I wake up with my head on Peeta's chest, Hallie's head on my shoulder, Brennan's head on Peeta's stomach and Bailee's head on my stomach.
I'm the only one awake. I turn my head, and place a soft kiss to Hallie's temple, since she's closest to me.
"Mama?" Hallie whispers, sitting up.
"Hmm?" I mumble.
Her face screws with sorrow. "I didn't mean to Mama." She whispers.
"Mean to what?" I ask.
"I uh…I peed the bed Mama. I'm sorry." I look at the bed next to me and see that both Bailee and I are laying in pee.
"It's okay honey, I'll take care of it." I run my fingers through her hair. "How about you and Bai go take a bath?" I ask, waking Bailee.
"What Mama?" Bailee whines.
"Go and take a bath with Hal. She had an accident." I whisper. She looks down at the shirt she's wearing.
"That was mean Hallie!" she cries, waking Peeta and Brennan.
"Hey, be nice. It was an accident, up, go and take a bath." I tell them. Bailee climbs off the bed and follows Hallie to the bathroom.
"What happened?" Peeta asks.
"Hallie had an accident." I say. I sit up and see that it spread underneath me and past Peeta to Brennan.
"Gross!" Brennan complains.
"It's fine son, just go take a bath." Peeta says, ruffling his curls. Brennan gets up and walks off down the hall. Peeta and I take a shower in our bathroom, and we almost have sex before we remember that our three kids are awake and are bound to knock on the door for something. I get dressed in a beige bra, a white tank top and blue and white plaid pajama pants. I strip the sheets and pillows off the bed and pull them downstairs to the laundry room, starting a load.
"Kitty," Finn walks over to me and hugs me. "Thank you. Seriously, I can't repay you." he whispers.
"Don't bother." I wave him off. "If you insist on repaying me, you can take care of my godchildren." I say. He grins. Bailee comes downstairs in another one of my tee shirts, which I know she did the courtesy of getting on her own, a teddy bear that she sleeps with every night dragging on the floor behind her, her baby blanket over her shoulder and her thumb in her mouth. Her hair is sopping wet and I can tell she didn't get all of the soap out. "Come here, you," I kneel down and she walks over to me and hugs me. I hug her back. "You know that you didn't get all the soap out, right?" I ask.
She looks me in the eyes and grabs my hand. "Can you help me?" she asks.
"Come on," I stand up and let he drag me back upstairs to the bathroom. "Hal?" I call.
"Yeah Mama?" she calls from her bedroom.
"Come here please."
I turn on the tub as she exits her bedroom and walks down the hall to me.
"Yeah Mommy?" she asks.
I feel her hair and see she still has soap in it too. "Alright you two, take your clothes off again." I shut the door. They take off their clothes, which are my shirts and their panties and then they climb into the bath tub. I let them play for a bit. "Did I ever you two that I used to be a teacher?" I ask.
"No," Hallie says.
"Well, I was. I taught kindergarten, and then eighth grade, and then I got fired and then rehired at a ninth grade teacher, after you were born Hal. When you got two months, that's when I decided to go to be the teacher, and Auntie Annie went with me. Hal, you came to work with me, and I eventually quit, because I didn't get to spend time with Daddy anymore and I couldn't nurse you because you wouldn't use the bottle. You never got to see Daddy, either." I say.
"Really Mama? Would you ever go back to teaching?" Hal asks.
"I don't know…probably not…maybe though, I'm not sure." I kiss both of their foreheads and then wash the rest of the soap out of their hair all the way.
"Kat, when your done can I talk to you?" Peeta asks outside the door.
"Yeah, just give me a sec." I say. I wrap the girls up in towels and towel dry their hair, brush through it and then help them dress.
"Are you coming Mama?" Bailee asks, clearly not wanting me to be away from her.
"Just let me talk to Daddy and then I'll be right there." I say.
"Okay," She joins hands with Hallie and they disappear. I head down to me and Peeta's bedroom.
"Yeah baby?" I ask.
"I think we should go and check on the restaurant." He says.
"Today?" I ask.
"Soon." He replies. "Like…when school lets out. Gale talked to his mom about kindergarten and they're going to do summer school to start school on time. Let's just go before school lets out because they're not starting until the day after school lets out." He says. "We haven't checked on it since the twins were born aside from calling and I think we really need to." He says.
"Me too, let's go tomorrow. The kids will love New York." I give him a long kiss.
"Hey! Butt head! That's mine!" Hallie screams.
"No it's not! It's mine!" Brennan screams back.
"Mama!" They scream together. I sigh and go downstairs. They're fighting over a teddy bear. I walk over to them and take it from both of their hands.
"No it's not, it's mine." I say. Hallie sits down on the floor and crosses her arms in a pout.
"Daddy, Mama is being mean!" Brennan cries, sitting down on the floor in a pout. Peeta comes downstairs and eyes the bear in my hands.
"No she isn't. Don't fight over a bear. We have fifty more of them in this house." Peeta says. "And since Bailee has been a good girl, the bear is hers." Peeta takes the bear from me and hands it to Hallie, who is leaning against Mrs. Mellark with her thumb in her mouth, now two bears on her lap, and her blanket covering her.
"I don't want it." Bailee takes the bear and drops it on the floor.
"Then pick it up and bring it here. Don't throw things on the floor. That's sloppy and rude." I correct her.
"Mama," Brennan stands up. "I'm sorry for saying your mean." He says. I ruffle is curls.
"Just don't do it again, alright Bren?"
"Okay Mama." He wraps his arms around my legs in an attempt to hug me, so I just kneel down and hug him.
"Alright, I believe we have some holidays and birthdays to catch up on." Peeta says.
We have Hallie's birthday's presents, and Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and Brennan and Bailee's birthday presents.
So what we're going to do is have them open the birthday presents, then Christmas, then let them play with their stuff and have Thanksgiving for dinner.
Hallie opens first, and she screams when she sees her bike, and she hugs both Peeta and I. We got Brennan and Bailee their bikes, too. They scream too, and then we bring out the Christmas presents for all the kids, and they all go berserk.
We record it, their squeals of excitement, all of it.
It's so adorable. I lean against Peeta, and he puts his arm around me, rubbing my shoulder.
We have Christmas Breakfast and when we're done, we turn on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, that Haymitch has the sense to record.
"I wish we could have a snowball fight!" Brennan exclaims. "Mama is always the best." I laugh and he grins at me. We play Christmas music when the parade is over and the kids play with their new toys as the adults work on dinner.
"Stop it Butt Face! That's mine!" Hallie screams. I her Bailee start crying, and I walk into the living room to see Bailee sitting there with her own baby blanket in her hand, which is ripped in half, and Hallie sitting there with the other half.
Her teddy bear is ripped, too.
"Hallie!" I shout at her. "What in the world, why did you do that!" Peeta walks in here too, and sees what happened. I pick up Bailee, who is hysterically crying.
"Upstairs now, you can come down for dinner and your bath later. Your staying in there all day." Peeta says. Hallie bursts into tears as she storms off upstairs and slams the door.
Oh gosh, that's one of Peeta's buttons. Slamming doors I mean. He says that shows attitude. He goes right after her, as I hold Hallie.
"What happened?" Mama asks. I point at the floor, and Mama's jaw drops. Everyone in the family knows that Bailee can't sleep without her bear and blanket. Even last night she slept with it.
"Bai honey, Grandma can fix it." I soothe.
It is true, my mother can fix it. "No I can't Katniss." Mama whispers.
"Well then we'll get it fixed." I say. She just keeps crying and crying and crying, and she just stops suddenly, stops moving and stays still, only breathing. I know she passed out.
I remember the first time Hallie did this back when we was two. I was home alone and I had a panic attack and called the police. By the time that they got there, she was awake and they assured me she's fine and that it's normal.

PEETA'S POV

"Do not slam this door." I say to Hallie. She doesn't reply, she just cries into her pillow. I shut her door and go back downstairs. Bailee is unconscious in Katniss's arms.

KATNISS'S POV

As fast as she's out, she's awake again, and crying.
"Peeta, we'll get those firxed tomorrow, right?" I shoot him a look, and he knows I mean in New York.
"Let's go do it right now. I'll be back." He collects the blanket, the stunning and both parts of the bear.

PEETA'S POV

I walk into the Tailor's.
"How may I help you?" he smiles.
"Okay…so…I have two six year olds. One of them ripped these-" I set the ripped bear and the stuffing and the ripped blanket on the counter. "In half. The other six year old can't sleep without them. Please tell me you can fix it." I run my hands over my face, stressed.
"You the father of three of the kids that got kidnapped, aren't you?" he asks. I sigh and nod.
"Yes, my wife found them though."
"I'lll fix it for free. Give me an hour." He says.

KATNISS'S POV

She's still hysterical when Peeta gets back. "Bailee, looks what Daddy has!" I exclaim. She lifts her head just a bit, and sees the bear and the blanket, which both look good as new. She gasps and reaches for Peeta, who picks her up and hands her the blanket and the bear.
"Is this the same? You promise you didn't just buy a new one?" she asks.
"I promise baby girl, I promise." He kisses her forehead and sets her down.
"I want to take a nap." She complains. All of the kids are getting fussy because they don't normally stay awake all day. I lift up Bailee and carry her upstairs, and Peeta gets Brennan. I lay her down on her Tinker Bell bed. It's got tinker bell sheets and comforters and pillowcases, and her headboard is a castle, and her wall is lavender and she has light carpet and the rest of her furniture is white. I lay her in bed and sit down on the edge. "Mama, why did Hallie do that to me?" she asks, tears brimming in her eyes again. I kiss them away, putting my hand on her chest.
"I don't know baby, I don't know. It's better though, so don't worry." I kiss her forehead.
"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" she whispers.
"Of course baby," I rub her belly. She watches me for a while, and eventually rolls over. I move my hand to her back, because I know she's still awake. Soon enough though, her breathing gets slower and I know she's asleep. I cover her more and get up, closing her door after making sure her window is locked because I don't want some asshole stealing my daughter again. I leave her door open a crack and peek my head into Brennan's room to see him fast asleep. I creep in and lock his window, too. Then I kiss his forehead and shut his door. His room is light blue and he's got a Scooby doo bed and the bed itself is actually the mystery machine. His carpet is light and the rest of his furniture is black. His sheets and comforter and pillows though, are Scooby.
Then I go down the Hal's room. She's lying, tears sliding down her cheeks, staring at the ceiling. I walk into her room and lock her mirror. "Do you hate me, Mama?" she whimpers.
I pause in the doorway, and then turn to face her. She's crying harder now, and I know she really thinks I hate her. I walk over to her and sit down on the edge of her bed. "No honey, I don't hate you." I whisper.
Her bedroom is light pink and she has Princess Belle bedding and there is Belle on her wall, but her furniture is white, and her floor is light. "Then why were you shouting at me? You never shout at me."
"Because honey…you destroyed Bailee's teddy bear and her baby blanket. You know better than that." I say.
"I'm sorry." She whispers.
"It's not me you need to apologize to." I whisper.
"Bailee!" she calls.
"Is asleep. She's asleep. You should be, too." She slides under her covers.
"Stay with me until I asleep Mama please." She says.
Her speech is terrible. "Okay honey." I rub her back until she's asleep, and then I kiss her forehead and exit the room, leaving her door open a crack.

…..a…..

Brennan comes downstairs first, and he normally climbs right into Peeta's lap, but this time he climbs into mine. "Hi Mommy," he whispers.
"Hi Bren," I run my fingers through his curls. "Sleep well?" I ask. He rests his head on my shoulder and nods.
"Yes. I missed you Mama." He whispers.
I laugh, "You just saw me a few hours ago." I say.
"I'm not talking about a few hours ago. I'm talking about when we weren't home." He whispers. His eyes fill with tears, and Brennan normally doesn't cry. "I really missed you." he starts crying, and I wipe away his tears and hug him.
"I missed you too. But I'm here now," I whisper.
"Don't let me go away again." he whispers. The family is watching us, and I'm fighting to keep it together.
"I won't, I promise." I whisper.
I'm silent for a long time, crying on the inside and fighting not to on the outside. I don't like crying in front of the kids.
"Well…I'm gonna go check on the girls." I whisper.
I'm lying, and everyone but the kids know it. Peeta knows what I'm really going to do. They all think I'm just going upstairs to be alone.
No, I'm going upstairs to sob my eyes out. I set Brennan down and go upstairs, moving quicker than I usually would. Peeta doesn't hesitate to follow me, and the second the door clicks shut behind him, I'm hysterical in his arms. "I-Just w-w-wish I c-c-could h-ave k-kept t-t-them safer!" I sob. He carries me to the bed and lays down next to me, pulling me against him and tangling his fingers in my hair.
"We all do, Katniss," he whispers.
Aside from that, he's silent, just giving me the comfort that I need, making it's clear that he's here to talk when I need it.
After nearly an hour, my face is just red and blotchy.
"Where's Mama and Daddy Hallie?" I hear Bailee ask Hal. I get up and slip into Peeta and I's bathroom before they get in here because I don't want them to see me crying.
"I don't know. Bailee, I'm sorry for breaking your blanket and bear. That was mean."
"It's okay. I hope Mama and Daddy let you come out." Bailee says. I wash away the redness and blotchy ness and then just get in the shower. Halfway through, Bailee walks into the bathroom.
It doesn't bother me that the shower is glass. She's seen me naked before, she's taken a shower with me before, there is no reason for me to freak out. "Mama, when can Hallie come out of her room?" she asks.
"Go ask Daddy," I tell her.
"I did ask Daddy and Daddy said to ask you." she says. I sigh.
"Well then go get Daddy." I tell her. She walks off, leaving the door open. Peeta walks in the bathroom and shuts the door.
"Yes?" he asks.
"Do you think she can come out yet?" I ask as I wash the soap from my hair.
"Yes," he says.
"Alright, go let her out." I say.
"Okay…" he says. He walks out, shutting the door behind himself.
Five minutes later, Hallie walks into the bathroom with Peeta behind her. "Daddy said I can come out, is that true?" she asks.
"Yes honey," I reply.
"Okay," she leaves the door open, and Peeta closes it for me.

…..w…..

Tomorrow morning, everyone goes home and we leave for New York. It's a five hour drive, and when we get there, the kids are practically bubbling with excitement.
"What do you want to do?" Bailee asks Brennan and Hallie.
"I want to go to the park! And that thing for the bad thing that happened!" Hallie says.
She means central park and the 9/11 memorial.
"I want to go to Time's Square! Can we do all of it?" Bailee asks.
"After we check on the restaurant and get a hotel." Peeta says.
We get a hotel and ditch the luggage and then head by text to the restaurant.
"Wait a second, Katniss? Peeta?" Macy looks down at the kids.
"Hey Macy," I smile.
"Oh my gosh!" She exclaims,
"Hallie, Brennan, Bailee, this is Macy." I introduce her to them.
"Hi Macy! I'm Hallie! I'm six!"
"Hi Hallie, last time I saw you, you were just a little baby. Only about three months old." Macy smiles.
"I'm Brennan! I'm six!"
"And I'm Bailee! I'm six too! We're twins!"
"You three are just adorable!" Macy says. Peeta and I start to move around and check on things, trusting Macy with the kids.
Everything is in perfect condition, and I see a few people I notice but can't quiet put my finger on. I move back downstairs to the kids, and Peeta goes to the kitchen to deal with the stuff I don't understand. Someone walks past and nearly knocks Brennan over, but I steady him.
Eventually, Peeta and I and the kids head out.
"Let's go to the memorial first," I say. Hallie holds my right hand, Brennan is held by me and Bailee is held by Peeta.
A wave of memories that haunted my nightmares for so long surges through me as I stare at the memorials. I read the names, and Peeta gasps and grabs my wrist.
"What?" I ask. He points to a name, and my heart speeds up.
Gary William Mellark.
That's Peeta's Grandfather. He was the only person that never made it out. Peeta and I have stood here and searched both memorials for such a long time, but we never could find him. But it's right here.
He worked inside of the twin towers themselves.
"Who is that? What does it say?" Brennan peers at the name, but Peeta is just staring at me with a blank expression.
"At least we know what happened to him, Peeta." I whisper.
"I just need some time. I'll call you later." he sets down Bailee and walks away.
"Mama, what's wrong with Daddy?" Hallie asks.
"Well…you guys know how Daddy and I were affected by 9/11." I say. They nod. "The only person that didn't make it was Daddy's grandfather. He worked inside of the first tower. His name was Gary William Mellark. Daddy and I searched both of the monuments all the time to find his name, and we never could…but Daddy just found it, and he's upset. He'll meet up with us later." I say.
"Oh…" Hallie says.
They're way too young to possibly understand.
The entire family actually searched and we never found the name.
He's Mrs. Mellark's father. I pull out my phone and take a picture and then of where I'm at and send them to her.
She deserves to know.
Me: Peeta found it…he's pretty upset…thought you should know
Mrs. Mellark: oh my god
Me: I know
After fifteen minutes, I join hands with the girls and order Brennan to stay in front of me as we head to central park.
This is the last place I want to be right now after what I just saw, but I deal with it because the kids want to be here. "This is where Daddy and I got married, almost seven years ago." I say, standing in the exact spot that the alter was at. "I stood here." I back up. "And Daddy stood right where you are, Brennan." I smile.
"Cool," Hallie whispers.
We start to walk again, and I keep Brennan in front of me and keep Hallie and Bailee's hands in mine.
"Right here is my favorite spot. This is where I used to sit whenever I came here." I sit down at my tree by the pond. The kids sit down with me. "Are you guys hungry?" I ask. They nod and I open my purse backpack and get out the lunchbox and hand them their sandwiches and their drinks.
I'm not going to bother Peeta, because I know he needs some time, and I bugging him won't do anything but upset him more.
I see the twin towers on fire in my head and I see the smoke billowing through the park. I hear screams and my family calling for Prim, Jo and I.
I find myself trying to find Johanna and Prim, or Peeta or Rye or Graham or somebody I know. Johanna grasps my arm and Prim's, and we take off. A woman catches us, a police officer, and ignores out screaming.
I didn't realize Peeta's grandfather was dying, or that my family was being forced to leave central park, without the officers caring that they had left behind children.
That woman was Effie's sister. That's who got us to Effie, who raised Johanna and I till we were eighteen and took Prim home.
"Mama, that lady is staring at you." Hallie whispers, tapping my arm. I look up to see a girl that looks to be nineteen staring at me. I narrow my eyes and then it clicks.
It's Tori and Olive. My two students. They're whispering, glancing at me as if they're trying to decide it's my or not. I narrow my eyes. It has to be them, who else could it be? I notice Olive's brown eyes and red hair that always stays at her mid back, and Tori her blond hair that is perfectly straight and her clear blue eyes. Then I wave, and I see both of them smile as if I've just confirmed their suspicions. Then they walk over to me, and the kids all look at me in confusion. I stand up.
"Your Ms. Everdeen, aren't you?" Olive asks.
"I'm Ms. Everdeen if your Olive and Tori." I reply. They both smile and then hug me.
"Who are you?" Brennan snaps.
"Hallie, Brennan, Bailee, this is Olive and this is Tori. They were my students back when Hallie was a little baby, and a little while before I met Daddy again." I explain. Hallie stands up, flashing her underwear as her dress rides up. Olive and Tori just smile at her childness.
"Hi! I'm Hallie!" she sticks out her tiny hand.
"I'm Olive, nice to see you again Hallie." Olive smiles.
"I'm Tori." They both shake Hallie's hand.
The one thing Bailee doesn't like is strangers. She's very shy when it comes to people that aren't family. Brennan is, too. They both shy away behind my legs. I put one hand on Bai's head and one on Bren's.
"You and your family have been all over the news. Is it true?" Olive whispers.
"Yes," I sigh. Bailee reaches up to me and I lift her up. "How old are you girls now?" I ask.
"I'm twenty." Olive smiles.
"And I'm nineteen." Tori says. I let out a low whistle. Hallie sits down again.
"Wow…last time I saw you two, you were fourteen and you were thirteen." I say.
"Yeah…after you left…not to make you feel bad, but we got a horrible teacher. She hit Sophia."
"Oh my gosh." I whisper.
"Yeah, but uh…Sophia got pretty pi-mad, and she hit her back." Her eyes flicked to the kids. "She didn't even get in trouble." She laughs.
"Wow…" I trail off.
"Yeah,"
"So are you guys in college now?" I ask.
"Yeah…I'm studying law." Olive admits.
"And I'm going to be a teacher." Tori says.
Eventually, Bailee calms and sits down in the dirt again, and Brennan does the same.
I keep chatting with them for almost two hours.
"Mama!" Hallie eventually interrupts. "When is Daddy coming back?"
"I don't know honey," I tell her. "Don't interrupt me, you say excuse me."
"Sorry," she says. "Excuse me can I call him?" She asks.
"No, just leave Daddy alone. He'll come back, I promise." I smile.
Hallie starts to go through my phone and starts to play music for herself and for Hallie and Brennan.
She starts to go through my pictures then, and I don't care because there isn't a single picture that is bad because I don't take bad pictures. I resume my conversation with Olive and Tori. "Mama your phone died." Hallie drops it back in my purse and I sigh because I need my phone for when Peeta calls.
She sits back against the tree and begins to suck her thumb, Bailee is asleep on the ground and Brennan is soon to follow.
"I'm sorry, do you guys have the time?" I ask. Olive looks at her phone.
"It's four thirty." Olive says. I look down at the kids. They should have already had their nap, and they're getting cranky. Brennan and Hallie are snappy at each other and they end up waking up Bailee who starts crying. I end the conversation.
"I'm really sorry but I need to take them back to the hotel. Maybe we can meet for lunch somewhere?" I ask.
"Awesome," Olive grins. I give them my number and they hug me again and walk away. I gather my things and put them in my purse and lift up Bailee. She stops crying and goes back to sleep. I take Brennan's hand and make Hallie walk in front of me as I flag down a taxi. Hallie and Brennan continue to argue.
"Stop fighting or we're going home and we're never coming back." I say. They silence, sticking their thumbs in their mouths. The taxi driver looks thankful that I made them silence. I pay him and give him a big tip because he put up with my kids, and then I take them up to the hotel and put them to bed as I charge up my phone. Six missed called, the most recent being from twenty minutes ago. I dial back Peeta, it having been five hours since he left.
"Kat? I've been trying to reach you." he sighs.
"I'm sorry. Hallie killed my battery. We went back to the hotel because Bailee fell asleep in the dirt and Brennan and Hal were fighting." I sigh.
"Okay, I'm coming." he hangs up.

...9...

"My mother called." He practically spits in anger at me.
"Okay..." I trail off.
"She said your a spiteful asshole. She told me to divorce you and take the kids and move." He says. "Because you send her those two pictures."
I swallow as pain contorts in my chest. I didn't expect her to get pissed. I expected her to be thankful I told her. "He's her father...don't you think she should know?" I whisper, panic flooding through my veins that he's going to listen to her.
"Yes." He says.
"And what did you say to her?" I whisper.
"I told her she's a fucking asshole and she's never allowed to see your or any of our kids again. I told her she's not in my family anymore."
"Your not leaving me, then?" I ask.
"No." He hugs me and kisses my forehead. "I couldn't if I wanted to."
"What happens if she calls me?" I ask.
"She can't. I blocked her number."

...8...

We go to Times Square the next day and the kids have a field day. We let them though, because it's cute to watch. Hallie keeps us in some store for at least an hour.
And then we pass the Disney store. All three of them start jumping up and down and squealing and tugging our hands. Peeta grins at me and I grin at him.
"Let's go and eat." Peeta says. They stop jumping and their faces mask horror.
"No! Let's go see Belle! Please! Mama, tell Daddy to let us go see Belle!" Hallie says.
"Yeah Mama! That's not nice!" Brennan whines.
"Please Mama? Tell Daddy." Bailee says.
We really should have brought the stroller.
"No, no, let's go eat." I say. Peeta and I are only playing with them.
The three of them look up at us, sit down, cross their arms and start throwing a temper tantrum. I lift up Bailee and pull Hallie off the ground, and Peeta picks up Brennan and puts him on his shoulders.
"We're just kidding, you three." Peeta tells them. We both laugh, but the kids look upset.

But only until we get into the store. It's huge and Peeta and I make the big mistake of setting down Bailee and Brennan, and me letting go of Hallie's hand.

Because, suddenly, they're gone. Peeta and I split up, running around the store, trying to find one of them. There's ton of squealing, screaming children in here, and parents running around.

I see a girl that looks like Bailee from behind, but when I spin her to face me, it is not my daughter.

"Hey! Don't touch my kid!" A pissed off mother screams at me. I put my hands up.

"Sorry, I thought she was one of my kids." I say.

"One of them?" she repeats. "You're missing your kids?" she asks.

"Yes, I'm missing three, and I can't find any of them." I look around, honestly pancking. Last time I couldn't find my babies, I lost them for months.

"Oh hey, your that mother that had her kids get kidnapped with the rest of the kids in her family, aren't you?" she asks.

"Yes, but I found the kids and now they ran off again and I'm terrified that someone took them again." I'm panicking.

"I'll help you find your kids." She says. "What do they look like?"

I pull out my phone and show her a picture of all three of them.

"Okay, we meet back here when we've found one." She says.

"Okay, my husband is looking too. If he yells at you just tell him that Katniss said you could help." I tell her.

"Okay," she replies.

We split up and start to search for the kids. After an hour I see Brennan climbing up a shelf, getting yelled at by an employee. He's trying to get to a huge mickey mouse all the way up at the very high ceiling. "Brennan!" I scold. "Get down here!" he looks down at me and grins.

"No Mama!" he continues to climb, and I just wait, because he's going to fall.

"Miss, you need to get your son down from there." A worker says behind me.

"Well what do you want me to do? Climb up there after him?" I demand. "Brennan Drew Mellark, get down from there!"

And that's when it happens. He loses his footing and falls. I don't manage to catch him, and he lands right on his right leg before he fully falls.

He starts screaming hysterically. His voice echoes around the huge store, and a ton of people come up behind us. I kneel down next to him. "Brennan," I help him sit up. He keeps screaming though, and he pushes me away when I try to pick him up.

"What happened, Mama?" Hallie asks. Peeta comes up behind me, and the lady comes up behind him with Bailee.

"Brennan, you have to let me pick you up honey," I tell him. He shakes his head over and over and over again. Peeta puts his hand on my shoulder. I stand up and move out of his way and he lifts up Brennan, making his screams increase. He shifts him so he isn't touching his right leg at all. I grab Hallie and take Bailee from the lady. "Thank you," I say. She nods.

…s…

We sit in Brennan's hospital room.

"Is Brennan dead Mama?" Bailee whispers. He's knocked out as we wait for the doctor.

"No honey," I whisper. I called my mother and she said he probably broke it. She said that Mrs. Mellark is being ridiculous and that I did the right thing by telling her and she said that she and Daddy told her to leave.

The doctor finally enters the room, and I retell the story of what happened.

"How high would you say he was when he fell?" he asks.

"Twenty feet, probably." I say. "Maybe fifteen or seventeen, somewhere around there."

"Well…then I'm going to take a wild guess and say he broke it, let's do an X-Ray though." He says.

He does an X-Ray, and it's very clear he broke it.

When Brennan wakes, the doctor asks what his favorite color is. "I like blue," he smiles.

The doctor puts on a blue cast.

…s…

"Oh please Mama!" Brennan begs.

"Yeah, please Daddy? It's only one night!" Hallie adds.

"Only one!" Bailee says.

They want to sleep over at Gale's with Justin. Peeta does not want the girls to go.

"Fine," Peeta sighs. "Let's go,"

…..s…..

"So…" I begin. "We're alone for the first time in six years." I say.

It is true. We never get to be alone because we like to have the kids with us, but now we're completely alone, the doors and windows are locked and there isn't a chance in hell that someone is going to show up.

"We are indeed." He says, pushing me against the wall. "We are very alone."

We don't get to have sex anymore, not nearly as much as we'd like. And when we do, it's in the shower, and it's getting old. We're not that old, only thirty two.

He places his hands on my cheeks and brushes his thumbs across my cheek bones. "And I plan on making the most of it. So you are going to do as I say, and only as I say, understand?" he asks. I swallow and bite my lip. He raises his eyebrows and I nod. "Good, come here." He pulls me upstairs and into our bathroom. Then he shuts the door and closes me in here.

"Peeta, what the hell?" I look around, and see that the tub is steaming with a bubble bath, and it smells strongly on flowers in here. I look into the tub to see that it's a bubble bath with dried flowers.

He wants me to take a bath?

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

I sigh and shed my clothes and lower myself in the tub.

He doesn't come back to check on me.

PEETA'S POV

I know she's probably confused, but I'm going to make the best of the only night we'll probably ever get alone again until the kids are older.

After I close her into the bathroom, I put a towel in the dryer to warm it up really good and then I sit outside the bathroom door and wait.

When the water starts to drain, I get the hot towel from the dryer and walk into the bathroom, taking the towel she has in her hand out of her hand and wrapping her in the warm towel. She stares at me for a really long time.

KATNISS'S POV

I don't understand what he's doing, but I like it a lot. The towel is warm and fluffy and cozy.

"I love you, you know that, right?" he whispers, his lips creeping closer to mine.

"I know. I love you too." I whisper.

He puts me right back in the tub, but this time, he comes with me.

…s…

I'm very dazed when I wake up in the morning.

How many times was that?

I think it was four or six in the tub, and then like…ten in bed?

I'm lying directly on top of him, and we're both completely naked.

"I love you," he kisses my forehead and my cheeks and then my lips.

"I love you too," I mumble, dropping my head back onto his shoulder.

"Well, well, well," Johanna snickers, leaning against the doorframe.

I'm not bothered about the fact that we're both naked, and I doubt Peeta is either. This is the third time she's showed up.

The first time we were in the shower and in action. She was just like "have fun" and then she left.

The second, we were in the shower again. She just snickered and walked away.

And now we're pancaked together. "Did you have a nice sleep?" she teases.

"Fuck off, Jo." I snap.

"Oh, well I brought your kids home. They're downstairs, actually." She smirks and takes a long drag of her coffee.

"Let's go see Mama and Daddy!" Hallie squeals.

"Dammit! Shut the door!" I hiss at her. She laughs and slams it, and I spring up and punch the lock. Peeta pulls on boxers and sweats and I pull on underwear, a bra and one of his t-shirts, which is all I wear in the morning. I strip the bed of the sheets because they need washed now, and then I rake a brush through my hair and unlock the door and drag the sheets out of the bedroom and downstairs to the laundry room. They must have stopped in their bedrooms or something. I start the wash.

"Hi Mama!" Hallie jumps into my arms. "I missed you!"

"Hi Hal, did you have fun?"

"Yeah! We played all sorts of game and stuff! We had to leave early and Mr. Hawthorne tried to call but nobody answered. He called Auntie Jo Jo and she came and took us home." She grins a cheesy smile.

I didn't even hear the phone ring.

"They were probably still asleep." Johanna says. I set down Hallie and flick off Johanna when the kids aren't looking.

We actually were still asleep. Brennan has to be carried everywhere, and he's sitting on the couch and I know Johanna carried him in the house.

"Thanks Jo," I say seriously.

"Oh, you're welcome. Gale was going to bring the kids home. I said I would do it." She clearly was saving my ass, and Peeta's.

I hate her but love her so much.