The path to Command is a familiar one. I'm surprised there isn't wear on the floor from my angry footsteps. Peeta's never seen me go off on Coin.

I swing the door open and it slams into the wall, hanging erratically from its hinges. The men at the table jump from surprise. I have no idea who is in charge.

"Which one of you is General Hill?" I demand. One of the men stands up slowly, tugging his jacket down straight. He's very tall with short, cropped hair. His eyes are an icy blue which match his seemingly chilly demeanor. His face doesn't react at all.

"I am," he announces calmly.

"You know who I am?" I ask, my voice even. Peeta stands silently behind me, but I can feel him tensing.

"I do," he responds.

"How many people are you holding in this district involuntarily?" I ask with obvious vitriol. I am seething.

"Frankly, Miss Everdeen, that's none of your concern," General Hill replies. Miss Everdeen. Apparently I've lost my soldier status. He's trying to throw me. He doesn't know what he's up against.

"It is my concern when we've fought and sacrificed for freedom and then you force people into labor and don't permit them to come and go as they choose," I spit back.

"District 13 is a complex space. We need the ability to defend Panem. It takes people," he answers.

"Then you allow them to work here on voluntary tours," I retort.

"There are only so many skilled people to do these jobs," General Hill answers.

"What are you doing to solve that? Do you have a training program? Incentives for people to come here and learn these trades?" I ask. I'm regurgitating what I've heard before. Gale wanted to come here after the War to learn machinery. He had a whole idea about what a post-despotic Panem would look like.

"We have the people we need here," he answers.

"You are forcing people to stay! Children!" I bark out. The general has reached the end of his patience.

"I don't need to listen to you. Maybe Panem was entranced by your spell, Miss Everdeen, but those of us in District 13 are not that gullible. I've witnessed your temper tantrums before. I never understood why President Coin let you get away with such insubordination. Get her out of here," he gestures to our guard.

Before I know what I'm doing I take a phone off the wall and shove the receiver in Peeta's hand.

"Call Plutarch," I order. Peeta looks at me, confused, but punches numbers into the keypad and hands me back the phone.

"Plutarch, it's Katniss," I say. On the other end of the line I imagine I hear Plutarch's jovial greeting. Instead, I hear my mother, confused. I don't listen though. I just stare at General Hill, whose mouth hangs slightly agape.

"Look, I know I told you I wasn't interested in doing any more TV spots, but I think I could be convinced otherwise. I have a story to tell," I say evenly, my eyes never leaving the leader of District 13. I imagine Plutarch on the other end of the line, prattling over mother asks if I'm in trouble, but instead I pretend I hear Plutarch's voice telling me he knew I'd come around. I remain cold, staring at Hill viciously. Hill's skin is turning so red I can see it under his thinning hair. He's so furious he's actually shaking in place. Coin would have been harder to manipulate. This man doesn't have her ruthless spine.

"Enough!" he finally barks out.

"I'm going to have to call you back," I say before I hand the phone to Peeta, who watches me in amazement as he hangs the receiver up in its cradle.

"What do you want?" General Hill spits out.

"I want a program put in place to start moving those that want to leave out of Thirteen. I want this base run on voluntary tours with livable wages. I want you to share your knowledge with the other districts in Panem so we can more efficiently farm food and clean water. You can't do that if you keep all your scientists and tradespeople locked underground," I state. I remember standing at this table listing off my demands to be their Mockingjay. Nothing ever changes. "And I want the Boggs family released immediately."

I see the general grumble words to a subordinate at his side. The man shakes his head quickly. Hill turns back to me.

"And then you'll leave?" he asks.

"Yes. But I want weekly progress reports sent to me and President Paylor. And if I find out you aren't holding up your end of the deal, I have a nation of people backing me that will be screaming for your removal. Got it?" I say sharply.

"Bring Miss Everdeen to the dormitory and return her entire party to the Hangar," General Hill orders, his voice dripping with spite and reluctance.

"Soldier Everdeen," I assert.

"Soldier Everdeen," he corrects himself.

We follow the guard out of the room and back toward the dormitories. Peeta quickens his pace to keep you with me, and slips his hand in mine, whispering into my ear, "So that's the Mockingjay?"

A half smile creeps on my face. "Yeah. That's the Mockingjay."

When we reach Boggs's room I rap the door quickly with my knuckles before stepping inside. Maya and Ruth look up at me. I can tell Ruth is more than a little surprised to see me back here.

"You need to pack. You don't have much time. We leave the Hangar in thirty minutes," I announce.

"Really?" Maya squeaks out, leaping into the air. A smile overtakes her face that makes her eyes sparkle.

"Yes really," I say back. Ruth approaches me with a calm joy radiating from her body. She envelops me in a hug and I let myself melt into her. I imagine Boggs here with us.

"Thank you," his wife whispers in my hair.

"Hurry up," I reply, breaking out of the hug. "I'll see you up there."

I exit the room to allow them to pack on their own. Our guard has multiplied. Two stay behind to escort the Boggs family and three more lead Peeta and me back to the Hangar. The one to my left is impatient and brash, shoving us forward. Peeta looks at me but I quickly shake my head no. We can't cause a scene.

"Hey, you got a problem?" I hear a voice echo down the hallway. My eyes follow to its source and I am surprised to see the man with the pointed chin. His injuries have faded, but his jaw remains locked as he watches the guard with quiet intensity.

"She was lost, I was helping her find her way," the guard offers.

"Then you don't mind if I come along?" the man asks. The guard rambles for a moment, but the man with the pointed chin takes a position at my left and starts to walk with us. "You okay?" he asks under his breath. I nod.

The Boggs family arrives in the Hangar shortly after we do. Their possessions are meager, the whole of their belongings shoved into one duffel bag. We load the hovercraft. As we take off I watch Maya's eyes grow wide. She's never been outside the compound before. She's never seen the sun. She blinks and smiles back up at her mother, who runs a gentle hand across her hair.

"I think I'm going to ask my mom to meet us in District 4," I tell Peeta as I watch the two of them.

In District 11 Maya wants to see and touch and smell everything. Moving from the hovercraft to the train turns out to be a whole ordeal as we try to pull her away from running her hands over the grass.

"This smells like it's alive!" she exclaims as her mother drags her to the train by her elbow.

"The trip will take a few days," I tell them as Peeta and I escort them to their room. "It can get a little stir crazy, but it's not so bad."

"We don't get stir crazy," Ruth answers honestly.

"Right," I say. "Well, um, there's a kitchen but it's up to us to fend for ourselves." At that comment I see Ruth stiffen just a little. I realize everyone in 13 has their specific role. She probably doesn't know how to cook. She's eaten in a cafeteria every meal of her life. "We're going to make dinner around six if you want to join us."

Ruth gives a gracious smile and we leave them alone to unwind. The days move quickly. Maya spends most her time the in last car, imagination churning as the world moves around her. She sits with a sketchpad and draws trees and lakes and animals. Peeta draws with her, too, and one night Ruth and I have to confiscate their books before they acquiesce and come to bed.

Before we know it we've arrived in the district by the sea. Effie has made accommodations for us in some of the empty homes in Victor's Village. Unlike district natives, Ruth and Maya don't see any issue staying in a Victor's home. There is no fanfare at the train station. No one knows we are coming. As we get closer to the Village, excitement wins me over and my feet spring. I start to run, leaving my bag splayed out on its side. Fourth house on the left, fourth house on the left. When I reach the door I'm surprised to find myself on an identical porch to mine own, the wooden door an exact image. My fist slams on the door.

I hear bustling inside. A baby's cry. The door swings open. The man before me is wearing a tee shirt and shorts. A dirty towel is slung over his shoulder and his shirt is smudged with some kind of green mush I can only assume is blended peas. His hair is messy and too long.

I feel like I'm going to burst from my skin.

"Finnick," I pant, out of breath from the run. His jaw drops open and a pacifier slips from his fingers. I smile. "Hi," I say, but he doesn't say anything back, he just sweeps me into his arms. I can feel his grin on my cheek. He squeezes me so hard I think my bones might break. "Hey," I laugh out, rubbing my hands on his back but he refuses to let go. He just rocks us back and forth slowly as if he's not sure I'm really here, if I'm going to stay. When he sees Peeta approaching the house Finnick nearly launches himself from the porch and runs to him.

"Annie!" he calls out haplessly into the house over his shoulder as he slams into Peeta, nearly knocking him over. When Annie reaches the door, an enormous smile breaks across her face. She's more put together than Finnick, although the same black circles hang under her eyes.

"Katniss!" she says, smiling and grabbing my hands. She looks calmer than I've ever seen her. I wonder if the voices in her head have subsided. If the turmoil has pacified with the end of the War.

Annie looks over my shoulder and sees Peeta on the lawn. She remains latched to one of my hands and yanks me along with her down the steps until she reaches Peeta. Her eyes glisten with tears as her fingers gently push a piece of hair out of Peeta's eyes. She wraps her arms around his neck and drops her body into him. A relief washes over Peeta's face from a stress I didn't realize was there.

He worries about her. Since their captivity in the Capitol, he worries. Every moment he doesn't know how she is, he worries. They speak on the phone all the time, more than Finnick and me, but I hadn't realized Peeta wasn't breathing until I see him exhale now.

"Hey Annie," he whispers into her hair, and I realize she's crying.

"What are you doing here?" Annie chokes out. She wipes her hands across her cheeks. Her brilliant red hair hangs wildly around her face and she sweeps it back with her hands into a messy bun on top of her head.

Peeta smiles at her and I realize something finally feels right.

Like it's fallen into place.