A/N: Thank you guys for all you gorgeous reviews! I can't believe we hit the 400 mark on reviews! Your reviews are what keep me inspired, so keep leaving them!

Anyways, my schedule is SUPER busy now that I have volleyball, so I'm guessing that reviews will come about once every two weeks. Maybe sooner if I find time.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.

3 weeks later…

Spring's cool winds and bright flowers had melted into summer's humid air and warm nights. Summers had always brought on a wave of extreme heat in District 12. This summer was particularly bad; Peeta was even trying to avoid baking since the ovens were so hot.

Sipping on my glass of lemonade, I sat on the wooden steps of the porch, my feet rocking back and forth in anticipation. I hear the door open and close behind me, and a familiar pair of feet stand next to mine.

"Excited much?" Peeta asks as he sits next to me. I look up at him and smile.

"Of course. I feel like I haven't seen them in forever," I respond.

That's when we see Haymitch, stumbling out of his house for his weekly trip outside.

I chuckle and yell to him, "Finally decided to get some fresh air, you big drunk?"

Holding onto the porch rail, he turns towards me, a scowl planted on his face. "Leave me alone, sweatheart," he growls. "I just got out of bed."

Before either of us can continue, Peeta interrupts. "Haymitch, do you know who's coming today?"

"Enlighten me," Haymitch replies sarcastically. Boy, he must really be in a bad mood to be sarcastic to Peeta.

"Finnick, Annie, and Johanna are coming all the way from Four. They'll be here in an hour," Peeta responds, ignoring Haymitch's tone.

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The sound of roaring engines and wheels gliding along the tracks fills my ears, making me turn in direction of the sound. Sure enough, a train rolls into the station, its side marked with a large number four. I tighten my grip on Peeta's hand and drag him to the front, pushing through the crowd of people waiting for their family and friends. I struggle to see over everyone's heads, keeping my eye out for a familiar pair of red-heads and a dark haired girl with a bitter look on her face.

Finally, I spot them, and call out to them. "Finnick! Annie! Johanna!" I yell, waving my hand up. Immediately, with his tall figure, Finnick spots me, leading the two women over to us. I motion to a spot away from the crowd, and Finnick nods, understanding my gesture.

"Katniss! Peeta!" Annie squeals, giving us each a hug after exiting the station.

"Long time no see Kitty Kat!" Finnick says, giving me a bear hug. He and Peeta give each other a hand shake, followed by a friendly clasp on the shoulder.

"Good to see your face again, Brianless," Johanna says, but she doesn't make a move to embrace me. Instead, I open my arms, raising my eyebrows with a smirk on my face. She simply rolls her eyes and walks into my hug, trying to act tough. I know better.

After finishing our greetings, Annie speaks up. "Peeta, Katniss, Finny and I have some excited news to tell you," she says, her face trying to contain a smile. After a moment of expectant pause, the smile breaks onto her face as she bursts out, "I'm pregnant!"

My jaw drops, and I see Peeta's do the same, but it's overcome by the grin that stretches across his face. "That's amazing! Congratulations, you two!" Peeta says, the joy he feels for them evident in his tone.

"Congratulations," I breathe, still a little shocked.

"Enough of all this," I hear Johanna say. "Let's get to the house, I'm starving!"

We all laugh, except me. My mind is still swamped by what I heard. A baby? Annie's really going to be mother? Finnick's going to be a father? The idea of them becoming parents scares me, but I don't know why. I'm sure they'll be amazing parents; they're both so loving and compassionate towards others. So, why is there a voice of anxiety and paranoia dictating my thoughts?

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Once in Victor's Village, we show the three their house that they'll be sharing. The next day, I realize what a strenuous journey it must be to travel from Four to Twelve, since Finnick, Annie, and Johanna sleep for a straight eleven hours that night. However, when they finally wake up, they seem completely readjusted to time shift. They come over around lunchtime, and seem eager to start exploring District Twelve.

"We should go into town today!" Annie proposes. "I heard that the rebuilding here in Twelve is getting done pretty fast. There must be some nice stores we can go look at!"

I see Johanna, who sits next to her at the table, scrunch her face up. "Shopping? I was thinking we could do something a little less… trivial, if you don't mind," she responds, the sour look not leaving her face.

"Well, what DO you want to do?" Annie asks, crossing her arms and looking at Johanna.

From what I've seen, Johanna and Annie are complete polar opposites. But I guess opposites attract, because they're also best friends. That doesn't stop them from fighting, though.

"Hey, I have an idea," I interrupt, before the two girls can start arguing. "Why don't we go swimming? I know where there's a really nice lake, we just have to walk a little to get to it."

The three victors look at each other, nodding their heads. "Ok, that sounds good," Finnick says to me.

Annie, Johanna, and Finnick leave and go back to their house to get changed, leaving Peeta and I alone.

"Good job," I hear Peeta chuckle. "That could've blown out into a full-out fight."

I smile and sit next to him on the couch, curling my legs underneath me and wrapping my arms around his torso. I feel his arms wrap around me in response.

I look up at him. "What about you? Will you be able to swim?" I glance down at his prosthetic leg.

"Don't worry about me, love. Plus, it's waterproof. I'll be fine," he responds.

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An hour later, the five of us are trekking through the forest. I'm leading the way, and feel a twinge of guilt for bringing them here. For a long time, the forest had been sacred to me, hardly ever infiltrated. The only other person who would come here was Gale, and before that, it was only my father and I.

That was a long time ago, a voice in my head says. This is a new stage in your life. New people, new experiences, new world. It's a new life.

I couldn't help but agree. I mean, my life was completely different than how I had expected it to turn out. I was engaged, happy with the government, and surrounded by family and friends.

Definitely not what I expected.

And it was all because of Effie Trinket, and which slip she had just happened to pick from the glass ball three years ago.

I'm interrupted from my thoughts when I hear Finnick yell out, "Katniss, is that it?"

I look over, and see him pointing to the lake. I grin. "Yup," I say, turning in the direction of the lake.

Once we make it to the shore, we're all coated in sweat. Annie, Finnick, and Johanna had been complaining the whole way about how hot it was; it was just a hot summer for me and Peeta.

Everyone besides Peeta and I drop their stuff and strip off their clothes, running into the water in their bathing suits.

The water glides outwards as Finnick and Annie leap into the water with graceful dives. Johanna, however, jumps straight in with her body curled into a ball, making the water explode in fireworks of white droplets.

I set up the picnic blanket, and Peeta sets the picnic basket on top. After making sure that the blanket wouldn't blow away, I kicked my shoes off and pulled my t-shirt over my head, revealing the maroon bikini top that adorned my figure.

Normally, I would never wear something so revealing. But Annie had insisted I borrow it and keep it, saying that it made me look more feminine. I told her it wasn't really my thing, and perhaps she would've taken it back, but then Johanna joined us. With Johanna, there was no such thing as choice.

I turned around and slid my shorts down my legs, my cheeks burning as I felt Peeta's eyes burning into my back.

I turned back around to face him and his eyes quickly darted away. A memory then resurfaced in my mind, and my brain reminded me that he had already seen me topless. Remembering our make-out session in the closet of 13 made me blush harder, but I was less embarrassed.

I decided to shove my insecurities aside. "Come on," I said, and forced the burning to escape my cheeks. "I'll race you to the water!" I screeched as I set off running towards the lake. I soon heard heavy footsteps behind me, making me think about how his prosthetic really didn't inhibit Peeta at all.

My toes just touched the water when I heard Peeta say "Oh, no you don't," and felt his strong arms wrap around my middle from behind, lifting me out of the water's reach.

"Peeta!" I squealed, mentally cringing at how my voice sounded. "Put me down!" I squirmed in his arms so that I was facing him.

My breath escaped me for a moment as his blue eyes bore into mine. Summer's heat had brought on an everlasting sunshine, and it made Peeta's hair look like curls of strung gold. Suddenly, everything else disappeared; the forest, the sounds, everything. It was just me and Peeta.

He smiled a cocky grin. "Ok," he murmured, pulling his face close to mine. "But on one condition."

"Oh yeah?" I replied, resting my chin on my palm in mock apprehension. "What's that?"

"This," he responded, and planted his lips onto mine. I threw my arms around his neck, the action feeling so natural. His lips had become a familiarity to me; my brain recognized them instantly, and I was no longer in control of my actions. With some sort of unseen ability, my lips moved against his, knowing every crevice of his mouth.

He set me down so that my feet were in the water, but didn't loosen his grip around my waist, keeping me firmly planted against him. Not that I minded, of course.

A/N: I'm so so so sorry that this chapter took so long. I really wanted to get it out sooner but

I had a lack of inspiration

I was in big bear from Friday to Tuesday

I was really busy with Christmas gifts and all that

I have a TON of hw for break (I have to write an essay for MATH)

I'll try to update soon since I'm on break for two weeks, but as I mentioned I have a ton of homework and projects and blah to do.

Hope you all had wonderful Xmas, or Hanukah, or Kwanza or whatever you celebrate!