I posted this on Tumblr a while ago and thought it was time to bring it over here.
Katniss POV. Set during the third book, but in a slightly alternate universe where Gale is not in love with Katniss.
SurpriseThere's a palpable air of excitement in the dining hall when I enter at lunchtime. The buzz of conversation is louder, and more cheerful somehow.
As I line up for my ration of turnip and whatever else is on the menu today, I notice that the room seems more cramped than usual and it takes me a minute to figure out why. A new table has been added, close to the wall. It's long and surrounded by chairs but nobody is sitting at it. Whatever is going on, the table seems to be at the center of it.
Once I have my food, I make my way through the crowd to my usual table where most of my friends are already sitting. While most of us eat our evening meal with our families, those who still have families anyway, we tend to eat with friends at lunchtime. It reminds me of school in a way. The big difference is that there's no town/seam divide, we're just the teenagers from District 12 with some additions such as Finnick, Annie and a couple of other refugees.
The other difference is that here there could be up to twenty kids at the table, back in Twelve, I only ever sat with Madge Undersee. I shove away the thoughts of my dead friend. It's too painful to think of her now.
I notice Gale isn't at the table I look around but I don't see him anywhere else, not with his family and not in line for food. I haven't seen much of him since we arrived in Thirteen. He's been keeping pretty busy with training and in weaponry with Beetee. The only time I get to spend with him is if we go on missions together and even then, he's so focused on the task at hand that we barely get to talk. He hasn't been in the mood for talking lately.
But while Gale is absent, Peeta is present. He's looking healthier every day and the nurse who usually hovers close by is sitting at an entirely different table. Peeta even smiles when I sit, and my heart soars. Every day I see more and more of my Peeta shining through.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"New refugees from District Four arrived in the middle of the night," Peeta explains. "Apparently there's a lot of them, children too."
That explains the excitement. There are so few children in Thirteen, ever since a measles epidemic swept through the underground and killed so many of the children and rendered many adults infertile. Children are precious to the people of Thirteen.
"They're feeders, like me," Annie says. Her eyes have a far away look.
I frown, trying to figure out what she means, or if she's aware of what we're talking about at all.
It's Finnick who elaborates. "The refugees are from a feeder school in District Four. Annie grew up in a feeder school."
He's met with blank and confused looks from the rest of the table, including me.
"You didn't have them in Twelve?" He asks, surprised. "In Four, and in most of the other districts, there's usually a couple of Feeder schools. It's a place for unmarried mothers to go to have their children."
"They're not always unmarried," Annie chimes in, looking more present now. "Sometimes when a woman gets pregnant and her family can't afford another child they'll go live in the feeder school too, or even some girls will deliberately get pregnant because it's a place to live for a year."
"Why are they called Feeder schools?" Peeta asks.
"Oh, well in return for the housing the mother receives, the children are trained from a very early age," Finnick explains. "The ones with the most potential continue on training as careers and the rest usually end up in Two as peacekeepers."
That explains how gentle Annie ended up training as a career, I've always wondered.
Thom, who has been listening quietly conjectures that the population of Twelve was too small to have any surplus to send to Two. All the children from the community home were needed for the mines.
Thirteen has it's faults but at least here they value children. All the Capitol ever did was raise us up to be slaves for their benefit and their amusement. It makes my blood boil with anger.
My angry thoughts are interrupted when a breathless and rosy-cheeked Delly Cartwright rushes up to the table and grabs my arm so suddenly that I drop my fork onto my lap. I scowl and try to scoop up the spilled turnip.
"Guess who I just saw," Delly squeals.
I can't imagine who could have caused such delight. She's eaten with Finnick plenty of times already and there's nobody else that I can think of that would garner such a reaction.
"Madge Undersee!" Delly exclaims.
I shoot up, my spilled turnip completely forgotten. I grab Delly. "What? Where? When?"
It's impossible. Madge is dead. Her house was the first hit during the bombing. She had no chance to escape. Gale himself told me that. It's the only thing he told me about that night.
Delly is practically dancing as she tells me. "She's here, I just saw her. She's really alive."
There's a barrage of questions from the others at the table, but I need to sit down. There's been such a dearth of happy news in my life that I can barely take it in. It makes me feel dizzy.
Madge is alive.
Peeta steps in front of Delly and tries to calm her, and everybody else down. Delly is flushed from the excitement and attention and can barely speak. Peeta sits her down and gives her some water before asking her to explain.
"She was in Four. She arrived with the other refugees last night," Delly tells us. "She told me that her father sent her to Four before the Quarter Quell started because…" she breaks off and looks around before leaning into the table and speaking in a loud whisper. "Madge was pregnant."
There's gasps and denials from everybody at the table. Nobody from Twelve believes what Delly has just said. It's too far-fetched to believe that Madge, quiet and shy Madge, could have possibly been pregnant.
"No really, she was," Delly insists.
"She was?" Peeta asks. "But not any more?"
Delly nods. "She had the baby just a couple of days ago. It's a baby girl."
"They're OK?" I ask.
"Yes, they're… well Madge is a little frail and tired, but the baby is perfectly healthy and so beautiful."
"Did Madge say who the father is?" Thom asks. He has a strange look on his face.
Delly shakes her head. "I didn't ask. But, it's somebody from the Seam."
This time, people shout their denials at Delly. What she's saying is just impossible. Delly must be mistaken. Or lying. Or the baby isn't really Madge's at all, and her father faked it to get her out of the District.
"You can see for yourselves," Delly snaps. She pushes herself away from the table and marches away.
In the excitement of Delly's announcement, none of us realized that the empty table was beginning to fill up. It's mostly young girls, some of them are heavily pregnant, others are carrying small bundles or tending to young toddlers.
Sure enough, amongst them, I spot the blonde hair of Madge Undersee.
I inhale sharply and feel the prick of tears. She's really alive. Delly wasn't mistaken.
My eyes are glued to Madge as Delly leads her towards our table. As Delly said, Madge looks frail and tired. Her cheeks are hollow and there are bags under her eyes. Though her breasts and stomach look fuller, overall she looks thinner than I've ever seen her before. She's clutching a small bundle in a pink blanket as if it's her lifeline.
I've propelled myself out of my seat before I even realize and I pulled Madge into a tight hug. I need to touch her, to really believe that she's alive. She uses one arm to hug me back. She touches my cheek.
"Katniss, it's so good to see you again. Oh, Peeta, you too." She lets me go to hug Peeta who has come to stand behind me. "I saw you on the TV and I…" she trails off, but hugs Peeta tighter. "I was so worried about you."
Peeta guides her to a seat. "We're so happy to see you too," he tells her. "We thought that you had been killed."
Madge nods and hugs her baby tighter. "I know."
I take a seat beside her, unable to take my eyes away from her. This is such a miracle.
Madge nods a hello at everybody else at the table. Everybody is staring at her, and she blushes. She addresses me and Peeta but she's clearly aware that everybody else is listening. "When my dad found out I was pregnant, he arranged to send me to District Four. I was actually on the train that took you and Peeta to the games, they kept me in a carriage at the end. That's why I didn't come to say goodbye to you at the reaping," she says.
"They didn't let anybody say goodbye," I tell her. "Were you alone?"
Madge nods, then gives me a small smile. She looks down on her daughter. "Not really though."
I look at the baby asleep in her arms. Delly was right about this too. This child is a Seam child.
I can see that that everybody else has come to the same conclusion, and that they are dying to ask who the father is, but nobody dares to.
Delly places a tray of food down in front of Madge who smiles gratefully at her. I can tell by the way she eyes the food that Madge is hungry.
"Do you want me to hold her for you, while you eat?" I ask, indicating the baby.
"Thank you," Madge says. She places her daughter gently in my arms, making sure that I am holding her right before she starts to eat with gusto. I guess they don't actually feed the mothers all that well in the Feeder schools.
As Madge eats, I look down at her child. She's tiny and delicate and so beautiful. It's incredible, that in this cruel, hateful world we live in, there can be such innocence and beauty.
At once I am filled with a fierce love and protectiveness for this child who isn't even related to me. She will give me the courage and drive to fight, to defeat Snow. I will protect this tiny girl, I will make sure that she never has to grow up in a world where children starve, or are sent to the Hunger Games, or are forced to work in the fields and factories and mines to feed the bellies of the Capitol's citizens, or are beaten for trying to feed their families.
Madge gulps down her food, and when Peeta pushes his unfinished lunch in front of her, she barely protests before wolfing that down too. I pass her mine as well.
"We haven't had food in a few days," she says when she's finished my food. "We didn't know what we were going to do until the hovercraft from Thirteen showed up."
Delly nods. "It was the same for us, after the bombing. Gale was doing his best, but if the hovercraft hadn't shown up when it did, I don't know if we could have survived much longer."
Madge looks down at her lap for a moment to compose herself. "I…did…my parents…?"
Peeta places his gently hand on Madge's. "I'm sorry, Madge."
I touch her arm. "Gale said that your house was the first one hit."
"Maybe you should talk to him, he might be able to tell you more," Peeta suggests.
"Is he here?" Madge asks.
"He's just come in," Delly chirps, "I'll go get him."
"No, wait," Madge calls but Delly has gone running.
Madge shifts uncomfortably and tugs on the ends of her hair.
Delly returns, dragging an annoyed looking Gale behind her, carrying his tray of food.
His gaze lands on me and his eyebrows shoot up. "Don't tell me they changed their minds about the Mockingjay baby," he sighs.
"No, she's not mine," I say.
Gale's tray drops to the floor with a clatter. He pales and sways on his feet. "Madge?"
Madge rises to her feet quickly and hurries around to Gale. "I need to talk to you. Can we go someplace to talk? Please." She tugs on his arm, but Gale isn't moving. He's staring at her like he can't believe what he's seeing.
He raises his hand and touches her cheek very gently. Madge's eyes close at the gesture and when they open again I can see tears. "Please, can we go talk?" she says again, her tone urgent, pleading.
Gale's eyes flick away towards the baby in my arms, and then towards the table of feeder school refugees before going back to Madge.
"Is she yours?" he asks. His voice breaks.
Madge hesitates before nodding once.
Gale swallows. "Is she mine?"
Again Madge hesitates. And again she nods. "Yes."
I feel like somebody has knocked the air out of me.
Gale and Madge?
"Please, can we go talk?" Madge pleads. She tugs on his arm again, and this time succeeds in budging Gale. She gives me a quick glance. "Can you watch her a little longer please?"
I nod. I am completely unable to speak. There's utter silence at our table. I glance at the others, most people look as completely stunned as I feel, with the exception of Peeta and Thom.
Madge and Gale make it about halfway across the dining hall, before Gale stops abruptly and walks purposefully back to our table.
He lifts his daughter from my arms and cradles her gently to his chest. I can see the glimmer of tears in his eyes. He turns and makes his way back to Madge.
She's watching him approach, with tears streaming down her face. Gale slips his arm around her waist and pulls her close to him, and together they leave the dining hall, a family.