The Next Day. Six Days Until The Quell Reaping.

"Good morning gorgeous."

"Good morning honey."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Great. I was in your arms. You?"

"Great. I had you in my arms."

We both chuckle and I lean up for our good morning kiss. We both deepen it, his hands going to my torso while mine dive for his hair. Soon, I flip my left leg over him and straddle his body. I release my lips and sit up straight. He whimpers, I laugh.

"That's not cool, Kat," he frowns.

"Oh shh," I tease. "I am straddling you."

"Yeah, about that…."

"Peeta, this might be the only time we're alone until we go to bed tonight," I tell him with a smirk.

"Why Mrs. Mellark, are you proposing we….have amazing, bed-rocking sex?"

"Actually, Mr. Mellark, that's exactly what I'm proposing."

Without another word, I reach down, cross my arms, and slowly lift my shirt over my head. I didn't wear a bra to bed, as I had to get up twice to feed the twins, so I'm already have naked. All I have left on are my tiny black panties. Peeta's eyes look like saucers.

"Oh my god," he mumbles. "Beautiful, so beautiful."

"You know, you kept your promise, Peeta. I think you should get rewarded."

"What promise?" He asks while running his hands up and down my sides.

"You promised you'd still make love to me and find me attractive after the twins came."

"Kat, that wasn't a promise, there never was a chance of that not happening," he tells me honestly.

"Still, you kept your word, and you shall be rewarded."

"What kind of reward are we talking about?"

I smile wide at him and don't say another word. Instead, I get off his lap, kneel down next to it, untie the drawstring on his sweats, pull them and his boxers down, and take him in my mouth.

"Ohhhh, I love you," he mumbles happily.

Needless to say, we didn't go downstairs for breakfast for a while.

"It sucks you guys have to leave today," I say to Johanna, Finnick and Annie over breakfast. Finnick and Annie are each holding one of the twins, Johanna patiently waiting her turn.

"I know," Annie says sadly. "We have to be in our Districts for the Reaping. But we'll all see each other in the Capitol!"

"Of course," Peeta smiles.

"Actually, before we leave, the three of us had something made we want to show you," Finnick says. He nods to the two girls, hands Eve to Johanna, and runs out of the room and upstairs. He returns a minute later with a big cardboard box.

"Okay, well, we wanted some way to commemorate the time we've spent, but we also wanted something made for all of us. So, this is what we came up with," Finnick explains.

He opens the box and takes out a t-shirt. It's forest green.

"Peeta told us this was your favorite color, is it right?" Annie asked. I nod. "Good!"

Finnick holds the t-shirt out, showing us the back. In huge white letters, it says 'TEAM MELLARK'.

"Whoa! That's awesome!" Peeta exclaims.

"That's amazing, guys," I agree.

"Oh that's not all. Turn it around, Finnick," Johanna prompts.

"Okay, this one's yours, Katniss," Finnick says before he flips it around to show us the front.

On the front of the shirt, in the upper right, over the breast, it says 'Mommy' in white letters.

My hands cover my gasp, and I'm sure they can see the excitement dancing in my eyes.

"Guys, that's…..thank you!"

They chuckle and look proud that they succeeded.

They show us the rest of the shirts. Peeta's, of course, says 'Daddy'. Jo's says 'Aunt Johanna', Finnick's says 'Uncle Finnick', Annie's says 'Aunt Annie', Haymitch's says 'Uncle Haymitch' (he refuses to be called Grandpa), Effie's says 'Aunt Effie', Prim's says 'Aunt Prim', Rye's says 'Uncle Rye', Nan's says 'Uncle Nan', Peeta's dad's says 'Grandpa' and my mom's says 'Grandma'.

"Guys, this is too much," Peeta says as they show us all the shirts.

"Oh please," Jo waves him off, "you've let us stay here for a month. It's the least we could do. And you let these two morons get married in your own backyard." She points to the O'Dairs.

We all laugh, the twins looking at us like we're crazy.

"Well thank you. They're great. We'll certainly be a sight in the Training Center all matching!" Peeta says.

"That was the idea!" Annie says happily.

"There's one more thing," Finnick says.

He reaches into the bottom of the box and pulls out two tiny, forest green onesies.

"No, you didn't," I mumble.

"Oh, but we did," Johanna smiles.

They of course say 'TEAM MELLARK' on the back, and on the front is their names, Joshua Haymitch and Eve Rue.

"They're perfect!" I exclaim with joy. "We'll all have to wear them on the same day!"

"Thank you all," Peeta says seriously. "It means a lot to us that you are a part of our family. We wouldn't have survived these past few weeks without all your help."

They start shaking their heads, but I cut them off.

"Peeta's right. Take some credit. You all are great with the babies, and helped us out all the time without a single complaint. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Even Johanna looks touched, but she'd never admit it, and I'd never accuse her of it to her face.

Soon, it's time for our friends to catch the train. We all walk down to the station, the twins in their stroller, to say goodbye. Annie has tears in her eyes, even though we'll see her in a week, and gets really emotional when she holds the twins to say bye. Johanna actually gives us hugs, and Peeta somehow sneaks a kiss on her cheek without getting punched in the gut. Finnick gives us hugs, and I let him give me a peck on the cheek. Peeta just laughs, and gives Annie on in turn.

"Bye guys!" I yell as the train starts pulling out. "See you in a week!"

They wave until we can't see them anymore, and it's just Peeta, the babies, and me.

"I miss them," I grumble. Peeta laughs.

"Come on, mommy, let's go home. Your mom and Prim are coming over to help us start packing, and Effie got here late last night, so she should be stopping by today too."

I nod and we make our way home. Peeta does the dishes from breakfast while I play with the twins on the floor in the living room. A couple minutes later, the phone rings.

"Honey, can you get that? I'm elbow deep in the sink," Peeta calls out.

"Sure," I call back. I pick up the phone in the living room so I can keep an eye on the twins.

"Mellark Residence."

"Mrs. Mellark! Good morning!"

"Hi, Plutarch. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I just wanted to update you about what we spoke of last week."

"Oh, great. How are all the plans for our stay coming?"

"Well, it was a tough sell, but I was able to accommodate all of your and your husband's requests. The suite you stayed in for the trial has been booked, as well as two rooms for your mother and Primrose. I understand Haymitch and Effie will be staying at the Training Center with the Tributes?"

"That's correct. They don't mind that we're staying off-site, they actually said it would be better for our family. We'll still be at the Training Center everyday for all the scheduled activities."

"Good. Also, I have arranged for you to stay there as well during the Quell. I have had Beetee set up a number of monitors in your room so that you do not have to leave your children. Haymitch and Effie will join you as well."

"Plutarch, thank you."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Mellark. Now tell me, how are Joshua and Eve?"

"They're wonderful. Peeta and I are still getting used to being parents, but it's worth every minute of it."

"That's great. I know what you said last time we spoke, but is there any chan-"

"No, Plutarch. Peeta and I said no pictures of our children, and no interviews with our children, and we meant it. We want them out of the spotlight. Peeta and I are already celebrities, and we get that, but we want our children to have normal, happy childhoods. Understand?"

"Yes, Mrs. Mellark. I had to try."

"I know, I don't blame you. Just make sure it doesn't happen. Actually, Peeta and I were wondering if you could arrange an interview with Caesar, maybe the morning after the Tribute Parade? We have some things to say."

"Very well. I shall arrange that."

"Thank you."

"One more thing, Mrs. Mellark. A box should be arriving any minute from Beetee. This contains your tactical vests as well as your various uniforms for after the Quell. We wanted to get them to you so you could get used to them, but when you come to the Capitol, make sure they stay in your luggage."

"Okay. Thanks, Plutarch. Is there anything else?"

"No, Mrs. Mellark. Have a great day. Give my best to your family, and we'll see you in a week."

"Bye, Plutarch."

As soon as I hang up, Peeta walks in to the room. Sitting on the floor with the twins, he looks up at me as I sit down next to him.

"Who was that?" He asks.

"Plutarch," I explain. "He called to say everything is set like we asked in the Capitol. He's going to arrange that interview with Caesar for us. He said a box is coming any minute from Beetee with our tactical vests and uniforms for the Rebellion."

"Really? Cool!" Peeta says excitedly. I can't help but chuckle at his exuberance.

My mom and Prim show up, and help us start packing stuff for the twins. We don't know when we'll be back in 12, so we're taking just about everything for them. We're even breaking down the cribs the morning of the Reaping and bringing them with us. Effie shows up, and completely freaks out when she sees the twins for the first time. I don't think I've ever seen her as excited. Haymitch just rolls his eyes.

Around noon, as my mom and Prim are preparing a lunch, and the twins are playing with Haymitch and Effie, there's a knock at the door.

Peeta and I walk together to answer it. When we swing it open, there's a box sitting on the porch, the delivery man already halfway down the walk.

"Thanks!" Peeta yells. He waves back at us.

Peeta lifts the box easily and we bring it upstairs to our room.

Again, the shipping address is simple:

Mr. and Mrs. Peeta and Katniss Mellark

Victor's Village

District 12

Peeta uses his knife to slice the top open, and we both start pulling things out. Once we have everything spread out on the bed, we start to take a look at each item together. There's a lot of stuff.

The first thing we check out are our tactical vests. They're black, bulletproof, can stop just about any knife, can work as a flak jacket, and still weigh less then six pounds. They have numerous pockets for ammo, and clips for knives. On the back, in big white letters, it says 'MELLARK'. On the front, in the middle, over the sternum, it has our ranks.

Plutarch, along with the District 13 leaders, decided to commission all of the Victors involved in the Rebellion as officers. We all have the rank of Colonel. This is because we have experience in battle, and it will naturally put us in leadership positions.

The Capitol's military insignia for a Colonel is an eagle, so we decided to change it, naturally, to a Mockingjay. So there is a little Velcro patch in the center of the vest with the Mockingjay insignia.

Under that, there is another Velcro patch with various information. Mine reads as follows:

Colonel Katniss Mellark

Married

O-Negative

Victor, 74th Games

District 12

Peeta's is the same, except it has his name.

"Honey, did you know we have the same blood type?" I ask him.

"What? No way!"

"Yeah, apparently we do," I tell him, looking at both our vests. Weird. It is one of the rarest blood types as well.

Next we start looking at our 'uniforms'. There are two sets, with about ten pairs of each. There is a grey set and a dark green set. There's utility cargo pants, with big pockets and utility belts made of webbing that are the same color, much like the belts we wore in the Games.

There are two sets of 'fatigues', which look like a traditional uniform. It says 'K. Mellark' over the left breast (right if you're looking at me), and has my rank on the left side.

Next, there are a bunch of t-shirts, which we assume are to wear under the fatigues and around District 13. On the front, over the left breast, mine read 'Col. K. Mellark'. On the back, in huge white letters, it reads, 'MELLARK'. It actually makes me very proud to see my last name on all my clothing.

"These are pretty neat," Peeta says, fascinated by everything.

"Yeah, but they are for going to war," I remind him.

"I know," he says somberly. "But at least everyone will know your last name is Mellark, and that you're married!"

I laugh.

"That's true, Peeta, I can't argue with that."

We pack everything back up in the box, and decide to pack them in our bags later. We head downstairs to have lunch with the twins, Effie, Haymitch, my mom, and Prim. After lunch, Peeta and I take the twins to the nursery, we change their diapers, and I feed them.

We walk back downstairs, and my mom and Prim decide they're going to go home for a few hours to start preparing dinner for all of us. I decide to walk them home, so the three of us leave.

After I drop them off, I start walking home. When our house comes into view, I see four girls standing on the porch, and Peeta in the front doorway.

As I get closer, I get furious.

It's Scarlet and her followers.

They haven't seen me, so I watch closely as I get nearer.

Scarlet is laughing, throwing her head back, batting her eyes, and tossing her hair over her shoulder. I look at Peeta, and he has a strained smile on his face. To her, I'm sure he looks happy, but I can tell he's actually furious from the look in his eyes. His arms are folded over his chest. He's being polite, and I will never fault him for that. It's one of his best qualities.

I start walking up to the porch, and that's when I see Scarlet gently put her hand on Peeta's chest, right over his heart. Peeta steps back out of her reach and I hear her say 'Oh, Peeta, don't be like that sweetie'. Ugh, she's pathetic. I decide to teach her a little lesson in how to seduce Peeta Mellark.

I walk onto the porch and brush by them like I don't even see them. I walk right up to Peeta, grab him by the shirt, and crash my lips into his. I feel his hands go around my waist, and mine go around his neck. As we deepen the kiss, I know I have to take it further, so I lift myself up and wrap my legs around his waist. I feel his hands go to my butt, and that's when I know he understands exactly what I'm doing. We're making out fiercely, in a way we usually reserve for behind closed doors. I feel the warmth in my belly, the hunger that only Peeta's love can satisfy.

Finally, we part our lips, and rest our foreheads together. I'm still straddling him.

"Hi, Honey," I whisper.

"Hi, baby," he whispers back.

"I missed you," I tell him with a smirk.

"I can see," he grins.

I hear a not-so-subtle cough, and Peeta turns us a little.

"Oh, Scarlet!" I act surprised. "I didn't see you there!"

Peeta puts me down, but wraps his arm around my waist, and I lean into him.

"What can we do for you, Scarlet?" I ask sweetly.

"Peeta, aren't you going to invite me in already?" She asks him in a tone I assume is meant to be seductive, completely ignoring me.

"Scarlet, I already politely asked you to leave. I don't want to get the Peacekeepers involved, but you are technically trespassing," Peeta explains calmly.

She just chuckles.

"Oh, Peeta, you're so funny. I just want to comfort you before you have to go mentor for the Games. Don't you want a little tender loving?" She tries to give him her best sexy look, and it makes me puke in my mouth.

"Are you really doing this again?" I ask incredulously. "Trying to get my husband in bed while I'm standing right here? You're pathetic, Scarlet. And the three of you are too. It's actually sad."

"Nobody asked you," Scarlet snaps angrily.

"Nobody has to," Peeta snaps back. "She's my wife, this is her home, and she doesn't want you here, just like I don't. So go. We want to go spend time with our children before we leave."

"Your children?" She says sarcastically. "Peeta, I thought you would know by now, those aren't yours. They're Gales."

"Excuse me?" I say angrily.

"You heard me, whore. You fucked Gale, and had his bastards."

"What did you just call my children?" I'm getting angrier by the second. Peeta tightens his grip on me, as I'm sure he can feel my tension rising.

"I called them bastards," she says casually. "It's sick, Katniss. You fuck another man and then make poor Peeta raise his children like they're his own? But don't worry, pretty soon I'll be living here, and you won't have to worry about that."

Oh, that's it. She called my children bastards! Never mind that she called me a whore, but you do not talk about my children like that. I've had enough of this girl and her pettiness.

Without a word, I take two steps, reach back, and punch her as hard as I can in the face. She stumbles backwards and falls flat on her ass. Her little minions all swoon over her.

"How could you!" Rose yells.

"She didn't deserve that!" Caty adds.

"Shut up!" I yell. "Get her off my porch right now, and if I ever see any of you near my family again, I'll go get my bow!"

The three of them look terrified, but Scarlet just looks angry. She gets back to her feet with their help, and stares at me with rage.

"You just made a big mistake, Everdeen," she sneers. "I'm going to make you and your little bastardlings pay!"

I roll my eyes.

I step up and punch her in the gut. She bends over towards me, her hands flying to her stomach. I turn quickly and put her in a headlock. I lean down and whisper in her ear.

"My name is Mellark. This is at least the third time I've told you, so maybe you should get your hearing checked. Now, as far as this business with my husband goes, you will leave us alone. Forever. If I ever see you even looking his way, what I just did will seem like a pat on the back. Trust me, you do not want to know what I learned in the Hunger Games. It's not pretty, nor is it pleasant. Understand? Nod your head if you understand, bitch."

She weakly nods her head.

I release her, and the three of them scurry to support her. She shakes them off, looks at me indignantly, and stomps away. None of them even utter another word. I just chuckle at their retreating forms.

I turn to Peeta, praying he's not angry.

"I'm sorry, Peeta," I say as I turn to him. But when I do, I see the huge grin on his face. "Peeta?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you smiling?" I ask.

"Why? Maybe because my wife is a badass? Maybe because you just made her look like a complete fool? Kat, that was awesome!" He says, picking me up and twirling me around, kissing me all over my face.

I laugh and kiss him back as he puts me down.

"Really? You're not mad that I, um, hit her?"

"No way. She called you a whore, and called our children bastards. She deserved much worse than what you let her off with. I can't believe she would say that about you and Gale. It's just - so angering," he says, obviously mad at her.

"I know. But she's just a silly, jealous girl. Let's not give her any more thought. Let's go spend time with our kids," I tell him, my hand on his cheek. He nods, and I lean up and give him a peck on the lips.

Later that night, we've put the twins to sleep, Effie is set up in the guest bedroom, and Peeta and I are getting ready for bed.

"Kat?" Peeta asks as we crawl under the covers.

"Hmm?"

"What do you want to talk about in this interview with Caesar? It was your idea," he asks.

"I want to let everyone, especially the media, know not to mess with our kids. I want to warn them of the consequences of them even taking one photograph. Also, I think it would be good for us to throw off any suspicion by going out there and acting up the whole mentor, Victor thing," I explain.

"I think that's a great idea," he nods. "We're going to be so close to the start of everything, it's wise to do what we can to look like we're still in the Capitol's pocket."

"Exactly."

"You're so smart, you know that?" He says with a smile.

"Not really," I shrug. "I just want to protect my family."

"You really are a great mom," he says in awe.

"It's only because you're such a great dad," I tell him with a grin. I lean up and kiss him before he can deny it.

"Peeta?" I ask as I settle back on his chest.

"Yeah, Kat?"

"Are you scared?" I ask shyly.

He sighs.

"Everyday," he admits.

"Really? I'd never know," I tell him.

"I am. I just try not to think about it. I'm scared that we'll lose this war. I'm scared that something might happen to you, or we'll get separated somehow. I'm scared that our children will grow up in an evil world if we can't do what we're meant to. I'm scared, Kat, so scared."

"Oh, Peeta," I sob. "I'm scared too. For all those reasons. But most of all, I'm terrified of losing you or the twins. I wouldn't – I wouldn't – I wouldn't be able to go on."

"Me either," he concurs quietly. "You three are my world, my life."

"Me too," I nod. "Peeta, promise me that you'll do everything you can to protect us," I plead.

"Of course, Kat. I promise," he tells me sincerely.

"Hold me all night?" I ask. It's really rhetorical, since he holds me every night, but I wanted to voice it out loud.

"Always," he replies gently. He wraps his arms tighter around me, and I've never felt safer.

"Kat?" He whispers after a few minutes.

"Hmm?"

"I think it's good that we have a little fear," he says.

"Why?"

"It lets us know that we have something to fight for, something to lose. That we're human. That we haven't completely gone over to what the Capitol tried to make us into."

"You're absolutely right," I whisper. "Although I hate that I'm scared, I know in the end, it will help us get through this. If we weren't, we'd both be immoral. Actually, we'd be amoral. But even with all we've gone through, we still have strong emotions, we feel fear, we love fiercely, and our strongest instinct is to protect our family."

He nods slowly.

"I love you, Peeta. Forever."

"I love you too, Kat. Always."

Without the decision being voiced, we make love. It's emotional, tender, and sweet. We hold hands the entire time, and we kiss as much as possible.

As I drift off to sleep, I know that we have the biggest challenges of our lives ahead of us. But I'm confident that with Peeta by my side, loving me, encouraging me, keeping me safe emotionally and physically, I can do anything. Even overthrow the Capitol.

A/N: One day closer to the Reaping! I'm not sure how many more chapters I'll have before the Reaping, probably just one, two at the most.

I got the idea for their uniforms last night, and I was excited to write it. How awesome is it that they're Colonels? It's going to be sweet having all those 13 guys having to salute Katniss and Peeta. Did anyone notice that I gave them O-Negative blood (my blood type), which is the universal donor? I thought it was fitting for these two characters.

Well, we know they're scared, but we know if they're together, they can do just about anything. So, we'll have to wait and see what happens!

Keep reviewing and reading. Have a great night.