Prim is sitting behind me brushing my hair and I'm holding my baby girl for the second time since the games as the door opens.
"Katniss, I know you are being discharged but the president has requested to meet with you before. I am only here to escort you." I stand up and smile at Prim.
"I'll be back soon. Take care of Rose?" I hand her to Prim and then walk off with the guy. He leads me to an elevator and we descend to a lower floor. For a district that was destroyed, they have more than most of us. When the elevator stops, the guy leads me to a room.
"Right in there Katniss." I walk into the room.
"There she is Katniss Everdeen," Plutarch announces my arrival.
"Hello Katniss, I'm President Coin, it is my pleasure to finally meet you. I wish you had more time to recover, but unfortunately, time is not a luxury we have right now. We will need to start filming immediately," the women, Coin, introduces herself to me.
"Filming?"
"Propaganda as I like to call it ganda. To show everyone in the districts that the Mockingjay is alive and well," Plutarch tells me.
"I'm not the Mockingjay. I can't do this. I don't want any of this. I just want to raise my daughter and one day, maybe I'll get her father back. I cannot fight, if I do, I run the risk of getting her, my family, Gale, and Peeta killed, if he isn't already. I'm not ready for this."
"Katniss, I know this is rushed, but there may never be another chance like this again. The districts need someone to look to, you would be the face of the rebellion," Coin tries to explain.
"You should have rescued Peeta!" I stand up and walk out of the room. Needing to get as far away from there as possible. I walk to the bunker where I was told that my family was living in.
"Katniss," my mother looks at me as I walk in.
"Mom." I look around and see Prim holding Rose, sitting on one of the beds. My mom hugs me and I wrap my arms back around her.
"I'm so proud of you Katniss. She is beautiful," my mom gushes about my daughter.
"Thank you Mom." I walk over to Prim and she hands me my daughter.
"Hey baby girl," I hold her close to me. I won't lose her too. I can't.
"I talked to some people, they offered to give you a bunker for yourself. They said they could give you a bit bigger one, it will have two small beds in it and room for a cot. You can transfer over to it as soon as you want," my mother looks at me and smiles.
"I don't want to be alone, not yet. Peeta is so much better at being a parent than me," I feel tears start to stream down my face. "I don't know what I'm going to do without him. I miss him." I feel Prim's arms around me. I can't be crying again. I hold Rose closer to me, seeming like she can sense something's wrong she starts to cry.
"Katniss, you won't be alone. Your sister or me, or both of us would stay with you for as long as you want or need us to. Gale offered to stay with you, he said you've been waking up with nightmares." My mom is now looking straight at me. She knows what she just said and she is waiting to see how I'll react.
"I don't think him staying with you would be a bad idea Katniss. You need help." Prim seems to be able to sense the tension. "I think you should try it, at least for one night." I can't say no to Prim.
"I'll try it. Besides, I'm sure Rose would love to spend time with her godfather." My mom and Prim both smile at me, but my mom opens her mouth to speak.
"Godfather?"
"Yes. Before the games," I have to take a deep breath to steady myself. "Peeta and I agreed on the names of the baby for a boy and girl and we both agreed that Gale would be one of two godfathers."
"Who is the other?" Prim asked me.
"Haymitch. Effie is the godmother." I smile at them. "Where's Gale? I want to go on to the new room. I'm kinda tired."
"Prim will show you to it, I'll go find Gale."
"Thanks mom," I stand up and hug her with one arm, holding Rose with the other.
We all leave the room. Prim leads me a few doors down and then opens the door. It has a bit more room than the one her and mom share. I look around, there are two beds, they could fit two people if they needed to. There was a cot placed against the wall between the two of them. I slowly walk over and lay Rose, now asleep, in it. This would have been the perfect room for us. Peeta, Rose, and me. We could have been family. We could have been safe and happy. It's my fault that he was taken. I shouldn't have left him, I should have stayed with him. I never should have left his side and then, he wouldn't have been taken by Snow. I start to cry again. I sit down on the edge of the bed as the sobs start to rack my body. I feel Prim's arms around me instantly and I begin to cry into her shoulder.
I don't know how much time has passed, but I'm still crying, not as violently though. I hear the door open. Prim and I separate. I look up to see Gale and my mother walking in. Gale takes one look at me, then rushes over to my side. He sits down on the other side of me and pulls me into his arms.
"It's okay Catnip. Everything is going to be okay. I'm here. You're safe. You're here with me now, you'll be okay," Gale tries to reassure me. It's at least enough to calm me down and help me pull myself together.
"Thank you Gale." I look up, my mother and Prim have left. I wrap my arms around Gale, allowing myself to be comfortable in his arms. For a moment I allow myself to be happy.
It could stay like this, a voice in my head whispers to me, Peeta is probably dead. He isn't coming back. Rose needs a dad and Gale loves her and you. You'd love him if Peeta had never been in the picture and now he's out of it. Gale's here, living with you and your daughter. Pick him.
I look up into Gales' eyes, they look broken and tired, I realize that the voice is right, even though I love Peeta still, the voice is right. I slowly lean up to Gale and press my lips to his. He is hesitant at first, then he kisses me back, passionately. We continue to kiss and he pulls me into his lap. This feels so natural, so right, but also so wrong and so unnatural. This should be Peeta. Gale continues to kiss me and I kiss him back, thinking I can just pretend. He starts to lay me back on the bed and I know where this is going. He isn't Peeta and I can't do this with him.
"Gale," I pull my lips away from his and run my fingers over the back of his neck.
"Ya, Catnip?" he almost pants out, clearly out of breath.
"We can't do this Gale. I'm sorry."
"It's okay Catnip. We don't have to do anything."
"I'm exhausted, does your schedule allow time for a nap?"
"I think it will," he smiles. I smile back at him and turn over on my side. He turns over against me and pulls me against him. I slowly fall asleep like that, snuggled up to Gale, pretending and wishing he were Peeta.
A/N: I know that some of you probably are hating me right now for this, but I know exactly where I'm taking this story and exactly how it is ending. All events in Mockingjay will happen, some will be a little altered to fit the plot of this story better and help to lead to the ending. There will be spoilers for Mockingjay in later Chapters. But don't kill me for this, it is just something that I feel has to happen to allow the story to progress as it should. SORRY! Please bare with me!