DISCLAIMER: HG CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME, BUT OC ONES DO
Chapter 162-In Dreams
May 8 (Saturday)
Gale walks in the woods behind his house, as he has countless times in the twenty-five years he has lived here. He knows he is dreaming, for Harper is with him. It is dawn, and there is a lot of fog on the ground. As they move through the trees, he sees his former pet's ears perk up and he calls for Harper as he sees the dog sprint forward, disappearing into the fog ahead. Trying to catch up with the dog, he calls out for Harper to come back, and suddenly, he sees Harper trot happily out of the foggy area, with Katniss following behind.
She is wearing the same outfit she wore the day she died, her locket around her neck. Gale runs into her arms, squeezing her tightly. He feels Harper's tail hit their legs as it wags back and forth.
"I know this is a dream" he whispers into her ear as they continue to embrace.
"Dreams have meaning you know" she says as she pulls away, still holding onto his arms.
"I've missed you; I always miss you. The kids miss you so much."
He sees a look of sadness appear on her face as she says, "I miss them, but I know you are taking good care of them, and I miss you too" and she leans up and gives him a brief, but sweet kiss.
"Happy Birthday" he says, leaning down and kissing her again, his mouth devouring hers, desperate to feel her lips on his again.
After a few moments, she pulls away again and says, "I would have been 54 today" then pauses, still in thought.
He places both hands on her face, trying to hold back his tears and says, "A part of me will never be the same again, now that you are no longer with us."
"You are still grieving" saying it as a statement, not a question.
He nods, with a look of sadness on his face.
"We will be together again; like I told you, we will be waiting for you."
"It's just so unfair, I feel in the end, Snow won yet again, because of them, you've been taken away from your family….from me…..again."
"That's why we need to remain focused on why we fought the Capitol in the first place, and we still have work to do."
He gives her a confused look, not following the conversation.
"Changes still need to be made Gale, Panem is not quite the democracy Heavenesbee said it would be."
He nods, letting her know with his eyes that he understood.
"You still have time left to make a difference, make it count."
"I will, I promise. I should have listened more before, I wish-" but she places her hand up to his mouth, gently cutting him off.
"Don't-you know our stubbornness is why my Mother said we were two peas in a pod."
He chuckles, kissing her hand that remained on his face.
"And you have someone in your life now, I think she will be a good source of support for you, along with the kids."
He becomes tense, not expecting her to bring up Cassandra, reminding himself this a dream, it is expected she would know about Cassandra.
"I-I have a hard time sometimes-"
"Committing to her" Katniss says in a matter-of-fact tone.
"The kids-"
"The kids will be fine Gale. It will be an adjustment for them, I'd be really mad if it were easy for them, but you love her."
"One of the reasons I'm struggling so much, is because I can't help but feel, I'm betraying you somehow."
She kneels and begins petting Harper, for the dog had begun butting his head up against her leg, wanting her attention.
"You got angry at her when she came into our room" she says looking up at him.
"Yes, I just….didn't like seeing her touching your stuff, being in our space."
"You need to acclimate her with the family more, have her stay at the house, don't hide her away in that cottage-as nice as the cottage is."
"You are just telling me what I want to hear" he says kneeling down to meet her at eye level, Harper licking him immediately.
"Things will not be easy for her, she's going to need you, and you'll need to be there for her. And…..Juniper will need her soon" she says sadly.
He gives her a concerned look and before he can respond she says, "Get new furniture, put our stuff downstairs, but keep my dreamcatcher up. My dreamcatcher is the only way I can visit you like this unless you are in the wild territory."
Her words sinking in, and realizing that while he was dreaming, her spirit was in fact, somehow with him. "Why have you never come before?" he asks with a crushed look on his face.
"I can only come when the time is right."
"I don't understand."
"You are not betraying me, that will never happen, I know you will never stop loving me."
"Katniss-"
"It's okay Gale, I want you to be happy, the kids will adjust, they have my letters and video."
"But what if-" and he stops, not able to say it.
But he does not need to say anymore. Knowing his thoughts, she says, "Cross that bridge when you get to it, if you get to it, follow your heart, who knows, maybe it would have happened to us anyway."
"I don't know about that" he says warily.
"Stranger things can happen, this is Panem after all" she teases.
They both continue to pet Harper for a few more moments, Katniss saying softly, "Remember when it was just the three of us in the cottage?"
Not able to hold back, tears form in his eyes and he says, "It was one of the happiest times of my life, not counting when Sienna and the rest of the kids were born of course."
Smiling, she says, "Yeah, it was nice, peaceful. I had just started my job, I was a little nervous, how it was going to go with us living together, but it was so easy, like we had lived together for years."
Tears still forming, his thoughts turn to the past, how life was simpler for them, quieter. Their biggest threat at the time the Jay Killers.
"Cassandra is good for you Gale, I think she will be a great companion for you, especially once Juniper graduates. And I think she'll come to love the kids someday. I've seen her heart, she's a good person, and that's all I wanted, for you to find someone good and kind."
"What about the age difference?"
"Eh, to be honest, her Dez like traits bother me more, with the….body waxing and crazy hair and all" Katniss says waving her hand and making a face.
He grins and says, "It is very…Capitol."
"To each their own. I know you are drawn to it….because it helps you not be reminded….of me."
"Yes" he says without hesitation.
"Once you go where I am, you know all" she says in a dramatic voice then says, "I'm thankful you loved me for me. You never tried to change me, knowing I was never one to change my hair, wax my body, wear sexy underwear. You put up with my moods, you accepted me and my flaws."
"You cannot change for anyone, that's why you inspired a rebellion. And that is why I love you so much. As for your moods….the tribe helped a lot with that" he says teasingly.
She grins looking down at Harper then says sadly, "I have to go now" and rises.
"Catnip" he says, pleading with her to stay, not bearing the thought of her leaving again.
She reaches up and hugs him, holding him tight and says, "I love you, remember what I said."
"When will you come back?" he asks, still holding her tight.
"I'll always be with you, just as I said in the video." And suddenly they are surrounded by a bright light that continues to expand, causing him to close his eyes.
When he opens his eyes, he sees the bright sunlight pouring in through the windows, he looks up and sees Katniss's dreamcatcher hanging above him.
He looks over at the nightstand and sees the time was 8:48 am. Waking up later than he usually does, he rises and strips off his clothes and heads into the shower. He stands for what feels like an eternity as the water comes down on him, washing away his tears.
Gale goes into town and heads to the furniture store. Purchasing a new bedroom set, he is told it will be delivered to the house on Monday, he sees the time is 12:30, and he has just enough time to pick up lunch for him and Juniper before they leave to head to her riding lesson.
Once he arrives home, he is surprised when he sees Juniper sitting at the kitchen island, drinking a glass of iced tea while working on her homework, Jade sitting beside her on the island. He notices she is not in her riding outfit.
"Hey" he says as he places their food on the island, giving Jade a quick pet on her head. "You saw my note when you woke up right?"
"Yes" she says, not looking up at him as she continues writing in her notebook.
"I got us lunch" he says, unease setting in for she was not acting herself.
"Okay" she says.
"Why aren't you ready for your lesson?"
She sighs, setting her pencil down and closing her notebook, finally looking up at him. "I don't think I can go to my riding lesson Dad-not today."
Giving her a look of empathy, he nods and says, "It's okay, I'll call the stables and let Esmeralda know you are not feeling well today and won't be in."
"Thanks" she says in an appreciative tone.
When she sees him go into his office to make the call, she takes out her phone and tries calling her Grandmother, but she does not answer. She then sends Avery a message, asking her what her plans are for the day and if she can come over.
Once he comes back to the kitchen; they begin eating lunch. He asks her what she wants to do for the day, and she asks him if they could take a walk to the cabin. Surprised she has asked to visit the cabin, for the last time they had made the hike out there was right before Katniss died.
"Do you even remember how to get out there?" he asks her.
"No. I sent a message to Avery asking her what her plans are for today, I thought maybe she'd want to join, if she's not busy with Levi."
"He could always join us" Gale says, for last month they had finally met Levi at Avery's Birthday party. Gale was not surprised that he made an impression with everyone in the family, including him, for Avery had told Gale quite a bit about him.
Juniper nods then says, "I tried calling Grandma E, but she didn't answer."
"I'm sure she's just busy, you know your Grandma prefers to be alone, especially today."
"I worry about her."
"I know you do sweetie" and he reaches over and gently rubs her shoulder.
As they continue eating, Juniper receives a message back from Avery, telling her that she can come over later for dinner and can spend the night.
"Looks like it will just be you and me at the cabin then" Gale says.
When they arrive at the cabin, he decides to tell her about his trip into town and that new furniture will be delivered on Monday. He tells her that he would like to begin having Cassandra spend more time at the house and asks her how she feels about it.
He sees a look of unease form on her face. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence she says, "You are not going to put away Mom's photos, are you?"
"No! I would never do that."
"What about the cottage in Red Rocks?"
"I'm still renting the cottage."
"So, this is more of, splitting your time between two places?"
"Yeah, I would like to have Cassandra be a part of more family functions. She hasn't met Levi yet, and I'd like to invite him to the house for a weekend this summer. I'd also like for her to spend more time with Jack, Sienna, Aunt Posy, Uncle Rory, Uncle Vick, Aunt Layla, and your cousins. Now that summer is coming, we can do that here and spend time at the lake."
"Okay" Juniper says in a neutral tone.
"I can have her stay downstairs if that would make it more comfortable for you."
But he sees his daughter shake her head no in response and says, "It's not that Dad."
"What is it then?"
"It's not that I don't want Cassandra to be with us more, I do, but-"
"It's okay" he says gently for he can see she was nervous to continue.
"It just makes things with Mom so….final. Before, even though a lot of her stuff is gone, it was like she was still…with us. With Cassandra being a part of the family-"
"You are afraid she will take Mom's place?"
She nods sadly.
"No one can replace your Mom, and that's not what I want. I just want-Cassandra to feel a part of our family. You remember how she said she is not close with hers?" and she nods again. "That's all I want. And your Mom will always be with us. Look at this cabin, this will always be our place, a place to share our memory with her."
"She wouldn't mind? Not coming out here with us?"
Gale gives her a large smile and says, "Could you see Cassandra hiking out here?"
She laughs softly and says, "she is very different from Mom, very much a city person."
"Yeah, she is. But you like her?"
"Of course, she is really sweet. I wish Jack and Sienna could know her better."
"Me too."
"What about Cassandra and Avery?"
"I don't know, I'm still figuring that out" he says sadly. Back in December, when he and Cassandra had reunited, he had seen a drastic change in Avery and thought perhaps the two of them could get past what happened at AMB. But when Cassandra visited his Mother's place during the Holidays, he noticed that the two of them kept their distance from each other, and that distance has grown even more so since. Luckily, last month for Avery's Birthday, she had informed him she had plans that weekend for she had two photo shoots. He knows he will have to talk to his daughter tonight, no matter how uncomfortable the conversation may be.
Cassandra sits at the four-person high top table with three of her closest friends. Having just finished dinner, the four friends were now enjoying after dinner drinks. Two of the friends were former models and one was a stylist Cassandra used to work with at various modeling events. Her two friends who are no longer models, Talli and Belle, were now both stay at home Mom's while Quinn, worked as an independent stylist in the Capitol.
Her hair now light pink but still shoulder length, Cassandra had managed to pick up quite a few side modeling events and photoshoots with Quinn's help since quitting MC2, but she still had not found another modeling company to sign a contract with and was becoming increasingly concerned for her savings was dwindling down and she wasn't sure if she would be able to make her rental payment that was due at the end of June.
"You know you will have to tell him; I can't believe you haven't told him yet" Talli says to Cassandra as she takes a sip of wine.
"Yeah, it's not like he won't let you stay at the cottage if you can't keep the apartment, but you know he will give you the money, government officials are loaded" Belle says, trying to make Cassandra feel better.
"I will tell him, I just….it will cause so drama, Gale will flip out. He will either tell the President and have them arrested or he will shut Ethan's business down in 2. Either way, Ethan and Kyle will blame me, and I'm afraid they will blacklist me with other modeling companies."
"I think they have already done that. You've gone on interviews, Aiyana and I are your references, yet you still haven't been offered a contract, that's not a coincidence" Quinn says sharply.
"That's right, let Gale shut his businesses down, payback for the bastard!" Belle says, the wine starting to take effect.
"It's kind of amazing a government official can even do that, shut someone's business down like that" Talli says.
"Well, most of the time it is done for safety reasons or illegal activity, and he has to write a report explaining why, but I'm sure he can find a reason to shut them down" Cassandra says.
"So, when are we going to finally meet him?" Talli asks teasingly.
"Soon, I promise. I want all of you to come out to the cottage for a girl's weekend, the cottage has a back patio, and we can have dinner and drinks outside. He can stop by then."
"With his Daughter?" Quinn says raising her eyebrows.
"You guys will like her, she's super sweet. Unlike Avery who still hates me."
"What about the other two?" Belle asks.
"Unfortunately, I don't really know them, I only met them once. But I worry, because I know Avery and Sienna are best friends, I'm sure Avery has poisoned Sienna against me."
"Hopefully that changes, once Sienna gets to know you, she'll see her Sister is wrong about you" Belle says is a supportive manner.
"Me too."
The four friends continue to order drinks and engage in conversation, they walk out of the restaurant at 9 pm, exchanging hugs as they say their goodbyes.
Only five blocks away from her apartment building, Cassandra chooses to walk home instead of taking the train or grabbing a taxi for it was nice outside and she wanted to enjoy the warm weather. As she begins walking, she does not notice that she is being followed, a man discreetly taking pictures as she heads down the busy street.