A/N: This originally started as a filler chapter and then I added in the rebel meeting because I'm tired of the story being boring. This chapter hasn't been beta'd so bear with me because I'm lazy and refuse to re-read this a million times to fix my mistakes.


Gale's cold feet press against my legs and I grumble trying to kick them away. He sighs and pulls the blankets away from me.

"Gale," I moan as I try to pull the blankets back from him. He refuses to let them go and I grumble, "You have to get up anyways."

"Ten more minutes," he mutters and I kick him a little causing him to grunt and roll over. His arms snake over to me and soon I'm being pulled into the warmth of his embrace.

I sigh and snuggle into his chest, "Okay, ten more minutes," I yawn and Gale chuckles. He presses his lips to the top of my head and I look up at him so that our lips can meet.

Gale rolls me on top of him but our lips never break contact. His hand is a constant pressure on my lower back and my hands twist in his thick head of messy black hair. Gale's stubble rubs against my face until my skin feels raw but I don't pull away. It's rare for Gale and me to have a morning together since he leaves for work earlier and doesn't have Sunday's off anymore.

His hands slide from my lower back to my thighs and he squeezes them just a bit. I break the kiss and move my head lower to line his jaw with my lips and then suck on his collar bone. My teeth graze against the bone a little as I nip at his warm skin. Gale's breath shudders and he flips me over so that I'm under him instead.

His hands slip underneath my nightgown and for a few moments the two of us are in a calm bliss. His ragged breaths and my soft moans. The outside world is no longer apparent and I can't even recall why I was mad at him. Right now it's just him and me.

Despite his calloused hands from working in the mines his touches are soft, warm, and slide against my skin with ease. He knows where every scar or freckle is on my body. He presses kisses in the areas where he knows I'll give the most reaction and he breathes heavily into the crook of my neck. One hand is still tangled in his hair and the other runs up and then down his back. I make sure to claw into his skin enough so that I know he feels it.

I miss this. I miss him. The rebel groups and his job and our daughters have taken up all our time. It's nice to be the center of his attention. It's nice to know how much he loved me despite our different outlooks on how to handle the world outside. We balance each other out and it's moments like this when I am reminded just how much I need him.

Our moment is broken quickly. One of our girls starts crying and then the other soon joins in. Gale swears under his breath sitting up and I wriggle out from underneath him. His hands hang onto my nightgown and we just stare at each other before he pulls me back to him and kisses me gently.

"I have to get ready for work anyways," he mutters into my lips and I sigh. My hands push his hair back and then I caress his face gently. The stubble from the beard he's growing pricks my fingers and I kiss him again.

"I love you." I remind him and Gale just smiles before pressing a kiss to my collarbone in response.

The girls are both very alert when I walk into their room. Their faces are bright red and their little lungs continue to suck in air so that they can continue screaming. It's almost like they're in a competition to see who can be the loudest.

"Alright, alright," I coo as I walk over to their cribs. I stand between them and rub their little backs, trying to see if I can get them to calm down just a little before I pick them up.

They're still so very tiny and fragile looking. Their hair doesn't have the same gleam in it that it once did and even their curls are staring to lose their bounce. My girls aren't healthy and the fear of losing them wells up in my chest and causes my throat to close. It would be my fault after all.

As their mother, I'm supposed to be the one to take care of them. I'm supposed to be able to protect them from everything. I couldn't feed them enough because I wasn't healthy and producing enough for both of them. It was my fault. I was failing as a mother and I was watching my daughters wither away in front of my eyes. I run a hand through my hair in a desperate attempt to keep myself calm. The anxiety that I can feel slowly building in my chest is enough for me to understand why Annie had all those episodes. There's nothing worse than knowing that you can't protect your children.

I push a hand through Eden's hair and then scoop her up. I do the same with Rosie and I sit in the little chair that Gale put in here and feed them. I have to continue to switch off but even I can see that they aren't getting enough to eat. Their brown eyes are desperate and hungry and I know that we're going to have to find an alternative way to feed them.

"You three okay?" Gale asks and I shake my head. He walks into the room already dressed in his work clothes. I tug on the patch that I just sewed into the side of his shirt to make sure that it doesn't come loose and I smile a little at my workmanship.

"What's wrong?" Gale asks as I hand him Rosie. He looks like a giant holding her and that makes Rosie seem even tinier, even more underfed.

"I think we need to find an alternative way to feed them because I just can't do. They're not getting enough," I look down at Eden and she reaches up to me. "I can't lose my daughters Gale."

He kneels in front of me so that I'm not looking up at him. "I guess we can take them to the Capitol Facility, see what they say."

"Or Mrs. Everdeen. She always has an answer right?" My voice is verging desperate and Gale squeezes my knee.

"She always has an answer," he agrees.


The thing about Mrs. Everdeen's is I was always scared to walk inside of the house. I didn't know who was going to be lying on the other side of that door. It could be a charred miner or a woman who was beaten senseless by her husband. It could be a sick child, already too far gone to save. So I knock, despite Katniss and Primrose always telling me to walk inside. I liked to know what I walking into before I actually walked into it.

Haymitch answers the door and I stagger backwards in fear. He usually smells rancid, a mix of alcohol and sweat. Although today, he actually looks alert. He is dressed in unwrinkled clothes and instead of a bottle of liquor glued to his hand he had a cup of tea. No doubt topped off with alcohol since he still smelt a little like the putrid drink, but at least he isn't staggering and slurring. It also isn't hard to miss the black rebel bandanna that's hanging out of the pocket of his t-shirt. He tucks the fabric out of sight when he notices my eyes zero in on it. I guess the rebellion has pretty much reached everyone in the Seam.

"Hawthorne, right?" Haymitch asks and I nod my head. "What are you doing knocking?"

"She always knocks," Katniss says behind him before she ducks under his arm. "What's wrong?"

"I need to see your mother," I say and the two of them side step so that I can come inside. Katniss holds her hands out for a baby, her black bandanna is tied around her wrist. I stare at it for a moment before letting her pick a baby to hold. She cuddles Eden into her arms and I know she wouldn't admit it, but Eden is her favorite because she is quieter than Rosie. Katniss and Eden have the quiet trait in common.

"Are you sick? Is Gale okay?" Katniss asks and I try not to let the fact that her voice changes with worry when she asks about Gale get the best of me, but it does still bother me a bit.

"We're fine, it's actually Eden and Rosie." My eyes glance at both my girls before sitting down at the kitchen table. "I'm not producing enough to feed both of them."

Haymitch throws his hands up and walks out the back door clearly uncomfortable with talking about the female anatomy and what exactly it does. Katniss and I exchange looks and she rolls her eyes before standing up to collect her mother from her bedroom.

Mrs. Everdeen is happy when she sees me, but I think it's more that I brought the girls over instead. She quickly takes Rosie from my hands and sits across from me with a warm lively look on her face. Katniss watches her for a moment. A smile almost spreads, but she decides against it. Katniss has an issue with her mother that is still unclear to me.

"So tell me what the problem is Norah," Mrs. Everdeen is now totally focused on me.

As I explain to her the issue of my daughters' malnourishment she just nods her head in understanding. "This happens all the time, especially with Seam babies. There just simply isn't enough to keep the mother and the babies healthy. It doesn't make you a bad mom Norah, your body is trying very hard it's just not getting enough to perform."

"So what do I do?" I bite the inside of my cheek and wait for her answer.

"There's two things we can do and both require bottles. The more expensive of the two is going down to the Capitol run facility and getting formula. It has all the nutrients and everything to take care of these sweet little girls." Mrs. Everdeen then presses a kiss to the top of Rosie's head, "Or we can use goat's milk."

"Goats milk?" My nose crinkles because I've never heard of feeding a baby goats milk. It wasn't something we did back in District Four, but then again we had enough money to feed ourselves fully or buy the Capitol formula.

"Goats milk has all the nutritional value and to me it's a better supplement since it's not chemically altered. The babies will digest it easily and they'll start to build up some of that weight that they've been missing out on." Mrs. Everdeen explains but I'm still not entirely sold, "I fed it to Prim and she turned out just fine."

"I don't even know where to get goats milk," I say and she smiles.

"We'll take care of that for you," Mrs. Everdeen says and before I can refuse the offer she puts up her hand. "I insist Norah, we'll give you the milk. You're our family."

"It's Prim's goat and she uses it to sell cheese and I really don't want to impose," I say and Katniss just looks at me.

"Prim would be happy to give you the milk, but if it makes you feel better we can give you the milk until you're able to buy your own goat. I know how you Hawthorne's are about charity," Katniss winks and I smile at her.

"Yes we're very independent people," I comment and Mrs. Everdeen just grins.

"So then it's decided," she gets up and passes Rosie back to me, "I get you some milk and some bottles."

"Mrs. Everdeen," I begin to protest about the bottles but she ignores me.

"It's a gift," she says finalizing the conversation and I sigh.

Mrs. Everdeen brings back two bottles, both warmed with goats milk. She hands one to me and then to Katniss, but instead Katniss offers her mother Eden. Mrs. Everdeen smiles warmly at her daughter, knowing that Katniss didn't fare well with doing anything remotely motherly. The second a baby cried, spit up, or needed a change Katniss was out of there and I guess the same thing applied with feeding.

It takes a moment to convince Rosie to take the bottle but once she does I'm not surprised by how hungry she is. I look at her intently as Mrs. Everdeen explains how to make the bottles for the girls and even though I am listening to her words I just can't look up at her at the moment. Rosie's face is full of color as she sucks her hardest to get as much as she can out of the bottle and I smile, playing with the little curls in her hair. My daughters are going to be okay.


The thing that I like the most about the rebel meetings is the contact that Gale has with my home District. He has contact with Finnick and a part of me loves it because that is my brother. He is one of my favorite people in the entire world. On the other hand, I hate it because that is my brother. He knew every embarrassing thing I ever did and even though these are rebel meetings and they communicate through Peacekeeper's radios or from the train shipments, it doesn't stop Finnick from telling Gale anything embarrassing that's happened to me.

When he walks through the door I'm just finishing feeding the girls. The three of us are sitting by the warm fire and they're starting to drift off into a deep sleep. Their stomachs are full and I know that I'll be able to sleep better knowing that they're going to start becoming healthier.

Gale looks tired but there's a mischievous smirk on his face when he looks at me. "I left a plate out for you," I say quietly to Gale.

He nods and locks up the house as quietly as he can. He walks over to me, still smirking like he's trying to hold in a laugh and presses a kiss to the top of my head. "What are you feeding them?"

"Goat milk. Mrs. Everdeen had an answer," I say as I hand him Eden. He bounces her for a moment before kissing her forehead.

"Goat milk?" Gale makes and face and I nod. "Well okay, I mean I trust Mrs. Everdeen so."

"I know," I say because I thought the same thing. I've never heard of feeding a baby goat milk but my girls weren't whimpering with hunger tonight so it couldn't be bad.

He reaches out for Rosie as well and I place her in the crook of his arm. He carries the two of them to bed and I lean back in the chair, yawning and putting my feet up on the coffee table. Gale takes a few minutes to put them to bed because he likes to make sure they're still sound asleep and then double check that the window is locked tight.

"Hey Chipmunk," Gale says from the entryway and my eyes snap open. He's smirking again and I just stare at him because I'm not sure if I heard him right. "What did you make for dinner?"

"Just the rest of the deer that was in the ice box," I say as I watch him carefully lift the covering on his plate of food.

"Thanks Chipmunk," he casts a glance over his shoulder and my jaw locks. This wasn't a cute pet name.

"Gale Hawthorne," I say and he turns to look at me with his cheeks puffed up with air. My face heats and I know that I'm probably a crimson red. "I can't believe this. Finnick told you about chipmunk cheeks?"

Gale nods with his cheeks still swollen with air. I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him. He stares at me like that for a few more seconds before laughing. "I'm sorry it's just so funny."

"I had a really bad reaction to mussels and you laugh," I ask and Gale nods still doubled over in his laughter.

"Finnick said that he's going to send a picture with the next shipment," Gale says as he rips off a piece of bread from his plate and pops it into his mouth.

"Don't you two have anything else better to do then talk about me? Aren't you two supposed to be liberating the Districts or something?" I ask and Gale puffs his cheeks up again.

I shove him backwards and he laughs, but I really don't think it's funny. Chipmunk cheeks is a terrible nickname that Finnick gave me when I was thirteen. I had eaten some bad mussels and got a terrible allergic reaction which caused my cheeks to swell up like a chipmunk. It's mortifying and of course lasted long enough for the Capitol check-up. For an entire year my identification was a picture of me with swollen cheeks and a bright red face. Finnick never ever let me forget it. He carried the picture around with him and called me Chipmunk whenever he wanted to get a reaction out of me. He managed to torment me with it for years and even being eight districts away he's still managing to torment me with it. I can't believe him.

"I'm going to kill him," I say and Gale reaches out for me but I shove his hand away.

"Oh Norah, don't be like that. It's funny," Gale says but I really don't think so.

"Oh yeah it's hysterical. Tell Finnick I really appreciate him bringing this back up," I shrug my shoulders and Gale just tilts his head. He's still trying not to laugh at me.

"I'm sorry," Gale says but a laugh slips out. I roll my eyes, feeling the small smile play at my lips. It wasn't funny at all, but Gale wasn't nearly as mean as Finnick was when he teased me about it. "I promise I won't say anything else about it."

He opens his arms for me and I sigh, leaning into him anyways. As he talks about the rebellion I absent mindedly play with the rebel bandanna tied around his arm. "You know things are really starting to progress. District Eight had it's first successful group of runaways."

"What?" I ask and he takes a deep breath. "Where did they run away to?"

"We don't know that yet. We just know they got out and we know that their safe. District Eight has connections with someone and their not letting the rest of us know just yet. The only thing we're sure about is that people are beginning to rally," Gale sounds excited but fear just swells in my stomach.

"Your dad and Finnick almost have control of District Four. The Peacekeepers are slowly backing off and so far there hasn't been a call for reinforcements –"

"Don't tell me that." I cut him off and Gale squeezes me a little closer to him.

"Everything's going to be okay," he says but the fear of my rebel father and brother taking charge of my home District is too much to bear. I don't want to think about it because I know something will happen. The Capitol is giving them false hope. It's only a matter of time until all of this blew up in their face and none of us would be around to pick up the pieces.

"Yeah," I say as I pull away from him. "I'll be in bed okay?"

"Yeah," the arm that was around me drops awkwardly to his side and picks up his plate to bring it to the table. "I love you," he reminds me and I smile to myself.

I don't fall asleep until Gale's lying next to me. He crawls into bed carefully in fear that he'll wake me and then fixes the quilts so that they are pulled up to my chin. He wraps his arm around me and I snuggle back into his chest. Gale presses a kiss to the back of my neck and I hold onto his hand.

"Goodnight," I whisper and Gale yawns.

"Goodnight Chipmunk," he chuckles tiredly and I kick him in the shin. "I'm sorry, that was the last time I swear."

"It better be," I whisper, "and stop talking about me to Finnick. He lies."


I must be the only person in the Seam who doesn't walk around with a black bandanna ties around me. Hazelle has one in the pocket of her apron when she works, Bristle uses hers to keep her hair tied back, and even quiet little Bonnie my co-worker from District Eight has her bandanna tied on one of her belt loops. I frown at the sight of them and turn my nose up into the air each time they bring up anything that's mentioned at rebel meetings.

"Don't be like that Norah," Hazelle says as she helps me string a new laundry line in the front yard.

"Be like what?" I step up the small step ladder and tie the new line onto the hook from Hazelle's roof.

"Norah," she says and I just look at her. "I know you don't like anything that has to do with the rebellion, but please don't treat me like this."

I glance at her and see that she is a little hurt. I see Hazelle as a mother and I didn't purposefully hurt her feelings. I just don't like seeing everyone a part of this. I don't understand why they see the good and I saw the bad.

"I'm not doing it on purpose," I grasp onto her shoulder so that she can help me down from the step ladder.

"I know that. I just need you to start being more open minded, we're doing this so that my children and yours will have a safer world to grow up in." Hazelle explains and I roll my eyes, taking the line and step ladder over to the pole that stands in the middle of her front yard.

"The world we live in is safe enough now. It's broken yes, but it's safe." I snap and Hazelle's eyes narrow.

"Norah, did your mother or father ever tell you what the Districts were like when we were growing up?" Hazelle asks.

"No," I lick my lips and begin to tie the line to the pole. I like laundry that air dries outside better than inside. The fresh air makes the clothes and sheets seem fresher, almost crisper. People always gave us extra money when we start hanging the laundry from the clothesline outside because they think we took extra time in making their clothes cleaner.

"The Districts were dangerous. People were always disappearing and Peacekeepers used brute force to keep us under control. There were public hangings and people were sometimes locked up and stoned to death. If you ever spoke out of turn you were dead, we lived in constant fear and it's happening again." Hazelle explains and I just shake my head.

"All of that happened in District Four Hazelle. I watched all of that happen all the time and reacting just makes it worse." I say and Hazelle sighs.

"Norah, when I was growing up I can promise you that what ever happened to you in District Four is child's play compared to what I saw. Peacekeepers would firebomb houses, kill children in front of their parent's eyes, shoot people for target practice and all because they can," Hazelle says and I bite my lip. There was nothing like that in District Four, sure people disappeared or publicly executed to make an example but we weren't tortured. I never feared to leave my house.

"How do you know things are going to be the same as back then?" I ask and Hazelle and she sighs, placing her hand on my lower back as I climb up the step ladder to finish hanging the clothesline.

"I can see the changes, it's slow and subtle but it's there." Hazelle says and for the first time I hear the real fear quiver in her voice.

After a few moments pass and I move back down the step ladder. Hazelle grabs me gently but forceful enough for me to look at her, "Do you know why Gale, Katniss, and so many people from the Seam are passionate about the rebellion?"

"Because all of you are stubborn?" I ask and Hazelle smirks, pinching my arm.

"No, because we all lost someone very important to use because of the Capitol. Benjamin, Mr. Everdeen, and all those other miners didn't just die in a mine explosion Norah. The Capitol murdered them because they were a threat." Hazelle says and I try to imagine what it would be like knowing that my husband's death wasn't an accident.

"What makes you think the Capitol won't do the exact same thing now?" I picture Gale deep down in the minds and I forget how to breathe.

"Because we have better plans now. I promise Norah, things won't turn out like they did last time," Hazelle says as she squeezes my hand reassuringly. "I think you need to go to the rebel meeting tonight."

"I can't. Someone has to take care of the girls," I say quickly.

"I'll watch them. I think it's important for you to go. For you to see that the rebels aren't just a bunch of men running around and setting things on fire."

I can't think of any solid excuse as to why I can't go to the rebel meeting so I just agree. It was just one meeting and maybe I will be able to understand everything just a bit better if I am there to hear it myself.

Inside of the house, Bristle is bouncing one of my daughters on her hip. Rosie lets out a giggle and Bristle makes a face in return. She loves all babies and has yet to stop playing with Posey, Tula, and my girls.

"Don't you ever work?" I tease as I pull wet clothes out of the wash-bin to hang outside.

Bristle sticks her tongue out at me and places Rosie back in her little chair. The truth is, Bristle got fired from her job after cutbacks were made in the shop so Hazelle offered in her a spot in working here with us. It's nice because Bristle spent most of her free time here anyways and another pair of working hands meant that we could do more laundry and receive more money.

"Bonnie I need you to take Norah to the rebel meeting tonight," Hazelle says and Bristle's jaw drops a little.

"Don't you go Bristle?" I ask.

"Thom and I switch off since someone has to watch Tula," Bristle's daughter looks up at the sound of her name and smiles. Her dark brown hair is braided back away from her face and her even darker brown eyes are wide with curiosity.

"Ma." She says before looking back down at her toy and continuing to play with Posey.

"Don't be nervous Norah. Rebel's don't bite," Bristle says and I smile at her, piling the rest of the wet clothes into the laundry basket to hang to dry.

Bonnie and I leave right when it starts to get dark. She takes me the through the back alleys of the Seam and I stick close to her because Gale always told me to never come over here. This is the area where a lot of people become desperate. As we walk Bonnie gives me a rundown of the meetings and that everything and everyone is a lot more casual then I would think.

"Gale and the rest of the miners should already be there," she assures me as we reach the house where the meetings are held.

"Is it always in the same place?" I whisper and Bonnie shakes her head.

"The night before we all get little hints or something as where the next meeting is going to be. Tonight it's Darius' house so that we can use the Peacekeeper radios." Bonnie explains as she waves hello to a Seam woman I've never met.

"A Peacekeeper lives all the way out here?" I ask because I figured most of them lived around the Town.

"Yeah, there's a few scattered out back here because ol' Thread believes that people are going under the fence over here. So they set up Darius on this end, another Peacekeeper a little ways down, and then two others on the opposite side of the District. Two out of the four Peacekeepers are on our side, so we have to be careful."

When we get to the door Bonnie knocks three times and a redheaded Peacekeeper opens the door. "Hello," he says with a grin, but doesn't invite us inside. His eyes land on me and he lifts a brow. "I've never seen you before?"

"This is Norah," Bonnie tells him before she slips inside. I try to follow her but Darius stops me.

"Norah what?" He asks and I lick my lips, trying to find my voice.

"Hawthorne. Norah Hawthorne," I say as I look past him. I see Gale, Thom, and Katniss all sitting at the same table. Gale's takes a swig out of a flask and cringes after he swallows the liquid. He hands the flask back to Haymitch and I roll my eyes.

"My husband's right there." I point to Gale and Darius looks at me for a minute.

"That means you're the Odair from District Four," he says with a knowing grin. I'm almost sure he's going to call me chipmunk cheeks, but instead he just drops his arm and lets me inside. "Your brother knew you would join us sooner or later."

I nod and walk awkwardly over to Gale. Thom is the one that spots me first and he gives out a low whistle and says, "Well there's something I was sure I would never see."

"Hi Thom," I say and Gale looks up surprised. It takes a moment for a smile to spread across his face but it does.

"Come here," he says as he pulls me into. I sit on his lap and he hangs onto me as more people begin to follow in.

Peeta is the last person to arrive and I can't say I'm not surprised. Katniss and Peeta have been glued to each other these past few weeks. He stands behind her, one hand on her chair and the other on her shoulder.

Gale doesn't ask why I'm here, he's just glad I am. He points out important people, like the leaders. The main leader is a woman named Mercy. Her brown hair is greying on the side and she keeps it tied back in a high bun that defines the sharp lines in her face. Her shoulders are broad and she's almost as tall as Gale. I can that she's a coal miner by the clothes she wears and I'm absolutely terrified of her each time she glances nears us. The second in command is surprisingly Haymitch. He's leaning over a map and is tapping a pencil against the table. For once, he looks professional, important. The last leader is the mayor's daughter. She looks out of place here, but she seems comfortable, occasionally saying something to Haymitch who will smirk in return.

"Hawthorne," Mercy says and I'm surprised by how soft her voice actually is. "Come here a minute."

I stand up so that Gale could join Mercy and Haymitch with whatever they're talking about.

"Gale's pretty important too," Thom explains as I watch my husband write something on the map. "People respect him, look up to him the same way they did his dad."

"Hawthorne's are respectable people," I say and Thom chuckles.

"Seems to be that Odair's are just the same. You and Gale really are a power couple aren't you?" Thom asks and I smile, tapping my fingers on the table.

"I guess so." I never really realized how respectable the name Odair would be, especially here in District Four. To the rebels, my family name meant hope the same way the name Hawthorne did an while I don't agree with everything that they stand for. I do have to admit that knowing people of my family highly is something I have to be proud of.

Mercy calls the meeting together and Gale stays up at the front as Mercy explains the progress of the rebels in the other District's. District Eight is the only District to have successful runaways and District Seven is now starting to join the fight. District Eleven is really starting to get violent, but so far the rebels have stayed strong.

"District Eight," Haymitch begins to explain after Mercy's rundown, "has been gracious enough to share their secret with the rest of us as to where their runaways are hiding. We need this information to get our next generation of contracts out of here. If we can get the contracts out like District Eight has been doing and like District Eleven has started then the Capitol won't have the control on us like they want. We start by getting the future contracts out, then we move on with the rest of the liberation of the Districts."

Gale's playing with a radio and every so often we make eye contact. He'll wink or smile at me and I can tell that he's just happy that I'm here.

"The problem is that District Eight doesn't want to radio us the safe zone for the runaways since the Capitol or Peacekeeper's alliance with the Capitol might pick up on our signals. District Eight has always transferred District Four the information through stitching in specific clothes that they sent over and District Four is then supposed to send it to us but through a different means of transfer since it would be suspicious if the fishing district sent us textiles. So we need ideas as to how we can get the information from District Four to us," Haymitch explains and the room breaks out into a buzz. Everyone quickly discussing on how to get the information from there to here.

I slowly raise my hand and Haymitch lifts a brow, nodding towards me. "Why is it just between District Eight, Four, and Twelve?" I ask and people begin to quiet down curious of the answer.

"As of right now we're the strongest rebel groups in the District's. If our District's can get people out then we can figure out a way to help everyone from the outside," Haymitch explains and I nod my head looking at Gale again.

Another person raises their hand and says, "Can't we get the information here through clams? I mean they close and we can spread it out through specifically marked ones and the Capitol won't be suspicious because we all know how much the Mayor and Thread love clams."

"Clams aren't in season right now," I say and Mercy lifts her brows at me.

"Who are you?" She asks and I look at Gale. He gives me a reassuring nod.

"Norah Hawthorne," I say and she looks at Gale.

"She's the Odair," he explains and Mercy smiles at me.

"Well it's good to finally have you here. What do you think District Four can send us that won't be suspicious?" Mercy asks and my face heats up in a blush with everyone's eyes on me.

I look around for a moment trying to think what's in season back at home. My eyes land on Leevy, another woman from District Four, she seems to be thinking just as hard as I am.

"What do you think Leevy?" I ask and she bites her lip.

"I don't know, because everything's pretty much cleaned or filleted before it's sent out to the District's, plus we package everything down tight." Leevy and I stare at each other like we're going to find the answers on each other's freckled faces.

Since I'm taking too long to answer the room begins to break out into a buzz of voices talking at once. I turn back to my table and my eyes land on Peeta and an idea hits me. District Four is known for seaweed bread rolls. It wouldn't be weird for District Four to send bread out to other Districts because we do it all the time anyways. They could hide the information in the bread, it's not like the Peacekeeper's can break bread apart looking for something because they'll ruin the product and that's the one thing the Capitol doesn't allow. Peacekeepers can ruin merchandise created by the District's because then it's a waste of resources and the one thing Panem isn't is wasteful.

"Bread." I say and the people around me look at me like I'm crazy.

"Bread?" Mercy says and I nod.

"If District Four sends out the seaweed rolls with the information for us baked inside the Peacekeeper's won't know and even if they do they can't do anything about it because if they ruin the bread they would be wasting resources, which means the Capitol will be angry with them. So bread, District Four can bake the information into the bread."

"But if the information is on paper it'll catch on fire in the ovens," someone says from the back and I sigh because it was a good idea.

"Not if they use wax paper," Peeta says. "They can bake the wax paper into it and there we go we have our bread and we have our information."

"This will work, we just have to make sure that the rebels buy the correct bread. Peeta you're an important aspect for this because you need to make sure the correct bread gets into the right hands," Mercy says. She then points to the group of town rebels on the left of me, "You will be the buyers since it would be weird of a group of Seam customers are suddenly inside buying District Four bread."

The group nods and suddenly the radio that Gale's been playing with comes to life. It's static as first and the room is silent. Gale turns a few dials and then a very familiar voice comes out of the speaker.

"Come in District Twelve," Finnick says and at the sound of his voice I cover my mouth with my hand to keep myself from breaking into sobs.

"District Twelve here, give us a moment." Gale says as he plugs a paid or headphones into the radio.

"Tell them the plan, the rest of you I need to meet in your groups so that we can move forward with our plan for District control." Mercy begins to walk over to me and I stand up, "Why don't you join your husband. I think you deserve it. You were a very big help tonight. I'm sure your father would be proud."

I nod but I'm barely listening to her. I'm too focused on the radio that holds my brother's voice. Somewhere Finnick's sitting at the same kind of meeting with the same kind of radio and probably as a similar table and the idea of that doesn't make him seem so far away.

I have to wait for Gale and Finnick to work out the details of the bread plan before I can say anything to Finnick but Gale lets me listen with him through the headphones so that I can hear my brother's voice. It's exactly how I remember it and even though he's being completely serious right now he still manages a few sarcastic or teasing remarks while he talks to Gale.

When they have everything worked out Finnick whistles low and teases, "Whose brilliant idea was this because I'm sure it wasn't you Hawthorne."

"No, but it was a Hawthorne," Gale says as he hands me the microphone to speak into the radio.

"What?" Finnick asks and I smile.

"Hi Finnick," I say and a small strangled gasp escapes my brother's lips.

"Norah," he says after a few moments of surprised silence. I start crying again and Finnick laughs, but I can tell by the way it sounds that he's crying too.

"I miss you," I choke out because I don't know what else to say.

"I can honestly say I miss you more than I thought I would." He says and even though we're just talking over radio I can picture the watery smile that's probably spread across his face.

"How's everyone? Is Persi doing well in school? Is dad with you right now? Is little Finn big?" I ask, voice shaking and Gale wraps an arm around my waist to comfort me.

"Mom's great, she's a rock like always. Annie's doing amazing. It's been a few months since she's had an episode. Dad is at a different rebels meeting, but I'll let him know that I spoke with you. Little Finn is a rambunctious toddler now and I honestly don't know what to do with him." Finnick says and I smile.

"And Persi?" I ask.

"Persi's brilliant like always. If you saw her you wouldn't recognize her. Our little sister isn't so little anymore," he laughs as he says this but I can only imagine how true it must be.

I would do anything to see them all again.

"How are my nieces?" Finnick asks and I beam with pride. I love talking about my daughters and the fact that I can tell Finnick about them meant the world to me.

"A lot healthier now." I say and Gale's gives me a reassuring squeeze. "I wish you could see them."

"Maybe I will someday. Things are changing, Norah. Are you ready?" He asks and I look at Gale. He isn't pushing me to answer, he isn't pushing me to agree with the rebellion but I think of how he lost his father because the Capitol feared him. I think of all the people that look to him and to my family back in District Four.

I scan the room and watch the people of District Twelve work together so that they can possibly make a better future for their families and for their children. They weren't running around setting things on fire. They were being safe and strategic. If the Districts can continue to band together like this, then maybe they can change everything.

"Norah?" Finnick asks concerned that I haven't answered yet and I look back at the radio.

"Yeah." I say and I look at Gale and nod. "Yeah I'm ready."

Finnick laughs and Gale smiles before he presses a kiss to my temple. "I knew you would be," Finnick says. "I have to go Norah, but I love you and I'll make sure to pass your love to everyone else."

"Okay, I love you Finnick." I tell him as I try not to start crying again.

"We'll see each other soon." He says and then the radio cuts out.


A/N: I don't know how this chapter got so long but whatever. Here's a new chapter.

Let me know what you think.