Disclaimer: I'm just playing with Suzanne Collins' characters and her world. They're hers. Not mine. Any lines from the books are hers too.
Kaleidoscope, pt 30
Gale sees Miles fumble with a match, light his cigarette and take a puff, watches the smoke curl into the night sky.
He'd been uncharacteristically quiet after Alameda had made her announcement.
"But how?" Briar had asked, eyebrows knitted together. "Aren't there-don't they have an age requirement? Restrictions or-"
"Do you want your brother back or not?" Alameda shot back.
Before Briar could do more than scowl, think of something to snap at her, Sage cut in.
"Of course we do," he growled.
Daisy knitted her fingers in front of her, a cautious expression on her face. "Miles is so young and...well…"
Alameda crossed her arms, arched an eyebrow, silencing Daisy.
Sage ran a hand over his face.
"There aren't requirements," he sighed, "are there?"
Alameda tapped her nose, then looked at Madge.
"So only your male progeny escaped their daddy's slow wits? Interesting."
Grinding his teeth, Gale nearly snarled something really damning at her, but didn't get a chance.
"Oh, calm your tits, Dorothy," Alameda huffed, before explaining.
Apparently, mayoral appointments were originally handed out as favors. They'd cycled through District leaders frequently, partly due to losing favor and partly due to incompetence, tenures normally ending with violent deaths. When it became clear the Capitol chosen appointees were causing more problems than they were preventing, the civil services were created. Still, the list of requirements was short and unimpressive, at least according to Alameda.
"I paid off a few officials, made a threat or ten, and bam, here we are." She shrugged. "Well, and then I had to organize a climb in an unstable mountain range."
Lew rolls his eyes. "You said-"
"I didn't cause the avalanche."
Gale somehow doubted that.
"I can't be mayor," Miles finally cut in, tugging his hair. "Do you know how dangerous-"
Alameda held up a hand, halting him. "Dangerous? Do you really think I'd put those darling little creatures out back in danger?"
Briar made a snarling noise and Gale scowled.
"Yes."
Alameda attempted to look offended, then shrugged.
"Believe what you want, jerks. But in this case, it was unnecessary. No one wants to deal with my reprisals." She waved a hand. "Or in some cases, lose Plutarch Heavensbee's bribe money."
She'd pulled out a thick envelope from her bag, held it out to Miles.
When he didn't immediately take it, she gave it a shake.
"Ignore it all you want, buddy, but it ain't going away." Her smile dimmed. "It isn't optional."
Finally, he took it, knuckles white as he gripped it.
"Look," she sighed, rubbing her nose, "I've got enough blood on my hands, I'm not looking to get any families killed."
Miles narrowed his eyes at her.
"What about Murphy, huh? What about her dad and sister? And you let her get sent to a community home," Miles asked, voice low, the color rising in his cheeks. "Bang up job there."
Alameda rolled her eyes.
"Her uncle has, like, twenty kids. The home was a blessing, believe me." She rolled her eyes. "And I can't control the weather."
Before Gale could even begin to ask what the hell that meant, she'd spun in her heels, towards Lew.
"All right, Little River, you escorting me to the train?"
Looking defeated, Lew sighed.
"Haven't got much choice, have I?" He rubbed a hand over his face. "Somebody has to protect the citizens of this district from you."
She grinned. "Excellent! I have to call Anton and remind him to take his medicine, he'll be happy to see you."
Smile settling into something almost sincere, she looked back at Miles.
"You are abundantly qualified, even without my interference," she told him. "Nothing is going to happen. I swear."
Her reassurance didn't seem to ease Miles' mind. He'd sat in sober silence the rest of the evening, only forcing a cheerful smile when he saw the kids off. Anytime someone brought up his future as mayor, he'd gently shut the conversation down.
"Not tonight," he'd told them. "I need to-I just need to process this a little."
Gale watches through the back window as the cigarette burns down to little more than stub and Miles snuffs it out in the flowerpot, pulls out another.
Rubbing his eyes, Gale takes a breath.
He hadn't been able to sleep.
"I just need a little air," he told Madge, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her hair, knowing she was as wound up as he was. "I'll be right back."
She'd looked up a him, blue eyes wide and worried, but had finally settled back in, hugging his pillow to her chest. Much as he hated to leave her with her worried thoughts, some she'd already whispered to him, he needed to move, burn off some nervous energy.
"Don't be long."
He hadn't intended to. Just a quick breather, then to bed for an early Sunday morning, but it's been ten minutes and he's still rooted in the spot, staring at Miles.
He's gone through three cigarettes since Gale began watching him, hand shaking badly as he lit each one.
Finally, once he's pulling out a fourth, Gale pushes the back door open, startling him so badly he drops the cigarette.
"Dammit," Miles hisses, crouches down and picks it up, then grimaces as he realizes Gale is there.
A wary smile creeps onto his face and he tucks the cigarette in his palm.
"I saw it," Gale tells him.
Sighing, Miles twists it between his fingers, smiles sadly.
"Sorry."
Shrugging, Gale sets on the bench, pats the spot beside him.
Miles lights his cigarette, puffs it once, then slumps beside Gale, shooting him an apologetic look.
They sit in silence, only the buzzing of the insects and the occasional bleating of the goat punctuating it.
Glancing over, Gale watches Miles smoke, studies him.
His eyes are red rimmed, pink and bloodshot, dark circles forming underneath. The stubble on his jaw is darker, neglected, and he's still wearing his clothes from the day.
"What's keeping you up?" Gale finally asks, even though he already knows the answer.
Madge had spelled it out.
"Being mayor, it's dangerous, no matter the circumstances." She pressed her fingers to her temples. "Add on what they're doing...if things go badly...this is hardly a blessing."
Gale nodded, sat on the bed beside her, took her hand.
"I want to be happy he's staying, but I know how dangerous this game is."
Pulling her into his lap, Gale kissed her hair, closed his eyes and sighed.
"It's gonna be okay," he whispered, knowing he didn't have any way of guaranteeing it.
They'd survived more near disasters than he'd like to acknowledge, walked away with their lives and their children intact. Madge's dad had been mayor, and they'd made it through. Their luck had to last. He'd will it into reality with his last breath.
Miles taps the ash from his cigarette into the tomato pot beside him and shrugs.
"I've doomed us all."
Gale can't help himself, he laughs.
"That's a bit dramatic."
A tiny smile twitches on Miles' lips.
"Only a little." He bites his bottom lip. "I knew it was gonna be bad, but I didn't think-I didn't know she was planning...I just wanted to come home."
Gale nods, picks at the rough edge of the bench's wooden seat.
"And now you will be."
"But-"
"No," Gale stops him. "You're a good man, and you'll be a great mayor. We survived with Daniel as mayor, why not with you?"
"Because Papa was never tangled up in this shit like I am. I know too much, dad."
"Then you know enough not to screw up," Gale points out. "You're one of the smartest people I know. I may not think much of the Capitol, or the idiots playing games behind the scenes, but I believe in you."
As scared as he is, Gale trusts his son. This won't be easy, but Miles will go to hell and back to do right by them. He's got too much Madge in him to fail.
"You're here, with your family, and no matter how hard this gets, how dangerous, we've got your back."
Much as it worries him, much as he'd like to dodge the danger, abandoning Miles isn't an option.
They're in this together, whatever may come.
Miles rubs his eyes, fingers coming away wet, then swallows, lets out a shaky breath.
"Thanks." A watery grin eases onto his face. "It's probably all misplaced confidence, but thanks."
Gale chuckles. "It's not."
Slumping a little further, Miles stubs out his cigarette, let's the quiet overtake them again.
"You really think things will be okay?"
Wrapping an arm around his shoulder, Gale ruffles Miles' hair.
They're all together. They can handle anything.
"Yeah, I do."
And for once, he believes it.
#######
Birdy might've been able to offer them some reassurances against the fallout of a failed revolution, but she had no control over the more immediate repercussions of Miles' appointment.
Gossip.
There's no pinpointing who leaked the news, probably a lower level official who'd overheard the delegates talking, but it didn't really matter. By the next morning the district is buzzing with the news.
"There were people on their porches watchin' us," Sawyer announces the next morning, when the girls arrive.
"Gossipy old hens," Briar grumbles under her breath.
"Aunty Briar yelled," Scout adds, eyes wide as she wraps an arm around Madge's leg. "She said they should 'come and say that to my face, you old hag.'"
Madge frowns, waits until the twins have dragged Murphy off to show her their toys, then asks, "What did they say?"
Briar shrugs. "Who knows. It's never a compliment is it?"
Miles rubs his eyes, threads his fingers on the tangles of his hair, and sighs.
He's been up since the announcement, sat up smoking and drinking black coffee and pouring over the documents Birdy left. Madge has caught him slumped over a few times, jerking awake when he felt anyone near. He's rumpled, unshaven, and bleary eyed, wearing himself ragged with worry.
"Damnit," he mumbles, rubs his neck.
He looks on the cusp of an apology, has the same tells as Gale, but Daisy cut him off.
"Don't," she warns him. "Don't start apologizing. This isn't your faul-"
"It is," he grumbles. "I wanted to come home and now we're going to be dealing with all the gossiping and rumors again."
He seems to want to say more, but he knows they've all probably worked out just how dangerous a game he's part of, just what the repercussions of his appointment may be. There's no point giving his worries voice. They all know.
Briar rolls her eyes. "You think they ever stopped?"
She crosses her arms, sets him in a stern glare.
"These people have been shitting on us our whole lives, Miles. We're immune by now."
Madge winces, begins fussing with the frayed edges of the placemat.
Their lifetime of abuse is her fault. They'd never blame her, but it doesn't make it any less true. Miles' guilt is painfully familiar in that light.
Daisy nods, drops into the chair beside him.
"Let them spread all the lies they want. If that's the price we have to pay to keep you home, none of us will complain."
Rumors and frivolous gossip are hardly the worst things they'll deal with. The scrutiny of the district and its renewed fantasy that Madge's family is more than pieces in a game is the least of their worries.
Just like they had been when Madge was little, when she'd gotten pregnant, when the kids were facing bullying...
Considering the very real threats hanging over their heads, a bit of gossip, no matter how hurtful, seems laughable.
Rubbing his hand over his face, a small smile finally cracks his face.
"Really?"
"Jessamine is gonna complain a little," Briar assures him.
Miles snorts, smile easing into a lazy grin as he sits back in the chair, propping it up on the back legs, lacing his finger behind his head.
"Glad someone in this family has their priorities straight."
Daisy smiles, pats his knee.
Sawyer and Scout run back in, followed by Murphy and a broadly yawning Gale.
He'd stayed up part of the night with Miles. Madge had found him sleeping at the kitchen table, face with the wrinkled imprint of the table cloth on it when he jerked awake.
"I'm not as young as him," he grumbled when Madge laughed at him.
The twins rush at Miles, grabbing him by the hand and trying to pull him from the chair.
"You gotta come play coloring with us," Sawyer tells him, tugging him.
Scout nods emphatically, looping his arm over her shoulder and cupping her hand to his ear, whispering something to him.
He chuckles and starts to get up, but Briar shakes her head, makes a disparaging noise.
"Not so fast girls." She jabs a finger at Miles. "Uncle Mayor needs a nap. He looks like shit."
Miles rolls his eyes. "Please, don't spare my feelings, Bri."
"I never do." She shoots Gale a narrow look when he chuckles. "Laugh it up, dad, you aren't looking so spring fresh yourself."
Scowling, a Gale runs a hand over his stubbly jaw.
Miles gets up, grinning. "That's just 'cause he's old."
Stretching, he pats the the twins on the head, before adding, "Might as well though. Can't go with you out."
No one says anything, and Madge shoots him a sympathetic look. With his new appointment, going to the woods is inadvisable at best, downright dangerous at worst. He's got his family, as well as the people of the District, to worry about now.
The good of the many over personal happiness, just like Madge's father. They all know it.
Judging by the looks on the adults' faces, they all catch the implication, but have the good sense to not say anything with little ears listening.
Scout, takes his hand, pats it while nodding.
"We'll tuck you in, then you'll sleep better."
Sawyer races off, shouting, "You need a lovey to go to sleep!"
Once they've rounded the corner from view, Briar shifts her game bag on her shoulder, gestures toward the door.
"Ready?"
Gale glares. "You want to take a sleepy old man to the woods?"
She rolls her eyes, smiles softly. "I always will."
Expression easing, Gale runs a hand over his face again.
Finally, he grins. "Okay."
Daisy gives him a kiss on the cheek before linking her arm with Murphy's.
"Let's go make sure my kids haven't smothered the future Mayor of District Twelve."
Gale leans over and presses a quick, scratchy kiss to Madge's cheek, then follows Briar out to meet with Sage and head to the woods.
Rubbing her eyes, Madge forces a smile and walks down the hall, finding Daisy and Murphy in front of the bedroom door, laughing softly at something.
Once she reaches them, she peaks around the frame and snorts.
The girls have buried Miles in blankets and tucked their sawdust stuffed animals under his arms. Scout is animatedly reading him a bedtime story as Sawyer listens, nodding along with her sister's words.
Daisy smiles, shakes her head. "He's a good sport about it, isn't he?"
She doesn't see the stricken look on Murphy's face, the silent response to her compliment, but Madge does.
Her mouth turns down and she shoots the girls a wistful look.
A sad smile finally finds its way onto her face.
"Yeah, he is."
#######
Gale squints up at the mayor's house.
It's freshly painted. The shutters are an uninteresting shade of gray and the windows have been scrubbed clean. Even the backdoor has been replaced.
Still, it seems pretty much the same to him.
When he, Briar, and Sage had returned from the woods, it was to the news that Chaparral had dropped the keys to the house off.
"Wanna come see the new place?" He'd asked, jiggling the keys.
Despite the lazy grin, his eyes were still dull, exhaustion and fear shining in them.
He needed their reassurance, to know it wasn't just lip service. They weren't going to abandon him.
It was so painfully reminiscent of Madge, and Gale felt his heart break.
They'd gathered up Miles and Murphy's bags, grabbed the kids and Abilene, and headed to the house.
The entire walk Gale could see people watching them, whispering behind their hands, being about as subtle as a brick to the face with their rumor spreading and disgust.
"It reeks of nepotism," Madge had told him the night before, before he'd gone out and sat with Miles. "People will think this was deliberate, like we're building a dynasty."
It was a ridiculous thought, but clearly not an incorrect one.
Judging by the stares and murmurs, she was right.
"Now or never," Miles mutters, looking like never would be fine with him.
Propping the screen open, Miles fights with the new lock for a minute before he gets it open and steps in.
Inside has been repainted too, a brighter white. It smells of chemicals, cleaning solution and fumes.
Opening a cabinet, Gale spots blue patterned plates, the same ones he'd eaten off of hundreds of times over the years. The one Miles had chipped playing drums on when he was nine is on the top.
"This looks like the mayor's kitchen in Four," Murphy says, picking up a tea towel and inspecting it. "But hers is sea foam green."
Miles shrugs. "They all have the same plates and silverware, and similar floor plans. Just shifted."
Daisy frowns. "Shifted?"
He nods.
"Yeah." He gestures toward the stairs. "Sometimes those are over there, sometimes the coat closet and the bathroom in the front are switched, sometimes the bedrooms upstairs are backwards..shifted. Does that make sense?"
Wren nods. "Like a kaleidoscope."
When no one seems to understand, she smiles.
"You know, a kaleidoscope. You turn it a little and the whole thing looks different, but it's still the same tube."
A crooked grin forms on Miles' face and he shrugs.
"Yeah…something like that."
Smiling, Wren wanders off to inspect the rest of the house, shouting out when she's found the furniture has been rearranged or a picture has been replaced.
"They left the piano!"
Following Madge, Gale goes up the stairs, to the hall.
There's a new rug down, though all the cracked light fixtures have been left up. All the doors are open, letting sunlight cut across the path, dust floating in the beam.
She goes into the room that had been her dad's office and stops just inside the doorframe.
It's arranged just as it always has been. The desk is the same, though it looks like they've sanded and restained it. The chair behind the desk has been reupholstered, a burgundy colored material, and there's a new phone sitting on the desk.
Glancing over, Gale grins as he spots the couch along the wall.
Madge runs her finger along the arm, sits down and pulls one of the pillows into her lap, toying with the fringe.
"When I was little this was my favorite room," she finally says. "I'd sit in here and play while dad worked, just to spend time with him."
It's a lonely thought, imagining Madge, tiny and vulnerable, playing alone while her dad toiled away for an ungrateful district. A district that would talk behind his back and abuse his wife and daughter.
A district that had given his grandchildren grief their whole lives.
A district that's now Miles' responsibility.
Grunting, knees popping, Gale drops into the spot beside her.
"This was always my favorite room too."
Madge laughs. "Oh? Why's that?"
Sitting back, he waits for her to shift, turn and fix him in a curious look.
Finally, he smiles.
"This is the room my life changed for the better in, everything shifted for us here. This is where you told me you'd marry me. This is where we started."
She may not have been happy to do so, in fact, he doesn't think he's ever seen her that disgusted or frustrated in all their years since. Still, the fact remains, this is where their life together really started.
Softly, she smiles, leans in and presses a kiss to his lips, her cool fingers running along the prickly edges of his jaw.
Pulling back, her lips twist up mischievously.
"Well, technically, we started in a filing cabinet closet at the funds distribution office at the mines."
Huffing, Gale crosses his arms, scowls.
Snorting, Madge takes his hand, squeezes it.
"Don't pout, Gale." She leans in, presses another kiss to his temple, then her lips graze his ear. "An ugly beginning can still turn out beautiful."
Before she can realize what he's doing, Gale pulls her into his lap, causing her to squeak as he buries his face in her hair.
"Stunningly beautiful."
His mistakes may have been colossal, but they'd brought him here.
Their lives had twisted and shifted into something wonderful, and no matter what comes next, he knows it'll be just as beautiful.
They stay there for a few minutes, Gale's fingers inching up the hem of Madge's dress, until they hear the thundering of feet up the stairs.
Madge jumps up and straightens her clothes, smoothing her hair before Scout comes running in, followed by Miles.
"Look! They left Mr. Abernathy's drinks!" She tells him, pointing to the cabinet, still stocked with half drank bottles of liquor.
Miles rolls his eyes. "Great."
He shoots them a look, then shakes his head.
"Keep it clean old folks, there's little kids here," he tells them, just low enough only they hear.
Gale glares, starts to say something, but stops when Jessamine marches in, Sawyer trailing behind her.
"They painted all the rooms and the furniture," she announces. "I don't like it."
Sawyer nods.
They go behind the desk, probably to see if their names are still scratched in the underside or have been sanded away, when Briar yells for them.
"Hey runts! I found the ice cream churn! Get down here if you want any!"
Squealing, the girls race out, all thoughts of their investigation forgotten.
Walking to the desk, Miles stuffs his hands in his pockets, stares at it for a minute before sighing.
"They left his calendar," he finally says.
Getting up, Gale follows Madge, peers down at the desk.
Sure enough, the desk calendar is still there. Gale almost laughs. Of course the Capitol idiots would make it look like they'd overhauled the house but miss the personal details.
The month of Daniel's death is displayed, each day carefully filled in. Madge sits in the chair and reaches out, runs her finger over one of the dates and smiles.
Squinting, Gale cranes his neck and reads what's been tidily scrawled in.
'Lunch with Madge'
It had probably been the last lunch date they'd had before he was too sick.
He spots other things, reminders about the kids' school plays, Jessamine's birthday, even his and Matilda's anniversary….
Miles smiles, eyes his grandad's handwriting, the last events of his life.
"He was a good man," he finally says. "Let's hope I do him justice."
Patting him on the shoulder, Gale nods.
"You will."
#######
They cancel work at the mines the day of the inauguration.
It's unseasonably warm, only a small breeze cutting through the square. Madge can't imagine how hot it will be in a few weeks for the Reaping.
She shakes the thought away. Miles already has enough on his plate without her even thinking about the most unpleasant of his future tasks.
Lacing her fingers with Gale's, she squints up at the stage, tries to block out the dull murmurs behind her, tries not to imagine what awful things they're saying about her son, her family.
Gale squeezes her hand, his thumb running over her knuckles, leans over and presses a kiss to her hair.
"This is where we started."
She smiles at the memories, both of her very unhappy acceptance and Gale's words.
It was true, though as she pointed out, they'd technically started in a dusty filing closet. Gale didn't appreciate her pointing that out, but it didn't make it any less true.
Things had been rocky, but they'd survived everything life threw at them. Nasty rumors, bitterly cold winters, boys and babies, even the government snatching away one of their children. They'd keep surviving.
They had too.
Onstage, the Capitol proxy, the tall woman who'd interviewed Miles all those years before, stands at the lectern, a forced smile tacked on. She'd been given a higher position, according to Miles, after President Snow's death. Most of the technical positions had been cleaned out and filled with members of the Civil Services, a measure to create stability, or so they'd told the Capitol.
In reality, it was a first step to taking their country back.
Still it was only a first step. They had a long road ahead of them.
Commissioner Mills reads a clearly canned speech, looking deeply unimpressed with it, eyes occasionally flicking upward. When she finally finishes it, smile becoming softer, more genuine, she turns to Miles.
"Mayor Hawthorne, would you like to address your district?"
He very much looks like he would not, but he stands anyways. Murphy makes a valiant attempt at a brave face, but the fear shines through as she stands and gives him a kiss, her glasses slipping down her nose.
"It's such a big house," she'd told Madge, when she'd found her alone, in the now vacant room that had been Madge's growing up.
It had been repainted a bland beige color. The curtains were removed and the bed disassembled and stacked in the open closet. The only familiar feature was the bookshelf, now empty except for a new layer of dust that formed after the painting.
"Too much room for two people."
Gesturing to the window, where one of the children's squeals rose up and floated away, Madge smiled.
"It won't be half as empty as you think."
Not like when Madge had been a child and her only company had been hateful old Mrs. Oberst and her mother in her morphling stupor. Even if they never have children, the house will always be full.
The disappointment on Murphy's face eased a fraction as the edges of her mouth ticked up in a brittle smile.
"Yeah, I know."
Straightening his jacket, Miles walks to the microphone and lowers it fractionally, to his level.
Down the row, Madge hears Briar snort.
"Glad one of you finally knows how that feels."
Glancing sideways, Madge sees Wren roll her eyes, exchange an amused look with Daisy.
Sage chuckles and leans over, whispers something in her ear that earns him an elbow in the side.
Abilene leans around and says something to them, probably to act their age, and Sage replies by taking the baby from her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, giving her a quick kiss and quiet reassurance.
When Miles clears his throat and the microphone makes a sharp noise, Madge winces.
When she looks back up, he's a bit pale, but his expression is carefully set. Determined in the face of fear.
He has to play his part in the game. They all do.
Squeezing Gale's hand, Madge keeps her eyes on Miles.
He stares at his notes for a moment, then takes a breath, looks up.
It's now or never.
And never isn't an option.
#######
Gale laughs as Lawrence catches the firefly from under Jessamine's nose, runs with it clasped in his hands to Avery and excitedly shows it to his little brother.
It escapes, flies off, up into the evening sky, mixing with the emerging stars.
The swing groans as Madge shifts next to him, tucks her feet up under the hem of her skirt and leans into his side.
The screen door screeches as Miles pushes it open with his back, several bowls cradled his arms.
"No one booed," Sage tells him. "That's good."
Miles chuckles, nods. "Yeah. I'm glad I have such high standards for success."
They go out into the yard and the kids flock to them as they pass out the ice cream.
Absently, Gale traces a pattern on Madge's leg as he watches the kids settle down in the grass, watch the fireflies and eat their ice cream.
The reception to Miles' introduction as the new mayor was little more than lukewarm, but compared to the response most announcements connected to the Capitol get, it was practically enthusiastic.
Several of his old school friends, men that are in the early stages of being broken by the mines, came up to him, shook his hand and congratulated him. His weird teacher had rushed to him, giving him a bone crushing hug. Even Mellark had given him a quick pat on the back before rushing away.
There were plenty of dark looks, people muttering unkind things, but most seemed curious.
Miles may have been the Mayor's grandson, but he was also from Twelve. He was one of them.
Gale hopes that confuses them enough to give him a chance.
Once all the ice cream is handed out, Sage settles in the grass beside Abilene, Avery in his lap.
The twins and Jessamine set around Lew and Briar, telling them what looks to be a very thrilling tale, though Briar clearly doesn't seem impressed.
Wren and Matilda are pacing off a new garden by the shed while Abernathy watches, commenting and eating his ice cream. He must say something ugly because Daisy and Gale's mom shot him a look, point at Lawrence only feet away, still chasing fireflies.
Miles comes bounding back up the steps, looks at the two of them and wags a finger.
"Remember there are kids here."
Gale glares, but Madge just laughs.
"We'll try to control ourselves."
Miles snorts, then looks back out at the yard, at Murphy carrying Haskil back to the house.
"He got ice cream down his front," she tells them, turning him enough for them to see the strawberry pink ice cream smeared down his shirt.
"Ew!" Miles makes a face, tickles the baby's little belly, making him squeal and squirm in Murphy's arms.
She tightens her arms around him and laughs, bounces him a bit as Miles opens the screen and lets her in.
He watched her through the door for a moment, his smile dim, before turning back to the yard.
"Things did go okay though," he finally says, no so much to them as to himself.
Madge gets up, pulls him into a hug.
"They did."
He watches Jessamine catch one of the bugs, holds it out to Avery for closer inspection, and smiles.
"They're gonna be here all the time, aren't they?"
Madge had told him about Miles' fear, that he'd been away too long, that he didn't belong. Being put in charge of the district couldn't have eased that worry. It made him different, more of an outsider than he already seemed to feel.
He isn't though, he never could be. The kids are making sure he knows that more than any words ever could.
Grunting, Gale pushes himself up and out of the swing, nods as he tries to straighten up.
"Whether you like it or not."
Miles' smile widens. "Good."
Avery, firefly clasped between his little hands, probably crushed, runs up to the steps, bouncing as Jessamine comes up beside him.
"Uncle Miles, come catch fireflies with us!"
Miles pretends to consider it for a moment before nodding.
"Okay."
He catches Avery around the middle and swings him up as he carries him toward the edge of the yard, where Briar is helping Lawrence, knocks into her and makes her miss catching one.
The screen creaks as Murphy pushes it open, emerges with a now shirtless Haskil.
"I'm soaking it in the sink," she explains, bouncing him a bit as she watches Miles dodge Briar's attempt at retaliation.
Rolling her eyes, she smiles and carries the baby into the yard, leaving Gale and Madge on the porch.
Gale watches as Miles takes Haskil, begins spinning wildly as Sage warns him against it.
Closing his eyes, Gale can almost hear the echoes of Madge giving Rory the same stricture, a lifetime ago.
So much has changed, too much it feels at times, but there's no stopping it.
Looking at Madge, grimacing as Miles tosses the baby in the air, catches him and spins again Gale smiles.
Change wasn't easy, but it's necessary. Change had brought him the life he had now. It had taken his dad and Rory, but given him his children and grandchildren, made him live and not just survive.
Pressing a kiss to Madge's cheek, Gale sighs.
"We have a pretty damn good life."
He feels her lean into him, pops on her toes and presses a quick kiss to his lips.
"The best."
#######
Two years later
Dust filters down in the morning sunlight, through the dingy window in the hall of the Justice Building.
They haven't updated it since Madge and Gale got married.
The same dust covered curtains frame the window, same threadbare rug running the length of the hall, even the velvet couch is the same, though a bit more faded from years and sun. As far as she can tell, the only real change is the stop for the door is fixed, propping it open a little less obtrusively.
It's a time capsule, frozen just as it was when Madge Undersee waddled in, pregnant and without a choice, and emerged as Madge Hawthorne.
"I don't remember it taking this long," Wren mutters, chewing her lower lip, eyeing the doorway hopefully.
Daisy pats her hand, smiles softly.
"It's a new system, there's probably a few kinks."
Sage frowns. "Briar designed it. There's no kinks."
Miles snorts. "Yeah, she's just in there enjoying watching her employees squirm."
Wren's shoulders relax a little. "Yeah, that's probably true."
Leaning over, Madge buries her face in Gale's shoulder, muffles a snort of laughter.
Easing a bit, Gale rests his cheek against her hair, his arm wrapping around her back, fingers curling into her side.
"I can't believe I'm gonna have a Peacekeeper for a son-in-law," he grumbles, too low for anyone but her to hear.
Madge pats his leg.
"You like Ephraim."
He only grunts in response.
Despite his grumpiness, Madge knows he's happy. Ephraim makes Briar happy, and that's all that really matters to Gale, no matter what he may say otherwise.
When Miles had first mentioned that restrictions on Peacekeeper fraternization was being considered for amendment, like so many other rules and regulations, Briar hadn't seemed hopeful.
"I won't hold my breath," she'd muttered, stuffing a whole roll in her mouth.
It wasn't a pressing issue, not something that concerned the whole district.
Still, Miles had apparently, quietly, pushed for the reform.
It had been approved just a few months ago, alongside the request to create a licensing department for hunting and fishing.
Slowly, almost painfully so, things were changing. Life was getting less bleak. People were still grumbling about favoritism, especially after Briar was put in charge of upgrading the computers and Daisy was chosen to head the new licensing department, but the gradual improvements in life were dimming those complaints.
People were getting tangible proof of change, that life in the district was going to be more than just surviving.
Who instigated the changes and how they got those positions stopped mattering when things were improving.
"What kind of bread is Abilene bringing?" Madge hears Daisy ask.
Whatever his answer, Madge doesn't hear, it's drowned out by Wren yelling excitedly, racing across the hall.
Laughing, Madge stands and pulls Gale up with her, follows their kids to where Briar and Ephraim are busy being interrogated by Wren.
"We sat and filled out a bunch of stupid paperwork," Briar grumbles, tugging at the front of her dress. "Irma sneezed on the banking request form."
"It was incredibly romantic," Ephraim adds, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes.
Briar quietly passes a plain brown paper envelope to Gale before grabbing Ephraim's hand and tugging him down the hall.
"Come on. We have a Toasting to get to."
Sage laughs. "She's hungry."
They follow after them, Miles telling them he needs to stop by the house to pick up Murphy and Morgan, while Wren babbles on about the candies she'd made the night before for the occasion.
As they trail after them, Gale opens the envelope and slides out the picture.
Against the gray backdrop, beside the same dusty vase of flowers that had accompanied Madge and Gale, Sage and Abilene, and even Daisy and Rowan, stand Briar and Ephraim.
Ephraim is grinning, both arms wrapped around Briar, hoisting her up, his cheek against her hair. Briar looks a bit exasperated, but pleased nonetheless. She's smiling, though her eyes were clearly about to roll before the photo was snapped.
"It's a good picture," Gale murmurs, a little smile quirking up on his lips.
Taking it from his fingers, Madge smiles.
"They look happy."
She gives the picture a critical look. "We should tell Miles they need to spring for some new flowers."
She lets the picture slip back into the envelope.
Gale takes it back from her, his eyebrows bunched together in thought.
"I wished we'd been this happy in our picture."
Madge frowns, nose wrinkling up as she studies him for a moment.
He's staring at the envelope, disappointment coloring his features.
Reaching up, Madge takes his stubbly cheeks in her hands and pops on her toes, presses a long kiss to his lips.
"Who says I wasn't?"
He huffs. "I'm pretty sure you wanted to kill me."
Lips twitching up, Madge shrugs. "Well, I might've."
His lips twitch up and his arms wrap around her, pull her flush against him.
"Thanks for controlling that impulse."
Hands slipping behind his head, Madge's fingers toy with the grayed hair on his neck and she smiles.
"If I'd had the ability to control my impulses we wouldn't have been getting married in the first place."
Gale chuckles.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't control that impulse."
Madge snorts.
They may not have had a perfect beginning, the picture may have been a fabrication, but everything since was real. Everything since has been happy.
Five children, seven grandchildren, and a lot of life have given them a solid foundation. That more than made up for a false start.
One unguarded moment had shifted their lives, changed their world.
And she doesn't regret a minute of it.
"I'm glad I didn't either."
Popping up on her toes again, she gives him a quick kiss before pulling back and taking his hand, pulling him along.
"Come on, we have a Toasting to get to."
#######
AN: And that's it! Kaleidoscope is complete. I struggled to finish this, which is why it took so long, but I really hope it isn't a disappointment. I cut a few things out, like Vick with his granddaughter, Wren's boyfriend, and that the Morgan mentioned at the end is Miles and Murphy's daughter, because it just didn't flow, sorry. Anyways, thanks to everyone who has supported this mess, you are the only reason I pushed through and finished. So, thanks y'all, thanks.