A/N: So this is a sample chapter of a project I'm going to be working on over the summer once my exams are over. I'm posting it now to gauge your reaction and test whether it's worthwhile to continue or not. All feedback is welcome, even criticism if it is posed in a nice way. No flames please!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. Or the cover art for this story. That right goes to leftlone from Wattpad. They have an awesome page and are crazy talented! You should check the page out. I'd link it but usually links don't come up right on here :)

Sorry about any typos, this is a sample chapter, after all!

Kindred

By Blueberrychills94

Chapter One

Katniss lay on her bed, just as she did every day. Cocooned in her duvet, she was safe. Safe from the harshness of the outside world; of the ache she felt every time she moved; of the agony that consumed her every time she thought of how alone she was. She stared at her door, a rectangular outline in the gloomy darkness of her room. Soon, she'd have to get up. She promised Haymitch that if she got out of bed and showed him that she was making an effort to live then he wouldn't break her door down and move into the spare bedroom next door.

She was free six months now. The rebellion ended and her so called 'shackles' were broken. Katniss never felt free, even when she wasn't slung into prison for Coin's murder. She was still chained. Bound by the things she had done. The things she had seen; heard; said . . . caused. Her bindings were unbreakable. She simply had to shuffle through life with her invisible bondage and wait for the day that she could be with Prim again. Because that was all she wanted. To be with Prim again.

Katniss heaved herself off her bed. Her skin, tight and scarred from the fire that blazed in the darkness of her nightmares still, protested in pain. Every time she moved a muscle, it felt like her skin was going to rip open again, blood flowing and sizzling like it had done that abhorrent day. The Capitol was gone. There was no longer such thing as body polish to rid her of her wounds. Not that she wanted rid of them. She needed the scars as a reminder of what she had done. Of what she deserved.

There were two excuses for Katniss to get up. One was to eat. If she didn't eat, Greasy Sae would break into her room (what was the obsession with breaking into her house anyway?) and drag her downstairs by her ear. Between Greasy Sae and Haymitch, it seemed that not everyone thought the same way as Katniss. Where she thought her life was worthless, they believed she still had reason to live. Katniss wished she knew this reason. Maybe if she knew this reason she'd think she could try to live again. But she didn't.

Greasy Sae was in the kitchen, as she was every day, making stew. The old woman claimed that Katniss had to put meat back on her bones, as the days before Greasy Sae had returned from District 13, Katniss had tried to starve herself out. Well, she hadn't tried to starve herself intentionally. She just didn't think to eat. Those were the days she lay in bed without any reason to rise. The days where she didn't see a reason for anything. At least now she had some reasons. Two of them. Two was better than none.

"How are you doing today, girl?" Greasy sae asked as she saw Katniss approach from the living room.

"Alright." Katniss winced as she sat on the stool across from where Greasy Sae was cooking. The elderly woman glanced at her and tsked, knowing that Doctor Aurelius had sent Katniss painkillers imported from what used to be the Capitol. Painkillers she wasn't taking.

After the rebellion ended, the rebels overtook the Capitol. The Citizens weren't punished. Katniss could easily see President Coin ordering the execution of all Capitol Citizens just because they were . . . well, Capitolites. But it wasn't their fault that they were born in the Capitol which Plutarch-who was voted by the people for the people in Panem's first ever democratic vote-saw. In a way, Katniss was glad that she killed Coin. The more she pondered the Hunger Games for the Capitol children, the more she realized how barbaric it was. It would have made her no better than Snow himself . . .

The rebels took over the Capitol and now used their technology for good. The Districts were being helped (District 12 receiving a lot of short-term aid to help them rebuild) and were being sent money and supplies to help better themselves. Most Districts already had pharmacies with Capitol Medicine in them but since District 12 was still only made up of shelters and wobbly structures, they hadn't had the chance to be given anything like that yet. Many people went to the empty Victor's houses for shelter and others were staying in other Districts and coming to 12 every morning to help rebuild. Even that thought alone was particularly jarring. Moving so easily between Districts like it was no big deal. Katniss couldn't comprehend it.

"You aren't going to get any better if you don't take the medication that Aurelius sends to you."

Katniss grunted in response. She wanted to tell Greasy Sae that she didn't feel like she deserved painkillers and that she deserved every ache and pain she felt. However, she caught on that Sae reported everything she said or even did to Haymitch and Haymitch wasn't one for letting things like that go. Ever since he'd been forced to go sober in 13, the old drunk hadn't touched the stuff since. Katniss didn't know if this was a 'new lease of life' type of deal or if the fact that Ripper had moved to District 9 had something to do with it.

Greasy Sae passed Katniss a bowl of stew, which she picked at pedantically. She knew she'd have to eat it all because Sae would pester her until she did, but she liked to take her time just to prove that she wasn't happy about being force fed. Sometimes Katniss wondered if Sae went two doors down when she left her to her own devices. If she went into that house and did the exact same thing for him . . .

Katniss hadn't seen Peeta since he planted the primroses in her garden. She didn't bother asking about him because she knew exactly what his deal was: he was moping just like she was. It was obvious. They both didn't see a reason for living, but Haymitch and Sae weren't allowing it. So where Katniss had her two reasons, Peeta probably did too. One of which included baking. Katniss knew this was because she received a loaf of bread, every day, at eight in the morning on the dot. It was always in a Moses basket and covered in a blanket so rodents and insects didn't get at it before it was found. He didn't knock on the door to announce the bread's arrival. He just left it there, on her doorstep, at the same time every morning. Sae always brought it inside when she came at nine.

Katniss' second reason for getting up every day was pretty basic: to water the primroses. Not only did such an activity take her outside so that Haymitch would see that she got up as he sat on his porch chucking stale breadcrumbs at the geese but it also gave her something to look after. After eating her stew, she put her bowl into the sink and nodded her thanks to Sae before going outside.

The sun beat down on her face like a gigantic giant shining a torch in her face. Katniss hated such brutal heat as it reminded her of her wrinkled skin and ugly grafts and what caused them. She shuddered and climbed down her porch steps, in her sweat pants and tank top, to collect the watering can from under Haymitch's blueberry bush. The pavement had cracks in it, probably from the ground shaking as the Capitol bombed 12 nearby, and Katniss avoided stepping on them. She'd developed quirks like that, habits she couldn't shake even if she wanted to.

Haymitch sat where he always did; his rocking chair situated on the porch. He gave Katniss a singular wave before closing his eyes and tipping his head back to take in the sun that his porch currently blocked. Katniss picked the watering can out from under the bushes and returned to her garden.

The yellow-white flowers were in bloom, standing out like proud smiles in Katniss' garden. She appreciated the gesture and knew that Peeta hadn't had bad intentions when he planted them there, but she still didn't know how she felt about them. Did she really want a constant reminder of her sister's death slap bang in front of her house? Could she really handle that? She'd been dealing with it fine-ish for the past few months but what about when it was Prim's anniversary? Would she be able to take it then? What was stopping her breaking down and tearing every flower out of the soil one by one and ripping them apart?

Nothing, really.

"Plotting revenge, sweetheart?" Haymitch's voice floated across the still spring air.

Katniss shook her head and went to the garden tap, filling the can until the weight was too heavy to bear. She returned to the primroses and started watering them, making sure not to drown them. She could feel Haymitch's eyes on her. He watched her a lot out of curiosity. It wasn't like he thought she would try to stab herself with gardening scissors or anything, he just didn't have a lot to do. He wasn't much help with the rebuilding of the District as his hands were shaky from going cold turkey and he spent most of his time sitting on his porch, even when it was raining.

"Just as well. Revenge doesn't solve anything."

Katniss knew this all too well. Killing Coin got her nothing but wasted seconds that she could have used to swallow her Nightlock pill. Seconds that would have bought her time so that Peeta wouldn't have reached her and stopped her. Her revenge attempt got her nothing but a laugh from her enemy and a failed worldly escape.

Katniss always filled the can up too much. She made her way back over to Haymitch's, sun on her back and eyes squinted against the bright light, and chucked some water over his blueberry bush. Most of the blueberries were gone; nicked by the geese. It would probably be next spring before the berries grew back again.

"It's good to see you, sweetheart."

Glancing at her old mentor, Katniss smiled. It was small, minute even, but she knew he saw it. The fact that Haymitch cared for her like she was his own daughter meant a lot to her. She didn't want to shut him out, not completely. It wasn't fair to treat him like that, not after what they had gone through together. Common sense dictated that the same should be said for Peeta. Except Katniss couldn't buck up the courage to stand outside his house, let alone go to his door and talk to him.

Haymitch smiled back and tipped his hat to her. Katniss returned to her house and was relieved by the dull dark it provided. Sae didn't force her to open her curtains because she knew that facing the sun was difficult to Katniss on most days and she could only handle it in small doses. She went to the kitchen and washed her dishes (Katniss didn't include this as a reason to get up because she hated cleaning her dishes but she also hated how disgusting it made her kitchen when it wasn't clean) before returning to bed.

Katniss climbed back into her duvet cocoon and curled into herself. Her two reasons to rise made her tired every time, without fail, because her body had grown so accustomed to doing nothing that even walking down the stairs exhausted her. Her eyelids were heavy, blurred by the cruel shine of the sun, and she allowed herself to fall asleep. Thankfully, nightmares only came to her at night, and when she napped her mind was simply left empty.

She was roused by Sae half an hour before dinner, as their routine dictated. Katniss' eyes slid into focus to see the aged face of Greasy Sae smiling at her. "Time to rise again, my dear," she said. Katniss glanced at her clock. It read seven o'clock. Weird. Sae usually woke her up at half seven because dinner was at eight. Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked back at Sae, who knew immediately that Katniss had noticed the change in routine. "I thought you'd like to get up a bit earlier tonight," she explained.

"Why?" asked Katniss.

Sae looked like she was hiding something. Her grin was too mischievous to be common. She then said, "I've invited Haymitch and Peeta over for dinner tonight."

Katniss' heart fell into her stomach and jumped back up into her throat in one fell swoop. "You what?" she said.

"I thought it would be nice for us all to sit down together," explained Sae. "It has been six months, after all."

"Sae, I don't know if"-

"Too late, dear. It's already done. They're coming at eight."

Katniss felt sick. Not because Haymitch was coming. If it was just him she'd be okay with it but she hadn't seen Peeta in months. She didn't know what she'd say to him. What would he think if he saw her? She only showered once a week, twice in a good week, and barely changed clothes. Maybe he was the same. But what if he wasn't?

Sae must have read Katniss' mind as she said, "I've left fresh clothes in the bathroom if you want to have a quick wash?"

Katniss clamoured out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She didn't know why this had panicked her so much but she didn't want Peeta to see her like this. Not after it seemed like she had been doing okay last they spoke. After that day she sort of spiralled downward. She always assumed that Peeta went downhill too but it only occurred to her as Sae said he was coming for dinner that maybe he hadn't. Peeta had been sentient enough to go out, purchase primroses and plant them in Katniss' garden. At that point, Katniss could barely walk in a straight line. It was clear that they both had different recovery paces and Katniss was behind Peeta by miles.

She stripped out of her sweaty clothes and climbed into the shower. Katniss despised the showers in the Victor's Village houses because they were cubicles made of glass, meaning she could see her entire body reflection in the door. Most of her body was now made up of skin grafts and scars. There wasn't a part of her body that hadn't needed to be operated on besides her head and neck. She'd gotten lucky in that regard. Some people left that explosion with only half their face left and limbs missing. Katniss had never cared about her appearance in the past anyway but she loathed it now. She was a patchwork person.

The only thing Katniss used from the medication Aurelius sent her was the soap. The lemon scented Capitol imported soap that always sat in the house before the rebellion now stung her burnt skin and caused it to break out. Katniss couldn't stand the itch it caused and preferred the soothing coolness the soap Aurelius gave her provided on her tortured body.

Katniss patted herself dry and pulled on the tank top and jeans Sae gave her. She padded downstairs in her bare feet and grabbed a pair of rolled up socks off the radiator. She sat on the couch and pulled them on before crossing her legs and tying her wet hair up into its braid. Sae was busy in the kitchen, humming to herself as she made dinner; usually consisting of turkey and potatoes and whatever remained of the bread Peeta left that morning.

"You might want to put a bra on, Katniss," Sae said.

Katniss stared at her friend from her position on the sofa. She hadn't worn a bra since she returned to 12 and never really thought about putting one on when she was getting dressed. Looking down at herself, she saw that Sae was probably right. Her nipples pressed against the material of her tank top, creating an inappropriate image for guests.

"Do we even have bras anymore?" asked Katniss.

"Try the laundry basket."

Katniss found a bra and yanked it on just in time for the doorbell to ring. She slipped into the stool by the islet in the kitchen and stared at the granite intensely while Sae answered the door. Her hand clenched into a tight fist as she heard the voices greeting each other; so hard that pinpricks of blood spilled out as tiny pieces of skin separated. She breathed in deeply and told herself to calm down. These were the people she used to trust with her life. The people she still would trust with her life.

When she glanced around as footsteps approached, the first thing she saw was Haymitch. He flipped his cap out of the way of his eyes and winked at her before disappearing down the hall to where the bathroom was. Sae was behind him, resuming her work in the kitchen. And finally, she last in line, was him.

Katniss couldn't believe how well Peeta looked. He looked the way he did before they left for the Quarter Quell. Clean; well fed; dressed sensibly; and sane. It immediately made Katniss self-conscious. What would he think if he saw the way she had looked an hour previous? Would he have been surprised or horrified? If he was still the Peeta Katniss knew and at one point loved she hoped it was the former. The Peeta she knew didn't judge people on trivial things like that.

"Hello Katniss, how are you?" he asked.

"Okay," Katniss answered. She was unable to look him in the eye and spoke to his feet. He stood with his toes turned inward a little, something she had never noticed before now. Then again, she'd never spoken to his feet before.

Sae was able to fill in Katniss' social gaps and asked Peeta how he was doing. He replied with, "Alright. I can't really complain right now."

"How's your hijacking? Is the medication Aurelius sends working?" Sae asked.

"It works relatively well," Peeta smiled. Katniss was bowled over by the fact that he could smile and that he did it so wide and bright. She almost wanted to reach out and poke the dimples in his cheeks, just to make sure it was genuine. "Sometimes it doesn't. There still isn't much to be done about the random attacks but Aurelius promises that he's working on it."

Random attacks? What random attacks?

Sae smiled sympathetically and gestured for Peeta to sit down. He took a seat beside Katniss and she took a sharp intake of breath at the closeness of it. She'd never had someone in her proximity since she became a recluse and her hairs pricked up at the intimacy of it. She could practically smell Peeta's baking off his clothes and skin. A random thought popped into her head of if she pressed her nose against his skin would it smell like browning crust but she slapped it back out before she dwelled on it too long.

Haymitch returned shortly after and the three of them engaged in conversation. Katniss stayed clear of talking and simply picked at her food once it was placed in front of her. While Sae and Haymitch were talking about planting some strawberries bushes, Peeta nudged Katniss' arm and when she looked at him he gestured to the granite and wrote, "You didn't know I was coming tonight, real or not real?" with his finger.

Katniss smiled to herself and wrote, "Real," with her own finger.

Peeta shook his head but was still smiling. "Sae?"

"Yeah."

"I should have known."

It seemed that Sae had been just as pushy with Peeta as she had been with Katniss. It fit Sae well. At least she wasn't playing favourites. Katniss wondered if Sae and Peeta knew each other at all from before the rebellion, or maybe got to know each other in 13? Surely Sae didn't simply barge into Peeta's house like she did with Katniss without them having been acquainted first? Then again . . .

"You look good," Peeta wrote. Katniss smiled, despite herself. Somehow her blood heated up at the compliment, like it had done before the world turned to crap and their lives were bearable. "How are you coping?"

"Fine. The nights are the worst."

"Nightmares?"

"What else?"

Peeta sighed and said in a quiet murmur, "I would keep writing on the granite but I feel like Sae is going to butt in any minute and tell us to stop being so anti-social."

Katniss glanced at Sae, who was glancing at them every-so-often as if checking up on them. "I think you're right," she replied, her own voice nearly a whisper. They shared a smile, the gesture feeling so familiar that it reminded Katniss of children hiding secrets from their parents.

"So, are the nightmares bad?" Peeta asked this carefully, like part of him expected Katniss to fly off the handle just from hearing the word being spoken.

"I can't say they're good," Katniss admitted. Even before the rebellion, the only person she felt comfortable discussing her nightmares with was Peeta because he understood what she was going through and knew how it felt. "Do . . . do you still . . . ?"

"Have nightmares?" Peeta finished. Katniss nodded. "All the time. It's not too bad though. It's the attacks I'd be more worried about."

"What attacks?" Katniss was surprised by how conversational she was being. Usually she only spoke a few words to Greasy Sae, even on a good day, yet Peeta had somehow gotten full sentences and an actual sentient conversation out of her without even trying. "Is it the hijacking?"

Peeta nodded. He'd clearly finished his dinner and was simply stirring the gravy with the tip of his fork. Katniss watched the movements of the utensil like she was under a hypnotist's spell. "I'm technically still hijacked," Peeta explained. "I probably will be for the rest of my life."

"Don't feel too bad about it, boy," said Haymitch, nudging Peeta with his elbow. "You could apply with a disabled badge."

"I don't think they give those to people with mental inhibitions," Sae tutted. Plutarch was bringing back many old world laws, including this thing called a disabled badge. The elderly or disabled are given it to display in vehicles so they could park closer to buildings.

"It's a nice thought but I don't even have a car," Peeta pointed out. District 6 was setting up a transport business and would soon be setting up chains selling cars; airplanes; trains; the works; all over the country. They were getting funding from the Capitol, just as many other Districts were so they could set up chains all over Panem. So everyone was benefitted, not just the Capitol. It would be better than any world Snow could have created.

"Okay, when you get a car, apply for the badge," Haymitch corrected. He moped his gravy up with his bread and winked as he took a bite.

"Still wouldn't work," Sae sang.

"Legally, I shouldn't be on my own. I was talking to Aurelius and both Katniss and I would qualify as unstable enough to be put on 'suicide watch'. Kind of ironic," Peeta shrugged. "I guess the new justice system can't trust me to walk into town on my own to help rebuild without going completely psychotic."

"They wouldn't let me help either," Sae helpfully put forward. "Too old, apparently."

Katniss didn't know a lot about the old world rules Plutarch was putting into place. She didn't know how they would affect her or how she would be involved with them. It seemed Peeta knew, so did Sae and Haymitch. How did you find that sort of thing out anyway? Was there a public announcement she missed because she was too busy moping in bed?

"Suicide watch is stupid," she muttered. It sounded childish, but she felt that it summed up the system pretty well.

"Your watch saved your life," Haymitch reminded her. "Which is the purpose of it, so I think it's pretty successful.

"Have you been in town recently, Katniss?" Peeta asked. Sae started to get up to collect the dishes but Peeta got up faster, waving his hand for her to sit down and putting a finger to his lips when she tried to complain.

"No," Katniss honestly answered. She saw no reason to lie to Peeta. He'd be able to spot it a mile off. "I haven't been in the town at all since I came back. I visited the grave a couple of times but other than that . . . I've just stayed here."

"You should see the progress they've made," Peeta suggested as he collected her plate. "It might lift your spirits a little."

"Why? What have they done?" asked Katniss.

"The ground has been repaved; they're in the process of taking down the District fences; roads between the Districts are being created-winding around the forest so it doesn't disturb the wildlife-and a lot of the buildings are already in the process of being built up again," Peeta explained.

Katniss stared at the sink as Peeta put the dishes into them. It was good that the District was making progress. However, she didn't feel ready to go and see for herself. "What about the bakery?" she found herself asking. There was a pause. Katniss' heart back flipped. Should she have brought that up? Was it too soon for Peeta to talk about it?

"Thom told me that if I'm ever deemed healthy enough I can be given the land in which my parents' bakery used to stand," Peeta finally explained. "He said they can't touch it, since it's legally mine."

"Did your parents' leave it to you?" Sae asked sympathetically.

"No," Peeta said carefully, as if choosing his words delicately. "They left it to Wyvern . . . then Rye. Then me."

Wyvern and Rye were Peeta's brothers. Katniss had never been able to recollect their names until that very moment. Since both of them were dead, it meant that the bakery was Peeta's by default. Katniss wondered if Mrs. Mellark even included Peeta in her and her husband's will. From what Katniss had briefly saw of her, she seemed like a hateful woman, especially towards her youngest son. Now all of them were dead but him.

Katniss felt dizzy. She pressed her hand against her forehead and leaned against the counter. Dead. All of them. Hundreds upon thousands of them. All dead because of her actions. They died running for their lives. Her arms fell and she threw her head into them. No. No. No. The memories were coming back. The horrifying images from her nightmares. Her friend Madge screaming in agony with blood like strawberry juice coming from her lips; the bakery collapsing upon Peeta's family; fire; lots of fire . . . Prim exploding right before her eyes.

"Katniss?"

Katniss' jolted at the feeling of a hand on her back. She looked up, stricken, to see Peeta perched on the edge of his seat with his hand on her shoulder blade. "Katniss, are you okay?"

"I . . . I . . . want to go to bed," Katniss whispered. She slipped out of her seat and started walking to the stairs.

There was a knock on the door and Katniss paused. Sae glanced at her, confused. "Who could that be?" she said. Anyone who would even think about visiting Katniss was in her house right now.

Katniss' feet took her to the door. She wasn't entirely sure why as she had never answered her door. Sae had always done it. She just had a random urge to do this herself. She reached the door and twisted the handle, throwing the door open to reveal . . . nothing.

The sky outside was ink black, dotted with little yellow stars. Katniss frowned. Was someone ding dong ditching? The Seam kids used to do that to the Merchants. Katniss remembered sitting on the wall by the Shoe Maker's after dealing with Delly Cartwright's father to exchange shoes for Prim with a bag of buttons she'd gotten from the Hob, watching the Seam kids ding dong ditch the bakery. Thankfully, Peeta had answered the door. If it had been his mother, who knew what sort of hell would break loose. Peeta had simply shrugged it off and met Katniss' eyes across the square. Katniss had broken the contact immediately and walked away, still having felt that crippling sense of debt to him.

Just as she was about to close the door, Katniss just happened to look down.

And there it was.

A Moses basket. The sort Peeta delivered her bread in. It had a blanket and a note on top of it. Katniss bent over and picked the note up.

"Her name is Willow. Take her. I don't want her."

What?

Katniss looked back at the basket. She jumped when something moved inside of it. She banged into something behind her and screamed in surprise. Two hands grabbed her elbows before she could lash out and she exhaled in relief when she recognized Peeta's touch. "What is it?" he asked.

"I don't . . ." Katniss picked the blanket up between her forefinger and thumb and threw it away like it was radioactive. Her stomach dropped at what was revealed and she was glad that Peeta was still holding her or she'd have passed out. Two blue eyes stared up at them and a tiny smile broke out on the tiny creature's face.

Peeta's eyes widened. "Is that . . ?"

Katniss mutely nodded.

It was a baby.

A/N: So, if all things go well and you guys like this story I'll start working on it now and continue posting at the end of May, start of June time, okay? Let me know! I don't know anything without feedback! Thank you! :)