than to change the subject. Peeta takes Mom's suitcase upstairs, and she beings to follow him. She suprise me when she stops to give me a hug.

"I've missed you," she whispers. I stiffen in her embrace. She finally let's me go and walks on up the stairs.
....................................
Updates will be a little slow and I apologize. I'm wanting to make sure this is the direction I want my story to go before I post anything.

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