Author's note: This is the last update until after Christmas. I hope it doesn't drive you too crazy. You'll see what I have planned probably on Monday. Please review and let me know what you think.

Happy reading!

Chapter Twenty-Five

A letter arrived in the mail for Annie a few days later. She laughed when she saw it was from Gale. She opened it and started reading.

"I wanted to send you a letter because sometimes I just feel like writing stuff down instead of saying them aloud. Sometimes it's easier. I guess you know that now.

"I'm proud to say you're my friend. I'm proud of you and the progress you've made in the time I've known you. I know it will still take a while, but you're on a good road. And in the long run, your son will appreciate it.

"Another reason I decided to write you is because saying the words doesn't seem to be working. Simply saying that I care about you isn't enough. I care about everything you do, Annie. I care about you getting better. I care about way you're treated. And I care about the way you treat others.

"Truthfully, Annie, I think you're not a great person. You let me kiss you. You let me hold you. You let me tell you everything about me and you only give me bits and pieces. I want all of you and I know you can't give me that now, but I want it. It's what I hope for. It's what keeps me calling you.

"And if you worry that I only want you for you, just know that I want Finn, too. I'm there for everything. I don't want to take Finnick's place. I was telling the truth about that when I said it before. But I do want to be the father your son needs. Dale is a good man, but he's old. He'll be gone soon and then where will you be? Everyone else just pretends. They're only nice on the outside. But I was there and I saw the looks in their eyes. They pity you, Annie.

"I don't pity you. I love you. There, I said it. I love you with everything that I am. I love the way you laugh and the way you smile. I love the look of affection you get in your eyes when you look at Finn, even when he's misbehaving. I love that far-off look you get when you remember Finnick. I love the way your hair glistened in the sun the day we played in the water.

"But most of all, Annie, I love that you have chosen to keep going on, despite every time you've wished you didn't have to. You're strong. And your strength gives me strength.

"Please call me when you read this, even if I'm at work. I need to hear your voice."

Annie sat back and wiped at her face. Then the implications of the letter started sinking in. He wanted to spend his life with her and Finn. He was willing to take on all her insecurities and instabilities.

But she still couldn't let him. Finnick was still there, ever-present in every aspect of her life. And it still felt wrong in so many ways to let herself open up to Gale. Finnick was still her husband. She'd made that commitment.

She heard a click of the door and turned. She stood, expecting him like always. But she had been hearing things. The door didn't open. No one came in. She was still all alone. Finn had gone over to his friend Eddie's house for the afternoon.

She sat back down and sobbed. "Where are you?"

Her despair quickly turned into anger and she picked up the letter. She wadded it up and threw it across the room. That being unsatisfying, she picked up something with more substance, a conch shell Finn had recently found on the beach. She chucked it at the glass doors and laughed at the shattering sound of the glass.

She picked up more things and started throwing them around the room at random. Windows shatter. Nick-knacks broke. Shelves of books were pushed over. Annie screamed her rage over and over.

Dale walked in the house just as she picked up a picture frame. He grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides. "Calm down, Annie. Sh, calm down, girl. It's okay. It's okay."

"It's not okay, Dale. He's gone."

"He is."

"He's coming back."

"He's not."

"I feel him. I feel him everywhere."

"I feel Mags everywhere too. But they're not here anymore."

She went limp. "Please let me go, Dale."

"You're not going to throw anything else, are you?"

"I'm not."

He loosened his grip, but he didn't let her go. "What happened?"

She looked around wildly for a few seconds before saying. "I got a letter from Gale."

"You got a letter from Gale? Did he tell he didn't want to talk to you anymore?"

She shook her head. "He told me he loved me."

"So why get upset about that? That's something to be happy about."

She shook her head again. "Finnick." She said simply.

"I knew Finnick all his life, Annie. I've known you all your life too. And I know better than anybody what it's like to lose your spouse. So I know Finnick would want you to be happy."

"I'm not happy without him." She was crying again. "I never was."

He wiped the tears off her face with his wrinkled hand. "Now, listen here, girl. You are better than that. I saw how you were when Gale was here. That's the best you've been in years."

She pushed away from him. "Being around Gale makes it better."

"So why tear up your house because the man you admit makes it better told you he loved you?"

She looked around, lost. "I need Finnick. I want to go to Finnick."

He put his hands on her face, "No. Don't talk like that."

"Finn's old enough that he won't be a burden on anyone else. Gale can take him. He said he would."

"I'm not going to hear you talk like this. Promise me you won't do anything drastic."

"I won't. I promise."

He nodded. "I'll help you clean up this mess, Annie." He let go of her and started picking up things.

Annie watched him for a while. "I'll do this, Dale. You can go home."

"You still going to be here later?"

"I have nowhere else to go."

"I'll stop by to see you." he looked around. "And I'll make a call for someone to come here and replace your windows."

"You don't have to do that."

"But I will anyway." He kissed her forehead. "Maybe it would help if you called the man." He smiled and left the house.

She looked around, not sure where to start. In all the mess, she found the letter. She spread it out and looked at it. She folded it up and put it in her pocket. She tackled the mess.

Gale was worried when he didn't get a call from Annie that day. Had she gotten the letter? Did she not want to see him or speak to him ever again? Should he not have said all those things?

He picked up the phone several times and then put it back down. He didn't want to push. He couldn't.

Several days passed with no word. He tried every night, but no one answered. He was starting to get even more worried. He tracked down Dale's number and called him one morning while he was at work. The old man answered on the forth ring.

"Hello, Dale. It's Gale Hawthorne. Do you remember me?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Is Annie okay? She hasn't called me or answered any of my calls in a few days."

"She was fine when I saw her an hour ago. We had breakfast together."

"Did she say anything about not answering the phone?"

"She said she didn't want to talk to anyone. She's still trying to work through some things. She told me about your letter."

"So she didn't take it well?"

"No, she didn't. She tore up her living room. She broke some windows."

"Oh, god." He sighed and put his head in his hand. "But she's okay? Really okay?"

"She's fine. But I see her how she was on her darkest days. She's barely there, Gale. She told me more than once that she wants to be with Finnick."

"Will you tell her to call me?"

"I'll tell her. I don't know if she'll listen."

"Thank you."

Gale went about his day in a haze. He checked in with Cole between all his meetings to see if there was a message from Annie. There wasn't.

"Anything I can do, sir?"

He shook his head. "Just keep your ear to the phone. And if Annie calls, come get me."

She didn't call the rest of the day.

He left for home as soon as he was able. He practically ran to his apartment. He picked up the phone and tried Annie's number. The phone clicked as it was picked up.

It was Finn. His voice trembled as he said, "Hello?"

"Finn, is something wrong?"

"I was out fishing and I came back and found this really scary note from Mom."

"What did it say?"

"It says, 'The ocean looks so inviting. The waves flowing in and out. If I go to meet the waves will I sink below them or float forever? Help me, Gale. I just want the pain to go away.'"

"Where is she?"

"I don't know. She wasn't on the beach. I looked. I called her name over and over. She didn't answer." He was hysterical.

"Finn listen to me, I'm on my way there. Go to Dale's house. Call the peacekeepers and tell them what you told me. I'll be there as quickly as I can."

"Okay."

"It will be all right."

"What if she's dead, Gale?"

"She's not. Go to Dale's house and call the peacekeepers. I'll be there in a few hours."