Baby of Panem

Telling Gale

The next few days go by without much excitement. Peeta has been staying at the house more and Gale is finally up and walking. He is still staying at the house so mom and Prim can treat the wounds on his back as needed, but they are beginning to heal up well, they said he could probably go back home by the end of the week. They haven't asked about why Peeta has been here so much, Prim knows but my mom doesn't. I wake up in my bed, my head resting on Peeta's chest. I don't know what time it is, but I know it's early based on the orange color of the sun outside my room. Like every morning, I wake up to the baby doing gymnastics inside of me, making me feel like I could throw up at any minute. I get up quickly, trying not to disturb Peeta, and make my way to the bathroom downstairs. My mom will hear if I go to the one outside my room and I'm not ready to talk to her about this yet. I sneak past the living room and shut the door behind me once inside the bathroom, making sure to lock it. I kneel in front of the toiler before the nausea completely overtakes me.

Once I'm finished, I stand up, flushing the toilet and turning the sink on. I wash my hands and then cup them together and bring them to my lips, sipping the water from them and squishing it my mouth to rinse the taste out. I brush my teeth as well, rinsing my mouth again afterwards. After completing this, I grab a washcloth and wash my face. When I feel satisfied, and the taste it gone, I dry my hands and face and leave the bathroom.

"Did you just throw up," Gale's voice startles me. He is waiting outside of the bathroom for me.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. I had to pee, but then I saw the light on so I went upstairs, then when I came back down, I heard someone that sounded like they were getting sick."

"I'm fine."

"Katniss," Gale walks toward me and places the back of his hand on my forehead, "You're not fine."

"It was just something I ate or something, I don't know."

"You've been getting sick, every morning for the past week now."

"Gale, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I've heard you Katniss. I heard you that morning in the kitchen, I've heard you every morning you've come down the stairs," He looks at me, reaching out and lifting my chin up so I'm facing him, "What's going on Katniss?"

"How much did you hear, in the kitchen?"

"I heard Peeta convince you that you needed to let Prim check you, but the pain medications kicked in around that time, so I didn't hear much past that."

"Then you should know I'm fine. Prim checked and I'm fine."

"Snow must be pretty pleased right now." Gale scoffs as he turns away. He knows.

"What the hell are you talking about Gale?"

"I just mean the wedding, you and Peeta were supposed to get married a few days ago and you didn't because of the whipping." I study his face, trying to see if this is the true meaning of what he said, but he's giving nothing away.

"He'll live. Excuse me," I brush past him and walk back upstairs, climbing back into bed beside Peeta.

"Where did you go," He kisses my forehead as I lay back down, wrapping his arms back around me.

"I was sick."

"You should've woke me up."

"It's fine. Just go back to sleep." We both fall back asleep quickly, but I can't stop thinking about what Gale meant by telling me Snow must be happy.

I wake up again later in the morning, sitting up and looking at Peeta. He is still sleeping beside me, his hair is glistening in the sunlight that fills the room. He looks so peaceful and so innocent. This is the boy I'm having a baby with, and suddenly it doesn't feel like my world is ending. I can picture a little boy with Peeta's eyes and his blond hair, running into our room in the mornings, climbing into our bed and cuddling up to him. I can picture Peeta holding him, and his eyes just lighting up. I smile to myself, maybe this would all end up okay like he said. I lean down and place a gentle kiss on his lips, waking him up.