Chapter 47: It IS You

I wake up and emerge into the Village one fine, spring morning, only to have him arrive with no warning.

I am meeting Katniss over at her place for tea on a lazy Saturday; Pollux is down in Town helping other refugees continue to rebuild. I don't know when he will be back, and Katniss doesn't say.

But someone does come back, as we later realize when a frantic knocking at the door bears Primrose, blue eyes huge and spluttering, clearly in a state of shock. Following her almost frantic beckoning out the door, we cross the street and head into my mansion's back garden. A man is kneeling in the dirt, planting flowers that bear the name of my littlest, surrogate niece.

Katniss sways to a stop, freezing, her grey eyes bulging in disbelief. A hand has come to her mouth, and as the man turns to face her, she gazes at him as though she has never seen him before.

"Peeta…" she whispers.

Peeta appraises her tiredly but with relief. "Katniss."

Katniss lowers her hand from her face, a hardly-daring-to-believe-it smile gracing her lips. "You came home."

Peeta nods. "Yeah. It's me."

Almost in a trance, like she is coming out of a dream, Katniss floats over to my youngest son. Taking a strand of his blonde hair between her fingers, she caresses it bemusedly, somewhat skeptically, sizing him up. Only when she turns her head to gaze into his deep blue eyes does a beaming and radiant smile of recognition cross her face.

"It is you!" she cries out.

Peeta smiles weakly back, and he and Katniss embrace and kiss.


It is getting on dusk, one night not long after my son's return, as I open the doors of my armoire and rummage through it.

"I brought it with me to Thirteen… then back again when we came home. I had first retrieved it when we passed through after the fire bombings following the Quell."

Behind me, in her blue Reaping dress which she will soon change out of, Katniss is watching me curiously. "Why? What is it?"

Hand closing around the garment bag, I flash a smile at my goddaughter over my shoulder. "This." And I deposit it with a flourish onto Dannel's and my bed, unzipping the front.

Gaping, Katniss lifts the white bridal gown out of its casing, admiring its beauty. "Oh, my Panem…. It's… beautiful." She turns to stare at me. "Is this….?"

I smile fondly. "Most women in Merchant families view their bridal dress as a family heirloom, passed down from mother to daughter. My mother gave this to my sister when she got married, and my sister gave it to me when your godfather and I wed. I… I took this to Thirteen in the hopes that I could pass it down to Madge, my niece." I wipe an errant tear from my eye. "Since… since she didn't survive, I thought I would pass this down to you – something borrowed."

Tears are also slipping down Katniss's cheeks, and my heart clenches. "Do… do you like it?"

"I love it!" she weeps. "I love you, Auntie!" And she throws her arms around me and we laugh.

"I always wanted a daughter," I smile at her sentimentally. "And soon, I'll have one. Who better than you? – you've always been the closest thing I've got."

Katniss gasps. "Thank you." Blinking back more tears, she holds out her wedding dress in front of her, taking in its beauty again. "Help me put it on?"

Choking back more tears, I nod and help her into it. As I adjust the bodice, Katniss asks:

"Auntie? Did… did Mother have a dress like this? She grew up Merchant, and…."

"True, but she had no choice but to wear her best Reaping clothes when she Toasted the bread with your father. Marrying across class lines was frowned upon in those days, and when your parents got married, your mother's family disowned her. She was not allowed to have your grandmother's wedding dress passed down to her. It… it was a very hasty Toasting between your mom and your dad, to say the least, but it wasn't filled with any less love." Having finished attending to her, I step back admiringly and offer my soon-to-be…. daughter-in-law my arm. "Shall we?"

Katniss beams wetly. "We shall." Looping her arm through mine, we pass through my mansion and exit out to the street, crossing into the living room of the Everdeens.

Before a roaring hearth, Peeta is standing proudly in a tailored suit, eyes only for the one girl he has always loved. In the absence of her father, I emotionally give Katniss away. The guest list is small, the ceremony quiet. Pollux is here; he and Katniss navigated their feelings gamely and parted amicably after Peeta returned. I understand they are still good friends.

Joining hands, Peeta offers Katniss a piece of bread. He feeds it to her, and she feeds a piece to him. They exchange rings and vows.

"Katniss Magenta Everdeen…. with this ring, I thee wed."

"Peeta Haymitch Mellark…. with this ring, I thee wed."

Glancing between them with a smile, Dalton – just moved to District 12 – blesses the couple with a smile. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss."

Beaming, laughing, Katniss and Peeta leap into each other's arms and kiss passionately, the blushing bride lifted off her feet, as we all erupt into cheers around them.