Always

Amnesty

They say a baby is a blessing, that it's the most beautiful thing you'll ever love. I believe that, but I also remember when I was terrified of having kids. I never wanted to bring a child into this world, but now all I can think about is how close I am to holding our baby. How close I am to meeting it.

For weeks my mom has been warning me about contractions or my water breaking. But I never thought it would actually hurt this much. "Peeta." I shake his arm, trying to wake him up.

"What's wrong." He whispers in a sleepy voice.

"I think I might be having contractions."

He sits up quickly and looks me over before putting his hand on my stomach. "Are you sure they aren't the fake ones?"

"No, these are real." I bend over in pain clutch my stomach. "Peeta something's not right." I look up shakily.

"It's going to be okay." He runs his hand over my cheek and kisses me before running to the door. "I'll be right back."

It felt like hours, but it was probably only minutes before he returned with Rye and Haymitch in tow. "On the count of three, we'll lift her up." Peeta says.

"One." Their arms wrap around me.

"Two." I clinch my teeth in pain.

"Three." They start running with me in their arms.

"Ah, Peeta!" I yell and he glances at Haymitch and Rye before running faster.

"I need a nurse!" Rye yells when we get to the hospital and the entire staff comes running. I guess word got out about the mockingjay being in labor.

"Okay Mrs. Mellark, I'm going to do a quick ultrasound and see how the baby is looking." The doctor smiles at me and I nod my head. Although her smile falters when she looks at the screen.

"What's wrong." I ask.

"You're baby is breech." She tells us and wipes the gel off of my stomach.

"What does that mean?" Peeta asks worriedly.

"It means that your baby isn't in the correct position to come out. The feet should be here." She points to the top of my stomach. "But in your case, the baby's feet are here." And points to the low part of my stomach. "In some cases, the baby turns itself, but you're too far in labor for that to happen."

"Well how do you fix it?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"We can't fix it. We have to do a c-section." I grimace at the thought of that happening again. After my son I vowed never to have another.

"There's no other way?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"No, I'm sorry." I nod my head and she smiles softly. "I'll have a nurse come prep you for surgery."

"I should go tell your family what's happening." Peeta whispers and kisses my cheek before leaving.

Her red hair and brown eyes stand out against her grey scrubs. She's not an easy person to forget, especially since she was there when I lost my son.

"Mrs. Mellark, it's good to see you again." She says quietly and I struggle to breathe. "I didn't realize it was going to be you, if you would rather have a different nurse, I would completely understand." She tells me and I shake my head.