Hi Guys! :)

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I. Made. 215 reviews. Or, I should say YOU made 215 reviews.

I'm speechless. (you must be SO glad your ears-er, eyes?-are getting a break!) WOW.

This is...! (googled it.) :D

Okay, I'm going to thank some people now! (you guys have earned it!)

Dino-SOAR, swifftheswiffer, SamiBoo, TheRebelMockingJay , xoElle23, A-LovesHP, Space23Case, joloco311, SWPeetaxKatnissAvatarTLA, iluvpeetam, EbunnyLove, kurtcoblaine290, HG Trilogy, cbook211, amarilis24, Sofimbc, mamabookworm, Barb R, xoBrownEyedGirlox, CJuneK, fallindecember, PiperPaigeP3, Foot-in-mouth-disease, TeamPeetaForever1140, xYouDroppedItCurlyx, Emberailee, Nava-Shira, To Love Is To Destroy, READandWRITE11, mgmve2008, , fading denim, brokenturtle, Icemask511, Red Anne Vane, sanityisfiction, Shoney,...ALL you guys reviewed chapter 20. That. Is. AMAZING! I think I counted 37 people. (^.^) *shrieks and then proceeds to thank/hug everyone*

Okay, so the forum for asking questions and me answering is the following: fanfiction(dot)net/myforums/HomeschoolGirl/3507025/

Ask away and I'll be glad to answer/say thanks. If you've reviewed before just comment, "I've reviewed" and I'll be like, "THANK YOU! AHHH!" ;)

Off to watch American Idol. (yay...I'm team Phillip Phillips or Hee Jun Han!)

Byee! (and thanks a million!)

-Homey ;)

P.S. Currently reading "Bloom" by Elizabeth Scott. What are you reading? :)

Disclaimer: All these characters are the work of Suzanne Collins. I love 'em!

©HomeschoolGirl 2012, or at least this actual post is. The characters, not so much. But anyway, please don't use this as your own. Thanks!

The next time Haymitch comes over, he doesn't ask about the cuts and bruises. I know he notices, though, because when he leaves he whispers in my ear, "Come to my house if you ever need anything. I don't care if it's two in the morning, Katniss. Just come."

My face floods red with shame I cannot place. "Peeta, h-he wasn't even himself, Haymitch. He apologized; he's sorry."

"Sorry doesn't mean he won't do it again."

I am infinitely glad my husband is at the bakery, seeing as he doesn't need anything else making him feel bad. He hasn't touched me since the night after the hallucination, or Ree, and I know it's driving both of us crazy.

"Fine," I say stiffly, looking at the floor. "I'll…I'll talk to you later."

He takes the hint. And he leaves.

I let out a little sigh and turn to my daughter who is wriggling happily on the floor, as babies tend to do. She's still so new to the world, yet full of energy. I grin and take her in my arms, promising to go back to the meadow soon. She rewards me with a cheerful smile.

Time passes, as it tends to do. For once I wish it would just slow down and give me a minute to gather myself and patch things up. Peeta continues to maintain an uncomfortable distance. He's here, of course; he takes me in his arms and plays with Ree and kisses my hair, but he's not with me. Not emotionally.

We're standing there, chopping up vegetables for dinner in silence, when I crack. I turn to him, my knife clattering to the ground, and stride forward to grab his shirt.

"Look at me, Peeta! Look at me! Talk to me, please. I'm begging you!"

He just smiles politely at me and gently maneuvers out of my grasp. "I don't know what you mean, Katniss. Hey, look-I hear Ree crying."

I stare after him as he hurries up the stairs, crying silently. If I could just get him to forget what he did, and see that I don't care if he hurts me, then it would be okay. I know as I think it how silly it sounds. But that's love-it's irrational. It makes you do things and be okay with things you normally wouldn't. That's Peeta and I.

Ree grows and our distance becomes greater. We celebrate her first birthday with Haymitch and a small group of our friends, just enough people to barely fill a room. The whole ordeal is rather cold and uncomfortable, so after presents everyone leaves.

"Did you have a good day?" I ask Ree as I pick her up. She gives me a full-lipped smile and giggles.

"Ood-tay, mama. Ood-tay."

"That's right," I whisper, lifting her up and blowing on her stomach. She giggles and squirms. I smile wryly and pull her close. "That's right. Good day."

Since I have extra attention to spare, I more or less devote myself to Ree. If she cries, I come. We potty train, we talk, we play. Peeta helps some, but spends many long hours at the bakery. We go to bed every night with space between us, and sometimes he ends up on the couch in the mornings. I ask him why and he says he felt a hallucination coming on and had to get away.

"Well," I say as sharply as I can, "I think you're lying."

He clenches his jaw and his eyes go dark. "I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm not. Quit acting so…"

"Childish? Is that what you were going to say? Now I'm the child, am I? Well, Peeta, you are a sorry excuse for a-"

I am interrupted by Ree's cries for "Mama!" and flash him a glare before hurrying upstairs to her room. I give her what she wanted quickly-a toy that had somehow worked its way out of her crib-and hurry to the bathroom. Once behind the safety of a closed door, I allow myself to cry.

My life is a mess, and my marriage is more or less doomed.

We put up a front. On the outside, we are your average happy District Twelve family. But underneath the little skin that secludes us from the world, we are broken. We are the ones who stay up late yelling at each other. We're the ones who stop kissing, stop allowing ourselves harmless touches. Holding hands stings, and not in a good way. The hunger is more or less gone, shoved away into some dark place I care not to search through. Eventually Peeta moves out of our bedroom completely and into the guest room. We don't talk about it. One day he's there and the next he's not.

Ree turns two, and I turn a painful thirty-six. I feel old, to say the least, and unloved. We don't really bother to throw her a party, just give small gifts and eat a cake Peeta made for her. It tastes like cardboard.

"Mama?" Ree asks as I tuck her into bed that night. "Why you and daddy fight?"

I purse my lips. "We don't Ree, we don't."

She clenches her jaw, and it reminds me of Peeta. Even at two years of age she looks scary when she's mad.

"You do, Mama. You do."

"No, Ree. I don't."

She looks at me, so young yet so insightful, and reaches out to touch my cheek.

"You sad."

"I'm not-"

She just gives a little shake of her head and sits down. "I don't want to go bed!"

I smile-that sounds more like her-and wag my finger. "Ree, you have to go to bed! You know about…the faeries!"

She giggles and then stops, looking around with wide eyes. "Are they here yet?"

I lower my voice. "Not yet…but they will. They come and sprinkle sweet dreams all over you. And then you see the nicest pictures when you close your eyes."

"Okay. Goo-night!"

I tuck her in and kiss her forehead before heading down the hall. I get ready for bed and climb under the sheets.

"Katniss?"

I look up to see Peeta standing in the doorway, looking unsure. He's twisting his hands together. I smile, despite myself. He looks so young and innocent when he does things like that-like he's never done wrong. And maybe he hasn't.

"I've been unfair," I say with earnest, scooting off the bed. "I'm sorry."

He closes his eyes, sighing. "Please, don't-"

I stop him with a kiss, striding forward the last few paces to crush my mouth to his. I don't want apologies. I don't want distance. I want here, I want now-I want him.

"I'm going to love you no matter what you do," I whisper, pulling away.

He wraps his arms around me. "I've missed you."

I smile faintly.

"I've missed you, too."

Things go back to normal after that, whatever normal is. It takes no time before Peeta and I fall back into our routine-a flighty kiss in the hallway, a brush of hands under the dinner table-and I'm much happier.

Ree is, too. She sees our love, and it makes her smile. She also begins to talk more, in full sentences, and by her third birthday we decide to throw a big bash to make up for all the lost ones.

The party is large, and fun. Annie comes with Trevor, Lily, and her third child-little Bobby who is only a few months older than Ree. Effie responds to her invitation with a resounding yes and appears with an unfamiliar man in tow. When I ask her about them she blushes and says it's nothing.

Mom agrees to come after much persuading. I'm not sure how much good her visit will do, but I want her to know her granddaughter. Ree deserves that, if anything. She agrees to stay at the house.

I look up Johanna's number, seeing as I haven't talked to her in years, and ready myself to invite her.

"Hello?" A deep, male voice answers after three rings.

I'm thrown, unable to speak, and my answer comes late.

"Yes, ah-I'm looking for Johanna?"

"Oh," he says, then yells her name. "Who is this?"

I sit down, uncomfortable. "Kat-"

Before I can finish Johanna's voice is on the line, rough and urgent.

"Who is this? I told that phone company not to use this number anymore!"

"Johanna?" I ask in disbelief. "Hi, it's Katniss."

"Katniss?" There is a long pause, and someone shouts. She clears her throat. "What do you want? Make it quick, please, I'm with a client."

"A client? What do you-?"

"Andrew, shut up! I'll be back in a minute!"

It's only then that it sinks in. Her new job. The strange man.

"You're a…you're a…."

"A prostitute? So?"

"It's just, you're so…" I pause, unable to speak.

"So what? Unappealing? I'll have you know my fan base is very…." She breaks off, coughing, then sighs. "Finnick did it and you just worshipped him!"

"I never said-"

"Let's not talk about it anymore, shall we?"

I groan with frustration. "Am I ever going to get to finish a sentence?"

"Depends."

I wait a long time before I answer her. "I called to tell you my daughter is having her third birthday and I'd like you to come."

"Me?"

"Yes."

There's slight hesitation in her voice when she answers, "No."

"No? We can pay for your tickets-"

"I said no! I'm not coming. I know you have a happy little life with Peeta, and that's just peachy. But I don't want any part of it."

I'm suddenly furious. "I thought we…I thought we were…"

"What? Friends?" She snorts. "As if. I would never want to be close with someone like you." She pauses for a long time. "Andrew's waiting."

"Have fun with him."

She starts to answer and then stops, trying to determine if I'm serious.

"Always do," she says finally, then hangs up.

For a moment, I stand there in stunned silence.

"Well, what she'd say?"

I jump and then turn to find Peeta standing behind me, an expectant look on his face.

"She said...no."

"Oh." He furrows his eyebrows. "Why?"

And then I can't stop laughing. I don't know why-I feel terrible, of course, and the fact that I should probably be sad right now makes it worse, but I can't stop. Through my chuckles I pour the story out to Peeta.

"Well..." He says when I'm done. "I guess that's to be expected."

And we prepare for the party.