DISCLAIMER: HG CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME, BUT OC ONES DO

A/N: This chapter will go between flashbacks and present time

Chapter 156-The Auction

October 14 (Wednesday Afternoon)

Avery sits on the large blanket as she writes. She is in the meadow, lying on her stomach leaning up on her elbows as she continues to write. She has been in District 12 for two and a half weeks. More familiar with the District, she had gone to the main square multiple times, and a few days ago she had begun exploring the wooded area near the Victor's Village.

Even though it was officially fall, it had been warmer than average the past few days according to Haymitch. Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, she tried to spend as much time outside as possible.

While she had gotten off to a rocky start with Peeta, things had improved significantly in the last week. After she had read the secret poem he had sent to her Mother, her interactions with Peeta were uncomfortable. Understanding fully now why her Father had no patience or tolerance to deal with the continued struggles with Peeta, she was 100% on her Father's side when it came to not wanting to have anything to do with District 12 or Peeta. For she knew her Mother had wished over the years that she and her Father could have visited District 12 more often, only visiting the District for work related purposes.

Things became less awkward when Peeta approached her last week asking if they could start over, having avoided him after their first encounter she knows she cannot avoid him much longer, so she agrees to his request. While she was still was frustrated and angry about the poem, she decided not to focus on it right now, for it was only adding to her depression, and she was depressed enough already.

He had suggested she begin a new activity, an outlet of sorts to help get her feelings and anxiety under control. He explained to her that he uses art and had used poetry and explained how her Mother had memorized kind acts and created a memorial book for the former tributes. While she did not mind art, for she was a fashion designer, she decided to try writing. She began writing letters, letters to her Father, to her siblings, and she had written a letter to Cassandra. She placed all the letters in a box, for she did not know if she would ever send them, though she knows if there was one letter she should send, it was the one to Cassandra. She was currently writing a letter to Levi, one that she was planning to send, for she must let him know where she has been and why she has not been available.

She sees Peeta approach, he tells her that he has just spoken to Haymitch about coming over for dinner tonight. She tells him she will be there; he smiles at her and tells her he will see her at 6 pm. As he turns to leave, he also tells her that after dinner he hopes she can stay for a little while, for there is something he wishes to show her.

Knowing it is wishful thinking, she can only hope it is confirmation that the poem is destroyed.


January 5 (Tuesday)

Cassandra finishes brushing her hair as she looks at herself in the mirror. She is deciding what color would look best on her to dye it next, for she had gotten a call yesterday from her employer that when she returns to work on January 25, she would be doing a series of photoshoots for a new perfume company that opened in the Capitol, and that the advertisement was for their spring fragrance collection, so Cassandra was told her hair needed to be dyed either light pink, lilac, or sky blue. She was leaning towards lilac, but she figures she would get the opinion of her hair stylist, for she made an appointment for January 23, that Saturday morning to get her hair-colored right before she returns to work. She had six weeks off from work, for usually work was slow during the holidays into the New Year, being a model for many years, she knew work would pick up by Spring.

She had spent the holiday with Gale and his family at his Mother's townhouse and spent the New Year with them as well. For the holiday she had come to District 2 for the day and spent the night for New Year's at a nearby hotel, for the townhouse was too crowded. She got to meet Gale's two Brothers, his Brother Vick's three children, his Brother Rory, and his Sister Posy. She had learned from Gale that his Sister was divorced, and his Brother had been in a long-term relationship with a man named Tobey for many years, but that the relationship had ended seven years ago and that to Gale's knowledge, his Brother had not been in a serious relationship since. She also got to meet Sienna and Jack, and that introduction went better than she expected. Sienna, an exact copy of Katniss, was reserved, but friendly and seemed truly kind. Jack, an exact copy of Gale, was nearly Gale's height and while Cassandra had seen video footage and photos of Gale as a young man, she can envision more clearly what a young Gale looked like when she saw Jack. While Jack and Sienna made her feel welcome, she had noticed that both Sienna and Jack had stayed close by to Avery, and she noticed that Jack was with Taran most of the time as well which was not surprising since Gale had told her the two of them were best friends.

While Avery had been much more pleasant, she still sensed some slight tension. Luckily with so many people at the house, it was easy to keep her distance and it went unnoticed. Her time with the Hawthorne's flew by, and while she had enjoyed her holidays in the past with friends, spending time with a close-knit family was a welcomed change, for it was something she never experienced herself growing up.

Gale had stayed at the townhouse with his family while she stayed at the hotel, but the next morning, he had arrived at her hotel early, waking her up. Letting her know he wanted to spend time with her and take her to breakfast before she headed to the train station to return to the Capitol, he makes love to her twice before they leave the hotel. While she had her fair share of boyfriends of the years, and knowing he too had his share of girlfriends until he got married, he had confided in her that she was only the third person in his life that he has slept with that he loved. She was surprised to hear this but learning this gave her a new perspective regarding their relationship and how he truly felt about her. In the beginning, she tried to look at their bedroom activities as just sex, nothing more, but as time went on, she had begun to feel that at times when they were together, it was more than just sex between them.

She had not seen him since New Year's, but he had called her over the weekend asking if she would be free today to meet. He explained that his Mother-in-Law was in Silver Lake for a visit, and that she would be spending the day with Juniper for Juniper was on break from school until January 18th.

She picks up the box of hair color removal from her sink, since learning that her hair color would be changing, she purchased hair color removal and used it this morning in the shower. While she was slightly sad to see the holographic highlights removed, for she just re-dyed it not that long ago, she figures Gale would like to see her hair in its natural state for a couple of weeks.

He lets her know how much he likes it shortly after he arrives at her apartment, for once he sees her hair, he begins passionately kissing her, reaching his hand up under her shirt and bra and teasing her nipple as he inserts his tongue into her mouth. After a few moments she taps him on the shoulder and when his lips pull away from hers, she says, "As much as I'd like to stay here and continue making out with you like a teenager, I am getting hungry."

He laughs and playfully kisses her hand and says, "Where do you want to go? You pick."

She ends up choosing a small café near the Capitol main square. She notices as they walk and head into the café that they have attracted the attention of a few people, for the limited times they have gone out in public usually no one pays attention to them. She asks Gale if he noticed once they sit down. He tells her they have attracted more attention here because they are closer to the President's Mansion and more people are familiar with him in this section of the Capitol. Forgetting that was why he never wanted to be seen with her near her apartment, she apologizes to him for picking this area to have lunch. He tells her not to worry about it, for it was time that people knew that they were together.

Once their food comes, he asks her if she has any plans for this Friday. She tells him no, that she had nothing special planned for that day, for if anything she may do errands. He asks her if she would be willing to accompany him to District 10, letting her know that he would be purchasing a commercial hovercraft ticket and would purchase one for her.

"You are just going for the day?" she asks.

"Yes, there's a commercial hovercraft that leaves from the Capitol at 9 am."

"Okay, sure I'd love to go. But why are we going?"

"There is a…..horse auction happening there, a live auction."

"You plan to buy a horse for Juniper?"

She sees a look of slight embarrassment on his face. "Yes, I know I originally said she had to commit to one year of riding lessons before I would consider buying her a horse. But she is doing really well in school this year, after Katniss died, she wasn't taking as much of an interest in her studies and her riding instructor told me she really has a talent. The new government official from District 10 told me about this auction. She told me this auction has the some of the best horses in Panem to bid on. I figure if I can get one of these horses to bring back to Silver Lake, even if Juniper loses interest in horses, I can make a profit either selling the horse or the horse can be trained to be a racehorse."

Cassandra did not know much about horseracing in Panem. She knew that horseracing's popularity had increased over the years in the Capitol after the Hunger Games ended, for the original Capitol residents missed an event they could place bets on, and horseracing helped fill the gap.

After lunch they walk around the Capitol square before heading back to her apartment. Picking up from where they left off, she leads him into her bedroom hand in hand. Once they reach her doorway, he pulls her back, bringing her to him. He gives her a loving glance before leaning down and kissing her. Wrapping their arms around each other, he lifts her off her feet and quickly moves to her bed. Once he lays her down, he begins removing his clothes and watches her as she pulls off hers. She gives him a playful look as she shows him her new lingerie-a bright red laced bra with matching laced panties. Seeing her medium sized breasts pushed up from the bra, he feels himself begin to get hard.

Seeing his carnal look, she says, "Do you like?"

He nods his head in confirmation as he moves his hand down the front of her panties, slipping his hand inside underneath the fabric. Used to seeing her in fancy lingerie, it reminded him of when he was with Dez, for while Katniss often wore matching lingerie, it was never laced, gartered, or see through, never bothering with any of those types of things. He appreciated the change, for being with someone so different helped him keep his mind off Katniss. Kept him from missing her and focusing his attention on Cassandra, for the first time he had sex with her all he could think about was Katniss, and his overwhelming guilt after he was finished feeling he had somehow betrayed her. But when Cassandra turned around and looked into his eyes, he realized to continue even a sexual relationship with someone, he could not think about Katniss when he was with someone else. He decided to have sex with her again right after, the second time keeping his thoughts solely on her, and how that approach worked so much better.

He towers over her as he begins fingering her, watching her face as she becomes aroused. He continues to move his hand under the fabric of the panty, until she cannot stand not having him inside her.

She pulls him towards her, bringing him down to kiss her. Reaching down to pull down his boxers while continuing to kiss him, he breaks away from her and pulls them off and tosses them to the floor then pulls the bright red panties off. She spreads her legs for him as he stands at the edge of the bed and lifts her up slightly as he begins thrusting into her. They soon switch positions, with him laying down on the bed and her on top. Her bra still on, she leans forward and begins rocking back and forth, savoring the feel of him hitting her most sensitive spot.

He leans up and begins kissing her neck, until he sits up and they are face-to-face with each other. They stare into each other eyes as they continue their movements, until he leans in and begins kissing her.

Once they are finished, she leans into him, embracing him as her breathing returns to normal. Gently stroking her hair then moving his hand down to her back, they sit in silence for he is not sure how long until he hears her whisper, "It is getting harder to be away from you."

She feels his body tense before he says, "I know."

He does not tell her that he has come up with a new plan for them to see each other more often, figuring he will tell her when he sees her on Friday.

Giving her another quick kiss, he gets up from the bed and lets her know he must head back to Silver Lake to have dinner with Juniper and his Mother-in-Law. He goes into her bathroom and grabs a quick a shower then comes out and gets back into his clothes, seeing she is still in the bed, now under the covers and reading a magazine.

Grabbing a robe to put on as she walks him to the door, she kisses him goodbye and tells him she will see him at the Capitol's hovercraft port at 8 am on Friday.


January 8 (Friday)

Cassandra walks with Gale hand in hand as they walk into the extremely large barn. Wearing dress shoes, she was glad she was wearing flats, for she was wearing black Mary Jane style shoes with white tights and a medium length long sleeved black dress. Deciding to wear a navy coat that had gold buttons, she knows her look would attract looks and that was her plan. She had asked Gale what she should wear to the auction, for she had no idea what the proper dress code was, he sent her a message back on her phone telling her to wear something pretty. Being a model, it was not hard for her to do, and with her hair back to its natural dark blonde color, she was back to a more natural look for now.

Gale was wearing a suit with a long black coat; she had noticed while on the hovercraft he was wearing the cufflinks she had gotten him for his birthday last fall. Clean shaven as usual, she was excited to be making her first public appearance with him. She looks around as they walk inside, and sees why he said to wear nice clothing, for everyone walking in was dressed up, all the women in dresses and some wearing hats, all of them appearing as if they had money.

A middle-aged man comes up to Gale as soon as they are inside and their coats checked, shaking Gale's hand. Gale introduces him to her, and she learns his name is Bo. Gale had told her that the government official from 10 had arranged for a professional horse dealer to assist in recommendations for the right horse to bid on for Juniper, for Gale knew nothing about horses. He had explained growing up in District 12, there was no horses in the District at all, and if there had been, only the more well-off business owners could have afforded one. He explained to her, if a horse had been in the Seam, it would have killed and eaten.

She herself had no experience with horses either, as she had no experience with any animals. The area of District 5 where she was from, was a dense area and while her family home had a small yard, there was no room for anyone to own a horse and while the District overall was a large area, all the residents lived in densely populated areas where the power plants were located.

While Gale makes small talk with Bo, she looks around and sees large pictures of horses on the wall, most of them racehorses by the pictures. She sees some families come in, watching as young girls in dresses and fancy hairstyles walk with their parents' hand in hand, their faces excited as they go upstairs. She wonders if most of these people are from District 10, or somewhere else. While they could be from the Capitol, she assumed not many where.

She hears Gale call out to her as he begins walking with Bo upstairs, she catches up with them, and once they reach the top of the stairs, he takes her hand as they quickly move through the large mass of people. She sees as they walk that there is a large, circular open area below, everyone scattered about in groups standing around the perimeter looking down. She assumes there is an invisible force field, for there was no other barrier between the floor and the open area below. Bo, familiar with the building, takes them to an area that is not as crowded that still has a good viewing area. She sees large TV monitors on the wall, assuming once the auction starts the horses will be on the monitors while shown.

They stand and wait, Gale standing between Cassandra and Bo, she hears Bo ask Gale about Juniper, and watches as Gale takes out his phone to show Bo her picture.

"You are getting her a nice birthday gift; they only do this particular auction once a year. And this is the best District to get a horse, the only other place to get a decent horse would be District 9" Bo says.

"Are most of the people here from District 10?" Cassandra asks him.

"Not many, most residents of District 10 just buy horses from the breeders themselves, the people you see here are mostly wealthy business owners from Districts 1, 2, 4, and 5, and some people from District 7 come to buy draft horses. There are some people here from the Capitol but own land and homes in other Districts and are looking for racehorses or a horse for their kid."

She thinks back to the families she saw walking in, and nods in response. She then sees the lights blink for a moment and hears a voice say, "Welcome, our annual District 10 horse auction will begin soon. Please get your number cards ready!"

Bo hands to Gale his number card, and Cassandra sees Gale's number is 58. She watches as the large TV screens above them turn on and a short video comes on showing how the District has being doing livestock animal auctions for the last 32 years, and how the District started doing auctions to everyone in Panem four years after the second rebellion ended. The District began doing the auction as a way for the residents to make a profitable income to begin the new year. The auctions last all week, with horses being auctioned on the last day. Once the video is over the announcer says the auction is now ready to begin.

She looks down and sees the area below change, with the large circular room below lighting up and a small podium rising from under the ground. She sees the floor has a bunch of hay scattered about. A man appears at the podium and introduces himself as the auctioneer. They first bring out very large horses, which Bo explains are draft horses, used primarily for hauling heavy loads. She sees horses that are light brown in color, then ones that were darker brown with white feet, noticing that the feet had bushier hair near the hoofs. The last group of horses shown were large, all black ones. She marveled at how all the large horses were stunning.

Cassandra notices that when someone made a bid, their face appeared briefly on the TV screen with their number below them, as the auctioneer tried to get the bid to go higher. The draft horses went quickly, for there were not many bids placed for them, as Bo explained most of them went to residents in District 7, with a few going to residents from District 9, for the winner of the bid's name was displayed on the screen after with their District number.

The crowd thinned out slightly as the individuals who came for the draft horses left. The announcer saying that they were now moving onto riding horses. She looks over and sees Bo whisper something in Gale's ear, but she cannot hear what it is. She sees Gale nod his head. She assumes Bo is telling Gale to get ready to bid on a horse soon. She sees all different looking horses come out and walk around the circular area. As with the draft horses, she is in awe by their beauty. She sees all different colors on the horses, some light brown, most a medium brown, and some a dark brown. She then sees some lighter color horses come out; some cream colored to all white. When a particularly beautiful all-white horse came out, she sees Gale look over at Bo, but she watches as Bo shakes his head no, telling him not to bid. A lot of people bidding on the horse, she looks off to the side and sees a couple staring at them from across the way. Figuring they recognized Gale, she sees the woman is young, like her and a brunette and is standing alongside an older man, looking to be in his early 60's. She wonders if they are a couple. She sees the woman look at her, almost as if she can sense Cassandra is out of her element here. Trying to ignore her but seeing that the woman kept glancing their way, she decides to do something she usually does not, especially to other females. Gale, who has been deep in chatter with Bo and focused on the auction, was not paying attention to the woman staring at them from across the way. She leans in closer to him and rubs his arm, getting his attention, when he turns and looks at her, she flashes a big grin at him and moves in and kisses him, the kiss lingering long enough to ensure that the woman across the way sees it if she did not already. When the kiss ends, he pulls back and gives her a questioning look, and she responds by thanking him for inviting her today. He gives her a warm smile and gives her a quick kiss on the lips before turning his attention back to the arena, for they were getting ready to bring another horse out. She turns and looks at the woman, who smirks and raises her eyebrows at her in response.

She wraps her arm around Gale's and gives the woman a smug look back.

Suddenly, they hear the announcer say a one-year-old male horse was entering the arena next. Cassandra is taken aback as soon as the horse enters, this horse was all black, with no other coloring. While some of the horses were all brown and the most recent horse was all white, pretty much all the horses they had seen had patches of white or some white in its coat color. She hears the announcer say, "We have here ladies and gentlemen, the rare true black thoroughbred. Bidding will begin…now."

The bids come flying in, the auctioneer easily keeping up with the raised cards going up, raising the price higher and higher. As this was happening, she sees Bo whisper to Gale, all she can decipher Bo say, was that this was the horse Gale wanted to get Juniper, and to be ready to spend, a lot.

As the bids got higher, some people bowed out. Once the auctioneer increased the bid by a third of the amount, Gale immediately raised his card. She sees their faces come up on the TV screen and hears an increase in noise in the large room, as more and more people recognize that he was here. The bids increase, and she notices that the older man with the brunette across the way begins to bid. Soon Gale, the man across the way, and a third man begin a three-person bidding war. When Gale increases the bid by a significant amount, the third man bows out and the auctioneer looks to the man across from them, waiting to see if he will increase his bid. She sees the brunette tap him on the shoulder, clearly signaling that she wanted him to increase, but the man shakes his head no and bows out.

The auctioneer yells, "Sold to bidder 58!" and Cassandra looks up and sees a picture of Gale appear on screen and sees, All Black Thoroughbred-Gale Hawthorne-District 2

Having finally made his purchase, the three of them leave the area and begin to walk downstairs, for Gale needed to complete the transaction. Attached to the barn is an office building. She waits outside in the long hallway as Gale and Bo finish the paperwork inside one of the small offices along the wall. Deciding to sit on the bench for she realized after that they had been up there for over two hours. While she looks at her phone to pass the time, she hears footsteps approach, recognizing immediately they are footsteps from women's heels. She looks up and sees the brunette standing above her.

"Gale Hawthorne's new flame I see" the woman says in a neutral tone.

"What's it to you?" Cassandra says back in a cautious tone.

"Relax, I mean no harm. There have been rumblings he was seeing someone, but most of us in 2 just thought it was rumors. But I can see that the sightings in the Capitol were true."

"Yes" Cassandra says proudly.

"Esmeralda Evans" the woman says holding out her hand.

Cassandra shakes her hand and says, "Cassandra Rawlings."

"Nice to meet you" Esmeralda says as she takes a seat beside her.

"So, you are from District 2?" Cassandra asks her.

She nods her head and says, "Born and raised, I live in a town near Silver Lake called Red Rocks. It is similar in that there are a lot of cottages and homes, but the homes are more spread out, so a lot of families have horses, including mine."

"And the man with you-" but Cassandra does not finish for she does not want to assume.

Esmeralda laughs and says, "He's my Father. I'm the expert in horses, but he is the financer. I was angry he did not continue on the bid, that black thoroughbred is going to be a beauty when it is full grown."

"That horse is not full grown?" for Cassandra thought the horse was tall for only being a year old.

"Oh no. It can take a horse like that four to five years to mature."

"Is that what you do for a living? Work with horses?"

"My parent's own a restaurant in town, in fact-that is how I recognized Mr. Hawthorne, he and his family used to frequent my parent's restaurant quite a bit for Mrs. Hawthorne favored their lamb stew."

Cassandra becomes slightly uncomfortable, thinking about Gale with Katniss and his kids. She then hears Esmeralda say, "I grew up working at the restaurant when I wasn't in school. When I was sixteen, I began working as a server, when I was fourteen/fifteen I worked as a hostess. Anyway, shortly after I began working as a server is when the two of them first moved to our region of District 2. I remember being in awe of serving the mockingjay, but my parents were not fans. Most of District 2 was not at the time. It was not long after they arrived that she was soon pregnant, I remember the first time they brought their daughter to the restaurant, she looked so cute in her highchair, and she was a good baby. She just sat there quietly eating and keeping herself occupied as they ate. Then the other kids were born, and the table was never quiet again."

Cassandra tries to envision a younger Avery in this scenario, picturing her vying for her Father's attention. While she knew that Sienna was extremely independent, she knew firsthand that Avery was dependent on others, especially Gale.

She also does the math in her head and figures out Esmeralda is in her early forties, thinking she definitely didn't look it.

"Anyway, after I graduated from school I started working with horses. I train racehorses, and when I can I help out at the restaurant."

"It is nice you still help your family out" Cassandra says.

"I didn't think I'd ever see our district official get into wanting to own a racehorse" she says to her.

"It's not going to be a racehorse; he bought the horse as a gift" Cassandra says.

She sees a shocked look on Esmeralda's face and says, "That's quite a gift for someone."

Cassandra nods her head and Esmeralda then says, "Wait, is this horse for you?"

"No! I'm sure you can tell I know nothing about horses. The horse is for…..his daughter" thinking since this woman is familiar with his family it was okay to disclose who the horse was for.

"Oh yeah, I thought the youngest one was out of the house, I guess not-time escapes me. She rides now?"

"Yes."

"Well, should he ever want to get that horse trained as a racehorse, or should his daughter ever want extra lessons, give him this" and she takes out her business card and hands it to Cassandra.

Cassandra puts the card in her purse. Esmeralda shakes her hand again briefly and tells her it was nice meeting her and quickly gets up once she sees her Father approach, telling her that it was time for them to go.

When Gale and Bo finally come out of the small office, she sees a look of relief and happiness on his face. He tells her that the horse will be transported by train and will arrive to Silver Lake on Friday February 5, the day of Juniper's birthday. She sees the look of excitement on his face when he says he cannot wait to see her reaction to her gift.

"I know the family who owned this horse will be relieved when they see the final bid amount. They do not sell many horses, but when they saw the unique all black coloring on the foal, they knew they had to sell. It was hard for them to part with him, but the family has been struggling to make ends meet and if the farm didn't make a profit this year they would have to sell" Bo says.

"Is this why they wait to do horses on the last day? Because they bring in the most money?" Cassandra asks him.

"Mmhmm, the horse auction is what keeps a lot of the farmers afloat."

"You can tell the family that the horse will be in good hands in District 2" Cassandra says cheerfully and wraps her arm in Gale's.

As they walk out of the building, Gale and Cassandra say their goodbyes to Bo. Gale thanks Bo for his help in finding the perfect horse for Juniper. Bo tells him it was his pleasure, and he hands Gale his business card and tells him to look him up the next time he is in District 10.

As they ride in the car to the hovercraft port, Gale tells Cassandra there is a restaurant nearby and asks her if she would like to stop there to eat before their flight back. Seeing the time is 2 pm, she eagerly accepts for she was hungry.

They eat at a restaurant that had enclosed outdoor seating. Even though it was winter, it was much warmer in District 10 and the enclosed space had heaters placed inside, making the dining experience cozy.

She notices that the entire menu has meat selections on it. They both order steaks with side salads. Once their food comes, she is impressed by the taste of the steak, for it tasted much better than any steak she had in the Capitol.

"Looks like you are enjoying the steak" Gale says with a smile as he watches her devour her food.

She looks over and gives an embarrassing smile and says, "Yeah."

"If you want a good steak, this is the District to come to" he says.

"Do you come to District 10 often?" she asks.

"Not too often, once, twice a year maybe. But when I do, I always try to get food here."

He goes on to tell her about the time he had spent here during the first few years after the rebellion and how a farmer gave him a puppy, and how he had the dog for fourteen years. He takes out his phone and shows her a picture of Harper and tells her about how he still misses the dog.

"He was a really great dog. Lady, our second dog was a nice dog as well, but….Harper was my dog. He and I had a bond."

"I see where Juniper gets her love for animals" she says with a smile.

But Gale shakes his head in disagreement and says, "Her love for animals comes from Katniss's Sister. As I said before, they are so alike it scares me sometimes."

"Why is that scary?"

"Because sometimes I don't know if some….higher power is….punishing me or giving me another chance to right a wrong."

"What?" she asks, totally confused by his sudden change in demeanor.

But he does not elaborate further, and tells her he will explain another time, and says he was just voicing his thoughts aloud and that they had no meaning.

As they are finishing their meal, he tells her his thoughts about how they can move forward as a couple in a long-distance relationship. He tells her that Juniper is uncomfortable with him being away from Silver Lake. He also tells her, that unfortunately he cannot have her staying with him at his house.

While she was not disappointed in the slightest hearing that she would not have to spend time in Silver Lake, she was disappointed to hear he would not be staying with her at the Capitol anymore. While they had never spent as much time together as she would have liked, when they were together, it was often them spending the night together.

"How are we going to see each other then?" she asks.

"Well, I have an idea, but I don't know how you will feel about it" he says.

She gives him a look letting him know he was to continue talking.

"I know your schedule changes a lot, that some days you are really busy, but some days you only work part of the day or you are off, especially during the week. As you know, I work from home 80% of the time unless I need to travel. There is a town right beside Silver Lake, called Red Rocks. It is the closest town to Silver Lake, by train it takes eight minutes, by car it takes a half an hour. My idea is….we pick out a cottage for you to rent….I'll cover the expenses…..you can decorate the place, make it your own. You can come to Red Rocks whenever you have free time, and I will come there, and you can come to Silver Lake sometimes to see Juniper and me. But this way, I am close enough to Silver Lake that I can return home."

She does not say anything, for she has no idea know what to say. While she didn't want to go without seeing him for months and months, she did not know how to feel about getting a cottage in an unknown town. Even if she is only there on weekends, she would have to spend time by herself in a town she was unfamiliar with. And in a way it made her feel ashamed again, as it she was the other woman and could only see her lover in secret.

"What would I tell people? What excuse would I have when they ask why I rent a cottage there?" she asks him.

He explains to her how the town of Silver Lake has grown in population quite a bit since he and Katniss first moved there, explaining how when they first arrived, the town only had 6 restaurants and now they have 15. He tells her how a lot of people purchase or rent out cottages to use as vacation or summer homes, and that the home values increased significantly over time, that the town has become a seasonal hotspot. He explains that the population of Red Rocks has increased as well, and that she could tell people she is renting a cottage to get away from the hectic Capitol lifestyle. And that it would not be an unusual thing to tell people.

"They will figure out what's going on eventually when they see you there" she says.

He shrugs and says, "Yeah, and you could tell them to mind their own business."

She smiles in response. He then says, "Don't worry, you will be busy turning down all the men in Red Rocks who will be asking you out, unless you decide to go out with them and cut ties with me."

She huffs and says, "That won't be happening, I want you" and leans in for a kiss for they were sitting beside each other in a corner booth.

"Why not look for a cottage in Silver Lake?" she asks once she regretfully pulls away from his lips.

She sees a look of discomfort form on his face as he says, "Because that would cause a lot of unnecessary conflict for you and having lived in Silver Lake for over 25 years, everyone knows me. And perhaps conflict for Juniper. I'd hate for the rumors to spread that her Dad is meeting up with a random woman at a cottage for sex. You know how kids are, I mean-she'd know the truth, but….she should not have to defend me, and trust me she would, she'd defend both us. At least with you in Red Rocks, it will take a while for the rumors to spread, and if people in Silver Lake start to see you around town with Juniper and me, I'm hoping it won't be as much of a focus for town gossip."

She nods her head, mulling over his words. But it is his concerns for not getting a cottage in Silver Lake as to why she does not want to get a cottage at all. They do not have time to continue the discussion for it was time for them to head to the hovercraft port, while on the hovercraft flying back to the Capitol, she suddenly remembers her conversation with Esmeralda, and remembers how she is from Red Rocks. She pulls out her card and shows it to Gale, telling him about their conversation.


October 14 (Wednesday Evening)

Avery sat in Peeta's dining room with Haymitch, Peeta, Delly, and Lily. They had just finished dinner and the five of them were passing the time playing a board game.

In a lot of ways Lily reminds her of Juniper. Their eyes almost the same color, Lily was timid and shy, but in the past two and a half weeks that Avery has been in District 12, Lily has opened up more. Seeing that Lily took after her parent's kindness, it brought on feelings of sadness for her, for it reminded her of a time when her little Sister had both of their parent's in her life. Now, her little Sister only had their Father, and she wondered, would Juniper remain the sweet, kind girl that she is now? Or would the pain of losing their Mother at such a young age have a lasting impact. Knowing that Juniper's personality has not changed, she cannot help but wonder if it still could.

Her mind begins to wander, and she tells herself, if she could make one wish in her life, if she could have just one thing, she would sacrifice her own happiness for Juniper to be in the position Lily was in now. To be able to be raised with both of her parents. That what she has been going through for the last few weeks, the pain of losing her baby, she'd go through it again and again, if it meant Juniper could be reunited with their Mother.

After the game ends, Peeta asks her to meet him in his study. When she arrives, he gently asks her what is on her mind, saying he could tell something was bothering her at dinner. She tells him how Lily reminds her of Juniper, and about the sacrifices she would endure to bring her Sister happiness.

"They say time heals all wounds, but sometimes I feel as if-time is making things worse for me." she says to him.

"I can understand how you feel about making sacrifices for the ones you love, but your Mom would not have wanted that for you."

He gets up and goes over to his file cabinet and takes out a letter and hands it to her. Thinking at first it was another ridiculous poem, she immediately recognizes her Mother's handwriting. She looks up at him, for she sees the letter is addressed to him.

He looks at her gently and says, "Go on-read it."

She begins reading, not noticing that Peeta has left the room. Once she is finished, she places the letter down on his desk, wiping the tears away that now formed in her eyes.

A/N: You will get to see what is written in the letter….later