Author's Note: The different parts of this story could skip days, months, or years.
Cato POV
The night before the execution
My father's final words to me were still ringing in my ear as I stormed out of what possibly could have been our last family dinner.
"I can't believe you wasted your talents and your life on someone like that."
If the Peacekeepers had asked me, I would have rather spent my final night with Peeta and Prim rather than be forced to listen to my parents chastise me. I heard soft footsteps behind me, and sighed deeply.
"Do you regret it?" my sister whispered, sitting on the concrete steps beside me. It might have been the last time I ever saw her.
"No, I don't," I murmured, wrapping an arm around her when she began trembling. "I'm not ready to die, but I wouldn't change a thing. I only regret leaving you alone with our parents and your husband. I had such plans for what I would do with him when I won."
"I'll be fine, Cato," she stated, shaking off my arm and lifting her head. "I'm not the little girl you had to defend on the playground anymore, you know."
"Of course, butterfly," I defended, raising my hands to surrender to her. She wrinkled her nose at my old nickname for her. "Promise me that you'll leave him."
She breathed deeply, wrapping her hands around my arm and laying her head on my shoulders. The car of Peacekeepers with Katniss arrived before she could respond. She rose and pulled me into a hug.
"I promise, little brother," she whispered, giving me a final squeeze. I hoped that I would be able to help her with her promise.
I managed to catch Peeta before his head hit the ground, a blow that surely would have knocked him unconscious or even, in his condition, killed him instantaneously. I lowered him to the floor when I saw the Peacekeeper that had shot him push forward toward us again. I knew that if I killed him it would mean more trouble for everyone, so a quick elbow to his temple was all I dared before I pushed my attention back to Peeta.
"Take care of her," he coughed, barely able to be heard above the panic in the room.
"Don't be stupid, Peeta Mellark," I growled at him, removing my jacket and pressing it to his chest. "I don't know what had gotten into you to pull this off, but you will never be so ridiculous again, do you hear me?"
Pale and shaking, he grinned weakly. I was soon roughly pushed away from him, and my stomach sunk as he was rushed away on a wheeled stretcher, disappearing out the doors of the room. I hoped for Katniss' sake that Peeta would pull through this.
Standing beside Katniss in the forest of District 12, I was in awe of our surroundings; it was everything she said it would be. Tranquil, yet alive with the singing of birds and the scuttle of insects surrounding us. I had spent most of my life inside a training facility, dodging dummies with my hands wrapped around steel. The trees that had been artificially planted in District 2 were insignificant compared to the massive oaks and pines that Katniss and I strolled under. The air was fresh, tinted slightly with the smells of decaying plants and moist earth.
"I want to show you something," Katniss murmured in my ear.
She led me further into the forest, and I nervously glanced over my shoulder, trying to make mental landmarks so we would be able to find our way back.
"You don't trust me?" she giggled. "I know these woods better than I know the layout of District 12 itself. Don't worry, big baby, I'll get you back in one piece."
Narrowing my eyes at her, I slowly began to formulate my revenge, which was immediately abandoned when I caught sight of sparkling waters. We had a pool in the training facility, but it was laced with chemicals and artificially blue. This lake was natural and a light brown in color. I spotted dragonflies dancing around the edges and turtles sunbathing on logs. Looking around, it was clear that this was not a spot many people frequented.
"Thank you for bringing me here," I whispered to Katniss, realizing that this must have been a sacred place for her. She put her arms around my chest and I returned her embrace. Looking down at her, an evil thought flooded my mind. I flipped her over my shoulder and ran toward the lake.
Ignoring her screams and small fists beating down on my back, I used my momentum to hurl her deep into the waters of the lake, startling fish and scattering the bugs. When she resurfaced, sputtering and stray hairs blanketing her face, I smirked down at her.
"Big babies have big muscles."
"Put down the bow, Katniss," I shouted at her, sweat beading on my forehead despite the cool morning air. Instead, she simply grinned and pulled the string tighter.
"Just admit it, Cato," she replied, taking careful aim. "That's all I want."
"Never," I growled, defiant until my end.
I closed my eyes when I heard the arrow released, and winced when it struck its target.
"I win. You really do suck as an archer."
"Will you marry me? Will you marry me? Will you marry me? Will you marry me?"
"Cato, stop," my sister muttered, rubbing her forehead. "You sound like an idiot with some weird speech impediment."
"You sound like an idiot," I shot back.
"I can really see why she fell for you," she grinned at me.
As my competitor broke through the tape at the end of the obstacle course, bleeding slightly from a head wound, I felt an elation that I had only known with Katniss in the privacy of our home. Congratulations poured in around me from my fellow coaches, all previous Victors of the Games. Finnick lingered at the edge of the crowd, and caught my eye as they finally dispersed.
"You put a ring on Katniss' finger yet?" he grinned, raising an eyebrow.
"Did Annie ask you to ask me that?" I shot back at him, rolling my eyes.
"Of course," he shrugged. "I care more about how you're training your tributes."
"They're not tributes, Fin," I argued, but knew it was a losing battle. Several of the Victors still called their athletes "tributes," and old habits were hard to break.
"Whatever you call them, they're kicking all of our asses," he grumbled. "Even after your boy ran face first into barbed wire, it barely slowed him down. My girl crumbled after getting half of her hair burned off by the flamethrowers."
"You'd think that since the Games aren't designed to kill anymore they'd go easier on the contestants," I shrugged. "But you just have to realize they're using the same Gamemakers so it makes sense that they'd run along a similar theme. Did you even think to look at old Game footage for training ideas?"
His silence spoke volumes.
"Are you sure that it'll be ready on time?" I questioned intently into the phone.
"Yes for the last time, Cato, two weeks," was the curt reply. "Now leave me alone before I have you arrested for pissing me off."
I had spent the last 2 months listening to Katniss rail about how the lake she frequented with her father had been shut off to all visitors by the government; listened to her rant about Paylor overstepping her bounds and not returning any of her calls. Through all our years of living together, I had not seen her more outraged and indignant over an official order. I, for one, found it hilarious, which I think only served to annoy Katniss further.
To keep from laughing in her face and, mainly, to avoid her wrath, I kept out of the house, electing to spend more time in the gym. I left our house every morning when it was still dark and returned well after Katniss had gone to bed. I even put up a little cot in my office so I could sneak in naps during off hours, due to the 5 hours of sleep I was getting each night.
One night, I received a call from Katniss after I had eaten dinner with some of the other trainers.
"Paylor just called," she said tonelessly. "She said that your project was complete and ready for you anytime you were. Want to tell me what's going on, Cato?"
"Not really, Katniss," I replied lightly.
"Fine," she said, before hanging up.
Sighing, I ran a hand down my face, a frustrated habit I had picked up recently.
"Trouble with the missus?" a trainer joked.
"We're not married," I snapped.
"Well who'd want to be married to a cantankerous ass like you?" he retorted.
I reveled in his stunned grunt as I tackled him to the ground.
'Everything will be set right soon,' I thought as I wrestled out some of the stress that had been building.
When I locked up the gym later that night, I heard a throat clear behind me.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
"Katniss!" I exclaimed. "I didn't expect to see you here. It's late don't you have an early morning tomorrow?"
"Well you'd know all about early mornings wouldn't you?" she demanded, striding forward with her arms tense at her side. "You don't come back until you think I'm asleep and you leave before you think I'm awake. What are you trying to do Cato? Are we over? If you're tired of this, just let me know; I don't want to keep you here against your will."
Raising my hands, I walked toward her, surprised when she backed away from me.
"Katniss, I-"
She cut me off by turning and walking away rapidly. I ran and caught up with her, turning her and placing both my hands on her shoulders.
"Katniss, look at me," I ordered when her eyes refused to meet mine. "I, under no circumstances, want to break up with you. I'm sorry I've been so distant for the last few weeks, but, honestly, I was trying to prevent you from getting too mad at me, which I realize now was a stupid idea. The call from Paylor was something that I had been expecting for some time now, actually. Will you take a walk with me?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she replied, shaking off my hands and marching away.
Rolling my eyes, I ran at her and tossed her over my shoulder.
"Well you're coming whether you like it or not," I shouted at her over her screeches and the fists pounding at my back. She quieted when she realized we were headed into the woods.
"Is this the part where you kill me?" she asked flatly.
"Yes," I stated. "I kept you alive through the Hunger Games and have been living with you the past 7 years only to bring you to the woods on some auspicious night and kill you. Geez, how did I ever find you intelligent?"
I yelped when a sharp finger dug into the small of my back, and then suppressed an unmanly giggle when she started tickling me. I dumped her to the ground into a leaf pile, only to have my legs kicked out from under me.
"I'm going to have a word with the other trainers when I get back to the gym," I muttered.
"Just because I can kick your well tone butt doesn't mean you should be jealous," she retorted, rolling out of the leaf pile and picking dried bits out of her hair. "Where are we anyways?"
"What?" I gasped. "Does the park ranger not know her own forest?"
"Shut up," she muttered. "Wait, isn't this where the fence was?"
"Deadly and observant," I said, standing up and shaking the dirt out of my hair. "This is what I wanted to show you."
"That the fence was gone?" she asked skeptically. "I could have found out about it later this week when Gale and I patrolled this area."
"Just follow me," I ordered.
Ignoring the grumbling, I led her toward the result of the formal request I had used from Paylor. When we broke the tree line and came within view of the lake, Katniss' gasp was the affirmation that the turmoil of the last few weeks had been worth it. Although I had been expecting it, the effects still stunned me.
Beside the lake, sat a large cabin, similar in style to the one we had stayed at in the mountains surrounding the Capitol. A large greenhouse sat behind the cabin, reflecting the moon's light. Several species of evening primrose lined the sides of the house.
"Cato?" Katniss whispered, staring with wide eyes.
"Surprise," I whispered back, wrapping her in a hug from behind. "I'm sorry I had to keep you away from the lake for so long, but I couldn't have you finding this before it was ready. I had actually planned on showing you tomorrow morning, but somebody couldn't wait that long."
"You did all this?" she asked, searching my eyes.
"For us," I replied simply. "Let's go inside."
I had no skills in interior decorating, so I had asked Cinna to help adorn the interior. He had dressed the house in earthy tones of greens and blues. The furniture was more Capitol chic than I would have cared for, but it wasn't as ostentatious as the rooms at the Training Center or even his own home.
I became concerned when I heard a sob, but tightened my grip on Katniss' hand when I realized what she was staring at. I had asked Peeta several weeks ago to commission a family portrait of Katniss' family. I found several old photographs of Katniss' father, and her mother he drew from memory. The painting showed her family in play by the lake, Katniss' mother laying against her father's leg in the shade of an old oak tree. Katniss and Prim were playing at the water's edge, wide smiles on all faces. Other paintings were scattered throughout the house, several just candid portraits of each person, but the one that hung over the bed in our room was of Katniss and I. Peeta must have reached deep into his memories for that one, because we were back to back peacefully asleep in the jungle, handcuffed with a 3 ft silver chain between us.
I was even more astonished at what hung beneath the painting: our original cuffs, bearing Katniss and my name. I reverently ran a finger along my cuff, feeling the grooves bearing my name and district number.
"We owe a lot to that chain don't we?" Katniss murmured, sliding under my arm and wrapping an arm around my waist.
"A lot of memories, and a lot of lives," I replied, not taking my eyes off the chain. "Let's make all of it count Katniss- the people, the places, the nightmares. We've survived a lot in the past, but we've also lived as well, and I want to spend the rest of my life making memories with you. Maybe even a few lives."
I grinned, and, carefully detangled her iron grip on my hip, dropped to a knee in front of her. My stomach clenched with nerves and my palms were slippery with sweat as I fumbled in my pocket for the small box.
"Katniss Everdeen, as much as you love these woods that surround District 12, it could never match my feelings for you. Will you marry me?"
All I received in return was a punch on the shoulder and a "what took you so long" as I slipped the ring onto her finger.
She was breathtaking as she emerged from between two thick oak trees, a simple gown hanging lightly from her slim shoulders. The world disappeared as she grew larger in my field of vision, the rustling of the leaves against her bare feet and my own unsteady breathing the only sounds I was aware of.
She was my reward for surviving the Hunger Games.
At the end of a 19 hour labor, which cleared the forest of almost all wildlife within earshot of our cabin, I finally held my squalling son in my hands. I awkwardly placed him into the crook of my arm under the direction of my mother. I was fascinated with his size, no bigger than a loaf of Peeta's bread and barely any heavier. Definitely louder though.
He was my reward for surviving the Hunger Games.
Zzzzzzzzzzt.
My eyes snapped open, my mind suddenly alert. Something was out of place in the cabin.
ZzzzzzZZZZZZzzzzt.
There it was again. I glanced over at Katniss, getting her first good night's sleep since the baby had been born, and decided against waking her.
Zzzzt.
I eased myself out of bed, ears pricked for the distinct whine, and glanced warily around the room, the light of the full moon streaming through the window. I gingerly stepped around the bed when, suddenly, I spied the noisy assailant and struck out, smacking the wall with my palm.
The loud thud not only woke Katniss, who sat up with a shriek, but also the baby, who let out an equally dismayed wail. Punching my arm as she stalked past me, muttering under her breath, she rushed to calm the infant.
Damned mosquitoes.
I knocked gently on the wood door, opening it when I heard a soft "come in."
I grinned when I spied the bride-to-be, angelic in white and glowing by the sunlight streaming through the window.
"You look beautiful, Prim," I murmured as I tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Nervous?"
"Very," she whispered, fiddling with an organza rose on the belt of her dress. She had agonized over the dress design with Cinna, to the point that Cinna had his own room at her house in Victor's Village, which she had kept when Katniss and I moved into the lake house.
"You know it's not too late for me to make him disappear," I stated stoically.
"Cato!" she laughed. "I love Rory, and I can't wait to marry him. But, I don't know why I'm so nervous. Katniss was never this uncertain the day you two were married."
"You'll be fine, Prim," I said, pulling her into a gentle hug. "Just focus on him."
She gave me a brittle smile, tears filling her eyes.
"Thank you for being there for me, and for Katniss," she whispered, reaching for my hand. "Thank you for agreeing to walk me down the aisle."
We were interrupted by a knock on the door, which opened to reveal Katniss in one of Cinna's famous fire red dresses.
"It's time, Prim," she smiled. "You ready?"
Prim looked up at me, and took my arm.
"Definitely."
"Lift your arm higher, and make sure your elbow is tucked into your side," I instructed, circling my son slowly as he attacked a dummy.
"Those seem like conflicting ideologies, dad," he retorted, performing a perfect backslash and then finishing by beheading the dummy. "I can do one or the other."
"You'll do both if you want to compete for the chance to go this year," I stated, picking up a sword and nodding at him to attack me.
"I don't know why you're even making me try out," he grunted as he defended against my blows. "You know I'm better than any of those other competitors."
Eyes narrowing, I grew annoyed at his arrogance. I knew where it was coming from; I was the exact same way at his age. He was a few years younger than I had been when I volunteered for my Games. Locking his blade in mine, I reached around and disarmed him, pushing both the blades crossed against his neck until he was backed into the wall.
"That's why I make you compete," I growled. "You're arrogant, but you're beatable. You're strong, but you're vulnerable."
I lowered the swords slowly.
"You won't be a true candidate until you can conquer your own weaknesses," I stated, walking away from him. "Now come on, your mother should be waiting with a rabbit or something that was unfortunate enough to wander in her path tonight. Help me close up."
Placing the swords back into their cabinet, we walked out of the darkened gym.
"I'm sorry, dad," he mumbled as I locked the front doors. "I just want you and mom to be proud of me."
"I am proud of you, kid," I said, surprised. "But I have to make sure that you're ready to go into the Games. They won't kill you anymore, but they're not going to be kind either."
Throwing an arm around his broad shoulders, I ruffled my son's blond hair, laughing when he groaned and pushed me away.
It was another 2 years before he qualified, but he dominated the field that year. Best of all, he managed to knock out Finnick's boy within minutes of the starting gong, eliminating him altogether from the Games.
Finnick didn't speak to me for 2 months.
"Katniss, I'm leaving for the day," I shouted up the stairs as I put my shoes on. "Did you want me to bring back some cheese buns for tonight?"
"Katniss?" I asked again, making my way up to our room when I heard no response.
"In here," was the dull reply, emanating from the bathroom.
I pushed open the slightly ajar door, and found Katniss sitting on the edge of the bathtub, a white, plastic stick dangling limply out of her hand.
"Katniss," I began, slowly edging toward her. "Is that what I think it is?"
"I'm pregnant," she mumbled. "I'm almost 42 years old, and I'm going to be a mother again. We've barely finished raising one, and now we're going to have another."
"Katniss, this is not a bad thing," I insisted, kneeling in front of her and taking her hands in mine. "We always talked about having more than one, but the timing was just never right. Maybe this is nature's way of telling us not to wait too long."
She was silent for several minutes, simply staring at our intertwined hands. I remained quiet as well, wanting to allow her to come to her own conclusion.
"It has been too long since our last adventure, huh?" she grinned. She rubbed her stomach. "I feel that this one might be a thinker though. I think it's about time we had an intellectual in this family."
"Are you kidding me?" I snorted. "You as mother, me as father, and if our son's grades are any indication, we might just have another Games Victor on our hands."
"And the results of the election are in," the reporter stated as the rest of us watched riveted. "And the winner is-"
The room erupted in screams as my daughter's face filled the screen, the newly elected President of Panem. My son, Head Gamemaker, helped me to my feet and enclosed me in a hard hug before turning to Katniss. He was gentler with her, and laid a soft kiss on her cheek. She turned to me.
"I told you so," she stated, cocky grin on her face. The punch she aimed at my arm no longer possessed the sting it had the first time she punched me during Opening Ceremonies, but it still held the same affection as the hit she gave me after I had asked her to marry me.
I smiled as I smoothed her graying hair away from her face.
"You were right," I replied. "But, then again, you usually are."
Author's Note: The end! Boy has it been fun writing all these. Thank you everyone who's stuck with this story through its ups and downs, and another special shoutout to my amazing beta. Writing this story has been a stress reliever of sorts for me, and the reviews and other positive feedback I've gotten, especially for my first try with fanfiction, has been incredibly heartening and very much appreciated. Just a reminder, there will be alternate endings that I wanted to play around with, including several that were reviewer submitted. I hope you stick around for more!