Author's note: Well, here's Twenty-One. Hope you like it. And I hope you guys get enough of this over the next few days that you won't be upset about the upcoming gap Christmas will bring. Sorry, I'm starting my traveling on Wednesday. You'll get at least three more chapters, though.

Happy reading!

Chapter Twenty-One

Gale woke up to the sound of the TV playing softly in the living room. He looked over at his clock to see that it was almost nine. He sat up and stretched. He sat for a minute and reveled in the thought of a day off spent with his friends.

He walked into the living room and smiled at Finn. "Morning, kid."

"Morning. You don't mind I turned on the TV, do you?"

"It's fine. You want some breakfast?" He walked into the kitchen. He opened up his refrigerator. "Wow, you and Annie really socked up."

Finn wandered in after him. "Mom likes to cook. When she's happy, she cooks a lot."

"And when she's not?"

"I do the cooking. She showed me a few things. Dale taught me more. I figured a lot out on my own."

He ruffled the boy's hair, "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Because…" He turned around and pulled some eggs out of the fridge. "I'm sorry your father died. And I'm sorry with what it's done to your mom." He put some ham in a pan to fry and then started working on scrambling some eggs. "You know, I was there."

"When my dad died?"

"Yeah."

"Will you tell me?"

"Uh, yeah." He continued working as he spoke. "So we had been running for a while. We were presumed dead, but not for long. These mutts, muttations, were sent out to find Katniss. We were underground and trying to get above. Finnick was right behind me. We lost a few of our group to pods, traps. We found a ladder. Peeta and Katniss and a couple others were all ahead. I reached for the ladder and heard a commotion behind me. I looked back and they had him." He stopped.

"You don't have to go on. I can guess what happened next." The boy said meekly.

Gale turned. "Sometimes I think I could have saved him. I replay it in my head a lot. I think about all the things that went wrong in that moment. It could have been me. You could have had your dad." He swallowed the thickness in his throat at the threatening tears. He turned back around to finished cooking. "I really am sorry."

They were quiet for a while. Gale sat the pan in the middle of the table with the plate of ham he'd fried. He walked to Annie's room and knocked.

"Gale?" Her voice floated through the crack in the door.

"Yeah. I made breakfast. You hungry?"

"Not really."

He paused. "May I come in?"

"Okay."

He pushed the door open. She was still curled up on her side. He walked over and stood beside the bed. "Are you okay?"

"You ask that a lot."

"I worry about you."

She reached for his hand. "You don't need to worry about me."

He kneeled down. "I do anyway."

"Gale, I heard what you were just telling Finn. About his father's death."

"And?"

"And I think it's time you forgave yourself. There's nothing you could have done."

"There's nothing you could have done either." He kissed her hand. "Please don't stay in here all day."

"I won't. But I'm not hungry right now."

He smiled, "Is it just that you think you can make eggs better than me?"

She leaned closer, "I can do a lot of things better than you."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." She smiled. She bit her lip and looked at him. Then she pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

He laughed. "Are you implying something?"

"Not about your kissing abilities. Not that I have much to compare it to."

He pushed hair off her cheek. "Come out here with us."

"I can't talk about him. I don't know where to start."

He continued to smooth his hand through her hair. "What if you write it down?"

"Maybe."

He kissed her hand. "I have a journal. My mother gave it to me. She thought it would help me. I haven't even tried using it."

"Help you with what?"

"You're not the only one who goes away sometimes. I just know how to hide it."

"I didn't know."

"You don't fight a war—cause deaths—and not have it affect you."

She ran her fingers through his hair. "I know."

He kissed her. "Come on, breakfast is getting cold."

Annie sat with them, but didn't eat. She drank a cup of tea Gale made for her.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Annie asked softly.

"I thought I'd show you the sights. There aren't many, but there are some nice shops and some kind people to meet."

"Sounds like fun." She looked to her son, "What do you think?"

He nodded, "Sound's good."

Gale laughed, "Good." He tucked a piece of hair behind Annie's ear. "I forgot to tell you something."

She smiled and caught his hand. "What's that?"

"That you're pretty."

"You tell me that every day."

"You're pretty every day."

She kissed his hand and let it go. She finished her tea and stood. "Shower's mine first." She kissed the top of Finn's head as she passed.

As soon as Annie was out of the room, Finn looked at Gale. "Just friends?"

"What?"

Finn gave him a no-nonsense look. "Don't lie to me, Gale."

Gale chuckled. "Well, I like your mom a lot. But I'm still competing with your father."

"So you'd marry her?"

"That's a big step. Right now, we are still friends."

"Friends who hold hands and kiss?"

"Sometimes friends do that."

"I don't do that with my friends."

Gale stood and cleared the table.

"Well, all I'm going to say, Gale, is that if you hurt my mom, I will hurt you. And I'm serious."

He suppressed a laugh. He turned and looked the boy in the face. "I promise you, Finn, that whatever happens with your mom and me, I will do everything in my power not to do anything to hurt her."

"Good." He went on helping him with the breakfast dishes.

Finn hurried into the bathroom after Annie, leaving the adults alone. Gale walked over to Annie and put his hands gently on her face.

"You're going to kiss me, aren't you?"
"Not if you don't want me to."

"I don't know, Gale. I want you to, but I'm terrified of what could happen."

He kissed her forehead and then stepped away. "Your son threatened me."

She laughed, "He's so tough." She sat down on the couch and watched him walk over to a shelf.

He picked up a book. He sat down beside her, draping his arm over the back of the couch. He held out the book. "Are you going to do it?"

"Write about Finnick?"

He nodded.

"I don't know, Gale." Her eyes clouded over.

He rested his forehead against hers. "I believe in you, Annie."

"You really think this is the best way?"

"What do you think? Will it be easier just to sit him down and talk about it? Or will it be better to write it down as it comes to you and then give it to him to read on his own and then ask questions as they come to him?"

"If I write it down, he can look back over his favorite parts. And he can revisit them as he gets older and see it in a different way." She sat back. "And if anything happens to me, at least he'll have his father." She took the book from him. "Thank you."

"Annie." He said softly. "I don't like it when you talk about you not being here."

"I'm sorry; I did make you a promise. I plan to keep it. I do. But you never know what can happen."

"No, you don't."

Finn came out of the bathroom.

Gale stood. "Okay, my turn." He leaned back down. "Oh, one more thing." He kissed her quickly and then walked away.

"Mom?" Finn asked when they were alone.

"Yes, Finn?"

"I really like Gale."

"I like him too."

"So, I know you're just friends, but if you marry him, where would we live?"

"Well, that would be a very important, very long, conversation he and I would have. You would have a say too."

"Good."

Annie reached out and smoothed her hand over his hair. "But we have nothing to worry about right now."

Gale brought them around to some of the little out-of-the-way places very few people would ever see unless they knew about them. He introduced them to his friends and other acquaintances. And he took every opportunity to touch Annie.

On the walk back that night, she slipped her hand into his and smiled tentatively at him. He squeezed her hand and threaded their fingers together.

Finn smiled and wrapped his arm around his mother's waist. He sang, "Mom's in love with Gale."

Annie laughed, "Stop it, Finn."

He sang it a little louder.

"Finn, people are looking." She warned.

He continued to sing his song and ran around to walk beside Gale.

Gale wrapped his arm around the boy and pulled him close. "That's enough, kid. Your mom said stop."

He gave a sigh, "Okay."

Gale let him go and ruffled his hair. "You're a good kind when you behave."

"I always behave."

Annie laughed, "Sure."

Finn scuffed his shoes as he walked, "Well, I behave when it's convenient."

"That makes more sense. Another way you're like your father."

He smiled. His mom hardly ever said anything about his father and now she'd told him so many things in just a few days. He risked asking, "Did he get into trouble a lot when he was my age?"

"I don't remember him much from that time. I wasn't in school yet. But I remember when he was older, he did." Her voice started to tremble.

Gale squeezed her hand.

Finn said, "If you want to stop, you can now."

"You can ask me questions." She said softly.

"No, I can tell you need to stop."

"Thank you, Finn."

"Thank you, Mom."

They were silent as they made the rest of the trip to the apartment. Annie picked up the journal off the coffee table and took the pen Gale offered and headed off to bed.

Gale stopped her. He gave her a quick kiss. "Good night." He whispered.

"Good night."

He turned to Finn. "I'm heading off to bed myself. I have to get up early for work. You need anything?"

He shook his head.

"You can watch TV if you want. Read a book. Just make yourself at home, okay?"

"Okay."

He ruffled the boy's hair and walked away. He called one last good night through Annie's door and then went to bed.