DISCLAIMER: HG characters do not belong to me.

Words not spoken in English will be in italics.

A/N: You will see a lot of time jumps happening in the next few chapters.

Chapter 115-Exposed II

May 8

Katniss sits on a blanket in the meadow behind her house and watches Gale, Sienna, and Harper run around further out near the edge of the woods. She is holding her newborn baby in her arms while she slept. Katniss and Gale had officially named her Avery Rainbow Hawthorne, but like Sienna, usually only called her by her first name. Now a month old, Katniss was as expected exhausted, but found taking care of Avery much easier now that she knew how to take care of a baby.

It took about a week for Sienna to adjust to having Avery around. The first week was complete hell for Katniss and Gale, just like it was the first two weeks after Sienna was born. Sienna, not used to sharing attention had a hard time getting used to Avery being around. She screamed when Katniss and Gale were not paying attention to her, and didn't like the fact that Katniss was constantly holding Avery but not her. On the sixth night after Avery arrived home she was sleeping soundly in a portable rocker that Sienna had slept in when she was a baby. Once the rocking motion had finished, Sienna came up to Avery and began hitting her over the head, causing the baby to wake up. For Gale, it was the first time he had ever taken his daughter's arm by force and yanked her away from the rocker and said loudly, "You do not hit your sister!"

Sienna now crying, Gale picks her up and takes her up to her room while Katniss tried to settle the now screaming Avery after hearing Gale yell. When Gale walks into Sienna's room he sits her on his lap on the floor and gently says, "You are a big sister now, you are to take care of Avery, not hurt her." He then stayed with Sienna in her room for the rest of the night until she fell asleep.

Katniss thinks Gale's little talk with her must have worked, because the next week Sienna was a completely different. She would gently pat Avery on the head and kiss her, and would go play with Harper if Katniss and Gale were focused on Avery. Whenever Katniss was feeding Avery, which was on average twelve times a day, Sienna would either go play, go to Gale, or go up to Katniss and sit quietly beside her, with Katniss usually putting her arm around her. Sienna had really taken on the role of big sister and would run up to Katniss if she saw Avery start to wake up in her crib or rocker.

Katniss had been told by the teachers at school that going from one child to two was going to be complete chaos, but Katniss found it was harder for her and Gale to adjust to being child free to having Sienna. She realized she may change her mind once she returns to work, but thankfully, that wouldn't be happening until mid-September.

It was her 31st Birthday today, and when Gale had asked her what she wanted to do for the day, she said she just wanted a nice day at home with a picnic lunch. It was Wednesday so Gale had taken the day off in order to be with her and the girls all day. They had just finished eating their lunch as Katniss watched Gale, Sienna, and Harper further out, smiling at them from a distance.

Suddenly, she feels Avery stir and looks down at her. She sees Avery begin to fuss slightly, Katniss suspecting she had woken up from a dream.

"Aww, were you dreaming? I'm sorry you woke up. In a couple of months I'm going to take you to a place where you will get a gift so that no bad dreams ever come to you. It's the most precious gift I ever got, for it took away my bad dreams. I want to make sure you have that gift as well." Katniss looks down at Avery lovingly as she gently rocks her back to sleep, Avery's eyes blinking a few times before shutting completely.

A few moments later Harper comes up to her on the blanket, licking Avery's cheek a few times before laying down beside Katniss. Now almost eight, Harper did not move as fast as he used to, and slept a lot more. Katniss hoped the dog would be around for at least a few more years, though she knows that bigger dogs such as him have shorter life spans. Katniss loved how great Harper was with the girls, and she knew the dog would protect them with his life if need be.

With Avery still sleeping in her arms, she reaches down and pets Harper a few times before reaching for her water bottle. She sees Gale walking towards them, with Sienna on his shoulders.

When Gale sets Sienna down on the ground, the toddler goes running over to Katniss and hugs her side, careful not to disturb Avery. "Mama-I kiss?" Sienna asks Katniss.

"Of course sweetie" Katniss says to Sienna and moves Avery towards Sienna so she could give her little sister a kiss on the forehead.

Gale takes Avery from Katniss's arms and sits down on the blanket, Sienna sitting in Katniss's lap. They continue to sit in the shade for a while, enjoying the spring day before heading back inside.

Once they are back in the house, Katniss sits with Sienna in the living room and reads to her with Avery in the portable rocker by the fireplace. After Katniss is finished reading the book she sees Sienna has fallen asleep, right on time for her afternoon nap. Katniss takes the sleeping toddler upstairs and puts her in her crib and heads back downstairs. When she enters the living room she sees Gale cradling a now crying Avery.

"I was just about to take her upstairs to see if she needs changed" Gale says handing Avery to Katniss.

"I can do it once she's done feeding" Katniss says as she sits down on the couch and pulls her shirt up, Avery's cries ceasing once she begins nursing.

Gale sits down beside them and gives her a quick kiss and says, "I'm going to attempt to cook lamb stew tonight, I'll try not to ruin it".

Katniss smiles at him and says, "I'm sure it will be great."

"Consider it part of your Birthday gift" Gale says grinning at her before getting up and going into the kitchen. Katniss then hears him shout, "Hopefully in a couple of months you can have your favorite lamb stew at the Stone Garden Inn when we can officially go out again."

Katniss shakes her head thinking they won't be going out anytime soon, for she can't remember when she got more than four of sleep at a time since Avery was born. The last thing she wanted to do was fall asleep at the table at Stone Garden Inn.

Dinner was a success, Gale making a pretty good lamb stew on his first try. That night, right after Katniss was finished getting out of the shower, she sees a small box on the bed. Still in a towel, she goes over to the bed and sits down and opens the small box. Inside she sees a necklace, with three round pendants. The first pendant was a tree, the next pedant behind it had Sienna's name on it and the third pendant had Avery's name. She sees that the necklace is designed to hold more pendants.

"Do you like it?" Gale asks, startling Katniss for she didn't hear him approach.

She looks up at him, her eyes starting to water and says, "I love it."

He sits down beside her and says, "You will get more pendants later, hopefully not for a while though, I'm not ready for us to be outnumbered yet."

She smiles at him and kisses him in response, wrapping her arms tightly around him as he continued to kiss her softly. Once they pull away from each other she says, "Thanks for making this day so wonderful, it's just what I wanted."

"Happy Birthday Catnip" he says before his lips are on hers again.


August 2

Katniss puts Avery down in her crib, the baby's dreamcatcher right above her head. Like Sienna's, her dreamcatcher was small, and was reddish in color. Katniss had recently gone to the wild territory, just her and Avery for ten days and had gotten back yesterday.

Gale had stayed home with Sienna, unable to get the time off since he had used up his leave time earlier than planned since Avery was born a couple weeks early. Katniss was surprised he was okay with her being gone for so long, but as expected the Capitol had extra surveillance monitoring the tribe and Gale had given Katniss a small portable phone that enabled her to call Gale's portable phone and they were able to see each other while they talked, Sienna sitting in Gale's lap while they watched Katniss and Avery on the screen. Gale had explained to Katniss that he was pretty sure in a few years, most of the citizens of Panem would have these phones, most likely replacing house phones. Because of Gale's job and being part of the military, he was given the phones to try out and use before the government decides when the product will go into production to be sold.

Katniss's visit with the tribe went great, the ten days she was there flew by and near the end of her visit, Katniss had been able to convince Morning Sun to hold the phone as she called Gale so that Morning Sun could see Sienna. The older woman looking on in disbelief at seeing Sienna and Gale's face so clearly on the small odd object.

"That is even stranger than that large black thing that you travel around in" Morning Sun says to Katniss as she hands the phone back to her.

"All part of living in Panem" Katniss says in response.

"I only look because that way I can see little Rose" Morning Sun says pointedly. Little Rose was the name the tribe had given Sienna. Katniss wasn't sure what the tribe would be calling Avery but looked forward to hearing what Avery's official tribe name was the next time Katniss came to visit.

What Katniss enjoyed most about her time away besides being with the tribe and being out in the woods was getting to be with Avery, just the two of them. Katniss knew when she returned home she would have to begin the weaning process in order to be ready for her appointment in the Capitol on September 5. While she hated the fact she would no longer be breastfeeding her daughter, she knew having Avery weaned would be necessary in case she had to start some type of treatment.

When Katniss had told Strong Wind about what she had been told, he had told her the tribe would perform a ritual dance each night in September so that the spirits above sent good luck down to her. It touched her to know that the tribe still cared so much about her despite the fact she hardly saw them. She believed in her heart that good luck would come to her, for since being a member of the tribe she had seen visions of her future, had seen Prim's spirit, and not had a nightmare in almost six years. She knew the tribe possessed a power that Panem never could, the power of spirituality.

Katniss watches Avery raise her arms up to her head as she slept, a typical move of the almost four month old baby. She then feels Gale's arms wrap around her waist and feels his lips on her neck, kissing her hungrily.

Showing her how much he missed her while she and Avery were gone, he grabs her hand and pulls her into their room, removing her clothes before she gets on the bed. She moves up to the top of the bed, turning her back from him as she grabs onto the headboard, and turns her head to the side as she sees him kick his boxers off before coming up behind her. He inserts his tongue into her mouth as he begins touching her, warming her up for him. She in turn reaching her hand down to stroke him. Once their foreplay ends she holds onto the headboard tight as he begins moving quickly inside her. While Katniss had a hard time accepting the way her body looked after Sienna was born, she was no longer self-conscious about the fact that her stomach was no longer flat, for her Mother had reminded her that she had two babies in less than two years, and what childbirth can do to a woman's body, especially having two so close in age. Seeing that Gale still looked at her with as much desire as he did the first time they made love in his hotel room after he rescued her from Geffen, she knew worrying about whether or not her body would ever look the same again was a waste of time. Two months after Avery was born she began having sex with him again, and at times she felt as if her body was even more responsive to his touch than before, if that was even possible. She told herself it was because she was still hormonal. None the less, it made being with him even more sensual.

She tilts her head back as she leans up against him, feeling him hit her most sensitive spot inside her over and over again. She hears him grunt into her ear before she feels his lips on hers, kissing her a few times before he picks up the pace, causing both of them to orgasm soon after. Afterwards, she sits in his lap as he leans back on the headboard, stroking her back.

While she glides his short hair through her fingers she hears Avery's cries through the monitor. She sighs as she pulls away, reaching down for her clothes. Gale pulls her back up to the bed and says, "I'll get her, maybe she just needs changed, if she needs to feed I'll bring her in" and he squeezes her body tight before placing a quick kiss on her cheek.

Katniss puts on a nightshirt as she gets under the covers, waiting for him to come back. She closes her eyes for just a moment and before she knows it, she is awakened from a deep sleep a few hours later by Gale gently shaking her awake.

"Sorry, I know you need your sleep, but she needs you" he says holding Avery in his arms, the baby wailing at the top of her lungs.

Katniss sits up and rubs her eyes in an effort to wake up before taking Avery in her arms, unbuttoning her shirt she opens it up and begins feeding her.

While watching them, Gale places a hand on Katniss's shoulder and says, "I hated to wake you."

She nods her head letting him know it was fine and he then asks, "When do you plan to start giving her a bottle?"

"Tomorrow."

"I know you don't want to, but, when she does start drinking formula I can at least help feed her so that you can have a break."

"Once she is fully on formula I plan to enroll her at the daycare" Katniss says.

"Okay, if you need my Mom to watch her the day of your appointment I'm sure that won't be a problem."

"I know, but I think the sooner I can get her enrolled the better."

Gale knows Katniss is referring to the fact that she may need to make frequent trips to the Capitol depending on what the tests reveal. Still angry that the Capitol is putting her through this, he's kept his distance from Paylor and others in the Capitol. When Paylor called him to offer congratulations after Avery was born, he was polite but very formal on the phone. He knows Paylor got the hint and for the last three months, hadn't heard from her unless it was work related and even then, he hardly spoke to her since most of the communication is done through her team in the Capitol.

A part of him felt bad for being so distant, for she had been nothing but good to him since he first started working for her, but seeing Katniss's distress since Avery's birth about this upcoming appointment fueled his anger even more.

He hoped for the Capitol's sake the tests came back negative, for if she needed to begin treatment, he wasn't sure if he would still have a job if he found out his wife's health is in danger due to their inaction, knowing more than likely he would behave in a way that would get him in serious trouble.


October 12 (Saturday)

Katniss fixes Sienna a bowl of fruit for her midday snack, Avery sitting in her high chair beside Sienna at the table. With Gale away for the weekend with the military, she planned to take the girls down to the lake with Harper for it was a nice fall day.

As Sienna begins eating her fruit with Avery eating the small pieces of strawberry Katniss placed in front of her. Just introducing to the now six month old baby fruit a few days ago, Katniss saw that so far, the only fruit she would eat is strawberries.

Katniss's testing had come back showing that her only symptom was migraines for which she had been prescribed medication to treat it. In the month she had been taking it she had only gotten one migraine, and the testing showed no other symptoms. The doctors explained to her that as long as she showed no new symptoms, her prognosis was good. Relieved that she finally had answers, she happily calls Haymitch letting him know what the results were. After they are finished discussing her prognosis Haymitch tells Katniss that Enobaria had reached out to him, letting him know that she had informed Paylor's team that she had been invited to go to a meeting in District 2. A meeting lead by one of Jasper's trusted sidekicks, and that she hoped to have some information to pass onto the Capitol after.

Haymitch had told Katniss the meeting was scheduled for October 11, which was yesterday. When she heard the phone ring, she thought for sure it was Haymitch calling and instead, was surprised when she heard Gale's panicked voice on the other line.

"Katniss, take the girls to the cabin now! I'm leaving the Capitol once a hovercraft is ready for me to come back to Silver Lake. This will probably get out in a few hours, but, Enobaria….her body was discovered in the Capitol Square an hour ago. She was found hanging by the memorial. The Jay Killers….they killed her, they somehow figured out she was the leak."

"Haymitch-"Katniss says and before she can answer he says, "I will call 12 to make sure he and Peeta are taken to a safe place, I will meet you at the cabin as soon as I can get there, I will come for you!" and before she can say anything else he hangs up the phone.

Katniss stands there for a few seconds processing what Gale has just told her before she runs upstairs getting a backpack ready to head into the woods. Last summer before Katniss became pregnant with Avery, she and Gale had come across a cabin deep in the woods near their house. The cabin abandoned, they figured it was built by someone either wanting to be away from Silver Lake or was built during the dark days. Whenever Katniss and Gale hunted, they often found themselves going to the cabin after they caught game. It became their place, and they had decided should an emergency occur, that it be the first place they head to for safety.

It takes Katniss fifteen minutes to get Sienna and Avery's bag packed, dressed, and ready to go with Harper trailing behind them as she begins heading into the woods. Avery in a carrier strapped to the front of her body with her backpack and bow on her back. She holds Sienna's hand as they slowly move through the woods, the toddler used to walking in the woods but never for such a long period of time. Katniss had to stop multiple times to calm Sienna down and get her to continue walking for she was scared seeing her Mother act not her usual self. They finally reach the cabin and Katniss stands guard by the door while Sienna and Avery sleep, Sienna tired from the long walk to the cabin, Harper watching over the girls as they slept on the bed that was inside the cabin.

Katniss's mind is racing as she waits for Gale to come, her bow in her hand in case she needs to use it at any moment.