The next day is dry and bright, and Cressida is surprised by how calm everything is. Every wedding she'd ever attended in the Capitol was a circus. Planned for months on end, every last tiny detail accounted for. Flowers, cakes, more food than anyone could possibly consume, the finest alcohol money could buy. Music, grand houses and spectacular gardens. Dresses and suits that threatened to out-do each other at every turn, though none ever upstaged the more and more outrageous wedding gowns. Everything was for show and more often than not a marriage was made for money not love.

But this, it was the complete opposite.

Just before noon, the small number of guests, as well as the couple, head to the new courthouse. They don't all go together – they're all far to conspicuous for that, and so they go in dribs and drabs, over almost an hour, with Annie, Hazelle and the kids bringing up the rear.

At capitol weddings, guests would sit either on the side of the groom, or the bride, but neither had family now, and there were so few guests, it didn't really matter, so they stood round Katniss and Peeta, in a small semi circle.

Effie dabs a tissue to her eye as Johanna simultaneously rolled hers, in a seemingly silent conversation with Pollux.
Annie has Finn on her hip, trying to calm him as he claps his hands in glee at the room in general, and Hazelle stands with one of her boys at either side of her, while Haymitch stands close, holding Posy's hand, an unusual twinkle in his eye.

Cressida smiled as the little girl swished her dress from side to side, causing the soft pink fabric to flare out, the sequins round the skirt sparkling as they caught the sun, and she felt her heart skip a beat as she wondered if she was carrying a boy or a girl.

No one else is there, not even Kathrine Everdeen. Though to loose a child like that...
Cressida feels her gut lurch and she hastily leaves the room, the nearest bathroom, and empties her stomach into the toilet bowl. When she returns, no one says a word, and Katniss glances at her with a furrowed brow just as the official starts to speak.

The ceremony is short; the judge asks if Katniss takes Peeta take each other to be lawfully married, they both say 'I do', and that's it. They sign marriage papers with Haymitch and Effie as witnesses, and together they all leave and return to the Mellarks' home. It feels strange, to refer to them as the Mellarks.

It's barely 2pm when they get to the front door, where Peeta scoops Katniss up and carries her across the threshold and into the sitting room.
Together, Peeta and Katniss make a fire in the hearth, and then whilst Katniss gets the poker, Peeta fetches a loaf of freshly baked bread, intricately designed in some sort of braided pattern. He cuts a thick slice on the marble hearth, and Katniss spears it on the poker. Together, they hold the bred in the fire until it's golden brown on both sides, then break it in two, each eating their own half.

She's surprised by the small cheers and clapping, but she can't help but smile and join in.

Dinner doesn't disappoint. There's fresh rabbit stew - something she's become accustomed to over the last couple of years – served with boiled potatoes, not the awful ones like in 13, but baby ones, freshly picked from the back garden and coated in butter and freshly picked herbs. And there's crusty bread, fresh, white and still warm from the oven, to dip in the stew and soak up all the juices. She is in no doubt that Katniss caught the rabbit and picked the fresh herbs just that morning, and that Peeta was responsible for turning it into this meal.

By the time the wedding cake has been served and eaten, it's already dark outside. The small party and moves into the loving room where the same fire that the newly weds had started earlier still burns. As they all find a seat, everyone seems so happy and at ease – much more than they've probably ever been in their entire lives until this very day.

Cressida takes one of the two armchairs, and pulls her legs up, her knees curled in front of her, quite effectively masking her middle. She catches Hazelle's eye as she rubs some of the fire's heat into her legs, and the widow gives her a look so guarded from the others, it's was almost imperceptible.

She knows that Hazelle is an honest woman, and she knows that she has already asked so much of the kind woman by asking her to keep her secrets. Though she knows that they can't stay that way forever.

She's startled as Effie makes her way into the room handing out glasses from a tray.

"Here we are! Just a small glass you do understand," She glances over to Haymitch, as her sing song voice falters slightly before she carries on "I thought perhaps just a small toast to the new husband and wife!"

Katniss stands and walks over to Peeta sitting on the other armchair and he wraps his arms around his new wife. Cressida's never been more grateful for Effie and her customary faffing.

Haymitch raises his glass of water from his seat on the sofa with Posy balanced on one knee. "To Mr and Mrs Mellark then!"

"To Mr and Mrs Mellark."

He smiles and clinks his glass carefully with the little girl who giggles and takes a sip of her apple juice as everyone joins the toast, their voices cheerful and their glasses meeting.

The atmosphere in the room is light and subdued, everyone happy that the couple are together at last, happy and safe and probably as fixed as they'll ever be.
Cressida watches Annie standing by the fire, gently swaying and humming, rubbing her son's back as he drifts off to sleep on her shoulder, and Cressida moves her hand to her small bump. She's never felt particularly maternal, but she feels it now, the light fluttering in her belly barely noticeable even to her.
Chatter and laughter fills the room, but everything falls silent when there's a knock at the door.

To everyone gathered in that room, any unknown knock at the door was a reason to be on their guard. They all knew well that there was nothing to be frightened of, but that didn't stop them all exchanging worried glances with each other. Only the people in this room were supposed to know about today. She sees the men in the room bristle, even though everyone knows that at least three of the women in the room are just as capable as they are. And she knows, that if this is some stunt that Pleutarch has pulled, she'll wring his stocky little neck next time she sees him because Katniss and Peeta deserve a little privacy, especially today – and he'd told him as much when he'd called asking her to film the ceremony and toasting. She still wasn't sure how he'd even found out because she knew for a fact neither Katniss nor Peeta invited him, and that no one in this room would breathe a word of today to anyone. Even in her line of work she accepts that some things are meant to be private.

Peeta stands and walks towards the door. "I'll go. I was getting up anyway." He smiles as he stands up, but he's not a good liar.

He's so much better than he was, when you look at him now, it's only those bright blue eyes that you see, the black that once obscured them gone, but Cressida is sure she sees a flash of that darkness as he walks out of the room and she half expects him to ask Katniss if today, their marriage, was real or not. He still did that from time to time.

In the silence, only the crackle of the fire and the breathing of the small wedding party can be heard, It's so quiet in that room at that moment, that it feels like the air has stopped moving. Everyone strains to hear who it is at the door.

"You shouldn't be here."

There's no distinct voice, but at the sound of Peeta's words they all move to the edges of their seats and Haymitch pats Posy's leg in signal for her to slide into the empty seat beside him.

They all turn to the door when they hear Peeta's raised voice, there's no denying the guest is unwelcome.

"This is not the time, you need to leave."

Peeta's words raise the collective suspicious curiosity and Katniss is on her feet first, Haymitch right behind her as he stands quickly from his seat. Cressida supposes it's something the three of them will never grow out of, so deeply ingrained is their instinct to protect each other.
Several pairs of feet, hers included, rush across the polished wooden floor as they follow the three victors of twelve out into the entrance hall.

She hears the gasps and exclamations of shock as one by one they come into view of the front door. Her stomach churns when she sees who it is, and she can't stop the words that come next.

"What are you doing here?"

He was supposed to be away for another week.

"I could ask you the same thing." He flicks the invitation between his fingers.

She tries to ignore the hurt in his voice as his eyes take all of her in, and she watches as they widen. She knows that if he's holding the invitation, he's seen the picture that she'd leant up against it. He jerks his head up and his eyes meet hers.

She can hide it from the others, but not him. None of the others have seen as much of her as he has, none of them grasp at her hips or trail searing kisses down her body the way he does.
He knows her body better than her. And though the outfit she has on today is enough to obscure the view from most of the others, it's nowhere close to hiding it from his gaze.

Her mouth dries quickly in the silence and she takes a step back as he steps forwards and into the hall. Everyone is so surprised that they don't seem to have registered what's going on with him and her. Even Katniss doesn't seem to have put two and two together.

There's a desperation in Katniss' voice as she reels off a list of confused questions. "What are you doing here? Why now, why today of all days? I can't do this today." She stops, and takes a shaky breath and almost whispers. "We had the toasting today."

When he replies though he doesn't look at Katniss, but at her, that way he does, his head dipped but his eyes raised and Cressida can feel her heart thumping in her chest.

"I didn't come to see you, Katniss, I came to see Cress."

She's rooted to the spot as he walks over to her, ignoring everyone around them, and reaches out for her waist. She can feel the heat rising in her cheeks, and the contents of dinner churning in her stomach as he rests his hand on her hip and brushes his thumb gingerly on the side of the small bump she's tried so damned hard to conceal.

"Really?" He whispers.

She breathes deeply as the smell of him fills her nostrils, and she nods. She can't look away from his gaze, but before she can worry abut his reaction, he dips his head she can feel him smile against her lips as he kisses her hard.

She can hear the commotion around them as he wraps his arms around her and pushes a hand up into her hair as he cradles her head in his palm. She doesn't really register the questions or accusations until he pulls back and leans his forehead against hers and she can see the awe in his eyes as everything goes quiet.
From the corner of her eye, she sees the reason for the sudden silence as Katniss step closer to them.

"Gale?" She hears Katniss baulk. "Gale's the father?"