That Ol' Wind

Chapter 11: Peeta

We drive to Joey's school together and wait for him in my truck. I place my hand on Katniss' stomach again and she smiles, intertwining our fingers.

"How do you think he'll take it?" she asks looking at me hopefully.

"I think he'll be happy there's nothing wrong with you. And I think he'll really like the thought of having someone to watch over and protect," I say and she smiles.

"I hope you're right," she says. We hear him yell goodbye to his friends and he jumps into the back seat.

"Hey, how was school?" I ask him.

"Pretty good. How are you Momma? Did the doctor figure out what was wrong?" he asks. Katniss smiles.

"She did. I'm gonna be just fine. There's nothing wrong with me," she says. I pull away and start heading for home.

"Then why have you been sick?" he asks her.

"We'll tell you when we get inside," I say and he frowns as we pull up outside our house. We all walk inside and the house together and go to the living room and sit down.

"So why's Momma sick?" he asks. Katniss looks at me.

"Do you want to tell him or should I?" she asks.

"I can tell him," I say and she smiles brightly at me. "Joey, Momma's been getting sick because she's pregnant. She's gonna have a baby and you'll be a big brother."

"Really?!" he asks excitedly.

"Yes Chipmunk. I'm gonna have a baby. Our family's going to grow a little bigger," she says and Joey smiles.

"Yay! My first wish came true. I'm gonna be a big brother!" he says and hugs Katniss tightly. She hugs him back and then he climbs off her and hugs me. I hold him close and then he pulls away,"Now I just need my wish for you and Momma to come true."

"What do you mean buddy?" I ask and he looks at both of us.

"I want Dad to go sing again," he says.

"You want me to leave?" I ask him.

"No, I want us to go with you. I want you and Momma to sing together," he says.

"Sweetie, I've never sang good enough to go on tour," she says to him.

"You could. My teacher went to Dad's last concert, when you brought him home. And she said when you sang with him it was amazing. Better then most professionals," he says and I can't help but think he's right.

"But what about school?" I ask him."We aren't leaving you behind and you're not going to not go to school."

"I didn't think of that," he says.

"I'm sorry buddy. I know you would like for me to sing again, maybe even have your mom up there with me. But that time is over. My place is here with you, Momma, and the baby. I already missed too much," I say and he frowns.

"I'm happy you're here Dad," he says and I hug him.

"I'm happy I'm here too," I say and he pulls away and hugs his mother again. He then walks slowly up the stairs and I hear his door shut.

"That broke his little heart," Katniss says,"He knows how much you want to sing again."

"I don't need that. Like I said, my place is here with you guys," I say wrapping my arm around her.

"We could go. Prim's a school teacher. She could come with us and tutor Joey so he'd still get his schooling. He wants us to be happy. I could sing to you and I'm sure your old friends would love to play again," she says.

"But what about the baby? I don't want her to be born on the road," I say.

"We could wait to go until after she's born. We could use the time until then to get ready, maybe write a few songs for me to sing or to sing together. I can practice to be your harmony. We could really do this if we tried. The reason I didn't want to go before was because I didn't want to take Joey away. But if he wants to go, I want to too," she says. I think it over for a moment.

"Is this what you really want Katniss? You really want to leave and live in a tour bus? I've lived that life and its not a good life. You don't really have a home and the nights are so late that you never can sleep enough to get rid of the exhaustion. Is that a life you really want to live?" I ask her and she smiles.

"Honestly yes. I want see the world. I want Joey and the baby to see all of this beautiful country we live in and how much power music has. How your words have changed lives. Just like they changed mine," she says.

"Okay, we'll try. But I'm not making you any promises. I'm still not sure if its even possible. They may not want to come back. But I'll try. For you and our children, I'll try," I say and she hugs me.

"Thank you, Peeta. Thank you for letting me change my mind about staying. We can finally lived the life we dreamed of as teenagers," she says.

"We can finally be what we could have been," I say and she lays her head on my shoulder.