Author's note: Thank you for all of you reading this. And thank you for the reviews. Glad you are enjoying it. If there's something you don't understand or think I could do to make this better, let me know.

Happy reading!

Chapter Nine

The phone was ringing as Gale unlocked the door. He ran to it and picked it up, afraid whoever it was would hang up before he could find out who it was. "Hello?"

"Hi, Gale." Annie's sweet voice said from the other end.

He smiled, "Annie, hi." He sat down on the couch and settled in for the conversation.

They'd been calling each other for the past several weeks. The conversations mostly centered around Finn and his activities. On occasion, they would delve into deeper topics like Katniss and sometimes Gale's foundering social life. They never talked about Finnick. When Gale brought him up, Annie would change the subject.

"So," He said, "How was today?"

"It wasn't great. But I got up and walked Finn to school this morning."

"Walked Finn to school?"

"He's skipped the last couple days. I told his principal I'd walk him to school myself to make sure he got there."

"Well, I suppose that's good."

"Yeah. He didn't like the idea. We got into a fight last night. I, um, locked myself in my room. I couldn't handle it. He would have been able to."

Gale didn't have to ask who the "he" was she mentioned. He said, "You think so?"

"He was always so much stronger than me, Gale."

"I don't think so. I think you just hold your strength in a different place."

"I had to make myself get out of bed this morning." She said softly.

"But you got up. And you walked your son to school."

"I did."

"How is Finn this evening?"

"He's fine. In his room doing homework."

"And you're doing what?"

"Sitting on the couch." She said softly.

"You sound like you're slipping." He said suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you okay?"

She paused a moment, "I don't know." She paused again. "Sometimes I miss him so much it hurts. Some days are harder because I remember something associated with him."

"So what is today?"

"Not today, tomorrow. It's his birthday." She let out a strangled sob. "He would have been thirty-five tomorrow."

"Annie?"

"I need to go, Gale." She said.

He didn't know what to say, but he felt he needed to say something to keep her on the line. "Does Finn know?"

"Yes. They honor all the past Victors on their birthdays. They mention it in the morning announcements at his school."

"You don't like that, do you?"

"I never have. Especially when I was added. Not that they made the Victors finish school. I just chose to. Sometimes it was what kept me sane."

"Then you had Finnick."

There was a pause. Then she said, "I need to go, Gale."

And before he could say anything else, the line clicked.

He sat back and kicked off his boots. He picked up the phone and almost called back, but he knew it wouldn't do much good. He put it back in its cradle and went about making supper.

The phone rang again as he was cleaning up his supper dishes. He ran to it, almost desperate. "Annie?"

"No, Katniss. Is something wrong?"

"I was talking with her earlier and she just hung up on me."

"Is there anything going on?"

"Tomorrow's Finnick's birthday."

"Oh."

"Yeah. We were talking and she said something about it. And then she hung up. Should I call her back?"

"Maybe she just needs to be alone."

"What about Finn?"

"What about him?"

"Should I worry about him if she…does something?"

"Do you think she's going to do something?"

"I don't know. Just sometimes I get this feeling that she would if she had the chance."

"I think she's stronger than that. Don't you?"

"Greif can make even the strongest person weak."

"You know from personal experience?"

"Watching you after Prim died." He said gently. "With all that Peeta went through after the Quell. When he was at the Capitol and you were in Thirteen. You were just a shell, Katniss. And it hurt me that I had to watch you and I couldn't do anything about it. It hurts me now that Annie is just as hurt and I'm not there to help her."

"Do you love her, Gale?"

"I don't know about that, but I do care. I care about Finn. He's a good kid. He deserves a chance at his childhood. He's been robbed of it."

"So you resent Annie?"

"No, that's not it. I pity her. I should have died in those tunnels that day. If I had, Finnick would still be here. And you would have had an easier choice to make."

"Don't you say that, Gale. If you had died…" She trailed off. There was silence on the other end of the line.

"You could have hated me in death and never had to forgive me for creating that bomb."

"If you had died, I never would have been able to live with myself. I may have blamed you for Prim, but I would have blamed myself for you. You're important to me, Gale. You always have been. You helped me keep my family alive for four years."

"Lot of good I did."

"You did."

"So why did you call?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. We haven't talked in a few days."

"Well, I'm fine."

"Maybe you should call Annie back."

"Maybe."

"Do it, Gale."

"Okay."

"Bye."

"Wait." He said urgently.

"What?"

"Do you hate me? I know you forgave me, but do you still hate me?"

"You saved me so many times. I don't know if I could ever hate you. I was hurt, sometimes I still am. But I love you, Gale. With all that we've been through together, I'll always love you."

"Katniss…Thank you. Good-bye."

When they were done with their conversation, he hung up. After looking at it for a while, Gale reached for the phone again. But it was ringing before he could start to dial. He answered it.

"Annie?" He asked expectantly.

A frightened voice said, "Gale?"

"Finn, what's going on?"

"It's my mom… After she got off the phone with you, she just wandered out the door. I thought she'd be gone for just a little while, but she's been gone for over an hour."

"Did you call the peacekeepers?"

"Yes. They said they'd send someone out to go looking, but they couldn't send out a full force because she hasn't been gone long enough."

"I don't know what to say, Finn."

"Will you stay on the phone with me until she comes back?"

"I will." He said, stretching out his legs on the couch. "Tell me about school. Why did you skip?"

"I just didn't feel like going. I'm no good."

"Your mom said you were good at math."

"Yeah, because it's easy. I don't understand anything else."

"You know what, Finn? I don't know much else either."

"Really?"

"Really. I was a wiz at math. And I could figure out shapes and things. I could graph lines in my head."

"Wow. I've seen the older kids struggling with that, even with a calculator."

Gale laughed, "My teachers used to get so frustrated with me because I never showed my work, I just wrote down the answers."

"But they were always right?"

"They were."

"It's the same with me. My math teacher accused me of cheating on our last test."

"When was the test?"

Finn paused. "Monday."

"Is that why you skipped school?"

"Kind of. I don't think she likes me. Her daughter was in the same games as my dad."

"Ah, I get it now. She doesn't like you because your dad survived and her daughter didn't."

"I guess. So she does everything she can to cut my grades. And she's not the only one. Most of the people in this District, in the village, they like me because of my parents. But there are a few others who don't. Or they feel sorry for me because of Mom."

"Because she's a little off?"

"That's the nice way of putting it, I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was a baby, they tried to get me taken away. They said she was an unfit mother."

"Your mother is far from unfit."

"I was told that just after I was born, she walked out of the house without me. I was screaming my head off, but she left. Someone heard and came in to find me just lying on the floor. They found her later sitting out on the beach, staring off into nothing."

"Was that the only time?"

"They told me it was."

"And who is it that's told you this?"

"There's a neighbor, Mags's husband Dale. He's watched out for us. I think because Mags liked my father so much. She was his mentor. And he likes my mother, believes in her, I think."

"So he helped her keep you?"

"Yeah, he promised the authorities he'd keep his eye out for me. He used to come over a lot, but he's older and kind of forgetful nowadays."

"I'm sorry."

"He's as close to a grandfather as I have. None of my parents' family is around anymore."

"I know that's tough."

There was a pause on the line and then Finn said, "Mom?"

"Is she back?"

"Yeah. She's being supported by a peacekeeper."

"Good, then they know she's been found. Put her on and go to bed, okay?"

"Okay."

Gale heard the tap as the phone was sat on the counter. He heard muffled conversation. And then the phone was picked up again.

"Gale?" Annie's voice shook as she spoke.

"Annie, where were you?"

"On the beach. I'm sorry."

"Well, you need to apologize to Finn for what you've put him through."

"I'm a horrible mother, Gale."

"You're not. But I think you need some help. Is this because of Finnick?"

She let out a sob. "Yes." She whispered desperately, "I can't do this without him."

"Yes, you can. You've done well in ten years. You can do well for the rest of his life."

"I can't."

"You can." He took a breath and let it out. "Just don't walk out again, please."

"For you or for him?"

"I don't know—"

"I don't either. Just forget I said it. I'll talk to you later."

"Are you going to be all right?"

"I don't know."

"Just do your best. For him."

She hung up without another word.

Gale fell asleep on the couch worrying about his friend.