I thought I would need to track him, but his footprints lead straight to our usual rock. He's sitting there like nothing at all has changed.

"I did not appreciate the way you kissed me, Gale." I scold him, as I sink into my spot. He nods, as if I've told him I prefer butter over honey.

"Peeta and I are together now." Might as well get this over with.

"I know, I told you I saw the two of you. Just wanted you to tell me to my face." He states matter of fact.

I shouldn't have to defend myself on this. "There was nothing to tell, we were friends when you asked about him. We only just decided to be something more than that, yesterday."

He lets out a humorless laugh. "Refusing to name something doesn't mean it's not there. You're always the last person to realize what's plain as day to everyone else."

Now this I resent. His smug sense of superiority. Hadn't he missed some signs between me and him? It's like he can almost read my thoughts when he responds.

"I knew we had grown apart. That much was obvious. I guess, I'd assumed we were just biding our time. Once you joined the mine crew, we would go back to before. I'd be showing you the ropes down there, protecting you. Things would take their natural course from there. Whenever you were ready to be an adult." His fiery anger isn't really in these words. More resigned but still fitting in that last little jab.

"Then Baker boy came along…."

"Peeta." I interject. How many baker nicknames does one man need?

"Peeta came along. I thought you were only ever happy in the woods. When I saw you walking together, for a split second I didn't believe it was you. I'd never seen your face like that, not even out here. And certainly, never looked at me the way you were looking at him."

I'm trying to imagine this world Gale had envisioned. What piece of the puzzle needed to be switched to bring about those events. Maybe if the Boy with the Bread had thrown the loaves to the pigs instead of the starving girl, then Gale could have toasted with her corpse. No matter which piece I move on the board, it feels like this is how things play out. As long as Peeta and I are both alive, it always happens anyway.

I'm still running scenarios in my mind when Gale says, "I'm going to District 2."

My eyes go wide. I would not have expected him to want anything to do with that. "For the Peace Program?"

There'd been a mandatory viewing a couple weeks back. The first half was all about the new entertainment the Capitol would be offering to replace the Hunger Games. It was absolutely nauseating. At least weird match-making shows and tearing down houses to build prettier houses didn't involve forcing anyone in the districts to participate.

But then Caesar turned over the rest of the announcement to President Plutarch himself. He laid out two new programs for the districts. Tesserae is now de-coupled from both the Hunger Games system and the Marriage system. It will be given on a needs basis to all ages and can be applied for at the Justice Building.

As a 'concession' (Plutarch's word choice), for no longer providing newly weds with the year's supply of grain and oil, the Capitol would be removing the minimum birth requirement. Birth control was now legal in all districts.

The lifting of the prohibition had certainly made things less complicated about offering it at the Hob. My biggest hurdle now was trying to gather the needed ingredients. It had been hard enough to put together the satchel I gave Delly as a toasting present. Peeta was quick to point out that this meant couples could officially marry and still get a housing assignment without ever having children.

The second program was dubbed the 'Peace Program'. Districts were now required to fill 15 percent of the Peacekeeper forces with their own citizens. All head peacekeepers were to be replaced at the end of their existing contracts. The most qualified candidate within the Peace Program for that District would receive the job.

"I didn't think you, of all people, would be eager to work for the Capitol." I'm truly confused how he can go from years of hating them, to joining their army.

"If they're dumb enough to train me and put a weapon in my hand…." He shakes his head while looking off into the trees. "It's quite a bit of power they are trusting back to the Districts. I've seen the list of who's signed up from 12 so far. Cray's only 4 years away from retirement. I think I have a good shot at his position."

Now this I don't doubt. I am sure Gale could be an excellent solider and leader. He's already a crew chief down in the mines.

"If I can help it, I'll never have to see another starving Seam mother at that doorstep." He looks back to me with a steely gaze. His barely suppressed rage bubbling beneath the surface.

"When do you leave?" I ask after averting my eyes from his swirling grey ones.

"I'll be on the train tomorrow morning." My mouth falls open, this is happening so fast.

He shrugs his shoulders. "Four years isn't all that long, if I'm trying be named Head Peacekeeper. I'll need as much training as I can get. They said I can send home as much of my paycheck as I want, so nothing really holding me here anymore, is there?"

It's not a question for answering. I know he's referring to me. He stands. "You think we can get a deer today?" I stand to join him for what may be our last hunt together.

We don't get the deer but it is a fruitful day all the same. After we divide up the spoils, I skate my arms around him in a tight hug.

"Goodbye, Gale."

"Goodbye, Catnip." I watch his tall form shrink into the distance.

Pain. Instantly screaming at me to inform me of the mistake I've made.

What had started as a typical summer morning, quickly turned into a disaster. As I bent to wiggle under the fence my ears hummed. The power was on. I went back into the shade to wait it out. A broadcast wouldn't last more than an hour. When the sun was well past its peak and the game in my bag was becoming questionable, I began to panic.

Walking parallel to the district cage, I look for any weaknesses to exploit. A large tree branch reaches out toward the Seam over the top of the fence. Its nine feet tall from the barbed wire down. The branch is maybe twelve feet from the ground below.

I climb out onto the sturdy limb. Once I am within the boundaries of the district, I plan my drop. The bushes are the only cushions for my fall. My feet dangle as I lower myself down. It should have worked. Maybe it would have if I'd moved down another yard.

My left boot catches on the y shaped stem in one of the bushes. Something snaps as my ankle twists in an unnatural direction. I hobble my way through the streets, trying my best to ignore the stab of every other step.

Prim and mother are at my sides when I pass through the doorway. "What happened!?" My sister's voice cries into my ear. I tell the story of my daring leap. They had quickly removed my boot and concluded nothing was broken when I finish the retelling. "You only needed to wait a few more hours, the power's going off at 4."

She regales me with the details of the broadcast that had started all this. The poorer Districts will be on a rotating power schedule. One day a week, 6 hours, we can rely on having power throughout the whole district. Our day is set for Wednesdays.

The throbbing in my ankle taunts me for my foolishness. It's badly sprained and will require me to stay off of it for around four weeks. "Prim, will you go tell Peeta what happened? I don't want him to panic when I'm not at the Hob tonight."

Her blonde braids swing on her way out, two blonde heads return. Peeta is at my side before I can sit up on the thread bare sofa.

"Are you okay? Prim said you jumped over the fence?" The panic I had hoped to avoid strained his words.

Prim playfully rolls her eyes behind his head, "I said, 'Katniss had an accident. She tried to jump down from the fence, and now has a sprained ankle.' But you'd already ran out of the bakery and were half-way to the Seam by the time I'd finished my sentence."

"I'm okay. Just twisted it because I'm impatient." He delicately examines my injury while I fill him in on what happened.
"I thought you were out of the woods. It didn't come on until almost 11." Peeta's eyes glisten. A pained expression like he's guilty of not preventing me from hurting myself.

It had been an unusually long hunting trip. I'd spent most of it working on gathering. I've been identifying wild patches of herbs on a rough map, seeing which ones I can protect or expand to make harvesting larger quantities easier. The project was a major undertaking, but I felt it was necessary ground work that could help the apothecary grow. Time got away from me and my game bag did not hold any meat. I quickly shot a pair of squirrels before trying to return home. I would already be later than I like for opening the Hob stand. The fence must have been on for less than an hour when I reached it.

Mother and Prim give him the details of my 'plan of care'. "But I have so much to do!" I sound whiney when I hear myself.
Peeta grins. "It sounds like Katniss Everdeen is going to have to accept some help, if she wants to heal."

At first, he suggested he could carry me everywhere which I told him was ridiculous. He fashioned me a pair of crutches, another one of his pallet creations. They made getting to and from the Hob easy enough, Peeta just had to pull the cart there and back. He was supplying us with more than enough bread to make up for my lack of hunting.

I have a new favorite treat. Cheese buns. An embarrassing moan had escaped my lips when I first bit into the melty center. Peeta had brought them everyday since.

My ankle can finally fully bear my weight again. I am absolutely itching to get back out into the forest. Peeta insisted he come with me for my first hunt. I'm a bit annoyed about it. He's doted on me enough. I won't even be able to hunt properly with his crushing footsteps. He'd been so insistent; I didn't want to argue after how much he's been helping us the past month.

As we approach my usual entry point, something is wrong. High shrubs are growing where there used to be dirt. Peeta is watching me, a tentative smile on his face. We pass through a thin gap between the new greenery. Above the sunken dip that I've squeezed through thousands of times, sits a gate.

"You can go in and out even when the power's on now." His smile growing more confident. The edges where the fence and gate touch are all lined with split rubber tires. He shows me how to open it with a stick that he's also wrapped in rubber. This seems to be an unnecessary extra precaution based on the way the latch is designed.

"Peeta, it's District 12's first gate." I'm in awe of what he's done.

"Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. I guess it is!" He says before kissing my cheek.

"Well, I've got a busy day ahead of me at the bakery. Enjoy the woods, Katniss." He calls while already walking towards town. I have not yet stopped looking at the open gate.