A/N: 15-17 Weeks Pregnant, or four months

Madge has been getting to work earlier and leaving later. When she returned from her trip to District 12 Lora was gone, just as she said she'd be. There was a long note written to Madge on the kitchen table about how to get in contact with her, but so far they haven't really been reaching each other. The hours are a little off and Lora's busier than expected, and at 15 weeks pregnant Madge is exhausted with every step she takes.

Being at work is the only thing that keeps her distracted. She wants to go to Augmentum. She wants to go with her best friend. She wants to be working on connecting different countries to Panem, not building police forces.

But it's a noble thing to do, Madge reminds herself. And it's true. Soon they're heading to District 6 to do the same thing they had in District 4. She had to remain strong with this thought. She keeps thinking about Oliver and how she really doesn't want to see him again. Part of her is still aching from his lie, even if they hadn't been anything serious. But part of her is also over it. Like Gale said, Madge didn't really know him. There wasn't enough time for her to feel utterly broken.

The weather is getting colder. Winter is on the horizon and her apartment is always cold. Madge struggles getting out of bed in the morning because the heat is on the fritz.

But one morning, around a week after she gets home from District 12, she hears someone in the living room. Madge has been robbed before but never while she was in the apartment. She scrambles out of bed, throwing blankets all over the floor and peering into the living room. With a voice that sounds braver than how she feels she shouts, "I have a gun!"

"You do not," Lora's voice shouts back. Madge's heart leaps in her chest. She pushes open her bedroom door to find her much tanner roommate dragging in her bags. "Hi!" Madge practically squeals, rushing forward with outstretched arms to pull her friend into a hug. "Hi, hi, hi!"

"Hi!" Madge is shouting back. "I missed you! You have to tell me everything!"

Lora's bags are forgotten as they sit on the couch together as Lora happily and loudly with much exaggeration recounts her trip to Augmentum. She glosses over the details but Madge gets the gist. It's beautiful. Lora pulls out her tablet and opens up the photos, allowing Madge to page through them all as she finally gets back to her bags.

Madge sniffs, noticing her nose is clogged. She blames it on the cold and keeps paging through the photos. It's like nothing Madge ever imagined. The jungles are wide and beauteous, and rivers are healthy and flowing. A few photos remind Madge of the 75th Arena but she decides not to voice that, instead smiling happily at everything she's seeing.

"They want me to go back," Lora announces once her bags are in her room.

Madge looks up from the tablet. She knew this was coming. "When?" she asks.

"In about a month," Lora answers. She waits a moment, and so does Madge. "For about a month." The overwhelming joy at Lora's return pops like a balloon. The smile slips from Madge's face. "I know it's a long time," Lora says, but quickly Madge pins the smile back to her face. "It's such an incredible opportunity. I mean—I'll still be here for you when—with the baby, but—"

"Lora, you can't plan your life around me," Madge says gently. "I know how important it is to be setting up connections in Augmentum. I know that. Okay?" Lora smiles too, but Madge feels her heart breaking all over again.

Gale sits in the plastic chair by Madge's side, watching as Doctor Paige spreads the clear cream across Madge's belly. It felt like just days ago Gale thought he could look at Madge and not even tell that she was pregnant, but now it's staring him right in the eye. She's showing. Sixteen weeks in and she's showing, her belly starting to stick out just a little bit. He's sure she's noticed, but he hasn't, not until this moment right now.

"Gale?" Doctor Paige asks. He diverts his gaze from Madge and over to their doctor. "Are you with us?"

"Yeah," he murmurs. He blinks hard, focusing on the machine that Doctor Paige is playing with. She presses the same tool to Madge's belly like she had all those weeks ago and soon an image flickers onto the screen. "Jesus," Gale breathes. The image from the ultrasound all those weeks ago is nothing compared to this. Gale can now more clearly see the baby. "That's him?" he asks. And then, "Or her?"

Doctor Paige smiles and nods her head. "That's your baby. I'm sure you can see the head here," she says, motioning. "This is the body. Fingers," she says, still pointing. "Toes." Tears are quickly welling up in Madge's eyes. "Baby looks strong," she says to them. "Let's listen to the heartbeat, hm?" Madge swats at her eyes and nods, and soon the thrum-thrum-thrum fills the air. "Wow," Doctor Paige hums. "That is a strong heartbeat."

"Wow," Gale echoes weakly. Madge is still wiping her eyes, a soft smile on her face that Gale finds enchanting. "Can we… can we get another picture?" he asks.

"Absolutely," Doctor Paige says. She fiddles with the machine. "In fact, now would be the perfect time to get an amniocentesis," she tells them. Gale's eyebrows come together, and looking at Madge confirms for him that she isn't sure what this is either. "It's a sort of test," the doctor tells them. "It's meant to identify if there are any genetic or chromosomal disorders with the baby."

Madge's eyes widen at once, and she looks toward Gale. "Wh—what?" she asks. "What do you mean?" Her hands reach for her stomach but because of the cream she hesitates. "There…" the panic is very clearly written on her face. Madge never considered that something could be wrong with the baby. In fact, neither had Gale. His hand automatically extends to hers and she laces their fingers together immediately.

"It also," Doctor Paige carries on, "is just sort of a health test. To see how the baby's functioning." Madge's chin is starting to quiver. Gale holds her hand a little tighter. "The test looks for infections; it looks to see if the baby's lungs are strong in case there's an early delivery—"

"But something could be wrong," Gale cuts her off a little sharply. "With the baby." He looks toward the screen that Doctor Paige has frozen. "Do you see anything wrong? Is that why—"

"This is a test we offer to all expecting mothers," she tells Gale with a certain calmness that eases his nerves only slightly. "It's not mandatory whatsoever. And looking at the ultrasound, I see no obvious defects or anything of the sort. But the test will tell us if there's something wrong that we can't see. Do you understand?" Madge hesitantly tips her head forward, but Gale hesitates. "It can also tell us if the baby's a boy or a girl," she says.

"No," Madge blurts. Gale's startled at the warbling sound of Madge's voice. "I don't want to know that." Gale looks suspicious of this. "But I…" she looks at Gale nervously. "I want to know the rest, though."

Gale isn't sure if he wants to know the rest. Instead he presses his lips together and allows Doctor Paige to explain the procedure, and if Madge wants to get it done then she can come next week and they can take care of it. The results would take another couple of days, and there are some minimal risks, but the decision is still up to Madge. Eventually they book an appointment for next week to get the amniocentesis and are quickly out the door.

Once they're settled in Gale's car he hesitates on reaching for the ignition. He looks over at Madge to find her staring at the photo in her hands of the baby that they've just received.

"Why don't you want to know?" Gale asks. "If it's a boy or a girl?"

She seems to tense up but eventually shrugs her shoulders. "The surprise," she says softly. But they both know that isn't what Gale's pausing this car ride for. Slowly she looks over at him. "I never thought anything could be wrong with the baby," she says. Her voice is rough, her eyes are filling with tears again. "It just… it never occurred to me."

"Me neither," Gale admits. His eyes flicker to her stomach. "But you're young. And you're healthy. And you take care of yourself. And no matter what, you're going to love this baby. Aren't you?"

"Of course," she whispers. Madge quickly swats at her eyes. "Should we not get the amnio?"

"No, I… I think we should," Gale says. His voice is rough too. "Just in case. So we can be prepared." Madge nods her head and tries to smile but Gale can see right through it. She's a good actress when she has to be but now is not the time. He reaches over and grabs her hand. "It's going to be okay," he whispers. Madge nods again, reaching up with her freehand to wipe her tears. She isn't entirely sure if it's true, but she's going to hope so anyway.

"I'm… astounded," Doctor Carlson admits as Gale recounts his story home. "That you made the choice to go home on a whim, that you followed through. Gale, how do you feel after all of this?"

He drags his hands through his hair and shrugs his shoulder. "I don't know. Different." He feels different. He isn't sure how, exactly. "Seeing them… that they're okay. That they're healthy and strong. That… that most of them were happy to see me…" he trails off, sighing. "I feel different."

"Good or bad?"

"Good, I think," Gale admits. Having another reason to go to 12 besides just seeing his family made it easier to bear the rejection if he had to. But when he didn't have too much of that rejection, it felt like something inside of him had lifted. The thing that he had spent so long dreading wasn't true. His family wasn't disgusted with him, they weren't upset at his arrival. Save for Rory, which is just another battle he'll have to face sooner or later. But he will. He can fix this, he's sure. "I feel like I don't have to go through this alone anymore."

"And this is because of your girlfriend Madge?" he asks. Hearing Doctor Carlson say Madge's name in that context makes Gale pause. Girlfriend. It reminds him of how Madge wants to sit down and actually talk about things rather than just skirting around everything. To lay it all out. And for the first time since he's learned about the pregnancy he feels more of a pull to help directly rather than from the sidelines. He wants to be there for Madge and this baby as best as he can. It's just another way to right his wrongs. "Gale?"

"She's not my girlfriend," he finally says. "But I… I do think she's part of this."

Doctor Carlson nods. "You're having an upswing, Gale," he says. "You've overcome a roadblock you've been facing for almost five years now and you feel hopeful and optimistic." Gale nods, because those are exactly the feelings he's having. "Cling to it," he says simply. "Use these feelings to fight off the negative feelings that will come back. Because they will come back. And I haven't seen you this positive in such a long time."

Gale nods too. "I'll try," he says. Because he really wants this all to work out. He really, truly does.

The following week when they get the amniocentesis and Gale holds Madge's hand the whole time. "Results should come in about a week's time," Doctor Paige tells them. They're seeing her on a Tuesday instead of their usual Friday appointments so they just have to get through the weekend and they should be okay. "Take care of yourselves this week. Maybe do something nice for yourselves as to not worry."

But Madge is already worrying. The second they're in Gale's car he can see it. She's started biting her fingernails, she stares out the windows like she's waiting for something horrible to happen. So instead of Gale driving her back to her (awful) apartment, he takes her to the ice cream shop she told their families he's done so a million times before.

It's kind of funny to be merging their fake relationship with their real one, but the way Madge's eyes light up when they park is worth it. "My treat," Gale tells her when they enter. She orders something strawberry. They sit in the back corner and Madge stares at him with bright blue eyes. "I've looked into an agency," Gale tells her after a few minutes. "Midwives," he explains. "We're a little late to the game, but I talked to the woman in charge of it all and she says it's no problem bringing someone in this late."

"You've looked into midwives?" Madge asks for clarification.

"Not specific ones," Gale says. "You wanted to interview together. But I figured we should start."

And later that afternoon when Gale drops off Madge at her apartment, she's in such a good mood that Lora catches her humming. "You've been in high spirits ever since your trip home," she tells Madge that night. "Evil soldier not so evil anymore?"

"I don't know," Madge admits with a bright smile. "He's… different, somehow. I think going home really helped him, you know?"

Lora shrugs. "I still don't like him. Besides, what about Oliver?"

Madge's heart doesn't sink like the last time she heard the redhead's name. It does, however, sink a little at the fact that she never told Lora what had happened between them. Madge was just so upset when it happened that she couldn't handle Lora exploding about it, adding another man to the evil asshole list that she must have in her head somewhere.

"I ended things," Madge says softly. Lora looks up, suddenly very interested in this conversation. "A few weeks ago. Because he let it slip that he's married." Lora's eyebrows shoot to her forehead and her mouth opens, ready to say something sharp Madge's sure, but she stops her before she does. "I didn't tell you because you were getting ready to go to Augmentum," Madge says quickly, "and my life is so messy all the time and it's just another thing you'd worry about, and I didn't want you worrying. I wanted you to have a good time. And I'm okay," Madge insists. "I am. I deserve better than that. And I barely knew him anyway, so no loss there."

Lora looks deflated. She sinks into the spot beside Madge on the couch and swings her arm over her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry," Lora says gently. "That sounds awful." Madge shrugs, not wanting to linger on it too long. "What's with you and finding shitty guys?" Lora asks, causing Madge to scoff. "Just saying. I mean, you don't have the best record."

Madge is a little frustrated that that's where Lora goes with this, that Madge has bad taste. "Gale's good," Madge mutters sharply. "You just don't know him."

"Whatever," Lora says. "One weekend trip doesn't change everything."

But it could, Madge thinks. It could change a lot. Gale hasn't seen his family in years, it could've opened something inside of him that she's been longing for, for that softer side of him. Clearly he wants to change something, starting with the way he's been acting. And Madge isn't going to let Lora convince her that he isn't.

Madge still feels a little testy with Lora when they get back to work. She won't stop talking about her trip to Augmentum, which is expected, but it's starting to get on Madge's nerves. She's heard the same story about the first sunset at least eight times now. By the end of the week Madge is excited to go to District 6, even if that's where Oliver is, simply so she can get a break from Lora's endless stories.

"We looked into flying," Gale says when he picks her up that Friday. "Taking a hovercraft again, but District 6 isn't all that far away."

It isn't until they climb onto the train later that Madge thinks the real reason for not flying is revealed. "Gale much prefers the train to hovercrafts," Benny says as they settle in their seats with a smirk. Gale is scowling at his friend and Madge is listening intently, a soft smile on her face.

"Flying makes him—"

"Enough," Gale snaps. Madge arches a playful eyebrow and Benny laughs. "Just forget about it." Madge shrugs, directing her gaze outside. People are allowed to be afraid of things. While she doesn't relate to Gale's fear of flying, she can understand it. "Hey," he says gently. "Are you going to be okay?"

"What?"

"With the ginger."

Benny arches an eyebrow. "Oliver?" he asks.

"Fine," Madge answers. She doesn't want to talk about him. Because even though it doesn't sting as bad to hear his name, it still stings. So she changes the subject. "Do you really have a fear of heights?" Benny laughs again and Gale frowns, looking toward the window with a huff. "It's cute. Like…" she wants to tease him. "Like being afraid of the dark, or something."

Benny laughs even louder and gives Madge a mischievous look, one that she hasn't received from him in weeks – ever since he found out Madge is pregnant he's kind of been avoiding talking to her unless it's work related.

The three of them fall into pretty easy conversation on the train ride, and Madge dozes off after a few hours. With the sun sinking below the horizon it turns the sky red and purple. Benny looked over at Gale with a frown, constantly changing his view from Madge to his friend. Finally Gale huffs, looking at Benny.

"What?" Gale asks.

Benny sighs, shaking his head and looking at the ground. "I just can't believe you didn't tell me," he says. Gale's eyebrows collide in confusion. "We're partners, Gale, sure," Benny says. "But you're also my best friend. Why don't you ever tell me anything?" He gestures to Madge. "She's great," he tells his friend. "She's—"

"Just," Gale stops him with a sigh of his own. "Just don't, okay?" Gale looks at Madge and once he's sure she's still asleep he continues quietly. "She is great," Gale says. "But it was one night that I'm sure we both wanted to forget. The odds just weren't really in our favor." Benny looks at Madge now too, her chest rising and falling gently as she snoozes. "She'll be a great mother, I'm sure, but she and I aren't—we don't—we won't work," Gale says sternly. "And I didn't tell you because I could barely believe it myself, alright?"

Benny shakes his head again. "You could work. If you tried." He shrugs his shoulders. "Madge has a big heart. You don't have a heart at all. It would balance out."

"Ha-ha," Gale mutters, but at least Benny's smiling now.

"I mean, don't you care about her at all?"

Gale thinks for a moment and opens his mouth to answer when suddenly the train shifts.

At first it seems slight, but then a large booming noise comes from a few train cars ahead. All at once everything changes. There's a tearing sound so loud that it rips through the air and causes Madge to shriek and sit up, clamping her hands over her ears in shock and confusion.

"What's happening?" she shouts. Benny and Gale leap to their feet, motioning for Madge to stay put, and dip their head out into the hall.

The train wobbles again as sparks fly from somewhere outside the windows, and then there's another booming sound that's much closer. With this one comes screaming that sinks Gale's heart deep into his stomach. Lastly there's a boom so close that Gale can feel it in his chest, and with it the train car that they're in jolts from side to side before coming loose, crashing into something metal, and flipping on the side with a crunch.

A/N: Sorry, I love cliffhangers. How do you feel about Gale's shift in attitude? Believable or nah? What about Lora's return? Tell me your thoughts, I love to read them! Love you all, thanks for reading!