Finding the Missing Piece: Book 4

Chapter Thirty

Katniss POV-

He takes my hand and leads me to our bed.

"Carter is in her carrier waiting on us so I am gonna try to make this quick." Peeta says.

I nod and sit down next to him.

Peeta looks into my eyes and it's like he's looking right into my soul.

I get some old vibe from him, like when we first met. That tingly, shaky, in love, mesmerized vibe.

"Thank you." He says softly.

"Why?" I ask softly.

"Because you are amazing and I'm so lucky to have you." Peeta says, rubbing his thumb across mine.

I look down at our fingers and Peeta squeezes my hand softly and looks back into my eyes.

"You don't know how grateful I am for you, Katniss. You've been scared about this whole baby thing since I brought it up a while back and I know that but you went and tried to start this process without me because I was here being a cry baby. You took yourself to a doctor, a place I usually have to drag you to just for me." He starts.

"I'm sorry that I went without you-" I start shaking my head.

That's something I feel guilty for but who knows when I would've found out and if Peeta would've even gotten better. It could've been too late for either one of them.

"No. Just listen to me, please?" He interrupts me softly.

I nod my head, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

I hate thinking about what happened and what could've happened if I hadn't been pregnant.

"You don't know how much that all means to me, Katniss."

I start to say something but I'm interrupted again.

"You've never really liked the idea of having a baby and we've had so many arguments about it all and after all of the discussion, you wanted to get pregnant so that I could be happy again. You wanted to do something you weren't sure of so you could make me happy but you didn't even have to do that much."

"But I was already pregnant, Peeta. I didn't do anything." I object.

"You didn't know that though. It doesn't matter that you were already pregnant, it was a coincidence but it was a good one. You really have no idea how much that truly means to me." Peeta says sweetly.

I just look at him a tear streaming down my cheeks.

"But I still didn't do anything." I tell him truthfully.

"That's okay that you don't think so. I just want you to know how thankful I am that you are my life partner and for giving us Willow."

I nod, "Same for you."

He leans over and kisses my forehead.

"And please, don't think that you being pregnant was the only reason I finally manned up. It just took that for me to realized how much I truly hurt our relationship. I am still sorry about using my 21st birthday as an accuse to go drink. I will always regret that."

I shrug my shoulders.

"I promise I do. It broke my heart when you told me I'd missed the first time to hear my child's heartbeat and it broke my heart you had to lie and say I was at work when in all reality, I was out getting drunk. I know how much that all hurt you and I will always be sorry for that." Peeta says.

I shrug, "Don't be sorry. It was your decision and it was your birthday."

"But it was our promise and I broke it." He shoots.

"I agree but please, just drop that?" I ask him.

He sighs deeply, "I love you and I love our babygirl and from now on, we are going to live our 'forever and always' just like we'd always planned. She is our new beginning, Katniss and now is our time to make things right."

"I never thought about it like that." I say, grateful for a new outlook.

He's right, now is our chance to right all of our old wrongs and do better from here on out.

"And I want you to know that those stretch marks will go away and the weight you gain will go away too. But no matter what you look like, I will always think you are the beautiful woman in the world." Peeta says kindly.

"Thank you, Peeta." I say softly, feeling my throat close up.

He smiles shyly at me, "Now let's go get you and that baby some food."

"I bet Carter is getting impatient down there."

He chuckles, "Probably. Or she fell asleep."

And with that, we leave.