As always, I do not own The Hunger Games, that great honor belongs to Suzanne Collins.

A few weeks later I found myself sitting in another paper gown at Dr. Greer's office. I was too nervous at home to take a pregnancy test so I just came in. Dr. Greer understood enough to squeeze me in on her lunch break but made no small reminder of the fact that she had to eat too and appointments were preferred.

"Hello Katniss," Dr. Greer smiled as she entered the exam room.

"Hi."

"So we're here to determine if you're pregnant?" She asked.

"Yeah, I already handed in my urine specimen and the tech girl drew blood," I informed her.

She chuckled lightly as she looked through my chart again.

"Well, I'm afraid to say it Katniss, but you're not pregnant."

"Really?" I asked feeling tears trail down my face.

"According to these two tests yes."

"Oh my god," I sobbed through my tears.

"Have your periods been regular since the last time you came to see me?"

I shook my head. They had been at best semi-regular, every few months or so. But that wasn't the point.

"Okay, well due to that it may be a little bit more difficult to conceive until they are regular. I suggest that you keep track of when your period comes to help see if it is becoming more regular. I'm more than happy to have a meeting with Peeta and yourself to discuss this as well as any other options," Dr. Greer offered.

"I think we'll just keep on doing what we're doing for awhile. Do you have any suggestions for me that I can try to do?"

Dr. Greer smiled at me lightly before she let out a breath.

"Best thing you can do is to not stress about it. The more you worry, the more you think about it, and the more disappointment you're going to have. I'm not saying you won't ever get pregnant. You've already shown that you and Peeta are compatible in that sense. Your uterus is textbook, and both ovaries looked great when we did your ultrasound. Best thing I can suggest is just slowing down the sex to every other day so Peeta's sperm has time to rejuvenate and to not stress about it."

"I can try that," I said softly rubbing my wedding ring.

"It's all I ask," Dr. Greer replied. "Now let's get you dressed and home."

Later that day I had to break the news to Peeta. He was one hundred percent sure that I was pregnant; he kept telling me every day that he just knew it. I knew I was just going to break his heart again.

"Hey," Peeta smiled as he walked through the door.

"Hey," I replied as I filled a mug with warm water.

"So did Dr. Greer have good news?"

I shook my head and watched as one stray tear wound up in my tea.

"Oh well I guess that just means we have to try harder," Peeta smiled wrapping his arms around me.

I let out a watery laugh. "She actually suggested we slow down so your sperm can have a better chance."

"Well, I guess that's fair. I was overworking them wasn't I?"

"You never heard me complaining," I replied.

"Oh that's for sure. If anything you were singing their praises," Peeta smiled as he kissed my cheek and moved to the pantry.

"So does that mean you're okay with this?" I asked.

"Katniss, if you think I'm angry about the turn of events you're wrong. Disappointed? Absolutely but it isn't just your fault. Between us there just wasn't a meeting and you know, that's okay."

"Okay," I whispered.

"Do you want venison on cheese buns for dinner?" he asked from the pantry.

"Sounds good to me. I'm just going to go to the bedroom."

I walked silently to our bedroom. I made a point not to slosh my tea onto the carpet before I sat it on my nightstand. I reached into the drawer on the side and brought out the calendar that I had bought that afternoon. I listed when my last regular period was as well as every day I had spotted. None of it was making sense to me why I couldn't pin point down a day we could put forth an effort for this child we both desperately wanted.

I was woken up a few hours later by Peeta crawling into bed behind me. I tried not to jump as his arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me to him. He sighed and kissed the place behind my ear that was solely for him.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep," I whispered.

"It's okay, I got some sketching done."

"Anything you're ready to share?" I asked

"No not yet. It's just the background; I still have to find the subject. I have it in my mind but I want to physically see it."

"Oh," I replied snuggling further into him.

"It's okay, you'll see it eventually," he smiled.

The next morning I awoke in Peeta's arms, I sat up quickly and looked over Peeta to see his prosthetic leg leaning against the window. Many nights I forgot he even wore one because it wasn't getting in the way while my legs were tangled with his one.

"Good morning," I whispered rolling on top of my husband.

"Katniss Everdeen," Peeta's deep sleepy voice replied.

I knew when he started calling me by my maiden name that I was in store for flashbacks. I quickly got out of bed and ran to the bathroom to get his medications. By the time I got back he was standing looking out the window with the stony blank expression I associated with him when he was like this.

"Peeta Mellark, you are in District 12, you have been freed from the Capital for ten years," I assured him in a firm voice.

"Katniss Everdeen," he growled.

"Peeta Mellark, I need you to take this medication," I replied holding out the white pill.

"Why should I take medication from you? You have attempted to kill me," Peeta practically yelled.

"That is not true Peeta," I stated.

I watched his face start to shift and he was beginning to come back to me. I had seen this type of show before, but it has been years since I saw one that lasted more than 1 minute. Peeta rubbed his face then slowly took the pill from my hand and followed it with the small cup of water I handed him.

"Katniss, I'm sorry," Peeta mumbled as he found his way back to bed.

"It's okay, I'll go open the bakery and call in Posy to help," I said as I covered him once again.

"You love me, real or not real?" he asked smiling slightly.

"So very real," I replied kissing him soundly.

"You can't wait to have my baby, real or not real?"

I laughed and then patted his shoulder as I left. As I trailed away from the bedroom I yelled "Very fucking real."

AN: Well now that my summer class is over I hopefully will be able to spend more time on this. This chapter took me forever because I was really struggling with it. There was a lot of should I or shouldn't I. Oh well.

My recommendations for this chapter:

Strung Up in the Air by DeathCabforBritney Holy balls, this is such a touching story. Peeta has cancer, Katniss is just jacked in the head as usual. On the upside it's incredibly medically correct which keeps me from OCDing out. I have severe issues with medical stories that lack reality due to the four years of nursing school and years of working in the ER that I have. So this has my official seal of approval.

The Grandmentor by silvercistern is just so adorable. Like it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Lastly my favorite Semper Fidelis by Falafel_Waffel I just can't get enough of this chick and her stories. I'm so thankful for a realistic military story set in present day. No flowers and roses with Katniss writing to Peeta as he's away at war, THANK GOD!

Please do send me some reviews and a little bit of love. I noticed reviews um disappeared last chapter, totally unfair.