"Dad? He's- he's-" I stutter, frozen. Dad is alive. All these years, he's been alive. I'm hardly breathing.
"Yes, Dad! Now come on! It's been years! Don't you want to see him?" Prim says.
"Does Mom know?" I ask, thinking about how much she loved him.
"Yeah, but Dad hasn't noticed that we were there yet," Prim answers.
"Where is he?" I ask eagerly.
Prim gulps. "He's in the Prison, Katniss."
"What?" How could Dad be in the prison? He never did anything wrong. How could Coin not tell me? It's just like how she hid Venia, Flavius, and Octavia. Oh no. What could have happened to him? "What is Coi- is he okay?"
"Yeah, but Katniss, I need you to get Coin to free him. Just like you did your Prep team." Prim says, urgency hitting every word. "Katniss, Coin will let you do basically anything. You're the Mockingjay! Just add his freedom to the Mockingjay Deal."
"Of course, Prim. Where is she? Where is that evil, manipulative bi-" I catch my words before I swear in front of Prim. She pretends not to notice.
"Come on, Katniss!" she cries. "Peeta, you can come too. You'll finally be able to meet our dad!"
I can tell by how Peeta's hand is shaking slightly that he's nervous.
"Peeta, it'll be fine," I whisper, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Besides, I'll need your words to persuade Coin."
Peeta nods. "Of- of course, Katniss."
Prim drags us through the halls of Thirteen, down narrow and straight passages, her feet moving fast. Finally, she stops at Coin's office and knocks.
"Come in," I hear Coin say. She frowns when she sees us. "Oh. You."
"Madam President, I beg your pardon, but we got word that Katniss' father is being held here in Thirteen, in one of the Prison rooms," Peeta says. He's speaking so formally. The only other person to who he spoke like this was Snow.
"Serves him right," Coin sneers. "He tried to run away. Who knows what he was going to do? Probably rat us out to the Capitol at the first chance he got."
Dad tried to come back to us, but Coin locked him up? I can't believe it. She's just as bad as Snow.
"I'd like to add his freedom and pardon to the Mockingjay Deal," I say assertively.
"No."
"Fine! Then I'll quit." I say.
"Blackmail won't work, Soldier Everdeen. I know you're bluffing." Coin says.
"Katniss isn't bluffing." I hear Peeta say. "Let her father go or she will stop being the Mockingjay for you."
"Very well." Coin says, defeated. She gave up fairly quicker than I thought she would. I guess she really needs me as the Mockingjay. Coin presses a button and speaks into a microphone. "Guards, in accordance with the Mockingjay deal, Ashton Everdeen will be released from the prison."
"Thank you, Madam President," Peeta says, and we leave the room. Prim shows us the way to the prisons, which are quite far down. She stops at a door and opens it.
Inside I see a skinny man, dried blood staining his undergarments and the unmistakable Seam look- dark hair, olive skin, and grey eyes. My mother is standing off to the side, weeping silently. District Thirteen guards are in there as well and they unlock the handcuffs that held him there for too long, freeing him from the chains. His head is hanging down, so he hasn't noticed us, and his arms are hanging limply at his side. Tears are already beginning to prick at my eyes.
Dad's head still hangs as the guards push past us and exit the room, barely acknowledging us. I'm the first one to break the silence after I find my voice.
"D-Dad?" I ask, tentatively. It's hard for me to hold back my sobs.
He looks up and sees me. My dad. My dad, who was one of the only people I had loved so much. The person my mom loved enough to leave Prim and I behind. I don't blame her, though. I understand what it's like to lose someone you love. And of course, I would never blame my father for that. His teachings with a bow and arrow, his ventures with me into the woods are the reason I had ever dared to hunt.
"Katniss? Prim?" Dad says, disbelief and joy mixing into his voice.
"Daddy," Prim says. "Daddy, we've found you."
No words are spoken when he rushes towards Prim and I, scooping us both into a hug and holding us tight like he's never willing to let go.
"Girls! I'll never leave you again. I regretted leaving every day for the past six years. I'm so sorry. I love you so much." Dad says. After a while, he turns and looks to the side.
"Sage?" He asks. He's looking at mom.
"Ash," Mom breathes. In a moment they're kissing madly, and I can't help but feel uncomfortable. I mean, it's normal to feel uncomfortable when parents kiss, right? They probably would be uncomfortable if they saw their kid kissing somebody.
Oh yeah. I forgot that I'll have to introduce Dad to Peeta. But that can wait. I leave the room, with Prim and Peeta in tow.
Hours later, we're sitting in Prim and Mom's compartment, waiting for Mom and Dad to get back. I think they might have gone to the hospital, to get Dad checked out for any injuries.
Prim leaves to check and see where Mom and Dad are. Peeta is grasping my hand, his thumb caressing it.
"Katniss, tell me about your dad," Peeta says. Peeta is so.. well, perfect. Instead of being bitter about the fact that he lost his entire family and now mine is full, which is probably what I would do, granted I were in his position, he's asking me questions about my family.
"Oh. My dad was really nice. He and I loved to sing together, whether it was just a simple lullaby or a ballad. My dad taught me how to use a bow and arrow. He loved us more than anything. Now that we know he's alive, my family will be full again." I say.
"He sounds like an amazing man. All I knew about him was that" Peeta puts on an impression of his father's voice." 'when he sings, even the birds stop to listen'. "
"I'm so sorry, Peeta," I say. "I know that I have a complete family now and you have nobody. I feel so lucky compared to you."
"Katniss, I don't need pity. And I don't have nobody. I have you. That is if you'll have me?" He says hopefully. I laugh. Peeta's still like a boy, not at all like the person who had survived two Hunger Games.
"Of course, Peeta. I'll have you. This doesn't mean nothing, you know."
To show him what 'this' is, I lean forward and press my lips to his. In an instant it's deepened, our parted lips moving in sync. I knot my fingers in his hair. It's so easy to give in to the hunger I feel around him.
Unfortunately, or kiss ends when we hear footsteps coming down the hall. My lips aren't that swollen and my hair is untouched, as our kiss wasn't that long. I smile shyly at him; I don't remember feeling this awkward after a kiss.
I watch as the doorknob turns and Prim walks in.
"Mom and Dad will be back any second, Katniss. The doctor was just finishing up her checks."
Peeta stands up. "I should go now, Katniss. I don't want to interrupt your reunion." I want to tell Peeta that he is my family and that I want him to stay, but I just nod and let him leave the room. I look at Prim.
"Was Dad okay?" I ask her.
"Funnily enough, he was," Prim says, "The doctor only recommended that he request larger portions for the time being from the kitchens." I'm about to respond, but something catches Prim's attention. "I hear them coming."
"Little Duck, why won't you hunt? You have hunter's ears just like me." I say.
"I don't like killing animals. You saw how disastrous it was when you tried to teach me. If we weren't starving, I think I'd like to become a vegetarian." Prim says.
"What's a vegetarian?" I question.
"Someone who doesn't eat meat. They can eat stuff like milk and eggs, but not meat. vegetarians usually don't have special conditions or anything; it's their choice."
I scoff. "You wouldn't be able to get your nutrients, Prim. You can't survive as a vegetarian."
"Actually, you can. There are other ways of getting nutrients than meat, Katniss. There are substitutes."
I don't think I'd ever become a vegetarian like her. But if we win this war, I'd never take away her choice to not eat meat. It'd be nice to be able to even have a choice.
Just then, the door swings open.
"Dad!" I exclaim. It's just like I'm a kid again, and I run into his arms and hug him like he's been gone forever. In a way, he has.
"Katniss, I missed so much of yours, Prim's, and your Mom's lives. I want to know everything." He kisses my forehead and our family sits on the floor.
I feel so content. My family has been brought back together. It's been years since we've done anything together, with all of us present. First, Mom was gone. Then when she came back after I returned from the games, I wasn't really there. Just a broken body with a shattered soul. In district 13, when Peeta came back, it was like that soul had repaired itself by filling in all the gaps.
"Let's start from when you 'died'," I say, using my fingers to make quotations. "When you left, mom got really... sad... and we couldn't really provide for ourselves."
"Oh my God Katniss, if I had known, I would've turned straight around and gone back, even if I was almost at Thirteen. I'm so sorry."
"Dad, we don't blame you," Prim says. Mom's eyes are cast downwards.
"Okay, so next was the bread thing," I say. My dad raises an eyebrow. "Well, as I said, we didn't have any money or food, so I tried selling Prim's baby clothes. Nobody stopped to talk to me, or even look at me." I'm closing my eyes now, reminiscing. "I was almost dead." I hear my father take in a sharp breath. "But then Peeta came. Did you know Peeta, Dad?" I ask.
"Yeah. The baker's son." I can hear the bitterness in his voice.
"Well, he saved my life. Burnt some loaves of bread on purpose so he could sneak them to me." I say. "The next day, I saw a dandelion. Then I remembered that I could get food from the woods. I sold my game at The Hob, and it went on like that for a year. One day, I got a rabbit from a snare I found in the woods. That's when I met... Gale." His name sounds disgusting in my mouth, and I actually get the urge to wash it.
"Who's Gale, Katniss?" My dad questions.
"Just a... friend," I say. I don't even know what to call us anymore.
My dad nods slowly as if he can read between the lines and knows what I mean. "I'll be having a talk with him."
"No! Dad, he's not..." I begin, but he cuts me off.
"Katniss, don't lie to your Daddy." My dad says. Peeta should be the one my dad talks to, not, ugh... Gale. "Anyway, continue please."
"Fine." I huff. "Gale and I became hunting partners, and he has a stupid nickname that he uses when he talks to or about me. Catnip. He started calling me that after a lynx followed me around and I had to shoot it. I hunted. That's what I did for years. Until the reaping when I was sixteen, a year and a half, I think, ago. Maybe a quarter." At my father's piercing gaze I stop stalling and get to the point. "Dad, Peeta, and I were in the games... twice."
"What!" he shouts.
"I had to volunteer-" I start.
"Why in the hell did you volunteer, Katniss?!" My dad shouts.
"-for Prim!"
"Prim, you were reaped?" Dad asks.
"Never mind, Dad, I'll show you the tapes of what happened in the past two years. We'll watch it together. I just need to ask Plutarch for permission."
Dad pauses for a moment before answering. "Okay."