DISCLAIMER: HG characters do not belong to me.

A/N: Thanks as always for the reviews!

Chapter 109-Reconnecting

"Annie?" Katniss asks, making sure it was really her.

"Yes, how are you Katniss?"

"I'm well thanks, how are you? Gosh, it's been….so long."

"It has, too long, it's so good to see you again" and she moves closer to Katniss.

"I'm sorry I…..never kept up with your letters and that we lost touch." Katniss suddenly feels a pang of guilt, for when she started becoming depressed all those years ago she quit writing Annie along with calling her Mother. She realizes she hadn't written Annie in over six years. In her desperate attempt to shed her past, she had pushed the thought of District 13 from her mind after leaving 12, trying to forget painful memories, including Finnick, and Annie.

Annie stares at Katniss and doesn't respond, she gets that look that Katniss so often saw in District 13 where she would stare into space like she was in her own world. Katniss starts looking around but sees that no one is paying attention as they whip past them on their way in and out of the busy train station. Just as Katniss is about to try to bring her back to reality she smiles and says, "I understand."

"How's Zale?" Katniss asks.

She smiles brightly as she says, "He's wonderful. He is getting so grown up. Here, I have a picture" and she begins digging into her large bag.

"He's…11 right?"

"Uh huh—just turned 11 in February, here he is" and Annie hands Katniss his picture.

Katniss takes a deep breath as she sees an almost carbon copy of Finnick staring back at her. The bronze hair, the tanned skin, and of course, his and Annie's sea green eyes. She envisions Finnick looking like this when he was this age.

"He's a very good looking boy" Katniss says handing the picture back to Annie.

"He takes after his Father."

"He does" Katniss says sadly.

"How is your daughter? She looks so precious, are you planning to do any more interviews with Caesar?"

Katniss cringes as she thinks back to her interview with Caesar for Panem Daily. Right before she and Gale left for District 9 and the wild territory she had taken Sienna to the Capitol to do a very short interview with Caesar. She talked briefly about adjusting to motherhood and allowed Caesar to take one picture to be published in the paper. In the picture Katniss is looking down at Sienna as she holds the smiling baby in her arms. They were taken to the wild territory the day the article came out, far away from Panem and from people's reactions.

"Not with my daughter no, that was a one-time thing."

"Sienna's her name right?"

"Yeah" Katniss says smiling.

"It's a lovely name. How is Gale?"

Katniss becomes uncomfortable not knowing what Annie thought about the complicated history between her, Gale, and Peeta. She and Peeta would write to her together, each sending a letter, the three of them bonded over the fact that they continued to suffer long after the Hunger Games ended. She wonders what Annie thought when she saw Caesar's articles, for she obviously read them. Did she look at Katniss differently now?

"He's good. He keeps busy."

"I see him on TV sometimes, he looks happy."

"What brings you to the Capitol?" Katniss asks, desperate to change the subject.

"I was invited to the Capitol by members of the President's team. They said…it was important."

Katniss frowns as she says, "Do you know what it is about?"

"No, they just said they wanted to talk to me and that it was important. I am staying at the President's mansion."

"I'm on my way there myself, do you want to walk with me?"

Annie smiles and nods as Katniss helps take one of her bags and they head out the huge doors.

"Why are you going to the mansion?" Annie asks as she follows Katniss as they walk toward the square.

Katniss pauses not sure how much she should tell Annie. "Have you heard about the militia group the Jay Killers?"

Katniss sees the look of fear in her eyes as she says, "Yes, I have read about them. They seem really dangerous."

"They are, I am working with Haymitch and some of the other victors to help provide the Capitol with information about them."

"This is why you are here?"

"Yes."

Katniss tells Annie about how Beetee and Johanna are part of the group, not mentioning Enobaria's name. As she informs Annie what is going on in Johanna's life they reach the Capitol square, Annie stopping in surprise when she sees how much the square has changed yet still looks the same.

"I know, it is different yet not."

Annie doesn't respond and Katniss prepares herself for her to retreat inside herself again. But, she sees Annie pull herself together and whisper, "That building over there, is that real or not real?" and Katniss looks as Annie points to the memorial.

"Real" Katniss says, laying a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"It's to honor the people who died that day isn't it?"

"Yes."

Annie laughs inappropriately and Katniss closes her eyes, reminding herself that she was a damaged person. She couldn't help but wonder how she is able to raise Zale, then chastises herself for thinking such a horrible thing.

"Come on" Katniss says gently as she ushers Annie towards the mansion. They walk in together and Katniss shows Annie where to sign in. She waits off to the side for Annie after she signs in herself.

Katniss tells the guard who was to usher her to the meeting room if they could wait a few more moments so she could say goodbye to Annie. The guard patiently waits as Katniss approaches Annie and says, "Here, this is my address in District 2. I was hoping….you would write to me again?"

Annie takes the piece of paper Katniss hands her and places it in her bag. "I would like that."

Katniss leans in and hugs her as she says, "Take care of yourself, and let me know what happens with the Capitol" whispering the last few words so that none of the staff or guards hear her.

Annie nods in response and says, "Goodbye Katniss."

Katniss feels Annie's eyes on her as she turns around and walks with the guard up the main staircase to the second floor. She wonders why the Capitol has asked Annie to come here, does the Capitol have a new treatment they wanted to try on her? Is she experiencing the same health problems Peeta and Johanna were?

Reminding herself that she needs to talk with Haymitch about this, she heads into the meeting room and sees everyone seated.

"Sorry I am late, I uh…ran into someone at the train station" she says as she quickly takes her seat beside Johanna.

"Forcing yourself to be friendly?" Haymitch says with sly smile on his face.

"Something like that" she mumbles in response.

"Well, you didn't miss too much, Enobaria was about to give us her update."

Everyone turns to look at Enobaria and Katniss watches as Enobaria clears her throat and says, "I got confirmation finally, Jasper's real name is not Jasper."

"What is his name then?" Johanna asks loudly in annoyance for the group had suspected this for quite a while.

"I don't have that information yet."

"What do you know?" Haymitch asks, a frown on his face.

"Just that very few people know what his real name is. He has….changed his appearance since joining another militia group before eventually joining the Jay Killers. All I could find out was, he changed his appearance after the war and started calling himself Jasper to hide his identity."

"Is he from the Capitol?" Katniss asks, wondering if he had gotten surgery to change his looks in the Capitol for the most experienced doctors of course were located there.

"Don't know, all we can guess is that he is either from the Capitol or a career district."

"What else do you have?" Haymitch asks.

"He's disbanded the group, he has given up trying to gain as many members as he can to gain control. It has backfired too many times. He's decided…..to only work with a select few, people who still have ties to the Capitol."

"People who have not been discovered" Beetee says, deep in thought.

"Yes, also people in career districts."

Katniss begins wondering if anyone in Silver Lake is in Jasper's inner circle. Is Jasper himself a resident of Silver Lake? She feels her anxiety start to rise, thankful for the complex yet effective security system Gale had installed in their home. Continuing to wear her tracking locator watch daily, Gale decided to take no chances when they moved into their house, purchasing and setting up a camera security system outside their home.

"Where he is now?" Katniss manages to choke out.

"Don't know. There's talk he may be back in the wild territory, to stay out of sight."

"Good job getting this information" Haymitch says nodding to Enobaria.

"Well, the group meetings I was going to are now canceled, some people feel slighted and rejected by this move. I am kind of surprised one of Jasper's confidants told me this information."

"They must trust you, maybe you'll be a part of this….inner circle" someone pipes in.

"I doubt that."

"Do you think the people he dumped will try to regroup? Do they pose a threat?" Johanna asks.

"No-they need a strong leader, unless someone steps up the group will go nowhere. All of the people fit for the job are still with Jasper."

"So they will naturally break up, each one going their separate ways?" Beetee asks though his tone implies it is not a question.

"It pretty much has already happened, people got tired of going to meetings with no leadership and nothing moving forward."

"Well, we will have to inform the President that the group is smaller, but that there's a possibility someone inside the Capitol could be a real threat. Nothing is harder than trying to fight those who have gone rogue" Haymitch says in disgust.

They discuss strategies then adjourn for the day. Johanna sticks around with Katniss and Haymitch after everyone is gone and says, "So who did you see at the train station?"

"Would you believe Annie Cresta?"

"Really?" Johanna says in surprise.

"Yeah, she's here because she was invited by the Capitol, she says she doesn't know why they want to speak to her."

"Maybe they told her but she doesn't remember" Johanna says. "I mean after all she's…you know."

"I really don't think they told her. I think if they had, she might not have come."

"How did she seem?" Haymitch asks.

"Good, she acted….a little off, but it was no different than how she was before."

"No one would be normal after what happened to her, all of us victors are….abnormal" Haymitch says.

"Yeah but we didn't completely lose our minds" Johanna says in defense. "I mean sure, we are all screwed up but she is a different kind of screwed up."

"She loves her son and she's a good Mother" Katniss says in Annie's defense.

"Never said she wasn't, but come on Katniss, don't tell me it never crossed your mind how stable is she to raise a kid by herself."

"It does, but….you know she would never hurt him. She showed me Zale's picture, he is looking so grown up. He looks exactly like Finnick."

"He's going to break a lot of girl's hearts that's for sure" Johanna says smiling.

The three of them grab a late lunch near the square, enjoying themselves in conversation and refusing to talk about what they just learned. After lunch they head to the train station, for Haymitch was going with Katniss to Hazelle's house to pick up Sienna before heading to Silver Lake. Gale was out of town till Wednesday and was at the military base.

While walking Johanna to her gate she asks Katniss, "So, do you think you can visit District 7 this summer?" Katniss knows Johanna wants to see Sienna for she had called Katniss a few times since Sienna's birth inviting them to her home in 7.

"I think I can manage that-maybe in July?"

"That works, Holly loves babies, she treats her baby doll as a real baby."

When Katniss first met Johanna, never would she have imagined the two of them being friends, let alone arranging play dates for their daughters.

Once they ensure Johanna is on her train safely the two of them head towards their gate. While they sit waiting for the train to come Katniss decides to break their silence by saying, "I know I have been distant, I found out about Peeta and the memory pill a month before Sienna was born. And then, after she was born, I was so busy. I hardly slept, I had to take care of a much bigger house…"

"It's okay Katniss, you don't have to explain."

"So…..did he take it? Did he forget me?" She wondered what Peeta had done that day what felt like a thousand times.

Katniss watches as Haymitch shifts in his seat, looking uncomfortable she stares at him as he takes his flask out of his pocket and takes a long sip. Twisting the cap back on he finally says, "No."

"No?"

"I went to his house the night he was going to take the pill. He was drunk and admitted to me that he had the pill in his mouth and was about to swallow but, when he looked at your picture he realized, he couldn't do it. He loved you too much to forget you."

Katniss breathes a sigh of relief, but then begins to feel conflicted. She knew it was selfish that a part of her was glad to hear he couldn't go through with it, but another part of her wished he had so that she would no longer feel guilty about what happened to their relationship.

"Is he still with Delly?"

"Yes. Their relationship is going well, I think he may ask her to move in. Delly's brother has a new girlfriend now and I think she feels it is becoming crowded in their small house."

Katniss tries to push the thought of Delly sleeping in her old bed from her mind. She wonders if Peeta had gotten new furniture in the house but knowing Peeta as well she did, she knows the answer to that is no.

As if reading her thoughts Haymitch says, "He moved into your Mom's old room."

"And our old room?"

"Guest room, not that he gets a lot of guests."

Katniss shakes her head and says, "Maybe someday it can be a nursery" her tone flat.

"Maybe. We don't talk about….you….but he saw Caesar's article, I saw the page with the picture of you and Sienna on the kitchen table."

"Trust me there won't be another article like that again. I only did it to hold up my end of our agreement."

Their train arrives and the two of them quickly board, taking a seat near the back. Once the train departs Katniss turns to Haymitch and says, "How come you didn't tell me sooner? You could have called me before Sienna's birth."

"I thought he would have told you himself. And once your daughter was born, I wanted to give you and Gale….your space. I think for Peeta this is the only way he can move on, I think he finally let go, as much as he can let go."

"Don't stay away that long again, I missed you."

He smiles as he says, "I missed you too sweetheart."


May 7

Gale holds Sienna on his side as he heads out to the mailbox. Working from home today, he picked Sienna up from daycare and began cooking dinner before Katniss got home. He sees a few cards addressed to Katniss, figuring they were birthday cards. He sees Peeta's name with Katniss's old address written at the top of one of the cards.

He sighs as he closes the mailbox and heads back into the house. Harper wags his tail as Gale flips his shoes off and bends down to pet the dog, Harper giving Sienna a couple of licks before Gale rises back up.

"Katniss-you have mail" Gale calls up the steps loudly.

A few minutes later while checking the potatoes he was cooking, Katniss comes into the kitchen and picks Sienna up from her high chair and kisses her forehead and holds her close before turning to the cards on the kitchen island. She opens the first card and sees it is a birthday card from Annie and Zale. Inside is a picture of the two of them and note. Katniss opens the note and reads:

Dear Katniss,

Happy Birthday! I hope you have an enjoyable day with your family and that you make a wish on your special day. Zale is doing well, he is exceling in his swim class and is excited his summer break from school is coming up soon. I know we didn't have much time to talk when I saw you last month in the Capitol, I was hoping you would write me back and tell me about your job as a teacher. I can't wait to hear about it first hand from you as opposed to reading about it in Panem Daily. I was also hoping you could tell me a little about your life with Gale. I'm sure the decision to leave Peeta was not an easy one, I'm willing to be a listening ear, if you let me. I still write to him and he seems to be doing better. For a while his letters hardly said anything, but now he is talking more about what is going on in his life. I look forward to hearing about yours.

The visit with the Capitol was strange. They asked me a lot of questions about my health, if I get headaches, if I ever fainted out of the blue. They did some testing but I haven't heard from them since. I did get to see President Paylor briefly, she looks well.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Love,

Annie

Katniss smiles as she puts the note back in the card and lays it back down. She then opens up a card from Johanna that said, "Happy Birthday!" It was typical Johanna, short and to the point. She then looks at the last card and pauses before opening it. Recognizing the handwriting immediately and seeing his name with her old address underneath, she takes a deep breath as she opens the card while Sienna begins grabbing and pulling on her ear.

"Easy sweetie" she says as she gently pulls Sienna's hand away from her ear. Sienna then begins playfully kicking her legs while Katniss moves her to the other side.

Katniss opens up a hand drawn card, a picture of the meadow with the woods behind it on the front. Her meadow, her woods, her favorite place in District 12, a place she still missed. A couple of small drawings of Prim are inside the card. Curious as to why he would send her this she sees written on the inside of the card:

Dear Katniss,

Happy Birthday. I hope you enjoy turning the big 3-0 today. Being 30 is not so bad. Haymitch told me about the book you are making for your daughter, and how you don't have many pictures of Prim. I drew these for you in the hopes that you can use them for your book.

I was glad to hear that making a book of memories still helps you. My true and false game still helps me. However, when I ask what is true and what is false, it is not the same as when I asked you. Sometimes I feel as if Haymitch and Delly tell me what I want to hear, with you, I always knew I'd get the truth.

Your honesty is what made you so relatable, it was one of your many wonderful qualities, along with your heart.

I hope your daughter is well, I like her name. I wish you continued happiness with Gale. While it is still hard, it brings me comfort to see that you are happy.

Take care of yourself,

-Peeta

Katniss quickly puts the card back in the envelope and shows Gale the drawings of Prim.

"It will be great for your book" he says as he begins putting the food onto their plates.

"Yeah, I can't believe he took the time to draw these for me."

"I can."

She looks at him waiting to continue as he says, "Peeta will never stop loving you Katniss, and he would still do anything for you."

"I don't deserve his love."

Gale gives her look and she explains herself by saying, "I never deserved his love, because my feelings were never as strong as his. There was always….someone else on my mind as well" and she takes his hand in hers.

Gale refrains from saying what is on his mind for he didn't want to start an argument. While eating dinner at the dining room table with Sienna in her high chair, Katniss says, "I want to talk to you about something…."


August 21

Katniss, Gale, and Sienna sit on the full speeding train heading downtown. It was Friday evening and they were all spending the night at Hazelle's for Posy's 17 birthday party was the next day, Harper staying with Kimber. They would be meeting Posy's new boyfriend and Katniss knew she would have to rein Gale in if need be. Having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that his baby sister is almost grown up, Katniss teases him by saying seeing Posy with a boyfriend would be good practice for Gale once Sienna starts dating.

"She is not dating till she is 18" Gale says as his daughter grabs his face.

"Sure, tell yourself that" Katniss says smirking.

"She'll have her little sister or brother to keep her occupied."

"They may hate each other by then."

"They will be best friends, especially if it's a girl."

Katniss without realizing it touches her stomach, only five weeks along, she knows the baby growing inside her will be a girl, but refrains from telling Gale that.

The day she had received the letter from Peeta was the day she decided to broach the subject of having another baby. She told Gale she wanted their children to be close in age, and asked his thoughts on weaning Sienna completely and getting her birth control implant removed.

"Sienna is not even one yet" he had said almost spitting out his potatoes in shock when she proposed the idea.

"I know, but it could take a while for me to get pregnant."

"It didn't take long last time Catnip."

"Well, it is probably going to take a few weeks to completely wean Sienna. I won't get the implant removed until Sienna is strictly on formula."

"The school is going to hate you, going on another leave."

"They can't deny my maternity leave. Besides, maybe I can try to plan it that the baby comes during break. And what does it matter, they already do hate me."

"You know how this town is. You do a fabulous job, they just don't want to admit they need you."

She had gotten her implant removed at the end of June. At the beginning July, she took a one week trip to District 7 to visit Johanna with Sienna. They stayed with Johanna for five days. When she returned, Gale had shown her just how much he missed the two of them during the week they were gone. By the second week in August, she had found out she was pregnant again. She had just had her first appointment with the doctor the day before, the doctor informing her the due date looked to be around April 25th.

They had decided to tell Hazelle, Posy, and Vick on Sunday after the party. Katniss having already told her Mother.

Gale leans in and kisses her softly as he grabs her hand, removing it from her stomach. He kisses her hand and sees that she seems not herself.

"You okay?" he says as he drops her hand.

She blinks a few times before she says, "Yeah, I just….I feel a headache coming on. I have been having a lot of them the last couple of weeks."

"Well, you had headaches when you were pregnant with Sienna didn't you?"

"No. Just throwing up constantly."

"I'm sure it's nothing, do you want me to buy you some pain medication?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

"Anything for you" and he hands Sienna to her and gives her a quick kiss as he gets up and heads towards the front to the small store inside the extremely fast moving train.

She rubs her head as she sets Sienna down in the seat beside her, giving her a toy to play with to distract her. The pain in her head suddenly increasing. She tells herself her headache is due to the hormonal changes going on, but the lingering voice inside her head kept repeating Annie's words over and over, "The Capitol kept asking me if I get headaches…."

A/N: So, apparently the name Zale means "strong sea" or "power of the sea" in Greek, I thought that would be a good name for Finnick and Annie's son….hopefully the name hasn't been used in other fanfics.