I, in no way, own any of the Hunger Games characters or franchise. All credit for this goes to Suzanne Collins.

I am not in the military, but I feel a close connection to the armed forces. My only personal experience as an Army Brat is limited. My work will be flawed, my research rudimentary. But forgive my mistakes and try to follow me through this journey.

A focus on Everlark, minor pairings throughout.

Full Summary:

Peeta and Katniss grew up in the same small town but it was Peeta who got out when he joined the United States Marine Corps. It's three years later and Peeta returns when on a two week leave and runs into Katniss, a student still stuck in their small town waitressing to get through school.

A story of love, life, heartbreak, and happiness and a look into what it means to be a part of the Silent Ranks, the families of those who serve, who get left behind and sacrifice just as much as their loved ones in uniform.

The Silent Ranks

I wear no uniforms, no blues or army greens.

But I am in the military in the ranks rarely seen.

I have no rank upon my shoulders, salutes I do not give.

But the military world is the place where I live.

I'm not in the chain of command, orders I do not get.

But my husband is the one who does, this I cannot forget.

I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line.

But my job is just as tough. I'm the one that's left behind.

My husband is a patriot, a brave and prideful man,

And the call to serve his country, not all can understand.

Behind the lines I see the things needed to keep this country free.

My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do our kids and me.

I love the man I married. Patriotism is his life.

But I stand among the silent ranks known as the military wife.

-Unknown Author

Prologue

I'm the One That's Left Behind

They lived in their own little world, way out in the backwoods of America. Their town was small, everyone knew of one another and nothing really stayed a secret for long unless you were determined to keep it that way. Of course they were aware of the happenings of the world, they had social media and internet access too, but somehow it just seemed as if it didn't touch them. People seemed more inclined to read the local newspapers during their breakfast, the one that detailed local engagements announcements, talked about events being held in the town's square, and the general happenings around town.

Some thought it was ideal, the way life should be. Delly Cartwright, for example, couldn't ask for more. She loved their small town, loved her friends and family, and loved the easygoing way of life. It comforted to know that her parents were middle school sweethearts, married right out of high school, and then took over the family business. They had two kids and lived together happily in wedded, domestic bliss. And this was the story for many people in town.

To Peeta Mellark, it just seemed too simple. Peeta wanted adventure. He looked at the little world around them, the closed off sphere they had created, and thought that there had to be more. He studied the history of their country, learned about all the different cultures and attractions and dreamt about seeing them all. School was easy to him and for a long while he thought that it was his only ticket out, which didn't particularly thrill him considering that school was a form of torture for him despite his very natural ease. But he was determined to get out, even if it meant he was going to have to trudge through his own personal torment to do it. In his mind, wasting away in his backwoods town was a worse fate.

However, a rebellious teenage act changed his life. He had a group of friends had skipped school one day and had driven out of town. With carefully devised lies to their parents, they spent the whole day out at the beach. They had stopped at lunch, going down the boardwalk along the beach to get to the restaurant. It had felt like fate when he had spotted the recruiting office there, seen the strong uniform clad man standing inside. Suddenly it was as if his whole life was coming together.

Of course, he didn't tell anyone, and he did his research before he committed to the idea, but something inside him knew that this was what he was meant to do. He would be a career man, one of those men who served their committed time and then enlist again, making it a twenty-year career. He kept his plans to himself, going along with his mother's plan for him by applying to different schools, including several Ivy League schools. His mother was overjoyed when he got accepted to all the schools he applied to, including Harvard, Princeton, and Yale and it was only a matter of time before it was in the local paper that he was a future Ivy Leaguer. He didn't tell anyone he was meeting with recruitment officers until he was sure and it seemed like a done deal. He was graduating in a month's time and had already turned eighteen. By summer's end he would be leaving their small town, but not to go to school but instead to go to South Carolina for boot camp instead. He kept it to himself, though, even as excitement and nervousness bubbled up in him in ways that was hard to contain. He knew he what reactions he was going to get.

He told Delly first, whom was already upset with him for "leaving to go to a big wig university when the local community college was just as good". He and Delly had a complicated relationship. They had been best friends since before he could remember, next-door neighbors and parents who were close friends as well. They coexisted easily, but it still made him wonder how it happened but the next thing he knew she was sneaking in through his window at night and taking her clothes off. Of course, being teenage boy, he had given into her and the two quickly discovered a very different side of their friendship. Soon it became apparent that they needed to talk about exactly where they stood. Delly made it clear that she was in love with him and he made it clear that he felt he couldn't commit to her, his heart was not in it besides friendship.

What he didn't say was that his heart was already taken. Katniss Everdeen was a girl who lived in a world all her own and Peeta was helplessly in love with her. She lived in the outskirts of town with her parents and younger sister Prim. Like with Delly, she took all the same classes as Peeta, going through their entire school career together. However, despite Peeta's natural charm and good looks making him one of the most popular and well-known boys in town, Katniss was oblivious to him. She kept to herself and her small group of friends and was a studious, determined girl. She had the voice of an angel and a strong fire that burned inside her that just made her the most attractive girl he had ever seen. That strength inside her made him dumbstruck.

She struck him as someone who was meant for something more. She deserved only the best in his mind, and he wanted nothing more than to be that man for her. But an aimless boy begrudgingly trudging through school was not going to make himself anything. He would live an unhappy meaningless life, and he didn't want that. But to truly make a difference in this world, to serve their country and make something of himself, now that might get him close enough to being good enough to deserve her. If he could be something more, then he could look her in the eyes without feeling ashamed.

When he had told Delly, a week before graduation while they sat around a bonfire with friends, she hadn't believed him. She had laughed at him, as if it was a stupid joke he was trying to pull. She had really gotten a good laugh out of it, so much so that everyone around the fire had turned their attention to them and had demanded to be let in on the joke. But as Delly calmed her laughing to tell them she noticed how seriously he sat next to her, his eyes betraying nothing much patience and sincerity and she knew. She caused quite a scene then, yelling at him angrily and telling him that he couldn't be serious. He was going to get himself killed, she swore angrily, before stomping away and leaving some very confused and concerned friends behind to drill Peeta with questions. He gave them nothing, wanting to tell his parents first before he told any more people.

She didn't talk to him for a week, finally approaching him after the graduation commencements. While students and parents and family alike mingled together outside the school in good spirits for congratulations, hugs and pictures, Delly sobbed into his graduation gown and begged him not to go. He had just hugged her back, wiped the tears from her face and promised that this wasn't the end of the world. He wasn't meant to be stuck in this little town forever and he needed to find himself.

"I'll wait for you," she whispered in between choked sobs, one of her hands combing through his thick blonde messy curls.

"No," he said solemnly, "I don't want you to wait for me. You deserve more than that. Find a man who will love you and share your dreams. You deserve to be happy," he told her.

"But I'm happy with you," she had gushed and he only shook his head and pulled her closer.

"You won't always be," he knew and promised.

His parents, who had been watching the two teens from a distance in an attempt to give them privacy, had stared on in confusion. To them, to Mrs. Mellark especially, the two were a done deal. They knew what kind of relationship the two had, how it extended past just friendship, and he assumed that they would marry. They had slight concerns, watching the teens hug each other and watching Delly. They were prepared for a lover's spat, a few heartbroken teens that would make up in a few days. They weren't prepared to be sat down later that night and be told their son was leaving to join the military.

Peeta's mother had yelled and refused to believe it. Her boy had been accepted into three Ivy League schools, and had gotten full rides as well. It seemed inconceivable that he would throw it all away to go play in the desert. The world was at war and more and more boys were being sent over seas to fight. Peeta had a bright future ahead of him, she knew, but instead he was throwing it away, wasting this opportunity.

His brothers Bannock and Rye hadn't faired the admission any better, though they handled it in a calmer manner. They had questioned him, asking why he couldn't follow similar paths like them. Bannock, ever the responsible older brother, had gone to a good, respected state school and then on to law school. Rye was still in school, getting duel degrees in business and culinary arts so that he could take over the bakery the family runs and then expand into a restaurant. Peeta explained the best he could that he wanted more. They seemed confused that his "more" was the military, but tried to understand the best they could.

Peeta's father, whom Peeta had always been close to, had cried and then hugged him tightly. He didn't yell, his didn't express any disapproval. He only made him promise that he would try to be careful and stay strong. The rest, he said, was in God's hands and assured his son that he would be in every one of his prayers.

The summer was long and tension filled, his mother trying to continuously change his mind. Peeta persisted, taking the time to train before boot camp and be more prepared. Peeta had chosen the Marine Corps, the branch in the military that happened to have the longest basic training but a very rich culture filled with prestige and long traditions. The Marines were the smallest branch in the military by numbers, but Peeta felt a particular kinship with them compared to the other branches. He wanted to become one of the Few and Proud.

In the end, there wasn't much fanfare when he left. His mother stood in the doorway outside the bakery with her arms crossed over her chest, a disapproving look on her face. His brothers each gave him an awkward hug, never being close enough brothers to feel comfortable hugging one another. Delly sobbed and cried, even if she would see him the longest since she insisted on driving him to the airport. His father stayed strong, offering a too tight hug with glassy eyes but had the decency to wait until he was getting in the car to start crying and even then he turned away so Peeta couldn't see.

Delly wiped her tears and tried to calm herself before she started the car. Peeta glanced once more at his family, his father turned away from him and his mother having retreated away. It was too hard to look at his father and his shaking shoulders so he looked away, staring out the windshield straight ahead. His heart skipped a beat, however, when he spotted Katniss walking across the street.

She was with her little sister, whom was staring back at them in wonder but seemed too polite to ask. Katniss however, was once again oblivious to them. She walked in a determined manner, eyes straightforward, and a cool expression on her face. He admired her long brown hair tied in a loose brain and tossed haphazardly over her shoulder. He admired the cool gray color of her eyes that he could just barely see from the distance and the olive color of her skin. She was truly beautiful, he thought, and he tried to memorize the beauty of her, both inside and out, because he wasn't sure if or when he would see her again.

Somehow it felt like a gift to Peeta, to see her one more time before he left, possibly for good. He knew his chances with her were slim to none, he would not delude himself to thinking if he made something of himself she would suddenly see him. She would move on with her life while he was away, the same as him. If and when he came back, she would have someone to call her own already, probably Gale Hawthorne, her best friend who was obviously in love with her though it didn't seem like she knew it. But he would still fight to become someone worthy enough to look her in the eyes.

Seeing her renewed his spirits and he felt the courage to walk forward to his future. With a calm strength and a determined mindset, he left the little closed off world he had always known to become a United States Marine.

Oorah