District 12 after the rebellion

"Come on, Willow. Say it. Say something. Anything." Peeta encouraged, playing with his child. Katniss laid on the ground beside them, watching their daughter grin and giggle.

"She's not going to do it." Katniss replied, smiling, her cheek resting in her hand.

"Oh, she will," Peeta waved away. He turned back to the blue eyed girl, smiling at her. "Yes, you will. You'll prove Momma wrong." He cooed, his voice in a higher octave.

Katniss groaned, laying on her back. As excited as Katniss was to have their child begin speaking, she was also nervous. At first, Willow would begin to babble goofy, meaningless words. But once she started connecting words and growing curious, questions would start to be asked.

Questions Katniss wasn't ready to answer.

"Say, 'Momma.'" Peeta demanded, rolling on his back, having Willow standing on his stomach.

But for now, Katniss decided to ignore her growing fear. She couldn't worry about the future. She moved closer to Peeta, smiling at their baby towering over them. "Say, 'Dadda.'"

Peeta laughed, tilting his head to rest against Katniss'. "Yeah. Say, 'Dadda.'"

Willow paused, seeming to be processing what she was told. Peeta and Katniss held their breaths, watching. The word seemed to be resting on the tip of her tongue, waiting to roll off her lips.

Instead, she laughed, her blue eyes brightening.

"You're a little stinker. You know that, right?" Katniss sighed, slightly disappointed. Peeta laughed, tossing Willow up and catching her.

"You sure like to play tricks." Peeta said, sitting up. Katniss followed suit, reaching out to the baby.

"You like to play tricks on Momma and Dadda, huh?" Katniss asked, her voice in a higher octave. Willow laughed, kicking her legs in excitement. "I take that as a yes."

xxx

"Yes, cheese!" Peeta cheered, holding out a slice of cheese to the toddler. Willow made a noise, a smile wide on her face. Peeta shrugged his shoulder, tossing the slice in front of her. "Close enough."

"I'm surprised she hasn't spoken yet. Delly said Aurora started speaking by this age already." Katniss said, watching Willow eagerly grab her snack and bring it to her teething mouth.

"I'm sure she's fine," Peeta replied. He bent over, pinching his child's chubby cheek. "Just a late bloomer is all."

"How are you so calm about this?" Katniss asked, arching her eyebrow. "Aren't you afraid that something's wrong with her? Maybe we're doing something wrong?"

Peeta slightly frowned, watching the blue eyed toddler. "I don't know. I guess I don't think about that."

"About something being wrong with her?" Katniss asked.

He shook his head, his blonde waves shifting. "No. Nothing could ever be wrong with her. She's our baby, our creation. She's our Willow." He spoke, holding his hand out to her. Smiling, she tightly gripped his pointer finger.

Katniss studied them. How could he be so trusting in their capabilities? They were two kids forced to grow up too fast in a cruel and disgusting society. How could they possibly know how to properly raise a child?

Peeta stood up, placing Willow on his hip. She yawned, leaning against his chest. "And I'm not worried about us doing something wrong," he began, his face close to Katniss's. "I mean, I know we might not look like the most qualified people to raise a child, but sometimes the most broken people know how to give love the best."

She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his.

That was all she needed to hear.

xxx

"So you can walk, but you can't talk?" Peeta asked, watching their child run in circles around the living room.

"Now we have to worry about you getting into things that could hurt you." Katniss added, picking up a sewing basket and moving it out of reach from the curious toddler.

"Our little Willow. Such a trouble maker." Peeta sighed, a smile on his face as he shook his head.

She giggled, running faster than her legs could keep up. She fell to the ground with a loud thud. Following the crash came a loud cry of pain. Peeta sat up, leaning towards the child, but a pair of arms beat him to it.

"Oh, are you okay?" Katniss asked, picking up the blue eyed toddler. She leaned the child's head against her shoulder, slightly rocking her back and forth. "You had a hard fall, didn't you?"

The cries quieted as Katniss comforted Willow. Peeta watched in admiration. How could Katniss think she was doing something wrong? Clearly, she could be tender and loving. I mean, here she was cuddling their sweet child. He couldn't help but smile as he listened to her melodic voice soothe his child into a deep sleep.

xxx

"It's time, Willow," Peeta began, laying on his back in the living room. "Time for you to get using that tongue of yours. Tell me what's on your mind." The toddler just laughed as she sat on his stomach, hiding his face with his hands then pulling them away to reveal his face.

Katniss laughed, watching the scene from the couch. "I guess she just likes playing peekaboo."

"I think so," Peeta chuckled as Willow moved his hands on and off his face. "Where's Willow?" He asked.

Almost as if on cue, Willow stopped and covered her own face with her hands. Peeta sat up, resting his weight on his elbows as he watched. The child pulled her hands away, peeking at him. "There she is!" He cheered, his voice higher pitched.

She giggled, hiding her face again. "Where's Willow?" Katniss asked, joining. Willow peeked her blue eyes out again, waiting. "There she is!" Katniss grinned.

Willow laughed, tossing back her head. She covered her face again. "Where's Willow?" Peeta asked, smiling as the door opened. Willow peeked out, smiling.

"Haymitch." She spoke.

Peeta leaned forever, furrowing his eyebrows. He had to have misheard her. She couldn't have possibly said what he was thinking. "What did you say?" He asked, confusion replacing playfulness in his voice.

Katniss leaned forward as well, her heart picking up. Clearly, Peeta had heard it, too.

"Haymitch." Willow spoke as he entered the room.

Haymitch froze, furrowing his eyebrows. Katniss and Peeta's heads whipped to look at their mentor, neighbor, friend, and, mostly importantly, family member. He brushed his dark locks from his face, his gray eyes studying the small child.

"What did she just say?" He asked. Was this some trick Katniss and Peeta setup? Did they force her to learn his name to just fool him like this?

"Haymitch." Willow grinned, clapping her hands.

Katniss and Peeta's face grew into a wide smile. "She just said her first word!" They cheered, laughing in joy.

Katniss and Haymitch rushed to Peeta, gathering on the floor around the grinning toddler. "Say it again! Say it again!" They encouraged.

"Haymitch! Haymitch!" Willow shouted, reaching out to him. He grabbed her, placing her on his lap. "Haymitch." She cooed, resting her small head on his chest.

It was almost as if his world had stopped spinning. He was frozen in time. Here was the world's most precious gift calling out his name. Here she was, reaching out for him. She wanted him. Her first word was his name.

As he closed his eyes, taking in the moment and forgetting everything else, Peeta leaned over, whispering in Katniss' ear. "Can you believe we got beat out by Haymitch?" He teased, his hot breath tickling her ear.

She softly giggled. "Bet you that she says, 'Momma,' next."

"You're on." Peeta grinned.

~~~~~~~~~
Okay, I just had this cute little story pop into my head this afternoon and I had to post it! The next one shot will be a requested one and I'm already partway through! I think you guys are going to love it!