Epilogue

9 years later

The sun is just beginning to set as its rays bounce off the surface of the water making it sparkle like diamonds. The waves gently lap against the sandy shore and my son laughs as the water tickles his toes. The setting sun makes his blond curls even more golden and his grey eyes sparkle with delight. Peeta grips onto his hand tightly as they try to jump the waves together. Ash's laughter rings out across the deserted beach as he splashes in the water and continues to soak himself.

Peeta's boss recommended this Mexican villa and the whole family are enjoying the beach right on the doorstep. My travels have gotten less adventurous since the kids were born but I am still eager to let them experience the world. We normally have one big family vacation a year and while I may no longer backpack through forests and hike up the Andes I enjoy these little trips just as much. It is still exciting when I see my children tentatively try a new local delicacy and see their eyes widen in wonder at the all the different sights and sounds of the places we explore.

Peeta was a bit reluctant at first to travel, he was petrified the first time I took him on a plane and wouldn't let go of my hand during the entire five hour flight to Hawaii, but he's since learned to embrace the places we travel to. He's an expert at finding the beauty anywhere and our walls at home are full of his paintings depicting many of the sights we have seen.

We are the happiest we have ever been.

I smile at the sight of Peeta and our four year old son playing together but my view is suddenly obscured by a small dark-haired figure. She pops up in front of me holding a very large shell and I put down the postcard I was writing to talk to her.

"Look what I found, Mommy! Isn't it the prettiest shell you've ever seen!" my eldest daughter, Willow, exclaims.

She waves the shell frantically in front of my face and I smile at her fondly. Carefully I take the large conch shell off her. Its insides are a vibrant pink and I know it is the colour that charmed my daughter. She has spent the whole afternoon scouring this beach for the biggest and prettiest shells she can find, filling buckets with shells of all different shapes and sizes but it is clear this pink conch shell is the prize in her collection.

"It's beautiful. You must be an expert shell finder to find a shell as great as this!" I reply.

Willow smiles proudly back at me and takes the shell off me to protectively cradle it against her chest.

"Can we put it in my collection when we go back home?" she asks.

I smile at her fondly again as I nod my head. She may only be six years old but Willow is already fascinated with the world around her. Back in Evanston she is always begging me to take her to the park and the beach so she can find new things to put in her collection. She has a shelf filled with silky bird feathers, unusual rocks and beautiful pressed flowers. She just loves the natural world and it wouldn't surprise me if she follows in my footsteps and becomes a biologist or botanist when she grows older.

"It will have to take centre place on your shelf. I think it may be the best thing you have ever found," I reply.

Willow grins at me again and I slowly reach forward to lift the shell up to her ear.

"Listen. Can you hear the sea?" I ask.

Willow scrunches her eyebrows up in concentration as she strains to hear the sounds within the shell. After a few moments her blue eyes light up and she grips the shell tightly to her ear.

"I can hear it, Mommy! How did it get in there?" she asks.

"The sea is just magical and mysterious. It's full of secrets," I reply.

Willow nods her head pensively as she keeps the shell pressed against her ear. I smile as she bounces on her feet lightly. She turns her head in the direction of Peeta and Ash and looks at them excitedly.

"I'm going to show Daddy and Ash!" she exclaims.

She then dashes over to her father and brother, waving the shell in the air and shouting that she's found a magic shell. Her shouts are enough to disturb her sleeping thirteen month old sister beside me. Sage stirs and whimpers as she stretches her tired limbs out. Her eyes begin to screw up and I quickly bend down to scoop my youngest child up to soothe her before she starts crying. I rock Sage gently in my arms as she lets out a couple of cries before opening her blue eyes and locking them on me. She quietens soon after and I am glad that I have managed to calm her. She continues to watch me while I hum softly to her.

Peeta catches my eye as Willow continues to babble on about the magic shell and we share a smile.

I have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure this is not all a dream. I can't believe I have three happy and healthy children and relationship with my husband that thrives off our support for each other. I certainly wasn't mature enough for this at eighteen.

It's not always easy. It took Peeta a long time to get used to living in Evanston and I was terrified when I was pregnant with Willow. I was so scared I was going to miscarry and lose the baby again. I cried the first time I felt her moving inside of me. It was the relief in knowing that she was alive and well inside of me.

We never did file the divorce papers. Neither did we have a big fancy ceremony to renew our vows. We kept things simple. Six months after we had moved to Evanston, Peeta brought some bread back from the bakery and we had a second toasting in front of the fireplace. We made simple promises to continue to work hard and love each other no matter what. We haven't looked back since.

I'm now only lecturing part time at Northwestern and my most recent research has been published and well received. Peeta handed the bakery in Panem to Rye and look a job in a large bakery chain. They were so impressed by his intricate designs they promoted him to head of Art and Design. I'm so proud of him and our children reap the benefits of all the treats he brings home.

We live a modest life in the north of Evanston and our children are the centre of our lives. Every weekend we pack up the minivan to find the next adventure.

We visit Panem a couple of times a year and our families always make a big fuss over us when we go. Peeta's really helped me appreciate Panem and all the family and friends we have there. The people of Panem know us the best and can be relied on during harder times. I actually look forward to going to Panem now.

Sage kicks her legs out as a bird flies above her head and knocks the postcard I had been writing off my knee. With one arm still cradling my daughter, I reach out to retrieve the postcard and shake the sand off it. My children have a habit of ruining the postcards I send. Cato was highly amused when his last postcard arrived with ice-cream stains all over it.

Cato and I still keep in touch through the sending of postcards of our latest travels. He was one of the first people to send me an over the top balloon display to the hospital after Willow was born. He finally found himself a girl that loves him more than I could and is just learning to get to grips with fatherhood. His son was born a year ago and the nanny was hired two weeks after he was born. He's a very different father to Peeta but that doesn't mean he loves his son any less.

Peeta notices Sage squirming and manages to quieten Willow before he makes his way back over. Sage's gaze follows her father as he approaches and Peeta pulls a silly face at her before leaning over to tickle her chin. Sage giggles as she tries to swot his hand away and Peeta looks at her with a big smile.

Willow abandons her shell in front of us and immediately starts ordering Ash about to start making a sand castle for it. I smile at them both as she continues to boss him about.

"She definitely gets that bossiness from you," Peeta says putting an arm around my shoulder and placing a kiss on the side of my head.

I turn to him with a scowl.

"I'm not bossy. I just like things to be done a certain way," I say. "Besides you could win awards for how bossy you are in the kitchen!"

Peeta chuckles as he gently squeezes my shoulder. Sage continues to look up at him and makes a little squeak as she stretches her arms out for him.

"Dada…" she says.

She continues to waggle her arms out for him and I sigh and shake my head.

"You're always the one they want. You're definitely the favourite parent," I grumble as I pass Sage to Peeta.

She smiles broadly as Peeta takes her in his arms and sits her on his lap. He places a kiss on her blonde head as he smiles back smugly at me.

"That's because I bake all the cookies," he says with a grin.

I sigh again as I shake my head. But I don't really mind that my children constantly seek Peeta out. He surpasses all of my expectations as a father. He always puts our children first and is often seen covered in mud after an adventure with them at the park. I wouldn't miss seeing these moments for the world.

I sigh contemplatively as I rest my head against his shoulder and watch Willow and Ash continuing to build their sandcastle. The sun is setting rapidly now and I know we'll have to go soon and get back to the villa to put on dinner.

Peeta turns to look at me with a loving smile.

"I wish we could freeze this moment and live in it forever," he says as our children continue to play happily in front of us.

I smile up at him and lean up to place a soft kiss on his lips. This causes Willow and Ash to let out a noise of disgust but we just smile back at them.

I know what Peeta means. This afternoon has been close to perfect and it is sad to see it end. But I also know this won't be the last afternoon we spend like this together again. There will be plenty more days like this where we enjoy time together as a family and wish for the day not to end. And I don't want to miss any of them.

After all, having a family is our current big adventure.

A/N: And so we reach the end. I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the future. Hopefully it ties up all the loose ends.

Thanks to everyone that has followed/favourited/reviewed this story. Your support makes writing so much easier. I should be back with a new story sometime in January. It you haven't already, go check out my Fandom4lls contribution called Once. It can be found on my author page and is set in a world where neither Katniss or Peeta were reaped.

Finally a huge thanks to my Beta, LavendarVanila. She has been a HUGE help in sorting out all these chapters and has helped make it even better. She's a great Everlark writer too so go and check out her stories too.

Thanks again for all the support. It's been great even when things in the story got rough.