He hadn't even woken up. He never saw it coming.

Two Years Later

"Katniss! I'm back!" Katniss looked up from the meal she had prepared just in time to see Cato enter the kitchen. "Whatever you made, it smells great."

She smiled and stood, greeting him with a kiss. "I finished it just a few minutes ago." She had her arms up and around his neck, her fingers laced together just behind his head. "So it's nice and warm."

He grinned and put his hands on her back, pulling her towards him so as to kiss her sweetly once more. "Mmm, well you know how much I like warm food."

She laughed and released him, turning to grab his plate from the counter. "So, how is District 2 doing?"

He shrugged. "Same as always. Better off than most of the others."

Katniss nodded as she handed him his plate. "I figured as much." As she sat down to join him, her mind traveled back in time. She wondered if he knew what today was. "So what exactly did you do down there?"

"I'm helping with the preparations for the next Hunger Games. They'll be calling you down soon, I think. We're both Mentor's you know."

He always sounded a little proud when he talked about it. Katniss, however, hated being a Mentor. The last 3 years all of the District 12 tributes had died, though not always straight away. At least a couple had actually listened to her. But it still didn't get them very far. "Oh. Yeah." She muttered.

He stopped eating and looked up. "What's wrong?"

She sighed. "It's just, I thought this would all have ended by now. It should have made a difference that the four of us won, together." She remembered the day as if it had happened just yesterday. Standing there, her fingers interlocked with Peeta's, watching as Clove and Cato did the same. The announcer crying gleefully that it was a four-way tie, and wondering deep in her heart how that could be.

Everything had happened so fast after that, she wondered at times how it could possibly be four years later and how she could be engaged to the 74th Hunger Games most ruthless killer. But she loved him, and the look in his eyes told her every day that he had always felt the same. His voice broke through her thoughts as he said, "We got lucky. We should be thankful that the Gamemakers didn't force us all to fight to the death."

Katniss scoffed. "It doesn't really matter now, does it? Two of those Victors have died since then. Who's to say we won't soon meet the same fate?"

He hesitated a moment before saying, "That won't happen."

His pause confused Katniss. He wasn't ever one to refrain from speaking his mind. But right then, it had looked like he wanted desperately to say something, but couldn't bring himself to do it. She was about to speak up when a knock on the door stopped her.

Cato stood to answer it, but she placed a hand on his chest and forced him back into his seat. "I've got it. Eat your food."

She approached the door and opened it, only to find herself looking at a beaming Prim. "Hey Katniss! Are you busy?"

Katniss glanced over her shoulder. Cato was watching quietly. "I'm never too busy for you, Little Duck. Come inside."

Prim bounced past her, throwing a cheerful hello Cato's way. Katniss heard him grunt in response as she closed the door. "What brings you over Prim?" Cato asked around a mouthful of food. Katniss returned to the table, taking a seat beside Prim.

"Did you forget what today is?"

He looked puzzled. "Uh, I guess so."

Katniss shook her head, and he shot a nervous glance towards her. "It's been two years." She said quietly.

Realization dawned over his features and he dropped his fork onto his plate, pushing it away. "Oh, wow. I'm sorry Katniss." He stood, walking over and enveloping her in a strong and warm hug. "I can't believe I forgot."

She couldn't stay angry with him even if she wanted to. As he pulled away, she pecked his cheek and sighed. "It's alright. You've had a busy day. It's easy to forget things when you're busy."

She turned to Prim and hugged her. "Thanks for coming over Prim. It's nice to know I'm not the only person who remembers."

Prim nodded solemnly. "Mom wants to come over later."

Katniss smiled somewhat. "Tell her I'm looking forward to it."

Prim hugged her again and they stood, walking over to the door. As Katniss waved her goodbye and shut the door, Cato's arms wrapped around her from behind. "Want to talk about it?"

She leaned her head against his. "No. I just want to go to bed."

As she finished saying this he unexpectedly swept her off her feet and into his arms. Sometimes his strength was such a wonder to Katniss. "Well then, off to bed we go." He whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.


Cato was gone when Katniss awoke the next morning, but this wasn't really out of the ordinary. She went through her usual morning routine of a shower and coffee before retiring to the couch. Inevitably, her thoughts wandered to Peeta.

She could hardly believe it had been two years since she'd come home to find his throat slit. The investigation was long and full of disappointing dead ends. It infuriated her that they never really discovered who had pulled off such a heinous crime. But it also reminded her that Cato had been her rock during this time. Without him, she wasn't quite sure if she would even still be alive and breathing.

She shook her head, trying to force the thoughts from her mind. It worked, but then they landed on an even worse subject. The Hunger Games. She would be forced to Mentor yet again. She began to understand after the 75th games why Haymitch had become such a drunk. It was a tempting life to pursue after watching two kids you worked so hard to train get killed mercilessly. And in the case of the 75th games, rather quickly.

She stood from the couch and decided that a trip out of the house would probably do her more good than anything else. As she grabbed her jacket and keys, she reached for the doorknob. A loud knock echoed through the house, startling her and causing her to wrench hand away from the knob. She waited, and another knock followed. "Ms. Everdeen, we need to talk."


A/N: First off, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it! Second, sorry it took me a bit to get this up! It's been a bit difficult to find the time and the inspiration to write. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!