What If

Chapter Twenty-Five

Katniss

I was back in the familiar area that looked into Peeta's hospital room. The second I'd heard that Peeta had wanted to see me I couldn't control myself, I had to accept.

Annie had taken Camellia, overjoyed to get to watch her. Finnick had also been present and had smiled at me when he'd heard why Camellia needed to be watched.

Now I stood observing Peeta from a distance. He was still locked into his restraints (which had been a request of mine) but he wasn't fighting them. He wasn't in a hospital gown anymore as it had been replaced with the uniform of District Thirteen and he looked more well-groomed than the last time I had seen him.

"Are you ready?" Haymitch asked me as he handed me my earpiece. I nodded and place it in my ear. "Now, say exactly what I'm saying into the earpiece, okay? No pulling what you did in District Eight."

I nodded, surprisingly glad that I didn't have to come up with my own words. Usually I hated having other speak for me, like in Effie's stale speeches, but the sight of Peeta made my thoughts incoherent.

When I walked inside the room Peeta stared up at me, his eyes cold. The blue was the same shade as Camellia's which made me sigh, but they were clouded over as not as nearly as bright as hers.

"Hello," Peeta said coldly.

"Hello," Haymitch repeated into my earpiece. I rolled my eyes, I know how to greet someone.

"Hello, Peeta," I replied. Peeta sat there, studying my face.

"You look different since the last time I saw you," Peeta said.

Haymitch fed me my line, which I repeated. "Well, it's been a while since I last you."

He shook his head, clearly dissatisfied with my answer. "What have you been doing?"

"I've been training," I replied honestly after hearing the line from Haymitch. "What about you?"

This was when I began to stray from Haymitch's lines.

"Not much," Peeta admitted. "Mainly just sitting here. It's rather boring."

"Why am I here, Peeta?" I asked abruptly. "Why do you want to see me?"

"I don't," he replied, which stung. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Then ask it," I shot back at him. "I don't have all day."

"You have to get back to your training, huh?" Peeta asked, a hint of humor to his voice. I pressed a smile to my face. "I just wanted to ask you about the night after the interviews."

"What about it?" I asked, growing weary.

"This is getting risky, so no more straying from my words," Haymitch said through my earpiece. "Katniss Everdeen I'm not joking. Only say what I say."

"I wanted to know whether not what I said during the interviews was a lie," Peeta said. "I want to know if I'm a liar or not."

"Say you don't know," Haymitch said.

"I don't know."

Peeta shook his head. "You do, I know you do if my memory is right. It's not shiny, but it's not trustworthy."

I frowned, clearly wanting to ask him to elaborate. Instead I said what Haymitch had told me. "I don't know."

"Stop that," Peeta said.

"Stop what?" I asked in a monotone voice.

"I know someone's feeding you lines, I can see the earpiece," he said. "Who is it, Plutarch? Haymitch? One of those insane doctors? Tell them to either tell me the truth or stay out of this."

Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I ripped the earpiece out of my ear and dropped it to the ground, stomping on it. Peeta stared at me, clearly bewildered.

"There you go," I said, fuming. "Now, what do you want?"

I could imagine our time left together was small. Soon Haymitch or some specialist would burst through the door and drag me out of there. Then I'd get yelled at by Haymitch and sent back to my compartment alone.

"I want the truth," Peeta said. "I had a memory that you....that you were pregnant. You don't appear to be so anymore, if you ever were at all."

I nodded. "I was."

"Oh," Peeta said. "Was. Past tense."

"Yes," I confirmed.

"The baby—was it mine?" Peeta asked, which hurt. "Or was it Gale's? I know you two are something."

"It is yours," I corrected. "Gale and I never had something, but you and I did."

"That night on the train."

My face grew red with embarrassment. "Yes, I didn't think you'd remembered."

"So, where is it?" Peeta asked. I frowned. "You're not pregnant anymore, where's the baby?"

"Well—she's here in Thirteen," I admitted.

Peeta frowned. "She?"

I nodded, realizing that Peeta knew nothing about her. It was his daughter, but he knew nothing about her, not even her name. He didn't know if her existence until a few minutes ago.

Then I just couldn't stop myself. I let it all out.

"Her name is Camellia," I burst out. "She was born two weeks ago. She tiny, Peeta. She has the cutest giggle and is nearly always smiling. She doesn't sleep during the night very well, but naps a lot during the day. Her middle name is Primrose, after my sister. Prim adores her. Actually, Camellia adores her, too. And people keep telling me that she looks like me, but I don't see it. Maybe I'm just looking for it, but I think she looks like you. Her eyes—they're the shame shade as yours, at least the shade they used to be. And she doesn't act like me at all. She doesn't scowl like I thought she would, and she loves everyone she meets."

Peeta's eyes widened at my outburst. A new wave of embarrassment hit me and I was instantly horrified at the amount of detail I'd given him. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much Haymitch would yell at me the second I exited the room and saw him.

Then, in the gentle voice that used to soothe me all those nights, asked, "Can I see her?"