Authors note:
In my story, Finnick is alive and Gale died trying to save him. I just couldn't write this without Finnick:(. But this will mainly focus on the kids, specifically Annie and Finnick's. Oh and also, Katniss and Peeta are ten years younger when they have children. They are twenty three not thirty three. Please no hate, and hope you enjoy!
Annie sits, feeding her baby. Finnick was off fishing, he needed a break from the capitol. Yes in the war it had been demolished, but it rose back to power with Paylor being president. Anyway, the citizens of district 4 had started seeing the remaining victors as political figures and not heroes like they used to. So of course, Finnick and Annie were the only living victors of district 4 and were always being bombarded in the streets. Finnick needed a break.
But Annie, surprisingly for how unstable she is, never needs a break. She has this whole thing down and people left her alone unless she was with Finnick. Kids that are unaware of who the two are always trying to wreck the large house by the ocean. Seagull eggs, mud and little balls of the special paint were always being thrown at the house. Because of the crazy woman living there.
But the crazy woman was perfectly happy. Nightmares still haunted her nights and about every day she had a breakdown, but she couldn't be happier. Her baby seemed to take on the happy aura too. He always smiled, rarely cried and was attached to his mother. He liked his father alright, but he always seems calmer with his mother.
The baby is a mix of the parents. Brown hair that was all Annie but seemed to fall in curls like his father. He had neither his mother or his father's eyes, they looked as if they were the dark green like his mothers but flakes of the ocean floated in them. They were unique for he is unique. Currently he is about 10 months old.
In the quiet, large house, Annie gets up to answer the phone which had woken her up from a light doze. Good thing to. She was always terrified she would fall asleep in the sitting room and scare her child with her nightmares. Setting aside the young boy named Kai, she walked to the phone. Even though they were a richer district, hardly anyone had telephones. It was a surprise when she picked it up and recognized the voice. "Annie, it's me. I can't stay in this district any longer. Are there any houses in the area? I really need to get out of here. I would go to Katniss and Peeta but district 12 makes me depressed. Please Annie?" the young woman stared at the phone in shock. Johanna Mason.
It triggered bad memories, hearing her voice so desperate. The last time Annie had heard her like that was when they were locked in the capitol. She started shaking and would have dropped the phone if she hadn't remembered Kai. Finnick wouldn't be home for another hour and Annie knew that she couldn't contain herself if she started to break down. Annie smiled, trying to calm herself down. Kai grinned up at her, having crawled over to his mother. He laughed upon seeing the strange thing in Annie's hand. I am not exaggerating when I said it was a long time since they used the phone.
"Uh yeah. There is a place in victor's village. Pretty much the same as the ones everywhere else but it is more suitable to the ocean." Annie could practically feel the relief in Johanna's voice. "Yeah, my train will be there tomorrow at six. And also, why didn't you tell me about your kid? Jeez, 10 months old and I just learned from Katniss. I expect to see him first thing when I get there. Tell Finnick he might want to check on Katniss. It is Prims birthday and her fathers is tomorrow. She is doing pretty rough." Johanna finally finished, sounding breathless because it took her less than 15 seconds to tell her that. Annie chuckled. "Will do Johanna." Annie was not looking forward to tomorrow. She would have a breakdown because the last time she saw Johanna was when they were locked up in the hospital in district 13, anxious to hear if their friends died or not. Then there was the awful moment they were watching TV and Katniss, Peeta, Finnick, Gale, Pollux, castor and a few more people were pronounced dead.
The phone clicked, making Kai squawk curiously. He tugged on his mother's pant leg. She smiled at him. "Wanna help me get ready for dinner?" she asked him, a goofy smile on her face. There were only two people in the world that could make her smile like that. Kai gurgled excitedly, though he had no idea what his mother had asked him. He just liked the sound of her voice. He was so excited in fact, the little kid decided to use the only word he knew. "Mama" this would be very precious to Annie, that when her son got excited is all he wanted to do was say her name, but she had heard it 25 times that day.
Kai was a sweet boy, he cried like all babies but he seemed to be especially quiet, except around his parents. Even then he was pretty quiet. He loved to smile, like his father but was very shy like his mother. Finnick had found it cute that he seemed to be more of a mama's boy than anything else but Annie found it terrifying. They were going to be really close, more than a person can fathom and she would have one mental breakdown and ruin it. Scar her child for life. In Annie's eyes, Finnick was the way better parent.
Annie decided to try something. Picking her son up from the floor, she sat him on the kitchen counter. She grinned at him. Pointing to herself, she asked Kai what her name was. "Mama" he squawked. Annie pointed to him "what is your name?" she asked him. He cocked his head for a moment and then beamed. "Kai!" Annie was hysterical with happiness. Her son was getting to know things! She pointed to a bowl she had gotten out to start making the batter for the fish. "And that is a…" she looked expectantly at her son. He huffed. "Bowl!" he exclaimed even though it sounded more like bow.
Annie was so happy her hands were shaking. She sat Kai on the floor and resumed to making the batter. When she cracked an egg, Kai happily said "egg!" every time he pointed out something, Annie would praise him. She was smiling uncontrollably and almost started crying. This was amazing! And to think, 3 years ago this right here was so far away it wasn't anything to fathom. The almost toddler hung on to the bar stool chairs and was holding himself up. It was quite comical to see him hanging on to one chair and almost barking orders at Annie.
Annie was just finishing the dishes when Finnick walked in. He carried the net Annie made and it was full of fish. Annie grew up in district 4 and was used to fish. The smell, the grossness, but it irritated her that her husband brought a net full into the house. He picked up on this immediately and dropped the net outside under the window. Annie was beaming with happiness and it was strange to Finnick. She usually was happy but she never radiated this much happiness.
Finnick decided to take in the aura of the house and let himself just get lost in the smell of fish batter and the smell of his house in general. His house smelled like any house beside the sea, like seawater. It radiated a feel of relaxation. Neither he or his wife worked and they hardly went into town. Finnick fished and Annie like to take Kai with her to get herbs and things such as milk. Annie was usually the one to go into town, everyone thought she was crazy. This angered Finnick when people hurled insults at her or throw things at her and the house. But Annie didn't mind. As long as she had her son and her husband, she was fine.
Finnick walked into his house, a basket of already cleaned fish in his hands. He always felt guilty that his wife almost always cooked for her family and he didn't help. But on the other hand, he burned almost anything he tried to cook and Annie was an amazing cook. He sat the basket on the counter with a smile. "I see you have had a good day love!" he beams at his wife, a smile only she and his son had ever seen. She returns it back.
"Well Kai has learned more words today! Haven't you?" she gestures to the floor where Kai stood, held up by a chair leg. Finnick hadn't noticed him before. "Really? Wow can you show me little guy?" he bent down to the eye level of his son. Kai grinned. "Daddy!" he announced, pointing at Finnick. He grinned. "Thats right Kuuipo" Kuuipo means darling. Kai had been very fond at the nickname while in Annie's stomach. As if suddenly remembering something, Kai's little eyes lit up. "Water?" he asked.
Kai loved the ocean. He went swimming every other day. When he went, he liked to chase the sea turtles. Kai had an odd liking for them. Finnick smiled sadly. "Sorry buddy. It's too late today. But tomorrow we will go. Promise." Kai nodded sadly but seemed to immersed in trying to figure out how to pronounce his father's name to whine for to long. "Feeni?" he asked quizzically. Annie smiled. "No sweetheart, Finn-ick" he tried again. "Feeni?" he said aloud and knew it wasn't right. He shook his head which was exactly what Finnick did when frustrated.
Annie dropped 5 fish into the fryer. Finnick could see it was a swordfish, accompanied by two flounders and two cod. Flounder was his favorite, especially when Annie made it. As she prepared to take a tuna and make it into tuna salad, she looked up abruptly as if remembering something. "Oh yeah, Johanna called today. She is fed up with her district and was wondering if there were any houses. When I told her there were, she said she would be here at 6." Finnick rolled his eyes. "I won't be surprised when she shows up demanding to see Kai. At least he can have someone to call a relative that's not us. And, if she needs to stay here for awhile it's fine." he saw Annie nod. "What's wrong love?" Finnick asked. There was something sad about the way she nodded. "I am worried about Katniss. Yesterday marked the day Gale was killed, today was Prims birthday and tomorrow is her father's. It, it must be hard."
It did have to be hard for Katniss, but right as his wife said that, he forgot all about her. Finnick tried not to think of Gale, he died saving Finnick. It was the bravest thing anyone had ever done for him and he forgot completely. 'Katniss must hate me' he thought. He killed her best friend and forgot. The one time Katniss really needed him as a friend, he couldn't be there because high and mighty Finnick Odair killed him. Prim died and Gale could have stopped it, because he was a high up soldier. But Finnick killed him.
Finnick smiled lightly. "I will call her later. See how she is doing." Annie nodded, relieved. Sensing that his dad was sad, Kai fell flat on the floor and put his hands up, wanting to be held. Finnick picked him up one handed and smiled. "Come on little guy, lets give you a bath."
When Finnick was washing his sons short hair, Kai fell asleep. He did every single time. It was most certainly strange, though Annie tended to get sleepy when Finnick attempted to braid her hair. He put his son to bed at trotted back down stairs. His wife was setting the table for the two of them, knowing her son fell asleep. They ate their dinner and fell asleep nervously awaiting the next day.
"Oi! I want to see the kid! Come on people! Time to wake up!" a very angry Finnick and Annie made their way to the front door, knowing exactly who it was. She had showed up at 6:30 demanding to see Kai. She woke everybody in the house up, including Kai who slept between his parents that night. "When you said 6 I thought you meant PM!" Finnick shouted before he even got the door open. "Well it was only fair! You can't have a kid and not tell me Finnick!" she shouted back as the door whipped open. The minute she saw her, Annie fell on the floor and covered her ears, Finnick immediately beside her. She was skinnier than the last time they had met and patches of hair were visible. Her skin was a sickly yellow and she looked way worse then she had two years ago.
The color drained from her face upon seeing Annie like this. "I-i'm sorry I didn't mean harm! Really I am sorry-" Annie cut her off, having opened her eyes. "What do you think you are doing? We were sleeping! Come on Jo, even you aren't this low! I was having nightmares and hardly got any sleep and you just destroyed my chance of having any rest today!" Jo winced. If it were Finnick or Katniss that had yelled at her like that, she would have fought back, but sweet Annie? She is the last person you would expect to scream at you. Annie shot Johanna a sharp glare and marched up the stairs to retrieve her wailing son. Finnick and Jo were left alone in the threshold. "Well seems you already practically invited yourself in, but come on in anyway." Finnick was still mildly irritated though not angry like before.
Jo stepped into the living room uncomfortably and sat stiffly on the couch. "Look Finnick, I will only tell you this. I had to leave 7. Everyone was looking at me weird, I was constantly alone, I couldn't take it. I couldn't eat, was tearing out my hair, it was miserable. My house got really filthy because I couldn't get out of bed. Then Katniss called and told me about your kid, who by the way do not know the name of. I was motivated by anger to see if I could come to district 4. Thank you, both of you for letting me come here." she finished, refusing to make eye contact. Finnick took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry Jo, but why didn't you call? You could have gotten out of there way sooner than you did. Really, you know you are always welcome right?" she nodded and opened her mouth to say something, but Annie was there. "Kai, this is your aunt Jo. she will be living here for a while." she handed Kai over to her and Jo gasped. "He looks exactly like.." she trailed off, knowing it would hurt Finnick. His face paled and his lips thinned. She was talking about his brother. He did look like him, same facial features and his smile was a mix between his and Finnick's.
Ahe was Finnick's brother. He was tall and muscular with the same eyes and hair as his brother. He was reaped for the 70th hunger games along with Annie. Ahe did pretty good, great with a net, but he didn't see the rest of the careers sneaking up behind him. They decapitated him right in front of Annie, driving her to insanity.
Finnick couldn't help but think that Jo was just ruining everything today. She was his best friend since she won her games but today she seemed content to ruin any mental stability he and his wife had for the day. "Finnick I'm sorry, I-I don't know what I was thinking." she apologized. It sounded like she was holding back tears. Not even an hour into district 4 and she already lost her signature sarcasm. "Its ok Jo. um why don't we go make breakfast?" Finnick asked, trying not to start shaking. Looking at Annie, he could see she did not know who Jo was talking about which was good. At the mention of breakfast, Annie's face lit up, she loved cooking breakfast and she ducked into the kitchen, Jo carrying Kai behind her.
Finnick told them he was going to brush his teeth. Annie knew he wasn't but also knew she had to stay in the kitchen to make the pancake batter. He trotted up the stairs and into the bathroom. He turned the water on, really loud so Annie wouldn't hear anything and chucked a lamp as hard as he could. He never got this mad, hasn't since the arena where Katniss refused to trust him. He wasn't mad at Jo, but his feelings for the capitol, for Snow, for the people who bombarded him on the streets everyday, the careers that killed his brother and drove Annie insane. They all came in a fit of anger as he smashed the lamp against the wall, it shattering into hundreds of satisfying little pieces. He threw a few things off the counter and accidentally broke the shower curtain. Oops. Now Annie was going to kill him. Finnick quickly swept up the glass shards and put everything back on the counter. As for the shower curtain, well he'd fix that later. Finnick did quickly brushed his teeth and his hair. He ran back down the stairs and jumped over the last 6 to make Kai laugh. It worked. He did laugh.
"Pancakes!" Finnick squealed like a child. They were his favorite breakfast and usually Annie made a sort of seaweed bread. This was a natural surprise to him. Kai and Annie laughed at his childlike behavior while Jo rolled her eyes. "Finn, how is it Kai is more mature than you?" he chuckled. "And we," he crossed over to Kai and Jo. "are both more mature than you!" he tickled his son, making him laugh. Of course, Kai probably was more mature than him, Kai didn't go throw a tantrum in the bathroom.
Jo brightened, remembering something. "I brought a gift for you guys. For letting me stay!" she handed Kai to his father and darted around the corner. "Are you ok love? I know seeing her like this has to be tough." Finnick asked sympathetically, smiling at his son grabbing a huge fistful of his mother's dark locks. She winced and pulled the hair from his tiny fist. "Yes, she isn't trying to hurt anyone. I was thinking maybe later we can go swimming and show Jo the plaza. What do you think?" at the mention of swimming, Kai's eyes lit up. "Water!" he exclaimed. Finnick grinned. "Later big guy. Right now, we are gonna have some PANCAKES!" he screamed the last word and whooped after it. Kai couldn't say Pancake but he could whoop. Annie grinned at how much they sounded alike. Her grin quickly faded upon remembering something. "Two things, I know Jo put a hat on, but what happens when she scares Kai? I mean, with how sickly she looks, I would be traumatized to see her as a toddler. And also, I just thought of this, how is she going to live here when she is terrified of water?" she looked at her husband expectantly. He shrugged. "She will figure the water out. And the hair, we still have some of that capitol medicine."
They did have the capitol medicine, for when Annie once had a breakdown and Finnick wasn't home. She tore out most of her hair and it was back in a day. The medicine really did help. Annie looked at her husband, how he managed to stay so positive all the time, she didn't know. But she loved him and he loved her and they both loved their son. It was far from perfection but it was all either of them needed.
