Katniss POV

Going into the office the Monday after Halloween was awkward. Finnick was talking about how he just knew Peeta had slept with someone on Halloween. Clove jokingly said it was her, Glimmer was furious, and I kept my distance the entire day working on a teleconference with a South Korean economist.

I just knew when I was done with my meeting I'd get an earful. But sitting there I wondered if Peeta had told him and if he was planning on it.

I didn't dwell on it for too long as I was working, but the thought kept coming back all day. Even as I was turning off the lights in my office after working overtime.

Rue sat in the front waiting for me to hand me back my cell phone.

"Your sister called, and so did Finnick's friend." She said.

"Thanks Rue, see you tomorrow."

"You two are dating right?" She asked me suddenly.

"Who?"

"You and Finnick's friend."

"Who told you?"

"When he called he told me."

"He's been telling people!?"

"Oh no he said I'm the first to know."

"Well, yes we are."

She chuckled, "That's so cute, but Finnick will kill him."

"Really?" Rue nodded.

"Night Katniss, see you tomorrow." I called Prim on my way home. She told me that the farm was doing well, and that Gale wanted to talk about the wedding when I flew back for Christmas.

I called Peeta next, "Hello?" He answered.

"So Rue knows, who else?"

"No one promise."

"Can I tell Finnick?"

"You... You want to?"

"I have a plan," I smiled mischievously. He could tell through the phone.

"Then you get to tell him. Hey I was wondering, are you doing anything for Thanksgiving?"

I had been planning on a microwave meal and a book, "No why?"

"Well, you know my mom doesn't want me enlisting right?"

"Yeah,"

"And at Thanksgiving she'll just cry unless you come."

"So you want me to distract her from you?"

"Kind of,"

"Alright, but under one condition."

"What?"

"I won't have to give her my life story."

"Deal." I could hear his smile perfectly.

"See you on Friday okay?"

"Friday." I hung up and went straight to bed plotting to tell Finnick I was dating his best friend.

The next day I was stuck faxing some papers over seas to one of Haymitch's clients.

I was grabbing more papers to be faxed from Boggs when I heard Finnick's voice.

"I just don't get why he won't tell me who he had sex with." Finnick complained to the entire office.

"Maybe he wanted to torture us." Boggs turned and eyed Finnick. "With you never shutting up."

"Boggs he doesn't shut up normally." Ginger said signing something. Beetee let out a laugh as he tinkered with one of the broken computers.

"I'm just saying."

"Yeah well you've been just saying things for the past day and a half." Glimmer sighed.

"Why do you care about the guys love life anyway?" Clove asked.

"I care about all of you guys!" Finnick said deeply offended.

"No kidding" Cato laughed.

"I do." He said. Thresh sat back watching the conversation with an amused smile.

"Is that all Boggs?" I asked gathering the few papers.

"Yeah thanks Katniss." He said turning back to his work.

"I just want to know who my best friend was being a slut around!"

"Hey!" I said to him, "Don't talk about my boyfriend like that." Then I turned and walked into the faxing room. The look on his face was priceless and very worth it.

After faxing Boggs' papers I lingered for a moment or two before stepping out. I had a lunch meeting with one of my clients and Finnick.

Walking out into the office I could feel eyes staring at me, but I chose to ignore them. Instead I walked calmly over to the elevator where Finnick stopped me.

"Boyfriend!? BOYFRIEND!"

"Yes genius," I said pressing the button around him, "And no we didn't have sex, he was so drunk he wouldn't let me walk home so I stayed overnight. Get your head out of the gutter." I said getting around him and into the elevator. "Now come on we have a lunch date."

"With him!?"

"No the client remember," I said yanking him in with me.

"So how long have you...?"

"Since Friday."

"And you didn't have sex?"

"Do I look stupid or am I stupid?"

"No, no... I'm just shocked is all."

"Why?"

"I don't know I've never really seen Peeta with someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

"Well yeah, you're kind of closed off, a bit subdue, and oddly good at keeping secrets."

"What is with the people of Seattle wanting to know my secrets?"

"When someone is good at keeping secrets it means they've got a good story." He said with a sly smile.

"Why don't you see me with Peeta?"

"Because, he's an open book, outgoing, charming, charismatic, and terrible at keeping secrets." We reached the ground floor and made it to our appointment.

When we got back in the elevator, Finnick told me this, "You know you aren't allowed to break up with him right?"

"Huh?"

"Because he's my best friend, he comes before business." I felt so threatened then that I had to take a moment before answering. "If you hurt him, I may just pull a few strings to get you removed from this office."

"It hasn't been a week yet calm yourself."

"I won't deal with my partner messing around with my best friend okay? Don't play games."

"Okay." I said as the elevator doors opened and he exited in front of me. I was afraid. I knew that fear would be a trigger. I just knew it. I hadn't felt so threatened in years. Not since she...

I stumbled out of the elevator more dramatically than I would have liked to as the memory came back. The cause of my night terrors, that woman entered my mind. Only when I felt threatened were those memories drawn up. Did he know that? Could he have known that?

The one thing that terrifies me even to this day. Why did he bring back the memory? Why did he do that?

"Katniss are you okay?" He asked in a changed tone flipping from intimidation to fear without missing a beat.

"I'm fine." I said placing my hands on my arms. I had to cover my scars both mental and physical. I couldn't allow myself the memory.

Johanna and Boggs got up from their desks and came to me. I backed away gripping my arms tighter and tighter. I fought the memory back so hard tears brimmed in my eyes. I hit the wall with a literal thud, just like she had done to me all those years ago.

"Katniss what's happening?" Johanna asked.

"Trigger... Just... Just a trigger... I'll be okay." I got out between clenched teeth.

"Trigger?" Boggs asked. "She has triggers?" Boggs put his hands over mine. Rough just like hers had been. Just like her hands had been.

"Let go." I begged him, "Let go. Let go!" His hands flew off my arms in a moment.

"Clove get Haymitch." Ginger said.

"Should I call 911?" Thresh asked nearing us.

"I'm fine it's just a trigger..." I said, I just kept saying that. It was only a trigger. "I'm fine." But in a moment I wasn't, because the memory was there.

"Are you sure Katniss?" I think Glimmer asked it, but it wasn't Glimmer it was my mom.

"Don't hurt Prim." I said, "Just come back to me and everything will be okay." I needed my mother back on planet Earth. She couldn't get sucked back into the vortex she was in almost constantly. Now she was going to hurt me.

"Who's Prim?" Beetee asked.

"Her sister." Finnick answered, "Katniss look at me,"

I closed my eyes. "Prim..." I groaned remembering the pain.

"What happened?" A new voice joined the darkness, I figured it was Haymitch's.

The memory was almost over, just a few more seconds of torture and I'd be okay.

"Sweetheart, where are you?" He asked. That's what the police officer called me. Sweetheart, I was only sixteen then. Sweetheart, I was too young then. Sweetheart, will you be okay sweetheart? Sweetheart.

"I can take care of her, don't take her away." I said.

"You're okay." Haymitch said.

"I can take care of her I promise just keep that woman away from us let me keep her please."

"Katniss wake up. You're in the office, nothing bad is happening." Haymitch said again. He was the only one who knew a bit of my predicament. He knew I had triggers he just didn't know why or what caused them.

I opened my eyes and gasped for breath, my arms were white from my grip. I moved my hand to my head. As always I forgot what had happened a few minutes before the memories.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Something triggered you, but you're fine now." Haymitch said. At the time I had wanted to ask am I now? Really am I?

I was shaking and felt the familiarity of chills run down my spine. My heart slowed and my eyes dried quickly. I had gotten better, two years prior I would have been unconscious in a matter of moments.

"I'm sending you home." Haymitch concluded.

"I'm fine-"

"No Sweetheart. Go home," He said. "You have someone to take you home? I don't want you walking."

"I'll call someone." Finnick said. Taking me into our office. He sat me down, made sure I was stable, and then dialed the phone, "Peeta, you free? I need you to do me a favor, can you take Katniss home? Yeah she's sick. Thanks pal. And by the way remind me to punch you for dating her."

Finnick walked over to me watching me like a hawk, "I don't have a good tolerance for threats..." I answered his unspoken question. "They hurt..." I could feel how pale my face was, it was an improvement from before.

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't know." I said. "Finnick... Not all people have good stories." I said looking him dead in the eye. There was a flicker of fear in his own eyes. Afraid of me huh?

"Did you get a ride for her?" Haymitch asked checking in on us.

"Yeah, he's on his way."

"Let's get her down stairs okay?" Haymitch said exiting the office.

"Come on Katniss." Finnick said putting an arm around me.

"I can walk." I said in a shaky voice. I stood up and stumbled only slight as my blood tried to figure out where to go.

"Really?" He smiled, but I did not return the look. My last attack was a bit over a year ago, and then I'd almost thrown up. "I feel bad." He said helping me walk.

I did not answer him, I was shaking and cold like always after an attack.

I was sat down in the main lobby, my phone and laptop handed to me. They rested across my lap. I ran my hands along them, to make sure they were my own. Something about those memories was that I could never feel anything around me.

Finnick had his hand on my shoulder almost afraid for me. Or maybe of me.

"Katniss," I heard Peeta enter the room concern filled my ears, and then there were hands on my arms. They were not her hands, "Come on Katniss, I'm taking you home."

I stared at him for a moment before speaking, "Right... Home."

"Let's go." He said helping me stand. "Rue can you get her in my car?" He asked.

Rue nodded and took me firmly by the arms and placed me in the car.

"Get better Katniss." She said in a small voice.

"Thank you." I said as the car door closed.

I looked at my phone just as it rang with Prim's tone. "Prim?"

"Hi Kat, I didn't think you'd pick up actually."

"I got out early." I said.

"I wanted to quickly ask, when are you coming home?"

"For Christmas." I said, "The twenty-third."

"Okay, thanks Kat bye."

"Bye... Prim?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too Katniss. Bye."

"Bye." She was real. My baby sister was alive and well.

Peeta was talking to Finnick. I looked over and knew they were talking about my trigger.

I took deep breaths thinking about Archer. Thinking about riding him through the open mountain trails of Montana. How I loved riding him.

Peeta got into the car and watched me feel my laptop for a few moments. "Katniss?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"What did Finnick tell you?"

"Not much."

"..." He started driving during my silence. "I only get attacks when I feel threatened... They surface old... old memories that still haunt me. And I can't get rid of them so they have to play out and... Sometimes they make me like this. This is the first time in a year it's happened." My hands traveled up my cold arms.

"I'll talk to him. Okay? He shouldn't have said those things. It's alright Katniss." And he was right. I just didn't know how well I believed him. "You'll be alright." Though that was bull shit.

I didn't say anything the rest of the car ride home. I tried to get out on my own, but Peeta came around and walked me up to my room and stood in the door way with me.

'This is my home now. Not that place. This is where I belong' I had told myself this for a moment before Peeta moved me to the couch.

He went back out and locked him car before coming back in and closing the door.

"You're shaking." He said.

"I'm always cold after..." He went and pulled a blanket out from my only closet. He draped it across my body and held me.

"You don't have to stay." I said after a moment. All he did was kiss my head. He was fine right there. So I fell asleep in his arms.

My phone ringing woke me. "Hello?" I answered as Peeta rubbed his eyes.

"Katniss, are you alright?"

"I'm fine Annie,"

"I could just kill Finnick for doing that to you."

"Everything's fine Annie."

"I just wanted to make sure."

"Thank you."

"Are you alone? I could come by real quick."

"No I'm not alone, Peeta's here."

"I think I'll drop by anyway."

"Don't go out of your way to-"

"I'll be there in half an hour honey." Then she hung up.

"I think I'm going to shower." I said. Peeta nodded sleepily, so I kissed his forehead before leaving.

I'd stepped out of the shower to look at a ghostly figure of a girl. The only thing with color was my bright red scars. I rubbed my arms subconsciously I sometimes remember how much it hurt to get them. But normally I didn't dwell on it.

I changed quickly and walked back out to see Peeta stretching by the couch. I walked over and wrapped my arms around his neck. He let his hands take hold of my waist. He then rocked me back and forth rubbing the small of my back.

"Thank you." I whispered before kissing him. I hadn't been held in years at that point in time. He just leaned his forehead on mine, until we heard a knock at the door.

I answered to find Annie standing in front of me. "Hi sweetie." She said hugging me. I was just a charity case to her then... "Hi Peeta."

"Hi Annie." He greeted her, I felt really spacy when Annie walked in. She and Peeta talked for a bit and I think at one point they asked me a few questions I didn't answer because I heard a loud, "Katniss!"

"Huh!?" I looked around.

"Are you alright?" Annie asked. I nodded.

"Tired." I said.

"Did you eat?" She asked. Did I? I couldn't remember.

"I'm not really hungry Annie." I stood up and went to my bedroom. I curled up under my covers and fell asleep.

The next day at work was hesitant, everyone was afraid to set me off after what had happened. After about a week everyone was back to their normal selves. I enjoyed the normalcy. I liked it better than caution.

The next weeks are calm and uneventful. Peeta and I grew closer in our relationship, work was fine, and all seemed smooth.

We all got the week of Thanksgiving off. Peeta and I were driving up to his parents house for the weekend.

We climbed into his car and laughed the entire drive. It was late when we arrived Tuesday night. That was when I met his mom and dad.

"You nervous?"

"Not really." I laughed.

"Let's go." He put his arm around me as he knocked on the door.

"Hi Peeta." His mother answered the door and hugged him, "And Katniss." She smiled and hugged me too, "I've heard so much about you." She said.

"I hope not too much." I laughed.

"Come on in." She said leading us inside. It was a small house, Peeta said it wasn't the home he grew up in, but that his parents bought it when he went to college.

"Hey dad." Peeta said greeting his father in the kitchen.

"Peeta!" His father turned from the stoves to hug him.

"Dad this is Katniss." He said to the kind faced old man.

"Katniss, nice to meet you." I shook his father's large hand quickly. "Dinner's about ready if you want to take a seat."

"Dad owns a bakery in town." Peeta informed, "I'll take you by if you like Katniss." I nodded and smiled. We all sat around the table for dinner.

I sat between Peeta's father and Peeta. When they all held out their hands, I took them but looked around curiously for a moment.

They said a prayer and then began to eat, "So Katniss Peeta tells me you work at the corporation with Finnick."

"Yes ma'am." I said.

"I think it's wonderful how close they are, there."

"I think so too." I smiled.

"Peeta tells us you're not from here."

"That's right." I said, "I was born by Fort Peck, Montana. Really close to Canada"

"Oh I hear it's lovely up there." She said.

"It is, especially in the fall when all the trees lose their leaves."

"So what do your parents do? Do they still live up there?"

I paused, "In a way I suppose... My father passed away when I was fourteen."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, was he ill?"

I stopped for a moment, "No ma'am."

"It was sudden?"

"Extremely. Broke my mother in half. My father left me his estate so now I run the family horse farm."

"Your mother didn't receive it?"

"My mother... Is obsolete." I said as Prim's tone went off on my phone, "And that's my baby." I said without thinking. I quickly turned off my phone.

"Excuse me... Your what?"

"My little sister, she's practically my child." I saw Mrs. Mellark take a breath after I said that, "My little sister is sixteen, she still lives in Montana on our farm while I work here."

"Working two jobs?"

"Yes." I answered. The rest of dinner I avoided difficult topics. The next day Mr. Mellark took Peeta and I to his bakery where I met other townsfolk from Peeta's childhood. Peeta seemed embarrassed when some people showed me old photos of him but I enjoyed it endlessly.

The next day was Thanksgiving, Peeta and I woke up and sat down in the kitchen while his parents cooked.

"Peeta do you have a football?" I asked.

"Why?" He asked with a smile.

Happy memories filled my head, "I used to play with my entire town every year on Thanksgiving."

"The whole town?" Mr. M asked.

I smiled brightly, "Back in my home town everyone gets together for Thanksgiving at my farm. My grandpa started it as a tradition.

"We set the kids loose in the training circle of my farm. Sometimes we'll put little bunnies and have arts and crafts for them, while the moms cook.

"The teenagers and anyone who wants to play have this huge football game in one of the clearings of the forest near the farm.

"And then before dinner we have this huge glass bowel where you put your car keys with a label on them so if you got drunk we could drive you home.

"Then we put out a long table and you sit in order of age so you are always by classmates.

"Earlier in the morning all the men and some women go out and hunt for turkey. Then at dinner the oldest of us gets to carve the turkey.

"After the turkey is all carved the little ones sing a song they'd learn in Sunday school, and that's our prayer before dinner.

"Once dinner is all over we sit outside and watch the stars, the last couple of years I took a few people up on horseback through the mountain trails to the top. Each time we made it at midnight.

"The next day is clean up, and the whole town comes over to help out. Then right away we set up Christmas. Lights, and trees, even Santa. We don't have a mall close by so every Saturday leading up to Christmas we have a Santa sitting in between the trees." I looked down smiling at the thought.

All the happy years, and no matter what we never failed to have those things. Not even the year my dad died. "I kind of got off topic sorry." I laughed.

"That sounds awesome." Peeta said, "Next year we're going to your place for Thanksgiving."

"We have a football." Mr. M said leaving the warm kitchen.

"Glad you think so." I said putting an arm around Peeta.

"Who's doing all that this year?"

"Gale and my sister." I said, "But if we go next year it'll be all me."

"All by yourself?"

"Oh lord yes," Mr. M came back quickly and held up an older looking football. "Front yard or back?" I asked.

"Front" Peeta answered yanking me to the front yard.

Mr. M had a good arm, and so did Peeta. Some of the kids on the block saw us playing and joined, even a few teens joined in. Some fathers sat by and watched as their sons played with us.

Peeta caught the ball with ease after a quite terrible throw from a ten-year old, I started laughing, "What?" Peeta asked gripping the ball.

"Have you played before?"

"What football? I was only on my high school football team that went to state, thank you." He said throwing the ball incredibly hard. I still managed to catch it.

"Alright." I said chucking the ball across the yard and hitting his stomach. I ran over to him still laughing, "Are you okay?" I asked as he lay on the ground.

"Are you laughing?"

"I'm not that worried." I shrugged.

"Thanks baby." He said sarcastically as I helped him up.

"It's called tough love, where I come from." I said stealing away the ball and running before passing the ball to Mr. M.

Peeta caught up with me and picked me up from behind. He kissed the back of my jaw startling me just a bit.

"Well I'll be damned, is that you Mr. Mellark playing football?" One of the neighbors asked.

"Yes it is Mrs. Wood." Peeta responded.

"Is that my husband?" Mrs. M laughed walking out of the house in enough time to see Mr. M get tackled.

I laughed too. Dinner was nice, and so was Black Friday shopping with Mrs. M. I got Peeta a new wallet and watch for almost nothing as a Christmas gift. I got a few other people gifts. Madge, Gale, and of course Prim.

Mrs. M and I were driving back to her house when she said, "I haven't laughed like this since... Well since my own family tragedy."

I looked down at my hands, "Peeta told me about your son Mrs. M. My heart goes out to you. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love.

"Trust me I've lost a lot of people in my life. But my dad once told me, 'the more people you lose, the more people you love. Because we meet the best of people in the hardest of times.'" She smiled at me.

"I hope you're right." She said driving us back. I would need to hope the was right in the coming month.