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Rekindling the Fire-Chaper 23

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Do do do dooo! Hey loveys! How is everyone? I am amazing! I hope everyone had a good Christmas…New Years…Canada Day…and any other foreign holiday that I missed in the near two month span of non-updating XD I am so sorry guys, I have been insanely busy with wedding plans, the kids, writing my original works and such and a bunch of other stuff. Also, I have been obsessing about Horse Isle 2: Life Cycle XD I am a total HI nerd rofl. I am Zenyatta on there and HI2: Eternal, if anyone is on there from here XD I am also currently obsessing about Titanic all over again XD Anyway! To chapter twenty….three? I think 23 XD


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Chapter 23


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I stare at Dr. Belstin, his face moving in and out of focus as his words sink in and bounce around in my head for a few moments. My hands fall to my sides as I try to comprehend the news. I am pregnant. I am having another baby. As my brain absorbs the information, a smile spreads across my face. "I'm…" my voice trails off as my eyes shift to the floor. "I'm pregnant…" I whisper, my voice barely audible, even to my own ears.

Dr. Belstin chuckles quietly, "Yes, Katniss, you are pregnant." He says, slowly, as if talking to a small child. "You are about six weeks along, not as far as your last pregnancy when you found out." He explains.

I nod and feel something settle into the pit of my stomach. It is dread. I feel it sit there, bothering me. There are very few times that I have felt this sort of dread, but I still know what it means. Something is going to go wrong. Something, I don't know what, but something will go wrong. I manage to keep the smile on my face for the rest of the appointment until I step out onto the streets of District 12.

I take a deep breath of the cold are and feel a shiver run through me as it fills my lungs. I glance down both sides of the sideway, checking the faces for Peeta, who said he'd try to make it to pick me up, but might get held up at the bakery because of a large order put in. I let out a breath and watch it swirl through the air and then disappear. Finally deciding that waiting for Peeta would be a waste of time, I merge into the crowd of people shuffling past the hospital doors. I bite my lip and stuff my hands into the pockets of my jacket, trying to regain heat into them.

My mind slowly begins to process the information of the last hour. I am pregnant. I have been for the past six weeks. As my mind wraps itself around the news, my feet automatically walk to Di's.

As I enter the barn, I take even strides down to Star's stall and peek in. He is in the back of the stall, his head down, almost brushing against the straw bedding, and his back hoof cocked as he sleeps.

I smirk and take silent steps back, even though I know my walking would not rouse him from his sleep. Walking down the aisle, I glance into each horse's stall, making sure each is in their stall and locked in.

When I reach Holi's stall, I feel something in my brain tell me to check on her. I step over to her stall and glance in. I feel my chest tighten when I see her laying on the ground and wheezing. Unbolting the stall door, I step into her stall and kneel down next to her.

I take her head in my lap and stroke her face, soothing her the best that I can. I clamp my eyes closed and force myself to think. How did Di tell me to check a horse's pulse? She had shown me when I first came, telling me to try to check if I felt something was wrong with the horse.

Suddenly it hits me and I open my eyes. Placing my two forefingers against the lower side of her law, I close my eyes again and begin counting. After about a minute, I stop. Her heart is racing. My eyes fly open as I slowly set her head back down on the straw. She lifts it up immediately, but it bobbles slightly before she lowers it so that her lower lips is just barely hovering above the ground. Her ribcage is expanding rapidly as she tries to breathe through her flared nostrils.

I jump up and race out of her stall. Once I am outside I start screaming. "Di!" I shout, my voice wavering as I feel the emotion welling up inside of me. "Di!" I scream again. The wind has picked up, carrying any loose item off, including leaves and small branches, which fly across my feet. "Di!" I cry out again, but it seems that the wind carries it off with all its other possessions, pulling it away so that no one can hear.

My heart is racing as I run to the paddock where she can usually be found, sketching the horses, but only a small buckskin mare and a taller off-white mare are turned out, both standing next to the gate, ready to get out of the biting wind, which seems to have dropped the temperature even more than it already was.

I look around frantically for anyone. It seems as though I am the only person on the property, when it should be teaming with grooms and riders. Running over to the gate, I pull it open with all the force I can muster and grab the mares' halters by the cheek straps. I check both of their names and pick up my pace to a run, causing them to break into a trot.

I run down the barn aisle, searching for their stalls, praying that they are both in this barn and not one of the others. I put the buckskin mare into her stall and search around for the nameplate labeled with the white mare's name. I chew on my lower lip and look around. That is when I see it. I jog over and pull open the stall door.

Releasing her inside, I pull off her halter and hang it up outside her stall. I give her a quick pat on the forehead before sprinting down to the other end of the barn where Holi is laying on the floor of her stall, possibly dead.

I unlock the bolt on her stall and collapse onto the straw next to her. "Holi!" I say, my voice high and cracking, "It's okay, Holi, it's okay." I say quietly, dropping the volume so I do not startle her.

She lets out a snort and looks around frantically. She suddenly tries to stand, as if moved by some urgent purpose. Her long legs scramble against the straw that is bedded her stall. She lets out a panicked whinny when she tries to get up. She pushes her front legs out and tries to force her weight onto them as she has been able to do all of her life. When they buckle underneath her weight, the whole front half of her body, collapses back onto the ground.

I gasp, feeling tears burning against the back of my eyes, watching this majestic animal who once ruled her opponents on the track, galloping gracefully, almost always coming home in front, not even able to stand anymore.

She takes a heaving breath and makes another feeble attempt to stands, but fails. The result is her laying on the ground, her large dark head falling into my lap.

Feeling my throat close up, I lay my hand on her star and run my fingers down her face, stroking her slowly, calming her down. That is when I begin talking quietly. "Oh Holi, you're such a good girl." I whisper, my voice barely audible. "You really are, you're gonna go run free," I murmur, keeping my voice low a soothing, even though my heart is being torn out. I keep my hand moving in its steady pattern, not wanting to stop.

Holi's breathing steadily gets shallower, her heart beginning to fail on her. She flairs her nostrils and sucks in as much air as she can.

I run my fingers through her forelock with one hand and stroke her dark cheek with the other. "You're such a good girl, Holi, you really are." I whisper.

She lets out a low rumble from her throat, as if anything more would kill her. Her chest is barely expanding as she breathes, the effort of fighting whatever if killing her beginning to take its toll.

I bite my lower lip and run my thumb across her cheek and whisper, my voice barely audible, even to my own ears, "Go on, now, girl, you can let go." I swallow and whisper the last words, "Go on, be free."

As if realizing I released her, Holi's chest expands once more, taking in her last breath and then her eyes slowly flutter closed.

I allow a single tear to slide out of my eye. It slides down my cheek and splashes against Holi's cheek, soaking into her dark coat. I run my fingers through her thick, winter coat. I lean down and press my lips against her white star. Pressing my forehead against hers, I let out a soft, choked sob and lift her head from my lap, placing it against the bedding softly.

Standing, I look down at Holi one last time before I begin walking out of her stall. I step over her still-sprawled-out legs and walk out of her stall. I turn around and bolt her stall door behind me, just like always and walk away from her stall.

I press my fingers against my lips for a moment before I remove them and step out into the biting wind. It is blowing furiously, whipping everything around me in a swirling motion. The sky has darkened with storm clouds overhead. I glance up before I look back at the barn and give one more silent good-bye to Holi.

The whinny of a horse fills the air from the barn across from where I stand, Holi's barn at my back. Another horse calls back, responding. Life goes on, no matter what happens. I should have learned that, already though. I really should have.

I wrap my jacket around me tighter and pull my collar up so that it covers my neck. I stuff my hands into my pockets and places them over my stomach, protecting my baby as I make my way up the winding hills in the cutting wind to Di's house to break the news.


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I step into the house and shrug off my coat. I am still shaking from the cold and the hurt of telling Di about Holi. She had been out when it happened. She is sending her to get tested for what could have killed her.

"Katniss?" I hear Peeta's voice coming from the living room. The sound of his steps echo through the silent house. He pokes his head into the foyer and then walks over to me. " Hey there, you," he says, a smile on his face and he wraps his arms around my waist, "Sorry I couldn't make it to the hospital, the order I was telling you about took longer than expected." He explains and presses his lips against my forehead.

I nod and push a smile out, "It's fine, I just went to the barn for a little while." I say, deciding then that I will keep Holi's death to myself. I take a deep breath and allow my hands to rest on my stomach. "Peeta," I say, my voice low.

He pulls his face back so that he can study mine, "What?" He asks, his voice filled with concern as he studies my face.

I look up at him and then back down at the stomach. "Peeta," I whisper again, my voice beginning to shake, "I am pregnant, again."

He pauses for a moment, as if allowing the statement to sink in. His features morph into a look of utter shock, as if this was the furthest thing from his mind.

I look up at his face and swallow, waiting for his reaction. For a few fleeting moment, I think he is upset with me, that I got pregnant, though I had no control over it. Suddenly the words come tumbling out of my mouth, "I am so sor…"

My words are cut off by his lips covering mine, blocking my words from coming out. His arms tighten around my waist, causing me to press against him.

When he finally pulls his lips off of mine, I see his eyes are filled with tears and he is smiling, laughing, as he kisses my forehead once more. "Katniss, that is…" his voice trails off as he begins laughing again, the glee apparent on his face. "Katniss,'" he tries again, "That is the most amazing news that I have ever heard." His voice gets quieter as if he is trying to contain himself with all his might.

I look up at him and when I see his face, I feel a smile spreading across my own face, and when he lifts me up into the air, I start laughing myself.

When he slowly puts me down and I feel the floor beneath my feet, I look up into his eyes, 'Are you really happy?" I ask, my voice low as I speak.

He stares at my in disbelief, "Katniss, how could I be upset with you for carrying our child?" He asks, incredulously.

I feel the edges of my lips tilt upwards as I leans forwards on my toes and press my lips lightly against his. "I couldn't believe it when Dr. Belstin told me." I say, "I mean I was thinking terrible horrible life threatening things when he came in with that look on his face." I say the word 'that' is such a manner that it is obviously I mean the look that doctor's get when they have bad news to relay to you. I had seen that look plenty of times on my mother's face with people who come in with hopeless situations. Like the young man who was pelted to near death in the mines by falling stones and he has sucked in so much smoke he can barely breathe. Or the young girl who cut herself on a rusted piece of metal and infection has set in with a vengeance, leaving her barely able to move.

Peeta leans down and presses his forehead against mine, so that our eyes are level with each other. His hands tightens around my waist as mine rests lightly against the back of his neck, 'How far along?" He asks, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"About six weeks," I say, my voice quiet, as if trying not to wake the nonexistent person in our house. I know that Willow is with Greasy Sae because I, obviously was at the hospital, and the bakery was too busy for Peeta to bring her, so we opted Sae, as Johanna is nowhere to be found lately. We'll occasionally see her walking through the house in the mornings, but besides when she is in her room, we rarely see her.

"That is amazing." He whispers as he kisses me again, lightly and sweetly.

I smile again and try to push away the feeling that has been bothering me since I left Dr. Belstin's. Leaving Di's, I had thought it had to do with Holi, but it is still sitting there, like an elephant in the room, almost forcing me to acknowledge it. I keep the smile on my face and push the dread away, happy to just be standing here in this moment with my husband. I am sure it will go away. I think to myself. Yeah, I am sure that it will.


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The next morning, I am standing in the kitchen, facing the window, looking out onto the patch of greenery in front of the houses. The few trees have lost all of their leaves and stand tall and bare in the cool morning sun. Their highest branches looks as though they are trying to stretch their thin fingers up to the sky, to touch the sun, as though it could save them from the long, cold winter to come.

The sun is warming my entire body as it streams through the window, burrowing its way into my skin. I lean my hands against the countertop and close my eyes, allowing the warmth to overcome me for a moment.

I hear the footsteps from above me, making their way to the steps, and moving down them slowly. When they enter the kitchen, I open my eyes and turn to face them. I smile.

Peeta lets out a yawn, covering his mouth with his free hand, the other holding Willow closely against his strong body. He smiles and walks over to me. Leaning down slightly, he presses his lips against mine. "Good morning, love, how was your sleep?" he asks, shifting Willow into his other arm.

I lean back against the counter, allowing the sun to beat down on my back. "It was okay," I say. He knows I woke up screaming from a nightmare, but doesn't mention it. "Now let me see my little girl." I say, smiling and reach for her.

Peeta slides her into my arms and smiles, "There we go, darling, now you hold onto Mommy." He says, playfully and pulls his arms out from underneath her so she is sitting in my arms.

Willow opens her mouth in a large mouthed yawn and buries her face into my shoulder. Her small, chubby hands find a home against me as her small fingers curl around the fabric of my shirt.

I smile and kiss the top of her head carefully. "When do you have to go to work?" I ask quietly, as I begin rocking Willow back and forth. She has a bad habit of waking up too early and then tuckering herself out for no particular reason in the morning by doing positively nothing but having her eyes open.

He shrugs and walks over to the fridge, opening it glancing around, "I don't know, I might not go in today. Since we finished that order yesterday, I think that the others can handle me not being in for a day." He says, reaching in to grab something.

I smile, "Really?" I say, keeping my voice low, wanting Willow to sleep as much as she can before the day begins.

He pulls the bottle of milk out of the fridge and closes it. He turns to me and smiles, "Mhm, you have me all day." He says, a smile spreading across his lips.

I turn and face the window again, allowing my eyes to wander around the circle of houses. I think for a moment before turning around. "I am going to go put Willow back into the nursery." I say and reach over the sink to snag the baby monitor sitting on the window sill. I turn it on and set it down on the table.

"Alright," He says, walking over to the cabinet, "I'll make some breakfast." He moves over to the fridge again and pulls it open, surveying the ingredients we have.

I move through the house carefully, taking my time to make my way up to her room. I try as hard as I can to barely jostle her, not wanting to wake her. When I gently bump the door to the nursery with my hip, I step inside. Moving over to her crib, I carefully set her down, laying her down softly.

She shifts slightly, questioningly, before she settles right back down, her breathing steady and calm as she sleeps.

I smile and walk over to her small dresser. Bending down, I pull open the largest drawer on the bottom and pull out a soft light orange blanket. I walk over to her and lay the blanket lightly over her lower body, spreading it out across her.

Grabbing the baby monitor, I turn it on and set it on the small night table by her crib. I slowly walk out of the room and close the door quietly behind me. I jog silently down the stairs. Once I walk into the kitchen, I see Peeta has begun to make breakfast. He is standing over the stove, a pan in his hand, containing whatever our breakfast is going to be.

Walking up behind him, I lean against the table and cross my arms, trying to warm myself up. "Gosh, it is so cold." I mutter and shiver slightly.

Peeta turns his head slightly, "You're cold?" He asks. When I nod, he walks over to me and wraps his arms around me tightly. His hands rest lightly against the small of my back as mine find a home around his strong neck.

Burying my face into his neck, I allow my body to absorb his warmth. We stand there for a moment until the oven timer goes off.

Peeta pulls away, but not without placing a light kiss on my forehead.

I smile and place both of my hands over my stomach. They rest there for a moment, hovering over where my baby is. I think silently about having another baby. Another pair of hands to hold. Another pair of feet to follow. Another chubby little body to carry everywhere. I smile at the thought.

Looking down at my stomach my mind begins to think about the small details. Is it a boy? Is it a girl? That doesn't matter. As long as the baby is healthy, I will be happy with anything. My mind begins to wander to different aspects of being a mother again.

I feel a smile spreading across my lips as I think about all of it.

Peeta's voice breaks through my thoughts. "What are you smiling about?" He asks, playfully.

When I look up, I see a teasing glimmer in his blue eyes. "I was just thinking about our baby." I say, truthfully and walk over to him. Leaning against the counter, I look at him. "Are you excited?" I ask him.

He sets the pan down and stares at me for a moment. "Is that even a real question?" He asks, his voice filled with shock. "Of course I am, Katniss! If I wasn't, I wouldn't be a father." He says. He wraps his arms around my waist again, abandoning the food. "Katniss, I love you, and our children, us, our love, everything." He whispers, his voice filled with sincerity.

I smile and tilt my head up, pressing my lips gently against his. "I love you, Peeta Mellark." I murmur, my voice barely perceptible.

He smiles at me and presses his forehead against mine, our breath mingling as he pauses. "I love you more than anything on this Earth, Katniss Mellark," he whispers, lowly, "And nothing could ever change that."


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"Haymitch! Slow down on that thing!" I snap, trying to catch up with him. He is rolling at least ten miles per hour on his wheelchair, barreling through the streets of District 12, taking out everything from a small cat sitting on the sidewalk to an older woman that he nearly plows over who is talking to a younger woman.

His arms are pumping quickly, forcing the wheels to move faster. "I just want to get home." He replies gruffly without turning his face towards me.

I narrow my eyes at him and step it up a little bit quicker. When I got the call this morning that Haymitch was out of therapy and almost fully capable of doing everything that he did before, I was ecstatic. But I forgot how irritating Haymitch is fully conscious.

"Well," I begin, "I have the keys, so you're not getting in without me." I grumble and slow down. "I can't keep up this pace Haymitch, I've been running for at least two miles and was jogging for the few before that. I can't put too much stress on my body." I say, my feet carefully slowing down.

I watch the wheels on his wheelchair as he slows down, smiling triumphantly, knowing that I won. I easily make my way up beside him.

We get sidelong glances from everyone we pass. They all know who we are, what has happened, and why, but they still can't seem to let it go.

When we pass a group of three or four people staring at us and murmuring to each other, Haymitch must finally snap, "What're you looking at?" But with his slightly garbled speech, it comes out sounding like "Wha're ya loo'in at?"

They all jump and continue walking away from us.

I allow myself to smirk. Haymitch may be irritating, but he sure knows how to get rid of people. When we reach the small road to the Victor's Village, Haymitch begins to pull away from me again.

Sighing, I tolerate his speeding up. I know he just wants to get back to the home that he has been away from for so long. I wrap my jacket around my body more tightly, trying to hold in the little warmth I have left.

Peeta and I thought about inviting a few close friends to welcome Haymitch home, but we decided against him, not wanting to put any more stress on him than necessary.

When we reach the circle of houses, I glance over at our house. I see Johanna through the window in the kitchen. I am slightly shocked, seeing as she is rarely ever at the house anymore. She has been getting ready to go back to District 7 to see Clayne.

"Come on!" Haymitch snaps, irritably, "I want to get inside my house."

I jerk my head in his direction and narrow my grey eyes at him. I storm past him and up the specially built ramp on his porch. And up to the door. I fumble around with the keys. Shoving the one Peeta labeled with an 'H' into the lock, I force the door open.

"Let's go!" I bark, waiting for him to roll up the ramp.

When we walk inside, I smile at the young nurse, who has already Haymitch-proofed the house. "Hello," I say to her.

"Good day, Mrs. Mellark." She responds. When she sees Haymitch roll in, she walks right over to him. "Hello, Mr. Abernathy, I am Daisy." She says, a broad smile on her face.

He glances at me, then back at her. Without saying a word, he rolls passed her, mumbling something and moving into the kitchen.

I smirk, "You'll have to get used to him." I inform her. "Just give him some time, he'll warm up to you." After explaining this, I walk into the kitchen after Haymitch and glare at him. "Haymitch!" I hiss, lowly, "Are you seriously going to be a little bastard to the woman who gave up her social life for you?"

He glares at me, "Maybe."

I throw up my hands in exasperation and storm out of the room. I pass Daisy without a second thought and grumble as I slam the door behind me. Haymitch just gets me so angry sometimes with his habit of being so inconsiderate.

I walk across the green to our house and force open the door. Johanna is right next to the door, walking out with a water bottle in her hand. "I'll be back later." She says and walks past me, out the door.

I watch her for a moment before closing the door behind me. Making my way into the kitchen, I shrug off my jacket and toss it onto the table. I walk over to the fridge and pull it open, wanting food more than anything at the moment. Any sort of food would do.

"Ugg!" I groan, slamming the fridge shut, causing its contents to rattle inside. I glance around the counter when my eyes zero in on a tray of cheese buns on the oven. There is a small note near the edge of the oven. I lean forwards and grab it.

Katniss,

These are for you, I just had a feeling you would be wanting some

With love, Peeta

I smile and snag a cheese bun between my finger, lifting it up to my lips. I sink my teeth into the delicious treat, my craving suddenly satisfied.

For the next half hour, I walk around the house, boredly eating cheese bun after cheese bun. The funny thing is I never seem to get full, I always want more.

When the tray is finally empties, I set the tray in the sink and walk into the living room. Plopping myself down on the couch, I flick on the TV.

Flipping through the stations, I see nothing of interest and turn it back off. I sigh and lay down, allowing my eyes to flutter closed, letting myself drift off.


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A few hours later, I am awoken by screaming and the smell of smoke. I jump up and look around wildly. I calm myself when I realize that our house isn't on fire. So I walk into the kitchen and snatch up my coat, wrapping it tightly around myself and walk outside to investigate.

When I step out onto the porch, I look across the green, only to see smoke spilling out of all openings in Sae's house, and growing flames lapping at the house. It takes a moment for my mind to process this, but when it does, the affect is immediate. My heart stops beating and I feel as though I cannot breathe. Suddenly I break into a sprint across the large stretch of greenery, that in this moment, seems to be never ending. I run, pushing myself to run faster, to the house. I begin screaming, my lips forming her name, over and over again.

"Willow!"


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Ohhhhhhh God! What has Amber done, now? Idk XD Anyway, just to inform all of you, unless it says "Complete" next to the information for the story, I AM NOT DONE! I will continue writing until I post that. Just because there are *HUGE* gaps between updates, doesn't mean that I am finished writing. Because I'm not ;) I'll try writing the rest of the weekend and see if I can get another chapter up, but I might not until next weekend, so don't get your hopes up XD Anyway! Just to tell you all, I am currently in mad love with 'Titanic'. Yup, I know, you are too XD Anyway! Past my odd fixations! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!

~Amber
You all knw what it's about XD
© 2012 - 2024 4everAmber
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Froggygirl101's avatar
These are amazing! and just one tiiiiiiiiiiiiiny question: when are you gonna update next? I love these!