A/N:- Okay. May I just say I am so so flattered by all the reviews and PMs that I have been getting as of late? Thankyou so much for your continued support! You guys literally make my day with your reviews!

And I am so so so sorry for the late speaking, I blame school.

Disclaimer:-I will be posting every Tuesday from here on :)

The chaos is deafening as the black-haired-hunter makes his way to the command centre. Practically everyone he know bumps into him at every nook and corner. He wonders whether it's the fact that its him who knows everyone here?

It's a bit of struggle from him to push his way through, considering Beetee's well off behind Gale, walking on the path he has made for him. Police sirens run in the background adding to the already chaotic situation and all Gale could formulate is who on this damn earth called the Police without MY FREAKING CONSENT?

Just as he is about to turn the corner and reach the so-called command centre, he runs smack into someone.

Grey eyes meet blue. And the pain reflected in them is quite palpable. They immediately glass over when they actually gaze into the grey ones.

"Mrs. Leshner," he says as soft as a whisper and smiles, out of respect for her, but it does not quite reach his face. Why would it anyway? She has just lost her husband about half an hour go.

"Mr. Hawthorne," her voice cracks in the end and he knows she is barely holding up. All Gale could think of was how her two daughters, 7-year-old Shannon and 5-year-old Darcy, will hold up after hearing about their dad. It wasn't best for him to reminiscence about his times.

When his dad died, his mom, ever the picture of a perfect mom, held his siblings all through the day. Held herself all through the day. He remembered her, encouraging Vick to make a picture of mountains and sunshine he had never seen. Encouraging Rory to go out and play with his friends who themselves were grieving their loses. But he saw it all, right when her eyes met his, the enormous amount of agony she was holding up. He remembers holding her when her façade finally crumbled down into the darkness of the night. The solace provided by the night still wasn't enough, as her sobs wrecked her body, her sounds getting muffled into Gale's chest as he held her close to him. Trying to absorb every bit of pain and tremor she was experiencing.

His mother could barely hold up during those times. And he could definitely see his mother in Mrs. Leshner.

Just as he is about to say he commiserate, Beetee bumps into him hard.

"Oh Jeez, What's the hold up?" Beetee peers at the two in a can-we-go kind of a look.

"Nothing...um...you go ahead, I will be right back," he said without looking away from Mrs. Leshner who held his gaze as precariously as possible. Beetee left without further word.

"Mrs. Leshner, I —" He didn't have words to say as his eyes found the ground. What was he going to say? That he is sorry for her lose? Thats the last thing they need. Another person pitying them, lying to them. Or that it's all going to be alright? There can't be a worse lie than this in the world. It's definitely not going to be okay.

"Thankyou," Gale didn't know what was she thanking him for. Was it a meaningful one, as in thanks for being there for them in their good times? As in at least having the common sense to not pity them? Or was it in a sarcastic manner, as in thanks for getting him killed when he trusted you with his life?

She had thanked him on various occasions for that matter. When he brought two pretty makeover dolls for her daughters on Christmas. When he had helped her and Havok with Shannon's surprise birthday party. When he was the first one to visit, to actually care for Darcy outside of their family, when she caught the flu. When he brought home a dog who both the sweethearts had named atom, which Gale found quite puzzling.

"Gale," she looked her right in the eye and Gale knew it was the former, "Thankyou," and she walked right past Gale, leaving him to figure everything out.

This was it. The moment when it struck him. When the reality sunk in. Havok was dead. Was gone. Though Gale was at a higher post then the Havok, he was so much younger than Havok himself. He did realise that at some point of time, Havok kind of become part of his family. His little family he had going around here was like his own family. And it's his fault. His fault that a father died. That a husband died. That...a trustworthy friend died when he was out there in a party grieving over his lose when he could have checked up on the surveillance.

"General Gale Hawthorne, you are immediately requested to summon in the command centre. I repeat, General Gale Hawthorne, you are immediately requested to summon in the command centre. It's Code BLUE. Repeat, Code BLUE. Over,"

The static voice pulled him out of his reverie. His motions were robotic as he pushed pass the doors that separated him and the command centre with just a corridor. With every step all he does is recount the amount of mistakes he had done, all the people he had lost.

Dad dead.

Katniss dead.

Bristel dead.

Boggs dead.

Mitchell dead.

Finnick dead.

Prim dead.

Madge de—.

Madge.

"Finally! You have made a very wise decision to show up General Hawthorne," she laced her comment with thick sarcasm and to an extent had enough level of authoritarian quality to it which made Gale cut short. Thank God the corridor didn't go on forever.

President Paylor gazed at him with such intensity that he found himself making his way to his seat beside Beetee on its account without one word of protest. Everyone's eyes followed him as he made his way right in the front. After a minute or two of staring at Gale to intimidate him, Paylor finally began.

"Okay. So now that General here has decided to grace us with his enigmatic presence," Gale rolled his eyes at that, "Let's start with today's agenda. We all know why we have gathered here. Now, I want someone to give me a very detailed intel about what happened and how it happened."

As far as Gale could remember, he didn't pay attention to any of it.

"Spy—,", "Anti- Capitol —,", "Against the Government—,"

He simply watched the hands of the clock move round and round and round and round until he stopped abruptly at the mention of Katniss Everdeen Mellark.

"W-What did you just say?" Gale finally spoke up from his place. Everyone looked at him, as if suddenly remembering his presence in the room.

"Um," hesitated the young man and proceeded to the nod of the President who was watching Gale with intent eyes. She wasn't a fool. An unobservant lady cannot make it up to the post of the President. She exactly knew what Gale had for Katniss. Not many did know a days. Everyone just forgot and moved on. But she kept it. Kept it in her mind to keep Gale away from any mention of Katniss Everdeen because that's the last thing she needs. A very good General taking a detour from himself. Beetee himself couldn't help but sneak a glance at Gale. His face was as revealing as a wall.

"I was saying whether this involved the involvement of Mockingjay. It is quite appropriate that the higher target is not us but the Mockingjay itself. She is a significant person after all,"

Okay, so Katniss and death target. Okay, that's okay. No! No, that's not okay. What?

"So I was thinking about us arranging some transport," the young man continued to speak, "for the Mockingjay to be transported here and kept under our intense security—,"

"NO!" His voice silenced everyone present in the room.

"We are in no way involving Katniss in this. She has had enough. Keep her out of this! I—We don't want her here," Beetee caught the stutter in his voice but sat silently, giving Gale a scrutinizing look all the while he wasn't even looking at him, "We are not even sure what this people want. Have we had the post-mortem file from the Forensic lab?"

"General Hawthorne, that is not the way you address the tribunal! And you definitely have no rights to speak out of turn. However I will overlook this on the account that we are facing a dire situation," Paylor moved around the table herself to hand over the file to Gale.

They all knew. Gale was Paylor's favourite, though lacking certain mannerisms. But no one said anything. Couldn't. Gale did prove himself well on the battle field.

Gale opened the file to find a very young-looking Havok, probably in his 30s, staring back at him. Brown hair and jade green eyes. He couldn't move past his photograph enough to read his death details. Or is it that he didn't want to read how and where and when a knife stabbed him thousands of times. He quickly skimmed to the last page of the file that held the will.

I hereby declare that Claire Leshner, my wife, is to be handed over my property, money and estate if I, in any circumstance, die.

He could see his signature there in the witness section at the bottom of the document along with that of their neighbour's.

The command centre had grown silent, observing, waiting for him to just speak up.

The mere mention of his name brought his eyes up to meet that of Paylor. Her's was full of rage at the fact that Gale wasn't even paying the least bit of attention he should have be paying but immediately softened when she saw his eyes glaze for just a flicker of moment.

"Yes?" he simply asked.

"What do you say General? Do we transport the Mockingjay here and keep her under heavy surveillance or find out some more before we move on the former plan?"

"I think we should find out more. There's no need to disrupt Katniss if it's not necessary,"

"That's it then people. We have the verdict." Paylor concluded as she moved on to instruct some guy on how to secure certain parts.

"What?" Gale snapped. He was finally able to get hold of some sleep when his cell rang.

"Where are you General?" Risa's voice rang out through the other end of the line. Damn this woman. Would she ever leave him alone to let him live his life in misery?

"What do you want Risa?" He could hear a bit of a whispering on the other side. Someone was with her at that very moment.

"Sir Beetee here asks for you. He says it's necessary for him to have a word with—"

Silence stretched till Gale found it necessary to speak.

"Risa?"

"Gale?" The use of his name terrified him to his brink.

"Sir, I hope you are nowhere in the downtown, are you?" A slight tremor was recognisable in her voice.

"No. At home, what's happening?" This was getting stranger and stranger by the minute.

"We will be right there in an hour or so. Do not go anywhere or don't contact anyone," Risa's tone was alarming enough for Gale to understand that its not the time to question anything.

"Very well," he replied and received nothing but the static ringing in answer.

Risa had her own key for Gale's house so it was not much of a scuffle to get into the house. The fact baffled Beetee greatly but the poor old guy didn't utter a word. He has all the time in the world to ask Gale what it meant, but maybe it's Gale who is the poor guy here if what Beetee assumed was true.

Gale had been busy examining his bow he had received when him and Katniss were sent to District 8 for promo, to hear his peers enter his house. It's still amazing for Gale to know that he had a lot of functions to learn even though he had possessed this bow for two years.

It glowed dark blue in the dark, the light making its way from the transparent body to the outside world. The machinery inside gave a silent hum but that wasn't what Gale loved about it the most. The light shone brightly, reflecting on Gale's face as he sat there, in the dark, admiring one weapon, one reminder of the rebellion he allowed to exist with him. To remind him for the cause he fought for.

"I see you still held onto that," Beetee's voice startled Gale out of his depths, which he didn't appreciate much. He was losing it. His hunter's instinct. Hearing the softest of voices, the ability to not startle at someone's voice.

"Yeah, couldn't throw it away even if I want to," the case closed with a creaking noise as he slid it back under his bed.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come," he got up from the bedroom floor and motioned for Beetee to come and sit on his bed. Gale followed him after switching the lights to his bedroom on and sat right next to him, still fresh with all his memories of the war.

"You miss it, don't you?" Beetee murmured under his breath. Risa leaned on the door frame. Watching both the guys. As if they had some telepathic connection she could feel unspoken words of determination, courage and friendship passed among them.

"I will go to make some coffee," she felt her presence for the time being wasn't needed and resorted to making some coffee.

"Define it," chuckled Gale to which Beetee gave a soft smile but still not holding his gaze.

"I don't know how to tell you," he began, "It's like you are small. Incredibly small. Like an ant. Yes, definitely like an ant. And then there's this mean kid who threats to kill you with just a movement of his hand. Drown you by simply spilling water on you or trapping you under this bowl and you can't crawl your way out. And even after you get away from him, and you might not ever encounter him again, you are always under the impression, that maybe just so he might return with his unpleasant practices. Promising to kill you," he stares hard at the ground, finally getting it out.

Gale watches him, calculating every word he had said so far, wondering why was he saying this to him now when he had asked him this ages ago.

"Beetee," Beetee turned to look at Gale watching him working out the kinks in their plans, "What is it like? In the Arena? Why is it that it's so hard for a person who is not a Victor to understand it in any way?" Gale couldn't see the sense. Why Katniss would go to Finnick for solace when he had been her asylum all these years? What was there in being a Victor that he didn't understand? What was so hard in understanding the miseries of the tributes in the arena when he had been surviving under similar conditions ever since he was 14?

"Why would you want to know that?" It was obvious enough Beetee didn't want to discuss it. But he was rather curious as to why would Gale want to know about it?

Until now. Katniss. It was her that he wanted to understand it for. So he could help her through it. Help her through the traumas she faced every night that only the mere thought of Peeta could help her and nothing else. He wanted to protect Katniss, wants to protect her still.

"I guess I wouldn't understand unless and until I face it myself," he sighed and seemed to be concentrating hard on a fleck of dust on his carpet.

"You love her." It was a statement not a question.

"Define love," Gale couldn't help but think back to all the things he had loved. His dad, his family, his home, Katniss, everything of which he had lost.

"Love as in caring. You didn't love her that way. Did you?"

"Not going to deny that," he did care for her. Ofcourse he did. For four years, their families had been practically munching out of the same produce. Gale and Katniss hunted, their families ate. The mutual need to fulfill the stomachs of their families was what kept them together. Formed an unbreakable bond which led them both onto believe that they would stay that way forever.

Unexpected as it was, they didn't survive much long after they lost the reason to support each other. Unexpected as it was in the first place, Gale cared for someone outside his family more than he believed he could. But the most unexpected thing of all, was that he didn't, ever in his wildest imaginations, think even for a second that he would end up falling for the one person he so so wanted to despise for her wealth, for her having it better than anyone else.

"Who was she?" He could see Beetee smile from the fringe of his vision.

"She was... she was it."

A/N:- Okay, tell me frankly who all thought Mrs. Leshner was Madge?! And yes, a dog named Atom. I was kind of debating between Atom and Ion.

I know this chapter was kind of boring and long but I hope it got better in the end? What was your favourite part? Mine was the part where Gale sits there on the floor of his bedroom and that glow, oh! I love that addition in my fanfic!

Any doubts? concerns? criticism? Would love to hear about them :)