Chapter 7: Pensions and Inaugurations

A few nights after the Square is designated to bear my sister's name, I invite Peeta and Haymitch over for dinner. Peeta comes over a little early to help me cook, and using some of the good venison meat I've skinned, we prepare a hearty squirrel stew.

Gathered around the kitchen table, Haymitch sets up the disc of the holoTV on the varnished wood. "I know we don't normally do TV dinners, but I have it on good authority from Plutarch that we won't want to miss this."

The government of Panem doesn't demand mandatory viewing anymore, but when Special Reports come over the airwaves, the people are highly encouraged to tune in. Tonight, the coverage is all about the inauguration of President Ashleen Paylor as the 5th President of the Republic of Panem.

"Why 5th?" Peeta asks between mouthfuls of soup, genuinely curious. "We had Ravinstill in the really early years – my great-grandfather used to talk about him – then… Udall, wasn't it?"

"Followed by Snow," Haymitch rumbles. "Snow assumed the presidency in '34, the year I was born."

"But he was 3rd," Peeta presses. "So how…?"

"Coin," I mutter. They both look to me. "Paylor ordered that Coin's presidency be acknowledged in the historical record. Coin's technically the 4th President of Panem."

"But she was in office for only weeks!" Peeta gawps, dismayed. "Why would Paylor…?"

Haymitch shakes his head. "Bert says Paylor did it as a concession so the district Governors would back her in the vote."

"Bert had to vote with the other Governors? Why couldn't we?" I frown. I liked the idea of going to vote. It was empowering.

Haymitch shrugs. "Paylor will stand for re-election in four years. When things in the… the states are settled by then, we'll take a nationwide vote."

"Ssssh!" I hush the men. "They're doing the swearing-in!"

"…. I solemnly swear, to the best of my ability, to preserve, protect and uphold the rights of every citizen of Panem…" Paylor looks so humbled as she recites the presidential oath.

Pointing to the corner of the projection, Peeta smirks. "There's Plutarch right in the middle of it all."

"And they say no one ever wins the Games…" Haymitch shakes his head ruefully.

I just silently take another biteful of soup as we watch history being made.

The summer days are nearly at their longest now, the air warm, but not humid. There's always a fresh breeze blowing through Everdeen, rustling through the trees in the woods and giving me a semblance of peace. I'm just coming back into the Village with my game bag slung over my shoulder when I meet Peeta in the green.

"Hi," he murmurs, grinning.

"Hey," I smile tiredly.

He suddenly tilts my head back and kisses me on the lips soundly, leaving me momentarily taken aback. I allow it, holding the kiss for a moment more before we tenderly break apart. "Where's Haymitch? Off somewhere drunk again?"

"No, he was on a call, actually, when I poked my head in," Peeta chuckles, slipping his hand into mine as we stroll amiably into the Village, towards my house.

"Hmm," I lean my head on his shoulder, letting the fingers of his free hand play with the strands of my hair. We've become much more affectionate with each other, almost by unspoken agreement, over the last few weeks, which is very encouraging… even if Peeta still refuses to come and live with me. "Any idea who with?"

"Well, I don't think it sounded like phone sex with Effie, but I didn't exactly stick around long enough to find out."

Peeta's dry quip makes me burst out laughing, and I snuggle into his side further, enjoying this moment of mirth that we still don't often see or feel, what with the lingering trauma.

The moment is gone when the door to Haymitch's mansion suddenly bangs open, and our mentor comes storming out onto the green, his grey Seam eyes ablaze. He suddenly sends out an errant foot to kick a watering can, upending the thing and sending droplets everywhere. I shriek and try to shield the folds of my blue dress peeking out from under my father's hunting jacket.

"Hey, old man, watch it!" Peeta frowns.

"Not in the mood, Boy."

"Clearly. Who stole your flask this time? – cause it wasn't us!" I deliver in a dry deadpan.

"It's… It's Plutarch! And Paylor too! If she does run for re-election, she ain't getting my vote!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait…. what happened?"

"Word is the Capitol citizens are pressuring the President to rescind all our Victors' pensions! That damn purse accounts for all my income! Yours and Sweetheart's too, until you can get the bakery up and running!"

"But that's not fair!" I whine. "Snow's government promised we would have those pensions for life!"

"Paylor might be trying to distance herself from Snow and the old ways as much as possible," Peeta muses. "It might be more of a symbolic move, yet still a serious one. But even if she is facing outside pressure, why should the citizens of the Capitol care?"

"Because they're the taxpayers whose dollars are funding our pensions, the cunts!" Haymitch spits on the ground.

"Haymitch!" I let out a little gasp of horror. "Language!"

"Quit sounding like your mother, Sweetheart – it's not a good look for you." As he no doubt hoped it would, I bristle in offense at the comment, followed by a pang of hurt at the knowledge that I still haven't heard from my mother since just after the Capitol fell.

"Haymitch, there's only seven of us Victors left!" Peeta is still talking passionately with Haymitch. "What's seven pensions to the Capitol? They were paying for close to ten times as many before the war!"

"Because the Capitol isn't exactly awash in cash anymore, Peeta. Half the city still looks like a warzone. President Paylor's probably trying to scrimp and save on next year's budget, but if she thinks this is gonna do it, it ain't!"

"And what about Annie?" I cry, causing the men to look at me. "She's pregnant; she's gonna have a child to support – she needs that pension!"

"Katniss is right," Peeta nods solemnly. "Should we call the others? Go to the city and request an audience? Paylor has to hear our side! Coin might have been no worse than Snow in the end, but at least she gave us a platform! A voice!"

"I think we'll have to," Haymitch states grimly. "I know the new stationmaster down at Lucy Gray Baird – fellow used to be from Six; goes by Fender. I can set up tickets and we can leave in the morning."

"I'll call the others!" Peeta is dashing for his house.

"Leave Annie off!" I call to his retreating back. "She may not be in any state to travel; we can decide on that when we get to Fo – Odair!" He nods.

By nightfall, Peeta has gotten agreement from Johanna, Beetee and Enobaria. The phone call with the last Career was saved for the end, and from what he told me, more than a little awkward, considering the woman was once actively trying to kill us in an arena.

Haymitch is able to make reservations for all three of us on the 10:00 train leaving Everdeen in the morning; we'll be picking the others up on the way, granting ourselves a night of rest in Odair to see Annie. Beetee's apparently already in the Capitol, so we'll only have to make three stops.

It's a little unnerving as we stand at the ticket counter and Haymitch pays in sesterces for three boarding passes. Until now, most travel in Panem has been heavily regulated; even Victors only got special accommodations and were allowed to leave their districts for summons on business.

I take the ticket from Fender, the stationmaster, in something resembling awe, feeling not unlike a child who's learning to walk for the first time.

"… and your passport, Miss Everdeen, stamped and ready." Haymitch had shown us these new little booklets called passports last night when we were packing. Apparently, he had taken the liberty to have ones printed for both Peeta and me. The only photo of me on hand was one in my wedding dress before the Quell, taken off the Panemian Internet. As Secretary of Communications, part of Plutarch's job is freeing up the Capitol web for cosmopolitan use – before, only Victors and Capitol citizens had access online.

We board the train, Peeta taking my hand like a gentleman to help me into the car. We sit in a row towards the middle, three abreast, Haymitch squirming in the restricting confines of his waistcoat.

"Sweetheart, can you check the placard in the back seat pocket? What's this train's Wifi?"

"The what-fi?" I frown.

"Not what – Wi."

"What?"

"Wi."

"I don't know why – you asked me!"

Peeta is fighting hard not to giggle. "Here." He takes a placard from the back seat pocket, and passes it to Haymitch, who immediately pulls out his holophone, grumbling. "Next thing Governor Petrie does better be giving Everdeen more reliable Internet access…" the drunk grumbles.

We're able to bypass Three (now the Great State of Latier) through the Northwest, climbing higher into Dakonada (once District 9) before turning sharp to enter Mason at the far northwest corner of the country. We arrive there the next morning, exhausted after chugging through the night. I ended up having to fall asleep in Peeta's lap, and even then, it was fitful.

Johanna meets us at the train station, which we can see has been named in honor of Blight Gavin, her district partner in the Quarter Quell.

Haymitch smirks, dipping his head in deference. "Governor."

Johanna just snorts. "Not as though I had a choice, Rummy. I was elected unanimously." Then she shocks me by pulling me into a tight hug, quickly followed with a cuff on the arm. "Brainless." She turns to hug Peeta, drawing back to touch his face almost tenderly – something I never imagined Johanna Mason to be. "You look well, Baker Man."

Peeta smiles heavily. "Getting there. The Governor's robes suit you, Miss Mason. Sure you're allowed to get away?"

Johanna laughs, looping her arm through his. "Mack can handle things for a few days; he's my Lieutenant Governor. Come on, Lover Boy – let's go tell Paylor what's what!" And she allows my district partner to escort her onto the train. As Haymitch and I follow, I hiss to him, "Lieutenant Governor… why didn't we think of that?"

"Because then, the choice would have come down to me, a mentally fragile teenager or Thom – none of those options being good - when Bert could croak any day!" Haymitch says this facetiously – Petrie looks like he's going to live forever! "All the same, maybe introduce an amendment at the next Town Hall; we will need a line of succession."

We descend south down the coast into Odair, Johanna and Haymitch getting drunk in the dining car and telling extremely inappropriate stories, until we arrive at the seaside train station by mid-afternoon. The salty sea air is refreshing and filling, and I breathe in deeply.

Odair looks to be more on the mend than even we do – a few of the shopfronts are even just as I remember them from when we conducted our Victory Tour through here a year and a half ago. The conductor seems starstruck at the sight of four famous Victors disembarking onto his platform.

"You folks here for Miss Annie Cresta …. Pardon me, Mrs. Cresta-Odair?"

"Yes, sir," Peeta smiles good-naturedly.

"Well, you'll have to charter a vessel out of the marina. The Village is on an island, you know."

"I remember," I smile fondly. Four was one of the few districts Peeta and I actually enjoyed on our Tour. We hadn't met Finnick that day – he'd been away in the Capitol on business - but another mentor, Poseidon, had shown us around.

Peeta gentlemanly helps us ladies into the small boat, Johanna seeming appreciative of the chivalry. Taking a seat next to me, she hisses:

"You and Bread Boy sleeping together yet?"

I nearly choke into the frozen lemonade Haymitch insisted we buy at one of the dock stands. "What?"

Johanna gives me a pointed look. "Well, start fucking him, then! Don't you dare let a man like that get away!" And I am left to ponder the dormant, uncertain status of my love life for the rest of the boat ride.

The brochure the captain gives Peeta states that the Victors' Village here was built on a strip of land once known as Catalina Island. Like ours back home on Victors' Hill, the Village here is comprised of a dozen mansions in a gated community, all but one or two of which were occupied by a District 4 Victor at one point or another. Victors' Island itself is huge, about 22 miles long and eight miles across, so the rest of the land is populated with quaint little shopfronts and businesses. A car meets us to carry us to the Village.

The widowed Mrs. Cresta-Odair is waiting for us at the gate, showing nicely as she waddles with surprising speed over to greet us. With a happy cry, she throws her arms around me.

"Katniss!"

"Annie!" I laugh, hugging her back. Even though I still don't know her that well – we only made small talk at her wedding to Finnick – I know her to be an utterly sweet lady.

Annie now embraces Johanna and Peeta like they're old friends. When she gets to Haymitch, she suddenly jerks back, hand to her mouth, before turning and throwing up into some nearby bushes.

Haymitch looks entirely unfazed. "Well, hello to you too…."

Lifting up to stretch out her back, hand on her protruding belly, Annie uses the other to wipe at her mouth. "Snow's Roses, Haymitch! You smell like a distillery!"

Now, Haymitch wrinkles his nose. "That's odd – we haven't been to a distillery."

"Not today anyway," Johanna mutters half under her breath.

"No – just a frozen lemonade stand." I flit over to Annie, transfixed by her swollen stomach. Reaching out a hand, I retract it back. "Can I….?"

"Oh, yes, you can touch, go ahead!" Annie squeals. I lay a palm down along her midsection, the sensation taking me back to when I was a little girl. I used to touch and talk to Mother's stomach all the time when she was carrying Prim. I can feel Peeta's eyes on me, but don't comment on it. "How… how far along are you?"

"Five months," she gushes, running a hand over her stomach and beaming. She practically glows. "This little guy likes using my bladder as a trampoline!"

"Well, we come as a courtesy call more than anything, little lady," Haymitch states. "This business with Paylor… if you're not up for it, you don't have to come."

"Nonsense! The doctor says I can travel for a few more months yet. Besides, I need that pension more than any of you!" Annie's gaze is now fiercely determined.

Haymitch just grins, lifting his hands in mock surrender. "Far be it from me to deny anything to an expectant mother!"

"Come on, let me show you around!" Taking my arm, Annie escorts me up the slight slope and into Victors' Village, chittering to me like I'm her best girlfriend; it reminds me of Delly Cartwright, in an odd sort of way. "Our state voted to throw open the doors to the Village, restoring the homes of my fellow Victors and turning them into museums. That's most of these here, but the remaining two have been refurbished into an orphanage and a hospital!" Annie nods to a mansion in the back corner. "That's it, right there."

A big red cross is over the door of a mansion at the far end of the green, an ambulance parked next to it.

"It's still a little understaffed."

"That's more than we can say - we still need a hospital," I murmur.

"But hasn't your mother come back to Everdeen yet? She's a doctor, right?"

I wince. "I haven't heard from her since the armistice."

Annie considers this, biting her lip, but says nothing further. Mounting the steps to her home, she enters the open door into the foyer and calls, "Pollux? I'm back!"

The ginger-haired and bearded Avox from our Star Squad appears, smiling and signing rapidly to Annie, much to my delight.

"Hello, there!" I chuckle softly, permitting a hug as the former cameraman greets each of us in turn. Pollux was assigned with Cressida to cover war wreckage in the former districts after the war. "Is Cressida around?"

"Oh, she went to the mainland to scout ahead for a potential filming site. This is one of their final stops, then I think you guys in Twe – Everdeen are last, isn't that right, Pollux?"

Pollux nods vigorously, and I can't help but notice the way his eyes sparkle when he's in Annie's presence.

Annie generously puts us all up for the night in her own mansion. Haymitch takes the couch, Johanna in a sleeping bag on the floor. There's a spare guest bedroom, which is leased out to Peeta and me.

He and I spend that entire night on opposite ends of the bed, our backs awkwardly to each other. I hadn't found a good way to inform Annie that Peeta and I aren't sleeping together… yet… and Haymitch had clearly been wary of the idea. I can sense Pollux on the other side of the door, where my mentor basically stationed him as a precaution, in case Peeta has an episode during the night.

It is actually I who end up waking from a nightmare, only for Peeta to gather me in his arms without a word. When I next rise again, it is morning, the air clean and fresh.

"No nightmares," I smile, glancing up from where my head has been resting on Peeta's chest. "We've still got the touch."

Peeta just chuckles and strokes my hair.

We eat a hurried breakfast, Annie yammering into a holophone while flitting about to help Pollux pack her suitcase. Pouring out of her mansion to catch the ferry back over to the mainland and then the train bound for the Capitol, she pauses to peck Pollux goodbye on the cheek.

"Thanks for housesitting, friend. If you and Cressida have to leave before I'm back, I understand."

From the bashful look he sends her way, I have a feeling Pollux might never get to Everdeen to film his war coverage.

Peeta schlepps most of our stuff onto the train, which we make just in time. I catch Johanna checking him out blatantly, but when I glare at her, she just smirks.

"What? If you won't, I will, cause Snow knows I'm not getting any!"

"Would Gale agree with that assessment, I wonder?" Annie muses, before abruptly switching gears to remind Haymitch, "Now, Baria called me and said she's gone ahead to the Capitol; we won't have to stop in Ryker…" (That's the state name for District 2).

I, meanwhile, am peering at Johanna curiously, as she grumbles, "I really hate it when she isn't in her own little world sometimes…"

Enobaria and Beetee both meet us at the train station. We try not to make any contrast in our greetings of either too obvious, but if we act a little leery towards the Career who once hunted for us, she doesn't seem to take offense. A government car is there idling to take us to the presidential mansion, and we all file in. I make note of how Enobaria graciously gives the pregnant Victor her space.

But it is Beetee's casual comment to me that takes me by surprise. "I've spoken with your mother, Katniss. She asked me to pass on to you that she is well."

I try not to give away how much I stiffen; on either side of me, I sense Haymitch and Peeta sharing a look. "What is she doing?"

"Lending a hand at Victors' Mercy – that's the main hospital here in the city, where you and Peeta recovered after your arena. I've been there almost every day to booster some experimental medical technology. She's living with Effie for now, but looking for an apartment." I nod curtly, and my colleague mercifully drops the subject.

Agents in black suits and earpieces usher us into the West Wing of the presidential mansion. A secretary with blonde hair and fish gills, her forehead inlaid with diamonds, comes out to meet us. "The President will see you now!"

Entering an oval office, we find President Ashleen Paylor with her back to us, gazing out the expansive windows, which just seem to sparkle with sunlight. Haymitch looks like he wants to make his feelings on the pensions issue known right there and then, and I elbow him hard in the ribs.

"Ah, the Victors! Good morning! Please…" and she gestures to some couches at the back of the office. "Let's all have a seat."

We sink into the plush upholstery. I tuck my feet under my little blue dress I chose to wear, resting my head on Peeta's shoulder. He doesn't seem to mind.

"Now, as to the issue of the pensions…." The President begins. Well, at least she isn't afraid to dive right into the hard stuff.

"You're not really going to cut us off, are you, Madam President? I'm on a fixed income with that pension, what with a baby on the way!" Annie plays the part of a struggling, single mother-to-be perfectly; I keep waiting for violins to start playing. Caesar Flickerman would be ruining his makeup with tears by now.

Paylor smiles understandingly. "Rest assured, Mrs. Cresta-Odair, I have spoken with my advisors, and we are leaning heavily towards honoring your pensions as they were established by the previous regime. Victors' pensions date back to the Ravenstill administration, so we understand the importance of needing to provide for our heroes. I apologize if that message has not been clear."

I have a feeling Haymitch's reading Plutarch the riot act behooved the Secretary of Communications and the President to make this reversal. I'm grateful.

"While you all are here, there is another, rather urgent matter to be discussed with you." President Paylor pauses for a moment before beginning. "As you might be aware, the observance of what was once known as Reaping Day – July 4th – is fast approaching. I have left it up to the states to decide how they wish to observe this holiday, if at all. Governor Mason, I believe your state put forward its wishes to make Reaping Day a state day of remembrance with paid time off?"

"We have, Madam President," Johanna confirms.

"I have no objections to that, Governor – however, if I might warn you that Reaping Day might not be what you expected this year."

I feel a noose starting to constrict around my heart. "President Paylor….?"

"As you are no doubt aware, this body – the seven surviving Victors – voted during the administration of my predecessor, Alma Coin, to hold a final Hunger Games using only Capitol children. If a majority is still agreeable to this…." Paylor lifts her eyes to meet ours in turn. "I would like to move forward with the 76th Annual Hunger Games as originally planned, in a month's time – and I would like for each of you to help mentor it."