I just want to thank everyone who has followed this story, as well as my reviewers! This has been a super fun journey for me. I decided that, instead of focusing on just one part of the epilogue, to give you a few glimpses into the 10 years after the war.

2 weeks

I watch through the hovercraft window as we fly over the mountains. The trees are still winter bare. I'm not sure what awaits us below. When we were given the choice to return to 12, it seemed simple. The less time we spent in the Capitol or 13, the less likely it was that we'd be sucked into the series of trials and political posturing that was currently occurring.

Plutarch has taken the helm of the new government. Not that he's doing a bad job; in fact he's somehow managed to restore order to the Capitol, keeping everyone fed and calm. But beneath the surface there's been a mad dash for power, and it's only a matter of time before someone calls for the arrest of Coin's killer. And figures out it was me.

So when Haymitch mentioned that he could get us to District 12, I jumped at the chance. On the condition that we could bring Posy and Vick, Gale jumped with me. I wasn't surprised when Prim and Rory joined in, as they've both hated every moment of what the rebellion has become.

And to my surprise, Peeta and Haymitch (and by extension, Delly and Nick) decided almost immediately to join us. Haymitch doesn't believe that Plutarch will hold onto power for very long, so if we're going to use Plutarch's good graces, there's no time like the present.

As we land on the green of the Victors' Village, everyone holds their breath. We haven't really seen the destruction left behind by the war. Half the Victors' Village is gone. From here, we can see craters and charred remains of town.

"The Seam is pretty much gone," Haymitch remarks.

There are 3 Victors' houses still standing. Rory's, Peeta's, and Haymitch's.

The hovercraft leaves us with our few belongings and crates of supplies piled around.

"Why would they...do you think they knew whose houses those are?" Prim asks.

"Yep," says Rory as he picks up his rucksack and a crate and heads toward his house.

"They likely wanted to send a message. Make it look like we got preferential treatment and still point out that the Capitol knew where we lived," adds Peeta.

We cram into Rory's house to ride out the winter. Gale and I take Hazelle's old room. Rory in his room, Vick in his, and Prim joins Posy in the pink room.

As we sit down to breakfast the next morning, Posy informs us all, "there's no way we're living here forever."

She's right.

2 months

Winter finally releases its hold on what's left of District 12. Over the past weeks, people have begun trickling back in. Some stayed behind, and have come out of hiding with the end of the war. Most are previous residents; Bannock and his wife hid in a long-forgotten bunker under the school (with Sae and Ripper). Some refugees from other districts have joined us as well.

Trout is here indefinitely. She's not fully comfortable in the Capitol (although the new government seems competent), and the grief is still too thick for her to return to District 4. I'm glad to have her around. Sometimes even Rory's Victor home seems stifling and I relish the opportunity to get away from Rory's moods, Prim's tears, and the unbearable tension when they're both in the room. Trout's makeshift home in "Tent City" is a welcome retreat.

Gale and I seem to be fitting back together again, against all odds. Rory and Prim are not.

While the Capitol has sent a doctor to our District, her time is focused on treatment, not supplies. So we've been asked to open the Apothecary in a temporary building. It's a good distraction for Prim, and gives me hope that District 12 can rebuild.

Peeta and Bannock re-open the bakery, along with a small grocery. Nick helps Sae distribute supplies and rations. Hopefully by next winter we'll be self-sufficient.

Gale and I have our own plans. With the fence torn down (one of the first things we did after returning), we're no longer bound by the Capitol's boundaries. Gale and I appealed to Plutarch and Paylor (the new president) to build on land outside of District 12's borders.

Now that we've been approved, we're ready to break ground. Our house will be small, just enough for Gale, me, Prim, Posy and Vick, but it will be ours. And it will be away from Victors' Village, away from town, away from the Seam. It won't be haunted by our losses.

There are even plans to run electricity and water out to us by the end of the summer. We're still hoping to move in sooner.

We finally have what we wanted all along: hope.

2 years

Prim stands in my arms as the boys load her bags onto the train.

"I'm gonna miss you, Duck," I whisper to her as I remind myself, this is why we fought.

She nods, tears falling down her face. "Me, too," she says, taking a deep breath and looking around the district.

Prim's acceptance to medical school hadn't been a surprise for anyone. In fact, it had been the first thought in my mind when they re-opened the school a few months after the war. Prim had her application filled out before she even graduated. What had surprised me, however, was that Plutarch had called to offer Prim a scholarship, which would cover her tuition and a small apartment near the campus. That alone solved most of the problems that ran through my head. I'm not fully happy with Prim's agreement to talk about her life on camera, but I trust her judgment.

So now here we stand, Prim passing down instructions to the kids. "Posy," she says, "you've got the goats, right? Don't forget to milk them. And the chickens like it if you give them marigolds in the spring."

Posy throws her arms around Prim's neck. "You'll come back and visit, right?"

"Summer and winter breaks. Of course!"

Vick approaches Prim, and gives her a gentle hug. Within the past few months he's grown taller than her and she has to look up to talk to him. "Katniss can help you if you have problems with the ordering. And I'll ask Plutarch about pilot's school and mail you that information, OK?"

He nods down to her, swallowing hard.

Delly gives her a tearful hug as well. Prim pats Delly's now-rounded stomach and whispers something I don't catch. Delly nods and rubs her belly as well. They giggle together and look at Peeta. He joins the girls and I overhear Prim say firmly, "and when that baby is born, I want pictures!"

I swallow the lump in my throat and try not to think about everything Prim will miss. I know this is her dream, and I'd never stand in the way of her goals...but five years is a long time. As she hugs Gale, I remind myself again, this is why we fought. Prim is getting an opportunity I never thought she'd have.

Just as I'm about to give my sister a final hug, she looks over my shoulder with wide eyes. I'm surprised to see that Rory has come to see her off. For the past two years, their relationship has varied between strained and openly hostile. They seem to have reached a truce since she decided to go to the Capitol, but that truce seems to involve Rory spending a lot of time with Haymitch and his bottles.

Prim tentatively hugs Rory around the waist, and he pats her back a few times. "Watch out for the kids," she says sternly as she turns back to me.

I hold her again, reminding myself that she'll be back in December. Probably full of stories of people from other districts and all the things she's learning in school. This is why we fought, I remind myself.

After a quick hug and "thank you" for Gale, Prim boards the train, the late-summer sun glinting off the train doors. From the window, she waves at us. This is why we fought, I think again. Years of planning, nightmares...countless deaths and sacrifices...we lost our parents. Madge. We've all be damaged, and some days I wonder if it's beyond repair.

I look at Rory leaning against a tree. Lots of days I wonder. I know he (like Peeta, and so many others) talks to a psychiatrist on a regular basis. He's alone up in the big house on Victors' Green. New houses have sprung up around him, Haymitch and Peeta. Some small, some large. But I still feel as if the Victors (he and Haymitch in particular) live in their own little world. Peeta at least has Delly, but I'm always amazed that none of the three have moved from their houses.

As the train blares its whistle, Gale wraps his arms around me. I lean back into his embrace. We're lucky that Posy and Vick are independent and helpful. Without Prim around to help us run the Apothecary, care for the animals, weed the garden and keep an eye on things while we're hunting, our plates are pretty full.

But we're content, because for the first time anyone can remember, it seems to mean something. Children go to bed with full stomachs. No one is stuck working in dangerous conditions. And kids like Prim get the education they've always wanted.

"This is why we fought, Catnip," Gale says into my hair, wrapping his arms tighter around my waist.

5 years

I gaze down at the bundle in my arms, trying to wrap my mind around the past 9 months. After all our arguing about having a baby, discussions about the best timing, concern about the world we live in, it's almost anticlimactic. We hadn't chosen, hadn't thought it through, it just happened. And I'd spent the past months vacillating between joy (mostly at Gale's excitement) and non-stop anxiety.

Luckily, Prim was able to make it home for the birth. She's still at my side day and night, fussing over her niece, checking my blood pressure and coaxing Posy and Vick into keeping the house in order. The Capitol doctor assigned to District 12 hasn't been my favorite person over the past months, so I'm grateful that my sister is home for awhile.

As the first weeks of parenthood slip past us, Gale and I fall into a new routine. We take turns waking up with little Lily Hazelle, take turn changing diapers, and we're so distracted I almost don't notice the subtle shift in Rory and Prim's relationship.

At first, I figured he was just excited about being an uncle, and that's why he came by so often. After all, when Delly had given birth to Rye (named after Peeta's dad, of course), it seemed to awaken a new side of Rory, and his rough edges seemed to be smoothing out a bit. In the past years he's spent less time with Haymitch and more time helping out around town. He's taken up jogging, comes hunting, and has even started helping out at the bakery and Sae's.

But the looks the two are sharing...I feel like they're 12 years old again.

As I feed Lily, I hear voices from the porch. At first I'm startled (it's 3am, after all), but when I recognize the gentle cadence of Prim's voice, I allow myself to listen in.

"I miss this. A lot. I might ask to move back after I finish. District 12 needs another doctor, and I hate being away. Look at Posy; she's practically grown up. And little Lily is going to get big so fast..."

I hear the creak of the porch swing as it begins swaying. The summer night is only broken by the sound of crickets.

Rory finally speaks. "Do you...Prim...do you think there's a chance for us? After everything?"

The silence is heavy.

"I mean..." he continues, "I never really said I was sorry. I was just so wrapped up in being angry, wanting it all to be over."

"I never blamed you, not really," says Prim. "I was just so...I loved you, and you weren't the person I thought I loved, and I know now that it wasn't you. It was the war, and Snow and Coin and we were so young..."

"Loved? Past tense?"

"I don't really know."

The baby picks that moment to start whining again.

"I should go help my sister," Prim says, and the swing creaks again.

Just as her footsteps reach the door, Rory quietly says, "Prim?"

"Yes, Rory?"

"Please come back. Do what you need to do...finish school. But please come back."

When she comes inside, her eyes are damp.

10 years

The ceremony is beautiful, even if it's bittersweet. Our lives have been tinged by loss for so long that it's almost comforting to think of everyone who's not here. My parents. Rory's parents. Rory and Prim chose to have their wedding in the memorial garden at the center of town. It's picturesque, with the low stone walls and beds of flowers.

Prim is picturesque as well. Her long blonde hair curls perfectly over her shoulders, and her blue eyes dance with happy tears. She says her vows to Rory with confidence. His voice shakes a bit as he talks, as if he can't believe this is really happening.

They toast bread over an open campfire, to the cheers of everyone in attendance. And it's a large crowd. Many of the living Victors came in on the train, and 12's little inn is overflowing.

As the evening wears on, I find myself sitting at the edge of the crowd, holding my son. At only 2, Hunter couldn't stay awake.

Soon Peeta joins me, holding his own sleeping 2-year-old. We watch as Rye (Peeta's oldest) and Lily dance together, giggling in the carefree way that kids do. Gale and Posy soon join them, leading the group in some sort of repetitive dance they saw on TV.

"He's got a crush on her," Peeta says, nodding to Rye. Rye follows Lily around like a lost puppy. Lily's not much different; every Saturday she wakes me before dawn so she can go play at Peeta and Delly's while we hunt.

"It's crazy how things turn out, isn't it? If you'd told me 10, 12 years ago whether we'd be sitting here now, I'd have thought you were nuts. I didn't think we'd survive this long, let alone have kids and things."

"Remember when you told me you'd never do this? Get married? Have kids?"

"I told Gale the same thing...apparently you're a better listener."

"But aren't you glad he didn't listen?" I smile back at Peeta's question.

"Of course I'm glad he didn't listen." For as much as I resisted this, I couldn't imagine my life without Gale, Lily and Hunter.

Rye and Lily start a game of tag. All we can see over the wall is his curly blond head and her dark braids flying.

Peeta continues, "so do you think those two will be the ones that finally figure it out? I mean, my dad and your mom, you and me..."

Peeta's cheeks are rosy. He's been into the wine tonight.

"Are you unhappy with how things turned out? You and Delly have 3 and a half kids now. From my vantage point, you seem pretty happy," I tease him. "I believe Vick says you two are 'like bunnies.'"

"Not unhappy at all...I'm glad things worked out how they did. I just think it's funny that history repeats itself."

"I hope not," I reply. Gale sits down beside me. I lean my head on his shoulder and he kisses my head. I look at the sleeping boy in my arms. "I hope they never have to go through what we've been through."

"That's why we fought, Catnip. So they don't have to."

Peeta nods in agreement.

And so, with my children happy and safe, and my husband and best friend beside me, we enjoy Prim and Rory's wedding. Whatever comes after this, we can face together.

At some point, I hope to go back and edit this. I'll add an additional chapter at that time, so feel free to keep following this story. I'm working on another story at this point, so it may be awhile. Please tell me what you thought!