If you've read any of the previous chapters, you know that my story has always been told from Katniss' point of view. This week is written from Peeta's POV. Hope you enjoy it!

As soon as I woke I knew that Katniss was next to me. When she wasn't, I always woke in a panic, imagining the worst. Even after all these months, my subconscious still hadn't accepted that she was safe, or at least safer than she had been. When I could reach out and touch her as soon as I opened my eyes, the relief bordered on ecstasy. I couldn't help but pull her close to reassure myself that she was really here.

"I'm glad you're here," I said.

"I'm glad to be here," she responded. "I always want to be here. Do you want to get married?"

Her question caught me completely off guard. Could I be dreaming? No, I wouldn't have dreamed that. Sometimes I dreamed of asking her and receiving her grudging acceptance, but never her asking me. Could I have misheard her? That must have been it.

"I'm sorry Katniss, what did you say?"

She turned red and looked away, "Never mind."

Her manner convinced me that I had just missed something big. I wasn't going to let the opportunity get away. "Yes, I would like to," I responded to her original question.

"OK" she answered. I thought perhaps she might follow up with a kiss, or an explanation of what had prompted her to ask, or a suggestion of when we might get married, but Katniss was probably hoping that I would take it from here.

I decided to start with the safest question. "When would you like to get married?"

"I was thinking today."

Another surprise. I tried not to let it show. "We'll have to check if the registry office is open. Did you want to invite anyone to witness?"

"Not really," she responded. "My mother isn't here and I don't think Haymitch would care to come. Was there someone you wanted to invite?" she asked a little defensively. She was probably thinking of Coraline.

"No, just the two of us is OK with me."

By now I was stroking her hair and it felt like we ought to be kissing, since we had just decided to get married, but Katniss seemed a little embarrassed and edgy. I tried to reassure her.

"I'm glad you asked," I said. "I would have asked before now if I'd known you wanted to get married."

"I didn't want to until now."

"What changed your mind?"

"I just saw that we belong together. You said yesterday that you could marry me tomorrow and never regret it. I realized that I felt the same. So I thought we might as well go ahead and do it. If you want to, that is."

"I want to." I was about to tell her how much I wanted to when the phone rang.

"I'll get it," Katniss said as she jumped out of bed. She was probably glad to the excuse to end the conversation. Talking about emotions was uncomfortable for her.

I was glad to have a moment alone too. I needed a moment to catch my breath. Katniss' proposal was completely unexpected and I still wasn't completely sure that getting married today was the best idea. In my mind, it had always been a step a few years down the road, mostly because I was sure it would take me a while to convince Katniss to take it. I had been completely sincere in telling Katniss that I would never regret marrying her. She would always be the only one for me. However, I had always imagined that romance might come first. Right now, we were more like best friends and room-mates. I knew she loved me and there had been small shows of affection, but nothing more than might have been shared by two children. It felt strange to be marrying under these circumstances.

I also hated to think that Katniss' proposal had been prompted by Coraline's clumsy flirting. Katniss had always been jealous of any competition for my attention and sometimes jealousy had provoked her into rash behavior. I didn't want her to regret marrying me in a fit of possessiveness.

On the other hand, no good could come of my refusing her. She would be terribly hurt by any appearance of doubt. Besides, I really wanted to marry her.

By now, I had showered and dressed and was downstairs starting breakfast. Katniss finally finished her phone conversation and came into the kitchen. I was a little curious about the phone call. It was unusual for her to spend so much time on the phone unless it was a session with Dr. Aurelius.

"That was my mother," she volunteered.

"Oh? How is she?" I asked.

"She's fine. Just checking on me."

"Did you say anything to her about us getting married?"

"Yes, I almost didn't."

"Why not?"

"I was afraid she might ask us to wait and I didn't want to hurt her feelings by refusing her. As it turned out, she didn't ask us to wait to get married, but she did ask if we could wait with the toasting until she could be here."

"What did you say?"

"I told her we would wait if you didn't mind."

"I don't mind. I'd like her to be here."

After breakfast Katniss informed me that we could not get married until she had cut my hair. I had not had it cut since we'd left the capital and it had gotten pretty long and nest-like. I sat on a chair on the porch while Katniss snipped away. She was totally absorbed in her task and I was totally absorbed in her. It was impossible to have her this close to me, her hands in my hair without being affected by her nearness. I loved to watch her. These days, she was rarely still, her energy and vitality manifesting itself in constant action. She reminded me of a cat in slow-motion, every movement graceful, one pose sliding into the next. She was still dressed in her pajamas and they revealed more of her skin than she usually liked. I could clearly see the scars on her arms and neck. To me, they did not mar her appearance at all. The skin that was not damaged was clear and radiant and the silver scars gave her an otherworldly appearance. Her features were as beautiful to me as they were familiar. I rarely looked at her without feeling the urge to grab her around the waist and kiss her senseless the way she had done with me on the beach during Quarter Quell. But I always held back.

Since that wretched conversation after our first Hunger Games in which Katniss had told me that her love for me had been mostly fake, I'd had difficulty initiating physical affection with her. I'd been haunted by the fear that she wouldn't tell me if I was unwelcome. I needed to know for sure that she wanted me just as much as I wanted her and she had not offered me that assurance. I'd rather wait for her to be ready. I hoped some day she would be.

"Well, I'm not nearly as good as your prep team, but that does look better," Katniss informed me as she finished with my haircut. "I'm going up to get ready. I'll be down in twenty minutes."

She was true to her word and in twenty minutes she came down wearing a simple dress and her hair in a simple style pinned to the back of her head. She smiled a little shyly and I felt like I had when I had first heard her sing.