A/N: 23 Weeks Pregnant

Madge hates being on bedrest.

To be fair, she's still doing a crap-ton of work. Thanks to her tablet she's able to access all of her work files and keep working on the plans for District 7, she just has to do it from bed. But she hates it. She misses human interaction and she misses seeing other people at work. Being alone in Gale's apartment puts her in a dark place, makes her think of Lora and the fight, of terrorists creeping in the streets.

Iris called the night before, told Madge that around this time in her pregnancy her brain would start to get fuzzy and she'd be more distracted, and that's proven so. Madge's feet have also began to swell up and maybe they were there before but she's just now noticing some bright purple stretch marks on her hips and thighs. She feels hideous and bloated and tired all the time.

Just as she decides she needs a break from the map she's looking at she hears a knock on the front door.

Gale's never mentioned being friendly with his neighbors so she isn't quite sure what to expect. She slowly makes her way out to the front room and looks through the eye-hole, surprised to find Sal on the other side with a few bags of groceries in her hands. With a grin she pulls open the door to greet him.

"Sal! It's so nice to see you!"

"Hi, hey," he returns, giving her a quick hug before skirting inside. "I brought some soups and some teas Gale said you'd been craving." Madge makes a face and Sal looks sheepish. "Well I was visiting Benny at work," Sal carries on, starting for the kitchen, "and Gale mentioned how you're stuck on bed rest and how lonely you must be and I had nothing to do I asked if he minded if I came over and well… here I am!"

Madge smiles again. "He said I'm lonely?"

"I'd be lonely too," Sal shushes her. "Can I start a pot?"

Sal reminds Madge a lot of Peeta from the old days. He's kind and sincere and makes jokes about himself more than anything (even though Madge with her bloated tummy and sore feet are a prime target). He keeps the conversation light, smiles more than Madge has in days, and makes her feel as though they've known each other forever.

"So what's it like living with Gale? Benny's told me a million stories about him – doesn't seem like he'd be the best house mate."

"It's fine," Madge says. "He keeps to his room, I keep to mine. He sets his laundry out every morning so I can do laundry and actually contribute. He doesn't really… joke around all that much, but he is a good listener."

Sal smiles, flashing his white teeth. "Also you're in love with him." Madge feels her face go hot. "I needed to see about seven seconds of you two together to figure it out. Benny says the same thing." Madge looks down at her cup of tea but doesn't respond to him, not sure how to answer. Of course she's not in love with him. "Aren't you?"

"I mean, I could be," Madge murmurs. "One day. But he doesn't want that."

Sal scoffs. "Prove it."

"He said so."

"He said so?"

"He said he was in this for Pearl, not for me," she says. Sal rolls his eyes. "No, he did, and that's—it's fine." Madge sets her mug of tea down and rests her hands over her baby bump. "For him to be in it for Pearl is better than not being in it at all. And we're friends, I guess. And that's—it's good. We work like this."

Sal shakes his head at her. "You shouldn't settle," he says. "If you want something, if you want more, you should go for it." Madge drums her fingers on her stomach. "Benny and I have been dating for three years," he tells Madge. "But it wasn't—it wasn't easy at first. There's obviously still a crap-ton of stigma about same-sex couples and I was scared. But I liked him, and I prayed to God I was reading the signs right and he liked me, and I wanted more than our flirty friendship. So I asked him out. And I'm the one who asked him to move in with me. And I'm the one who asked him to marry me. Because I wanted more."

"Greedy," Madge murmurs with a sly smile.

Sal laughs. "Incredibly. But he—Benny wanted all of those things too, he was just more nervous than I was to go after it. And now we're getting married and we're both happy and none of that would've happened or would be happening if I settled."

Madge sighs. "Maybe I'm just not as brave as you," she says.

Sal shrugs. "You can be."

Benny insists that with Sal hanging out with Madge that the two of them can afford to go to the bar and get a quick drink before heading home. "And you can pay," Benny persists, "to congratulate me on getting engaged." Gale reminds him that he had an entire engagement party but Benny scoffs. "Am I not worth my own personal drink and congratulation?"

So that's how they end up at the bar a few blocks away from Gale's apartment.

He has a lot on his mind. At some point today Delta called him into her office with a sharp look on her face.

He wasn't even seated before she asked, "How's your girlfriend?" Gale tensed up and hesitated before actually taking the seat across from her desk. "I'm assuming that's who you went to rescue when the bomb went off in South 2?" Gale took a deep breath and tried to think of the best way to answer her question. "Using nation-wide resources to check on one person is not acceptable, Lieutenant. If you could not even focus for one night without putting her first then how are we expected to root out the Panem Protectors, hm? How are we supposed to end this war?"

"She's pregnant with my child," Gale murmured, barely being able to look her in the eyes. "And I admit I was distracted and it was not a good use of our resources or our time, but we caught two guilty men in the end so it shouldn't matter."

Delta arched a cool eyebrow at him. "She's pregnant?" she asked. Gale tipped his head forward. "For how long? Before or after you started working with her in the Panem Outreach Program? Gale this is highly unprofessional behavior and to not even inform your chief—"

"Again," Gale cut her off sharply. "I've been doing my job to the best of my ability, handling my assignment with Benny and Madge at POP, and have been doing exceedingly well. Her pregnancy and our relationship does not affect my work ethic while I'm there, or while I'm here." Gale didn't know if he was lying or not. Whenever he was in the office he always managed to get work done. It was only when something horrible had happened, the bomb or the train explosion, did he put Madge first. Right? "If you have any doubts about my abilities then please, ask General Waters, and he can confirm I've been focused."

Delta didn't look to happy with him. "If you need another assignment—"

"I don't," Gale snapped. Part of it was anger with Delta in general, but another part of it was fear of what assignment she had in mind. This one, working with the Outreach Program, was mostly hands off (except for the training of the recruits which wasn't real action) and he wouldn't dare be moved somewhere more involved in the seeking of the terrorist organization. It would tear him apart. "I feel more effective where I am now," Gale told his boss, "over everything I've done in the past four years. Please, Chief."

She sat backwards in her seat. "Your case will be reviewed and discussed. Don't get comfortable with POP though, Lieutenant."

Benny seems to notice that Gale's mind is elsewhere. At the bar he snaps his hand in front of his partner's face a few times. "Maybe I should get you a drink," he says, and Gale waves him off. He orders two drinks, one for the both of them, before sitting down on a stool. As though Benny'd been reading his mind he asks, "What'd Delta call you into her office for?"

Gale considers lying. But after tipping back some of his drink he clears his throat. "She knows we went into South 2 to get Madge and now she knows that Madge is pregnant. Says it's unprofessional to keep working at POP."

Benny scoffs. "If anything it makes us a stronger team." He shakes his head. "I'll talk to her tomorrow." Gale remains silent, drinking a little bit more of the brown liquid in his glass. "She's just trying to get under your skin," Benny tells his friend. "She's in a shitty marriage and whatever was going on with you two must've been good and—" Gale holds up his hand with a deep sigh, pleading wordlessly for Benny to stop talking. Thankfully he does. "It's not right how she treats you different."

"Thanks, Benny," Gale murmurs.

They spend the next hour or so talking about things that aren't work, which is crazy. Gale's learning more things about Benny than he'd ever expected to know. About his family, about his life in District 2 before the war, about his role in the war. Sometime in the middle of their second drink an old friend of Benny's from high school shows up and the two instantly dive into a conversation.

Gale resolves to finish his glass and head back to his apartment. He hasn't had too much to drink, the servings were small, and he doesn't feel impaired at all. He tests his balance on his walk to the restroom to take a piss and on his way back out runs into someone who he vaguely remembers.

"Hey there, soldier." It's a woman his age, tall, pretty, with long wavy brown hair and bright brown eyes. "Remember me?" Gale stands up a little straighter and makes some sort of face, because he kind of remembers her, but not really. "It's okay," she says with a little laugh. "Kori," she reminds him.

"Ah, right. Kori."

"Gale," she recalls, and he nods his head. A smile fills her face. "I was over there with my friends," she says, gesturing to a group of girls sitting at a table. "And saw you and remembered about that one time we… you know." Gale makes another face, this one less unsure, and tips his head forward. "What do you say?" she asks, leaning forward to rest her hand on his shoulder. "Round two?"

Gale jerks away as though he's been burned. "Ah, sorry," he says. "Gonna have to go with no." She looks upset but also like she understands. "Sorry, Kori. You're beautiful. But I've got someone…"

"Don't need an explanation," she says airily before smiling and starting back toward her friends. "Just thought I'd give it a shot!"

Gale watches her until she's with her friends before he quickly makes his way back to Benny. After saying he's going to head home and paying for the drinks he'd ordered and making sure Benny is good to drive or find a way home, Gale leaves the bar as fast as he can.

How long has it been since he last slept with someone? It used to be so easy, so natural. It gave him comfort. It was another one of his coping methods. When had he stopped? Driving home Gale tries to remember when the last time he hooked up was. Back in District 4, the night before Madge told him she was pregnant. He didn't remember making the decision to stop – but it made sense. Of course he wouldn't go out having sex with strangers when he had a child on the way. And now, knowing Madge, he could never…

Back at his apartment he's surprised to find that Sal's still there. He's on the counter browsing a tablet with dim lighting and makes some sort of shhh face at Gale as he enters.

"She's asleep," Sal murmurs, gesturing to Madge curled up on the couch. Even with the dim lighting he can make her features out. Her soft golden eyelashes. Her long golden hair. God, she's so beautiful. Gale lets out a short breath. With Madge in the picture how could he even try looking elsewhere? If he ever allowed himself to… she would be as good as it gets.

He rakes his hands through his hair before turning to Sal. "Thanks for staying," he murmurs. "She doesn't get a lot of visitors."

"It's been fun," Sal admits. He powers down the tablet—Madge's, Gale can see now—and scoots off of the chair he's been sitting on. "Figured I'd hang around until you got back. She was doing some work and just…"

"Yeah," Gale says with a small smile. "She gets really into it."

"Yeah," Sal echoes. His smile makes Gale think he knows something. "See you later," Sal says before dipping his head at Gale and starting for the door.

After Sal leaves Gale just watches Madge for a moment. He doesn't have words to describe her. Her presence in his life has changed him dramatically and it hasn't even been that long. She's brought a calmness to him that he'd thought was gone forever. A light where he'd thought he'd gone all dark. Hell, she got him to sing her a lullaby. He'd never, in his entire life, expected he'd do that again.

Finally he crosses the room and stoops down to her side. "Madge," he murmurs gently. He shakes her shoulder as softly as he can. "Madge, c'mon, you can't sleep on the couch." She blinks a few time and sits up, rubbing at her eyes. "Morning, Princess," Gale says with a smile.

She squints at him in the dim light. "What are you so happy about?" she asks.

He laughs. "What?"

"You're smiling," she says sleepily. "You never smile." Gale laughs again as she sits up more, swinging her legs over the side. She looks grumpy and her hair is a mess. It's annoyingly adorable. "Stop," she warns him, a smile starting to creep onto her face. "It's seriously freaking me out, Gale." He laughs again and stands before she murmurs, "Ow." He looks down at his feet making sure he hasn't accidentally stepped on her toes before she sits up a little straighter. "What the…"

"Madge?" Her hand moves quickly to rest atop her stomach. "Madge," Gale says again.

"Shhh." Her eyebrows come together as though she's focused on something very intensely before she gasps. "Oh my God!" Her hand flies forward to grab Gale's and soon she's pulling her shirt up over her belly, forcing his hand to spread out by her belly button. Gale's entirely confused until he feels a little thwack. "Did you feel it?"

"Is that—"

"I think it is!"

"But isn't it too early?"

"Iris said everyone's different!" Madge covers his hand with her own and looks up at him with wide blue eyes. "You felt it though? You felt him kick?"

"I felt him kick," Gale breathes. "Oh my God." Thwack. "Holy shit." And then Madge's other hand is on Gale's cheek, her thumb swiping below his eye. Is he crying? "That's our baby," he rasps. Madge is smiling so brightly it's like her face could split in two. She nods her head. "That's our baby, Madge," he says again.

"That's our baby," Madge repeats. "That's Pearl." Thwack. Madge laughs a teary laugh and Gale reaches up with his free hand, swatting at his eyes. They're like that for a moment, waiting for the small kicks of their baby, when Madge finally pulls away. Something flickers in her eyes that shatters the moment at once. "I should, um…" she grabs Gale's hand that's on her belly and returns it to him before standing. "I should get to bed."

Gale doesn't want this to end. He wants her to stay close. He wants to talk about Pearl. This reminds him…

"Ever since I said I wanted to be in Pearl's life," Gale blurts, "you've been distancing yourself." Madge stands up a little straighter, looking at him curiously. "Right after the bomb we sat at the counter and I said I was all in. And since then you've been… you've been distancing yourself." Madge meets his eyes only for a moment before looking away. "I don't…" he trails off softly. "I don't understand. I thought that was what you wanted."

"It was," she says. "It is."

"Then why…?"

"You said you were in it for Pearl." Madge lifts her shoulders into a little shrug. "You said you wanted to be clear that you were in it for Pearl."

"But that doesn't…" Gale trails off again, shaking his head. "That doesn't mean not for you?" He reaches up, dragging a hand through his hair. "When I said I was in this for Pearl I didn't mean I wanted nothing to do with you." Madge still isn't looking at him, her eyes are by his feet. "I want us to be friends, Madge. I want us to be close."

Her eyes dart up to his. "Then why did you word it that way?"

"I don't know." Yes he does. Because admitting that he's in it for Madge... that he hopes that maybe one day, when he's all rewired and not so dark... It's just so much easier to distance himself than to be honest. To admit he wants her. He drags his hand through his hair again. "Of course I care about you," he carries on. "Of course you're important to me. That's true with or without Pearl in the picture. I thought you knew that." Madge isn't sure how to respond. "I'm not—I…" he scrubs at his face. Gale doesn't know how to word what he wants to say. "That's what I can give you for now," he says. Friends. "But that doesn't mean…"

Madge thinks she understands. She dips her head into a nod. "Okay," she whispers.

"Just don't… please don't shut yourself off from me."

"Okay," she says again. "Then you can't either." Gale doesn't respond right away and she reaches forward to grab his hand. "You can't either," she repeats with force, squeezing his fingertips.

He nods his head. "Okay," he returns. "I won't."

A/N: Sex Positive strangers are great! Not everything needs to be a big deal. Lady saw Gale and was like "hey I had great sex with him wonder if he's up for round two" and he was like "nah" and she was like hey at least I went for it. That's how the world should operate in my opinion haha.

Gale, just a dude with feelings that scare the crap out of him. Typical. But we had some good moments! And progress! And Sal! Let me know what you think, friends! Hope you enjoyed it!