Author's note: This chapter is quite a bit longer than the previous ones. I hope you think that's a good thing. And I hope you keep reading. Tell your friends. Tell your enemies. Tell your acquaintances. Happy reading!

Chapter Three

Annie followed Katniss onto the stage the next morning. The ceremony was being broadcast all over Panem. But it appeared the entire country was packed into the square at the Capitol. The President's mansion was the backdrop to the ceremony.

She draped her arm over her son's shoulders as they sat down. Katniss sat down on her other side and slipped her hand into Peeta's. Annie couldn't help but notice Gale standing stoically in the back corner of the stage. He was wearing a bright white uniform. His jaw was clenched as he looked out on the crowd. What's he thinking about? Annie wondered.

The ceremony started. President Paylor stood at the podium and talked solemnly about the events of ten years before. She even went farther back as she spoke of those lost in the Hunger Games. She spoke of President Show and his reign of terror and oppression.

Then she went on to talk about the ten years of peace. She spoke of the advances made in technology. She spoke of a bright future and all the things being done to ensure that future.

When she was done, she sat down. Gale stepped forward along with another soldier in white. The unknown soldier stepped to the podium Gale stepped to a large bell sitting nearby. The other man started speaking and it took a few words for her to realize he was saying names of those who had lost their lives. Gale struck the bell after every name.

Some she knew. It took a long time for all the names to be called. There were hundreds, thousands. She lost track of time. She stared off into the distance. She barely registered Katniss's hand slipping into hers. And then she completely went away. She was back with Finnick in the days leading up to and after the wedding. She was lying in his arms and whispering of their future.

And she was farther back in the past, stealing moments with him when he was home from the Capitol. Swimming in the ocean, seeing who could swim the farthest. She was laughing. They both were. She was happy in those times, but she was nothing now. She was a shell.

"Mom." Finn shook her gently. "Mom, it's over. Everyone's clearing out."

She didn't respond. She was still in that distant place.

"Mom, please." He whispered. "Everyone's staring."

"Annie?" Katniss said softly.

Still nothing.

Katniss looked around, trying to figure out how to get her help. She made eye contact with Gale. He excused himself politely from his conversation with the president and came over.

He took in the situation as he walked across the stage. He could see Annie had gone catatonic. How long had she been like that? Without being questioned, he easily lifted her into his arms and walked away. Finn, Katniss, and Peeta followed in his wake.

He slipped into the car that was waiting on the curb. Once everyone was seated, he told the driver to take them to the training building. He held the silent woman on his lap. She went limp.

"It's okay, Mom." Finn said softly. "It'll be okay." He said it over and over.

No one else said anything.

Gale absently rubbed a hand up and down her arm. When the car pulled into the building's drive, he carried her inside. They were all still deadly silent as they rode the elevator up. Finn ran ahead and opened the door to her room.

Katniss hurried off to make a call. Peeta stayed in the hall as Gale carried Annie into her room. Finn turned down the blanket. He removed her shoes as Gale went to sit her down.

As soon as his arms released her, Annie began to speak. "Not Finnick. Not my Finnick. No. No, please. Not him." She said it again and again, getting more and more hysterical with every word.

Finn and Gale did everything they could to calm her. She got even worse when she looked at her son. She screamed about Finnick's ghost come back to haunt her.

"Finn, go with Peeta." Gale said softly.

"But, my mom—"

"I got this. Go on."

The boy said to his mom, "I'm just outside."

Gale sat down on the bed and grasped Annie's shoulders. "Calm down, Annie. I need you to calm down. Your son needs you to calm down."

She stopped and swallowed. "My son?"

"Finn. Your son."

"I can't." She started rambling again about Finnick.

It was then that Mrs. Everdeen and a doctor arrived. Mrs. Everdeen gave Annie a shot that soon put her to sleep. The doctor checked her vitals and then stood.

She said, "She should be fine. I'll be by to check her tomorrow. If there's any change, call."

"Thank you. We will." Gale said.

"Should someone sit with her?" Katniss asked.

The doctor said, "It's not entirely necessary, but she should be checked often."

All the adults nodded. The two left to return to the hospital.

Katniss said, "I, um, hate to say it, but I have somewhere I'm required to be."

"Me too." Gale said. He looked over at Finn. "You gonna be okay?"

He nodded.

Gale hated the look on the boy's face. It pulled at his heart. He didn't know why it was happening, but his mouth was moving before he realized it and he said, "I'll be back soon. I promise."

"Okay."

Peeta said, "I can hang out. I don't have anywhere to be." He looked at his wife. "You can fill me in later. It's your thing anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

She took his hand and led him out the door.

Gale asked the boy, "You know how to play cards?"

"I know a few games."

"Good. I'll rustle up a deck and we can play for a while later. How does that sound?"

Finn smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Sounds good."

"Okay." He looked at his watch. "I have to go." Gale took a step around him, but Finn stopped him with an unexpected hug. He turned around and patted the boy's back. "I'll see you later, Finn."

"See you later, Gale." He let go and walked slowly over to his mom.

Gale watched the scene for a few moments before he turned and left. He walked in on a very affectionate good-bye between Katniss and Peeta. He gritted his teeth and walked past them. How could he still feel so strongly for Katniss after all these years? And what was going on with Finn and Annie?

Katniss ran to catch the elevator with him. She took in the look on his face. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know." He mumbled.

"Finn likes you."

He was silent for a moment and then said, "He's me."

Before she could respond, the elevator opened and he stepped out.

Gale sat through the meeting with the heads of state and paid only the barest attention. All he could think about was Annie. She was so broken. She had lost everything. Was it harder losing the one you loved the most and never seeing him again? Or was it more difficult to see her kissing another man?

He gazed across the room at Katniss. She was paying very close attention and taking notes. Were they just for her or to help her remember to tell Peeta later? She spoke. He didn't register what she said, but he heard her voice. Did she still sing? Did the birds still stop?

When the meeting was finally over, Gale paid all the niceties to the officials and spoke with all the necessary people. Then he excused himself and hurried back. He stopped at a random shop that looked like it had a little of everything and found a plain deck of playing cards.

Peeta and Finn were silently watching TV when he walked in.

He waved the cards. "Found some."

The boy smiled. "That's nice."

"After supper we'll play for a while, okay?"

"Okay."

He sat down in a chair and watched silently with them. He looked over at Peeta a few times and thought bitter thoughts about how he was better that the baker in so many ways. He was just thinking about how much better a provider he was when Katniss came in and curled up beside the other man.

Gale stood abruptly and said, "I'll go check on Annie." He left the room in a rush.

She was lying there still. Not much change as far as he could see. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. He stepped closer to see if he could see more clearly. She let out a long breath and turned her head away.

"I think she's dreaming about my dad." Finn said from behind him.

He turned. "I hope it's all good."

"Me too."

"I don't know much about him. Every time I ask, she says she'll tell me later or she changes the subject. All I know is what she talks about in her sleep or what others tell me. They say that no one really knew him except her. Katniss has told me a bit."

"He was a good man. He was a good fighter."

"She said that too. But there's more to him than that. There has to be."

"Well, he loved your mom. Everyone could see that. He was nothing until we brought her to District 13. And she was so much better when he was around. He could always calm her the way you do; bring her out of being lost to the Games."

"The Games weren't fair."

"No, they weren't. I almost lost my best friend to them." He added in head, I did in the end, I suppose.

"Katniss?"

He smiled sadly, "Katniss." He clapped the boy on the shoulder. "Come on, it's got to be time for supper. I don't know about you, but I'm starved."

They all ate together again. Gale and Katniss talked a bit about Finnick with his son. They were starting to move on to other subjects when Peeta surprised them.

He said, "Finnick really liked my cake."

Katniss smiled and ran a hand down his cheek. "Yeah."

"What cake?" Finn asked.

"You parents' wedding cake." Peeta said. "I decorated it for them. It was like the ocean. There were fish. I barely remember the reality of that time, but I remember that. It was the first time I felt like me." He looked down. His hand shook as he gripped his fork tightly. He was fighting a flashback.

Katniss reached out and rested a hand on his arm. He looked over at her.

"I'm back." He said softly after a moment.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Katniss and Peeta left not long after the meal was over. Gale took out the deck of cards and shuffled.

As he dealt them out, he started talking, "So how are you in school?"

The boy shrugged.

Gale smiled, "What does that mean?"

"I'm not the best."

"But you're not the worst?"

He shook his head. "I'm pretty good in math. And I can fish better than anyone."

"That's great."

"But I'm not great at spelling."

"Not everyone is. I'm better at math too."

"What happened to Peeta earlier? He looked like he was going away like my mom, but it looked worse."

"I think it's pretty much the same. He was taken by President Snow. You've learned about him, right?"

He nodded.

"Well, he had his men do something to Peeta. They gave him false memories and made him think Katniss was bad. They made him think everyone associated with her was bad too. It was hard to get him back; it took a long time. Sometimes he goes back to the torture he was put through. Sometimes he goes back to hating Katniss."

"How could anyone hate Katniss?"

It was an innocent question, but Gale knew a few ways he disliked his old friend. He was starting to like her again, but it was still difficult. If they were actually alone together, he knew they would be uncomfortable and their words would be forced. There would probably even be a fight.

He wasn't looking forward to the shooting match tomorrow. Maybe they'd bring Finn and Peeta along. He could be civil in front of them. Well, he could be civil in front of Finn. There's plenty he'd like to say to Peeta that he'd held back.

He remembered the question and said, "The Old Capitol did. She was a threat."

"Because she was the Mockingjay."

He smiled. "Right."

They talked about math for a while and then Gale asked Finn his favorite thing about fishing. That got the boy talking with hardly a break for almost an hour.

Gale looked at his watch. "What time do you go to bed?"

"Nine." Finn answered.

"Well, it looks like it's that time."

"One more hand?" he begged.

Gale sighed, "Just one."

They played one more hand. Gale won.

"I demand a rematch." The boy said as he stood from the table.

"Maybe tomorrow." He squeezed the boy's shoulder as he followed him out the room.

He waited outside as the boy changed into pajamas and brushed his teeth. Finn opened the door when he was done. Gale walked in and stood beside the bed.

"My mom doesn't put me to bed most nights." He admitted.

"Why is that?" Gale asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"She goes to bed early sometimes." He shook his head. "That's a lie. She goes to bed early almost every night."

Surprising himself, Gale reached out and ran a hand over the boy's hair. "She's had a tough life, Finn."

"I know." His voice was thick when he said, "But I have too. It's like I don't even have a mom most of the time."

He had no idea what to say to that.

Finn swallowed. "But it's not like that all the time. Sometimes she's a great mom. She comes out fishing with me when she's not down. She taught me how to swim. We have races."

Gale smiled, "That's good." He ruffled the by's hair. "Good night, kid. I'll see you in the morning."

"Will you check on my mom?"

"I will." He stood up and walked to the door. "Light on or off?"

"Off, please."

He flipped off the light. "Good night, Finn."

"Good night, Gale."

He closed the door and then leaned his forehead against the door frame. Why was he being pulled to help Finn so much? And Annie too? What could he do? He wasn't Finnick. Annie would never trust him the way she'd trusted her one love.

He walked to her room. She was still passed out. Her mouth was turned down and her brow puckered. He walked over and kneeled beside the bed.

He whispered, "Good dreams, my friend. Think of the good times."

There was no change in her. He was a fool to think he could change her dreams just by whispering about them, but his mother used to do it when his younger brothers and sister were having nightmares. She said she used to do it for him to when he was smaller. She said it helped, but it didn't look like it did for Annie.

He stood and turned away. He'd check on her later. He went to the living room and turned on the TV for the noise. He fell asleep on the couch.