What did I do to deserve You?

Characters: Katniss Everdeen Melark

Peeta Melark

Haymitch

When Katniss wakes up with a fever, what will Peeta do to help her get better? Post Mocking jay. They are married but do not have kids.

Peeta Melark woke up one morning, thinking how lucky he was as he gazed at his beautiful wife. He leaned over to plant a kiss on her forehead before he got up to go to work, when he realized her head was almost on fire. He placed his hand on her head and knew instantly she had a fever. He went into the bathroom and found the thermometer and a wet washcloth. He back into their room and woke her up gently. She moaned and rolled over saying "Go." "Come on, babe," he cooed, "you have a fever. I need to see how high it is so I can help you feel better." "Peeta," she said, "I don't feel good. I wanna sleep." "I know, but we need to take your temperature and get you some medicine. You probably caught that flu that has been going around the district." She woke up a bit more and allowed him to slip the thermometer under her tongue. After a minute, it beeped. "102.7," he said, "definitely the flu. Is anything bothering you?" "My head feels like someone is trying to saw a hole through it, I am super cold and sweaty, and my whole body is just sore and achy." "Aw, my poor girl," Peeta said sympathetically, "can I get you anything?" "No you have work today though and you are going to be late if you don't hurry," she said tiredly. She really just wanted to go back to sleep. "No," he said, "I am not going today. I am going to stay here and take care of my beautiful wife." She sighed, too tired to argue with him. She fell asleep and awoke two hours later.

She didn't feel any better. Her head was throbbing and she felt gross. She was covered in sweat and her throat had started to hurt. Peeta walked in a few minutes later with some juice and chicken broth. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "I'm fine," she said, "My throat is a bit scratchy, but other than that, I'm just really sweaty." "Are you sure?" he asked skeptically, "You look really tired." "Yeah I guess I am," she said, "But, really, I'm fine." "Alright," he said, "here, eat some soup. It will help you feel better." "Thanks," she said, "Do we have any medicine?" she asked. "Um, I don't think so, but I have to run to the store so I can get some." "Ok," she said, taking a sip of her broth, a painful expression crossing her face as it went down her throat. "You sure you're alright?" he said. "Yes, Peeta," she said angrily, "I am fine!" "Ok," he said, a hurt expression crossing his face. "Oh, Peeta," she said, tears forming in her eyes, "I'm sorry." "Oh sweetheart," he said hugging her close to him, "It's ok. I know you aren't feeling like yourself." She sniffed and gave him a thankful grin. "Alright," he said, "I am going to run to the market and pick up a few things for you." She nodded and fell asleep.

He left to go to the market. "Hey how are you?" Haymitch asked. "Oh I am fine, but Katniss seems to have caught the nasty bug that's going around the district," he said. "Oh that's too bad. Tell her I hope she feels better," Haymitch said in a worried tone. Peeta nodded and went on his way. He thought about how worried Haymitch looked. He realized how much he cared about his wife. He had always known the older man liked her better, but the concern on his face remind him of a father's look for his little girl. A look neither one of them had seen in years. He picked up the necessary items from the store and headed home.

He walked in the door and just as he set the groceries down he heard a high pitched scream filled with horror and fear. He knew the cry all to well. Her nightmares were rare now, only happening about once a month, but when she was sick they were more frequent. He ran up to her room and quickly woke her up as he grabbed her into a hug. She was sobbing and shaking. He felt so bad for her. When had been through so much is her short life. When she calmed down, he asked her about the dream. "It was the one with Prim and Rue again," she said trying to hold back her sobs. He knew this dream all to well. Katniss would dream she was with Prim and Rue in a field. They were picking flowers and having a picnic, when suddenly the sky would go dark and bombs fell and she had to watch her sister and friend be shot by a ten foot tall person with the face of President Snow, but the eyes of Cato. This dream was one of the worst dreams she had.

"It's ok," he said as her sobs died down, "I gotcha." The two of them stayed there, her wrapped in his arms, for a few minutes. Then he began to notice how warm she was. It felt like he was holding a furnace. "Katniss," he said, "I need to take your temperature. I think your fever has gone up." She nodded tiredly. He put the thermometer in her mouth and waited a minute. He took it out and read it allowed, "103.2! Oh sweetheart, that's a very high fever. Maybe I should take you to the doctor." "Oh Peeta, stop worrying about me," she said teasingly, "I am fine. I have been sick before and I can guarantee I will be sick again. You don't need to worry about me." He smiled at her lovingly. "I know I don't, but I love you and I get worried when you're sick. Do you want to take another nap?" he asked. She nodded and drifted off to sleep. He went downstairs and started making his famous chicken soup.

About two hours later, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Katniss walked into the kitchen. She sat down in a chair at the kitchen table and put her head down. He walked up behind her and softly stroked her hair. "Hey sweetheart," he said soothingly, "Are you feeling any better?" "Um," she said tiredly, "No, but I don't feel any worse either." "Ok," he said, "Would you like some soup?" "No," she said, "I'm sorry, I know you worked hard on it, but my throat is hurting really bad. Can I maybe have a popsicle?" "Sure sweetheart," he said, getting it out of the freezer. It was orange, her favorite flavor. She took it and ate it greedily, allowing the ice cold treat to sooth her burning throat. "Is that good?" he asked chuckling. She nodded her head playfully. As she ate her popsicle, he cleaned up the kitchen.

When he finished, he went back to see if she needed anything. He found her with her head down on the table. "Kat," he said gently, "You alright?" "Yeah," she said sitting up, "I'm just tired." "Ok," he said, "Do you want me to take you back upstairs or do you want to stay down here and lay on the couch?" "Can we go outside for a little bit? Maybe fresh air will make me feel better," she said. "Of course we can," he said, "Let me go upstairs and grab a jacket for you and some shoes, and then we can go outside." He ran upstairs and got her one of his old sweatshirts that she liked to wear. Then he grabbed her moccasins and went back downstairs. He found her lying on the couch. "Are you sure you want to go outside?" he asked. "Yeah," she said, "I was just resting." He smiled and helped her put the sweatshirt and shoes. Then he picked her up and carried her outside. She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. They stayed outside until she started to shiver. "Do you want to go inside?" he asked gently. She nodded her head, still shaking. He carried her inside and took her to the couch.

Just as they reached the couch, the doorbell rang. He helped her sit down before going to answer it. He opened the door to see none other than Haymitch standing there with a bottle of something. "Hey," Peeta said, opening the door for the older man, "What do you have in that bottle?" "Just something that should help with Katniss's bug," he said, "My mom used to make it for us when we were sick as kids." Peeta took the bottle into the kitchen and poured a glass for Katniss. Meanwhile, Haymitch went into the living room to see Katniss.

"Hello Haymitch," she said weakly, "I would hug you, but I don't want you to catch this nasty bug." "Oh, don't worry about me," he said giving her a gentle hug, "I have the best immune system in the district." She smiled and returned the hug. "Here," Peeta said, walking in with a cup of the mixture. "What is that?" Katniss asked, almost afraid to know the answer. "It's a special mix to help you feel better," Haymitch said. "Oh," Katniss said taking the cup. She drank a big gulp. It burned her throat and tasted awful. "Ok," she said, "No more." "Ok," Haymitch said, "You should start to feel better in about 12 hours. I have to go now. Feel better," he said, giving her a quick hug. Peeta let Haymitch out before going back to Katniss. He found her asleep on the couch.

He sighed. He decided to go make some dinner for himself because it was getting late and he was hungry. He made a quick pizza. Just as he put it into the oven, she woke up and came into the kitchen. She sank into a kitchen chair and covered her face with her hands. He went over to her and moved her hands, replacing them with his. "Oh babe," he said, "is there anything I can do to help you feel better?" "No," she said quietly, "I just feel awful. I am so cold, but I know I have a fever and… and… I just feel really sick," she said sobbing. He had never seen her like this. He was scared and felt so bad for her. He took the pizza out of the oven, picked her up and carried her up the stairs. He laid her on the bed and held her until she stopped crying. She fell asleep and he went down stairs and quickly ate some of the pizza.

When he finished, he grabbed a wet cloth and a popsicle and went upstairs to tend to his sick wife. He took her temperature and found it was 102.7. He sighed happily, realizing her fever was slowly going down. She woke up as he pulled the thermometer out of her mouth. "Hey," he said, "Would you like a popsicle?" She nodded her head. He handed her the popsicle and she ate it happily. When she finished, she fell back to sleep. About an hour later, he did the same.

They both woke up around 8 am. "I'm feeling a lot better," she said happily, "I guess Haymitch's nasty mix really works." "That's great," he said, "Let me take your temperature though." He slipped the thermometer under her tongue and waited. He pulled it out a minute later. It read 101.2. "Well," he said, "That's better than yesterday, but you still have a fever. You need to rest some more today so you can be better tomorrow." "Alright," she said.

The two of them spent the day lounging around, talking, napping, and eating soup. "Right before they went to bed, he told her he loved her, just like he did every night. "What did I do to deserve you?" she asked. "I was just asking myself the same thing," he said.