Bought Love

Chapter 9

Peeta

"Do you think we'll hit a town soon?" Katniss asks. I glance at her from where I sit on the wagon frown at her on Rocky.

"Why?" I ask. "I thought we weren't going to settle near a town."

"Well, I'd at least like to temporarily," she says. "I'm going to need a doctor in a few weeks and if we follow the tracks, we'll probably hit a nice little town with at least a midwife."

I stop Storm and Rain, the cream colored mare we got in exchange for Little Cloud's calf, and she does the same with her pony.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"I've less than a moon until I give birth," she says. "We need to find somewhere soon."

"Well, I think there's a town over those hills," I say. I point and she nods.

"Yeah," she says. "I think I see engine smoke."

"I can go ride ahead on Betsy to check if you want," I say. "It'd give you a moment to get off Rocky and stretch your legs."

"That'd be fine," she says. "I just, I need a little help getting down." I nod and get off the wagon to help my pregnant wife off her pony. Her blue dress is cut so it reaches the just below her knees and her bare feet fall heavily on the grass. She takes horses' reins from me and I walk around the back to get Betsy from where she's tied to the back of the wagon with the cow. I get her ready and walk around to see Katniss already has Rain on a picket and is halfway through unharnessing Storm.

"I don't plan on being gone very long," I say.

"Well, I need to stretch my legs and everyone needs water so I figured I'd tie them out and take them two at a time to the stream a quarter mile back," she says before glancing at me. "That is okay isn't it?"

"As long as you're careful," I say. "You're a little far along to be walking back and forth that much so don't keep going there and back without a break, okay?" She nods.

"Of course," she says. "I'll try to stay in sight of the wagon just in case you get back while I'm by stream." I nod and give her a gentle kiss before swinging myself onto my horse and waving.

"I'll see you later, Jay," I say and she nods.

"Take care," she says and I turn and ride towards the town. I see the tracks before I even lose sight of our wagon and follow them to a little town just over a bridge with a church the way I came. I cross the bridge and see a general store and a barbershop, even a little outdoor cafe. I stop in front of the general store and slide off Betsy's back before tying her to the rail beside a large black-brown horse. I walk inside and see a woman about fifty sitting at a printing press and another about thirty with the elderly shopkeeper in the back looking at fabric. I walk towards him and he says something to the woman before walking over to me.

"Can I help you?" He asks.

"Yeah," I say. "I was wondering if this town had a doctor or a midwife or anything. My wife is due in a few weeks and she should see a doctor."

"I'm a doctor, " The younger woman says. I turn to her and she holds out her hand. "Dr. Michaela Quinn. I'm the physician here in Colorado Springs." I take her hand and shake it.

"It's nice to meet you, mam," I say. "My name is Peeta Mellark. Perhaps we could chat quick in your office?" She nods.

"Of course," she says before glancing at the store clerk. "You can cut two yards of that blue one, Mr. Bray. I'll pick it up on my way out of town."

"That's finer Doctor Mike," he says and she turns back to me.

"I'm just across the street if you'll follow me, Mr. Mellark," she says and I follow her out and across the dusty street to an old boarding house repurposed as a small hospital. She unlocks the door and leads me in. "My guess is that it's quite unusual circumstances for your wife if you're scoping out the town before you bring her here."

"She's cautious about towns,"
I say. "And after what happened to her back East, I'm cautious too."

"What happened to her?" She asks. "If you don't mind me asking, that is." I shake my head.

"It's alright," I say. "You're a lady doctor so you probably would understand being prejudiced more than anyone." I look down. "She's what most people would call a half breed."

"Half white half..." She pauses and I nod.

"Her father was a Cherokee warrior named Crow Feather," I say. "Her mother was an apothecary's daughter who moved on the reservation to learn from the medicine man." I look down. "But that isn't the worst of it. My father bought her because I wasn't urgently interested in going out to court anyone. She was whipped and locked in a barn for a week and I didn't even know about it until she was in the next room getting covered in powder and tied into a white dress. She gets looks wherever she goes and they aren't the good kind. She doesn't what that for our baby. She was seen as property after a war was fought to prove everyone is equal. Neither of us want our kid to be put through anything like that." She looks down.

"How far along is she?" She asks.

"The only reason she wanted me to come to town is because she thinks she's close," I say.

"If you want, I can go with you back to your camp and take a look at her," she says. "Just to reassure her a little." I nod.

"Yeah," I say. "Follow me."