A/N: 31 Weeks Pregnant


The surprise of Hazelle and the kids arriving in District 2 wears off right away. Gale is scooped into his mother's arms in a quick hug before she bustles into the room, calling out Madge's name. And then Vick and Posy throw themselves at him too for two more hugs, while Rory just wedges his way past him without even making eye contact.

"It's so good to see you!" Hazelle cheers, clearly having found Madge in the kitchen. Gale ushers his siblings inside before pushing the door shut and quickly hurrying to the kitchen, finding Hazelle holding Madge tightly. "Gosh, you've gotten so round," she says as she pulls back, and Madge can't help but laugh. Madge's eyes find Gale's and he shrugs, and she shrugs back.

"Ma," Gale says as the kids drop their bags off in the living room. "Not that I'm not happy to see you," he says. "Because I am. But, um—"

"Why am I here?" she asks, cutting him off. Hazelle turns to face her son, crossing the kitchen back to him in just a few steps. "Someone called me sounding very, very distressed," Hazelle says, poking him in the chest. "And I, as a mother, decided it was in everyone's best interest for me to come out and see you both."

Madge pipes up, "You called her?" Gale moves past his mom in her direction. "About that appointment?" she asks.

"I was worried," Gale murmurs as he reaches Madge. "I didn't—you didn't want to talk about it, so I just—"

"It's okay," Madge says gently. "I just—I didn't realize you were still so upset."

He reaches out, his hand cupping her cheek. "Don't be stupid," Gale sighs, and she leans into his touch. Of course he was still upset. Doctor Paige told them that there was a chance of Madge dying when giving birth to Pearl. That was terrifying. "Ma," Gale says, forcing himself look away from Madge's soft blue gaze. "I'm—we're okay. You should've called."

"Rory wanted to see the district," Vick chimes, poking his head into the kitchen. Posy appears a few seconds later. "He's all done schooling soon and wants to tour the districts."

"I didn't want to see District 2," Rory mutters from out of view.

"Well. Ma figured it would be a good place to start," Vick says. He grins. "Hi Madge."

"Hi Vick," she returns with a smile of her own. Posy rushes into the room and throws her arms around Madge too, finding some difficulty due to her baby bump. "Hey," Madge laughs, cupping the back of Posy's head. "How was your trip?"

"Did you get a hotel?" Gale asks before they can answer, and Madge shoots him a look. "I just—" his throat is slowly closing. "Sorry," he forces out, "but I—I just wasn't…" Madge reaches out for him as though knowing his heartbeat is starting to race. "I'm just surprised," he murmurs as Madge laces their hands together.

Hazelle's eyes flicker to the motion, a smile gracing her face. "That was the point, dear," she says.

"We have enough space here," Madge says softly. "If you're okay sharing a bed," she adds to Gale.

"You don't share a bed?" Vick asks.

"That's fine," Gale murmurs, trying to hurry this conversation along. "Ma and Posy can take your room, Vick and Rory on the pullout couch." Vick nods his head with a grin and retreats back into the living room while Posy darts out to check out the bedroom she'll be staying in. Hazelle lingers in the kitchen, arching an eyebrow at her son who's frowning. "Some warning would've been nice," he says with a sigh before pressing a kiss to Hazelle's forehead.


After Madge sits down with Hazelle and pulls out the folder that Doctor Paige gave her explaining the odds of something going wrong during birth, Gale corners her in the hallway. He's spent the past half hour or so changing the sheets in Madge's room so his mom and Posy have fresh ones, as well as getting the pullout couch together. Madge has spent that time listening to Hazelle talk her down, explain the truth behind the numbers that Doctor Paige had said as well.

"The odds aren't as bad as Gale made them out to be," Gale overheard as he was setting up in the living room. "But gosh, he scared me with that call."

"Something could still go wrong," Madge had responded. "Apparently if I start bleeding, which I mean I'm going to because that's what you do when you give birth—"

"Oh, stop it," Hazelle cut her off. "You can't think like that. I'll tell you what I told Gale. District 2 has the most advanced medical knowledge out of all of Panem…" Gale forced himself to zone out then, instead listening to Rory and Vick bicker over who could use the tablet that they brought with them.

But now he has Madge against the wall. Her bright blue eyes look hopeful and soft and Gale knows that he should be more careful about the two of them moving into this relationship but he kisses her anyway. "I'm sorry," he whispers against her lips and she frowns, resting her head backwards. "That they showed up."

"I love your family, Gale," she says. He leans again, his lips grazing hers. "It's probably a good thing they're here," she breathes. "Or we'd do this all weekend." His lips curve into a smile as Madge reaches up, gripping his shirt in her hand. "Not that I'm complaining…" Still grinning Gale kisses her again, his hand sliding around her waist as she kisses him back. "They're only here for a few days," she adds breathlessly, and Gale nods. "It'll be okay. "


It isn't even noon by the time Rory and Gale have their first fight.

It doesn't start out that bad. Rory and Vick and Gale are all on the balcony, looking at the mountains that his view provides. "Why'd you pick this place?" Rory asks as he looks around. There's a tinge of bitterness to his voice, but Gale knows to look past it and be honest.

"It's close to work," he says. "And the view reminds me of home."

Rory scoffs.

"It's really nice, Gale," Vick says, ignoring his other brother. "Do you ever go hiking?"

"I used to," he admits. "Rock climbing, too, but I don't have much time for that anymore." Rory mutters something angry under his breath. "It was mostly to relieve stress," Gale adds, his eyes toward Rory as he keeps his voice even. Which again, is the truth. He had too much inside of him and the only way to get it out was through exercising. Or sex. But he knew hiking and rock climbing was a better coping method. "I'm pretty busy these days though."

"Sure."

Gale grips the railing of the balcony. "Rory," he starts.

"I just think it's funny," Rory says before Gale can add anything else. "You had time for rock climbing and hiking and God knows what else, but not time for us."

"Rory, that's not—"

"You couldn't even send us a fucking letter," Rory snaps. Gale reaches out for him, sensing that Rory's going to bolt, but his brother's gone before Gale can even lift his hand.

He exhales deeply and closes his eyes tightly. Talking to Rory would be so much easier if he actually let Gale speak. "Hey," Vick says quietly, nudging him with his elbow. Gale tips his head to look at his brother and tries to scrounge up the best smile he can. "Rory shouldn't be so rude."

"Vick, it's fine," he says. "If you all hated me—"

"I could never hate you," Vick cuts off his brother. Gale sighs again but Vick turns to him, shaking his head. "Maybe it's because I wasn't old enough to realize that you were gone, that you chose to leave. I guess maybe I just thought you were still fighting in the war. But Gale, you—you're my brother." He reaches out, resting his hand on Gale's forearm. "And I know now that—the war was hard. I mean, it was a war. We learn about it and school and it just—it amazes me that you were part of that, you know?"

"Vick," he tries again. "I'm not a hero. And Rory knows that."

"Rory's full of it," Vick mutters. "You're a hero to me."


Though they mostly spend Saturday hanging around the house, Sunday is a day meant for exploration. Because Rory's graduating soon he's expected to choose a profession, apply for something. According to Hazelle he's really been thinking about district hopping for a bit, finding a place somewhere else. Gale spends the morning driving his family around (Madge stays home and gets some work done) so they can look at the sites. They see the mountains and they drive past some government buildings (including Madge's work which Posy finds fascinating). They get lunch at the soup place Madge recommends before wandering around a bit more.

Rory's grumpy the entire time but Gale does his best to give a comprehensive district tour anyway. The rest of his family is happy to be around despite Rory's insistent grumbling and Gale latches onto that to keep himself going.

The sun's beginning to set when they return home and Madge is waiting for them, saying that they should walk down the street to get some ice cream, and Posy immediately perks up. Gale should know that Madge is up to something by the way she smiles so sweetly at him, but truthfully he doesn't mind when she gets a little mischievous.

When they leave for the ice cream parlor Madge stations herself in the back of their small crowd so she can speak with Rory.

"I think it's neat," Madge tells him honestly when they're alone. "District hopping. It's something no other generation got to do, you know? Just go around to the districts, see what's there." She nudges Rory who's walking beside her and offers him a smile. He's a bit of a brat, but not to her. She figures maybe she can get through to him. "It's kind of what I do now. For work."

"Yeah?" Rory asks. "Where's your favorite?"

"We just got back from District 7," Madge says. They're toward the back of the group (being pregnant makes her slower, and also her feet hurt) and Madge kind of enjoys their private moment. "It was really beautiful there. But I'm going to be cliché. I really love District 4."

"Because of the ocean," Rory says, and Madge nods. "How do you like it here?" he asks.

"District 2? Oh, I love it here." Madge glances upwards. They're in the middle of a busier part of the district but the mountains are still towering on the outside of the city. She feels like she's wrapped around them. "It reminds me of home without, you know, being home."

Rory wrinkles his nose slightly. Up ahead the rest of his family is entering the ice cream parlor considering they're a few yards in front of them. "What's wrong with home?" he asks her.

"Nothing," Madge tells him. "District 12 is beautiful too. But my mom died there. And I lost a lot of friends that night." Madge shrugs slightly. "It's not my home anymore." Rory looks away at this, but it's the truth. Being in District 12 isn't what it used to be for Madge, and she hopes that Rory knows that it's the same for Gale. The memories that are tethered to a place can be strong and painful and it's good that they're away from there. That both she and Gale are somewhere else, that they can start over.

She and Rory get their ice cream and go off alone again. It's nice to talk to him when he isn't acting as though Gale's ruined his life. Because she's tired she suggests to Rory that they head back early, and despite Gale's curious eyebrow that's arched in their direction he says he doesn't mind when they leave. On the walk back they're talking about districts again, but Madge knows she has to broach the real subject she wants to talk about before the rest of the family returns to them.

"Rory," Madge finally says when the apartment building is in view. "You should give him a break." Rory's jaw clenches immediately. His eyes darken as though she's betrayed him, as though he can't believe she decided to bring up Gale. But he should've expected it, truthfully. "Gale's trying, you know. And it's not…" he tips his head, his piercing gray eyes meeting hers. "It isn't as hard as it used to be," she says. "When Gale raised you we were basically in the middle of a war. The Hunger Games were still happening. You could get shot for hunting. Gale did get whipped for being caught. It's just—you have it a lot easier than he did."

Rory's eyes drop for a minute. "You don't understand," he says. "It's still hard," he mutters. He drags his feet across the concrete. "Harder because he left."

"I'm not denying that," Madge says after taking another lick of her ice cream. "But you don't have to fear for your life when you hunt for your family, you're not breaking any laws. You don't have to take out tesserae anymore, you don't have to fear being reaped, fear starving or getting sick." Rory's shoulders slump slightly. "You're angry with him because he left, and that's okay, but you can't paint it so your situation is worse or harder than his was when he raised you."

"It was right after the war," Rory grits out.

"I know, I know," Madge says before he can start a tangent. "I told you I wasn't denying that it's hard for you. But you should still give him a break." Rory lets out a short breath. "He was broken," Madge tells him softly. "He didn't want you all to see him like that."

"He left me," Rory tries to growl, but his voice gives out.

"Not because he wanted to." They reach the apartment building and head for the elevator. Madge doesn't speak again until the elevator is moving them upwards. "I just think that you should give him a chance, you know?"

"A chance to what?" Rory mutters.

"Explain. Talk. You just—you always march away before he gets a chance." Rory finished his ice cream cone on the walk over so his arms are free to cross over his chest now. "You can't hate him forever," she says softly.

He turns to her, his eyes dark, and bares his teeth. "Watch me."


"I talked to Rory," Madge says as Gale sits on the edge of his mattress. She's already in bed considering they got back a lot earlier than the rest of everyone else, a book in her hands, but she's been waiting for him to come in after spending some more time with his siblings. She's… nervous. About sharing a bed with him. Because while she's slept with people and dated people, she's never been with someone like Gale . He's so much and maybe it feels a little fast. Just last night they decided to have Madge stay in her own bed. This is their first time sleeping side by side. "I know you didn't ask me to," she adds as he glances over his shoulder at her. "But you refuse to be mean to him and he's being a brat."

Gale lips quirk into a soft smile before he sighs, shaking his head slightly. "I deserve every shitty thing he says to me," Gale murmurs.

"Oh, stop it." Madge closes her book and sets it on the nightstand before climbing to her knees, carefully crawling across the bed to him. "You left them, but not forever. You didn't abandon them." Gale sighs again as Madge leans into his side. "And you can't take it back. You can only move forward. And he just wants to keep going back, digging his heels into the ground like a stubborn child."

"He is a child," Gale reminds her lightly. He turns his head and dips down, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I'll… talk to him. Or try to. I don't know." Gale exhales again, nudging Madge off of him so he can stand and get ready for bed. "I don't want to think about it right now. Okay?"

Madge bites her cheek to keep from pouting. "Sure."


Falling asleep with Madge by his side is easy. She's warm and beautiful and they whisper softly back and forth before sleep overtakes them. But it's the sleeping that's the hard part.

Gale hadn't realized how much Rory's anger at him had affected him. Visions of Finnick swarm his mind and he wakes up in a sweat, panting and gripping the sheets and trying to place himself. His eyes dart around the room for Finnick because this is when he comes, in broken glowing glory, angry and betrayed and disappointed. But the shadows don't move, not yet, but he can't risk it. Is he even awake? Or is this still a dream? He needs to ground himself, he needs to focus…

Before he can slip out of bed and make his way to the closet, Madge shifts beside him. "Gale?" she murmurs. He freezes. He forgot that she was here. "You okay?"

Anxiety creeps into his chest and squeezes at his heart. He glances around the room again. He needs to hit the wall. He needs the pain to ground him.

"I'm…" Gale forces out, still searching the shadows. He has to get out of bed. Now. But her hand wraps around his forearm as she sits up. You have to find another way to ground yourself, Doctor Carlson had said. There has to be another way, other than physical pain. "Madge," he croaks.

"Hey, I'm here," she says gently. He takes a deep breath. "Bad dream?" she asks.

"No," he lies. "I just…" Gale tries to focus on Madge. She's so warm, she's always so warm. "No."

"C'mon, lay back down." She nestles back down into the blankets and groans a little. "Ow." Gale blinks, confused, and Madge grabs his hand and tugs him down. "Shh, lay down," she says again, resting her hand over her stomach. "Baby's awake."

"Sorry," Gale rasps.

"Ah, he's always been a kicker," Madge says with a smile. "Lay down," she says another time, and Gale does, distracted by the little thwack against his hand. "Can't wait," Madge says sleepily, "when I can tell you to deal with the baby. And I can crawl back into bed…" she trails off with a happy smile and closes her eyes, turning so she's facing Gale. Thwack. "Mmf." Gale sinks into the blankets and pours all of his attention into Madge, into Pearl. Thwack.

Of course there's something other than physical pain. Of course something other than physical pain can ground Gale, can keep him focused, can make him present.

His family.

Thwack. Gale leans in, pressing his lips to Madge's forehead, ignoring the racing of his heart. He squeezes his eyes shut and listens to Madge's steady breathing. He can be okay. They can be okay.


Waking up next to Madge is a blessing. He's up a few moments before her. The sunlight that streams through the window makes her glow and Gale knows, with complete certainty, that this is how he wants to spend the rest of his life. Waking up beside her. He reaches out, carefully brushing a few strands of her curly hair from her face. Her eyes flutter open when he brushes his knuckle across her cheek and he offers her a soft smile, one that she returns.

"Mm…" she shifts, stretching in her spot, before opening her eyes again completely. "Morning."

Yeah. He can spend every day like this.

Gale leans in and kisses her gently. "Morning," he whispers back. "Tea?"

"Please." She throws the blankets off of herself then and Gale arches an eyebrow, watching as she moves to her feet. "I have to pee," she mutters, and Gale tips his head back in a laugh. "Think it's funny, do you?" she asks as she starts for his personal bathroom. "That your child is pressing on my bladder constantly?"

"Maybe a little," he teases.


When Monday rolls around Madge insists that Gale call in and ask for the day off so he can spend it with his family, and finally he does so. She calls Benny and he says he doesn't mind picking her up, so twenty minutes pass before she's sitting in his car with him. They haven't even pulled out of the parking lot when he asks, "So what the hell happened?"

Madge rolls her eyes at the bluntness of it, but smiles anyway. "It was a misunderstanding," she says.

"You scared the shit out of me," Benny says, finally shifting the car into drive. "I think you owe me an explanation."

"We're together," she answers. Benny tenses, jerking his head over to look at her. She's lucky they didn't slam on the breaks. "Well. Kind of. I think. We, um, kissed a lot." When Madge works up the courage to look over at Benny he's positively beaming. She hasn't seen him look this happy in… forever. "We're figuring it out," she says, ignoring the heat in her face.

"Madge," he reaches out for her, resting his hand on her knee. "That's amazing. Really?"

She laughs. "Yes, really."

Benny fist pumps and Madge laughs again. "Fucking finally."


Monday is spent hiking. Gale feels less guilty about it because Madge isn't sitting at home (she can't hike while pregnant anyway, she's clumsy enough as it is) and is happy to show his family around. They leave in the afternoon and spend most of it in the mountains. The day is fresh and bright and clear and they spend time just soaking it in.

It's amazing.

It's the after-part that Gale isn't too thrilled about.

After they drive home everyone heads inside and Rory goes straight for the shower. The second he's in the bathroom with the door shut Hazelle takes Vick and Posy and leaves. "We're going to look at that school down the street," she says. "I think it has a playground. You stay here!"

She's forcing Gale and Rory to spend time together.

Twenty minutes later Rory emerges from the shower, clean and dressed, and he immediately realizes that they're alone. "Where are they?" he mutters, marching past Gale who's in the hallway.

"They went for a walk."

"Sure they did."

"I didn't plan this," Gale murmurs, struggling to look at his brother. God, he looks just like Gale did. Long arms and long legs and dark eyes.

"You should've just gone with them," Rory mutters in response. He strides right for the living room and stops, turning back to him. "Why didn't you?"

"I wasn't going to leave you alone," Gale says. And Rory snorts. I wasn't going to leave you alone. Gale tries not to sigh and forces his eyes to find Rory. His hands are balled into fists, like he wants to physically fight, and Gale can't necessarily blame him. Even after Madge spoke with him the other day (which Gale still doesn't think was necessary, even if Rory was slightly less awful toward him while hiking today) there's still the resentment there, and it's not going anywhere. "There're terrorists," Gale finally says. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Well that's new."

"Rory," Gale sighs loudly, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. What more do you want from me?" He steps toward his brother, extending his hands out to him. "I'm trying as hard as I can to make things right—I can't take back the fact that I left! No matter how fucking bad I want to, I can't! So tell me—for the love of God just tell me what you want from me!"

"I want to know!" Rory roars back, striding toward his brother. And he shoves. And Gale lets him. Forceful, angry, broken. "I want to know why you couldn't come home!" Rory says, his voice cracking. And Gale sees it now, full force. The broken boy that's inside of Rory. The one who was abandoned, or at least felt as though he was. As though he wasn't good enough for his own brother. The boy who survived a war and hardly had anyone to help him fit his pieces back together. "I want to know why you left!" Rory pleads now, and Gale finds himself nodding.

"Okay," he breathes.

Rory sucks in a sharp breath. "Okay?"

Rory deserves to know. What Gale did. Why he couldn't come home. Rory deserves to know that it wasn't Rory's fault that Gale was gone, but his own.

"I'll tell you what I did," Gale says.


A/N: First of all, sorry that I'm the worst and didn't update last week! School is stressful, and I haven't been in a very Gadge-y mindset lately (which, if you follow my blog, is pretty evident. Sorry! It's so hard to write for a couple you love when you're not inspired, and I'm just... not.). Secondly, this isn't really proofread because I'm tired and wanted to get it out to you all. Thirdly, YES we're actually going to find out what Gale did in the next chapter! This is not an April Fools joke! We will finally know. Hope it lives up to whatever you're all picturing! Sorry for the delay, you guys are great and I'm super thankful to have people who enjoy reading my things. I hope you all have a lovely day.