I wake up on Johanna's couch with little recollection of the previous night. Caelum in my arms, but Johanna nowhere to be seen. With a shake of my head, I walk back to Johanna's room which I find to be empty. Strange. Going outside, I knock on Johanna's neighbor's door. A moment later, a teenage girl opens the door.
"Annie Cresta," the girl says, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Hi, actually it's Annie Odair" I say softly, "Do you know where Johanna is?"
The girl nods slowly, clearly confused, but says, "She went to the square. Something about a train from the Capitol. Half of District 4 is there."
"What could be in that train?" I mutter, mostly to myself, before asking, "Could you watch my boy Caelum while I go check it out? I'll pay you."
The girl nods and says, "Of course I can, no charge."
So with an appreciative smile, I find myself running to the central square in nothing but a nightgown.
The girl was right, the square was completely packed, everyone surrounding whatever or whoever was on the train. As I push my way through the crowd, I notice people start to move out of my way. How strange. But not as strange as the person that I saw walking towards me.
"Finnick," I say, but my voice sounds foreign. The man in front of me looks exactly how he always did. Skin completely unblemished, hair perfectly combed. The only sign that he was ever in a war was his slight limp. At first I'm giddy with excitement, but then I realize. He's probably just a dream. All the people surrounding us start to turn into tributes. I see them hack off Finnick's head and I scream. I scream and kick and thrash until I feel Johanna grab me.
"Finnick, real or not real?" I moan to her, and her answer probably changed my life.
"Real."
I woke up a few hours later with a massive headache, but a perfect recollection of what just happened. Opening my eyes, I realize that I've been carried back to my home. And at the kitchen table, I see Caelum. But what excites me most is the person holding Caelum.
"Go to Johanna's house," I hear the man mutter, and I see Caelum run out of the room.
Now it's just me and the man. I reach out, as if afraid to touch him. I see him walk towards me, saying, "Annie it's really me."
The moment I make contact with him, I know it's true. I never touched him in my dreams, and he never looked, felt, and sounded so real.
Immediately, I lean in and kiss him. I kiss him with so much passion, as if to make up for the three years he had been gone. But he had been gone for three years! Suddenly, with a surge of anger, I pull back and slap him.
"Why the hell did you leave me and not come back you were dead!" I scream, but he grabs my hand softly, and tells me his story:
"I'm sorry Annie. I'm so so so sorry for everything I put you through. I was as good as dead when the lizard mutts attacked me. They almost tore off my head when I remember everything going black. I woke in a capitol hospital, with no recollection of anything. Anything but you. The doctors couldn't even recognize me. I was just the badly injured guy that went crazy. My memories came back slowly. I would have nightmares about the mutts, about District 13, but thinking about you was the only thing that kept me sane. When I was going crazy, I just thought of you. Annie. I didn't even really know who you were, just that I loved you.
Now just a few weeks ago, I met Haymitch in the hospital. He heard rumors of a crazy guy talking about a girl named Annie. The moment I saw him, I remembered. I remembered District 4, the rebellion, and most importantly that you were real. That you were waiting for me. So I hopped on the next train to District 4 and found you."
By the time he finishes the story, I am crying. Crying and confused. "How could nobody recognize you?" I sob, grabbing Finnick like a lifeline.
"Look at me. Look at my scars. I'm no longer the perfect pretty boy I once was," he explains gently. I look at Finnick once again, and this time I see it. Sure there are scars snow flaked across his skin, but he's still Finnick. My beautiful and perfect husband.
Suddenly we're making out again. I've missed this for years and years, but now he's back. Suddenly the last few years don't seem to matter. It's just me and Finnick and it'll always be.
Our moment is broken when somewhere outside, Johanna calls, "Odairs, your kid is crying and I hate crying kids."
With a sigh, we break apart, but I still clutch his hand. A hand that I will never let go again.
As we walk out, Finnick and I exchange the playful banter that I have so missed these last few years. I tell him all about his son (though he already heard much of it from Johanna while I was unconscious) and he tells me how much he loves me.
Our conversation is cut short by a very wet Caelum jumping up into my arms, exclaiming, "Yay! You met daddy too!"
"She's done more than meet daddy," Johanna says suggestively, earning a jab from me, and a laugh from Finnick.
"Mommy's told me all about you," Caelum continues, "But I thought you weren't going to come back."
"Change of plans," Finnick laughs, grabbing Caelum from my arms, and throwing him into the water. For the first time, I follow. Not just up to my knees, but all the way in. Now that I have Finnick, I'm not afraid.
Johanna's now the only one on the shore. She watches us play in the water with a sad expression on her face.
"Is Jo okay?" Finnick asks me as Caelum splashes around us.
"She's great actually. She helped me take care of Caelum, and she found someone. He lives in District 2 though."
"Maybe we should bring her boy toy here," Finnick says smiling. We both realize that she's scared. Scared of being pushing out of our family now that Finnick's home. But that's far from the truth.
"Johanna, Come in here. We'll keep you safe," I yell.
Johanna sighs, but she slowly enters the water. First up to her knees, then slowly to her waist. She has a nervous look on her face, so I run back and plead her on. Now it's my turn to help her. Because that's what victors do. We look out for each other.
